Liverpool FC Forum

by **damjan193** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 7:57 pm

Come on guys, it's only the first game of the season. With 4 new players, 2 players being here no more than 7 months and a youngster, this was kind of expected. The team needs to GEL and a few preseason games aren't enough for that. Don't worry things WILL get better.

by **damjan193** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 7:59 pm

Few mistakes done by the manager as well, which I think was also expected having so many players in our team with half of them having just arrived. Flanno should have never been played ahead of Kelly, who is alot more proven than Flanagan. Sure he had a bad preseason but then again, who didn't? But I see what Kenny was trying to do. Flanagan is a right back, while Kelly is a CENTER back, or atleast that's what we want him to be in the future, so no sense in playing him at the right back position if we want him to play in the center. Also, it was a big mistake to play Downing behind the striker, he's a left winger and that's where he belongs. Starting with Henderson was also a mistake, and even Adam I think shouldn't start ahead of Meireles YET.

This was why I was a little against buying so many players. Having a team full of players who barely know each other isn't exactly a wise strategy.

Anyway, I think that we will improve and learn from our mistakes. Hendo and Flanno aren't ready yet and IMO Kelly should still start on the RB position if Johnson isn't here even though he is considered to replace a center back when needed, and Kuyt should start ahead of Henderson.

Kenny is a smart manager and I'm sure that he'll improve on this, so don't worry, the future still looks red.

Also, Aquilani should have played

by **TarnRed** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:06 pm

aCe' wrote:Lets be honest here... Blame the ref all we want but we were well in control the first half (partly because Sunderland were reluctant to get forward and partly because Downing was running the show all over the place)... Even then, we failed to get the ball moving through the middle of the park and largely resorted to long balls.. Fact we had many bodies in the final third meant we looked more dangerous given the style..

Second half, Sunderland come out and tried to attack.. We continued with our long balls and we couldnt get any sort of decent attacking moves going... Defensively, Adam and Flanagan were both pretty poor with their positioning and tackling... Enrique didnt show enough and despite playing a side with serious problems upfront we still seemed to have problems containing them..

Enrique didn't show enough. ha ha

What did you expect, a Roberto Carlos type performance? He was solid defensively and used the ball well his attacking instinct will nurture over the coming weeks.

Henderson was poor somehow you have totally ignored this, Aquilani should have started because Henderson is still stuck in the wide right role he was used at Sunderland. And if you have ever played football, when you are young, it's hard to remove the shackles from been used in a certain role.

by **ruskiy playmaker** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:29 pm

Thing that worries me is you could see the draw coming from miles away. We changed coaches and players, but we still have the same damn problem.

by **ruskiy playmaker** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:32 pm

damjan193 wrote:Come on guys, it's only the first game of the season. With 4 new players, 2 players being here no more than 7 months and a youngster, this was kind of expected. The team needs to GEL and a few preseason games aren't enough for that. Don't worry things WILL get better.

I see where you're coming from, but we really should be winning against :censored:

Sunderland at home, dont forget they have a lot of new faces as well.

by **RedAnt** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:33 pm

I'd like to see more short and sharp passes, in triangles. I've noticed that we always seem to lose our grip when teams press us and get in our face. That's when we start passing back to defenders with some space and they invariably hoof it. Obviously the longball finds Carrol but rarely is anyone close enough to get the knock down so their defenders end up tidying things up and it goes in a full circle. Watch and you'll see it happen time and time again.

A narrower formation, incisive and quick through the middle would be a great alternative. Our problem has been the same for a few seasons now....when one tactic dosen't work, we tend not to try another. Instead we stand around, scratching our heads while the opposition gains control.

Many will and are saying "It's only game one!" but ya know...it's game one! This is the REAL deal, not a friendly. We needed to win this one. Next is Arsenal. That's game two. If we lose or draw that one, that's 1 or points from 6. Before we know it, we're 10th in the league and got our work cut out to catch the relentless leaders.

I think we'll beat Arsenal though. If Fabregas and Nasri leave they're gonna be struggling bad. I just hope "It's only game one" dosen't become "It's only games one and two" ...cos then we're in bother.

by **redtrader74** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:34 pm

It was a mistake by Kenny to play so many players who did not know each other. Sure we had a good first 30 mins, but I would say that had a lot to do with playing at home, first game of the season motivation. Lucas and Suarez have been away in South America and have had very little real game time with Henderson and Adam, and Enrique only joined a couple of days ago. Although he played well, IMO if you know the other players well, and how they play, it makes a huge amount of difference at this level.

I don't want to lay the blame on the officials, if we are serious about putting up a decent challenge then we should be able to overcome the odd bad decision. The time to gel the players together was during preseason and not now, and it's why I cannot understand why we gave so much game time to Aquilani and others who seem to be on their way out. it's not the end of the world, but it's a bad start.

by **Zidane** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:49 pm

Our style is a big problem, we bypassed the midfield way too much and the longballs made us become stagnant movement wise. No one was making themselves available except for Suarez and I don't blame them because our man form of attack seemed to be bypassing the midfield anyway. It made Lucas and Adam fade from the game as we got more and more desperate. Kenny really needs to get the pass and move back into place or well be in for more performances like today imo. Adam was very poor defensively as well he can't play that way in a midfield of two.

by **Dundalk** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 8:55 pm

redtrader74 wrote:I cannot understand why we gave so much game time to Aquilani

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by **damjan193** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:11 pm

redtrader74 wrote:It was a mistake by Kenny to play so many players who did not know each other.

Exactly. They've trained together for only a few days, never mind playing games.

by **damjan193** » Sat Aug 13, 2011 9:25 pm

Dundalk wrote:
redtrader74 wrote:I cannot understand why we gave so much game time to Aquilani

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Rorysmith_tel Rory Smith on Twitter

Pre-season problem at #LFC is that at least four games were effectively used to get unwanted players fit for their future clubs.

True that.

I think that Aquilani deserves a chance, something that he'll probably never get. We'll probably end up with the worse case scenario- Selling him, and for not even half of what we payed for him, a lot less than what he's really worth too.

by **redtrader74** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:01 am

Dundalk wrote:
redtrader74 wrote:I cannot understand why we gave so much game time to Aquilani

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IMO that's a silly reason to waste valuable playing time. If he is to be sold then sell him, is it better to try and bump his price up a couple of million or make sure that the players that are staying get to know each others strengths and weaknesses? Also I doubt if his prospective purchasers would be making their decisions on the basis of a few preseason games.

Personally I feel that he is a superb player, good vision, touch and he looks like he can control the tempo of play. He must either really want to leave or have something wrong with his personality, as I can't understand what Kenny and the rest of the coaches see in Adam, Lucas and Henderson over him.

by **Dundalk** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:12 am

I agree with you but unfortunatly kenny dosent. He will be sold, ironically he would have made a difference today

by **eds** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:14 am

Bad result today.

Questionable decisions all over the park. Flanagan? Spearing on the bench instead of Aqualani? Are you f**kin serious Kenny?

Why oh why would you start with all four new signings in the starting XI? What happened to introducing them over the course of the season?

I think Suarez will shine this season, as long as he doesn't get injured and we desperately need another CB and forward before the end of August!

by **killerp** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:04 am

Pros: we look like we can play good football again. 1st half

Cons: we look like we can play :censored:

football again. 2nd half

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LIVERPOOL VS SUNDERLAND 13/8/2011 - This is it. kennys real return

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