Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool - Post Match Meltdown

 Do you think we should abandon EPL and focus on CL ?
 I know that sounds outrageous, but obviously our squad is no way deep enough to compete for both. It reminds me of 2004-2005 season, when we sucked on EPL, but still won CL surprisingly. 

Do you think we should abandon EPL and focus on CL ?
 I know that sounds outrageous, but obviously our squad is no way deep enough to compete for both. It reminds me of 2004-2005 season, when we sucked on EPL, but still won CL surprisingly. 

Then we should abandon CL and focus on EPL. EPL is what all of us (or at least most) dream of.

Do you think we should abandon EPL and focus on CL ?
 I know that sounds outrageous, but obviously our squad is no way deep enough to compete for both. It reminds me of 2004-2005 season, when we sucked on EPL, but still won CL surprisingly.  

I think it is deep enough to compete for both. We were missing Gerrard, Torres and Aquilani today. Our 2 most important players and in Aquilani, another potentially world class player.

The beachball is now used as an excuse for our loss. This will be a talking point that overshadows our dismal performance.

Still doesn't hide the fact that we didn't turn up.

We were disgraceful and we should of been beaten about 3-0. Rafa is to set in his ways, i love the man but ffs why wait till the 70th minute to bring on Voronin?

That formation today was shocking and i even think that playing 4-2-3-1 isn't going to give us much hope this season. The reason for this is simple we are missing Xabi, Lucas isn't upto the job and we need to cross our fingers that Aquilani will be a revelation because at the moment our midfield is in a really bad way. Out of the main 4 that have played this season (Masch Lucas Benny Dirk) none of them have performed as we should expect from Liverpool players.

If i were Rafa now i'd change to a simple 4-4-2 with Masch sitting deep Stevie getting forward as often as possible and Dirk partnering Torres upfront. Stevie has been getting 20+ goals a season for years no matter where he plays and once Aquilani is fit why not play Stevie on the right where he used to be so dominant. Then the only problem is the left wing and we have a choice of 3 players who play there (4 including Dossena) so make them work for their place in the team.

Imagine this

------------------Reina--------------------

Johnson--Carra--Skrtel/Agger--Insua/Aurelio

Stevie--Aquilani--Masch--Benny/Riera/Babel

----------Dirk------------Torres-----------

Sorry for the rant i just needed to vent

BTW at least we didn't concide from a corner or freekick

We had ample opportunity to smash the beach ball bag into the crowd or burst if it need be but we didn't. If the ball had hit the beach ball and flown sky high over the bar we'd be chuffed for it's involvement, but it didn't.

Sometimes in football you get bad luck, that was just a slice of bad luck on our part. But it's not down luck that we played so badly, that's just having poor players.

Having just read most of this thread I'm almost sick...I cant f***in believe anyone, who wears an LFC shirt will wine and bi*ch like a little kid.  We lost, we are having a bad season.  This is Football.  To quote the Godfather.."This is the business we chose".   Shankly, lost games. Dalglish lost games.  It happens.  The only good thing from the losing is watching all the Bandwagon fans jumping ship.  If that is you, then good riddance. Go follow Chelsea or Man. U.  The rest of you, relax.

The worst thing to do is infight, call for heads, and start blaming the world.   Rafa, is one of the top coaches in the world. No doubt.  He should NOT be fired. his team is playing bad because they played BAD!.. They are not playing as a team.  It is the players, not coaches, not fans, not "Beachballs" or Alex Ferguson. Its not the English refs, having vendettas against Liverpool.  Its Liverpool players not playing or remembering who and what their shirts and crests mean. Its lack of passion and will. These players are deflated. They were looking at April instead of looking at the start of the season.

Our problem is not scoring goals. Its not getting their sh*t together on defense. Its not knocking rival players on their asses. Its bad pass after bad pass. Its letting other teams take control early and never let up. Its defenseman getting beat and making bad plays.

Theirs posters on here fighting with one another about firing Rafa... FIRING RAFA?  Really.   We are just as much to blame about the disappointment of this season.  All the off season talk was 'Winning the League", "Winning the CL".  We were so inflated we weren't thinking straight.

We deserved to get beat.

It's as simple as that.

This is not acceptable for LFC. Rafa has got a job on his hands now and it's up to him to sort these players out.

I agree Yank that sacking Rafa would be the most stupid thing in the world to do

Who managed to turn a team that was losing 3-0 at half time into the best team in the world?
Who only last season gave us the double against the mancs?
Who finally had the bottle to stand up to old red nose and state FACTS something even the FA wouldn't do?
Who ran up numerous 90 minute calls when he couldn't be at the game?
Who stayed in a club where the boardroom want him gone?
Who turned down a massive contract with Real madrid because he loves the fans who stood up for him in the past?

Rafa is one of the most respected managers in the world if people don't see this then its their loss he IS Liverpool football club everything the man does he does for the fans.

I think a massive over-reaction is brewing, with the press as the main instigator
This year the league is going to be massivly close, I think you could probably win it , even by losing 6 games, especially if you dont draw much
Man city,Arsenal even totenham are going to be closer this year, and it could become the top 6 who all take points off each other
It has all gone pete tong at the start of the season for us, and our strength in depth should and  hopefully will be addressed in January.

But get a grip people
We WILL win the league this year, its coming, have some balls, realise its not all cut and dried yet, its a long way from that, and we might have a nice arab on board soon who could solve some problems. We are due a trophy, and to be honest Manure are crap this season and Chelsea are faltering, have some faith you bloody turncoats. Hey and sunderland are decent too this season.

We were disgraceful and we should of been beaten about 3-0. Rafa is to set in his ways, I love the man but ffs why wait till the 70th minute to bring on Voronin?

thats got to be the worst quote of the season, as if he is going to make any difference, had one chance and fluffed it.

F***ing gutted again.

The lads, bar Pepe, played poorly today. No urgency till Masch and N'Gog came on which was very disappointing. For me though, as poorly as we played, I still thought in my head we'll nick this when 7 minutes of stoppage time was added.

For me the 2 standout poor performers were Babel and Johnson. Babel can do one as far as I'm concerned, didn't even look bothered and can't even control the ball, he has two shocking left feet, can't understand how he can keep trodding on the ball. Obviously his mind is working much faster than his feet and I can't see him getting that sorted any time quick.

Barrymanulow mentioned that Johnson was our only attacking player today, yeah he was but so what? You can run the ball up the pitch as much as you want but every time he got near the box, he got caught in possession trying to get around his man. I never once saw him put in a decent cross. 

A special poor mention also goes to Aurelio. Did he get one decent set piece to beat the first man? What chance have any of players of getting a header to the ball when the ball is played so low and doesn't get past the first defender?

Now to that pr**k who is supposed to be an "expert commentator". When the ball hit the beach ball  , he said the goal was controversial but the onus was on Pepe Reina to come out and either stamp on the ball or kick it out off the pitch. Yeah surely he should have done that but as I was watching I'm sure he was trying to guard his goal first and foremost. Surely some other player could have got there and kicked into touch.

I still can't believe we lost that game although we did deserve to lose it, just gutted we couldn't be jammy for a change. Oh well we have 2 home games coming up within the space of a few days, hoepfully we can get some confidence back. Let's just start by somone, anyone putting the ball in the back of the net.

Still plenty to play for this season, I know it's going to be tough but let's not throw in the towel already.

this season is like no other in weird results and the top six could all be within 5 points at the end. hardly any draws. villa has already beaten 2 of the top four already hows that for strange. gerrad could have an off season. we might be able tio tun it around soccer is a strange buisness anything can happen

I'm sorry, I'm putting the loss of Alonso at Rafa's door - it's common knowledge Alonso went because of him... £14m is now looking cheap in comparison to this loss!

One player cannot make the difference. Alonso's a great LFC player but now he's just the past. What we need is to improve the squad depth not to miss him (but how the F**k we could if those Yan still there). Anyway, after all this, I still support our team.

I am disgusted at how we can dominated by a mid table team? but anyway we can score against Lyon and get confidence for the mancs

wtf is happening??!!! something just is not right!! how can our great club be so bare of talent??!!

Shankly, lost games. Dalglish lost games.  It happens.  The only good thing from the losing is watching all the Bandwagon fans jumping ship.  If that is you, then good riddance. Go follow Chelsea or Man. U.  The rest of you, relax.

The big difference is those teams went down fighting!! The 4 games we have lost this season in the league already we have went down with a wimper!!

I have one thing and one thing only to say to all you doubters and knockers, and I have been saying it since I was nine years old..........




COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!

I have one thing and one thing only to say to all you doubters and knockers, and I have been saying it since I was nine years old..........




COME ON YOU REDS!!!!!!

'ear 'ear!

Some of these posts and their authors are nothing short of F***ing disgraceful. I would hate to be banked up in a trench with any of you. Lets look at this way we are 7 points off the top with 30 games to go, and have the opportunity to cut that gap to just 4 as early as next week. As for the game two things that struck me the most urgency and passing. Our passing game was F***ing awful short or long numerous occassions our lads struggled to make a simple ten yard pass. Aurelio was awful and proved to me that Insua is the number one left back in the club, his set piece delivery was sh*t from corners and free kicks and seems to have lost a sh*t load of pace ffs Malbranque looked like Usain Bolt charging past him a few times.

A big thumbs up must go to young Jay Spearing stepped up when called upon and did really well barring two sh*t passes that almost cost us. Agger had a good game too and his return alongside Spearing's introduction was the only positive from a sh*t afternoon.

I am getting a bit tired of this Lucas thing seems some people will take it upon themselves to either blame him for anything and everything and others like in this case glorify him at all costs i.e. having him as one of our best 3 players in the match is ridicolous, barely stopping short of a piss take.

story of our season too much off field bullshit and on the pitch it f***in cost us terrible again from liverpool sort it out rafa and co

It was one of those days that may haunt us. A goal that never should have been, was given, although in truth we played badly and we were outplayed by a Sunderland team that wanted it more.  I think that all the travelling took a toll on our players, it showed, our thinking was slow, but what hurt most was the lack of chances we created, even when we were on top it was Sunderland that looked the most litely to score another, last season even when we played bad we created chances, so whats happened.

Rafa is the right man, who else can take over as of tomorrow that is better than Rafa. Sure I don't agree with every move he makes but I'm sure he understand the game a lot better than I do.

the way I see it is you always have a run of a few bad games ..where just getting ours out the way early.
I think a major clearout is in order in january....trim the dead wood

Finally. A bit of sanity.  How many points behind were we in February/March last year? About 12 or so weren't we.

A bit of reality.
Relax.