Liverpool FC Forum

by **devaney** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 1:56 pm

Entourage » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:06 pm wrote:Great performance, absolutely gutted to go out on away goals. Suarez's second free kick is out of this world - amazing player and too see a player that upset at the final whistle for a Europa League game shows how much the kid wanted to win.

I've seen people slate Carra for his mistake, was horrific and probably has cost us along with the last 25 minutes in St Petersburg. I do think though that Carra's mistake gave us the attacking intent we needed from the first whistle, until they scored I thought our performance was pretty flat for saying we needed to score 3, when the lads knew we needed 4 they upped it, don't know if that's just me but thats how I felt it seemed.

Rodgers and his substitutes were wrong and he will know he got it wrong looking back, I'm prepared to give him the benefit of doubt seeing as it was his first major European game in management. I do think Shelvey was the only one he got wrong though, Assaidi needed to come on for Hendo, Hendo never looks like he can beat a man and was always looking to come in field. Sterling was poor when he came on as well, that wasn't Rodgers is fault. Wouldn't of minded Suso coming on for Downing looking back.

Allen played well, he looked like the £15million signing he was back in August and September the one who goes hunting for the ball and advances. Expect him to start v Wigan!

Anyway it wasn't to be last night, the fans and players gave it their all but fell just short. The priority now is to perform at that level for the next 11 League games, we need to finish strong and show Suarez why he should stay and be a Liverpool player because after performances like that last night the major clubs are going to be after him in the Summer.

YNWA

Sterling has been awful since he signed his contract! So yes I certainly blame Rodgers for using him.

by **Entourage** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:00 pm

Like I said Sterling was poor, Rodgers got it wrong BUT give him the benefit of doubt, that was Rodgers first major European game last night, adrenalin was running and he thought his changes would work, unfortunately they didn't. If Shelvey had come on and scored the winner then people wouldn't be complaining, Rodgers would of got it spot on. That is how Football works.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:22 pm

devaney » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:09 pm wrote:Fantastic effort but why did BR bring on two subs when we looked like fkg world beaters?

I feel this was the turning point last night. The old saying "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT" was never more true than last night. After the downer of conceding the reaction from the redmen was fantastic and after the third goal went in I was certain we'd win but lost that feeling soon after the subs. Shelvey coming on was a mistake for me, Allen was having a decent game and removing Henderson as well (again having a good game) ruined the flow of our attacks.

Their goal felt especially cruel as there was a cracking rendition of the Carragher song going on as he miss hit his pass. What that mistake showed for me was that BR and the defence haven't learned a single lesson this season as there is STILL an insistance on passing the ball around in dangerous areas when safety should come first. There were instances late on where we still had hope but were doing their best to gift Zenit the killer blow by overpassing at the back.

Enough of the negatives though, a fantastic effort by the lads and almost another European night to rival St. Etienne, Olympiacos and Chelski.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:28 pm

Fowler_E7 » Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:06 am wrote:
ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:33 pm wrote:
dundreamin » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:26 pm wrote:Absolutely gutted. If the subs had,nt made I reckon we would of gone through.

we did seem to lose our grip on midfield a bit with the double substitution.
impressed with assaidi though, if coutinho was going past players like that we`d all be hailing him the next ronaldinho, what the hell has that lad got to do to get a run in the side?

Assaidi was excellent tonight i thought and has always looked pretty impressive whenever hes played, so why in Gods name does he never ever play??? its really baffling, the guy deserves a chance, he drifts past players for fun and has a decent delivery.

Thought we gave it a good go tonight, my only disappointment was the sub of Allen for Shelvey, there was no need for Jonjo and he was poor when he came on and quite frankly he dosnt deserve any game time at the minute. Other than that we really pushed Zenit hard and were unlucky not to get the goal we needed, i have absolutely no idea what Carragher was playing at for the goal!

