Braga post-match

[cream]

------------------Reina
Johnson-----Carra-------Skrtel-----Wilson
------------------Lucas---------------
-------Meireles-------------Maxi---------
---Kuyt-------------------------Pacheco---
------------------Carroll-------------------

10 of those started against Braga and they were ****. What is your point? Pacheco is as good as Messi?

[Buzzo]

Posted this in the Carroll thread, but maybe meant it in here.

One thing with Carroll, he will improve Jamie Carraghers pass completion rate!

I think it is early days to find out how good a player he will be for us, but yesterday was a good example of how we do not want to be using him. As a big fella his presence provides way to easy an out ball for our less skilled defenders (step forward Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel). We can play a percentage ball up to the big man and hope it sticks, which is fine if you are aiming for avoiding relegation but not good enough for a team with ambitions such as ours.

Playing the long ball is an option sure, but yesterday it seemed our only option. I am hoping with a few decent acquisitions and the return of some of our better players (Agger and Gerrard) we will be able to play both on the deck and have the option of playing it long.

We shall see. I like the looks of Carroll though, and he was actually quite well marked yesterday, but he will **** up a fair few defenders over his career and once he gains more intelligence regarding how he plays his position (he is a young un after all) and links up with Suarez (who looks the real deal already) I think we have the basis of a good strike force... Buying wingers seems a no brainer in the summer and Ashley Young seems to be the sort of player with premiership experience we lack. He also looks a total menace at corners.

So reasons to be optimistic I'd say. But last night was a disaster and shows the road we do not want to go down.

[Lecter]

fixed

Nevins a monumental ****ing pisshead but it was so obvious to even him. Frankly if you didnt notice that you really shouldnt be watching football

[cream]

Posted this in the Carroll thread, but maybe meant it in here.

One thing with Carroll, he will improve Jamie Carraghers pass completion rate!

I think it is early days to find out how good a player he will be for us, but yesterday was a good example of how we do not want to be using him. As a big fella his presence provides way to easy an out ball for our less skilled defenders (step forward Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel). We can play a percentage ball up to the big man and hope it sticks, which is fine if you are aiming for avoiding relegation but not good enough for a team with ambitions such as ours.

Playing the long ball is an option sure, but yesterday it seemed our only option. I am hoping with a few decent acquisitions and the return of some of our better players (Agger and Gerrard) we will be able to play both on the deck and have the option of playing it long.

We shall see. I like the looks of Carroll though, and he was actually quite well marked yesterday, but he will **** up a fair few defenders over his career and once he gains more intelligence regarding how he plays his position (he is a young un after all) and links up with Suarez (who looks the real deal already) I think we have the basis of a good strike force... Buying wingers seems a no brainer in the summer and Ashley Young seems to be the sort of player with premiership experience we lack. He also looks a total menace at corners.

So reasons to be optimistic I'd say. But last night was a disaster and shows the road we do not want to go down.

Hopefully, the long ball-fest was only because we had a lack of footballers on the pitch.

[Mattshark]

Well, it's unlikely that we'll have European football next season. Could be a blessing in disguise - and may lead to an exodus..

[cled the red]

Originally Posted by Lecter
I think you need help I seriously do

Thats probably the most offensive team Kenny could have put on the pitch

------------------Reina
Johnson-----Carra-------Skrtel-----Wilson
------------------Lucas---------------
-------Meireles-------------Maxi---------
---Kuyt-------------------------Pacheco---
------------------Carroll-------------------

So 1 change from the team KK started!!!

On another note where are the Spearing slaters today?? If Lucas had performed like that last night he would have been hung drawn and quartered by now - Spearing is totally out of his depth as this level of football.

[red g]

Nevins a monumental ****ing pisshead but it was so obvious to even him. Frankly if you didnt notice that you really shouldnt be watching football

so true.

I do worry that Carroll doesn't look as good with the ball at his feet as i thought , I jsut hope thats more coming back from injury though

[red g]

So 1 change from the team KK started!!!

On another note where are the Spearing slaters today?? If Lucas had performed like that last night he would have been hung drawn and quartered by now - Spearing is totally out of his depth as this level of football.

