On the strength of what I saw yesterday if I were Brendan Rogers I'd try us out with a £1-£2 bid for Bogdan. He's a lot better than Mignolet and if I were NL/PH I'd do my utmost to get him to sign an extension and if he wouldn't sign take the money and buildin 'rising to' clauses because he could become a really good multi million keeper. Lonergan will never be that but he's proved more than capable and well worth a new perhaps improved deal. Meanwhile we could bring through another. Jaaskalainen junior maybe?
I'm sure thats a mistake and you meant £1-2M, but thats pie in't sky, as he's bosnan bound at the end of the season and £2 is probably £2 more than we'll get in July.
Anyway onto the match, was great night for the club. We were well organised, played as a team and kept our shape and line. It was great tactics and it wasn't ultra defensive, it was far from dull, not 19th century and no bus was parked but we were cautious and disciplined. I think we lacked that bit of spark that I saw from the highlights prior to the game of David Lee. We needed someone like him and unfortunately Liam Feeney didn't attack with the fearlessness that Lee did on that night.
With better luck we may have had Clough, Lee, Mark Davies or Clayton playing that role for us but not to be.
Thats the negatives out of the way now for the positives.
Unsure how much to read in the pre-match group huddle, Celtic were known for it and it could amount to nothing but when I saw it last night I though "this team will play for each other" and sure enough they did. We rode out luck a little bit, Bogdan made saves but each one I expected him to make. Stuart Lancaster may be at the replay to see if Mills and Vela could make the change and play for England in the Rugby world cup after their challenges in the first half.
We had 35% possession and no shots on target but this was far from the Freedman-esqe performances that matched those stats. On a day that Bradford, Boro and Palace knocked out the top 3 in England we could have even snatched a win from this. The boys done good. We took more fans than went to Ewood for a Premiership team clash.
It will be a tough ask at home still, Liverpool looked far classier but under Lennon we are a team of hardworkers and grafters who play for the cause and have restored pride back into this club. The draw may have even been a better result financially. Can't wait for the replay. Floodlit and a big gate back at The ReeCron.
Ratings wise: Bogdan 9(He did everything I would expect and I think he should have been more vocal, sure a lot of balls were heading his way but defenders had to clear because of the lack of communication)
Mills 7 Under the pressure from the start after a rugby tackle, had to be subbed to avoid the red and lucky that the ref saw the penalty incident the same way as the Bolton fans
Dervite 7 defensively good but on the ball made some wayward passes
Ream 8 very classy
Moxey 6 our best chance and unfair to stick him in for this match, did ok but wall watched and was indecisive which resulted in two of Liverpools best chances.
Danns 7 Good but sometimes he tries to fanny about and often loses the ball or gets lucky with a fortuitous free kick
Pratley 8 what a turn around. Great engine, good composure. Obviously did more in our half than the opponents but a solid performance from one of our more consistent performers.
Feeney 5 run at the defenders, get a cross in. That should be his job. Didn't do anywhere near enough. Ok its a hard ask as I think we set up as a 5-3-2 but he seemed far too timid.
Vela 7 Good performance but set pieces are key in a game like this and he had a few bad corners that were
Gudjohnson 6 Struggled with the pace of the game, wanted the extra touch. Can't moan about his misses, they weren't sitters.
Heskey 6 Didn't really dazzle on his Anfield return
Wilkinson 6 Don't think he offered an awful lot and didn't run his socks off, considering he's probably 15 years younger than the strikeforce
Spearing 6 very odd sub, can see the logic in taking Mills off but we had Wheater.
Wheater did what we needed, not enough time for a mark
Ref 7 Didn't fall for the two Liverpool chances especially as both were front of the Kop. Can't argue with any bookings but some soft free kicks and some double standards.
Lennon 9 Took from his Celtic experience and set out a great game plan. Not sure why he looked so despondent at half time.