Typical LFC away match to a mid-table club. In other words; plenty of possession, post/bar got some action, gave up a goal on the counter and nobody could finish except for a flukish one by Suarez. I guess the bright spots are we came back to tie after going down a goal and Sterling continues to shine. Borini was absent, Shelvey sloppy, Reina caught out of position (again!), Suarez/Gerrard trying way too hard and Downers, once again, brought on to get a goal. At this rate, LFC will be lucky to be in the top half of the table by Jan. Worst start of an LFC season since the time dinosaurs roamed the earth.
Well let's start by saying we have to be positive. I have been reliably informed it will take a long while before we learn this complicated, sophisticated system. clearly Gerrard doesn't know what to do in this system. He jumps to the Hollywood pass immediately rather than playing the patient safe option that might lead to an open chance but only after 4 or 5 passes. Reina, Johnson and Suarez all made defensive moves that were risky and failed, in one sequence, and they scored. But look at this, of we are so weak offensively why in MON parking the bus and playing with a lone striker at home? Sterling was our best player by a wide margin. Made tackles, mostly made the right tactical plays, could not be knocked off the ball and made the goal with a great move. Says something when a 17 year old is your best player. Worst player Borini. If his best position is striker then he simply isn't good enough. He has played every game and has not done anything. Today he was absolute crap. When set up to shoot from right in front of goal he hit the keeper in the hands. We should have Luis where he was when he scored the goal. Jonjo put In a shift but is he really the point man in a three man midfield? I think I would rather SG there and Sahin with Allen. We are really ********ed if Downing is our best and only offensive substitute. The back line did well but Kelly is not ready to be an attacking FB. Why didn't Enrique play? Johnson once again looked very good going forward but had his regular brain fart that gave them the chance to score. Sunderland's best player was Atkinson. Both Johnson and Suarez were clearly fouled in the box without a penalty being given and with Luis given an undeserved card.
^^^^ enrique was hurt; johnson was fouled but it would have been a soft pk - but if he was on ManU it would have been given; Suarez was looking for a PK and tried to drag his foot to get contact - which I don't think there was.
There was contact and when a defending shoves the attacker in the back it's a PK soft or not. Have you seen the penalty given for the scum today?
Well that was disappointing to say the least. All that possession ...wasted. Sunderland only ever looked like scoring once and they of course buried it.If only Borini's shot had gone in perhaps his confidence would have also gone up. As it is, he's offering little other than effort at this point. Allen continues to impress me with his positioning, passing, and tenacity. I think he's going to be a real big star for us. Shelvey looked good at times today though he was tired at the end. Kelly looked lost most of the time whenever he got the ball in the offensive third. Maybe playing Stewie at LB and Gleninho at RB would have been a better bet Having said that, Downing looked decent off the bench. I want BR to tell Luis to play with integrity and stop fucking diving. Glen deserved a penalty I thought when he was pushed but the team should be burying chances from open play. Frustrating but still some positive signs.
I know its still early, but with one signing (Allen) really making an impact, will the saying go "signings that didnt pan out but at least they weren't expensive"?
Unfortunately, Borini has been drafted into Plan A by our little deadline day cock up and he really isn't ready for it. Gotta live with what we've got. I'm frankly happy with a point from this one.
Only happy because we scored after being down? Because we absolutely dominated that game and had two subs to boot. I think the Europa team is picking itself.
22 shots to 7 shots. 2/3 possession. A post, crossbar. Several good chances, most taken right at the keeper. On attack, we had guys in the box. I think Borini is snakebit and the goals will start to come. We just need a striker swinging a big knob with an idea on how to fire past the keeper. We had the run of play. And we have a brilliant 17 y/o winger. Yes, Downing was our sub. Yes, we need a legit striker or three in there. But this isn't getting fixed until the winter window, so let's concentrate on what can be developed in the squad, the shape, play and understanding.
I thought we looked pretty good before the first goal. Had about 70% possession and a couple of chances until that moment. Improved in the 2nd half as well. Good to see that Sterling has the freedom to attack defenders even after being unsuccessful for a bit. We are trying to defend the title of most often hitting the woodwork - just no luck at all. Luck or lack of clinical finishers? Suarez takes a dive - glad the cheater got a yellow for it!
Happy because we came away with something from a fixture that has been tough for us in the past. Happy because we came back from a goal down. Happy because we finally scored from open play. Happy because things are progressing, slowly.
