IT is a good job I didn’t write this immediately after the match. I was furious and frustrated. Furious for all the reasons you’d be furious: Liverpool not capitalising on their dominance, being weak as kittens in defence in key moments. Basically what we discussed last week. Being dreadful in both boxes.
I was livid. Steve Graves was trying to tell me we had been good but I was having none of it. Too busy being livid. He was, of course, right. We were good. Lallana and Coutinho busy in the best sense. Sterling is just a remarkable footballer. He is as golden as boys get. The work rate from all of Liverpool’s players is exceptional.
Borini gave Liverpool impetus but it’s damning as to his level that he wasn’t hugely missed, decent header aside. Markovic on the other hand is going to have a big say on the second half of Liverpool’s season.
You can see what Johnson was meant to do in this set up where Toure is. A back three so often gets itself a man spare and that man carrying it into midfield can only help. Sakho is streets ahead of Lovren though he, Toure, Skrtel, Jones and Gerrard are all different facets of dreadful for the Arsenal second. Giroud’s lay off is sublime. His celebration ridiculous.
Brad Jones’s selection is fast approaching the point where its rationale will make for future memoir extracts in a tabloid near you. I don’t expect to know now, but a hard hitting tell all shocker in five years time is what it is going to take for me to understand it. “Simon Mignolet did WHAT!?” I’d have to say. Because nothing else makes quite enough sense even if I put my back into it. Evertonian taxi drivers want to get on this. You could tell me anything Mignolet did and I’d take it as Gospel.
Simon Mignolet kicked a dog to death in front of the Under 14s. Pass it on.
There was a genuine gulf between the two sides. I didn’t expect to see that. I can’t remember an Arsenal side this timid, this unwilling to play. For 97 minutes it nearly worked. That said, it’s indicative of every stick you ever want or need to beat Brendan Rodgers and his players with that Liverpool didn’t get to half time ahead. Terrible free kick to give away and four bad things happen. If Liverpool had got in ahead as they should and deserved to, then we would have known if Arsenal had another gear.
Only really Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal side know if they were set up deliberately to be like Hull or if this was forced upon them by Liverpool. I find it hard to believe an Arsene Wenger side would choose to have so little of the ball and allow so many shots on goal. I find it hard to believe a Champions League side would be so meek. I can imagine what we did last season leaves a scar and that might have informed their approach, but I’d be surprised if the game plan in the Arsenal dressing room was “be second best.”
Arsenal home has become a barometer for Brendan Rodgers’s Liverpool. In 2012/13 we were outclassed by an Arsenal side who sat and picked us off with panache. In 2013/14 we murdered them, producing the best opening twenty minutes of football I’ve seen. Yesterday we were significantly better than them in the big space between both boxes. I’m very much used to Arsenal being better than us in that space. That’s where this team now finds itself. In a week it has suddenly become too good for tenth and not clinical enough for significantly better than that.
Make no mistake, this is a poor league. Arsenal themselves are a barometer, both in terms of the level you need to finish top four given that they have done it so many times and in terms of the points total likely to be required. Somehow they are only five points ahead of us, you can say to yourself. Then you watch them and the fact they are five points ahead of us makes sense. The bar has never been so low. It’s now impossible for them to reach the turn at the two points a game they, like us, had gone at from January 13 to May 14.
What’s important is that however frustrated I get, that we get, we don’t stop playing like this in order to grind to a fourth place. There has been enough now to acknowledge this is football with a future, better than the grinding nihilism that elicited clean sheets against Hull, Stoke and Sunderland. This football stands Rodgers and his squad in better stead over any plausible definition of the long haul than that. This is the process and it is what these good players need.
For those of you watching in black and white, this week it has been acceptable that once again Liverpool are the team with the ball. However there is an opportunity now to play and play and get results. Six winnable games loom.
Work and work and work. Play and play and play. Six games. No backward steps now. They shouldn’t be able to live with you.
You and Graves were both correct. We did play well up to a point but weaknesses in both boxes cost us again.
Coutinho had 90% of a world class performance but his piss weak finishing stops him being a truly special player.
The return of Sturridge (and maybe Balotelli) may solve a lot of the problems with finishing but I fail to see how we get better defensively with the current keepers and defenders.
People claimed we were unlucky yesterday but if doing the basics are beyond you, how can you claim ill luck?
If you have to score 3 to have a chance of winning, then in most games you are screwed before you start.
I reckon the crowd was somewhat culpable for the first goal. When that free kick was given away (wasn’t a free kick by the way) there was a collective “oh shit here we go” that went around, which made the guys more nervous than they would have been. As a consequence Sakho goes careering into Toure, desperate to get a head on it and everyone else is ball watching hoping it gets cleared instead of getting tight to their marks and focussing on their own job. Hopefully a dominant keeper can come in and restore everyone’s confidence, as for the most part we aren’t getting pulled apart just making painfully stupid mistakes.
For the second, I was trying to work out whether Skrtel should have stepped out to pick up Giroud or whether Gerrard should have gone to him instead of drifting over the the penalty spot. My feeling is that Gerrard should have picked him up as otherwise there is space in behind Skrtel for Giroud to attack but I could be being a bit harsh on Gerrard. Brad Jones could have saved it though, I think there was a stat in the last two league games he has only faced 8 shots on target for 5 goals. Not sure what Mignolet has done Neil but it must have been bad.
Agree with the article and your comments all bar the mignolet thing. Granted, Jones is a poor poor keeper, but this ”what has Mignolet done to deserve this” thing is lunacy. He has been god awful this season, and in many opinions, the reason we didn’t win the league last year. Fair enough he is probably better than Jones but if ever I have seen a player deserve to be dropped, Mignolet was that guy.
A “poor” Arsenal side still managed 2 goals without much effort. Forfeiting possession can still let you control the game while the opposition do little with it. This side won’t be in Europe next season, last was a blip. Back to middle of the table for the club while it hangs on the past and keeps players well beyond their use by dates.
There is “poor” and then there is poor as they were made to look yesterday. Ramsey seems to make all the difference for them, which would kind of shoot a hole in your better in both boxes argument Neil, if we weren’t just so incredibly crap in both boxes. However, I don’t believe for a second Arsenal were just sitting back and waiting to hit us on the counter, they kept on turning over ball in dangerous positions and weren’t even breaking very well (second goal aside).
Apart from Gerrard and Toure, which other players are hanging on past their best Paul (and Toure still looks pretty sharp to me)? Half the problem is the average age of the side is 23 or something. Whatever you think about the team, it is pretty undeniable that there is plenty of upside in it. Sterling, Markovic (great to see him coming into his own), Coutinho, Henderson and Sakho (from the influential players who played yesterday) are all still several years off their peaks. Compare that to any other champions league club and you will see that we are well placed to improve over the next few seasons.
During Rodgers reign we are conceding 1.25 goals per game which means we’re having to score at least 2 goals to even think about winning.
Defence isn’t playing at its true level, they need coaching to hit their true level and go beyond it.
Sakho proves just how much better he is compared to Lovren. His touch, his positioning, his tackling, his passing all much better than Lovren. Needs to stay in for a run of games and we need to forge a defensive unit….not 3/4 individuals playing like strangers!
Great article, as usual. A relief to see us play a bit once again – and imagine what a difference a nimble, efficient finisher (Sturridge or a good January signing) would have made to that scoreline. 2, 3 more goals at least?
Shocking goals once again. Under 10s are coached not to ball watch. Both goals there’s only one Arsenal player who can score v three Liverpool defenders and each time the man was left in space to punish us as we all watch the ball, or ball-carrier avidly. Just incredible. Sakho however looked very solid (one dodgy header straight up in the air under no pressure aside) which is a massive plus going forward.
We’re starting to click again. Give us a commanding, assured keeper, and that (fit) goal-sniffer we so badly need, and we will challenge for Top 4 this year – and the Prem next year?
A real curate’s egg this match; we were as good in that first half as anything we produced last season, and were pretty sharp in midfield last weekend…..and yet, and yet….that’s 1 point from 6 and we are very much copying the form book of a side destined for mid-table (win a couple, lose one, draw one…)
The plus points; Sakho was the pick of the defenders. His ability to pick out a player when under pressure, often 30/40 yards away, is remarkable. I’m glad Rodgers has swallowed his pride on the issue; you’d have to be batsh*t mental to think Lovren the better player. Coutinho bossed that game, looked every inch a £40 mil player; he’ll go on a scoring run now, I betcha. Lucas and Gerrard screening meant we were never over-run…..
But there are still some glaring issues. Henderson is utterly wasted on the right, Gerrard needs to be nearer the striker (where a misplaced pass….and there were a couple today….won’t turn into an opposition counter attack as per Giroud’s goal). Infact, there’s an argument for sticking Gerrard out right.
