Spurs v Liverpool Match Thread

[kris90210]

therein lies the problem with lucas in that he a neat and tidy player but not a starter and certainly not the person to fill in that role alongside masher.

neat and tidy isnt good enough at the highest level and he shouldnt have started today. Whoever said that gerrard didnt make us play better when he moved back was probably watching a different game because he showed a lot of urgency and we looked more dangerous when he moved back.

on the plus side i thought yossi for his 25 plus minutes was our best player but it looks like we've carried our pre-season form into the start of the season. Additionally, losing today didnt do rafa any harm in his petition for further signings.

we can leave things as they are and keep gerrard behind torres but if our two best players are not in the game and cant get hold of the ball in the right kind of areas in the right kind of time they might as well not be playing.

Gerrard needs to move back into the middle of the pitch - for now until aquilani finds his fitness.

Fair enough. Gerrard playing in the center with Yossi behind Torres is probably our strongest team on paper right now

[DannyMan2006]

Who would you have started then, Spearing?

Or Gerrard at CM and Torres up front with Voronin?

You said Lucas being neat and tidy isnt good enough at this level. Is Voronin good enough at this level then?

Personally after that I'd start Yossi on the left and Babel behind Torres. Gerrard in midfield with Mascher. Kuyt on the right.

[tomasjj]

Personally after that I'd start Yossi on the left and Babel behind Torres. Gerrard in midfield with Mascher. Kuyt on the right.

You'd start Babel in that position?
A player with no game intelligence or decision making?
He also seems mentally fragile, to say the least.
I am intrigued.

[el matador]

Who would you have started then, Spearing?

Or Gerrard at CM and Torres up front with Voronin?

You said Lucas being neat and tidy isnt good enough at this level. Is Voronin good enough at this level then?

gerrard in central midfield and yossi behind torres. When you cant keep hold of the ball and cant make any sort of incisive pass into the oppositions defensive areas you are going to be in for a tough evening which we were. They quickly worked us out and pressed us at every opportunity because our midfielders werent able to get the ball out quickly.

If gerrard had started instead of lucas we wouldnt have struggled in the first half and perhaps would be looking at a different scoreline

[DannyMan2006]

Lucas did no worse than Mascherano, Gerrard or Torres today. He kept things fairly simple sure, but personally I saw signs of improvment

I didn't say Lucas did any worse than Mascherano. The only reason I'd consider dropping Lucas is because Mascherano is the better player and protects the back 4 spot on.

Gerrard and Torres were isolated as a result of Lucas and Mascherano losing the midfield battle and being pushed too deep.

I lost count of the times that a CM had the ball and the other one failed to make space to recieve the ball. If you're playing with Gerrard or Alonso you can get away with that, but when paired with a player who can only pass short you need to be available to them.

[Craig_H]

gerrard in central midfield and yossi behind torres. When you cant keep hold of the ball and cant make any sort of incisive pass into the oppositions defensive areas you are going to be in for a tough evening which we were. They quickly worked us out and pressed us at every opportunity because our midfielders werent able to get the ball out quickly.

If gerrard had started instead of lucas we wouldnt have struggled in the first half and perhaps would be looking at a different scoreline

So you'd still have played Babel at LM?

[el matador]

So you'd still have played Babel at LM?

yep. simply because there's no one else to play there.

[DannyMan2006]

You'd start Babel in that position?
A player with no game intelligence or decision making?
He also seems mentally fragile, to say the least.
I am intrigued.

Judging by yours and other posters comments in the Babel thread I knew I'd get shot down

It's all down to personal opinion. I don't know what makes you think he is mentally fragile, though I do understand why you lot criticise him.

But I'm not saying play him there because he is bang in form, more down to a lack of options on our behalf. I'd also like to try Yossi behind Torres and Riera on the left, but I think Babel would do really well in the Gerrard role.

He played there in the 2007 U21 tournament for Holland and was player of the tournament. It was his form in that that could have convinced Rafa to take the plunge on him.

[DannyMan2006]

yep. simply because there's no one else to play there.

Riera or Dossena?

[cream]

therein lies the problem with lucas in that he a neat and tidy player but not a starter and certainly not the person to fill in that role alongside masher.

neat and tidy isnt good enough at the highest level and he shouldnt have started today. Whoever said that gerrard didnt make us play better when he moved back was probably watching a different game because he showed a lot of urgency and we looked more dangerous when he moved back.

on the plus side i thought yossi for his 25 plus minutes was our best player but it looks like we've carried our pre-season form into the start of the season. Additionally, losing today didnt do rafa any harm in his petition for further signings.

we can leave things as they are and keep gerrard behind torres but if our two best players are not in the game and cant get hold of the ball in the right kind of areas in the right kind of time they might as well not be playing.

Gerrard needs to move back into the middle of the pitch - for now until aquilani finds his fitness.

Abso-fukin-lutely

Gerrard and Torres were isolated because there was no link up link up play from the midfield, we ended up with Carra hoofing the ball up at every opportunity which was quite embarrassing. We lost the game in midfield today, lets hope the issue is addressed before our next game. For me Gerrard in CM and Yossi behind Torres is an absolute must until Aquilani is fit.

[Craig_H]

yep. simply because there's no one else to play there.

Well Yossi LM, Lucas and Mascher CM, Gerrard in the hole.

But of course, under no circumstances do you want to play Lucas.

[el matador]

Riera or Dossena?

i think riera was injured and dossena only perhaps for the last 20 mins or so. Otherwise riera to start.

But the lack of options is glaring - all of a sudden our squad looks lightweight and teams like spurs, villa, man city and the top 3 looks to have better squads than we do.

unless we bring in some more signings things might get hairy for us.

[el matador]

Well Yossi LM, Lucas and Mascher CM, Gerrard in the hole.

But of course, under no circumstances do you want to play Lucas.

Didnt work today and hasnt done in pre-season or the past two seasons. how much more proof do you need ?

[DannyMan2006]

What was most annoying was Reina hoofing it to Kuyt every chance he had. Kuyt won every header but played it to a Spurs player or out of play on virtually every occasion.

[Craig_H]

Didnt work today and hasnt done in pre-season or the past two seasons. how much more proof do you need ?

How did it not work?

The part of the game when we started looking dangerous, was when we had Lucas, Mascher, Kuyt and Yossi as the midfield four.