Liverpool vs. Norwich: 10 Things We Learned at Anfield

This was supposed to be the game where Liverpool lay their credentials for a Top Four finish. Slay their newly-promoted opponents as a statement of intent. Match their off-field success in the Hillsborough documentation case with an on-field victory.

As it turned out, none of the above happened.

Paul Lambert took the best team out of the three promoted from the Championship to Anfield and went home with a point.

Shock? Without a doubt. But given Liverpool's profligacy, a point could've been three for the Canaries.

Here are ten things we learned from this Saturday's Anfield match between Liverpool and Norwich.

Liverpool Are Capable of Creating Chances in Abundance

The post-match reaction has, rightly or not, focused on the number of chances that Liverpool did create against Norwich. And a total of 29 shots on goal is a statistic that cannot be ignored.

But for a 10-minute period in the first half and a 20-minute period in the second that Norwich managed a stream of sustained possession, Liverpool had all the control on the Anfield pitch.

When the pacy Craig Bellamy was playing, the pass-and-move football so valued by Dalglish and his team was on show. The overlapping play of both full-backs Jose Enrique and Glen Johnson posed significant trouble for the Norwich defence, and the sheer amount of crosses peppered into John Ruddy's visiting goal was a testament to Liverpool's attacking dominance.

With Bellamy, Stewart Downing, Steven Gerrard, Charlie Adam, Jose Enrique, Glen Johnson, Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson all capable of a telling pass, this is a Liverpool team that has "chances" written all over them.

This much was evident in an encouraging attacking display against Manchester United last week.

But the inability to finish off should-win matches has always been the bane of many a Liverpool side. Now the challenge for Liverpool is that they must find someone to get on the end of these chances.

Liverpool Desperately Need to Work on Their Finishing

29 shots on goal. 9 on target. 1 goal.

That's a 31% on-target-to-shots-taken ratio. A 11% goals-to-shots-on-target ratio. And a 3% goals-to-shots-taken ratio.

That's just about as far away from Liverpool's storied history of illustrious strikers as Kenny Dalglish's current crop can get.

For a team harboring ambitions to be back in the Premier League elite, back in the Top Four, this was a performance featuring all the lack of clinicality that has threatened to be Liverpool's undoing for the past two months.

Let's be honest: Who didn't think Norwich would take advantage of Liverpool's wasteful finishing and leave Anfield with a result?

Football is a results business. For all of the statistics-based player recruitment and team strategy in place at Anfield, the single most important statistic is the final score. And the final score depends on how well you take your chances.

Sunday's Old Trafford Manchester derby was a lesson in clinicality for all to see. Manchester City had 22 shots on goal, 7 on target, and 6 goals.

Craig Bellamy Deserves a Sustained Run in the Liverpool First Team

Following a season on loan in the Championship with Cardiff City, Craig Bellamy's return to Liverpool smelled like a bargain deal for a veteran striker to play as an impact substitute and to offer his experience.

Following an impressive display on his Carling Cup start against Brighton, Craig Bellamy's shout to return to the Liverpool first team was further enhanced by an inspired appearance off the bench against Everton.

And following a fine performance against Norwich, Craig Bellamy has proudly announced, even if he hasn't suggested that in any post-match interview, that his abilities are not yet on the wane and that he deserves a sustained run in the Liverpool first team.

Bellamy fits into Liverpool's pass-and-move traditions and blueprint. His desire to do well for Liverpool still burns. For all of Stewart Downing's crossing ability, he lacks the pace and that spark to inspire. Bellamy can provide that spark.

Now he needs a run of games to build up his on-field rapport with Luis Suarez. And he needs the powerhouse Andy Carroll alongside him to recreate the prolific Bellamy-Shearer partnership that served Newcastle so well so many years ago.

Andy Carroll Needs More Playing Time

But while Craig Bellamy has rightly been getting acclaim for his performance on a rare start, Andy Carroll will have been kicking his heels on the Liverpool bench.

Because this was the game for him to stake his claim for a first-team strike berth.

Given the amount of grief that Suarez caused the Norwich defenders all game and the number of half-chances created, an opportunistic striker like Carroll would have thrived. And given the number of sumptuous crosses delivered into the opposing box during the first half, an aerially dominant force like Carroll would have licked his lips.

Instead, with ten minutes to go, Kenny Dalglish sent on his best header for his best crosser.

And the post-match reaction has been about his crucial last-gasp miss from a whipped Steven Gerrard cross.

That's unfair. Give the boy a break. Rather than criticizing him for missing his first clear-cut chance in almost 180 minutes of game time, Liverpool fans and coaches would do well to reflect on why exactly Andy Carroll has only received one clear-cut chance in this time.

And they'd do well to grant him some starts.

Kenny Dalglish Is Human, After All

Liverpool fans are coming around to the fact that their manager is not actually the next Messiah.

He may be a terrific man manager and motivator, and he may have a few tricks up his sleeve, but in hindsight, he got it wrong on Saturday.

Here are some questions for him to ponder:

Given Lucas' suspension, would it have been a good opportunity for Jordan Henderson to show what he could do in the middle of the park? Henderson's versatility has been touted by Dalglish as one of his key assets, but if he only gets his chances on the right and is sometimes wasted on the left, he won't be making any statements anytime soon.

Given Dirk Kuyt's big-game tendencies and inability to deftly unlock an opposition defence, would it have been more constructive to field an extra striker in Andy Carroll, who also possess a long-range cannon? Kuyt has the workrate and the mentality to make an impact on the biggest stages, but this admittedly was not the biggest stage, and with a resolute Norwich defence, the focus should have been on the creative talents of Luis Suarez and Craig Bellamy.

