Liverpool v Arsenal Post Match

[Kenneth]

we won't be bottom four at Christmas, and Rodgers will not be getting sacked anytime soon. Mark my words.
yeah yeah, x out of 10

[Exiled_red]

if defeats/draws carry on at what point do fsg say enough is enough ?

I think this goes beyond the manager, these are the same problems we had with Kenny in charge. I'm not confident that with this group of players under any manager we'd see much of an improvement.

[The_weatherman]

Just gotta grin and bear it. Can't keep changing the manager all the time.

I just hope "You know who" is putting his job search on hold. I hope Rodgers succeeds and I'm not calling for his head though, but man this is gonna get whole lot uglier before it gets better.

[Liverpool]

I just hope "You know who" is putting his job search on hold. I hope Rodgers succeeds and I'm not calling for his head though, but man this is gonna get whole lot uglier before it gets better.

Voldemort died in the last book/film

[S-RED]

[QUOTE=Kenneth;2421043]we won't be bottom four at Christmas, (QUOTE]

thats comforting

[Kenneth]

has anyone seen the pen claim again (pull on Suarez outside then inside the box)?

[MrMichael]

Liverpool's possession no match for Arsenal's well-rehearsed lines

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/sep/02/liverpool-arsenal

This was a clash between two managers who promote a similar brand of football: quick, short passing, clever attacking movement and a high defensive line. But while Liverpool offered possession without penetration and a poor defensive shape, Arsène Wenger's side were impressive when breaking quickly and admirable in their organisation without the ball.

There were two obvious tactical differences between the sides. The first was the level of pressing. Arsenal stood off and focused on getting into an organised shape behind the ball, with two banks of four remaining both narrow and compact, preventing Liverpool playing quick passes through the centre of the pitch.

On the other hand, Brendan Rodgers's side were more energetic when out of possession, closing down high up the pitch. Luis Suárez started the pressure, using his boundless energy to charge towards Arsenal's defenders on the ball. This was more effective when he closed down the right side of Arsenal's defence – Carl Jenkinson and Per Mertesacker were less reliable on the ball than Kieran Gibbs and Thomas Vermaelen and Liverpool won the ball high up the pitch, creating some promising situations in the final third early on.

The second contrast was the format of the three-man midfields. Brendan Rodgers wanted his trio to be fluid – Steven Gerrard, Nuri Sahin and Joe Allen could all, in theory, play in any of the three midfield roles and there was plenty of rotation. If one of the players was high up the pitch and could not receive a simple pass, he would drop deeper to collect the ball, and another midfielder would move higher up the pitch in response.

Arsenal's trio was more structured. Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby worked as a unit while Santi Cazorla stayed in an advanced position, close to Olivier Giroud. Last week against Stoke, the Spaniard kept dropping deep to help retain possession, which was unnecessary as his role was conflicting with Arteta's. Here he played as more of a classic playmaker.

Whereas Liverpool's three midfielders played short passes in front of Arsenal, Cazorla's positioning meant his side could be more incisive and cut through Liverpool's midfield immediately. The nature of the midfields contributed to the opening goal – Cazorla put himself between the lines and received the ball in space, while Liverpool's midfielders were all high up the pitch. Here, Liverpool missed Lucas Leiva – the Brazilian is an expert at positioning himself intelligently in that zone, defending the width of the pitch by himself.

Cazorla exploited Liverpool's weakness between the lines excellently, and although he was nominally playing in the centre of the pitch, he was especially prominent because of his willingness to move into wider positions to receive the ball in space. He added the second after a run from a central position towards the left, around the outside of the Liverpool central midfielders into a position where no one took responsibility for tracking him.

Cazorla first emerged at Villarreal, where he was used as one of the central attacking midfielders in a 4-2-2-2 system, encouraged to create centrally yet also provide width when needed. He has retained that habit for lateral drifts and this will be vital in Arsenal's linkup play this season, helping to form triangles and keep the passing quick and purposeful.

The tactical battle barely changed as the game went on; the onus was on Rodgers to transform the match, but his bench was particularly uninspiring. Stewart Downing – who Rodgers has said may be used at left-back this season – was the closest to an attacking option. Arsenal's shape remained consistent and they collected their third consecutive clean sheet.

[Suarez]

I've just been looking at a few figures, mostly the cost of our squad and that of Utd. By my figures starting 11 and bench for us cost approximately £133m, Utd's £175m. I've got to say, I thought the gap would've been greater but then Rooneys out and we pretty much had our best players out, so normally the gap would be around £70m.

Wrong thread (supposed to be the FSG gloves are off thread)

[Maxiedge]

At the moment we are sloppy. Give the ball away way too easily. I hope Brendan can relax the players a bit because they seem really stressed/anxious to the point that they are making silly mistakes. It doesn't need to be a first time flick everytime...just hold onto the ball sometimes.

[spanky]

A few times they get themselves worked up and try stupid passes when they can just hold up play until players get into better positions/opposition players get pulled out of position. That takes time and a confidence thing but you struggle to see where the regular goals are going to come from.

[BigChief]

A few times they get themselves worked up and try stupid passes when they can just hold up play until players get into better positions/opposition players get pulled out of position. That takes time and a confidence thing but you struggle to see where the regular goals are going to come from.

I knew this would happen before the season started. Anyone who's seen Gerrard and Suarez through opposition fans' eyes will have seen we do tend to over rate them more than we should - understandably as their ours!

However, there is no way the senior players like Enrique, Skrtel, Johnson, Gerrard, Downing and Suarez are tiki taka material. Some may adapt, but right now they are right at the bottom of the learning rung. Suarez I'm the most disappointed about as he's **** at finishing so needs to get on some higher rungs quicker.

Tika taka wasn't built in a day, and Rodgers has just realised Liverpool are many years behind Swansea with that style of play.

[TheElephantMan]

We're too reliant on Suarez. He's not a goalscorer, he creates chances for himself then misses. It's great to see him with the ball at his feet, but he's too wasteful. We need a goalscoring striker or strikers. I don't think Suarez will adapt. I've said it before - we would be better off without him.

[dww]

if defeats/draws carry on at what point do fsg say enough is enough ?

This has to be seen as a long term project. If we are in relegation trouble come January perhaps we will have to consider a change. In all realistic situations we need to persevere. Finances hamstrung any attempt at a complete refresh and Rodgers was bought in to implement his philosophy throughout the club. If we keep chopping and changing after a few bad results we will end up in a long term decline.

[BobTheCharmer]

If we're near the bottom come Christmas then the summers shenanigans look even madder in my eyes. Got to hope Brenda can ride the storm or we are ****ed.

[Baracus]

Damn if you do and Damn if you don't.

I disliked the idea of playing a full strength team for the Europa League Games and with a weak squad especially attacking players its going to show in the following games after a Europa League Game.