[Match Day 5] Liverpool FC vs. Manchester United FC: Review

Robin van Persie's late penalty earned Manchester United a controversial 2-1 victory over 10-man Liverpool in their Barclays Premier League match at Anfield.

The Dutch striker secured the win when he fired his spot-kick past Pepe Reina after Glen Johnson had brought down Luis Antonio Valencia, who fell down at the slightest touch, and it moved United into second spot in the table with 12 points, one point behind leaders Chelsea.

The first match at Anfield since the Hillsborough report cleared Liverpool's fans of blame for the deaths of 96 of their number at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final, sparked into life after 39 minutes when Liverpool’s Jonjo Shelvey was red-carded for a studds-up challenge on Jonny Evans.

However, the home side went ahead straight after half-time through Steven Gerrard's shot in the area. United hit back after 51 minutes through Rafael Da Silva's curling shot before Van Persie's late strike meant that after five games Liverpool are still looking for their first league win of the season and still remain in the relegation zone.

One of the fiercest rivalries in football was briefly put to one side before kick-off as players and fans from both clubs respectfully marked a tribute to those killed in the Hillsborough tragedy.

Once the whistle went, it was Liverpool who settled down quicker, controlling the much of the first period. Gerrard went close to giving them the lead while Fabio Borini had a half chance.

After 39 minutes Liverpool's hopes of a first league victory were hit when Shelvey went in feet first in on Evans and was shown a red card by referee Mark Halsey.

The red card looked like turning the match in United's favour but it was Liverpool who took the lead a minute into the second period. Johnson surged into the United area and when the ball looped up to Gerrard, the Liverpool captain had time to slam a precise left-footed shot past Anders Lindegaard.

The celebrations around Anfield were soon silenced when Rafael equalised six minutes later, curling a left-foot shot beyond the reach of Reina from a tight angle on the right.

Making their extra man count, United began to enjoy more possession although Liverpool, despite being down to 10 men, continued to show a threat.

Luis Suarez blasted a shot across the face of goal, but as Liverpool continued pushing men forward in search of victory Valencia seized possession in his own half and set off on a run that was ended by a foul in the penalty area from Johnson.

Van Persie, who missed from the spot this season for United, had to wait four minutes as Daniel Agger received treatment but he kept his cool to send a left-footed effort into the corner despite Reina almost saving it.

Match Ratings

Jose Reina: Should have done better. 6

Martin Kelly: Excellent on the right flank for Liverpool. 7

Daniel Agger: Had a good game. Substituted at 81' after sustaining an injury. 7

Martin Skrtel: Had a good game. 7

Glen Johnson: Had a good game going forward, but his mistakes led to both the goals. 7

Joe Allen: Excellent performance for the entire match. 8

Steven Gerrard: Captain Fantastic delivers again in an important match. Man of the Match. 9

Jonjo Shelvey: Good till he got the red card. A moment of foolishness cost the team the game. 6

Fabio Borini: Was really good in the first half. Substituted at half-time after sustaining a swollen ankle. 6

Luis Suarez: Was able to go past the United defenders with ease more often. A penalty was turned down against Suarez. 8

Raheem Sterling: Was excellent on the right flank. Got past Evra with ease. Was substituted with Jordan Henderson to give stability to the midfield. 8

Substitutes

Suso: Brilliant. The debutant didn't show a nerve during the high intensity match. Came in for Borini at half-time. 8

Jordan Henderson: Held the midfield together once he was sent in by Rodgers. Came in for Raheem Sterling at 66’. 7.5

Jamie Carragher: Held the defense together without letting in another goal. Came in for Agger after Agger sustained a knee injury. N/A

Stats

LIVERPOOLV.MANCHESTER UNITED

·Attack

1	Goals	2
14	Total Shots (including blocked shots)	8
6	Shots on target	3
2	Blocked Shots	2
4	Shots from outside the box	5
10	Shots from inside the box	3
50%	Shot Accuracy (excluding blocked shots)	50%
52%	Possession (%)	48%
46.80%	Duels won (%)	53.20%
55.60%	Aerial Duels Won (%)	44.40%
13	Interceptions	16
0	Offsides	1
7	Corners	3
459	Total Passes	420
11.10%	Long Passes (%)	11.70%
84.70%	Passing Accuracy (%)	85%
72.20%	Passing Accuracy opp. Half (%)	77.40%
26	Total Crosses	18
15.40%	Successful Crosses (%)	33.30%
23	Tackles	29
69.60%	Tackles Won (%)	72.40%
19	Clearances	44
14	Fouls Conceded	7
1	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0

Man of the Match: Steven Gerrard

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[Match Day 5] Liverpool FC vs. Manchester United FC: Preview

• Match on 23^rd September 2012 from 1330 BST.
• Match live on ESPN and ESPN HD from 1755 IST.
• Match taking place at Anfield.

