Liverpool vs West Ham United: Match Thread

[Exiled_red]

It was a better performance by us, but in truth West Ham were dire, we might have been dire ourselves this season, but with the performancethey put in there could only be one winner.

We did more pressing of he ball and used it better, the win and 3 goals should give the players confidence, but I still don't believe we've turned the corner. As people have mentioned West Ham's performance was like we're been showing recently, more or less just let the other team have all the ball and hope they don't score. I think that West Ham made us look good and I doubt we'd have got the result we did against a better (any other) Premiership team.

[Exiled_red]

Hated how Hodgson picked out Poulsen for praise. Like this one game justified the purchase.....and a look what i did angle.

What did Hodgson say in his interview, I was assuming it was ok as no-one had mentioned it!

[Vermilion]

What did Hodgson say in his interview, I was assuming it was ok as no-one had mentioned it!

He said... Poulsen and i think he mentioned Meireles, proved..or...showed.....it's hard to believe that Lucas and Gerrard had been the midfield engine with performances like that form Poulsen...and Mereiles....think he was trying to suggest we're in good hands while Gerrard is out as we have these two. Something like that.

[Exiled_red]

He said... Poulsen and i think he mentioned Meireles, proved..or...showed.....it's hard to believe that Lucas and Gerrard had been the midfield engine with performances like that form Poulsen...and Mereiles. Something like that.

[dww]

Come on what do you expect him to say - Gerrard is out and Meireles, Lucas and Poulsen will have to be playing. He's defended Lucas in recent weeks. Not sure this interview is something to attack Roy for.

I still think it is pitiful that we don't even try to play the same tactics away from home and our reactiveness to both crowd and opposition is going to be a big problem all season. Can't believe how we have come through this period of **** football only 3 points of the CL spots, madness.

[Vermilion]

Well, what i expect him to say....is different to what i'd like him to say....which is...'I'M OFF'.

[Exiled_red]

I'm not having a go at him, but if he's said that it seems to suggest that Poulsen has put in a number of good performances and has been unlucky to be left out, when the truth is yesterday was his first decent peformance for us. I understand we'll probably have to rely on him over the coming weeks and building confidence is important but it still sounds a little over the top IMO.

[Vermilion]

This is what he said anyway, he finishes by saying the crowd can see what good signings Poulsen and Meireles are....he really seems to think we've been doing well...and takes offence at the first question suggesting otherwise.

scroll down ro clip.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/9191283.stm

West ham were the poorest side i've seen at Anfield for years....and that had more to do with the result than what we did..imo.

[Exiled_red]

I don't like the suggestion that he doesn't understand critisism of our recent run, and the fact that he defends the Stoke result because they won again yesterday! He was on the back foot a little saying about us winning 4 of our last 6 and only losing 1 in the last 9, but he still for me doesn't get what it means to manage a big club.

We're 9th in the table after 14 games, in a season where the league hasn't been at it's strongest surely he must know that this isn't good enough, he should IMO be talking about us aiming to get as high up the table as possible and not defending why we're so low down. Having said that it as much better than most of his other interviews

[Galb]

Hated how Hodgson picked out Poulsen for praise. Like this one game justified the purchase.

His first thought in interviews is always self-justification.

You can see how he managed to get such positive PR at Fulham. Its no wonder if all he tells journos (who are too lazy to look at complicated things like his away record) is just how brilliant he is.

[dww]

I don't like the suggestion that he doesn't understand critisism of our recent run, and the fact that he defends the Stoke result because they won again yesterday! He was on the back foot a little saying about us winning 4 of our last 6 and only losing 1 in the last 9, but he still for me doesn't get what it means to manage a big club.

We're 9th in the table after 14 games, in a season where the league hasn't been at it's strongest surely he must know that this isn't good enough, he should IMO be talking about us aiming to get as high up the table as possible and not defending why we're so low down. Having said that it as much better than most of his other interviews

I agree that is what I would like to see too. However I think interviews are largely irrelevant and it is what he says and does when organising the team that counts. You do have to worry that he worries too much about the opposition but before the Everton game (I think) Wenger was describing the quality of the mid-table teams as 'frightening'. I don't agree with him but it is a view that appears to have credence in the top coaches in the PL.

The thing that really gets me is the way that you can more or less tell from the first ten minutes of any half how the game will go. At home we either press or we don't, away we tap the ball around appearing to be feeling out the opposition before defaulting to standing off and being ****. Any team that comes out and has a go at us (unlike West Ham) have a good chance of pushing us back into our shell and hence beating us. Until Roy stops this being the case he will have to keep defending himself. He should however be allowed to do that and come out in support of his players whilst being judged on the way things happen on the pitch.

My supervisor is a Hammers fan I wonder what he thinks of things at the minute. He doesn't appear to be a big Grant fan. He certainly seems to be struggling to get them going in the way he did at times at Pompey. I find it really hard to judge him as a manager as he always seems to come in to unique situations where it is difficult to disentangle what he does from the impact of events beyond his control. I guess West Ham were just a poor team and other comparable teams are doing better so he isn't doing a great job at the minute. Gold and Sullivan being gob****es and openly laying into players can't help though.

[Exiled_red]

I totally agree, I'd like to see us go out and get in the faces of the opposition whether we are playing at home or away, if we press the ball in an organised manner, we are far more likely to put in a good performance, and a good performance with the players we have will more often than not lead to a good result.

I think that Hodgson's mentality is one that has been ingrained into a small team manager, that more often than not you come up against teams with a similar or better level of quality than you. I think he's suited to being the underdog, and those tactics don't work well at bigger clubs where you should be going out and controlling the game, in almost every game you play.

I don't think there has been an improvement in the league this year, I think everything is so even because the bigger sides aren't playing well, (Chelsea, 3 defeats in their last 4, Arsenal losing a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 etc), combined with a couple of sides who are more prepared to have a go (Bolton & Blackpool). We've been dire but decent results in our next 3 games and we could be in contention for the top 4 again.

[The Birdman]

Chelsea are the best side in the league by miles, yesterday they had something like 23 odd shots to Birmingham's 1.
In the past few games at different times they've been without Lampard, Essien, Terry, Alex and had a half fit Drogba plus others.

Now I know don't have any sympathy for them but for any side at any time would struggle to be without the first choice centre backs, first choice centre midfield and best centre forward.

The rest are all so so which is so frustrating, we aren't a top 4 side but could easily finish there if only Hodgson showed a little more ambition away from home

[alunevans]

West ham were the poorest side i've seen at Anfield for years....and that had more to do with the result than what we did..imo.

I completely agree with that. They showed no fight, no desire and little ability. They were shocking.

I left Anfield disappointed that we didn't just take them apart in the second half to get our goal difference up, especially when West Ham came out in exactly the same pedestrian mood as the first.

We took our foot off the pedal and turned it into an easy training ground game when it could easily have been five or six nil. Even in second gear we had good chances.

Had we have gone to rip them to pieces, I'm convinced we would have.

Torres disappointed me too. He looked like he wasn't arsed, and when he came off he just pissed off down the tunnel again. One of the medical team went after him, but reemerged with a shrug. He earns too much for that to be honest, and any other player would be getting dog's abuse for the level of effort he's putting in at the moment.

[Craig_H]

Totally agree Alun.

Once we got to HT at 3-0, i was genuinely thinking we could get 5 or 6, give the GD a much needed boost, and send our confidence into overdrive.

But then roy stepped in

Agree about Torres too, he's acting like a spoilt brat and as if he's much better and bigger than anyone at LFC, or the club itself - based on his performances this season, he really isnt.