Blackpool post match

[Fredo]

Fair points mate. Any line up that i see for LFC that contains Jovo,Poulsen,Lucas,Meireles & Kuyt just doesn't strike me as attacking. None of those players are attacking IMO.

-Jovo is literally the ultimate headless chicken.
-Meireles is just there, actually doesn't do anything.
-Lucas looked head and shoulders above anyone in midfield but is very defensive
-Kuyt looks like his legs weigh about 18 stone.
-Poulsen wasn't embarrassing tonight, but he is a medicore player and is ultra defensive, sure he can't even run for gods sake.

I love Kenny but he did get it wrong tonight. When you get a footballing lesson from Blackpool, you know things are bad.

Jovanovich & Kuyt are both attackers.

Then, it's simplistic to suggest that we weren't attacking because of certain players, defensive or not. There's more to that, for example the way we press and keep the ball (for example in the opposition half) does demonstrate willingness to be enterprising, not negative.

As I've said, I think our problems were our inability to sustain it. It's bound to happen after suffering 5 months of static and defensive football.

[GorbyPeacePrize]

we were better imo

desperately miss carras organisational skills, conceding terrible goals. looking at mr skyrtl mostly

really disappointed with raul , in the last 2 games, he must have pulled out of 5 or 6 challenges, man up

How does Carragher fit into a team that presses high up the pitch, and if today is a barometer of how we're going to play, minimal protection from the midfield?

[danperkins]

Think Jovo was given a "show me you can do it" start in the game. He won't play again.

All the other players are established internationals. Raul can't be that poo if he gets in the Portugal XI can he?? He looks like he has 2 left feet!

Agree about Jovo, and Meireles may be good in Portugal and playing at international level but when he signed i said came on here and said that i just couldn't see him cutting in the premier league, tempo too quick, his passing is loose and the physicality of the game might be a problem. Thus far he has been a shocking signing.

Nobody is saying he's a ****e player, like Aqua just suited not suited to the premier league IMO.

[SimonNo7]

Whether the squad is just a broken group of players with zero confidence, or just plain ****, is up for debate. I know people are tired of hearing it but the bulk of this squad achieved 86 points not so long ago. So either the players are **** and Benitez worked wonders and over-achieved with a **** team, or they're much better than they're showing and are just broken beyond repair.

Either way there is a rot in this squad that needs sorting out.

My take on this is, I do wonder if that season broke a number of the players in that, they came so close after putting everything into that season that when they missed out by the smallest of margins they just thought, 'it's never going to happen, we did everything we could but it still wasn't enough'. This is why the following season they just never got going and ended up finishing 7th.

At this point we should of had quite a bit of a clear out but that was never going to happen with those two ****wits in charge.

[Kenneth]

I think there are a few on here who have actually said that the players are not as good as they have been made out to be for quite some time but have been shot down in flames because some others took that as a slur on Rafa's name but the facts are (and I do realise that we are only 2 games into Kenny's rein and therefore he hasn't had chance to get his way of playing into the players heads yet) this group of players have not played for 3 managers now in the last one and a half years. It does not bode well for the rest of the season really. I mean in Rafa's last season people were claiming that half of our team would walk into Manure's, the Arse's, Chavs, Spurs, City's teams or at least they wouldn't swap them for their opposites number because they were so much better, which they clearly are not.

Sorry I seem to have just gone into a ramble and lost my thread completely.

fair points.

[Craig_H]

But we know that they aren't attacking players. Kuyt might have been in Holland, and Jovo might have been in Belgium but not in the premier league IMO mate.

I was very disappointed with the line-up, thought it was ominous as many on here did. We really need a clear out, the king made some mistakes tonight but he has inherited some serious dross i must admit.

Every single one of Roy's signings has been appalling this season. Also Glen Johnson.... well enough said there. We need to be making moves in January or we're up **** creek.

What are they in the PL then dan, a goalkeeper and a centre half?

[Gibbo]

Can Kenny bring Aquilani back form his loan in January?
we need a player that can pick out a pass and for me Raul just isn't that person, he's been awful this past couple of games after a promising start

was nice to see Torres well up for it tonight again but our defence is awful.
bottom line, we need to sell of the **** and spend some money.

over to you NESV...

[Craig_H]

Agree about Jovo, and Meireles may be good in Portugal and playing at international level but when he signed i said came on here and said that i just couldn't see him cutting in the premier league, tempo too quick, his passing is loose and the physicality of the game might be a problem. Thus far he has been a shocking signing.

Nobody is saying he's a ****e player, like Aqua just suited not suited to the premier league IMO.

How suited to the PL did Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani look in their first season or two?

[vonk]

Dire stuff. We looked more offensive but some of our players were awful, and Johnson didn't look fit in the last 20 minutes.

The following need to be sacked off:

Skrtel
Johnson
Meireles
Poulsen
Jovanovic

And Kuyt was appalling tonight.

This.

Some absolutely pathetic performances tonight. It was embarrassing how poor we looked in comparison to the delightful football Blackpool played. Furious with the players. I really hope the six above jog on sharpish.

[Rich]

Not sure about that... from the team that got to 86 points the following have all gone:

Hyypia
Mascherano
Alonso
Riera
Benayoun
Arbeloa
Robbie Keane (for the first half of that season)

Then tonight we had Carragher and Gerrard out injured... that's nearly the first team from when we came second.

Spot on

[danperkins]

Jovanovich & Kuyt are both attackers.

Then, it's simplistic to suggest that we weren't attacking because of certain players, defensive or not. There's more to that, for example the way we press and keep the ball (for example in the opposition half) does demonstrate willingness to be enterprising, not negative.

As I've said, I think our problems were our inability to sustain it. It's bound to happen after suffering 5 months of static and defensive football.

I do understand what your saying Nig, but even if Kuyt and Jovo are 'attackers' persay, we all know that they really are not.

Since coming to LFC Kuyt was shifted out right (apart from first season), since coming to LFC Jovo has been played out left. Rarely is either considered to be in the CF position.

I thought Kenny picked a very slow and stagnant team that got pulled around the pitch by simple pass and move by Blackpool. Triangles and moving off the ball killed us.

Also i thought Lack of pace was so evident tonight and in general i suppose:

Agger
Skrtel
Johnson
Lucas
Poulsen
Kuyt

are all fairly slow some painfully slow, Johnson has mysteriously lost his pace. Jovo was apparently meant to be quick but i can't see it. Kelly is not bad but no Usain Bolt. Shelvey and Ngog came on and both are very slow.

[SimonNo7]

We don't hold it up.

We dont have enough width

We don't run channels effectively.

We don't fill the box on crosses.

We don't have more than 1 option on the ball when we have it

We dont play effective diagonal balls

We don't offer anything from set pieces/corners

We don't tackle like we mean it.

We don't gamble on flick on etc..

Agree with all that and you can add:

We don't have players waiting on the edge of the box waiting for the half clearance from when we do actually manage to put a cross in and it manages to get past the first defender...

[Maxiedge]

We haven't got a team full of world beaters but they're certainly better than the performance they put there.

Personally, i think it'll get much better.

[danperkins]

How suited to the PL did Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani look in their first season or two?

I know mate but can you honestly say to me that you didn't see a spark in both of those players, end product was their problem.

I do understand that some players take time to settle in different country,league etc but there is on many occasions the situation where some players are just not cut out for the premier league. IMO Meireles is one of those, same as Aqua IMO, would do much better in slower tempo and less physical league.

[danperkins]

What are they in the PL then dan, a goalkeeper and a centre half?

Not good enough