My match ratings (v Reading)

[Howard_lfc]

my view from the Lower Cent this afternoon.

Reina - 7. Not much to do - but had the odd eratic moment.
Finnan - 6. Never got forward even when he had nobody to mark.
Riise - 6. Subdued.
Carragher - 7. Usual steady stuff.
Hyppia - 7. Loads and loads of possession - but squandered most of it.
Pennant - 5. Anonymous
Gerrard - 6. Still no spark - misplaced passes
Xabi - 8. Hardly mis-placed a pass all day.
Zenden -5. See Pennant
Crouch - 7. Played ok - set up first goal.
Kuyt -8. 2 goals and his usual hard working display

Subs.

Sissoko - 7. Did his usual stuff.
Gonzales - 6. An improvement on Zenden - but let's face it - that's not a difficult task.

Overall - an 'ok' performance but we went through the middle too much coz we have no faith in our wide men to deliver the goods. A distinct lack of support from the fullbacks added to this.

[anfieldanfield]

5 = Average performance

Reina (5) Flapped at every other cross or corner, but another clean sheet should build some confidence.

Finnan (5) Far too cautious, 2-0 at Anfield, I'd like to see him take a chance or two and bomb forward past Pennant, maybe even (dare I say it) score a goal or two. Otherwise solid.

Hyypia (6) Solid, commanding, decent distribution.

Carragher (6) Same as Sami, will be pleased with another clean sheet.

Pennant (5) Offered very, very little when the game was tight and we needed him most, but as soon as the game stretched after Kuyt scored the second, Pennant played as a genuine winger and produced a handful of decent runs and crosses.

Gerrard (7) Probably our best player (apart from Kuyt), but still a very mixed bag. Looked decent through the center and combined well with Crouch and Kuyt for the first goal, but came into his own cutting in from the left flank in the second half, slightly wasteful after beating his man though, on one or two occasions. Nice to see the crappy hairstyle's gone. Short back and sides Stevie, good lad.

Alonso (6) Controlled the play well, must be very, very difficult for him trying to pick passes with absolutely no movement whatsoever in front of him.

Zenden (4) He's just not good enough, it's that simple. Utter ****e, offered no goal threat to speak of.

Crouch (6) Worked hard, played a big part in both goals, but unfortunately for him, Kuyt's a similar player, just a little bit better, and the two of them together up front lacks raw pace, which is sorely needed in this current side.

Kuyt (9) Two goals, tremendous work rate, superb first touch and decent movement. Nice to see a player encourage others as well, he's constantly clapping the intent from Xabi, Stevie, Crouchy and co.

Subs;

Gonzalez (5) Trotted around the pitch for 20mins, occasionally moulding his hair back into shape and once or twice even breaking a sweat, still managed to contribute more than Zenden though.

Sissoko (6) Kept things steady, won a few 50-50's.

Fowler (6) Looked sharp and lively for the brief time he was on the pitch, I expect him to start against Birmingham in midweek.

Overall;

Team (5) Reading were utter ****e, we were marginally better.

Rafa (6) A win's a win, but Zenden instead of Gonzalez ? Pennant offering nothing AGAIN, not enough movement, not enough creativity, the list of weaknesses goes on....

Fans (4) Ok, I wasn't there, and there wasn't much to shout about, but it sounded incredibly quiet at times, getting out sung for 90mins by 3,000 Reading fans is embarrassing.

[Mattshark]

5 = Average performance

Reina (5) Flapped at every other cross or corner, but another clean sheet should build some confidence.

Finnan (5) Far too cautious, 2-0 at Anfield, I'd like to see him take a chance or two and bomb forward past Pennant, maybe even (dare I say it) score a goal or two. Otherwise solid.

Hyypia (6) Solid, commanding, decent distribution.

Carragher (6) Same as Sami, will be pleased with another clean sheet.

