Liverpool FC Forum

[115-1073096938]

As dickless says

You would know now wouldn't you?

Mr i've got to get the last word on everything because i'm 15. Grow up you little nonse.

When you grow a pair of balls and stop acting like a three year old, then you'll have the right to critisize somebody else. Until that day, stick to your day job.

FIFTEEN!

15

15, the amount of times you've been on your period this month. Then yes, 15 would be correct.

Come back when you've actually been to a match... or wait... even been in the same country as the team once!

[RUSHIE#9]

Here we go:

Reina 4
Lost the plot at the end. Had nothing to do with confidence or ability, it was pure frustration. Had absolutely nothing to do for the first 30 minutes, lost shape for the next 15. Lucky for him the break came, and all regrouped. Unfortunately, we will miss his presence in goal for the next 3 games for a stupid act.

Finnan 5
Solid, as always. Not commanding performances although, which we need for an overlapping fullback, especially since we have no right winger which has cost us this season. Whips the ball in too deep sometimes, but does put pressure on the defence. Worked well despite leaving Gallas unmarked in the box to strike the first goal of the match.

Carra 6
Had way too much to do. Covering Hyypia whilst the latter was covering Warnock. Carried a few players tonight. Had a stinging strike in the second half, that was gaoin on target until deflected to a corner. Could have headed the ball in the first corner of the match, but couldn't get his head onto it. Workhorse, without him, we would have been further down the ladder this season.

Hyypia 6
Nervous start, but then had to carry Warnock through his bad spell. Unfortunately, not enough he could do to stop Crespo, Warnock played him onside.

Warnock 3
Poor kid, the reality is he needs more games against lesser quality sides. Riise should have been left back, and Warnock should have started on the bench. Fumbled, stumbled, skewed passes, drifted behind the lines, unfortunately, not good enough tonight. Was the weakest link in our chain, and was exploited.

Sissoko 7
For the most part, I liked Sissoko. His runs, passes, tackles were fantastic, but after the first goal, he lost his way when we needed him the most. Couldn't stop the runs through the middle, carried Alonso tonight.

Alonso 6
I said it before, after the late challenge by Lampard, Alonso was not right, and if I'm not mistaken, he limped off the ground at the end. If he was injured, then I can understand the performance he gave. If he wasn't, then, Alonso was very poor tonight. Passes skewed, no hard tackles, shooting was erratic, not the Alonso we know. Lets hope its a one off, and he's not injured.

Gerrard 8
Man of the Match (LFC side). Even at the end, he was running for everything. Couldn't carry all the players in a match like this, usually it would have worked, but his skill, passes and creativity was superb tonight. Standout in red.

Riise 3
Not even on the pitch tonight. Didn't see him, very unusual. Poor effort.

Kewell 6
Not enough tonight. Had some dash and pazzaz, but was not effective. The link up with Riise was ineffective, and thats partly because Riise went missing all match. That being said, he performed good.

Crouch 4
Excellent potential in the air. Needs to go back to the drawing board with his heading, because it NEEDS WORK! Certainly, with the side playing long balls to him non-stop makes it harder for him to turn and shoot. Lay offs weren't that impressive tonight, and I blame the pitch not the player.


Subs:

Dudek 4
Made a critical save at the end. Need him to step it up, and try and claim his spot back now. He's got 3 games.

Cisse 3
Showed little spark when he came on, right wing, not his position. Don't do a Houllier Rafa. Don't play this lad, his confidence is shot. Especially with Fowler back, he is looking to go back home, we don't need his services. Don't bench him.

Garcia 3
Didn't see him, didn't hear him. Not enough from the sub. Too late for that change. Should have taken Crouch off for Garcia.

Rafa 5
Gambled with Warnock, long balls to Crouch, and a 5 man midfield. Not much he can do but keep the boys heads up, cos he outsmarted Jose for much of the first half, and if the players stepped up a level, we could have been singing at the end.

