Braga 1-0 Liverpool: In game and Post Match Annoyance

I didn't watch the game for various reasons but it sounds to me that it was a pretty dire game and the Soti needs to accept some of the blame for the penalty decision. However, while i hate losing, i am not too distressed by the result. We have an excellent record at home and, although Braga are a decent team, i would be confident that we can take them at Anfield. I don't know about anyone else but i am dieing to be in that final in Dublin come May.

Was it really a bad game?

I just saw the highlights and it was like 3 minutes long and all Braga.

Yes it really was a bad game Adryan.

Listen - Braga are no great shakes (from what they showed last night) but we sent out a team that included Lucas, Poulsen (who was absolute pish by the way) and Spearing in midfield.

Let's be honest here; there's not much guile and craft associated with that trio and (hand on heart) it was always going to be ugly.

I'm of the opinion holding mid-field players are dime a F***ing dozen but skillful, creative mid-field players are more rare. We need more players who can create.

The only worry I have is if Braga score at Anfield. We would then need 3 to qualify which is a big ask.

I hope we tear into them and aren't sat there with a 1-0 lead after 80 minutes, crapping ourselves in case they nick one.

Listen - Braga are no great shakes

As soon as I read that, I checked the map to see if you were from the NE because a mate of mine from Hartlepool often says 'Nay shakes', meaning 'No worries'. Clicking the map didn't help me though, did it BBB??

hasn't really mastered the european stage yet kenny has he?

we've been dog sh*t in 3 games now.

Has to swerve Spearing and Poulsen, neither are good enough. Lucas isn't the same playing alongside them either.

lucas and shelvey in the middle with raul playing off kuyt would have been a much better option, maxi and cole on the flanks.

I can see us getting knocked out if poulsen and spearing start next week.

Shelveys injured. Who would you have put in centre mid apart from Spearing and Poulsen?

hasn't really mastered the european stage yet kenny has he?

we've been dog sh*t in 3 games now.

Has to swerve Spearing and Poulsen, neither are good enough. Lucas isn't the same playing alongside them either.

lucas and shelvey in the middle with raul playing off kuyt would have been a much better option, maxi and cole on the flanks.

I can see us getting knocked out if poulsen and spearing start next week.

I'm shocked. So unlike you to be so negative.

Shelveys injured. Who would you have put in centre mid apart from Spearing and Poulsen?

Id have rather put carra in the middle than poulsen, played wilson left back and johnson right back, christ even sotis would have been more use in the middle....well maybe not

Could we not play Raul there, if he is good enough to play there for Portugal he is good enough to play there for us at the moment. I think some people forget he is a centre midfielder

I'm shocked. So unlike you to be so negative.

APOLOGIES FRIEND!

poulsen and spearing are the best centre midfielders in world football and its a joke they are only playing europa league football, both should be in the champions league on a weekly basis.

Carry on..

Shelveys injured. Who would you have put in centre mid apart from Spearing and Poulsen?

Ok, Raul and Lucas with F***ing ngog upfront is still a better option.

I'm pretty sure if he would have gone with that then people would have come on saying why the hell did he go with Ngog up front. He didn't really have much option really did he?

I'd personally have gone for Cole behind Kuyt with Raul playing in his natural position with Maxi on the right. Guarantee we would have been a lot stronger then

I disagree.

It's easy to sit here now and say he should have done this and should have done that but when have you or anybody on here see lucas-poulsen dominate a game or poulsen-spearing dominate a game?

As soon as I seen the team I knew that 1. It would be a shitty boring match and 2. we would get beat.

Agree with you corbally. Doesnt matter what we went for, what system, who played, any team is stronger without poulsen and spearing playing.

I said we would lose and was certain of it when I saw our midfield

If the Greek doesn't dive in we come back with a 0-0. If we played in the first half as we did in the second half, we would probably have won, with a very similar side out to the first half.

I'm not sure the selection was bad, I really don't think he had much option.

Like I said if the Greek doesn't dive in we come back 0-0. Not a bad result.

One lapse of concentration warranted a complete slating of our entire team. I know it wasn't a perfect performance, but looking positively the second half was an improvement with a very similar side, and obviously with the introduction of Carroll.

We never looked like doing anything till Carroll came on and then we lumped the ball up to them, Kenny said today we were lucky we werent beaten more. The team was all wrong

personally id prefer 1-0 than 0-0. I know that sounds daft but hopefully now they will sit on that 1-0 lead for 90mins at anfield whereas if it was 0-0 they might come here with more attacking intent.

Also lefty its irrelevant to me whether sotis made an error or not, i dont rate him anyway but we should have been more attacking than what we were. The team performed very poorly so it wasn't that error that cost us the game, it was the fact we had about 2 shots and played like tranmere.

If kenny goes for a more positive look at anfield and drops a few certain players I think we will sail through. 3 or 4 players though are just a massive no go for me now. They are sh*t, have proved they are sh*t on a weekly basis, why are they featuring at all.

I would certainly prefer to see Jovanovic out wide left, at least he has pace and a decent left foot, i can only think he just doesnt cut it in training as with pacheco etc, im sure KK knows whats best.

the overall team preformance was just shockingly bad. It was one stupid mistake at the back that cost us the game but it was the lads in the middle of the park that cos us our dignity.

The lads in midfield had a shocker, all 6 of them. Yes, 6 because Dirk never stopped F***ing dropping too deep into midfield and leaving the final 3rd og the pitch empty. Lucas, Poulsen, Raul, Cole, Spearing and Kuyt could not pass or keep possession last night to save their lives. I lost count of how many times Braga had the ball, knocking it around and we would finally win it back, play 2 passes and the ball was lost again.

We can look at stats and chalkboards and whatnot but they mean sweet F**k all when you see the performance that the lads gave. Granted they can be used to back up a brilliant performance, but to try sweeten over a sh*t one, they mean sh*t. Not all the midfielders were as bad as each other, we all have our favourite or our least favourite and stick up for them more/slate them more retrospectively but as a collective they were terrible. Pass the F***ing ball to each other like. Singling out players in that performance is harsh I reckon, as they all should get equal amounts of stick. Not sure if any praise is deserved, stats or no F***ing stats.

There was F**k all movement whenever one of the lads picked up the ball deep, how the F**k are you supposed to pass to someone when there is nothing but static players ahead of you. You can't pass to statues. What happened to the brilliant attacking, free-flowing movement we saw against United?

Dirk Kuyt was F***ing terrible. If you are a lone striker, your job is to stay up top, work the centre-halves, work the channels, just work hard as you are the only player inthe final 3rd that is capable of doing damage or bringing other players into play. Dirk will work hard for us alright but that was his biggest downfall last night, he was working too hard. He kept dropping deep into midfield and pick up the ball, but then if he got it, who was up top? No-one. Who was the outlet ball to? No-one. IF the defence were in trouble and needed to hoof it forward? No-one. Obviously this all changed once Andy Carroll came on.

Overall the team, especially the midfield 6 was just sh*te and only Carroll really put in an shift of notice and the only shining light out of the fixture. Need to score twice now at home, that will be very happy to sit back and defend the whole 90 minutes. We seriously have to up our game for that, especially without Stevie.

World beaters to turd-eaters in four days... we missed Suarez, Gerrard and Kelly something wicked.

Very poor first half, thought we were a major improvement when Carroll came on.As Kenny said if we play like we did in the first half we've no chance. Hope fully at Anfield it will be a different ball game.