Portsmouth V Liverpool 19/12/09

[Wezza]

From the Melwood section on the Offy :

 

If possible, I like to be out on the training pitch with the players during the session so I can see how the players are performing. Sometimes I am in meetings, though, but we have a top class staff at the club who all do a good job every day.

 

....and they must have all been raving about Dossena on the left in training, and needing two goals to get back in the game, they must have suggested swapping a defensive midfielder for another defensive midfielder, as going to three at the back and putting an extra forward on would have been ridiculous.

 

Does nobody on the backroom staff question any of these decisions? I have always been pro Rafa, but my patience is wearing mighty thin.

[bigal]

....and they must have all been raving about Dossena on the left in training, and needing two goals to get back in the game, they must have suggested swapping a defensive midfielder for another defensive midfielder, as going to three at the back and putting an extra forward on would have been ridiculous.

 

Does nobody on the backroom staff question any of these decisions? I have always been pro Rafa, but my patience is wearing mighty thin.

 

I admire you for having that much patience mate

[Dan Vito Corleone]

 

I looked hard at Mascherano's tackle. I cant see intent and I watched all the replays. Ben Haim makes a lot of noise but doesnt seem to get caught. He then spends the next minute or so remonstrating with a few Liverpool players before falling to the ground and rolling around. I can see intent to get Mascherano sent off.

 

And the ref duly complies.

 

I totally agree with this. In fact, I thought Mason's all round performance was dreadful. He was very easily influenced by the slobbering mongs in the crowd, of which they are plenty. The bookings against Lucas and Johnson were shambolic refereeing.

 

Brown's tackle with his studs up was far worse than The Chief's - and that wasn't even a booking.

[neremic]

doesn't really matter how bad the ref was, we were worse. shambolic in defence, toothless in attack, bereft of ideas and options on and off the pitch. jeez it's depressing

[J-V]

Glad I missed the game today. Just seeing the scoreline makes me sick let alone watching what must have been dross.

 

Don't worry though we will get rid of the manager at the end of the season when its too late.

[Skidfingers McGonical]

There are no excuses for that today, none whatsoever.

 

Something has got to give, I don't care what it is just get it sorted between now and Boxing Day and carry it on into the New Year.

[Crazyhorse7778]

Mason is a fat barrel of shite.

[Red Nick]

Just to repeat played off the park by the worst team in the league

 

[YOUTUBE]WlBiLNN1NhQ[/YOUTUBE]

[Hooch]

The red was a bit harsh but I've no complaints really. Stupid.

[neremic]

by the way is everyone looking forward to our annual january blip?

[cmuller]

I'm sick of watching opposition teams play more cohesively than we do. Happens most weeks these days. Aboslutely no pattern to our play.

 

Also defensive headers. Every single one of our players just tries to get the ball as far up the pitch as possible. Not one tries to play it to another red shirt. Woeful.

Edited December 19, 2009 by cmuller

[Brownie]

It was me who predicted that Piquionne would score and when he did (with a fucking brilliant finish to boot) I just laughed to myself.

 

Today was just horrible. I've said it before that if a manager makes a decision I don't agree with i'm happy to go along with it if there's some logic involved.

 

Today there were several things which just had no base of logic whatsoever for me. Insua has been really poor all season yet he was in the team ahead of Aurelio, who is a clearly superior player.

 

Dossena has been demoted in terms of squad number and hasn't been involved, yet in he comes ahead of Benayoun; one of our best players in terms of ability and certainly form.

 

Kuyt has been dreadful all season yet he continues to be selected for the amount of ground he covers. I said before the game that it didn't look right to me for us to have a midfield of, Kuyt-Lucas-Masch-Dossena and that turned out to be a correct concern.

 

As for the match itself, we were extremely poor. The sending off didn't change the game at all as we were already stinking the place out at that point and 1-0 behind.

 

The substitutions were also laughable. 1-0 down in a game we really need to score a goal in; swap the left backs around. Then at 2-0 down, with attacking players on the bench (Babel and N'Gog), change the defensive midfielder! There is no logic whatsoever in those decisions and this is the biggest issue right now. Rafa's ability to make decisions has always been cause for debate, but right now it's deteriorating even further.