Does it get bigger than this? No, the North West derby is by far the greatest rivalries in England. Two teams separated by just 33 miles on road, but separated by a lot of rivalries and bitter incidents, the most recent one in October of 2011, when Luis Suarez was handed 8-match ban and£40,000 for having called Patrice Evra a racist word. These two teams have won a total of 119 trophies between them, which includes 37 top flight titles, 18 FA Cups, 12 League Cups, 8 Champions Leagues, 3 Europa Leagues and 34 domestic charity shields.

North West Derby dates back to 1895, when the 1^st match between the two teams was played. That instance of the fixture ended up comfortably winning the match by 7-1. Even though the all-time record is in favor of Manchester United with 72-51-62, one should never take Liverpool lightly in this fixture. The latest instance of this fixture ended up with a 2-1 victory Manchester United.

With both teams issuing statements condemning the chants against the disasters faced by the teams, this match will be one of the most anticipated matches off-late. Also, this is the 1st Premier League match that Liverpool is playing at Anfield after the Hillsborough Independent Panel had submitted their report few days back.

Liverpool

Liverpool are going into this fixture sitting beside the relegation zone with 2 points after scoring only 3 goals in their 4 premier league games, while they have conceded 8 goals in those matches. The main worry for any Liverpool fan would the inability of the main striker Luis Suarez to find the back of the net. He has featured as the Center Forward in all 4 of Liverpool Premier League matches, but has netted only 2 goals, even though he has had umpteen chances.

The Liverpool defense is another cause of concern. They have leaked 8 goals, of which 4 have been gifts to the opposition.

But then, there is something that would lift some pressure off any Liverpool fan. That would be the outcome of their 1^st European league match in almost 2 years, where the Liverpool ‘reserve’ won 5-3 against a full strength BSC Young Boys Bern of Switzerland in Bern.

Expected Line-up: Reina; Kelly, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson; Allen, Shelvey, Gerrard; Sterling, Suarez, Borini

Key Players: Joe Allen, Jonjo Shelvey, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez

Manchester United

Manchester United would be one the happier off the teams going into the fixture with a decent run of 4 victories in all competitions, the last fixture being a home European match against Galatasaray, which they ended up winning by 1-0.

Wayne Rooney will not feature in this fixture with the striker stretchered off few weeks back, while Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are also expected to miss this match, as the presence of Nemanja Vidic will be at most crucial for the Devils.

United has already scored 10 goals of which 3 had been scored by their star signing, Robin van Persie against Southampton FC, which they have conceded 5 goals in their 4 matches, which might be a worry for Sir Alex Ferguson.

Expected Line-up: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Carrick, Scholes; Valencia, Kagawa, Nani; van Persie

Key Players: Shinji Kagawa, Paul Scholes, Robin van Persie

Previous Season Meeting

At Anfield: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United (Gerrard, Hernandez)

At Old Trafford: Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool (Rooney ^[2], Suarez)

2012-13 So Far

Liverpool

(L) 3-0 vs. West Bromwich Albion FC at The Hawthorns

(D) 2-2 vs. Manchester City FC at Anfield

(L) 0-2 vs. Arsenal FC at Anfield

(D) 1-1 vs. Sunderland AFC at The Stadium of Light

Manchester United

(L) 1-0 vs. Everton FC at Goodison Park

(W) 3-2 vs. Fulham FC at Old Trafford

(W) 3-2 vs. Southampton FC at St. Mary’s Stadium

(W) 4-0 vs. Wigan Athletic FC at Old Trafford

Prediction

Liverpool FC 2-2 Manchester United FC

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[Match Day 4] Sunderland AFC vs. Liverpool FC: Preview

• Match at 1730 BST on Saturday, 15^th September 2012.
• Telecast in India on ESPN from 2155 IST.
• Match taking place at The Stadium of Light.

