Liverpool FC Forum

[mattylfc]

In your analysis of last night's game, you LFC fans seem to be forgetting what may well be the main (if not the only) reason for your poor performance : LFC played very badly and lost simply because  Marseille got them to play very badly and lose. Marseille have played their best game of the season by far. For the very first time since August, we have had the opportunity to see Marseille play as a team. Unfortunately for you, such a thing happened in the game at Anfield...
IMHO the explanation for LFC being defeated is as simple as that.

Marseille played very well mate and you played to your strengths so fairplay to you for that.

Truth be told though, we were our own worst enemy last night. That was by no means a true reflection of LFC.

Hopefully you will see the real LFC when we come over to your place.

[josip84]

In your analysis of last night's game, you LFC fans seem to be forgetting what may well be the main (if not the only) reason for your poor performance : LFC played very badly and lost simply because  Marseille got them to play very badly and lose. Marseille have played their best game of the season by far. For the very first time since August, we have had the opportunity to see Marseille play as a team. Unfortunately for you, such a thing happened in the game at Anfield...
IMHO the explanation for LFC being defeated is as simple as that.

Marseille played very well mate and you played to your strengths so fairplay to you for that.

Truth be told though, we were our own worst enemy last night. That was by no means a true reflection of LFC.

Hopefully you will see the real LFC when we come over to your place.

Thank you for your fair appreciation of Marseille's performance.
You can't imagine how much we Marseille fans can't wait to see LFC come to Marseille in December.
I can say that a vast majority of football lovers in Marseille have a deep respect for LFC.
An exciting game with the legend of English soccer encountering the most prestigious french club : what else could you ask? 

[bigmick]

An exciting game with the legend of English soccer encountering the most prestigious french club :



what else could you ask? 

Well one or two things do spring to mind to be perfectly honest, but no doubt it will be a good game anyway.

Now I must ask you, why aren't you busy on your own forum contributing to the "Sacre Bleu, I think we are going to win the League de Champions" thread? There's bound to be some bloke on there who's worked out that when ever there's a seven in the year something good happens to your club.

[Kopjon]

Hi all.  Well last night really was disapointing. 

My view of this all is, from reading this board, several posts on here have commented how some players looked a tad out of sorts (Torres, Sissoko etc).  Well the problem lies with the fact no player in the squad has to fight for his position.  He knows that if he performs badly he will still get another chance two games down the line.  The desire to impress is no longer installed in any of the players.

My other concern is how we have looked so poor since Pako has gone.

[josip84]

An exciting game with the legend of English soccer encountering the most prestigious french club :



what else could you ask? 

Well one or two things do spring to mind to be perfectly honest, but no doubt it will be a good game anyway.

Now I must ask you, why aren't you busy on your own forum contributing to the "Sacre Bleu, I think we are going to win the League de Champions" thread? There's bound to be some bloke on there who's worked out that when ever there's a seven in the year something good happens to your club.

Well bigmick, you've got to know that I'm ALSO busy on my own forum, trying to explain to my friends that LFC is still a great club with enormously talented players, and that the game in December will certainly be no rose garden!

[RichardLFC1]

It was a terrible result and an even worse performance. I think we had 2 shots on target in the whole match and it was at anfield. Peter Crouch for me offered us nothing last night he was beaten in the air he lost the ball when ever he got it and is far too weak. Sissoko who i have never rated highly also had a sh!tter again proved to me he cant tackle pass or shoot.

Well lets get over this and look forward to Spurs at home

[bigxchris]

Sissoko had a terrible game but by no means does that make him sh!t, he proved in earlier games that he has improved his passing and his tackling has always been spot on, he has had a few cracking games this season where people were ranting about him after.

After seeing some highlights I really dont think the blame can be pinned on any individual performance, the whole team looked disjointed.  I dont think any of the players looked comfortable playing together, I have never seen our passing game looking so bad!

Its time Rafa shaved off that Goatee, took a big step back and evaluate everything that has gone wrong in the last few games.  We have only looked like a good attacking team against 1 team this season (Chelsea, I dont count reading as a fantastic performance as we still looked vulnerable and conceded 2 scatty goals).

In conclusion, I blame the Goatee.

[maypaxvobiscum]

An exciting game with the legend of English soccer encountering the most prestigious french club :



what else could you ask? 

