Liverpool FC Forum

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 8:58 pm

The more and more I see Babel, the more I think we need to get rid. Not only because he doesn't delivered but his whole game is selfishly motivated. He is the anti team player. Everything he does is designed to self indulge himself. He is the most reluctant passer I have ever seen, in fact i'm sure I see him grimace every time he is forced into a pass.

Kuyt succeeds over his lack of skill through effort and team play, Babel does the opposite, he ruins his raw talent by focusing on himself.

by **anti-hero** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:06 pm

point away from home. we advance, but i cant help but feel not totally happy.

sorry, but i totally feel we should've won this game. i cannot disagree more with roy and his unnerving penchant to play not to lose. a draw is like a win for him. we had more than enough talent to outmuscle and outgun this obviously impotent side. they had many clear cut chances gifted to them by our defence and they still couldnt score.

much respect to steaua but they're not very good. if we only came out and took command of the game, pressed and harried their players like they did to ours, i have absolute confidence we would've walked away with a commanding victory.

pepe was way overworked today. credit to him for the countless saves he made. he kept us in this really. but with all those shots on goal the romanians had, one of them was bound to squeeze in. and it did. pepe was really unlucky.

we had cole out there, with pacheco and jova on the wings. that should have been enough creativity there to at least carve out more chances than the 5 we had. i know cole hasnt lived up to his tag since coming here but i think it comes down more to the way that roy sets the team when they play.

steaua had the barcelona look going on, but they probably felt like they were barcelona the way they were passing and carving out chances tonight.

a bit disappointed.

a point away from home. it didnt matter, whatever pedigree of the team we were playing. there is absolutely nothing more you can ask from roy hodgson. and that is the absolute truth.

but we advance. so, yay.

by **PabloMedina28** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:06 pm

why was pacheco played on the right wing??? what is hodgson playing at, the lads waited months for this chance and hes played in a defensive side and out of position, roy is a plum
kelly got done too many times for my liking because he stands flat footed when he closes down a player, so his acceleration isnt the best but that can be sorted as he does have decent pace
shelvey did ok but would have done much better with lucas next to him rather then that bag of sh.it poulsen
babel was good in flashes but once again just lacked that fight and effort that would make him an outstanding player, get rid in january because his tude will never change
wilson did well i thought and at only 18 i can see him being a big player for us in the future
auerillo showed konchesky how its done just a shame hes always injured
and finally cole was sh.ite but once hes got his match sharpness back im sure hell come good

by **parchpea** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:15 pm

The club have clearly set the Europa out as a platform to look at fringe and younger players and nothing more. Like it or not thats all they want from it and its obvious in the selections in every match we have played. This competition is putting lads on trial to see how they handle it and if they are worth keeping long term. Our only priority is finishing as high as we can in the league this year because given the problem we have had in recent years its a long way back and right now the dust is not even settled. If we make a quarter or a semi final thats a bonus but frankly they wont be losing sleep if we get dumped out next round.

by **Thommo's perm** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:18 pm

"Hodgson plays stars against sh'ite opposition" -Roy you knob, why are you putting our best players at risk? Play the kids for fu'cks sake!
"Hodson plays second string team against sh'ite opposition" -Roy you knob, why arent you playing our best players for fu'cks sake!
:laugh:

Well done the manager and the squad. Comfortable progression to the next stage

by **redhayesy** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:29 pm

Emerald Red wrote:God, thank f*ck that's over. That was dire to watch.

TOTALLY AGREE MATE! we may of got the result but feck that so called display. please don't even do a player rating tonight cause no player deserves a rating for me!!

this was a masive chance for every player to give a great account of themselves- not one made an impact on this game ,not one!

i said earlier this was a game were i hoped the occasion wouldn't get to them- FFS i was so dis-appointinly right! the likes of wilson froze,the likes of pacheo -for me he is over-rated big time(please dis-agree) if you think otherwise cause i want a discussion on him!

he was subed in the last minuite,for me he should of come off earlier. he above all has had so much hype etc- on a night were he should have justified it,he failed big time for me,am i in a minority here-please give reasons otherwise!

