Liverpool v Man Utd (Sun 16 Dec 1.30pm)

I wish I didn't like football, I wish I was a 'normal' woman who hated the footy.......especially on days like today, then I wouldn't care about League tables, points and games in hand...

But then I think of Champions League Finals and FA Cup finals......and the buzz I still get every time I go to Anfield. It's true what they say, 'You can take the girl out of Liverpool, but you'll never take Liverpool out of the girl'

If it's in your blood and your born into it, it stays for ever, and I'm pleased to say that no matter what our results are, I will support our boys through thick and thin.

We should have had a draw today, they did not deserve to win that game, they were so bleeding lucky (again)

We'll just have to make sure now that we go to OT and win there, get our own back.
It can be done. In Rafa we trust.
I'm just worried that this loss will put added pressure on him, especially with the yanks being in town, hopefully the fact that they saw the game with their own eyes, they will realise how unlucky we were and how jammy they were, and not put too much pressure on the Boss.

Need to beat chelski now on Wednesday.....please.

I love you

I love you

Cheers Prag.....the feelings mutual

I wish I didn't like football, I wish I was a 'normal' woman who hated the footy.......especially on days like today, then I wouldn't care about League tables, points and games in hand...

But then I think of Champions League Finals and FA Cup finals......and the buzz I still get every time I go to Anfield. It's true what they say, 'You can take the girl out of Liverpool, but you'll never take Liverpool out of the girl'

If it's in your blood and your born into it, it stays for ever, and I'm pleased to say that no matter what our results are, I will support our boys through thick and thin.

We should have had a draw today, they did not deserve to win that game, they were so bleeding lucky (again)

We'll just have to make sure now that we go to OT and win there, get our own back.
It can be done. In Rafa we trust.
I'm just worried that this loss will put added pressure on him, especially with the yanks being in town, hopefully the fact that they saw the game with their own eyes, they will realise how unlucky we were and how jammy they were, and not put too much pressure on the Boss.

Need to beat chelski now on Wednesday.....please.

Don't worry hun! There's always many setbacks, but we always end up on top don't we?

Man Utd did what we do best go 1 up and get ten men behind the ball

Are you taking the piss? Do you not remember Besiktas, 8-0? Bolton, 4-0?

We're a little more adventureous than going 1-0 up and defending like f*ck mate!

Sorry, but every Redsfan with brain knows that the title race is virtually over. Sure if you look just on the hard facts it hasn't not even begun. And if you are a brainless supporter, Liverpool has still chances. But Pool is now again bigtime behind ManU and Arsenal. Our team has proven that they are still a bit shaky and haven't the consistency of ManU/Arsenal and even Chelsea. I just don't see such a turnaround happen, not with 2-3 teams that are with a better record than Liverpool. Don't fool yourself.

That doesn't mean Liverpool should resign. They have to reach the CL-seeds and then - you never know what happens and Liverpool should be there IF it should happen.

But the clear focus should be CL again this year. I expect Rafa to use this season to rebuild Liverpool finally to a PL-winning-caliber team. Right now, Liverpool is still in a transitional period (with all the new players) that shouldn't worry us fans. Sure it's tough to see Pool fail again on the PL, but you can't do in one year what others (Manure) have done in yearS!!

We have to be patient and trust in Benitez!

Fair enough. You're trying to take the realistic approach after that game today.

I feel sad that you're throwing the towel in while the season is still in the year 2007 though. Because I think we can still win the league, does that make me brainless?
You support with your head and your heart. If you give in so early you might as well be one of those fans at the ground who go there to watch the football rather than be part of it. Do you think any of the players are thinking they can't win the league now after todays game? What would your feelings be if you knew some of them were thinking that? Just have a long think about that and see how you feel.

Fair enough, we're ten points from the top of the league - which can be reduced to seven points. It's not good and it makes things a bit harder. But there is still a long way to go yet and we are without a doubt improving all the time. I admit we were a bit 'shaky' today, but what the hell do you expect playing against our fiercest rivals? Did that thought pass you by? Noticed you forgot to mention that they were very 'shaky' as well. A simple lapse of concentration from a set piece lost us all three pints today. Not the fact that we weren't good enough. The same thing happened last season at Anfield. But this can be learned from.

I think it's a joke saying the clear focus should be on the Champions League this season. Or any season for that matter. If you know what Liverpool Football Club is about then you shouldn't be saying any cup competition comes before the league.

Paisley once said something along the lines 'I'll relax when they can't catch us'. It's not even January yet so we can still catch the leaders!! I'll always believe until it's mathematically impossible. And I believe we have just about enough quality to push it to the end.

Have a bit heart and don't give in after a match that has always been a tough one for us. And have a bit of respect for us reds who have a heart and a 'brain'. And for crying out loud, we're Liverpool not Pool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank god we had brainless managers and players in the past for us to have the most titles.

Its a difficult one to say really, i will always be optomisic in a situation like this but we have seen it before where we have drop behind and havnt been able to come back and stay in contention

Its a difficult one to say really, I will always be optomisic in a situation like this but we have seen it before where we have drop behind and havnt been able to come back and stay in contention

You're right Ju. We have seen it before. Too many times. Which makes it so easy to throw in the towel so early. But the simple fact remains. We can beat the mancs. And we are improving in the league under Rafa. We're going to keep improving. We're not as weak as we used to be in the past.

Fair enough. You're trying to take the realistic approach after that game today.

I feel sad that you're throwing the towel in while the season is still in the year 2007 though. Because I think we can still win the league, does that make me brainless?
You support with your head and your heart. If you give in so early you might as well be one of those fans at the ground who go there to watch the football rather than be part of it. Do you think any of the players are thinking they can't win the league now after todays game? What would your feelings be if you knew some of them were thinking that? Just have a long think about that and see how you feel.

Fair enough, we're ten points from the top of the league - which can be reduced to seven points. It's not good and it makes things a bit harder. But there is still a long way to go yet and we are without a doubt improving all the time. I admit we were a bit 'shaky' today, but what the hell do you expect playing against our fiercest rivals? Did that thought pass you by? Noticed you forgot to mention that they were very 'shaky' as well. A simple lapse of concentration from a set piece lost us all three pints today. Not the fact that we weren't good enough. The same thing happened last season at Anfield. But this can be learned from.

I think it's a joke saying the clear focus should be on the Champions League this season. Or any season for that matter. If you know what Liverpool Football Club is about then you shouldn't be saying any cup competition comes before the league.

Paisley once said something along the lines 'I'll relax when they can't catch us'. It's not even January yet so we can still catch the leaders!! I'll always believe until it's mathematically impossible. And I believe we have just about enough quality to push it to the end.

Have a bit heart and don't give in after a match that has always been a tough one for us. And have a bit of respect for us reds who have a heart and a 'brain'. And for crying out loud, we're Liverpool not Pool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank god we had brainless managers and players in the past for us to have the most titles.

 

Well played Kenny! Excellent post, and I echo your sentiments all the way mate!

The doom and gloom mongers are getting on me tits! As soon as we have a bad result, we're suddenly back in the dark ages! No one remembers that a full football season isn't decided before the end of the calendar year!

Let's be honest! Look at the last few seasons! We were doing much worse in the league at this point! Yet, we're always much better second half of the season! Probably due to this dreaded rotation system everyone loves blaming!

People have got to stop seeing the bad points! We're Liverpool! (Not Pool ) We're going f*cking nowhere and we're never going to get put down by all the arseholes trying to f*ck things up for us! Let's show them there's no point making up bullshit in the papers, or slagging us off on the telly! It shouldn't bother us, as the only people we're arsed about are our fans, our players, our manager and our club! YNWA!

^^ Well said mate! There is nothing wrong with admitting things aren't going to be easy and that one or two areas can be improved. That makes pure sense.
But to write off our vast improving team compared to a few years ago, when we lose a fairly equal game against our biggest rivals, is a shame.

Just read that Ferguson said.

'It wasn't a smash and grab raid at all.  We played the better stuff.'

Pissed as usual then.

We simply do not have the players to break down their defence while given too much respect to their defence. It has been like that all these months against teams that defended deep and Rafa will need to quickly sort that out. Look closely and we could see that in 50-50 situation and competing for a loose ball we lose out most of the time, that goes to show that some of our players are not competitive enough. On the other hand, i thought the referee was blind eventhough he was only a few yards away when the balll hit Tevez hands raised to protect himself. So, Tevez saved his pretty face but it should be at the expenses of a penalty. Poor refeering again.

When I saw that Halsey, Halsy, Sissy or whatever refereeing the game,  i knew we are already playing against a 12th player.

^^ Well said mate! There is nothing wrong with admitting things aren't going to be easy and that one or two areas can be improved. That makes pure sense.
But to write off our vast improving team compared to a few years ago, when we lose a fairly equal game against our biggest rivals, is a shame.

Writing ourselves off after something like today is daft, I agree! And it was an equal game today! It's painfully typical of them to grab a flukey winner and hold out!

The comparison table is what does it for me this season though! http://www.anfield-online.co.uk/stats/2008/lfc-season-comparison.html We'll be back on track with the next few games! Get our game in hand out of the way too, and we'll be flying!

Just read that Ferguson said.

'It wasn't a smash and grab raid at all.  We played the better stuff.'

Pissed as usual then.

Spotted his hip flash while I was at the match! F***ing Rudolph, the red nosed tosser!

Spotted his hip flash while I was at the match!

He'll flash anything after a few whiskey's.

The comparison table is what does it for me this season though! http://www.anfield-online.co.uk/stats/2008/lfc-season-comparison.html

Yeah but we are 4 points behind our record breaking season from two years ago (which didn't land us the title) and that year we won 15 out of our last 22. 

We need to go on a decent run now.  We should have done better than 2 points out of 9 for our three home games against United, Chelsea and Arsenal.  I hope we go to all three places and stuff them.

He'll flash anything after a few whiskey's.

Haha damn typo! :

Flask I say! Flask!

Yeah but we are 4 points behind our record breaking season from two years ago (which didn't land us the title) and that year we won 15 out of our last 22. 

We need to go on a decent run now.  We should have done better than 2 points out of 9 for our three home games against United, Chelsea and Arsenal.  I hope we go to all three places and stuff them.

We've now got the quality to go to their places and win! 2 points out of 9 is dissapointing though but I think we can turn it round!

anyone who said that masch didn't play well is wrong, he did get Liverpoolfc.tv's MOM. He wasn't at his best but i guess no one was, not much time or space in this game. I think we do have players who can break down any defense but they just aren't playing to their best of their ability. Well it's off to the Bridge from here let's hope we can put a few into the back of the 'onion bag' as Tommy Smyth would say.

We had enough chances to put this game away and were unlucky to have had 2 shots cleared off the line.
But we seem unorganised in attack, with lots of hurried long range shots being taken needlessly

Liverpool                            Manc's

19                Goal Attempts         5      
6                    On Target            3
13                 Off Target             2
0                Hit Woodwork           0     
3                     Corners               3
14                     Fouls                13
1                     Offsides               1
2                     Yellow                 3
Gerrard (33), unsporting behaviour
Mascherano (63), dissent

Evra (15), unsporting behaviour
Anderson (33), unsporting behaviour
Brown (36), unsporting behaviour

I really don't think any Liverpool player had a stinker.  General underperformance from them all.  Torres had a couple of chances that on another day he would have buried.

United defended well - hit us on the counter and scored.  We've done it to enough teams who were on paper 'better than us' so its a tactic United clearly adopted.  A bad day at the office - but not as bad as last week.  Last week was the real stinker and if we had won that then this result would not be anywhere near as bad in terms of title challenges as it seems. 

Portsmouth next week won't be straight forward and Man City away (they've won all 9 so far) will be another tricky one.  Anything less than 6 points from them and personally I think we will need some divine intervention (in the January transfer window )

Well I give you guys credit for loving the club so much to overcome any negative thoughts. I'm not this way. Over many games you get a "feel" about a team. And within the last years we were so often in a position like now - 10points (about 4 games!!) behind the peak - that you KNOW you shouldn't expect the PL-title anymore. And again for the evergreen optimistics: Yeah, if Liverpool would be 10 points behind Reading, but they are behind Arsenal, ManU & Chelsea.

That's all I said. LiverPOOL shouldn't resign or let the PL "flow", they should just readjust their focusing and their primary goals now. It would be stupid e.g. to risk heavy injuries before a CL game in a situation where this effort might come too late. And I'm pretty sure Rafa thinks the same...watch out.

We are too predictable....eg: we have no world-class wingers, and we need a striking partner for torres.
Our team is only made up of a hand-full of players...and we only focus on using those players, coz the others arent as good and arent as capable of matching it with the best. Hence, it makes the opposition's task easier to shut us down and predict our style of play.

We lost to the mancs, but they were the better side on the day....we cant match it with them, we're not good enough...it was obvious.
Simple as that!!

We are too predictable....eg: we have no world-class wingers, and we need a striking partner for torres.
Our team is only made up of a hand-full of players...and we only focus on using those players, coz the others arent as good and arent as capable of matching it with the best. Hence, it makes the opposition's task easier to shut us down and predict our style of play.

We lost to the mancs, but they were the better side on the day....we cant match it with them, we're not good enough...it was obvious.
Simple as that!!

I don't know what wingers any club would be willing to sell but who would you suggest? I'm not sure if they were the better team on the day, they just got a chance and put it away, where we had about 6 good ones and one went in. Tevez' goal was just a lapse in concentration, we deserved it we shouldn't have left a striker open in a corner, strikers are the first people you mark at the back. We were to predictable however we needed to pass to someone other than Torres the whole time, the poor lad ran out of idea's and the Manc's know he normally cuts out wide.

We had enough chances to put this game away and were unlucky to have had 2 shots cleared off the line.
But we seem unorganised in attack, with lots of hurried long range shots being taken needlessly

Liverpool                            Manc's

19                Goal Attempts         5      
6                    On Target            3
13                 Off Target             2
0                Hit Woodwork           0     
3                     Corners               3
14                     Fouls                13
1                     Offsides               1
2                     Yellow                 3
Gerrard (33), unsporting behaviour
Mascherano (63), dissent

Evra (15), unsporting behaviour
Anderson (33), unsporting behaviour
Brown (36), unsporting behaviour

thanks for the stats, we defianatly dominated the shots

I don't know what wingers any club would be willing to sell but who would you suggest? I'm not sure if they were the better team on the day, they just got a chance and put it away, where we had about 6 good ones and one went in. Tevez' goal was just a lapse in concentration, we deserved it we shouldn't have left a striker open in a corner, strikers are the first people you mark at the back. We were to predictable however we needed to pass to someone other than Torres the whole time, the poor lad ran out of idea's and the Manc's know he normally cuts out wide.thanks for the stats, we defianatly dominated the shots

Champion teams only need once chance to win a game...they had one chance (even though it was half a chance)...they created it, and scored....
Champion teams also punish teams who have a lapse in concentration, the mancs did that to us...they lapsed in defence several times in the first half, but we didnt punish them....
I really like joaquin for valencia...very good winger....im a fan of quaresma, but his attitude is poor....jeremy menez is a very good young talent, a liverpool supporter too!!!

Riise recieved the ball out-wide a countless amount of times in the second half, and his crosses were all SH*T...they didnt go to anyone.....and whenever he was on a good run, he would shoot from the most ridiculous distances....he's become a selfish, goal hungry player...

Bitterly disappointed but we outplayed utd and we deserved a draw at least they had 1 lucky chance and took it,its not over yet but its going to be hard we need to go on a decent run maybe winning the next 10 games then see where we are.

We are too predictable....eg: we have no world-class wingers, and we need a striking partner for torres.
Our team is only made up of a hand-full of players...and we only focus on using those players, coz the others arent as good and arent as capable of matching it with the best. Hence, it makes the opposition's task easier to shut us down and predict our style of play.

We lost to the mancs, but they were the better side on the day....we cant match it with them, we're not good enough...it was obvious.
Simple as that!!

Fully agreed, when you have players such as Riise, Pennant, Kuyt, Kewell, Momo, Benayoun etc just to name a few where their ability is 2nd rated compared to Torres and Gerrard, do we honestly think that we can be league champion? Long shot. We can see that the mancs are more competitive all round and how many times we lost those 50-50 balls. What does that tells us, we are simply not competitive and skillful enough with the players that we have. With a few  more 1st class players we should be able to slice pass thier defence 1 in every two attempts, as a rule of thumb, but no, everytime we come against their brickwall of defence we made those irritating back or side passes until we ran out of ideas and pumped the ball upwards and even that was not done with accuracy.

We already have the backbone of the team in Gerrard, Torres, Mascherano, Babel  and Carragher, which i'd rate as 1st class, built the team around these players and stop beating round the bush and start to buy big if we want success. Otherwsie, we will continue to play second fiddle to the mancs and arse in years to come while the worldwide fan base is dwindling by the day, does the Yanks knows about that or that they're still too busy trying to come to grasp with game and the economics that comes with it. So i said, Tom and Jerry pls wake up from your slumber and wake up fast as our rivals are dissapearing from the horizon.

Yesterday's result really spoiled my mood at work today.

So comes January, Rafa, pls. do not buy pint size players, unless they're in the mould of Craig Johnston, Peter Beardsley or Kevin Keegan who dares to take on the opposition defence. Besides that, stop beating around the bush and purchase so called "potential" players that had let us down so many times already. This has to stop and we are just revolving round a vicious cycle that never seems to stop, moan and moan and moan, next we get potential players in the hope of getting out of that cycle, next we realise the cycle has come full, next buy a again potential players, failed again. How many times do we need to go thorugh that.

We have the knack of purchasing players after players, with the notion that they are fututre potentials, but the management has to realise that without success today there'll be no tommorrow. So i said, get ot of that vicious cycle now, get some solid players in and move on.