Liverpool FC Forum

[jaytoothetee]

i'm sick of him not gettin the credit he deserves. he had an absolutely amazing game against manure at the weekend - that double tackle he  made was immense. Rio is shocking and shouldn't get near the england squad. JT, carra, king and woodgate are all better players than him

[Redman in wales]

carra is immence, we've known it for a while - but now people are just starting to take note.

Its a double edged sword as while i would love him to get the recognition he deserves and start for england, I really dont want him to as there are 2 england games coming up this month, and it would be a good rest for one of our regulars and top performers.

[CardinalRed]

Chuffed with the result..... A mention to one or two of the players:
JC = Massive game and on form he's currently THE number one centre half in the country
Danny Agger =  Becomes more and more cultured every time I see him, looked so comfortable against potentially the most devastating front 3 in world football
Steve Finnan = Dominated the right back slot, maybe his best game yet for LFC?
Yes, all defenders, not that I'm saying the rest of the lads didn't do their bit, they did with bells on, just thought that at the back we looked outstanding.

Well done boys!!!                                           

[Big Niall]

I got some stick pre world cup for saying the England team were overrated. One of my arguments was that Rio Ferdinand is definately NOT world class.
Carragher is a FAR better defender than Rio and should be in the England team with Terry - although I'm glad his not, save your strength for the pool JC.

He has marked the best in the world and subdued them. Has also led the defense.

[Marianne]

Yes!!! We so should have won that game but hey!! We go thru!!!! yay!!!

[destro]

Duno what games these two watched but it must have been a different one than what we seen, A.rseholes not Man U fans by any chance are they?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHTM-abNEyk

Take what he says with a pinch of salt the guys a complete and utter tool, a typical shock jock who just wants to grab the headlines all the time. ( and a scum apprentice who never made it )

This is the guy who called Harry Kewell a fat clown and said Garcia should be put in the rubbish

All the people he calls have forgot more about football than he will ever know

Leave him to try and make his controversial waves ,all he is to us is a small ripple in a (liver)pool 

[metalhead]

Carragher is very underrated... he sh*ts on ferdinand

[Huck]

First time I can take my computer since the match finished...CONGRATULATIONS mates! Extremely great match, wonderful work, wonderful atmosphere and commitment. Sabre is right, nobody in Spain can't help falling for LFC after watching the game yesterday, and it proves right all those who say that Anfield pushes like no other stadium all over the world. Barça fans were complaining after Sevilla match that they played too hard and on the edge of the legal....LFC passed over them with football and sacrifice. And at half time they were feeling their pressing their throat (my bro supports Barça and I could make out two little spheres in his neck   )
Well, I´m quite worried about my (first) team's match tonite but I wish we could play LFC at any of the last stages of UCL. By now, you must be more then proud of the team, cause I am even from Spain.

[Barca Murph]

I have spent last night and all of today feeling like someone has ripped out my heart   I'm absolutely gutted to have gone out of Europe so early.

Taking nothing away from Liverpools performances over the 2 legs, we definitely threw it away at the Camp Nou  

As hard as it is to even think about it right now, i would like to congratulate you on going through and wish you luck in the next round. Respect where it is due.

[Marianne]

my condolensces-not! ha ha!!! Have a taste of your own medicine Barca fans!

[Bad Bob]

Just watched the whole match for the first time and I think it was one of our finest performances under Benitez.  We were all over them in the first half and were desperately unlucky not to be up by at least a goal at half-time.  You can't find too much wrong when you're hitting the bar and Valdez did make a great save on Kuyt.  But, you have to wonder whether a really clinical finisher would have punished their sloppiness in the first half.

As expected, Barca came into the game more and more in the 2nd half but I don't think we let them get anywhere near top gear.  We dealt with most of their threats with poise, first through midfield, with both Alonso and Sissoko (who was on a card) very strong in the tackle.  Out wide, Gerrard and Riise harrassed and harried and gave their playmakers no time on the ball.  And, what can be said about our defense?  Utterly immense.  Carra and Finnan are back to their beligerent best.  Both were flawless yesterday.  Agger has matured light years this season and has become a rock in the middle.  And, full credit must go to Arbeloa for coming through the toughest full debut and full home debut with aplomb--not to mention doing so in his least favoured defensive position, against one of the world's brightest talents and on a soft yellow for most of this match!  Welcome aboard, son.  More of that please!  

