How many times

[rjlfc]

must we watch the same gash over and over before our management does something about this. Just when you think you are turning the corner, we get this f*****g shambles of a performance. I fought our corner about our performance after the villa game as although some criticized I thought we did well given the circumstances, but tonight was f****g atrocious, plain and simple. We've got players who genuinely have trouble passing and controlling the ball. This was a Reading team with even lower confidence than us (not to mention their league position), but they wanted it more, had more pace, were more direct. F*****g Reading!

 

Insua - been saying all season he's not good enough, but its getting f****g ludicrous now. Terrible positionally, gets beaten very easily (I've lost count of the number of times wingers I've not even heard of embarassing him) and his passing is schit. We can mock Dossena all we like (I actually don't rate him) but he's much better than Insua which doesn't say a lot about him.

Skrtel - admittedly not played much recently but that's for a reason, completely w**k.

Feel a little bit reticent picking out Darby as he's young and hardly played, but I cant help but ask is that the best we can produce from Melwood? He wouldn't get in any Premier League first team, says it all really.

 

What exactly is Aurelio offering us?The Kuyt thing has been done a million times, but quite simply having these as our two wide players is it any wonder we can't stretch teams. I'm sick and tired of making poor teams look good, we are such a slow team we are easy to play against, other than Torres pulling something out of the bag here and there. Gerrard isn't immune from criticism as he seemed half arsed sometimes. Some of the challenges he pulled out of today smacked of World Cup-itus.

 

Until we are bold enough to change our personnel in certain positions, give us a bit of pace and width and actually press teams we'll always make poor teams look good. I genuinely believe we could have played a team another division or two lower and had the same performance/result. It's not about the cup, today is part of something fundamental that we've seen far to often this season to be put down to cup magic nonsense. I desperately want to back Benitez but I just cant believe we can get any better when we make the same mistakes tactically and positionally week in week out.

[jimbolala]

at some point something has to change and if its rafa i couldnt care less at the minute. if the players are not doing what he wants drop them and put that in his notes in the next programme. fed up asking defenders not to hoof it so i had to drop him

[Falconhoof]

You have to wonder about the management of this squad. Its gone on for quite some time now.

[Zoob]

The idea of pass and move seems almost completely forgotten. The lack of pace in the team doesn't help either...

[Hassony]

The idea of pass and move seems almost completely forgotten. The lack of pace in the team doesn't help either...

 

in the second half of last season when we were averaging more than 3 goals a game we were fantastic to watch, surely it's just not down to alonso

[Earl Hafler]

in the second half of last season when we were averaging more than 3 goals a game we were fantastic to watch, surely it's just not down to alonso

 

Players on form. Those same players have remained in the side even when not on form. Others are given a game and then not seen for weeks.

 

I think Rafa hasn't utilised the squad as best he could.

[john_lfc]

Great post - agree with everything you have said there

 

Playing two Left backs on the same pitch plus a right winger who is slower than Neil Ruddock is comical

[Chili Palmer]

We have had 1 player in form all season and that was GJ for the first few months. We are shocking.

[CaptainXabi]

We have had 1 player in form all season and that was GJ for the first few months. We are shocking.

Reina has been excellent and Torres has delivered despite not being at his best. But in general you're right, we have been terrible.

[Chili Palmer]

Reina has been excellent and Torres has delivered despite not being at his best. But in general you're right, we have been terrible.

 

 

Sorry mate, you're right, Pep has been fantastic.

[richwilks]

The lack of pace is the biggest worry. Our two wingers today were as slow as f***. Insua and Darby are too slow for top level full backs. Carragher has no pace whatsoever.

 

We need to add some real pace and a threat to our play, I know players like Lennon and SWP are inconsistent but they will always give a full back a problem.

[RP]

in the second half of last season when we were averaging more than 3 goals a game we were fantastic to watch, surely it's just not down to alonso

 

 

You know what, I think it is - down to alonso, that is.

 

I was thinking that watching the game today - when we had Xabi, he was our metronome, he lept the ball moving. He forced players to play - now there is no drive in that position. As good as Lucas has been recently and as much as he has improved, he just is not of the required calibre to run a game.

[chiliking]

Alonso knew where to play the ball 15 seconds before he recieved it.

 

Lucas knows where he should have played the ball 15 seconds after he recieved it.

 

The Difference.

[Frosty Jack]

You know what, I think it is - down to alonso, that is.

 

I was thinking that watching the game today - when we had Xabi, he was our metronome, he lept the ball moving. He forced players to play - now there is no drive in that position. As good as Lucas has been recently and as much as he has improved, he just is not of the required calibre to run a game.

 

he's not supposed to be Xabis replacement though is he?

[RP]

he's not supposed to be Xabis replacement though is he?

 

 

No, you're right, he's not - we don't have one.

 

Alonso knew where to play the ball 15 seconds before he recieved it.

 

Lucas knows where he should have played the ball 15 seconds after he recieved it.

 

The Difference.

 

Your exaggeration is actually unnecessary - Alonso knew 2 seconds before and Lucas knows 2 seconds after.

[Hassony]

Alonso knew where to play the ball 15 seconds before he recieved it.

 

Lucas knows where he should have played the ball 15 seconds after he recieved it.

 

The Difference.

 

That would indicate that Lucas misplace a lot of passes, which he doesn't

[surf]

it's not just about knowing where to pass it, xabi's range of passing gives him options lucas can only dream of. xabi could place a 30 or 40 yard pass right where the winger wants it, lucas isn't capable of that. that isn't criticism of lucas, i think he plays the role assigned to him well and rarely loses the ball, but praise for xabi who is one of the best passers in the game

[Kite]

That would indicate that Lucas misplace a lot of passes, which he doesn't

Or it could mean he plays the wrong pass. Actually thought Lucas was mostly alright today though, he did contribute to their goal by letting his man go, something I think he does a bit too often, but his passing was a lot more mixed and progressive and overall thought he was one of our best players. But the thing is, with Alonso there, we had a system. We don't seem to have anything at all now, just players out there mucking about, getting in each others way half the time. I can't see any sort of organisation or plan to our play. This season we have consistently made poor teams look good, look more organised than us and look more effective than us. Why?

[Hassony]

it's not just about knowing where to pass it, xabi's range of passing gives him options lucas can only dream of. xabi could place a 30 or 40 yard pass right where the winger wants it, lucas isn't capable of that. that isn't criticism of lucas, i think he plays the role assigned to him well and rarely loses the ball, but praise for xabi who is one of the best passers in the game

 

Hopefully Aqui can be that player for us, although at the moment the jury is out of course

[RP]

Was Lucas at fault for letting his man go? Or did 'his man' move into someone else's zone and therefore become someone else's (Darby's) responsibility?

[MFletcher]

It was Darby's c**k-up. His attempt to defend the ball was comical. First when it came in initially, and second when he should have made more of an effort to stop it being put back into the danger area.

Edited January 2, 2010 by MFletcher

[Kite]

Was Lucas at fault for letting his man go? Or did 'his man' move into someone else's zone and therefore become someone else's (Darby's) responsibility?

Don't know to be honest. The intricacies of zonal marking leave me feeling a bit 'Andy Gray' at times.

[Redray]

It was Darby's c**k-up. His attempt to defend the ball was comical. First when it came in initially, and second when he should have made more of an effort to stop it being put back into the danger area.

 

End of.

 

He tried to shield the ball out and f***ed it up.

[RP]

End of.

 

He tried to shield the ball out and f***ed it up.

 

 

Not quite 'end of' - when the ball went back across goal, Skrtel was stood behind the lad who scored. The useless tw**.

[Mike]

You know what, I think it is - down to alonso, that is.

 

I was thinking that watching the game today - when we had Xabi, he was our metronome, he lept the ball moving. He forced players to play - now there is no drive in that position. As good as Lucas has been recently and as much as he has improved, he just is not of the required calibre to run a game.

 

last season was more about the players going for it because the opportunity was there in the last 3rd of the season. we f***ed up playing just like we are now over the christmas period