Liverpool FC Forum

[Red Dotty]

I would be happy with a draw against you guys, though I (offcourse) prefer a win. But cocu will prove a real miss to us, he could be the man to outplay gerrard. I really fear him with his shots from outside the box

Nice to here a friendly comment from your side should be a good game and yes i agree cocu will be a miss.

Best of luck to you guys but come on the reds

[Olai]

I'm quite confident at the moment (i'm a PSVfan) but the loss of Cocu is a big one. We have a very good homerecord at the Philips Stadion so I'll be quite dissappointed with a loss. Still PSV has a real strong squad. Today PSV played vs Willem II in the league and I saw Jan Kromkamp shining again, probably his game ends up better in Holland then in England, he's playing like he's been there for years. I also saw our new Ecuadorian signing Mendez u scored twice and who will play vs Liverpool.

I'll fancy a hard-foughten 1-0, that'll be a great start for our guys! I think Liverpool are the favorites but we've got nothing to lose. More information about our lineup should be there in the next couple of days, don't count on Kluivert, he's still getting conditional practise. I'm getting pretty excited already, but if I have to keep realistic i think a draw is a good result vs Liverpool.

Our lineup should be probably something like this:

Gomes
Kromkamp Alex Addo Salcido
Afellay Simons Culina
Mendez Farfan Koné

This is the most likely lineup at the moment, my personal starting lineup should be:

Gomes
Kromkamp Alex Da Costa Salcido
Afellay Simons Väyrynen
Mendez Koné Farfan

Should be a great match no matter what! Cheers and good luck

[Bad Bob]

Hope rafa gets back to basic and picks his strongest side for this game....

No more "who performs the best in training"...No more "who is the most freshest" ...... Just pick the strongest team rafa and we will do fine. Yeah we have a stonger squad and all but this could be a disadvantage if rafa keeps chopping and changing his squad every match....

Obviously I'm on my soapbox with this issue but I just don't get how people think Rafa is "chopping and changing" all the time.  Let's look at our 3 Prem games to date:

1) Starting 11 against Sheffield United
Reina
Kromkamp
Carragher
Hyypia
Riise
Gerrard
Sissoko
Zenden
Aurelio
Fowler
Bellamy

2) Starting 11 against West Ham
Reina
Finnan
Agger
Hyypia
Aurelio
Pennant
Gerrard
Alonso
Garcia
Crouch
Bellamy

3) Starting 11 against Everton
Reina
Finnan
Carragher
Hyypia
Aurelio
Gerrard
Alonso
Sissoko
Garcia
Fowler
Crouch

Not an unreasonable amount of chopping and changing there to me.  You have an established core team: Reina, Hyypia, Carragher (when fit), Finnan (when fit), Gerrard, Alonso (when fit) and Sissoko (when fit). 

The major change--unrelated to injury--that Rafa has made has been in the wide positions and up front.  On the right he's used Gerrard--who was awesome there last season and who's been there for England a lot in recent weeks too--and Pennant to good effect.  Up front he's used Robbie to spell strikers returning from international duty and he's played Crouch a fair bit, which is hardly a suprise given his form.  Bellamy's gotten lots of minutes and Kuyt is being bedded in at a reasonable rate.

The only real problem position has been LM.  This is due to a combination of factors: Kewell's absence, Riise's injury and Gonzale's somewhat tepid start to life in the English game.  Given Garcia's ability to come up trumps in big games for us in the past--even when playing 'out of position' in wide positions--it's hardly unreasonable tinkering to give him some starts at LM and allow him and Gerrard to drift inside, switch flanks, and generally give defenders problems.

Bottom line, I just don't see the "chopping and changing" that many on here are complaining about.  Moreover, this "just pick the strongest side" talk sounds great but, at this stage of the season, with some many new players bedding in, so many injuries and so many international breaks messing with the team's preparations, what exactly is our strongest side?  Mine includes those core players listed above but when it comes to the wide players and the strikers, it just depends on a lot of circumstances.  Let's not get into this lazy habit of labelling Rafa the new tinkerman on the basis of a handful of changes--over three games--that have largely been forced on him.

[el_stinger]

Look, we had our chances to beat the bluesh1tees on Saturday, even with the personnel on the pitch. 3 squad members back from injury, we outplayed them, we had the best chances, and we played some excellent footie.

That being said, we made 3 mistakes that cost us, and if we took our chances, if the referee wasn't so horribly horrible, we would all be singing a different tune and praising Rafa for saving our wingmen and our best attacker for the next few games.

