Despite a lot of huffing and puffing, we eventually managed to overcome the Hammers and get the season off to a winning start, but it was far from convincing. Luckily, we have the best striker in Europe (if not the world) in our side right now, and once again he bailed us out of the shite when we needed him. Michael Owen is the jewel in our crown, and quite frankly was the only hope we had of winning this game. We didn't create much, and to be brutally honest Michael Owen was our only threat throughout this match. The lad is brilliant, and it is becoming a real embarrassment that he is not as appreciated as he should be. If Michael played for any other club, he would be hero worshipped. At Anfield he is not. I'm not going to get into why that is because no doubt the "Disciples of Fowler" will get their knickers in a knot over it and I can't be arsed having to argue the toss with them over it. From this point on in the report I'm not even going to mention Robbie's name, as I'm fed up talking about the whole sorry situation.
This was a gem I thought we'd win handsomely, but then I saw our starting eleven and suddenly didn't feel as confident. For a start, no Gerrard. A big loss, but one which we half expected when he missed ther Charity Shield. Then, no Sander. After his heroics last week, it was unfortunate that he wouldn't be playing, but to be honest this was the type of game when we should have been able to play without a keeper and still have no problems, so it wasn't such a great loss overall. No Berger though, and that is a huge loss. It's no secret how highly I rate Paddy, and we aren't anywhere near as effective when he isn't playing. He gives us flair, creativity, goals and balance. No disrespect to Murphy, but Paddy Berger he ain't.
Added to that, there was no Heskey either. Normally that wouldn't concern me too much, as we could bring in you know who as a replacement, but that wasn't possible today, and Jari had to partner Owen. I love Jari, I think he's a genius and watching him play makes me feel priviledged, but I'd prefer to see him playing behind two strikers rather than one, and given the lack of attacking midfielders in the side I thought we may struggle to get men forward.
We started quite well though, with Didi and Macca controlling the midfield and spraying the ball about well. When we took the lead through a typically clinical Owen finish (it amazes me the way it's claimed that he isn't as natural a finisher as you know who, just look at the variety of goals Mickey scores) I thought that would be the start of an avalanche. West Ham aren't known for grinding out results, and I couldn't see how they'd get back into this game. However, I wasn't accounting for who the referee was. Jeff Winter is a twat. Sorry if the language is a bit strong, but he is.
He is without doubt the most arrogant, self obsessed referee that has ever darkened the door of professional football. The hand gestures, the waving of the arms and the general demeanor of this arrogant, pompous gobshite really turns my stomach. The guy has to be the centre of attention, and as there wasn't too much for him to do in this game, he decided he'd let everyone know he was round (around, shurely) by awarding the Hammers a penalty after Todorov clumsily ran into the back of Henchoz legs and fell over. The decision should have been a free kick to us, but that would be too simple for the "Thespian like Mr Winter."
I'll tell you something about this bastard, which I wanted to write in the fanzine but for legal reasons thought better of it. I believe you can get away with a lot more on the internet, so I'll take my chances in writing it here (if this site is suddenly closed down and you see me selling the Big Issue in Church Street then you'll know that Big Jeff has sued my arse!). The night before the Cup Final, a friend of mine was on the town in Cardiff, and who should he see out but Jeff Winter. I'm told that he was sliming his way up to every bird in sight, asking them if they'd like to "be with a top Premiership referee."
Now this friend of mine couldn't help but chastise Winter for his ridiculously piss poor performance in the Goodison Derby, and made the point that whenever the cameras are about, Winter starts flashing cards all over the place. Winter's response was "When I see a camera I get a f**king hard on." He later ended up pulling some bird and began singing "One nil, to the Super Ref" (which to be fair actually made him go up in my estimations slightly!).
Another thing about Winter is that he will book Jamie Carragher every time he referees a Liverpool game. The reason for this seems to be that Carra slagged him off in the Liverpool Echo after the derby game, accusing him of playing to the cameras and wanting to be the centre of attention. Since then, Winter has refereed us twice. Away at Bradford, when Carra was booked for the most trivial of fouls, and today, when again, Carra was booked, although this time I haven't got the slightest clue why, as I certainly didn't see anything untoward. Watch out for it though, as the next time he refs one of our games, I guarantee Carra will end up in his notebook.
Anyway, enough about the theatrical Mr Winter. Di Canio scored the coolest pen you'll ever see, and from then on it became hard going for the reds. We lost our way, and Murphy and Biscan were awful. I said that I expect big things from Igor this season, and I still do, but not when he's playing on the wing. He's lost out there, and surely Barmby would have been a better option? As it was, Nicky came on and made a difference, as did Riise and Redknapp. Jamie was excellent when he came on, and I was so pleased to see him back. I spoke to a couple of lads who went to the reserve game in Sheffield last week, and they were raving about Jamie's performance. He's still a few weeks away from full fitness, but it's great to see him back.
Riise did very well too I thought, and gave us a lot more balance on the left. I love Carra to bits, but in games when the emphasis is on attack, I'd go with Riise (or even Vignal) over JC. For a tough away game though JC's your man.
We had started to build up a head of steam as the second half went on, but I just couldn't see a goal coming. Owen was the only realistic hope, as for some reason Jari was refusing to shoot at all. Twice he had excellent opportunities, only to try and play a difficult pass instead. As I said, Jari's a genius, but maybe he should be a bit more selfish in future. His performance was still top class though.
Redknapp and Barmby's arrival on the flanks seemed to give the side a lot more impetus, and the goal we so craved finally arrived through man of the moment Owen. The finish was brilliant. Lovely footwork to create the space, and a wonderfully placed shot which gave Hislop no chance. Six in three games now for St Michael, and if he stays fit he's a certainty to finish the Prem's top goalscorer. In fact, if he stays injury free, he should top the forty goals mark this term. Maybe then he'll receive the appreciation he deserves, although I doubt it.
So despite the somewhat unconvincing display, we gort off to a winning start, and when the likes of Heskey, Gerrard, Smicer and Berger return, we'll be a lot more creative than we were today. Winning without playing well is something which Champions do, and if we are to reclaim that honour then we'll need to dig deep like we did today. It wasn't pretty, but the three points was all that mattered, and the winning run continues.
TEAM: Pegguy Arphexad; Markus Babbel (John Arne Riise), Sami Hyypia, Stephane Henchoz , Jamie Carragher; Igor Biscan (Nick Barmby), Dietmar Hamann, Gary McAllister, Danny Murphy (Jamie Redknapp); Michael Owen, Jari Litmanen:
