Arsenal (Away) Match

[bobby benitez]

Couldnt have asked for a better weekend results wise. Pity we dont have a week to gloat but we cant complain :).

I'd take a 0-0 right now and IMO Rafa and Wenger would too.

I'd play Degen right full and Babel up top, soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter.

Who would have taught 2 or 3 weeks ago that we would go to The Emirates confident of getting something ;) Come on Red Men.

[dubit10]

I would'nt even have Babel on the bench. The reserves bench even:D. Just don't see what Rafa see's in him tbh. He really needs to pull his socks up and earn his wages. I'd take a point againest the gooners right now but i've got a sneaky feeling Arsenal are there for the taking at the moment due to the lack of backbone in their squad.1-2 to the good guys :).

[TubbyReina]

should play kuyt up front on his own,ngog is lackin in confidence all together,not gonna be easy,but if we dont waste chance like in the first game we should be ok

[MutantNinjaSkrtel]

We're due a win away to Arsenal.

[JAMIE]

should play kuyt up front on his own,ngog is lackin in confidence all together,not gonna be easy,but if we dont waste chance like in the first game we should be ok

ngog had a good game against everton

[Alex Raisbeck]

should play kuyt up front on his own,ngog is lackin in confidence all together,not gonna be easy,but if we dont waste chance like in the first game we should be ok

Disagree, Kuyt has scored from the right sided role while doing a good shift for the team.
We lose something on the right if he's up front and against arsenal we need all avenues to close them down.
Also when he is up front he drops too deep to help the team meaning we have no avenues.
I dont think Ngogs been doing too badly up there myself.
While he may not be a massive scoring threat, he is doing his bit in winning balls and letting the midfield attacking trio come into the game.

[TubbyReina]

ngog had a good game against everton

Disagree, Kuyt has scored from the right sided role while doing a good shift for the team.
We lose something on the right if he's up front and against arsenal we need all avenues to close them down.
Also when he is up front he drops too deep to help the team meaning we have no avenues.
I dont think Ngogs been doing too badly up there myself.
While he may not be a massive scoring threat, he is doing his bit in winning balls and letting the midfield attacking trio come into the game.

i never said he was playing bad i just said he's lackin confidence,you seen that miss against bolton,he was sick,you could see he was a little down.when was the last time he scored?
and on wednesday if we waste chances were gonna be beaten
so my team and you may not agree would be
pepe
carra skrtel agger aurelio
aqua masch
maxi stevie reira
kuyt

[Dzer2]

Think we need pace up front without Ngog we dont have it Chavs killed the gooners with pace in first half. Need to be tough in midfield dont see Aqua getting a game again as its fighting spirit we need now.

Come on Wednesday cant wait.

[Alex Raisbeck]

i never said he was playing bad i just said he's lackin confidence,you seen that miss against bolton,he was sick,you could see he was a little down.when was the last time he scored?
and on wednesday if we waste chances were gonna be beaten
so my team and you may not agree would be
pepe
carra skrtel agger aurelio
aqua masch
maxi stevie reira
kuyt

Didnt say you said or didnt say anything.
My point is that at the moment Kuyt is doing well from the right and id prefer him in that position Wednesday night.

[fermoyred80]

Same team as Saturday but swap Riera for Maxi. He was poor on saturday and cant have any passengers on wednesday. Will be a tough game and id take a draw now

[blackbetty69]

no i definitely dont think aqua should start in such an important game, he needs to get used to the pace of the english game first.. hes totally out of his depth at the moment imo. if we win this game, wer only 2 points behind the gooners like, big big game

[barnestormer]

had them 1st half @ anfield we know we can get the better of them now were not shipping easy goals!!!lets get at them,there after looseing 2 in a row lets make it 3 !!

[Maverick]

We have what it takes to beat Arsenal definately but they will be looking to bounce back and we cant let them.One game at a time lads.Come on Redmen!!Bobby Benitez keep working your magic :)

[stevieg]

Will be a tough game as they will be looking to bounce back from their 2 defeats and keep alive any hope they they feel they have of winning the PL.

We haven't beaten Arsenal (away) since 2000 when Titi Camara scored :eek:

Would like to see Riera start on the left in this game.

I wouldn't be too suprised to see 1 of Degen or Aurelio start wide in midfield in this game.

A win would be great and we will need to take any chances that come our way as you can be sure Arsenal will and if they score first we will be in trouble.

A draw would not be a bad result at all and another clean sheet would be good too.

Come on Redmen

[TrueRed92]

i dont tink a draw is good enough... i no its arsenal but if we go there and play 4 a draw we will lose 2 or three nil.. the only way 2 beat arsenal is attack them...

[redabbey]

We haven't beaten Arsenal (away) since 2000 when Titi Camara scored :eek:



zVOC0AmCwvc

[stevieg]

zVOC0AmCwvc

Great pass from Gerrard and quality finish, looks like it was recorded on someones mobile phone the quality is that bad.

[midg23]

My Ideal team to play against Arsenal would be
Reina
Degen Carra Agger Aurelio
Mascherano
Kuyt Aquilani Reira
Gerrard
Kuyt

[agi]

Arshavin has been having a stinker for them recently, hopefully he doesn't decide to turn it on against us again. A win here would be massive !

[redabbey]

My Ideal team to play against Arsenal would be
Reina
Degen Carra Agger Aurelio
Mascherano
Kuyt Aquilani Reira
Gerrard
Kuyt

I am not being smart but you might want to edit your squad. The man can cover a lot of ground but we should still start with 11 men :D

[Phil!]

I am not being smart but you might want to edit your squad. The man can cover a lot of ground but we should still start with 11 men :D

There is 11?:o

[Phil!]

Arsenal will wanna bounce back so think we will need to get at them to win this...would be tempted to go with Mach at Right Back for this he did well pn Sat so could put him there again and gives another attacking option with Aqualani:

Reina
Macherano Carra Agger Insua
Aqualani Lucas
Maxi Gerrard Riera
Kuyt

I know Ngog has played well and I'm a huge fan of his but against arsenal think using him as a sub would be more effective cause he can come in and change the pace of our attack (eg Spurs). Cant see Lucas being dropped had a great game on Sat so would prob expect to see:

Reina
Carra Skrtel Agger Insua
Macherano Lucas
Kuyt Gerrard Riera
Ngog

[ROCCO]

:cool:
Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Gerrard Aquilani Riera

Kuyt



Prefer we go straight for Arsenal from the first whistle ...... imo Arsenal slow starters and are much better in the second half ..... the last 3 games ive seen Bolton were 2-0 up { 1-2 HT} at the emirates but beaten 4-2 utd 2-0 at half time and Chelsea 2-0 at half time.With same attitude as saturday ...

Would be tempted to start Ryan for his pace ......

Today's Guardian: LOVE IT :D

"Liverpool issued a pertinent reminder that they have few equals in the art of organised, impenetrable resistance. Their reshuffled core of Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Steven Gerrard and Lucas were outstanding while, to their right, Dirk Kuyt and Javier Mascherano would still be chasing and challenging imaginary royal blue shirts had no one told them to go home." http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/feb/08/liverpool-everton-premier-league
.
.
.

[T.N.F]

:cool:
Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Gerrard Aquilani Riera

Kuyt






.
.
.

Like the look of that team a lot.

[Shay]

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard Aquilani Fabio

Kuyt

NGog



I'd possibly change the formation a little keep it tight on the midfield, if Johnson was fit we'd have two flyers for wing backs

[T.N.F]

Sky are putting the feelers out for a Wenger witch hunt. Not good for Wednesday

[bobby benitez]

Reina

Degen Carra Agger Insua

Masch Lucas Gerrard

Kuyt Riera

Babel

Thats what I'd go with. Wouldnt fancy Carra being left one on one with Arshavin so I'd go with Degen, it wont be a roughand tumble type game so he should survive it;)

I'd also go with Riera and Babel for width and pace on the counter. They play so high up the pitch that Babel could destroy them if Rafa lets him wear his blue boots.

[ROCCO]

I'd possibly change the formation a little keep it tight on the midfield, if Johnson was fit we'd have two flyers for wing backs

More ?

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard ...Aquilani

Kuyt .......NGog ........Fabio but with that id go for more pace on the wings


Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard ...Aquilani

Babel .......Kuyt ........Reira


Looking back at the games they played v UTD and Chelsea we need to press and out muscle them but we also need pace in the side to counter attack .... and Babel and Ngog spring to mind ?

[Phil!]

I'd be very suprised if we changed our formation and even more suprised if Gerrard isn't playing in the centre (behind the striker or in midfield)

[ROCCO]

I'd be very suprised if we changed our formation and even more suprised if Gerrard isn't playing in the centre (behind the striker or in midfield)

imo Rafa will go with ... and keep most of the 11 from Saturday

Reina
Cara.....Skrtel....Agger....Insua
Masch.....Lucas
Kuyt.......Gerrard.......Riera
Ngog { if fit ? }


left wing im not so sure Reira/Maxi/Aurelio/

[sean]

No better time to be playing this game. The confidence at Arsenal has been absolutely rocked lately and we could sneak this game by the odd goal.

