Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle: In-game & post-match collective sigh

 Once again we have not turned possession into goals and that needs urgent attention,we cannot go on relying on Luis Suarez to be our only goal scorer.In the first 15 minutes in the first half our passing was out of this world and we should of had Newcastle on the canvas with no hope of fighting back.Full credit to Suarez for that goal it was brilliant.What would a Roger Hunt or an Ian Rush be worth to us today,with people of that calibre in the team Ferguson would be drooling with envy.

Definite red for a shocking challenge.

Thought it was peno in the first half for colconni tackle on Suarez

Enjoyed the game today, though massively disappointed not to win.

I think the problem with playing Raheem and Suso with Luis is they aren't experienced enough to be making the runs beyond him.  They certainly have the talent but they aren't reading the game quickly enough, they don't see space or create space for themselves or others.

Maybe they are a little bit in awe of Luis and as some have mentioned they almost stand and watch him rather than support him.

Definately think Joe needs a rest, he looked tired today.  Wasn't getting to the ball quickly, didn't have the time he usually seems to have and his passing was way off his best.

Somebody on the coaching staff needs to get a grip of corner taking.  If we can't get somebody to clear the near post/first defender then stop fu**ing trying and do something different.  Change it up a bit and I don't necessarily mean short corners or fancy stuff, just not the predictable stuff.

I'd like to see Suso in his natural position behind Luis.  Drop Sahin, put Assaidi on the left and Raheem on the right but they need to be told not to cross but come inside and allow the full backs to go beyond them.  That pulls the defenders out and creates the space in front of goal.  How many times were shots blocked today because the penalty area was so crowded? 

One other thing I've noticed is we need to be quicker round the box, maybe this is again down to inexperience but we seem to take one touch too many or one pass too many before having a shot. 

Enjoyed the game today, though massively disappointed not to win.

I think the problem with playing Raheem and Suso with Luis is they aren't experienced enough to be making the runs beyond him.  They certainly have the talent but they aren't reading the game quickly enough, they don't see space or create space for themselves or others.

Maybe they are a little bit in awe of Luis and as some have mentioned they almost stand and watch him rather than support him.

Definately think Joe needs a rest, he looked tired today.  Wasn't getting to the ball quickly, didn't have the time he usually seems to have and his passing was way off his best.

Somebody on the coaching staff needs to get a grip of corner taking.  If we can't get somebody to clear the near post/first defender then stop fu**ing trying and do something different.  Change it up a bit and I don't necessarily mean short corners or fancy stuff, just not the predictable stuff.

I'd like to see Suso in his natural position behind Luis.  Drop Sahin, put Assaidi on the left and Raheem on the right but they need to be told not to cross but come inside and allow the full backs to go beyond them.  That pulls the defenders out and creates the space in front of goal.  How many times were shots blocked today because the penalty area was so crowded? 

One other thing I've noticed is we need to be quicker round the box, maybe this is again down to inexperience but we seem to take one touch too many or one pass too many before having a shot. 

Really good summary and agree with this in entirety.

Thought we gave a good account of ourselves today and were very unlucky not to win it (Shelvey, it was harder not to score lad). We dragged Newcastle all over the pitch and wore them down, think we had about 65% possession.

How boss was Suarez's goal ?

Was nice to hear the commentators talking about him positively too, they even stated he should be refereed fairly like any other player based on what happens in the game and not on reputation.

And whilst were talking about refs (we've hammered them lately), credit to the ref today who for the most part was excellent, he let the game flow when he could, stayed away from controversey and the limelight and helped to make it an enjoyable game of football for the viewer anyway.

Thought the linesman and the ref got the red card spot on too, for all their was very minimal contact on Suarez the intent was there and if he'd really caught Suarez that could have been us fu**ed until January.

The first half was indicative of our season so far.

Alot of beautiful and positive procession football but with no cutting edge player up front or our two youngsters out wide knowing when to fill the centre space when Suarez pulls the defenders wide. Then when we conceeded the boys heads dropped straight away and lost their way as if they felt all the hard work was for nowt....thank god it was just before half time.

Enrique has dropped so far from his form at the beginning of his LFC career and even if he did start to become his former self i think he looks so out of place in Rodger's set up. We need a left back very badly.

In the second half we went back to the way we played for most of the first and its ironic that Suarez's great goal came from long ball....nice to mix it up at times.

