Anzhi Matchthread

[Rafa Shankly]

Sahin is soooo slow.

this is the favorite new gripe?

[Coro]

this is the favorite new gripe?

 

No, just an observation you feisty little Dubliner.

[Bjornebye]

gonna be honest, assaidi had loads of the ball but did fuck all in the end, gerrard was too deep, downing scored but is still shit, suarez missed havin a proper centre forward. sahin wasn't great. glad we won and great goal but fuckin hell.... sterling when he came on played well.

 

sorry to be negative like but lets be honest.

[xerxes]

He'll score tonight now, Downing will - and that'll scupper the 'Downing-not-included' BR plan.

 

Any thoughts on the lottery numbers this week?:P

[xerxes]

Just back from the game.

 

Great performance from the lads. Full marks to Rodgers for taking the game seriously against strong opposition. We can’t hope to get good players this winter and summer if we cant even progress in the EL which is a great learning experience for Rodgers who tonight outwitted one of the world’s most respected managers in Hiddink.

 

Made up for Downing and his goal- let;s hope that his confidence returns. Jones played well in goal too, looks as though Pepe will have his work cut out to return in when he is available for selection.

 

A real confidence booster for the derby.

[Coro]

Just back from the game.

 

 

Executive box?

[sir roger]

Is Johnson injured does anyone know ?

 

He seemed to be limping off at half time.

 

Hopefully something & nothing & we were just taking no chances.

[xerxes]

Executive box?

 

Lower Centenary today.

[fowler9]

Top of the group having a laugh! If we hadn't cocked it up last round we would have had a foot in the next round already.

 

As for Downing I've always seen him as a decent player for us. Not his fault we couldn't score in a brothel for most of last season.

 

come of it! he was pure awful last season and this coming from someone who was delighted we signed him

[Newport]

So who's fault was it?

 

Not a single player, more of a collective issue where the team didn't click the right way. Especially in the box where the lack of options for the wingers were limited to one or two players at best. It's still an issue, but we're getting better at having more players coming forward.

[ZonkoVille77]

2 things stand out in this thread.

 

Gerrard can do no wrong and is always the best player on the pitch according to silverlining.

And downing may be dire but should be judged on his entire time on the pitch and not just every 5 mins. That's twice now this season he's won a game for us.

[derykw]

Not a great performance by any stretch but the result was the main thing, it was a must win.

It was strange seeing Etoo playing as the deep lying play maker and the amount of space we gave him was criminal, all their moves came through him. One of the midfield should of been ordered to sit on him, it seemed obvious to me as the game progressed.

Some of our decision making was atrocious in the final third, dribbling when the pass was on, making the wrong pass or ignoring a good midfield runner but overall we deserved our win and Udinese surprisingly losing is an added bonus,so a good night.

[Faustus]

Great three points, and ones which were much needed with the return fixture coming before we play Chelsea. Can only see a shadow squad going to Moscow, so I think it comes down to a win against Young Boys and a draw against Udinese which I don't think is beyond us. Anything from Moscow will be a bonus.

 

Result better than the performance. Thought the wide players were all pretty sound. Wisdom just looks like he belongs in the side, Assaidi has a trick or two and could become a decent impact option from the bench, and I was made up for Downing. I don't really want to get on his case too much after a win and I'd only be going over old ground, but I thought he played well tonight and good to see him get a goal. Sterling is going to be a player, and I even thought Johnson looked okay in the first half. Hope he's fit for the derby.

 

Hopefully Gerrard and Suarez were both saving a performance for the derby, because I thought they fluctuated between frustrating and plain old poor tonight. Hard to get on their cases though, seeing as they're two of our best players and I'd rather they got a stinker out of their system tonight, rather than Sunday.

 

Made up with the win. Not a sparkling performance, but some positives; especially a third clean sheet on the bounce. Onwards and upwards for Sunday.

[LFC 6 Times]

I really just cant get excited about the EL, happy for downing but not get my hopes up, Sahin remains an engima partnering him with Gerrard wasnt ideal I thought. Was by far and away Suarez' worst performance in a red shirt, think the pressure and reliance placed upon him is getting to him. That said we won and kept a 3rd clean sheet in a row.

[TheHowieLama]

gonna be honest, assaidi had loads of the ball but did fuck all in the end, gerrard was too deep, downing scored but is still shit, suarez missed havin a proper centre forward. sahin wasn't great. glad we won and great goal but fuckin hell.... sterling when he came on played well.

 

sorry to be negative like but lets be honest.

 

created a shitload of space for himself and played the cut back quick when it was on - if others had done the same we would have been up by 4. If anyone will look better with a poacher it is him - not Suarez.

