Liverpool v Stoke match thread

[breffniboy]

I understand what you're saying but whats Rafa supposed to do, walk them around the penalty area and say this is where you dummy and then flick the ball over to Fernando, Fernando, you now shoot? We had all the possession and played the ball in and around the box for 90 minutes but created very few clear chances. These guys aren't androids programmed to follow instructions religiously, when they get near the box its up to them to start creating something. They took it out wide, brought it through the middle, made a few runs through into the penalty area and had quite a few fluffed shots and miskicks. This is down to the players not Rafa.

Rafa has to set the team out tactically, and they did a job today, but he can only do so much. That final bit has to come from the players.

As I've already said, for me the only thing I would've done differently is play Benny instead of Kuyt as we all knew what Stoke would do today and Benny would've created more than Dirk.

Very very frustrated but if anyone on here blames Rafa for that they can **** right off. With the squad we have any combination of players Rafa put out should have won that game. We had enough chances to win comfortably. If anyone is to blame it is the players. Am sure the usual suspects are gagging to get on here and slate Rafa. It would have been a very diferent story if the goal had not been dissallowed. Every team drops points at home. FFS the only point spurs got this season was at the bridge. Big game against the bitters next week and IMO we will get 3 pts.

Sorry guys but at some stage we have to stop passing off these continuous failures to beat **** teams in the league as mere 'blips' that 'happen every team' and so on, as if they are somehow a rarity not in keeping with the rest of our season or our results under Rafa. I'm not saying sack Rafa or anything like it but it is clear, abundantly so, that we are at our best playing top teams who come out and attack us because fundamentally we are set up not to concede and exploit opposition gaps; when it comes to taking the game to another side and earning the win on the back of our own positivity and craft, we are almost always found woefully lacking. In this sense how we play is a clear reflection of the attitude, mindset and beliefs of the manager, so absolving him of blame because he's not out there to score himself etc. is highly disingenuous as a defence against the 'sack Rafa brigade'; almost as bad as some of the arguments used by the 'other side' in this rapidly emerging divide among our support.

Taken in isolation, today's result is by no means a total disaster, but in the context of the persistent pattern under Rafa, I frankly find it wholly depressing.

The Man U bubble wobbled in Europe in midweek, it burst a bit today and I hope it gets reinflated very soon, else another season's hopes will ebb away.

[Sisterstiffticket]

they deserved **** all buddy!

they dont play football, they play defense, and punt it as long as you can hoping for a throw in FFS.

I hope both of Delap's arms fall off, and Stoke go down in a screaming heap. They are a ****ing disgrace of a team. Its truly depressing that a team playing this way is in the premier league.

That linesman ruined the game IMO. That was a ****ing goal fair and square. We would of stuffed them had that not been wrongly disallowed.

What do you want H? They have little money to spend, they have just come up with little or no money from a few years of prem league football yet Liverpool have millions pouring in over the years from Cl etc.

Give the likes of Stoke 5 years in the prem and if they are still playing this way, I'll gladly wave bye bye to them.

But for now...good luck to them!

[Sisterstiffticket]

All teams are built on defence. If there not, then your Spurs.

And please dont cite the Mancs as your example of this not being the case, because they are the most counter attacking team ever. Solid defence breaks it up and players who are faster than Linford Christe break out and punish the opposition while their still up the other end of the pitch.

It used to piss me off when Geds team was slated for bein counter attcking, yet everyone would cream over the Mancs for playing the exact same way

[murder_inc]

You simply cant afford not to beat Stoke City, Stoke ****ing City at home if you've any hopes of a title challenge.

Pathetic.

I also thought that to win the ****in title you had to at least beat the teams in the top 4? oh, thats right.
Next....

[Rashid]

All teams are built on defence. If there not, then your Spurs.

And please dont cite the Mancs as your example of this not being the case, because they are the most counter attacking team ever. Solid defence breaks it up and players who are faster than Linford Christe break out and punish the opposition while their still up the other end of the pitch.

It used to piss me off when Geds team was slated for bein counter attcking, yet everyone would cream over the Mancs for playing the exact same way

Did you just say Houllier's team played like the Mancs?

[Rehan]

this result has been coming, was only a matter of time, we aint exactly been playing well

[JPK]

this result has been coming, was only a matter of time, we aint exactly been playing well

True. One good performance this year.

