Malaysia XI 1:1 Liverpool Pre, in game & post match discussion.

To be honest, it looked like a handball. Ball came off his upper arm?

To be honest, it looked like a handball. Ball came off his upper arm?

Handball wasn't given therefore it is irrelevant as it was Lovren's choices after the ball hit the floor that made it such shocking defending and decision making.

Handball wasn't given therefore it is irrelevant as it was Lovren's choices after the ball hit the floor that made it such shocking defending and decision making.

He was clearly at fault, but it wasn't really shocking. The player took his chance well hitting it early before Lovren could make a suitable challenge.

Doesn't much matter...Lovren isn't going to be playing unless there's an injury to Skrtel or Sakho and even then, only if he proves to be more reliable than Kolo or Ilori.

He was clearly at fault, but it wasn't really shocking. The player took his chance well hitting it early before Lovren could make a suitable challenge.

Doesn't much matter...Lovren isn't going to be playing unless there's an injury to Skrtel or Sakho and even then, only if he proves to be more reliable than Kolo or Ilori.

If you don't find that standard of defending shocking then I'm not sure what would qualify. He had the opportunity to challenge 3 times on 2 different players and also the opportunity to get a block in, he failed on all 4, one was excusable (the first) the others were all errors of either judgement or ability/pace = shocking.

Skrtel's mistake is he gets turned - that happens

Lovrens is from being to passive by first not challenging for the ball and then dropping off and finally he doesnt move across to anticpipate the runner.

So Skrtels mistake you can forgive but Lovren's errors are just bad basic defending looking at each aspect of the move.

I can't say I agree with this either mate. For a couple of years now Skrtel has been our best centre half IMHO, and by quite a distance. Previous to that he did have a tendency to ball watch something terrible, but with experience he seems to have learned to curb it. This is very rare as it's almost impossible to either coach out or into a defender, but fair play to him lapses like today have become a rarity. I'm fairly confident though that come the real games, Skrtel will once again become our most solid and reliable defender.

The point which has been talked about on here before though where Skrtel tends to want to drop all the time while some of his teammates want to push does create problems from time to time. That's one for the coaching staff to look at, quite a tricky one to solve. 

I don't know how much praise you can give Skrtel when he's been a regular and consistent feature of a defence that has become infamous for it's leakiness. I don't know the exact number of how many goals we've conceded these last two years but it's obviously quite a bit. Rather than being a part of the cure, he is in my opinion a part of the disease.

Ok, well if you know everything and you know we aren't going to be any good then why do you watch and why do you comment? Seems like you'd have better things to do with yourself.

He comes in WUM's things up...disappears and it things go wrong he comes back for 10-15 posts then wanders off again until its time for the next meltdown.

Times and post history all very systematic...only  posts when there are potential problems...ie a loss, or Brendan under fire...that it.

To be honest, it looked like a handball. Ball came off his upper arm?

Nah I don't think it was handball mate, and in any case we've got to defend what's happening in front of us and not wait on a whistle. As I said earlier, whenever you concede goals through the middle the centre halves have a right to be questioned, but it's no surprise people are getting all frothy mouthed and silly over something which is essentially Skrtels fault but which they are blaming on Lovren. Lovren has HIS man, who Chests/arms it down (HIS man touches the ball precisely once) and SKRTELS man arrives at pace with Skrtel nowhere to be seen (as he's gone to sleep). From there the lad touches the ball four times, once to control it, twice to get it out of his feet, three to knock it ahead, and four he hits it into the top corner with his "wrong" foot. It's an excellent finish, if Suarez had done it we'd be salivating.

Lovren's view of it will have been HIS man bringing it down, then the other bloke arriving out of nowhere at full lick from around the back of his man and he has a moment to make a decision. I actually think he makes the right call by staying on his feet as his central defensive partner is nowhere to be seen, but it's a good finish. Sometimes you get that but it's not handball, not for me anyway.

Skrtel's mistake is he gets turned - that happens

Lovrens is from being to passive by first not challenging for the ball and then dropping off and finally he doesnt move across to anticpipate the runner.

So Skrtels mistake you can forgive but Lovren's errors are just bad basic defending looking at each aspect of the move.

Are you watching the right goal mate? Skrtel doesn't get "turned", he gets left ball watching when the ball goes over his head into Lovrens man. There's no "turned" about it, the man leaves him for dead without the ball not with it. Lovren then has the problem to deal with of HIS man bringing it down AND Skrtels man arriving as his central defensive partner is chasing shadows and has gone AWOL. Not only that, but Skrtels man has by now built up a fair lick of pace and Lovren has to try and get there to make a block from a standing start.

It's really odd this. I'm 100% sure if you asked Skrtel himself he'd accept it was his fault, it's not even debateable. It would have been lovely if Lovren could have got across at 100 miles an hour and atoned for Skrtels error but he couldn't/didn't. Shame but there it is.

I'll be honest...I was more shocked at Lovren's inability to convert even 1 of his 4 scoring chances.

I'll be honest...I was more shocked at Lovren's inability to convert even 1 of his 4 scoring chances.

Good point

Can't say I am too worried about who's fault it was that we conceded a good goal ... I am more worried that our strikers (admittedly without Benteke/Sturridge ) have looked almost as impotent as last seasons.

Early days yet, more about fitness than results, but getting our strikers confident and on form would be an added bonus.   

Can't say I am too worried about who's fault it was that we conceded a good goal ... I am more worried that our strikers (admittedly without Benteke/Sturridge ) have looked almost as impotent as last seasons.

