Liverpool FC Forum

by **akumaface** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:54 am

I just hope Rafa is able to swallow on the result and make some much needed changes on the team in order to still have a chance to make a run. We need to put Agger in there. Yes, the first goal last night, we defended poorly and both Carra and Insua didn't get back as they should. Not trying to put the blame on them as it was caused by the turn over from Mascher from Midfield. But can see that Carra just not able to bail out his mate like he could of couple years back. Until Beni were on the pitch, we lack creativity completely....

by **Octsky** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:26 am

Yst on the pitch, we did miss Alonso, compounding to the poor performance is that Aquaman, Alonso's replacement, is still injured. So Lucas was putted into a spot that he wasn't even remotely prepared for. I felt that Aquaman is the signing that may break or make Rafa's LFC career.

Are we still in the race? Mathematically we are in, but if we played like against Chlc when we encounter Macs, we will soon be out of it.

I say, pull Stevie back in midfield, drop Lucas and play Benni as man-in-the-hole. Against the big team, sadly we have to play for a draw in view of causing them to drop 2 points instead of getting 3. Against small teams, we have to win no matter what. So overall we may still gotten as much points as last season.
When Aquaman is back (he is our hope now), we can reorganize and go head to head once again with the best teams in the world.
If Aquaman flunk, qualification for champs league is in real danger, and i will say that the end of Rafa's career.

by **The_Rock** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 4:18 am

Effes wrote:It's not looking good. I think the "comfort zone" of the top four is looking a bit shakey now with Man City looking menacing on the horizon.

This is a good point...and this is something which i am looking for ever since the dark ages of houllier. (ie....qualify for champions league every season = a good season).

Now, we have to take each game as a must win.... No more screwing with experimental formations ..... No more playing sh1tty players in the hope they justify the manager in buying them.

by **Johnny Boy** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 8:14 am

We have to stop conceding goals, that's the priority.

Each season we have an achilees heel, a weakness that holds us back, only when we have a season without can we win the league.

In the past it's been scoring goals, a lack of flair/imagination, last season we couldn't break teams down at home. This we have thumped Burnley, Stoke and Hull - unfortunatley whilst curing that problem we have just replaced with another.
Goals being let in all over the place, something that has been our strength is suddenly our weakness - either we resolve it or forget the league.

I also think playing Stevie especially against better teams in midfield is a must, Fiorentina carved us apart (admittedly playing a left back there was a major mistake) but SG is a world class midfielder and that's where he should play.

by **Sir Roger** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 9:28 am

Johnny Boy wrote:We have to stop conceding goals, that's the priority.

Each season we have an achilees heel, a weakness that holds us back, only when we have a season without can we win the league.

In the past it's been scoring goals, a lack of flair/imagination, last season we couldn't break teams down at home. This we have thumped Burnley, Stoke and Hull - unfortunatley whilst curing that problem we have just replaced with another.
Goals being let in all over the place, something that has been our strength is suddenly our weakness - either we resolve it or forget the league.

I also think playing Stevie especially against better teams in midfield is a must, Fiorentina carved us apart (admittedly playing a left back there was a major mistake) but SG is a world class midfielder and that's where he should play.

Yesterday was worse than a kick in the nuts. We were never two goals worse than them. We dominated for most of the match. Where we let ourselves down was in our lack of creativity and ruthlessness. For me its as plain as the nose on your face that against Terry, and without Crouch, you do not pump high balls in Chelseas box. Yet time and again we saw it. What made it even more gutting for me was that Drogba took it round the back and crossed twice for two tap ins. Something we didnt seem to want or be able to do. Its one of the simplest and most effective moves in football, yet it didnt seem to occur to our players to try it. While we have Lucas and mascherano in midfield with Kuyt doing his headless chicken impersonation, we have very little or no creativity to speak of.
I have already accepted that we will not win the league unless chelsea and the skanks have a disaster and Aquilani is the new Zidane, Dalglish and Pele rolled into one.

by **tubby** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:27 am

Sometimes it's just the way it goes. We each only had a few chances and we didn't put away ours. In the end they just wanted it more.

by **TheLad** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 11:49 am

bavlondon wrote:In the end they just wanted it more.

In the end they played at home with better players in ALMOST every fecking position. That's the sad truth. We wanted it just as much as they did.

by **tubby** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:17 pm

We beat them in the same fixture last year with virtually the same squad. Cue the Alonso card.....

by **TheLad** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:22 pm

bavlondon wrote:We beat them in the same fixture last year with virtually the same squad. Cue the Alonso card.....

