Thoughts from Anfield;
Liverpool really aren't very good. Nothing very exceptional about any of their players. Easy to get at in defence, huge gaps all over the midfield and in the fullback positions.
Sterling is dangerous because he's so quick and agile and can wriggle out of tight spots but his delivery and ball striking technique is average. If that. And that's why he will never be a real top player. People comparing him to Bale are having a laugh. Bale had a wand of a left foot right from the beginning, he exploded when he developed into one of the best athletes in the game. Sterling doesn't have anything like the same goal scoring potential in him. He'll always score the majority of his goals though his speed and movement, he can't hit a ball well enough to rack up good numbers.
Balotelli worked hard and is a very good focal point up front, in the sense that be has the strength and technique to hold defenders off pretty comfortably, but he let's himself down in his distribution once he's got the ball. His head is permanently down with the ball at his feet unless there's a chance for him to impress with a flick or a through ball. No concept of how he integrates into an attack and how it all moves around him. He still has so much to learn tactically and he needs a good manager to teach him. Looks like he's a bit too heavy right now too, very laboured in his movement, definitely not the quick, fleet footed Balotelli of a few years back.
Gerrard's old and slow as hell. He was very disappointing to watch on the night. Gave the ball away loads with over ambitious passes, he did do a fair bit of good work defensively but he's so lapse at times its unbelievable. There's just nothing to him anymore.
Henderson's a strange player; looks quite good and then looks like a pub player for 5 minutes. Can get about the pitch though that's about the best you can say about him.
Lovren isn't half as good as he's cracked up to be on here. He made some decent tackles and interceptions but was also very rash at times and looked a bit of a donkey when players were running at him. Just generally lacking tactically. He's not a leader or an organiser back there.
Sakho is better than he looks because he looks a complete donkey every time he moves in any direction. But he's strong in the tackle and in the air, surprisingly effective when passing forward and not as slow as I thought across the ground. He's decent.
Moreno is a bit meh and flatters to deceive. Got forward a lot but most of he time did very little with it and was permanently missing from his defensive position whenever Ludogorets attacked - their right back was very impressive and exposed Moreno's poor positioning and Sterling's poor tracking all night long.
Mignolet is dodgy. Awful for Ludogorets' goal (what on earth is he doing coming out there?) but his parrying of the ball into dangerous areas was just as bad. Strong on high balls though.
Lallana and Coutinho are just average footballers. Nothing to them. Decent touch and technique but so powder puff and lack any sort of cutting edge. A trademark Arsenal attacking midfielder if you like!
Atmosphere at Anfield was disappointing. All the talk of the fans there and how special it is, but first night back in the Champions League for 5 years and I didn't hear a word from them until they scored. It's very similar to the Emirates in that fans are used to watching a team that is better than most they face so they sit back and enjoy the show. We get a bad rap at the Emirates but the perceived difference is mostly down to the singing of YNWA at the start; which is loud and gets the stadium rocking and the fact that when the Kop finally decides to make some noise it reverberates around the stadium because it's quite small and the stands are very close to the pitch. In reality they don't really make anymore noise than we do. It's all smoke, mirrors and history fooling people.
Ludogorets were so unlucky. They gave a great account of themselves and had two or three really decent players. The right back and Marcelinho in midfield spring to mind. Thoroughly deserved at least a draw on the night and was truly gutting the way they lost it in the end. Their fans were great and didn't stop the whole game and it was a great moment when they scored. I went mental with them! I was gutted for my mate, although, once he'd calmed down he was proud of his home town team.
I will say this for the Liverpool fans; there was the usual goading from a load of inbred Scousers when they scored, but they did clap the Ludogorets fans as they were leaving, not just a few of them either. I'm sure it would have been a different story had it stayed 1-1 though.
All in all, it was a proper fun night of football, partly because I haven't been to even an Arsenal match for far too long, but also because Anfield is a great old stadium and arena to watch football in.
Oh yeah, and Brendan Rodgers looks like a little oompah loompah on the touchline. A little oompah loompah in a little cheap suit.
