Malaysia XI 3 Liverpool 6

This time last year we were in a malaise. Now we’re in Malaysia (sorry – terrible pun!) having played two pre-season games and achieved 2 wins; 10 goals for; 6 goals against. Two of those stats are good and were achieved without Reina, Skrtel, Johnson, Gerrard, Lucas, Suarez and new signings Henderson and Downing.

Pre-season is a time for optimism and so far our games have only fuelled that feeling. Once again we fielded two different XIs versus Malaysia. Just as I did for the Guangdong game, I’m going to compare the players from each half and pick the best player for each position.

1st Half........2nd Half
Jones...........Gulacsi / Hansen
Flanagan......Kelly
Carragher.....Kyrgiakos
Agger...........Wilson
Robinson......Insua
Spearing.......Shelvey
Coady...........Poulsen
Adam............Aquilani
Cole..............Kuyt
Meireles........Maxi
Carroll..........Ngog

Jones v Gulacsi / Hansen
Jones had little to do and was beaten by a stunning free kick. Gulacsi had nothing to do. Jones had plenty to do and dropped a clanger to gift Malaysia their second goal of the game. Jones was the pick of the bunch.

Flanagan v Kelly
Flanagan had a rotten game. He struggled with the Malaysian’s pace, conceded a number of free kicks due to poor challenges and was ineffective on the ball. By comparison, Kelly was strong and assured. Kelly wins at a canter.

Carragher v Kyrgiakos
Carragher was faultless throughout the first half. Kyrgiakos was faultless for much of the second half but, along with his teammates, looked lost as the defence collapsed late in the game. Carragher wins.

Agger v Wilson
Agger was a bit hit and miss. Towards the end of the first half, some of his passes were going astray or dangerously close to opponents. That said, he was at least trying to play football from the back. Wilson, like Kyrgiakos, was faultless up until the collective collapse when Malaysia looked as though they could score at will. He was the closest man to Malaysia’s goal scorer for their third goal although it seemed the attacker was offside. Agger just shades it.

Robinson v Insua
Robinson had another decent game but Insua was excellent. Insua racked up a couple of assists and could have had more but for others’ finishing. On this showing, Insua should be Liverpool’s first choice left-back in the coming season. Insua wins.

Spearing v Shelvey
Spearing had a decent game, moving the ball around well and covering a lot of ground. Shelvey was even better though, looking like a real player. Shelvey wins.

Coady v Poulsen
Both players seemed to let the game pass them by making it very hard to choose between them. Being totally honest, I’d pick Poulsen ahead of Coady on this showing.

Adam v Aquilani
Adam was again hit and miss. He played some excellent passes from deep and had improved mobility since the last game. He also got on the score sheet after having to take then retake a penalty, scoring on both occasions. On the downside, he conceded a needless free-kick from which Malaysia equalised. Aquilani was simply fantastic. The build up for the fourth goal was pass and move football at its best and illustrated the folly of loaning out the Italian and Insua last season. Adam was good but Aquilani wins.

Meireles v Kuyt
Meireles had a stinker here. He struggled to control the ball, looked off the pace and delivered nothing. Kuyt was much-improved on his showing versus Guangdong and slammed in the sixth goal after a great build up involving Aquilani. Kuyt wins.

Cole v Maxi
Cole looked OK again but ultimately delivered no end product. Maxi started badly but improved and scored twice. Maxi wins.

Carroll v Ngog
Carroll looked isolated and had to feed off scraps. By contrast, Ngog enjoyed excellent service from teammates enabling him to score twice. Carroll also won the first half penalty with a dive. Ngog wins.

So after two games, who has impressed. To me, the star of pre-season so far has been Alberto Aquilani. I’ve also been impressed with Insua and Kelly. Looking at David Ngog, I can’t help but feel he is worth keeping for this season. You would expect him to be behind Carroll in the pecking order and, based on last season, you would think King Kenny will play Kuyt up front before Ngog. However, unless we are going to sign another striker, Ngog would be a decent third or fourth choice striker. When his confidence is intact, he’s a good player.

Poulsen is surely not part of the plans for the coming season and it is probably too soon to expect Coady to make the breakthrough. Both will find competition for a midfield berth intense with Lucas, Adam, Aquilani, Meireles, Henderson, Spearing and Shelvey all currently in contention.

Based on how we have lined up so far, Cole and Meireles have been used as the wide players in a 4-2-3-1 formation. If Meireles is to stay at the club, this position makes sense for him from the perspective that it neutralises his defensive deficiencies in central midfield. However, with Downing, Adam, Maxi, Gerrard and Kuyt all in contention for those same positions, it could be difficult for either Cole or Raul to hold down a place in the first XI.

The fact that Maxi has just been handed the No. 11 squad number, suggests he is part of Kenny’s plans for this season. Why change the squad number if the player is likely to depart?

What is really encouraging is the number of decent players in contention for positions all around the pitch. I still have concerns that none of the midfield options are of such quality that the top teams around Europe would be queuing up to sign them.

I also still harbour doubts over Andy Carroll but I’m willing to give him time. So far in pre-season, there has been little to choose from between him and David Ngog. Given that Carroll cost £35m and Ngog cost £1.5m, you would expect a gulf in ability but that has yet to materialise. Hopefully, with the likes of Downing, Adam and Gerrard supplying quality service, we will see Carroll develop into another Didier Drogba (but without the diving and petulance). We will see.

Right now I’m feeling good and that’s no bad thing with a new season fast approaching.