Debrecen Away 24/11/2009

[Salte]

Awful pitch.

Players lacking confidence after poor run of results.

Debrecen playing very cautious.

Not a pretty performance on our part, but under those conditions I'd take any win. Seem to remember quite a few others saying the same the last few days.

[Catch22]

The performance was very poor.

 

However we have played well a lot of times this season & not got the win because we have been unlucky/committed very basic mistakes.

 

Last night we still made an error like that near the end but were lucky/Reina was fantastic & got away with it.

 

All football success is built upon clean sheets, from Clemence vs Shilton when i was a kid to the Mancs' 10 in a row last season to the fact that whenever we have kept 1 in the last 11 games we have won the game & whenever we haven't , we haven't.

 

Given Fiorentina's entirely expected result,the most crucial part of last night was to keep a clean sheet, however luckily.

 

String a run of clean sheets together like we have done in every other season recently & we will be fine.

Don't & the horrible run continues.

 

We were lucky to get it, but we got that crucial clean sheet & hopefully we can build upon that.

[Lucky Pierre]

It was a poor performance but we won. The last few weeks we've played some good stuff at times but lost or drawn. Without looking at other games and the ramifications of them, last night was a decent win.

[Lucky Pierre]

Aqui's not quite ready to start.

 

Aqui's not quite ready to start.

Thought I'd point this out one last time for good luck.

[The Golden Eel]

The real disappointing thing is that, having watched Fior/Lyon, how average both those teams are... Sad but true. Especially Fiorentina, very average side IMO. Both will have no impact whatsoever on the outcome of the competition.

[Lucky Pierre]

They'll both be out in the 1st knockout stage.

[silverlining]

Does anybody even think that the manager doesn't even rate Aquilani? Seems like Keane all over again.

 

I think Benitez has seen something from Purple Aqui in training that he doesn't like very much.

 

Possibly he has attempted to pass forwards, or had a shot on target or something equally abhorrent from a Benitez midfielder.

[Jose M]

I think Benitez has seen something from Purple Aqui in training that he doesn't like very much.

 

Possibly he has attempted to pass forwards, or had a shot on target or something equally abhorrent from a Benitez midfielder.

 

I know you're joking but it wouldn't surprise me. Maybe he's waiting until Aqua has had all the enthusiasm and attacking instinct coached out of him and he's fully developed into a slow, one paced, uncreative holding midfielder with lesbian hair.

[BexBissel]

I think Benitez has seen something from Purple Aqui in training that he doesn't like very much.

 

Possibly he has attempted to pass forwards, or had a shot on target or something equally abhorrent from a Benitez midfielder.

[Antynwa]

I think Benitez has seen something from Purple Aqui in training that he doesn't like very much.

 

Possibly he has attempted to pass forwards, or had a shot on target or something equally abhorrent from a Benitez midfielder.

 

PASS IT SIDEWAYS

[The Chef]

The real disappointing thing is that, having watched Fior/Lyon, how average both those teams are... Sad but true. Especially Fiorentina, very average side IMO. Both will have no impact whatsoever on the outcome of the competition.

 

Agreed about both teams being average ........but, guess wot.So are we.

 

Fiorentina will go out next round and Lyon the round after..IMO

 

And can't imagine us goin much further than either, if we had of progressed.And to go from being shite in the Champs League to being bookies favourites in the Europa League

[ratcatcher]

Well loads of comments some good, some bordering on hysteria.

 

The boys did everything they could last night but the damage had been done right from the very first game. OK the performance wasnt great but neither was it as abject as some are making out.

 

It wouldnt matter one jot whether we'd have battered them 9-0 last night or put in a sublime performance stroking the ball about with aplomb. Our fate wasnt in our hands.

 

So, the win was a win and after recent performances was welcome whoever the oppos.

 

I dont get why so many fans are not giving young Ngog the credit he really deserves. It seems to me many of our fans almost ridicule the lad. Whether thats because of the jewel we hae in Torres or not I dont know but, in his absence, Ngog has scored the goals.

 

I get the impression if Ngog was an emergency striker with the chavs, filth or arse he'd be getting complimentary write ups in the press let alone a bit of support from many Reds.

 

But the big question mark must surely be over benitez and the direction he's taking us. Never have been one of his biggest fans. He just doesnt do it for me. Tactically brilliant though he has been, he just seems to aloof and removed from the fandom I look at. To some he's the messiah but to me, sorry, he's just a cold tactical man.

 

Once again last night we were subject to a bizarre substitution. I dont think I have too many complaints about benayoun for ngog or dossena but why the heck put aquilani on with a minute to go. Its just ludicrous and I dont buy the 'wasting time' argument either.

 

Frankly, I cant see when aquilani will get to play a game for us if Debrecen away isnt the game. I just cant see him being risked and risked is the word for the derby. Benitez looks scared to use his £20m signing for fear he'll become damaged goods again.

