Liverpool v Utd 16/12/08

[Aido82]

OK, this is the big one, us against them.

Since alot of us want the league more than the CL im hoping we get through tuesday easy enough, nice early goal or two then sub stevie, torres and carra again save them for this one.

Utd flying high and playing well, us not playing great but still there or thereabouts.

Rafa knows this has to be win for us, fans expectaction and the yanks coming over.

Dont think there will be many goals in this, im thinking 1-0 torres and im hoping we play a formation something along the line of this:

Reina,
Finnan, Carra, Agger, Arbeloa,
Babel, Mascherano, Lucas, Kewell,
Gerrard
Torres

What we reckon?

[carramagic]

Would go with that team except Riise for Arbeloa, Gerrard in the centre of midfield and Crouch up front

[mypost]

Since alot of us want the league more than the CL im hoping we get through tuesday easy enough, nice early goal or two then sub stevie, torres and carra again save them for this one.

We only beat Toulouse narrowly out there a few months ago, and lost to Marseille at home. The atmosphere will be partizan, the confidence will be dented after Saturday, and Marseille are a good side. Forget talk of easy rides. Tuesday night's game is going to be just as hard as Sunday's.

[Aido82]

Any idea if agger is back

[redeagle]

can't wait for this now. Very difficult game to call. I expect us to be more adventurous at home like we were last season at anfield. But we have the might torres and crouchasaurous. RAAAAAAAR

reina
finnan cara sami arbeloa
gerard masch lucas babel
kuyt
torres

just think we need a player who can really pick a pass from a deep position. I miss alonso <3

[galwayred]

Can't wait for this now, I'm fairly confident about it. Although I won't say that to any Mancs, who as ever are cock-sure of themselves. I always have this awful nagging feeling ahead of these game all the same.

If we can win our next 2 league games we are laughing. Beating Yernited would get us right back in the mix, while following it up with a win against Pompey would see us move away from the group of teams just below the top-4 places.

[GaryMc]

After such a great result, I reckon Rafa should not make two many changes.

Finnan in at RB with Arbeloa in to nail that winker Ronaldo

For me Babel at the moment is better as an impact player, so start with Kewell.

[Fowler's God]

It will be nearly six years to the day when Danny Murphy got the goal when we won at their place for the first time since early 90's.

[dave]

Reina

Finnan Carra Sami Arbeloa

Yossi Gerrard Mascherano Harry

Crouch Torres

[mypost]

It will be nearly six years to the day when Danny Murphy got the goal when we won at their place for the first time since early 90's.

Seven :(

It's six years since we last beat them at home in the league.

[Fowler's God]

Ah ye it was 17th December 2000 lol

[paddyb]

i think the team will more or less pick itself for this one. the only position in doubt for me is who will play along side torres?

reina

finnan carra hyppia arbeloa
benayoun gerrard mascherano kewell
torres crouch/kuyt

[sean]

reina

finnan carra hyppia arbeloa
benayoun gerrard mascherano kewell
torres crouch/kuyt

I'd go along with that, and Babel to come off the bench (again) and score a late goal (again).

[callyno3]

finnan carra hyppia arbeloa
benayoun gerrard mascherano riise
torres crouch

I think rafa might put jar on left midfield to stop that orange fake tan muppet ronaldo. and to score another rocket of a goal.
I wouldn't mind seein babel startin either.
2-0 to the reds.torres and yossi.

[The Chanter]

-----------Reina-------------------
arbeloa ----carra ----hyypia -----riise
benayoun -- gerrard - mascherano--kewell
-----------kuyt torres--------------

Thought last night's line up was probably the strongest available and if Finnan, Agger and Alonso are still injured then I'd like to see the same team again on Sunday..

Subs
Crouch - Hasn't looked his best alongside Torres
Babel - looks dangerouse through the middle
Hobbs - Needed for cover

[walsheman1]

finnan will come in,arbeloa will be switched back to left to mark finnan.......hope crouch comes in for kuyt,but saying that,kuyt was very impressive last night and maybe he was taken off so he cud be saved for sunday

[Westlake]

Ah ye it was 17th December 2000 lol

That was my 12th birthday, I was in the pub with my family and a few United following mates. Magical! :D

I can't wait to beat these on Saturday. I hope Agger is back, and Alonso. Start Kewell, and then Torres and Kuyt up front?

[Thanx]

That was my 12th birthday, I was in the pub with my family and a few United following mates. Magical! :D

I can't wait to beat these on Saturday. I hope Agger is back, and Alonso. Start Kewell, and then Torres and Kuyt up front?

Well you'll be waiting for a while for us to beat them at home on saturday, the game i on sun :D

[stephenocall]

i can see us pulling off a big result on sunday and im backing them to win 3-0.....just have this hunch........seemingly utd's defence has been untouchable this season.......bull......they havent been properly tested apart from arsenal and we saw what happened there......ronaldo wont hack the atmosphere and rooney couldnt score if he tried......
3-0 to the pool........

[GaryMc]

John Duggan Tipped us on Today FM this morning, so prepare for heartbreak :)

[wickla_mucker]

Dont change the team from the other night...
I too have a great feeling about this game - put us right back in the race :D
kewell is making a HUGE impact at the moment and el nino is untouchable - he is going to clean crooked mouth out of it on sunday!
lets show the yanks what we really can do!

[JamesM]

If Aurelio is fully fit id prob bring him in instead of Riise, is passing is sublime..Apart from that id play the team from the other night, cant wait for it.

[Aido82]

wouldnt mind seeing someone doing a job on ronaldo, in saying that the refs should be alerted to ronaldos diving.

Who is reffing this one, hope it aint mike riley or rob styles

[Bren100]

Reina,
Finnan, Carra, Agger, Arbeloa,
Babel, Mascherano, Lucas, Kewell,
Gerrard
Torres

What we reckon?

Switching Risse for Kewell, Id start the same

[south]

i don't think Agger is ready for this one .

[sean]

i don't think Agger is ready for this one .

Thats right, he's being left out of the squad this weekend according to SSN.

[Liverpool-law]

I'm pretty sure Finnan is injured as well for all those teams above wiht him in it...

[Jazzmaster]

I'm pretty sure Finnan is injured as well for all those teams above wiht him in it...

As long as Riise doesnt play i'll be happy with whatever team he puts out.

[sean]

Agger out, Finnan doubtful, and Alonso in line for a surprise return...

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_2967707,00.html

[Fowler's God]

United's lucky charm from last season is out also.

[Garrett]

We'll miss Agger & Finnan I suspect ...

although Alonso & Gerard in centre could be very good, assuming Alonso is back to his best.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N158045071213-1433.htm

[redeagle]

United's lucky charm from last season is out also.

??

[loppy]

^^^^^^^^^^^
think he's talking about josh.
I'm feeling pretty confident, 3-0, have the day off work, will be settling in the local nice and early for this one. hopefully the same team as tuesday night.

[Fowler's God]

??

John O'Shea

[Thanx]

John O'Shea

If he sticks another one against us I will go crazy.

[redeagle]

lol, 40 yard overhead kick.

[fitzpatrickgary]

reina
finnan carra hyppia(too soon for agger i think) arbeloa
yossi gerrard masch risse
kuyt
torres

[Jockser]

4-1

[stevieg]

reina
finnan carra hyppia(too soon for agger i think) arbeloa
yossi gerrard masch risse
kuyt
torres

Go with that too!