Without further adding to the salt already being rubbed in, which is turning very VERY bitter.. we must convert our chances, possession and domination on the scoreboard. Only time will tell. There shouldn't be anyone panicking about the rest of the campaign, cos if Saturday's disastrous scoreline is the lowest point of our season, then yes, I will take it. Even if it is a terrible defeat by our most hated of rivals.

We need to buckle down and hope Rafa kicks the shhhiiiiittt out of them for THAT "performance" this week. Hope you got it out of your system lads, cos now is the time to prove yourselves.

My team selection for this match would be:

------------Reina------------

Finnan---Carra-Hyypia---Aurelio

Pennant Gerrard Sissoko Gonzo

          Bellamy
                   Couitous

Sub: Crotch, Garcia, Agger, Alonso, Dudek

[Owzat]

On the 'chopping and changing' issue, why don't you all try and predict the XVI each game and see how well you do. I think part of the problem is he has so many possible starting options he can't include them all and this makes his leaving Bellamy and Gonzalez out look bizarre and perhaps stupid. However Carra was a doubt, I hear he badly wanted to play, and Riise was a risk not worth taking. I guessed we'd struggle to maintain our defensive solidity for a second season and maybe it is time for Agger to play more games at the back.

I'm confident we'll beat PSV but I think Rafa has to pick more carefully, I would opt against playing Bellamy from the off as I think he gives us a lot more options from the bench as well as pace. I also feel Garcia can be more effective as a sub. I'd rest Crouch after all he can't be used to scoring as many goals as he has recently

------------Reina------------

Finnan---Agger-Hyypia---Aurelio

Pennant Gerrard Sissoko Gonzalez

         Fowler Kuyt

Sub: Dudek , Garcia, Carragher, Alonso, Bellamy

[CardinalRed]

I trust our defence not to perform in the same way two games on the bounce.... One you can call a bad day at the office, two and questions do have to be asked at this level...

                                                                             

[Feyenoorder]

It'll be a very difficult game no doubt about it. I'm tempted to say that I'd be happy with a draw, although I still maintain that we have the quality to beat them if we're switched on.

In many ways I'm glad Guus Hiddink has left PSV because he's the only manager who can match Rafa tactically in Europe imo. They've got some decent players still, Patrick Kluivert, Farfan (Forwards), Philip Cocu (Midfielder) and Alex (Defender). However when you look at the players they've lost in the last 2-3 years (Van Bommel, Kezman, Robben, Venegoor of Hesselink, Bouma) they're not what they used to be.

Kuyt has to start upfront because we're playing against opposition which he knows better than most. Bellamy should start alongside him. At the back, Agger should come in for the clearly unfit Carragher, who should be rested for the Chelsea game.

Hmm StMichael, you're right about Hiddink but I don't think Benitez is on the same level when it comes to tactics. But to your luck psv depends now on the insight of Ronald Koeman who (just like his older brother Erwin who is making a mess of Feyenoord at the moment  ) is not well known in Holland for his abilities when it comes to this matter... So maybe there's a chance for Benitez to outsmart an enemy coach!    You're also lucky that psv has to play without Cocu, the "brains" of the team and that Kluivert is still not fit. But there are still players left at psv who are able to punish Liverpool when they put the same effort in the game as they did against everton. Farfan and Kone are very skillfull attackers who are able to humiliate static defenders like Hypia. The heart of the defense of psv is also very strong with the Brazilian Alex (unbelievable that he didn't play at the world cup this summer) and probably Simons next to him. I know many Liverpuddlians didn't like Kromkamp but I've seen him play regularly for AZ Alkmaar and I know he can play much better than you guys think. Anyway, he'll be eager to prove Benitez wrong.

I guess it will all come down to which team controls the midfield and with a player like Gerrard on the pitch and the absence of Cocu I believe Liverpool will be able to dominate the game. But it depends on Benitez too, I am not a fan of this Spaniard who, in my opinion, is always looking for a way to prevent goals from an opponent instead of looking for the best way for his own team to score goals themselves. Not playing Kuyt from the beginning against everton... what an a.s.s! 

[onizukaeikichi]

I'm quite confident at the moment (i'm a PSVfan) but the loss of Cocu is a big one. We have a very good homerecord at the Philips Stadion so I'll be quite dissappointed with a loss. Still PSV has a real strong squad. Today PSV played vs Willem II in the league and I saw Jan Kromkamp shining again, probably his game ends up better in Holland then in England, he's playing like he's been there for years. I also saw our new Ecuadorian signing Mendez u scored twice and who will play vs Liverpool.