 

So welcome to the Europa League. havent looked at who'll join us in that this season. Its such a massive disappointment but, filth got dumped out of the CL a few seasons back so I dont quite get the hysteria over it with us. Yes income will go down but you've got to be prepared for these things.

 

So what of benitez? Said it before and I'll say it again. We shouldnt sack a manager mid season. The only time Id go with such a sacking is if results are so poor it means we wont achieve our minimum standards. In other words CL qualification.

 

But, I do think he's taken us as far as he can. I cannot see him recovering from this. The players confidence in him must surely have been taking a massive hammering. His substitutions from the start of his tennure have been baffling in the extreme. Its almost on that fact alone that I dont believe he can win us the title no matter how much money is given to him. Put simply, you can have the best squad in the land. But if you dont use it properly, dont make inspiring subtitutions which can influence games, if your first aim is to stop losing a game rather than winning it, then you're never going to be good enough to win the PL.

 

In a nutshell, that's it for me. Thanks benitez for the trophies, the memories and the great results. end of the season must bring a parting of the ways otherwise imo, we're going to fall further and further off the pace.

[Warwick Hunt]

Well loads of comments some good, some bordering on hysteria.

 

The boys did everything they could last night but the damage had been done right from the very first game. OK the performance wasnt great but neither was it as abject as some are making out.

 

It wouldnt matter one jot whether we'd have battered them 9-0 last night or put in a sublime performance stroking the ball about with aplomb. Our fate wasnt in our hands.

 

So, the win was a win and after recent performances was welcome whoever the oppos.

 

I dont get why so many fans are not giving young Ngog the credit he really deserves. It seems to me many of our fans almost ridicule the lad. Whether thats because of the jewel we hae in Torres or not I dont know but, in his absence, Ngog has scored the goals.

 

I get the impression if Ngog was an emergency striker with the chavs, filth or arse he'd be getting complimentary write ups in the press let alone a bit of support from many Reds.

 

But the big question mark must surely be over benitez and the direction he's taking us. Never have been one of his biggest fans. He just doesnt do it for me. Tactically brilliant though he has been, he just seems to aloof and removed from the fandom I look at. To some he's the messiah but to me, sorry, he's just a cold tactical man.

 

Once again last night we were subject to a bizarre substitution. I dont think I have too many complaints about benayoun for ngog or dossena but why the heck put aquilani on with a minute to go. Its just ludicrous and I dont buy the 'wasting time' argument either.

 

Frankly, I cant see when aquilani will get to play a game for us if Debrecen away isnt the game. I just cant see him being risked and risked is the word for the derby. Benitez looks scared to use his £20m signing for fear he'll become damaged goods again.

 

So welcome to the Europa League. havent looked at who'll join us in that this season. Its such a massive disappointment but, filth got dumped out of the CL a few seasons back so I dont quite get the hysteria over it with us. Yes income will go down but you've got to be prepared for these things.

 

So what of benitez? Said it before and I'll say it again. We shouldnt sack a manager mid season. The only time Id go with such a sacking is if results are so poor it means we wont achieve our minimum standards. In other words CL qualification.

 

But, I do think he's taken us as far as he can. I cannot see him recovering from this. The players confidence in him must surely have been taking a massive hammering. His substitutions from the start of his tennure have been baffling in the extreme. Its almost on that fact alone that I dont believe he can win us the title no matter how much money is given to him. Put simply, you can have the best squad in the land. But if you dont use it properly, dont make inspiring subtitutions which can influence games, if your first aim is to stop losing a game rather than winning it, then you're never going to be good enough to win the PL.

 

In a nutshell, that's it for me. Thanks benitez for the trophies, the memories and the great results. end of the season must bring a parting of the ways otherwise imo, we're going to fall further and further off the pace.

 

 

I agreed with pretty much all of that but why is it utterly wrong to sack a manager half way through a season?

 

Surely, a manager coming in now will have half a season to thoroughly assess the current playing squad, have a whole summer to prepare a team and get the players in he wants, and at the very least, boost a currently underperforming team and perhaps enhance the chances of us finishing the season strong.

 

Leaving it til May will put another season on it`

 

Hiddink and Redknapp last year showed it, even Avram Grant beforehand.

 

I simply don't see what can be positively gained from persisting with things the way the are, even a decent cup run and a decent run of results won't go far enough to paper over the cracks. In terms of our real targets and the standard we should be capable of achieving, the season is over.

[Red Hot]

This is the first season Rafa has had this sort of bad run of form. Injuries have played a massive part of this poor form. But to boot Rafa out without giving him at the very least till the end of the season is madness.

[Warwick Hunt]

I accept its nailed on that he'll be here til the end of the season anyway but I don't realistically see how the team can come away with any glory. A top 4 finish is the very minimum. A cup run or win, fair enough, but going the match and listening to the phone ins and reading the paper will still be an altogether drab experience, watching a game will still be frustrating.

 

I don't think this squad, led by Rafa Benitez, is capable of another Instanbul-esque miracle, and evidently the majority of fans haven't got the patience to sit through it all.