Brad Jones is looking like a pathetic bit of posturing from Brendan….infact, the same kind of petty politicking that Rafa indulged in back in his last year. Big Bren may want to muse on where that got Benitez in the end. We are not so good that we can carry a passenger, least of all one that plays between the sticks. It’s getting to the stage where goals against Liverpool equals exactly shots on target against Liverpool. Mignolet isn’t perfect but he’s ten times this keeper.
Has Rodgers swallowed his pride? Lovren was injured, remember.
This bring-back-Mignolet stuff is a resault of people looking at what Jones can’t do. If you look at what he can contribute to the team and it’s no surprise he’s playing over SM.
SM is a good stop stopper and….that’s it.
Jones is average at stop stopping but good with his feet, quicker to come off his line (make a decisive decision)
The players in front of Jones are a lot happier to pass the ball back to him. Jones will then pass the ball forwards, bisecting any attackers, high press to a team mate. This promotes confidence throughout the team.
The trick now is to find a GK who;s competent to do all of these things.
I agree with your points about Jones, well put, Obviously we need a new Sweeper Keeper, maybe 2. But also New GK Coach, We all saw the demise of the once mighty Pepe, once Xavi left and Achtenberg came in, I am going to harp on about this until it changes.
I loved watching that football Liverpool played, but if you cannot sort out the defence, it will undermine your other hard work Brendan and be your downfall, I think your defensive record at Swansea was good, so sort it! for you and us.
Skrtel, so frustrating, not a top 4 defender,I couldn’t see Andre being bullied like you do, he has a great leap like Cannavaro too. Sakho can be, Lovren lets give him chance at redemption on right with Big Sak, where He had best game v Spurs. Kolo was, glad we kept him around this season, anyone know how Ilori is doing, loved that stat that he was faster than Ronaldo II.
We know you’re lying when you accuse Mignolet of kicking a dog to death. As if he could kick anything to death. He’d probably slice it or miss kick it.
Prior to the game I had a heated debate with a mate who claimed Sakho was one of the worst players to play for LFC. I claimed he’s the best defender we’ve got and yet another mate, who does know the score (except for when he claimed Garcia was better than Alonso, in the months after Xabi’s return from the ankle injury – I don’t let him forget that when he disagrees with one of my points), claimed Skrtel was better. Admittedly, it’s taken us going as low as we have for me to admit Sakho is our best. Anyway, the point I feel like making is regarding Skrtel. Maybe, I’m still trying to point score after yesterday’s debate but I’m surprised how much he slips under the radar. He’s on the back page of all the journals today with the headline being what a hero he is. It makes me sick. I think he’s primarily responsible for our poor defending of set pieces. Terminator, lol. Fuckin Barbie more like. It’s got so low for me I’d be tempted to put Lovren in his place. I was quite impressed with Sakho. Didn’t have much to do but at least he can play the ball. For the first goal he at least tried to get his head on it.
Sorry, but Skrtel’s wank.
Merry Christmas to everyone at TAW and thanks for all the brilliant content.
All the best to all the people who comment too including the miserable ones. Hope everyone has a great break.
The goalkeeping is more than half our defensive problems. Mignolet is a spectacular shot stopper because his positioning is so poor. I believe that we should have kept Reina and I also believe he or a half-competent keeper would have won us the title last year. As a spectator you shit yourself when the ball is passed back to him (or Jones): imagine how the defenders feel, Knowing that when they are breached we are more than likely to concede?
The lack of scoring is another thing entirely, and maybe Sturridge and Balotelli may blend and fix that. But we concede like relegation candidates and that colours the whole squad.
It’s ALL Skrtel’s fault haha. Let’s hope this spell of putting Jones in goal is a sign we’ll look for a new keeper in January. It’s sickening that Utd are 10 points ahead of us because they’ve got a brilliant keeper and we’ve got a poor one. In fact, we’ve got 2 poor ones. How much did Reina want to stay? I think that was a 50/50 situation. A player who didn’t want to be here and owners who didn’t want to pay his wages to sit on the bench. It’s gone now. We just need to get a new one going forward.
No it’s not all Skrtel’s fault, and you’re right about needing a keeper, but honestly look closely at the goals we’ve conceded in the last 2 seasons, and he’s culpable in so many it’s not true. I’ve never seen a defender retreat as much as he does. He confuses the 6 yard box with the edge of the penalty box. Martin Skrtel, lion in the opposition box, pussy cat in his own.
I think he’s one of them who does something good every now and then so we overlook the errors. I’d be targeting him for replacement.
No, Skrtel can’t be blamed for everything, but take last season as an example of how he’s the common denominator. Of the 50 goals we shipped last season, Skrtel was on the pitch for 38 of them, contributing four OG’s. He was paired with four different CB’s over that time.