[GaryMc]

Check this out from Lawro on bbc website, he would really make you want to watch football. He has picked us for a win though

---------------
SUNDAY

Liverpool v Man Utd (1330)


Liverpool will win this one - they know they have to if they are going to make any challenge for the title. They lost to United twice last year but Liverpool created a whole host of chances in the matches and were a little bit unfortunate, I feel.

Why people get excited about these games, though, I will never know. They are never good games to watch - they are absolutely awful!


Match preview
Prediction: 1-0



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Arsenal v Chelsea (1600)


Neither team wants to lose this one and I think it could end up being a bore draw - it'll be an even worse game than Liverpool v Man Utd!

Chelsea are without Didier Drogba and I cannot see where their goals might come from. They will play it very, very tight in midfield and Arsenal - without Cesc Fabregas in midfield - will find it so difficult to break them down.


Match preview
Prediction: 0-0

------------

[mypost]

Why people get excited about these games, though, I will never know. They are never good games to watch - they are absolutely awful!

Match preview
Prediction: 1-0

F the quality of the game, the result means everything.

[Pimboli]

F the quality of the game, the result means everything.

Have to agree I couldnt care less how we win as long as we win I'd even take Stevie scoring a 40 yard 17 deflections on the way through goal

[Kopite]

Check this out from Lawro on bbc website, he would really make you want to watch football. He has picked us for a win though

---------------
SUNDAY

Liverpool v Man Utd (1330)


Liverpool will win this one - they know they have to if they are going to make any challenge for the title. They lost to United twice last year but Liverpool created a whole host of chances in the matches and were a little bit unfortunate, I feel.

Why people get excited about these games, though, I will never know. They are never good games to watch - they are absolutely awful!


------------
Isn't Lawrenson an absolute tool, so liverpool win he ugliest game ever with a tap in from someone in a red shirt and whats bad about that. Like, he would have played in these games and you would expect he would know the importance of it to both sets of fans??. We have have to start a "lawrenson is a muppet " thread aswell as the RTE one. Baffling quote from him.

[Aido82]

Cant wait for this game now

Bring them on

[Kopite]

I cant really enjoy them, too much at stake, scum they are,
COME ON LADS! Maybe they will focus too much on FT and one of the other strikers will do the business.

[GaryMc]

I cant really enjoy them, too much at stake, scum they are,
COME ON LADS! Maybe they will focus too much on FT and one of the other strikers will do the business.

Have to agree, its hard to enjoy the games. If its 0-0, you are on the edge of your seat hoping they do not score, and if 1-0 up, then your watching the clock like crazy.... Tension Tension Tension!!!

[mypost]

The 3-3 game in '94 was one of the greatest games ever played. The sheer upset at being 0-3 down after 20 minutes, equalled by the fantastic comeback.

These games are not to get excited about, the timing of them and the security bill is a nightmare in itself, these games are there to be won.

[fitzpatrickgary]

cant wait to see torres go against vidic
last year at anfield bellamys pace gave him all sorts of trouble and he was a costanr threat til rafa took him off
now bellamy is gone and we have torres 5 times the player
cant wait!!!!!

[hotelformule1]

Reina

Finnan Carra Sami Arbeloa

Gerrard Alonso Mascherano Kewell

Kuyt Torres

Id say Lucas might play if xabi is out. Hopefully Finnan is back fit

[Liverpool-law]

I cant really enjoy them, too much at stake, scum they are,
COME ON LADS! Maybe they will focus too much on FT and one of the other strikers will do the business.

Definitely agree, it's 90 minutes of stress but you just gotta watch. NOTHING beats beating the Scum, and it's been too long since the 2006 FA Cup 5th round. COME ON YOU MIGHTY REDS!!!

[GaryMc]

I see Mark Halsey is in charge for this one. He is not the worst ref in the world

[mypost]

I see Mark Halsey is in charge for this one. He is not the worst ref in the world

Or the best either.

[redeagle]

Isn't Lawrenson an absolute tool, so liverpool win he ugliest game ever with a tap in from someone in a red shirt and whats bad about that. Like, he would have played in these games and you would expect he would know the importance of it to both sets of fans??. We have have to start a "lawrenson is a muppet " thread aswell as the RTE one. Baffling quote from him.

in his defense, when the top 4 play each other the quality is usually atrocious, from what you expect. Probably because there is so much at stake.

arsenal - man yoo this year was woeful but on saying that when we played them this year it was a cracking match. its a pity we lost masch,alonso and torres.

anyway, team i'd like to see


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

Finnan---Hyypia---Carra---arbeloa

---Gerrard--Masch--Alonso

-----Kuyt-Torres-kewell/babel

[GaryMc]

try this out

http://www.football365.com/fun/games/missingmen/0,21276,13272,00.html

took me 1:26... got stuck on LB and RM for a while

[The Chanter]

try this out

http://www.football365.com/fun/games/missingmen/0,21276,13272,00.html

took me 1:26... got stuck on LB and RM for a while


Couldn't get Scales or Harkness! Did you read the Andy Gray pre L'Pool V ManU article?

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8745_2972601,00.html

Nothing new from him.. usual 'Liverpool were alright, opposition were poor crap' stuff but some of the replies to his biased punditry are worth a read - would love to see him respond to them. :D

[SUPERFAN]

there's 5 Players guaranteed to Play tomorrow--Reina,Carra,Sami,Gerrard and Torres,after that it's anyone's guess.
personally,i'd love to see him play Lucas tomorrow.it would be a massive gamble but from what i've seen of this Lad he has the quality to come through with flying colours.
please don't play Sissoko Rafa!
i discovered a new level of hatred for the Mancs after last Season's Game at Anfield.i was Sat right beside them in the Paddock....
i've never wanted Lpool to win a Game so much before in my Life,don't want to even contemplate how i'm going to feel if they lose...
since the Marseille Game ended on Tuesday it's all i've been thinking about,all this Week has been an unnecessary distraction.
most Scousers will say the Everton Game is bigger and that's fair enough but for most Irish Lpool Fans it doesn't get any bigger than this.

[Rowler]

Team tomorrow should be :

Reina, Arbeloa,Carra,Hyppia,Rise,
Gerrard,Mascherano,Alonso,Kewell,
Torres,Crouch.

Torres first goalscorers at 7/1 is not a bad bet!

[poorscousertommy]

Liverpool v Utd 16/12/08 ?????

Is this next year's fixture we are talking about ?

[Garrett]

Eh

I've bet on the result being 3-1 to us, hope Lawro is wrong mate ;)

[Malzheimer]

Im well nervous about this one now, never enjoy these games.....at least not until the fat lady has sung and were going home with 3 points in the bag. Biggest game of our season, bigger than the derby for me and I have to say I'm quietly confident this year. Were playing flowing attacking football and if we go with masch, stevie and lucas/alonso in the middle its ours. Thats where the game is gonna be lost and won, in the middle of the park, and as the song goes we have the best midfield in the world, a midfield that will dominate hargreaves and anderson (40m well spent). I hope he goes with

Reina
Arbeloa Carra Sami Riise
Yossi SG Masch Xabi/Lucas HK
Torres

Please, please please Reds, beat the scum and make it a day to remember at Anfield!!

