Liverpool vs Fulham post mortem

[Craig_H]

Strange you think we didn't create enough chances. We created more than we did against Middlesboro and Man City. Torres had two great chances to score, one right foot curl and one where he ran in from the corner flag. Keane obviously had a sitter and Kuyt should have directed his shot a bit lower. We could have won this game 3-0 on another day.

So I ask again, did Scolari get it wrong as well?

You can ask again and i'll tell you again, no Scolari didnt get it wrong. They had FOURTEEN shots on goal, including putting the ball in the net once, which was ruled out and an arguable situation with the ball looking like it may or may not have just crossed the line.

We had two clear chances against Fulham, the Keane one (via a deflection off Lucas, so not really something we actually 'carved out') and the Kuyt one. The Torres effort wasnt really a clear cut chance carved out by us, it was a half chance and only came about because Torres is able to skin defenders in tight areas.

It's not strange that i think we didnt create enough chances, usually in a game, you'll do well to score one out of every two proper chances you create, and we created two PROPER clear chances. So it's not remotely strange that we scored zero goals. How many times did we get behind their defensive line? How many times did we beat the man in a wide area, get in behind and play it dangerously across the face of goal?

Fulham's defenders were practically always defending with their backs to their goal, which is so much easier. We hardly ever forced them to defend while facing their own goal (due to hardly ever getting behind their defensive line) and that's why we struggled.

The fact is, if we 'create' this amount of chances (eg, so few) in games, scoring a couple of goals is actually the exception, not the rule. The Boro game, where we created so little, but scored twice was an example of this, but in most cases, such few clear chances will result in struggling to score.

We can debate what we consider were 'good' chances yesterday and what werent, but all's i'll say is that if you consider the number of 'chances' and the type of 'chances' we produced yesterday as being good enough, then myself and you have different ideas of what kind of level we should be performing at when we play at hom to the 'lesser' sides.

[BigChief]

Firstly, I must LOL if you say Torres making his own chance does not constitute a 'proper' chance. LOLOL. Messi go home, you're a very naughty boy.LOL

On to the main points, Scolari yet again rested Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...from internationals, therefore he was able to play almost the same team he would have liked which have won 3-0 and 4-0 recently. We had Gerrard not able to play, Torres trying to find form and Alonso/Riera/Mascherano having played gut wrenching 90 minutes midweek for no reason.

If anything Scolari should have won his game, and Rafa forgiven for the draw. I don't want excuses about Chelsea being unlucky or Chelsea having a goal disallowed. That's just 'convenient' (and frankly I can't believe you've swallowed it ).

So, for a third time. Did Scolari get it wrong?

[DannyMan2006]

I think we need to be more creative against these sorts of teams in the league. Without Stevie we needed a spark today. I'd have loved Babel to start wide right v Fulham.

With Gerrard playing he attracts defenders that frees up space for others, like Kuyt who has beneifted this season. It was also noticable that everytime Riera got the ball he had two men on him, this created gaps for Mascher or Lucas to attack but they didn't bother. Kuyt obviously only ever had one man on him.

[DannyMan2006]

Firstly, I must LOL if you say Torres making his own chance does not constitute a 'proper' chance. LOLOL. Messi go home, you're a very naughty boy.LOL

On to the main points, Scolari yet again rested Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...from internationals, therefore he was able to play almost the same team he would have liked which have won 3-0 and 4-0 recently. We had Gerrard not able to play, Torres trying to find form and Alonso/Riera/Mascherano having played gut wrenching 90 minutes midweek for no reason.

If anything Scolari should have won his game, and Rafa forgiven for the draw. I don't want excuses about Chelsea being unlucky or Chelsea having a goal disallowed. That's just 'convenient' (and frankly I can't believe you've swallowed it ).

So, for a third time. Did Scolari get it wrong?

Of course he got it wrong, they failed to win. Having said that the palyers you mentioned are the normally the ones who create the chances, and apparently they had enough of them.

As for their 26 shots on goal, Liverpool under Houllier used to have similar amounts, but all from distance and all failing to really trouble the keeper. So that stat could be misleading. I wonder if they had any chances as good as Keanes.

I here people say that mistake was down to a Fulham error, but every goal ever scored in football is down to someones error. A goal from distance is a failure to close a man down, whilst a threaded through ball is a failure to follow the runner. A free kick or penalty is obviously the result of a foul. Pressure on teams creates chances as it gives opponents less time to think and react.

[Craig_H]

Firstly, I must LOL if you say Torres making his own chance does not constitute a 'proper' chance. LOLOL. Messi go home, you're a very naughty boy.LOL

On to the main points, Scolari yet again rested Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...from internationals, therefore he was able to play almost the same team he would have liked which have won 3-0 and 4-0 recently. We had Gerrard not able to play, Torres trying to find form and Alonso/Riera/Mascherano having played gut wrenching 90 minutes midweek for no reason.

If anything Scolari should have won his game, and Rafa forgiven for the draw. I don't want excuses about Chelsea being unlucky or Chelsea having a goal disallowed. That's just 'convenient' (and frankly I can't believe you've swallowed it ).

So, for a third time. Did Scolari get it wrong?

"Lol" - kinda sums up the level i'm dealing with here. Throw in a 'rofl' too, for true sophistication.

Firstly, i didnt say the Torres one wasnt a clear chance BECAUSE he created it himself. I just said i didnt consider it a clear cut chance, it was a half chance that, due to Torres being so brilliant, people expect him to just score from, with his eyes closed. Compare that chance to the one-on-one. The latter is a CLEAR CUT chance. The former doesnt compare. Now we've got that out of the way...