[Phil!]

Really think we need to score early in this one. Arsenal will either come out all guns blazing to make up for the last couple of games and we will need to score early to quash that. Or they could come out with no confidence and shaky in which case we can't let them grow into the game. Bit nervous but we can definately win this. Lookin forward to it already :D

Come on you Redmen!!!!

[ROCCO]

Really think we need to score early in this one. Arsenal will either come out all guns blazing to make up for the last couple of games and we will need to score early to quash that. Or they could come out with no confidence and shaky in which case we can't let them grow into the game. Bit nervous but we can definately win this. Lookin forward to it already :D

Come on you Redmen!!!!




Prefer we go straight for Arsenal from the first whistle ...... imo Arsenal slow starters and are much better in the second half ..... the last 3 games ive seen Bolton were 2-0 up { 1-2 HT} at the emirates but beaten 4-2 utd 2-0 at half time and Chelsea 2-0 at half time.With same attitude as saturday ...

.

Expect Arsenal to play the same and should be imo more nervous than normal ..

[Shay]

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard ...Aquilani

Babel .......Kuyt ........Reira


I doubt he'll play both Riera & Babel in an away match tbh, i'll stick with my preferred line up below for now. Now that I think of it, it's a nice problem to be having trying to think of a formation after the run of injuries we've been having


Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard Aquilani Fabio

Kuyt

NGog

[Phil!]

Expect Arsenal to play the same and should be imo more nervous than normal ..

Thats the thing I don't know if they will play the same. Wenger might want them too but you can be sure the players dont wanna third defeat in a row and will be looking to attack from the off. I hope not but it's a tough one to read.

[ROCCO]

I doubt he'll play both Riera & Babel in an away match tbh, i'll stick with my preferred line up below for now. Now that I think of it, it's a nice problem to be having trying to think of a formation after the run of injuries we've been having


Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano

Gerrard Aquilani Fabio

Kuyt

NGog


imo Rafa will go with ... and keep most of the 11 from Saturday

Reina
Cara.....Skrtel....Agger....Insua
Masch.....Lucas
Kuyt.......Gerrard.......Riera
Ngog { if fit ? }


left wing im not so sure Reira/Maxi/Aurelio/

Expect very similar to saturday from the Gaffa ..

[ROCCO]

Thats the thing I don't know if they will play the same. Wenger might want them too but you can be sure the players dont wanna third defeat in a row and will be looking to attack from the off. I hope not but it's a tough one to read.

Is a tough one to call , but Arsenal seem to play better as teams get tired v them imo ....

[K1lladeer]

anyone know of a good pub to go to before the match on Wednesday in London ie one where liverpool fans would be going to?

[Phil!]

Is a tough one to call , but Arsenal seem to play better as teams get tired v them imo ....

Either way think an early goal could hurt Arsenal big time and do us the world of good! Maxi to open his account!!!:D

[midg23]

I am not being smart but you might want to edit your squad. The man can cover a lot of ground but we should still start with 11 men :D

Yeah, thats why i have 11 players on the pitch:p

[midg23]

Either way think an early goal could hurt Arsenal big time and do us the world of good! Maxi to open his account!!!:D
Maxi and Aquaman to open their accounts Wednesday night ooooooooh yeah





hopefully

[Rover 609]

anyone know of a good pub to go to before the match on Wednesday in London ie one where liverpool fans would be going to?

The Drayton arms,and oh, its a kip!!

[byrnie]

Couldnt have asked for a better weekend results wise. Pity we dont have a week to gloat but we cant complain :).

I'd take a 0-0 right now and IMO Rafa and Wenger would too.
I'd play Degen right full and Babel up top, soak up the pressure and hit them on the counter.

Who would have taught 2 or 3 weeks ago that we would go to The Emirates confident of getting something ;) Come on Red Men.

Wouldn't have either of them near the team, especially Babel.
Keep Carra at right full and defend narrow with Agger and Skrtel at CB.
I think Aqua might start on the bench again but will deffo play some part.
We might see the best of Maxi too, i'd love a win but i think it will be an edgy 1-1.

These next two games are a real acid test of how far we have come.

[AthloneScouser]

Am not expecting much from this game,. We have a shocking record there, but now is the time to change it.

[MutantNinjaSkrtel]

Part of me thinks we're in good form,Arsenal are on a bad run and we're due a win at the emirates.Another part of me fears Arshavin will magically rediscover his form having gone missing recently and we'll lose a high scoring game.

Hate the way they seem to roll over against the other top teams of late but turn it on against us.

[byrnie]

Part of me thinks we're in good form,Arsenal are on a bad run and we're due a win at the emirates.Another part of me fears Arshavin will magically rediscover his form having gone missing recently and we'll lose a high scoring game.

Hate the way they seem to roll over against the other top teams of late but turn it on against us.

They dont exactly roll over, they bossed the Chelsea game for large parts and both the chavs and Man U expose them with counter attacks.
We don't have the same pace to carry out that sort of game plan as effectively at the moment, especially without Fernando.

[redabbey]

My Ideal team to play against Arsenal would be
Reina
Degen Carra Agger Aurelio
Mascherano
Kuyt Aquilani Reira
Gerrard
Kuyt

I am not being smart but you might want to edit your squad. The man can cover a lot of ground but we should still start with 11 men :D

Yeah, thats why i have 11 players on the pitch:p

Dirk is special player and cloning him is a great idea :D If this works we can get another Carra, Gerrard and Masch in to our squad the possibilitys are endless.

We all dream of a team of Carraghers could be a reality in the future :D

[Gray72]

We are woeful at Arsenal and despite their terrible form I am not confident. However what you will see is a game of football and we are better at that that a kicking match like Everton. The Carling cup match earlier in the season showed two real good footballing sides and we were unlucky to lose. If we keep it tight at the back and narrow in midfield we could hurt them with some craft and pace. I would start with both Maxi and Babel and look to expose there weaknesses at the back.

[K1lladeer]

Where is the Drayton Arms Rover 609. Cheers

[byrnie]

Where is the Drayton Arms Rover 609. Cheers

It's really close to the stadium, you can't miss it just ask anyone to point you in the way of it.

[Rover 609]

Where is the Drayton Arms Rover 609. Cheers

From the Holloway road up over the ramp to away end and its across the road from the entrance.

[K1lladeer]

Cheers lads.

[Rover 609]

Betting odds on the game.

11/10 Arsenal

12/5 Draw

11/4 Liverpool


Will defo be laying Arsenal around evens if i can.

[Liverpool-law]

We are woeful at Arsenal and despite their terrible form I am not confident.

That's just it, they haven't been in terrible form. They have lost one of their last six home games and that was to the scum (won 4 and drew one of the other 5). They have played Chelsea and United and lost but those games are always going to be 50-50. As pointed out our record there is awful and we're not exactly brimming with confidence either despite the derby. A point here would be great.

[agi]

Is there anywhere in away section to stick up a banner as in is it all lower tier for us ?

[byrnie]

That's just it, they haven't been in terrible form. They have lost one of their last six home games and that was to the scum (won 4 and drew one of the other 5). They have played Chelsea and United and lost but those games are always going to be 50-50. As pointed out our record there is awful and we're not exactly brimming with confidence either despite the derby. A point here would be great.

Agree with that mate.

[K1lladeer]

Might try and source an away ticket tomorrow as sitting with arsenal fans at present.

[ROCCO]

Alberto Aquilani to miss Liverpool FC's trip to Arsenal with vomiting bug


Alberto Aquilani has been ruled out of Liverpool's trip to face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night.

The Italian midfielder, who was an unused substitute in the win over Everton on Saturday, has contracted a vomiting bug.

Although he thought to be over the worst of it, boss Rafa Benitez admitted at Melwood today that Aquilani is too weak to be involved.

Said Benitez at his pre match press conference: "Alberto will not be in the squad.

"He has got the same thing that Martin Skrtel had last week.

"It is not too serious but Martin lost four kilos."

Benitez's main selection dilemma revolves around who will replace the suspended Sotirios Kyrgiakos in the centre of his defence.

Skrtel remains the favourite with vice captain Jamie Carragher likel yto continue at ri ght back but, predictably, Benitez is keeping all options open.

He said: "We will have to manage.

"We were not happy with the decision (to send Kyrgiakos off) but we cannot change it. So I will choose from Carra, Agger and Skrtel."

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2010/02/09/alberto-aquilani-to-miss-liverpool-fc-s-trip-to-arsenal-with-vomiting-bug-100252-25797179/


Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Kuyt Gerrard Maxi

Ngog

White bib team ...... been spot on the last few games
.
.
.
.

[byrnie]

Bad news, we haven't got a lot of options overall and probably the one area we had we've lost it.
Thought he could have influenced the game tomorrow whether it be from the start or coming from the bench.

