Southampton 3-1 Liverpool: In game and Post Match Debate

18 hours on a plane, straight home didn't know the score and watched the whole game.

What a F***ing joke that was.

Just when you thought we were putting a run together, we end up putting a performance like that in. F**k off.

Well - ones step forward one step back... I am not going to go as far as many on here, because I dont beleive it.

I think before we go bokers we have to look at the facts yesterday - and at one key difference. Southampton have a lot more to play for than us! Yes, 4th was a shot, but never really a reality - especially with yesterdays results. We are now playing for pride, something our team needs to get quickly!

Personally, I have seen enough of Allen and Skrtle to last me a lifetime... I used to rate Skrtle, but he seems to be very off the pace and that is understandable with a month off. But is he really the player we need..? Allen needs time off - and to be honest I think he is 'lost for position'... He is no Gerrard for sure and Lucas is a much better caliber of DM - so he is kind of lost. Can he replace Couthino, no again a different type of player - where Hendo can play multiple positions as can Jonjo, Allen is a one position player. He is now a squad player and I think he will leave - perhaps for Williams at Swans in a PX deal.

Today showed how much is bad with our side, it is no reflection on how we are moving forward... 

Also - for the many on here talking about Sturridge, get a grip...

Something we've been vulnerable to all season mate, when teams  really get in our faces, we fold like a bad poker hand.

And therein lies my one most important issue with Brendan mate, if plan A doesn't work he doesn't seem to either have a plan B or be willing to change in order to grind out a win. From beginning to end we looked unrecognisable, the ball was getting headed and hoofed aimlessly, not a man could pass the ball to another red man and Brendans solution was to throw in Lucas, not for me like.

Under Rafa I always held out hope for the second half, I'm nowhere near that with Brendan yet.

I know the gaffer places our past greats in the highest esteem so I hope he remembers what Uncle Bob once said

"The whole of my life, what they (the supporters) wanted was honesty. They were not concerned with cultured football, but with triers who gave one hundred percent."

"Its not about the long ball or the short ball, its about the right ball."

''The secret is that our Liverpool team never know when to stop running and working. At Anfield we have always believed in players supporting each other and concentrating on not giving the ball away."

Southampton were up for the fight, our lads weren't, and it isn't the first time.

What is going on yesterday worst for a while Steven g not the player he was

Totally bemused and gutted! Still can't get my head round the performance. Weird!!!!!!

These games do seem to crop up with alarming regularity. Alarming for a team like Liverpool FC at least.

I think it's a combination of no fire in the belly, and more importantly, naive tactics on the gaffer's part. It only takes a team to press us and we go to pieces. Even Suarez got closed down for 90 minutes.

We say the way to beat the mancs is to play on their toes, and in their faces, to hound them from start to finish. If you let us play, we'll give you a hard time, but if you don't let us play, we'll give you the ball and the points.

I am fully behind what the gaffer is trying to do. That's have a young, very technical side that can pass you to death. The troubling part for me, is can that technically gifted side, also stand up to the more rigorous aspect of an opponents' playing style?

The gaffer knows what kind of players he wants to play a certain system, but I'm beginning to think that's the one problem for him. Namely, those who tend to be technically gifted, seldom seem to cope well with the more physical aspects of the game. And not just the physical sides, but sides that simply hound and press you all over the park.

But isn't it a fact that the team that hounds and presses, is the team that's expending the most energy? In that case, surely we need to be more patient with our passing style, and keep the ball, because in doing so, we tire the other team out. Eventually. Isn't that what the gaffer means when he says 'death by football'?

For that you need players who can pass and keep possession under pressure, and I think that is what the gaffer needs to work on. Our players need to keep a cool head when the opposition are trying to force you into mistakes.

Personally, I think the gaffer is going in the right direction. But for every Coutinho in your side, you need a Souness, for every Hansen, there was a Lawrenson, and for every Suarez (to be fair, Suarez is not shrinking violet), you needed a Rush. Better still, you want players that can do it all - pass, and show guts when needed. Our teams of yesteryear could play some great football, but they also knew how to keep the ball under pressure. I think the game has changed though, what with the back pass rule, that it isn't as easy to keep the ball anymore - but it can still be done, using the defence and goalkeeper as an extra defender (boy did we miss Reina yesterday).

Our current side can pass the ball, but can't keep it whilst under pressure

Haven't seen the game, did anyone play well?

Haven't seen the game, did anyone play well?

Coutinho was the best of a bad bunch - but that isn't really saying he played well, only better than the rest

Ok, was his goal good?

Ok, was his goal good?

Struck it well enough from about 7 or 8 yards out. It seemed to go through the middle of about 3 Saints defenders.

