Liverpool FC Forum

by **red37** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 6:07 am

the Riverside next and another relatively 'awkward' test on the road. The grim aftermath from sunday is palpable in a week where disruption to Rafa's preparations once again will be compromised due to the behest of McLaren and his ever increasing litany of pointless exercises while he himself experiments and distracts our lads minds away from their true objectives at club level. by trying to resurrect his own stock in yet another totally unnecessary International friendly.

last season the corresponding fixture ended goalless, though not for the want of trying on Liverpools part, especially in the second half. Gerrard in particular was his usual rumbustious self- and was unlucky to register one of many efforts on Schwarzers goal. on the whole this was a game we did dominate the away side in. and nullified them to the point of hardly a strike on goal worthy of the name. by no stretch of the imagination will it be as easy as many will be expecting. but i for one (given Boro's lot this term) will be disappointed with anything less than a win this time round.

if i remember correctly this fixture came 2 or 3 days after a trip to Bulgaria and stamina could have been a decisive factor last time. that proved not to be the case as it transpired. and a much better all round effort was made on the previous seasons debacle at their gaff...(i say this in relation to the players being ensconced in the England training regime all week- so f**k knows how that will manifest its effects up at the Riverside.) lets hope this time that all three points and a clean bill of health can be secured with an equally resilient display. we shall have to see. as for team selection ill pass on that one and leave it to you lot to develop the argument.

by **AussieKopite** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:53 am

I don't even want to think about the result... not with our current away form...

by **red37** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:18 am

AussieKopite wrote:I don't even want to think about the result... not with our current away form...

chin up blue. your going to have to look forward at some point, the season didnt end on sunday m8.

by **account deleted by request** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:52 am

We have struggled at Middlesborough the last few years , but in truth Middlesborough are a poor side and I think we will beat them fairly comfortably. Even if god forbid we conceed the dreaded first goal we should still have more than enough to see them off.

Easy 3 points 2 - 0 to to Liverpool.

by **Redman in wales** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:03 am

Its going to be a toughie... thats for sure. A very hard mental game will be going on as well as a game of football, players will be trying too hard, there will be less fluidity, more confusion, but i honestly believe we will grind out a scrappy win.

Team selection will depend on Garcia's injury. If he's fit, I think he will be an automatic choice for the left side of midfield. The second big question is will Hyypia start alongside carra or will Agger step up to the mark?

A lot may also rest on fitness after the internationals. A player who plays for 90mins on wednesday night maybe rested, eg if Hyypia plays 90mins on wed, Agger may play on sat. If Bellamy does well for wales and scores a few, it could be the mental boost he's after, and he might push for a starting place....(and then of course there is the possibility of picking up injuries, though i pray and touch wood that won't happen)

I will reserve my full team selection till after the internationals and when we know more about the fitness of all our players, but if we play a 4-4-2 i would definately prefer pennant on the right, gerrard in the middle, rather than gerrard on the right and zenden in the middle. maybe 3-5-2 will be the way to go....

by **account deleted by request** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:19 am

Redman in wales wrote:Its going to be a toughie... thats for sure. A very hard mental game will be going on as well as a game of football, players will be trying too hard, there will be less fluidity, more confusion, but i honestly believe we will grind out a scrappy win.

Team selection will depend on Garcia's injury. If he's fit, I think he will be an automatic choice for the left side of midfield. The second big question is will Hyypia start alongside carra or will Agger step up to the mark?

A lot may also rest on fitness after the internationals. A player who plays for 90mins on wednesday night maybe rested, eg if Hyypia plays 90mins on wed, Agger may play on sat. If Bellamy does well for wales and scores a few, it could be the mental boost he's after, and he might push for a starting place....(and then of course there is the possibility of picking up injuries, though i pray and and wood that won't)

I will reserve my full team selection till after the internationals and when we know more about the fitness of all our players, but if we play a 4-4-2 i would definately prefer pennant on the right, gerrard in the middle, than gerrard on the right and zenden in the middle. maybe 3-5-2 will be the way to go....

Sh!t I had forgotten about international friendlies this week

by **LittleHobo** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:43 am

Must win game, i would like to see this formation

..................reina..........................

finn..........carra.......agger..........riise.

