Liverpool FC Forum

[A.B.]

Tonight we where poor, but it did highlight the problem areas:

Dudek, awful, to the brink of being embarasing. Kirkland is ready, now is the time for the big fella. Dudek insists on diving backwards instead of towards the ball, and his distribution is appalling.

Finnan, not good enough. Nunez needs to get fit and ASAP. Finnan for all his efforts and work rate is avarage at best.

Zonal marking, I will not say it has to go, as Rafa made it work to great effect at Valencia, and knows what he is doing, the system needs time to sink in with the boys.

Collina, no longer the best referee in the World. He gave some herrendous decisions, and he frankly gave the Greeks everytime they looked for a decision. This is not sour grapes.

Squad, not good enough. Diao and Biscan on the bench do not inspire, and there was no one on the bench tonight who  you could look at to come on and truly change the game.

all in all, a poor performance, but some of the expletives you people are using are bang out of order. Did you think we would win the Premeir League and Champs League double in the first season?

Leon you're missing the ****** point, we're not expecting the Reds to win the Premier League or the Champions League we are expecting them to give a ****** fight to their opponents when they play, not slack off and have 2 damn shots on goal in the first half.

Kirkland needs to start against Chelsea. Josemi needs to go back to defending, why the hell is Finnan still here?

Use Warnock for some Premier League matches keep him away from the Champions League. Harry Kewell needs a wake up call.

Somebody needs to step up and be a leader. Alonso,Garcia,Carragher,etc... whoever has the leadership characteristics needs to step up. We can't depend on Gerrard to save us in every game.

You slag my post then agree with it, what is your problem soft lad?

Frustration

[supersub]

It is going to take time...I'm gutted about tonight but it's not a disaster.

[fivecups]

I think your all going well over the top.  Yes we where poor tonight, but it happens.. to every team.  We still have 3 points and I hate to say this but this IS a new team.  They have only played 8 competitive games.  It will take time.  Calm down and get real.  The improvement in attacking football has been amazing for most of the season.  We are going the right way, its just gonna take time

True. It takes me a while to calm down after a poor performance.

[bigmick]

It wasn't good. No fluency but hey, we won't be the first or last to get done there. I thought they were quite good, helped by some sympathetic refereeing. It's just not happening for us away from home, we can't seem to get the balance and tempo right. When pushing the ball about in the second half, we had that trickle pass routine going, more of a roll than a ping. Tempo is crucial in football I think and if your passing and movement lacks zip it filters through into the rest of your game. Funny how we have it spot on at home though, still, these things take time.
Just as an aside, all of us myself included, wondered if Stevie Gerrard was really so crucial after saturday. Well now we know. He may not pass it quite as beautifully as Xabi but he does what he does like no other player. Come back Stevie, sorry I doubted you.

[Ola Mr Benitez]

ha ha.....

[A.B.]

I think your all going well over the top.  Yes we where poor tonight, but it happens.. to every team.  We still have 3 points and I hate to say this but this IS a new team.  They have only played 8 competitive games.  It will take time.  Calm down and get real.  The improvement in attacking football has been amazing for most of the season.  We are going the right way, its just gonna take time

True. It takes me a while to calm down after a poor performance.

How long does it take you to calm down?

[Ola Mr Benitez]

i didn't get upset.  I see it for what it is.  a bad result.  but we will get better

[fivecups]

I think your all going well over the top.  Yes we where poor tonight, but it happens.. to every team.  We still have 3 points and I hate to say this but this IS a new team.  They have only played 8 competitive games.  It will take time.  Calm down and get real.  The improvement in attacking football has been amazing for most of the season.  We are going the right way, its just gonna take time

True. It takes me a while to calm down after a poor performance.

How long does it take you to calm down?

Dunno. I think reading other people's posts probably calms me down. Helps rationalise things.

Definitely time for Kirkland though.

[A.B.]

I think your all going well over the top.  Yes we where poor tonight, but it happens.. to every team.  We still have 3 points and I hate to say this but this IS a new team.  They have only played 8 competitive games.  It will take time.  Calm down and get real.  The improvement in attacking football has been amazing for most of the season.  We are going the right way, its just gonna take time

True. It takes me a while to calm down after a poor performance.

How long does it take you to calm down?

Dunno. I think reading other people's posts probably calms me down. Helps rationalise things.

Definitely time for Kirkland though.

Letting Kirkland start against Chelsea wouldn't be all that bad. Along with Dudek, Finann shouldn't be starting in important games. When we play against Crystal Palace,Norwich,etc.. then he should play otherwise he should sit on the bench.

We need quality players against the likes of Arsenal,Chelsea,etc.. and need players who will put in effort into their gameplay. Harry Kewell has talent but for some reason he doesn't care is not willing to use his talent to perform for his club.

[fivecups]

There's always a bright side. 

Click here

[banana]

Negatives:

Dudek - Awful game. Lots of easy mistakes. He is unreliable and looks lost on set pieces. We need to sign a replacement in January.

Hyypia - Abysmal. Poor defending. Did not manage to conceal his weaknesses and he was outpaced, outplayed and caught out of position all the time. His passing was horrible and was beaten by Stoltidis when he scored the winner. Hyypia has served the club well, but he is unfit for our new more attacking style and must be replaced in january by a stronger, faster and more creative player.