Team effort 5/10

Not good enough, certainly not with 10 men against a rampant Chelsea side. All up i've lost 60 bucks and a good nights sleep. Back to the drawing board. NO LONG BALLS!!

Sorry mate but you are way off the mark with a lot of your marks for the players today. You were particularly harsh with Reina as IMO he was stitched up right royally by Robben that resulted in the sending off.
Kewell showed again that he is improving with every game and maybe it wasn't a brilliant display he was deffo one of our better players and may have been a bit more effective if he'd of had somebody to aim for in the middle up front.
Crough was poor i agree but he did look a little isolated at times and i think he's alot more effective with a partner up front.
Warnock IMO DIDN'T play crespo onside for the secong goals as seeing the replays there was the best part of a yard between the two and again the officials have handed the home side a goal that they shouldn't have had. I'm not gonna bother going through rating each player individually as there are plenty of people on here who'll give their ratings but the one rating i'm going to award is  9.5 to arjen robben for the near perfect execution of the half pike and triple salvo (or whatever the hell it's called) near the end to get PEPE REINA sent off.

[bigmick]

I think you are way off Sting'. It was a decent performance by us I thought and the first goal in a very tight game was always going to be the important. Unfortunately, as per usual they got it and it's just a shame that we gifted it to them really with a breakdown of our zonal system from the corner.
My ratings.

Reina- didn't have a hope with either goal, though would have been relieved to see the flag go up when Crespo bundled his fumble over the line. I wouldn't downgrade him for getting sent off, it was wrong to raise his hands but a silly piece of refereeing to be fair. Is capable of sublime handling on occasions (like from the Cole shot) and will be welcomed back. 7/10

Finnan- solid enough and put over a couple of decent crosses. Dealt with the threat of Robben pretty well but understandably became less visible as the game broke up late on. 7/10

Hyppia- IMHO was the main culprit for the first goal. Don't listen to those knowledgeless toolpieces on SKY, part of the zonal system is that players stay within their zones. Sami as our best header is placed on the edge of the six-yard box in a central position to encourage the opposition to play the ball away from him in a dead-ball situation. He is there for a reason and his mere prescence did it's job. However if Sami goes walkabout like he did and doesn't get the ball, you will lose a goal. I think the memory of Ferdinands header was fresh in his mind and caused him to lose his bearings. Other than that he was solid enough. 5/10

Carragher- His usual reliable self, though was exposed in one on one with Robben towards the end. Brilliant saving header to deny Crespo but will feel he should have scored early on. 7/10

Warnock- Played Crespo onside for his goal but this happens in football. The run was bent intelligently and was caught in that classic full-backs dilemma of watching the winger and the ball on the opposite flank at the same time. Started because rafa wanted to play Kewell centrally and didn't have his best game but did OK against Cole. He will improve but I'm not certain it will be by enough. 6/10

Gerrard- Did Ok and knocked one or two killer balls into the box. Still didn't for me do his talent justice in the sense that I think he's goos enough to grab games like this by the balls and dominate. Still our best player though on the day. 8/10

Alonso- Tidy and kept fat Frank very quiet. It must have been the first game in the history of mankind where the pot-bellied barrow boy didn't have a single shot. A little like the rest of the team though, impressed but was unable to land a killer blow. 7.5/10

Sissoko- got through a tonne of work and instrumental in our early dominance. His distribution though and pass selection still leave a little to be desired at times. He will improve though and become a top midfielder in my opinion. 6.5/10

Riise-was unable to really contribute and was culpable for ball-watching at the first goal. Probably with the benefit of hindsight should have started at left-back. 6/10

Kewell-struggled to get involved and had difficulty reading where Crouch was going to flick it on. He's not the first to discover that Makeleli is one of the best holding midfielders in the World and constantly found himself blocked off or hindered by the diminutive and extremely annoying Frenchman. 6/10.