But Spearing is not lauded like Lucas is, as far as i am aware.....the best i have ever read on here about Spearing is "better alternative than Poulsen"

[Lee]

So 1 change from the team KK started!!!

On another note where are the Spearing slaters today?? If Lucas had performed like that last night he would have been hung drawn and quartered by now - Spearing is totally out of his depth as this level of football.

Not sure about Spearing slaters really mate. I think everyone on Est is of the opinion that he's nowhere near good enough for LFC.

[SimonNo7]

KK can blame our lack of creativity as much as he want but he didn't do a thing to change it.

Spearing instead of Pacheco when he took off Maxi won't make us more creative. It will make us better defensively but not better in attack.

It was safety first from start to finish yesterday. That is something KK can't blame on someone else as I said.

Cole instead of Ngog from the start is another example of that. We needed to win and KK didn't show it enough.

When you must win then you start with an attacking starting XI, not a defensive one.

Yes he can as there isn't a great deal of creativity in the squad and that isn't down to Hodgson either.

Cole is an attacking midfielder and a creative midfielder. He just doesn't have the fitness or form. He was one of, if not the only player to actually attempt to take players on and inject a bit of flair. Admittedly he may also be past it.

The biggest problem was a team one, one of being unable to move into or create space and that particular problem has been around for nearly two seasons, ever since we came second.

[Lecter]

Yes he can as there isn't a great deal of creativity in the squad and that isn't down to Hodgson either.

Are you suggesting Rafa might be at fault

[DannyMan2006]

As bad as I've seen us play all season as an attacking unit. I think over the two legs we looked solid and I guess that is one positive. When it comes to defending it seems to me Clarke and Dalglish have done a lot of work and we have seen some great progress.

But as an attacking unit we look abysmal. It seems that instead of relying on Gerrard and Torres we now rely on Gerrard and Suarez. I could comment on Carroll but at present it's too soon to be making a realistic opinion.

My first thoughts were to want to literally murder Kuyt for his constant off-sides, but this has to be levelled against Bragas fantastic off-side trap, and more importantly for me, our midfield holding onto the ball for far too long. Had our players been more aware when in possession we would have carved them open time and again.

Next up and the option of Carroll was obviously over used. But too much was asked of him. Even a fully fit Carroll would have struggled to pull up any trees with the service he had. The ball was being slung in from far too deep in our half and 90% of the time it often meant there was only Kuyt for him to lay the ball off too as the midfield didn't have time to catch up.

Basically too many balls from Carra and not enough from the likes of Cole/Maxi.

We deserved to go out though, so no complaints. Makes me laugh thinking of the teams Spurs have beat this season when we struggle past the likes of Sparta Prague and get knocked out by Braga.

[DannyMan2006]

Are you suggesting Rafa might be at fault

We had similar problems last year and some of that has to be Rafa's fault. He could have bought much better with the money he had. On the flip side, the Yanks have to make the majority of the blame. When he was funded he made us the Number 1 ranked team in Europe and got us to within a whisker of winning the premier league, depsite long term lay offs for Gerrard and Torres that season.

This season and Roy has to take his share of the blame, disasterous dealings in the transfer market.

As for Kenny, he's had a steady effect and at least we have a go under him, even if we don't have the players to be at a good, concistant level.

[SimonNo7]

Are you suggesting Rafa might be at fault

Of course not I wouldn't dare say anything against the totally infallible Rafa...







Psst... over here, while certain people aren't looking... Ok, yes I was sort of suggesting that some of our static players may be down to Rafa, he purchased them after all - I believe. Also I may be suggesting that some of our players, bought by Rafa, are shot and became shot after the season we finished second and should of been moved on. Why they are still here, I have no idea. Oh yeah and this is only my own personal opinion though and am only suggesting it as a view point and not saying it is gospel.

[dww]

I still think it was an error to not field a more defensively minded DM alongside Lucas to build a platform. We ended up with a very unstructured midfield too far away from the defence when we were building from the back. It encouraged to many long balls and we didn't have players running onto anything that was knocked down either - effectively the worst of both worlds.

Part of that was down to the lack of better options (I mean no one is that enthusiastic about playing Poulsen of Spearing) but I do think Dalglish and Clarke deserve some of the blame.