Not playing like a Top 4 team...

[anfieldanfield]

Straight to the point;

Bellamy isn't an improvement on Cisse, or enough of one.

Pennant is quite frankly not fit to wear the liverbird. Is there anyone left who still thinks he's got what it takes?

Why aren't Garcia and Gonzalez playing more?

We miss Kuyt already. He's the one intelligent attacker we have. He knows how to pass and move.

We still don't utilise Crouch properly often enough. His presence was wasted today.

Steven Gerrard's form is a worry. If he isn't playing well we're ordinary more often than not. Like today.

What was Reina doing for the first goal?, he's making errors of judgement this season that he wasn't last.

IMO we still don't have enough top quality players to win the title, especially in the final third. Rafa gambled on Pennant and Bellamy and it's backfired and it's set us back.

10 points from 12 at home; okay. 1 point from 12 away is costing us dear.

I'd like to see Rafa be a bit more positive in sending out the team with more attacking intent from the first, at home we do this but not away. It's frustrating.

Agree with every word Charlie, at least someone's got their eyes open.

[Tom]

Dare I say, I think we're missing Harry Kewell too.

[Rich]

I'd go along with that Tom. We are light on the left side of the team, and love him or loathe him, Kewell plays left

[Rosco]

Dare I say, I think we're missing Harry Kewell too.

I think we are a bit, but I think we'd miss him less if Rafa played Gonzalez ahead of Aurelio.

[anfieldanfield]

Dare I say, I think we're missing Harry Kewell too.

He's lightyears better than that Aurelio.

When's Harry back, anyway ?

[Rich]

Who knows! I don't Harry does either, I wouldn't expect to see him until the new year to be honest, he's been out for several months and even when injury free, he'll need a while to get back to fitness.

Another thing is when is his contract up? Did he sign for 4 or 5 years in 2003?

[anfieldanfield]

Who knows! I don't Harry does either, I wouldn't expect to see him until the new year to be honest, he's been out for several months and even when injury free, he'll need a while to get back to fitness.

Another thing is when is his contract up? Did he sign for 4 or 5 years in 2003?

He's got one more season on his contract after this one.

[Kopite75]

yes we are not playing weel as a team but we also have had absolutely no luck whatsoever this season. Look at Chelsea's goal today Fatso just blasts it at the wall and it bounces off a defender right into the net oh to have such things happen to us occassionally!!

[Guest]

yeah fatso's goal was reminiscent of his best goals last season ... he's still the same i'm afraid and still have the same ****ing luck going his way.

[Bob]

We need to get back to basics.

Gerrard on the right.

Riise left back.

Kuyt/Crouch and Garcia up front.

Give Gonzalez a extendend run on the left.

Momo and Xabi in the middle.

Send Pennant to Siberia.

Cut down on the rotation and get a rhythm going.

Looks like we've been signing from the same hym sheet for a while.

However, we didn't have much choice selection-wise today. Momo wasn't fit, so we had to have Gerrard in the middle (bolo - no, no) and someone else out right. Garcia is always going to be inconsistent out there, and like you, i think he's best suited by playing as a forward. Didn't see Pennant today, but he's been seriously behind whats expected and needs dropped forthwith - lets use him as an impact player.

I think Rafa went with Aurelio to offer more defensive bite to the midfield area given the absence of Momo, while also providing potentially great deliveries for Crouch. I'm also not sure Gonzalez is ready for the pace of the Premiership yet. However I certainly couldn't argue with throwing him in now.

...

Oh, and another thing anyone who mentions Cisse after we've a poor game should sin-binned, or some ****. That guy had a lack of a basic footballing brain, and that at 24yo is unforgivable at this level. Probably the worst coached player i have seen at this club since Phil Babb, and that includes Diouf, Diao etc. The guy had no ****ing idea, i always thought (hoped) Rafa could instill some footballing wisdom into his game. He obviously felt he couldn't and sent him packing. Liverpool need players that will fit into a Rafa's team ethic - Cisse doesn't fit the bill. Bellamy's form has been very lacklustre, but he brings much more to the team than that fud Cisse.

