Liverpool FC Forum

by **Ciggy** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:35 am

Why cant our forwards find the back of the net?
To many missed chances all season, they have missed loads of sitters on quite a few occasions, whats the problem?

Is it the tactics and our game plan thats causing this?
I see Kuyt is being used in the Morientes role, and with strikers being judged on their goals I cant see Kuyt getting many the position he is playing in, I think even if we had someone like Drogba he would struggle to score, it has to be Rafa's methods and tactics.

We are playing 442 all the time now, but really we are playing 4-5-1 because Kuyt is having to come into midfield to get the ball.
I think this is the reason Morientes was a failure with us, and our current set of strikers will also be deemed as not good enough.

Or are they not good enough?
I duno I think they have enough goals between them for us to atleast finish 4th, and maybe just minor adjustments are needed, for them to start putting the ball in the back of the net, its all a bit of de ja vu from last season where we had the most shots on goal but failed to convert our chances.

Do we need a top class striker to come in or are our forwards good enough?

by **woof woof !** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:55 am

Imo, Crouch certainly needs to up his goals scored ratio . Considering the numerous opportunities the fella gets (and fair play to him that he gets them) he should be sticking more away . As one commentator said "just because you're tall ,it doesn't mean you a good header of the ball". I agree but given how many headers Crouch gets you'd think it would be one area of his game that he and Rafa would be desperate to improve .

Bellamy and Kuyt , the jury's still out but they're lookin' ok to me .

by **Scottbot** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 11:11 am

woof woof ! wrote:Imo, Crouch certainly needs to up his goals scored ratio . Considering the numerous opportunities the fella gets (and fair play to him that he gets them) he should be sticking more away . As one commentator said "just because you're tall ,it doesn't mean you a good header of the ball". I agree but given how many headers Crouch gets you'd think it would be one area of his game that he and Rafa would be desperate to improve .

Bellamy and Kuyt , the jury's still out but they're lookin' ok to me .

Woof, to be fair to the lad he hasn't really played for the best part of 6 weeks and for me he looked a little short of the fitness and sharpness that comes from playing week-in-week-out. Just look what a few games on the bounce and a couple of goals has done to Bellamy's game and don't froget Crouch is still our top scorer.

I'm not overly concerned about our strikers. Kuyt and Bellamy are working well together (this partnership will get better with time) and Crouch (despite being Mr.Scapegoat for so many red fans) brings a lot to the team.

However, i am worried about our inablility to recover when we go behind in a game. When was the last time we came back to win (or even draw) after conceding the first goal in a League game? As things are, if the Reds score first you simply know they will win. If we go behind you can be sure it's curtains. The players seem to lose composure and the football gets a bit desperate. In contrast, our play when we get our noses in front has been quick, incisive and great to watch. The first goal is important in any game but it seems to decide the game for Rafa's Reds and i guess the pressure of playing catch-up this season can also be thrown into the mix. We can do it in the Cups (Olympiakos, Milan, Luton, West-Ham) but this team needs to show it can come from behind in a league game.

by **Sarge** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 2:02 pm

merry christmas cigs andu all of reds fans out there

if this thread in lieu with our performance against blackburn then i think you are probably wrong into making such statement

Both arsenal and manure are on top of their games but they still drop some unecessary points against mid table teams.

Manure dropped points against west ham, so did arsenal and chelsea. As for crouch debate, imo he does not have enough playing hours yet. Historically, it took him many games before he went on scoring rampage last season.
We have been through this condition for couple of seasons with rafa but eventually lfc did rise to the occasion at every end of the season.
However I agree that we still need to improve certain quality and I believe rafa is still working on that department.

Rome wasn't built in a day or two.

by **Bad Bob** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 3:42 pm

Scottbot wrote:
woof woof ! wrote:Imo, Crouch certainly needs to up his goals scored ratio . Considering the numerous opportunities the fella gets (and fair play to him that he gets them) he should be sticking more away . As one commentator said "just because you're tall ,it doesn't mean you a good header of the ball". I agree but given how many headers Crouch gets you'd think it would be one area of his game that he and Rafa would be desperate to improve .

Bellamy and Kuyt , the jury's still out but they're lookin' ok to me .

Woof, to be fair to the lad he hasn't really played for the best part of 6 weeks and for me he looked a little short of the fitness and sharpness that comes from playing week-in-week-out. Just look what a few games on the bounce and a couple of goals has done to Bellamy's game and don't froget Crouch is still our top scorer.

I'm not overly concerned about our strikers. Kuyt and Bellamy are working well together (this partnership will get better with time) and Crouch (despite being Mr.Scapegoat for so many red fans) brings a lot to the team.

However, i am worried about our inablility to recover when we go behind in a game. When was the last time we came back to win (or even draw) after conceding the first goal in a League game? As things are, if the Reds score first you simply know they will win. If we go behind you can be sure it's curtains. The players seem to lose composure and the football gets a bit desperate. In contrast, our play when we get our noses in front has been quick, incisive and great to watch. The first goal is important in any game but it seems to decide the game for Rafa's Reds and i guess the pressure of playing catch-up this season can also be thrown into the mix. We can do it in the Cups (Olympiakos, Milan, Luton, West-Ham) but this team needs to show it can come from behind in a league game.

