Liverpool FC Forum

by **115-1073096938** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:43 am

Dudek - 6: Didn't have much to do, flapped at a couple of long throws but in general was pretty solid, made a good save from Harris when the Millwall striker was through on goal.

Josemi - 6: Didn't have much to do either. When he ran with the ball he looked good but his choice of pass was often very wrong.

Traore - 7: Defended well and looked positive going forward. Starting to finally see why Houllier signed him. He's looking better with every game now and i hope he'll continue his recent massive improvement.

Whitbread - 6: Done ok, nothin to do defensively apart from one superb tackle and one challenge where Harris got through in the second half but in general looked assured. Used the ball exactly how Hyypia would have done so in that respect a decent game.

Henchoz - 7: Defended well as ever, was sharp and composed as always. Good to know we have a player of this calibre as backup. One of the few players in the team to show genuine premiership class.

Potter - 6: Decent performance. Grew in confidence as the game went on and shown some good touches, vision and passing. Needs to improve ALOT physically in terms of pace, power and fitness if he's to make it but the potential is certainly there.

Warnock - 6: Not his best night, didn't get enough of the ball but when he had it you could see he has potential. Gets stuck in and has good technique and skill and a good brain (as shown for Baros' 2nd goal). Definate potential in the lad and shown he's a young premiership player in the making. Impressive!!!

Biscan - 6: Some moments of superb skill as ever followed by him going missing and doing something daft like not watching the game when he has the ball... Not as bad as people make out but not first team material.

Diao - 6: I don't know weather its just me but i can't see anything in this fella. He's aggressive and brave but thats about it. Took his goal well but was shirking responsibility, giving the ball away to much and gave away far to may fouls. Got to go i'm affraid.

Sinama-Pongolle - 7: Live wire all night. Another who shown premiership potential. His pace, skill and movement caused problems for Millwall. He looked a class above everything they had. Could become a good player in a few years. Needs to learn how to finish though, must become more physical aswell.

Mellor - 5: Lacking belief and confidence. I hope its not the end of Neil Mellor. He's not a bad player at all. Needs to get his confidence back and have a few games but thats a catch 22 situation. Could play in the premiership at his best, but needs to show it when given the chance.

Subs:

Baros - 8: M.O.M. Superb. Good goals, good movement and unselfish for once. Starting to improve over the last few games. More of the same. Still massively lacking in intelligence, vision and subtleness but if the unselfish play continutes i'm sure these aspects of his game can improve.

Finnan - 6: Done ok, didn't really make an impact.
Riise - 6: Didn't do anything wrong, didn't effect the game, wasn't on the pitch long enough.

Overall, Henchoz, Traore, Pongolle and Baros shown there quality and Potter and Warnock shown good potential. Very positive outcome and i'm made up with the lads and the manager. Keep up the good work.

by **banana** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:52 am

Finally a not so provocative post from you. You say Baros was the best player, and I agree, but still you find the opportunity to have a swing at him. Why don't you like him? You wrote: "Still massively lacking in intelligence, vision and subtleness.." Hash. Very hash indeed.

by **115-1073096938** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:57 am

When did i ever say i don't like him?

I've always liked Baros. Just because I know he's not good enough to be a first team regular every week doesn't mean i don't like him.

You'd also notice if you actually read my post i said negative things about every player i felt there was something negative to say. I also said positive things.

Like i said lad, i'm a realist. Not an optimist, not a pessimist. I pick out good and bad points. Tonight there was far more good than bad. I don't like biased views, when i see idiots championing a player like Baros then slating a player like Murphy, Owen, Hyypia or Kirkland i simply even the arguement out.

by **barnesrush** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:00 am

expected us to field a young side but didnt expect as comfortable a game. (apart from the shockingly over the top tackling especially that ****** musc*nt) good show and promise shown from a few youngsters.

never seen much of mellor but never seen anything to give me too much hope. dont think we have any owens or gerrards in reserve as you could see their class from the first time they played but i might be jumping the gun a bit.

warnock, potter and whitbread looked good and flo-po showed his talent again. he looks like the only one to prove me wrong but will have to improve finishing and strength to be compared seriously to owen

by **barnesrush** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:05 am

just to add to the baros arguement he is looking good at the mo but stu is right in that he lacks in certain departments. his runs can be very intelligent but we all know you cant pick the right pass when your looking at the fancy logo on your boots. head up son and we might, just might have a great player at our disposal

by **115-1073096938** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:05 am

I think Potter has immense potential.

Could become a superb player in my opinion. Looking at him i'd say he could definately get to a similar level as someone like Jermaine Jenas...

Physically he needs to improve alot. But i remember Gerrard when he first came through. He was better than Potter in this area but if Potter can improve the same amount as Gerrard did here then he'll become alot better.

He also seems to learn technically and intelligence wise very quickly. He gained confidence in that game which won't do him any harm and i think he could become a really good player.

Warnock for me could get to a similar level but he's more advanced at the moment. He looks like he can hold his own in the premiership already, hopefully he'll continue to improve.

