Liverpool vs Arsenal [Archive]

Bren100

22-10-2007, 01:53 PM

As Rafa is ever changing the team. A lot of people, myself included would like to see a regular 8 - 10 players who pick themselves, like in the Shankly days.

Providing all players are fit - who would be your regular team, starting with Arsenal at the weekend.

Pepe

Finnan - Jamie - Agger - Arbeloa

Babel (questionable) - Alonso - Gerrard - Risse

ElNino - Croucher

Cant believe Croucher hasnt been given a few more starts with ElNino - Even though they are untested as a partnership, I think they could be very well suited in their style of play. Crouch winning a ball/holding up the play and ElNino with his pace running into space ....

Dub13

22-10-2007, 01:55 PM

I am going to move this to the Next Match/Last Match forum.You will not get a spanking seems as your new....:D

Bren100

22-10-2007, 01:56 PM

Oops, sorry!

Dub13

22-10-2007, 01:57 PM

Oops, sorry!

Dont worry about it.

By the way welcome on board,how did you hear about us...?

redeagle

22-10-2007, 02:05 PM

welcome aboard mate.

As regards the Arsenal game..its tough to call.

Depends on how we perform in turkey imo. Hopefully alonso will be back.

would like to see

yossi gerrard alonso babel

kuyt
torres

No point picking a backline as its pretty much set in stone atm.

Fowler's God

22-10-2007, 02:13 PM

Welcome to the boards Bren!!!

As redeagle said backline will pretty much pick itself depending on Agger been fit.

The lineup above would be the preferred if Alonso is fit otherwise Masche in there.

As i mentioned in the striking partnerships thread i would like to see Babel and Torres given a go together up front, Babel played there in the U-21 championships last summer and was lethal

wickla_mucker

22-10-2007, 09:50 PM

agree with backline call - picks itself at the moment
ideally id love to see a midfield like this
gerrard xabi masch babel
with torres and voronin up front

lets just hope there are no more injuries in the champ league...

Jockser

22-10-2007, 10:53 PM

i think xabi should be eased back in. If he starts there will be alot of pressure on him to produce the goods after a long lay off which is so hard to do, so i wouldnt start him.

stevieg

22-10-2007, 11:00 PM

Last year when we spanked them 4-1 at home, we went 5 in midfield > with Gerrard playing off Crouch(lone striker) who scored a hatrick.

We played two wide men in Pennant and Gonzalez and Alonso and Mascherano in centre midfield.

Assume he set up like that so as to stop them passing through us in midfield and the wide men to stop their fullbacks getting forward all the time,

Will be interesting to see what he does and if Torres and Alonso are fully fit.

Crouch is due a start,but guess we will know a bit more after the Besiktas match.

homer1

23-10-2007, 07:40 AM

Where was Arboloa on Saturday? Everyone seems to think back four picks itself but who gets picked at LB then, him or Riise?

I'd have Arboloa every time but surprised he wasn't even on the bench against the bitters, seeing as though we didn't have another defender in case of emergency - perhaps he's injured?

redeagle

23-10-2007, 08:56 AM

homer1

23-10-2007, 09:04 AM

yea i forgot about arboloa. Maybe he was given an extra few days off.

I can only assume he was injured, wouldn't have been involved in internationals so if fit he would have been a cast iron cert for starting as he would be fresh as a result of not playing or travelling. If he was given a few days off would have made more sense to do so when everyone else was away from Melwood also I would have thought

redeagle

23-10-2007, 09:16 PM

yea he wont start tomorrow night..he has a thigh injury.

Kopite

23-10-2007, 09:26 PM

Arsenal on fire, after winning 7-0, unreal. if we can beat them it would be a fantastic boost

CarninyRed

23-10-2007, 10:12 PM

Looks like they're there for the taking this weekend:rolleyes:

Aido82

24-10-2007, 08:55 AM

Looks like they're there for the taking this weekend:rolleyes:

:eek:

Lets hope thats all there scoring done, i believe if we keep fabregas and hleb quite it should be alright

liverbird!!

24-10-2007, 09:21 AM

We need to win this, if not we're screwed as can't see them dropping many points the rest of season.

trucker

24-10-2007, 10:32 AM

Crouch has to play against Arsenal, they really struggle with high balls remember last season. That jones lad of Sunderland gave them a torrid time against them a few weeks back. Next 2 games are big for Arsenal they have had a really easy run of fixtures until now. They also have without doubt the toughest run of games in December of any of the big teams, if there still top come January I reckon they could be still there in May.

LOU2

24-10-2007, 11:02 AM

think we certainly need torres up front would like to see him along side either voronin or kuyt, at the moment voronin is dropping back alot and chasing after balls but at times he needs to push up forward a bit more but the pair work well.
fingers crossed we see alsono being introduced back into the game tonight and on form for sat,
Arsenal's game last night was top we need to match this play and make sure we dont give them the points.

Jafar

24-10-2007, 11:14 AM

Three points off the arse on sun, draw between them and the mancs the following weekend and we'll see if they have the bottle to match their style. Walk On!!!

wickla_mucker

24-10-2007, 12:22 PM

Jockser

24-10-2007, 08:58 PM

This sunday could be like watching a car crash in slow motion basing the form of these two teams!!!

Kopite

24-10-2007, 09:00 PM

Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 7 zip and we loose 1:2, im fcukin dreading Sunday now, massive pressure. We will see how much character the current squad has now

Aido82

24-10-2007, 09:02 PM

yeah, i cant wait also

Bren100

24-10-2007, 09:17 PM

[QUOTE=wickla_mucker;13581]i dont care if crouch is tall - hes bloody shite!
i think he has been given enough chances to prove himself and he has failed miserably of late.
QUOTE]

Enough chances to be top scorer last season, including more goals that Kuyt who keeps getting a game before him this season?
;)

marathonman

24-10-2007, 09:20 PM

Torres is the only forward we have.No combination of the others will make it.

redeagle

24-10-2007, 10:07 PM

god..this is awful. Another season were at the start our dreams seemed already smashed to pieces.

can't see us winning with the way we are playing.. unless we have some sort of unbelievable game like the one against juve at anfield.

KOP Season Ticket Holder

25-10-2007, 11:03 AM

We have a poor enough record against ther sides from the top 4 i.e. Chelski, Man Ure and Arse. I think this could well be one of the better matches in the season, lets hope it is a win !

dave78

25-10-2007, 07:06 PM

If torres doen't play we don't look capable of scoring..Arsenal on the other hand score for fun.. Here's hoping for a performance like last season

REDHEART

25-10-2007, 11:53 PM

i dont care if crouch is tall - hes bloody shite!
i think he has been given enough chances to prove himself and he has failed miserably of late.

mind you... id still love to see kewell getting another chance - dont know why we cant try him in behind torres! ;)

disagree with ya.don't think crouch is shite.top scorer last season.would like to see him get more games he will score goals.

not too sure how match fit he is as he has'nt been in much.did'nt see the 4-1 last season,but if crouch caused problems for the arse last season,then thats the way to go.

stephenocall

26-10-2007, 08:43 AM

give crouchie a chance!!!!!!!!!!
voronin has been doin my head in the last few games!!
crouch brings much more!!
give him a chance rafa!!!

stevieg

26-10-2007, 09:04 AM

i dont care if crouch is tall - hes bloody shite!
i think he has been given enough chances to prove himself and he has failed miserably of late.

mind you... id still love to see kewell getting another chance - dont know why we cant try him in behind torres! ;)

He has been given f-all chance this season and was our top scorer last.

Voronin and Kuyt haven't done much imo in the last few games.

If he goes with Crouch and Torres - 2 different types of strikers - Gerrard and Torres can both feed off Crouchs knock-downs and IF we get the ball into the box, they will struggle with him in there too.

Then there is Torres also for them to deal with.

liverbird!!

26-10-2007, 10:12 AM

He has been given f-all chance this season and was our top scorer last.

Voronin and Kuyt haven't done much imo in the last few games.

If he goes with Crouch and Torres - 2 different types of strikers - Gerrard and Torres can both feed off Crouchs knock-downs and IF we get the ball into the box, they will struggle with him in there too.

Then there is Torres also for them to deal with.

Crouch's confinence is gone, because Rafa (what am i doing) Benitez won't play him, top scorer last year and didn't play all games!! The Manager again has to look at his selection policies and WAKE THE F*** UP AND SEE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE CAN F****** SEE!!!! :mad:Rant over, goodbye!!!:D

Fowler's God

26-10-2007, 11:05 AM

Crouch's confinence is gone, because Rafa (what am i doing) Benitez won't play him, top scorer last year and didn't play all games!! The Manager again has to look at his selection policies and WAKE THE F*** UP AND SEE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE CAN F****** SEE!!!! :mad:Rant over, goodbye!!!:D

Calm Liverbird!! mate lol, i have calmed down since wednesday but that could change after sunday who know's. Crouch and Torres need to start up front for the Reds on Sunday. This is the biggest of Rafa's reign coming up hope to see a reaction from the boys!!

CulPool

26-10-2007, 11:49 AM

im personally afraid of the pace of walcott, poor old sami hasn a chance against him. carragher is having to cover to much for his mistakes and lack of pace. superb defender in his day but this is such a weak link in the pool at the moment.not great managing by rafa as we have no cover.

whats young hobs? like.

or dip in form has alot to do with alonso injury, he can control the midfield which controls the game. hes another Hamann ,good old didi.

torres and vorinon up front.

we need this win to turn things around

Fish2

26-10-2007, 01:04 PM

Mascherano didn't have a good game on Wednesday and I wonder if Rafa will start Momo to give the defence assistance. The key to stopping Arsenal is cutting out the one twos they play, need someone in there to break up the play. Also Gerrard goes missing too often in centre midfield and Arsenal will punish that. Also neither Pennant nor Babel nor Benayoun are good defensively which is why our defence is more exposed than in previous years.

Also we aren't taking our chances. Against both Everton and Bekistas Vorinon should have scored in the opening minutes.

I would start Crouch. Home match so doesn't need to do as much working back as with away games. At least there is a chance of the ball staying in the Arsenal end rather than at present where the ball comes straight back. Both Kuyt and Vorinon should be competing better.

wickla_mucker

26-10-2007, 01:05 PM

Fair due, crouch was top scorer last season - but to be honest im not that incredibly impressed with 9 league goals.
Whenever he plays he frustrates me so much. How many long balls does he knock down in the long direction? He does have a good touch for such a big guy but when compared with Kuyt or Voronin i just think that their finishing is better.

I certainly prefer either Kuyt or Voronin up front with Torres.
Regardless, the main point i suppose is that we need Torres playing.

CJ from baywatch

26-10-2007, 01:12 PM

Mother of god we are in a spot of bother this Sunday....The smart money is on the Gunners but with Torres back in and Alonso prob ready to get in do we really have a chance? I really hope so!!

liverbird!!

26-10-2007, 01:51 PM

Anyone on sundays flight Dublin to Liverpool 13.25 arrive 14.10
and wants to share taxi to ground???

Pushing it i know for collecting tickets, and knowing my luck flight will be cancelled

Aido82

26-10-2007, 06:48 PM

to all going best of luck and safe journey, bring back tehe 3 points please

fitzpatrickgary

27-10-2007, 10:55 AM

torres and kuyt uo front
if xabi is fit can see him and mascherano in the centre with stevie g out wide
hope agger is fit not just for his defending ,he also can link the play between defence and midfield very well

clarni

27-10-2007, 11:16 AM

Mascherano doesn't deserve a start tomorrw. He walked around the midfiled on Wed as if he couldn't be arsed making a run. Can't wait to see the Rafa Raffle result tomorrow on his choice of team!

Fowler's God

27-10-2007, 08:39 PM

My starting X1 would be:

Reina, Finnan, Arbeloa,Carra,Riise,Stevie, Alonso, Mascherano,Yossi, Torres and finally Crouch....

SUPERFAN

27-10-2007, 09:16 PM

marathonman

27-10-2007, 10:41 PM

the way Rafa continually changes i wouldn't be surprised at all to see Kewell start tomorrow,i reckon he'll be on the Bench at least.
Rafa said about tomorrow's Game-"We have confidence and we want to win and we need to win this game. Arsenal are top of the table and this is an important game for us."
personally,i can't see how he can say that after the last 3 Performances.after Marseille he said the Team were Playing without Confidence:confused:
i really hope for Rafa's sake that they at least get a Draw but a win would do wonders for both the Players' and the Fans' Confidence.

Dont forget Willie, Rafa also said he was happy with performance against Besiktas and that if we keep playing like that we will win the next 3 Champions League games.At least somebody is happy.:confused::confused::confused::confused::con fused::confused::confused::confused::confused::con fused::confused::confused:

sean

28-10-2007, 09:27 AM

You could be onto something with Kewell showing his face today avid. If it does happen we can only hope that he still has that spark we have only seen very little of in the past two years.

All of a sudden this game has become a huge one, and could actually shape the rest of our season. I know it might sound ridiculous that the season is based on one game, but lose and we really are out of reach of Arsenal, win and its game on. My heart says we'll win 2-0, my head says we'll draw 1-1.

redeagle

28-10-2007, 10:04 AM

arbeloa is defo out.

as is kewell..for another week.

Daz

28-10-2007, 10:07 AM

as is kewell..for another week.

what now.?

RedMurph08

28-10-2007, 12:43 PM

I have a sneaky suspicion that Lucas is going to start today.

redeagle

28-10-2007, 01:00 PM

what now.?

eh.,..nothing. Just said he wont be fully fit untill next week.

also a MF of lucas and alonso is pure gold.

stick gerrard right.

Aido82

28-10-2007, 02:18 PM

------------Reina

Finnan---Hyypia---Carra---Riise

---Gerrard--Masch--Alonso

-----Kuyt-Torres-Voronin

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 02:21 PM

4-3-3 very attack minded it could work like a charm!!

Aido82

28-10-2007, 02:27 PM

would have liked to see babel for voronin though

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 02:29 PM

nice to see Arbeloa on the bench, the game has come to early for him to start, Riise needs to have a good one today time his overlapping better

SUPERFAN

28-10-2007, 03:18 PM

Cracker from Gerrard,plenty of "Heart" in that Shot.
Welcome back Xabi!

Aido82

28-10-2007, 03:35 PM

one up - but not in the game

Arse are all over us

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 03:51 PM

Ye they were all over us for periods of the first half, Torres is not fully fit

Westlake

28-10-2007, 03:55 PM

Yeah I hope Torres is okay for the next game. I'll be glad to see Crouch finally play and Gerrards goal was a cracker!

C'mon win this thing so I can show my face in college! The amount of Arsenal fans I've been arguing with is ridiculous...

Aido82

28-10-2007, 04:30 PM

alonso off for arboloea

Hope its not that meta tarsal again - looks to be limpin

Aido82

28-10-2007, 04:45 PM

1-1 disaster

SUPERFAN

28-10-2007, 04:57 PM

Fabregas came more and more in to the Game when Alonso went off.i feared the worst when i seen Arbeloa replacing him,has he ever Played in that Position for Lpool before?
Arsenal could've easily snatched it so you have to be happy with a Draw...

Aido82

28-10-2007, 05:00 PM

This team we have at the moment is not good enough,

its time for rafa to have a good at himself and quit this piss farting about.

6points off the top, havent played good football since the chelsea match at the beginning of the season.

Arsenal deserved 3 points, fabresas scored, hit the post and missed an open goal, bentner missed open goal

with blackburn up next and three matches in the champions league to come - our season could be over by the end of november

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 05:01 PM

Been honest Arsenal could have destroyed us. There fans took the piss out of us with Liverpool hoof the ball!!!

Anytime we could got the ball we just gave it back to them, improvement still needed. Worried that Alonso is injured again

Alex Raisbeck

28-10-2007, 05:13 PM

redeagle

28-10-2007, 05:19 PM

???

Considering our performance midweek and over the last month we were much better today. First half we didn't have much of the ball but we were comfortable enough.

Second half we were much better untill Alonso had to go off and masch (who had a great game) wasn't able to run for 15 minutes.

Not to mention Torres who wasn't right at all.

Our passing was much better..its just a shame the injuries went against us. Great result really.

Also some have the comments have been pitiful here..

Aido82

28-10-2007, 05:20 PM

we will see, we could not pass teo passes together today.

i ask to a question:
were you happy with that performance?

1 win in 5 at home, we are doing well

and alsonso has re broken his metatarsal

redeagle

28-10-2007, 05:25 PM

we will see, we could not pass teo passes together today.

i ask to a question:
were you happy with that performance?

1 win in 5 at home, we are doing well

and alsonso has re broken his metatarsal

you are a complete tool.

Aido82

28-10-2007, 05:26 PM

you are a complete tool.

explain and for the record that question wasnt aimed at yourself

the only positive note i can take from today, was the ability to defend and the fact that SG is startin to play a better

redeagle

28-10-2007, 05:35 PM

your posts lack any sort of explanation to your thoughts.

This team we have at the moment is not good enough,

i ask to a question:
were you happy with that performance?

everyone is entitled to an opinion but all you do is moan. Complaining about players not been in the team. the team isnt good enough. Rafa needs to do more.

You offer no constructive criticism what so ever.

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 05:41 PM

Our passing improved a little on recent performances still needs improving but possession wise we need to do more. We need Agger back big time, Riise needs to be dropped really doesn't offer enough to us at times.

Delighted to see Arbeloa back though....poor Alonso & Torres, Rafa has said to the two have had a reoccurance of the injuries.

Blackburn next weekend will be a tough one for us.

dubit10

28-10-2007, 05:41 PM

you are a complete tool.

Ah come on the fook:mad:thats out of order.2 points.....1.We where 2nd best today.Very worrying that we looked so bad at the simple stuff.Eg passing the ball 5 yards 2.If arsenal fans shouting hoof at liverpool fans at Anfield is progress under Rafa then so be it,but for me it aint. Oh and if your going to start slagging fellow reds off go unto Rawk or a site similar to it.

RedMurph08

28-10-2007, 05:42 PM

We were on the back foot for most of the game, lucky to get a point. No ideas, no craft if we had no Gerrard today we would have been slaughtered. At least we seen how far away we are for being title contenders, ars played nice football and never panicked even when 1 down.Once again Voronin anonymous Hyypia poor and dont even ask me what Riise was at.

marathonman

28-10-2007, 05:43 PM

Delighted with that performance after Wednesday.The difference was amazing.They tried and played together as a team.I was so happy.Roll on the rest of the season.The passing on the ground was great to see.I really enjoyed that game,something I haven't done for the last few games.All right we definitely need a striker.We are relying to much on Torres with nobody in reserve.

Aido82

28-10-2007, 05:43 PM

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 05:44 PM

Ah come on the fook:mad:thats out of order.2 points.....1.We where 2nd best today.Very worrying that we looked so bad at the simple stuff.Eg passing the ball 5 yards 2.If arsenal fans shouting hoof at liverpool fans at Anfield is progress under Rafa then so be it,but for me it aint. Oh and if your going to start slagging fellow reds off go unto Rawk or a site similar to it.

I think we are a passionate bunch of fans but as we all know we will have different opinions to what is best for the Reds..lets keep it like that unlike as Dub mentioned RAWK and other lfc sites

:D

redeagle

28-10-2007, 05:54 PM

look, im not gonna get into a detate here. The results over the last 6 weeks speak for themselves, i love the club as much as the next red, and when i see matches like this, i just feel we should be doing better as a team.

i know we are missing a few players, and now with agger out and alonso out for even longer, i wonder how we will improve

..THATS THE POINT OF THE FORUM :D

I never said you were wrong... what annoyed me was (and not just aido) the fact people just start moaning with out even trying to understand why the team hasnt been playing well. if you are going to dissect the teams performances at least try and construct an effort rather than drudging up phone in like statements "the teams crap"

Aido82

28-10-2007, 05:56 PM

:rolleyes: ooh - i spelt debate wrong

RedMurph08

28-10-2007, 06:11 PM

..THATS THE POINT OF THE FORUM :D

I never said you were wrong... what annoyed me was (and not just aido) the fact people just start moaning with out even trying to understand why the team hasnt been playing well. if you are going to dissect the teams performances at least try and construct an effort rather than drudging up phone in like statements "the teams crap"

Do you understand why the team hasnt been playing well? Every fan has a right to an opinion, if you know something we dont i would be grateful of the answer!:confused:

redeagle

28-10-2007, 06:30 PM

Do you understand why the team hasnt been playing well? Every fan has a right to an opinion, if you know something we dont i would be grateful of the answer!:confused:

well done on completely missing the point of my post.

:rolleyes:

Kopite

28-10-2007, 06:37 PM

I think we are a passionate bunch of fans but as we all know we will have different opinions to what is best for the Reds..lets keep it like that unlike as Dub mentioned RAWK and other lfc sites

:D

I agree 100%, i have given up on so many Pool sites over the years because of "tools" :D, but just express and even argue but dont insult. Im after seeing new Adidas tops on the offical shop site, they are cool!! the little things cheer me up!! Serioulsy I am down a little re the result and the bad home form but Im hopeful we will go on a great run.

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 06:39 PM

I agree 100%, i have given up on so many Pool sites over the years because of "tools" :D, but just express and even argue but dont insult. Im after seeing new Adidas tops on the offical shop site, they are cool!! the little things cheer me up!! Serioulsy I am down a little re the result and the bad home form but Im hopeful we will go on a great run.

Ye like the new adidas hoodie on the online feckin sweet!!

Kopite

28-10-2007, 06:40 PM

Ye like the new adidas hoodie on the online feckin sweet!!

I will be purchasing on wed night!!

Fowler's God

28-10-2007, 06:45 PM

Like the adidas range of clothing for us since we got them back, they do make nice casual wear clothing...

stevieg

28-10-2007, 08:22 PM

Stop fighting people - we are all Liverpool fans at the end of the day.

We will always have negative and over optimistic fans,so lets get on with it.

Planned to watch the game at home today in peace, but ended up watching it in the pub - which after a while you lose full concentration of the game.

Thought Arsenal fairly schooled us football wise, as maybe was to be expected.

Arguably should have gone 2-0 up but also could have gone 2-1 down.

Torres wasnt fully fit obviously, and we are so limited without him(its silly how average our other stikers our apart from him),happy that Crouch did reasonably well when he came on.

Maybe Reina could have done better with goal, but also saved us early in the game.

Dont really know what to say,so a bit of a pointless post,but at least we didnt lose but a win would have been great.

If the Mancs and Arse draw next week and we win,we are looking happy again.

I will give Rafa the benefit of the doubt and do as he asked and judge him at the end of the season, especially as he said this is the year for the PL,so i will not be negative as there is 28 games to go - 84 points still to play for.

callyno3

29-10-2007, 07:58 AM

Garrett

29-10-2007, 10:17 AM

Hi

Before this game, while I'd have dreamed of 3 points, I knew well that Arsenal were playing far better and as such, would have grabbed 1 point and been greatful.

Now the game has passed, I wonder if both teams are not right to be disappointed, we played with passion and a sense of urgency about us which is something we've not seen enough of this year. Granted, Arsenal were unlucky when they hit the post, but lets move quickly past that ;) ....

My main concern, was that we saw 3 of our best players limping off .. Torres, Alonso (begs the question, did these two come back too soon ?) & Masc near the end was struggling too. Lets hope all 3 are not seriously injurred.

I thought Gerard played very well, as did Alonso and in my mind, this only reinforced my belief that these two and probably Masc, should play togeather (Gerard sitting in slightly ahead of them, in centre obviously).

Kuyt's work rate again impressed, he & Voronin are not suited to playing togeather, it's gotta be Kuyt and Torres for me as a partnership, with only Babbel as a possible alternative to this partnership perhaps.

While I've mixed views on Crouch, he did well at this game to his credit. Sadly, I can't see him partner Torres and leaving Torres on the bench to play Crouch in Prem / CL games is not an option for me, so what's left - only for Voronin & Crouch to partner in cup games and wish them the best for now me thinks.

All in all, I'm happy enough with a point from this game, but we need the 3 points from our other game in hand lads !

vodkacolly

29-10-2007, 12:23 PM

Yeah I wouldve taken a point before this game as we've been terrible and Arsenal outstanding. I was upset we couldnt hang on to the 1-0 but I suppose in the end we we lucky as Arsenal missed some sitters. Carra was lucky AGAIN not to give away a penalty. If he gets into a habit of taking risks like that his luck will run out. We definitely raised our game and some recently underperforming players did well. Shouts of "HOOF" from away fans was embarrasing but they can afford to slag any team considering the football Arsenal are playing. Alonso looked good after the layoff so its a bummer hes out again. Crouch took his oppurtunity to shine well and caused problems for the Gooners. He deserves to start ahead of Voronin who has been very weak. We started to play with pace, confidence, passion, and passed well for the most part but the injurys knocked us sideways so its anyones guess as to how we will play against Blackburn. 3 points against Blackburn and a Utd-Arsenal draw would be very welcome.

James

29-10-2007, 01:19 PM

The only positive I took out of the game is that it was an improvement on Wednesdays performance. After that the outlook for the future is bleak. I say this because of a couple of things; the first is how many of our players would fit into the current Arsenal team? A Wenger player is somebody with pace, good technique, expressive on the ball and intelligent. The only people I can think of is Torres, Alonso and Benayoun. I believe the later is every bit as good as Hleb. So out of yesterdays squad only 3 of them would fit into an attacking unit (Reina being the other).. This is after 3 years of hard work on the training ground and a lot of money spent. Theres no doubt that we have a better squad when Houllier left but as a first 11 I'm not so sure. Also can you ever imagine someone with no passing skills like Riise getting into one of our rivals first team? Would Kuyt with his awful touch? Yet these are key players in our squad!!!

Yesterday Arsenal played some great football and have the rare ability of making it look so easy. We on the other hand have the annoying ability of being a team that prefers not having the football!! When we do get it we prefer to play long balls than making triangles and doing nice interchanges. Arsenal fans were damn right with their hoofball chants and thats why it annoyed our fans. At home this season we are struggling because we prefer to play as the away team. Yesterday we played like Birmingham did when they visited Anfield!!! Theres something not right in that.

