Liverpool FC Forum

JC_81 » Sat Nov 02, 2013 8:33 pm wrote:Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say we were beaten by the better team on the day, which is exactly what happened.  Arsenal have been playing well recently, are top of the league and have a lot of players on form, plus they had home advantage.  It's not a disgrace to be beaten under those circumstances.

We lost the game because they had better players in the midfield and won that battle.  That said we also had our chances and on another day might still have taken something from the game.

I agree it does highlight some of our weaknesses - apart from our first choice 'wing backs' Johnson and Enrique, who were both missing, we don't have anyone with enough quality to play there, making the 3-at-the-back ineffective in an attacking sense.  The Gerrard/Lucas axis also lacks the athleticism required in central midfield in this league.

We also had poor performances on the day from the likes of Toure who is usually solid and to an extent our front two, who although starved of service for large parts, didn't make the most of the opportunities they did have.

A bad day at the office.  It's not so much results in these games that will define this team and our season, it's how we react to them.  We move on.  3 points next game is a must.

Exactly. Good post. Our team in terms of quality just couldn't match Arsenal and the likes for Man City and Chelsea. We just have to play consistently and see what that could take us. Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson and both wingbacks are found wanting in this game...

BTW the referee ***** it up with the Suarez quick restart... should've been a goal to us.

Benny The Noon » Sat Nov 02, 2013 10:02 pm wrote:It wasn't the defeat - it was being outclassed and outplayed in the crucial areas by them

Oh come on, when was the last time we lost and you said "it's OK, we played good"? It's either "we can't finish our chances and don't have bottle to see games out" when we dominate games but lose by an unlucky goal or "we had no control in the game, got overrun in midfield, Lucas this Henderson that Gerrard too old etc." Whenever we lose we say that our performance was Sh*t and not good enough. 

Now I'm not saying that people are wrong when they say that most of the players weren't up for this, especially the midfield. But JC_81 is right, we just got beat by the better team (the league leaders) on their own ground. That is why there is absolutely no reason for overreactions. We're still very much in the driving seat for a top 4 finish, which is the goal, and this defeat changes absolutely nothing! I was honestly more concerned when we drew against Newcastle and Swansea.

You yourself Benny said about a month or so ago that we should look at the table after 10 games and see where we are, like it was "in the good old days". Well, look at the table now. It's been 10 games and we're still in the top 4 with 20 points, double from what we had this time last season. That, my friends, is an obvious progress, so give the team some god damn support.

We didn't get beat by the better team. We looked clumsy.

Cissokho looks like an idiot. Whenever he is picked, I have zero confidence. Sakho also, he doesn't look good. Lucas, awful. He doesn't fill me with confidence.

Against Arsenal. We were not beaten by the better team, not by a long shot. We were beaten because we have so many players in the team who simply shouldn't be there.

Kharhaz » Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:32 am wrote:We didn't get beat by the better team. We looked clumsy.

Cissokho looks like an idiot. Whenever he is picked, I have zero confidence. Sakho also, he doesn't look good. Lucas, awful. He doesn't fill me with confidence.

Against Arsenal. We were not beaten by the better team, not by a long shot. We were beaten because we have so many players in the team who simply shouldn't be there.

Errrrrrr... If we have players not good enough, which I agree, that makes us a lousier team and them a better team...

I could see the reasons for that downfall match. First, Arsenal are the best PL at the moment. But is it only me or what? I noticed their play was the tiki taka football that BR preached about when he was first appointed ie keep possession, pass it around, frustrate your opponents and burst into sudden offensive play when they're fed up with the game without a kick of the ball. Our play was too dependant on long balls which were easily intercepted. Arsenal gave Liverpool a harsh lesson on tiki taka.

The moment I saw young inexperienced Flanagan in place of the injured Johnson and still without Enrique, I knew the game was half lost. Glenn Johnson is the type of player you only get to miss when he is absent. We seemed to show too much respect for the gunners at their backyard. Players like Flanagan, Cissoko, Sakho are basically not good enough for the side. We need 2 quality left and right wing backs, a playmaker to take over ageing Stevie and another striker. Suarez will not be here by the end of the season at the latest.

JC_81 » Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:33 am wrote:Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say we were beaten by the better team on the day, which is exactly what happened.  Arsenal have been playing well recently, are top of the league and have a lot of players on form, plus they had home advantage.  It's not a disgrace to be beaten under those circumstances.

We lost the game because they had better players in the midfield and won that battle.  That said we also had our chances and on another day might still have taken something from the game.

I agree it does highlight some of our weaknesses - apart from our first choice 'wing backs' Johnson and Enrique, who were both missing, we don't have anyone with enough quality to play there, making the 3-at-the-back ineffective in an attacking sense.  The Gerrard/Lucas axis also lacks the athleticism required in central midfield in this league.

We also had poor performances on the day from the likes of Toure who is usually solid and to an extent our front two, who although starved of service for large parts, didn't make the most of the opportunities they did have.

A bad day at the office.  It's not so much results in these games that will define this team and our season, it's how we react to them.  We move on.  3 points next game is a must.