[Fowler_God]

Did you just say Houllier's team played like the Mancs?

Hahaha not quite.

All i was saying is that Houllier was always critised for counter attacking, yet no-one ever mentioned that the whole Man Utd way is built around counter attacking.

[FatTony]

Sorry guys but at some stage we have to stop passing off these continuous failures to beat **** teams in the league as mere 'blips' that 'happen every team' and so on, as if they are somehow a rarity not in keeping with the rest of our season or our results under Rafa. I'm not saying sack Rafa or anything like it but it is clear, abundantly so, that we are at our best playing top teams who come out and attack us because fundamentally we are set up not to concede and exploit opposition gaps; when it comes to taking the game to another side and earning the win on the back of our own positivity and craft, we are almost always found woefully lacking. In this sense how we play is a clear reflection of the attitude, mindset and beliefs of the manager, so absolving him of blame because he's not out there to score himself etc. is highly disingenuous as a defence against the 'sack Rafa brigade'; almost as bad as some of the arguments used by the 'other side' in this rapidly emerging divide among our support.

Taken in isolation, today's result is by no means a total disaster, but in the context of the persistent pattern under Rafa, I frankly find it wholly depressing.

The Man U bubble wobbled in Europe in midweek, it burst a bit today and I hope it gets reinflated very soon, else another season's hopes will ebb away.

You obviously haven't read more of my posts, but I'm not someone who can see no wrong in Rafa. I have concerns, and personally, to be entirely honest I don't think he'll ever win us the league. This has something to do with him and a lot to do with the quality and finances of the opposition.

I do however believe that he had the right formation today, the team gave it there all but just failed to create some open chances in what was a congested penalty area.

Yes its worrying that today at home against Stoke we failed to score a goal (at least one that was deemed legal), and we (IMO) went for a draw at Villa, but as it is we're still up there. If we are off the pace again by Xmas then I really do think that something needs to happen, but I'll give it until then. Thats my marker for whatever reason, but today I think we did everything other than score, and thats down to the players (again IMO)

[Chrono]

I would like to add to this that when Arsenal went a goal behind they took 10 minutes to get TWO passed bolton with penetrative football when Bolton parked the bus. Then they eased the rest of the game.

Benny and Babel should have been on from the start!

[Fowler_God]

I would like to add to this that when Arsenal went a goal behind they took 10 minutes to get TWO passed bolton with penetrative football when Bolton parked the bus. Then they eased the rest of the game.

Benny and Babel should have been on from the start!

Bolton parked the bus? I thought then were more open than Katie Prices gash!

[Craig_H]

Look, they parked the ****ing bus so what can we do?

We stretched them wide, we went down the middle, we won 20 ****ing corners. Goal ruled offside when it wasn't.

Some games are just not on our side.

12 teams always park the bus. They do it at Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea too. What can we do, you ask?

How about breaking them down?

Rubbish excuse. We did use width, but our play is so slow and pedestrian, that's it's EASY to defend against. Did we actually create a clear cut chance? It was all hopeful long shots. We have ZERO tempo or urgency to our attacks and in truth, Anfield has become a relatively easy place to get a draw.

Not good enough, not even close.

[Craig_H]

**** it, you lot think we should be ****ing Brazil 1970.

Go and have a wank and get the frustration out of your systems.

So only Brazil 1970 can beat Stoke at home? Please...

You're acting as if we're asking too much, in thinking we should be winning games like this. Give over.

[Craig_H]

And so it begins....

If Rafa's tactics were wrong, why did we have so many shots, corners and posession? You know full well that on another day we would have had 10. It was just one of them days.

But hey, you find any excuse to slate Rafa, so I shouldn't be suprised at how quickly you've crawled out of the woodwork.

Practically all of our shots were hopeful ones mate. We didnt really create clear cut chances.

At the end of the day, teams will set up like Stoke and we struggle to break them down on a regular basis. It was the same against Boro, where we got lucky. Ditto Liege.

It's not a freak result today, it's the result of not attacking with any tempo.

[Craig_H]

Yeah it's not that easy when you have a rugby team entrenched around the 18 yard box.

Let's see how hard Arsenal, United and Chelsea find it.

There's really no excuse, there's loads of teams who'll 'have a rugby team entrenched around the 18 yard box', what do we do, simply say 'oh well, they put men behind the ball, never mind, a draw will do in that case' ?