[graham]

Would have really liked to see Aqua against Arsenal to be honest I think he'll be a huge loss. Also would have liked to see Martin Kelly given a run at right back. Bib theory was correct against Everton

[bobby benitez]

Would have really liked to see Aqua against Arsenal to be honest I think he'll be a huge loss. Also would have liked to see Martin Kelly given a run at right back. Bib theory was correct against Everton

Who is in the team this week according to the bibs?

[gav003]

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Kuyt Gerrard Maxi

Ngog

White bib team ...... been spot on the last few games
.
.
.
.[/QUOTE]

Noticed that for the derby game- not very bright of the offal to show pics of the teams when it's almost certainly the bibbed players starting

[graham]

Who is in the team this week according to the bibs?

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Kuyt Gerrard Maxi

Ngog

Rocco posted it there. The training pics are on RAWK

[bobby benitez]

Cheers lads, missed Rocco's for some reason.

[elvis]

can you bet in the bookies on the starting 11?

[graham]

can you bet in the bookies on the starting 11?

Looking around but most of the sites are blocked here in my job. If anyone finds out will they let me know?

[stamullen red]

Would like to see more of the same against the gonners,think this could be a game for two holding midfielders as the gonners like to try and play through teams.Maybe if we get in there faces early and unsettle them with carra setting the tempo of the game with a nice crunching tackle on arshavin or fabregasc,and lets face it after some of our recent performances were we stood up to some very physical sides held our own and dished out some tasty tackles ourselves i dont think the gonners will intimidate us.Lets be honest if we go and try and outplay them footballing wise we could come unstuck so another hard working effort from everybody,let them know that we are there keep it tight because the longer the game stays 0-0 the more nervous i think the gonners will get and we could win this game as well



REINA

CARRA SKERTL AGGER INSUA

LUCAS MASCH

MAXI GERRARD RIERA

KUYT

[T.N.F]

Any chance someone can post a link to those training pics? Cant find em.....

[Jethro Tull]

Would like to see more of the same against the gonners,think this could be a game for two holding midfielders as the gonners like to try and play through teams.Maybe if we get in there faces early and unsettle them with carra setting the tempo of the game with a nice crunching tackle on arsehole or fabregash,and lets face it after some of our recent performances were we stood up to some very physical sides held our own and dished out some tasty tackles ourselves i dont think the gonners will intimidate us.Lets be honest if we go and try and outplay them footballing wise we could come unstuck so another hard working effort from everybody,let them know that we are there keep it tight because the longer the game stays 0-0 the more nervous i think the gonners will get and we could win this game as well



REINA

CARRA SKERTL AGGER INSUA

LUCAS MASCH

MAXI GERRARD RIERA

KUYT



Lovely:rolleyes:

[GaryMc]

Key in this game is not to sit back. If we invite the gooners onto us, we are in trouble. I thought Stevie played excellent in centre mid at weekend where he was in the thick of it tackles wise. Too often he is out of the frame playing further forward away from home. Wud like to see him and masher in CM with Maxi and Riera on the wings. Kuyt supporting Ngog. Do feel though Rafa will go with Lucas who I must add played well at weekend.

[agi]

http://reservations.arsenal.com/seat.html ... decent for anyone like myself who has never been to Emirates. Give's u idea of the view from your seat

[K1lladeer]

yeah the white bibs have been right the last few matches alright hasnt it.

[djdwainec]

can you bet in the bookies on the starting 11?

elvis i emailed paddy power and they wont do odd's on it, so maybe another bookies mite be worth emailin, if u get any word let me know?

As for the match, that team in the bib's looks good, hopefully we can get at them from the start and get agger takin a few shots and all, almunia is dodgy enough sometimes

[crumlin red]

another 3 points please i hope its the same team as against the bitters.

with dodgy almunia in goal for the gooners we should pepper his goal with shots.

come on redmen!

[geirangr]

Hi, norwegian who wants to see the game tomorrow.
Any good liverpool pubs in Dublin worth checking out?

[Gerry]

Hi, norwegian who wants to see the game tomorrow.
Any good liverpool pubs in Dublin worth checking out?

Woolshed Parnell street - Murrays o connell street - synotts stephens green

Outside the city - Cuckoos nest green hills road in Tallaght - Submarine Crumlin

[stevig]

C'mon you reds well capable of winning tonite show them the passion that is Liverpool
Why not chase third place

[byrnie]

Come on Redmen.

[babbsnads]

I think Chelsea game plan against arsenal is definitely the way to go.keep it compact,send them wide and hit them on the break and with a bit of luck arsene will be moaning about the way we play in the morning.

[merc]

The team and the way we played against Everton could win this game but Maxi didnt play to well so Reiera was fit I would like to see him start.
Expect Skertl to come in direct for Soto. Would like to see Fabio for Insua but I think I say tht every week.

As things stand them we are int he best position of beating them but I expect them to come out all guns blazing.

Backed Kuyt at 7/1 for first goal. he was 5/1 on saturday so got my days drinking for free.

Plus my siter and her Gooner boyfriend will be at the match text messages at the ready

[ROCCO]

I think Chelsea game plan against arsenal is definitely the way to go.keep it compact,send them wide and hit them on the break and with a bit of luck arsene will be moaning about the way we play in the morning.

We haven't got the pace to catch them on the break like Chelsea and M.utd did without Torres and not enough pace imo on the wings either in the starting 11 tonight { white bib theory}.
Were at our best when we play high tempo and pressing football .. it the way imo to beat them tonight ...

But

Gerrard...

And Gerrard is convinced Arsenal are there for the taking, as he looks for his team to rise above their own recent misery.

"Arsenal will be a bit of a wounded animal and we've got to do what Manchester United and Chelsea have to them - give them very little space and hit them on the counter attack," the Anfield captain suggested.

[Phil!]

We haven't got the pace to catch them on the break like Chelsea and M.utd did without Torres and not enough pace imo on the wings either in the starting 11 tonight { white bib theory}.
Were at our best when we play high tempo and pressing football .. it the way imo to beat them tonight ...

But

Gerrard...

And Gerrard is convinced Arsenal are there for the taking, as he looks for his team to rise above their own recent misery.

"Arsenal will be a bit of a wounded animal and we've got to do what Manchester United and Chelsea have to them - give them very little space and hit them on the counter attack," the Anfield captain suggested.

I think we might see those long ball tactics continue tonight. Ngog is decent at holding up the ball and winning flick ons so Gerrard Maxi and Kuyt will need to be up in support. Arsenal are definately there for the taking tonight but it will be in no way an easy game!

[ROCCO]

I think we might see those long ball tactics continue tonight. !

Hope not .... the way we played v utd is the way imo.

[Phil!]

Hope not .... the way we played v utd is the way imo.

Yeah but the problem with that is Carra in right back. He cant play like glen johnson does and beat players all game if he gets the ball he will just get it out.

[ROCCO]

Yeah but the problem with that is Carra in right back. He cant play like glen johnson does and beat players all game if he gets the ball he will just get it out.

Even more likely to play like we did v utd ...... than catch them on the counter attack like Chelsea and utd did then ..


Just press the space further up the pitch giving them no space to play and keep the tempo high and out muscle them but not like the derby just strong and in their faces ...

[babbsnads]

[QUOTE=ROCCO;299632]We haven't got the pace to catch them on the break like Chelsea and M.utd did without Torres and not enough pace imo on the wings either in the starting 11 tonight { white bib theory}.
Were at our best when we play high tempo and pressing football .. it the way imo to beat them tonight ...


IMO doing that plays into their hands.keep it tight frustrate them and Gerard and ngog are quick.plus Reina is excellent are starting attacks.but even without that I think a game with few chances suits us.an open game is exactly what arsenal want.

[ROCCO]

[QUOTE=ROCCO;299632]We haven't got the pace to catch them on the break like Chelsea and M.utd did without Torres and not enough pace imo on the wings either in the starting 11 tonight { white bib theory}.
Were at our best when we play high tempo and pressing football .. it the way imo to beat them tonight ...


IMO doing that plays into their hands.keep it tight frustrate them and Gerard and ngog are quick.plus Reina is excellent are starting attacks.but even without that I think a game with few chances suits us.an open game is exactly what arsenal want.
Wont be a open game if we given them as Stevie said "very little space.".. press like we did v utd and catch them on the attack further up the pitch .... chelsea and utd sat back gave them load on possession and caught them for pace from utds and Chelsea own half ... we don't have that pace imo.

[babbsnads]

[QUOTE=babbsnads;299674]
Wont be a open game if we given them as Stevie said "very little space.".. press like we did v utd and catch them on the attack further up the pitch .... chelsea and utd sat back gave them load on possession and caught them for pace from utds and Chelsea own half ... we don't have that pace imo.