On to the main points, Scolari yet again rested Joe Cole, Ashley Cole, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc...from internationals, therefore he was able to play almost the same team he would have liked which have won 3-0 and 4-0 recently. We had Gerrard not able to play, Torres trying to find form and Alonso/Riera/Mascherano having played gut wrenching 90 minutes midweek for no reason.

The above has almost nothing to do with the actual topic/question you posed. It's about as relevant to the issue at hand, as saying 'Tomorrow is monday'.

Gerrard is one big player we had missing. Sadly, it does happen and if the consequence of missing one big player, is that we cant beat Fulham at home, then we may as well pack up now.

Mascherano, Alonso and Riera did play 90 mins for Spain, yes. Same as loads of players do everytime there's an international week. Not sure how gut wrenching it was, they won 3-0 and were comfortable. But aside from that, again it's another odd excuse and if, yet again, we struggle to beat weaker opposition at home everytime our international players have played for their countries, then we might as well give up. This happens regularly during the season.

If anything Scolari should have won his game, and Rafa forgiven for the draw. I don't want excuses about Chelsea being unlucky or Chelsea having a goal disallowed. That's just 'convenient' (and frankly I can't believe you've swallowed it ).

Scolari shouldnt have won this 'his' game, Chelsea should have won it. He picked the right team and they bombarded Newcastle with 14 shots ON target. 9 times out of 10, they'd win easily. There's always the odd exception, against all logic when you have so many shots hitting the target and still fail to score, but it's very rare.

It's funny that you dont want excuses for Chelsea, but reel them off readily for us.

As for Chelsea's disallowed goal, what have i swallowed? The point was that on another day, it could have counted. That's all.

In conclusion, if we'd created countless chances and bombarded Fulham with shot after shot, on target, then yeah, we're just unlucky. We didnt though. We created only a couple of CLEAR chances and the rest was more hopeful stuff. Incidentally, i'm not even sure where you're coming from with the Rafa stuff, because i havent actually blamed him in the slightest.

The team didnt perform as well as they should've done and we paid the price. Chelsea battered Newcastle, we didnt batter Fulham.

That's all there is to it. Keep asking and i'll keep giving you the correct answer. Yes, Scolari got it right.

[ronanm]

Didn't see the game. But was a great chance to open a 2 point lead on Chelsea - won't get many chances to do so. They are the team we should be concerned with, not the scum imo. They have the best squad in the PL and would have won the scum's double had they not been missing a lot of players last season. Wasted opportunity. I am a firm believer in playing your strongest 11. Even though Alonso played 90 mins midweek I still think he should have started - take him off when we are 2-0 up. Did Benayoun play?

[EwarWoo]

I am a firm believer in playing your strongest 11.

Personally I think that philosophy is over rated.

Sounds great in theory but in practice you always hit a point in the season where a players injured or you have feature congestion and you end up having to play your back-up players.

If they've been sitting on the bench all season you can only expect them to play ****. They need to get the odd start to build up a rythmn with the team. And against teams like Fulham we should still be winning with a weakenned side, it's stilll an hell of a lot more valuable than their first team, so no better time.

Sure, things go wrong from time to time, like they did, but things can go much worse otherwise.

[The_weatherman]

Gerrard is one big player we had missing. Sadly, it does happen and if the consequence of missing one big player, is that we cant beat Fulham at home, then we may as well pack up now.

I'm not going to pack up while we are joint top.

But aside from that, again it's another odd excuse and if, yet again, we struggle to beat weaker opposition at home everytime our international players have played for their countries, then we might as well give up. This happens regularly during the season.

I'm not going to give up while we are joint top.

Scolari shouldnt have won this 'his' game, Chelsea should have won it. He picked the right team and they bombarded Newcastle with 14 shots ON target. 9 times out of 10, they'd win easily. There's always the odd exception, against all logic when you have so many shots hitting the target and still fail to score, but it's very rare.

As for Chelsea's disallowed goal, what have i swallowed? The point was that on another day, it could have counted. That's all.

In conclusion, if we'd created countless chances and bombarded Fulham with shot after shot, on target, then yeah, we're just unlucky. We didnt though. We created only a couple of CLEAR chances and the rest was more hopeful stuff. Incidentally, i'm not even sure where you're coming from with the Rafa stuff, because i havent actually blamed him in the slightest.

The team didnt perform as well as they should've done and we paid the price. Chelsea battered Newcastle, we didnt batter Fulham.

That's all there is to it. Keep asking and i'll keep giving you the correct answer. Yes, Scolari got it right.

Who cares who battered whom? The result was the same, we got a good disallowed against Stoke as well, we slipped up, Chelsea too, we'll slip up again and Chelsea will too. Let's just hope they will slip up more than we do.

[Craig_H]

Who cares who battered whom? The result was the same, we got a good disallowed against Stoke as well, we slipped up, Chelsea too, we'll slip up again and Chelsea will too. Let's just hope they will slip up more than we do.

It was in response to the question about whether Scolari got it wrong on the day, which i dont believe he did, as Chelsea battered Fulham and 90% of the time, their performance would've led to a comfortable win.

That was the relevance of the 'battered' comment.

[cled the red]

As for Chelsea's disallowed goal, what have i swallowed? The point was that on another day, it could have counted. That's all.

No, it was offside so it couldn't have counted.

[Craig_H]

No, it was offside so it couldn't have counted.

I see. Because no offside goals EVER get given, do they?

[cled the red]

I see. Because no offside goals EVER get given, do they?

No, the quality of officials in this country ensure that every decision they make is correct!!

[Craig_H]

Natch.

[gentingfrmhell]

babel looks really out of touch.

[Craig_H]

Babel is suffering from fewer and fewer opportunities to play. Wouldnt be surprised if he ends up wanting out.