Liverpool FC Forum

[Ciggy]

This rotation has to be stopped, feck the CL games through the week, Chelsea, Man U.
Play the same team week in week out.
We are getting about 6 or 7 players rotated every game.
You play your best side for every game.
When someones off form then drop them, or if theres an injury drop them.
But players playing well and then dropped theres no need for it.
Rafa reminds me of Ranieri a bit when he with this when he used to do it with Chelsea.
It might work in the La Liga but it doesnt work in England.LOL edited hung over .
Didnt see the point in buying two pacey wingers when they didnt play yesterday, ok Pennant came on but by then it was to late.
It could have been a different story had Bellamy, Pennant and Gonzales had stared.
But alas it wasnt meant be.

[112-1077774096]

haha, yeah the shops are really empty of everton shirts. but then again why stock something you will be stuck with     

[stmichael]

morning cigs. did you get plastered last night like me?

[112-1077774096]

It might work in the La Liga but it doesnt work in Spain.

 


you are like my nana     

[Ciggy]

morning cigs. did you get plastered last night like me?

God yer St been back to bed, just gutted.
Put me Beatles DVD on and cried in the booze all night, rough as feck now though, it just worth it 

[Ciggy]

It might work in the La Liga but it doesnt work in Spain.

 


you are like my nana     

The shame im still hung over cant hardly read.

[kalos]

One other factor that I don't think has been mentioned fo our poor start is the weight of expectation this season.

There has been far too much talk preseason and up till recently about us being title contenders.

This hasn't just been in the media but SG and a few others have also harped on about it. This can lead to a vicious downward cycle...as soon as you lose a game that you should have won you put yourself under enormous pressure before the next game even kicks off.

Hoepfully now everybody will stop talking about us winning the league , focus on Manure and Moaning Ho's rent boys and leave the team alone so they can play thier game unfettered by all the hype.

Maybe then we can start to play catch up.....just maybe.

[Pedro O'Maradona]

i dont the sauce is the problem mate, i just dont think rafa can fit him in while he persisits with gerrad, momo and alonso. i think our strongest team at the moment would be minus alonso, and gerrard and momo in the middle with pennant on the right.  also we lacked any pace yesterday up front so i agree with you on fowler, as much as i love him, i think i would rather have seen bellamy yesterday.

the last couple of seasons now we havent hit the ground running, i know the league is a marathon but recently its been more of a sprint and we cant afford to drop silly points.

the players dont seem confident in their own ability at the moment, yesterday i saw too many balls played long straight to a blue shirt, i saw too many blue shirts get to the ball first, i saw too many blue shirts harrying red shirts but not the other way round.

this has happen before and it was only when rafa started putting out a regular line up that we gelled and started to play football. stop the uneccesary rotation rafa and use the squad when you have to

I read somewhere today that Rafa had a big bustup with Bellamy about him playing for Wales against Brazil midweek. Probably the usually load of b*llocks, but may be a possible reason?

I heard that too, apparently a bust up at melwood on friday over playing brazil..... (it was on talk radio or something)

[Effes]

Went out and got bladdered last night, woke up fully clothed at 8am on me couch....

That's the only way to deal with a derby defeat.

Rafa will turn it round like he did last season when we got twa.tted by Chelsea and then had
that great run before Cristmas

[Pedro O'Maradona]