[clarni]

Im well nervous about this one now, never enjoy these games.....at least not until the fat lady has sung and were going home with 3 points in the bag. !!

Totally agree, My nerves are gone already. I'll end up watching it through my hands whilst biting my nails at this rate!!

I reckon 2-1. Torres defo to score at least 1. He's too fast for Ferdinand.

[Alex Raisbeck]

Im starting to crank it up for this one.

[robbie st leger]

these are the games that you cant enjoy watching unless we are 3-0 up but we should go at them from the start and nando's pace should cause them havoc.Should play masch and lucas in midfield and let gerrard loose at them roving behind - far too much for them i think.

Going for 2-0 stevie and nando

YNWA!

[dubit10]

We are going to hammer them.This will be a warning to the rest of the league.....4-0.Torres with a brace,gerrard and hypia one a piece.And rooney to get sent off:D

[REDHEART]

lads we really need to win this 1 for ppl to regard us as serious title contenders.all i've been hearing and reading all week from pundits and the like is utd utd utd,and thats ppls opinions on what they've seen so far.

it really is a tough 1 to call.utd have already lost 2 away from home.can ya really see them loose 3 b4 christmas.would be a surprise but not impossible.our home form not been great in the leauge.but with torres on form at the moment i think we can do it.

it will be won and lost in the midfield.so the midfield will be crucial.masch must play.i feel he does well in these type of games.ronaldo usually does not perforn in these games.we need an early goal.

so come on the pool.:D

[stamullenredmen]

we have to win get yossi or ryan on the right harry on the left rip into them at a high tempo get torres one to one with the lips ferdinand.god im a wreck about this one already

[Alex Raisbeck]

Barnes, Rushie, Aldo, Roger Hunt, Ian St John, King Kenny, Ron Yeats, Ronnie Whelam, Big Jan, David Fairclough........Champions one and all.

Carra, Stevie, El Nino....Lets get yer names amongst them startin today, make the hairs on the back of our neck stand whilst watching it here on out TV's accross the Irish Sea, with the love of the Redmen pumping out our hearts and flowing through our veins.........
Wheeeeeeen yoooooouu waaaaaalk........

[sean]

Barnes, Rushie, Aldo, Roger Hunt, Ian St John, King Kenny, Ron Yeats, Ronnie Whelam, Big Jan, David Fairclough........Champions one and all.

Carra, Stevie, El Nino....Lets get yer names amongst them startin today, make the hairs on the back of our neck stand whilst watching it here on out TV's accross the Irish Sea, with the love of the Redmen pumping out our hearts and flowing through our veins.........
Wheeeeeeen yoooooouu waaaaaalk........

Gez mate, I'm stuck in work this morning and reading that has really got me going!! Starting to get a few strange looks from lads across from me :D Can't wait for kick off now, COME ON REDMEN!

[redeagle]

so...nervous..

COME ON REDMEN,

[StevieGisMyIdol]

Come On!!!!!!!!!!!!

[redeagle]

liverpool unchanged from marsielle apparently.

SMASH THEM

[Alex Raisbeck]

Come on REDMEN

[sean]

liverpool unchanged from marsielle apparently.

SMASH THEM

Unchanged indeed.

Lets fooking tonk them!

[Alex Raisbeck]

In a game where their keeper is looking dodgy under the high ball dropping into the box, does it not make sense to have the Crouch on?

[Aido82]

bring him on for kuyt ans babel on for yossi

[stevieg]

In a game where their keeper is looking dodgy under the high ball dropping into the box, does it not make sense to have the Crouch on?

Yeh,will probably do it 15 mins into second half if no goal for us.

Kewell has been muck so far,lost the ball that led to the corner which they scored from.

He seems a bit of a pansy and bottles it in the big games,hope he proves me wrong and plays well in this half.

[Alex Raisbeck]

Yeh,will probably do it 15 mins into second half if no goal for us.

Kewell has been muck so far,lost the ball that led to the corner which they scored from.

He seems a bit of a pansy and bottles it in the big games,hope he proves me wrong and plays well in this half.


He can be the difference for us in this game though, wouldnt attribute the goal to him, balls are won and lost these things happen, lets get back on the bike.

Lets do it!!!
Believe............Believe Redmen.

[teedeepee]

Kewell has been muck so far,lost the ball that led to the corner which they scored from.

He seems a bit of a pansy and bottles it in the big games,hope he proves me wrong and plays well in this half.

Couldn't agree more. He's not looked at the races. Almost looks nervous.
________
weed vaporizers (http://weedvaporizer.info)

[sean]

Lets do it!!!
Believe............Believe Redmen.


We simply have to believe.

Can't contemplate defeat in this one.

[Westlake]

C'mon lads, now it's time to let the hammer fall, smash them!

[YNWA]

A monkey could see that VDS is rattled and is having a shocker yet all game crosses have been ballooned all over the field and no pressure put on him. Crap game, crap performance.

[Aido82]

:(

[The Chanter]

aaaaaaaahhhhhhh :mad: hate losing to those w*nkers!

[Fowler's God]

No guile no creativity. Torres was lost on his own up front. It's time to give Babel a go up front with Torres. Crouch should have started, Kuyt is a hard worker but we need someone up to support Torres.

Wonder how this meeting will go with Hicks and Gillett??? We need more creativity in midfield. Missing Alonso badly in there.

[marko]

Same old same!! they came for the draw and got all 3 again!!

dropping 3 points at reading looks really bad now,we were never going to score,no game plan and no rub of the green,will we ever beat these %$#*#&#&!!!!

Cant see any positives at the moment,sick of all the shit thats gone on in the last few weeks but i still believe in rafa and hope his meeting with the yanks goes well today!

YNWA!!!

[mypost]

Time for Beni to go.

That's the top 3 played at home, and we haven't won any of them. As the away games to come at their places, are certain defeats, we could even finish outside the CL places.

I'm sick and tired every year of losing at home to the Mancs, not even scoring a goal in the process, I'm fed up at our inability to take any points at the challengers away from home, I'm fed up of throwing millions of €'s on rubbish footballers every year, and I'm fed up of finishing miles behind the champions.

Get him out and get someone in who knows how to win a league, this is the trophy we want, winning the CL is a bonus, but the league is the be and end all for us every year. We're already out of it again, and I want action taken, so that we become competitive again in it.

Nobody else will agree with me, but this is the fourth season in a row that we're out of the title chase by Christmas, and how many more years do we have to put up with this, just because we won a CL one year? Is 18 not long enough?

Millions of €'s have been spent trying to get us to be competitive again domestically, and look where it's got us to. If you were the owners, would you give him more money to throw away?
Same shit, different year. I've had enough.

[sean]

Time for Beni to go.

That's the top 3 played at home, and we haven't won any of them. As the away games to come at their places, are certain defeats, we could even finish outside the CL places.

I'm sick and tired every year of losing at home to the Mancs, not even scoring a goal in the process, I'm fed up at our inability to take any points at the challengers away from home, I'm fed up of throwing millions of €'s on rubbish footballers every year, and I'm fed up of finishing miles behind the champions.

Get him out and get someone in who knows how to win a league, this is the trophy we want, winning the CL is a bonus, but the league is the be and end all for us every year. We're already out of it again, and I want action taken, so that we become competitive again in it.