Then you have the bizarre team changes. I don't really no where to start on this one but I'll just keep it to yesterday game. Voronin on the left wing with £11m worth of talent on the bench who's comfortable in that position!! Kuyt on the right with Benayoun twiddling his thumbs for 65 mins!! I'm a big fan of Benayoun's, I genuinely think he is class and deserves to be a main man in our team. Replacing Xabi with Arbeloa?? Give me a break. I thought Arbeloa looked shaky at right full last season but he has come on leaps and bounds this at left full. Why oh why play him in midfield when Lucas was available??

We are slowly but surely going backwards. It really is like the 2003/2004 season again. I hope it doesn't continue on for much longer but one thing is for sure; there is a lot of disillusioned Liverpool fans out there. Rafa needs to change things fast because if this goes on for another 2 months the pressure really is going to be on him.

Hopefully in May I can come back to this post and laugh about it but I very much doubt there'll be much laughter this season :(

SUPERFAN

29-10-2007, 01:43 PM

Voronin on the left wing with £11m worth of talent on the bench who's comfortable in that position!! Kuyt on the right with Benayoun twiddling his thumbs for 65 mins!! I'm a big fan of Benayoun's, I genuinely think he is class and deserves to be a main man in our team. Replacing Xabi with Arbeloa?? Give me a break. I thought Arbeloa looked shaky at right full last season but he has come on leaps and bounds this at left full. Why oh why play him in midfield when Lucas was available??

Voronin looked lost yesterday,offered very little.he was a Player who really excited me in Pre-Season but it looks like all the Confidence has been Sapped out of him over the last 3 Months,why i don't know....
in fairness to Kuyt he worked his Socks off yesterday as he always does.but i agree with you,there should've been at least 1 "Winger" on the Field yesterday.
if i have one criticism of Rafa yesterday it's that he didn't have any CM cover on the Bench,especially with Xabi only back from Injury.one of Lucas or Missoko should've been on the Bench.

Gerry

29-10-2007, 02:24 PM

Mascherano doesn't deserve a start tomorrw. He walked around the midfiled on Wed as if he couldn't be arsed making a run. Can't wait to see the Rafa Raffle result tomorrow on his choice of team!

He made you eat them words after his performance yesterday he was man of the match by far !

Malzheimer

29-10-2007, 03:20 PM

in fairness to Kuyt he worked his Socks off yesterday as he always does

Don't mean to pick on your comment Avid this is just something thats been nagging away at me for the last few weeks and yesterdays game highlighted it furthermore. I'm getting a bit tired of the whole Kuyt "tried his best" or "worked his socks off" approach at this stage. I have been guilty in justifying his performances this season in the exact same way. But after looking at his contribution so far this season its clear to me that he is never going to be the player we all hoped he would be. His touch is poor, some of his decision making unfathomable and in the position Rafa operates him in, he doesn't have an eye for goal or is not a natural finisher. Yesterday second half perfect example, he had two men looking for the ball out left SG and JAR possibly, in an attacking position. Instead of the simple pass left he keeps his head down dribbles the ball right, straight into 4 Arsenal players and loses possession. This begs the question is work rate enough to merit a starting place. He wouldn't get a starting place in the other top 6 teams IMO. Crouch got 15 mins yesterday and looked more dangerous than Dirk did in the last 3 games put together! Rant over ;)

As for the game itself Arsenal were a different class, one of the best performances I've watched live for a while at Anfield. With our injury problems a draw was a great result. Good to see captain fantastic back to himself and Masch was MOM imo. Liked the formation we went with but would have preferred to see Babel and Yossi instead of Kuyt and Voronin (who we have been carrying since the Toulouse game away). Hypia and Carra solid at the back along with Finnan. JAR had a poor game and LB is a position we could do with strengthening in Jan.

SUPERFAN

29-10-2007, 04:09 PM

This begs the question is work rate enough to merit a starting place.

unfortunately,in Kuyt's case i think it is mate....
there's no doubt he has shortcomings but i think because he works so hard he will always merit a starting place alongside one of the other 3 Strikers.
a fully fit Kuyt and Torres will always start up front in the big Games in my opinion.
for the next few Weeks it's going to be Kuyt and Crouch anyway.....

stevieg

29-10-2007, 04:16 PM

Kuyt does work extremely hard but Wayne Rooney works extremely hard too(no matter how much some hate him) but Rooney manages to score goals unlike Kuyt.

But you are probably right that he probably deserves to start just when you look at the other options,though i wouldnt mind seeing Babel upfront.

Think it shows we maybe need another world class striker and/or a winger that beats his man,has pace and can score and create goals.