These are a few of my thoughts on the everton match, the early season performances and Rafas style of management...I will probably get slaughtered for them but what the hell......
In relation to picking a team.....Its often guesswork/speculation who are the best players to pick on the day....if we had beaten everton wed all be saying how right Rafa was to pick Carra and Robbie in the derby etc etc. unfortunately it wasnt to be this time....Everton were hungry and got stuck in and got the breaks...it happens sometimes. Remember Liverpool brag about the trophies we win the last few years whereas everton have won nowt in ages and obviously the Derby is a huge game for them in particular....(their Cup final so to speak)
The issue of Bellamy not playing was a surprise but if the bust up rumors are true it might explain it.
Personally i think there is too much rotation going on and having such a big squad at LFC might not help in this regard, (I know that Arsene Wenger said the ideal scenario is have 2 players vying for the one position and that makes sense but at the end of the day you pick the best player and the other guy trains away until he gets his chance) I think its early in the season there are a lot of new faces in the squad and it takes time to settle but I think Rafa should by now know his best eleven and the best systems to play and stick as close to this as he can (obviously it would be impossible to pick the same eleven all the time but perhaps keep the chopping and changing to a minimum) Personally I think sometimes that coaches overcomplicate things tactically, football is a simple enough game , you pick your best eleven and the best system that suits your team and you go out and play, keep the mistakes to a minimum and if your good enough you win. (Tactical changes kick in when your system or player in that system arent working or you playing a team that are superior to you and you want to nullify them).....obviously injuries/luck etc has a bearing on any result but its always based on probabilities, For me, and I think Rafa is a great coach and manager, but sometimes he over cooks it and a bit like Rainieri did at chelsea tinkers too much at times, changing the system too much depending on the opposition, take the matches against Chelsea...(in theory because chelsea can buy who ever they want they should have the best team player for player....to counter this Rafa empashises certain tactics to level the playing field...most of the time it has worked ie the Euro semi final and the Charity shield etc and it shows just how clever Rafa actually is. Similarly he tinkered with the team against everton yesterday, (everton in theory, being an inferior team player for player than a Chelsea or Liverpool, but who he knew were going to be well up for it...playing a not 100% carra, robbie instead of Bellamy, playing Garcia rather than Pennant as Garcia as he has a knack of popping up with crucial goals because it was a derby game etc. etc...(easy in hindsight of course) basically I think that changing ur team around or your tactics to suit the opposition can be risky sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt against everton this time it didnt (granted luck and graham poll didnt help)......
Pick your stongest team, have confidence in your players to do their jobs and inflict the Liverpool game on teams......

[Lando_Griffin]

Well, huge game. This game is going to be physical, they always are. Our team selection is based on whether momo, riise and carra are fit in time because these players are key. They have derby experience and are physical players. New signings like Aurelio and Gonzalez may have handled the premiership ok so far but a derby is a whole new level. I think that they will try their best to wind up bellamy.

This game is a must win to keep up pressure on manure and get ahead of chelsea. We may be yet to hit our real form but I think a derby game is the game that will propell us forward. Also of course we all know form counts for nothing in a derby. Gerrard will be rallying the troops ahead of this game, players not in form will suddenly find form. They will be confident but we can also be confident. I will not suggest a team until injuries have become clearer. So my message is:

SO COME ON YOU BLUESHITE BITTER BASTARDS BRING IT ON!!!!!!

WELL WE DID BRING IT ON.........    

Pity you were outplayed and needed 3 defensive errors to score. 

Shouldn't you be on Blue Kipper proclaiming yourselves to be the "best team on Merseyside" or something, despite being outplayed?

21 shots to 8 - says it all, really.

It's all downhill from here for you, you know, whereas we will climb the table and finish above you bitters easily.

Enjoy your moment of glory - it won't last long.

[Kuyt]

it is slapping you in the face the best 11.

If it aint broke , don't fix it.

The best 11 is slapping me in the face?  Name it. 

Name it following another ridiculous international break where 9/10ths of our squad are flying halfway around Europe and only returning 2 days before their next match.

Name it when that game is a derby which everyone recognizes is not just any old game.  There's a reason to put players like Fowler on the field for a derby.  He might not get on the teamsheet if it was just any old game but because it's Everton, he makes sense.  Same goes for Carragher, who never would have played if it wasn't Everton.

Name it when we've got a bunch of new players in the squad who have barely played together and who have never had a taste of a Merseyside derby.  Who out of the newbies are the obvious choice to play and who might just brick it and therefore need to sit this one out.

As for "if it ain't broke don't fix it," just what does that mean?  It's not as though we've had a run of games, with a settled team that is racking up the results like a well oiled machine and Rafa just came along and tinkered for no reason.  This is our third game of the season--a season that has been interrupted by international friendlies, CL qualifiers and now international qualifiers.  It can't be considered "tinkering" if the machine ain't even been built yet!

IMO, when you look at the circumstances it is bloody hard to name a starting 11 for this match and Rafa's choices made sense given the context.  Was it perfect?  No but hindsight's always 20/20.  If we'd gotten beat with Agger and Bellamy on the pitch instead of the local lads, everyone would be on here questioning why Rafa didn't play Fowler and Carragher.