Crouch-Unfairly criticised by some as I think he did OK. Proved that as lone striker he doesn't offer a goal threat but we sort of knew that anyway. Unfortunately for him, Chelsea employed the self same system allowing people to make a direct comparison between Crouch and Crespo, who is absolutely World-class IMHO. He could do worse than take a copy of the video home and study the movement of the Argentinian in and around the box. Better still, if we can get Fowler fit he can watch it first hand. 5/10

The subs weren't on long enough to get a mark good or bad. I think we played well until the second goal went in but beating teams such as them in the league is the next step and it proved beyond us. We have climbed mountains this season but this one was just too high. We will get there though, and my suspicion is that we are nearer the summit than many of the people on here realise.

[Effes]

I think Crouch did OK in the role that we make him play.
He frustrates me with his headers though.

But, are we too predicatble when we play Crouch. It's obvious what we do with him and defences are now cottoning on to the second ball malarky and he's getting crowded out.

[bigmick]

But, are we too predicatble when we play Crouch. It's obvious what we do with him and defences are now cottoning on to the second ball malarky and he's getting crowded out.

With the greatest respect, nobody's "cottoning on" to this second ball malarky, it's fairly obvious to all concerned from the outset. It's a little like saying that people will "cotton on" to Henry's pace, or to Crespo's movement or Van Nistelroys use of the offside rule. You know exactly what these people are going to do, it's stopping it which is difficult.
In the case of the way in which we employ Crouch, IMHO we would make him hugely more difficult to handle if we had a natural goalscorer to feed off his flicks and nudges. Even better if that natural goalscorer was pacy aswell. FWIW I have always held the opinion that overall Robbie Fowler was a far superior player to Michael Owen, however I can't help thinking that if we had Owen in the team alongside Crouch then he would score for fun. Robbie will do well I'm sure but Owen would be made for him I think. TBH, if we had him then people could "cotton on" all they liked, they still wouldn't be able to stop it.

[A.B.]

As dickless says

You would know now wouldn't you?

Mr i've got to get the last word on everything because i'm 15. Grow up you little nonse.

When you grow a pair of balls and stop acting like a three year old, then you'll have the right to critisize somebody else. Until that day, stick to your day job.

FIFTEEN!

15

15, the amount of times you've been on your period this month. Then yes, 15 would be correct.

Come back when you've actually been to a match... or wait... even been in the same country as the team once!

I've been to more than enough games in Croatia. Me not being able to travel to England is a financial and personal matter, something that doesn't concern you.

Come back when you grow some balls and get a decent education while your at it.

[Rastalovich]

But, are we too predicatble when we play Crouch. It's obvious what we do with him and defences are now cottoning on to the second ball malarky and he's getting crowded out.

With the greatest respect, nobody's "cottoning on" to this second ball malarky, it's fairly obvious to all concerned from the outset. It's a little like saying that people will "cotton on" to Henry's pace, or to Crespo's movement or Van Nistelroys use of the offside rule. You know exactly what these people are going to do, it's stopping it which is difficult.
In the case of the way in which we employ Crouch, IMHO we would make him hugely more difficult to handle if we had a natural goalscorer to feed off his flicks and nudges. Even better if that natural goalscorer was pacy aswell. FWIW I have always held the opinion that overall Robbie Fowler was a far superior player to Michael Owen, however I can't help thinking that if we had Owen in the team alongside Crouch then he would score for fun. Robbie will do well I'm sure but Owen would be made for him I think. TBH, if we had him then people could "cotton on" all they liked, they still wouldn't be able to stop it.

Crouch, for me atleast, can win the ball in a whole load of occasions.

The problem for me is that he wins it, then shortly after we`ve lost it.

I don`t personally think he`s got a good enough `touch`. Touch on a more regular basis.

[Gracias King Rafa]

Here we go:

Reina 4
Lost the plot at the end. Had nothing to do with confidence or ability, it was pure frustration. Had absolutely nothing to do for the first 30 minutes, lost shape for the next 15. Lucky for him the break came, and all regrouped. Unfortunately, we will miss his presence in goal for the next 3 games for a stupid act.