Hard to argue with the bit in bold. Shelvey did nothing but get in the way at times and was lazy to boot.
I really felt at the start of the season that he could define a role for himself in the first team this season, especially with BR having a bit of a hard on for him but he isn't living up to that belief and quite frankly doesn't look like he gives two shits half the time.

by **stmichael** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:32 pm

everything's easier in hindsight. if shelvey scores that sitter then all of a sudden rodgers is a genius for putting him on. as it was he was generally poor although i thought assaidi did ok when he came on. ultimately as a manager you gamble by making a substitution. last night rodgers took a gamble and it didn't come off. if he waits another 15 minutes to change it and we don't win everyone would be moaning that he made the changes too late.

i'm not going to fault the effort though. thought we were outstanding. the tie wasn't lost last night. it was lost in the first leg.

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:37 pm

RUSHIE#9 » Fri Feb 22, 2013 2:22 pm wrote:
devaney » Thu Feb 21, 2013 10:09 pm wrote:Fantastic effort but why did BR bring on two subs when we looked like fkg world beaters?

I feel this was the turning point last night. The old saying "IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT" was never more true than last night. After the downer of conceding the reaction from the redmen was fantastic and after the third goal went in I was certain we'd win but lost that feeling soon after the subs. Shelvey coming on was a mistake for me, Allen was having a decent game and removing Henderson as well (again having a good game) ruined the flow of our attacks.

Their goal felt especially cruel as there was a cracking rendition of the Carragher song going on as he miss hit his pass. What that mistake showed for me was that BR and the defence haven't learned a single lesson this season as there is STILL an insistance on passing the ball around in dangerous areas when safety should come first. There were instances late on where we still had hope but were doing their best to gift Zenit the killer blow by overpassing at the back.

Enough of the negatives though, a fantastic effort by the lads and almost another European night to rival St. Etienne, Olympiacos and Chelski.

good post mate.
what allen and hendo were doing (along with lucas, downing and gerrard) was pressing the zenit players like f##k, every time zenit got the ball they were struggling to string 5 passes together because we were all over them like a rash in midfield. we were constantly recycling the ball and launching attack after attack.
when hendo and allen went off our pressing game collapsed, because we werent recycling the ball quickly anymore our attacks became more sporadic and zenit were then able to keep the ball for longer and take the sting out of the game.
magnificent effort by the lads all the same

by **stmichael** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:46 pm

fair play to allen by the way who's taken a lot of stick recently. thought it was easily his best game since probably man city at home.

sterling and shelvey need loaning out next season imo. neither are developing at the required rate to be first teamers here.

by **jacdaniel** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:47 pm

stmichael » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:32 pm wrote:everything's easier in hindsight. if shelvey scores that sitter then all of a sudden rodgers is a genius for putting him on. as it was he was generally poor although i thought assaidi did ok when he came on. ultimately as a manager you gamble by making a substitution. last night rodgers took a gamble and it didn't come off. if he waits another 15 minutes to change it and we don't win everyone would be moaning that he made the changes too late.

i'm not going to fault the effort though. thought we were outstanding. the tie wasn't lost last night. it was lost in the first leg.

I see what you're saying but for me we had them on the ropes with the 11 men we had on the pitch. We'd scored 3 goals and they couldnt escape from their own half.

I really believe he should have left it a bit longer.

Its obviously not just Rodgers fault though. Like you say, in the first leg we missed too many chances and couldnt get the all important away goal. And even last night, we gave the ball away too often in our half and we were punished for it.

by **parchpea** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:47 pm

Great effort all round and only downside was Shelvey for Hendo which didnt work.

Shelvey needs to sort his head out as he swaggers on and just kicks people about at this
point and offers nothing else, must do better than that.

We seem to be getting it sorted in attack but now this defence looks vulnerable and we
need an impsoing centre half and keeper in the summer for my money.

With half hour left I thought we had them but we faded after putting so much in an just
fell short.

by **stmichael** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 4:57 pm

jacdaniel » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:47 pm wrote:And even last night, we gave the ball away too often in our half and we were punished for it.

As admirable as it is to want to play your way out from the back like Barca or Swansea all the time, we overplayed far too much at times which almost gifted them a goal. If our defenders could defend as well as they have the desire to play, we'd have one hell of a side. Agger, Johnson and Enrique were all guilty of this.