Overall we should have won but didn't because we are lacking a proper left back, Lucas to anchor us, too much reliance upon Suraez and the lack of a striker or two that can play across the front 3 line and be in the right place.

Obvious stuff and i am sure Rodgers and the rest of you can see that also.

We are getting there and once we fill those holes we'll be great.

Refs from our previous games would of had a lot to answer for if Coloccini had done damage to Luis there. Probably thought he could go in on him as mad as he liked and get away with it, good job today's referee and linesman were on the ball.

Suarez is our Messi ...a quote from BR ......... No chance Messi is Barcas Suarez!

Was nice to hear the commentators talking about him positively too, they even stated he should be refereed fairly like any other player based on what happens in the game and not on reputation.

Unbelievably, Oliver Holt is even at the praise for Luis on the Twatter


Oliver Holt‏@OllieHolt22

Really don't see how anyone can quibble with that Coloccini red. Looked like he was trying to hurt Suarez badly.
 


Oliver Holt‏@OllieHolt22

What a goal that was from Suarez. Beautiful. Is that pronunciation of Cabaye correct, like it has acute on the e?
 

Refs from our previous games would of had a lot to answer for if Coloccini had done damage to Luis there. Probably thought he could go in on him as mad as he liked and get away with it, good job today's referee and linesman were on the ball.

With the exception of the first half pen being turned down, I thought the referee today had the best performance I've seen any ref give so far this season. All the officials where spot on. Anyway, where's the MOTM poll?

I loled at this.

Suarez magic hides disappointment of missed opportunities

Posted by Kristian Walsh
The Fog on the Tyne may very well be all Paul Gascoigne's, but a storm lurks on the River Mersey. Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Newcastle ticks the most familiar of checklists, seemingly soldered onto the walls of Anfield: control of the football, missed chances aplenty and three points denied. For the fifth time in six attempts, Liverpool failed to win at Anfield. For what seems like the longest time, they remain in the bottom half, six points from Champions League qualification.
 
It may seem droll to suggest anything other, but the draw with Newcastle was a missed opportunity. A victory over Newcastle would have been justifiable if not entirely deserved; it would also leave Brendan Rodgers justified, just four points behind fourth-placed Everton. For all the complaints over squad depth and lack of striking options at the club, the season is not ready to be tossed into the waste paper bin just yet. But they cannot keep tip-toeing around the rim.
 
Fourth is probably out of Liverpool's reach this season – the deadline day dalliance did little to help that ambition -- but there is no doubt Rodgers keeps making perfunctory eyes at that Champions League place, even if neither Fenway Sports Group nor Rodgers himself expects it this season.
 
Underselling Liverpool and overselling the strength of the Premier League should not become common-place: Liverpool's first 11 is youthful, inexperienced, but extremely talented. Arsenal and Spurs are not the strongest they have been over the past few years; Everton, while impressive so far, are yet to play four of last season's top six; Newcastle, as evidenced by Sunday's game, are not far ahead of Liverpool.
 
Alas, two points dropped and missed opportunities at Anfield once again make any comparisons with potential rivals for European qualification futile. Supporters will keep looking down as much as they look up, still looking for liberation from the nagging worry this season of transition could be more painful than previously imagined. Liverpool were better than Newcastle, but not by much.
 
Liverpool missed the opportunity to build on a magnificent start. The first 10 minutes had Newcastle reeling; Suso, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez, Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard hissed their way through a static Magpie set-up, but it amounted to little in terms of chances on goal. Rodgers will be annoyed how flat the game then fell; the home side started to pass to those in black and white shirts, and with it, the game's initiative.
 
More missed opportunities punctuated Yohan Cabaye's opener. Andre Wisdom took a foul throw – a criminal act in itself – but his team-mates were presented with ample opportunity to eradicate the threat. The criminality continued. Liverpool would not touch the ball again until kicking off. Jose Enrique was beaten too easily by Hatem Ben Arfa on the right hand side; Cabaye peeled away from attention too easily, his shot evading a flapped attempt from Brad Jones. Four mistakes within 15 seconds, any good work from Liverpool in the first half undone.
 
The second half provided some improvement, prompted by Suarez's goal. After that, Liverpool transitioned from scrappy to swagger. But the missed opportunities continued – literally. Jonjo Shelvey had three, for starters. Momentum began to infect the home crowd, the decibels rising with each passing minute. The piercing blast of the full time whistle deflated that. Just five more minutes were needed; but then again, the 94 previous should have sufficed. The downbeat patter on the Anfield pavement post-match is becoming a familiar soundtrack to the season.
 
But enough of the ordinary; now for something extraordinary. With 23 minutes remaining, a divine intervention. In an era where the cost of football has reached extortion, a moment worthy of the admission price alone, produced by a player worth double. Enrique's ball forward was met by Suarez's shoulder. It stopped dead and dropped to that magical right foot. His body went one way, his foot the other; Tim Krul could do nothing but fall to the ground belatedly. Suarez had already decided its fate; the hardest of chances transformed into a simple tap-in.
 
That is what an opportunity grasped looks like; that's how good it feels. The hardest opportunity of all seemed to take an age to be converted, but in reality it took two seconds. That is how quickly Luis Suarez operates, his feet and brain in lightning tandem, his body contorted like a snake entangled in a slinky.
 
His goal was fine reward for his performance; his performance fine reward for those who pay hard-earned money to watch football. Watching Suarez is akin to watching a Minotaur perform Swan Lake. He floats into space with the grace and poise of a ballerina, but when he receives the ball, he immediately transforms, driving at defenders with pugnacity and tenacity, motoring past them with a rare combination of skill and strength. He tires them physically and mentally, the red card of Fabricio Coloccini a fine example of the damage done.
 
Even better is how Suarez plays the game with an amalgamation of delight and disdain upon his face. The cherubic face which smiled after drawing Liverpool level quickly turned into a cantankerous contortion when the game resumed. He loves playing for Liverpool; he hates anyone who doesn't.
 
Where Liverpool would be without him will give Rodgers food for thought. They are not a one-man team – the performances of Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Joe Allen and Sterling this season disproved that theory. But there is no doubt Suarez provides the spark. That can sometimes be a curse to the system; the Uruguayan is at times as likely to relinquish possession as he is to produce magic. Yet he is someone who can make the most of opportunities, no matter how minute. That is the thing Rodgers will focus on. Some of the intricacies of Liverpool's play impress, but the narrative ultimately remains the same.
 
Once Liverpool play Chelsea, they will have faced six of the top seven with half of November remaining. Ample opportunity to close the gap on those above over the festive period, then, before unleashing themselves in the January transfer window - but Liverpool will be wary that so few, with the exclusion of Suarez, are taking those at the moment. Until they do, those threatening storm clouds will refuse to dissipate.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/260?cc=5739

Pretty much agree with that article. One "good" thing to come out of today was three Newcastle injuries and a red card. Whilst I'd never wish injury on any player, hopefully that will work in our favour and peg Newcastle back over the next few games. What we need most of all between now and Jan (assuming we're able to find and afford a decent striker then) is Sterling and Suso to work on box work. They're a threat running with a ball towards goal but we need them getting in the box and getting on the end of loose balls. Half a dozen times today we had opportunities but no one was there.

Don't think I've seen Enrique play so badly. Suso and Sahin weren't great, and SG had a poor game. Too many players didn't do enough.
And terrible delivery throughout from corners and free kicks, cannot get over how we can do that at home, still.
A moment of genius from Suarez salvaged a point. If Luis gets injured we are truly fu**ed.
Started well yes - but don't wanna be just a team that can play pretty football in our 2 thirds - we still lack that cutting edge. Change the record, I know...
We're threadbare, we need signings.

I thought Anthony Taylor, and his linesman, were excellent today.

Thought the only real mistake he made was not booking Sterling. To be honest it is easy to blame referee's but it's only fair to say when they've done well. Best referee we've had this season.

The cry of we lack striking options is an all too familiar nowadays. Yes indeed we are short of striking options everyone knows that but is BR going to continue to moan till Jan? There're perhaps another 11 more games to go before the transfer window opens and maybe 15 more games before we can see a new striker on the pitch and a massive 45 points at stake. I'd say stop the moaning channel our focus on how to tweak our tactics to our favor with the players that we have, be innovative and not regimented and make massive improvement on movement of our players in the final third, more so into the opposition box. Sterling, Suarez and one or two more players must start to play as a TEAM and NOT INDIVIDUALS in the final third and move into the opposition box in cohesion and in waves. I'm not sure whether Suarez talks to Sterling at all, it seems they don't and BR will have to do something about it. It's all too evident in the last few games.

If Suarez doesn't score, then we're doomed, BR must force the rest to shoulder the responsibilty to do the same and i see none at the moment while Suarez must learn to pass and not try to dribble pass the whole defence. BR continue to complain lack of goals, lack of strikers, but there are still 11 players on the pitch and he has to make best use of the players avalaible to him and put enough bodies into the box if he wants more goals. Take a look at Newcastle, they rarely attack in the game but when they do, they have 3 to 5 players inside our box as oppose to us only 2 and most of the time 1.

We're on 11 points from 10 games. 9 more games to go to hit the halfway mark. From the look of it and if we don't take this problem seriously and start to do something about it and continue to play the way we do, we're going to have an average of 1 point in each game and a grand total of 20 points from 19 games and this is scary, we'll most probably be nearer to the drop zone than to the top four. I'm frustrated but I'm only expressing what I've seen on the pitch in this game.  Yes, we're on 6 points from 4th place and if we don't stop the moaning in the meantime and work towards a positive solution, we're simply going to drift further from 4th. Credit tot he referee and linesmen and they did a fantastic job. Sorry to everyone for being so ranty, can't contain my frustration.

Suarez magic hides disappointment of missed opportunities

Posted by Kristian Walsh
The Fog on the Tyne may very well be all Paul Gascoigne's, but a storm lurks on the River Mersey. Liverpool's 1-1 draw with Newcastle ticks the most familiar of checklists, seemingly soldered onto the walls of Anfield: control of the football, missed chances aplenty and three points denied. For the fifth time in six attempts, Liverpool failed to win at Anfield. For what seems like the longest time, they remain in the bottom half, six points from Champions League qualification.
 
It may seem droll to suggest anything other, but the draw with Newcastle was a missed opportunity. A victory over Newcastle would have been justifiable if not entirely deserved; it would also leave Brendan Rodgers justified, just four points behind fourth-placed Everton. For all the complaints over squad depth and lack of striking options at the club, the season is not ready to be tossed into the waste paper bin just yet. But they cannot keep tip-toeing around the rim.
 
Fourth is probably out of Liverpool's reach this season – the deadline day dalliance did little to help that ambition -- but there is no doubt Rodgers keeps making perfunctory eyes at that Champions League place, even if neither Fenway Sports Group nor Rodgers himself expects it this season.
 
Underselling Liverpool and overselling the strength of the Premier League should not become common-place: Liverpool's first 11 is youthful, inexperienced, but extremely talented. Arsenal and Spurs are not the strongest they have been over the past few years; Everton, while impressive so far, are yet to play four of last season's top six; Newcastle, as evidenced by Sunday's game, are not far ahead of Liverpool.
 
Alas, two points dropped and missed opportunities at Anfield once again make any comparisons with potential rivals for European qualification futile. Supporters will keep looking down as much as they look up, still looking for liberation from the nagging worry this season of transition could be more painful than previously imagined. Liverpool were better than Newcastle, but not by much.
 
Liverpool missed the opportunity to build on a magnificent start. The first 10 minutes had Newcastle reeling; Suso, Raheem Sterling, Luis Suarez, Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard hissed their way through a static Magpie set-up, but it amounted to little in terms of chances on goal. Rodgers will be annoyed how flat the game then fell; the home side started to pass to those in black and white shirts, and with it, the game's initiative.
 
More missed opportunities punctuated Yohan Cabaye's opener. Andre Wisdom took a foul throw – a criminal act in itself – but his team-mates were presented with ample opportunity to eradicate the threat. The criminality continued. Liverpool would not touch the ball again until kicking off. Jose Enrique was beaten too easily by Hatem Ben Arfa on the right hand side; Cabaye peeled away from attention too easily, his shot evading a flapped attempt from Brad Jones. Four mistakes within 15 seconds, any good work from Liverpool in the first half undone.
 
The second half provided some improvement, prompted by Suarez's goal. After that, Liverpool transitioned from scrappy to swagger. But the missed opportunities continued – literally. Jonjo Shelvey had three, for starters. Momentum began to infect the home crowd, the decibels rising with each passing minute. The piercing blast of the full time whistle deflated that. Just five more minutes were needed; but then again, the 94 previous should have sufficed. The downbeat patter on the Anfield pavement post-match is becoming a familiar soundtrack to the season.
 
But enough of the ordinary; now for something extraordinary. With 23 minutes remaining, a divine intervention. In an era where the cost of football has reached extortion, a moment worthy of the admission price alone, produced by a player worth double. Enrique's ball forward was met by Suarez's shoulder. It stopped dead and dropped to that magical right foot. His body went one way, his foot the other; Tim Krul could do nothing but fall to the ground belatedly. Suarez had already decided its fate; the hardest of chances transformed into a simple tap-in.
 
That is what an opportunity grasped looks like; that's how good it feels. The hardest opportunity of all seemed to take an age to be converted, but in reality it took two seconds. That is how quickly Luis Suarez operates, his feet and brain in lightning tandem, his body contorted like a snake entangled in a slinky.
 
His goal was fine reward for his performance; his performance fine reward for those who pay hard-earned money to watch football. Watching Suarez is akin to watching a Minotaur perform Swan Lake. He floats into space with the grace and poise of a ballerina, but when he receives the ball, he immediately transforms, driving at defenders with pugnacity and tenacity, motoring past them with a rare combination of skill and strength. He tires them physically and mentally, the red card of Fabricio Coloccini a fine example of the damage done.
 
Even better is how Suarez plays the game with an amalgamation of delight and disdain upon his face. The cherubic face which smiled after drawing Liverpool level quickly turned into a cantankerous contortion when the game resumed. He loves playing for Liverpool; he hates anyone who doesn't.
 
Where Liverpool would be without him will give Rodgers food for thought. They are not a one-man team – the performances of Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Joe Allen and Sterling this season disproved that theory. But there is no doubt Suarez provides the spark. That can sometimes be a curse to the system; the Uruguayan is at times as likely to relinquish possession as he is to produce magic. Yet he is someone who can make the most of opportunities, no matter how minute. That is the thing Rodgers will focus on. Some of the intricacies of Liverpool's play impress, but the narrative ultimately remains the same.
 
Once Liverpool play Chelsea, they will have faced six of the top seven with half of November remaining. Ample opportunity to close the gap on those above over the festive period, then, before unleashing themselves in the January transfer window - but Liverpool will be wary that so few, with the exclusion of Suarez, are taking those at the moment. Until they do, those threatening storm clouds will refuse to dissipate.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/260?cc=5739

That is a brilliant article and even though i am HUGELY bias i feel it speaks aload of truth of gives yet more optimism to what i already have.

A few good signings in the crucial areas in January and we'll have a team playing well AND getting the rewards.

Still believe this will be a positive foundation season for us to build on.

Onwards and upwards with Rodgers at the helm

(didn't watch live, watched a replay) It's just so frustrating. We've been in such a funk for over a year now where we do well in matches, dominate, but still fall short of getting 3 points. It's such a head-scratcher.

Newcastle's goal -- while expertly taken by Cabaye -- is disappointing. First there was the poor defending by Enrique that allows Ben Arfa through. Then Cabaye was left either untracked. Not sure that's on Andre as much as it is the midfield, but someone should have been there to close him down and not allow him a shot. I'm still undecided on whether Brad could have done a bit better on it either. One angle looked like he may have been screened a bit, but I can't tell.

As for Suarez, the boy is world class. Simply remarkable trap and finish. He should have had an assist as well if Jonjo could have put that away (and he should have too).

One thing that frustrates me is Stevie playing deep and Suso wide. I like Suso a lot, he's quality and will be a star one day, but I think he's been very quiet on the wing. He'll pop up with a beauty of a ball here and there, but overall I think his talent is being wasted slightly out there (by that I mean not getting all he's capable of). We should try him as the 10 and Gerrard wide for like 25 minutes and see how that goes.

And as some posters up here said, credit to the referee. He got them largely correct so credit where it is due.

I think it's good that he isn't hiding away from the fact the owners shafted him like he did.

I hope he gets the backing when he can and brings in some decent talent. We have a good team just need the finishing ( no pun) touches.

Very frustrating again we had the chances to win, played well enough but have nothing to show for it.

Very very dissapointing was a good overall performance in general and a masterclass goal by Suarez.

Could have and Should have won the game #missed chances again?