A draw against Pompey is a good result - positivity thread

[Shaggy]

The games Crouch did'nt start in we did'nt miss him and we scored.
I thought Babel was a miss Saturday.I disagree with you main point.

He was wank when he came on.

I like Babel a lot but he's nowhere near ready to be playing (out of position) week in, week out.

[spider-neil]

He was wank when he came on.

I like Babel a lot but he's nowhere near ready to be playing (out of position) week in, week out.

when babel came on the game had gone and the keeper and central defenders were launching it long, **** all he (or anyone else for that matter) could have done anything under those circumstances.

[spider-neil]

He was wank when he came on.

I like Babel a lot but he's nowhere near ready to be playing (out of position) week in, week out.

actually I'm trying to think of a youngster i.e. 18-21 who has been use sparingly at first from the bench (rather than starting week in week out from the off) who has now established himself.

shaggy?

[saj]

Not sure Babel's done enough yet or is ready to be considered to be among our top front six.

I agree with this: Babel clearly hasn't done enough yet and i say clearly because its obvious the more he games he plays and the more time he spends learning about Rafa's ideas etc, the better he will become. He's probably been giving an average of 6/10 in performances so far. His main problem so far has been, is that he hasn't recieved the ball enough. But when he recieves the ball, he damn sure always produces something. The problem with Speedy G was that when he was the same in that he never recieved the ball that much either but when he did, he was damn poor and couldn't run with the ball at his feet. Babel is clearly a special player and its frightening he's only 20. I bet when he becomes more confident and settled into the team and gets to know all of his teammates better, he'll start demanding the ball more rather than wait for it to come to him.

Another point I'd like to make is that when Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at United, he saw a lot of the ball and could clearly beat his man but had no end product. Babel in his first month has shown that he's an explosive player, someone who doesn't need to have the ball all the time but will guarentee to get an assist or a goal, a bit like Luis Garcia. Just think what an effect Babel will have when his teammates start looking to pass to him all the time.

[saj]

He was wank when he came on.

I like Babel a lot but he's nowhere near ready to be playing (out of position) week in, week out.

I'd disagree there and say that we played more of the long ball and didn't look to pass to him and he didn't really get much time on the pitch. If he wasn't good enough, he would have played 90 mins for Holland last week. the few times he got the ball on Saturday, he did beat his man and on one occasion he was brought down quite harshly. I think he needs more game time against lower opposition to build his confidence as he is far from playing his best at the moment

[Shaggy]

actually I'm trying to think of a youngster i.e. 18-21 who has been use sparingly at first from the bench (rather than starting week in week out from the off) who has now established himself.

shaggy?

For us or....?

C Ronaldo wasn't exactly pitched straight into the first team every week, if I remember rightly.

van Persie went to Arsenal when he was 20/21 and spent most of his first season or two on the bench.

[spider-neil]

For us or....?

C Ronaldo wasn't exactly pitched straight into the first team every week, if I remember rightly.

van Persie went to Arsenal when he was 20/21 and spent most of his first season or two on the bench.

I thought ronaldo went straight into the first team in the spot vacated by beckham.

van persie path was blocked by henry who but for last season pretty much played week in week out

alright there are exceptions to every rule but the majority of top young talent that have gone on to become mega where given a **** load of games rather than games here and there from the bench, how is any kid going to improve under those circumstances? if babel is used that he will go the way of pongolle, guaranteed.

[Craig_H]

Nope. I too think we should win against Pompey, but I don't make knee-jerk reactions about the entire season based on how the game panned out.

(Not saying you have )

In which case, throwing that point at me is a point daft.

This one game though, if reflective of how Rafa's rotation policy is going to be, presents one example of why we wont win the title.

[Revo]

i also suppose a point away to boro and bolton will also be good points? we were **** and we will need to improve see you all in the porto thread

[Red_Polo]

Haven't read any of this thread so sorry if I'm repeating stuff here, just wanted to say...

A draw against Pompey is not a good result.

Doesn't mean it's an appalling one, but a draw is a bit of a disappointing result. If you want to win the league you have to set yourself high standards. We lacked penetration as I think we're likely to do at times without at least two of Gerrard, Torres, Pennant and Babel in the starting XI.

[Craig_H]

Haven't read any of this thread so sorry if I'm repeating stuff here, just wanted to say...

A draw against Pompey is not a good result.

Doesn't mean it's an appalling one, but a draw is a bit of a disappointing result. If you want to win the league you have to set yourself high standards. We lacked penetration as I think we're likely to do at times without at least two of Gerrard, Torres, Pennant and Babel in the starting XI.

[saj]

For us or....?

C Ronaldo wasn't exactly pitched straight into the first team every week, if I remember rightly.

van Persie went to Arsenal when he was 20/21 and spent most of his first season or two on the bench.

Ronaldo played in 29 league matches in his first season and 40 matches in all competitions

[red g]

I thought ronaldo went straight into the first team in the spot vacated by beckham.

van persie path was blocked by henry who but for last season pretty much played week in week out

alright there are exceptions to every rule but the majority of top young talent that have gone on to become mega where given a **** load of games rather than games here and there from the bench, how is any kid going to improve under those circumstances? if babel is used that he will go the way of pongolle, guaranteed.

Ronaldo didnt go straight into the team he was often brought on for the last 30mins when scum were a couple of goals up.....he had no end product and did 464 stepovers per game.

[Red Chilli]

Haven't read any of this thread so sorry if I'm repeating stuff here, just wanted to say...

A draw against Pompey is not a good result.

Doesn't mean it's an appalling one, but a draw is a bit of a disappointing result. If you want to win the league you have to set yourself high standards. We lacked penetration as I think we're likely to do at times without at least two of Gerrard, Torres, Pennant and Babel in the starting XI.

That's my feeling, a draw is never a good result unless we need a point to win the league in which case it is.

[Frank Leroux]

I think more important than the single point we got from the game is remaining unbeaten. It maintains a momentum and a generally positive feeling around the season start. Builds confidence - and, as we've seen of other teams over the past years, it's much easier to integrate new (or second string) players into a confident team than it is into the Liverpool team of the past ....years.

3 points would have been great, maybe expected, but considering the team line-up, international week, Porto, etc. avoiding defeat might turn out to be the most useful thing gained from Fratton Park.

Frank.