The Liverpool FC Thread

reply to post by Freeborn


Like it or not, technology in the form of ProZone has changed the face of football, and one consequence of that is stats.

I dislike too many stats, but they can be good for providing an overview of a players strengths and weaknesses, especially some of the OPTA stats.

It can also provide an alternative picture of a match - for instance Gerrard was rubbish today, but all people would see before stats would be a biased reporters view and his name on the scoresheet.
Now we can see just how ineffective he was for 90% of the match.

Stats don't tell the complete story though - they won't tell you how awful Carragher was today, or that he was at fault for both goals.

Sometimes you need to watch the game as well
Something I'm pretty sure a lot of "fans" don't do, even when they're at the match.

reply to post by blupblup

Defensively we are shockingly bad. I just hope we get better as the season progresses. Was listening to Radio Merseyside tonight and the anti Lucas feelings are growing. As one listener exlained it, "He just Isn't suited to the Liverpool game."
As long as we keep dagging out wins until Aquilani is fit then I think we'll be in a position to fight for a top four place. I just hope Rafa is proven right about him and he doesn't quickly end up back on the injured list because lets face it, if he can't survive in Europe whats he going to be like on a cold winters night when some burly defender slides into him and puts him flat on his back?

reply to post by Mintwithahole.


No Carragher is bad - he's a passenger at the moment

Don't you watch the games?

or is scouse beyond criticism

Some of the people on this site are either completely mad or just heartless. I've been having an argument with a masonic moron who has made the claim that Liverpool FC were responsible for the Hillsborough disaster! How stupid can you be?

reply to post by Mintwithahole.


As stupid as Steve Cohen, an american sports presenter who makes this claim with disgusting regularity, apologises when a stink is kicked up then does it again when things calm down and is guilty of suce things as ;
• Showing a total ignorance of the facts, he has constantly claimed ticketless Liverpool fans were to blame for the Hillsborough tragedy.

• He has attempted to link Hillsborough to Heysel by claiming, in relation to Liverpool fans, that “a leopard doesn’t change its spots.”

• On various occasions he has referred to Liverpool fans as Nazis, anti-Semitic and anti-American.

• Has on occasion worn anti-Liverpool t-shirts on air such as “I had my hub-caps stolen outside Anfield” etc, not really a big deal but are you beginning to notice a theme here?

• Questioned the need for us to hold a 20th Anniversary Memorial for Hillsborough and called on UEFA not to support our petition to have our CL game with Real Madrid moved to avoid it having to be played on the same day.

• As a Chelsea fan, he proudly told his listeners that while attending a game between ourselves and the chavs a couple of seasons ago he joined in with the chanting of “Murderers” towards the Liverpool fans.

There’s more I could add to that but I think you get the picture and if you want to hear any of this stuff you can get most of it on You Tube.

Since a boycott of his stations sponsors by american fans, he has left the station (sacked)

The sad fact is that this was vile rumour perpetrated by the police to cover their arses and regurgitated by that red top rag - BTW Kelton McKenzie still refuses to apologise to this day, so if you see him in the media, protest it, and him, and do the same as the americans did with cohen.

Only by fighting this hideous propaganda will people be educated about the truth.

So, Standard Chartered anyone?




It's going to look awful if it stays that colour!

reply to post by Yossarian

Nothing there tonight but whiners - you'd think we'd played brilliantly every 1st round of the champs league the way they were going on
All the whingers are starting to piss me off, so I might look for a different seat in the ground away from the twonks.

Fact is that, yes we weren't great, but it's early in the season and good teams grind out results at this time and then get more expansive as the season prgresses.

The other fact is that Lucas has been our most consistent player so far this season.


I said consistent, not best, although I grant it is a fine distinction.

What's the gob#es got to say now???

Not a lot, because they're gob#es.

Anyone got a beach ball i can borrow?

Great win today.

One swallow doesn't make a summer, but we were pretty good today, with the much maligned Lucas being outstanding.

Possibly this had to do with Dagger coming back - he is able to step into the midfield and support Masch in a way that Carra and Skrtel just can't do, leaving Lucas free to get up and down.

We need to push on from here, but if we show the same qwalitee's that we did today we'll have no problems doing that.

Funny, all the Lucas haters in the LFC forums have gone strangely quiet...

Europa League here we come!

Everton 0 - 2 Liverpool

reply to post by LiveForever8



Something to smile about....



I said before the season started....we weren't gonna do very well this season and so far I've been right.
It actually pains me that i am right... i wish Budski was right and we were gonna be great and improve on last season.

Unfortunately... i knew it wouldn't happen.

reply to post by blupblup


Yer, people got too carried away with what was, last season, a one off great season.

Especially after losing Alonso, people expected too much.