Well one or two things do spring to mind to be perfectly honest, but no doubt it will be a good game anyway.

Now I must ask you, why aren't you busy on your own forum contributing to the "Sacre Bleu, I think we are going to win the League de Champions" thread? There's bound to be some bloke on there who's worked out that when ever there's a seven in the year something good happens to your club.

but the final is in 2008 

[puroresu]

In your analysis of last night's game, you LFC fans seem to be forgetting what may well be the main (if not the only) reason for your poor performance : LFC played very badly and lost simply because  Marseille got them to play very badly and lose. Marseille have played their best game of the season by far. For the very first time since August, we have had the opportunity to see Marseille play as a team. Unfortunately for you, such a thing happened in the game at Anfield...
IMHO the explanation for LFC being defeated is as simple as that.

This was the first time this season I have seen L'om's midfield actually play.  They passed the ball very well and there was always a player in space looking for the ball.  Considering there was no nasri it was an impressive performance.

[Redbilly1960]

Been watching Liverpool for 30 plus years and last night was without doubt one of the most abysmal performances I have seen. Rafa's rotation system can not be blamed for it nor can key players being injured. The only thing responsible for the dire show last night was the 11-14 men wearing red not one played like they gave a to55 for the shirt. Never seen a visiting keeper with so little to do for 88 minutes.
I have never booed Liverpool even in the dark days of the spice boys and Arsenal beating us in the Carling cup 6-1 or whatever it was. But last night I was so close they disappointed me so much. This has to be the corner lets hope we turn it and up our game because any thoughts of lifting trophies this season will soon be distent memories.
COME ON RED MEN !!!

[tubby]

I still havent even seen the highlights. How did Leto play? i think it was a bit risky playing him and Levia. Toulouse was one thing.

[Owzat]

In your analysis of last night's game, you LFC fans seem to be forgetting what may well be the main (if not the only) reason for your poor performance : LFC played very badly and lost simply because  Marseille got them to play very badly and lose. Marseille have played their best game of the season by far. For the very first time since August, we have had the opportunity to see Marseille play as a team. Unfortunately for you, such a thing happened in the game at Anfield...
IMHO the explanation for LFC being defeated is as simple as that.

Marseille played very well mate and you played to your strengths so fairplay to you for that.

Truth be told though, we were our own worst enemy last night. That was by no means a true reflection of LFC.

Hopefully you will see the real LFC when we come over to your place.

Thank you for your fair appreciation of Marseille's performance.
You can't imagine how much we Marseille fans can't wait to see LFC come to Marseille in December.
I can say that a vast majority of football lovers in Marseille have a deep respect for LFC.
An exciting game with the legend of English soccer encountering the most prestigious french club : what else could you ask? 

oh what a surprise, if anyone beats us then it can't possibly be Liverpool played badly. Apparently we played badly because Marseille made up play badly, not that Marseille played well because Liverpool let them...............

Is a 4-4 down to bad defending or good attacking? Would a defence that played to its potential concede FOUR goals even if the opposition played well?

[LFC_fan]

A good read from soccernet regarding the game and crouch in particular.

source : http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns....ab1pos1

Peter Crouch has a unique rapport with the footballing public. He has attracted ridicule, a cult following and genuine support. Whether there is any great sense of sympathy now is a moot point, but Liverpool's lesser-spotted striker is a cause celebre, at least in his own mind.

Peter Crouch, Benoit Cheyrou
StuForster/GettyImages
Peter Crouch tussles with Benoit Cheyrou

As Mathieu Valbuena, with a quite wonderful goal that it was inconceivable Crouch could have scored, condemned Liverpool to an unexpected defeat, Crouch's case was weakened significantly. So, paradoxically, was that of the man who usually sidelines him as Rafael Benitez's fixation on alterations hampered Liverpool.

Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't, Benitez's is a tough lot when rotation obscures results. Here, he will definitely be damned either way. He could be accused of delaying his changes too long, even though the first came within seven minutes of the interval, but the initial problems came from his original selection.

Enter a disgruntled Crouch. His discontent as clear as, for other reasons, is Benitez's. There has been an undercurrent of displeasure in the Liverpool manager's response. The Spaniard is not a man who likes having his team selection questioned, especially publicly. If there is an air of authoritarianism about his insistence on allegiance to the masterplan, that looked more like second-rate scheming as Marseille merited their victory, aided by an incoherent Liverpool performance. Crouch was chief among the culprits.