Press them and deny them space,definitely but if we do that high up the pitch and our players get picked off we leave ourselves open to the countr attack which IMO is arsenal's biggest strength.no matter how good we are at pressing there's going to be times when a team like arsenal will have good possesion against you and I'd just worry about leaving ourselves exposed

[F@ces]

There are a few key things for us that I believe will shape the game. Lucas is playing some very good stuff, and Masch has been excellent the last few games. We need to win that battle in the middle; get the tackles in and don't let them play at all.

Furthermore, they are struggling up top. Arshavin is having a very poor season (though he's becoming a right pain in our arse). Some reckon Bendtner will start tonight (good). Against Chelsea there was such a difference between their front line and Drogba. Unfortunately we're missing Torres, who would be key here. Hopefully, given NGog will most likely start, his pace will cause that Arsenal defence some problems (defensively Arsenal have issues needless to say, and while Song has had a good season, he was pants against Chelsea. More again please). Coupled with Gerrard having a right go we can do damage.

Finally, I think it's important that once in a reasonable position we test Almunia at every opportunity. I'm starting to think he's the worst keeper in the league.

I wonder will Rafa start Riera or Maxi? Would like to see either of them get a run - I'm edging towards Rafa favouring Maxi though (maybe keep him in a few games now?).

[ROCCO]

Press them and deny them space,definitely but if we do that high up the pitch and our players get picked off we leave ourselves open to the countr attack which IMO is arsenal's biggest strength.no matter how good we are at pressing there's going to be times when a team like arsenal will have good possesion against you and I'd just worry about leaving ourselves exposed

Pressing them high up the pitch doesn't mean the whole side further up the pitch .. we need to press from the Ngog right back through the side .
People going on about the way they got beaten by M.utd and Chelsea , we will be destroyed if we sit back and give them possession and hope to counter attack like they did imo.
Also if Arshavin the midget had his shooting boots on they may have won both them games imo.
WE need deny them any space from the minute they get the ball from Almunia and not let them get further up the pitch like Chelsea and utd did ....

High tempo and deny the space ... and when we win the ball hopefully we dont have the whole pitch to run and score.

[F@ces]

Pressing them high up the pitch doesn't mean the whole side further up the pitch .. we need to press from the Ngog right back through the side .
People going on about the way they got beaten by M.utd and Chelsea , we will be destroyed if we sit back and give them possession and hope to counter attack like they did imo.
Also if Arshavin the midget had his shooting boots on they may have won both them games imo.
WE need deny them any space from the minute they get the ball from Almunia and not let them get further up the pitch like Chelsea and utd did ....

High tempo and deny the space ... and when we win the ball hopefully we dont have the whole pitch to run and score.

+1. I've read that in heaps of places and it's a load of nonsense. The space Chelsea gave Arsenal at times could have cost them if, for example, Arshavin had taken his early chance (from Fabregas's super ball).

Lucas and Masch need to tear strips out of the lads tonight (but no more red cards plz :p). If they're up for it, and should be on current form, we have a real chance of controlling the game.

[babbsnads]

[QUOTE=ROCCO;299706]Pressing them high up the pitch doesn't mean the whole side further up the pitch ..


Sorry mate but that's exactly what it means.there's no point in pressing if we don't do it as a unit or they'll just pick players off like they weren't there.
I'd rather play the game in their half and I'm sure a lot of it will be.the point I'm trying to make although I'm probably not making it very well,I apologise for that,is that when arsenal get possesion higher up the pitch,which they will is that we have 2 banks of four the width of the box and let them go wide maybe over committ and then try and hit them on the break.and if we play more of the game in their half,brilliant.

[fermoyred80]

[QUOTE=ROCCO;299632]{ white bib theory}.
QUOTE]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/melwood-photo-special-1

Going off this, Masch, Kuyt, Riera, Nogog and Gerrard in one shot havent got the bibs on so that theory could be gone if thats the case

[stamullenredmen]

need to get into them as much as we stood up to everton on saturday imo.arsenal arent a team that like a battle and we always seem to stand back and let them pass us to death.its a pity babel shows no interest in actually doing his day job because with his pace hed be great for hitting them on the counter

[babbsnads]

need to get into them as much as we stood up to everton on saturday imo.arsenal arent a team that like a battle and we always seem to stand back and let them pass us to death.its a pity babel shows no interest in actually doing his day job because with his pace hed be great for hitting them on the counter

An inform babel would be a good option for us tonight.benitez gave him a run Saturday so he hasn't burned all his bridges so who knows?it wouldn't the first time benitez suprised us with a line-up.

[ROCCO]

Sorry mate but that's exactly what it means.there's no point in pressing if we don't do it as a unit or they'll just pick players off like they weren't there.
I'd rather play the game in their half and I'm sure a lot of it will be.the point I'm trying to make although I'm probably not making it very well,I apologise for that,is that when arsenal get possesion higher up the pitch,which they will is that we have 2 banks of four the width of the box and let them go wide maybe over committ and then try and hit them on the break.and if we play more of the game in their half,brilliant.

pressing up the pitch { see what your saying } as unit and been picked off.... but i would expect the 3 behind Ngog to be helping out and doing it as well ..

[ROCCO]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/melwood-photo-special-1

Going off this, Masch, Kuyt, Riera, N'gog and Gerrard in one shot haven't got the bibs on so that theory could be gone if that's the case

Has been right the last games and they do take the bibs of in training :p you will only ever see 11 different players in white bibs , doesn't mean they keep them on in every picture .. there's always the chance off last day changes as well ..
Anyway only a suggested theory but right the last few games ...

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/index.php?topic=244223.5320

Shows the 11 in white bibs ..... also a lot of good LFC pictures 136 pages ...

pepe

carra
skrtel
agger
insua

masch
lucas

kuyt
gerrard
maxi

ngog

[djdwainec]

If thats the team i'd be fairly happy with it, hopefully ngog has a good game , what will our bench look like? Cavilieri, Babel, Aurelio......?? Pacheco?

[ROCCO]

If thats the team i'd be fairly happy with it, hopefully ngog has a good game , what will our bench look like? Cavilieri, Babel, Aurelio......?? Pacheco?

IF thats the starting 11

Subs: Cavalieri, Riera, Pacheco, Spearing, Babel, Aurelio, Degen (to be confirmed).

http://lfcglobe.com/team-news-maxi-starts-ahead-of-riera-at-emirates/

[carpe diem]

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Insua, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Maxi, Kuyt, Gerrard, Ngog. Subs: Cavalieri, Riera, Aurelio, Babel, Spearing, Degen, Kelly.

good to see the young lad back.

[ROCCO]

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Agger Insua

Mascherano Lucas

Kuyt Gerrard Maxi

Ngog

White bib team ...... been spot on the last few games
.
.
.
.



Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Insua, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Maxi, Kuyt, Gerrard, Ngog. Subs: Cavalieri, Riera, Aurelio, Babel, Spearing, Degen, Kelly.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/skrtel-returns-v-gunners

white bibs correct again :cool:

Delighted to see Kelly back :cool: ..... but no Pacheco:(

[GaryMc]

Let's hope Maxi can get into this game. The ball will be on the floor so should suit him.

[TrueRed92]

Liverpool: Reina, Carragher, Insua, Skrtel, Agger, Mascherano, Lucas, Maxi, Kuyt, Gerrard, Ngog. Subs: Cavalieri, Riera, Aurelio, Babel, Spearing, Degen, Kelly.

good to see the young lad back.

never no if the game is goin our way we mite c him second half...

no pacheco i c :(

[TrueRed92]

arsenal team dont look bad...

hav 2 keep fabregas quiet

[ROCCO]

arsenal team dont look bad...

hav 2 keep fabregas quiet

Don't keep us guessing mate :rolleyes:

[djdwainec]

eboue right bak i think, bendtner nasri and arshavin front 3

[TrueRed92]

Don't keep us guessing mate :rolleyes:

sorry ha

alumia, eboue, gallas, vermallen, clicey, fabregas, song, diaby, nasri, bentner, arshavin

[travis]

I'm nervous, Arsenal worry me, A draw would be nice , a win would be orgasmic, a loss and it's focus on the next game and fourth position.

[carpe diem]

arsenal will be like wounded lions tonight after recent results,i envisage a tough night for poor old pepe but if we can steady the ship at the back we're more than capable of a goal,keep arshavin and fabregas on a leash let n'gog create a distraction and kuyt to snatch a killer goal and it could be a good night tonight


ive got a feeling

RjMfUd4VKec

[prendy]

come on you red men!!

lets get the 3 points!

[ROCCO]

sorry ha

alumia, eboue, gallas, vermallen, clicey, fabregas, song, diaby, nasri, bentner, arshavin



Almunia

Clichy Vermalen Gallas Eboue

Diaby Song Fabregas

Arshavin Bentdner Nasri

[padski08]

Happy with our team selection. Hope we can push they as far back as possible and try counter attack
Nervous about this game, but we are defending as a solid unit the past few games. Always hard to keep Arsenal scoreless so we need 2 goals to clinch it imo

[Juan]

Come on Liverpool,hope they show the same guts+determination as last week.
we can win this,

[MrsPepe]

Cant wait!!!!!!