Pennant (5) Offered very, very little when the game was tight and we needed him most, but as soon as the game stretched after Kuyt scored the second, Pennant played as a genuine winger and produced a handful of decent runs and crosses.

Gerrard (7) Probably our best player (apart from Kuyt), but still a very mixed bag. Looked decent through the center and combined well with Crouch and Kuyt for the first goal, but came into his own cutting in from the left flank in the second half, slightly wasteful after beating his man though, on one or two occasions. Nice to see the crappy hairstyle's gone. Short back and sides Stevie, good lad.

Alonso (6) Controlled the play well, must be very, very difficult for him trying to pick passes with absolutely no movement whatsoever in front of him.

Zenden (4) He's just not good enough, it's that simple. Utter ****e, offered no goal threat to speak of.

Crouch (6) Worked hard, played a big part in both goals, but unfortunately for him, Kuyt's a similar player, just a little bit better, and the two of them together up front lacks raw pace, which is sorely needed in this current side.

Kuyt (9) Two goals, tremendous work rate, superb first touch and decent movement. Nice to see a player encourage others as well, he's constantly clapping the intent from Xabi, Stevie, Crouchy and co.

Subs;

Gonzalez (5) Trotted around the pitch for 20mins, occasionally moulding his hair back into shape and once or twice even breaking a sweat, still managed to contribute more than Zenden though.

Sissoko (6) Kept things steady, won a few 50-50's.

Fowler (6) Looked sharp and lively for the brief time he was on the pitch, I expect him to start against Birmingham in midweek.

Overall;

Team (5) Reading were utter ****e, we were marginally better.

Rafa (6) A win's a win, but Zenden instead of Gonzalez ? Pennant offering nothing AGAIN, not enough movement, not enough creativity, the list of weaknesses goes on....

Fans (4) Ok, I wasn't there, and there wasn't much to shout about, but it sounded incredibly quiet at times, getting out sung for 90mins by 3,000 Reading fans is embarrassing.

AA (1) Whiney as usual.

[anfieldanfield]

AA (1) Whiney as usual.

Matt, I've recieved three PM's from people telling me they think you're embarrassing yourself with your constant, pathetic little digs at me, you've been noticably following me around the forums for over a week now and It's getting a little creepy.

I'm a good, honest, constructive poster on these football forums and If you can't either contribute without slagging me off at every oportunity, please just ignore me and everyone will be better off.

Quite frankly, you're behaving like an annoying little child.

[Tom]

Thought you were a bit harsh on Reina Jamo, he was really knocked about by reading today. They obviously were told to play him at every opportunity. He was solid today 6.5.

The two wide players were always going to look awful today - there was no space, reading defended in depth. I wouldn't say either were awful. Neither player did anything spectacular but to say there were awful is overstating it i think.

Hyypia had a good game. Thought he used the space he was given well. Played some good balls into the forwards. 7.

Crouch set up both goals by the way as it was his shot that the goalie didn't deal with that led to the 2nd. His hold-up and link-up play was good. 6.5

Alonso had another good game 7. He was better than stevie today who gets a 6.5.

[anfieldanfield]

Thought you were a bit harsh on Reina Jamo, he was really knocked about by reading today. They obviously were told to play him at every opportunity. He was solid today 6.5.

The two wide players were always going to look awful today - there was no space, reading defended in depth. I wouldn't say either were awful. Neither player did anything spectacular but to say there were awful is overstating it i think.

Hyypia had a good game. Thought he used the space he was given well. Played some good balls into the forwards. 7.

Crouch set up both goals by the way as it was his shot that the goalie didn't deal with that led to the 2nd. His hold-up and link-up play was good. 6.5

Alonso had another good game 7. He was better than stevie today who gets a 6.5.

Yeah, thought Sami was a rock today, very solid, and the occasional surge forward was nice to see.

Maybe I was harsh on Reina, yeah, you're right, the Reading lads did go in hard on him.

