Our performances this season

[Baltar 814]

I'm baffled with the way we are playing this season compared to last year. Where has the emphasis on ball retention gone? We've turned into a team of sluggers looking to grind out wins and it's fucking horrible to watch.

Our only excellent 90 minute performance this season was at home to Stoke - which isn't saying much. Our 1st half against Villa and Swansea were excellent, only to come out for the 2nd half in both matches and play like a pub team and literally hang on for dear life. The rest of our performances this season have overall been average or rubbish and it's only due to individual brilliance that has won us games that have kept us at the top of the table. We finished 7th last season but this season we have not come close to some of the performances we put in last year.

Brendan's fondness for the archaic 3-5-2 formation is baffling. We don't need or want 5 fucking defenders starting a game. And he needs to stop indulging Gerrard by playing him so deep. Move him further forward where he's more effective.

 

Last season I was convinced we were heading in the right direction with Rodgers. We ended up 7th but some of our performances were magnificent and gave me hope, but I don't know what he's doing with the team this season.

[moof 5,671]

Need to change the formation. Put emphasis back on keeping the ball and building attacks

[Ne Moe Imya 3,230]

Sure, the performances haven't been the best, but after having about 5 years where our results were always bettered by our performances, I'll happily endure a season where the reverse is true.

 

Top of the league.

[Bjornebye 24,919]

Baltar, we are top of the league. 

[Guest San Don]

What's this 'indulging Gerrard' stuff? Do people seriously think Gerrard wants to play deep? Its where the manager wants him to play not as I suspect where he wants to play. But then if he decides to play further forward, he gets criticised for lacking discipline. Honestly, our best player by miles gets criticised for any and everything.

 

The manager sets the team up, he demands how they play and he chanages the tactics (or not) when he decides.

 

I dont think our ball retention was great last season. Sure any team can keep the ball playing it back and forth deep in their own half when the oppos are pressing but put a bit of pressure on and see where the ball ends up, almost anywhere except a Red shirt.

 

The manager needs to get this 'if plan A isnt working, I just change the personnel to make plan A work' and get a plan B working.

[Bobby Hundreds 7,924]

When is coutinho back. Strange thing with gerrard he should play further forward the whole world prefers him further forward, it doesn't happen. Coutinho out I'd retain the 4-3-1-2 and have gerrard supporting the strikers. I think he uses as much energy if not more playing deeper.

[Strontium Dog™ 8,442]

We played better under Kenny, and finished 8th. I hope our performances improve substantially, but the old adage about it being better to be a lucky manager than a good one is probably appropriate here.

[thompsonsnose 1,027]

At times this season we have been awesome going forward which has eclipsed all the other cobblers going on through the middle.

Brendan has been experimenting with 352 because we are lop sided on CBs.

Everyone said "ooh wait til Johnson and Cissokho are back", well, look what happened today. Still the same disjointed chaos in 2/3rds of the pitch.

 

Re Moses. He has made  a decent start to life at Liverpool, only to be thrown a seven by Rodgers today playing through the middle. Stitch up.

 

We will solve our main problems when we finally accept that we need to be buying a bloke like the one in my avatar and maybe even another one like him.

Because right now, as i have been saying for what seems like an eternity, there isn't one player in our central midfield good enough for this football club.

Allen, Lucas, and Henderson all need to GO, and Gerrard used as an impact sub further forward.

But until it is accepted by the clubs management that we have an issue there, this type of crap will continue.

 

The defence will take care of itself when the midfield genuinely imposes itself more.

OK Maybe a BIT early to write off Allen.

But he alone isn't the answer. He would still need someone decent alongside him.

[king7 39]

Must say I´m baffled by the negativity on this site. I was pleased by the performance today, thought we played well. Newcastle scored two fluke goals, but hardly had a chance apart from that. We could have easily scored five and were wasting chances again. If you compare this match to some of the dire shit we´ve endured in the last years we look like Brazil. And we´re two points off the top for christ sake!

[JermainePennant 1,543]

Rodgers is clearly still sending us out to play passing football, the players are the ones not performing and I didn't feel we were really playing that well until the second half of last season, I'm expecting improvement.

[stringvest 12,763]

We weren't great today, and we will be outnumbered in midfield more often than not. Henderson is going to take a while to learn that role, just like Lucas has. He did offer more going forward, but offered no more in defence. His athleticism advantage over Lucas was nullified by his lack of experience in reading the play. That said, we weren't any more or less leaky through the middle than in previous games. We are playing with fire though if we continue to be easily penetrated. Better teams will do us. I think I'd prefer to see a 4 at the back and a return to the pressing game that served us well in the second half of last year.

[moof 5,671]

Did you miss the first half? They were just taking potshots from the kind of positions Lucas would normally be covering. There's no fucking way Henderson is capable of doing his job

[stringvest 12,763]

But Lucas doesn't cover them either, in case you've missed the rest of our games this season. I don't think Newcastle had many chances from open play today.

