The weekend's thoughts

[Neil Young]

I could argue that it was Kromkamp was the one that gave away the free kick!

But I won't!

And I could argue that if the team can't defend a free kick better than that then they are at fault!

But I won't either!

[Riddler]

I just hope Rafa doesnt underestimate teams like he clearly did on saturday , I think we should have played the same team that beat Chelsea and tried to keep the momentum going. Instead there was far too many changes for my liking.

[yeatsmate]

Maybe harsh yes (though I don't mean to be), but I am just saying what I saw, and I was sitting behind to the right of the goal. Will watch the highlights and review myself.

Not disagreeing with you about Kromkamp being poor but don't you think you're being a bit harsh? For a start, it's not as if Kromkamp was at fault for the goal.

[Neil Young]

Since you've raised the hypothetical issue about Finnan playing instead of Kromkamp, you have now made me start to wonder how things might have been different if we'd had Carragher and Riise defending that free kick instead of Agger and Aurelio.

(By the way, of course I fully accept you're simply being honest in your assessment and I wasn't laughing at that. It was just the juxtaposition of your entirely blaming Kromkamp and then immediately saying how you don't want to blame one person.)

[Resu]

I could argue that it was Kromkamp was the one that gave away the free kick!
But I won't!

This is Kromkamps biggest weakness. He gives away needless freekicks in that position to easy. He also did it last season, and a couple of them led to goals if I remember correctly.

[Resu]

I think that loosing two players in the first half an hour had a big impact on things though.

It really did. Agger played well when he came on, Gonzo was average.
My guess is Gonzo would have come on at a point anyhow, but if Crouch would probably come on at 1-1, and would of course given us totally different "possibilities".

[Shanks65]

Since you've raised the hypothetical issue about Finnan playing instead of Kromkamp, you have now made me start to wonder how things might have been different if we'd had Carragher and Riise defending that free kick instead of Agger and Aurelio.

well IMO it's fairly evident that we wouldn't have conceded that goal if Riise was playing. Aurelio totally neglected his defensive duties. I don't think Riise would have done that. After Riise went off, it was Aurelio's "zone" and he done sweet FA to defend it.

[Taffy]

And I could argue that if the team can't defend a free kick better than that then they are at fault!

But I won't either!

And I could argue that I was only commenting on your comment of 'For a start, it's not as if Kromkamp was at fault for the goal'!

[Neil Young]

And I could argue that we're both splitting hairs.

[Laz]

I think it was a poor performance with a shocking lack of defending for the goal. I am not going to have a go at him because I think he will be a real asset for us but Aurelio didn't go with his man on that free kick. He wasn't the only one but unfortunately it was the player or zone he was marking that the goal came from.

Kromkamp had a shocker and I have never seen him play that badly. Zenden was no replacement for Gerrard or Alonso although he did improve in the second half (let's face it, he had to).

This was, after all, the first time this selection had played together and it showed for large parts. Then again, they know their roles but were hassled out of it by a determined Sheffield performance. The injuries forced Rafa's hand and the substitutions limited what he could do to change the match in the second half.

As people have said, this is one match and one point. We've come back from worse.

[Taffy]

well IMO it's fairly evident that we wouldn't have conceded that goal if Riise was playing. Aurelio totally neglected his defensive duties. I don't think Riise would have done that. After Riise went off, it was Aurelio's "zone" and he done sweet FA to defend it.

As we mark in zones it's pretty clear that Riise would have been where Aurelio was meant to have been, and I also agree that Riise would probably have made more of an effort to get to that ball.

Anyway, it's done now and I'm moving on with hope of a positive result tomorrow night. How many changes do you expect Rafa to make, and should we 'go for it' or keep it tight and try to hit them on the break.

The onus is on them to come at us which should eventually leave spaces for us to exploit, so in my opinion the likes of Bellamy and Garcia must start to make the most of these spaces as the game goes on.

I'd probably start with:

-----------Reina
Finnan---Hyypia---Agger---Aurelio
------Alonso---Sissoko
---------Gerrard
Bellamy------------Garcia
-----------Crouch

[Taffy]

And I could argue that we're both splitting hairs.

Agreed. Argument over.

[Anfield Mole]

I think that picking out Kronkamp for criticism is unfair. I don't think he had a good game but none of our defenders did.

To my mind a defence works well when they play alongside each other week in week out. It is no coincidence that our good defensive record last year coincided with a settled defence. Occasionaly Agger, Traore, Warnock or Kronkamp came in to the side, but Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia & Riise were a settled unit and know each others game pretty well. In Kronkamp, Agger, Hyypia and Aruelio we had a defence playing together for the first time. That's not easy to do at the top level or any level.

[Taffy]

I think that picking out Kronkamp for criticism is unfair. I don't think he had a good game but none of our defenders did.

To my mind a defence works well when they play alongside each other week in week out. It is no coincidence that our good defensive record last year coincided with a settled defence. Occasionaly Agger, Traore, Warnock or Kronkamp came in to the side, but Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia & Riise were a settled unit and know each others game pretty well. In Kronkamp, Agger, Hyypia and Aruelio we had a defence playing together for the first time. That's not easy to do at the top level or any level.

That's why I'm slightly worried for tomorrow night's game!

They won't have played much together as an unit, and I'm sure there'll be times when we'll need 'backs to the wall' football. A defensive unit needs stability and trust in each others games (meaning an understanding). Their goal on Saturday showed that we didn't have much understanding as an unit - or was it just Aurelio that didn't bother tracking his man!?

Our defensive game must be better tomorrow night otherwise we'll be out!

[Anfield Mole]

That's why I'm slightly worried for tomorrow night's game!

They won't have played much together as an unit, and I'm sure there'll be times when we'll need 'backs to the wall' football. A defensive unit needs stability and trust in each others games (meaning an understanding). Their goal on Saturday showed that we didn't have much understanding as an unit - or was it just Aurelio that didn't bother tracking his man!?

Our defensive game must be better tomorrow night otherwise we'll be out!

That's why I'd consider bringing in Warnock. If nothing else, Hyypia & Finnan know his game and he should be able to cope with the threat of Haifa. How does a back line of Finnan - Agger - Hyypia - Warnock sound?