Liverpool Thread

Re: Liverpool Thread

Sorry, but Liverpool are becoming a long-ball team when Crouch
plays. It reminds me of the days Wimbledon played with Fashanu, Wise,
Sanchez...remember that team which beat Liverpool in the FA cup final in 88.

Crouch is a good player, no doubt. But what I saw yesterday was
a Liverpool team trying to play long-ball stuff, and hardly keeping
more than 2 passes in a row when in the opposing half.
Luis Garcia....dear oh dear...why can't this guy keep the ball....
why does he keep trying these fancy tricks all the time.

I'm not being too critical, but i think we played much better football
last season. We played it on the ground, and did it well.
Maybe it's too early in this season, because I think we're currently
focusing on being defensively solid. But this long-ball tactic which
was supposed to be used only to mix things up, is now becoming our #1
tactic....
I just hope this is temporary, and not permanent.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

mathewsss said:
Sorry, but Liverpool are becoming a long-ball team when Crouch
plays. It reminds me of the days Wimbledon played with Fashanu, Wise,
Sanchez...remember that team which beat Liverpool in the FA cup final in 88.

Crouch is a good player, no doubt. But what I saw yesterday was
a Liverpool team trying to play long-ball stuff, and hardly keeping
more than 2 passes in a row when in the opposing half.
Luis Garcia....dear oh dear...why can't this guy keep the ball....
why does he keep trying these fancy tricks all the time.

I'm not being too critical, but i think we played much better football
last season. We played it on the ground, and did it well.
Maybe it's too early in this season, because I think we're currently
focusing on being defensively solid. But this long-ball tactic which
was supposed to be used only to mix things up, is now becoming our #1
tactic....
I just hope this is temporary, and not permanent.
Click to expand...

i think the problem at the moment is there's no natural width and crouch is at times the only outlet so the ball keeps getting played long to him, personally i think he's gonna be a success as he's got a lot of ability plus seems to have a good football brain

we played rafa's valencia side 3 times a couple of years ago (twice in the cl and one pre season friendly at anfield) they used 4-5-1 in all 3 games and tore us to shreds at times with some of the football they played, in fact they were probably the best away side i've seen at anfield, i believe this is how rafa wants us to play but at the moment we're missing the width and things haven't been helped with mark gonzalez failing to get a work permit and benfica pulling out of the simao deal at the last minute

the nucleus of the team is already there and we're looking solid compared to last season, it's now a case of getting the missing pieces of the jigsaw (we may already have one of them if harry kewell can get fit and replicate his form at leeds)

i just think people need to be patient, rafa's getting the system in place now so the players are used to it then when he gets the players he wants they should hopefully be able to fit in and gel quickly instead of everyone being used to a 4-4-2 then having to get used to 4-5-1, until then i think we're gonna see some scrappy football especially when teams put a lot of men behind the ball
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Whats up with the Crouch hating? I think Crouch is a perfect partner for another striker. His height is such an unfair advantage to you lot. Its so easy for him to get the ball down from the air and hold it up for people to make runs. Some times he doesnt even have to jump. Imagine what Owen could have done alongside Crouch.

IMO, Crouch could be Owen's partner with England with Rooney moving into midfield behind both strikers.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

If we draw all our games, then we'll have 38 points and will probably just avoid relegation.:D Got to agree with fishcake (welcome back, buddy, where ya been?) - we're still in the transitional phase. Valencia tore us apart and I also remember a Rivaldo-inspired Barcelona performance at Anfield, which shocked me in it's dominance over us. Thankfully, we are not too far away from being an excellent side. We do need to use the wings a lot more, and some of the players are going to have to learn to go on the outside rather than trying to take it inside all the time.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I understand your frustration with the long ball MatthewSSS, but i am hoping its just a temporary crutch (. . or Crouch) until we get the width everyone here is talking about.

Having said, that, i think there were moments in the game where we strung together a beautiful succession of passes and combo play. . often to see Garcia Fuck it all up and turn the ball over. But there were some nice moments that made you think that this team has the ability to really gel and grow together this season, now that we're healthy and have a more consistent lineup.

Excellent news, too - i just found a new Irish pub that's owned by Liverpool supporters near the North suburbs of Chicago. They show all the games and get quite a few supporters to the games. . . . i fell like an orphan who just found a family. :mrgreen:
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

ghazi said:
Excellent news, too - i just found a new Irish pub that's owned by Liverpool supporters near the North suburbs of Chicago. They show all the games and get quite a few supporters to the games. . . . i fell like an orphan who just found a family. :mrgreen:
Click to expand...