Finnan - Horrible. No pace, no flair, no braverty. In extra time he managed to loose the ball, concede a foul, lose a full minute of time and get a yellow card. Just because his awful technical skills.

Positives:

Carragher: Looks much better than Hyypia and cleaned most of the mess the big finn caused.

Baros: The only player that looked dangerous for us out there. Won many free kicks in dangerous positions and worked really hard throughout.

Also I must say that I feel sorry for Benitez (and us) that he did not manage to get Eto'o as a part of the Owen deal. I think he was only inches away from sealing one of the most sensational deals ever. Getting a world class striker + cash for a player who had not performed for three years. Eto'o has scored 5 goals in 5 games in La Liga so far, and I must say he looks as good as any other striker in the world right now. Cisse on the other hand looks like a standard Houllier signing so far, and at £ 14 million he is a potential disaster. Don't get me wrong, I have faith in the guy, I am willing to give him time, but I have just seen too many poor Houllier signings over the last few years that's all.

[whylongball?]

we missed steven gerrard.  plus a striker with any european experience. we couldn't hold the ball up long enough for the midfield to get up and support.  Both the strikers are very young and will get better the more experience they get.

Miss Gerrard? yes. Need another striker? nope, Baros was holding the ball very well but often stranded alone. no width to create space, neither on the flank. Just wonder why Rafa didnt revert to 4-4-2 earlier. The home team looked very average to me 

[whylongball?]

Negatives:

Dudek - Awful game. Lots of easy mistakes. He is unreliable and looks lost on set pieces. We need to sign a replacement in January.

Hyypia - Abysmal. Poor defending. Did not manage to conceal his weaknesses and he was outpaced, outplayed and caught out of position all the time. His passing was horrible and was beaten by Stoltidis when he scored the winner. Hyypia has served the club well, but he is unfit for our new more attacking style and must be replaced in january by a stronger, faster and more creative player.

Finnan - Horrible. No pace, no flair, no braverty. In extra time he managed to loose the ball, concede a foul, lose a full minute of time and get a yellow card. Just because his awful technical skills.

Positives:

Carragher: Looks much better than Hyypia and cleaned most of the mess the big finn caused.

Baros: The only player that looked dangerous for us out there. Won many free kicks in dangerous positions and worked really hard throughout.

Also I must say that I feel sorry for Benitez (and us) that he did not manage to get Eto'o as a part of the Owen deal. I think he was only inches away from sealing one of the most sensational deals ever. Getting a world class striker + cash for a player who had not performed for three years. Eto'o has scored 5 goals in 5 games in La Liga so far, and I must say he looks as good as any other striker in the world right now. Cisse on the other hand looks like a standard Houllier signing so far, and at £ 14 million he is a potential disaster. Don't get me wrong, I have faith in the guy, I am willing to give him time, but I have just seen too many poor Houllier signings over the last few years that's all.

banana, i think what we need is a fast winger to create space for the 2 strikers who are more of the predator types. Kewell again looked pathetic, didnt chase after ball, poiting fingers to tell Risse to do it instead. His passing was also awful. Finnan looked good as att full back but can never make a good winger.

[the great one]

anyone else goin to the chelsea game ?

[A.B.]

Negatives:

Dudek - Awful game. Lots of easy mistakes. He is unreliable and looks lost on set pieces. We need to sign a replacement in January.

Hyypia - Abysmal. Poor defending. Did not manage to conceal his weaknesses and he was outpaced, outplayed and caught out of position all the time. His passing was horrible and was beaten by Stoltidis when he scored the winner. Hyypia has served the club well, but he is unfit for our new more attacking style and must be replaced in january by a stronger, faster and more creative player.

Finnan - Horrible. No pace, no flair, no braverty. In extra time he managed to loose the ball, concede a foul, lose a full minute of time and get a yellow card. Just because his awful technical skills.

Positives:

Carragher: Looks much better than Hyypia and cleaned most of the mess the big finn caused.

Baros: The only player that looked dangerous for us out there. Won many free kicks in dangerous positions and worked really hard throughout.

Also I must say that I feel sorry for Benitez (and us) that he did not manage to get Eto'o as a part of the Owen deal. I think he was only inches away from sealing one of the most sensational deals ever. Getting a world class striker + cash for a player who had not performed for three years. Eto'o has scored 5 goals in 5 games in La Liga so far, and I must say he looks as good as any other striker in the world right now. Cisse on the other hand looks like a standard Houllier signing so far, and at £ 14 million he is a potential disaster. Don't get me wrong, I have faith in the guy, I am willing to give him time, but I have just seen too many poor Houllier signings over the last few years that's all.

Nicely said. For some reason we have a different attitude when we play away, our attitude was horrible compared to Olympiakos. They said before the game that they did not fear us and that they were going to win, which they did.

We knew that their gameplay is surrounded by Rivaldo, we knew that he is dangerous from set pieces yet we allowed them to score from a set piece.

What happened to our confidence? To our pace and aggressiveness? We lack that when we play away, we need to balance our away and home records before its too late.