[MrMichael]

...

Oh, and another thing anyone who mentions Cisse after we've a poor game should sin-binned, or some ****. That guy had a lack of a basic footballing brain, and that at 24yo is unforgivable at this level. Probably the worst coached player i have seen at this club since Phil Babb, and that includes Diouf, Diao etc. The guy had no ****ing idea, i always thought (hoped) Rafa could instill some footballing wisdom into his game. He obviously felt he couldn't and sent him packing. Liverpool need players that will fit into a Rafa's team ethic - Cisse doesn't fit the bill. Bellamy's form has been very lacklustre, but he brings much more to the team than Cisse.

Ha, its ok for you to say "sin bin", the mods would then have to argue about Cisse with them in there and I for one can't be arsed with that.

Btw I agree completely with the rest of that though. I've always thought we bought him 2/3 years too late, great natural ability but in the end never had the chance to learn how to use it properly. Guy Roux really ****ed up there, he had that thing about keeping them together and coaching that squad through so France had a new generation to burst into international football.... look what happened.

[Bob]

Ha, its ok for you to say "sin bin", the mods would then have to argue about Cisse with them in there and I for one can't be arsed with that.

Btw I agree completely with the rest of that though. I've always thought we bought him 2/3 years too late, great natural ability but in the end never had the chance to learn how to use it properly. Guy Roux really ****ed up there, he had that thing about keeping them together and coaching that squad through so France had a new generation to burst into international football.... look what happened.

Mike, i'll settle for outright banning on sight. This place could do with much less muppets IMO. Normally i'm all for folk being educated through rational debate, but with Cisse it's so ****ing obvious it shouldn't be approached in the first place.

Ask PaulS to write it into the codebase ASAP.

[anfieldanfield]

Oh, and another thing anyone who mentions Cisse after we've a poor game should sin-binned, or some ****. That guy had a lack of a basic footballing brain, and that at 24yo is unforgivable at this level. Probably the worst coached player i have seen at this club since Phil Babb, and that includes Diouf, Diao etc. The guy had no ****ing idea, i always thought (hoped) Rafa could instill some footballing wisdom into his game. He obviously felt he couldn't and sent him packing. Liverpool need players that will fit into a Rafa's team ethic - Cisse doesn't fit the bill. Bellamy's form has been very lacklustre, but he brings much more to the team than that fud Cisse.

You're missing a fundamental point; Cisse. Scored. Goals.

Call him all the names under the sun, rant off about his attiude, his crap hair, his apparant 'lack of a footballing brain', the offside rule, his price tag or whatever else, at the moment, we lack goalscorers in our squad, Djib was exactly that.

If Bellamy equals Djib's tally of 19 from last season, I'll never post on this site again. That's how confident I am of it not happening, in fact, if you want to push me, I can't see him scoring 15, to be honest.

*awaits one simplisitcally dimensional, smilie ridden reply*

[Red_Polo]

We need to get back to basics.

Gerrard on the right.

Riise left back.

Kuyt/Crouch and Garcia up front.

Give Gonzalez a extendend run on the left.

Momo and Xabi in the middle.

Totally agree mate. Garcia is one of the few players we have that can actually drag defenders out of position, I can't believe he hasn't started more home games than he has.

[Bob]

Totally agree mate. Garcia is one of the few players we have that can actually drag defenders out of position, I can't believe he hasn't started more home games than he has.

It's Garcia's inconsistency that lets him down Polo. You can't take a chance on him when we're not in form - too much of a gamble.

I also think, in terms of dragging players out of position, (and i'm assuming opposing defenders here) that Bellamy, Fowler and Couch are better at this. Albeit the last one lacks the mobility to carry this out at decisive junctures, such as set plays etc.