Liverpool FC Forum

[jonnymac1979]

Okay then, all discussion here for the second game in a week against Chelsea.  The word on the street says that Sissoko and Morientes may be in the frame for at least a place on the bench.

Going by last night's performance, we have the beating of Chelsea and maybe we are one of the only teams that Chelsea fear.  We have played them seven or eight times already this year and every time we have given them something to think about.  They are no better than us over ninety minutes and we are obviously confident.

Hamann came into the side last night and was his usual unflappable self.  I wish the German Giant was ten years younger so we could get another few seasons out of him.  He's a legend.  He and Alonso controlled the midfield last night and let Gerrard do his roaming further up.  I couldn't believe by the way how anonymous Essien looked for them.

What I would like to see though on Sunday is Sissoko come into the side.  If he could play the sitting role like Hamann, not as deep though, I think it would give Alonso more room to get into Chelsea's half of the pitch and cause more damage.  Alonso was again excellent last night, but even if he was just five yards further up the pitch it would make a telling difference to the game.  I just think that Sissoko with the form that he is in, the hunger he is showing and the fact that he seems to have unlimited energy, I think if we want to get the win and not just another 0-0 draw, he needs to play.  If an attack was to break down, I think with Sissoko's youth and pace we would be stronger with him there than Hamann.

Hamann is the master at breaking up opposition attacks.  Sissoko though, looks to me to be a bit more dynamic about releasing the ball in a more attacking style of play, rather than Hamann being the defensive player he is, keeping possession maybe hitting the square pass.  Both styles all well and good of course, different needs for different games, but I think Chelsea are there for beating.  I want to attack them, we are at Anfield and it will be party time if we do these 'plazzy champions'.

[red37]

johnny do you think rafa will play morientes if he IS fit?
and in the light of that, will FM be able to cause as many headaches for them as crouch did so well?

i hope not.... if crouch is up to it he MUST do the same things as wednesday! and like you say with momo, it would push alonso into their half more potently...its just got to be held up by garcia better.

[bigmick]

I think one of the keys last night to Crouch playing so well was that we didn't have Gerrard sitting in too advanced a position. This meant that Makeleli, who Chelsea always detail to follow Gerrard was too far away from Crouch most of the time to turn round and close him down, leaving Carvallo and Terry to try and get to the ball from behind which usually resulted in a foul. I think preserving this gap between Makeleli and your front men is crucial to finding a foothold against Chelsea and ultimately putting them under pressure.
With this in mind and in view of the fact that we will change things for Sunday, I would play Gerrard wide right. I think he can attack Gallas from there and backtrack Duff. I would play Riise wide left as I think they will go with Wright-Phillips who currently looks more potent than Robben in my view. I would leave out Didi though he was excellent on Wednesday and replace him with Sissoko. I would move Garcia central but get him to play really advanced up the pitch, almost on Crouch's shoulder because if he drops in a bit he will bring Makeleli into play. Also I think they are certain to start with Crespo who is a better player than Drogba so I would start with Traore but I think Rafa will go with Warnock as he gives more attacking options.

                                                   Reina.
                         
                            Finnan    Carra                Sami   Traore

                        Gerrard           Sissoko   Alonso              Riise

                                              Crouch Garcia

Obviously, when we haven't got the ball Garcia drops in to make a middle five.

[Dalglish]

I know we have a lot of games coming up but there is an International break after this game so for me Benitez has to pick the players on recent performance i.e. Chelsea, Brum and Man U games. It's perhaps easier to pick out the players who DON'T on recent performances deserve a start and top of that list has to be Luis Garcia !

He started both the Man U and Chelsea games and was on the bench for the Brum game. His only contribution to my mind was the Goal at Brum so it makes sense to keep him on the bench. Last night I was puzzled as to why he brought Pongolle on for Cisse but resisted the temptation to bring a LEFT sided player on (Riise) for the ineffective Garcia

Crouch IMO has to start but we need to give the lad some support up front. He had good games against Man U and Chelsea but the link up play from his tireless efforts went unrewarded as we packed the misdfield and never got far enough forward.

I'd start with Riise on the left and Gerard on the right and before people jump all over me saying Gerrard is wasted there , he was the third best midfielder last night behind Didi and the impressive Alonso. So logic and recent form dictates that Hamann (who probably won't start) and Alonso who are IMO the first chioice midfielders shoukld get the nod.

However what i suspect will happen is that he will start with the same midfield line up on Sunday with the exception of Hamann who wil be replaced by Sissoko and possibly Pongo for Cisse which should do an already fragile Cisse's confidence the world of good   

[bigmick]

I'd start with Riise on the left and Gerard on the right

Great minds and all that Ian.