Nobody else will agree with me, but this is the fourth season in a row that we're out of the title chase by Christmas, and how many more years do we have to put up with this, just because we won a CL one year? Is 18 not long enough?

Millions of €'s have been spent trying to get us to be competitive again domestically, and look where it's got us to. If you were the owners, would you give him more money to throw away? Same shit, different year.

I've had enough.

The words "knee", "jerk" and "reaction" all come to mind :rolleyes:

[Jockser]

**** **** ****

[Kopite]

Im not interested in Knee jerking or ridculous calls about our manager but here is what I thought. I felt as the game unfolded today, that "we never put 1 or 2 passs together", I was literally nearly right. I watched the first 20 mins again there now and Just twice in that period did we have more than 2 consecutive touches of the ball. The 2nd time happened around 19 minutes when i think we managed 4 passes in midfield/along the back line. The first was from a throw in to someone to Reina to Riise. Thats it. Scrappy game or not this is a ****en joke. You can talk aout tactics and the manager all you want but if your players are not brave enough to pass the ball and settle into the game then you dot deserve to win the game. Imagine if the pundits/c*n*s pick up on that.
It was an absolute shocking performance from Liverpool.
Sick.

[Aido82]

@mypost - quit whinging. we lost i know, now is not the time to get rid of benitez. I remember a few weeks ago it was the same crap, rafa has to go etc etc. We are 9 points behind the leaders with a game in hand, the only top 3 teams we lost to was today, plently of time to turn it around.

But every time we lose points its rafa has to go, Rome wasnt built in a day, so quit whinging.

[Bren100]

:mad:

[mypost]

We are 9 points behind the leaders with a game in hand, the only top 3 teams we lost to was today, plently of time to turn it around.

Last week, we were 7 points behind with a game in hand, this week it's 9, and that's without Arsenal's game finished.

How do you suggest we make up these 9 points, eh?? With a game in hand. Sure, what happens if we play it after playing Chelsea, Arsenal, and the Crancs away, and we're 15-20 points behind them?? What use is the game in hand then?

We've put up with 4 years of this in the league, which makes up 2/3rds of all games we play every year. We haven't even got an automatic CL spot yet, never mind winning the league in that time. When do we cut and run??

[dubit10]

Gutted.Put simply they wanted the game more:(Dont understand why we cant pass the ball 5yards againest teams like Man Utd:confused: Thats the league gone for another year but like the man says rome wasnt built in a year

[stevieg]

The only good thing to maybe come out of today is that (assuming Hicks and Gillette still want Rafa) it shows the owners we still lack a couple of world class players.

Comparing a few of our weakest players against those in the Mancs positions,i would take all 4 of the Mancs players.

Kuyt/Rooney
Benayoun/Ronaldo
Kewell/Giggs
Riise/Evra

Just one world class winger - preferably left sided and one world class striker a la Torres thats what id love.

[Aido82]

Last week, we were 7 points behind with a game in hand, this week it's 9, and that's without Arsenal's game finished.

How do you suggest we make up these 9 points, eh?? With a game in hand. Sure, what happens if we play it after playing Chelsea, Arsenal, and the Crancs away, and we're 15-20 points behind them?? What use is the game in hand then?

We've put up with 4 years of this in the league, which makes up 2/3rds of all games we play every year. We haven't even got an automatic CL spot yet, never mind winning the league in that time. When do we cut and run??

What you suggest?

Sack rafa.. Upset the players before xmas, where there is alot of games coming up. We dont even have an assistant manager at the moment.

Comparing a few of our weakest players against those in the Mancs positions,i would take all 4 of the Mancs players.

Kuyt/Rooney
Benayoun/Ronaldo
Kewell/Giggs
Riise/Evra

Just one world class winger - preferably left sided and one world class striker a la Torres thats what id love.


Totally agree with ya, we need another world class striker, why didnt we try and get tevez when he was available :confused: a defender and a creative midfielder, possibly that quaresma fella???


it was the same reaction after the besitas game where we lost.

[mypost]

What you suggest?

Sack rafa.. Upset the players before xmas, where there is alot of games coming up. We dont even have an assistant manager at the moment.

:D

Upset who? Sacking Mourinho didn't do Chelsea any harm, did it?? 16 games unbeaten at the latest count, I believe.

Rome wasn't built in a day, but we're not looking to build Rome, we're looking to win a league. Arsene Wenger for example, did it in a year and a half. 4 years is long enough to try and win a league.

[Aido82]

And loook at chelsea, they have picked up 1 point out of 9 against the big three, are they out of the race, NO, its early days mate, lift that chin up, we will bounce back.

[mypost]

Chelsea are only 6 points off the lead, and have all their rivals still to play at home. How many more at home do we have? Where did Chelsea get their point at?? You'll never guess.

Btw, it's a 10-point gap now. God only knows what it will be in May.

[redeagle]

pretty disappointing display. We missed alonso. we never really put man utd under real pressure, no real strikes at target. kewell was poor, kuyt did ok but his first touch let him down on so many occasions. To be fair to yossi he did try but there wasn't much movement, we didnt zip the ball around and we didn't get the luck we needed. Rooney with a scuffed shot bounces in off tevez. its enough to drive you mad!!

I think looking at both matches today we look like a team still in transition. We need some more quality in key areas or to be more blunt on the wings. People who can take a full back on. Yossi doesn;t really do it and pennant generally just floats balls in no real menace to his runs.

The positives to take from it were ryan babel in particular. He is coming along nicely and was the only player from midfield who had the ability to run at their defense and cause them problems.

I suppose defensively we did pretty well apart from the latter stages and that "goal" they got.

We are not out of it yet, 10 points behind with a game in hand. so, it could be only 4. But we need to pick ourselves up in PL again and next up is Pompey.

In relation to our home perofrmances against the top teams I think we have been unlucky against chelsea and arsenal. Dubious peno's and injuries during the last quarter
allowed chelsea and arsenal back into the match.

[REDHEART]

imo we are just not good enough at the moment to win the leauge.we still lack enough quality.too many players giving the ball away cheaply 2day.even with a dodgy keeper we could not take advantage.

nice to see ppl not giving up.but lets be realistic.we are not going to make up them points over utd and arsenal.unless there's serious spending during the transfer window.and even at the our football is simply not good enough.

we only have ourselves to blame.poor defending for the goal.and not taking our chances and the chances handed to us.we did not have the guile to break utd down in the second half when they stuck 11 men behind the ball.yosi is not a winger.he would be better coming tru the middle in games like this as he has the ability to unlock a defence like that.

chance gone.

[Aido82]

We were just as good as untied today, differnece is - they got lucky

Shrek had a shot that was going well wide but fell kindly to tevez. We had two balls cleared off the line, numberous shots and all the possesion, i know we lost to the enemy but the game wasnt too bad, or am i being to kind

[Thanx]

Bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger bugger.

Ref was awful for us, gave us nowt, was fncking freezing there too.

Tea was nice mind.

[vodkacolly]

All is not lost. No reason why we cant take points off the top 3 at their grounds. Yes its a tall order but I think we can do it. Its about time we get the rub of the green against them. Just hope the lads heads dont drop after this.