(pity about Howard:rolleyes:)

[TrueRed92]

cants wait 4 this 1 :)

come on u reds :D

[djdwainec]

here we go!!! come on the reds

[up the pool]

any good streams lads??

[MrsPepe]

http://iraqgoals.net/ch5.html

http://atdhe.net/13141/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool

http://p2p4u.net/watch/12213/1/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool-fc.html


I would keep all 3 of them open,mute 2 and so on because they will go down at some stage

[smarten]

http://iraqgoals.net/ch5.html

http://atdhe.net/13141/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool

http://p2p4u.net/watch/12213/1/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool-fc.html


I would keep all 3 of them open,mute 2 and so on because they will go down at some stage


Cheers for that :-)

C'mon Liverpool!!!

[barnieslad]

http://iraqgoals.net/ch5.html

http://atdhe.net/13141/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool

http://p2p4u.net/watch/12213/1/watch-arsenal-vs-liverpool-fc.html


I would keep all 3 of them open,mute 2 and so on because they will go down at some stage

Have you ever tried Sopcast? The new version has never let me down . Far better than the streams and easilly installed.

[Andrew]

Feck, Arsenal are clawing their way into this.

[travis]

Why is the Emirates so empty ???

[TrueRed92]

Why is the Emirates so empty ???

they all got sick of the game and went home hahahah...

awh no they prob wanted 2 get the food stalls first

[wertyu]

Why the hell cant we just have a shot against this keeper he's feckin muck lets test him he'll bottle it.

[smarten]

Have you ever tried Sopcast? The new version has never let me down . Far better than the streams and easilly installed.

Hi Mate , I'll try that now as others were freezing a lot , would you have a link and will try install now during half time?

[travis]

they all got sick of the game and went home hahahah...

awh no they prob wanted 2 get the food stalls first

It's been empty since kick off.. lots of patches around the stadium

[TrueRed92]

It's been empty since kick off.. lots of patches around the stadium

awh i dunno then

[barrydoherty]

Unable to watch game as in work but mate's saying we haven't had a proper attack yet which is worrying if true. How we playing?

[MrsPepe]

Have you ever tried Sopcast? The new version has never let me down . Far better than the streams and easilly installed.

I have never used it myself tbh, will keep it in mind thanks

[TrueRed92]

Why the hell cant we just have a shot against this keeper he's feckin muck lets test him he'll bottle it.

haven't got the chance...

they hav blocked us ou very well jus like we hav 2 them....

need babel on i tink.. stick him left wing and run at eboue

[travis]

Unable to watch game as in work but mate's saying we haven't had a proper attack yet which is worrying if true. How we playing?

We're playing typical european way, Arsenal haven't got a sniff, luck is goin all our way , we'll catch them on the break

[ROCCO]

Arsenal are there for the taking ...... Riera for Maxi and Babel for Ngog and lets see if we can do more on the ball .
Great defensive play .. but need to do more going forward

[ROCCO]

I have never used it myself tbh, will keep it in mind thanks

Sopcast games the last few months have been great quality ...


http://www.myp2p.eu/favourite.php great site for a wide choice of streams ...

[corcaigh]

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/wed10.2/Arsenal_Liverpool.html

good sopcast link, commentary in dutch though!

[corcaigh]

Why is the Emirates so empty ???

so they can beat the tube traffic! honestly even if the game is close later, they will start to filter out 15 minutes from the end.

[shibox]

Why is the Emirates so empty ???
Was wondering the same thing. Are they not able to sell out their big new stadium?

[Skintown Red]

Anyone got a sopcast channel thats working?

[corcaigh]

http://livefooty.doctor-serv.com/wed10.2/Arsenal_Liverpool.html

[MrsPepe]

Carra?

[7Cannibal-9Asbo]

Getting to be a bit of a nail biter now

[up the pool]

these streams are doing my fcuking head in:mad:

[JAMIE]

I d take 0-0 now

[Andrew]

Good job ref. Rightly yellow carded him.

In other news, Villa drawing against ManU and Wolves beating Spurs. More of our rivals knocking points off each other as it stands. Come on the pool!!

[barnieslad]

I d take 0-0 now

More the game I was expecting now but we could win this.

Just heard Carra groin strain.

[Aido82]

that has been coming the last 20 minutes

FFS

[G&H_OUT]

F**K

[TrueRed92]

i knew rosisky would be trouble... he is well better than nasri...

come on the pool!!!

[MrsPepe]

F**K


IT!!

[TrueRed92]

ngog is lost 2nite... we need pace... babel please

[Andrew]

B*ll*x :mad:

[Aido82]

and maxi, get maxi off, fooking useless tonight

[G&H_OUT]

thing is

arsenal were there for the taking tonight

wasted chance

come on the pool

[TrueRed92]

great move

[GaryMc]

Another fkin donkey scored against us this season. Sickner as better team

[marathonman]

http://www.iraqgoals.net/6053-arsenal-vs-liverpool-fc-.html
perfect stream and no andy gray

[aquaman]

degen didnt bother to pick diaby up for the goal the tool!!!

[up the pool]

whats happening lads im in the dark here do we look like scoreing??

[TrueRed92]

whats happening lads im in the dark here do we look like scoreing??

babel jus hit the bar... were on top now.. few cormers and tat

[barrydoherty]

Unlucky by Babel

[TrueRed92]

Unlucky by Babel

why cant he do tat all the time

[7Cannibal-9Asbo]

The lad has such a dinger of a shot if only he'd show a better attitude he'd be great

[stevieg05]

Babel shows again why he should be gettin a lot more game time. Not 5 or 10 mins here and there. He is much more dangerous than ngog and maxi. Fantastic shot and great 1st touch to get away from his man to set it up.

[GaryMc]

Almunia makes his only save of the season from Babel

Maxi lookin like a free transfer.

[TrueRed92]

tat was a fckin peno

[MrsPepe]

Blatant hand ball there

[JMurray#8]

Thought one of the obvious keys to being successful against arsenal is breaking quickly and catching them on the break but tonight we were just so slow with our possession of the ball. Nobody breaking their bollox to get up and support with Ngog whenever he had the ball. Really thought arsenal were there for the taking tonight if we just were a little more daring...

[TrueRed92]

look on the bright side lads.. spurs lost and villa drew

[barnieslad]

BLATANT handball right at the death but you know what you get with Howard Webb.

Should have beaten them tonight.

[travis]

ah well fourth it is,

[Andrew]

Blatant handball if ever there was one.

Not good enough. We should have been able to at least draw here. Esp with the way the other results went. ManU & Villa drop 2, Chelsea and Spurs drop 3. The only winners today are Man City who have a great chance at 4th spot.... and maybe ManU who are a point closer to Chelsea.

[G&H_OUT]

why cant he do tat all the time

what hit the bar ??

wouldnt want that alot

[Raven136]

deserved nothing,got nothing,simple as

[up the pool]

look on the bright side lads.. spurs lost and villa drew

its man city are the danger tous not them if we get beat by city at wkend its gona be very tough to finish 4th

[Aido82]

look on the bright side lads.. spurs lost and villa drew

yep, and man city have 2 games in hand and there on the same points, what bright side:rolleyes:

[wonit5times]

Fabregas is a ****!!

[trucker]

Did'nt deserve to lose that game, Webb is either a cheating or a blind cnut. thought agger and Skertle played very well, one moment of excellent football won it.

[randywatson]

Thought one of the obvious keys to being successful against arsenal is breaking quickly and catching them on the break but tonight we were just so slow with our possession of the ball. Nobody breaking their bollox to get up and support with Ngog whenever he had the ball. Really thought arsenal were there for the taking tonight if we just were a little more daring...

too true

i keep harping this point to friends/missus, anybody he has ears to be honest

but is it really too much to expect, that i want our players leaving the pitch in near oxygen distress??? make a ****ing effort!

slow, laboured, and back to our usual form of this season.....i actually cannot remember the last time ive seen us play well, and been convinced during the game that we would win, we're just so slow, i cannot understand how we're so bloody slow :confused:

[Benbecul97]

look on the bright side lads.. spurs lost and villa drew

Yeah, but Man City won last night, are now level on points and have 2 games in hand!

[travis]

Yeah, but Man City won last night, are now level on points and have 2 games in hand!

we'll beat city

[Gray72]

Yes you guessed it. Gerrard in the paper larging it up, we're after 3rd not 4th. And what do we get, yet another toothless display for a team who consistently show a lack of real desire and creativity. Our best player tonight was Skertel by a mile, Gerrard was competing with the consistent Insua as the worst and bar an effort from Babel we failed to test the keeper and our set pieces were again crap!!!!

