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our players' intelligence

Guest thefly

By Guest thefly
in Liverpool FC

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Guest thefly

Guest thefly

Posted
Posted

some cracking recent results/performances aside...

 

... I worry at times about the intelligence/nous level of some of our players, particularly the amount of times we give possession away, and our failure to really grab the game by the scruff of the neck when we've got the opposition on the rack.

 

confidence is a big player here i agree, but also, I wonder whether a lot of our players have got enough real intelligence footballwise.

 

At other teams, arsenal and man u in particular, their young players seem to be very confident and comfortable in possession, even when there are opposition players on their backs...

 

... compared with a bit of panic/confusion with a great deal of our players

 

I think we lack a bit of experience and cool headedness on the pitch (i.e. what you get from a Garry Macca or a Jari).

 

Out of our team, Hyypia has got a bit of that, Masch ditto, Torres despite his age yes, Yossi maybe, but other than that i think we lack that brainpower at times.

 

Gerrard seems to be the type of player who's got it but won't actually put his arm round some of the younger players and pass it on (i think he'd pull a face or moan at them).

 

 

I believe this is the reason why we don't beat the teams above us.

 

anyone agree?

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Ginu

Ginu

Posted
Posted (edited)

We certainly lack the players in our back line to make a good first pass to keep possession. I personally pull my hair out every time Carra just launches the ball upfield. We defend for our lives but we also lack composure to an extent.

 

I also believe that, due possibly to youth, we have yet to gain the belief that we truly belong at the top of the league. Only when I see that we can beat the top 3 regularly will I think we ever have a shot. Every year we talk about title challenges, but have we regularly beat the top 3 in the last 3 seasons? Unless we have the pace, strength, c*ntness, killer instinct and belief to beat ManU, Chelsea and Arsenal, we won't. One thing we lack is a sense of arrogance.

 

On the pitch you need that to grab the game by the horns and make something out of nothing. I feel too much of our game relies on systems and tactics. At the end of the day, it's individual greatness that always gets through a tough tie. We don't have enough clutch players in our side, but Kuyt impressed the hell out of me yesterday.

Edited by Ginu
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Rimbeux

Rimbeux

Posted
Posted
Precisely why , whenever fit , Xabi Alonso must start every game and stay here for the rest of his career.

 

tbh he was as much a culprit as anyone last night, and that's supposed to be his key strength. It's maybe too strong to say we get away with it, but we often make these games harder than they have to be. all around the side there seems to be a culture of giving the ball away cheaply either through poor technique, lack of application, poor composure or a combination of all of these. It is a problem.

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Earl Hafler

Earl Hafler

Posted
Posted
some cracking recent results/performances aside...

 

.

 

And the thinking behind our defenders whacking 50 yard passes forward to Torres as if he were Jan Koller.

 

There have to be improvements made on the training pitch. This lack of marking the main dangers at set pieces or putting someone there to attack the ball is going to continue to hurt us. Giving Adebayor and Ronaldo free headers in our area is just plain silly. There was a pic in the Metro of Adebayor leaping to head the ball with Skrtel and Carra stood yards away marking thin air.

An adjustment of our system needs to be made, in my opinion.

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Guest thefly

Guest thefly

Posted
Posted
And the thinking behind our defenders whacking 50 yard passes forward to Torres as if he were Jan Koller.

 

There have to be improvements made on the training pitch. This lack of marking the main dangers at set pieces or putting someone there to attack the ball is going to continue to hurt us. Giving Adebayor and Ronaldo free headers in our area is just plain silly. There was a pic in the Metro of Adebayor leaping to head the ball with Skrtel and Carra stood yards away marking thin air.

An adjustment of our system needs to be made, in my opinion.

 

the 50 yard hoof ups suggests our players are more comfortable OFF the ball than ON it.

 

a shame though that I'm talking about our weaknesses when lets face it we've got plenty of strengths but I'd just like to see us playing the game and taking teams apart rather than seemingly hanging on for 90 mins.

 

one day (possibly not too far away) all the effort, running, spirit, luck etc. might not be good enough!

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MFletcher

MFletcher

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The likes of Arbeloa, Skrtel, Agger and Aurelio like to play the ball out from the back.

 

The old guard are most at fault for sticking their foot through the ball - Carra especially.

 

I'm happy with zonal marking. It's worked perfectly fine for years and I think it's far too easy for the other team to disrupt a man marking system by blocking markers and allowing free headers.

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Leo No.8

Leo No.8

Posted
Posted (edited)
Precisely why , whenever fit , Xabi Alonso must start every game and stay here for the rest of his career.

 

I still think it's greater mobility which results in other top teams seeming to move the ball around quicker and to play more fluid football; Arsenal are an incredibly athletic side; most of their passing is quite simple, it's the movement that tells.

 

Watching him the other night, I couldn't help but think the game was largely too quick for Xabi. I actually think at times his lack of mobility (he's probably less probably mobile than any top central midfielder in this league) weighs us down and results in a lack of fluidity. Arsenal looked so much nimbler moving the ball through midfield.

 

I love Xabi; I think he's fantastic footballer and professional. But I can't remember the last time since his first season here that he had a really strong influence over a game against one of the top sides, and he has played in the majority of matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and United. Most of the time I feel he's struggling with the speed of the game.

 

He's one of the best passers of a ball in the world without doubt, but no matter how hard I try I can't see him standing out for us and running games the way I'd hope he would, particularly against the big sides when he seems to really struggle with the pace of the game itself. Put it this way, I feel sure England is the worst country for him to be playing his football in.

 

He's such a classy guy and a classy footballer, and it's a fight with my conscience but I think were we to receive an offer of £15-20m from Spain I would consider selling Alonso, and bringing in someone with near comparitive passing skills but slightly greater mobility and a combatitive edge like De Rossi from Roma, who I really like.

Edited by Leo No.8
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