In his defence it came at him from the wrong side for a left footer (coming from the right and letting it go across your body and then striking it is an easier technique than striking it when it comes from the same side as the foot you'd strike it with) and it was slightly into his feet rather than a touch in front, but as you say, ASI, Pepe was superb in delay and distracting him. Super keeper sweeper.
I think the thing is that we now have people on the pitch who can
make a difference in pressurised situations: Reina, Lucas, Agger &
maybe Enrique spring to mind. City are the top team in the division
at the moment and it's guaranteed (despite their setback against Napoli)
they would have walked all over a lesser team. Silva's a class act
who would normally have put that ball away in his sleep. It's a
measure of the difficult afternoon he was having from our lads that he
hesitated and made the wrong decision.
It's been nice having Carra & Gerrard out for one reason, because this
time (for the first time) players are stepping up.
Let's be honest about it, Henderson can't tackle at the level required
in the Premier league yet (neither can Adam, imo). What was great
about yesterday is that Henderson got a game because (as far as
I can see) Gerrard and Bellamy were out. That's the way it should be.
What Jordan did yesterday is, he did his best, put pressure on the opposition
high up the pitch. That's enough at this stage from him (anyone who's seen the
level at which Lucas now plays may remember he couldn't tackle and didn't know
where to position himself when he first started out with us).
The point is you can coach tackling and positioning and a lot of it comes with
experience. BUT YOU CAN'T REALLY COACH WHAT HENDERSON HAS, HIS NATURAL
ATHLETICISM. The only question about him is whether he is mentally tough
the way Lucas is.
