Benitez questions Everton tactics

[rezaeos]

Now, I am a die hard Rafa fan but I think he shouldn't criticise others who copy him!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/7848091.stm

He said ""One team was trying to win and the other team was trying not to lose," said Benitez, whose team have drawn five of their last eight games."

Moyes used the same tactics he's been employing at Anfield against Stock, Hull, etc. The difference is the Blue****e were justified in being terrified of Gerrard and Torres.

[Tee]

Agree - what Neverton do/did is what most teams will do when they come to Anfield so we must be prepared for it. Simple as.

[MrMichael]

However, it was a cup game not a league game, you're supposed to play those to win or there isn;t much point, and I have to say that was the least ambition any Everton side I can remember has shown at Anfield. In the league, fair enough, but in the FA cup a division two side would have shown more forward intent then that shower did today.

[Tee]

Fair point MrM, but having got a relatively early goal was it reasonable to expect them to try and hang onto that lead no?

[Matt]

However, it was a cup game not a league game, you're supposed to play those to win or there isn;t much point, and I have to say that was the least ambition any Everton side I can remember has shown at Anfield. In the league, fair enough, but in the FA cup a division two side would have shown more forward intent then that shower did today.

Maybe so but they got what they came for.

If we did that at Old Trafford and Ferguson made those comments we'd be crying sour grapes.

We're very predictable at the moment, any team with the resolve to sit deep and grit their teeth will fancy their chances of coming away from Anfield with a point.

[MrMichael]

That was only like the second time they'd been in our half though Tee when they scored on 30 mins. The possession stats were just nuts, end of the first half we had way over 200 completed passes and they had 60 odd. I think Alonso probably completed more passes himself than their entire team did.

Sitting back at 1-0 I could understand, but they were doing it before they scored, and kept doing it after we equalised. Absolutely 0 ambition. Don't know why their fans were celebrating on the final whistle either, they won't be able to get away with playing like that at their shed, and without 11 men behind the ball we'll hammer them.

[Craig_H]

However, it was a cup game not a league game, you're supposed to play those to win or there isn;t much point, and I have to say that was the least ambition any Everton side I can remember has shown at Anfield. In the league, fair enough, but in the FA cup a division two side would have shown more forward intent then that shower did today.

Nope, i dont buy that. It's a cuptie, the objective is to get to the next round and their best chance is via a replay.

If we were good enough to break them down and win, nobody would make a point of their tactics.

And rafa himself employs such tactics himself half the time, try not to concede and hope to pinch one. He's not in a position to criticise them for doing what he does on a regular basis.

Here's an idea Rafa, how about being the master tactician that you're known for being, and finding a way to beat teams like that? Better than whinging about them afterwards.

[MrMichael]

Maybe so but they got what they came for.

If we did that at Old Trafford and Ferguson made those comments we'd be crying sour grapes.

We're very predictable at the moment, any team with the resolve to sit deep and grit their teeth will fancy their chances of coming away from Anfield with a point.

That's true, and it is a worry. There simply aren't enough players in the team weighing in with the odd goal at the moment, we could do with one or two just flying in from distance at some point soon to give some of them the confidence to actually shoot.

[kingfunk]

Any team has the right to play anyway they want, if evertons tactics were to play for a draw to get a home replay, well then so be it, they won.

If i was rafa i would be worrying more about my own tactics and not be trying to deflect the blame for two home draws somwhere else.

[Joe King]

They'll have to go for us in ten days time. I hope to see us at our best. We play at our best when Benitez unleashes the side without any strings pulling players back - I'm looking at games against Besiktas, Newcastle and even Manchester United this season. Get at them from the go, get a goal in the first half and let them attack us. They don't have the strikers to threaten unless they dash on a centre half up front for the last twenty minutes which would mean we can rip another arsehole in them on the break.

[MrMichael]

Nope, i dont buy that. It's a cuptie, the objective is to get to the next round and their best chance is via a replay.

If we were good enough to break them down and win, nobody would make a point of their tactics.

And rafa himself employs such tactics himself half the time, try not to concede and hope to pinch one. He's not in a position to criticise them for doing what he does on a regular basis.

