I've said before that I don't like doing reports on games that I haven't actually attended, and usually if I'm not at a game I'll know someone who was, and get them to do the report. I don't know anyone who went to Finland though, so I've had to do it myself based on what I saw on good old channel five. I should say at this point that I'd much rather channel five show our games than the BBC, as at least C5 actually want us to win, unlike Motty, Davies, Lawro & co. However, was there really any need for the amount of references made to Heysel in Gary Bloom's commentary? It seemed like every five minutes he'd bring it up. Yes, it was a poignant occasion, being our first game in the European Cup since that terrible night, but Bloom went way overboard in my opinion.
It's fair to say that I don't think too much of Ray Houghton as a commentator either. His bizarre accent really grates with me, and he has an annoying habit of pointing out the spectacularly obvious. My judgement on him may be slightly clouded though, as it was his arrival at Anfield that ultimately forced out Craig Johnston, who next to Walshy was my all time favourite red. Still, anything is better than Barry Davies and Mark Lawrenson I suppose.
As for the game, well it went pretty much as you'd expect. The first half was dire, as we struggled to come to terms with their offside trap and enthusiasm. As soon as I saw them playing that way though I knew we'd get a bagful. Firstly, games like this are always a bit tight at the start, but as the game progresses, the better side will always eventually wear down the minnows. Secondly, and if I've said this once I've said it a million times, defending on the halfway line against us is simply asking for a hammering.
Teams that do that inevitably end up on the end of an Owen hat-trick. Just ask Newcastle. It may have taken us a while to get used to their offside trap, but you knew that after half time we'd be better prepared for it, and that GH and Thommo would have got the message out for the strikers to hold their runs a bit more. That's exactly what happened, and to be fair we really should have had ten in this game.
The first goal was a beauty. Stevie G's first touch to turn away from his man from wonderful, and when he gets into crossing positions on the right the outcome is starting to become predictable. Right now he's almost on a par with Beckham in terms of crossing the ball, and given another year or so I expect he'll be even better. Unlike the dim witted manc though, Stevie can do a hell of a lot more besides whipping over quality crosses.
Owen received all of the plaudits after this game following another hat-trick (how many match balls has he picked up so far in his short career? If he carries on at this rate he'll break every record in the book), but the real star for me was Patrik Berger. I admit that I'm biased towards Paddy with him being my favourite current player and all (and also being right up there with Walshy and Skippy on my all time favourites list), but the guy is a truly WORLD CLASS midfield player who has to be one of the most under-rated players in the Premiership.
Paddy is one of the best attacking midfield players in Europe, yet he is never given the recognition he deserves. When Rangers were said to be interested in signing him a few weeks ago, the figure the press came up with was £7m!!!! The same fee that Rangers are about to pay for Michael Ball!!! See what I mean about him being under-rated?
Just because he's a quiet, unassuming family man who shies away from the limelight, the press don't seem to ever mention him. Some of our own fans don't even seem to appreciate exactly how good Paddy is, and I've actually heard people calling him 'lazy, ' which is like calling Michael Owen 'slow, ' Luke Chadwick 'handsome' or Mark Viduka 'modest.' Patrik Berger is a fantastic player, and we are very lucky to have him. He is probably the hardest working player in the side, and covers more ground than anyone else (with the possible exception of Barmby). Houllier has said several times that Berger is responsible for one third of our goals (either scoring or creating), and when he's fit he's one of the first names on the teamsheet.
We missed him last season, and had he been fit we'd have gone a lot closer in the league in my opinion. When people talk about which players at Anfield are world class, who are the names that spring to mind? Owen, Gerrard and Hyypia would certainly make most people's list. Babbel and Litmanen would too I expect, and there'd be plenty making a case for Fowler, but not too many would include Paddy. After this season hopefully they'll change their minds.
If he doesn't pick up any more injuries, Paddy is a certainty to get into double figures, and he'll probably have around 15 assists too. Will that be enough to gain him some well deserved plaudits? Probably not, because he lets his feet do the talking and doesn't go looking for the nearest camera as soon as the match finishes. This game was a classic example of Paddy not getting his due recognition. I taped the game and watched it twice, and Paddy was far and away our best player on the night. It wasn't even close, he was head and shoulders above everyone. His work rate was phenomenal, and he was everywhere. He laid on two goals for Owen, set up numerous other clear cut chances and turned in a fine all round performance. Owen scores a hat-trick though and Paddy's contribution is largely overlooked in the media.
I mentioned in my Wolves report last week that he was outstading in the first half of that game, playing in a central midfield role. In this game his role was slightly different, but he was allowed license to roam infield, and was not restricted to playing on the left hand side. The formation adopted tonight is something which we are bound to see a lot more of this season, as it is Houllier's favoured way of playing. It's how the French play, and depending on the opposition, it's how we'll play quite a lot this year (although I can't see us operating this way if we get Real Madrid away in the CL!).
I like the diamond midfield formation a lot, and unlike in previous years, we now have the players to make that formation work. The key to it is Jari Litmanen. Jari is a genius, and the prospect of him playing behind the likes of Owen, Fowler and Heskey, with players such as Paddy, Stevie G, Gary Mac, Vlad, Barmby etc surrounding him suggests that we will be in for an exciting season. I thought Jari was excellent against Haka, and I was really disappointed to see him substituted. However, with his recent history of injuries, it's better to be safe than sorry and Jari should be wrapped in cotton wool this year because he could be the key to our success.
Haka are a poor side, and although it was encouraging the way we played, there's no point in taking this result too seriously. We could now field the academy side in the second leg and still go through (as long as I wasn't there jinxing them of course!), but I expect Gerard will use that game as an opportunity to give the rest of his squad a run out. The likes of Redknapp, McAllister, Barmby, Biscan, Heggem & co will probably feature, and hopefully we'll see a few more goals. If Haka adopt that suicidal offside policy again, then we certainly will do.
TEAM: Pegguy Arphexad; Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz , Jamie Carragher; Steven Gerrard (Danny Murphy), Dietmar Hamann, Patrik Berger, Jari Litmanen (Gary McAllister); Michael Owen, Emile Heskey (Robbie Fowler):
