Our system and teamwork

[Exiled_red]

You're not making much sense because you are mixing in what you want to see with what you think will happen and I find it confusing.

I can't really help that, what I'd like to see and what I think will happen are different things. I'm trying to distinguish between the two be appreciate that it can be confusing at times.

Long term, we shouldn't be adapting the system to fit the players, we should be buying players to fit the system.

Long term you need to buy players to suit the system you want to play, but short term you have to work with the players you have and you have to find a system that gets them playing effectively. Of course that means that over a period of time your style of play is evolving from where you are to where you want to be. So it's not as simple as it seems...

[BootRoom]

I can't really help that, what I'd like to see and what I think will happen are different things. I'm trying to distinguish between the two be appreciate that it can be confusing at times.



Long term you need to buy players to suit the system you want to play, but short term you have to work with the players you have and you have to find a system that gets them playing effectively. Of course that means that over a period of time your style of play is evolving from where you are to where you want to be. So it's not as simple as it seems...

The evolution period could be shortened by picking players we currently have that are more suited to the long term system.

[peekay]

We are lacking composure upfront and at the back and this is costing us. We are playing at a frenetic pace and creating chances. However I don't think we are "controlling" the game. More than the system and the teamwork, this is the aspect which worries me.

At this point Spurs and Arsenal look a good bet for fourth, but remember just 3 weeks ago Man U were the British Barcelona. Lots of ups and downs and twists remaining in this season.

[Darkon]

I really don't understand all this concern about us so early in the season. Kenny have had 9 games in his first full season, after a large change in the squad, and we are 5 points of second which is hardly horrible IMO. We are at times playing some frustrating football, I agree with that but overall we are creating far more chances than we have done for the past 2 seasons, we have a lot of positivity surrounding the club with the owners, Kenny in charge, stadium looks like it's back on and we havn't had any public outbursts as we did during the end of Rafa and the dreadfull time under Hodgson.

Our main problem is that we are not ruthless in front of goal, we create plenty of chances and only City and Newcastle have conceeded fewer goals than us from the top teams. It's not Carra or Skrtel that's the main problem right now, it's a proper striker that we need. Carroll not working out to well, Suarez for all his brilliance is not a world class finisher and Kuyt never was much of a striker for us (not playing the position much either) so we are left with Bellamy as a hope right now. Get us 1-2 strikers that are proper finishers and we are well in there!

Norwich game showed exactly that heaps of missed chances is our problem, and we then gave away a goal from a midfield error and a poor action by Reina coming out of his goal.

stats vs. Norwich shows it pretty well I think:

[Exiled_red]

We are lacking composure upfront and at the back and this is costing us. We are playing at a frenetic pace and creating chances. However I don't think we are "controlling" the game. More than the system and the teamwork, this is the aspect which worries me.

At this point Spurs and Arsenal look a good bet for fourth, but remember just 3 weeks ago Man U were the British Barcelona. Lots of ups and downs and twists remaining in this season.

I think if the players had a better understanding of each other and the system, we would have more possession and better control of the game.

[Norbs]

To be perfectly honest im baffled by a number of Kenny's decisions.
Maxi hardly featuring, even from off the bench
Skrtel and Carra being prefered to a fully fit Agger
Carroll has been messed around, not played, then played, done well, scored in the derby then only 10 minutes in the next 2 games.
Persisting with Henderson early season when most others thought Kuyt should have
played, now its the opposite.
Real reluctance to make positive substitutions.

Worst thing for me though is at home we sometimes don't have a single player in the box, why pay 20mill for a winger in Downing and then set a team up so we have no-one in the box to cross to.

As much as i hate Spurs and 'Arry at least they have a proper go

I don't think he has tbhf. Agger got a great run at it prior to being injured and I think he'll start the next game.

[Corndog]

If we're planning to build a team around one player it should be Suarez rather than Gerrard IMO. That being the case I'd play Gerrard wide on the right and Suarez off the target man, where he has more freedom, and can do more damage.

I disagree, Suarez is not a good enough team player ATM to build a team around that's also why I'd rather have gerrard there and Suarez wide right ( he played well here for Ajax)

[Suarez]

i'd sell carrol and bring in darren bent and play a 451 with suarez sat behind him. Not the big name we want, but with no cl football to attract the best players, he'd do a good job...well, better than andy.

[Norbs]

i'd sell carrol and bring in darren bent and play a 451 with suarez sat behind him. Not the big name we want, but with no cl football to attract the best players, he'd do a good job...well, better than andy.

Kuyt is a better option up front, he'd make it work

[Exiled_red]

I disagree, Suarez is not a good enough team player ATM to build a team around that's also why I'd rather have gerrard there and Suarez wide right ( he played well here for Ajax)

True Gerrard probably is more of a team player than Suarez, but I'd rather give the freedom to Suarez than Gerrard for two reasons i) IMO Suarez would have a more deadly impact in the free role, ii) Gerrard is more disciplined in his positioning than Suarez and the wide roles have more defensive responsibility which would better suit Gerrard than Suarez IMO

[baronvonskidmark]

It is so frustrating to watch us totally disregard the 4-2-3-1 we played at the end of last season that was such a joy to watch and was also so successful (in relation to our starting position when Kenny took over). I can't understand why this would seemingly be ignored by Kenny. When we played Fulham our quality on the ball was like watching us circa 1987-8. I remember being so excited by the prospect of taking this into the new season, with extra signings and Gerrard back. Now that system has been ripped up and we are trying to crowbar players into a 4-4-2. This does not realise the potential of Lucas, Gerrard, Suarez etc. We could easily be playing a similar way to last season, with Gerrard playing as a clear upgrade on Meireles - and Henderson as an (arguable) upgrade on Spearing. That's without mentioning players like Bellamy who could really excel when drifting around, interchanging with players like Maxi, Gerrard and Suarez.

Defensively, we have been woeful - have we even kept a clean sheet yet? Steve Clarke said a few games ago that our start has been average and since then we've drawn games we should have won and been totally ripped apart by Spurs - I appreciate we were a man down for much of that game, but we had been overrun in midfield (which largely contributed to Adam getting sent off) and the changes - or lack thereof - after that sending off was worrying. There always seems so much space for opposition midfielders and this was even apparent against Norwich at Anfield.

I'm still backing Kenny but it is just so frustrating to think how we could be playing without 4-4-2 and with the odd tweak here and there.

[baronvonskidmark]

I also think the fact that Downing flits in and out of games and Adam can't really last 90 mins/needs more time on the ball screams out that they would make superb subs rather than starters.

[Neil Young]

I have my concerns but part of me thinks if we could work out what the plan is then maybe the plan isn't clever enough.

We're not playing the more rigid system of Benitez that we all got used to. As a result everything looks a bit haphazard - as I think I said in a thread a couple of weeks ago, the players look like they're making it up as they go along. But perhaps that's the downside of giving players more freedom and when things click then the team will look really good.

Or maybe we're all right and Dalglish is fumbling along with outdated ideas and no clear plan.

I dunno, I just hope it comes together soon. At least we're in with a chance of fourth still and there's still a long way to go.

But if none of that makes any sense, please all feel free to carry on panicking.

[PTP]

We're not aggressive enough when we don't have the ball. So many times last night Gerrard and Adam left gaps which allowed Norwich to have a pop at our goal. We lack a bull terrier in midfield. Not sure Spearing is good enough.

was saying this in the summer and after virtually every game (even the wins) this season

we are 2nd to every loose ball and 50/50 - we don't seem to press or put enough pressure on the oppostion - i've lost count how many times i've seen opposition players get the ball near the half way and carry it almost unchallenged to the edge of box.

[baronvonskidmark]

We are not playing as rigidly as we were under Benitez, but the 4-2-3-1 that Dalglish employed at the tail end of last season was not rigid - players were interchanging and moving freely. It really was such a pleasure to watch us destroy United, Fulham etc. Now we seem less fluent and our midfield is really there for the taking.

It's just so frustrating - but hopefully this is just a bedding in process. Dalglish seems comfortable with things so far so maybe we just need to be patient. Hopefully, but I also have my concerns.