Liverpool FC Forum

Happy with away point
Didn't see the game but watching the highlights. Its a shame Cech was in top form unlike his Arsenal debut or we might have had all three points
Though they can probably feel aggrieved over offside goal.
It's nice to see us getting some early rub of green decisions. It can make a big difference at the end of the season

it was a solid performance but a couple of things concerned me, first was our lack of fitness, it was a bit alarming to see how much fitter Arsenal were than us and the other was the possession stats (which may actually be linked to the first).
Apparently we had less of the ball last night than in any other game during Brendan's tenure which is not necessarily a problem if you are still creating chances (which we did) but it does become a problem if our players aren't fit enough to cope with the additional defending.
Brendan has obviously tweaked a few things to make us more direct but when you go down that route there is a tendancy to give the ball away a bit cheaply at times. I think he has to find a balance between possession and direct football and imo last night wasn't it, as well as we played in patches we should not be only having 34% of the ball.

Against my original prediction we played really well and were able to compete against the best ball handling team in the league. With all Arsenal of possession of the ball i thought we were much more dangerous and really should have scored. All the players were on their game focused and concentrated ,Gomez still needs to avoid losing the ball in dangerous areas (no shame in kicking the ball out) but overall a very good team performance.
Benteke is surprising me in his ability to control the ball and really get others involved ,Coutinho was exciting ,Skertel was superb and Lucas gave a very good display as well.

I'm still unable to get a grip of our philosophy but it can wait i guess. I would still like to See Sakho play and i would try playing with another striker at least in some of the games.

I think we did rather well and there's signs of a possible future in there. I am still concerned about the lack of creativity relative to the sides that we are competing for the title with, but it's early days and a lot can change. Everything is better than a 6-1 loss to Stoke

Am liking Benteke a lot. He seems to be increasing in confidence each game and is showing to be much more than another Carroll. Excellent with the ball, strong in the air, good on his feet.....I just miss the person he is offloading to in the team at the moment....some signs at times (Milner for instance), but we could do better there.

Liked Firmino, liked your boy in left defense, also liked Clyne as well. Defense seems to have a bit more bite and no nonsenseness about it. We muscled a lot of people off the ball y'day and we avoid being muscled off a lot.....just seemed/felt better

Lucas is still an anomaly......each time he comes back into the squad we look more comfortable.

Milner looks good, Can at times looked like a monster

I personally don't see where Henderson fits in and I think BR made a rod for his own back by making him captain and first name on the team sheet.

Substitutions were a little strange for me. I understand who was replaced, I just don't know why we went for Ibe personally. I would like to have seen Ings given a shot. I don't quite follow why he hasn't been given any minutes yet. Would be keen to see him work with Benteke

Onwards and upwards though.

Firmino could have left the pitch with a goal and at least four assists ,Coutinho was just mesmeric ,and Lucas simply makes us look a far more compact and intelligent outfit. We played some good football in that first half and actually looked like a team with knowledge of each others game and movement ,and
the back four finally looked settled with Clyne and Gomez the stand out defenders ,and Skrtel /Lovren both contributing a solid enough display with what definitely appeared  to be  a stab at coherency.

Second half we let them have far too much of the ball and the game became a touch one sided with our attacks becoming more sporadic ,and subsequently handing the impetus and the lions share of possession to Arsenal to leave us under the cosh slightly ....Still a hell of a lot of work to be done ,but more than a few encouraging signs in that first half.

7 points and the Hammerz next ,who don't carry the same threat as they did under the fat headed fucker ,so lets see where the next game takes us.

Btw in tonight's Echo Rodgers reckons Lucas won't be leaving in this window.
To be fair to Brendan he said Lucas is the best DM at the club and a vital member of the squad but he can't give him any guarantee's that he'll be in the starting XI every week.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:06 pm wrote:Btw in tonight's Echo Rodgers reckons Lucas won't be leaving in this window.
To be fair to Brendan he said Lucas is the best DM at the club and a vital member of the squad but he can't give him any guarantee's that he'll be in the starting XI every week.

That's fair enough from the manager actually, he can't really promise anything more than that. Though I can understand Lucas as well, he's good enough to start but he knows that he'll probably be played only in certain games where he'll be used as a tactical addition, while he, understandably, wants to play all games. I really hope that a common ground can be reached, Lucas must not be sold.

damjan193 » Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:46 pm wrote:

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Tue Aug 25, 2015 8:06 pm wrote:Btw in tonight's Echo Rodgers reckons Lucas won't be leaving in this window.
To be fair to Brendan he said Lucas is the best DM at the club and a vital member of the squad but he can't give him any guarantee's that he'll be in the starting XI every week.

That's fair enough from the manager actually, he can't really promise anything more than that. Though I can understand Lucas as well, he's good enough to start but he knows that he'll probably be played only in certain games where he'll be used as a tactical addition, while he, understandably, wants to play all games. I really hope that a common ground can be reached, Lucas must not be sold.

Brendan has shown with Skrtel and Hendo that he is prepared to re-integrate players who were on the verge of leaving back into the starting XI. If Lucas plays well he's got a good chance of keeping his place.

If we can defend like this for the majority of the season and introduce Sturridge into the mix to increase the goal threat, Rodgers may keep his job after all.

That kid Gomez at left back is looking like a gem, guess its backup only duties for Moreno if he stays.

We are 3rd in the table which is good going considering 2 of our 3 games have been away at grounds where we have a terrible record. Obviously given our upcoming away fixtures we'll probably drop out of the top 4 over the next few weeks but if we can stay in touch with the leaders through this tough period we'll have a great chance of finishing in the top 4.

why will we drop out? you have no idea if we will or we wont just like the rest of us. Why even say it?

leeroy74 » Wed Aug 26, 2015 11:40 am wrote:why will we drop out? you have no idea if we will or we wont just like the rest of us. Why even say it?

Because our next 5 away games are United, Everton, Spurs, Chelsea and City. If we are still in the top 4 after that run of games then we have a realistic shot at the title.

we have the tightest defense in the league with fewest shots against us, it's not going to be easy for any of those teams to score. Chelsea are probably the most likely with Pedro's form, Man City all depends if they turn up, Spurs should be no problem and United are dog Sh*t. But your right , still in the top 4 after them games we have a chance, providing we win our home games too.

Some very encouraging stuff in the first half. But what was BR thinking when he replaced Coutinho with Moreno. The lad is capable of scoring amazing goals when you don't expect it. And was this really the place to bring on Rossiter? Gomez looks an absolute bargain and may shut up a few people for five minutes. Just sometimes very young talent can make a massive contribution !!

devaney » Wed Aug 26, 2015 4:52 pm wrote:Some very encouraging stuff in the first half. But what was BR thinking when he replaced Coutinho with Moreno. The lad is capable of scoring amazing goals when you don't expect it. And was this really the place to bring on Rossiter? Gomez looks an absolute bargain and may shut up a few people for five minutes. Just sometimes very young talent can make a massive contribution !!

Regarding bringing on Rossiter I don't think Rodgers had much choice mate, Lucas was absolutely shattered (as was Firmino) and there wasn't another CM on the bench. I think he left the substitution as late as he possibly could (75th minute) but in truth Lucas was noticeably flagging even around the hour mark.