Arsenal’s second goal is a good example of his deficiencies when Carzola moved into space behind Skrtel to put that pass to Giroud’s feet. Watch Skrtel’s movement. He tries to hold a “high line” (inside the 18′ box?!!!) rather than moving 2-3 yards back and occupying the area Carzola ultimately entered. Had he done that, Arsenal would have been forced to either get the ball to him under pressure or knock the ball about the outside of the box looking for another option. As it was, the ball was put on a plate for Giroud.
Thing is Skrtel makes this same mistake ALL the time, it’s not a one-off. He doesn’t have any anticipatory nous at all, so he’s constantly trying to recover. This is why we often see him running so far into the box the killer pass ultimately is put behind him, because he’s overrun the play. If we want to see what we need, he needs to be benched for a little while and our core should consist of Sakho and Toure, with Lovren as an option. Martin has simply been with us for far too long to continue flying under the radar, particularly given how he’s been at the center of a defense that has conceded nearly 140 goals in three seasons.
Totally agree. The point you make about him always trying to recover is spot on. For the first goal yesterday he moved a yard forward for some reason and was consequently out-jumped at the far post by possibly the smallest player in their team.
I think familiarity breeds contempt and this is why Toure and Sakho are being given passes for their lapses whilst Skrtel is being excoriated. There is a reason Skrtel was paired with 3 different partners for most of last season. He was easily our best C-H in 13/14 although I concede the competition wasn’t exactly stiff. In Skrtel I at least see a C-H who wants to attack the ball (even though I accept the point about him sometimes needing to recover position). Playing alongside a more composed, ball-playing centre-half (Agger but not last season’s vintage) is when Skrtel looks his best. He’s a good foil for that type of partner.
Arsenal’s second goal is abysmal. It’s good work from Arsenal initially as Cazorla deliberately allows the ball to run across him through to Giroud and gets on his bike for the anticipated lay-off. This is what initially confuses the defence but we are still in good position to deal with things from there. When the cut-back comes, we have four players in the box but not one tight on Giroud, their only player in the area. They all share blame, but if anything Sakho carries most of the blame and he is tight on Giroud when the lay-off is made, but then wanders away from him as Cazorla scrambles to reach the ball. He’s ball-watching and simply forgets about Giroud. I’m not saying this to rag on Sakho, but the lack of direct criticism of him specifically for this goal is illustrative of earlier point about Skrtel copping it for every foot he puts wrong, while others can get away with what I think are even more egregious errors.
Put it this way: if Skrtel and Sakho swap positions for the Giroud goal, Skrtel gets ripped to pieces for leaving Giroud.
And more importantly, let’s be clear here: the defence aren’t the reason we only have 1 point to show from the last two games against Utd and Arsenal. We had 46 attempts on goal in those last two games, with 18 on target, and only 2 goals to show for it (and only one from open play). That is just ridiculous.
The thing for me Brownie is, I ask myself ‘what’s your problem with Skrtel, he’s a good player, brilliant sometimes even’. Then I remember, a lot of the time I’m cursing him for a lot of goals we’ve conceded. And that pretty much sums it up, his whole Liverpool career has been a series of peaks and troughs. One minute up, one minute down. That’s Skrtel all over. It’s one of my pet hates. I expect players to play to their potential consistently. Skrtel makes horrible errors regularly, or too regularly for me. Appreciate players make mistakes but you need some consistency in the centre of the defence. Lapses invariably end up in goals. All the great teams of the Prem have had at least one brilliant centre half in the team. We definitely haven’t. I have this hope that if Skrtel is replaced everyone else starts being normal again, as if Skrtel was some kind of invisible cause of our wankness. He’ll probably get injured now and I’ll be on here in March writing ‘all we need is Skrtel back for the run in and we’ll be sound’.
You can’t really criticise Sakho too much for yesterday. I suppose ‘match sharpness’ applies to defenders too. I don’t blame Sakho for the first. It was actually nice see someone throw their head on it. Skrtel on the other hand. Do you think Burnley’s centre halves would have allowed that to go in? I think we excuse a lot because we respect what he’s done, he scores goals and he’s often good. Too weak for me though. His Liverpool career has been as good as over a few times in the not too distant past for a reason. Now he’s elevated to ‘the best we’ve got’. What’s that saying? We’re all asking how is our defence so poor. There’s only one common denominator in the past 2 seasons. After the last couple of weeks it’s finally dawned on me what football is all about. The spine. At the minute I’d be more confident if our spine was made out of paper mache. It’s abhorrent. Maybe centre half is a position that we should be looking to enhance asap. Anyway, I’m sure he’s not the biggest of our problems right now so……..
