Liverpool 2010/11 Season Thread

[Scythe]

Just hope the penalty miss doesn't affect him too much, right mentality though.
On paper our attack rivals anybodys, it will take a few games for it to gel...

[Adrock]

Hang on, can we not talk about the real stinker in the team? Babel, watching in person, was even worse than I imagine he ever was. No craft or effort, he is atrocious, the quicker he leaves the better.

As for Cole, I see where you're coming from Sharkskin but I'd like to give him more time. He hasn't had the opportunity to play alongside Gerrard and Torres together yet. We need to see what he does when the rest of the first team are around him.

Last night there was no spark or creativity through the middle at all, which would have been obvious considering Lucas and Poulsen aren't exactly the best players to have around when you're trying to craft something.

[abigsmurf]

Bizzarre decision to give cole the penalty. He did about as well as you'd expect someone who doesn't take them regularly would take them.

I don't believe Cole has the fitness or sharpness at the moment to play the position he is.

Towards the end at Chelsea he'd stroll about far too casually and wouldn't put in that extra effort to go for balls that he could potentially reach if he went flat out. His fitness may improve, it may not, either way it's going to take a lot of matches to see if he can regain the sharpness he had before his long term injury, especially with him sitting out 3 games.

[SharkSkin-Man]

Well, Babel is Babel. Yesterday was him in a nutshell, lots of rubbish with one good thing thrown in.

As for Cole, of course we'll have to wait and see, but I don't see sharpness and fitness improving the one thing that seems to be missing from him - intelligence.

[Scythe]

Talk of Aquilani going out on loan...personally I thought he was one of our brighter players towards the end of last season and I think we could regret it if he does go.

[SharkSkin-Man]

When he finally got fit he was very good imo.
Set up a goal every 136 minutes, the best assist rate in the league.

[mr_sockochris]

He shouldn't be going anywhere, if Gerrard gets injured (which he always does) he's the only player we have with the passing ability to fill in in my opinion. Why wasn't he playing last night anyway? It showed him in a suit in the crowd but I didn't have the commentary on to hear why....

[SharkSkin-Man]

Roy said he didn't want to jeopardise any loan move by playing him and him picking up a knock.

[VR46]

And of course he would be cup-tied.

[hudson]

Agree. I don't think it's wise for Aqua to go out on loan. Personally, I would of played him last night in the middle replacing either Poulsen or Lucas.

[mr_sockochris]

Me too, I don't know why we needed both for a home game against a European minnow, especially with no Gerrard in the team. I was hoping Roy would be giving him more of a chance than Rafa did, guess I was wrong

[SharkSkin-Man]

Not sure i'd fancy him in the middle in a 4-4-1-1, he's a bit lightweight for that.
Would've liked to see him ahead of Gerrard - Poulsen/Lucas though instead of Cole.

[hudson]

I was thinking that after what you said earlier, but hindsight and all that...

I'm not sure I like these two holding defensive mids business. One should be enough. Masch can do it on his own. Lucas needs to do what he did in that one game where he went forward more. I'm not sure what he's being told though.

[SharkSkin-Man]

Ideally you want one of those deep midfielders to be someone like Alonso, who will sit and hold the shape the manager wants, but because his passing is so good, still gives you something going forward.

But how many Xabi Alonsos are there...probably the rarest type of player in modern football.

[hudson]

So instead we have two sitting there who can't pass as well