I still maintain we need a left back and two centre backs in the summer who are good in the air, especially if Rodgers is planning on getting rid of Skrtel.

by **Kash_Mountain** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:18 pm

stmichael » Feb 22nd, '13, 16:57 wrote:
jacdaniel » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:47 pm wrote:And even last night, we gave the ball away too often in our half and we were punished for it.

As admirable as it is to want to play your way out from the back like Barca or Swansea all the time, we overplayed far too much at times which almost gifted them a goal. If our defenders could defend as well as they have the desire to play, we'd have one hell of a side. Agger, Johnson and Enrique were all guilty of this.

I still maintain we need a left back and two centre backs in the summer who are good in the air, especially if Rodgers is planning on getting rid of Skrtel.

Agree with both of you re giving the ball away. We just don't have the staff to play like Barca, i.e. play from the back. When we do, we just get caught out. I do however think that in the summer, BR will recruit the correct types that will enable this way of playing.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:24 pm

stmichael » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:46 pm wrote:fair play to allen by the way who's taken a lot of stick recently. thought it was easily his best game since probably man city at home.

sterling and shelvey need loaning out next season imo. neither are developing at the required rate to be first teamers here.

Fully agree about loaning Sterling and Shelvey out next season and we must make sure it's to top flight teams cause in Shelveys case he looks good in the championship but leaves a lot to be desired in the premiership. Sterling has done feck all since he got his cushy new contract and needs farming out to a lesser premier league team to hone his talent on a weekly basis.

by **Kash_Mountain** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 5:29 pm

RUSHIE#9 » Feb 22nd, '13, 17:24 wrote:
stmichael » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:46 pm wrote:fair play to allen by the way who's taken a lot of stick recently. thought it was easily his best game since probably man city at home.

sterling and shelvey need loaning out next season imo. neither are developing at the required rate to be first teamers here.

Fully agree about loaning Sterling and Shelvey out next season and we must make sure it's to top flight teams cause in Shelveys case he looks good in the championship but leaves a lot to be desired in the premiership. Sterling has done feck all since he got his cushy new contract and needs farming out to a lesser premier league team to hone his talent on a weekly basis.

Really don't know about Shelvey. Everytime I see him play, he reminds me of a Championship or lower league player. He is also a bit wild when he goes in for tackles a lot. Think he likes to chop players down

by **ycsatbjywtbiastkamb** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 6:27 pm

stmichael » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:57 pm wrote:
jacdaniel » Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:47 pm wrote:And even last night, we gave the ball away too often in our half and we were punished for it.

As admirable as it is to want to play your way out from the back like Barca or Swansea all the time, we overplayed far too much at times which almost gifted them a goal. If our defenders could defend as well as they have the desire to play, we'd have one hell of a side. Agger, Johnson and Enrique were all guilty of this.

I still maintain we need a left back and two centre backs in the summer who are good in the air, especially if Rodgers is planning on getting rid of Skrtel.

agree about an aerially dominant CB, i just hope rodgers doesnt think ashley williams is the man to fill the void left by big sami.
swansea have conceded more headed goals than any other club in the division!
i wouldnt write coates off, he doesnt even turn 23 until halfway through next season but he does need to go out on loan for a season or two to get some experience, but i reckon by the time he`s 25 he`ll be a good player in the hyypia mould.
because we`ve got so many promising CB`s coming through (kelly, coates, wisdom..even coady etc) i`d go for an experienced stop gap for a couple of seasons, a hangerlaand or a samba (if QPR go down).

by **damjan193** » Fri Feb 22, 2013 8:54 pm

The fantastic support that we had has to be mentioned as well

Almost like the good old days.

I'm really glad that both fans and players showed up yesterday. Even after we conceded one, the fans kept on singing and the players kept on fighting and we turned it into a great match. Couldn't ask for more from either party to be honest.

Liverpool FC Forum

Zenit V Liverpool 14/1/13 17:00

Who is online