Liverpool FC Forum

Top · by **Liverpool442** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:34 pm

I know it would mean playing Gerrard on the right but I think this would be our strongest 11 and if we played this until the end of the season with minimal changes except due to injury or a real need to rest players, I don't think we would be far of at the end.

1) Quality keeper
2) Essentially three centre halfs on the pitch to cope with anything in the air, and good balance of a tough centre half and player who can bring the ball out
3) Two midfielders capable of sitting and breaking up play, one of which able to pick through passes and the additional option of Gerrard to drift across to assist in tougher games
4) Two players who are able to beat a man and delever a cross. Also solid wide men who would not waste possesion.
5) An actual strike pairing insted of a differant mix each week. (Kuyt and Babel both as back up to wingers and strikers)

Reina

Carragher Skirtel Agger Insua

Gerrard Alonso Mascherano Reira

Keane
Torres

Top · by **Fowler_E7** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 8:47 pm

Gk. Reina

RB. Arbeloa CB.Hyppia CB.Carragher LB.Aurelio/Insua

RW. Pennant CM. Alonso CM. Gerrard LW.Riera

CF. Torres CF. Keane

Top · by **JoeTerp** » Sat Jan 17, 2009 12:12 am

Owzat wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:against teams that are going to be of minimal threat to beat us:
Reina
Carra Hyypia Agger
Mascherano Alonso
Kuyt Insua
Gerrard Keane
Torres

Subs if we aren't winning: Riera for Insua, Babel for Keane, Yossi for Mascherano

So are you playing Kuyt as a RWB or Insua as a LM?

Why if teams pose "minimal threat" to us would you play two midfielders in a holding role? Surely by virtue of them not posing a threat you'd include a more attacking set up, while you may have only three CBs on the pitch you have a full back in midfield/at LWB and two holding midfielders

And I'm somewhat surprised you left Riera out

Everyone was picked for a reason.

Riera can hardly last 90 minutes in his current role, so if he is asked to pick up a role that requires even more running he will be knackered out by halftime. Thus, Insua is brought in to play an advanced wingback or a defensive winger. From what I have seen of him in the reserves there is another element to his game that he hasn't shown yet in the 1st team and that is his ability to venture forward and play one twos just outside the box and get himself in a position to have a crack at goal or put someone else in that position working it mostly in close quarters on the ground.

And like I said, if after a bit, we still haven't broken them down, we put on Riera to go to work on an already work down left flank, making him possibly more effective than normal, as he wont have to worry about fitness and might even out pace some players on the pitch.

Hyypia was put smack in the middle because he is the best threat in the air that we have both in a defensive and attacking sense. Agger was selected over Skrtel because he has a better left foot and can carry it out from there.

Keane seems to suck at leading the line and when he plays with Torres he seems to get in his way, if he is sharing the space behind Torres with Gerrard, hopefully he wont get in his way too often, plus Gerrard is liable to want to track back from time to time and get himself stuck in and he would have full rights to do so as we would still have two players ahead of him and wouldn't be sacrificing anything in attack.

and in the last 10 minutes it plays as a no holds barred 3-4-3
Reina
Carra Hyypia Agger
Yossi Gerrard Alonso Riera
Kuyt Torres Babel

Carra plays like a fullback, Agger like a box to box midfielder, Yossi cutting inside, Gerrard free to roam wherever, Riera hugging the touchline, Babel and Kuyt trying to act like players that play for Holland, Alonso running the show, Hyypia coming up for corners, and Torres hopefully scoring the winner with a bit of brilliance. Ideally we would be up 3-0 by the 80th minute and we would be singing happily even as N'Gog trips over his own feet.

Top · by **GYBS** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 12:04 am

Three at the back is pretty much a formation that is only ever used in the last 5 mins when chasing a result

Top · by **Owzat** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:17 am

JoeTerp wrote:
Owzat wrote:
JoeTerp wrote:against teams that are going to be of minimal threat to beat us:
Reina
Carra Hyypia Agger
Mascherano Alonso
Kuyt Insua
Gerrard Keane
Torres

Subs if we aren't winning: Riera for Insua, Babel for Keane, Yossi for Mascherano

So are you playing Kuyt as a RWB or Insua as a LM?