I would be made up with fourth this season, and maybe a decent cup run, sad isnt it

reply to post by LiveForever8



I know man.... but we have no fir-power upfront.... Keane was bought because we needed another striker, we got rid of him and now are left with no one again.
And yes...selling/losing Alonso was a massive blow.


It's a shame about the strikers though,


The likes of Keane, Bellamy and Crouch are all off doing well for their respective clubs.... why do we sell players we need?
It annoys me..


We need something to go right for us this season... i hope it does.

reply to post by blupblup


Yer, very true.

I feel sorry for David Ngog because he hasn't done too bad. Especially considering he spends most of the time up front by himself. He's done good, i hope he doesn't become a scapegoat for a dodgy season.

One thing people haven't been recognising is Steven Gerrard. Where has he gone? He's had a terribly quiet season.

When you sell Keane, Crouch, Alonso and don't get in suitable replacements your asking for trouble.

reply to post by LiveForever8




Yep.... N'Gog is a highly rated young man... but benitez is plying him upfront on his own... not a wise move.
But then neither is playing Kuyt on the wing or Babel... is just the Benitez way unfortunately... starting to annoy me.


I think everyone has been quiet this season... it's a very strange one.


And it annoys me that we never replace people too.

We've needed decent wingers and a decent striker for years... and we never get them?
We just waste the money...


Oh well... what can ya do?

Let's see now, Both Babel and Kuyt played on the right and left of a 433 for previous clubs and for holland.

So Kuyt playing on the right of a 4231 is not out of position.

Babel playing on the left of a 4231 is not out of position.

fact is, no top flight team anywhere plays with 2 out and out strikers - they all play with one up front, and one behind.

I really can't believe what I'm reading here - keane spends more time on the bench at spurs than he did here. And while he was here he couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo. His purchase was part of a plan which also involved getting Barry, but that didn't work out, so Rafa had to cut his losses - there was an interview with him about it a couple of weeks ago.

Crouch asked for a move so he could get first team football every week - he also spends a lot of time on the bench at spurs.

bellamy attacked his team mates with golf clubs and was an extremely disruptive influence - in terms of thuggery he's up there with joey barton - no thanks I don't want him at the club.

let's not talk about the massive injury list we've had so far this season - 12 first squad players out at one point.
Let's see any other top four team cope with that - or any other team for that matter let alone top 4.

Wingers?
Name one side that plays with 2 wingers and 2 strikers side by side - it doesn't happen anymore, that kind of football is 15 - 20 years out of date.
Once again teams don't play with 2 wingers and 2 strikers anymore, because it leaves them too vulnerable to opposition attacks they play with wide midfielders who also track back.

here's how it goes - the full backs get forwards, the wide midfielders tuck inside them, one of the holding midfielders stays back and drifts to the side where the full back has gone forwards in order to provide cover, the other pushes up to support the attack and circulate the play - the end result is a semi-circle of players around the box with between 2 and 4 attacking inside the box, leaving the others ouside to break down any counters.

I am still confident of finishing in the top 4 - easily.neither spurs or villa can last the pace, and city are imploding just as I said they would.

gerrard and torres are yet to be fully fit this year.
masch is only just getting into his stride, johnson, benayoun and riera are not fully fit and neither is aurelio.
Carra looks a shadow of himself.

The plus points are that N'Gog is doing pretty well, Kelly and Ayala have both broken into the 1st team, and Nemeth is pulling up tree's on loan in Greece.

Lucas is proving a lot of people wrong just as I said he would, and has been our most consistent player this season - now if he can only find his shooting boots, he'll be on his way to being one of the best around.

Don't fret - we'll still be in the top four. This run of bad luck with injuries can't continue.

And don't forget Chelsea will be losing players for a month in Jan to the african cup of nations.
manu will blip just as they always do, while arsenal will be their usual jekyll and hyde.

Before we write this season off, let's wait and see what happens - 24 games left for us.

reply to post by budski


I certainly wasn't writing us off, but there is very little chance of doing better than third in my opinion. I would be happy with fourth, although i reckon Arsenal are there for the taking, especially now Van Persie is out for the season.

When i say wingers, i dont mean as in conventional old fashioned wingers, i mean wide players. Someone who will give us some width, get some decent balls into the box. Kuyt, Babel and Benayoun are always looking to come inside, which works well, but we need something different. If we are losing, there isnt a lot we can do to change the system, players wise anyway.

Injuries is a lame excuse, everyone has them.

Defensively we have been all over the place this year. That was usually the one thing we could always rely on.

reply to post by LiveForever8




I agree... it's more wide players as oopsed to "Traditional" wingers.

We just need someone who can get past people and deliver good service and we haven't had anyone for a while.

We just do not have the strength in depth unfortunately.



We have one of THE weakest squads in the league and it's really showing.