poulsen is just so cr@p words fail me! & as for shelvey-why oh why do so many fans put him on a pedastool! he isn't good enough-yes i hear you cry -he's young,learning his trade etc etc. finr but tonight was a massive chance for him & all the others i mention to play out of their skin,prove they are worthy of a chance in the first team,ffs i was so p1ssed off with their attitude,i really was. babel -not good enough alround get rid ffs.

but for me the biggest worry is now is that it doesn't matter weather it's the first full strength side or the fringe players etc,why the feck do we go one nil up in a game reguardless of time,we fecking sit back & invite trouble instead of going for the jugular,finish teams off & make players express themselves rather than just put every player under pressure with the fecking tactics!

tonight for me was a classic example of having a fecking human transplant at half time! don't get me wrong the whole game plan from the off was :censored:

, but to rub salt into my wounds with the second half performance was totally un-acceptable!

so called experienced players like cole didn't do themselves any favours either-reguardless of coming back from injury etc i don't want to hear it!

total sh1t perforfance- the only one i feel soory for is the poor sod's who payed hard earnt money to travel out their & watch that p1ss poor perforfance, they bl00dy well deserved better than that. we all did!

by **Raoul** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:35 pm

Thommo's perm wrote:"Hodgson plays stars against sh'ite opposition" -Roy you knob, why are you putting our best players at risk? Play the kids for fu'cks sake!
"Hodson plays second string team against sh'ite opposition" -Roy you knob, why arent you playing our best players for fu'cks sake!

Well done the manager and the squad. Comfortable progression to the next stage

Yes, it wasn't as diabolical as some games recently. Good on him for giving the kids a run.

Both Cole and Pacheco needed to start, so someone had to play out of position. Perhaps by the next Europa game Cole will be right back in the first team mix and Pacheco can start in the hole. That I'd like to see, because Pacheco didn't impress tonight.

by **redhayesy** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:42 pm

pacheo didn't impress tonight, that's a fecking understatement mate!

by **NANNY RED** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:44 pm

Made up were through ,but absolutly dire watching it , go 1-0 up and revert to type, sit back,

by **red till i die!!** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:47 pm

SouthCoastShankly wrote:The more and more I see Babel, the more I think we need to get rid. Not only because he doesn't delivered but his whole game is selfishly motivated. He is the anti team player. Everything he does is designed to self indulge himself. He is the most reluctant passer I have ever seen, in fact i'm sure I see him grimace every time he is forced into a pass.

Kuyt succeeds over his lack of skill through effort and team play, Babel does the opposite, he ruins his raw talent by focusing on himself.

agree s.c.s,shame though as i do think he has the talent,just doesent show it often enough.maybe the lack of games adds to his selfishness.
anyway i reckon the only reason he is playin is to put him in the shop window.

by **7_Kewell** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 9:47 pm

it's a result, but that's it. Poor game, with a lot of poor players in a red shirt.

Why, oh why, do people harp on about pacheo? He isn't good enough....he showed against Northampton and he showed it again today.

Cole looked poor most of the time, but he's coming back from injury so i'm sure he'll come good.

Poulson isn't THAT bad, but he isn't that good either.

by **metalhead** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:04 pm

Holy f*ck, I completely forgot about the game!!! was doing some practice exams then my mate txt me and told me that we drew 1-1!!

Anyways, we qualified, the young guns played, I'm happy to rest stars, lets beat Aston Villa now.

by **redhayesy** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:10 pm

NANNY RED wrote:Made up were through ,but absolutly dire watching it , go 1-0 up and revert to type, sit back,

spot on nan, but come on please give more in-depth discussion on the individual players perforformance tonight. you & i both love kelly,but he had a shaky game.- as for pacheo please give some feedback on him cause i for one just don't get it with him. for me he is the classic example of players we have had in years gone by, where they play well in the ressie's -where there is no particular pressure to perform,they play well & loads get on the band wagon etc.

he for me when asked to step up to the first team-it's too big an ask! sorry but it's just how i see it with him. i don't mean the lad any harm, i just think he isn't good enough for the first team & just want to say it as it is!

why did we sit back in the second half? let's again say it as it is- the only reason -tactics! tactics which suck big time! but players for me need to grab a game by the scuff of it's neck & take the pressure off & motivate others around them to do likewise.

the likes of shelvey really,really dis-appointed me tonight,he was out of his depth big time for me! again he's been put on a pedastool & failed big time tonight he was exposed he really was.

