Liverpool FC Forum

[Bad Bob]

Let's have all your post-match analysis in here.  The match thread will be locked shortly. 

[bigmick]

I said on the match thread I think it's a good point won. I say that in the sense that I don't think that our title aspirations are realistic in all honesty, and I think we need to realise that Blackburn are above us in the table and taking points off them is a good thing.

There'll be plenty of time between now and the end of the season to go into the finer points of why we didn't win the title nor mount a challenge (if indeed I'm right and we don't), but in the overall scheme of things this is a good result. They've won their last seven while we are not exactly flying, it's a difficult place to go and therefore we can be relatively happy.

I honestly believe in the short term our priority while we have all the injuries is to try and cement a place in the top four. If in doing that we manage to get into a challenging position then great, but we don't want to be in  a situation where we have to produce league winning form in the last ten games just to get into the Champions League.

Sorry to those who believe we can/will win the league, but my honest assessment is and has been since we played Arsenal, that we won't this season.

[Kharhaz]

Ok, as unlucky as we were in not taking our chances blackburn could count themselves equally unlucky by hitting the post (twice) and not getting a penalty (PM to Carragher: please stop scaring me like this !). The game itself, from what I gathered from commentary on five live was very even until the last 15 mins when Liverpool started to go at them. We showed we can attack teams and we showed we are very good at pressing them back but we shouldnt have to leave it until the last quarter of the game, from the off we should be thinking 2 goal cushion, conserve energy while defending and see if we can a 3rd. At the moment were thinking hang on for 70 mins then try to nick one.

[bigmick]

The game wasn't really that even mate, it was a classic game of two halves. In the first, we were very fortunate to go in level, we offered nothing and they were much the better team. A bit of a new developemnt as far as games against them go was they actually played us off the park as opposed to kicking us off it. Dunn's shot was in for all money and was very unlucky to come off the underside of the bar. Bentley too hit the outside of the post, meaning that including the Arsenal game, or frame has been hit four times in two matches, and what with the penalty decisions/sendings off against Everton we can't really complain about the way our luck is going. 

In the second half, we gradually took control of the game. Kewell looked class when he came on and we improved dramatically, and once Crouch joined him and we reverted to two orthodox strikers we had a string of chances. Freidel made some good saves, Kuyt missed a sitter and all in all, a draw was probably a fair result. Had we gone at them from the start though I would be fairly confident we would have won the game.

[Kharhaz]

So it would be right to say a point against blackburn today was a good result. Still unbeaten, and although we are not playing other teams off the park we are still in the race. Kewell back, alonso,torres to come back, at least we aint losing the games. Many people are looking at this result in a negative vein, there are plenty of games to go until the season ends and Arsenal are due injurys and a poor run of form themselves.

[Bad Bob]

I haven't seen the game yet so could someone enlighten me about our midfield set up today?  I gather we played a 4-5-1 but who played where, exactly?

[Kharhaz]

Babel on the left, Sissoko, Mascherano, with Gerrard supporting Kuyt and Benayoun on the right.

[bigmick]

So it would be right to say a point against blackburn today was a good result. Still unbeaten, and although we are not playing other teams off the park we are still in the race. Kewell back, alonso,torres to come back, at least we aint losing the games. Many people are looking at this result in a negative vein, there are plenty of games to go until the season ends and Arsenal are due injurys and a poor run of form themselves.

Like I said mate, I think in the contxt of our season it's a good point. I do believe that if you are serious about launching a title challenge, you probably would go there looking to win when Man Utd and Arsenal have just drawn, but realistically that's a long shot at best and I think that explains Rafa's conservative team selection.

[112-1077774096]

sorry kopmatt the other thread was locked before i could reply. in athens they scored 2 goals and we scored 1.

in life you get what you deserve, they scored more and therefore deserved to win, thats football mate, the team that score more wins, the team that scores more have done what football is all about and score goals, therefore they deserve to win, how they played is not relevant, if you deserve to win you need to score more than the other team or you don't win, its that simple mate

[Kharhaz]

Agree. He does tend to analyze the opposition to the core and results of Man Utd and Arsenal must have decided his final team yesterday. If only Kuyt had more confidence he would have taken at least one of his chances.

(In reply to Bigmick)

[112-1077774096]

rafa again shows his poor man management, its not fair on kuyt to be paraded in front of thousand of people every week to be mocked, please rafa have a heart and leave him at home, pleeeeeaase

[Leonmc0708]

It's funny isn't it?

