Crystal Palace vs Liverpool (May 3 2014)

[Gym Beglin]

rodgers should drop the whole back four for the game against newcastle. it was just schoolboy defending really.

You never know, everything might ride on that game still!

 

But I hear what you're saying, it would be nice to give someone like Brad Smith a go in his natural position at the back.

[bouncebrigade]

Sure let's give Brad Jones a game while we're at it.

 

Is Peggy Arpxhead still around too?

[Section_31]

The personnel are only part of the issue. When you've got no defensive midfielders in front of you, fullbacks permanently in the opposition half of the pitch, and there's usually only two of you in your own half - all the while being expected to play out from the back - unless your back two consists of Dhalsim and The Flash, you're going to get nights like last night.

[Lurtz]

This team, literally those 13 players involved last night (sadly I have to include Moses),  and Hendo have got us to where we are. We deserve to be there and I hope we are still there on Sunday night.

 

What pisses me off is ex LFC players like Houghton saying we don't deserve to win the league with defenders like that. I remember all to well the last time we won the league, Crystal fucking Palace put 4 past us in a semi final.

 

We are knackered though, and 3 points in our next game is certainly not a given. I reckon Brendan should give these lads a couple of days off, or get them somewhere to relax like a golf course or brothel because we cannot finish another game like that, as i reckon Ill be finished.

 

He gave them 4 days off after chelsea beat us. Seems to have done wonders...

 

Edit: Incidentally, Moses has got absolutely fuck all to do with where we are. The sooner he fucks off back to the scum who own him the better. He's less use on a football pitch than a sack of shit.

[Xherdan]

Dhalsim would be an amazing signing.

[ngogswilly]

Defence obviously needs sorting but we also have to drill it into our midfielders and forwards that when you're 3 nil up you need to just control the fucking game.

Quit trying fucking flicks and backheels and daft passes in the final third.

Keep it simple and just win the fucking thing. 

[xerxes]

 

We are knackered though, .

Not through long cup runs and euro competition we are not.

 

This is the business end of the season, to be tackled by resolute minds more than tired bodies.It is new territory for everyone, and some have been found wanting.

 

But Brendan has been building for a CL qualification, not title, tilt.Hopefully he will get a chance to buy for the latter.

 

City now have the pressure of expectation back on them, and last time around they struggled to beat QPR to win the title, this is not over yet.

[Paco]

mamchester united were absolutely knackered

[Saintslfc13]

I feel a bit better about the whole thing now to be honest. Yea we fucked up in a way I'd never imagined but we've shown so much improvement, achieved our main goal for the season, and realistically we've got no idea how the league will play out next year. The scum won it last year going away with a far less talented squad than any of their realistic rivals for the title. City lacked hunger and chelsea were shit. Given our recent history it's very easy to think we'll get left behind again as the cunts around us reload but in my opinion as long as we replicate the manager and teams ambition on the field in the market we'll be right up there with a shout next season.

 

"But teams feared the mancs" you say? Well who's to say a lot of teams won't fear us? Sure teams like Arsenal, City, United, and Everton will throw everything they have at us whilst chelsea will park the bus if mourinho's still there but the other teams in the league might just think "fuck, these can put us to shame".

 

I think next season, whether we buy new defenders or not (and I think we definitely need new fullbacks, particularly a rightback), Rodgers will emphasize control just as much as attack. Too many times this season we've scored loads only to have them score 2 or 3 as well. I think in a lot of ways that's down to naivety on our part and next year we'll see similar games but rather than keeping with that all out attack for 80-90 minutes we'll play more of a barcelona-esque game where we have the ball but the intent is more focused on keeping it rather than going for goal directly so long as we're a goal or two in front. It'd be like a blend of Brendan's tactics with Rafa's ideally, we hit them and hit them hard but once we're "clear" rather than going for the rout directly we'll just keep possession and make them try to get the ball from us with the idea being that at this point it's more important not to concede than it is to score more. Ironically enough this could lead to us scoring goals anyway because some teams will come out and try to win the ball, opening up opportunities for runs in behind and thus chances. Against those who play Pulis' like tactics it might make for a boring game once we have the lead but it'll stop shit like last night from being possible.

 

As far as this season is concerned, city might still choke themselves. They don't look like a team who's destined to be champions that's for certain. Win vs Newcastle and we secure at least 2nd, with a chance that West Ham does us a huge favour whilst that's going on, and they could even lose to villa before that.

[Delmar]

Yesterday was very simple.  3-0 up, you end it.  We have had 3 defenders on the bench quite a while.  Bring them all in and do a Mourinho.  Get Gerrard forward with Suarez, and everyone else back behind the ball.  70 minutes of very good deserves 20 minutes of park the bus.

 

But that was that.  It's not over yet, weirder things have happened.  Good season, though.  The manager deserves the credit for it and also massively more credit if we manage to win this.

[Section_31]

It did have the feel of a Roy Evans era European debacle I must admit, complete with Martin Tyler scoregasm.

[RedRazor]

Issue with that is baring only the 2nd goal Johnson wasn't exposed and we have been caught by counter attacks with Hendo on the pitch.  Fuck sake we were 1-3 up and had 7 players in their box when they broke for the 2nd.  Johnson left Skrtel marking 2 players whist he just stood around like a mong for the 3rd.

Sorry but I disagree with everyone who is pointing the finger at Johnson. For the first and third goals I have only one question "Where the fuck was Lucas?"