 

I think last night was another nail in the coffin and I can't see how he can recover

[stringvest]

I accept its nailed on that he'll be here til the end of the season anyway but I don't realistically see how the team can come away with any glory. A top 4 finish is the very minimum. A cup run or win, fair enough, but going the match and listening to the phone ins and reading the paper will still be an altogether drab experience, watching a game will still be frustrating.

 

I don't think this squad, led by Rafa Benitez, is capable of another Instanbul-esque miracle, and evidently the majority of fans haven't got the patience to sit through it all.

 

I think last night was another nail in the coffin and I can't see how he can recover

 

I think he should be given the chance.

[zigackly]

This is the first season Rafa has had this sort of bad run of form. Injuries have played a massive part of this poor form.

 

It's not the first season in which we have started poorly though. We start every season with out of form players struggling to put together incoherent displays, and usually have a complete slump at some point as well. Later in the season we usually get a lot better and go on a decent run, but by then in the league it is inevitably too late. This season it's too late in his signature competition too, which was the only glimmer we would normally have once it becomes clear we are off the pace in the league.

 

Last season was an exception in that our league hopes survived into the new year and picked up again in March, but even last season we were terrible for the first part of the season; we just rode our luck.

 

I was losing faith in Rafa heavily before we went on our run of form in March, but at that time I thought he had worked it out: you have to attack teams relentlessly in this league to win games. I was hoping so much that we would start this season in the same way, but we threw away any lessons or momentum we gained from last season and here we are staring into the abyss of a season in which we are effectively out of the two most important competitions before December.

 

Now in order to win anything he is going to have to pin his hopes on a competition he's fucked off ever since he won it or a second class Euro pot.

 

Nowhere near good enough. And I don't accept injuries as an excuse; he built this squad and we coped with similar injuries last season.

Edited November 25, 2009 by zigackly

[Lucky Pierre]

I think last night was another nail in the coffin and I can't see how he can recover

Kill Gillett and Hicks. Have owners that will back him and then at least he'll have had a shot at it.

[betterman]

This is the first season Rafa has had this sort of bad run of form. Injuries have played a massive part of this poor form. But to boot Rafa out without giving him at the very least till the end of the season is madness.

 

Hello Rafa!

[Guest Dog Chaser]

Even though we did win last night it was painful viewing, i can't believe how predictable we are in attack. No width and little pace in our forward play. Insua and Johnson rarely got beyond the 'wingers'. But, i suppose thats just how it is when you have a striker (kuyt) and left back (Aurelio) on the wings.

 

Daniel Agger looked the most dangerous when going forward with two jinking runs.

[Brownie]

It's not the first season in which we have started poorly though. We start every season with out of form players struggling to put together incoherent displays, and usually have a complete slump at some point as well. Later in the season we usually get a lot better and go on a decent run, but by then in the league it is inevitably too late. This season it's too late in his signature competition too, which was the only glimmer we would normally have once it becomes clear we are off the pace in the league.

 

Last season was an exception in that our league hopes survived into the new year and picked up again in March, but even last season we were terrible for the first part of the season; we just rode our luck.

 

I was losing faith in Rafa heavily before we went on our run of form in March, but at that time I thought he had worked it out: you have to attack teams relentlessly in this league to win games. I was hoping so much that we would start this season in the same way, but we threw away any lessons or momentum we gained from last season and here we are staring into the abyss of a season in which we are effectively out of the two most important competitions before December.

 

Now in order to win anything he is going to have to pin his hopes on a competition he's fucked off ever since he won it or a second class Euro pot.

 

Nowhere near good enough. And I don't accept injuries as an excuse; he built this squad and we coped with similar injuries last season.

 

All of that is bang on the money.

[Ian Sea]

I said after the City game that we aren't going to start playing well all of a sudden and we need to grind out a few wins to get some confidence back. That's what we did last night, ground out a 1 nil win, and we'll be better for it.

 

There were positives to be taken out of the game; victory, clean sheet, another goal for N'gog but unfortunately it was too little, too late for us in the Champions League.

 

I hink we'll see plenty more of these performances before we hit top form (if we ever do hit top form again, under the current regime), it's about the best we can hope for presently.

[Faustus]

Got back a couple of hours ago. Christ, what a fantastic city Budapest is. The only low point of the whole trip was the match itself!

 

I thought to myself on Tuesday watching it that the two worst teams in the group have definitely gone and out and we can have no complaints whatsoever.

[Guest TK-421]

I thought to myself on Tuesday watching it that the two worst teams in the group have definitely gone and out and we can have no complaints whatsoever.

 

You might say the table doesn't lie but I'm sure there are a few clubs around Europe who are relieved that Liverpool won't finish runners up in that group. Inter, Real and Barca I'm looking at you.

[Faustus]

You might say the table doesn't lie but I'm sure there are a few clubs around Europe who are relieved that Liverpool won't finish runners up in that group. Inter, Real and Barca I'm looking at you.

 

Fair enough, but there's no chance I'd back us get through against any of those three teams on current form.