Anemic. The only thing worse than that performance was my streaming audio feed from LFC.tv. Probably a blessing in disguise. Thanks for the text comms, Lanky. ----
Submitted without comment. . . GH - My players were tired Gerard Houllier bemoaned the tired legs of his players and blamed missed chances as a key factor which he believes would have earned his side at least a point in the 1-0 defeat by Portsmouth. A fourth minute goal from Reds old boy Patrik Berger earned the home side all three points and Houllier said Harry Redknapp's side were more fresher. Houllier said: "The main difference between the two sides was the freshness. We have had players away in Turkey and other internationals plus the European game midweek. I don't think we had enough liveliness about us and they defended well. "I can't fault their attitude, they just didn't have the legs. I wasn't happy with our performance and we weren't our usual selves from an attacking point of view, but when you have chances and we had enough of them, you have to take them. "We had four good chances in the first half and five in the second, three of them for Florent Sinama-Pongolle. When you don't play well you have to take your chances." http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N142296031018-1731.htm ----
The good news is, I don't think anyone from the club broke their leg today. The bad news is, I think I broke my ankle an hour ago. Damn pointyball. And yes, I'm flying to England in 13 days. Ooops. It's slightly comforting to think that I took one for the team. Better me than Stevie. Oh, and as a side note, I'll enjoy watching Mikey play for Real next year. I think that's pretty much in the bag by now. OK, off to the hospital. YNWA. Of course, in my case, I'm not walking at all.
Unless lightning strikes Florentino Perez, I don't think Owen's going to go to Madrid - somebody who's already getting paid an awful lot of money would have to sit down. This is no disrespect to Owen. But Ronaldo's on f*&king fire and they will never trade Raul.
As bad as we played lately, 4th place is still ours for the taking. It is a 3 team race for the title. Man U, Arsenal, and Chelsea are obvioulsy at a different level then anyone else. Lets take a look at the teams in front of us. Pompey, Soton, Birmingham, Fulham, and Man City. I think its fair to say that Pompey, Birmingham, or Fulham will not be playing in the Champions League. We are basically competing with City and Southampton for the 4th place spot. 4th place and a good run in UEFA Cup and FA Cup is all we can hope for. Its sad, but realistic.
It may not be Real Madrid, but Owen will be gone after this season. I think at least that much is clear at this point. Houllier has failed to put together a team that can sustain his belief that he can start winning major trophies like he should be. Well, anyone's belief, if you think about it.
Maybe Hypia has had it. He looks tired. Not the same Hypia that joined Liverool. Maybe it's time for Houllier to admit that the defence is really weak and we need to beef it up. Time to get a new central defender. The way the goal was scored showed how sloppy the defence was. Playing Biscan was another mistake. I though he was supposed to be playing in front of the defence. Instead, he played everywhere and didn't know what he was doing. Stevie makes a great captain. Beger scoring was no surprise. Every player wants to score against his old club.
I've been telling this board that Heskey needed to go long ago. Now, some people are starting to believe. Heskey does not finish.
But Monsieur, if I remember correctly, Man City also had a midweek European game, but they didn't look tired to me.....
Errrrrr, ummmm. . . yup. City made three changes from midweek, and I think we made two. Not the best of explanations from the gaffer, IMO. The real difference is that an away fixture to Portsmouth is a good deal tougher than hosting Bolton; but GH would understandably never say that. Bottom line is, yesterday's was a very disappointing result. Hope for better when Leeds come to Anfield. Take it a week at a time, I guess; and realize, as others have posted elsewhere, that the realistic goal this year is to get back to the CL. ----
Well, looks like I'm out for 3-6 weeks, so my dream of being called out of the stands to suit up at halftime and lead the team to a glorious comeback against Manchester United has been dashed. This time. Climbing the terraces in crutches is going to be a bitch as well. C'est la vie. Oh, and I didn't mean to say specifically that Mikey was going to Real. I meant to say he was going to pull a Macca and leave us high and dry. Can't blame him for bailing from a sinking ship. Perhaps Rick Parry is waiting to sack GH, and wants to dangle a carrot in Owen's face by offering him right of refusal on the new skipper . . .
I still say the Hypia has lost it. Maybe it's time to bring in another central defender. GH should put sentiments aside and face the reality that Hypis has lost it. Bench him if need be. Cause if we go on with the defence messing up, we'll lose more games. And Biscan??? Sometimes I wonder what he's doing. Until the return of Hamman, play Diao and remind him not to get book. The other thing that they should do is practice their crosses during training. Looking at what they produced during the Portsmouth game, that's one area that look damn ridiculous. Could not get one decent cross in.
^ Personally I'd like to see Hyypia rested, with Biscan (our most consistant defender of the season so far) and Hnechoz given the centre-back berths. Worryingly I believe that Riise has not lived up to expectation last season or this, and it may be time for a fresh approach at left back. Obviously Vignal being on loan and Carra being injured does limit our choices, but maybe it is time for a wake-up call for Riise - who shows no sign of improving his defensive duties, or for that matter his attacking play.
^ no no no Traore should only ever be used a centreback - I think the instructions in the box in which Traore came was missing - it should have read 'At no point should you ever play this man at left back'. A very good squad player to have, will only improve and will hopefully get a few games this season...
I don't know what exactly is wrong with Liverpool. I live in Sydney and we don't get many live broadcasts at home. Always have to go to bars and whenever I go to watch Reds play, they ALWAYS ALWAYS lose. When the reds go through rough patches, they look worse than second division. Miss passes, risky clearances, missed opportunities. Last year they were freakin boring but at least they defended well. This year they are not boring but they defend like hell. Hou needs to know his game man! Should have ate Portsmouth for breakfast