Nice work Ghazi, you aint done too bad there
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Apparently others also see Liverpool possibly being the only team that can counteract Chelsea's tactics...
http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1581786,00.html

However, when the sides converge the rivalry is not an illusion. The European Cup holders should have had at least two opportunities from the penalty spot to win this week's group-stage match and, with great vim, they made Mourinho's tactics seem impotent.
Click to expand...

EDIT: Also, looks like we might go for Simao again
http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=312221&lid=2&cpid=8&title=Reds+to+return+for+Simao&channel=football_home
Its also mentioned that we might try to swoop for Joaquin...but its likely to be in the region of £16m :eh:

btw Ghazi, MEGA-LOL on your find :lol:
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

OK, I dont think anyone is taking me seriously. Think about this. If you have someone like Crouch who can hold the ball up so well and win aerial battles with ease, imagine the benefits his strike partner would get.

Lets just imagine for a moment that someone like Ruud van Nistelrooy or Adriano was his partner. All Crouch has to do is back into defenders, bring the ball down and lay it off to his partner and who instantly gets a scoring opportunity. I might make it sound too easy to be true but I'm not asking Crouch to do anything he cant. Crouch isnt the best player ever but he can very easily help another striker score a ton of goals.

You guys are gonna be so happy once you get a decent goal scorer cuz you have some great suppliers of the ball.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I think you might be onto something there Rune at the moment all Crouch is doing is trying to hold the ball up and bring in other players which to me isnt using his strengths of being able to flick the ball on ect unless its to himself and he aint that good!
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

I'm thinking the days of the selfish striker are fading away - you could see this when Owen was available and arguably only one team was interested.

Benitez' Valencia worked as a unit & their scoring source hadn't always come from the striker (Carew definitely wasn't world class but he certainly was made to look so!). Valencia was a particular good advertisement for the 4-5-1 formation - I think the prob with the other teams using the 4-5-1 is that the type (not quality!) of the players they use is not suited to it.

As per support striker, I don't think its even necessary. With the Striker/Midfielder we have in Crouch, he can provide balls for himself and others (Gerrard, Alonso, Garcia?). The major advantage of this (I would say) is that the opposition team will have several sources of goal threats rather than the one or two strikers they usually deal with.

Although we are dominating, we've only been able to play through the centre due to the lack of wide men. We're hoping Simao/Joaquin/whoever will solve this :D

Sadly, for Cisse, he doesn't seem to fit into the formation (which kinda brings the question - why did Benitez sign him?). I'm hoping (for his football sake) that he leaves to get more play.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

rockykabir said:
Sadly, for Cisse, he doesn't seem to fit into the formation (which kinda brings the question - why did Benitez sign him?). I'm hoping (for his football sake) that he leaves to get more play.
Click to expand...

Benitez didn't sign him it was that waster Houllier
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

LOL - another waste of good money by GH. I keep thinking "he might come good" but I felt that with Baros too and it didn't happen.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

The Fear Circle:
http://portal.telegraph.co.uk/sport...1.xml&sSheet=/portal/2005/10/01/ixportal.html

Well worth a read. It talks about the fear encircling in the Premiership at the moment.

i.e. Ferguson fearing Wenger, Wenger fearing Mourinho, Mourinho fearing Benitez :)

Also, in the same article - taken from Rafa's autobiography:

His birthplace was Madrid, and the danger for Liverpool is that Benitez will be tempted back to the Bernabeu, the ground where his dreams of playing were crushed. Since he was the man who last year ground down a seemingly impenetrable lead built up by a Madrid side managed by Carlos Queiroz, they might want him back.

It is a scenario Lloret, who has known Benitez since he was a young, struggling manager with Extremadura, can never see happening. The galactico culture of the Bernabeu, where marketing is placed at the heart of president Florentino Perez's strategy, is something he could not stomach.

"Rafa can never go to Madrid. He told me that he cannot accept players whom he cannot teach to do the right thing in training," said Lloret, who has written the first biography of Liverpool's quietly extraordinary manager. "It would be hard to work with Raul, Ronaldo or Zidane. He could never accept the kind of interference from the president that they have there.

"I remember talking to Rafa in 2004, when Valencia were fighting Madrid for the title. I said that I felt sure we were going to win because I had friends in Madrid and I knew how they were training. There was no real work; players were training for 45 minutes. I knew how hard they were working in Valencia and how they would seek to improve every week. He said to me, 'Madrid have a bigger car than us but our car has petrol'.
Click to expand...


:D
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Well today showed our shortcomings, we will never challenge at the top properly until the board welcomes some new investment.