Finnan 5
Solid, as always. Not commanding performances although, which we need for an overlapping fullback, especially since we have no right winger which has cost us this season. Whips the ball in too deep sometimes, but does put pressure on the defence. Worked well despite leaving Gallas unmarked in the box to strike the first goal of the match.

Carra 6
Had way too much to do. Covering Hyypia whilst the latter was covering Warnock. Carried a few players tonight. Had a stinging strike in the second half, that was gaoin on target until deflected to a corner. Could have headed the ball in the first corner of the match, but couldn't get his head onto it. Workhorse, without him, we would have been further down the ladder this season.

Hyypia 6
Nervous start, but then had to carry Warnock through his bad spell. Unfortunately, not enough he could do to stop Crespo, Warnock played him onside.

Warnock 3
Poor kid, the reality is he needs more games against lesser quality sides. Riise should have been left back, and Warnock should have started on the bench. Fumbled, stumbled, skewed passes, drifted behind the lines, unfortunately, not good enough tonight. Was the weakest link in our chain, and was exploited.

Sissoko 7
For the most part, I liked Sissoko. His runs, passes, tackles were fantastic, but after the first goal, he lost his way when we needed him the most. Couldn't stop the runs through the middle, carried Alonso tonight.

Alonso 6
I said it before, after the late challenge by Lampard, Alonso was not right, and if I'm not mistaken, he limped off the ground at the end. If he was injured, then I can understand the performance he gave. If he wasn't, then, Alonso was very poor tonight. Passes skewed, no hard tackles, shooting was erratic, not the Alonso we know. Lets hope its a one off, and he's not injured.

Gerrard 8
Man of the Match (LFC side). Even at the end, he was running for everything. Couldn't carry all the players in a match like this, usually it would have worked, but his skill, passes and creativity was superb tonight. Standout in red.

Riise 3
Not even on the pitch tonight. Didn't see him, very unusual. Poor effort.

Kewell 6
Not enough tonight. Had some dash and pazzaz, but was not effective. The link up with Riise was ineffective, and thats partly because Riise went missing all match. That being said, he performed good.

Crouch 4
Excellent potential in the air. Needs to go back to the drawing board with his heading, because it NEEDS WORK! Certainly, with the side playing long balls to him non-stop makes it harder for him to turn and shoot. Lay offs weren't that impressive tonight, and I blame the pitch not the player.


Subs:

Dudek 4
Made a critical save at the end. Need him to step it up, and try and claim his spot back now. He's got 3 games.

Cisse 3
Showed little spark when he came on, right wing, not his position. Don't do a Houllier Rafa. Don't play this lad, his confidence is shot. Especially with Fowler back, he is looking to go back home, we don't need his services. Don't bench him.

Garcia 3
Didn't see him, didn't hear him. Not enough from the sub. Too late for that change. Should have taken Crouch off for Garcia.

Rafa 5
Gambled with Warnock, long balls to Crouch, and a 5 man midfield. Not much he can do but keep the boys heads up, cos he outsmarted Jose for much of the first half, and if the players stepped up a level, we could have been singing at the end.

Team effort 5/10

Not good enough, certainly not with 10 men against a rampant Chelsea side. All up i've lost 60 bucks and a good nights sleep. Back to the drawing board. NO LONG BALLS!!

This was a real kick in the teeth result but Rafa for my money gets a 10 simply for his post match comments:

"I'm in a hurry and I must go to the hospital to see how Robben is, he could be in hospital for a week,"

CLASSIC!!!!!!!!

Been killing myself laughing this evening!!!!  

Rafa   

[Cool Hand Luke]

Reina - 6
Finnan - 7
Carragher - 7
Hyypia - 7
Warnock - 5
Gerrard - 6
Riise - 6
Alonso - 6
Sissoko - 7
Kewell - 7
Crouch - 6

Cech - 6
Gallas - 7
Carvalho - 7
Terry - 7
Del Horno - 7
Makelele - 8
Essien - 7
Lampard - 6
Robben - 8
Cole - 6
Crespo - 7

[115-1073096938]

As dickless says

You would know now wouldn't you?

