Anyone still think Gerrard and Torres should have started on Sat?

[wiw]

What are you talking about?

Their game at pompey?

[JohnDoe]

If they werent match fit, they wouldnt have been sat on the bench.

What would've happened if a CM or striker got injured with 3 mins on the clock? Would we have played with 10 men, instead of putting on SG or FT? Course not. If they're on the bench, they're capable of being used whenever.

He put them on the bench because he wanted to bring them on later to make an impact if needed and he did. Had somebody gotten injured he would have reluctantly fielded one of them, it was a gamble which was in hindsight worth taking.

No i wouldnt.

I can't definitely place you under guilt but you and I both know Rafa would have received criticism for it, depending of course, on the RESULT.

It's about dropping two points, almost willingly, in a game we were well capable of winning. And the fact that doing so, even just a few times, will see us out of the title race.

Marathon, race, yadda yadda. Dropping two points away at a tough ground won't see us lose the title. We lost the title because we didn't win Pompey home, Everton home etc.

[Craig_H]

plus im pretty sure the Mancs DO rotate? I remember reading an article recently saying that they do just as much as we do...although to be fair i think they do keep sides consistent more than us. I don't know...everyone has their opinions of rotation..at the end of the day the result matters most of all

They usually bring in their lesser players for home games against the likes of Sunderland...not Pompey away.

[Craig_H]

Their game at pompey?

The one a couple of weeks ago....they looked tired, did they?

[Craig_H]

He put them on the bench because he wanted to bring them on later to make an impact if needed and he did. Had somebody gotten injured he would have reluctantly fielded one of them, it was a gamble which was in hindsight worth taking.



I can't definitely place you under guilt but you and I both know Rafa would have received criticism for it, depending of course, on the RESULT.



Marathon, race, yadda yadda. Dropping two points away at a tough ground won't see us lose the title. We lost the title because we didn't win Pompey home, Everton home etc.

Dropping points will see us lose out on a title challenge. Playing inferior players for tricky away games will result in us losing points.

[wiw]

The one a couple of weeks ago....they looked tired, did they?

I was talking about last season lol

[Craig_H]

I was talking about last season lol

Yeah but they lost with a strong side...can you imagine what would've happened if they'd fielded a WEAKER side?

[wiw]

Yeah but they lost with a strong side...can you imagine what would've happened if they'd fielded a WEAKER side?

Who knows? Scraped a draw like we did?

[Craig_H]

[wiw]

At the end of the day we played a strong team today and played ****. The team we played at Pompey was, imo, good enough to win. I see your point..i don't know..you clearly have your view and stick to it so lets leave it at that

[Craig_H]

I'm not being radical here mate, we lacked cutting edge at Pompey and there was very little in the way of spark up front. Gerrard & Torres provided some in the short time they were on, and it's not unreasonable to say that if they'd played say 60 mins from the start, they'd have probably had a positive enough impact to enable us to take 3 points.

[wiw]

I'm not being radical here mate, we lacked cutting edge at Pompey and there was very little in the way of spark up front. Gerrard & Torres provided some in the short time they were on, and it's not unreasonable to say that if they'd played say 60 mins from the start, they'd have probably had a positive enough impact to enable us to take 3 points.

Yeah that I can't deny obviously, they gave us a bit of pace and spark and clearly helped...had they been on from the start the chances are we would've played better and won..that i have no problems with

All im saying is Rafa obviously thought the team he put out was good enough to win. I think it's easier to come off the bench and make an impact if you're given the isntructions of 1. in Gerrards case, get on the ball, make some runs, make some passes 2. in Torres' case, run off the CB's. (speculating there obv)

Had they been on from the start, i think Gerrard would've had to have played a more disciplined game. Granted, Crouch is completely different to Torres, but far too many players underperformed on the day.

[CAD]

I'm not being radical here mate, we lacked cutting edge at Pompey and there was very little in the way of spark up front. Gerrard & Torres provided some in the short time they were on, and it's not unreasonable to say that if they'd played say 60 mins from the start, they'd have probably had a positive enough impact to enable us to take 3 points.

It was true saturday and it's true now. I admire your persistence!

[Tom]

It is funny, yet very worrying

Yes because we've had such a disasterous start to the season

[sitoca]

Actually, I thought it was pretty clever of RB to use Hyppia. RB wanted Hyppia to exploit Porto's weakness in the air until it backfired only 7 mins into the game. It was pretty obvious when Hyppia stays up front unusually long esp when we still manage to hold on to possession on those rare occasions. It was also quite evident that Hyppia was winning the balls in the air.

Why not use Crouch instead of Hyppia? My personal feeling is that RB wants someone more prolific upfront and Hyppia can support the attack when we have set pieces. Crouch is not that good with his head and he is slow on the floor. With Kuyt, we have an extra midfielder when we lose the ball while Torres is in top form since he joined us and he is pacy which is useful during counter attacks.

Our goal came when Hyppia heads the ball to Kuyt. Also, the whole team plays badly tonight and I'm glad Pennant got the RED card. Too often he let his frustrations showed so hopefully he will have learnt his lesson tonight.