Positives from Villa game

[akjs123]

Apart from the obvious, Torres and Babel(in his cameo) showed they wont take much time adapting to the league. It was good to see that Torres had no problem whatsoever dealing with the physical side of the game. Now they both just need to form an understanding with the rest of the team.
The late win was good not just for the 3 points but for the confidence and belief of the team and it is this belief that wins titles. Remember Stevie G saying after Istanbul that the late win against Olympiacos gave them a feeling that they could go all the way in CL.

Edit: I just saw the replay of Stevie's goal and it is interesting to see when he runs up to take the freekick, the Crow is already running across their defenders and making sure that if their keeper makes a save, he is the first to reach it. Till last season, we had only Garcia who was our only player to go for rebounds instead of ball watching and it is good to see that the Crow is similar in this aspect.
Plus it will be good both for Liverpool and Stevie G that he scored so early in the season unlike last season where his first goal came in November.

[stevie_gerrard_8]

Im surprised to see how strong Torres is. He doesn't look strong but he knows where to put his body, and caused the villa defence all sorts of problems.

He can create chances out of nothing which is the main thing for me.

[badpiggy]

gonna use this thread to make a point regarding sg whose free kick today was a thing of sublime beauty and can't be over-emphasised as a positive. my point anyway is the pointlessness of this whole "we rely on sg to get us out of trouble" horse**** - what the **** else are we supposed to do? do people say this when ronaldinho scores for barca or kaka for milan? "argentina were alright in the 80's but they relied too much on mardona"!

other things:

babel has the potential to kill someone with his shots. lets just hope it's rio ferdinand in the stretford end of the "theatre of dreams :whatever:"

the amount of our players who are comfortable on the ball and can perform necessary but basic skills without f/uckin it up - trapping the ball, taking a pass, first touch that doesn't necessitate sprinting after the ****in ball the minute it hits your knee... special mentions to babel and torres here.

arbeloa. 2 million was it? sweet. silky player.

rafa's beard is settling nicely. the edges have met up a bit more. beards can be troublesome for spaniards etc.. they're either mad uberbears that cover the whole face within a few days or wispy boybeards.

[stevie_gerrard_8]

gonna use this thread to make a point regarding sg whose free kick today was a thing of sublime beauty and can't be over-emphasised as a positive. my point anyway is the pointlessness of this whole "we rely on sg to get us out of trouble" horse**** - what the **** else are we supposed to do? do people say this when ronaldinho scores for barca or kaka for milan? "argentina were alright in the 80's but they relied too much on mardona"!

other things:

babel has the potential to kill someone with his shots. lets just hope it's rio ferdinand in the stretford end of the "theatre of dreams :whatever:"

the amount of our players who are comfortable on the ball and can perform necessary but basic skills without f/uckin it up - trapping the ball, taking a pass, first touch that doesn't necessitate sprinting after the ****in ball the minute it hits your knee... special mentions to babel and torres here.

arbeloa. 2 million was it? sweet. silky player.

rafa's beard is settling nicely. the edges have met up a bit more. beards can be troublesome for spaniards etc.. they're either mad uberbears that cover the whole face within a few days or wispy boybeards.

Thats one of the main differences from last year IMO. We are so much better technically than last year with players like Benayoun, Torres and Babel. The ball is stuck to their feet like glue.

[Red_Al_77]

If SG continues in the same vein then I think we'll have a cracking season. Hopefully Rafa can keep Masher and Momo happy. Babel looks good for the right or left. Reina had a nervous day but like the rest of the team he was a little rusty. The signs were good and its a great start to the season.

[Dhav]

gonna use this thread to make a point regarding sg whose free kick today was a thing of sublime beauty and can't be over-emphasised as a positive.

Indeed. That winner cannot be overestimated. If we started another season with another draw in a game where we really should have won comfortably by throwing the game away in the last 5 mins i think it would have been a devastating blow and would have set the tone for the rest of the season. On the other hand, snatching the win so late, against a tricky opponent away from home, after quite an impressive performance should be a massive confidence boost. After the performance and result today I am really optimistic for the season ahead.

Consider how well the players who came on did (Momo excepted, although we know how good he can be), and then further consider that Crouch, Mascherano, and Benayoun, proven EPL and international players, didn't even make the bench.

I think we're ready.

[Biff]

Something that I did enjoy about our play is how we quickly broke forward as a unit....we now have some quick players.

If I have a criticism of anything today it was Kuyt.......he did well overall but a few times he slowed things down for when we were moving forward at speed and we thus lost some momentum. Also he had a cracking chance in the 1st half that was begging top be hit yet decided to pass. HOWEVER theses are only minor points.

Perhaps the biggest plus for me was we could leave Crouch, Benayoun and Mascher out of the travelling party and still look worthy winners....

[peekay]

gonna use this thread to make a point regarding sg whose free kick today was a thing of sublime beauty and can't be over-emphasised as a positive.

The placement was brilliant.Now thinking back on the game I felt every time Gerrard had a chance it looked like he was trying to place it/curve it around the goalkeeper than going for his trademark cannonball shot. Maybe something Rafa has been working on to make him an even more complete player

[Kenneth]

gonna use this thread to make a point regarding sg whose free kick today was a thing of sublime beauty and can't be over-emphasised as a positive. my point anyway is the pointlessness of this whole "we rely on sg to get us out of trouble" horse**** - what the **** else are we supposed to do? do people say this when ronaldinho scores for barca or kaka for milan? "argentina were alright in the 80's but they relied too much on mardona"!

other things:

babel has the potential to kill someone with his shots. lets just hope it's rio ferdinand in the stretford end of the "theatre of dreams :whatever:"

the amount of our players who are comfortable on the ball and can perform necessary but basic skills without f/uckin it up - trapping the ball, taking a pass, first touch that doesn't necessitate sprinting after the ****in ball the minute it hits your knee... special mentions to babel and torres here.

arbeloa. 2 million was it? sweet. silky player.
rafa's beard is settling nicely. the edges have met up a bit more. beards can be troublesome for spaniards etc.. they're either mad uberbears that cover the whole face within a few days or wispy boybeards.

So true. I can understand why the Deportivo were gutted to see him leave for a couple of million.

He needs to watch his celebrations though, almost took Kuyt's head off jumping into the huddle after Stevie's winner.

[Red Chilli]

Pepe always seems half asleep in August and September.

Looking forward to a cople of dozen clean sheets again

[akjs123]

Although Babel wasnt on the pitch for too long, its not hard to see why he has been brought in. He is our only wide player who is pacy, direct, loves to take on players and who will be a big goal threat ala Robben/Ronaldo, the difference being the later 2 are wingers. Methinks Rafa really really wants the league this season. Lets hope he gets Heinze to complete our squad for this season.

[carheex]

The biggest positive from today's game is that we got three points again, playing with only 10 men. Alonso doesn't contribute enough to be counted - shame because I used to really like him. Just imagine how good we'd be with 11 men all making an effort!!!

[alunevans]

another positive was that free kick. stevie's never really been a great free kick taker. has this been something he's been practising over the summer to get that additional skill in his locker.

if so, it'll get him even more goals this year.

[Revo]

the biggest positive was rafa actually tried and went for the away win. we looked a millions miles better than last seasons opening performance

[Red Chilli]

another positive was that free kick. stevie's never really been a great free kick taker. has this been something he's been practising over the summer to get that additional skill in his locker.

if so, it'll get him even more goals this year.

That was an absolute pearler. Beckham would've been proud of that strike.