we need to change our reputation..

[mark1975]

News that this lad from Barca has opted to join Arsenal comes as no surprise. Aside from the location issue, United and Arsenal are forever connected with attractive, European style football. No matter how poor the squads (and last years United midfield was awful), their respective managers have one ethic, to send their teams out to outplay the opposition.

In a sense Jose was right, we do try to frustrate teams rather than outplay them, and this is the difference between being a title contender and European qualification contender.

It's a reputation that's been built up over the past 7 years or so, since the arrival of Ged and his instilling of professionalism and turning us into a solid unit. How many times have we suffered at the hands of teams really on their game though? How many times have we been raped at Highbury by a REAL football team??

No question, we need to push on this season, we need to challenge, BUT we need to show our worth against the big boys. We need to control games and outplay the best to be classed with the best, so we can hopefully shake off the tags of being a) A Cup team and b) a borefest.

Lets play some fooking football!

[FowlerLeftFoot]

I think we have started to shake off the boring tag since last season. The movement was much more fluent and we are hardly a counter attacking team anymore. This is proven by the number of games we dominated and also being no.1 in shot on goal in the league. I remember one of the first things Rafa did when he came here was to make us attack quicker and more direct in our play. We have certainly improved a lot in that respect. Under GH, we were always inviting others to attack us then launch counter attacks relying on owen's pace. Rafa has made us much more exciting to watch and my non-LFC supporting friends have also commented we are not as boring to watch now. But theres still a long way to go before we can match the Liverpool teams of the 80s when the football played were absolutely superb.

[KopiteCalling]

News that this lad from Barca has opted to join Arsenal comes as no surprise. Aside from the location issue, United and Arsenal are forever connected with attractive, European style football. No matter how poor the squads (and last years United midfield was awful), their respective managers have one ethic, to send their teams out to outplay the opposition.

In a sense Jose was right, we do try to frustrate teams rather than outplay them, and this is the difference between being a title contender and European qualification contender.

It's a reputation that's been built up over the past 7 years or so, since the arrival of Ged and his instilling of professionalism and turning us into a solid unit. How many times have we suffered at the hands of teams really on their game though? How many times have we been raped at Highbury by a REAL football team??

No question, we need to push on this season, we need to challenge, BUT we need to show our worth against the big boys. We need to control games and outplay the best to be classed with the best, so we can hopefully shake off the tags of being a) A Cup team and b) a borefest.

Lets play some fooking football!

i think we will,mark..but it might take some time..

we had fallen off our perch so hard that it took a very long time to even get to where we are now.

Ged made us a very difficult team to beat,and Rafa has maintained that form of ethos (for the most part)

i think we are slowly building a team with the kind of players youre takng about..where attack is the best form of defense.

it is frustrating,admittedly.

[Le Chacal]

Solution:
Stevie has to play behind 2 strikers.

[El Diego]

I think we play attractive football

[mark1975]

I think we have started to shake off the boring tag since last season. The movement was much more fluent and we are hardly a counter attacking team anymore. This is proven by the number of games we dominated and also being no.1 in shot on goal in the league. I remember one of the first things Rafa did when he came here was to make us attack quicker and more direct in our play. We have certainly improved a lot in that respect. Under GH, we were always inviting others to attack us then launch counter attacks relying on owen's pace. Rafa has made us much more exciting to watch and my non-LFC supporting friends have also commented we are not as boring to watch now. But theres still a long way to go before we can match the Liverpool teams of the 80s when the football played were absolutely superb.

Well to be fair, we don't do rubbish finals but in all honesty, I STILL find us quite grating to watch at times..

[red g]

News that this lad from Barca has opted to join Arsenal comes as no surprise. Aside from the location issue, United and Arsenal are forever connected with attractive, European style football. No matter how poor the squads (and last years United midfield was awful), their respective managers have one ethic, to send their teams out to outplay the opposition.

In a sense Jose was right, we do try to frustrate teams rather than outplay them, and this is the difference between being a title contender and European qualification contender.

It's a reputation that's been built up over the past 7 years or so, since the arrival of Ged and his instilling of professionalism and turning us into a solid unit. How many times have we suffered at the hands of teams really on their game though? How many times have we been raped at Highbury by a REAL football team??

No question, we need to push on this season, we need to challenge, BUT we need to show our worth against the big boys. We need to control games and outplay the best to be classed with the best, so we can hopefully shake off the tags of being a) A Cup team and b) a borefest.

Lets play some fooking football!

Benitez needs more time, he has barely got rid of the GH bplayers and is moulding a team that is full of talent,creativity and total football. I believe that bymid season we will be playing the sort of football that Valencia destroyed us with when they came to anfield. In rafa we trust

[mark1975]

Maybe I'm impatient, maybe the Valencia style has had problems transfering to the rough and tumble of the Premiership, but... I'd have hoped that entering Rafa's 3rd season, we'd be pretty much a 'Rafa side' by now, and playing more attractive football..

[SouthAfricaRed]

Maybe I'm impatient, maybe the Valencia style has had problems transfering to the rough and tumble of the Premiership, but... I'd have hoped that entering Rafa's 3rd season, we'd be pretty much a 'Rafa side' by now, and playing more attractive football..

The main thing lacking in our side compared with Valencia was pace. That's been fixed now with Pennant, Gonzalez and Bellamy. You'll see the difference this season

[red g]

The main thing lacking in our side compared with Valencia was pace. That's been fixed now with Pennant, Gonzalez and Bellamy. You'll see the difference this season

definitely will see a different liverpool this season....genuine width for the first time since ?????

[brendan]

The main thing lacking in our side compared with Valencia was pace. That's been fixed now with Pennant, Gonzalez and Bellamy. You'll see the difference this season

Eh? There wasn't much pace in that side at all.

For starters they had Pelligoslow and Ayala in defence and a 90 year old RB.

Baraja and Almeda aren't quick. Aimar isn't either.

Jon Carew?

Where was the pace? Or are you - shock - just making stuff up to make it sound like Rafa is moulding Liverpool into the Premiership Valencia?

[Jan-Erik]

Eh? There wasn't much pace in that side at all.

For starters they had Pelligoslow and Ayala in defence and a 90 year old RB.

Baraja and Almeda aren't quick. Aimar isn't either.

Jon Carew?

Where was the pace? Or are you - shock - just making stuff up to make it sound like Rafa is moulding Liverpool into the Premiership Valencia?

Carew is quick. And Vicente.

[rebel23]

hi mark, welcome to Est 1892!

i dont think we were ever linked to that Barce player ?? apart from an article where it was blindingly obvious the journalist had mixed us up with Arsenal.

[Ryan]

Eh? There wasn't much pace in that side at all.

For starters they had Pelligoslow and Ayala in defence and a 90 year old RB.

Baraja and Almeda aren't quick. Aimar isn't either.

Jon Carew?

Where was the pace? Or are you - shock - just making stuff up to make it sound like Rafa is moulding Liverpool into the Premiership Valencia?

Albelda.

[dww]

Surely it is usual to have the pace in the attacking players? Rafa always had two wingers of pace in the squad and despite not being reknowned for it Carew and Mista were both mobile frontmen.

Vicente and Rufete always seemed to provide the actual pace of the team.

A more important factor was that all of the players had great touch and movement, which meant the ball moved around quickly. I think that we have begun to develop this type of approach. It hasn't always come off and I think we have lacked the width to really use that style of play. I hope that this summers additions will be the solution that sees us be able to bring some more style into our play.