We're too flat to play 4-5-1, we're not a relegation team the goals for Crouch won't come.

Benitez still persists to give Garcia the keys to the city, Cisse is wasted.

Traore=Clumsy
Hyppia=Pellegrino, january can't come soon enough.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Mourinho fearing Benitez :)
Click to expand...

i'am sure Mourinho is scared shitless of benitez :)

Thrashing

1. To beat with or as if with a flail, especially as a punishment. :lmao:

e.g. Chelsea thrashed, thrash·ing, thrash·es Liverpool. \\:o/

Walk alone Gerrard!
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Ho hum, get a grip "so called" chelsea_fan (supporting since 2004), only 7 games gone. We were thumped today but don't believe there was that much difference between us.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

No sour grapes but we weren't severely outplayed - more of the case that they were able to finish while we couldn't make anything out of our dominance (the story of our season so far).

I know it doesn't count for anything but our possession was apparently near 60%. So yes, we do need some players come January especially someone to replace/cover Hyypia as his defending was quite shambolic today as well as some width FFS..

I just hope that this result makes us a stronger team :eh:
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

No need for a knee jerk reaction, i'd say. "More players" isn't neccessarily the answer. It's what you do with the ones you have. Rafa already brought in loads over the summer.You still don't know who your regular strikers are yet, for example.
And Chelsea Fan, it's important to be gracious in both triumph and defeat. If you do that sort of thing, you have to expect it back at some point.
Good game though. It's always tough playing at Anfield.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Sulph said:
Reminds me of a conversation i had with a certain ____Edge doubting us. :)
Click to expand...
I never doubted Chelsea. I just questioned your knowledge of football and called you a glory supporter and you blocked me and ran off crying like a baby. :lmao:
The conversation had nothing to do with the match.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

did'nt expect us to lose by this much, but I did'nt have a good feeling
about Rafa's comments throughout the week saying Chelsea were scared
and had weaknesses....looks a bit misplaced, when we barely have/play
a goalscoring striker, don't have wingers, have a slow centre-back.

maybe the result today was'nt indicative of the true gap between the teams,
but the league table does not lie...it's 17 pts in October,
God only knows what it will be by Christmas.....
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Professor Nutmeg said:
"More players" isn't neccessarily the answer. It's what you do with the ones you have. Rafa already brought in loads over the summer.
Click to expand...

hmmm..I think its quite easy saying that when you have a Russian billionaire on your case ;)

I wouldn't say we brought in loads - especially considering the players we sold off. We brought in a few youth players, yes, but the squad is still incomplete. Why else did we go for Simao (and the other players) last summer?

I'm quite happy with the strikeforce tbh - we have different options depending on the opposition. The team is still adjusting to Crouch's method of play. We also have Mellor coming soon.

I do agree that teams do need to work with what they've got but we've been wanting a couple of decent wide players and a centre back for quite a while now. The common denominator in all our matches has been us dominating the play but being unable to kill it off.

Garcia, I rate a lot, but sometimes he can be a bit too flair-y for the Premiership. For all that he has done for us in Europe, he hasn't been able to produce in the domestic side and I don't think we can rely in him for all our matches. Thats no cuss to him - as he has other qualities that are likely to be useful in some games. The same goes for Hyypia - we can't expect his poor legs to be always fit throughout the whole season, can we? :D

I'm really liking what Rafa is doing to the team. TBH I wasn't expecting much this season (well, I was hoping to get knocked out of Europe early so that we can concentrate on our league form ;)). A couple of amendments here and there should hopefully do the trick..
 
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Re: Liverpool Thread

The millions of pounds doesnt always buy you success. You still need a decent manager to bring everything together. And Ranieri proved that.
But then again, you could argue that it was those millions that bought Mourinho to Chelsea.
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Ranieri bought the better players, but Mourinho knows how to organise them.

rockyabir - us get knocked out of Europe early?? Reminds me of a team not too far from us, who really DO have to concentrate on their league form.:D
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Iam sorry to have rubbed it in your face scousers, i guess iam very passionate, as we all are!

Hopefully, for you guys, you'll do better next time, when we meet at the Bridge. It will be a cracker!
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

The score line didn't reflect the match yesterday a penalty and 2 open goals, the only decent goals scored was Gerrard's and the build up play by Drogba to Duff. Oh well lets hope for a better score line against Blackburn
 
Re: Liverpool Thread

Chelsea's last goal was pretty good as well, good passing and powerfull finish. Liverpool were outplayed yesterday. Chelsea had most of the possession and made their chances count.
 
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