Liverpool v Trabzonspor Match Thread

[the rev leeroy brown]

Positives -
Kelly played well again, not amazing and misplaced a few pases but was solid and mobile and gained more experience.
Poulson was good imo, 1st game for anyone this season, 1st game with new team mates, he is composed, 2 footed, assured, good in the air and very comfortable in possession, he will be a very good player for us.
Jovanovich reminds me a little of Ronny Rosenthal which on the whole is a good thing.Torres looked very sharp for the 1st 20 minutes after he came on.

Negatives.
Ryan Babel, I know he scored but that was the only thing he contributed to the team, game or himself all first half. Hopefully that has given him more confidence, hopefully he'll never play again in any position unless we are deperate.

Maxi and Aurelio were so so, expected more quality from them

i hope thats a joke! kelly was poor last night nad was gaught out of position more than once. i know he's only young but not a good game for him.

as for jova and ronny

[red g]

i hope thats a joke! kelly was poor last night nad was gaught out of position more than once. i know he's only young but not a good game for him.

as for jova and ronny

actually i sort of get that in how direct Jova is. I just hope he doesnt do any of these........

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVq5-u7MH0"]YouTube- Extraordinary Soccer Miss[/ame]

[the rev leeroy brown]

actually i sort of get that in how direct Jova is. I just hope he doesnt do any of these........

YouTube- Extraordinary Soccer Miss

loved the man for that miss - hated at time but love it now . . . .classic

[Molby]

team wasnt great last night - but that was really down to so many getting their first game of the season. the fact roy said pre-game that these types of games are good for playing squad members and getting match fitness up was good and so it turned out. no cohesion but only down to fact it was a team who hasnt played together before. felt sorry for babel - no serveice up top but did a good shift - great finish pissed all over rafa!!!

Was Babel injured last night, does anybody know?
Is that why he was taken off?
I thought he played well in the 1st half - even apart from his goal.

[The Birdman]

Was Babel injured last night, does anybody know?
Is that why he was taken off?
I thought he played well in the 1st half - even apart from his goal.

In RH's interview he says it was decided to give Babel and Torres 45 mins each to ease them back in after the WC.

Did you honestly think he played well?? apart from the goal I can't remember him competing for a header, can't remember him holding the ball up and linking play, can't remember him passing to another red shirt and he certainly offers a lot less movement upfront than Torres or even Ngog.

Babel is like a kid who through all the age groups was quicker and stronger than everyone and now he is in mens football he has no idea how to play in any position.

But that's just my opinion

[Molby]

In RH's interview he says it was decided to give Babel and Torres 45 mins each to ease them back in after the WC.

Did you honestly think he played well?? apart from the goal I can't remember him competing for a header, can't remember him holding the ball up and linking play, can't remember him passing to another red shirt and he certainly offers a lot less movement upfront than Torres or even Ngog.

Babel is like a kid who through all the age groups was quicker and stronger than everyone and now he is in mens football he has no idea how to play in any position.

But that's just my opinion

I never seen Roy's interview afterwards, thanks for clarifing that..

I remember a few occasions where he did hold up the ball and had a few nice flicks between him + Joe Cole, I think he played relatively better than when we seen him last season. But tbf, Ngog and Nando bring lots more to the table than what Babel ever could.

But i think Roy must see something he likes in him, otherwise he wouldn't have cup tied him by playing him last night.

I don't think we'll ever see his true potential to be honest, and in some ways I do agree with you, in that he seems clueless sometimes in the big games.

But anyway, we're stuck with him now..........and to be fair, he did take his goal well.

[The Birdman]

I never seen Roy's interview afterwards, thanks for clarifing that..

I remember a few occasions where he did hold up the ball and had a few nice flicks between him + Joe Cole, I think he played relatively better than when we seen him last season. But tbf, Ngog and Nando bring lots more to the table than what Babel ever could.

But i think Roy must see something he likes in him, otherwise he wouldn't have cup tied him by playing him last night.

I don't think we'll ever see his true potential to be honest, and in some ways I do agree with you, in that he seems clueless sometimes in the big games.

But anyway, we're stuck with him now..........and to be fair, he did take his goal well.

Don't get me wrong I would love that goal to be a catalyst to bigger and better things from him but I fear if the past 3 years is anything to go by he'll now sit back for a few weeks basking in the winning goal and not pushing on then you'll hear him moaning in the press about not being given enough games.

[the rev leeroy brown]

In RH's interview he says it was decided to give Babel and Torres 45 mins each to ease them back in after the WC.

