That'll Do Pig: Liverpool 1 - QPR 0

It wasn't the tonking I and probably others asked for. It wasn't always pretty. But because it was hardly ever stressful, and it ended in three points, and because we've seen performances better than that at Anfield that didn't result in three points, I think that limiting the bitching is probably the best course. When the season ends, we'll only remember the result and not what came with it, and that's fine. Would have been even better if Van Persie didn't completely nail a sumptuous volley to defeat the blue shite, but here we are.

Bullets:

-It's funny, when Suarez links up with some combination of Kuyt, Bellamy, Downing, and especially Maxi, -- today it was Kuyt as a partner with Maxi and Downing behind -- they seem to produce a lot of crosses from wide, and open, unchallenged ones at that. And I find myself saying "Boy, Carroll would have been the perfect weapon for those." But when Carroll is in the lineup, that flowing, intelligent, creative play goes away and none of those crosses are produced. I go out of my way to bend for Carroll, but it's becoming more apparent that right now he just doesn't fit into the stealth, pick the lock style instead of shoot it style that Liverpool are at their best at.

-I also don't know what to make of Luis Suarez. Wonderful player? Of course? Most if not all of the team? Probably. But you can't call him ruthless, his scoring record isn't good enough. But he's not a midfielder charged with creating chances. This isn't mean as a criticism at all, because Suarez is one of the more enjoyable players to watch in a Liverpool shirt than I've ever seen. If only he could import the clinical habits he seems to have with Uruguay. Or if there was someone to finish off what he creates, which was supposed to be Carroll I think. Whatever, at the moment Suarez is at the heart of everything good Liverpool does, but we all have to admit it's taking too many chances for him to score them.

-On the other side, I couldn't be more chuffed that the central pairing of Skrtel and Agger is pretty much everything I hoped it would be. Assured, imposing, and getting better.

-Speaking of getting better, Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson are on that track. Adam has gotten better every match since a bit of a blip in the fall, even doing his defensive responsibilities diligently. What Suarez creates, Adam is setting the stage for. Henderson's box to box routine that's been displayed in recent weeks, and his age, is just starting to -- and I mean this is at the absolute stage one of things -- make me think that the eventual replacement for Steven Gerrard may in fact already be in red.

-Maxi's transformation from a name that I would wake up cursing in the middle of the night to a player i actually look forward to watching interact with Suarez makes me wonder what else is possible in this world.

-Ok, it wasn't vintage stuff. But a performance where Liverpool pretty much carry things, and the only thing Pepe Reina had to do was flap away one cross is more than acceptable, at least when you consider the opponent. It's good enough, and we'll move on from there.