I was thinking that as well. On set-pieces Johnson should be in the box and Carragher should stay back. The fact that Johnson has scored once is enough evidence. Carra has scored 4 times in how ever many games he's played for Liverpool.
Awful night, awful performance. Too much whining at the ref, get on with it and score instead of moaning. I liked what Insua gives us going forward, but it was far too rare and without him we had no width of left at all. Benny cuts in -- into traffic and loses it. Gerrard was very poor as were Masch and Lucas. Very frustrating ...
Torres has gotten the crap beaten out of him in our first 3 games. He looks like he has been in a bad fight. Nando has to stop letting it get to him. Leave the bitching and complaining for Rafa to do. Don't let the defenders know that it is getting to you and keep your focus. You're more likely to get a call if you are not falling down and complaining about something every five minutes. With that said, I think Torres is being treated unfairly by the referees. He was hit in the face 3 times in the first half. Defenders are kicking him left and right. He also had, what I thought was a legitimate penalty claim waived away in the second half.
They did the same thing to Ronaldo in his first years in the Premier League. He started bitching and let it get to him but over time started keeping his mouth shut, worked off the field, became twice his size, became faster and ten times the player and came back the best player in the world. I think Torres can do the same.
Villa deserved the win, no matter how crap/fluke their goals were, because we just couldn't finish our chances (or create enough chances). Having said that, the referee was rubbish today IMO, especially with the unfair treatment Torres has been getting. We simply suck at set pieces. all 5 goals we conceded this season were from set pieces, and our set pieces in attack are also pretty useless. This is one thing we have to get right, as well as hoping that Aquilani starts playing ASAP (assuming he is better than Lucas), and possibly signing another attacking player such as David Silva or at least Tuncay, even though I can't see this happening... It is going to be a loooong season...
All 5 goals from set-pieces, so far. Ok, there is bugger all that can be done about the peno but there denitely is something wrong with the defending and central midfield play.
I keep reading this - but isn't one from a PK, the other an own goal (yes from a set piece). I do however get your point and understand your frustration.
That was pretty bad. Unlike in the pres-season when I said there is nothing to worry about... I think now there might be if this type of performance keeps up. Didn't villa get destroyed last weekend or the week before ? I vaguely remember something...
This is the bad side of English football. But in the end he did get up and score. Also had a number of good attempts at other goals. But it was his zone that the 2nd goal came from. It was on that and an absolute piece of poor defending by Lucas that gave them the game. Gerrard's brain dead tackle only sealed the fate. Villa just played like their season depended on it but really only after scoring and gaining some belief. When you let sides like that in then they'll make it very hard for you to play when you go down. So I don't blame the ref or Torres -- I blame the sense of entitlement and the lack of effort.
Game was nothing more than an absolute disgrace. The home side were at times passionless and more often just plain sloppy. This was the worst performance I have seen by Gerrard... ever. He and Torres were for the most part poor, but then again, most of the side was poor. Glen Johnson was the Liverpool MotM IMO. Freidel was stoic.
The first 12 minutes we looked like it was going to be easy but we couldn't finish. The worst part of our game today was the amount of passes that went to the other team, so many good build ups lost to a bad final pass. Deliberate elbow in the back of the neck, Shirt collor ripped open, two nasty trips and not one whistle. I saw a goal turned down this weekend because the scorer gave the keeper a dirty look as he went by. Nando is 2 for 3 right now two bad he didn't finish a couple of those others but it wasn't to be. If it wasn't for the Spurs match I'd say "Don't worry, be happy" but 2 out of 3. well I'm worried. Sorry Prop. Freidel din't have a save to make that didn't come at him. A couple of simple tips over the bar and the rest hit him.
I'm guessing that's the case because that's where the game was won for Villa, IMO. We finally ran a 4-5-1 after basically miring in our own muck of a 4-4-2 and that, combined with you guys not looking up-to-snuff in the midfield was where this game turned. That, and the admittedly flukey own goal and the circumstances surrounding the 2nd goal that basically sent you to the lockers in a terrible state of mind. As a Villa fan, I'm extremely shocked. You guys absolutely dominated the run of play, especially in the 2nd half when the ball was seemingly in our defensive zone for all but our PK. I'm seriously shocked. Can't remember the last time that a team won pretty much all of the statistical categories, but ended up not only losing, but losing by 2. I guess this game was all about taking advantage of chances. You guys really should've had 2 within the first few minutes of play, and then who knows how the rest of the game plays out. But hey, I guess that's the way the ball bounces. Oh well, it's a long season. Even without Alonso, you guys still have the talent to compete for the title. Your boys will be alright. Best of luck (except for the return match at Villa Park)
Yea. This was the kicker. We DOMINATED early but couldn't capitalize. But, this is every game. We need to make our high pressure game count in the first 30min before we tire. Then, the other team starts to find space, b/c we can't hold the ball as well as last year. Our midfield is too expansive and we get run through after losing possession - which is a lot at times.
Ow. My Ass hurts for some reason. Aha. Buggered. Damn i hate that. ok ok look: its just Bullshit form finding quirkiness. Stuff happens and clearly if we had just clicked into gear we would have put them away easily. stevie shoulda buried that early one. as always, he will redouble his efforts. Now, who suspected Villa would play like stoke? Smart, and that represents a Very stiff test of the new look offence. One we failed. Lucas was playing very well and the crowd was behind him untill that og flew off his head. Then between murmur murmor and guilt he had had to really fight to avoid meltdown. For me, he did so, he gutted it out but he was rocked by that. Me too for that matter mash was disinterested in distribution today it seemed to me and maybe if he gets 2/3's of the ball it just annoys him he wants to kick some shins not dribble. feels it disturbs his true calling. maybe there was just nothing to pass to but we may need to re-arrange things that so somebody else agger? riera ? babel? grrownin? is taking those long shots that come up. no i think we need aquaman. Maudit chalice tabernacle. Thats a little french canadian for ya all. Well long live competition may all of our closest friends also experience a never ending birminghamhullstokeburnleyvillawiganevertonblackburnandso-on landscape of nicely painted parked busses also. 5-10-5 with the last 5 not bad atall, really. Fairly shiny new busses to park. Were still in for everything so i wont give up just yet tempting as it is
Well- if we gift them two goals then how did we expect to win that one. Lucas I'll give the benefit of the doubt, as most own goals are unfortunate, but Gerrard on Reo Coker- just after we've been given a lifeline- that's a brain fade of massive magnitude. It's not so much gloom and doom as other "fans " have suggested on here. We should've scored during that goal mouth scramble, Kuyt hit the post, we created enough chances and even got a goal, but it was the two gifts we gave them that killed us. For those who moan about zonal marking, including the commentators tonight, do they mention man marking every time a goal is scored from that system? Do you ever hear, "oh, I'm not a fan of man marking at set pieces" from commentators, even though the same or even more goals are scored against that method? Please- its nothing to do with the system used, its about the defenders concentrating and making sure they watch what's happening around them.
What are you supposed to think after a performance like that?? It must have been the worst match i've seen for a while from Kuyt and Bennayoun, and Torres just looks way out of focus (How many times did he lose the ball trying to score a goal on his own?). I feel depressed.
Man, here I was all pissed that my DVR hadn't recorded the damn game this afternoon (for some reason my remote access directv programming didn't work ) Then I got online and now I figure it might have been for the best...
so I've watched it now on the big screen....ugh - even playing like crap we controlled that game from start to finish, despite still having little to no creativity in the midfield, average and terrible performances by Torres and Gerrard and patchy performances from Kuyt and Benny. Credit Villa for taking what little was given to them. EDIT - Bolton game can't come fast enough.