Why if teams pose "minimal threat" to us would you play two midfielders in a holding role? Surely by virtue of them not posing a threat you'd include a more attacking set up, while you may have only three CBs on the pitch you have a full back in midfield/at LWB and two holding midfielders

And I'm somewhat surprised you left Riera out

Everyone was picked for a reason.

Riera can hardly last 90 minutes in his current role, so if he is asked to pick up a role that requires even more running he will be knackered out by halftime. Thus, Insua is brought in to play an advanced wingback or a defensive winger. From what I have seen of him in the reserves there is another element to his game that he hasn't shown yet in the 1st team and that is his ability to venture forward and play one twos just outside the box and get himself in a position to have a crack at goal or put someone else in that position working it mostly in close quarters on the ground.

And like I said, if after a bit, we still haven't broken them down, we put on Riera to go to work on an already work down left flank, making him possibly more effective than normal, as he wont have to worry about fitness and might even out pace some players on the pitch.

Hyypia was put smack in the middle because he is the best threat in the air that we have both in a defensive and attacking sense. Agger was selected over Skrtel because he has a better left foot and can carry it out from there.

Keane seems to suck at leading the line and when he plays with Torres he seems to get in his way, if he is sharing the space behind Torres with Gerrard, hopefully he wont get in his way too often, plus Gerrard is liable to want to track back from time to time and get himself stuck in and he would have full rights to do so as we would still have two players ahead of him and wouldn't be sacrificing anything in attack.

and in the last 10 minutes it plays as a no holds barred 3-4-3
Reina
Carra Hyypia Agger
Yossi Gerrard Alonso Riera
Kuyt Torres Babel

Carra plays like a fullback, Agger like a box to box midfielder, Yossi cutting inside, Gerrard free to roam wherever, Riera hugging the touchline, Babel and Kuyt trying to act like players that play for Holland, Alonso running the show, Hyypia coming up for corners, and Torres hopefully scoring the winner with a bit of brilliance. Ideally we would be up 3-0 by the 80th minute and we would be singing happily even as N'Gog trips over his own feet.

Still doesn't explain why you want three CBs, two holding midfielders and a "defensive winger" against "teams that are going to be of minimal threat"

You've gone into details as to what each player does, but surely (to quote Gestalt Theory) the whole is greater than the sum of its parts ie you've mismashed a team together on a whole lot of role ideas for players into a system/formation we never use

As for Riera, boss takes him off at 70 mins or thereabouts but that doesn't mean he can't play 90 mins. I think you and Rafa come up with a lot of theories, his tend not to work (like Babel being LM)

A lot is said about Hyypia's threat from corners, he doesn't convert as often as some of our rivals' CBs.

Top · by **aCe'** » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:18 am

With pennant out of the question, i think our most efficient lineup would have to include 2 upfront which -in my books anyways- would have to mean that one of Alonso/Mascherano would have to be dropped regularly to make room...

id go with:

Reina

Arbeloa Carra Hyypia Aurelio

Benny Alonso Gerrard Riera

Keane Torres

granted this formation/ lineup wouldnt mean that our best 11 players are out on the pitch, it still imo is more effective than playing 2 holding midfielders and a hard working winger with no footballing ability whatsoever... our right side is still a problem and Kuyt isnt a solution regardless of the formation imo..

we dont need to be playing that 4-5-1 to have a good defensive record, just look at manutd... they have a better back 4 and better quality all around but still... they play 4 midfielders who are all better going forward than they are defending (Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs/park), add to that the 2 fullbacks who are probably more attack minded than ull ever see in this league (evra, rafael) and u got atleast 8 players who can hurt opposition when on the ball high up the pitch....

we are too one dimensional... we rely heavily on gerrard (and lets face it, he isnt the most creative/unpredictable player around) and we have somewhat been found out when playing that 4-5-1 formation...

what the 4-4-2 gives us, is more options when going forward... we need to make use of Alonso's passing range... have him spring the passes to the wingers, open up play by bringing the fullbaks into play..etc etc
Have gerrard dictating the game from the middle when opposition try to keep it tight... have him running behind midfieldrs with more than one player ahead of him to pick out, have defenders worry mmore about our forwards rather than him and maybe he'll have more space to hit his long shots and try his little flicks..

with the 4-5-1 we quite simply ave too many players doing too little when we go forward, and it simply wont be enough against some of the sides that will choose not to give us space and time on the ball...

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