Early days yet, more about fitness than results, but getting our strikers confident and on form would be an added bonus.   

I wouldn't worry too much mate. Our most creative player is nowhere to be seen, his countryman who is supposed to be creative hasn't been seen yet, and our 32 million quid centre forward hasn't made his debut as of yet either. They are the three players who the boss will be hoping will make the difference, if they don't then we and him are f*cked. 

Are you watching the right goal mate? Skrtel doesn't get "turned", he gets left ball watching when the ball goes over his head into Lovrens man. There's no "turned" about it, the man leaves him for dead without the ball not with it. Lovren then has the problem to deal with of HIS man bringing it down AND Skrtels man arriving as his central defensive partner is chasing shadows and has gone AWOL. Not only that, but Skrtels man has by now built up a fair lick of pace and Lovren has to try and get there to make a block from a standing start.

It's really odd this. I'm 100% sure if you asked Skrtel himself he'd accept it was his fault, it's not even debateable. It would have been lovely if Lovren could have got across at 100 miles an hour and atoned for Skrtels error but he couldn't/didn't. Shame but there it is.

Yes Skrtel has to turn as he is in the wrong position - that's his error but like I said that happens, unfortunately Lovrens passiveness and poor anticipation are poor basic errors of defending

Comedy gold the description some have of that goal, trying to blame it on Skrtel is beyond bias it's delusion.

Nobody was arriving at top lick.
Lovren's man touches the ball once and in that one touch gains 4 yards of space on Lovren. So much space that Skrtel then becomes the nearest player to 'Lovren's man'.
Lovren then is 4 yards in front of the on running attacker who manages to take 3 touches of the ball and end up 2 yards ahead of him and had the opportunity to shoot with either foot as he was well in front of Lovren by the time the shot came in.

The best excuse would be he's rusty and it's pre-season, trying to apportion the blame on to Skrtel is pathetic, plain and simple.

Didn't get a chance to watch the game; what happened??

I thought half their team quit and we were supposed to be playing a bunch of plumbers etc that we would tw*t 10-0.

Didn't get a chance to watch the game; what happened??

I thought half their team quit and we were supposed to be playing a bunch of plumbers etc that we would tw*t 10-0.

Nah some were post men

Didn't get a chance to watch the game; what happened??

I thought half their team quit and we were supposed to be playing a bunch of plumbers etc that we would tw*t 10-0.

Here, have fun watching !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcU-kJ0C9oI

Yes Skrtel has to turn as he is in the wrong position - that's his error but like I said that happens, unfortunately Lovrens passiveness and poor anticipation are poor basic errors of defending

I'm still not entirely convinced you've got the right video. Skrtel doesn't "have to turn" because he isn't "in the wrong position". Where do you get that from that he's "in the wrong position"? Prior to going to sleep, he isn't! Look, when the ball sails beyond Skrtel and the eventual goalscorer (SKRTELS MAN) and before the bloke who is Lovrens man brings it down, Skrtel is in precisely the right position. If I was a clever computer geeky person I would put you a still up, but just prior to the ball landing on the chest/arm of Lovrens man, Skrtel is all good. He's still goal side, he's facing the ball and he's in contact with his man. What he hasn't got and you can't help this when it goes over your head, is "line of sight" on his man. That is to say he can't see the man and the ball at the same time, and it's this which always causes the problem for defenders. So Skrtel sleeps, the attacker (HIS MAN) anticipates the ball bouncing off of Lovrens man and sprints beyond Skrtel. Skrtel doesn't "get turned", he doesn't "need to turn" and he isn't "in the wrong position". He allows the man to run past him because he is sleeping.

From there the fella takes the ball off Lovrens man and scores with an excellent finish. It would as you said earlier have been lovely if Lovren had "anticipated" that all this was about to happen, but if he did he didn't react quickly enough. To blame the one defender though for not "anticipating" that his partner was going to go to sleep and lose his man is daft. Really simple but very good goal, caused by Skrtel sleeping.

Ok, well if you know everything and you know we aren't going to be any good then why do you watch and why do you comment? Seems like you'd have better things to do with yourself.

I can honestly say i am not just trying to bring everyone down , .just before the season gets underway. I don't claim to know everything.
I just don't see any strategy to our play or how the players we have signed are going to operate.

The system in the warm up games should be the same. No one seems to know what formation we are going to play , and it should be  clear to us as to which players will start the season , at least 9 of the starting 11.
This to me is not careful planning, more like " lets see what happens".
Of course, this is just the way i see it.

I was just thinking that the last time we had a goal scored where people tried until they were blue in the face to deny what was painfully obvious was a couple of seasons back when Lucas didn't close the fella down against Sunderland. I remember thinking then that I was in all probability debating with somebody who didn't understand the rudiments of the game, I can't help thinking the same thing now.

I was just thinking that the last time we had a goal scored where people tried until they were blue in the face to deny what was painfully obvious was a couple of seasons back when Lucas didn't close the fella down against Sunderland. I remember thinking then that I was in all probability debating with somebody who didn't understand the rudiments of the game, I can't help thinking the same thing now.

Your the only one on here convinced the goal is Skrtels fault mate.

Most have agreed that both CB's are at fault but Lovrens defending was more calamitous.

Maybe I have not passed coaching qualifications like yourself but still play twice a week so I know a little bit about defending. 

4 wins and a draw that's league winning form its on 

https://twitter.com/zodman100/status/624569779957932033

Ibe's goal if anyone, like me was not able to see it.

Better on below.

https://twitter.com/LFCHistoryShow/status/624650685120933888