Mr i've got to get the last word on everything because i'm 15. Grow up you little nonse.

When you grow a pair of balls and stop acting like a three year old, then you'll have the right to critisize somebody else. Until that day, stick to your day job.

FIFTEEN!

15

15, the amount of times you've been on your period this month. Then yes, 15 would be correct.

Come back when you've actually been to a match... or wait... even been in the same country as the team once!

I've been to more than enough games in Croatia. Me not being able to travel to England is a financial and personal matter, something that doesn't concern you.

Come back when you grow some balls and get a decent education while your at it.

Go to a game and come back. Maybe when you're the last few years of your teens you can come over.

Scott managed it and he's only 19, surely if you had the passion you claimed to have you'd make it...

Unless of course you're to young...

A.B. Come back when you've been to ONE MATCH lad.

[115-1073096938]

Reina - 6
Finnan - 7
Carragher - 7
Hyypia - 7
Warnock - 5
Gerrard - 6
Riise - 6
Alonso - 6
Sissoko - 7
Kewell - 7
Crouch - 6

Cech - 6
Gallas - 7
Carvalho - 7
Terry - 7
Del Horno - 7
Makelele - 8
Essien - 7
Lampard - 6
Robben - 8
Cole - 6
Crespo - 7

You blatently copied my post and edited it didn't you HAS, admit it...

[Cool Hand Luke]

I did, because I couldent be bothered typeing out the names.

Does that make me a lazy !

[115-1073096938]

I was thinking more along the lines of a copycat... but yes, thats aswell...

[Effes]

As dickless says

You would know now wouldn't you?

Mr i've got to get the last word on everything because i'm 15. Grow up you little nonse.

When you grow a pair of balls and stop acting like a three year old, then you'll have the right to critisize somebody else. Until that day, stick to your day job.

FIFTEEN!

15

15, the amount of times you've been on your period this month. Then yes, 15 would be correct.

Come back when you've actually been to a match... or wait... even been in the same country as the team once!

I've been to more than enough games in Croatia. Me not being able to travel to England is a financial and personal matter, something that doesn't concern you.

Come back when you grow some balls and get a decent education while your at it.

Go to a game and come back. Maybe when you're the last few years of your teens you can come over.

Scott managed it and he's only 19, surely if you had the passion you claimed to have you'd make it...

Unless of course you're to young...

A.B. Come back when you've been to ONE MATCH lad.

I thought AB was a woman?

[adamnbarrett]

Here we go:

Reina 4
Lost the plot at the end. Had nothing to do with confidence or ability, it was pure frustration. Had absolutely nothing to do for the first 30 minutes, lost shape for the next 15. Lucky for him the break came, and all regrouped. Unfortunately, we will miss his presence in goal for the next 3 games for a stupid act.

Finnan 5
Solid, as always. Not commanding performances although, which we need for an overlapping fullback, especially since we have no right winger which has cost us this season. Whips the ball in too deep sometimes, but does put pressure on the defence. Worked well despite leaving Gallas unmarked in the box to strike the first goal of the match.

Carra 6
Had way too much to do. Covering Hyypia whilst the latter was covering Warnock. Carried a few players tonight. Had a stinging strike in the second half, that was gaoin on target until deflected to a corner. Could have headed the ball in the first corner of the match, but couldn't get his head onto it. Workhorse, without him, we would have been further down the ladder this season.

Hyypia 6
Nervous start, but then had to carry Warnock through his bad spell. Unfortunately, not enough he could do to stop Crespo, Warnock played him onside.

Warnock 3
Poor kid, the reality is he needs more games against lesser quality sides. Riise should have been left back, and Warnock should have started on the bench. Fumbled, stumbled, skewed passes, drifted behind the lines, unfortunately, not good enough tonight. Was the weakest link in our chain, and was exploited.