Did you honestly think he played well?? apart from the goal I can't remember him competing for a header, can't remember him holding the ball up and linking play, can't remember him passing to another red shirt and he certainly offers a lot less movement upfront than Torres or even Ngog.

Babel is like a kid who through all the age groups was quicker and stronger than everyone and now he is in mens football he has no idea how to play in any position.

But that's just my opinion

babel not a hold the ball up kind of striker. he tries the quick lay off or fancy flick and to his credit last night it was more to do with lack of service or other players not as quick to react than his fault. not a great game but then no one last night was great.

torres is in a league of his own and to compare babel to him is never gonna happen but compared to ngog, i'd stick my house of babel scoring with less efforts at goal then ngog who needs about 6 attempts to get one on target. ngog is winning me round though with his attitude but he is nothing more than a target man and as such should be played in a 2 man attack with either torres or babel to get the best out of him.

[Molby]

Don't get me wrong I would love that goal to be a catalyst to bigger and better things from him but I fear if the past 3 years is anything to go by he'll now sit back for a few weeks basking in the winning goal and not pushing on then you'll hear him moaning in the press about not being given enough games.

couldn't agree more birdman. he'll be content enough to sit back and live off the fat of that goal for a while.

One thing stands out for me about Babel last year, after he scored that screamer against Lyon in the Champions League, (the only good thing about that night )he was the only one who came back throught the airport with a smiley face.

To me, that said " ah well, it was a crap result - but did you see my goal? wasn't it brilliant?"

He needs to buckle down and put a shift in for his team...

[Shaggy]

Irrelevant but nice pic from last night...

[banditos]

babel not a hold the ball up kind of striker. he tries the quick lay off or fancy flick and to his credit last night it was more to do with lack of service or other players not as quick to react than his fault. not a great game but then no one last night was great.

torres is in a league of his own and to compare babel to him is never gonna happen but compared to ngog, i'd stick my house of babel scoring with less efforts at goal then ngog who needs about 6 attempts to get one on target. ngog is winning me round though with his attitude but he is nothing more than a target man and as such should be played in a 2 man attack with either torres or babel to get the best out of him.

This is why he can't play up front on his own. Being able to hold the ball up is crucial for this role. Babel's inability to do so was one of the reasons we were so ****e in the first haf.

If anything, his performance last night reinforced the fact tht he's a wide player. He took his goal well, but was playing like a winger with his flicks and tricks trying to get in behind all the time. I agree he's a better natural finisher than N'gog, but N'gog holds the ball up much, much better.

[the rev leeroy brown]

This is why he can't play up front on his own. Being able to hold the ball up is crucial for this role. Babel's inability to do so was one of the reasons we were so ****e in the first haf.

If anything, his performance last night reinforced the fact tht he's a wide player. He took his goal well, but was playing like a winger with his flicks and tricks trying to get in behind all the time. I agree he's a better natural finisher than N'gog, but N'gog holds the ball up much, much better.

kind of my point i was trying to get across. ngog is atarget man but as a lone striker i dont rate him. babel is a pace and tricks man but cant hold the ball up for ****. trying to play either as lone striker is never gonna work long term for us. torres has the ability to combine both jobs amazingly but if he isnt fit and we dont recruit another striker then a change of formation to 442 with babel and ngog gives us what torres can do - pace and hold up play - IMO.

[banditos]

kind of my point i was trying to get across. ngog is atarget man but as a lone striker i dont rate him. babel is a pace and tricks man but cant hold the ball up for ****. trying to play either as lone striker is never gonna work long term for us. torres has the ability to combine both jobs amazingly but if he isnt fit and we dont recruit another striker then a change of formation to 442 with babel and ngog gives us what torres can do - pace and hold up play - IMO.

Furry muff. Not sure we'll be playing 442 that often though. Be interresting to see if Roy gives 'Babsie' a chance out wide.

[the rev leeroy brown]

Furry muff. Not sure we'll be playing 442 that often though. Be interresting to see if Roy gives 'Babsie' a chance out wide.

if, as i suspect, ste is dropped into a deeper central role, then 442 would be ideal along side mash / poulsen and allow us 2 up top. i think we'll tend to see it more than expected this year.

[Roboklopp]

team wasnt great last night - but that was really down to so many getting their first game of the season. the fact roy said pre-game that these types of games are good for playing squad members and getting match fitness up was good and so it turned out. no cohesion but only down to fact it was a team who hasnt played together before. felt sorry for babel - no serveice up top but did a good shift - great finish pissed all over rafa!!!

Babel is basically a poor man's Cisse.