Blackburn away (Boxing Day)

Match day on Boxing Day.  . we will get some stream links posted in the forum nearer kick off time.

It's a massive game, a tricky ground, away - we need three points especially with everyone winning before Christmas.

My prediction........it's going to be a close game.  I think we will nick it by the odd goal.

2-1 to the reds.  Bellamy to score the winner against his old club.

Reina to continue his clean sheet run, 0-2 to the Reds, Bellamy & Kuyt. 

Gonna be a hard game, the 6 - 2 loss to Arsenal wasn't a true story of their performance at the weekend. It was 3 - 2 with 5 mins to go and Blackburn pressing for an equaliser.
I'm going for a close 2 - 1 to Liverpool.
Bellamy and Crouch.

I think it will be a tough close game but i cant see them scoring against us.
1-0 Gerrard

I'm going with Tommo, 2-1 the reds, Bellers, Gerrard.   

Internet Stream locations posted in the relevant thread...
http://www.lfcreds.com/reds/index.php/topic,1288.0.html

We may get more before kick-off.

well will win this one 6-2 is a tough result to comeback from altho liverpool could probably comback from it tho

Hi everyone, nearly 7am here.. getting ready to watch the Liverpool game and will watch the 2nd half of Chelsea against Reading. Yesterday was quite warm proberly about 20c need to go bit more east like NY to get snow.. anyway i know im a bit late but Merry Crimbo to everyone on this site

Thanks for the weather update

Good first 30 mins, chances to be in front. Caught the end of the Reading game myself - thought Chelsea had snatched it again when Drogba but Reading came back.  Good on them.

Three points essential today.  Come on Reds.

We play like that then we will not get 3 points, Dirky on for Crouch at half time please because it looks like Crouch can't head the ball with direction on it

1-0 to Blackburn

Nil point.

Totally disappointed.  We deserved something out that game.  Woeful finishing yet again.

 

We were sh*t today, really really sh*t and deserved to lose!
When we are loosing we do not do enough to get back into the game, we have not got the players to get back from 1-0 down to 1-2 up like Chelsea can.

Alonso was our best player but with Gerrard playing in a defensive role then I would of rather had him back on the right and that was the kind of game for Sissoko to play in. Seein that result I know we are not good enough to win the Premiership we need someone unplayable like C.Ronaldo or Drogba.

We were chasing the game really, when we were not on the ball our players our terrible apart from Sissoko who is injured but when we are on the ball we sometimes overhit a pass or play a sloppy pass. Our players could not get near them

Alonso was unlucky though

I have to say Crouch was more than dissapointing along with Gonzalez, Riise & Hyypia and Finnan is losing his form from last season

the sooner we start shopping at Harrods and not Tesco the better. Sick and tired of having squad full of strikers the couldn't hit a cows arse with a banjo, they must have one of the worst goal ratio's out there (of the top clubs) Kuyt for all his work how many goals has he scored since his arrival, Crouch never gonna be prolific but still has the bst strike rate I believe, Bellamy the only striker we have to come away with any pride over the last 5 games. Lets not forget Robbie Fowler who never plays.

The vast majority of our goals seems to come from midfield, and getting more than 2 goals in a game at times seems well beyond us !

The question is who will we sign when the Iron Sheik takes over, I just hope who ever they are, they are proven class and not potential or a gamble as to date the majority of our signings have been exactly that, a gamble . . . . .

Out of interest have any of our signings paid off this season ?

Roll on takeover, Roll on top notch signings, Good bye sh*t players !

Total agree "hound"

My player ratings for today


Reina - 6 - Not much to do but again nothing he could of done for the goal. He was confident after he made a clumsy spill of a shot which you have to give credit to.

Finnan - 6 - Good first half, only player who can put in a good cross at LFC at the moment but generally he was poor.

Carragher - 4 - Usually top notch but can't handle pace and this game was one of his worst this season, did not track Mcarthy for goal.

Hyypia - 6 - Also poor and did not help clear the ball which Blackburn scored from, lack of pace but was in control of the back three.

Agger - 6 - Not bad defensivley, did not use the ball like he usually does in the attacking half but he only gets better.

Riise - 3 - If there is a weak link in the Liverpool team then it is Riise. He has been useless to us for a while now.

Alonso - 8 - He was our best player by a country mile. Neat perfect passing and some wicked shots too. He looks a lot hotter to score goals again. He is starting to outshine his captain game after game.

Gerrard - 5 - He was played in a disciplined role. That should say it all for Steven Gerrard as we know what his favorite role is. Sissoko is the player who plays in that disciplined role and Sissoko does it a lot lot better than Gerrard does as he offers better closing down qualities and better energy. We want Gerrard in the centre for attacking so he effects the game in an attacking sense.. have to say another Benitez mistake

Gonzalez - 4 - We all saw his qualities in La Liga the past 2 seasons and he looked like a player who would make a big impact in the Prem. Well its the same old storie with these foreign players from Spain & South America.. they just can't adapt and make wrong decisions but Mark is only 22 and has a lot of time to adapt. He needs to play more and play for longer but I think it will take till next season untill we see the real Mark Gonzalez. Riise took his place on the wing and Gerrard took his place in the centre so he was lost.. can't blame him.

Bellamy - 7 - Great first half and played himself out of energy, he needed more support in the centre.

Crouch - 5 - Good build up play but again for a club like Liverpool he is not... clinical enough, fast enough & strong enough. He should of scored at least 2 goals.

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Kuyt - 6 - Worked hard but not much time to impress and has lost his form, is he really a true finisher?

Garcia - 6 - When he starts he plays rubbish, when he gets subbed on he looks like on of our best players. Always gets himself half a chance from no where which I like.

Aurelio - 6 - Does Rafa spend anytime on the training ground? If he does then he would realise that Aurelio can make things happen with a clever turn or a sharp cross into the box. He put in dangerous balls into the box today and links up well. I rate him a 6 even though he did not spend much time on the pitch.. he out shone our other left sided players.

Nil point.

Totally disappointed.  We deserved something out that game.  Woeful finishing yet again.

 

agreed    We cant seem to get it together, we deffo deserved something from that game and here we are, all disapppointed again.  I know we've had a couple of good results lately but thats the level a premiership team like Liverpool should be performing at, winning home AND AWAY.  More dropped points from a team that didnt look like they were playing for the sames team,  what was Stevie doing back there      I wish Bellamy would keep his trap shut, ok sometimes you have to sound off back to the ref but its everytime he thinks he's got a free kick, he stops, looks round and gives out the "poor me" routine, meanwhile the games continued without him  :  We had our chances and blew it, Blackburn fought and fought today and when they got their 'lucky' goal defended it like f*ck.  We deserved a win today and come away with nowt, whose to blame ?..... only themselves.

We should of won but there is no way we deserved it with missed chances and 2nd half we did not even create a chance

Total agree "hound"

My player ratings for today


Reina - 6 - Not much to do but again nothing he could of done for the goal. He was confident after he made a clumsy spill of a shot which you have to give credit to.

Finnan - 6 - Good first half, only player who can put in a good cross at LFC at the moment but generally he was poor.

Carragher - 4 - Usually top notch but can't handle pace and this game was one of his worst this season, did not track Mcarthy for goal.

Hyypia - 6 - Also poor and did not help clear the ball which Blackburn scored from, lack of pace but was in control of the back three.

Agger - 6 - Not bad defensivley, did not use the ball like he usually does in the attacking half but he only gets better.

Riise - 3 - If there is a weak link in the Liverpool team then it is Riise. He has been useless to us for a while now.

Alonso - 8 - He was our best player by a country mile. Neat perfect passing and some wicked shots too. He looks a lot hotter to score goals again. He is starting to outshine his captain game after game.

Gerrard - 5 - He was played in a disciplined role. That should say it all for Steven Gerrard as we know what his favorite role is. Sissoko is the player who plays in that disciplined role and Sissoko does it a lot lot better than Gerrard does as he offers better closing down qualities and better energy. We want Gerrard in the centre for attacking so he effects the game in an attacking sense.. have to say another Benitez mistake

Gonzalez - 4 - We all saw his qualities in La Liga the past 2 seasons and he looked like a player who would make a big impact in the Prem. Well its the same old storie with these foreign players from Spain & South America.. they just can't adapt and make wrong decisions but Mark is only 22 and has a lot of time to adapt. He needs to play more and play for longer but I think it will take till next season untill we see the real Mark Gonzalez. Riise took his place on the wing and Gerrard took his place in the centre so he was lost.. can't blame him.

Bellamy - 7 - Great first half and played himself out of energy, he needed more support in the centre.

Crouch - 5 - Good build up play but again for a club like Liverpool he is not... clinical enough, fast enough & strong enough. He should of scored at least 2 goals.

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Kuyt - 6 - Worked hard but not much time to impress and has lost his form, is he really a true finisher?

Garcia - 6 - When he starts he plays rubbish, when he gets subbed on he looks like on of our best players. Always gets himself half a chance from no where which I like.

Aurelio - 6 - Does Rafa spend anytime on the training ground? If he does then he would realise that Aurelio can make things happen with a clever turn or a sharp cross into the box. He put in dangerous balls into the box today and links up well. I rate him a 6 even though he did not spend much time on the pitch.. he out shone our other left sided players.

Oh come on, we got beat but we wasn't that bad. This isn't Football Manager you know!!

We should of won but there is no way we deserved it with missed chances and 2nd half we did not even create a chance

Mate, did you watch the second half at all?

Yes i did watch the 2nd half, tell me a clear cut chance we had?

Well we STILL need a 20 gaol a season striker. we ain't had this since Michael left 

Yes I did watch the 2nd half, tell me a clear cut chance we had?

Alonso hit the post, Alonso had a quality strike saved brilliantly, Garcia had a chance to equalize...
I don't know what game you were watching. But it certainly wasn't ours.

blackburn played a real survival type game...they got their break then sat back and defended their asses off and also wasted alot of time....no wonder why arsenal put 6 passed them...they are a very sh*t side and with desent strikers any team could put 5 passed them all day.

Bring Robbie back into the team that's what I say!

The strikers aren't clinical enough and Robbie would have been the ideal man to have in a game like Blackburn.  Definitely not worth getting up at 2 in the morning to watch but we should have taken something away from the match. Alonso best player by far,Gonzalez may as well not have got outta bed and as for crouchy well what can you say, my grandmother has more power in her headers. Kuyt worked hard with little to show, Bellamy was good but should learn to keep his mouth shut and get on with the game and 3 at the back didn't work.

Sissoko was missed badly as that kind of match would have suited him down to the ground and Stevie looked tired. But the only thing that cost us the match was poor finishing, good goalkeeping(friedal always plays a blinder against his old club) and one dodgy bit of defending. This is the difference between us and the top two at the minute!

This is the difference between us and the top two at the minute!

The difference is that we dont have a Ronaldo or a Robben in the team and we dont have a Rooney or a Drogba in the team.. thats the difference between the top 2 and us. Also the new Dubai owners are not looking to invest in new players once they take over.. they are looking to sell the club in seven years time and make a 25% profit so if this is true then the future is not so bright for Liverpool.

I don't think Moores would let people like that takeover the club.

Court_LFC

What game were you were watching ! ?

I admire you backing the Reds but the bottom line is apart from Bellamy none of our strikers or indeed players looked like scoring, I saw the game and you can't say hitting the post was a clear cut chance created in the 6 yard box ! If you are then we really are clutching at straws.

Bottom line is as I much as I hate saying it until our front players can start scoring as freely as Man U or Arsenal, will forget Chelsea for the moment, we wont stand any chance of winning the title. Both Man U and Arsenal would have got the 3 points against Blackburn and that is the problem !

The Charlton match confirnmed how bad we are, any decent attacking line would have hit 5 for sure, did you see that game !!???

Thank you hound...

Anyway it is true that we need loads of chances to score a goal and that is the problem.. our problem!
Sometimes when you play a team like Arsenal or Chelsea you will not get many chances and seeing that we can't hit a cows backside from 6 yards is a dissapointment! We need to be more like Chelsea who create 1 or 2 good chances and score one of them.

I watch Chelsea live on sky a lot and they don't make many chances but when they do it usually hits the back of the net.. we are the oposite.. we create chance after chance but can't seem to hit the net.. most guilty over the past few games are Dirky & Crouchy. Bellamy missed a sitter yesterday, Crouch missed 3 and Alonso was the only player to create a chance out of nothing.

We really need a superstar who can make things happen, who can make a whole team frightened. As much as Gerrard is the best CM player in the world he is no Cristiano Ronaldo or Ronaldinho who scare defenders all day long. Thats what we need... a player who makes defenders back off and off and that would bring Gerrard back to life.

I know money is tight at the mo, but like you say we need top notch players to make us real challengers.
SWP looks like he's up for sale - and we all know what he can do, Torres wants a move.
We need to take a gamble, 2 top wingers and a quality striker.
Hopefully money will come from the takeover (?), a new shirt sponsorship deal, Cisse sale etc
We need to spend big and attract the best.

Yesterday's game was total sh*t.

We weren't brilliant against Watford to be honest - we definitely were going through the motions that day.

We must have created more chances this season than last but 34 points from 20 games?? Come off it.

Absolutely woeful.  ALL the strikers have been poor this season lets not beat around the bush, and Alonso, Gerrard and the two wing men have not bagged enough goals.

To be honest, I think a fit Cisse would have been our top scorer this season the chances we have created.

Court_LFC

What game were you were watching ! ?

I admire you backing the Reds but the bottom line is apart from Bellamy none of our strikers or indeed players looked like scoring, I saw the game and you can't say hitting the post was a clear cut chance created in the 6 yard box ! If you are then we really are clutching at straws.

Bottom line is as I much as I hate saying it until our front players can start scoring as freely as Man U or Arsenal, will forget Chelsea for the moment, we wont stand any chance of winning the title. Both Man U and Arsenal would have got the 3 points against Blackburn and that is the problem !

The Charlton match confirnmed how bad we are, any decent attacking line would have hit 5 for sure, did you see that game !!???

Yes, I saw the Charlton game.
But back to the Blackburn game. The chances we had in the second half was clear chances. Clear enough to at least bag us a point.

Yeah. 2 excellent chances by Xabi, excellent goalkeeping as well from Brad Friedel. 

Xabi's chances were not clear chances... crouches chances were clear chances

Court you make my argument for me 2 chances (not exactly a bag full) and how many did we score err 0.

Face facts we need forwards who score goals until have we have em we will always be playing catch up.

Why can't you admit we need some world class finishers ? Its not exactly hard to grasp !!???

Hi hound.. tell me about it, sometimes you need to accept things are not good enough and if there is one area on the pitch Liverpool have not been good enough on then its got to be that final third and its been that way since Owen left us.

Everyone thought Dirk Kuyt would be a 20 goal a season player but really he is more of a team player who works hard for the team.. good that he works hard but after 6 clear chances against Charlton he did not put away he can't be a natural finisher like Van Nisterrooy.

Craig Bellamy is a good striker but so many players know his game and that is to get behind the defence and get through on goal.. stop him at that then you stop him playing simple as.

Peter Crouch can be a struggle for some defenders but seeing as he can't direct his headers he is not that much of a problem. He has no pace to get behind defenders and he is no natural goal scorer.

So what we need is fresh, young and world class blood like David Villa & Fernando Torres who can score hatfull of goals as they proved in the world cup

hi nwa !

yes its obvious the strikers are the problem as we don't have any natural young goal finishers who will score 20+ a season.

The ones have are good at contributing to the team in other ways but none score enough because thats not their game. I haven't actually seen much of of Villa in the La Liga but clearly Torres will always score goals, the only problem like so many others will he fail to do it in the EPL, I think he would succeed as he seems to have pace strengh and is direct (knows where the goal is and not the corner flag).

But I also  think that we need to try and get someone unplayable like Ronaldo on the wing who can get the ball into the 6 yard box, other than Gerrard there aren't enough of our players who do that enough.

The above also means that we have to now start buying proven world class players and not gambling on potential or players who are there or there abouts they have to be the sort chelsea barcelona or man u would go for. So as said b4 lets hope DIC take the club over soon so we can move on to the next level of purchasing in the transfer market and start to get a few of our own Galacticos !

Im sure i said the same thing about C.Ronaldo as we only got Gerrard but need a player like Ronaldo to bring Gerrard back into the game more! C.Ronaldo attracks 2 - 3 players to him which leaves others unmarked and Gerrard unmarked is what Liverpool need right now

agree pal, off now spk soon !

ok.. where is everyone else? gone to bed i guess

ok.. where is everyone else? gone to bed I guess

g'day NWA....i'm here mate just been watching the Aussies whip the english boys to go 4-0 up in the Ashes series. Now that's over you have my full undivided attention.

P.S been too gutted since the Blackburn game to post, but have been reading everyones comments with interest.

Well guys, SURELY enough if we don't take our chances infront of goal, we will win nothing. Lokk from 3rd place to 6th? What's that all about?

Having chances and missing them ain't gonna work at this level.  Rafa really needs to find us a Drogba - like quality striker who bullies defences.  I've lost my patience with Crouchy, He's too slow. Even though he doesn't start oftwen, but when he does play he misses chances too often.

Rafa if you read this - Get Defoe, Lennon or SWP in Jan!! 

Ok, if we were more clinical then this is how things would proberly of looked.. games we did not win

Sheff Utd 1 - 3 Liverpool - we had plenty of chances to score in this game
Everton 3 - 2 Liverpool - we had chances to score but not many, i admit they were better that day
Chelsea 1 - 4 Liverpool - Gerrard had a one on one, Crouch had a clear chance late on and so did Kuyt, he also hit crossbar
Bolton 2 - 1 Liverpool - can only remeber one decent chance appart from that we had no clear cut chances
Liverpool 3 - 1 Blackburn - we had plenty chances to bury them early on
Man Utd 2 - 1 Liverpool - only Kuyt header should of been in, apart from that we were quite poor in that match
Arsenal 3 - 1 - Liverpool - Bellamy header should of counted but again we made no clear chances
Boro 0 - 2 Liverpool - we did make clear chances but like rafa said the finishing was not there
Liverpool 2 - 0 Pompey - we were all over them in this match and dont know how we did not find the net
Blackburn 1 - 3 Liverpool - Bellamy & Crouch twice had clear chances to score early on.. after that struggled to make clear chances

So that could of been an extra 14 points from what we have now... not saying it would be like that but if we were more clinical infront of goal i would of been near right with my answer. We could be only 2 points behind Man United right in the title race... all we need is 2 top class strikers with 2 top class wingers and i think problem sorted.. area that we lacked latley

Good post - agree with most of your in-depth stats but to be honest that game against Everton..

Still no idea how they scored them three poxy goals.  We should have wiped the floor with them that day.

No more messing about.  Get Fowler back.

No more messing about.  Get Fowler back.

Couldn't agree more.