Sissoko 7
For the most part, I liked Sissoko. His runs, passes, tackles were fantastic, but after the first goal, he lost his way when we needed him the most. Couldn't stop the runs through the middle, carried Alonso tonight.

Alonso 6
I said it before, after the late challenge by Lampard, Alonso was not right, and if I'm not mistaken, he limped off the ground at the end. If he was injured, then I can understand the performance he gave. If he wasn't, then, Alonso was very poor tonight. Passes skewed, no hard tackles, shooting was erratic, not the Alonso we know. Lets hope its a one off, and he's not injured.

Gerrard 8
Man of the Match (LFC side). Even at the end, he was running for everything. Couldn't carry all the players in a match like this, usually it would have worked, but his skill, passes and creativity was superb tonight. Standout in red.

Riise 3
Not even on the pitch tonight. Didn't see him, very unusual. Poor effort.

Kewell 6
Not enough tonight. Had some dash and pazzaz, but was not effective. The link up with Riise was ineffective, and thats partly because Riise went missing all match. That being said, he performed good.

Crouch 4
Excellent potential in the air. Needs to go back to the drawing board with his heading, because it NEEDS WORK! Certainly, with the side playing long balls to him non-stop makes it harder for him to turn and shoot. Lay offs weren't that impressive tonight, and I blame the pitch not the player.


Subs:

Dudek 4
Made a critical save at the end. Need him to step it up, and try and claim his spot back now. He's got 3 games.

Cisse 3
Showed little spark when he came on, right wing, not his position. Don't do a Houllier Rafa. Don't play this lad, his confidence is shot. Especially with Fowler back, he is looking to go back home, we don't need his services. Don't bench him.

Garcia 3
Didn't see him, didn't hear him. Not enough from the sub. Too late for that change. Should have taken Crouch off for Garcia.

Rafa 5
Gambled with Warnock, long balls to Crouch, and a 5 man midfield. Not much he can do but keep the boys heads up, cos he outsmarted Jose for much of the first half, and if the players stepped up a level, we could have been singing at the end.

Team effort 5/10

Not good enough, certainly not with 10 men against a rampant Chelsea side. All up i've lost 60 bucks and a good nights sleep. Back to the drawing board. NO LONG BALLS!!

don't agree at all

reina - 6 unlucky with sending off, couldn't do much about the goals.

finnan - 6 as always very consistent, playing right back and right wing throughout the game but after getting forward we were caught on the counter and short at the back.

hyypia - 6 nervous start, looks a bit jaded and in need of a rest

carra - 7.5 held our defence together and was always there with the crucial header.

warnock - 6 had cole in his back pocket all game, strong challenges, solid but didn't keep on line with the rest of defence for the goal.

sissoko - 7 solid game, probably our player that had most of the ball, strong tackles and never gave up, well done.

alonso - 6 when we play we give it to alonso who is our playmaker but he was getting closed down by makalele and lampard and therefore had to rush his time on the ball, leading to skewed passes.

gerrard - 6/7 like the rest of the side, what he did he did very little of, he didnt get the ball often enough and was isolated on the right and was often trying to do things himself. Trying too hard if you ask me.

Riise - 6 got some crosses in and his link up play was good but looked as if he didn't really know what his job was tonight.

kewell - 6 playing in what is not his favourite role at the start was moved all over the pitch by rafa and he had a shot that went wide, got some good crosses in. He is growing in confidence.

crouch - 4 no pace, no finess about him tonight. the bad thing is that he is 6ft 7 but cant head the ball. he doesn't header the ball just bounces off him really. No support, was crowded out by chelsea defenders. caused problems for the chelsea keeper on crosses otherwise that was it.

all subs made no impact.

p.s. if it player ratings how come you have rated rafa

?I thought we were dominating the game up until they scored but then we lost confidence and went flat. Dissapointing really.