our so called strength in depth was non exsistant tonight- it really is worrying times as far as that is concerned.

by **metalhead** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:17 pm

mate we can blame the tactics and all, but I'm actually happy that we played some young players tonight because the premier league is more important. Also, we qualified and have been unbeaten in the competition as well, without playing our star players too! I'm more concerned on monday's game

by **NANNY RED** » Thu Dec 02, 2010 10:26 pm

Well Roy was made up Hayesy with that performance , doesnt matter what me or you think mate , as long as he is happy thats what its all about , He was delighted by that performance ,

Roy Hodgson admitted he was delighted by the performance of his young stars as Liverpool secured a place in the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-1 draw against Steaua Bucharest on Thursday night.

Milan Jovanovic headed the Reds into a first-half lead in Romania, but an uncharacteristic error from Pepe Reina allowed Eder Bonfim's header to squirm over the line and ensured the hosts claimed a point.

Nevertheless, the result was enough to take Liverpool into the next stage of the tournament with a game to spare as group winners.

Hodgson told his post-match press conference: "I am very happy. Happy most of all the team we had confidence in to take on this tough task of facing Steaua were able to produce the performance, and get the result we needed.

"We always knew it would be tough here. It was a last chance for Steaua to qualify, we knew they had big hopes and a lot of experienced players, but I think the players served the club well. We stuck at our task very well and had Joe Cole taken his chance in the first half maybe we'd have had it slightly easier.

"All credit to Steaua, they made us work very hard, but we are happy with the point and qualification."

He added: "I was concerned for them (the young players), I think I asked a lot of the team with so many players who haven't played for a long time - Joe Cole, Fabio Aurelio and Ryan Babel for example.

"Players like Danny Wilson, Dani Pacheco and Jonjo Shelvey, who have hardly played at all in the first team, asking them to come to Bucharest and get a result against a team of Steaua's quality is what I mean by being concerned.

"It was a big ask for those players to stand up to some of the pressure and deal with the quality football Steaua played, and I'm really delighted for them that they've come off the field with a good result and we now top the group whatever happens in the final game.

"It's a good achievement considering we have gone through this Europa League campaign giving many players a chance to play who don't normally play in the Premier League."

Having travelled to Bucharest minus the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Fernando Torres, Raul Meireles, Glen Johnson and Dirk Kuyt, Hodgson was left thrilled by the manner in which his young squad stood up to the test.

It's been a recurring theme throughout Liverpool's unbeaten Europa League quest so far this season - and Hodgson believes the run is serving to bolster the confidence of his young starlets.

He said: "It gives them confidence and I think we've seen the emergence of players like David Ngog and Martin Kelly (this season) and I think their emergence has come through these Europa League matches because they've been given a chance.

"Tonight I think you would have to add the name of Dani Pacheco. He hasn't had many chances but he certainly didn't let the team down at all, neither did Nathan Eccleston when he came on.

"In particular today I was delighted for Ryan Babel because he is a player who, again, has not had many opportunities to show what he can do. Tonight he took his opportunity with both hands and really did well upfront.

"It's good for me to know the work we're doing day in, day out on the training field is having some effect and the players are getting more and more comfortable with what we're trying to do, even those that maybe don't play every week."

Hodgson continued: "Danny Wilson has had one game in the first team, which was at left back. This is the first time he's had a chance to play at centre-back and it was a tough game to come into at centre-back, so I am delighted.

"It would have been nice to have won the game. Pepe is a bit down because he had an exceptionally good game in goal, but he's a bit disappointed he didn't keep a clean sheet.

"But as far as I'm concerned, I was most interested in the performance and if the players could stand up to the challenge. I think they did and it's going to be a pleasant ride home for us."

Steaua are now currently second in Group K and will go head-to-head with Napoli in the final group game in an attempt to secure qualification.

Hodgson admits he was impressed by the quality of the Romanian outfit, and backed them to join Liverpool in the last 32.

He said: "I think they played well tonight. They caused us a lot of problems, especially down the left wing.

"They were very good and got a lot of crosses into the penalty area, so we had to deal with a lot of dangerous situations but I am happy we dealt with them and come away with a good result.

"I still think Steaua have got every chance of qualifying from this group. They are in second place and if they can go to Napoli and get a draw, they will be qualifying with us - and they certainly deserve that."

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