For the first Lucas should have been close to Delaney and stopped him having the time to control the ball and get his shot away. For the third Lucas (or maybe Gerrard) should have been close enough to Murray so that Skrtel didn't need to charge out of the back four to close him down. Easy to just blame the lads in the back four but the real villain for those two goals isn't getting a mention.

[Pureblood]

The real villain is Rodgers, if we must have one, who should have made sure we secured three points instead of chasing the goal difference.  It was all in his hands and his attempts to shift the blame onto the players reeks of a guilty mind.  It can't be schoolboy defending every week and if it is then you're the headmaster, Brendan.

[Mathewbet1]

Well Brendons got to do is get the Boys back up for it as its going to the last day. if we score first then their crowd will get nervous and anything can happen under pressure situations. if City for one second think they already won it they will loose a game for sure.

[xerxes]

The real villain is Rodgers, if we must have one, who should have made sure we secured three points instead of chasing the goal difference.  It was all in his hands and his attempts to shift the blame onto the players reeks of a guilty mind.  It can't be schoolboy defending every week and if it is then you're the headmaster, Brendan.

Or maybe he realises that our current crop of defenders cannot defend to a high enough standard so we HAVE to keep on going forwards?

 

Overall that philosophy has paid dividends in a magnificent season.

[BCM]

Or maybe he realises that our current crop of defenders cannot defend to a high enough standard so we HAVE to keep on going forwards?

 

Overall that philosophy has paid dividends in a magnificent season.

 

Over the season maybe, but not being able to shift towards pragmatism cost us the game last night no doubt.

[Pureblood]

Or maybe he realises that our current crop of defenders cannot defend to a high enough standard so we HAVE to keep on going forwards?

 

Overall that philosophy has paid dividends in a magnificent season.

 

If Rodgers is to take the plaudits when it goes well he must take the criticism when it doesn't.  He is not flawless.  This is a recurring problem with his teams. 

 

There's a time and a place for piling forward in search of goals and last night wasn't it.  I think Rodgers was starting to believe his own hype a bit after Norwich and it transmitted to the players, culminating in last night's reckless attacking approach which was ill suited to the situation.   

[Mathewbet1]

Dont mean to dwell on this game too much and dave's report covers it well but I've watched the last goal a few times it's very weird, no obvious mistake apart from Skrtel committing it was from a ball straight down the middle shocking really. Only reason I can think for that goal is most of players heads had gone at that point. Strange strange goal watch it again if you can stomach it.

[BCM]

I just switched  on lfctv and i still cant get my head round Moses coming on at 2-3, You could see what was coming a mile away.

[Red Banjo]

I can't get my head around signing Moses at all. It was obvious from about the 3rd game he was neither arsed or any good. We should have fucked him off in January, as we did with Sahin when it was clear that was a clusterfuck also.

 

Ofcourse it doesnt help he belongs to them.

 

Added together it's just a colossal fucking disaster. That miss sums up his time here.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

I can't get my head around signing Moses at all. It was obvious from about the 3rd game he was neither arsed or any good. We should have fucked him off in January, as we did with Sahin when it was clear that was a clusterfuck also.

 

Ofcourse it doesnt help he belongs to them.

 

Added together it's just a colossal fucking disaster. That miss sums up his time here.

 

I dont think its certain that we could mate. Would have to be mutual and Chelsea would have told us to fuck off.

[etho]

People talk about this being 'our chance' this year. Fuck that. Brendan is right, we're ahead of schedule. I watched us turn up at Palace, a hard place to come, go three-nil up, and attack them genuinely believing we were that good we could spank they 6-0. And on another day it would have happened. Yes the flaws in the team finally came home in the harshest way possible. But I look at this manager and this group of players with a massive sense of pride, and optimism for the future. I watch alot of football and we are fucking breathtaking going forward. Sterling is 19. Coutinho is 21. Henderson 23 and improving constantly. Suarez entering his best years. Gerrard can play for another 4 at least in his new role. How many teams in the world have a 'quarter back' with reasonable pace who is almost guaranteed to put it on a sixpence almost every time?

[RedRazor]

Or maybe he realises that our current crop of defenders cannot defend to a high enough standard so we HAVE to keep on going forwards?

 

Overall that philosophy has paid dividends in a magnificent season.

I don't really buy into this. If we played that same back four with a very unambitious midfield five then they would probably keep as many clean sheets as Chelsea. It is easy to focus on our defenders when the real problem is our collective defending. There is a danger that we could spend a huge amount of money on a shiny new back four this summer and still have exactly the same problems.

 

As ever it is a trade off between attacking intent and defensive solidity. My belief is that we don't have too much wrong with the personnel, we just need to adjust that balance. That said, we definitely need a left back and maybe another centre back.

[FrenchEyeGlass]

Maybe this is me being weird but I seriously can't say I was angry at one single player or manager last night.

 

I just felt heartbroken for them all. Like truly gutted. Every single one, bar perhaps Moses, who I feel indifferent towards.

 

I dunno, weird I guess, but I truly feel no anger or disappointment in any of them. I can't bring myself to. I love all of them after what they've done this season.

 

Whilst we are all gutted, I think the most incredible thing is that this is just the start. Brendan Rodgers. He's bringing us back to life.

[halewood pete]

I'm out the country at mom,and wi fi a bit hit and miss where I am,but local news in morning showed the first two goals and the newsreader said she had just heard it had gone to three nil for us,so I went out for the day feeling totally confident of the win,it was over twenty four hours later that I learnt the result,couldn't believe it.just have to wait and see now and hope things go our way,some great,great football played this season,and if you told me at the start of the year we would be where we are now,I would have been delighted,if we don't win it though will be absolutely gutted.