 

Neither of them are capable of doing that job at the moment. So we either cut our losses and add a third midfielder in there, or we continue to take a risk in the hope that numbers elsewhere on the pitch will be enough to provide us with an advantage.

[Dr. J 813]

Must say I´m baffled by the negativity on this site. I was pleased by the performance today, thought we played well. Newcastle scored two fluke goals, but hardly had a chance apart from that. We could have easily scored five and were wasting chances again. If you compare this match to some of the dire shit we´ve endured in the last years we look like Brazil. And we´re two points off the top for christ sake!

 

Yeah, but don't forget we have near zero margin for error if we hope to achieve CL next season. Each time we drop points we get closer to zero.

[Innova 188]

Fucking love it when people call for Lucas to be sold after today's game when he didn't even fucking play. And that's considering that debuchy probably wouldn't have scored the first goal if he was playing.

 

Of course debuchy might still score, but I'm amazed if you still can't see the defensive addition that Lucas adds to our current lineup, Henderson could never fill that role now due to him having a lack of experience.

 

Let's face it, Lucas shouldn't be sold till we get 2 dm's who are better than him, and we probably wouldn't get those 2 within the next 2-3 transfer windows.

 

 

 

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[Paco 1,214]

I d have taken a draw beforehand today though obviously with them going down to 10 we should have won the game. Poor defending from set pieces is costing us. I d back sturridge and suarez to get us at least 1 goal per game between them but we need to stop conceding so easily and making it hard for ourselves. Big decision about what to do at the back next week. I d probably go with skrtel and sakho with enrique or cissokho and Johnson on right. Back to a 4231. Gerrard annd lucas with henderson suarez and moses behind sturridge

 

Think we lost some momentum with international break. You re probably right about grinding out results but the key thing is we ve got results without playing well. Put into context - last season we played quite well in early part if season but were languishing in bottom 3 then we got going about end of october and by jan or feb we were flying.

 

If we get going like last season then look out because well be unstoppable.

[JoeBuck 39]

I'm baffled with the way we are playing this season compared to last year. Where has the emphasis on ball retention gone? We've turned into a team of sluggers looking to grind out wins and it's fucking horrible to watch.

Our only excellent 90 minute performance this season was at home to Stoke - which isn't saying much. Our 1st half against Villa and Swansea were excellent, only to come out for the 2nd half in both matches and play like a pub team and literally hang on for dear life. The rest of our performances this season have overall been average or rubbish and it's only due to individual brilliance that has won us games that have kept us at the top of the table. We finished 7th last season but this season we have not come close to some of the performances we put in last year.

Brendan's fondness for the archaic 3-5-2 formation is baffling. We don't need or want 5 fucking defenders starting a game. And he needs to stop indulging Gerrard by playing him so deep. Move him further forward where he's more effective.

 

Last season I was convinced we were heading in the right direction with Rodgers. We ended up 7th but some of our performances were magnificent and gave me hope, but I don't know what he's doing with the team this season.

spot on post.  Having been a big fan of him, I'm also in two minds now about Rodgers as he seemed to have a plan and a style of play, but seems to have given this up for pragmatism which is never good (look at Wenger for someone who has the courage of his convictions).

 

Today, Newcastle wanted it more than us which is a poor indictment on any manager (can't motivate your team to go top?)..we were off the pace, even in the 2nd half, and only Hendo seemed to try and lift our tempo (a couple of times in the 2nd half Suarez upped his game from  the abject losing possession every time he touched the ball).

 

Not all his fault  I suppose given the tight purse strings, but all most of our signings under Rodgers have been rejects from CL clubs such as Chelsea, Inter, Barca, PSG, City, Valencia etc and maybe these players didn't get into these teams because they weren't what might be considered as "winners"...certainly looked like it today..

[Jairzinho 22,775]

We were shit today, and have been in quite a few games this season. 3-5-2 is shit. Moses as a number 10 is shit. Henderson/Gerrard was predictably an even shitter combination that Lucas/Gerrard. We don't pass the ball very well. Our corners are utterly pathetic.

 

Go back to 4-3-3, get Lucas and Coutinho back in the side, and we'll look a bit better.

[Fugitive 2,593]

I don't think we've played great but that is what is giving me encouragement. We are up there in the league and will start playing like we all know we can do. I'm confident we will be fighting for a top four position.

[Guest LFD]

What's this 'indulging Gerrard' stuff? Do people seriously think Gerrard wants to play deep? Its where the manager wants him to play not as I suspect where he wants to play. 

 

I think he does like playing in the current role as he also said he thinks he is a centre midfielder and he loves being fully involved in the games, which happens in that position.

 

I thought he was very good today, probably our best player.