Football Season 2009/2010

[Happenstance]

He was also weird with Crouch, when he wasnt scoring he stuck with him religiously but then when he finally started scoring he got dropped all the time.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Quite a few players are not having a great season. In time maybe Insua will get better defensively. Part of me thinks that maybe this is down to Rafa wanting his full backs to attack more? Glen Johnson is known more for his attacking play than defending, and Ashley Cole and Patrice Evra have been getting praise for their ability to bomb down the wings. Maybe that's why Insua has been neglecting his defensive duty.

 

I think I could back this up by saying that, for quite some time, Liverpool were lacking on the wings. I really like Riera, and he's looked great when he's played. But, the reason Kuyt hasn't provided much cutting edge on the wings is simply because he isn't meant to be there. That's something that United fans discovered when Rooney was played as a left winger in the Champions League Final. I remember speaking to one Liverpool fan a year or so ago asking what he thought of Kuyt, and his response was "As a striker, 3 out of 10. But, as a worker, about 7 or 8."

[flameboy]

Paul Hart sacked today, think its probably the right move he is not a proven prem manager and never will be in my eyes. He has had severely limited resources by anyones stretch of the imagination, sold over £80 million worth of players since Redknapp left and spend not even 10% of that....

 

All sorts of rumours flying around, Curbs, Darren Ferguson, Avram Grant apparently has been ruled out.

 

One odd little thing its 4 years to the day that we sacked Alain Perrin and we then also faced Man Utd within days of the decision being made...the Redknapp came back and we all know what happened there...

[Fierce_LiNk]

Paul Hart sacked today, think its probably the right move he is not a proven prem manager and never will be in my eyes. He has had severely limited resources by anyones stretch of the imagination, sold over £80 million worth of players since Redknapp left and spend not even 10% of that....

 

All sorts of rumours flying around, Curbs, Darren Ferguson, Avram Grant apparently has been ruled out.

 

One odd little thing its 4 years to the day that we sacked Alain Perrin and we then also faced Man Utd within days of the decision being made...the Redknapp came back and we all know what happened there...

 

Well, if Harry were to go back to Pompey, he would be making the biggest mistake of his life. Look where he is. Coming off the back of a 9-1 win, currently in the top 4 and he's got a lovely little squad around him. Some of which are players he nicked from Pompey.

 

It would just defy most, if not all logic to go back there. This season, he could realistically get Spurs into the Top 4. Its a possibility. (I'm not sure they'll do it, though. I question their defence)

 

I would be delighted for Pompey to get a new manager who can keep them up, but I don't believe it will be Harry. I've got no smegging clue who I think will take over. I'm a little shocked they've moved Hart on.

 

Also, Liverpool have gone out of the Champions League. Hmm, in the back of my mind, I thought "well, they're jammy, they'll find a way." But, they didn't. I think quite a lot of fans were thinking "yeah, we'll find a way out of this mess" but it just isn't going that way. At this stage, I would not be surprised one bit if Rafa was sacked tomorrow.

[Fresh]

Also, Liverpool have gone out of the Champions League. Hmm, in the back of my mind, I thought "well, they're jammy, they'll find a way." But, they didn't. I think quite a lot of fans were thinking "yeah, we'll find a way out of this mess" but it just isn't going that way. At this stage, I would not be surprised one bit if Rafa was sacked tomorrow.

 

I just couldn't stop laughing when I woke up this morning to see this, their season is just going from bad to worse. They have Everton this weekend as well, going to be a very tasty fixture.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I just couldn't stop laughing when I woke up this morning to see this, their season is just going from bad to worse. They have Everton this weekend as well, going to be a very tasty fixture.

 

I feel bad for them, because I do have some friends who are fans of the Pool and I don't really loathe them as much as other United fans do. (except when we play each other, haha) But, this season really has been a car wreck for them. How bad will things get? The only thing I think that could make the situation worse is if Gerrard gets himself injured against Everton and is out for the rest of the season.

[DuD]

Have you seen reports of Babel wanting to leave in January if things don't pick up for them?

 

If they're true: What a dick. Anyone would think that he's one of the few players trying to carry the rest of the squad through this poor patch.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Have you seen reports of Babel wanting to leave in January if things don't pick up for them?

 

If they're true: What a dick. Anyone would think that he's one of the few players trying to carry the rest of the squad through this poor patch.

 

In fairness, hasn't he been wanting to leave for quite some time, due to being played out of position or simply not being played at all?

 

Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I thought he was winger!