Pongolle, long way to go, but he's got potential. Looks the best of the lot but again i think can reach a similar level overall. Only time will tell i supose. I have hopes for them all though.

by **banana** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:11 am

stu_the_red wrote:When did i ever say i don't like him?

I've always liked Baros. Just because I know he's not good enough to be a first team regular every week doesn't mean i don't like him.

You'd also notice if you actually read my post i said negative things about every player i felt there was something negative to say. I also said positive things.

Like i said lad, i'm a realist. Not an optimist, not a pessimist. I pick out good and bad points. Tonight there was far more good than bad. I don't like biased views, when i see idiots championing a player like Baros then slating a player like Murphy, Owen, Hyypia or Kirkland i simply even the arguement out.

I guess you did not see how many times murphy was dispossesed on anfield and how many mishit passes he had and how few interceptions and tackles he had? He played lika a bag of dirt. And how many unconstructive and erroneous passes did Hyypia make? Sorry Stu, you are biased. Just let it go. It will feel good to admit Murphy was rotten, Hyypia is a liability, and Kirkland a bit slow (footwork).

by **Bruno Zidane!** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:34 am

when u consider r reserve team has just beaten a (supposedly) good 1st division team, the signs r lookin more than good for the future, there are defo some quality youngsters in are ranks and what about Igor, rafas got him buzzin with confidence at the moment and some of his touches were great, everytime he beat someone, it would lead to a chorus of Igor, Igor, Igor. But as for his center mid partner Diao, he needs to be shut of as soon as pos, i counted 3 times last night when he nearly got one of are players legs broke, putting warnock in a 50 50 with Muscat the loonball wasnt the best of things to say the least for Diao to do!

by **addicted norwegian** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:54 am

I never saw Whitbread playing before, and to me he looked pretty solid. A couple of risky passes but otherwise he performed well, imo. As for Diao, I`m surprised everytime he gets to enter the pitch. He scored allright, but he also had a couple of tackles in the Musc**t division.

by **Redrider** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 8:55 am

Defence stood firm, Mid-field was stretched duing middle part of the game.
Baros came on to good effect. Pongolle, Whitbread and Traore looked good, Henchoz solid.
Those long throws from Millwall were very tricky, Dudek did well with them and produced a superb block early on.
Muscat, lost it dishing out dangerous tackles but countered by Biscan, who was a good physical presence in mid-field. Potter and Warnock, skillful but a tad lightweight. Great result, pity about the scrap in the stands.

by **Paul C** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:30 am

I'm unsure about Potter, last night he got better towards the end of the game but against Graz AK he didn't play that well.

Yeah he might not be a bad player but can he perform at the level LFC want to be at? I'm not so sure

by **taff** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:36 am

stu_the_red wrote:I think Potter has immense potential.

Could become a superb player in my opinion. Looking at him i'd say he could definately get to a similar level as someone like Jermaine Jenas...

Physically he needs to improve alot. But i remember Gerrard when he first came through. He was better than Potter in this area but if Potter can improve the same amount as Gerrard did here then he'll become alot better.

He also seems to learn technically and intelligence wise very quickly. He gained confidence in that game which won't do him any harm and i think he could become a really good player.

Warnock for me could get to a similar level but he's more advanced at the moment. He looks like he can hold his own in the premiership already, hopefully he'll continue to improve.

Pongolle, long way to go, but he's got potential. Looks the best of the lot but again i think can reach a similar level overall. Only time will tell i supose. I have hopes for them all though.

Touch etc I agree but he has no pace at first I thought he was carrying an injury.

If you havent got pace can you train and improve

by **JBG** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 11:02 am

Diao took his goal very well it has to be said.

Like Biscan's goal at Fulham there was a certain amount of bewilderment and disbelief in Diao's face after it went in. Both Diao and Biscan get a lot of stick (much of it warranted) but an extremely positive thing is that both have got goals in the past forthnight and that can't but help their confidence.

Apart from the scraps and the crowd trouble it was an extremely positive night all round.

by **stmichael** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 3:36 pm

I thought Zak Whitbread had a good game. He is a big central defender with top notch heading abilities (for me, he looks like a young clone of Sami Hyypia). He easily outshone Stephane Henchoz.

Igor Biscan also impressed me yesterday. He is a great dribbler of the ball !!! I never ever would have guessed. He managed to escape (with the ball glued to his feet) 3-4 Millwall players in very tight situations at least twice. Let's hope Rafael Benitez can make good use of his abilities (when Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso aren't playing of course)

And, finally, Florent Sinama-Pongolle also played very well (in a kind of withdrawn role behind Neil Mellor (who was [censored] to be frank)). Unfortunately he got injured. I would have loved to see him play behind Milan Baros. Florent is quick, intelligent, creative and, most important, very young. He has the potential to develop into a formidable player. Let's give him time.

Positives : Whitbread, Sinama-Pongolle, Traoré (who is now a good fullback) and Biscan

Negatives : Potter (he was invisible most of the time), Mellor (I am afraid he is not good enough for LFC)

by **115-1073096938** » Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:25 pm

st michael i strongly disagree.

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