Hicks - "I Have No Problem With Rafa"

[Neil Young]

Yes they do play that way for that reason but they don't do it against us at home.They played us of the park last season at OT,but got lucky the season before at old toilet.The thing is we seem happy trying not to concede a goal and hoping to nick one on the break rather than being proactive and trying to get one like we are when Chelsea or the Arse roll into town.It works fine against some teams but The Mancs are just as capable of nicking a goal as we are so the onus must be on us,as the home team to attack more.

I thought we did attack more to be honest. We weren't overly expansive but we had the majority of possession I thought.

Still, it's difficult to get the feel of the game watching it on TV so I might well be wrong.

[Skillz]

Yes they do play that way for that reason but they don't do it against us at home.They played us of the park last season at OT,but got lucky the season before at old toilet.The thing is we seem happy trying not to concede a goal and hoping to nick one on the break rather than being proactive and trying to get one like we are when Chelsea or the Arse roll into town.It works fine against some teams but The Mancs are just as capable of nicking a goal as we are so the onus must be on us,as the home team to attack more.

This is what excites me this year. I believe we will acquit ourselves well this year at the Emirates, OT and SB because we will play 4-2-3-1.

With Xabi and Masher as behind Stevie G we can take on anyone IMO. Especially with that really good looking bloke up front.

[Steve101]

The difference is that Roman is using Chelsea without taking more or less any risk at all.

Chelsea will splash the cash again when they have sorted out which manager they want.

if you believe that your a bigger fool than i first thought. Chelsea are at the whim of one man, a dengerous position for anyone, just ask jose!

[G]

I thought we did attack more to be honest. We weren't overly expansive but we had the majority of possession I thought.

Still, it's difficult to get the feel of the game watching it on TV so I might well be wrong.

We had good possession but to be honest the only real chances we had came courtesy of Van der sar dropping clangers and even then we could punish him.We created **** all,and they created **** all to but then as you say that was a viable game plan for an away team to follow,keep it tight and hope to nick one,and yet again we came up trumps for them by switching off for a fews seconds as we have done a few times lately. we took the game to them in the cup,got a goal and were in the driving seat from then on

[BobTheCharmer]

if you believe that your a bigger fool than i first thought. Chelsea are at the whim of one man, a dengerous position for anyone, just ask jose!

I'm not sure if its because I'm older and wiser now but I have found myself agreeing with all your recent posts. To think when I was Koptalk I couldn't stand the sight of you.

[Neil Young]

We had good possession but to be honest the only real chances we had came courtesy of Van der sar dropping clangers and even then we could punish him.We created **** all,and they created **** all to but then as you say that was a viable game plan for an away team to follow,keep it tight and hope to nick one,and yet again we came up trumps for them by switching off for a fews seconds as we have done a few times lately. we took the game to them in the cup,got a goal and were in the driving seat from then on

That's pretty much how I saw it. I think our inability to create doesn't necessarily mean the players lack confidence but that not enough of them are good enough to unsettle a top team's defence when they (the opponents) are playing a defensive/counterattacking game.

I was really impressed by Man United - they proved they're far more flexible tactically than the pretty-pretty diveboys at Arsenal.

[bazza76]

I thought we did attack more to be honest. We weren't overly expansive but we had the majority of possession I thought.

Still, it's difficult to get the feel of the game watching it on TV so I might well be wrong.

You are right mate, we did have more of the possession, unfortunately when it mattered, luck wwasnt on our side, this was evident in the goal line clearances early on which would have totally changed the game. United were always going to look better in possession breaking with pace into space. I would expect more of the same everytime United come to Anfield from now on in aslong as Rafa and Slur Alex are managing both sides.
We thing that does also stand out though is quality of our playing staff, or lack of it in some areas, Kuyt has not got the ability we expected, nor has voronin. We still need extra quality to kill off teams, not just one extra player in Torres to help Stevie G. we are still short on genuine world class width in the side.