Given Andy Carroll's aerial prowess and Stewart Downing's crossing ability, would it have been more logical to keep both on the pitch at the same time? Substituting one for the other seemed like a backward step at the time, and it proved as such.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty, but it also allows us to look back on decisions that could have been better made.

Liverpool May Rue Letting Go of Raul Meireles and Alberto Aquilani

During pre-season, the Liverpool fans sang the praises of Alberto Aquilani following some classy performances during the team's trip to Asia.

They claimed that he had finally found his feet in a Red shirt after a season on loan at Juventus, and that he would provide the X-factor that Liverpool had been missing so sorely since Xabi Alonso's departure. Reds owner John Henry claimed that he would provide the spark to a new-look Liverpool side.

In August, the post-match reaction from the Liverpool camp after their win against Arsenal at the Emirates drew deserved attention to the fact that the Reds were able to call on Luis Suarez and Raul Meireles from the bench.

Kenny Dalglish claimed that they were not a bad pair of substitutes to be bringing on. The press claimed that the new Liverpool's strength in depth was in complete contrast to Arsene Wenger's refusal to spend (as it happened, Arsenal had yet to go on their deadline day spending spree), and that this would prove the difference in the two sides come next May.

By the start of September, two players with the ability to shoot from range, to confuse opponents with a dexterous turn or deft flick, to unlock an opposing defence with a telling through-ball or a cross-field pass had been moved on.

And in games that require such magical moments, Liverpool might just come to rue letting go of two midfielders capable of taking away the three points.

Steven Gerrard Is Approaching Full Fitness

The more 90 minutes Steven Gerrard gets under his belt, the closer he gets to full match fitness.

But even when he hasn't gotten back to full fitness, Gerrard produced a performance full of attacking verve and energetic desire. So often the spearhead of Liverpool's attacks under Rafa Benitez's tutelage, he finds himself a more consistent option at the center of the park under Kenny Dalglish.

With the absent Lucas, Gerrard provided the shield in front of Liverpool's defence alongside Charlie Adam. For all of Adam's long-range vision, Gerrard is still the most comfortable with the ball at his feet out of all Reds midfielders.

And he provides an outstanding right foot that causes threats from corners and from right-wing crosses.

One such cross made his way to Andy Carroll's head, and it was unfortunate that the No. 9 had to arch his neck and head wide.

But the more important part of this moment was that Gerrard was still providing such dangerous deliveries at such a late stage in the match.

Given Liverpool's refusal to put the ball in the back of the net, their captain will be as important as ever.

Luis Suarez Is as Frustrating as He Is Brilliant

This is not a picture of Luis Suarez celebrating.

Those two arms are up because of exasperation and frustration, not elation and celebration. It's fair to say that his performance, just like Liverpool's, sent the arms of many a Liverpool fan up in the same way.

So, what can we make of Luis Suarez?

The man is brilliant. There's no doubt about that. He has the swagger, the unpredictability to single-handedly occupy the attentions of a few defenders. He has the dribbling, the acceleration to speed away from them. He has the vision, the creativity to set others up in case he is tightly marked.

But he also has the selfishness, the petulance of a kid. And the man's finishing leaves a lot to be desired.

In this respect, the former Anfield idol he should be compared with is not his predecessor and the oft-touted Fernando Torres, but rather Luis Garcia, the erstwhile wearer of the No. 10 shirt.

On the back of a game where Luis Suarez had the bulk of Liverpool's chances but couldn't put any of them away, he would do well to listen to some advice from the great Bob Paisley:

"If you're in the penalty area and don't know what to do with the ball, put it in the net and we'll discuss the options later."

Norwich Deserve Credit for Their Performance

The majority of the post-match action has been about Liverpool's chance creation and their profligate finishing.

The fact that Norwich went to Anfield, took home a point and might have even stolen all three has gone under the radar just a little bit.

That's unfair on Paul Lambert and his troops.

For all of Liverpool's wastefulness, John Ruddy turned in an inspired performance between the opposing posts, with two brilliant saves from Luis Suarez, first pushing his shot onto the post and then palming a volley over the bar at the death, a particular highlight.

And for all of Liverpool's superiority on paper, while the Norwich players might have seemed a bit daunted by the occasion in the first half, they came out with a renewed hunger in the second.

For a while, Wes Hoolahan seemed a likely outlet for Norwich's attacks. His importance to the Canaries as their central creator-in-chief has long been emphasized, but he supported Steve Morison and latterly Grant Holt superbly as they managed to put together a 20-minute period of sustained possession and attack in the Liverpool half.

There's a reason that Norwich are currently the highest placed (and indeed the only one in the top half of the table) out of the newly-promoted trio. The league table doesn't lie.

There's Still a Place for Good Old Fashioned British Football

Liverpool's squad of eighteen featured ten British players, and their starting eleven boasted six.

Norwich sent on Englishman Grant Holt to score an archetypal British centerforward's goal to complement an all-British starting eleven.

And if Andy Carroll had scored the last-gasp header provided by Steven Gerrard, two England internationals would have combined for yet another typically English goal.

The pass-and-move, cross-heavy and wing-dependent game adopted by both teams on the Anfield pitch on Saturday night showcased the best that the stereotypical British style has to offer. This was not long-ball, second-header, bulldozing play. This was football played on the ground the traditional way, with British roots, with British players.

And while Norwich didn't quite manage the Roy-of-the-Rovers underdog comeback, they acquitted themselves well in one of English football's most famous arenas and brought home an ultimately deserved point.

There's still a place for good old fashioned British football in the modern game.