Liverpool FC Forum

[Lando_Griffin]

i watched the game mate, 2.45am here when it started. as soon as I saw the team i thought wtf.

as far as i am concerned last night was a must win game, if only or confidence, but then i saw the defence consisted of two players playing their first games of the season and a goalkeeper playing his first game of the season.

i think for the second season in a row the manager failed to take the threat of a lower league team seriously and play his strongest team.

when will he learn, play your strongest team for every game

Thats a good option to get out of this slump, but it's unrealistic over the course of the season. No other team does it, and we will play more games than most.
It wasn't the team selection which was wrong, it's just confidence. Perhaps the tactics/formation are badly suited to the players, but it's all part of the main plan - which won't come to fruition before next summer.
Rafa seems to be looking to the future. He doesn't want to buy a winger then spend half a season trying to get the rest of the team into a 4-5-1 mentality.
I believe this is why he is persisting with it.

I know it's hard, but we must remain positive and look at things objectively. (Something which you have been doing, Peewee.)
There is no lack of passion on my front, but I am prepared to wait for the good times. If they are to come, Rafa is the man to bring them.

Incidently, I wouldn't be suprised if Beni has a mass clearout in Jan and the Summer. I think the vast majority of the first team are skating on very thin ice. Don't be too shocked to see the younger players making appearances over the coming weeks - hopefully starting vs West Ham.

To be honest, the players I'd keep in the first 16 on current form (or the fact that the replacements are even worse) are;

Reina,
Finnan,(RB only!),
Carragher,
Hyypia,(no better options),
Warnock,
Sissoko,
Gerrard,
Alonso,
Kewell, (on the distinct off chance he'll buck his ideas up - signs in CP match),
Pongolle, and possibly Cisse.

The replacements would fit in thus;

                                      Reina

Raven/Finnan          JC                       Hyypia         Warnock

                            Alonso        Sissoko

      Barragan                                                 Kewell
                     
                                  Gerrard

                                         Cisse

The 4-5-1 formation is in keeping with Rafa's preference.
Theres a lot of guile in there with JC, Warnock, Gerrard and Sissoko. Raven is no wuss, and Barragan offers some stability to the right side, as well as some natural ability in that position. He'd only get better with the experience.

Ultimately, though, Raven and Barragan may not be up to the standards required. Worth a shot, none-the-less. And Rafa is the man in charge. Only he sees the players on a daily basis, and as he's not a prat, I trust him to make the best assessments.

[tzk]

come on....we cant do any thing.. just wish tat lfc will win in the next match... liverpool will never walk alone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Houllier=LFC]

Shaky defence...
We need a central defender in Jan desperately, if not things would go real ugly if Carragher is injured.

[LFC #1]

i watched the game mate, 2.45am here when it started. as soon as I saw the team i thought wtf.

as far as i am concerned last night was a must win game, if only or confidence, but then i saw the defence consisted of two players playing their first games of the season and a goalkeeper playing his first game of the season.

i think for the second season in a row the manager failed to take the threat of a lower league team seriously and play his strongest team.

when will he learn, play your strongest team for every game

To be fair peewee, the team was all regular first teamers, bar Whitbread, Potter and Raven.

The side we put out should have been more than capable of winning that game, and we really did struggle once we went 2-1 down, very disappointing indeed.

[Judge]

i watched the game mate, 2.45am here when it started. as soon as I saw the team i thought wtf.

as far as i am concerned last night was a must win game, if only or confidence, but then i saw the defence consisted of two players playing their first games of the season and a goalkeeper playing his first game of the season.

i think for the second season in a row the manager failed to take the threat of a lower league team seriously and play his strongest team.

when will he learn, play your strongest team for every game

hey peewee get this, we are losing 2-1, so rafa takes off warnock, and puts on Traore (defender), wtf.

can someone explain that!!


i thought we shoulda gone for it with 10 mins to go, like put someone on who may be able to attack.

we are so poor in front of goal

i think weve only scored 6 goals since the season started

In 31 games so far, weve won 11, lost 13, drawn 7. Scored 28 goals and conceeded 35 goals. Yes folks these stats are from judge, not AB
That doesnt make for good reading 

[Dundalk]

i think weve only scored 6 goals since the season started

In 31 games so far, weve won 11, lost 13, drawn 7. Scored 28 goals and conceeded 35 goals. Yes folks these stats are from judge, not AB
That doesnt make for good reading 

My god that is relagation form !!

