NEIL ATKINSON is joined by Stuart Wright, Adam Smith and Rob Gutmann to discuss Liverpool’s 0-3 defeat to West Ham United
PODCAST: INEXCUSABLE
by The Anfield Wrap | Aug 30, 2015 | Podcast | 22 comments
NEIL ATKINSON is joined by Stuart Wright, Adam Smith and Rob Gutmann to discuss Liverpool’s 0-3 defeat to West Ham United
Who does Lovren think he is? The man’s a lunatic. Bomb him out immediately.
I feel as though I’ve had me fill of Skrtel now, being honest. 8 years of endlessly backing off. If an opposition player chose to just run it in, Skrtel would end up in the Kop. A good last ditch defender sweeping round when you’re making a conscious effort to be solid like we have been doing up until yesterday, but when you’re chasing it or attacking as Rodgers prefers he gets exposed and his decision making is hopeless. He’s a Rafa defender with two defensive mids in front of him. So’s Lovren to be fair.
Bit of a shame how our best player is suspended for Old Trafford now as well. Clyne couldn’t even cheer me up. We still (fucking still!) haven’t figured out how we go about scoring without Suarez or Sturridge. It’s been a year, lads. Show us something.
Have to agree,the panel discuss the failings of the team,the set up,tactics etc as if they just went out there and done everything off the cuff,making it up as they went along.Rodgers doesn’t get a mention.He’s the reason fellas.
Lovren is a liability but the problem lies with Rodgers who’s proved that in four years he still can’t set up a defence and changes tactics until he’s stumbled upon something that works.He’s tactically clueless and tends to change his tactics due to setting up poorly,the FA Cup semi against Villa had at least three formation changes.
It’s OK to call him a naive chancer.
Be fair. How would you like to be surrounded by incompetents and saddled with a quarter of a billion pounds worth of dross that you didn’t ermm…necessarily want? And then be forced to make some changes mid-game? Get off his back!!
I love the way the panel uses the collective ‘we’ when discussing poor team selections, vague tactics and bizarre in game changes. I know we all refer to Liverpool FC as ‘we’, but it’s Rodgers who has the power to do what they complain about, but he is rarely mentioned. It’s as if suggesting he doesn’t know what he’s doing is taboo. Like a panelist said, echoed by Rob, “I support Liverpool FC so I support the manager” as though it was a badge of honour and loyalty. If we all thought that then Souness would still be running the show.
Feer-mee-no. As in NO! It’s not rocket-science or continental philosophy.
Again, please stop trying to analyze matches off your memories from the game and highlights. You end up making inaccurate statements. Our outlet on the flank was JOE GOMEZ. Even have a look at the game stats, ffs.
Give Bilic and WHU some credit, btw. It’s not just what WE do. The other team is there, too!
How was the grammar though?
Oh I don’t know about that. There was a lot of negating going about….
Mate, this is the lot that insists on it being pronounced Ming-ole, so Firminho is truly nothing, an honest mistake even.
On another note, I’m sure as hell glad it now seems to be OK to suggest that our attacking play is woeful. Maybe I’ll be allowed to be a Liverpool supporter again.
We did NOT have three central midfielders playing as holding midfielders or ‘sitting deep’. Stop making stuff up, watch the game over, please.
Neal, Coutinho did not “drop back” to pick up the ball as much as you imagine and repeat. He was TOO CENTRAL too often. And he dithered, held on the ball too long, and was ineffective. It wasn’t that the others did not perform well and he had to take it upon himself. He did not have a good game. He was also manhandled with impunity.
The defense was obviously deplorable (and dunno why the entire defense, not just Skrtel, drops so damn deep. Skrtel’s header for the 1st goal wasn’t great but it wasn’t fatal, we just dropped way too deep in our box when we should be pushing out)
But I blame the midfield, how can you have 3 blokes in there and still get cut through the middle like paper
And the movement up front is woeful as well and has been for 18 months, no one willing to try running in behind, everyone positioned neatly to receive another pass but no one actually doing anything dangerous or taking the initiative
Conspiracy theory but perhaps – I hope not- part of the rebuilding of Lovren’s confidence is instilling in him the belief (which BR perhaps believes) that he is good at bringing the ball forward and making defence opening passes when really he should be just focussing on doing the basics right.