[Neil Young]

You are right mate, we did have more of the possession, unfortunately when it mattered, luck wwasnt on our side, this was evident in the goal line clearances early on which would have totally changed the game. United were always going to look better in possession breaking with pace into space. I would expect more of the same everytime United come to Anfield from now on in aslong as Rafa and Slur Alex are managing both sides.
We thing that does also stand out though is quality of our playing staff, or lack of it in some areas, Kuyt has not got the ability we expected, nor has voronin. We still need extra quality to kill off teams, not just one extra player in Torres to help Stevie G. we are still short on genuine world class width in the side.

I agree...and judging by his post-match comments, so does Rafa.

[bazza76]

That's pretty much how I saw it. I think our inability to create doesn't necessarily mean the players lack confidence but that not enough of them are good enough to unsettle a top team's defence when they (the opponents) are playing a defensive/counterattacking game.

I was really impressed by Man United - they proved they're far more flexible tactically than the pretty-pretty diveboys at Arsenal.

They are is correct, although it is a show of respect, when Anfield is the only place he will go to and sit deep, United wont even do that at the Emirates, Stamford Bridge or even the San Siro. He knows our pressure game is too much for him at Anfield when we mix it up.

[Neil Young]

I'm not sure if its because I'm older and wiser now but I have found myself agreeing with all your recent posts. To think when I was Koptalk I couldn't stand the sight of you.

Do you have any evidence for this?

[Skillz]

We had good possession but to be honest the only real chances we had came courtesy of Van der sar dropping clangers and even then we could punish him.We created **** all,and they created **** all to but then as you say that was a viable game plan for an away team to follow,keep it tight and hope to nick one,and yet again we came up trumps for them by switching off for a fews seconds as we have done a few times lately. we took the game to them in the cup,got a goal and were in the driving seat from then on

Their back 4 + Hargreaves and Anderson played very, very well. They protected a very suss VDS who has been dropped since.

[G]

That's pretty much how I saw it. I think our inability to create doesn't necessarily mean the players lack confidence but that not enough of them are good enough to unsettle a top team's defence when they (the opponents) are playing a defensive/counterattacking game.

I was really impressed by Man United - they proved they're far more flexible tactically than the pretty-pretty diveboys at Arsenal.

You are right mate, we did have more of the possession, unfortunately when it mattered, luck wwasnt on our side, this was evident in the goal line clearances early on which would have totally changed the game. United were always going to look better in possession breaking with pace into space. I would expect more of the same everytime United come to Anfield from now on in aslong as Rafa and Slur Alex are managing both sides.
We thing that does also stand out though is quality of our playing staff, or lack of it in some areas, Kuyt has not got the ability we expected, nor has voronin. We still need extra quality to kill off teams, not just one extra player in Torres to help Stevie G. we are still short on genuine world class width in the side.

Agree with that.The Mancs are much more impressive than Arsenal IMO and Ferdinand went up alot in my estimation against Torres,although I thought after 4 games on the trot,Torres was a little off colour himself.Also agree we need more class players,Kuyt and Voronin defo not in the top drawer as attacking threats but still feel we have more to offer than we showed.Chelsea as a defensive unit with Jose still on board when we played them were just as good yet we really went at them as caused them trouble.

I Take the point on the early goal,its been a theme of this season IMO,when we get an early goal the pressure is off and we nearly always play some great stuff.Going ahead against The Arse and Chelsea early doors gave us the belief that we could take them.When we don't score early we tend to labour a lot trying to break teams down.

[G]

Their back + Hargreaves and Anderson played very, very well. They protected a very suss VDS who has been dropped since.

Yeah Anderson was very Impressive too,had Stevie in his pocket.It really highlights the lack of real quality in the squad despite what Rafa says.When Either or both of Torres and Gerrard have an off day then we really struggle. We may have improved as a squad since Rafa took over but we still have far too many average players IMO and the cheque book needs far more usage at the top end of the market or we'll never get the 19th.

[desertscouser]

The Mancs were the best side in the country last year and they're the best this year. It hurts me to say that but it's the truth. It will be a real shock to me if they didn't win the league again this season.

[Revo]

The Mancs were the best side in the country last year and they're the best this year. It hurts me to say that but it's the truth. It will be a real shock to me if they didn't win the league again this season.

we will win the league this year