Thanks to the famous Liverpool spirit. Sometimes we play better as a team, but individually we are behind them.

by **tubby** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:26 pm

I wholeheartedly agree. Our squad does need strengthening. I hope Aquilani is a sucess but I want to see someone partner Torres up front. Too often we are just expecting him to work his magic. Also at times yesterday Stevie was further forward than even him which is where the gaps in midfield started to open.

Individually we are behind City and even Spurs.

by **JBG** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:43 pm

It was a serious defeat. Terminal? Time will tell. I think this year will see the top sides dropping points more than in previous seasons but we need to go on a long strong run now to get back into contention.

Strangely it has been our defence which has been our Achilles Heel this season. We seem to have mastered the art of beating poor sides at Anfield which let us down last year but now we are leaking goals - and soft ones at that - so I think we'll finish up short once again.

I still think we'll be very strong as the season progresses and will be in the top 3 but we'll look back at the Spurs and Villa games and shake out heads.

by **Tim LFC** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 12:57 pm

I think it was expected. Spurs and City have gotten a lot better. Villa are still strong. Sunderland have grown in strength. These teams will push the top 4 to till the end. It's going to be hard season. Lucas can improve for me he did one fantastic ball against Chelsea that he should be doing more frequently. Aquilani needs to hit the home running really. Though all this pressure people may think he has i don't he has that much, all the pundits have forgotten about him. It's like they talk about Alonso then say about Lucas and Masch and forgot about Aquilani. Maybe a sign of worry or they don't know how he will perform. But most of them have forgotten about him.

Rafa didn't need to spend 17m on Johnson! We got ripped and should of bought him for 10m tops! One player who springs to mind who said he wanted to leave Real Madrid who could be a cover for Gerrard and Torres and is very young in Higuian. For me he would be a fantastic second striker and can link up really well. He would also slot into Torres's alone striker if gets injured or put Kuyt or Babel up. But we need to spend money this january and spend it well! We can't be spending nearly 20m on RB FFS!

by **Sir Roger** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:37 pm

Tim LFC wrote:I think it was expected. Spurs and City have gotten a lot better. Villa are still strong. Sunderland have grown in strength. These teams will push the top 4 to till the end. It's going to be hard season. Lucas can improve for me he did one fantastic ball against Chelsea that he should be doing more frequently. Aquilani needs to hit the home running really. Though all this pressure people may think he has i don't he has that much, all the pundits have forgotten about him. It's like they talk about Alonso then say about Lucas and Masch and forgot about Aquilani. Maybe a sign of worry or they don't know how he will perform. But most of them have forgotten about him.

Rafa didn't need to spend 17m on Johnson! We got ripped and should of bought him for 10m tops! One player who springs to mind who said he wanted to leave Real Madrid who could be a cover for Gerrard and Torres and is very young in Higuian. For me he would be a fantastic second striker and can link up really well. He would also slot into Torres's alone striker if gets injured or put Kuyt or Babel up. But we need to spend money this january and spend it well! We can't be spending nearly 20m on RB FFS!

I think Johnson is a good player. At first he was getting forward and beating people. He was more attack minded and very effective. He seems to have stopped doing this. I wonder why?

by **Emerald Red** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 1:44 pm

SupitsJonF wrote:I can see City winning it if they keep putting up the results against the Big 4. Should of had a draw at old trafford.

City for the league? Not a snowball's chance in Hell.

by **Emerald Red** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:05 pm

The_Rock wrote:
Effes wrote:It's not looking good. I think the "comfort zone" of the top four is looking a bit shakey now with Man City looking menacing on the horizon.

This is a good point...and this is something which i am looking for ever since the dark ages of houllier. (ie....qualify for champions league every season = a good season).

Now, we have to take each game as a must win.... No more screwing with experimental formations ..... No more playing sh1tty players in the hope they justify the manager in buying them.

The dark ages of Houllier? Sometimes I wonder what you're on, or even if you've an ounce of a clue. Houllier was no prodigy, but he built a fairly solid ship that in the end started to take on water with some dodgy signings and amidst the rough waters that was - and still is - the shambles of our board. Are you forgetting the relative success Houllier had at the helm? We were an absolute joke in the league and the cups, especially in Europe prior to Houller. It's just a shame that his health and other circumstances marred his reign at the end, which subsequently, after he left, we were an absolute state. If we still had the side now that Houllier left us with, you can bet your bollox that we'd be in the "dark ages" right now as qualifying for the CL would be a nigh on impossiblity. Dark ages? Na, that was the 90's.

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