[Ciggy]

Our poor John has been hitting the bottle quite hard since the CL final, he has gone off the rails some what.
Going out clubbing in town and acting quite pathetic like a 15 year old when he is p.issed, bragging about his house, his Ferrari his national coach has said he wont pick him if he doesnt buck his ideas up and this is why he has been on the bench a few times this season.
I hope he can get his head sorted out cause I think we really missed him last night, I wouldnt play Morientes on sunday either, he is not fit, would like to see Cisse upfront with Crouch, and Sissoko, Xabi and Gerrard in midfield, even though our Didi was MOTM for me last night.

[Dalglish]

Hiya Lyns and Mick, trust your both well

I hear what your saying Lyns and if it's true then why pick him and put him on the bench then if his off the field beahavour doesn't warrant him playing then it doesn't warrant him being selected at all IMO.

However if you stay at home and be the obedient new father but play consistently you get picked !!!!!!!!  (Garcia)

Anyone with an ounce of footballing inteligence could see that Garcia was the single biggest reason why we lost possession last night. his first touch is sublime , its his 2nd, 3rd and 4th thats the problem !!

[115-1073096938]

Lyndsey, Cisse is a lazy, moaning waster with no talent. Pace? Yes loads. Quality? Not an ounce.

Sinama-Pongolle is three times the player.

[The_Rock]

Our poor John has been hitting the bottle quite hard since the CL final, he has gone off the rails some what.
Going out clubbing in town and acting quite pathetic like a 15 year old when he is p.issed, bragging about his house, his Ferrari his national coach has said he wont pick him if he doesnt buck his ideas up and this is why he has been on the bench a few times this season.
I hope he can get his head sorted out cause I think we really missed him last night, I wouldnt play Morientes on sunday either, he is not fit, would like to see Cisse upfront with Crouch, and Sissoko, Xabi and Gerrard in midfield, even though our Didi was MOTM for me last night.

whoa...another inside info  . No wonder risse i know has been somewhat "missing" this season (but even that is better than zenden).

But i get the feeling that Cisse & Garcia might feature again in their respective wings position because they are the closet we have to strikers when we go on the offensive mode (when using 4-5-1 to go into 4-3-3....).

And with moro coming back, guess he would be the "Substitute" Striker on the bench ( i just can't see Moro & Cisse being on the bench for a league match).

So rafa might just play cisse on the RW until Jan........

[Dalglish]

Lyndsey, Cisse is a lazy, moaning waster with no talent. Pace? Yes loads. Quality? Not an ounce.

Sinama-Pongolle is three times the player.

Evening Stu, your in a combative mood tonight 

Lets not fall out the night after the bets Liverpool performance of the season so far when we outfought, outplayed and out smarted Chelski.

I have a  theory ..........whenever ALonso plays against over rated fat boy Lampard there is no contest.

Chelsea , the best midfield in the country my ars.e   

[115-1073096938]

Theres no theory there Ian.

You know and so do I mate.

The slating i got for daring to suggest the ever wonderfull Lampard was overated was quite pathetic. I remembe rthe arguements on here well, i was saying how overated the lad was, certain people were telling me how wrong i was. Never in Alonso or Gerrard's class. A good player? Yes very. A class player? Pffft.

I'll have to download Yahoo again, not spoke in a while.

[Sabre]

Anyone with an ounce of footballing inteligence could see that Garcia was the single biggest reason why we lost possession last night. his first touch is sublime , its his 2nd, 3rd and 4th thats the problem !!

You know what? I agree (not in the ounce of intelligence, because all opinions are respectable). I used
to like more Luis Garcia in Barcelona. I don't know, it's something like in Barcelona he knew he wasn't one of the most important players and he did his job just right. When I see him playing in Liverpool it seems that he is obssessed in showing he has been brought for a good reason, and he just tries too many difficult things that are converted in lost balls. He's making the same mistake in the Spanish Squad, now he's CL champion and comes from Liverpool, he tries impossible passes and do many nice to watch but uneffective actions. If only he realised that we don't expect him to be a hero every night, he wouldn't have so many people p*ssed.

Sabre

[Dalglish]

"Greatness" is such an over used word these days due to SKY's obsession with the word and their "lets build this player and forthcoming game up cos we need the subscriptions"

Lamprd and Terry for that matter ARE so over rated it's unreal. Both figured highly in the Player of the Season Poll last season which goes to show how much of a mess the game is in at present. If you took time out to watch Chelsea last night you would have seen what is essentially a 8 man defence if you include the impressive Cech. With Essien, Lampard and Makerlee sitting in front of the back four their virtually impregenable and rely on quick breaks and counter attacking to snatch a goal. last season they won 13 games 1-0 , thats over a THIRD of their games in the league

And the cheeky feckers have the gaul to call us boring

[bring_back_biscan]

Cisse should play upfront, best striker we have, but not against Chelsea on sunday. Play the same team, with Gerrard more on the right. Rather than trying to shut down Gallas which Benitez learned from last season's games, maye try to exploit space with Cisse and Gerrard down that side.

[bring_back_biscan]

whatever about lampard, Terry's class.