Liverpool V Aston Villa Match Thread

Hi guys, ive been lurking for a while.

Its frustrating watching these results. Has Babel ever played up front with Torres? I cant help but think if those 2 play up front with Kewell/Pennant/Benny playing wide we would see more scoring opportunities.

Voronin and Kuyt should probably be let go. Stick with Crouch, Torres and Babel as the forwards. The lack of a consistent front combination cant be helping Torres.

well,he was the referee in the game against Everton earlier in the season

That's not even why I hate him! Aaaargh he is an idiot.

A ferrari? When we clearly need a few more players in?! Urgh.

PS welcome to posting on the forms JCQ

benayoun does not know the meaning of playing wide

he was and always will be a support striker kind of player, how many times did he have an oppurtunity to hit it with his left, 3,4 perhaps???

If you are going to consistently drop in off the flank learn to hit it with both feet!

Spot on Tommo. Glad the Focus done the business as well mate.

Welcome JCQ. Seen you lurking. I wouldn't mind seeing Babel up front with Torres as well but I reckon Crouch deserves a run up front now.

Good review of the game Tommo. Pretty much sums up how I'm feeling at the minute. I'm not happy or disappointed, just a little bewildered as to how we have yet again drawn another game which was there to be won.

I'm not going to start criticising the players but it s clear that we are still maybe 2-3 players short of what is needed to mount a serious title challenge. Although I thought we played really well in parts tonight I feel we are lacking creativity in the final third of the pitch. We had a lot of good passing up until the penalty area then seemed to run out of ideas as to how to break them down. This is the big difference between us and the other top sides.

It is looking like the title is getting out of reach, much as it hurts me to say that, but as I wrote in another thread we may now see Rafa's focus shifting to the European Cup and selecting teams to give us the best chance of reaching another final.

benayoun does not know the meaning of playing wide

he was and always will be a support striker kind of player, how many times did he have an oppurtunity to hit it with his left, 3,4 perhaps???

How many times did Rafa have the oppurtunity to buy a proper out and out wide player? Daniel Alves, Ricardo Quaresma, Simao Sabrosa, Aminito Mancini.. with two of those deals falling through last minute.

Stubborness only gets you so far...

Remember, Rafa buys the players, he picks the team, he does the tactics in how the team should play and look where we are! Not Good!

He doesn't pick the owners though............or the Ceo

How many times did Rafa have the oppurtunity to buy a proper out and out wide player? Daniel Alves, Ricardo Quaresma, Simao Sabrosa, Aminito Mancini.. with two of those deals falling through last minute.

Stubborness only gets you so far...

How many times was the money stalled on any deals leaving rafa going for second or third choice?

How many times was the money stalled on any deals leaving rafa going for second or third choice?

Rafa stalled on the money, as he wanted quantity rather than quality.

He refused to pay £12m for Daniel Alves, after that he bought Dirk Kuyt for £10m and Jermaine Pennant for £7m... to me that looks like £17m spent on two mediocre players! Sorry but its a true fact! I would rather of kept Cisse than buying Kuyt and spending £12m on Daniel Alves.

Ask me now, I'd still have Cisse over any of our strikers but Torres. Rafa makes some bizarre decisions and that was one of them...

Any positivity on here?

Heard the 1st half, saw the 2nd and here are my feelings based on tonight's result.

  Benny was in amongst it to cause the chaos from which the 1st goal came, important goals in important games... ala Luis Garcia!   

  Mascherano played his socks off tonight and on the whole is is one of our better players this season - we should get him signed ASAP. Sell Sisoko and fund the Mascherano purchase. NOW! 

  Crouchy, as I have said many times, is a fantastic striker and should start much more often. In tonight's after match interview he said he was instructed to "go and cause some problems". He did as he has done so many times before and in my mind is worthy of starting as a 1st choice striker, not a sub.
Well done Crouchy for making a vital impact when it mattered, great technique and a cracking goal! 

  Reina was not at fault for either goal, a good finish from Harewood and a jammy OG.
Still the best keeper in the country for me and heading towards his 50th clean sheet for Liverpool. 

  Sami Hyppia had his finger on the pulse, reading the game brilliantly - a great asset to he team. 

  Well done the Koppites for making the collective voice of Liverpool fans seen and heard on TV, a message drilled home to the 2 clowns in charge! A point that will have been noted too by the DIC who are still keen according to 5 live's news bulletin, let's hope there's plenty of truth in that!   

  Not the best performances tonight from Torres or Gerrard but they are human and have done the business in many a match before now... so I'll leave it at that.

  The referee kept getting in the way around the penalty box Move out the way you muppet!

  Anfield seemed pretty quiet in the 2nd half - mind you Vills's 2 goals took the wind out of our sails I expect.

  Dirk Kuyt. You can run all day and all night but goals count. Composure in front of goal matters and when you have no chance of scoring from an impossible angle don't shoot. A complete waste of effort.
  Your redeeming quality on the night was the pass to Yossi from which he scored.