Just watched the game as if it were live, had no idea what happened beforehand and stayed disconnected throughout the day. I was very pleased with this match, as the system looks to have progressed tremendously since the break. Reina: Was solid today, no blunders. Hopefully that remains the case. Kelly: This was his best game for us this season, and I really, really like him, however my issue with him is that he lacks the speed to be a fullback. I kept getting worried when he was racing an opposing player for the ball, he was always slower and I was scared he'd get beat or accidentally get himself sent off. In the middle he'd be mint. Skrtel: Looked composed, and was actually better than Agger (rare) today. Agger: Good defensively, but he really misses Lucas, evident by his hesitation to lead/join the attack. When Lucas is there to cover for him he's a threat on the ball. Johnson: Brilliant attacking play, and has tremendous chemistry with Sterling, but he can't defend worth sh1t on the left. He needs to play on the right to be at his best. The crossbar shot sure was something. Allen: His first non-MOTM game for us, though he wasn't a liability by any stretch. Gave the ball away too often for Joe Allen standards, but remains the most comfortable player we have on the ball, from both a players' and fans' point of view. Shelvey: Really good, showed why he deserved to start. I felt bad for him when he never scored on that great chance toward the end. A bit more experience and he scores those with ease. Gerrard: I thought this was his best league game this season. I think the criticism about his wayward passing is somewhat deserved, however I think both he and Rodgers have both accepted that he isn't going to get that passing success rate very much higher, so if he's gonna have his share of give-aways, he may as well make them both safer and more potentially rewarding. The long forward passes aren't going to cost us very many conceded goals. I liked his will to defend in this match too, he's much better when he runs around all over the place like a headless chicken, that's always been his style, and it's his best play. Borini: Got himself in good positions, the goals will come. Still don't like him on the right. Him getting subbed off had nothing to do with our goal, so he wouldn't have cost us our point had he stayed on. Suarez: Good game, good finish on the goal (the low volley right in front of goal has been one of his weirdest weaknesses for some reason. He always skies them like 10 feet over the bar). The diving has to stop. Sterling: Best player on the pitch, and by a mile. Wasn't even close. Kid's already as good as Oxlade-Chamberlain, if not better. In fact, I haven't seen Oxlade-Chamberlain be the difference maker for a result at Arsenal yet, while Sterling was the reason we scored and got our point. He and Suarez looked to have a good understanding throughout the match, and as that link gets even better, so will be, especially in front of goal. It's on Borini now to learn where to be when these 2 guys provide the chances, and to smash them home. Downing: Second straight game where he has looked good as a sub. That's his place, and I'm ok with it. That being said, I also think that Joe Cole is an effective sub, so take it with a grain of salt. My last comment is about Martin Atkinson. I thought he called a good game, but I was quite disgusted about the lack of protection he gave Sterling. I realize that the kid is 17, smaller, and less experienced and therefore not as adept to the EPL as everyone else on the pitch, but as far as I'm concerned, that doesn't give opposing players the right to just fly in at full speed and recklessly lunge at him two-footed every single f***ing time he gets the ball. I'm not asking for sending-offs or anything, but it would be nice if the ref actually approached these players and said "Hey, bud, you can't do that. Cut the bullsh1t before you end the kid's career before it even starts." I'm seriously worried about his fitness if every game is going to be like this. Wait until he plays a team like QPR or Chelsea who are full of players capable of drawing the opposing stretcher.
We need a couple of players with that bit of magic that can create something out of nothing and one guy up front who can score on a consistent basis. It's the worst start to the season since Noa was riding the waves of Southern Cali, but it's not all doom and gloom.
I've been saying that they need to start playing Glen as a winger for a while now. For now, stick Downing on the LB position and leave Glen as a LM/LW.
I love Suarez, he has the potential to actually become one of our greatest players ever, but after last season and this how have we not learnt that having him as our focal attacker is going to end up frustrating. Imagine an average Torres next to him. We'd be unstoppable. ********in Fernando
Not a bad game by all accounts except that teams seem almost to score against at will on the counter. I couldn't believe that we had 8 shots to their 1, and they had one goal. Seems to me that when certain players lose the ball, they don't even bother to win it back. Sort it out Rodgers because that's where we are losing points not just goals. Borini looks like he will take some time to get into his stride but our bench was devoid of goal threat, wasn't it? Downing? Henderson? Assaidi? (don't know about him). Could be this be the time to drop another senior player and select another sprog? It can't be any worse, really can it.
I went to the game feeling quite positive and hoping this might be a breakout game for us. Uh huh. I now look forward to finishing the first half of the season as the team with most possession, most shots, most promising players, most undeserved losses, most amount of penalties deserved, least amount of penalties given, best young forward, least goals scored, most promising midfield, 15 points from 15 games, most complicated system (but not to worry the players will pick it up eventually), and the most promising manager in the league. Yes sir this is going to be fun. We are just the most promising team ever. Yeah that's right I'm grumpy.
15 points from 15 games? You're already out on that score, mate; we've already "lost" 4 of those points. On a positive note, I thought that despite Suarez having travelled from the Western hemisphere, Gerrard and Johnson having each played almost almost three matches in 7 days, Shelvey having played for the U21 despite being ill (what does that say about Henderson's non-selection), Allen's recovering from illness we didn't do so badly and bossed most of the second half. What has constantly irked in the last 4 matches is how we seem always to concede from our opponents' only meaningful attack. Even if Gardner had done Johnson, Agger, Skrtel and Reina could still have done something about it. They didn't and that is becoming a real worry. Apart from the uninspiring attacking options from the bench, of course.
Good report without some of the the knee jerk responses we've been getting. Part of the frustration still stems back over the last four managers. Rafa, Roy, Kenny and now Brendan. It's that we controll the game and can't close it out. "Especially" with lower tier teams. Where are the Ian Rush's, god in his prime, Little Mikey's and King Kennys etc who knew how to finish. I'm liking the system except as stated in the paragraph above. I like we're not slaves to the ticky tacky so I still wellcome Gerrard's long passing that really puts the oppo defence in a panic. Most times it comes off and it stops the defences finding a rythym in our attack. Johno was great out there, crossing with his left and cutting in for those shots. People applaud that and forget that when he puts a cross in and no attacker presses the defence, it does leave us a little open for counter. Then it's Johno's fault, of course, because he can't be in two places at once. That's why we have mid field players who are supposed to shift over to cover. Allen did an excellent job but he can't do it all. We got a point away to a difficult team, a home team who's main plan was to park the bus. Prolly made MON look a genious in the Geordie eys.
It was very Kenny-esque Yep. I think he has looked better coming on as a sub. I guess I am happy we left the SoL w/ a point, but we should have had three. I am still in shock that we scored from open play. The red socks were a great touch.
"Liverpool probably deserved the equaliser," said O'Neill, "They had a number of chances but didn't take them." Magnanamous..
He was, probably because Rodgers is a fellow Ulsterman . He also admitted, on the audio clip that was played on sports reports, that Sunderland was just about hanging on at the end. But you're right, the performance was much better than against another supposedly low to mid-table team.