Liverpool FC Forum

by **bigmick** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:32 pm

So there we go, sooner or later we were bound to play well and we did. Granted they were absolutely garbage but we absolutely hammered them.

Anybody who has any doubts about how sh!te we were playing recently however, would do well to remember they turned us over a couple of weeks back. We have been through a dark tunnel, but hopefully there is light at the end of it now and it isn't just somebody with a Woodbine.

So what is the chance? Well, given the run of games we have coming up, we have a real opportunity now at last to get something going. Anybody who didn't play tonight can hardly moan about not playing in the next game, everybody who did play did OK so lets turn the same team out in the next match. That's right, the same eleven that started this one.

Even the big guns can be benched if approaching fitness and can fight their way back into the team. This in my personal opinion is our last opportunity of this season to launch ourselves. We had something going earlier in the season but totally lost the plot, please please please lets not make the same mistakes again.

The same team next game. No restings, rotations, revolutions, re-jigs or re-hashes, just the same team. No 4-5-1's, 3-5-2's or anything similar. It's Fulham at Home I think so we'll win the game anyway. Bring your Kewell's and your Torres's on in the second half and if they uproot trees, start them in the following game. If they don't stick with this one. By the time Man Utd arrive at Anfield we need to be absolutely fizzing. With a settled team.

by **The Manhattan Project** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:38 pm

Yep.

Same team and we need to attack the frick out of them.

by **Leonmc0708** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:40 pm

Bit melodramatic for me that BigMick mate.

We won, it was coming, we have 6/7 games before United that are all winnable.

Lets see.

But if we do draw one or worse still lose, then Rafa has got to be sacked, no doubt about it.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:42 pm

Absolutely spot on Mick. We may have gone into this game very low on confidence but now it has been boosted by creating a record score in the champions league, rotating could only move to harm that confidence.
Fair enough if there are any injuries between now and then, we've got some quality cover coming back now (Torres, Kewell) but rotating just for the sake of preserving players for future games :no

.

by **Kharhaz** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:42 pm

Id start with Kewell on the left instead of Riise as the only change. I think the sooner Kewell gets a start out and perhaps a full 90 mins we'll have him back to his best.

by **Dundalk** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:46 pm

Its all very well saying we should keep the same team ( I for one agree with what you are saying ) but have we forgot who we are talking about here.

This man WILL change the team against fulham, even Xabi said it tonight - "who knows what he will do"

BTW - This is not a dig at Rafa, im just saying that he will switch the team around.

by **gato_busta** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:50 pm

I really doubt he won't rotate players. Crouch and Voronin up front looked brilliant, hopefully they won't change. Arbeloa was fantastic on the right, yet I think Benitez will move him again to the left and bring in Finnan on the right. Babel might start on the left with Benayoun on the right and Gerrard in the middle with Mascherano, that is if he doesn't put Sissoko ahead of him.

by **bigmick** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 11:50 pm

Leonmc0708 wrote:Bit melodramatic for me that BigMick mate.

We won, it was coming, we have 6/7 games before United that are all winnable.

I definately agree with you on the winnable fixtures Leon. For me though, the Fulham game is a bit like the Derby one earlier, we could probably put you in goal mate and still win.

Perfect oppotunity to rotate then surely? If we were Arsenal or Man Utd who are flying along then yes, if you are us though and just coming off the back of a dodgy spell, no. Crouch has just played for the first time in a bit and scored twice, how about he plays and scores another couple. "Four goals in his last two games" they'll be saying, and the big lad will be flying. Does he need to be sat down now to give Kuyt a game? Does he need a rest? Similarly Benayoun, off the back of a hat-trick and a really top performance (looks like I'm going to be well and truly wrong about him if he continues like that, fair play to him for ramming it down my throat), does he need to be moved aside so Gerrard can move to the right and we can play Sissoko or Lucas in the centre? Does Arbeloa need to be spun back out of the team as quick as he was rotated into so as to give Finnan a game?

I'm not saying the team which played tonight would be my first choice eleven, far from it. They did the business though, and we've got to draw a line somewhere and say "we start from here". After an 8-0 is as good a chance as we are ever going to get, particularly with winnable games coming up.

Five or six rotations against Fulham and we'll still win. It will be a massive opportunity wasted though in my opinion.

by **Leonmc0708** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:04 am

bigmick wrote:
Leonmc0708 wrote:Bit melodramatic for me that BigMick mate.

We won, it was coming, we have 6/7 games before United that are all winnable.

