Utd - Liverpool post match

[Zapater]

Mascherano could never have played a 60 yard ball onto the head of Meireles who had peeled inside off Evra.

Don't get me wrong Mascherano was brilliant at disrupting play and winning the ball back but lets not pretend he was Glen ****ing Hoddle in possession.

Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and arguably Spurs (now Palacios has been binned) all play with a 'defensive' midfielder Mikel/Song/Fletcher or Scholes/Huddlestone all of them better in possession and less of a headless chicken than Mascherano.

No one was saying he's class just that he's comfortable in possession, I don't think anyone can deny that. He accelerated quite well with the ball too for someone of his position.

Well, the thing is none of those players you mentioned, apart from Song are DM's. Yes, the others do, or sometimes sit deep, but none of them are defensive midfielders, so the comparisons are void.

[Zapater]

The Poulsen being better on the ball than Mascherano argument is ridiculous. He just about had a heart attack every time he about to be in possession on the weekend. I didn't think he was too bad overall, but his inability to keep the ball ticking quickly when it comes to hitting simple passes is a great loss. He seemed to make the most simple of 5 yard balls look extremely difficult. However, having seen Poulsen quite a bit over the years I do expect him to improve a bit.

And for the few whom argued that it doesn't matter so much with defensive players and that "Robbie Savage [or player to that effect] can do the same destructive job, without the ball retention" need to get their heads checked.

On Konchesky, I wasn't happy when we signed him, and I'm not happy now and I'll be amazed if I'm happy with him in the future. The transfer fee makes me cringe further. In the Konchesky thread, when I was complaining someone asked whom I'd prefer for a similar fee, and there's a lot of players but after thinking for a while, considering that Porto signed Alvaro Pereira for 4.5m euros, that's the player I'd want, a ****ing machine going forward that lad is and has a great engine.

[The Birdman]

Mascherano could never have played a 60 yard ball onto the head of Meireles who had peeled inside off Evra.

Don't get me wrong Mascherano was brilliant at disrupting play and winning the ball back but lets not pretend he was Glen ****ing Hoddle in possession.

Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and arguably Spurs (now Palacios has been binned) all play with a 'defensive' midfielder Mikel/Song/Fletcher or Scholes/Huddlestone all of them better in possession and less of a headless chicken than Mascherano.

[red g]

He's not even an improvement on Lucas.

It took Lucas over 50 games to go from poor to average can we at least give Poulsen half a season before we make such rash judgments on him?

[danperkins]

The game which stood out for me where we undeniably miss a player like Mascherano was Birmingham away, when you see Barry Ferguson (underated though Ferguson is) bossing the midfield you know that you are lacking a bit of bite.

I hear ya mate and i do understand what your getting at, thing that strikes me about this Liverpool team and actually over past few years is that we are horribly uncomfortable in posession, compare us to the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea, even United who look so calm and composed on the ball, and then look at us nervy, panicked and best we seem to do is sideways passing in our own half.

IMO too much work ethic and not enough technique, pure work ethic although admirable only gets you so far, ability always comes into play and class shines through in the end. With Cole, Merieles and Poulsen in i'm hoping if we gel that we will have the guile and craft from several positions so we can play the likes of Birmingham and pass them off the pitch and create chances and drum out that mindless, no risk, side to side passing we've been doing for years.

[Reece]

fair enough mate, i don't see them like for like and feel we'll shape up a completely different team so can't really compare as they so different, my point was what is best for the current team, for our sakes let hope Poulsen is and he has a cracking season and proves lot of folk wrong.

Indeed

[danperkins]

Haircut ?

Speaking of Haircts, i wish Glen Johnson would ever get those poxy dreads cut off, he spends most of the time fixing the bloody things

[Reece]

Haircut ?

Nah, I'm not a fan of long hair

He's not even an improvement on Lucas.

Agree there too, but I was going with the less controversial approach for the time being.

[danperkins]

Sorry, but I just can't see Poulsen being in any whatsoever an improvement on Mascherano.

fair enough mate, i don't see them like for like and feel we'll shape up a completely different team so can't really compare as they so different, my point was what is best for the current team, for our sakes let hope Poulsen is and he has a cracking season and proves lot of folk wrong.

[Pablo]

Sorry, but I just can't see Poulsen being in any whatsoever an improvement on Mascherano.

He's not even an improvement on Lucas.

[red g]

Sorry, but I just can't see Poulsen being in any whatsoever an improvement on Mascherano.

Haircut ?

[red g]

on the cole issue I do worry at what we conceded to ensure he signs for us.

As mentioned its clear that Cole sees himself as behind Torres, I just wonder wheether Purslow/Roy promised him that as his preferred position to make sure he signs?

[Reece]

Sorry, but I just can't see Poulsen being in any whatsoever an improvement on Mascherano.

[Buzzo]

Masch in undoubtedly the best at what he does, he is a destroyer but a destroyer is not essential in todays game. With Poulsen its early days, people are looking for scapegoats and answers as we've been **** so far. Combination of bad luck, new players, lack or urgency, poxy fixtures list amoung others have added to our misery.

I think Poulsen has done quite well, i was very sceptical about his signing but have been pleasantly surprised thus far and he is nowhere near fully bedded in yet, he is still adapting.

My point about him being better for us at the moment than Masch in our current squad is because at the moment we have no width, there is zero productivity coming form wide areas, we are relying on the creativity to come centrally in Gerrard and Merieles etc with Poulsen in there (who is much better technically on the ball than Masch and more composed) it gives us another option centrally being so sparce on the wings, hence my point about why he is better option for us with current team, i think its a very valid point.

I mean if it was a case where we had 2 out and out wingers, on either side and a ball player centrally Masch would be fantastic to sit on clean up, but that just isn't the case at LFC at the moment.

Anyways I think in a month or so we'll see how Liverpool play under Roy Hodgson, at the moment its very difficult to assess as there as so many factors involved in why we aren't winning and playing well. There will be zero excuses come a months times or so.

The game which stood out for me where we undeniably miss a player like Mascherano was Birmingham away, when you see Barry Ferguson (underated though Ferguson is) bossing the midfield you know that you are lacking a bit of bite.

[danperkins]

I'm not sure I agree with that. I think Mascherano was somewhat underrated on the ball, because he tended to just give short passes. But every now and then he'd pull of a nice long pass, and he even produced the odd dribble.

IMO Masch is terrible on the ball, lost count of how many times he gave away the ball for us, or his lousy control. He gives a few long passes that come off from time to time but thats about the extent of his passing ability, Barca most certainly didn't buy him for that.

What we have had to sacrifice with Poulsen that Masch gave us, we gain in others areas with Poulsen. Swings and roundabouts i suppose, 2 very different DM's. And for anyone to say now that Masch is gone we suddenly consider him ****, is very silly nobody is saying anything like that, his passing was as ****.