I don't get it, Rafa has a knack of buying creative players who lack any confidence in advanced positions. i thought Maxi was poor and Kuyt back to his usual self. Ngog let the game pass him by and insua let everyone turn him and yet again was at fault with the goal. What really hurts is Arsenal were woeful. We strung 7 games together without losing, oh and without playing well so people will come on here and say that. However when was the last time we played well, when did we really hammer a team, when was a team put to the sword and when will we realise that Ngog up top contributes nothing.

This was a real opportunity to impose ourselves on 4th and we just sat back and let it pass us by. We seemed content in trying to stop them playing and scoring and when they got the goal the game was won.:mad:

[Yoko]

**** off to spain fabregas

[Raven136]

Did'nt deserve to lose that game, Webb is either a cheating or a blind cnut. thought agger and Skertle played very well, one moment of excellent football won it.

we did deserve to lose,they almost trebled our attempts on target,we were woeful once we left the edge of our box and the handball mistake does not take away from that.
Shocking game of football but we deserved nothing from it.

[Benbecul97]

we'll beat city

We need to beat city...although with the results in the last 3 away games im not hopeful.

[prendy]

bad result, arsenal were there for the taking, they started like a team low on confidence but we let them coast their way into the game. we should have put them under more pressure in the first half.


2 things became so blatently obvious to me tonight.
gerrard is way way better as a CM then he is playing off the striker unless he has an alonso type passer palying him in all the time. fact is with 2 limited passers like masc and lucas he doesnt get enough quality ball to make a difference up the pitch. last 15 when lucas(who i though did well but badly needs a goal) was taken off gerrard was running the show, picking passes left right and centre.

second is babel should be our number 1 back up for nando. dont get me wrong i do think ngog will be a good player but the fact is that at the moment he is not good enough to lead the line for us. Babel is stronger and is not afraid to shoot.

EDit to day im not a Babel lover but i think he's better than Ngog at the moment(just seen Daz's comment)
we messed up tonight with Chelsea Man U Villa and Spurs all dropping points we played an under par arsenal and should have taken the 3 points.

we are playing much better than we have been though.:)

[red_shamrock]

we'll beat city

Do you promise??

[trucker]

Ngog let the game pass him by and insua let everyone turn him and yet again was at fault with the goal. .:mad:

2 things there mate before I head off to bed, Ngog had to lead the line on his own again and thats not an easy task to do against 2 top class centre halfs, and how the fcuk was the goal insuas fault, they got a lucky break Bentdner played it to Rosisky who hit the best pass of the game to the tallest player on the pitch to barely reach it, it was a good goal strangly that happens sometimes in games its not always a mistake.

[Daz]

I really don't see how people can call that a toothless display. The game could easily have swung either way. nothing in the first half. we created the first clear cut chance which ngog should have done better with and had he done so I feel we'd havewent on to win. They hardly carved us open over and over again

[prendy]

Did'nt deserve to lose that game, Webb is either a cheating or a blind cnut. thought agger and Skertle played very well, one moment of excellent football won it.

im sorry but we didnt deserve to win it either and watch the arsenal goal again. where were either of our CB's???

he walked in to the 6 yard box and had noone near him. i blame the two CB's for that.

[TrueRed92]

what hit the bar ??

wouldnt want that alot

i meant make space like tat and create chances

[Daz]

And before any more Babel lovers comemoaning he should be playing every game - he does fcuak ll when he starts and if he had to play up front on his own he'd be a disaster imo

[TrueRed92]

yep, and man city have 2 games in hand and there on the same points, what bright side:rolleyes:

ye but it would be nicer 2 hav 1 contentin wit us instead of three

[babbsnads]

Poor Tonight.Aurelio needs to come back in for insua.no way maxi will start the weekend and I'd give babel a start in place of ngog.city game is huge and 3 points is a must.

[byrnetred]

played much better when degan came on and carra went off, we passed and controlled the ball alot more on the deck instead of it been hoofed up in the air all the time

n'gog tries his best up there but no one can expect him to do much when he's up there on his own against the arsenal back 4

[7Cannibal-9Asbo]

I really don't see how people can call that a toothless display. The game could easily have swung either way. nothing in the first half. we created the first clear cut chance which ngog should have done better with and had he done so I feel we'd havewent on to win. They hardly carved us open over and over again

Good to see someone looking at the game and not giving a knee-jerk post

+1

It was heading for a 0-0 only for one good piece of play, there was no domination where you could say we should have been hammered and we were unlucky not to see Babel's shot in the back of the net.

[Andrew]

And before any more Babel lovers comemoaning he should be playing every game - he does fcuak ll when he starts and if he had to play up front on his own he'd be a disaster imo

and he was far worse than N'Gog when he came on in the game against Everton. Don't mistake one shot off the post for quality.

[up the pool]

how many of the big boys do city ave to play?

[graham]

We probably didn't deserve a result but that's disgraceful from the ref. What's the point in playing the game anymore if the ref's are gonna carry on like that ffs. They need to start investigating these ref's because their making a mockery of the game. I don't mind losing fairly but we don't deserve that crap. Rafa's shown them so much respect and look how they treat us. The likes of piss head Ferguson says what he wants and still gets all the right decisions as well as magical stoppage time that the officials pull out of nowhere

[Raven136]

city level on points with 2 games in hand.They can afford a loss against us even

[Andrew]

how many of the big boys do city ave to play?

Liverpool (H)
Chelsea (A)
Spurs (H)

is their next 3 games

then an "easy run"

with a though end to the season

ManU (H)
Arsenal (A)
Villa (H)
West Ham (A)
Everton (H)

We, on the other hand, have ManU (A) and Chelsea (H) left out of the top 7 or so.

[GaryMc]

I see after a break the professors of doom are back. It wAs a tight game. Lucas had a good chance, as did Maxi. Torres would have buried that one on one Ngog missed. I thought Ngog did ok but he is light years from Torres.

Arsenal had a few attempts but were very lucky ESP with that handball atthe death. I thought in general play Webb was kind to us but not when it counted.

Not too despondent after this As I was after other defeats this season. The lacking of strikers in reserve is the real sickner. Ngog is still too raw ESP for 4-5-1.

[serpheus]

Yes you guessed it. Gerrard in the paper larging it up, we're after 3rd not 4th. And what do we get, yet another toothless display for a team who consistently show a lack of real desire and creativity. Our best player tonight was Skertel by a mile, Gerrard was competing with the consistent Insua as the worst and bar an effort from Babel we failed to test the keeper and our set pieces were again crap!!!!

I don't get it, Rafa has a knack of buying creative players who lack any confidence in advanced positions. i thought Maxi was poor and Kuyt back to his usual self. Ngog let the game pass him by and insua let everyone turn him and yet again was at fault with the goal. What really hurts is Arsenal were woeful. We strung 7 games together without losing, oh and without playing well so people will come on here and say that. However when was the last time we played well, when did we really hammer a team, when was a team put to the sword and when will we realise that Ngog up top contributes nothing.

This was a real opportunity to impose ourselves on 4th and we just sat back and let it pass us by. We seemed content in trying to stop them playing and scoring and when they got the goal the game was won.:mad:
No doubt you will get slated but i agree with what you said.

[dubit10]

Very poor tonight. That is a very weak Arsenal team and they where there for the taking and we failed to take advantage of that. Very pissed off tbh.:mad: And anyone who thinks the league is'nt bent after that call by the referee in the last minute needs to kop the hell on. Something really needs to be done about the standard of the officals in general at this stage.

[Gray72]

2 things there mate before I head off to bed, Ngog had to lead the line on his own again and thats not an easy task to do against 2 top class centre halfs, and how the fcuk was the goal insuas fault, they got a lucky break Bentdner played it to Rosisky who hit the best pass of the game to the tallest player on the pitch to barely reach it, it was a good goal strangly that happens sometimes in games its not always a mistake.

Insua was lazy coming back then caught ball watching and Rosicky was left to cross. He was definately to blame and was very poor again. Like I said Ngog ain't good enough to lead the line. I know it ain't easy that's why he struggles. He has a good game every 4 which won't help us. Watch the goal again and tell me Insua was were he should have been!

[clayton]

maxi rodrigues was our best player, class tonight !!

[up the pool]

while we are at it that maxi is a fcuking waste of space too and dont say give him a chance premier league is faster shite he just dont cut it and neither does aquallani for that matter i havent seen him have a half decent game yet either:(

[Daz]

screw it i'm going to bed

[stevieg05]

And before any more Babel lovers comemoaning he should be playing every game - he does fcuak ll when he starts and if he had to play up front on his own he'd be a disaster imo

He shud def be playin more games, whether starting or at least gettin half an hour, instead of being lucky to get 5-10 mins at the end when there are players like ngog and maxi on the pitch ahead of him.

[GaryMc]

screw it i'm going to bed

We lost a tight game to a team who were top a few games ago. The Rafa thread will be chocker with some dirt very soon no doubt

[byrnetred]

maxi rodrigues was our best player, class tonight !!

while we are at it that maxi is a fcuking waste of space too and dont say give him a chance premier league is faster shite he just dont cut it and neither does aquallani for that matter i havent seen him have a half decent game yet either:(

class both posted within a minute of each other

good night all:D

[trucker]

Insua was lazy coming back then caught ball watching and Rosicky was left to cross. He was definately to blame and was very poor again. Like I said Ngog ain't good enough to lead the line. I know it ain't easy that's why he struggles. He has a good game every 4 which won't help us. Watch the goal again and tell me Insua was were he should have been!