Barring injuries, and without daring to second-guess the unpredictable Benitez, it would be no surprise if Crouch were excluded from the 16 for a fifth time in the Premier League this season when Tottenham visit Anfield on Sunday.

Especially as his alliance with Fernando Torres was unproductive. There is the sense that the Spaniard prefers partnering either Dirk Kuyt or Andriy Voronin, and he is much the best striker at Benitez's disposal.

And with Torres the focal point of the attack, Crouch had to roam around the Spaniard. It is something that Kuyt and Voronin, with their greater mobility, are better suited to doing. The touchline is not his natural terrain and, even when in more central areas, holding the ball up proved easier than finding colleagues attuned to his thinking. It was not merely the Liverpool strikers who were on different wavelengths, but the sight of Crouch retreating towards the half-way line as he failed to find a team-mate to pass to was telling.

And while it is not Crouch's fault that his inclusion tends to prompt team-mates to opt for the long ball, his lack of pace does deter them from playing passes into the channels.

He lasted 75 minutes, though there was a case for his removal at half-time. Sebastian Leto, meanwhile, managed 52 minutes, which is about par for Andriy Shevchenko these days, but hardly encouraging for anyone else.

The young Argentine, like many Benitez imports, is taking time to acclimatise. Whether a lack of dynamism will be resolved when he has settled remains to be seen, but he appeared worryingly one-paced.

And the left of midfield is already shaping up to be Liverpool's problem position. Leto is the fourth incumbent already this season. Indeed, three were tried within 90 minutes with John Arne Riise and Yossi Benayoun taking turns there.

Steven Gerrard
LaurenceGriffiths/GettyImages
Gerrard is crestfallen after the final whistle

It was only with the Israeli in situ, Torres accompanied by Kuyt up front and Voronin on the right flank that Liverpool had a worthy attacking collective. Having barely threatened a goal all night, they came close on three occasions in added time. The previously unemployed Steve Mendanda produced fine saves from Benayoun and Kuyt, the latter leading to Torres striking the foot of the post.

Not, it should be said, that Liverpool's mediocrity was attributable solely to Crouch and Leto. Steven Gerrard misplaced several passes. Sami Hyypia was troubled by the pace of the excellent Mamadou Niang. Fabio Aurelio, predictably, was below par. And Momo Sissoko was guilty of a costly concession of possession before Marseille's goal, with Boudewijn Zenden, until recently of Liverpool, then supplying Valbuena for a fine curler that made its way into the net via the underside of the bar.

'It's not me that created history. It was created by my players,' said Eric Gerets, enabling Marseille to become the first French side to win at Anfield in his opening game in charge. 'What they did tonight was fantastic. We made a few technical errors, but what we did in terms of tactics was right.'

Benitez admitted: 'Today was a bad day. Everything was wrong. We were not playing well. It was clear from the beginning. We were not doing the right things, we were giving the ball away and we could not create a clear chance.' Was it their worst performance under him? 'It could be, especially at home.' Any positives at all? 'It's finished.' As, in a few months' time, could be Crouch's Liverpool career.

• MAN OF THE MATCH: Gael Givet - The entire Marseille side impressed, but the France defender was admirably resilient and produced the best tackle of the match to thwart Torres.

• LIVERPOOL VERDICT: With 10 points the normal requirements to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Liverpool now require three wins. That, in turn, necessitates a real improvement on this performance, while the cautions collected by Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher could prove costly later in the competition, too.

• MARSEILLE VERDICT: Perhaps it was a case of 'new manager syndrome', but it was hard to reconcile an organised and disciplined Marseille side with the recent results that cost Albert Emon his job.

• BRING BACK BRUNO: The Liverpool crowd could have been forgiven for shuddering when the PA announcer said Bruno Cheyrou was playing. Instead of the ineffectual former Red, however, brother Benoit was in the Marseille side.

[Anfield rapper]

I still havent even seen the highlights. How did Leto play? i think it was a bit risky playing him and Levia. Toulouse was one thing.

Don't ask mate.

[LittleHobo]

was leto playing?

thats how well he played, i barely noticed he was on the pitch