[robbie st leger]

to put this into perspective 2 pts out of 9 at home to our biggest challengers says it all - we are no where nearer to winning the league now than we were last year.will we make up those 10pts maybe but we never take enough pts away at the other big 3 which is why we wnt win the league.I'm like the rest a believer but that team is not good enough to challenge.As bad as the scum were they still ground out the 3 pts and were never opened up at all.where was the wing play and beating the man ????Kuyt is not a striker and should be gone in the window along with 2/3 others before it's too late and we are 15/20 pts behind.Our xmas run should be looking at 12 pts and i dont think arse/chelski/scum have it that easy in their games so we cud be right back in it if we keep the heads but this result was a disaster!!!Sick sick sick

[sean]

That's the top 3 played at home, and we haven't won any of them. As the away games to come at their places, are certain defeats, we could even finish outside the CL places.

How many more at home do we have? Where did Chelsea get their point at??

Mate, I think your getting a little too caught up with us having to go away to all the top three. A quick glance at the table shows that our away record is much superior to our home record this season, so surely we've gotten the toughest games of the season out of the way with Arsenal, Mancs and Chelsea already having come to Anfield...

[mypost]

All is not lost. No reason why we cant take points off the top 3 at their grounds. Yes its a tall order but I think we can do it. Its about time we get the rub of the green against them. Just hope the lads heads dont drop after this.

Mate, I think your getting a little too caught up with us having to go away to all the top three. A quick glance at the table shows that our away record is much superior to our home record this season, so surely we've gotten the toughest games of the season out of the way with Arsenal, Mancs and Chelsea already having come to Anfield...

04/05:

Mancs (a) : 1-2
Chelsea (a) : 0-1
Arse (a): 1-3

05/06:
Mancs (a) 0-1
Chelsea (a) 0-2
Arse (a) : 1-2

06/07:
Chelsea (a): 0-1
Mancs (a): 0-2
Arse (a): 0-3

Points : 0/27:mad:

Where are we going to take points from?? Benitez practically gives up them games away from home. Why is our away form so good this season?? Because we haven't played them yet.

[paddypower111]

look lads its the first half of the season 10 to the top 4 ========== if we get a defender in january and seal the deal with masca. win all our games coming up to jan-- i know its a dream but hopefully it will be an istanbul job we can catch um in the second half=== lets pray:confused:

[sean]

Points : 0/27:mad:

Why so blue? This year we've taken more points away from home than we have in a long time, surely signs of improvement. I'm not going to waste time trying to convince you, you've obviously made up your own mind and want Rafa out, though I have no doubt you'll be one of his biggest fan when he's harvesting trophies next May. Just a hunch :rolleyes:

[mypost]

This year we've taken more points away from home than we have in a long time, surely signs of improvement. I have no doubt you'll be one of his biggest fan when he's harvesting trophies next May. Just a hunch :rolleyes:

I'm afraid it's not signs of improvement. We are already 10 points behind. His record in cups is great, but they're bonuses. I'm not complaining about them, but I'd swap the cups he's won for the PL trophy. We could be another 20 points behind the champions at the end of the season, so if the club are happy to celebrate continous failure, then by all means, keep him here. If not, it's time for the club to review his position, before we don't win it for another 4 years.

[KOP Season Ticket Holder]

My Post i think you are a Manc or a Blue nose with the way you go on at times.

[TomHicks]

Excuse after Excuse!!

Please wake up and smell the coffee. We are not good enough to win the league because we cant win these games and at home too!

First off, win you're home games and then go on from there, now its our away form is better than our home. Bullshit! The manger is good/lucky in cup competitions, and hasnt a clue in the league, we need a change. simple as!

[redeagle]

Excuse after Excuse!!

Please wake up and smell the coffee. We are not good enough to win the league because we cant win these games and at home too!

First off, win you're home games and then go on from there, now its our away form is better than our home. Bullshit! The manger is good/lucky in cup competitions, and hasnt a clue in the league, we need a change. simple as!

could you propose a manager who would have done better given financial restrictions? Its really only been this summer he has been able to get the players he wants. FIRST CHOICE players.

The first two years he was still grappling with the previous managers flops and expensive ones at that.


everything has to be taken into account and it takes time.

[TomHicks]

Why so blue? This year we've taken more points away from home than we have in a long time, surely signs of improvement. I'm not going to waste time trying to convince you, you've obviously made up your own mind and want Rafa out, though I have no doubt you'll be one of his biggest fan when he's harvesting trophies next May. Just a hunch :rolleyes:

come on sean.

Wake up to it! whats the point in gaining points away when you lose points at home? Improvement? where! Were already too many points behind. If we win the league this season, it will be the youth league, just a hunch!!:rolleyes:

[stevieg]

Excuse after Excuse!!

Please wake up and smell the coffee. We are not good enough to win the league because we cant win these games and at home too!

First off, win you're home games and then go on from there, now its our away form is better than our home. Bullshit! The manger is good/lucky in cup competitions, and hasnt a clue in the league, we need a change. simple as!

How long did it take Fergie to win his first title ?

[TomHicks]

could you propose a manager who would have done better given financial restrictions? Its really only been this summer he has been able to get the players he wants. FIRST CHOICE players.

The first two years he was still grappling with the previous managers flops and expensive ones at that.


everything has to be taken into account and it takes time.

See another excuse!!

Did he not win the spanish league with less funds??

How about he picks his strongest team, and how about playing hus players in correct positions which has not happened in his reign, has the whole world mistified never mind his team mand fans.

[stevieg]

See another excuse!!

Did he not win the spanish league with less funds??

How about he picks his strongest team, and how about playing hus players in correct positions which has not happened in his reign, has the whole world mistified never mind his team mand fans.

I think its a genuine excuse - lack of funds,poor players at the club before he came,not a big enough squad.

He didnt change his team from the one that thumped Marseille, so do we say bring back rotation ?

I only want us to win the League this year couldnt give a toss about d CL, and it will be hard now to win the League,but i genuinely still believe Rafa is the man to bring us the title be it next year.

[TomHicks]

I think its a genuine excuse - lack of funds,poor players at the club before he came,not a big enough squad.

He didnt change his team from the one that thumped Marseille, so do we say bring back rotation ?

I only want us to win the League this year couldnt give a toss about d CL, and it will be hard now to win the League,but i genuinely still believe Rafa is the man to bring us the title be it next year.

The league was always the priority this season, and now it's not going to happen, so its time for a change. Would love to see him win the league, but just won't happen! Don't think he will see out rest of season. How many years will we have to wait? its too many now.

[buddy999]

personally i take the the CL over the league any day,i know we need a league soon but for me the glory in the CL wins every time,all the teams that have won the league lately are breaking their necks trying to do what we have done,even now if you gave me a choice between winning the champions league or the premiership i would still pick the CL,if we can just get a league all the pressure would go and we would all be back crying for the CL,just my opinion but thats the way i feel,wouldnt be too down about today scum were just lucky(i remember being totally outplayed at wet dreams a couple of times and coming away with wins (danny muph)these games are nearly always decided by the odd goal and it didnt go our way today,we have a better team than in a long time(torres masch world class)if babel can step up a little bit and we bring in an out and out winger we will give anybody a hard time,theres a lot of football to go yet so come on believe we can do it again.YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE

[SUPERFAN]

Lpool were Mugged again today Lads,plain and simple!
they deserved at least a Draw.
if anyone out there reckons they were a better Side than Lpool today please PM me how?
the Season will look after itself,i'm too pissed of to talk about that but there's no one on this Site can say that they were better than Lpool today.....

