Wigan Post Match

[lfcruleus]

Just home, £34 to be frozen ****in solid watching another inept home performance against a bottom 3 side with a fat headed Manc manager....
Cant really understand what the 4141 formation was about as you can only stretch defense s wide with players who can cross the ball, Ive never been a Kewell hater but he was ****in dire tonight.
Can anyone explain why Babel wasnt on the bench? was he tired after 3 sub appearances over christmas?
Torres as good as he is needs to work on his first touch if he is to play on his own up front.
Im not reading the rest of this thread as i can guess what it says, unfortunately if I was Hicks/Gillett i wouldnt let Rafa spend millions in the window as i now see it as inevitable he will go in the summer.

[Guest]

No, I'm stone sober - not drinking in January

Please take my comments as tongue in cheek, bit of banter, but you're completely wrong about being at the stadium.

a) You see a hell of a lot more as Redscouser says
b) If anything any moaning gob****es just irritate me into thinking the complete opposite of them.

I don't think we were brilliant tonight, nowhere near as well played as you said we were. Shocking in defence, and gave the ball away too much.

However I do think people are being overly negative - 4-3-3 is a perfectly good formation.... we just had the wrong players in it tonight. We also created more than enough to win at a canter.

Christ, about a month ago we scored 25 goals in 7 games or something, we can't be that bad.

Can you see replays and different angles of play etc ???

[Maxiedge]

No offence, but that is deluded

What I mean by that, is, as an example, the amount of time Kewell has been in good positions in the last 2 games and managed to muck it up.

If we bought in a quality left midfielder it would add so much to our game.

[REDSCOUSER]

Explaining his decision to play Fernando Torres up front in a 4-1-4-1, Benitez added: "We were trying to play with wingers really wide and Gerrard getting into the box. We wanted to spread the other team. If you play with more strikers but the other team is really deep, maybe it is more difficult. We wanted to create space."


Granted I am not a pro footy player but played since I was 7, can someone explain to me the above quote by Rafa.
Its nice and dandy playing with wingers but if you only have 1 striker in the box vs 2 or 3defenders then all your crosses are going to waste, unless we had PELE up front.
At times Gerrard was so deep in his own half that Torres was left isolated.

[Red Chilli]

Maxi, we're nowhere near challenging. One or 2 players will not solve the problem in my opinion.

[REDSCOUSER]

I have said it and I think it's clear. If you're at pitch level you tend to miss on areas on the pitch (assuming you're at that level). Why does Rafa think it's important to watch DVD's of games then ?

so he can get to know the opponents but you cant be naive to think that he does not have scouts watching teams live and send back reports..DVD are to assist but they are not the all to be.

[disco]

Can you see replays and different angles of play etc ???

OK, you've spotted ONE benefit - you can watch the same event time after time and have some gimp spell it out to you.

However, you simply don't get a feel for formation, the movement, the off-the-ball incidents, the off the ball runs etc. from the TV.

Seriously, it's not even up for debate - watching the game live is a lot more informative

[Shaggy]

Explaining his decision to play Fernando Torres up front in a 4-1-4-1, Benitez added: "We were trying to play with wingers really wide and Gerrard getting into the box. We wanted to spread the other team. If you play with more strikers but the other team is really deep, maybe it is more difficult. We wanted to create space."


Granted I am not a pro footy player but played since I was 7, can someone explain to me the above quote by Rafa.
Its nice and dandy playing with wingers but if you only have 1 striker in the box vs 2 or 3defenders then all your crosses are going to waste, unless we had PELE up front.
At times Gerrard was so deep in his own half that Torres was left isolated.

Well, for a start you say "1 striker in the box" and Rafa said "and Gerrard getting into the box" - which, added to Torres, is obviously two. On top of that, you can have the winger on the opposite side/far post who can arrive in the box on to crosses coming in from the other side.

I see exactly what he means.

We played 2 up front against Birmingham and I think this was very much in Rafa's thinking. The play got clogged up in that game and he tried to address it.

[shadow]

What's your ****ing point yourself ?

Even if I haven't been able to watch a match at Anfield doesn't make me less knowledgeable than you.

But you announced that you can see things differently than people who are at the stadium though, yet you have never been to a stadium, therefore you would'nt have the first clue what you can see at a football match, rendering your "point" a load of horse****.

Stopping trying to wind up already aggrieved people with your 'holier than thou' football fan act, cos it will be ripped apart and make you look foolish, as illustrated above

Go back to posting pictures of dogs or something

[lfcruleus]

Well, for a start you say "1 striker in the box" and Rafa said "and Gerrard getting into the box" - which, added to Torres, is obviously two. On top of that, you can have the winger on the opposite side/far post who can arrive in the box on to crosses coming in from the other side.

I see exactly what he means.

We played 2 up front against Birmingham and I think this was very much in Rafa's thinking. The play got clogged up in that game and he tried to address it.

The theory is sound but if the wingers cant beat a man or cross the ball?

[disco]

I really really don't have a problem with the formation. Just the players he chose and how long he left them on for.

[Shaggy]

The theory is sound but if the wingers cant beat a man or cross the ball?

Well we're obviously ****ed. Clearly Rafa is banking on Penannt and Kewell to beat men and get the ball into the box - and so he should. He's got to have confidence in his own players.

Unfortunately they were both ****e. Neither are good enough and I suspect, deep down, Rafa knows it but it can't be addressed.

[JohnDoe]

The theory is sound but if the wingers cant beat a man or cross the ball?

Having wingers who can't beat a man or cross a ball will hurt you in any formation. It's not a reason to go 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or any other such bollocks.

[Marky]

Players let him down. We had plenty of chances. No chance of the title this season, I'm off to watch some cricket.

Is this what it has to come to?
A truly sad state of affairs.

[lfcruleus]

Having wingers who can't beat a man or cross a ball will hurt you in any formation. It's not a reason to go 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or any other such bollocks.

Exactly but he played the formation to take advantage of width, but with wingers as we have width is irrelevant, Finnan looked more effective when he came forward, at least he can cross the feckin ball.