Re: Liverpool Thread
A post on RAWK, which I fully agree with
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One goal is almost never enough. To open up a game and a team, we need to provide the killer second goal. Too many times, we throw out players who have practically never fucking scored in their lives for Liverpool, and expect to cling to a Gerrard/Torres opener through 90 mins.
I'm sick of it. I'm sick of chopping and changing lineups. I'm sick of waiting till the 80th minute to see a desperation move called Peter Crouch come on and get immediately whistled for a foul before doing his best Emile Heskey impersonation; flick after flick going absolutely nowhere.
I'm sick of seeing Kuyt being put on the right wing. I'm sick of being told Gerrard is playing "just behind the lone striker in a support role". I'm sick of seeing the midfield clogged with defensive players having a subpar game when WE NEED A FUCKING GOAL.
What was the point of putting Kuyt on in place of Pennant? What's he, a better right winger? Is that his natural position? Is that why we bought him, so he could cross the ball over everybody's head to the far touchline?
Why did we wait until the 84th minute to take Mascherano off when we have at least 2 other players on the pitch who could play his position? Were we really that scared of a Heskey led offense?
And every time we lose the lead, or are fighting to get back into a game late on, these stupid useless desperation subs serve to absolutely confuse the team, and break down the shape. Players are running around like headless chickens in positions they aren't used to playing in - it's fucking painfully obvious - as we pray for Stevie G to save us from embarrassment yet again at the death. Kuyt running down the line. Yossi switching wings. Fullbacks dribbling in the middle of the park. At least today we didn't see shot after shot fall to Momo at the edge of the box.
Football's pretty simple, especially in England. Pick 11 players, the best at each position, and play them for 90 mins. If one gets tired, sub him. What we seem to be doing is not picking the best 11 every time (you can bet your sweet arse we see the best XI for big games) and then losing the plot once the decision backfires.
Today was a prime example. We spent the first half trying to "release" Torres, which is a fancy way of saying we punted the ball in front of him, Hollywood ball after Hollywood ball, and hoped he'd get on the end of it. It didn't work, so for a minute there, we played proper football, using a fullback to overlap, receive a pass from his central midfielder, and cross the ball to the striker, who scored from inside the area. Fucking simple and effective. Then it was back to shapeless, confusing football after they equalized.
This is not a league winning team mentality.