The reason we lost is that our defense has become bizarrely pourous, shipping two ridiculous goals which allowed the bitters to park 10 men behind the ball for almost 60 minutes of the game and soak up what sporadic pressure the lads could muster.    Our usually stalwart defenders, not Rafa, should be holding the bag for those goals and, ultimately, the loss.

Ok Bad Bob, I will teach you a footballing Lesson. Here is the best 11, and should start every match with, without fail, until we hit poor form.

       
              Reina

Finna  Hyypia   Agger     Riise


Pennant  Sissoko  Gerrard   Zenden

              Crouch    Kuyt


The only uncertainty there is possibly Bellamy for Kuyt or Crouch. Crouch lacks physical presence sometimes and speed.

Zenden is better than Kewell or Aurelio, and Agger should be given the nod to see what he can do.

Alonso and Gerrard do not have to play in the same team IMO, they are much of a muchness.

[Cool Hand Luke]

it is slapping you in the face the best 11.

If it aint broke , don't fix it.

The best 11 is slapping me in the face?  Name it. 

Name it following another ridiculous international break where 9/10ths of our squad are flying halfway around Europe and only returning 2 days before their next match.

Name it when that game is a derby which everyone recognizes is not just any old game.  There's a reason to put players like Fowler on the field for a derby.  He might not get on the teamsheet if it was just any old game but because it's Everton, he makes sense.  Same goes for Carragher, who never would have played if it wasn't Everton.

Name it when we've got a bunch of new players in the squad who have barely played together and who have never had a taste of a Merseyside derby.  Who out of the newbies are the obvious choice to play and who might just brick it and therefore need to sit this one out.

As for "if it ain't broke don't fix it," just what does that mean?  It's not as though we've had a run of games, with a settled team that is racking up the results like a well oiled machine and Rafa just came along and tinkered for no reason.  This is our third game of the season--a season that has been interrupted by international friendlies, CL qualifiers and now international qualifiers.  It can't be considered "tinkering" if the machine ain't even been built yet!

IMO, when you look at the circumstances it is bloody hard to name a starting 11 for this match and Rafa's choices made sense given the context.  Was it perfect?  No but hindsight's always 20/20.  If we'd gotten beat with Agger and Bellamy on the pitch instead of the local lads, everyone would be on here questioning why Rafa didn't play Fowler and Carragher.

The reason we lost is that our defense has become bizarrely pourous, shipping two ridiculous goals which allowed the bitters to park 10 men behind the ball for almost 60 minutes of the game and soak up what sporadic pressure the lads could muster.    Our usually stalwart defenders, not Rafa, should be holding the bag for those goals and, ultimately, the loss.

Ok Bad Bob, I will teach you a footballing Lesson. Here is the best 11, and should start every match with, without fail, until we hit poor form.

       
              Reina

Finna  Hyypia   Agger     Riise


Pennant  Sissoko  Gerrard   Zenden

              Crouch    Kuyt


The only uncertainty there is possibly Bellamy for Kuyt or Crouch. Crouch lacks physical presence sometimes and speed.

Zenden is better than Kewell or Aurelio, and Agger should be given the nod to see what he can do.

Alonso and Gerrard do not have to play in the same team IMO, they are much of a muchness.

[48-1119859832]

Pity you were outplayed and needed 3 defensive errors to score. 

Shouldn't you be on Blue Kipper proclaiming yourselves to be the "best team on Merseyside" or something, despite being outplayed?

21 shots to 8 - says it all, really.

It's all downhill from here for you, you know, whereas we will climb the table and finish above you bitters easily.

Enjoy your moment of glory - it won't last long.

You sure, you shouldn't be on bluekipper aswell Lando? You're sounding very bitter there, Everton were worthy winners yesterday, just except it and move on. They showed our lads a few lessons in how to take your chances and how the right amount of passion can overcome one of the best teams around. You cannot take anything away from Everton yesterday and I don't blame them for bragging. They have the rights so let them.

[REDTILLDEAD]

I was expecting the bitters to roll down queens drive in an open top bus after all the hype over beating us?...let them enjoy their brief moment of glory cos' it wont last long...i still cant get a bitter to back their own team to finish above us by the seasons end...thats how much confidence they have in their team ha ha'...delusionist tw@ts!.....always remember we are Liverpool F.C. there are many clubs like it, butthis one is mine, without it i am nothing, without me it is nothing...."we are Liverpool F.C.