Liverpool 0 West Ham 0 (Jan 30 2016)

[tlw content]

 
If we had anyone half decent up front we’d have won this. The performance was good, there was a lot to be happy about and at least we’re still in the draw for the next round. We could really do without the extra game, more because of the disruption to training than anything else, but on the plus side it’s another chance for people like Cam Brannagan and Kevin Stewart to show what they can do. Can we have Sheyi Ojo on from the start next time too please, Jurgen?

I don’t feel too bad about this situation at all; it’s never easy going to West Ham but it doesn’t feel like we’ve missed our chance. At least not to me. We can go there and win but we’ll have to do a hell of a lot better in the final third than we did in this one. Benteke’s performance was soul destroying, there’s just no way he should be that ineffective.

Everything else was good though, we were the better side throughout and the midfield did particularly well. Prior to kick off that looked like the biggest area of concern as West Ham had a lot of strength and power in there with Song and Kouyate, whereas our middle three looked like the Anthill Mob. Yet we bossed it in there from start to finish.

I thought Stewart was man of the match, he started the game brilliantly and was everywhere making tackles, interceptions and moving the ball quickly to team-mates. He was like that all game too, he didn’t do anything flashy but he was really effective and did much better than I expected. He’s a good player and he’ll have a good career. Not with us, but he’ll play at a decent level.

Brannagan on the other hand was more flashy and eye catching, and at three years younger than Stewart there’s more of a chance he’ll make it here. He went close to a great goal when his well placed left foot shot was tipped round the post at full stretch by the keeper, and his set-pieces were generally better than anything we’ve seen from the first team all season.


This is just a teaser, click here to view the full report

 

Please note that Match Reports are only available to website subscribers. Subscriptions cost just £2 a month (you need to register first) and can be purchased here. If you are not currently registered on the site, sign up for free and receive a one month FREE no obligation trial subscription, which gives you access to all the members only content for one month.

 

[Kurt]

Had to laugh with your Ibe/opposite comment. I actually said during the match (no kidding) that someone should show Ibe the Seinfeld episode "The Opposite" when George Costanza started doing the opposite and everything falled into place.

 

His decision making is shocking (it is throughout the team as well to be fair to him). And it's something that does not seem to have improved either so far. It's a shame cos he has the ability to go really far if he can improve that side of his game.

[dave u]

The moment when that came to me was when he'd cut inside (which he shouldn't have) and then he was faced with an opponent who was clearly waiting for him to take the inside option again, which he did and was dispossessed easily.

 

I think confidence is a big part of it. A wideman who's not feeling great about his game will almost always run inside and take the safe option rather then trying to beat his man on the outside.

 

I want to see Ojo getting a start, not because he's better than Ibe, but because his confidence is sky high at the moment and he's trying things and being positive all the time. We should ride that confidence while it's there. I'd have Ojo on the bench tomorrow personally.

[3 Stacks]

Ibe is getting exposed by the fact that there are no other wide players at the club and he needs to play almost every game. Opponents have sussed him out and he's easy to defend against. At this point in his career it would have been best if he was only an occasional spot starter or an impact sub. 

 

That being said, he'll need to improve his technique, close control, finishing and decision making if he's ever to become a regular starter here.

 

He only has 3 Liverpool goals in total and his lacklustre technique makes it easy for defenders to take the ball off him.

[Hand Shandy]

Sounds familiar.

 

Sounds a bit like Sterling when he first broke through.

[liverpoolsno9]

I don't think Ibe will ever be good enough, I really don't. Everything about him is shocking for me.