Liverpool FC Forum

[red till i die!!]

hansen wasn't interested in coaching when he retired so i doubt he would be up for it now. things have changed an awful lot since his day.
realistically sami would be an option if he gets the D.C.M from brighton.
if he has no offers he might consider it.

[Doeboy]

Get Carragher in. Played the in the modern game and has a good football brain. He wasn't particularly gifted as a footballer IMO but it's what he had upstairs that allowed to forge the great career he had. Get him in, even if it only a short term thing. We are crying out for help. Have no confidence Rodgers will sort out the defence. I know there's a few new faces in defence and it will take time for them to get to know each other and gel as a unit but the mistakes we are making are elementary and to me are mainly down to a lack of organisation and concentration. Need someone like Carragher to work with them and get them well drilled and organised.

[damjan193]

I don't think that pressing them was suicide at all. IMO it was actually our only chance of getting something out of that game, because pressing is what we're best at. If we had Suarez and Sturridge (or just Sturridge at least) we would have surely scored in the opening 20 minutes. The fact that we didn't continue with the same tempo after 20 minutes was more down to conceding the goal which was a massive confidence blow rather than being unable to physically withstand it.

[Stu the Red]

Yeah great idea, pressing one of the best sides in Europe with a load of average players. Even better when your best player is suited to the counter attack, our best chance was playing deep, keeping the shape and hitting them on the break…

To think you can press a side like Madrid the way they move the ball around is complete insanity. That's why we lost three nil, it's impossible to keep that up for forty five minutes let alone ninety, I wonder what planet sometimes…

[Doeboy]

Yeah great idea, pressing one of the best sides in Europe with a load of average players. Even better when your best player is suited to the counter attack, our best chance was playing deep, keeping the shape and hitting them on the break…

To think you can press a side like Madrid the way they move the ball around is complete insanity. That's why we lost three nil, it's impossible to keep that up for forty five minutes let alone ninety, I wonder what planet sometimes…

Have to agree. Madrid players are so good on the ball, a lot of one touch stuff. Ball has already left the boot before a pressing oppo player has got close to them. Pressing game against them when we have a striker who is is not capable of playing that kind of game and who doesn't offers us an outlet doesn't seem the brightest of ideas. It was brilliant last year but Suarez was the dream striker for BR''s system. He needs to be more flexible in his approach in certain games but so far hasn't really shown that

[damjan193]

You're insane, when was the last time sitting deep worked for us? High pressure is how we won most of our last season's games. We actually looked OK while we were pressing them. Had Sturridge been in our line-up we might have even scored.

[Stu the Red]

Are you being serious? Or on the wind up?

[damjan193]

Had we sat deep, we would have seen none of the ball and would have had a million hoofed balls forward in a futile attempt to start a counter attack. The result would have been the same regardless of what we did because they're a class above us.

[Stu the Red]

Why would we have had to hoof it forward? Why not counter at pace with the ball on the deck?



Had we sat deep lad we would have had half a chance, going for it thinking we could press a side as good as that is unbelievable; quite honestly. It's nothing other than stupidity and if we do that away it could be eight or nine

[RedAnt]

To play a short passing game requires players to be in close proximity of eachother, and to press effectively also needs a compact shape, otherwise you end up spread out all over the pitch and good passing sides will simply pick you apart. I'm not sure you can play short passing AND a pressing game at the same time. Take Coutinho as an example. He needs time and space to play in. If he's pressing, then he's going to be close to the opposition. Being small and lightweight, if he should win the ball when pressing, then he won't have space. A compact, pressing side must play deep against a team like Madrid, and so must play the ball long. You can't play short passing from deep. Not unless you are really, really quick and mobile. The length of the pitch is simply too far for players such as ours to move the ball accurately and efficiently. We lose it so often in the transition from defence to attack.
Only Mario can hold up the ball. Sterling will run with it. Coutinho will look to pass it.
Simply put, our strategy is miles out of sync with our tactics. Last year we were a jugganaut. The skill, determination, enthusiasm and directness of Suarez was too much for most teams to cope with and his team mates benifited massively. Now Luis is gone, we've no idea what to do. Our game plan has evolved (devolved) into something unrecognisable and none of the players (or fans) understand the new game plan.
Meanwhile, everyone else has sussed us out. Get in our faces, press, be aggressive, stop us playing. Press Suarez and you get skinned and left eating dust whilst the 'keeper picks the ball out of the net. We don't have any other players (other than possibly Sterling) who invite opponents on then leave 'em for dead.
Without the phenomenal Suarez, we need a new gameplan. Most of us assumed that such a plan was being built during preseason. That, apparently, didn't happen and now we are clueless and in free fall.