I'll fancy a hard-foughten 1-0, that'll be a great start for our guys! I think Liverpool are the favorites but we've got nothing to lose. More information about our lineup should be there in the next couple of days, don't count on Kluivert, he's still getting conditional practise. I'm getting pretty excited already, but if I have to keep realistic i think a draw is a good result vs Liverpool.

Our lineup should be probably something like this:

Gomes
Kromkamp Alex Addo Salcido
Afellay Simons Culina
Mendez Farfan Koné

This is the most likely lineup at the moment, my personal starting lineup should be:

Gomes
Kromkamp Alex Da Costa Salcido
Afellay Simons Väyrynen
Mendez Koné Farfan

Should be a great match no matter what! Cheers and good luck

cheers dude, may the best performer win.

[stmichael]

In my opinion, this game coming so quickly after saturday's disappointment ia a good thing. The players who didn't make the 11 for the derby will have a massive point to prove and hopefully, should they be selected, they'll play with gusto and a fire in their bellies. I'm not sure we'll pick a gung-ho lineup but I think, or at least I hope, we will see Bellamy and Kuyt together. Xabi hasn't been playing as well as he can but I think he's the type of player who needs games rather than a rocket up his ar$e. He comes across as an intelligent, thoughtful and measured man so I don't think his form is due to laziness or a lack of application. I'd like to see this team lineup.

Reina

Finnan
Carra
Sami
Aurelio

Gerrard
Alosno
Sissoko
Gonzalez

Kuyt
Bellamy


Having a match like this three days after a woeful and confidence damaging performance is a good thing because it shifts the focus from the defeat to something more constructive. We need to eradicate the defensive errors and look to use the ball more intelligently. The addition of Kuyt and Bellamy, if it happens, is a positive move because I think it is always important that strikers keep defenders on their toes and those two certainly do that. Crouch, for all his running, and Fowler too don't really keep defenders on their toes because of a lack of pace.

The worrying thing for me is that we aren't creating clear opportunities as regularly as we'd like to. We hit the target four times yesterday, plus we hit the post twice too and considering the amount of possession we had, we should have been doing better. A lot of that was because of the tactical setup of the sh#te, sticking eleven men behind the ball but that was further proof of the requirement for players who can be direct and powerful in their attacking.

We didn't start with one player who can run at a defender yesterday, Gerrard can burst through from midfield but he's better at running onto a moving ball and smashing it, than he is at beating two or three men and then slipping the ball through to a striker. That's why I'd like to see Bellamy, Kuyt and Gonzalez start against PSV, their pace and directness should leave a team feeling apprehensive and we can build on that.

[Bad Bob]

In my opinion, this game coming so quickly after saturday's disappointment ia a good thing. The players who didn't make the 11 for the derby will have a massive point to prove and hopefully, should they be selected, they'll play with gusto and a fire in their bellies. I'm not sure we'll pick a gung-ho lineup but I think, or at least I hope, we will see Bellamy and Kuyt together. Xabi hasn't been playing as well as he can but I think he's the type of player who needs games rather than a rocket up his ar$e. He comes across as an intelligent, thoughtful and measured man so I don't think his form is due to laziness or a lack of application. I'd like to see this team lineup.

Reina

Finnan
Carra
Sami
Aurelio

Gerrard
Alosno
Sissoko
Gonzalez

Kuyt
Bellamy


Having a match like this three days after a woeful and confidence damaging performance is a good thing because it shifts the focus from the defeat to something more constructive. We need to eradicate the defensive errors and look to use the ball more intelligently. The addition of Kuyt and Bellamy, if it happens, is a positive move because I think it is always important that strikers keep defenders on their toes and those two certainly do that. Crouch, for all his running, and Fowler too don't really keep defenders on their toes because of a lack of pace.

The worrying thing for me is that we aren't creating clear opportunities as regularly as we'd like to. We hit the target four times yesterday, plus we hit the post twice too and considering the amount of possession we had, we should have been doing better. A lot of that was because of the tactical setup of the sh#te, sticking eleven men behind the ball but that was further proof of the requirement for players who can be direct and powerful in their attacking.

We didn't start with one player who can run at a defender yesterday, Gerrard can burst through from midfield but he's better at running onto a moving ball and smashing it, than he is at beating two or three men and then slipping the ball through to a striker. That's why I'd like to see Bellamy, Kuyt and Gonzalez start against PSV, their pace and directness should leave a team feeling apprehensive and we can build on that.