..................alonso..........................

...........gerrard..........peltier...............

paul anderson.............................bellamy

.......................kuyt...............................

bellamy playing as an attacking winger, a 4-5-1 which at times is 4-4-3

i believe we need 2 introduce the kids now, cause away from home something has to change,the kids will fight more than gonzo, zenden, pennant etc

by **Smeg** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:49 am

LittleHobo wrote:Must win game, i would like to see this formation

..................reina..........................

finn..........carra.......agger..........riise.

..................alonso..........................

...........gerrard..........peltier...............

paul anderson.............................bellamy

.......................kuyt...............................

bellamy playing as an attacking winger, a 4-5-1 which at times is 4-4-3

i believe we need 2 introduce the kids now, cause away from home something has to change,the kids will fight more than gonzo, zenden, pennant etc

You're either on a pi$s take or just another clueless Devonshire type.

by **LittleHobo** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:51 am

why a pisstake

i honestly think a few kids will give us a spark away from home

a hunger that zenden and pennant lack

ok maybe blood one of them rather than two

and i remember last season we were good away from home cause cisse often played as an attacking winger in a 4-5-1 and it gave us great pace on the counter attack....bellamy can do the same

by **Smeg** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:51 am

-------------------Reina
Finnan Carra Hyypia Riise

Pennant Gerrard Alonso Garcia

Kuyt Crouch

Agger
Dudek
Gonzalez
Bellamy
Warnock

by **AussieKopite** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 12:42 pm

red37 wrote:
AussieKopite wrote:I don't even want to think about the result... not with our current away form...

chin up blue. your going to have to look forward at some point, the season didnt end on sunday m8.

direct entry into group stages did anyway

by **Kopboyau** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:03 pm

GK: Reina
LB: Warnock
CB: Agger
CB: Hyppia
RB: Finnan
RM: Pennant
CM: Carra
CM: Gerrard
LM Riise
CF: Kuyt
CF: Garcia

Subs
Crouch
Dudek
Gonzo
Bellamy
Alonso

by **heimdall** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:42 pm

I'm very worried about this game, I would like to see:

Dudek
Finnan, Paletta, Agger, Warnock
Garcia, Gerrard, Alonso, Riise
Kuyt, Bellamy/Crouch

And have some of the youngsters as subs and use them. Didn't LFC win the youth cup last year or the year before, why aren't any of these players making it into the first team???

Why play Reina, he wants to leave apparently, plus he's :censored:

. The reason for dropping Carragher is purely that he is not playing well and I liked Agger and Paletta against Birmingham so why not use them, they are quick and young.

But I imagine Rafa will play his usual predictable tactics with Reina making a few howlers too boot.

I'm sorry for being negative but I cannot see a silver lining at the moment, I haven't been this depressed since just before Houllier left, fingers crossed ;-)

by **jkop** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 2:56 pm

I agree it will be a hard game mentally but i think a 2-0 win is on the cards.

Reina

finnan Carra Agger Riise

Pennant Gerrard Alonso Garcia

Kuyt Crouch

Barring injuries and if everyones fit thats how i see the team maybe. :cool:

by **stmichael** » Tue Nov 14, 2006 7:46 pm

this game is like a home game for me as i'm sure you're all aware. it takes me two hours longer to travel to all of our home games.

listening to the local football phone in up here the last few nights, the reference has already been made to our away record this season. to me that's just hiding the fact that boro are a pi$$ poor team imo. infact the point was being made tonight that they are still desperately missing zenden and have not replaced him. say's it all really.

gerrard simply has to play central in this one surely? he could have scored 5 up at the riverside last season, and against boro's midfield he should have a field day. boro are likely to only play 1 upfront so we should go 4-4-2 and be positive.

any news on kuyt's injury? f#cking international football. :angry:

p.s. if anyone on here is travelling up with the away support, e.g. rafa-dodd, leon, dalglish, just drop us a PM if you fancy meeting up for a drink beforehand.

Liverpool FC Forum

MIDDLESBROUGH VS LIVERPOOL - pre-match discussion here

Who is online