9/11: Liverpool v. Birmingham City (R)

[kopiteinkc]

Originally posted by MUFCSucks

owen and heskey deserve atleast 70% of the blame.

we are quickly becoming the new Newcastle.

Drop OWEN now!

play barros or even Smicer at Centre forward.
alongside Diouf

Crazy stuff. How are Owen and Heskey to blame for conceding two late goals?

Yes we should have scored more, but we shouldn't be conceding goals like this at home. Heskey only played the second half and came in at left midfield because of the injury to Henchoz so I don't think he can blamed.

The consensus seems to be that Traore was to blame on the first, a whole team falling to sleep on the second.

But let's look at the bigger picture here for a second. It is fairly obvious GH has radically changed our playing style this season, we are gonna see some teething probems. But to drop Owen is wrong.

He will find his scoring boots very soon and it isn't like the midfield isn't chipping in.

Remember we are still unbeaten! If we lose god knows what these boards will be like.

[BrianCappellieri]

BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/2245880.stm)Morrison denies Liverpool

Clinton Morrison struck a dramatic injury-time equaliser to grab a point for Birmingham against Liverpool at Anfield.

icBirmingham (http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0200sport/globalsport/page.cfm?objectid=12192369&method=full&siteid=50002)Morrison saves Blues

With style and precision, Clinton Morrison last night assured himself a place in the history of Birmingham City.

Ananova (http://www.ananova.com/sport/soccer/PREM/Birmingham/story/sm_668887.html?menu=sport.football.premierleague.birminghamcity)Liverpool throw away two-goal lead again

Clinton Morrison grabbed two goals in the last half hour - the second in the fourth minute of injury time - to give Birmingham a 2-2 draw at Liverpool.

Ananova (http://www.ananova.com/sport/soccer/PREM/Birmingham/story/sm_668923.html?menu=sport.football.premierleague.birminghamcity)Bruce lauds Blues' bottle

Steve Bruce praised the "bottle, courage and honesty" of his Birmingham side after their dramatic 2-2 draw at Liverpool.

[Matt Clark]

Good God, but you are an imbecile. Well, no, that’s unfair, you’re clearly just a kid and not from these parts, so you have had neither the time nor the opportunity to formulate a proper understanding of this game of ours. Your girlie tantrums are going to get very old, very quickly though.

I won’t bother trying to educate you because there’s plenty of time for you to grow into this whole lark, but do please bear in mind that this little corner of Bigsoccer distinguishes itself by having a bunch of people who

a) treat each other with respect and
b) know their shit.

That is fantastically rare on this rabid zoo of an Internet site and, as mod of this forum, I aim to keep it that way. You are welcome to post your opinions as long as you behave yourself and although the quality of your observations at the moment is not going to equate to much credibility for you amongst the senior members of this Liverpool thread, there is, I suppose, some hope that over time you will learn enough to be of value to the people you have chosen to spend time with.

[655321]

Everyone knows that Owen should be finishing his chances. I posted a few weeks back that we need to rotate strikers, but if you take Owen out now, it will shatter his confidence (not competely, he's a pretty confident fella), and it'll be even harder to get him started on his inevitable streak. He's creating TONS of chances, so keep him in until he's back in his normal finishing form, and then maybe experiment a bit later.

smoke it?? (jesus, you are a young guy, aren't you??)

[kopiteinkc]

Originally posted by 655321
Everyone knows that Owen should be finishing his chances. I posted a few weeks back that we need to rotate strikers, but if you take Owen out now, it will shatter his confidence (not competely, he's a pretty confident fella), and it'll be even harder to get him started on his inevitable streak. He's creating TONS of chances, so keep him in until he's back in his normal finishing form, and then maybe experiment a bit later.

smoke it?? (jesus, you are a young guy, aren't you??)

Excellent point 655321, I know we disagreed when you said he should be rotated. But the point you make about his confidence is an important one.

I took heart from the fact that the Kop were really getting behind him last night. Continually singing his name and knowing he will come through this bad patch.

If he was playing poorly, dropping him maybe justified, but he is not. He is actually more involved and playing better than last season.

[LiverpoolFanatic]

I missed the match, my professors here probably wouldn't understand, but i checked the bbc site at a couple of intervals and was at once elated (1-0 Murphy) and then distraught (2-2 thanks to Morrison).

A disturbing trend, 3 matches in a row giving up LATE goals. I am sure Houllier is getting tired of saying "We deserved more", and "we could have scored 5 or 6". But he'll get it sorted. Michael will score again, and score a lot. Remember he went through a patch similar to this last year, and then ended up with his highest tally ever. The football has been very attractive, and fun to watch. Henchoz got hurt yesterday as well. Right away we see how valuable he is. They should be able to right the ship against Bolton, barring another Wanderer miracle that is.

Early days yet. THe dropped points are a nuisance (ok they're a collossal pain in the tail) but we'll hit our stride soon.

[kopiteinkc]

Originally posted by LiverpoolFanatic
The football has been very attractive, and fun to watch. Henchoz got hurt yesterday as well. Right away we see how valuable he is. They should be able to right the ship against Bolton, barring another Wanderer miracle that is.

Early days yet. THe dropped points are a nuisance (ok they're a collossal pain in the tail) but we'll hit our stride soon.

We are playing more attractive stuff and that is part of the conundrum isn't it.

Exciting play, lots of chances, but conceding goals at the other end.

Is it possible to have it both ways and play attractive stuff and keep it tight at the back? Maybe. Maybe not.

In our case our attractive style has emerged from the midfield pushing up to support the forwards a great deal more than last season. Not just one or two midfielders either, all four of them on occasion.

And what does this lead to? Obvious isn't it, less protection in front of the back four.

So I think we might see a bit of a compromise over the next few matches with Hamann staying at home a bit more and yet still allowing Murphy and Gerrard to forage forward.

[Matt Clark]

Well, the most symptomatic aspect of our new approach for me is the sight of Stephane Henchoz crossing the half-way line. He even had a shot on Wednesday! I couldn't believe my eyes. Srewed it horribly, of course, but still, it's the thought that counts. :p

As I keep saying, this is the next stage of our development and in the process of completing that phase of evolution, we will make mistakes. And mistakes equal dropped points. But I would rather that than stand still and kid ourselves that the niveau we had reached last season was good enough for a sustained challenge on several fronts (which has to be the ultimate ambition for this football club).

[Bauser]

Dropping four points at home in consecutive matches in September isn't all that bad. As long as we prevent MU and Arsenal from opening up big gaps it doesn't really matter what we do from now until Christmas in the Premiership. It's all about staying in touch with the front runners. We should aim at peaking in the final third of the season when the keymatches come Wednesday - Saturday - Wednesday.

I haven't been able to watch a single Premiership match this season, only highlights, so I'm thankful for the detailed reports and thoughts from everyone of you here regarding the situation at the club.

Champions League I will be able to see though. Thankfully!

[Lanky134]

If Owen wasn't doing everything else right, I would say he should be dropped. He seems to be getting into position and making good runs, but the timing is a bit off. Maybe he's having trouble adapting to the openness of our play now.

Dave