[mypost]

Lpool were Mugged again today Lads,plain and simple!
they deserved at least a Draw.

:confused:

How many attempts on target did we have? How many times did we seriously work their gk?? Did Crouch even touch the ball??

I thought with the Kop behind us in the second half, it would rouse the players, and buy us a comeback. Instead it was depressing to see aimless punts down the field, passes carelessly made to the opposition, and apart from Babel's cross-shot, we never remotely looked like getting an equaliser, let alone winning the game.

How long did it take Fergie to win his first title ?

How long did it take Wenger to win his? He was under heavy financial restrictions for years.

It's Beni's team out there, his players, his team, his tactics. His own gk, and reserve keepers, his own strike force, most of his defence and midfielders. He bought them, some for very high prices. This year, we've had the big 3 at home first, we've taken 2 points from it. This is the springboard for a title challenge, and we've fd it up.

He won the league at Valencia, only because Real threw the league away both times. At this club, we demand the league title, and always have done going way back to when Shanks won his first in '64. Winning the cups is great, but they weren't good enough for GH to keep his job, and they won't be good enough for RB to keep his, eventually.

We are 5 points ahead of 10th place. If we're not careful, we could be down there soon. We howl and hiss at the Giles, Dunphy and co, analysis of us. Performances and results like today, merely give them more ammo.

[stevieg]

How long did it take Wenger to win his?

It's Beni's team out there, his players, his team, his tactics. His own gk, and reserve keepers, his own strike force, most of his defence and midfielders. He bought them, some for very high prices. This year, we've had the big 3 at home first, we've taken 2 points from it. This is the springboard for a title challenge, and we've fd it up.

He won the league at Valencia, only because Real threw the league away both times. At this club, we demand the league title, and always have done going way back to when Shanks won his first in '64. Winning the cups is great, but they weren't good enough for GH to keep his job, and they won't be good enough for RB to keep his, eventually.

We are 5 points ahead of 10th place. If we're not careful, we could be down there soon.

But you dont support Liverpool do you ?

Just judging by alot of your posts you dont seem to!

[SUPERFAN]

:confused:

How many attempts on target did we have?.

more than Man U!
how many did they have?

[mypost]

Man U!how many did they have?

Does it matter?? As the away side, how many do you expect them to have?

We lost again. That's all that matters to me.

[SUPERFAN]

Does it matter??

answer the Question.
they were mugged again.....
are they a better Side than Lpool on today's showing?

[mypost]

answer the Question.are they a better Side than Lpool on today's showing?

At home, the onus is on us to win. They did what they needed to do. The table shows how far behind them we are.

[SUPERFAN]

they didn't do what they needed to do,they mugged Lpool again.
they only had 1 "Shot" on target.

[mypost]

Can't agree.

If we lost in the last minute I would, but we had 50 minutes after the goal yesterday to rescue the game. Instead, we barely managed a shot on target in response. We weren't mugged, we didn't do enough to get anything from it. The blame for that rests at RB's door.

[REDHEART]

Can't agree.

If we lost in the last minute I would, but we had 50 minutes after the goal yesterday to rescue the game. Instead, we barely managed a shot on target in response. We weren't mugged, we didn't do enough to get anything from it. The blame for that rests at RB's door.


agree with ya there mypost we still had 50 mins to rescue the game.but in truth we did not do enough.ok so utd were poor also.but they were solid and won the game.fergie obviously looked at the way we defend corner's,told rooney to stay on the edge of the box and we were caught.it's basic stuff.i play division 2 on a sunday morning and would be raging if we concedid a goal that soft.it was poor to say the least.

[megager]

I watched the game in a pub and was sat next to a Manc supporter (whom I never met before). Before the game I was all emotion, he sat there smiling.

After the game he smiled and asked if I knew how they beat us. He claimed we see united as a big game, fierce rivalry etc, but now united fans see liverpool as at least 4 points a season. In essence I think he was saying that fergie sets them out expecting to win, even at anfield.

We were mugged. A sucker punch but to be honest, despite having about 16 shots, we created bugger all. Our best two chances were speculative long balls that van de sar droppped and a half chance that Babel did well to swing a leg at.

I think that the fat lady is doing the scale on our title challenge at the moment, but you know, I wouldnt put it past us to get 7 points off the big guys at their patches. If we did, we would be back in it.

[trucker]

The reality is we're now behind man city and level with portsmouth and everton half way through the season with still the big 3 to play away from home, we've dropped 11 points at home and when you consider the likes of city have a 100% record at home it shows you what level were on, this squad will not win a league title this season or next and thats the black and white of it all. might big up a domestic cup and get a run in europe but thats the only success we can look forward to this season, wether Rafa can deliver us a title in the long run i dont know but will the owners take that gamble i'd be very surprised.

[marko]

Lpool were Mugged again today Lads,plain and simple!
they deserved at least a Draw.
if anyone out there reckons they were a better Side than Lpool today please PM me how?
the Season will look after itself,i'm too pissed of to talk about that but there's no one on this Site can say that they were better than Lpool today.....

I Agree!!

I'm still hurting the morning after(not just the head) but in retrospect it was a poor match which neither team deserved to win,they got the luck(again) we didnt!!

Papers are reporting the meeting with the yanks and rafa went well and there will be players bought in january.

I'm still convinced Rafa is still the one to bring us the league,altough its not over yet we do have a mountain to climb but its thats what we've been good at in recent years.......comebacks!!

We might not win it this year but if we can close the gap while improving the team it cannot be too far away,thats why we must support rafa 100% and let him get on with it!!

[trucker]

We certinley were'nt mugged there keeper did'nt have as save to make all game we had lots of possision but done nothing with it Marsielle had 62% posession of the ball against us could you say we mugged them??? Lets be honest who actually thought when we we went behind we'd turn it around? Since Rafa took over every time we've gone behind against a top 3 team we've lost, when your relying on the likes of Kuyt(who is actually getting worse, what is his position) to get you back into a game your in trouble. Bar torres gerrard maschereno reina not 1 of our players would get near any of the other top 3, there 2 best players(rooney and ronaldo) had bad games yesterday but they still had enough, thats the difference if gerrard and torres dont do it we dont do it.

[byrnetred]

there was just no spark in the team...you cant go a whole game and the only shot of note really was a 30 yarder from gerrard and a 20 yard strike from babbel...

i thought utd defended extremely well and showed us why they have only conceeded 8 goals all season...

i think our lack of a creative midfielder really showed up yesterday it was only when babbel came on did we look like creating anything meaningful...

we really need a solid run to break away from everton, portsmouth cause at the moment im looking over my shoulder at those teams...

hopefully rafa will be givin the funds he needs but from a creative point of view i cant see him buying anyone...

centre half and left back me thinks

[wickla_mucker]

very dissappointed
hate work mornings after losing to the scum...
kuyt was woeful and benayoun was very poor.
Definitely need someone who can create chances
-yesterday was a game which alonso would have been very effective!