Brownie, Sakho is tight to Giroud because he’s thinking that Skrtel will occupy the space that I mention rather than allowing Carzola a free run into that area. Why would he think that? Because it’s schoolboy stuff – attackers attack space and defenders KNOW this, well most of them do, anyway. That second goal started with Gerrard’s ricocheted pass but ended in Arsenal scoring because Skrtel hasn’t the faintest clue how to fill spaces PRIOR to them becoming dangerous – he can’t read the game at all. Have a look at how Sakho played on the left when the Gunners moved down into his area, how he filled space and kept Sanchez, one of the most in-form players in the league, from even getting a sniff in our area; that’s what I’m talking about.
Adam, at the risk of putting myself in the frame for the cliché of the year award, the space doesn’t score the goal; Giroud does. There is no good reason for Sakho leaving Giroud’s side once he has got tight on him. He’s ball-watching, pure and simple and just doesn’t notice that Giroud has put the brakes on. Skrtel is initially fooled by Cazorla letting the ball run across him, as are the rest of the defence. That’s just good attack play. Sometimes you just have to hold up your hand and concede that the forwards did something difficult to counter, but all of that good forward play comes to nought if just one of the 4 LFC players in the box stays with Giroud rather than marks space. And Sakho is the defender best placed to do that; in fact – initially at least – that is precisely what he does.
Sorry, Aaron not Adam.
There’s ball watching going on, but it’s Skrtel, not Sakho who’s doing it. Have a look at the replay, particularly the one looking across the pitch as the play comes toward our end. Look how Sakho positions himself slightly ahead of Giroud but at a good enough angle to see what’s coming behind him, too. It’s perfect positioning. Then look at Skrtel as Carzola’s first pass to Giroud frees the midfielder to run into space in behind the CB’s. At that point holding a high line makes no sense because what is Giroud going to do? Sakho’s got him covered so his options are to either try to get into the space between Skrtel and Sakho, kick the ball back outside, or pass it into space in behind for Carzola. The high percentage play is to pass the ball in behind, and THAT’S where Skrtel should have moved into, to cut off or at least make it difficult for Carzola to receive the ball or make a telling pass. Instead he’s watching the ball and not dealing with the man running in behind him – don’t take my word for it, watch the replay, follow Skrtel’s gaze. Had he done that it would have achieved two things. First, dealing with the threat Carzola posed, second, further discouraging Giroud from attacking the space because he’d be squared up against two CB’s.
I don’t reckon Brownie. If Sakho had not dropped back into the space it would have left a lot of space at the far post to for Giroud to attack and it is undoubtedly where he would have gone (Carzola would have fizzed it across the box and both he and Sakho would have been running back facing the goal). So Sakho has the far post covered, Skrtel the near, what does Giroud do? He hangs back towards the penalty spot, so who picks him up there?
If you are signed up to the LFC website video have a look at
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/video/no-spoilers#20263
at 1:03 in and tell me what exactly Gerrard is doing if he isn’t ball watching. Who is he marking, what space is he protecting? He seems to be vaguely attracted to Welbeck but doesn’t even get close to being tight on him, and if he had gone to mark Giroud the only way to get it to Welbeck would be to loop it to the far post where Sakho would have been favourite.
Bottom line is that we had 4 on 2 so probably there were multiple ways we could have stopped that attack. But I don’t think Skrtel or Sakho did anything wrong per se. They were just using their instincts to drop into the most dangerous spaces when the ball is on the byline.
There’s no way Mingolet could kick a dog hard enough to kill it.
Two points lost.
Very little is clear cut at Anfield. Once again a player that saved our bacon by scoring was also one of the worst players on the field.
One thing that IS crystal clear to anyone with any amount of eyesight or brain cells is that Brad Jones couldn’t keeper a park never mind our goal. The Brad Jonestown Massacre was made even more incomprehensible by Brendan’s assertion that for the foreseeable future he’s the LFC goalie of choice. Is Brendan some sort of warped genius, showing the powers-that-be at Liverpool what a shower of shite he has to work with in defence? Or is he just utterly fucking clueless?
Watch this space for the upcoming episodes of the unfolding drama that has become Liverpool F.C.
If we go in 1-0 at half time, we pick them off on the break in the 2nd half and win it 2-0 or 3-1. But once again our glaring weakness at the back and the whole ground, which was bouncing for most of the half, deflates like a post-Xmas balloon.
