[dcc134]

For those of you who aren't E-season members, I will post the post game emails from Gerard.

Lazio - Disappointing result but good display

Dear Liverpool fan,

I was pleased with our performance against Lazio but only 50 per cent of the job was done because we lost the game.

We were better offensively than we were defensively, but that is okay. These games are rehearsals and give us a chance to work out what is going right and what is going wrong.

We must have had about 20 shots on goal and we definitely deserved at least a draw. But I told the players after the game just to take the positives from the performance.

I have to thank the fans for the way they took to the two new players.

Bruno Cheyrou and El Hadji Diouf both had good games and showed some of the qualities we brought them to the club for. Cheyrou has a good touch and had a couple of chances while I am pleased with the way Diouf is linking up with Michael Owen. That is very encouraging.

The intensity and the quality of the game was excellent and it was just the sort of test we needed at this stage of our pre-season preparations. We are now looking forward to the game with Real Madrid on Friday.

Regards,

Gerard Houllier
Liverpool Manager

[dcc134]

Real - Madrid disappointment

Dear Liverpool fan,

I was disappointed with what we showed against Real Madrid. You have to take into account the hard work the players have put in during our training camp in Switzerland. Freshness isn't a problem but we had players who had been at the World Cup and players coming back from injury.

We can play better but Real Madrid played very well. My team isn't totally settled yet as I have been experimenting with different formations and players. The strikers lack a bit of freshness which is understandable after they played in the World Cup.

Real rested Roberto Carlos, Morientes and Raul today and they looked much fresher than us. Real start their season 15 days after us but they have only played two pre-season games before today. I wish them well in the final on Sunday.

Emile had a good chance and could have equalised. It would have changed the game and would have given us the boost we needed. We went close in the first half as well as with a couple of chances from set pieces. It's a shame but the first goal Real scored was individual brilliance from Zidane and Figo.

It was nice to see Jamie Carragher back in action as well tonight. My decision to put him on was a message for him. He has worked very hard to get back to fitness after his operation.

We now look forward to another big game on Sunday when we play Bayern Munich or AC Milan. I will write to you with my thoughts after the game.

Until then, take care.

Gerard Houllier
Liverpool Manager

[dcc134]

AC Milan - Very pleased with Milan Victory

Dear Liverpool fan,

I was very pleased with my players tonight because we showed many Liverpool virtues. They played as a team. The first half was very good and we had a grip on the game. They scored in the second half and we showed our strength. We defended very well and showed when we want a result we go and get it. Our mental strength was very good and we put some very good moves together, all Liverpool virtues. I am pleased with our performance.

There were some very good individual performances and it was nice to see Milan Baros among the goals again. Milan is a different player to last year. He has lost weight and his fitness is a very good level. He will be a good striker for us. He is powerful, two footed and he gave an experienced defender in Maldini the runaround. He will get games this season as Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and El-Hadji Diouf all played in the World Cup. Milan didn't and he will be the freshest of our strikers.

I was also very pleased with Steven Gerrard. He did well and played for an hour or so and looked sharp and fresh. I thought Djimi Traore was outstanding again for us. He played left back in the first half and then centre back in the second. It gives me good options.

Michael could have played tonight but I didn´t think it was worth taking any risk. He is fine and will be back for the Community Shield game with Arsenal next weekend.

Regards,

Gerard Houllier
Liverpool Manager

[Matt Clark]

Excellent work dcc134. I'll make this thread a sticky so it's always visible to non-Season Ticket members around here.

[usscouse]

Originally posted by Matt Clark
Excellent work dcc134. I'll make this thread a sticky so it's always visible to non-Season Ticket members around here.

Yes, excellent..! Enjoyed reading them and look forward to more.
Thanks.

[655321]

Muchos gracias, guys.

[dcc134]

Maybe you guys can chip in when my Ticket runs out in November .

[dcc134]

Community Shield - Arsenal August 10, 2002,

1-0 Arsenal

Beaten by the better team

Dear Liverpool fan,

It goes without saying that we were disappointed to lose in the Community Shield on Sunday. Despite the fact we had legitimate claims for two penalties Arsenal were far too superior for us. All round they were better than us. We gave them too much respect and it took us half an hour to get into the game. They deserved to win, we have to acknowlege that.

We are not ready yet. We need to add more flow in our game, more fluidity. Arsenal's players looked sharp despite a lot playing in the World Cup. For Michael Owen it was his first full game of pre-season, and the same for Steven Gerrard. We need to put things together.

I wanted to try with Michael, Emile and El-Hadji together today. If you defend well against Arsenal then you have to attack them. We were too shallow in our attack. Our wide players weren't involved enough, and when we won the ball in midfield we should have had more movement with people finding width.

Arsenal are ahead of us. In football things can happen very quickly. We still have team spirit but we need more work on our passing. Our priority is the league. Liverpool is about winning and we are disappointed with the result and performance. It was not a good day and we just have to keep our heads up and get back to work.

We did have two penalty appeals turned down though, firstly when Michael would have scored had his shirt not been pulled and then when Diouf was fouled in the box. He may have made it look spectacular but it was still a penalty.

We need to improve our passing and quality in the final third. Hopefully we will start doing that on Sunday at Aston Villa. I know we are good enough.

Regards,

Gerard Houllier

[Vampeta]

Thanks again dcc134, and let's hope the lads
follow through on GH's admonishments.

[khsoccergeek]

Dear Liverpool fan,

I thought it was a very good performance at Aston Villa and that we deserved to
win. We weren't brilliant but we showed we can be strong and efficient. We built
our attacks up well and I was very pleased with our midfield who linked well
with the attack. When you are 1-0 up there is always the danger that Villa could
score but we defended really well. We showed strength and solidity at the back
and I'm very pleased. There were many good signs in our performance.

Had the finishing been better we would have sealed the game off in the second
half. I was disappointed for Michael as on another day he would have scored
three. Had we scored two or three goals everyone would have been praising us. So
1-0 keeps our feet on the ground!

I thought Michael had a very good game, it was just a pity he couldn't get his
name onto the scoresheet.

I also thought El Hadji Diouf had a good Premiership debut for us. He showed the
skill he has in turning people and his work-rate is absolutely phenomenal.

This is the start of my fifth season at Liverpool and we had won on the first
day of the previous four. I'm pleased the lads kept that statistic going today.

Villa Park is never an easy place to come and get a result from, but we did well
today and I'm proud of my players.

Regards,

Gerard Houllier
Liverpool Manager