[Daddy]

look lads its the first half of the season 10 to the top 4 ========== if we get a defender in january and seal the deal with masca. win all our games coming up to jan-- i know its a dream but hopefully it will be an istanbul job we can catch um in the second half=== lets pray:confused:

seal the deal with Masca??? why would you pay 17M for him, he can tackle but that is it. He is one of the reasons we can not string more than 3 passes together without giving it away. There are way better mid players out there who can tackle and pass. look at anderson yesterday, only 19 and already looks a better player. Look at the top teams, they have a defensive who can create (or at least pass to a fellow player) as well as tackle. Stevie G had to come deep to get on the ball yesterday to start attacks, and he's meant to be our attacking mid palyer. The same was against Reading.

[Daddy]

more than Man U!
how many did they have?

shots on target; Pool 4 v Man U 2,

[The Chanter]

We could have been 1-0 up by the time united took the lead. Then it would have been a different game.

The zonal defending has served us well over the last few seasons but it cost us big yesterday. Rafa should tell them to abort from it immediately if the cross doesn't come in first time.

After they scored we never looked like breaking them down. Let's be realistic though, they've got the best defensive record in the league. If we had scored first then they would've had a tough time breaking us down.

Babel's shot came close..he's improving all the time.

We CAN win away from home against ANY of the big 3. Too early to admit defeat in the league!

[trucker]

We could have been 1-0 up by the time united took the lead. Then it would have been a different game.

The zonal defending has served us well over the last few seasons but it cost us big yesterday. Rafa should tell them to abort from it immediately if the cross doesn't come in first time.

After they scored we never looked like breaking them down. Let's be realistic though, they've got the best defensive record in the league. If we had scored first then they would've had a tough time breaking us down.

Babel's shot came close..he's improving all the time.

We CAN win away from home against ANY of the big 3. Too early to admit defeat in the league!

We have'nt won away or even got a draw against them in the last 3 years mate your been way to optimistic, there is no chance of us winning the league this season Arsenal are 10 points ahead of us scum 9 and we still have to go to there places not gona happen mate. Any team with Dirk(i dont know where im supposed to be)Kuyt in there forward line is not gona win a title, rafa doesn't rate crouch so if we sold him and Kuyt and got a decent partner for Torres we might start making inroads on the other 3.

[god9]

yes i don't think we were mugged at all. they cleared off the line but we still failed to take advantage of some woeful goalkeeping. I thought Kuyt was, as usual, ineffective and Yossi offered nothing much.... United got their goal and basically put two holding players in front of the back four. It wasn't a classic performance from united but they won and that is all that matters....Rafa has shown many times he can win ugly...but why didn't he do it yesterday when it counted......

[The Chanter]

We have'nt won away or even got a draw against them in the last 3 years

We're probably still 1 or 2 players short of a premier league winning team but UTD were not much better than us yesterday. This team has enough quality to go to Emerates, Old Trafford, or Stamford Bridge and come away with a win similar to UTD's yesterday:

Reina
Finnan Agger Carra Arbeloa
Gerrard Alonso Masca Kewell
Crouch Torres

Looking at results over the last 3 seasons is pointless since we all agree that the team has improved in that time.

My wish list for jan/summer:

Mascherano
Anelka
Philip Lahm

[darave]

I think we all know we are still short a couple of players, e.g. Kuyt isn't same level as rooney and tevez and ronaldo is different class compared to our wingers! Need to buy big time in January.

[Paul]

Kewell, Kuyt, Yossi, Riise, Momo, Voronin, Pennant.

I thought at the start of the season that our sqaud was decent enough but when you field a team with any combination of 3/4 of the above starting then you know our squad is just not strong enough.

[stunnedmullet]

Will anyone pay £9m for Kuyt in January?
I hear Derby county are in need of a new forward. Maybe they will offer £3m. I think we should take it

[Badman]

again ure blind optimism never ceases to amaze me - the statistics may show we'd most of the ball and most of the shots but i dont remember van der saar being too busy. i know reina could have stayed at home but it doesnt mask how poor we were really - we simply cannot pass the ball with any fluency whatsoever...full stop. Pass and move is a thing of the past an anfield.
And rafa has to take as much blame as the players fro that gutless, aimless, insipid display. His perseverene with kuyt is mind boggling considering he moves like a pregnant hippo and has the first touch to match - van der saar was useless under the high ball but he kept the 6'7" striker benched til the very end - fergie must have been laughing at this coz he knows now its between him and wenger 4 the title ...yet again!!
Ihate to say that coz i love this f***ing club but we're ina bad state - outside of reina, agger (maybe carra but age is creeping up), alonso, gerard and torres the squad is v poor. Babel and lucas maybe good in the future but hyppia, arbeloa, riise (worse than useless), sissoko, kewell, aurelio, pennant, voronin (definitely an overweight porn star), kuyt are not good enough to make the squad of any other top 4 side...and rafa has brought in most of em.
He's a poor judge of player and is obsessed with "squad players" instead of buying 1 0r 2 world class palyers like fergie.
Yesterday depressed me cos utd knew after 5 mins they were onto a winner - they were relaxed and unhurried albeit not their usual fluent selves and looked solid and comfortable at the back. They now expect to bt us - theyve 16pst from 18 the last 6 trips to anfield..thats a disgrace. Souness, evans and houllier had bettr records than that. weve also only got 5pts from a possible 42 against the last 3 champions in the last 3 and a half years. Go figure!
And whats the solution?? i have no idea but we aint getting much better - the fans and the afore mentioned 5 or 6 top players we have deserve more. I read today that fergie is willin to offer £21m fro benzema so he'll have a strikeforce of tevez, saha, rooney and benzema - rafa is intersted in muntari, i.e the ghanian sissoko, and we still have kuyt and voronin.
I'm beyond baffled, the euphoria of that nite in istanbul is a distant memory - we need 3 or 4 world class attackers and centre back pronto - and i'm not too sure the yanks trust rafa that much anymore. Worrying times ahead.
Ps i hope if we dont fluke the league that arsenal do - van persie and fabregas and hleb -just pure class!!!

[Aido82]

May as well call this the depression thread.

Look up til last week we were unbeaten in the league, through to the knockout of EC and we were a great team, now we lose a match at home to the (hate to say this but they are) champions and we are a crap team, alot of ye should look at the comments ye are making, we not a bad team and this is just a blip,

roll on pompy next week and keep those heads up

[mypost]

And rafa has to take as much blame as the players fro that gutless, aimless, insipid display.

What a terrible thing to say after 4 years. But true.

People say give him time, but I've no time for him after yesterday's display and result. I would if it was a one-off, sadly it wasn't, and we're underachieving. In Souness' weaker '94 team, we came back from 0-3 down. Yesterday, we never looked like coming back from 0-1 down.

Losing to them at home is unacceptable. It's our blue riband game of the season, and some people paid three figures for their tickets, a huge sum coming up to Christmas, and they must feel disgusted today at that gutless display, and that coach who doesn't care about the league. Once you lose the fans, there's no way back. It happened to Souness, Evans, and Houllier, and soon, it will happen to him.