I definately agree with you on the winnable fixtures Leon. For me though, the Fulham game is a bit like the Derby one earlier, we could probably put you in goal mate and still win.

Perfect oppotunity to rotate then surely? If we were Arsenal or Man Utd who are flying along then yes, if you are us though and just coming off the back of a dodgy spell, no. Crouch has just played for the first time in a bit and scored twice, how about he plays and scores another couple. "Four goals in his last two games" they'll be saying, and the big lad will be flying. Does he need to be sat down now to give Kuyt a game? Does he need a rest? Similarly Benayoun, off the back of a hat-trick and a really top performance (looks like I'm going to be well and truly wrong about him if he continues like that, fair play to him for ramming it down my throat), does he need to be moved aside so Gerrard can move to the right and we can play Sissoko or Lucas in the centre? Does Arbeloa need to be spun back out of the team as quick as he was rotated into so as to give Finnan a game?

I'm not saying the team which played tonight would be my first choice eleven, far from it. They did the business though, and we've got to draw a line somewhere and say "we start from here". After an 8-0 is as good a chance as we are ever going to get, particularly with winnable games coming up.

Five or six rotations against Fulham and we'll still win. It will be a massive opportunity wasted though in my opinion.

If he did start with the same 11, and we never got the result, then peewee and all the passemistic whoppers on here would be callign Rafa for all kinds cus he never played tom dic.k and harry.

by **Fowler_E7** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:06 am

Why go with the same team, the substitutes all played well when they came on aswell. Also Torres is available for the game on saturday and most people are always saying how he must play every game that he is available. Personally i would bring Kewell in for Aurelio, and Torres in for Voronin as that would be a stronger team which is more likely to win the game.

by **jonnymac1979** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:11 am

Just got back from the game.

As soon as Kewell is 100% fit (an oxymoron?) he has to start matches. No sway on that for me. A fit Harry Kewell offers a direct threat down that channel. I wanted him on the ball at all opportunity when he came on. Surely he's approaching 100% now?

I am of the school that says stick with Crouch now he has been given a bit of confidence. When he's given games, more often than not (discounting the period before he opened his goalscoring account against Wigan two years ago) he seems to score. Has anyone got the stats on Crouch discounting those first twenty games or so? The way he took his second goal with the glancing header suggested that he just did what comes natural. He's never struck me as the greatest direct header of the ball given the fact that due to his height you would think it would be a strength of his. So that second goal was a really accomplished finish for a player like Crouch and will have boosted his confidence no end. I'd like to see hims start a few matches over Kuyt.

As fantastic as Mascherano was tonight, we're still really missing Alonso. I was glad that we went in at half time blazing because I knew we wouldn't need Torres then. Give him another week to recover, although he was sprinting up the touchline doing his warm-ups and he doesn't look all that injured to me anyway...

Riise didn't have the best game, the crowd were on his back a little bit and I would suggest he will have to up his game or find himself rotated out, if Kewell comes back to the form we know he's capable of. Aurelio would be my first choice left back if he could get himself fit. Hell of a left peg on him.

Babel was excellent when he came on. If we ever try out Torres and Babel up front with the pace they have, there's potential damage there for the opposition. I will have to see it again but Babel bent his run superbly for one of his chances but was given offside? Was it offside? I've not seen it on telly yet.

Benayoun was top class, there at the right time for the rebounds and it's nice to still have a player who will follow chances up in the way the now dearly departed Luis Garcia used to pop up with goals like that. See if he starts the next game though. I was actually surprised to see him last the 90 minutes. You can never predict Rafa.

Top and bottom - it was a good game to attend. Let it be said though, Besiktas were absolute garbage and offered no threat whatsoever, but I won't get too excited about this match as it's the equivalent of beating Derby who are also s*i*e and do not belong in the Premier League, just as Besiktas had no business being on the park with us tonight.

It's a nice platform to build a run upon now. I was at the Fulham game last season where we smashed them 4-0. All the goals came in the seecond half that day. A similar performance wouldn't go amiss.

It's nice to be able to say something positive for a change. There have been dark clouds hovering for what seems like months and watching us has been like pulling teeth sometimes lately. Tonight could be a turning point. I'm longing for the form of 2005-06 when we were going into games knowing we were not even going to concede a goal and it was a matter of how well we would play and how many we would win by.

I'd say I was happy tonight.

by **Fowler_E7** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:18 am

jonnymac1979 wrote:Just got back from the game.

As soon as Kewell is 100% fit (an oxymoron?) he has to start matches. No sway on that for me. A fit Harry Kewell offers a direct threat down that channel. I wanted him on the ball at all opportunity when he came on. Surely he's approaching 100% now?

