Passing

I have no defence for Rafa his staff or the players for how bad the passing of the ball is at times.

I grew up on this club being renowned for its passing ability. What I seen at times this season is way below what I expect, sorry its below what I'd expect from league of Ireland. And its not 20/30 yard passes its handy 5/10 yard stuff being passed straight to the oppo or out for throws or over hit for kick outs! What the fook training do we do? If the simple stuff dont work the rest wont. Such a simple act of passing the ball to a team mate a few feet away cant be done why should we expect to succeed? 

Please react to my post with genuine reactions no calling me a Rafa basher or calling Rafa all sorts I just want to know am I the only one who match after match looks and thinks do we practice passing the ball 

I think we can pass it alright but to me what the problem is we cant seem to pass the ball forward it seems to be sidewards or backwards.

Hehe I was going to start a similar thread and vent my frustrations on a slightly wider issue.
What do the Liverpool squad work on in training?
And what would you work on at training with individual players if you were coach.
I can think of a few:

1. Babel. Always sent on at left mid every week and he has no left foot. You would think if he trained with it just one day a week he would be so much better.
2. Insua. Similarly one footed. Get him working on his right foot. Never looks likely to use it at all.
3. Carragher passing the ball while its moving!
4. Lucas/Skrtel/Agger heading the ball down in attacking positions.
5. Corners in general!!

I agree with you Brian. Our passing has been at times, atrocious and painful to watch this season. I don't think it's the training though. It's a lack of confidence IMHO.

League of Ireland? What the hell mate?!?

League of Ireland? What the hell mate?!?

Its a half pro half amatuer league that we have here that if I seen some of our passing in Id still be p**sed off mate

I personally think it is lack of ability.

I personally think it is lack of ability.

Really??

Funny how a team full of internationals cant knock a pass or 2 together

Maybe its got to do with the pace of the game or the opposition your playing against.
Last season there were not many comments of negative football or the our lacking is passing ability at times we pass a team of the pitch and there have been times you ask what? but a combitation of factors are to be pointed at for example not having a regular 11 to start with players re-adjusting to a particular system and players bedding in.

Maybe its got to do with the pace of the game or the opposition your playing against.
Last season there were not many comments of negative football or the our lacking is passing ability at times we pass a team of the pitch and there have been times you ask what? but a combitation of factors are to be pointed at for example not having a regular 11 to start with players re-adjusting to a particular system and players bedding in.

Theres at least 22 players train together on a daily basis. So if 2 or 3 are out injured we shoud expect the rest to collapse and not be able to pick a handy pass?

but a combitation of factors are to be pointed at for example not having a regular 11 to start with players re-adjusting to a particular system and players bedding in.

I thought that regular 11 rubbish had been put to bed. All the people who slated the rotation system of Benitez just didn't understand the modern game. Look at the 3 teams at the top of the league, not a regular 11 in sight.

If however you mean the injuries and the lack of depth in our squad then I'd agree.

Ya they can pass it put none of them appear to be able to pick out the difficult forward pass like lets say a Xabi Alonso can. Lucas can pass a ball all day but it is always the simple he doesn't have the ability to create something the same can be said about a lot of our players.

If however you mean the injuries and the lack of depth in our squad then I'd agree.

That is what i meant.

Ya they can pass it put none of them appear to be able to pick out the difficult forward pass like lets say a Xabi Alonso can. Lucas can pass a ball all day but it is always the simple he doesn't have the ability to create something the same can be said about a lot of our players.

Missing me point entirely mate.

40 yard sh*t going astray is excusable. Insua for example having the ball inside the oppo half and having a 5 yard pass to the foot of his winger getting intercepted or turning back to his keeper when theres a forward pass on is what I mean. Im not expecting Jan Molby here just want a handy pass from a to b to be executed too much to ask?

Maybe im being a c**t?

'Pass and move, it's the Liverpool groove.'

 

I'm not sure what I see, cupid don't F**k with me! Are you telling me this is a sign? She's looking in my eyes, noticing no other guys. Are you telling me this is a sign?

'Pass and move, it's the Liverpool groove.'

 

'Pass & Move, it (used to be until this season) the Liverpool Groove'

IMOthe degree of accuracy in the passing today was diabolical, I think Skrtel put the most sucessful amount of passes together, even Reina had a few dodgy moments.

Get John Barnes back down to Melwood to drill some sense into the squad.


Still....at least we never lost today...1 point is better than none

What was the game where we totalled a ridiculous number of passes before Berger smashed it into the bottom corner?

Give the lads the clip of that.

2000-2001 vs Derby

Berger (build up) Vs Derby

That's the rascal.

As the guy says: "What a goal."

As the guy says: "What a goal."

Seems that Andy Gray likes saying What a Goal/Hit for some of our belters

Seems that Andy Gray likes saying What a Goal/Hit for some of our belters

The annoying arsehole says it all the time about a lot of players. All part of the sky hype on the games they show.

I personally think it is lack of ability.

Could they pass last year?

Nice goal...


maybe we need Danny Murphy back?

thing i find most ironic is, he is up ferguscums arse and he's an ex blue-nose (so he tries to slate us whenever he can). But sometimes he cant help but praise us

oh and he cant help being a consistent wan*er

2000-2001 vs Derby

Berger (build up) Vs Derby

It wasn't even about a superb 60 yard pass in that clip.

Simple passing and moving, they went backwards as well but as the front lads were moving around we could easily ping it back forward again.

And then one moment of quality (the dummy) and the space has opened up for the shot.

With Torres and Benayoun back hopefully it will improve.

maybe we need Danny Murphy back?

shouldnt have sold him in the 1st place

shouldnt have sold him in the 1st place

He was replaced by alonso remember!

He was replaced by alonso remember!

Fair one, i cant exactly go and slag off Xabi, after following up the penalty in Istanbul.

Both great passers of the ball going forwards, both missed when they left

Yeah danny has gone on to great things! And alonso is hardly appreciated at the bernabue.

Fair one, i cant exactly go and slag off Xabi, after following up the penalty in Istanbul.

Both great passers of the ball going forwards, both missed when they left

Danny Murphy wasn't missed though was he, he was replaced by a better player, plus the fact it's only over the past season and a half he's started to look good.

Don't remember him playing that well at Charlton or Spurs.

Someone starts a topic to discuss our passing and then someone posts a random goal from 2001 against a sh*t Derby team at home.

Then we start talking about how we shouldn't have sold Danny 'World Cup Winner' Murphy.

The mind boggles at some of the thought processes going on in this thread.

Someone starts a topic to discuss our passing and then someone posts a random goal from 2001 against a sh*t Derby team at home.

It was away!

I think one of the main problems is we have players who have difficulty handling the speed of the average EPL game.

You're closed down far quicker in this league than any other thus giving you less time on the ball and a higher chance of mis-hitting a pass, i know it's not much of an excuse and the players should be well adapted to the speed of the game.

I saw two things which didn't help our passing today.

First of all, the first touch. Arguably a greater concern than our passing.  sh*t first touch invariably leads to less time on the ball to measure your pass.

And secondly, players making themselves available.  I saw Rodriguez run away with the ball before having to spin around 3 times or so while waiting for players to either get forward, or get themselves away from a defender.

It isn't just as easy as saying passing is sh*t.  There is another critical component that all Liverpool fans should be aware of.

Pass AND move.

Minimum 3 players should be around the ball to pass and move,like a triangle formation.

Pass AND move.

Spot on. Especially this. Hence why I posted the pass and move Liverpool groove thing.

We're not doing it as we should do. Simple as that. Personally I think it relates to our central midfield and wide men, plus also the fact that our confidence has been shot this season and we're scared of leaving gaps and being vulnerable.

Basically, I feel we haven't got the guts we once had to drive forward, give the early ball or get into the box as fast as we need to. I think when you look at todays game, it speaks volumes when we didn't have a shot on target until the seventieth minute or later?

I saw two things which didn't help our passing today.

First of all, the first touch. Arguably a greater concern than our passing.  Sh*t first touch invariably leads to less time on the ball to measure your pass.

And secondly, players making themselves available.  I saw Rodriguez run away with the ball before having to spin around 3 times or so while waiting for players to either get forward, or get themselves away from a defender.

It isn't just as easy as saying passing is sh*t.  There is another critical component that all Liverpool fans should be aware of.

Pass AND move.

Spot on. Especially this. Hence why I posted the pass and move Liverpool groove thing.

We're not doing it as we should do. Simple as that. Personally I think it relates to our central midfield and wide men, plus also the fact that our confidence has been shot this season and we're scared of leaving gaps and being vulnerable.

Basically, I feel we haven't got the guts we once had to drive forward, give the early ball or get into the box as fast as we need to. I think when you look at todays game, it speaks volumes when we didn't have a shot on target until the seventieth minute or later?

Thank you both for the type of answers I was hoping for

Agree fully about the first touch, another point I thought of raising, which again goes back to what do we do in training?

2000-2001 vs Derby

at least the ball is moving backwards and forwards in opposition half..:p..

I think one of the main problems is we have players who have difficulty handling the speed of the average EPL game.

How many players do we have in the first team now that weren't in there last season when we were looking unbeatable for long periods? They were able to handle the pace then.

It's bothering me as well.

A 40 yard forward pass will sometimes be misplaced, a through ball will be cut out once in a while, but there is no excuse for a 5-15 yard pass going straight to the opposition. All of our players are capable of doing it.

Another problem I think is the long hopeful balls from the back. They just end up giving the opposition the ball as well because we don't have a target man up front.

We defo have to improve this area.
JD said rightly, its not only the passing, its passing AND moving!
I have a gut feeling dropping Stevie G back into the midfield may work. His passing and movement is accurate, and I think that is just what we need.

I think quite a few teams have developed a strategy that when they play the (big four) they will unsettle them by not allowing any time on the ball. It seems nowadays more and more teams are doing this more and more regularly. Everton did it to United, and as a consequence Everton looked the better passing team over the 90 minutes. In that clip you see several little passes into the attacking third where our players were in space, the opponents sitting off the player in possession and allowing space for others to stroll into.

In most games this season we are seeing teams not even allow time for defenders to receive the ball from the keeper, without putting them immediately under pressure. The City/Liverpool match looked untidy for long periods because both teams were putting all their energy into shutting down rather than creating.

Well this is what I said straight after the match against City:

we have literally nothing in the final third, utterly no movement or imagination. The players just stand about waiting for the player on the ball to do something, it's shocking.

And our inability to pass is worse than ever, simple control is lacking, awareness, the basics.

Everyone further forward than Reina and the back four can hang their heads in shame, not just based on this match of course.

It's not just the passing, it's all the basics. How the F**k are professional, International quality players making such simple schoolboy errors is beyond me. It's not even creativity we're talking about, just once you've passed to someone, move FFS to make a bit of space.

Off the ball we're sh*te. I saw Lucas, Kuyt, Insua and Benny make runs, and that was out of 12 outfield players used.

They pass, stay still, and then ask for it back because the person they pass to has no other option.

EDIT: I just seen these two posts so just read them and that's how i feel:

I saw two things which didn't help our passing today.

First of all, the first touch. Arguably a greater concern than our passing.  sh*t first touch invariably leads to less time on the ball to measure your pass.

And secondly, players making themselves available.  I saw Rodriguez run away with the ball before having to spin around 3 times or so while waiting for players to either get forward, or get themselves away from a defender.

It isn't just as easy as saying passing is sh*t.  There is another critical component that all Liverpool fans should be aware of.

Pass AND move.

Spot on. Especially this. Hence why I posted the pass and move Liverpool groove thing.

We're not doing it as we should do. Simple as that. Personally I think it relates to our central midfield and wide men, plus also the fact that our confidence has been shot this season and we're scared of leaving gaps and being vulnerable.

Basically, I feel we haven't got the guts we once had to drive forward, give the early ball or get into the box as fast as we need to. I think when you look at todays game, it speaks volumes when we didn't have a shot on target until the seventieth minute or later?

I saw two things which didn't help our passing today.

First of all, the first touch. Arguably a greater concern than our passing.  Sh*t first touch invariably leads to less time on the ball to measure your pass.

And secondly, players making themselves available.  I saw Rodriguez run away with the ball before having to spin around 3 times or so while waiting for players to either get forward, or get themselves away from a defender.

It isn't just as easy as saying passing is sh*t.  There is another critical component that all Liverpool fans should be aware of.

Pass AND move.

Agreed JD.  The passes going astray start by a bad first touch and then the ball being played into space that nobody anticipates.

You can't expect fast flowing, attacking football when everybody is standing still.

Rafa needs to kick some a**e!!

Rafa needs to kick some a**e!!

Maybe the players need to learn how to controll and kick the ball!

Over the last 10 or so years under the Houllier and Benitez managerships we have lost our way of playing that was instilled into any player who came to the club , I have read many an interveiw from players that were signed and couldn't believe the simplicity of our pass n move way of playing honed during 5a side games at melwood , Ronnie Moran often kicking someone up the arse for standig still and admiring a pass , often when I see one of our players with the ball now I find myself shouting for someone to help him , yesturday was a prime example of this with us launching 50/60 yard balls forward only for the player with the ball easily dissposesed as he was isolated with the nearest player often 20/30 yards away , I think if we played in L Liga the White hankies would of been out long ago .

I would like to think with the return of Torres and Benni that the confidence and consequently the passing ability will return to the team.
Looking forward to a front four of Torres Benni Gerrard and Maxi in the coming months