RedMurph08

29-10-2007, 04:19 PM

wickla_mucker

29-10-2007, 04:24 PM

Well... the atmosphere was certainly better then usual yesterday! Pity not everyone gets in the mood to get behind the team - and what is with ppl leaving with 5 mins left??
had a fantastic touchline seat just off of halfway in the paddock!

thought we did ok.... created some great chances and great to see Stevie back playing well. Masch, Carra and Alonso also played well. Such a pity to see the injuries!

Definitely think that Leiva might get a chance to impress now alongside Masch in the centre. Really liked seeing Stevie with an attacking role.

Only problem i had really, was with how deep we played and how slow we were to support particularly in the first half when torres was struggling. Fair enough in the second half we pushed on a lot more and kuyt definitely helped crouch.

Have to hold my hands up and admit that Voronin was shocking, and Crouchy did well when he came on! Still dont think that Babel should start up front - would prefer crouch and kuyt with either kewell or spearing as backup....

satisfied with the point altho was so dissappointed to concede having held arsenal off for so long. They were so impressive going forward - their passing is immaculate and they are just so exciting to watch!

cardiff will be a nice chance to see the younger players come through...

Fowler's God

29-10-2007, 04:37 PM

Pity not everyone gets in the mood to get behind the team - and what is with ppl leaving with 5 mins left??

I seen that on Telly i was cracking up watching it in work we're nearly as bad as Man U fans...disgrace it was...support till the end.

Did you see the start of the game people were still arriving in after YNWA was played..no wonder there so much commotion of OOT and stuff like that

megager

29-10-2007, 04:49 PM

I was rather disappointed with the performance (yet again) if not the result.

The positives were Masch (man of the match for me), Stevie G, Crouch and Carra (obviously) and the fact we scored.

THe negatives were many though

1. Arsenal killed us down the left. Riise has to be on borrowed time. He was lucky Voronin was on the pitch, otherwise he would have been the worst player. We clearly need something at left back, and how
2. Arbeloa is not the answer. All high profile goals against us somehow involve arbeloa chasing in vain after the goal scorer
3. Voronin. After a promising start he is struggling at this level. I would be slow to write him off completely though, but as a regular starter...no way
4. What has happened to pass and move. It was in evidence yesterday but it wasnt the home team. We do Hoof the ball. So often the defence just kicked long balls down the channels. The players are better and cleverer than that. With Alonso, Masch, Yossi, Pennant, Gerrard and Torres, How have we beome a long ball team?? Is it tactics or is it players low in confidence afraid to pass the pass. We gifted arsenal possession, they grew in confidence and they didnt fear us.
5. Fortress anfield boast a 20% win record this season.

I think a lot of the problem is down to players lacking confidence. I really think if they had won yesterday, no matter how unpretty it was, they would have kicked on from there. It will take one decent win to get everyone enjoying their football again.

We have a team that can challenge, We will make it difficult for the top 3 sides to beat us at or away from anfield. This current slide is far from terminal, but the guys got to sort it out fast!

callyno3

29-10-2007, 06:20 PM

Another big factor for me was how much we miss Agger when we have the ball, carra and sami are not very comfortable on the ball and are especially slow to take the ball off reina and start things going.
Overall there were too many players who just didn't want the ball.

Kopite

29-10-2007, 07:10 PM

Much happier with that performance I have to say. The work rate and character were top notch. and we played quite well in spells. There was some sloppy passing at times alright. Arsenal were really good on the ball and I doubt we'll see a better side at anfield this year. Crouchy did really well when he came on hopefully he will get his chance and take it now.Gerrard and alonso were super today

on reflection I agree, i was on here last night moaning a bit and feeling depressed that we didint hang on to win...But on digesting the quotes from the Boss, Carra and Steve Finnan I feel now that we battled hard, created a few chances and played far better than in previous weeks. OK we did get lucky a few times. The same team with a properly fit FT and a 90 minutes from Alonso would be an excellent choice against the big guns.

Aido82

29-10-2007, 07:13 PM

me too

was very annoyed yesterday, looking back a draw to arsenal isnt too bad

we are still only 6 points off top and a draw next week with the top two can cut the difference to 4.

REDHEART

29-10-2007, 07:50 PM

all things considered suppose it's not the worst result in the world.the form we're in and the form there in.torres not fully fit,alonso having to go off and Mascherano hobbling for the last 15.

ok so 1-0 up with 10 to go at home you would hope we could hang on.arsenal hit the post twice so...................
thing is it don't get any easier with a trip to blackburn next.they've only been beat the once so it's going to be a tough game.if we can manage a win the arse play utd so who knows.not sure what score line we need there.:D