Just back from the game

[fowlen]

So another defeat....
I have no idea about the reaction on here, coz i have not read much yet, but we lost and in my opinion we were comprehensively beaten....simply because we could not impose ourselves too well with the opposition down to 10!

The Chelski supporters were once again crap, and our support was again terrific, although the away section did not seem too full!

As far as the game is concerned I thought it was entertaining and both teams played some excellent football, but Drogba was outstanding. Terry was also excellent.

As far as we were concerned, Gerrard was wasted out left, and Warnock should not have started....
The negatives....thought Bellamy, Pennant and Warnock were awful.
Kuyt, Aurelio looked excellent and Kuyt WILL score loads of goals

I think Rafa has to keep the team consistent and perhaps start a few games in a row with Crouch and Kuyt up front and leave most of the team settled with minimal changes.

Things will click and we'll be away, but they need to click on Wednesday night at the latest.

Chin up and there is a long way to go!

[rubyred]

The overall sentiment in 90% of posts about our performance lately, as well as views from various pundits and journalists, is that rotation is having a really bad effect on the team.

Rafa has made mistakes before - taking the FA Cup lightly, playing Crouch up on his own when he was out of form etc, and learned from them. I just hope he realises that the way he is rotating the team is having a bad effect and stops it - SOON!!!

[Tom]

we've played 3 away games:
First game we drew against a newly promoted side who were always going to be busting a gut on their first run-out in the prem.
Second away game was a derby. Derbies anything can happen. Poll was awful, we didn't play too badly.
Third away game against chelski. We didn't deserve to lose and had a cast iron penalty turned down.

It's a tough start to the season. Lets save the hysteria until we've played 10 games not 4. Things can turn quickly in football and we've got a home game on wednesday.

[Morph]

Maybe you got a different impression from the ground but from watching onthe TV I wouldn't say Aurelio looked Excellent, and wouldn't say Bellamy Pennant and Warnock were awfull. I agee with most other things you say tho.

[redlancer]

The overall sentiment in 90% of posts about our performance lately, as well as views from various pundits and journalists, is that rotation is having a really bad effect on the team.

Rafa has made mistakes before - taking the FA Cup lightly, playing Crouch up on his own when he was out of form etc, and learned from them. I just hope he realises that the way he is rotating the team is having a bad effect and stops it - SOON!!!

is rotation the new zonal marking. Press etc love to have a go.

Stevie not scoring from a lot of chances he'd normaly do.
We've had chance's at 2 tough away match's that should of been enuff to come away with something.
Rotation or players not playing to their standards?

As for Rafa sticking by Crouch during bad spell. Look at him now!!! So was he wrong to do it, who'd know if dropping him would of had a negative effect.

[fowlen]

Maybe you got a different impression from the ground but from watching onthe TV I wouldn't say Aurelio looked Excellent, and wouldn't say Bellamy Pennant and Warnock were awfull. I agee with most other things you say tho.

Pennant went to ground so so easily, and seemd to go dead ends time and again...
Bellamy ran and ran, but I don't think he made the correct runs.
Warnock was out of position time and again....Shevchenko kept pulling away from him time and again, and had Chelsea played the right ball we would have been in serious trouble in the first 15 minutes

Aurelio has skill and is a willing worker.

I think I should also add that Sami is going to struggle to stay in the team....Agger was great and will be a real star

[Morph]

Maybe so, but I wouldn't say any of those players were 'awful' as you put it. Maybe not quite up to standard, Bellamy can only work off what he's given, and Pennant worked hard and did deliver one or two good crosses and passes. maybe Warnock wasn't too brilliant, but I'd have him there over Aurelio any day of the week. Again Aurelio simply wasnt 'excellent', it might come for him with time, but not at the minute.

[Parm]

mate, I was at the game as well and thought we by far and away the better team, and that was before they went down to 10 men. We had them under constant pressure and were bombarding them. We had more chances in this game than we hav had in probably all of the last few league matches agaisnt them. It was thepostive we've been at the bridge since we went 2-0 up in that fa cup match in 97.

As for Drogba, he was anonymous. He took his goal very well and Reina could do nothing about it, but apart from that he was poor. I'll agree with you about Terry though and also that the Chav fans were dire.

[friedk]

Agger is going to be a Liverpool legend, that clearance in the first half was incredible.

Hold on to the positives, irrespective of what Andy Gray says, there are still 102 points to play for.

[Red_Polo]

Disagree about Warnock and Alonso. I think by and large they did their jobs. Pennant was dire I agree. Bellamy was poor yes, but he saw very little of the ball in the sort of positions he likes it is. We lost a goal to one moment of outrageous skill out of the blue from Drogba when Carra backed off him a yard, and then struggled to play the strikers in. Kuyt had no good crosses to attack and did well to retain possession for us, keeping attacks going when possible, whilst Bellamy was left chasing lost causes and trying to win headers. The simple fact is that we had no fluency in the final third because despite dominating the midfield our approach play was unimaginative and the final ball was poor. That said we created enough chances through sheer pressure to have won today. Disappointing but we'll move on.

[red g]

Pennant had moreof the balltoday and mainly wasted it, Think if gerrard was out on the right he would have had FAR more effect. Aurelio looked good, bellamy was poor and Agger looks one hell of a player!!

[kurtangle01]

I wasn't at the game today but I thought we played quite well from what I saw on Sky. We weren't necessarily at our best but we did do reasonably well. If Stevie had scored when he was in on Cech or Crouch had scored the header at the very end we would have got a draw. I also feel that if Kuyt had scored to put us up 1 nil when he hit the bar we would've won the game.

[Dhav]

Bellamy had a very poor game today.

I also agree that we didn't take the game enough to them once they went down to 10 men, although I do think we were the better side (not saying much) but we certainly had enough good chances to win and we really need to be a lot more clinical. Under the counter-attacking days of GH, we only created 1-2 chances a game, but we almost invariably scored from them. That is what we need now - to be much more efficient and clinical.

Agger again looked outstanding, no wonder Rafa rates him so highly.

I think our poor start shows how important it is to get a top 2 place and avoid CL qualifying, especially after an international tournament. There are jsut too many games, especially with internationals as well, at the start of the season which is why Rafa hasnt picked a settled line-up