Liverpool travel to Sunderland this weekend to face Martin O’Neill and his men in what promises to be a repeat of the Arsenal debacle, unless Brendan Rodgers can make them score.

The Merseysiders are off to their worst start to a new season in a long time, which has left Rodgers under enormous pressure.

However, his relentless belief in winning games “the Liverpool way” is admirable.

Most new managers who have made the step up to a big club would have had their hand forced under in such circumstances. It has not been the case for Rodgers, so far.

Sunderland FC will look to improve on their league position from last year. In Martin O’Neill, they have a man whose tactical acumen alone will promise them safety from relegation.

Sunderland, with two points from two, currently occupy the 13^th spot in the Premiership standings while Liverpool just have the two clubs trailing them; as they find themselves in the danger zone with just a solitary point to show for in three games played.

Sunderland

Sunderland should get back Lee Cattermole, Phil Bardsley, Wes Brown and David Vaughan into their match day squad for the Reds' visit, as they search for their first league win in the 2012-13 term.

Winger Adam Johnson is likely to miss with a thigh injury, after he withdrew from the England squad for their World Cup qualifiers with Moldova and Ukraine.

Expected Line-up: Mignolet; Cuéllar, O’ Shea, Gardener, McClean; Cattermole, Sessegnon, Colback, Richardson; Larsson, Campbell

Liverpool

Liverpool, embarrassingly, occupy a spot in the relegation zone as it stands in 18th, and despite their rivals not seriously harboring thoughts of fare welling them to the Championship at season's end, it's nonetheless a horrific start to Brendan Rodgers' reign at Anfield.

Adding further scarlet to the faces of those on Merseyside is that they are struggling with a near-fit squad, with just Joe Cole (hamstring) and Lucas (thigh) their only casualties early in the season.

If Liverpool are looking for motivation, the report from Hillsborough Independent Panel on Wednesday might just provide exactly that.

Expected Line-up: Reina; Enrique, Agger, Skrtel, Johnson; Gerrard, Allen, Sahin; Sterling, Suarez, Borini.

Previous Season Meeting

At The Stadium of Light: Sunderland AFC 1-0 Liverpool FC (Bendtner)

At Anfield: Liverpool FC 1-1 Sunderland AFC (Suarez, Larsson)

Key Players

Sunderland: Sessegnon, Larsson

Liverpool: Allen, Gerrard

2012-13 So Far

Liverpool

(L) 3-0 vs. West Bromwich Albion FC at The Hawthorns

(D) 2-2 vs. Manchester City FC at Anfield

(L) 0-2 vs. Arsenal FC at Anfield

Sunderland AFC

(D) 0-0 vs. Arsenal FC at The Emirates

(Postponed) vs. Reading FC at The Stadium of Light

(D) 2-2 vs. Swansea City AFC at Liberty Stadium

Prediction

Sunderland AFC 0-1 Liverpool FC

Remember the Beach Ball? #YNWA

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[LFC History] Part III: Between the Wars

The third title

Back row: W Connell (Trainer), Harry Chambers, Jock McNab, Elisha Scott, Walter Wadsworth, Tom Bromilow, Dick Forshaw. 

Front row: Dave Ashworth (Manager), Bill Lacey, Ephraim Longworth, Donald MacKinlay, Tommy Lucas, Fred Hopkin, George Patterson (Secretary).
On ground: Danny Shone, Harry Lewis.

An opening day thrashing at Sunderland's Roker Park hardly boded well for a renewed assault on the league title, but Liverpool recovered from the 3-0 reverse to bring a third Championship back to Anfield.

The close season saw manager David Ashworth draft in Manchester United winger Fred Hopkin for a hefty £2,800, and the Yorkshireman proved an effective ever-present as the Reds brought sides such as Bradford, Huddersfield, Preston and Aston Villa to heel.

Up front, Harry Chambers and Dick Forshaw battled it out for the title of top scorer, netting an impressive 21 and 20 respectively.

Dick Forshaw

The biggest win of the league campaign came in front of 50,000 supporters at Anfield, Chambers claiming a hat-trick in a 5-1 demolition of high-flying Cardiff. At the other end of the spectrum, a 4-0 defeat at Oldham's Boundary Park was hard to swallow.