That line-up suits me down to the ground, Saint.  It is high time we paired Bellamy and Kuyt from the start and see what they can achieve.  Crouch and Pennant can come on at the hour mark if we need a different kind of threat.  The 'back five' most keep things tighter, though.  Oh, and FFS, can we score first for once this season! 

[Effes]

I would opt against playing Bellamy from the off as I think he gives us a lot more options from the bench as well as pace

Wait there... so you think Bellamy's best position is the bench?

Id start with Bellamy and Kuyt.

I've said this before and I'll say it again,

Our best formation last season was with Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard - which means SG MUST play on the right if we want to have 2 strikers.
My team:

-------- Reina --------
Finnan  Hyypia   Agger   Aurelio

Gerrard  Sissoko Alonso   Gonzo

---- Kuyt----Bellamy----

[Ciggy]

Time to put the derby to bed now, Im still gutted but a win and a good performance tommorrow will ease the pain no doubt.

There will be more changes to the squad probably Agger coming in for Carra as he is not match fit.
I hope to god Warnocks back because Aurelio is a liability at present at LB.

Zenden will probably play Alonso is just not at the races at the moment, but he will come good form is temperary you know the rest.

We really need a good performance tommorrow, to get some confidence back and to give us something to cheer about.

                                 Reina

Finnan             Agger            Hyypia         Warnock/Aurelio

Pennant           Sissoko          Zenden        Gonzales

                           Gerrard
         
                                  Bellamy

[66-1112520797]

Bouncebackability springs to mind for this one, we need confidence and to get our confidence back we need a convincing performance to prove we've got the minerals for the bigtime.

Its a bit of fun picking the team at the moment with choices an all, my only team headache with picking this team would be, whether to drop Alonso at the moment. I dont care what anyone says, he's not playing well at the moment, so I wouldnt know whether to give him a game so he can pull it around in time for the weekend. Or drop him 

                                         Reina

                Finnan       Hyypia    Cara     Warnock

               Pennant    Gerrard   Sissoko    Aurelio

                              Kuyt    Bellamy

As it stands we need to play our players who are on form, I remember Ivor the injured saying at the begining of the season " Alonso needs catch up time" or something along those lines. He's had some pretty average performances since then and I think Gerrard and Sissoko are on better form and Alonso should sit this one out. Sometimes players need to play more games to get there form back, but after the opening games I've seen from him it cant come soon enough. In the old days dropping a player would have a positive effect when returning to the team. Maybe this is what Xabi needs.

[tommycockles]

I would opt against playing Bellamy from the off as I think he gives us a lot more options from the bench as well as pace

Wait there... so you think Bellamy's best position is the bench?

Id start with Bellamy and Kuyt.

I've said this before and I'll say it again,

Our best formation last season was with Sissoko, Alonso and Gerrard - which means SG MUST play on the right if we want to have 2 strikers.
My team:

-------- Reina --------
Finnan  Hyypia   Agger   Aurelio

Gerrard  Sissoko Alonso   Gonzo

---- Kuyt----Bellamy----

I'd go with that team except i'd swap aurelio for Warnock; as much as i think Gonzales and Aurelio will be good players for us, i still worry about their defensive qualities at the moment. For some reason our problem right side has now moved to the right side!! Kewell/Riise are injured, Gonzo's still feeling his way, Garica best behind the striker (and off the bench) and Zenden's pants!! It appears that all the balls and runs into the area seem to be coming down the left where our opposition have spotted our current weakness- hopefully Warnock will strengthen this up with a bit of good English tackling!!

We need to get back to playing with some spirit, we can pass it around as much as we like but unless we attack we're not going to worry anyone except ourselves! Everton wanted it more than us on Saturday and scrapped themselves 3 points which we should have had!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game and would love to see Kuyt starting with Bellamy up front and maybe even a see Gonzo against a european side which may bring out another goal!!

[OctopusesGarden]

I agreed with The Rock, Gerrard Needs to be in the middle, at the end of the days his main downfall is the fact that he can play in numerous positions.

Well Red
"Reina HAS to be dropped. Bring back Dudek for a run of games"
Liverpool fans already have a reputation for being thickle (dont know how to spell that word) and your only further enhancing it. i believe he still has to prove himself but he's only made one mistake.
Carsley should never been allowed the space in the centre to get his shot of anyway so the problem started before the shot.