Liverpool FC Forum

Benny The Noon » Fri Mar 08, 2013 7:34 pm wrote:I thinks it amusing when people say that certain teams arent actually that good when they are miles ahaead of us in the league.

Totally agree. Spur's are a good team who are currently playing very well. Anyone who says they are not, has the blinkers on. It's not like they have managed to consistently be in and around the top four by luck over the last couple of years However, saying that we can beat anyone at Anfield, and in our current form I fancy us to beat Spur's comfortably - not because they are not a good team but more about how good we currently are and can be.

Going to be a tough game. Spurs are in great form and have a very balanced side. Lennon, Defoe, Dembele, Bale, and Sigurdsson (as of recently) are all very good attackers and they also have Vertongen and Lloris at the back both of whom have been immense.

I would stay with Agger, Carra, Enrique, and Johnson in the back line. Go with Lucas and Gerrard sitting with Hendo the point. Sturridge, Downing, and Suarez up top. I think Henderson's running will be very important to close people down in this game. Also, I'd go with Downing instead of Coutinho as he's a little more defense minded. If we need more attack then throw coutinho on at the half.

RedHands » Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:09 pm wrote:Going to be a tough game. Spurs are in great form and have a very balanced side. Lennon, Defoe, Dembele, Bale, and Sigurdsson (as of recently) are all very good attackers and they also have Vertongen and Lloris at the back both of whom have been immense.

I would stay with Agger, Carra, Enrique, and Johnson in the back line. Go with Lucas and Gerrard sitting with Hendo the point. Sturridge, Downing, and Suarez up top. I think Henderson's running will be very important to close people down in this game. Also, I'd go with Downing instead of Coutinho as he's a little more defense minded. If we need more attack then throw coutinho on at the half.

that sounds like a sensible suggestion to me, obviously we want to take the game to spurs but we have to be wary of that ability they have to break at pace. spurs made short work of a decent inter side midweek so we have to respect them.
downings experience probably means he`s a bit more disciplined than coutinho defensively so he might the better option considering the opposition.
it`s crunch time now and at the risk of sounding melodramatic our season rests on those 90 minutes tomorrow, if we dont come away with all 3 points then 4th really is gone, a draw isnt even good enough, but if we do manage to turn them over then we will not only still have hope but quite a bit of momentum too.

I'd like Rodgers to use what he sees as  his preferred system\tactics and best players for the rest of the season. So I'd like to see Allen and Coutinho start tomorrow.

Best players and then you suggest Allen who is woefully way off form currently ?

RedHands » Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:09 pm wrote:Going to be a tough game. Spurs are in great form and have a very balanced side. Lennon, Defoe, Dembele, Bale, and Sigurdsson (as of recently) are all very good attackers and they also have Vertongen and Lloris at the back both of whom have been immense.

I would stay with Agger, Carra, Enrique, and Johnson in the back line. Go with Lucas and Gerrard sitting with Hendo the point. Sturridge, Downing, and Suarez up top. I think Henderson's running will be very important to close people down in this game. Also, I'd go with Downing instead of Coutinho as he's a little more defense minded. If we need more attack then throw coutinho on at the half.

Coutinho was excellent against Wigan and would start him tomorrow. Yes spurs do counter well with the pace they have, but we are at home and onus is on us to go out there and take the game by the scruff of the neck. We do that, we win IMO. Let them worry about how they are going to deal with Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho. No team enjoys coming to Anfield, so let's concentrate on what we can do rather worrying too much about what the oppo do.

He WAS woefully short of form. You obviously haven't seen the last couple of games when he has been very good. But that wasn't really the point. I reckon Rodgers is making the most of what he has right now when it comes to Henderson and Downing.  Downing has played because we have no other serious options and Henderson has got games because of the sharp decline in form Allen suffered and the fact Sahin didn't work out as planned. Allen will be an important player next season while Henderson may not even be here.

I have seen Allen in the last couple games and he has still not played very well at all. Henderson has played more this season because he has played better than Allen and currently looks a better player than Allen.

Why will Henderson not be at the club next season when he is just getting better each game. And Downing has also played because his form has meant he deserves to keep playing.

Downing and Henderson are both earning the chances to continue their careers at the club.

My concern is whether Lucas will have a good game or not. If he does, he'll be up to the task of being in the right spot at the right time to make intelligent/timely/important/ tackles and keep tabs on bale.

If he has a day where he's just lunging in, looking way off the pace (as he can sometimes appear) and constantly giving away stupid free-kicks in stupid positions then he's only going to help Spurs' cause and be a liability for us.

It's 50-50 with him, so you never know.

Agreed. We absolutely cannot give away free kicks in dangerous areas tomorrow

ethanr » Fri Mar 08, 2013 4:45 pm wrote:I honestly don't think they've been that good.  They've been riding the good form of Bale, and to be honest he's been getting extremely lucky with some of his goals.  If we can shut down, or at least slow down Bale, then we should be fine.  It's one player compared to having to shut down a group of them.

Tottenham and Arsenal are the same, and really united too.  They aren't playing that well and skating by every game winning by one with a lot of luck involved.  Sure it wins games, but when they come to Anfield to play an in-form club like us, we shall see.


With that, I feel like it' been years since we've gotten a result against spurs.  I think they've beat us at home two years running now.

Sorry mate but you really are talking a crock of shight. Spurs play some absolutely fantastic football. Bale is a key player but they are a long way from being a one man team. You could say the same about Messi at Barca or Van Persie at United but that would be equally as stupid. Luck plays a part but I think they deserve a little bit more credit than that.

Today we will face a Spurs team who in my opinion are playing the best football in the Premiership and it is going to be our biggest and most important test for a while. If BR gets his tactics right and we come out with a quality result then the future is definitely looking far better. I'm under no illusion that it is going to be easy.

In a way I know what you mean about spurs not being that good, the league is not as good as it was, the scum are walking away with it and they're not that good a team and almost anything can happen these days.

On the other hand, since beating us the end of November (with a bit of luck), spurs have gone on a good run, picked up some good wins against the likes of Arsenal, Swansea and West Brom, drew with manure and only lost to the bitters.

AVB has done well in his first season but he inherited a better squad and brought in a few experienced players. There was a lot more work to do with our squad and we've had to plan more for the future as well as sorting out the club finances. After playing the first half of the season a bit short in attack, we added a couple of signings and looked a lot better since January.

If we win today it will show how much progress we've made and it could mean us finishing a position or two higher in the league, it should help a bit that they played on Thursday. If we loose today, it's not the end of the world as really we're just building for next season so it won't help to criticise the manager and players if this happens. A draw could be the most likely outcome but I think we'll both be going for a win.

Come on the reds.

A win would put us 6th today also 2 points behind Arsenal in 5th. Alot to play for in this match. Wouldnt be suprised to see Sturridge start on bench although i think that would be a huge mistake

Why isn't Reina playing?

Fragile midfield that, without Henderson.

GULP.

Not liking the look of that line up.