Great post mate, very disappointing result and of course we have weakness  but overall as Damjan said 20 points from our 10 first games isn't bad.
We just have to bounce back next week

Not much can be added...Traveled to London to see the match had some hopes but unfortunately the  game turned out as predicted and as other already wrote ,our midfield and defense can't handle a team which is pressuring us high in the pitch ;was sad to see Gerrard so average ,Lucas not built for this kind of matchs and Hendo plays like a frightened chicken. We could have achieved something but the last pass/kick was awful ,thought Luis and Danny were selfish ***** and could have done much more...

Disappointing but acceptable.

Kharhaz » Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:32 am wrote:We didn't get beat by the better team. We looked clumsy.

Cissokho looks like an idiot. Whenever he is picked, I have zero confidence. Sakho also, he doesn't look good. Lucas, awful. He doesn't fill me with confidence.

Against Arsenal. We were not beaten by the better team, not by a long shot. We were beaten because we have so many players in the team who simply shouldn't be there.

After reading the typically depressing shight on here from the usual boring culprit at least you gave me a fkg good laugh. My glass generally is close to full but yours mate is absolutely overflowing. We were not beaten by the better team you say        Sorry mate I'm not taking the proverbial but we struggled to come second !!

Enrique is being rested with a knee problem if the reports from BR are correct and I have no reason not to believe him. Johnson was seriously missed and Coutinho has been missed for weeks. Made a positive difference when he came on. Once again as I have said for years strength in depth is a massive problem. Take three quality players out of the team and we have serious problems.

Not a good day at the office. I predicted 22 points from our first 10 games so I'm delighted that we are making progress. Anybody who thought this was going to be an overnight fix is seriously deluded. The next 10 games are possibly more difficult especially around Christmas but I still think we can get 21 points.

Just hope that Spurs and Everton both lose today but that might be tricky    I'll settle for a draw !!

I don't think we were that bad, we have played better but were simply outclassed by a great footballing side.

Arsenals football in spells was breathtaking, and a lesser side would have conceded far more than two.

It shows we're we are in respect of the very top teams. Lots of work to do and much needed cover for the full backs come the window.

crazyhorse » Sun Nov 03, 2013 10:27 am wrote:I don't think we were that bad, we have played better but were simply outclassed by a great footballing side.

Arsenals football in spells was breathtaking, and a lesser side would have conceded far more than two.

It shows we're we are in respect of the very top teams. Lots of work to do and much needed cover for the full backs come the window.

Completely disagree with your assessment of Arsenal mate.

We were certainly outclassed, but at no point did I consider their football to be "breathtaking". I thought they were extremely good but "breathtaking" ?    never.

Respect to Arsenal for the game they played but they were certainly helped by a poor performance from our players and some equally poor decisions from our manager.

in the first ten minutes/quarter of an hour we pressed them high up the pitch and they struggled to cope, the problem was we just werent athletic enough to press them high up the park and also to get back to defend which is what happened on their first goal, our midfielders didnt have the legs to track cazorla`s run.
but arsenal certainly didnt look invincible or anything when we pressed them early, they only started to look impressive when our midfield dropped off and gave them time and space to play in.
we`ve got too many one paced plodders to be a high intensity pressing side.

Kharhaz » Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:32 am wrote:We didn't get beat by the better team. We looked clumsy.

Cissokho looks like an idiot. Whenever he is picked, I have zero confidence. Sakho also, he doesn't look good. Lucas, awful. He doesn't fill me with confidence.

Against Arsenal. We were not beaten by the better team, not by a long shot. We were beaten because we have so many players in the team who simply shouldn't be there.

So our players were/aren't good enough and shouldn't be there yet we weren't beaten by a better team ? Strange logic

We were soundly beaten by a team better than us in most departments yesterday. We only better them with our strikers - overall they are a better team and better squad. The match clearly showed that.

I was too upset to look at this forum or any football forum yesterday.

I have to say though, we had a number of chances that could have been converted and for all the extra possession that Arsenal had, the goals they got were against the run of play more or less.

I still think that we have a better front line of players and better defense than Arsenal. But our midfield and wide players are not up to scratch anymore.

I've always supported Gerrard, but it is clear to me finally that his lack of mobility has begun to hurt us. Henderson has great legs but his athleticism can't overshadow his ***** poor touch, his lack of supplying goals, and his inability to do anything out of the ordinary, ever. Lucas is OK, and can do it well against the poorer teams.

Our width is pathetic, however. I don't understand this 3-5-2. I don't think we should've sold Downing. Cissokho is the worst loan ever. Johnson is THE MOST OVERRATED full-back in the league by far. We should go back to a 4-3-3 with Agger and Toure back. We need to find a Gerrard successor in January and should start him only once every other week.

kartiek » Sun Nov 03, 2013 4:40 pm wrote: We need to find a Gerrard successor in January and should start him only once every other week.

We won't find a quality young player to be Gerrard's "successor" in the January window, if there is any player that has the potential available he will be horribly over priced and FSG simply won't coff up the funds as we saw a few months ago.

Unfortunately we may need to wait till the end of the season and weigh up our options.

If I was frank Lucas, Henderson and Allen aren't anywhere near the quality we need to push on.

Stevie should not be played in every game and the sooner we can bring in some fresher players into the CM role the better.

Rodger's has a tough job over the next 12 months to sort this out.

Eds - after Gerrard's performance on Sunday I think I could do a better job. Only hoping. Just hope it was a blip.