I disagree about Stevie though, I thought he looked dangerous second half cutting in from the left, Xabi was solid, popped the ball around nicely.

[Tom]

As for the team score, we hardly broke sweat today and played well within ourselves.

I thought the crowd was quiet too, but you can't really tell off a broadcast as it depends where the mikes are situated.

[Howard_lfc]

The two wide players were always going to look awful today - there was no space, reading defended in depth. I wouldn't say either were awful. Neither player did anything spectacular but to say there were awful is overstating it i think.

You're wrong Tom - we we dreadful down the sides yesterday.

If a team is defending deep - denying space behind - the very least we can do is keep the width and try and stretch them. Pennant and Zenden simply are not good enough for a team looking to challenge for the title. And the less said about Zenden's crossing/corners the better. Utter ****e.

We have now won 4 games on the spin - but for me the performances have all been the same; plenty of possession, knocking the ball about - but a distinct lack of movement and pace. We're also missing a midfield runner - backing up the front two. I know we're scoring a few goals at home - which sort of counters my arguement to an extent - but I think we can do a whole lot better than we have been doing of late.

[anfieldanfield]

You're wrong Tom - we we dreadful down the sides yesterday.

If a team is defending deep - denying space behind - the very least we can do is keep the width and try and stretch them. Pennant and Zenden simply are not good enough for a team looking to challenge for the title. And the less said about Zenden's crossing/corners the better. Utter ****e.

We have now won 4 games on the spin - but for me the performances have all been the same; plenty of possession, knocking the ball about - but a distinct lack of movement and pace. We're also missing a midfield runner - backing up the front two. I know we're scoring a few goals at home - which sort of counters my arguement to an extent - but I think we can do a whole lot better than we have been doing of late.

Good post Howard, largely agree.

[Morph]

We're also missing a midfield runner - backing up the front two. I know we're scoring a few goals at home - which sort of counters my arguement to an extent - but I think we can do a whole lot better than we have been doing of late.

Wrong, Garcia was doing exactly this before he got injured

[Tom]

You're wrong Tom - we we dreadful down the sides yesterday.

If a team is defending deep - denying space behind - the very least we can do is keep the width and try and stretch them.

Disagree, I thought we did that well yesterday. Especially in the first half.
Zenden was not *dreadful* he didn't pull up any trees but was awful by any means. Pennant actually played ok yesterday, he linked up play well, decent touch, didn't give the ball away and was mobile.

I must have been watching a different match to you two.

[Morph]

Disagree, I thought we did that well yesterday. Especially in the first half.
Zenden was not *dreadful* he didn't pull up any trees but was awful by any means. Pennant actually played ok yesterday, he linked up play well, decent touch, didn't give the ball away and was mobile.

I must have been watching a different match to you two.

I actually agree with that, Pennant put in some very decent crosses, and Zenden was fair, nothing spectacular, but fair.

[Howard_lfc]

Wrong, Garcia was doing exactly this before he got injured

Morph - I meant a midfield runner through the middle - a la paul scholes.
When we knock the ball up to crouch - it invariably ends up back at the feet of another of our midfielders; we need to get somebody running off crouch.

[Morph]

Morph - I meant a midfield runner through the middle - a la paul scholes.
When we knock the ball up to crouch - it invariably ends up back at the feet of another of our midfielders; we need to get somebody running off crouch.

I'm not sure how much we really need a player that, I agree it's usefull to have a player doing that, but we have Gerrard and Garcia who aren't orthodox wingers, cutting in from the flanks doing this, thus half negating the need for one dont you think?

[bacon]

I'm not sure how much we really need a player that, I agree it's usefull to have a player doing that, but we have Gerrard and Garcia who aren't orthodox wingers, cutting in from the flanks doing this, thus half negating the need for one dont you think?

Could be the ideal role for Fowler these days ... he is past being an out & out striker just because of pace but sure has the football brains & skills to be the link up ...