I am of the school that says stick with Crouch now he has been given a bit of confidence. When he's given games, more often than not (discounting the period before he opened his goalscoring account against Wigan two years ago) he seems to score. Has anyone got the stats on Crouch discounting those first twenty games or so? The way he took his second goal with the glancing header suggested that he just did what comes natural. He's never struck me as the greatest direct header of the ball given the fact that due to his height you would think it would be a strength of his. So that second goal was a really accomplished finish for a player like Crouch and will have boosted his confidence no end. I'd like to see hims start a few matches over Kuyt.

As fantastic as Mascherano was tonight, we're still really missing Alonso. I was glad that we went in at half time blazing because I knew we wouldn't need Torres then. Give him another week to recover, although he was sprinting up the touchline doing his warm-ups and he doesn't look all that injured to me anyway...

Riise didn't have the best game, the crowd were on his back a little bit and I would suggest he will have to up his game or find himself rotated out, if Kewell comes back to the form we know he's capable of. Aurelio would be my first choice left back if he could get himself fit. Hell of a left peg on him.

Babel was excellent when he came on. If we ever try out Torres and Babel up front with the pace they have, there's potential damage there for the opposition. I will have to see it again but Babel bent his run superbly for one of his chances but was given offside? Was it offside? I've not seen it on telly yet.

Benayoun was top class, there at the right time for the rebounds and it's nice to still have a player who will follow chances up in the way the now dearly departed Luis Garcia used to pop up with goals like that. See if he starts the next game though. I was actually surprised to see him last the 90 minutes. You can never predict Rafa.

Top and bottom - it was a good game to attend. Let it be said though, Besiktas were absolute garbage and offered no threat whatsoever, but I won't get too excited about this match as it's the equivalent of beating Derby who are also s*i*e and do not belong in the Premier League, just as Besiktas had no business being on the park with us tonight.

It's a nice platform to build a run upon now. I was at the Fulham game last season where we smashed them 4-0. All the goals came in the seecond half that day. A similar performance wouldn't go amiss.

It's nice to be able to say something positive for a change. There have been dark clouds hovering for what seems like months and watching us has been like pulling teeth sometimes lately. Tonight could be a turning point. I'm longing for the form of 2005-06 when we were going into games knowing we were not even going to concede a goal and it was a matter of how well we would play and how many we would win by.

I'd say I was happy tonight.

great post dude and nice to hear some positives for a change

agree with you about kewell, i think he's ready for the starting 11, and should start on saturday as he has looked really sharp since he has returned. It was great to see him provide width, and work the touchline so well when he came on, its something we've lacked all season IMO.

Oh and by the way Babbel was onside IMO, he strayed off but got himself back in line before the pass was struck, others might disagree though! but it was close

by **bigmick** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:20 am

Fowler_E7 wrote:why go with the same team, the substitutes all playerd well when they came on aswell. Also Torres is available for the game on saturday and most people are always saying how he must play every game that he is available. Personally i would bring Kewell in for Aurelio, and Torres in for Voronin as that would be a stronger team which is more likely to win the game.

So Kewell in for Aurelio would mean Riise moving back into the back four presumeably which I guess is fair enough in itself. Torres coming back into the team for Voronin would obviously strengthen the thing (assuming of course he's fit) but would completely change the way we move the ball forward.

So in essence, what you're proposing is taking a team which has just won 8-0 and put in the first really good performance we've had for weeks, changing the back four, the midfield, the whole way the team attacks (and bearing in mind that Kewell and Torres have never played together), bringing two blokes back from serious injuries and dropping two players who featured in that 8-0 win? Sorry I can't agree.

The season must start again from this point. Unless we can accept that we had a huge hand in derailing ourselves by our over zealous use of changes to the team earlier in the season we run the risk of making the same mistakes again. If we do, and fail to get something going now, it really will be too late.

Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea aren't going to suddenly start dropping points, it's a great urban myth. Now we've had some good fortune in the midst of our "blip" which has enabled us to take five points out of our last three league games. It could have been a whole lot worse, and unless we get some consistency of performance, which will follow consistency of selection, our rivals will have well and truly disappeared over the horizon.

by **tubby** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:20 am

Ah what a relief to finally see goals flowing again. Stevies was the pick of the crop if you ask me purley from a team point of view. Yossis first close behind.

I just hope we now start to show some form in the league.

by **Kharhaz** » Wed Nov 07, 2007 12:20 am

It was close but it showed him trying to get back and the ball was played while he was still offside.

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