No matter what we do on the pitch, there'll still be some miserable sat in the corner telling us that's it's not good enough. If a striker scores a hat trick and then skins 6 men before putting a shot over the bar, he's there telling us how St John wouldn't have missed it, you know the type, you see them all the time. 'It wasn't like that in my day, he'd have skinned 15 men (the manager and the subs) in my day and then popped it in the bottom corner.' There's one who sits behind me, no matter what they do, they'll still get the 'Yer yer' line every time they have the temerity to mishit the thing. Do they do it on purpose? Yeah that's it, they see 40000 people turning up every week, paying their wages and decide 'You know what, that in the green on the front row 's an ugly , I'm gonna make him miserable, I'm gonna pass the ball to Christopher Samba when I could give it to the skipper and he could put us 1-0 up and net me an extra few hundred quid in bonuses.' off.

If we don't win, we're . If we win we're boss. Take that Beşiktaş game for example, mad goal sends us 1-0 down, we get beat 2-1. They don't get lucky we win 1-0, play exactly the same and it's pats on the back all round. 'Nice one lads, good game, good game.'

The last two games, have seen us play 2 of the 4 most difficult teams in the league, and guess what, we didn't lose, or even look like we were going going to lose. We played Arsenal (or Brazil 1970 MK II as I'm calling them henceforth) and we lead them for 75 minutes. I feel quite honoured, Gordon Banks sat there and probably thought, 'I tell you what, if we'd have played like this in Mexico 37 years ago, I wouldn't have needed to make that boss save. Pele's got all on this Adebayor and Carlos Alberto would struggle to get into this side.' Seriously though, you'd think they were Brazil in 1970, with added Cruyff and co. Who gives a , we were beating them for 75 minutes. Best team ever. Innit.

Why slag players off? It's genuinely something I've never understood, yeah, I've probably said a few things about Sissoko in the past that might have been over the top (nothing against the lad, but I don't see how he gets in the team)(and maybe Riise as well), but seriously, players don't do it deliberately. Why slag them off? We see the faults, the manager see the faults. Do you think he stands there and says 'I tell you what, this is brilliant, we've come away from home and drawn with a team we're better than.' ?

Does he . The man is basically a mentalist, watch him on the sideline, if he was offered a Playstation pad to control the players, he'd bite your hand off. He probably plays Pro Evo, like us (or them sad who sit there and play Fifa- ) and wants to manipulate them to his exact wants and needs. But he can't, he's still learning, he always is, just as the players are always learning about him. We're not gonna be Arsenal, cos the manager hasn't had 11 years to change the philosophy of the whole club, ditto United, or even Chelsea, cos we've not had a cheque book thrown at us to sign £50m worth of central midielders.

He sees what's wrong, just like we see what's wrong. He's trying to improve that, every day he's looking for players, we've got some dross, he knows that, I know that, you know that. So get the off his back. 'Ar ey lad, he's him, get rid la and get someone in who knows what he's doing. That Paul Jewell, he's scouse him.' (Yeah, I'd like to say I'm joking, but I've heard that).

To be honest, we probably won't win the league this season, regardless, we're making huge steps. This time last season, we were still a month away from an away win, this time round, we've got four. We'll be close this season, I doubt we'll win it, we might even come 4th, but we'll be close, even if we are 4th. And then in the summer, we'll sign players, possibly some wingers, maybe a second striker, maybe another centre half, which could have used the last month, regardless, we'll improve again.

But yeah, get rid of the manager and get some in who'll probably look at Steven Gerrard and think 'Why the am I managing him - he's far bigger than me.'

Some people need to get a grip. 11 games played, 6 points of the lead. And we're unbeaten. 14 points away from home? Did we even get that away from home in the whole of last season? I don't know, I can't be arsed checking, mainly 'cos it doesn't matter.

Miserable. Shower. Of. .

If we won every game 6-0, people would still moan. Do us a favour. Go and support Kauto Star. He never loses. Oh wait, he does.

The 2nd best National Hunt horse ever isn't perfect. Neither are the Reds. Deal with it. Bellends

Wanted to echo Phils sentiments here.

[112-1077774096]

why did the poet get banned   

[Bad Bob]

He wanted to make it twice in a week...

[112-1077774096]

He wanted to make it twice in a week...