I havent watched the game yet, as today I prioritised uni over football From the post-match comments, its hard to believe we created so much, had 62% possession yet Torres, Gerrard, Kuyt and Yossi were all below-par. Imagine when they are on song F***! We'll have 80% possession, 53 shooting attempts, 24 on target and score 9 goals...cant wait A quick point...has anyone else realised that teams have started to target Carra at set-pieces? He is extraordinarily weak in the air and for the most part of the Tottenham and Stoke matches, he stayed back at attacking corners and Johnson went forward. I dont want this to be another Carra bashing thread, but if teams continue to target him and he continues to struggle, can we really afford to not have Skrtel/Agger in the team together? Most of the other teams are going to aim to score against us from set-pieces and if we are weak at it, then we will not keep clean sheets. Also, with Johnson and Insua, we have two fairly new defenders who wont have a lot of experience with our set-pieces. The sooner we get Agger, Aurelio and Riera back, the better. I know Insua is ok and going to be a fixture in our XI for years to come, but those three players have the ability to hold up the ball and hold off challenges until support comes as well as having accurate passing skills. Especially Riera...when the ball is played to him and he has his back to goal, he draws the opposition full-back and central midfielder to him, creating space closer to goal for Gerrard/Torres and the over-lapping full-back. I cant wait to see those three players back in the side. If we get through this "injury" period with some good results, I think by October/November, with Agger, Aurelio, Skrtel, Riera and Aquilani all back to full fitness, our side will look a lot stronger and be able to play the ball at a higher tempo. I dont think many have realised how good Aurelio is at dictating the pace of the game from that left flank...almost as good as Alonso from the middle of the pitch.
well, it's pretty awesome that glenn johnson has arguably been the MOTM in all of our games so far... how awesome was his little tip-tap pass between two guys right to gerrard four yards from goal? gerrard shit the bed on the shot, but that pass was dirty... that is all... i'm taking a needed LFC break until the bolton game... no hunting for transfer news/rumors, no reading the 'pundits' talk about how our title challenge is over... if we sign someone by saturday i'll just have to be surprised...
As always, I offer my Official Opinions without the benefit of the more insightful opinions above, which no doubt contain malaise and gnashing of teeth. This post will be a minimum of one paragraph. As we learned tonight, that means two! First Goal Conceded: Ugh. Note to fellow fans: Xabi Alonso once conceded an own goal. Shocking. Yet true! Second Goal Conceded: Remember when Everton beat us last year at Anfield? Wasn't it Arteta or Cahill on the corner kick, who started mid-zone, then ran to the near post and headed one home? I think it was! Therein lies the solution to the zonal marking: attack the near post, run in front of the defender whose back is to you, and if you time it right, you'll arrive on the ball before the defender realizes you're there! Full marks to Villa for pulling this off! Sorry comm, that's no reason to rubbish the zonal system. It beats man marking. Third Goal NRC made a great run, and Gerrard's challenge was a clear boner. That's a penalty. NRC tapped the ball away too far to recover it, no need to foul! Xabi Alonso Thought I saw him plenty. We did well executing the long pass from the back. Attacking play Villa reduced us to playing with our attackers receiving the ball with their backs to goal, and when that happened, we could not turn, so the ball returned to the sender, allowing Villa to park the bus in front of goal. Then we laid siege on the 18, ala the home fixture to Stoke last year, and there we stalled. When we face the goal we are a fierce side, but when camped out, not so much. Voronin My criticism of him this preseason was vociferous, yet it was plain to me he made a huge difference in our attack. He made terrific diagonal passes through the parked bus, he made great runs through it as well. The Ponytail unstuck us, verily. This is how you solve the parked bus defense. Three cheers for Voronin! Petulence I get that we are frustrated, but I can do without the out-of-bounds kick given by Glen Johnson during extra time, the complaining of Torres, the kick away by Reina, and the help-you-up from Carra. When we got down 0-1, then 0-2, we took to bitching and moaning, Chelsea style. We are wound up waaay too tight. Liverpool wives, get to work! Pedigree/Performance We can still win the title. There is a lot of football to play. Time to relax, keep working, concentrate on good play, and let the result take care of itself. ManU climbed from a hole last year, we can do the same.