Here's an idea Rafa, how about being the master tactician that you're known for being, and finding a way to beat teams like that? Better than whinging about them afterwards.

To be honest though mate, we seem to be playing much better away from home currently, I'm not at all sure that their best chance of going through was via a replay.

I've never seen a Rafa team play as entirely negatively as they did today. And besides, I don't quite buy all the "Rafa this, Rafa that", how about the players doing the job on the pitch eh? Before the game I would have said that the side which was put out, and the formation it was played in, was pretty much our best (one could argue Babel/Riera and Dossena/anyone, but it wasn't far off). Ultimately the best manager in the world can't actually kick the ball into the net for his team, the players have to take responsibility for their lack or urgency or killer instinct, especially in a game like that.

Oh, and don't call me "Rafa", Mike's fine

[Craig_H]

That's true, and it is a worry. There simply aren't enough players in the team weighing in with the odd goal at the moment, we could do with one or two just flying in from distance at some point soon to give some of them the confidence to actually shoot.

The fact is, a lot of teams will play that away against us, and they do it to Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal too. It's their right and it's upto us to beat them.

The solution to that kind of tactic, is to play with genuine width and a high tempo. Move the ball quickly, get bodies forward and get the opposition defending when they're not all in position. Make them defend facing their own goal, rather than when they've got 10 men back and facing our goal, in position and ready to defend.

Our way of playing is so easy to defend against, it's unreal. Extremely pedestrian, extremely methodical and sometimes, it really is painful to watch.

2 mins before the end today, Carra and Skrtel are piddling about knocking the ball across the edge of their own box, exchanging little passes. I mean seriously...

The problem is mainly that we dont actually have another way of playing, we dont have a plan B and we dont have the capability to inject some proper tempo into our play. We're predictable and easy to play against at the moment.

Hopefully at Wigan, we'll face a side who play it a bit more open because we're woeful when the opposition are organised and compact.

[rezaeos]

I wonder what Gerrad and Torres think about the way the team is performing? Kuyt and Babel may as well give up and play for the reserves full time.

[DannyMan2006]

Nope, i dont buy that. It's a cuptie, the objective is to get to the next round and their best chance is via a replay.

If we were good enough to break them down and win, nobody would make a point of their tactics.

And rafa himself employs such tactics himself half the time, try not to concede and hope to pinch one. He's not in a position to criticise them for doing what he does on a regular basis.

Here's an idea Rafa, how about being the master tactician that you're known for being, and finding a way to beat teams like that? Better than whinging about them afterwards.

Everton got what they wanted. We were unlucky not to win but should have created more than what we did. Having said that, Had Howard not made a tremendous save from Stevie, Torres shooting staright at Jagielka and Kuyt not being useless we would have been looking at it from a different angle.

To often we slowed the pace down and allowed Everton the time to organize. All the chances created came from when we went hurtling towards their goal as opposed to passing it side to side. We are not Barca, we lack the craft of Xavi, Messi, Iniesta et all, so we should not be trying slow possession football.

When we go for the throat we are a top attacking team. We should stick to what we are best at. However this normally only happens when we are loosing a game or playing counter attack to the best sides.

[Craig_H]

To be honest though mate, we seem to be playing much better away from home currently, I'm not at all sure that their best chance of going through was via a replay.

I've never seen a Rafa team play as entirely negatively as they did today. And besides, I don't quite buy all the "Rafa this, Rafa that", how about the players doing the job on the pitch eh? Before the game I would have said that the side which was put out, and the formation it was played in, was pretty much our best (one could argue Babel/Riera and Dossena/anyone, but it wasn't far off). Ultimately the best manager in the world can't actually kick the ball into the net for his team, the players have to take responsibility for their lack or urgency or killer instinct, especially in a game like that.

Oh, and don't call me "Rafa", Mike's fine

I know the players are the ones on the pitch, but they do say the style of a team mirrors the footballing personality of the manager. I think that's absolutely on the money, where we're concerned.

He is perfectly capable of telling them to play with a higher tempo, move the ball quicker and find good positions, but he clearly isnt doing it.