[Homebooby]

caught in 2 minds myself about the whole evening. I do agree to extent that Rafa misjudged the threat of palace. I think that the mistake he made was to bring as many youngsters in at one time. I think that a lot of the problems that we experienced last night was due to the inexperience of the youngsters, especially at the back. Couple that with the fact that Sami doesn't have the legs any more and you have a big issue.

That said, we created more chanced in 30 mins than I think we probably have created all season....ok slight exaggeration, but you get the point. On another night with confidence high, we could have had a hatful and we would be singing the teams' praises.

In all recoveries you have a moment where you hit rock bottom, this could well be ours. Last night was frustrating, but nowhere near the disaster that a lot of people here think it was.

[Judge]

caught in 2 minds myself about the whole evening. I do agree to extent that Rafa misjudged the threat of palace. I think that the mistake he made was to bring as many youngsters in at one time. I think that a lot of the problems that we experienced last night was due to the inexperience of the youngsters, especially at the back. Couple that with the fact that Sami doesn't have the legs any more and you have a big issue.

That said, we created more chanced in 30 mins than I think we probably have created all season....ok slight exaggeration, but you get the point. On another night with confidence high, we could have had a hatful and we would be singing the teams' praises.

In all recoveries you have a moment where you hit rock bottom, this could well be ours. Last night was frustrating, but nowhere near the disaster that a lot of people here think it was.

all i can say is Burnley last season and learning curve

[SouthCoastShankly]

Sorry lads but you can't hold any punches for that performance. Basically its not good enough. Our missed chances is nothing new and if it continues we'll continue to lose. True we played an understrength side but lets not forget Crystal Palace we're a premiership side last year, if Rafa though it would be a walk in the park or even that we should win easily he's being naive.

The basic difference between Liverpool and Palace last night was they wanted the game more. There we're a few exceptions like Warnock and Hamann - but all in all the rest looked dis-interested when we conceded the second. I think Rafa needs to continue working on that 'attitude' problem. How can you expect our youngsters to learn and improve when the example you first team make is pathetic. To me that is unacceptable.

I'm actually fearing the worst on saturday. I have a feeling i'm gunna drive 4 f.ucking hours to watch a resonable first half and then watch it fall apart again.

[Fernando Morientes > 19 <]

Sorry lads but you can't hold any punches for that performance. Basically its not good enough. Our missed chances is nothing new and if it continues we'll continue to lose. True we played an understrength side but lets not forget Crystal Palace we're a premiership side last year, if Rafa though it would be a walk in the park or even that we should win easily he's being naive.

The basic difference between Liverpool and Palace last night was they wanted the game more. There we're a few exceptions like Warnock and Hamann - but all in all the rest looked dis-interested when we conceded the second. I think Rafa needs to continue working on that 'attitude' problem. How can you expect our youngsters to learn and improve when the example you first team make is pathetic. To me that is unacceptable.

I'm actually fearing the worst on saturday. I have a feeling i'm gunna drive 4 f.ucking hours to watch a resonable first half and then watch it fall apart again.

good shout !

[kazza]

There must be rift within the club because I saw a team who is playing like they do not like each other. It is worrying to be honest and the season could be lost (including CL) if we are not careful. I do not blame Raffa (unless he has left personal feuds unchecked and now they are out of control but we will never know). The team however are not playing for each other and winning does not seem important to them.

Competition is the foundation of every footballer (let's face it, a football player cannot get where he is without being competitive), but today they showed none of it. I do not buy that they have no motivation because life is too easy for them, look at Chelsea, United and Arsenal. They seem to look at every team that they play against with contempt as if to say " you do not deserve to be on the same field as us and we are now going to teach you a lesson for showing up."