If this isn’t the case then it seems bizarre that if his confidence is slightly high that he should rampage into their half and stepover fail miserably and then go and give a goal away a short while later through trying to be clever again.
Or perhaps he read that thing about him being Napoleon.
He mistook the manager’s praising himself as praise for himself, if you know what I mean. When Brendan said ‘walk around him’ I don’t think he had Saturday in mind…..(that’s a joke btw, I’m not alleging that Brendan really did say that).
We need to talk about 4-3-3. Liverpool’s greatest manager abandoned this formation in the late 70s, realising that a 4-4-2 was far more flexible and effective: strikers are strikers, midfielders are midfielders. Midfielders can score goals too, they can be attack minded or defensive, ideally they can be a bit of both. But they don’t carry the burden of goalscoring and they know their roles within the team. Strikers can drop back into midfield to make up the numbers but, like the midfielders, they too are under no illusion as to their role in the team, to whit: goals. 4-4-2 should be the template with adjustments in games in which we’re overrun. It’d help the players too because half of them don’t know whether they’re coming or going at the moment.
Plus Liverpools greatest ever manager didn’t learn his trade by coaching under 12s.
Aye but he did carry a sponge for a few years Kevin. I still love the greyhound story.
Rogers has to go, the players have no confidence in him and no wonder when the most inspirational leader in Liverpools History Stevie Gerard decides to leave his beloved Liverpool! Why? This vote of no confidence by Stevie shows me Rogers has no clue and he has displayed it time after time with inept displays, time for Reds owners to cut their loses admit the experiment was wrong and sign Klopp before the season is lost, which it is already but at least give him time to rebuild for next season.
They should have never chosen Rogers over the heart and soul of Liverpool, that is, Stevie, a sad day on which I stopped looking forward to the next Liverpool, now I just watch knowing that will lose and hope they sack Rogers!
Great podcast as usual. The only thing that makes me feel (slightly) better after a loss is hearing you guys analyse the game (and curse, as one does).
Greetings from Cape Town BTW.
Wow – lots of fume there in the comments from a few lads, mainly one lad to be fair. Cracking show and hopefully lads can turn it round against United
Far to many lads there, lads. Soz and all that
If we are to play 4-3-3 then at least 2 of the front 3 need to be strikers otherwise we descend into a 4-5-1 at home with 2 attacking midfielders either side of Benteke wanting to drop deep and get in the ball.
We need players who naturally want to be in and around the box, feeding of Benteke and him of them. With Sturridge still out Ings is the natural choice.
At home I’d go for a front 4 of Coutinho behind a front 3 of Firmino, Benteke and Ings.
With Coutinho out for the Utd match we should consider going 4-4-2 diamond with Benteke and Ings up front with Firmino behind.
Let’s talk about Lovren. Is there ANYONE out there, who believes that we can possibly challenge the existing world order with a centre back like him? No chance. Absolutely none. Impossible. Not going to happen.
‘Just needs a bit of confidence’, ‘He was good at Southampton’, ‘Needs a run in the side, give him a chance’ etc etc… BOLLOCKS. A top player has mental strength to overcome a mistake, a top player has the mentality to dig deep and ride the storms. This joker has none of the mental attributes to prosper as an elite player. He’s a nice enough fella; but a liability, plain and simple. He’s already had way too many chances, and is being indulged way beyond the limits of supporters’ patience. Brodgers needs to be ruthless, admit he’s made a mistake, and bomb him out. Jeez, SAF took one look at a single Taibi howler and shipped him out pronto. Dejan’s had four or five and is till there. Dejan vu. Shanks / Paisley / Fagan / KK would never accept such mediocrity. Inexplicable, and will surely be on Rodge’s epitaph.
Brownie.