So were should he have been standing 6 inches away from him?,he was holding the line with the rest of the defence bendner tryed to cross it got a lucky bounce back, which would have got all the players on the hop, gives it to Rosicky who put in a great cross, it happens sometimes and you've gotta say it was a great cross and Diaby done well to get to it, if anybody was to blame it was whoever should have been tracking Diaby.
Drogba Torres and Rooney are the only 3 players in the league that can lead the line and do a great job on there own, Ngog is 20 years old and has been asked to do a job that the 3 best strikers in the world are only capable of doing, give the lad a break, when hes played with somebody else up front he's done well, I thought we done ok tonight and without the pace of Torres and Johnson and the ability to find a pass of Yossi we were always gona struggle to get a goal tonight. Goodnight all;)

[vincenzo]

Disapointed with the result tonight but I thought the performance was much better than some of our other defeats. They kept their heads up after going a goal down and only for Almunias fingertips we would have got a deserved draw. The defending for the goal was poor from Insua and Degen though and the lack of a quality striker upfront was clear to see. Despite the defeat I still think we'll make fourth.

[TrueRed92]

while we are at it that maxi is a fcuking waste of space too and dont say give him a chance premier league is faster shite he just dont cut it and neither does aquallani for that matter i havent seen him have a half decent game yet either:(

why did he always come in field he gave us no width wat so ever...

[sean72]

Terrible result tonight. Arsenal are a real struggle for us in resent years and I guess tonight is no different. That said it was tight......but we still walk away with nothing

[Niall]

So were should he have been standing 6 inches away from him?,he was holding the line with the rest of the defence bendner tryed to cross it got a lucky bounce back, which would have got all the players on the hop, gives it to Rosicky who put in a great cross, it happens sometimes and you've gotta say it was a great cross and Diaby done well to get to it, if anybody was to blame it was whoever should have been tracking Diaby. Drogba Torres and Rooney are the only 3 players in the league that can lead the line and do a great job on there own, Ngog is 20 years old and has been asked to do a job that the 3 best strikers in the world are only capable of doing, give the lad a break, when hes played with somebody else up front he's done well, I thought we done ok tonight and without the pace of Torres and Johnson and the ability to find a pass of Yossi we were always gona struggle to get a goal tonight. Goodnight all;)

Spot on exactly what i thought.

[vincenzo]

Spot on exactly what i thought.
It was Degen...ball watching.

[Gray72]

So were should he have been standing 6 inches away from him?,he was holding the line with the rest of the defence bendner tryed to cross it got a lucky bounce back, which would have got all the players on the hop, gives it to Rosicky who put in a great cross, it happens sometimes and you've gotta say it was a great cross and Diaby done well to get to it, if anybody was to blame it was whoever should have been tracking Diaby.
Drogba Torres and Rooney are the only 3 players in the league that can lead the line and do a great job on there own, Ngog is 20 years old and has been asked to do a job that the 3 best strikers in the world are only capable of doing, give the lad a break, when hes played with somebody else up front he's done well, I thought we done ok tonight and without the pace of Torres and Johnson and the ability to find a pass of Yossi we were always gona struggle to get a goal tonight. Goodnight all;)

I know they got a lucky break but Insua spent the night chasing shadows. He is woeful and went missing for the goal. He is our left back and should have been on Rosicky when he had the ball instead of chasing into the middle when it was covered. It is quite simply, insua was drawn to the ball and his lack of positional sense cost us. It wasn't the first time this season or tonight.

Ngog like I said plays well every 4th game. He lacks movement, vision, a goal, creativity, strength and pace. i know what age he is, i know how difficult it is to play the lone role and i'm saying yhe ain't good enough! his game has shown no signs of improvement.

[garyc]

Thought we looked decent enough at the back, and STEADY in midfield...........but STEADY isnt good enough!!
Once again our complete lack of creativity in midfield cost us!!
We were unlucky to loose in the end but at the same time we never looked like winning it in a milion years, apart from Ngog's one on one wit the keeper we didnt create enough!!


bad result, arsenal were there for the taking, they started like a team low on confidence but we let them coast their way into the game. we should have put them under more pressure in the first half.


2 things became so blatently obvious to me tonight.
gerrard is way way better as a CM then he is playing off the striker unless he has an alonso type passer palying him in all the time. fact is with 2 limited passers like masc and lucas he doesnt get enough quality ball to make a difference up the pitch. last 15 when lucas(who i though did well but badly needs a goal) was taken off gerrard was running the show, picking passes left right and centre.

second is babel should be our number 1 back up for nando. dont get me wrong i do think ngog will be a good player but the fact is that at the moment he is not good enough to lead the line for us. Babel is stronger and is not afraid to shoot.

EDit to day im not a Babel lover but i think he's better than Ngog at the moment(just seen Daz's comment)
we messed up tonight with Chelsea Man U Villa and Spurs all dropping points we played an under par arsenal and should have taken the 3 points.

we are playing much better than we have been though.:)

Would definitely have to aggree with you on pont 2 there Prendy..............tonite really showed me how much we miss alonso's creativity in midfield, someone who can pick a pass that will unlock a defence!!
Two defensive mids just doesnt cut it!!
The thing that really depresses me about tonight's game is when you contrast it to when the Scum went there over the weekend.............
The sooner we get Magic and Nando back fit the better!!

[dazzlermac]

**** my life

[Maverick]

Simple as this lads,lost a game we should have drawn.Ngog was putrid,he isnt good enough, he may be some day but Babel should be preferred to him regardless of past performances he is just better IMO.We matched 3rd in the league IMO opinion so this defeat isnt the end of the world.Bring on City a win is crucial now.

[liverbird!!]

Disapointed with the result tonight but I thought the performance was much better than some of our other defeats. They kept their heads up after going a goal down and only for Almunias fingertips we would have got a deserved draw. The defending for the goal was poor from Insua and Degen though and the lack of a quality striker upfront was clear to see. Despite the defeat I still think we'll make fourth.


+1 Vinny. The only thing is hope we have fouth sown up before Chelsea game
don't fancy having to beat them and them manc ****s winning the title, now that will give everyone something to moan about!

[macca]

Not a total disaster tonight. Should have had a peno but arsenal probably shaded it overall. We currently arent a team who can go there expecting a win. A draw would have been a bonus tonight but it wasn't to be. The important thing is we get results in the games we should between now and the end of the season and hope that will take us to 4th which is the be all and end all for us this season. I'm firmly anti rafa but even i can realise when its time to shut up. I can even ignore the sc*ms inevitable title challenge cause all i hope for out of this season is a champions league spot for us. City would probably have to be slight favourites for 4th but we have nando to come back and maybe the easier run of games. We have to try get as much out of each game and when thats done hope teams around us drop points and pray the balance will have shifted in our favour by the end of the season
Oh and walk on

[7Cannibal-9Asbo]

People need to stop knee jerking with their post, whenever we're doing well it just seems like people are just waiting in the shadows for the next screw up so they can tear the performance apart. The Benitez thread will go mental after this and we're going to end up calling for his head next.

We didn't play terribly tonight and people do have to give Aqua and Maxi a chance to adapt to a new league cause this team is also a step up from the teams they came from, we play at a different level usually and our "fans" are way too fickle.

People slated Benayoun up until 12/13 months ago and Lucas is still slated for a player who has come on a lot and nearly to the point where it's disappointing to see him taken off at times.

[clayton]

class both posted within a minute of each other

good night all:D

if you don't smell the sarcasm off my post, well then................... ;) ;)

[rkdanny]

A decent striker would of put N'gog's chance in the back of the net.
How many games has he gone now without a goal?
Babel looked sharp when he came on - He should be starting ahead of N'gog and get goodrun in the team..I'm very annoyed Riera is not playing. Grrrr!

[gowinit6times]

Not a bad performance but these days its all perspiration rather than inspiration and against the top teams the lack of creativity is very obvious. Arsenal were not at their best yet edged the game and probably deserved to win. I can't understand how Fabio hasn't displaced Insua at LB who appears to lack the pace and positional sense to be a top player. On a positive it was good to see the Skrtel of old return tonight, i hope he can build on that great performance.

[Liverpool-law]

Thought we played pretty well but we are obviously missing a cutting edge. That little fcker Fab handled the ball at the end. We really don't get the breaks, not so sure about this luck balancing out shit...

[NiallD]

Why let the story of the game get the way of analysing the final result for a few in here, once a fcuking again.

Disappointed as anyone but we've had worse defeats this season.