I must say, it would be nice to support a team that plays like that!

[Judge]

look at Chelsea, United and Arsenal. They seem to look at every team that they play against with contempt as if to say " you do not deserve to be on the same field as us and we are now going to teach you a lesson for showing up."

I must say, it would be nice to support a team that plays like that!

thats bordering on mutiny kazza.

i may moan about the teams performance or individual players, but i would never consider saying what you did!!

i am never jealous of those teams, as lfc is the greatest, and always will be in my eyes

ynwa - remember this kazza, it will help

[kazza]

I have supported Liverpool since 1977 fa cup final which they lost to Utd( my Dad was a United fan and I wanted to support the other team). They then went on to win the European cup and I have been a die hard red ever since. I never have looked back.

All I said was it would be nice to support a team that cannot consider losing to a team like Palace. I do not care whether we win or lose (well I might care a little), but playing with no desire to win is not acceptable. I would rather watch a Sunday league football team play (at least you might see a fight or something), than watch that sh1t yesterday. We were losing yesterday and with minutes to go they were pressing. I saw our players standing off their players (by about 10 yards) and allowing them to play when they should have been right in their faces.

It is the fact that I love Liverpool that I say what I say. For fecks sake, I was a Houllier defender right to the end. My loyalty has never been questioned. I watched the CL final with about 10 Chelsea fans and even though they said they wanted Liverpool to win, you could tell that at 3-0 down they seemed very happy. At half time I was telling every one of them that Milan will tire and we will win. They laughed, and I stuck to my guns. A disloyal fan would have quit years ago.

Mutiny judge is when you rebel against the leadership, I am not blaming Raffa, I blame the players. Raffa showed more energy yesterday that the team, so he is motivated.

[JohnBull]

Judge Mate
I don't know how long you've followed the team, my earliest memory is in the 50s and trying to eat the hottest meat pie I've ever known while sitting on me dad's shoulders and wondering why there were so many people around us.
Teams come and go (I'm only talking about US) and some teams forge a bond with their supporters that lives forever. I'm getting on a bit and I've been round the world a couple of times, had six kids been there and done that but looking back I think that the best times of my life have all been associated with LFC. The Terry Mc header, the Smithy header, the Kenny chip, Yeat's goal in the sixth round at Arsenal in the 60s, I was part of that team I went home feeling that I'D played me part in those wins.
This present team is a disgrace to the tradition and if I want to slag it off then I will. I'VE paid for that right they have not earned the right to wear the shirt and they do not even appear to value it. Maybe we could do with a Terry Mac in the dressing room, someone with a smile on their face but a knowledge of what the club means.
You cannot defend the undefensible

[Judge]

Judge Mate
I don't know how long you've followed the team, my earliest memory is in the 50s and trying to eat the hottest meat pie I've ever known while sitting on me dad's shoulders and wondering why there were so many people around us.
Teams come and go (I'm only talking about US) and some teams forge a bond with their supporters that lives forever. I'm getting on a bit and I've been round the world a couple of times, had six kids been there and done that but looking back I think that the best times of my life have all been associated with LFC. The Terry Mc header, the Smithy header, the Kenny chip, Yeat's goal in the sixth round at Arsenal in the 60s, I was part of that team I went home feeling that I'D played me part in those wins.
This present team is a disgrace to the tradition and if I want to slag it off then I will. I'VE paid for that right they have not earned the right to wear the shirt and they do not even appear to value it. Maybe we could do with a Terry Mac in the dressing room, someone with a smile on their face but a knowledge of what the club means.
You cannot defend the undefensible

nice post john, i myself have loved liverpool since the early 70's, which is my era.

1971 is my earliest memory 

i agree, we are very bad as a team.

with so many spaniards, its not surprising spain have to qualify for the world cup by play-offs. perhaps, just perhaps they are not up to our league. Maybe the odd one, but not loads....i dunno