We need a leader who says at that free kick, “we stay firm, we don’t go back towards our line and we dont fucking concede whatever happens”. Maybe Flanno or Sakho can become that man (?), maybe, but wouldn’t it be nice to get a keeper in who can dominate his box and give our flaky defenders a bit of assurance that if the ball’s there to be won he’s gonna come and get it? As it is, we need 3 goals a game to be in with a chance of winning and that’s no model for success. Still, it’s better than watching any of the drab home games we’ve witnessed up to now.
The space Arsenal gave Liverpool in midfield was an absolute joke. Coutinho must have felt like putting a lonely hearts ad in the personal column of the Echo, whenever he picked up the ball. Like us, Arsenal lack leadership and grit.
Good to see us playing with a bit of attacking verve, at last though. I still think that the way forward for us is 2 defensive midfileders in front of 2 centre-backs, with our full-backs given license to get forward and take risks.
We obviously need at least one striker and a new goalie, as a matter of urgency. Pay whatever it takes to get Origi at Anfield in January, get rid of Mario and bring in a world-class forward like Benzema (I very-much doubt that playing for us is high on his list of priorities, given our current plight though).
We have to accept that any games that Sturridge plays for us are just a bonus. Chelsea wouldn’t have sold him to us, if something wasn’t amiss with his fitness. I imagine that they were shocked at how many games we got out of him in the last campaign. I would love to see us get Czec, but I think that Mourinho is too smart to throw us a lifeline.
I quite enjoyed the game – which makes a change. The Mancs, Bournemouth and Arsenal have seen the return of something approaching football designed to win a game. Glad to see the turgid and stupid passing around the back 4, 5 or 6 has gone. Great to see a bit of movement for Coutinho to use and feed off, but two players worry me. Henderson – he runs around a lot and…? Doesn’t score that many, not a huge number of assists and appears to be unable to beat a man so nearly always simply passes the ball back from where it came. Gerrard contributes hardly anything these days. The odd 40 yard pass which can open play, but more often returns possession and the occasional decent pass or shot. However it’s not enough, I think, to merit a place in midfield. We need someone more dynamic who can get about the pitch and cause the opposition to worry about him. I doubt if Gerrard is a factor in planning to play against us these days. Can looks to be a real prospect but resides in Rodgers’ deep freeze for unwanted players. A word for Lazar. He is a player who, when found a more suited position, will be well worth what we paid for him.
When one of Sterling, Coutinho or Markovic fulfils his potential by finishing more chances than he misses he’ll be player of the season 2015/16 spearheading an unlikely Liverpool title charge before getting a move to Real. Then we’ll go back to being rubbish. Always back to rubbish.
First weekend game I’ve been able to watch in a while, enjoyed it for the most part. Their goals seemed avoidable for sure. The new system seems to suit the players we have available at the minute and some of our play was quick , incisive and above all enjoyable to watch. The phrase “natural finisher” doesn’t seem to apply to any of our players. They make shooting look painful and alien. Been playing the game at albeit amateur level for 30 years, it’s not that difficult, it’s really not, is it?
Notice that Sami Hyppia has just resigned as Brighton manager, he clearly struggles in the number one position but I’d drive him up myself if he’d take on the role of defensive coach at Melwood…
Seconded. It would be great to get him on the coaching staff.
I suggested that last week, I would play him! in center of a 3, or in goal, or upfront, Good in Both Boxes…
“I’m sorry to say again it’s Brendie”
More positive signs but once again it is in spite of the manager, not because of him.
Playing Jones instead of Mignolet.
Playing Markovic as a left wing back.
Playing Henderson as a right wing back.
Playing Gerrard.
Playing 3-5-2.
He would still be playing Lovren ahead of Sakho if not for injury.
It’s clear that over the last 2 months Rodgers has resorted to throwing shit at a wall and hoping some of it will stick. Chopping and changing players and formations and tactics in the hope that a squad worth £200m will find themselves a way to win a few games of football and make him look a genius.
He has destroyed the confidence of two Spanish kids, playing them game after game then bombing them out. Why not start slowly with them? Why not have them on the bench for 10-12 games, playing them in the league cup, then gradually introduce them in league and champions league games? But no, he plays them game after game then drops them altogether. How do you think their morale is at the minute?
The Gerrard situation continues to slide from farce to disgrace and back again. Forget his completely shambolic use of possession and the moronic giving away of the freekick before halftime – how about Carzola, unfit and slow as night, just walzting passed him in the 99th minute that made us rely on Jones having to make an actual save just to get a point at home to an awful Arsenal side?