In addition, I think we got forward quite well throughout the second half.  Indeed, we were unlucky that neither Kuyt nor Bellamy could convert Gerrard's killer cross early in the half.  Oh, to have Robbie on the end of that ball!  Stevie had a fair few chances himself over the course of the half but did not quite have his shooting boots on either.  But, I thought he played a captain's game--driving us forward when opportunities came, tracking back perpetually to pressure Barca's ball carriers and generally playing some inspired football.  I'm often guilty of taking Stevie for granted--especially when he's not at his most spectacular, goal scoring best.  In this match, though, it felt like I was watching him anew.  Some of his touches and turns were simply sublime and not just matched but surpassed anything done by Barca's leading playmakers.

The tide shifted a bit with the Bellamy substitution.  I don't think Craig had quite run himself into the ground at that point yet and Pennant simply looked out of his depth for the first 10 minutes he was on.  In fact, he got caught flat-footed (and then fell on his a.rse), gifting Guddjohnson the ball with enough space to round Reina with ease.  His high boot shortly after was a very poor challenge and well worth a card.  Watching him trying to come to grips with the match, it's clear why Rafa leaves him on the bench for these occasions.  To his credit, he did do some excellent work in the dying minutes, setting up Crouch for what should have been a goal and almost scoring one himself.

After the goal we had a few moments of disorganization but we came through that well and then returned to asserting ourselves all over the pitch.  Indeed, we had the better chances by far after their goal and I think we were very unlucky to lose the game.

So, the end result is that we bossed the best club team in the world over two legs and deservedly advanced.  We barely gave their big names a sniff in 180+ minutes of football (Where was Deco yesterday? Did Ronaldinho look like World Footballer of the Year in this tie?  What did Xavi contribute?  Giuly? The list goes on...).  And, we put their defenders under the cosh for significant stretches of both legs.  In fact, with more clinical finishing we could have walked this tie which, besides saying a good deal about our need for a ruthless goal poacher, also speaks volumes about our ability to compete at the top level.  We are within touching distance of the uppermost echelon of world football, folks.  Let's see how the rest of the CL campaign goes but I've already got one eye on our potential transfer maneuvres this summer.  If Rafa can finally splash some cash on some top drawer, game changing attacking players we will be poised to have a proper crack of the whip next season. 

[Sabre]

Good post BB, I disagree in the Bellamy bit because I think he was tired, but your post is a good review.

And, full credit must go to Arbeloa for coming through the toughest full debut and full home debut with aplomb--not to mention doing so in his least favoured defensive position, against one of the world's brightest talents and on a soft yellow for most of this match!  Welcome aboard, son.  More of that please!

I didn't know well Arbeloa. Yesterday he made a couple of mistakes cos he put the oposition in correct position a couple of times (he broke the line of off side, but he'll improve that when he's more gelled in the team), but other than that he played very well with a card against Messi, where others like Del Porno yesteryear failed miserably.

Arbeloa seems to be a modern defender, he's a marker mostly, but he's quick enough to play both in the LB and RB, interesting signing, I don't think he'll give us much if any attacking, though, but we have to have every kind of players.

The more I see Rafa's rotations the more I'm sure it's not about rotating for the sake of rotating but that he chooses the men that he think he'll damage most the opposition. The obvious example is that he played just the same team again, Arbeloa included, when he could have played Fabio Aurelio there, for instance. Another not that obvious example was Mark Gonzalez. It's interesting that Mak Gonzalez back in the early stages of the season and now was without playing much for some time. Curiously enough Rafa picked him both times against Manure, right or wrong, I think Rafa has his fixed ideas of what their players can provide. He doesn't seem to see them as starting eleven players or subs, but players with certain attributes that will be used when it suits us well.

With the proper strikers or not, we're at march and we seem to be growing in this season, we're in a strong moment, and it's this times when we should realise perhaps that rotation has a very bright side aswell.

[Barca Murph]

my condolensces-not! ha ha!!! Have a taste of your own medicine Barca fans!

So much for the Liverpool class eh? 

[destro]

my condolensces-not! ha ha!!! Have a taste of your own medicine Barca fans!

So much for the Liverpool class eh? 

Calm down mate its only a bit of gentle ribbing  If the result had gone the other way im sure the rest of the Barca fans would be just as sympathetic 

[Dundalk]

The Gooners are going out