The problem with us is we kept knocking the ball around the half way line or just outside the box for long periods without penetration or putting enough pressure on their defence. Someone said we require technical players with brute force, how true. BR seems to have forgotten that technical players can only do that much, they'll most probably get stampede all over by more physical players.

Time for BR to abandon his raid on Swansea players, you only get an average team out of it, and we have seen that already with the players he acquired. BR must change his approach, it's not so much of players that you have worked with before that knows what you want, but more importantly he has got to get much much better quality players out there that can propel us to a top 4 finish and not a mid-table team, moreso not based on the criteria "players I've worked with before and knows what I want" but more of players that are much better in quality than what he has worked with before.

I believe the next transfer window will be very crucial for BR, either he gets it right or the damage will be very very difficult to be undone and we will remain as much as what we are next season.

That had been our season so far, without fail. When you expect us to progress, we will fall flat on our face and remain where we are, mid table.   

Allen shouldnt play he has a major shoulder problem, dont understand how the big drop in form perhaps st patricks celebration come early. Forget top four finish we need a stay at home right back skertals form has dropped to an all time low. Countinho is very consistant, sturridge seemed to have lost his enthusiasm now.

Our current side can pass the ball, but can't keep it whilst under pressure

Good post Rush but that bit there ^^

Is why we got beat yesterday. And why we couldn't keep or pass the ball was becuase we were, as you say, put under pressure with some ease.

Down to us playing with two midfielders of whom neither are holding and four (yes thats four) attacking players.

Couple that with Rodgers hand being forced into playing Skrtel who he knows hasn't played for a while and knows was off form when he last did and Johnno being off form then we couldn't expect anything than that result. At least Lucas would have offered some protection for what was a more than usual fragile back four.

But 4-2-4 (effectively) yesterday was why we got beat, and beat comfortably.

 

Should have played 3 in midfield as Gary Gillespie said. We were destroyed in the middle for the first half hour and the game was lost there. Seems any time we get a sniff of closing the gap on 4th we totally bottle it.

came all the way from Norway for this game RUBBISH!

And therein lies my one most important issue with Brendan mate, if plan A doesn't work he doesn't seem to either have a plan B or be willing to change in order to grind out a win. From beginning to end we looked unrecognisable, the ball was getting headed and hoofed aimlessly, not a man could pass the ball to another red man and Brendans solution was to throw in Lucas, not for me like.

Under Rafa I always held out hope for the second half, I'm nowhere near that with Brendan yet.

We've been through this. When was the last time you saw Man U have a plan B? Barca? Real? Byern? Plan A either works with the players on the field or you make substitutions to allow Plan A to work. No one works with a Plan B. Yes Rodgers made a mistake on Allen but at the end of the day not one single player played worthy of the shirt yesterday. Not a single one. That's not a managerial failing, players like Gerrard shouldn't need to be "up" for a game, they should be playing for the shirt and yesterday they strolled on to the pitch thinking they had an easy game that was in the bag and all of a sudden found a team that was up for a fight. It was nothing to do with Plan A's or Plan B's it was solely down to our player's attitudes and frankly they should all be ashamed of themselves.

We've been through this. When was the last time you saw Man U have a plan B?

Quite a few times actually!!

Usually when they are getting beat, Ferguson just throws on all his attacking players, abandons plan a and goes straight to plan b which is batter the opposition into submission.

Will that do?

It was nothing to do with Plan A's or Plan B's it was solely down to our player's attitudes and frankly they should all be ashamed of themselves.

Bollocks!

So the manager takes no blame? Of course players should take blame as they weren't good enough. Thing is though I, and few hundred thousand others who were watching, could see very, very early on that Gerrard and Allen as a midfield two were getting totally by-passed, out-numbered and out ran by Southampton's midfield and neither could offer any protection to what was a very exposed and vulnerable defence.

He changed it at half time but only personnel wise. We needed three midfielders on not two and that was evident very early on.

One day later and I still can't fathom how Allen gets in the squad ahead of Henderson.

Skrtel looks like he has already got one foot out the door.

We've been through this. When was the last time you saw Man U have a plan B? Barca? Real? Byern? Plan A either works with the players on the field or you make substitutions to allow Plan A to work. No one works with a Plan B. Yes Rodgers made a mistake on Allen but at the end of the day not one single player played worthy of the shirt yesterday. Not a single one. That's not a managerial failing, players like Gerrard shouldn't need to be "up" for a game, they should be playing for the shirt and yesterday they strolled on to the pitch thinking they had an easy game that was in the bag and all of a sudden found a team that was up for a fight. It was nothing to do with Plan A's or Plan B's it was solely down to our player's attitudes and frankly they should all be ashamed of themselves.

Have you forgot Rafa already? How he'd make subs and positional changes to pull off the miraculous at times? As evidence I would ask you to view a certain match at the Ataturk Stadium a few years back, there's always a plan b, it just takes balls and belief to implement it.