There’s some talking about playing him at centre back. Jesus Christ, don’t give Rodgers any ideas. I mean, is this what we’re going to do? Just play him in position after position after position until he isnt costing us goals and points?
Played him in a base of a diamond 4-2-2 = exposed
Played him as a 3 in a 4-3-3 with Hendo and Allen doing his running = was too much a liability
Played him as a number 10 even though we have 5 better options there = confirmed his legs have gone
Play him in a 2 of a 4-2-3-1 = can’t cover ground or read the game so it was a disaster
Playing him in the middle of a 3 in a 4-2-3-1 = eventually makes striker drop deeper to do his limited defensive work
Now some want to play him as a sweeper? As a right sided centre back? Why? He’s not Michael Carrick. He’s thick as fuck, always has been. When he was world class it was never based on his understanding of the game. It was down to incredible technique on the ball and immense athleticism – power and pace. Big moments in broken play. Unconvention. Rafa knew it, that’s why he never trusted Gerrard to play centre mid for him. He played right side or just behind the striker. Because he can’t read the game and has no tactical discipline. But Rodgers just has to play him. Just has to. Regardless of how his presence knocks everyone else out of shape and negatively impacts the teams’ performance.
Gareth Roberts made the point on the pod – this is because the manager has Gerrard as his right hand man. Rodgers knows the power Gerrard wields at the club. He has to have him onside. This is down to Rodgers having (a) no balls (b) no courage (c) no backbone (d) being a yellow cunt and (e) not believing his own ability is enough to see Gerrard off. Making Gerrard his landlord is still a managerial decision of the most deplorable magnitude. It’s sickening.
Rodgers has seen things 8 weeks later than most of us have and in some cases seen things and still made decisions that make us think he’s playing politics.
He’s realised a big lumbering front man doesnt suit us and gone to pace and movement. Amazing it took so long but he got there and that’s why we’ve been more dangerous of late. But then goes 3-5-2, primarily so he could play both Lovren and Gerrard.
Why doesn’t he just go back to what made us successful? Just go 4-4-2 diamond with Sakho left side CB, Lucas as the DM and play Markovic and Sterling up front until Daniel comes back? Its unreal to me Lazar is playing left wing back. Did Rodgers even watch him for Benfica?
Henderson, the most stereotypical box to box centre midfielder there has ever been, playing right wing back? And having his confidence shot to bits because he can’t do what a RWB is supposed to do even though he’s trying manfully.
22 points from 17 games. Let me repeat that. Brendan Rodgers this season has amassed 22 points from 17 games. With a -3 goal difference. In a season where only 2 clubs are at least half decent, we are barely top half of the table. 9 points and 13 goals behind West Ham and 4th place. 10 points and 15 goals behind a rank Utd team.
Mignolet
Manquillo Toure Sakho Moreno
Lucas
Hendo Coutinho
Lallana
Sterling Markovic
Why not do that until we can buy a keeper and a DM and until Sturridge comes back from injury? Then maybe give Balotelli a run in a pair with Sterling as the 10 and drop Lallana?
It looks like we are getting Ochoa for £3m. An eccentric Mexican keeper prone to mistakes who is a good shot stopper but poor coming for crosses and commanding his area (remind you of anyone?), who was available on a free transfer only a few months ago, who has sat on the bench between now and then and who has no experience of English football. LFC in the transfer market strike again.
We haven’t lost for two whole games so I know you’ll be sick reading the negativity. I’m sick writing it. But this doesn’t make it any less true.
Happy fucking holidays folks.
Have to agree with you about Gerrard. It’s always been my contention that if he’d had brains he’d have been a world beater. I hoped he’d be able to drop into a back three, he has all the tools t be effective in that role apart from the obvious one. Carrick and Gerrard are night and day. Gerrard has far more natural ability, he was a great athlete and a fantastically instinctive footballer but wa always a liability defensively. It didn’t matter so much in his prime, because the pros outweighed the cons: they don’t anymore.
No one wants to see Jones in goal but we don’t know the reason behind why Mignolet isn’t playing so it’s a tough one to call. Markovic did well there and I’d want to see him continue there in the next 6 games. Actually, we look far better in that formation as a whole. I’ve finally got a bit of confidence we’ll be alright, especially when Sturridge returns. That leaves the defence. Much as I think Skrtel is a liability I think with a new keeper, Skrtel, Sakho and Lovren/Toure would be more suited to that formation with more cover from midfield and could do enough for us to score more than the opposition.
