Let’s be honest….

By: James | September 22nd, 2008

I felt it necessary to reply to anybody still claiming that Steven Gerrard’s offside goal should have stood and that it is for this reason that Liverpool did not win against Stoke City at home. What a lovely excuse this is to cover up Liverpool’s shortcomings in front of goal at Anfield on Saturday.

Stoke did well to stick to a game plan and got the result they deserved. However it is very rich, comic even,despite whether the decision was right or wrong, for a club talking of winning the Premiership before a game to be pointing to one moment in the game (after only two minutes!) that apparently changed the its whole course. True champions should be clattering home goals from all angles in a match against a newly promoted outfit surely?

Yes, you can be pedantic and obsess over statistics aferwards but statistics do not win you games, as the Reds found out the hard way. Stoke may have had hardly any possession and hardly attacked Reina’s goal at all, but give them credit where it is deserved, for despite all of this they ground out a point, which they need to be doing this term if they want to stay up.

You only have to look back as far as last season to Derby’s Premiership campaign after their promotion from the Championship to see that. Attack these big teams, open up the floodgates and you will pay a devastating price. Derby of course ended their season with the lowest amount of points ever recorded for a Premiership side and were relegated by the end of March.

Stoke were resolute against a big side, proving that they would not be bullied and had every intention of staying up this season. Any talk of Stoke ‘ruining football’ for the fans is ridiculous and I feel this does not even warrant any further mention. What do you expect, it is Stoke City after all. If you want sexy football you can look elsewhere. If you like to see good, committed, tactical football then you’re in the right company.

So Liverpool fans, surely if you are good enough to win the Premiership you shouldn’t be relying on one decision to win you a game over a newly promoted side? At the end of the day you can play and pass the ball really well all day and this you did, but chances need to be taken. So swallow your pride and applaud Stoke for getting behind the ball and getting something out of a game that wasn’t expected. Fairplay to them.