[xerxes]

Another clean sheet, with Jones in goal, augurs well for the future. If the opposition don't score, we don't lose.

[beejay]

Surprised more people haven't commented on how badly Suarez played. He was dreadful, easily our worst player and then gets himself booked for dissent before in injury time takes a ridiculous quick freekick to yet again give the ball away leaving us in danger of being caught on the break. Yes, he ran around a lot but he lost the ball constantly when we are in good positions and then started to dive spending much of the 2nd half on his backside with his hands in the air like a spoilt kid.

 

Very, very selfish combined with a poor attitude he was the antithesis of everything Rodgers supposedly wants from his players ie he played for himself and not the team. And as for his ball retention, he made Luis Garcia look like Xavi.

 

He needs his fuckin arse kicking after a performance like that, one of the most inept displays I've seen from a Liverpool player since Paul fuckin Stewart.

 

Praise him when he deserves it but equally he should apologise to his team-mates after that horror show and why Brendan decided to keep him on the pitch for the full 90 mins when he was so utterly clueless is beyond me. I'm still seething now after watching that.

[gmac]

Think confidence was always going to play a large part in the way Rodgers wants us to play, especially during the initial months. Good win and performance tonight, even if Gerrard and Suarez were poor. If we can get a result against the Blueshite, can really see us pushing on from there.

[kalasoma]

Catch-22: Suarez shoots a lot because he doesn't trust anyone else to score when he creates chances. But then he piles the pressure on himself and misses chances he creates. He needs a partner up top or Gerrard playing in a more advanced role.

 

That said, he was pretty poor tonight. Too selfish and tried to nutmeg everyone when he had the option to pass the ball. We need a decent forward signing in January.

 

Happy for Stewart Downing.

[KopOut]

Any thoughts on the lottery numbers this week?:P

 

My sources say save your money.

[Iceman]

Stuart Downing changed out of his pink ice skates and put on a pair of footy boots tonight. Nice.

[G Richards]

We put out a stronger team than I expected and got a good result. It's hard to get too excited by the Europa, especially when you think of some of the European nights we've had; but at the same time, it's nice to see the team play and grow.

 

As many have said, Suarez and Stevie were well below par, the former in particular, but keeping a clean sheet gives a platform to go on and win the game, and with three points in the bag some of the deficiencies become less important.

 

Wisdom looks like some player. He shielded the ball really well tonight and showed a lot of strength. He is fast and strong in the tackle too. If he adds some attacking verve as he gets more games it is not too difficult to see him growing into a world class player. Yes. World Class. As things stand he is not there yet as he is still a kid who is learning, but it is to his enormous credit that he does not look out of place in the team.

 

Sterling also looks to be a player with a big future. He has received more press than any of the other youngsters coming through. He is fast, tricky, has an eye for a goal and is surprisingly strong given his size. Lots of young players burst on the scene only to fade away, but the difference this kids seems to have is a maturity in his decision making. He is not just a trick and a flash of pace. He plays it simple, lays it off, finds a teammate and generally keeps things ticking along just fine, while also possessing great threat because of his considerable attacking talents. Lots of players are talented but don't offer anything other than anonymity when they are not at their best. Sterling seems to be in the game all the time. Made up for him. If he keeps his feet on the ground he will become a great player.

 

Three clean sheets on the bounce is nice. Hopefully we will beat Everton and start to look like we might have half a chance of challenging for fourth. That may be wildly optimistic, but the way the team is growing I wouldn't write it off.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Were looking nice and solid defensively, where just a few games ago it was some massive problem. I hope it continues. Rodgers has spoken about the desire to build an attacking team based on a solid defense.

[Jennings]

Great result.

 

When we are ahead we need to slow the tempo somewhat.

[Ne Moe Imya]

Full marks to Rodgers for taking the game seriously against strong opposition. We can’t hope to get good players this winter and summer if we cant even progress in the EL which is a great learning experience for Rodgers who tonight outwitted one of the world’s most respected managers in Hiddink.

 

Let's be honest - it wasn't so much "outwitting" Hiddink as it was having much better players. I like Rodgers and all, but that Anzhi team has some really poor players mixed in with their big-money superstars. It's like saying you "outraced" Fernando Alonso in your Mercedes when he was driving a Lada.

 

It was strange seeing Etoo playing as the deep lying play maker and the amount of space we gave him was criminal, all their moves came through him. One of the midfield should of been ordered to sit on him, it seemed obvious to me as the game progressed.

 

This is spot on. The game was absolutely crying out for Lucas to come in and take him out of the game, because other than Eto'o they offered absolutely zero threat coming forward. Can't wait until he's back.