[DuD]

I think he was a winger, but so was Henry before Wenger decided otherwise. Maybe Rafa sees something we? (certainly I) don't*. But anyway, lots of players get played out of position, he should get his head down and do his best, not bleet on about it.

 

Look at O'Shea, he plays anywhere he's needed. Hero.

 

 

 

*I don't want to question Rafa's ability as a manager, but he keeps Lucas, Voronin, e.t.c in his plans. Wtf does he see in them..?

[Fierce_LiNk]

I think he was a winger, but so was Henry before Wenger decided otherwise. Maybe Rafa sees something we? (certainly I) don't*. But anyway, lots of players get played out of position, he should get his head down and do his best, not bleet on about it.

 

Look at O'Shea, he plays anywhere he's needed. Hero.

 

 

 

*I don't want to question Rafa's ability as a manager, but he keeps Lucas, Voronin, e.t.c in his plans. Wtf does he see in them..?

 

Aw wait, just checked on Wikipedia. He is both a winger and a striker? But what is his more natural position? I'm guessing winger as that's where he is played more often.

 

Hahahaha, O'Shea is a cult hero at United now. I've stuck by both him and Fletcher (and also Kieran Richardson before he moved to Sunderland, but I still am proud to see him do well) since the beginning. They've had a lot of stick, all of them, but if the players keep working at it, then the fans will appreciate them in time. O'Shea never let his head get down, and neither did Darren, and now they're both playing week in week out. O'Shea has played in every position, goal-keeper, left back, right back, centre defence, wing, midfield and striker! But, nobody even bats an eyelid anywhere when we see his name on the teamsheet. Whether he's playing anywhere across the back four or even midfield. He played defensive midfielder against CSKA away in the Champions League and did a very fine job. He's completely won the trust of the fans, and was probably our best player in Rome against Barcelona. He's not the best player in the World, and he doesn't have the pace of Roberto Carlos or the tenacity of players like Evra, but he always does his job well, whatever it is.

 

It can be done, and maybe in time Lucas and Babel will become important players for Liverpool.

Edited November 25, 2009 by Fierce_LiNk

[MadDog]

Damn, Europe Cup for us although were favourites to win it...it's not something to be happy about Were do we go now? Were dropping behind in the Prem very quickly, League Cup gone, only FA cup left imo.

 

So that's 2 wins in 11 then...it just isn't good enough, the Squad just isn't good enough. I think our best starting 11 would be...

 

----------Reina----------

Johnson-Carragher-Agger-Aurelio

-------Mashcherano-------

----Gerrard---Aquilani-----

Benayoun------------Riera

------------Torres---------

 

imo, thats the best we can put out, it's a decent team, but we don't have much beyond those 11 players, Babel can be a good impact sub, Ngog could turn out to be a half decent striker in a few years, but that's it. It's so depressing being a Liverpool fan atm

[darksnowman]

I agree with MadDog, its very depressing. If we were to win the league this year we needed our starting XI to be injury free all season, lol. Rafa has gone from his extreme squad rotation system to being too dependant on his strongest XI. I wasn't expecting us to be out of the Champions League last night so its no great shock for me... but still useless.

[Fresh]

Rafa has became too dependent upon his core players which is kind of strange considering his rotation strategy. You look at the teams of United, Chelsea and Arsenal and you can normally creat two strong teams from all their players. I don't really know 'pool that well but I can't create a second team from them that would be anyway near as strong as the second teams from the other big 4. Even looking at the likes of spurs bench over the past weeks and especially when Modric is back they have very strong backups.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Tottenham have an excellent squad. Look at their midfielders: Off the top of my head, they have:

 

Huddlestone

Palacios

Modric

Jenas

Lennon

O'hara (on-loan at Portsmouth)

Krancjar

David Bentley

 

I don't know any others apart from that. But, that's a very strong midfield. A lot of depth there, and there are some good options for Harry. Their strikeforce looks pretty great too, banging in the goals. The only thing I would question is their defence. I really rate Assou-Ekotto, I think he's a terrific player. But, I think they're just one defender short. Gareth Bale has been a huge disappointment for me. He's young and will get better, but still, disappointment in him thus far.

 

You're right though, outside of the first 11, it's very difficult to create a Liverpool second 11. There's just no depth there.

[Jon]

Rafa seems to be a little stuck in his way for my mind. Don't get me wrong great coach but he has two guys in Babel and Kuyt that made their names as strikers for their old clubs (Ajax and Feyernoord) and he's playing them on the wing. He's gotten rid of some decent strikers over the years in the hope that Torres can play every game, and now he's left with N'gog.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Although United lost the game tonight, I thought there were quite a lot of positives they could take from the game. Obertan looked great tonight, and you could definitely see the potential in him, Wellbeck and Macheda. They've got that killer instinct within them, and they were a bit unlucky not to grab a few goals tonight.

 

I thought Rafael would have started tonight, but I was a little surprised to see him playing on the left. He didn't really look comfortable there at all, but he's still a very young lad, mind. Overall, we created some good chances, but I think some of our play (particularly in that second half) was very slow. We seemed to want to pass the ball into the net. You could see the difference when Evra came on, he added some pace - and that is clearly something that has come through experience of playing in the first team and alongside other great players. I also thought he was very unlucky to not get that penalty. So, a 1-0 defeat, but definitely not the end of the world.

[DuD]

...

I was gonna post my thoughts on the game, but i think you've said it all allready.

 

 

 

 

 

Some great individual performances, and some nice worked team moves. Obertan looked be the pick of the bunch; He seemed to have alot of confidence and looked pretty comfortable on the ball surging forward.

 

Considering it was a loss, it was quite a decent night for Utd.

[Fierce_LiNk]

...

I was gonna post my thoughts on the game, but i think you've said it all allready.

 

 

 

 

 

Some great individual performances, and some nice worked team moves. Obertan looked be the pick of the bunch; He seemed to have alot of confidence and looked pretty comfortable on the ball surging forward.

 

Considering it was a loss, it was quite a decent night for Utd.

 

It definitely showed that this particular group of players haven't played together as a team too many times. But, as you say, there were some good individual performances. I thought Gibson showed some good stuff quite a few times, and I would have liked him and Obertan to have grabbed some goals. As long as these guys put the effort in and keep aiming to improve, then they should enjoy a great career in football. It's very hard to come through United at a young age and still be there many years later, but it can be done.

 

Another thing (this applies to the first team and all players) is that I want to see us take more shots on goal. Sometimes we're guilty of trying to walk the ball into the net. I don't think too many of our places have that confidence to try a shot from outside of the box or even within the box. When was the last time Anderson had a shot?! They need to be a bit more brave in that respect and have a go. I'm not saying that they should try from 50 yards out everytime, but if they have the space and time and the opportunity, then have a go. Sometimes the fans appreciate that.

[DuD]

I hadn't noticed, but you're right. I ain't seen Anderson shoot from distance in ages. I swear at one point he was shooting every time he got the ball.

 

Theres always Carrick though, he'll never refuse a pop.

[Ramar]

I still can't get over Denilson hitting it from 30 yards.

 

 

And the dance moves aren't bad either.

[Iun]

I still can't get over Denilson hitting it from 30 yards.

 

 

 

And the dance moves aren't bad either.

 

 

Are you even... aware of the existence of other football teams?

[Ramar]

Are you even... aware of the existence of other football teams?

 

Yes.. but Flink and DuD were talking of long range shots, so I kept up the theme and posted a link to the goal from Tuesday night.

 

I often give my opinion on other clubs and matches..But cheers for stepping in to start an argument with me again Iun, much appreciated.

[Iun]

Yes.. but Flink and DuD were talking of long range shots, so I kept up the theme and posted a link to the goal from Tuesday night.

 

I often give my opinion on other clubs and matches..But cheers for stepping in to start an argument with me again Iun, much appreciated.

 

Look: my point was you don't half go on about Arsenal. And it was slightly made in jest, ie: "Can you find a team other than your own to show an example from?"

 

I don't want an argument with you, and I resent the use of "again". I don't ever recall us having an argument. Have we really? Sorry if we have.

[Jon]

Look: my point was you don't half go on about Arsenal. And it was slightly made in jest, ie: "Can you find a team other than your own to show an example from?"

 

I don't want an argument with you, and I resent the use of "again". I don't ever recall us having an argument. Have we really? Sorry if we have.

 

He's an Arsenal fan, what do you expect? him to relentlessly drone on about Tottenham?

[Ramar]

Look: my point was you don't half go on about Arsenal. And it was slightly made in jest, ie: "Can you find a team other than your own to show an example from?"

 

I don't want an argument with you, and I resent the use of "again". I don't ever recall us having an argument. Have we really? Sorry if we have.

 

Yes, again. You've come in here before and tried to cause arguments, I seem recall being called a bad winner, when I all did was praise the teams performance.

 

The irony in you saying I go on about Arsenal is that before the post with the video, only one of my previous five (possibly more) posts were directly about the Arsenal... But like JonSt, they're my team of course I'm going to comment on what happens, when I go to matches and what not.