[graham]

if you don't smell the sarcasm off my post, well then................... ;) ;)

He had a poor game. He needs time mate he's not match fit. He didn't play alot of football for Atletico this season. Anyone who's seen him in the past knows he's a class footballer

[redabbey]

Disappointed as anyone but we've had worse defeats this season.

100% accurate Niall. An example was the beachball result in the Sunderland game. It influenced the game but Liverpool were really lucky not to have been defeated by a much larger margin that afternoon.

[NiallD]

100% accurate Niall. An example was the beachball result in the Sunderland game. It influenced the game but Liverpool were really lucky not to have been defeated by a much larger margin that afternoon.

:D

[Molby Is a Legend]

FFS bit os perspective here lads and lassies

from our last 8 games we have won 6 lost 1 drew 1 conceding 2 goals?
Stop looking for scapegoats in the players we were beaten by a very good passage of play and a terrible refs decision, this time 5 weeks ago we wold have been happy to only lose 1 nil tonight we are getting our season back on track ok i think we left three points behind us tonight but they are gone now, next game please and beat city

[bobby benitez]

I've always taught that when you play for 0-0 and you lose then you can have no complaints.

I said in opening post that I'd take a 0-0 but the lack of ambition tonight when a blind man could see Arsenal were there for the taking was criminal. The Emirates was silent, Arsenal couldnt string 2 passes together and Fabregas was having his worst ever Arsenal game. We played 0% risk football tonight, we had 6 or 7 opportunities to play a defence spillting pass but instead we played safety 1st in the corner.

As for the criticisim of Maxi, I'd say totally uncalled for. He is clearly playing the role the manager has asked of him and unfortunatley thats a negative role due to current circumstances (I hope)

Will go to bed wondering what might have been:(

[4tothefloor]

Neither side deserved three points tonight, the worst Liverpool - Arsenal game I've seen since the one under Souness when Whelan scored to win at Highbury.

We may have been grinding out results recently but our play and tactics are septic. Squad needs a major overhaul and injection of fresh blood. A few ideas from the bench from our world class manager would be nice too, like a plan B for starters. It would also be nice to see our world class manager take the initiative for a change and make subs/changes to win the game when it's there for the taking, rather then waiting till it's too late or till we go behind to react. No ambition, play it safe, negativity, negativity, negativity.....

Maxi Rodriguez on the left and Riera on the bench? Hmmm

[GaryMc]

Neither side deserved three points tonight, the worst Liverpool - Arsenal game I've seen since the one under Souness when Whelan scored to win at Highbury.

We may have been grinding out results recently but our play and tactics are septic. Squad needs a major overhaul and injection of fresh blood. A few ideas from the bench from our world class manager would be nice too, like a plan B for starters. It would also be nice to see our world class manager take the initiative for a change and make subs/changes to win the game when it's there for the taking, rather then waiting till it's too late or till we go behind to react. No ambition, play it safe, negativity, negativity, negativity.....

Maxi Rodriguez on the left and Riera on the bench? Hmmm

bearing in mind what purslow had to say to SOS about funds for transfers, what players from current squad would you sell to finance the overhaul?

[Maverick]

We are by no means back to square one,we took good form into this game,we lost fair enough but this was a battle between 2 giants who arent playing good football and it was always going to come down to one clear cut chance to make the difference.We pick ourselves up now and enjoy a break before playing city.Its amazing how Spurs recent results arent being scrutinised as badly as ours have been,but thats a different story.If we beat city this result will be easily forgotten.No need for panic yet lads,i believe this to be a slight blip at most.

[Gray72]

Two steps forward and 3 back every week. This season has been a woeful mess and unfortunately every time we get beaten we are exposed for the defensive and cautious side we are. We should have smelt blood tonight but didn't want it bad enough.

[SOC]

Two steps forward and 3 back every week. This season has been a woeful mess and unfortunately every time we get beaten we are exposed for the defensive and cautious side we are. We should have smelt blood tonight but didn't want it bad enough.

I think this myself, the arsenal were there for the taking tonight, I think alot of fans thought that tonight.

[carpe diem]

thought myself at halftime we were nailed on for a draw or a win,even though we lacked creativity i thought we'd sneak it,we seriously need torres and benni back if we have a chance at fourth,the away game at city is massive.

[Maverick]

thought myself at halftime we were nailed on for a draw or a win,even though we lacked creativity i thought we'd sneak it,we seriously need torres and benni back if we have a chance at fourth,the away game at city is massive.

Massive is right,id go as far to say a must win.Will Torres be fit for the City match?

[carpe diem]

maverick rumours are flying that he's training his @rse off so fingers crossed he plays some part mate.

[SOC]

thought myself at halftime we were nailed on for a draw or a win,even though we lacked creativity i thought we'd sneak it,we seriously need torres and benni back if we have a chance at fourth,the away game at city is massive.

Massive is an understatement, we lose would could be staring down the barrel, 7-9 points behind City in 4th going into March.

We will have to change the thread opener for that one, Bobby Benitez's unbeaten run has come to an end!;)

[Maverick]

maverick rumours are flying that he's training his @rse off so fingers crossed he plays some part mate.

I hope youre right,at least theres a break before we play them, we need nando againt city,i cant watch Ngog anymore,he is like watching a daddy long legs banging off a window.:D

[gavindoyle]

Sorry lads but that performance wasn't great the amount of hoofing was unreal there was snow on some balls. In fairness we didn't look like scoring till arsenal did wrecks my head that why not try to score when its 0-0 rather than going one down :(:(:(

[SHOWTIME]

Yes you guessed it. Gerrard in the paper larging it up, we're after 3rd not 4th. And what do we get, yet another toothless display for a team who consistently show a lack of real desire and creativity. Our best player tonight was Skertel by a mile, Gerrard was competing with the consistent Insua as the worst and bar an effort from Babel we failed to test the keeper and our set pieces were again crap!!!!

I don't get it, Rafa has a knack of buying creative players who lack any confidence in advanced positions. i thought Maxi was poor and Kuyt back to his usual self. Ngog let the game pass him by and insua let everyone turn him and yet again was at fault with the goal. What really hurts is Arsenal were woeful. We strung 7 games together without losing, oh and without playing well so people will come on here and say that. However when was the last time we played well, when did we really hammer a team, when was a team put to the sword and when will we realise that Ngog up top contributes nothing.

This was a real opportunity to impose ourselves on 4th and we just sat back and let it pass us by. We seemed content in trying to stop them playing and scoring and when they got the goal the game was won.:mad:

Must say I agree with everything you said!!

Am not gonna bother commenting about the match cause I'm fuming cause they were there for the fcuking taking!!

[ROCCO]

maverick rumours are flying that he's training his @rse off so fingers crossed he plays some part mate.

Torres ? Benayoun will be back for sure ..

[sallycinnamon]

I thought the match was pretty boring last night n feel a bit sorry for Ngog he gets thrown around like Bambi ! I think if Babel were to get a run now for a while with Torres out instead of Ngog he will pull out a few decent performances. The shot he had when he came on last night was a cracker . How come no Aquilani last night ? It's good to see , even though we lost that we are starting to improve and find some belief.

[MrsPepe]

Aqualini was sick

[mushypea]

We didnt deserve to win as we didnt have a proper go at Arsenal who were certainly there for the taking. If we showed more ambition we might have nicked the 3 points last night but unfortunately it was Arsenal who took one of their few chances & we didnt.

I definately think we deserved a point last night. We had Arsenal wrapped up in the first half & in the 2nd half we opened up a bit we let them in. Rafa set the team up not to be beaten & unfortunately it didnt go to plan. Shame really as Arsenal like i said, were there to be beaten.

Thought Skrtel was excellant. Ngog fed off scraps bar one through ball from Gerrard who had a decent game although it was good to see the Gerrard of old back in the middle when Lucas came off & dropping for the ball & looking for the killer pass. I think its no good having stevie up front when he's playing off Ngog.

Maxi was disappointing. He hasnt shown too much of what we hoped for even though he's been given plenty of game time so hopefully he can step it up. Lucas had a good game. Good on the ball & got himself about. Masch was his usual self but his passing has certainly improved.

Average performance on the whole but dont think we were as bad as some people are making out. Im 100% sure that if Carra was on the pitch then Arsenal wouldnt have scored. Degen & Kuyt to a degree were at fault for the goal.

We'll certainly have to be more ambitious against City & i think Rafa should let the team play & take the reins off. I think we are more than capable of going there & getting a win so lets hope thats the case. There will certainly be more twists & turns for the race for 4th and who knows, 3rd aswell.

[RedArmagh]

can anyone tell me why Riera wasnt playing and then why he wasnt brought on? Maxi down the left wing was an absolute disaster again. i really dont understand Rafa sometimes

[1_mossy_1]

can anyone tell me why Riera wasnt playing and then why he wasnt brought on? Maxi down the left wing was an absolute disaster again. i really dont understand Rafa sometimes

Same as mate.. he diden even get back 2 help insua either. would have even put babel on the left b4 maxi.. not impressed with his contribution so far..