I think that’s the best lineup we can offer right now, which means we can forget it. He won’t leave Gerrard out and he’ll slot Allen in somewhere, sometime. Probably for Toure after an hour, tactical genius that he is.
If you can see us playing Arsenal off the middle of the park and can’t attribute at least some of that to the manager’s tactics and coaching then God help you Chris, your negativity has seeped down deep. Regarding Gerrard, I agree with your assessment on his attributes as a player and it his loss of athleticism which has crippled his effectiveness for us. As for Rodgers being a “yellow cunt” for not taking him on, if he doesn’t reckon he would win that battle then it is actually just being smart not weak. Even Mourinho lost out against Casillas when he went head on with him. That said, he could probably do a better job of phasing him out gradually.
I was encouraged by today’s performance on the back of the previous two games but, as always, can see merit in most people’s posts at the moment. Just when I’m starting to feel a bit better, Chris goes on one and it’s hard to disagree with his analysis. What’s more of a worry is Brendan’s increasingly erratic behaviour, the continued selection of favourites (Lovren, Gerrard), Brad Jones, his odd substitutions and his increasingly craven interviews. What was this nonsense about ‘foreign coaches’ this week? Does he think he’s BIg Sam Allardici? Embarrassing stuff and, when allied to his criticism of the ground staff, not befitting a Liverpool manager.
Very little about him is.”…befitting a Liverpool manager…” but I’ve trawled that furrow almost to bedrock now so I’ll leave it alone.
I was entertained for a change this season and that’s what I pay for. By the way, since when did RG become partial to a prawn sandwich?
So its been a few months since Rafa won a trophy…….must be time for another one. Napoli just beat Juve to lift the Supercoppa Italia. This after winning the Coppa Italia in May and leading Napoli to their highest points total ever last season.
Sigh.
I have to say that as much as Jones is a pretty bad keeper, he has been brought in to give a bit of confidence to our defense that has been sorely lacking. There is no longer the blind panic when a ball went back to Mignolet. Goal keeping is not just to do with shot stopping, it is to do with dominating the penalty area and organising the defense which isn’t in Mignolet’s skill set. I look forward to seeing that Mexican keeper come January or whoever Rodgers brings in. Sakho is a shoo in and looked really good with Toure. At last we are playing with the confidence of last year, and that comes from the back. Rest Gerrard! And Sterling! My tuppennys worth. Kudos to the hosts, Love the Liverpool way of pass, move and the naive energy of Liverpool Football Club that dominated English football before the days of Mourinhos non football and Fergusons gamesmanship. YNWA my friends.
I think we missed mr. Agger.
Gerrard is not Michael Carrick?! Dunno’ how he sleeps at night.
No, he’s not. Gerrard vastly, vastly superior in his pomp of course, but Carrick has always been more intelligent, more defensively minded and a better reader of the game. Hence at 33 years of age, just 1 year younger than Gerrard, he can transition from box to box CM, to DM, to centre back and do a very serviceable job for a massive club. That is something Gerrard could never do.
Answer this and answer it honestly…..who’d you rather in your team right now? I’ll give you a clue, it’s not Steven Gerrard.
Indeed. You’ve covered most bases Chris. I would have responded thus: surrounded by trophies. Unfortunately.
Belatedly saw the Carra/Neville discussion about Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes today. Carra’s analysis was embarrassing, lamentable. The fault at a national level lay with successive managers of course, why they were so wedded to a 4-4-2 with the players available is beyond me. Successful teams are built around players who can control games, Xabi could do that for a while but Souness was the last player we had who could do that season after season.
Footnote: The Australian squad for the Asian Cup has been announced – three goalkeepers named none of which are Brad Jones.
It looks like we are getting Ochoa for £3m. An eccentric Mexican keeper prone to mistakes…..
Another one for you to eternally moan and whinge about eh.
Buy yourself a train set for Crimbo you might have more fun with a new hobby.
Im sorry, was I supposed to say he’s a fantastic goalkeeper and we’ve got a bargain for £3m? Even though he was available for free 4 months ago and can’t get a game for fucking Malaga?
Am I supposed to tell lies so you can feel better about the future prospects of Liverpool? Am I supposed to have trust in the people who sign players for the club, as they’ve been so good at it over the past 4 years? Was that what I was supposed to do?
If you wanted to make sure I got your opinion you could just have clicked reply, or even mentioned my name. Unless of course you didnt want a retort like this one that shows you up.
Tell you what, you only want to read opinions where everything is or will be rosy in the garden over the next few months do yourself a favour and read the deluded ramblings of the club’s PR staff. Don’t read what I have to write. Cheers.