Still, despite losing two of the final three games of the season, Liverpool ended 1921-22 as comfortable champions, six points ahead of second-placed Tottenham.

To make things even sweeter, north-west rivals Manchester United were relegated after finishing bottom.

#	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	G.Avg	Pts
1	Liverpool FC	42	15	4	2	43	15	7	9	5	20	21	1.75	57
2	Tottenham	42	15	3	3	43	17	6	6	9	22	22	1.67	51
3	Burnley	42	16	3	2	49	18	6	2	13	23	36	1.33	49
4	Cardiff City	42	13	2	6	40	26	6	8	7	21	27	1.15	48
5	Aston Villa	42	16	3	2	50	19	6	0	15	24	36	1.35	47
6	Bolton Wanderers	42	12	4	5	40	24	8	3	10	28	35	1.15	47
7	Newcastle United	42	11	5	5	36	19	7	5	9	23	26	1.31	46
8	Middlesbrough	42	12	6	3	46	19	4	8	9	33	50	1.14	46
9	Chelsea	42	9	6	6	17	16	8	6	7	23	27	0.93	46
10	Manchester City	42	13	7	1	44	21	5	2	14	21	49	0.93	45
11	Sheffield United	42	11	3	7	32	17	4	7	10	27	37	1.09	40
12	Sunderland	42	13	4	4	46	23	3	4	14	14	39	0.97	40
13	WBA	42	8	6	7	26	23	7	4	10	25	40	0.81	40
14	Huddersfield Town	42	12	3	6	33	14	3	6	12	20	40	0.98	39
15	Blackburn Rovers	42	7	6	8	35	31	6	6	9	19	26	0.95	38
16	Preston North End	42	12	7	2	33	20	1	5	15	9	45	0.65	38
17	Arsenal	42	10	6	5	27	19	5	1	15	20	37	0.84	37
18	Birmingham City	42	9	2	10	25	29	6	5	10	23	31	0.80	37
19	Oldham Athletic	42	8	7	6	21	15	5	4	12	17	35	0.76	37
20	Everton	42	10	7	4	42	22	2	5	14	15	33	1.04	36
21	Bradford City	42	8	5	8	28	30	3	5	13	20	42	0.67	32
22	Manchester United	42	7	7	7	25	26	1	5	15	16	47	0.56	28

Back to Back titles

1st and 2nd row are players that made less contribution to the title triumph among them in top row: Danny Shone (3rd from left), John Bamber (7th) and Cyril Gilhespy (8th).

Harold Wadsworth, Walter's brother is second from right in the 2nd row and Joe Hewitt (Trainer) on the extreme right.
3rd row: Charlie Wilson (Trainer), Billy Lacey, Dick Forshaw, Jock McNab, Walter Wadsworth, Elisha Scott, Donald MacKinlay, Ephraim Longworth, Tom Bromilow, Dick Johnson, Harry Chambers, Fred Hopkin, W Connell (Trainer).
Front row: Matt McQueen (Director), W. Cartwright (Director), E. Bainbridge (Director), R. Martindale (Director), W.R. Williams (Chairman), J. Astbury (Vice Chairman), T. Compton (Director), W. Webb (director), ?, George Patterson (Secretary).

They say it's harder to retain the Championship than to win it in the first place – and the task is made even tougher when your manager jumps ship midway through the season.

But this is exactly what the Reds did in 1922-23 despite the departure in February of boss David Ashworth, who, with his side on the brink of back to back titles, decided to return to the club where he started out, Oldham Athletic.

His decision was never fully explained to the Anfield faithful. It seemed even more bizarre given the fact Oldham were bottom of the League at the time, and indeed went on to suffer relegation.

Thankfully, Ashworth's bombshell didn't affect things on the pitch and Liverpool went on to clinch the Championship by finishing six points ahead of Sunderland.

There were memorable victories against Arsenal (5-2) and Sunderland (5-1) along the way, though the highlight of the campaign undoubtedly came with a 5-1 victory in the Merseyside derby. Liverpool had actually fallen behind early in the game, but an unforgettable victory was sealed thanks largely to top scorer Harry Chambers.

It was he who netted a bullet header to level things up before firing again shortly after the restart. Match reports suggest many Kopites missed the latter because they were still drinking Brown Ale at the bar.

