Michael Owen is back. There have been definite signs of late of his return to peak form, but his hat-trick against Villa confirmed that he is now finally back to being the 'old' Michael Owen. The one that defenders all over the world are shit-scared of facing. We haven't seen him for nearly two years, as his hamstring problems reduced him to about 50% of what he is capable of. His finishing was largely unaffected (although he missed some chances last season that he would previously have buried with his eyes shut), but it was obvious that the searing pace wasn't there, nor was the self belief that helps set him apart from the rest. At times, he looked like a little kid playing against men, but not any more. Mickey himself has said that the Southampton game was the turning point for him, and it's not hard to see why. All through last season his body language just wasn't right. His shoulders slumped and the head seemed to be down all the time, as he was clearly not happy with himself. Since that game at the Dell though, he's had a spring in his step again, and Villa won't be the only team to be on the receiving end of an Owen inspired caning this season.
To be fair to Villa though, they were more than a match for us, and it was only the cutting edge provided by our front two that separated the sides (that, and the clown between the sticks for them). Our overall performance was far from impressive, and the second half was simply awful. I've mentioned before that I don't agree with GH's policy of sitting back protecting a lead, but it is something that I think we're going to have to get used to. It doesn't take a fly on the dressing room wall to know what Houllier told the players at half time, as their total lack of ambition in the second half gave it away. Did we cross the halfway line in the second half? If we did then I must have blinked and missed it.
Sitting back and hoofing the ball out of defence to no-one is not how we have been brought up watching football at Anfield, and it's not something we want to see either. When you're three up before half time, you should go on to score five or six. That's what the old Liverpool would have done, and as much as I hate to say it, that's what the mancs do now. Attack is the best form of defence, always has been, always will be. If we've got the ball they can't score. Simply camping out in our own half and allowing the opposition to come at us is inviting trouble, and it was only as matter of time before Villa pulled one back. Thankfully, it came too late, because if they'd grabbed one fifteen minutes earlier then things could have gotten very interesting.
Obviously Gerard Houllier is no fool, and if we can see that this tactic doesn't work I'm sure he can. So why do we do it all the time? I think the biggest problem is that the players can't break quickly and hit teams on the counter attack. Allowing teams to come onto you can be a good ploy if you break quickly when you get the ball, but our counter attacking stinks. We either hoof the ball upfield to no-one in particular, or it takes us so long to get the ball forward that the opposition are all back behind the ball before we're even in their half. As Villa pushed forward, there were gaps that could (and should) have been exploited. As usual, they weren't. Either our counter attacking must improve or we should stop trying to simply defend leads, and go out and increase them instead.
Well, that's my rant over for now, so now I'll try and concentrate on the positives. Obviously Owen was superb and rightly claimed all the post match headlines, but for me Heskey was just as good. The run to set up the opening goal was breathtaking. That's the Emile we want to see. I also thought Hamann had a fine game, albeit in a strange left sided role for most of the game. GH's team selection of Gerrard, Hamann and Carra all in the same side was also rather negative, particularly at home. We got away with it due to the brilliance of the front two, but it's not something I'd like to see him persist with.
I also thought Djimi did well, and recovered well from what happened at the Dell. He had a fine game and made some good forward surges. The quality when he gets in forward positions isn't there yet, but it'll come given time.
The other big plus was the form of Sander. He too bounced back well from the Dell debacle, and this game will have done his confidence the world of good. Some have been writing him off due his recent off colour displays, but he'll come good again.
TEAM: Sander Westerveld; Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz, Djimi Traore; Vladimir Smicer (Nick Barmby), Dietmar Hamann, Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher; Emile Heskey (Erik Meijer), Michael Owen:
