Liverpool FC Forum

by **kartiek** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:41 am

I'll post what I just posted in the match thread. I really think that what we need for 4th place is for our strikers to finish the chances they get. That's all we need at the moment. Carroll and Suarez both had chances from 5 yards out with just the keeper to beat and both missed. That's the difference between us and 4th place. I hope they both pick up form soon.

by **Kharhaz** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:11 am

kartiek wrote:I'll post what I just posted in the match thread. I really think that what we need for 4th place is for our strikers to finish the chances they get. That's all we need at the moment. Carroll and Suarez both had chances from 5 yards out with just the keeper to beat and both missed. That's the difference between us and 4th place. I hope they both pick up form soon.

One real chance is all they had. What we need is better attacking play. We need to create several chances, not just a few. When the best cross of the game comes from a defender (Kelly) I think that says more about our play than anything else.

Going forward we are simply poor. And if a team plays to defend, we go from poor to clueless. We need to improve our attacking game.

by **Kerry07** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 5:18 am

Kharhaz wrote:
kartiek wrote:I'll post what I just posted in the match thread. I really think that what we need for 4th place is for our strikers to finish the chances they get. That's all we need at the moment. Carroll and Suarez both had chances from 5 yards out with just the keeper to beat and both missed. That's the difference between us and 4th place. I hope they both pick up form soon.

One real chance is all they had. What we need is better attacking play. We need to create several chances, not just a few. When the best cross of the game comes from a defender (Kelly) I think that says more about our play than anything else.

Going forward we are simply poor. And if a team plays to defend, we go from poor to clueless. We need to improve our attacking game.

Is right.

The number of clear cut chances can be counted in one hand. We actually got fortunate as Bale had the best chance when clean through.

Our two main problems are 1.we dont control central midfield. 2.we then dont create many clear cut chances.

Its a combination of a negative set up and a few average players. A 4-2-3-1 is fine, so long as you have quality personnel ie.Alonso + Mascherano as the 2. Having two average midfielders, Spearing and Adam, means theres very little control in midfield, and therefore little platform to attack, which we haven't had since Alonso left. In 2008/09 we had a plus 50 goal difference with him dictating possession. Since then, in 2009/10 plus 26, in 2010/11 plus 15, in 2011/12 plus 7. We don't dictate midfield anymore, and Spurs hogged the ball for long spells (as did Man U in the Cup game) and looked like the home team at times. One on occasion Spurs had possession for over 2 minutes and gave us the runaround, we were pinned in our box. This is Anfield folks. Spurs didnt have Defoe, Lennon and Van Der Vaart to capitalise, just as Man U didnt have Rooney, Nani and Young. Against Man U we managed to pinch a game that looked nailed on for a draw.

The next problem is we have not had a right sided midfield since Gerrard played there in 2005/06. Kuyt is a great lad, total commitment, but hes a striker who we shifted out to the right to "do a job" and theres not been much creativity there since. Everything is a pass back inside.. theres no going past people, no quality crosses. Hes a forward whose done a decent job, but thats not enough for us. Besides the great job Gerrard did out right, the last truly great winger we had was McManaman. We dont have a quality wide player that gets us off our seats.

So no central midfield, no right midfield, which just leaves the left wing, the hole, and upfront.

Downing, the cowardly lion, has yet to do a thing... 0 goals, 0 assists etc etc. Meaning Bellamy, another striker, is having to do a job out wide. He is a quality player, but still out of position.

The hole.. Gerrard has been a massive loss, but watching tonight its patently clear we dont get the ball to him enough. Thats where the loss of Alonso is most felt, as he dictated midfield and then gave it to Steven to do his stuff. Neither Adam or Spearing have the ability to either dictate midfield or routinely pick a pass. Gerrard was making runs that werent picked up.

Which just leaves the sole forward. Suarez is a class act, and has often had to produce something out of nothing. Carroll is incapable of this and is heavily (totally) reliant on service.

When you look at the set up, and the personnel, it doesn't take much to understand why we have scored 14 goals in 12 games at home, with 8 draws (mostly against dross).

by **Benny The Noon** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:23 am

Welcome back Kerry - we missed your paragraphs telling us how bad we are while we were winning, beating the top teams and getting through to Anfield South.

Where did you go ?

by **woof woof !** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 9:54 am

A disappointing result and not the performance we were hoping for but I do think some of the criticism is a tad harsh. Like many teams before them Spurs came to Anfield and parked the bus, apart from the one chance when Bale was put through Spurs never looked like winning it and they were quite happy to leave with just a point.

Certainly we're lacking something in the final third, I thought last night in particular our movement and passing in that area was poor and predictable, we nevertheless had two golden opportunities , Carroll skying one over the bar and Suarez putting his free header straight at Friedel.

We can debate the managers team selection, tactics and players performance ad infinitum but looking at it in the cold light of day, as few as they may sometimes be imo our failure to convert more of the chances we manage to create is hands down the root of our problem.

by **Basil** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:14 am

I thought we did ok, the players worked hard and kept their shape but we just didn't have the quality to create enough chances and finish the ones we had.

We seem to rely on hard work and effort but the whole balance and combination of players for the front six just doesn't look right.

Without Lucas the CM just doesn't fit together, Gerrard is almost 32 and not the player he was, Shelvey is one for the future but needs to be playing, still not sure about Adam and I don't think Spearing will ever be a top player.

Bellamy has been brilliant but is he a winger or a striker, Kuyt is a striker but has no pace and plays on the wing, Downing is a genuine winger but needs to lift his game.

Carroll might might be a useful option if keeps working at his game and has someone alongside him to feed off the scraps, Suarez is so dangerous but is not a natural finisher.