The former shipyard worker went on to complete a hat-trick against the old enemy with a curler from outside the box.

Chambers finished the season with an impressive tally of 25 goals in all competitions, but he wasn't the only star in the title-winning side of 1922-23.

There was Dick Forshaw, who bagged 20 goals including a hat-trick against Preston North End.

Legend: Elisha Scott

Then there was legendary goalkeeper Elisha Scott, an ever present in what was the 10^th of his 22-year Anfield career. What he lacked in size, he made up for in courage and agility, and it's unlikely the title would have once again found its way back to Merseyside without him.

#	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	G.Avg	Pts
1	Liverpool FC	42	17	3	1	50	13	9	5	7	20	18	2.26	60
2	Sunderland	42	15	5	1	50	25	7	5	9	22	29	1.33	54
3	Huddersfield Town	42	14	2	5	35	15	7	9	5	25	17	1.88	53
4	Newcastle United	42	13	6	2	31	11	5	6	10	14	26	1.22	48
5	Everton	42	14	4	3	41	20	6	3	12	22	39	1.07	47
6	Aston Villa	42	15	3	3	42	11	3	7	11	22	40	1.25	46
7	WBA	42	12	7	2	38	10	5	4	12	20	39	1.18	45
8	Manchester City	42	14	6	1	38	16	3	5	13	12	33	1.02	45
9	Cardiff City	42	15	2	4	51	18	3	5	13	22	41	1.24	43
10	Sheffield United	42	11	7	3	41	20	5	3	13	27	44	1.06	42
11	Arsenal	42	13	4	4	38	16	3	6	12	23	46	0.98	42
12	Tottenham	42	11	3	7	34	22	6	4	11	16	28	1.00	41
13	Bolton Wanderers	42	11	8	2	36	17	3	4	14	14	41	0.86	40
14	Blackburn Rovers	42	12	7	2	32	19	2	5	14	15	43	0.76	40
15	Burnley	42	12	3	6	39	24	4	3	14	19	35	0.98	38
16	Preston North End	42	12	3	6	41	26	1	8	12	19	38	0.94	37
17	Birmingham City	42	10	4	7	25	19	3	7	11	16	38	0.72	37
18	Middlesbrough	42	11	4	6	41	25	2	6	13	16	38	0.90	36
19	Chelsea	42	5	13	3	29	20	4	5	12	16	33	0.85	36
20	Nottingham Forest	42	12	2	7	25	23	1	6	14	16	47	0.59	34
21	Stoke City	42	7	9	5	28	19	3	1	17	19	48	0.70	30
22	Oldham Athletic	42	9	6	6	21	20	1	4	16	14	45	0.54	30

Spion Kop gets a roof

The summer of 1928 would mark a significant day in Liverpool Football Club's history.

Spion Kop

But it was not a date that would see the emergence of one of our most illustrious players. Nor was it the fact that club Secretary George Patterson had just replaced the retiring Matt McQueen in the managerial hot-seat.

The Spion Kop opening program souvenir

Instead it saw the development of what would become one of football's most famous stands.

The Spion Kop had already developed a reputation for being one of the most vocal stands in the country, but after undergoing a major revamp that saw it extended to 425 feet by 131 feet, it transformed into an imposing sight for opposition players, housing up to 30,000 standing spectators.     

The most important addition saw it topped by an iron cantilever roof, a feature that would act an as an amplifier for the deafening roars of a passionate crowd that would go on to become one of world football's most talked about stands.

Mr. John McKenna was on hand to officially open it and thus begin a tradition that would stretch well into the 1990s and beyond with fans arriving as early as 11.30am on a match day in order to secure their much coveted place in the famous Kop.

Balmer sets the quickest goal record

Jack Balmer achieved much in his 17-year Anfield career, not least the feat of scoring hat-tricks in three consecutive games in 1946.

Jack Balmer

This wasn't his first entry into the record books, however, because in February 1938 he netted what is thought to be the fastest goal in Liverpool Football Club's long and illustrious history.

Just 10 seconds had passed in the season's second Merseyside derby at Goodison Park when Balmer rippled the back of the net in front of 33,465 largely baffled spectators.

The game finished 3-1 to Liverpool – and what a day it was for their talented striker, who as a boy had been on Everton's books.

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Next: WWII to The Shankly Era.