 

Having said all of that, I actually felt sorry for Rafa watching the post match interview. He looked a broken man and his answers indicated to me that he's concerned about his job. As much as my respect and belief in him has waned over the years I don't like to see him in so much pain and I wouldn't want to see his health affected, which isn't impossible.

 

On that note, i'd like him to bow out now so we have Istanbul to remember and can look to build on what we have. He's a good manager, there's no doubting that, but it looks as though his time here is up.

[Stouffer]

If you wanna get down on these hairy balls,

why dont you jump right in?

It’s a crotch party right up in here..

..why dont you lick on this big john?

 

I have had enough now, I'm fucking sick.

[halewood pete]

Woeful performance,no excuses,im sitting here fucking fuming in a nice warm house in halewood,god only knows what those great fans who have made a trip halfway down the country for an early kick off in the freezing cold must be thinking.its just not good enough,we showed no team spirit today and portsmouth,a doomed team,showed plenty.im fucking made up for their fans.I fear for our future. I dont know the answer.

[Crazyhorse7778]

Team selection was all wrong. If you were trying to pick the least creative 4 players in the squad to surround Gerrard and Torres, you would go with the 4 Rafa picked today.

 

Plus Aurelio should have started instead of Insua.

[sh#t waffle]

I just don't think Rafa's going to be able to turn this around now; he and the players just look totally clueless.

[Haan'sThunderbolt]

How long can this carry on? As far as I'm concerned, no longer. Something must be done. Problem is, what?

 

If you get beat, but you can see a method and promise, then it's okay. However, they're serving up utter garbage, and that is being kind....

[Royal Family]

We cannot afford to sack him - or indeed rid the club of players like Kuyt who have nice, long lucrative deals on £90k per week. We have potentially years of this decline still: and the only way is down we'rer heading under Rafa and under the two owners is down.

 

Torres WILL be off in the summer. No question at all about that. So will Pepe.

[Paul]

I don't think a single player had a good game today and some were fucking awful. Kuyt, Dossena, Insua, Lucas, Mascherano and Johnson were all utter shite and Carra, Agger, Gerrard, Yossi, Torres and Aurelio were poor. Speo and Pepe had little to do and are thus exempt, but we are a complete shambles right now and will be as low as 9th if the clubs around us all win their games in hand. If the board aren't looking for top class replacements for the manager right now then they're not doing their jobs properly. Oh, wait a minute...

 

(We're fucked, aren't we?)

[William_Ulsterman]

on the bright side the scum got twatted at fulham, looking highly unlike for 19 for them, bastards

[Original202]

We cannot afford to sack him

 

We might negotiate a compromise with him rather than paying him off in full. Afterall, he loves the club doesn't he?

[Section_31]

We've always had the potential for a shit season like this, that's what happens when you depend on individual players for everything - when they lose form, can't be arsed, want a move, or are injured - you're pretty much fucked. Our football has no solid foundation.

 

Just heard Rafa's interview - he sounded like a loon.

[Paulie Dangerously]

We've always had the potential for a shit season like this, that's what happens when you depend on individual players for everything - when they lose form, can't be arsed, want a move, or are injured - you're pretty much fucked. Our football has no solid foundation.

 

Just heard Rafa's interview - he sounded like a loon.

 

I heard it too. Sounded like a petulant child not wanting to answer questions about what he's done. Sending off is the best thing that could've happened to him as it gave him something to blame

[hamstrung]

We cannot afford to sack him - or indeed rid the club of players like Kuyt who have nice, long lucrative deals on £90k per week. We have potentially years of this decline still: and the only way is down we'rer heading under Rafa and under the two owners is down.

 

Torres WILL be off in the summer. No question at all about that. So will Pepe.

 

Fuck me, and I thought I was miserable.

[Torvald Utne]

why've you got 2 r's in burried? I never had you down as a bad speller so feel I must be missing something.