To be able to compete at the top level, I reckon we need to sign three top quality players, a natural goal scorer, a winger who can keep posession and beat defenders and a central midfielder who just holds it all together.

by **devaney** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:20 am

Agree with a lot of what you're saying Basil but can't agree with you're analysis that we don't create enough chances. This season we are very close to the top of the Premiership stats table for creating chances. It's finishing them that were no go at!

by **devaney** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:38 am

Benny The Noon wrote:Welcome back Kerry - we missed your paragraphs telling us how bad we are while we were winning, beating the top teams and getting through to Anfield South.

Where did you go ?

I don't agree with you on everything Benny but you are spot on with Kerry. He is a WUM and possibly a bluenose. He is a total excuse of a supporter.

For the record Kerry given that you regard Suarez as a class act and not worthy of any of your mindless criticism, here are Luis's Premiership stats for the season: GAMES 18 GOALS 5 ASSISTS 1 SHOTS 81. Yes Kerry 81 fkg shots! If it was anybody else we would be accusing them of not being able to hit a horses a.rse with a bang! You even claim that Suarez has had to create most of his own chances. On that I wouldn't altogether disagree but just how many times has he selfishly taken impossible shots on goal that have produced nothing when he could have passed the ball to somebody in a better position. Luis is clearly one of the reasons we have created nearly the highest number of chances in the Premiership.He is also one of the reasons are conversion rate is awful!

by **jacdaniel** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 10:42 am

A quick read of this forum and you'd never believe that we were heading to our first final since 2007, we've progressed further in the FA cup than we have over the last couple of seasons and we're still just 4 points off 4th with 14 odd games to go. Its not all bad. Especially considering 3 of our top players have missed many games for different reasons. (Lucas, Gerrard, Suarez)

I think Kenny and Clarke were always going to focus on the defence first. Thats pretty much sorted now with Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel and Enrique. We've become a very difficult side to beat these days.

Now we need to try and find the right balance up front and maybe bring in one or two new faces in the summer. Still very much a work in progress. Anyone that thought otherwise is just kidding themselves though.

by **RedAnt** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:57 pm

It was a real disappointing result last night. Spurs were there for the taking. But then that's the story of our season so far. Several times we've had the chance to close the gap and we've failed every single time.

The most baffling thing for me last night is Glen Johnson at LB. We didn't need to buy in january apparently, so why then when Enrique is out do we replace him with the very right footed Johnson? He's not a LB, simple as that. When he plays there it changes the entire balance of the team. Decisions like this one can mean the difference between 3 points and 1 point or no points.

Leaving Suarez out was a weird choice too.

Ahhh well. Can't really be bothered to post more. Really gutted that we didn't take the 3 points but even more gutted that we never looked likely to either.

by **stmichael** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 1:01 pm

yet more clear evidence that we are set up to play away from home on the counter attack.

by **andy_g** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:08 pm

the 'on the pitch' methods are one thing, and as st mick says we are only effective on the counter attack and seem unable to break teams down. kenny really needs to find a way to address this somehow.

another thing is kenny's interview methods. i know the guy loves the club and wants to protect the players but i thought his post match interview yesterday was really bad. his overly defensive approach in the end just made him look like a grumpy feck and will only serve to lose him even more admirers in the football world. one of his jobs is to show the club in a positive light and i think he could do better at the moment in that respect.

by **maguskwt** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:26 pm

andy_g wrote:the 'on the pitch' methods are one thing, and as st mick says we are only effective on the counter attack and seem unable to break teams down. kenny really needs to find a way to address this somehow.

another thing is kenny's interview methods. i know the guy loves the club and wants to protect the players but i thought his post match interview yesterday was really bad. his overly defensive approach in the end just made him look like a grumpy feck and will only serve to lose him even more admirers in the football world. one of his jobs is to show the club in a positive light and i think he could do better at the moment in that respect.

Don't agree with the 2nd paragraph, Kenny has been spot on when it comes to dealing with Media and scumbag journalists...

by **yellsub66** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:27 pm

andy_g wrote:the 'on the pitch' methods are one thing, and as st mick says we are only effective on the counter attack and seem unable to break teams down. kenny really needs to find a way to address this somehow.

another thing is kenny's interview methods. i know the guy loves the club and wants to protect the players but i thought his post match interview yesterday was really bad. his overly defensive approach in the end just made him look like a grumpy feck and will only serve to lose him even more admirers in the football world. one of his jobs is to show the club in a positive light and i think he could do better at the moment in that respect.

I am afraid I don't agree with you about the King's approach to post or pre match interviews..particularly with Sky. Sky and their so-called journalists are a shower of excrement! Everything they stand for stinks to high heaven! They have ruined football and poisoned it to suit their own right wing agenda.

Is it any wonder that Kenny treats them with the contempt they deserve?? The only thing that surprise's me is that the club are prepared to let Kenny actually speak to these utter cnuts!!

It was Sky who blew the whole Suarez/Evra thing out of all proportion and they are making waves again because Luis kicked Parker on his comeback..it was clearly not intentional!

If any fan of our club doesn't believe that Sky in particular have an anti-Liverpool agenda then I am afraid that they are delusional!!

I strongly feel that we should have a blackout on all interviews with them and also the club should ban certain journalists and newspapers from all press conferences.

Liverpool FC does not need these Manc-sucking bunch of parasites! They need US...don't ever forget that!

:angry:

by **andy_g** » Tue Feb 07, 2012 2:34 pm

is that because its wrong to question kenny, or because you truly believe his attitude towards the press is correct?

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