Liverpool 2010/11 Season Thread

[abigsmurf]

Stoke were the better team first half, much more attacking than I expected. Certainly looked a lot more likely to score than liverpool.

[hudson]

Now way. It's nervy as hell. Stoke like to welly it into the box and get the ball bouncing about the pitch at uncomfortable heights. It's ugly as fook, but my word it's working. Hope we can get a grip of this game soon. Kuyt up front with Gerrard behind him isn't working and Lucas is having one of his many crap games again.

Come on lads, a nice early goal leading to a rout please.

We must have the most expensive bench in the League today, Torres, Keane etc.

[C']

I'm really surprised how Stoke seem to have gotten Liverpool a little rattled.

I still can't see beyond a Liverpool win in this but Stoke were easily the better team for the last 20 minutes or so.

[hudson]

We couldn't get a grip of the ball. Frustrating stuff indeedy. Credit to Stoke they made it so difficult.

[Kongster]

Stoke game has got crap, windy, cold 0-0 written all over it.

SS-Man, stop the negativity! Liverpool will win, trufax.

[VR46]

Ah well, could have been worse I suppose, point is better than nothing, Kuyt really should have scored with that header in the first ten minutes. A draw tomorrow means nothing lost nothing gained. Pressure is still on Man U to win all their games in hand.

[Adrock]

Bah bollocks. As I said, its about not being negative. Which is exactly what Stoke did at home :/

Its horrible horrible football to watch. People still say teams like Stoke 'did well'. They aren't doing well at all, they are destroying the reasons I want to watch the game. I want to see good football being played, I want to see passes.

Definitely 2 points lost in terms of what we should be able to do, but to break those teams down you need either someone to boss the central midfield to spray passes about and unlock the defence or decent wing play. Today we had neither.

Liverpool are still very much lacking in the wings, Riera is fine. He wont set the world alight but he does well enough. The right hand side is still shocking, Benayoun is so frustrating, he needs sold right now.

[Steakman]

Agree with you there adcock, that was 2 hours of my life i wish i could have back. Credit to stoke i guess as they could have probably won the game but the quality of football was horrible. Even more annoying was the aspect of the Brittannia stadium attendance paying all that money and getting excited at the prospect of a long throw-in, like it's some special move or something. If Liverpool played like that every week i wouldn't watch football full stop.

Also agree with Benayoun, he's progressing to pennant-like-annoyingness now and he's not physical enough especially in a game like this one. Would like to chuck Babel into the fray aswell as i think he's possibly a worse signing than Harry Kewell, the guy offers absolutely nothing on either flank and is selfish to boot, cut inside and hit it from 35yrds doesn't work Ryan, go back to the eredivise or whatever it's called.

Think Rafa got our attack wrong today, should've played more aggresive (Torres and Keane on from the start). Can't wait for todays game if only to watch some quality football.

Ooh one more thing! If we are still considering selling alonso in the transfer window ( haven't heard anymore) then it really is title credentials over, it's clear he runs almost all of our creativity.

[Extra Terrestrial]

Yup, Babel and Benayoun are increasingly starting to frustrate me every time I watch them 'play'. I admit Babel can very occasionally deliver a great cross or pass to set-up a goal but lately, he has been comparable to a wooden plank.

Benayoun needs to buff-up or something; physically he doesn't cut it.

Torres and Keane need to start the games together from the word go, not at 60+ minutes - it is a waste of money and talent, and they both need more minutes on the pitch, not less.

Annoying match yesterday made even more annoying after leaving the Ipswich Town vs. Sheffield Wednesday game where ITFC were borderline on ****e.

[Adrock]

I can only think the answer for Liverpool is to buy a target man. Heskey is exactly the kind of player we need.

Against a team like Stoke we could bang it up top and have Heskey doing exactly what we need to break up defences who are stubborn. Well, at least it'd give us another option.

[hudson]

I really don't want Heskey. I would like a decent right side winger first.

[Steakman]

My god! who wants to go back to banging it back up top?! no point in selling crouch if that was the case, he always managed to turn us into hit and hopefuls.

Rafa finally has the passing looking awesome in midfield when gerrard riera and alonso play, with masc holding. We need a creative right winger to open up that flank, babel need not apply lol.

[Adrock]

You only want to 'bang it up top' when you have nothing else to do because the team you're playing against have decided to stick their 2 rows of 4 pretty much in front of their penalty area. At least with a target man it also gives you something inside the box when a cross comes in.

Liverpool lack somebody who can make a nuisance of themselves in the box, its something a lot of the bigger clubs lack at the moment and I'd guess its one of the reasons they seem to struggle to score against a team willing to congest the middle of the field.

I also agree on the right winger, for definite, but I dont know who we could buy with the limited funds. As for not wanting Heskey, I agree entirely but there doesn't seem to be anybody else who can do what he does and is available for cheap.

Crouch was also a special situation, the reason he was sold is because he stated a number of times in the media that he had to play week in week out. He also criticised Rafa a couple of times, which rarely goes down well. Crouch would still be at Liverpool if he had accepted he would be a squad player but, right or wrongly, he chose to get week in week out action at Pompey.

[hudson]

I'd like to think Keane and Torres would make a nuisance of themselves in the box. At set pieces, big Sami has been exceptional.

[Steakman]

Crouchie's good enough to be a starting 11 player at alot of clubs so i'm happy he left both for him and for our style of play.

I don't really recall Stoke lining up with the 2 rows of 4 though and i thought it was different to the anfield match, it was the strong arm tactics that got on my nerves, any free flowing move and they'd deck someone! pulling shirts and general fouling, which makes for a dismal game of footy. The fouls table for the prem backs up their obvious 'tactics' as they are the worst offenders.

I think we all agree though that we played too negatively through what ever method and i hope Rafa goes for the throat a little more in our upcoming games.

As for the funds, maybe we should have saved the 7mil we have pissed away on the 'best left back in italy'.... oh dear, Insua looks twice the player he is and he's still young.