So Far, So Good

I’m trying not to get too carried away but it’s proving to be very difficult at the moment. I think we currently look the best we’ve been since Kenny Dalglish was manager. We have an outstanding squad and everybody is playing well. The new signings have gelled instantly with the team and have come out flying. In turn the great performance’s from the new lads has spurred on the existing players to up their own games in order to try and keep their places.

The performance against Toulouse was absolutely superb and was further proof of how strong our current squad is. We now have two players for every position and four awesome strikers to choose from. It really is mouth watering when you think about it. When you consider that against Toulouse we were missing Carragher and Gerrard and playing youngsters like Leto and Leiva, it’s just further proof of what I was just saying about the depth of the squad.

After a poor second season at Liverpool, Momo Sissoko seems to have found his form again. I’m not sure if it’s the pressure of challenging for his place now that Gerrard is back in the centre, but Momo looks quality again. He was the man of the match against Sunderland, where he capped off a fine display with his first Liverpool goal. He was excellent against Toulouse, winning the ball and passing with superb vision. I think he’s completed more passes in the last two games than he did for the entire second half of last season. It’s great to see him back.

Peter Crouch hasn’t had much playing time so far this season, but against Toulouse he proved once again that he will score goals whenever he’s on the pitch. He now has eight goals in his last ten European starts, which is a phenomenal statistic. His goal on Tuesday night was excellent, and he showed how deadly his long legs are to reach the cross before the defender. He was unlucky not to get another in the second half with a fantastic piece of skill where he controlled the ball in the air with his chest and brought it down with his leg, before shooting over the bar.

Dirk Kuyt also had a fine game against Toulouse. As usual he worked extremely hard and was a constant threat. Throughout the second half I kept on willing him to score as nobody deserved a goal more than him. When his deflected shot hit the crossbar I began to think it just wasn’t going to happen. Then in the last three minutes he scored two outstanding goals. The first came from a nice one-two with Babel and the second from an excellent through ball from Benayoun. It was great to see two of our new signings involved in both of Kuyt’s goals.

There have been whispers from his agent that Benayoun isn’t happy not starting every game. However it didn’t look like he was unhappy against Toulouse. He had a really good game where he was creative and got stuck in. Ryan Babel made another cameo appearance and once again he made an impact. He is an absolutely fabulous talent and it’s frightening just how amazing he might be in a year or two. He really could be as good as Thierry Henry.

Sami Hyppia stepped up to replace the injured Jamie Carragher and took over the captain’s armband. He was an absolute rock and led from the back. His performance was further proof that he is far from finished at the top level. He was outstanding, fully in control at all times and brought the ball forward with great control and passed the ball intelligently. He took his goal well and from the power of the header it’s hard to believe he’d broken his nose just three days earlier.

If we continue playing this well in the coming weeks we will have no problem achieving maximum points. It’s really frustrating that there is an international break next week while we have a momentum going. However it’s an extra week for Gerrard and Carragher to gain fitness without missing games. If I were Derby County I would just concede the three points now because there is strong chance they will get battered on Saturday.

It’s been another great week for Liverpool and the future is looking excellent. We have a series of very winnable games coming up and I have a feeling we have a lot of smiling and cheering in the near future to look forward to.

Ste Speed