  TV cameras showed armfuls of fans leaving before the match was over, I don't like to see that.
Glad Crouchy scored after they left, that'll teach them to turn their backs on their team! 

   Draw number 10 this season, the 6th at home. 20 points dropped, 14 behind the leaders with the top 3 to play, away. Not good enough to win the league, that is a point I hate having to admit. The fact we have to now wait for other teams to trip up and drop points is a clear indication that despite our best start to a season for years we can not maintain it over a long campaign. We have to rely on cups for silverware. That saddens me as a passionate Liverpool fan.  :'(

  Keep going Boss, I wouldn't like to be in your shoes but your doing a good job. Results are a combined effort of selection and performances. It can't be easy to work in that kind of environment so you have my support and that of may, many a Liverpool fan too. 

Maybe I'll post tomorrow about this.  Maybe I won't.

Another two points tossed away - just like Man City, just like Wigan, just like Chelsea etc etc

Rafa stalled on the money, as he wanted quantity rather than quality.

He refused to pay £12m for Daniel Alves, after that he bought Dirk Kuyt for £10m and Jermaine Pennant for £7m... to me that looks like £17m spent on two mediocre players! Sorry but its a true fact! I would rather of kept Cisse than buying Kuyt and spending £12m on Daniel Alves.

Ask me now, I'd still have Cisse over any of our strikers but Torres. Rafa makes some bizarre decisions and that was one of them...

According to whom? The media? It was Rafa stalling on the money was it?

Fair enough, I'm honestly thinking Kuyt wasn't the buy we thought he was. I thought he would be even better than he was last season, this season. And I can only see Pennant doing well against mediocre teams. But to say you would rather have kept Cisse is a contradiction. I'm sure when he missed many opportunities or had the first touch of a two year old when he gave the ball away, you would have seen him in the same light as you see Kuyt now.

When you watch a match like tonight, you can't make snap judgments. You have to understand the players on the pitch kick the ball and not the manager. If we would have taken one of our good few chances to make it two, three nil. Would you have started that 'alternative' thread tonight? Be honest.

Can someone please tell me the whole story why we just played badly. I suppose it was just 5-10 minutes of bad football in which we just conceded twice. I really thought Pennant would have started, after his great performance againest Luton. 4th now seems like a good target, we can't afford any more of these games. This was just like the Liverpool v Tottenham game, we conceded two in quick succession and had to score a late goal to get a point. Havant & Waterloo are next and I don't think we should take them lightly. I think FA cup should be a priority now, I don't think this can be a bad patch, I think it is too long, therefore it is a bad season. Bad luck today Liverpool but you have to just look forward to the next match, so that we can win that one.

As fans we might aswell forget about this game, but the players and the mangerial staff must not.. because mistakes you learn from!

Why didnt we start alonso??? He is a great passer of the ball, we needed him.. come on reds!!

I just hope we can do miracles in the FA Cup - I officially bid the league farewell.

YNWA!

Disappointed with that result,Hypia was man of the match his defending was excellent as was his attacking and passing.Mascherano was a close second and must surely score a few goals  B4 long.The left hand side let us down again Aurelio had a shocker and Kewell adds strength to the argument that we lack a good left winger.I liked the determination of the new lad and he will not be bullied once he settles in,very encouraging.

As a fan and supporter i believe we can do it. As an outsider of the game i would say, its over. I am 100% confident in getting in the top 4 atleast. I doubt the likes of West Ham, Villa, Everton and Man City can hold this run throughout the season where we have the class and know how to handle the pressure more.

Our league dream is being fumbled away one poor first touch at a time...

These draws are really getting on my tits now

I dont even want to comment on that game and the starting line up.

What was wrong with the starting lineup Venom-C? Come to think of it, what was really wrong with the overall performance apart from in front of goal?
 
I said in the summer we would regret not buying an out & out goalscorer, it's the same story as last season, dominating games without winning them. We need a clinical finisher, wingers would be nice but we're already creating enough chances to win so I don't think they're a priority. All we need is someone to contest those chances.

Like Eddie says, what was wrong with the starting line up Venom-C?? Lets be honest we would all have gone for the same line-up.

You cant legislate for poor finishing and bad luck!! Look at both their goals!! Marlon Harewood wont score a goal like that again and how do you cope with a goal like the 2nd??? That is just pure bad luck and when things are going against you these things happen.

We didnt play that badly, we just couldnt stick the ball in the net. We cant rely on Torres every week and like Eddie says, the lack of a natural finisher is haunting us.

David Villa. Boo ya! Need a Torres-esque player but more of a box type Nando. Villa fits the bill plus more. Or just stick Babel up front because he has had some briliant finishing touches.

Can David Villa create his own goals? We lack creativity that RVN wouldn't be able to score in our team. Our wide players don't get into the box to either shoot or give cut back passes/crosses. Kewell's confidence just isn't there at the moment which is a shame cos I think he still has the ability but he doesn't seem to believe it, he just tries to make as few mistakes as possible by keeping it simple, which is not what we need. I hope the rumours of us being linked to Menez and Silva are true because they're the kind of attacking players we desperately need.