Good post. I agree that we have the strikers to do the business and that it was largely down to an off-day at the office that we lost at Blackburn. Sure, they've all spurned chances this season but, prior to Tuesday, they had been banging them in so it's not like the situation's dire. I would be concerned if we weren't creating chances but we are. It's frustrating when they go begging but we still do a decent job of converting. As Sarge points out, the Mancs and especially Arsenal have been guilty of dominating games this season and coming away with nothing due to mis-firing strikers. It happens to every team and I don't think there's a need to push the panic button.

As for coming from behind, that is a worrying trend. We managed it against West Ham at home this season but that's been it. I would love to see the stats on how many chances we create before and after conceding the game's opening goal. I suspect the chances really drop off once we go behind. Part of that is due to our opponents shutting up shop but part of it is down to us being rattled, I think. Somehow, from somewhere, the lads need to find that ruthlessness that the Mancs have--who never seem to let their heads drop and who sometimes seem to only wake up and start playing once they concede. If we could find some of that tenacity, we'd be brilliant.

But, at the end of the day, I think we have a fantastic quartet of strikers and not one of them worries me...which is far more than I could say last year with Cisse and Morientes in the squad.

by **puroresu** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 5:20 pm

I have to hold my hands up say Bellamy really looks good at the moment and is the one that deserves to start all the time. His also the only one with genuine pace so has to play.

I like Kuyt and really did think he would have more goals than he has but like the poster said his always coming deep and in wide positions.

Crouch - Not good enough

Fowler - Would like to see him play more

Do we have a genuine world class striker? No we do not however we should still have enough to beat most sides in the league.

by **83-1165214211** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 7:47 pm

We lacked class ever since we sold Sissy right?

:censored:

off puroresu you clueless fool.

The answer to your questions simple. They aren't goalscorers with the exception of Robbie Fowler. None of them are particularly outstanding players either.

by **RichardLFC1** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:05 pm

Kuyt has been great for us in my opinion. Bellamy Didnt start to good but has recently found his form and finding the back of the net. Crouch hasnt started too many premiership games and Scored a few but has scored a few in the champions league. I dont think theres alot wrong but i do think we should take more chances

by **Ciggy** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:29 pm

STR_18+5 wrote:We lacked class ever since we sold Sissy right?

Hate to admit it but we havent replaced Owen.

by **83-1165214211** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:35 pm

Ciggy wrote:
STR_18 wrote:We lacked class ever since we sold Sissy right?

Hate to admit it but we havent replaced Owen.

To be fair it doesn't take a genius to spot that.

We don't have anyone to pull us outta the :censored:

on a regular basis no more basically.

by **redmikey** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:48 pm

i loved mikey in red but he wouldn't enjoy our play at the moment because he would have to work to hard when 98% of his game is in the box

people love to get at crouchy but the old saying is that at least he is getting the chances it is always worse for a striker not to have a shot on goal as it shows a lack of heart to be in the right place

we need a brain transplant robbies brain in dirks body what a frankenstein that would be

by **dawson99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 8:54 pm

the goals will come, we are playing better football now than in the last 2 years, its just not quite clicking, whther it is missed chances, great saves or whatever. i think the 4 we have got is class. robbis wont play as much, crouch shouldnt play as much, but in these hectic times things will sometimes go pear shaped

by **83-1165214211** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:30 pm

redmikey wrote:i loved mikey in red but he wouldn't enjoy our play at the moment because he would have to work to hard when 98% of his game is in the box

people love to get at crouchy but the old saying is that at least he is getting the chances it is always worse for a striker not to have a shot on goal as it shows a lack of heart to be in the right place

we need a brain transplant robbies brain in dirks body what a frankenstein that would be

Rubbish.

As for the four we have being class I'm sorry but I disagree. Fowler's "class". The others are merely good players at best.

by **dawson99** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:37 pm

dont you mean fowler was class?

we all love robbie but Rafa knows him slightly better than us, and maybe fowler is not the player the we all still think he is?

Get your head out of yer a$$ and say hello to the 21st century. players have changed

by **aCe'** » Thu Dec 28, 2006 9:57 pm

dawson99 wrote:the goals will come, we are playing better football now than in the last 2 years, its just not quite clicking, whther it is missed chances, great saves or whatever. i think the 4 we have got is class. robbis wont play as much, crouch shouldnt play as much, but in these hectic times things will sometimes go pear shaped

i agree with the fact that we seem to be playing better football this season...
Particularly with Gerrard playing in central midfield now and Bellamy starting to hit the form we expected.
To me, its more of us missing chances than it is keepers making great saves and coming up with MOM performances.
I dont know what you mean by " i think the 4 we have got is class " ?!
as STR said.. none are outstanding players, and except for R.Fowler, none are great finishers either !

We need a clinical finisher.. a 20 goals a season striker who can convert some of our chances into goals..
i do agree that Rafa's tactics have alot to do with our strikers not scoring as many goals as they are expected to... but in all fairness, our strikers have been guilty of some sloppy finishing too !
Bellamy is a good player.. hard worker and pacy... not a great finisher... in the past few games, hes been our main man going forward.
Kuyt is a hard worker too.. lacks skills and isnt quite your typical striker (might be down to rafas tactics but..) a good player overall but not one i can see scoring week in week out
Fowler is not getting enough playing time.. this season is probably his last with liverpool
Crouch is a good player to have on the bench... can come up with some good football sometimes.. but not good enough imo

way i see it... by next season... i think we'll need to sign a top class finisher to play alongside bellamy or kuyt...

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