[REDHEART]

again ure blind optimism never ceases to amaze me - the statistics may show we'd most of the ball and most of the shots but i dont remember van der saar being too busy. i know reina could have stayed at home but it doesnt mask how poor we were really - we simply cannot pass the ball with any fluency whatsoever...full stop. Pass and move is a thing of the past an anfield.
And rafa has to take as much blame as the players fro that gutless, aimless, insipid display. His perseverene with kuyt is mind boggling considering he moves like a pregnant hippo and has the first touch to match - van der saar was useless under the high ball but he kept the 6'7" striker benched til the very end - fergie must have been laughing at this coz he knows now its between him and wenger 4 the title ...yet again!!
Ihate to say that coz i love this f***ing club but we're ina bad state - outside of reina, agger (maybe carra but age is creeping up), alonso, gerard and torres the squad is v poor. Babel and lucas maybe good in the future but hyppia, arbeloa, riise (worse than useless), sissoko, kewell, aurelio, pennant, voronin (definitely an overweight porn star), kuyt are not good enough to make the squad of any other top 4 side...and rafa has brought in most of em.
He's a poor judge of player and is obsessed with "squad players" instead of buying 1 0r 2 world class palyers like fergie.
Yesterday depressed me cos utd knew after 5 mins they were onto a winner - they were relaxed and unhurried albeit not their usual fluent selves and looked solid and comfortable at the back. They now expect to bt us - theyve 16pst from 18 the last 6 trips to anfield..thats a disgrace. Souness, evans and houllier had bettr records than that. weve also only got 5pts from a possible 42 against the last 3 champions in the last 3 and a half years. Go figure!
And whats the solution?? i have no idea but we aint getting much better - the fans and the afore mentioned 5 or 6 top players we have deserve more. I read today that fergie is willin to offer £21m fro benzema so he'll have a strikeforce of tevez, saha, rooney and benzema - rafa is intersted in muntari, i.e the ghanian sissoko, and we still have kuyt and voronin.
I'm beyond baffled, the euphoria of that nite in istanbul is a distant memory - we need 3 or 4 world class attackers and centre back pronto - and i'm not too sure the yanks trust rafa that much anymore. Worrying times ahead.
Ps i hope if we dont fluke the league that arsenal do - van persie and fabregas and hleb -just pure class!!!

alot of what ya say i would have to agree with m8.some ppl just can't face the truth.i hate to say bad things about the club players and manager.but you have got to be realistic about it.:(

[marathonman]

Looking at the overall game.mancs defended very deep and did an excellent job of it.If they treated everybody with the same fear and respect as they did with us yesterday then I don't think they would go very far.Rooney woeful,Roanaldo,Don't make me laugh what a joke.JC outstanding is putting it mildly Back to his brilliant best.Sami,delighted for him,great game.
We were by far the better team by a mile.
Our problem as we know lies in a link up man and striker for Torres.Kuyt as I have always said is not and never will be a striker.He has no vision on the ball and hence too slow while on it.
Our defence is not the problem.
Beni,Kuyt,Kewell,Carson,pennant and Jack Sparrow = £40m =Benzema + Masch.
There is nobody to link up with Torres and at the minute with the pace of his game and the way he plays he is struggling to play for the whole 90 mins.
I think Babbel will only get better once he settles in and gets more games.

[SUPERFAN]

Arsenal have won 1 Trophy in the last 3 Seasons,0 in the last 2 and look at them now....
i know they've won nothing yet but i'll be amazed if they don't and they'll go pretty close if not win the League.
hopefully the Americans give Rafa time but sadly i don't think they will.i reckon the only thing that will save him is another CL Win.
the January Window will tell a lot,if funds are made available then the Owners still have Faith.if Rafa has to Sell to get in who he wants it's a bad sign.

[marathonman]

And another thing.
The Champions League. I am perfectly happy with them winning the CL over the PL.
It's the one thing that irritates Sandra the most.He is embittered by the fact that Liverpool have won the the most prestigious club competition in the world five times.Sandra if asked would gladly swap a few PL titles for the CL.
It is the one thing we can constantly rub their noses in.

[trucker]

Why has everyone suddenly got this obsession with Benzema? Do you not think we've bought enough crap from the french league if we gave Babel a few games up front with Torres it might sort out this problem and spent the money on a creative midfielder or a genuinley world class winger instead of settling for average players. The problem with us is thers no plan B if plan A doesn't work this is down to the lack of creative players in our team, if alonso does'nt play we have nobody (and i include Gerrard in that) that can break down a defence.

[marathonman]

I for one don't think Benzema is your average 20 year old.Also I think that Arsenal is testament that there are world class players in the French league ,it's just about picking the right ones.

[Badman]

I know people think that it sinful to criticise the manager and moan about the 'pool> i dont post too often on this site so when i do ive usually thought it true - whether the yanks have faith in rafa isnt the point - whether they give him 50m to spend isnt the point either - the main point is i dont trust his judgement in the market. Torres was a no brainer - agger and alonso likewise. And no matter who he buys the football is still v poor - i'd say gooners spend have theri training playin 5 a side - i'd say we spend 10 mins - all the tactics in the world havent improved our passing - none of the back four can pass it.
I have rarely criticised rafa- in fact ive been his supporter in the face of relentless dunphy-esque vitriol for the past 18months but he may just be rite about rafa - the spanish jack charlton maybe a bit too harsh. I know utd weRe crap yesterday - but they still bt us without breaking sweat and didnt even celebrate it like it was any big deal - THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN. And they can play a whole lot better - but can we??
I dunno who we could buy - it doesnt matter - they style of footie has to improve adn the philosophy 2 - and i cant c any great philosophical epiphany on the horizon with rafa to be honest. I'm just seriously pissed off that since the CL2005 victory we aint that much closer to a league title. 18 years is like a century.
Itll b interesting to c if he puts out a strong 11 to take on chelsea sat nite so as to try win a mickey mouse cup - great houllier trick that one!
Maybe 4 christmass we'll get 5 wins on the bounce and we'll al cheer up.
Happy chrimbo to all the realists

[trucker]

I for one don't think Benzema is your average 20 year old.Also I think that Arsenal is testament that there are world class players in the French league ,it's just about picking the right ones.

What world class frech players have arsenal took from french league recently(anelka was 10 years ago) henry an viera were bought from italy?

[Aido82]

I for one don't think Benzema is your average 20 year old.Also I think that Arsenal is testament that there are world class players in the French league ,it's just about picking the right ones.


Was that the lad that played against rangers last week.

if so i wouldnt be forkin out big money for him, looks ok, had a few glorious chances to finish the game but he fluffed it each time

[marathonman]

What world class frech players have arsenal took from french league recently(anelka was 10 years ago) henry an viera were bought from italy?

They all came from the French League originally.
The fact that mancs and Arsenal are alsorumoured to be after him says something about his quality.Also I woudn't rate Anelka as a world class striker.

[Badman]

Was that the lad that played against rangers last week.

if so i wouldnt be forkin out big money for him, looks ok, had a few glorious chances to finish the game but he fluffed it each time

to be honest ive only seen that benzema lad playing a few times - so not sure how good he is really - i was just using it as an example of the different philosophies of 2 very different managers - one looking to buy the (allegedly) hottest striking property in france/europe - the other looking to acquire our fourth ball winning/holding/defensive midfielder.
i couldnt give a toss who the mancs buy so long as we're competing with them in the market 4 the top attacking talent - muntari, if its true, adds zilch to a team really. hope its just agent talk prior to the transfer window.
The only target ive seen popping up a few times is some spanish defender Garay - around £10m i think - havent heard much about any potential departures either.
Rafa has got the Vote of Confidence from Gillett though so...???