Midfield creativity

[einar]

Look at the other top teams in the league and tell me we are not limited in the things we do by our personnel. We're lacking when it comes to wingers and any fool can see that is limiting us when it comes to actually implementing a gameplan.

I´m not saying we have as strong a squad as the others. Of course we can and will improve with the new investment.

My point is right now we need to be playing better. What I saw yesterday would have shamed the Liverpool of old.

And if we do improve with new players, it will be not only because they have more quality but also because they will follow Rafas orders better. ( hopefully )

I think many posters on here, myself included have over emphasized players and under estimated team performance.

Someone on here said that buying new players was the only solution.
I think that is not accurate. Just ask Real

[Kopite_Colin]

No the answer is buying better players and working hard to make us a better team. But you can only do that with good / very good players. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Hence my persistence with the fact that there are playrs who are currently commanding a 1st team place who really are only good enough at best to be squad players. That's why we're still suffering in the creativity / goalscoring department.

[einar]

No the answer is buying better players and working hard to make us a better team. But you can only do that with good / very good players. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Hence my persistence with the fact that there are playrs who are currently commanding a 1st team place who really are only good enough at best to be squad players. That's why we're still suffering in the creativity / goalscoring department.

Are you saying their performance yesterday was the best they could do?

Could they not have tried to run into spaces and open them up?

[Red_Al_77]

We are predictable and we lack flair. With Crouch playing you know what's going to happen. Our wingers as Charlie said aren't going to score a lot, they rarely hit the byline at pace and there is little variety in our play. The long ball onto Garcia for him to take it on his chest on the edge of the penalty area is even predictable now. The best sides have a flair player, some more than others. Arsenal have Henry and also had Bergkamp, Manure have Rooney and Ronaldo, Chelsea have Robben and Cole. We have Garcia who is hit and miss. Wenger got his tactics right because he knew what to expect.

[Jan-Erik]

I´m not saying we have as strong a squad as the others. Of course we can and will improve with the new investment.

My point is right now we need to be playing better. What I saw yesterday would have shamed the Liverpool of old.

And if we do improve with new players, it will be not only because they have more quality but also because they will follow Rafas orders better. ( hopefully )

I think many posters on here, myself included have over emphasized players and under estimated team performance.

Someone on here said that buying new players was the only solution.
I think that is not accurate. Just ask Real

You meen our players dont follow Rafa's orders?

[einar]

You meen our players dont follow Rafa's orders?

Well I´m running out of explanations.
I´m sure Rafa wants us to play more like his Valencia, I know we can do it with the players we have because I´ve seen it.

What do you think?

[Kopite_Colin]

Are you saying their performance yesterday was the best they could do?

Could they not have tried to run into spaces and open them up?

There wasn't any space yesterday. Arsenal were defending too deep. That's why Bellamy's pace would have been negated. It's also why the lack of deleivery from the wings and lack of supporting play from the fullbacks cost us in attacking areas.

I'm also saying we are expecting top level performance from a team that has too many mediocre players in it. And as long as tehy remain in it we won't compete at the highest level, year in, year out. You can carry one player who's not top notch, becuase he plays the role you need him to do, and the other quality players create enough so that his limitations aren't easily exposed but when you have 3 or 4 of them constantly in the team, the whole team will struggle. It's common sense. So, why people are expecting top level performances from an LFC team with the likes of Crouch, Bellamy, Pennant, Riise and even Gonzalez consistently in is beyond me. Add early season rotation into that and it's not hard to see why we were always going to struggle / have struggled. IMHO, we're 3-4 1st team players off a season-long title challenge.

Like I said, sow's ears and silk purses and all that.

[einar]

There wasn't any space yesterday. Arsenal were defending too deep. That's why Bellamy's pace would have been negated. It's also why the lack of deleivery from the wings and lack of supporting play from the fullbacks cost us in attacking areas.

We saw Aurelio do it when he came on.

[Jan-Erik]

Well I´m running out of explanations.
I´m sure Rafa wants us to play more like his Valencia, I know we can do it with the players we have because I´ve seen it.

What do you think?

I think we can play great football on our day. I dont think we have enough quality to do it on a regular basis, and not against the top teams.

[Kopite_Colin]

We saw Aurelio do it when he came on.

Aye once or twice - it was better but not easy due to lack of space. And no real clear cut chances created from it.

[AFII]

We only have one striker who is more or less a complete striker and that is Kuyt. The other top clubs have more complete strikers than us.

If we for example play Bellamy with Kuyt then the other team can play deep and when Crouch play with Kuyt then they can play higher up the pitch.

If Rafa signed a more complete second striker then teams wouldn't be able to decide to play high or deep against us as easy as now.

[Kopite_Colin]

Like I said - lack of quality - other than Kuyt the strikers we have can't do both. One can run when teams defend high up the pitch, and has limited goalscoring ability, the other can't run, but can be a nuisance with his height in the box, and has limited goalscoring ability. The 3rd (Fowler) has a goalscoring instinct, but is now too old, injured, slow to be able take advantage of the chances - the wingers can't find him, and he has no pace, or physical presence in the box.

[AFII]

I would sell both Bellamy and Crouch if we got good offers for them and sign more complete strikers.

[Red_Al_77]

I think only Kuyt, Alonso, SG, Momo, Carra, Finnan, Agger, Reina, and Speedy will not be allowed to leave in the summer if the DIC money is available and aplenty. Everyone else will be allowed to leave if a proper offer comes in.

I sincerely hope that Rafa has the ability to buy his first choice picks. I can't bear another window of grumbling over £1m and then being reduced to going for 2nd and 3rd choice. Enough is enough.

[Kopite_Colin]

I would sell both Bellamy and Crouch if we got good offers for them and sign more complete strikers.

I won't say I told you so, but I was against both signings. ( sorry - couldn't resist it!) And the same for Pennant. Simply not good enough. Esp when you add that little lot up to £20m.