Man Utd V Liverpool - Match Thread

Disappointing effort I thought we just didn't make the chances and lost sh*t loads of possesion in the second half it was unreal, almost as if we were bracing ourselves for a kicking than trying to level up and possibly getting another one on top.  Ok we were a man down for the second half and tried to do some damage limitation but at the end of the day we have a crap record in these games and when United are on form they go for the kill forgive me for highlighting the negatives but the only positive I can find right now is that Reina kept our blushes to a minimum with some good stops from Rooney. 

Where's Richobaz would be intersting to hear his views on this one......

What more can one say other than the fact that I'm just absolutely gutted. When the match finished, I just turned the TV off and sat there on the couch, lights off just shaking my head in disbelief at what i had just witnessed.

So much promise in the build up to the match and the minute that Ref pr**k, gave Masch that yellow card, I feared the worst. You just new that his normal bustling gamestyle was going to be minimised. Now, I don't or never will begin to understand why he got the yellow card and not just a simple warning, but he knew he had it and had to be SOOOOO careful. He then decided to get involved when Torres, so harshly got his yellow card and to my utter horror he got his second yellow and got sent off. For that, I am truly disgusted because he knew we were up against it already but we had a chance to get something out of the game still. Without him..we were always going to be f*cked and for him to not take that into consideration, totally f*cks me right off. Secondly, I agree with a lot of posters on here...Gerrard and I feel, Carra should have been right in his face telling him to calm the f*ck down....Xabi pretended to stop him but that wasn't enough. The two most respected LFC leaders in our dressing room should have both got of hold of him and laid down the law.

As for the goals, as usual they start off with a jammy goal and of course it's just before the half time interval. Wes Brown jumped all over Skrtel and it goes in off his back...How's the luck there?.  The second goal was the worst for me...I just didn't want Ronaldo to score and I felt that if Masch was still on the pitch, he wouldn't have let Ronaldo near the ball, where as Xabi just stood there and let Ronaldo get a free header on it, to score....game over.  Nani's goal was just, well it hurts me to say it, fantastic and I'm sure Babel and Torres both had chances to do just that but waited on the ball a fraction to long and the opportunities were lost.

I'm still so shattered, I hate losing to them ...what's that now? 1 point out of our last 8 games against them. That's  just not good enough and I can see where mattmcg is coming from about our attitude when we play them. It really is like we're afraid to play them, where as against Che$ki and Arsenal, I always feel and I think the players feel we have much more of a chance of getting a result.

All we can do now is get on with it and hope to batter the bitters and The Arse in all three games. But don't for a minute think this is not gonna sit in the bottom pit of my stomach...being done over twice by those pr**k in a season, again. The only thing that'll slightly make me feel better is beating them in Moscow but there's along way to go before that is even a remote possibility.



 

Gerrard and I feel, Carra should have been right in his face telling him to calm the f*ck down....Xabi pretended to stop him but that wasn't enough.

Totally agree with you AussieRed. I couldn't believe it when Mascherano ran up to the ref, it was like it was going in slow motion or something. I just thought "here we go he's gonna get booked", I can't honestly believe the reaction (or lack of it!) from our other players!  Alonso was the worst cuplrit for me; he's got so much experience, he knew Javier was on a yellow already, and his effort to hold him back was pathetic! He just half-grabbed him, and then it was like he just thought "oh F**k it, who cares" and let him go!! The others weren't any better they didn't even try, but Xabi had his arm on him and IMO shouldn't have let go.

It kind of summed up the match really, the team didn't play like a team at all. Alonso let his team-mate down, Mascherano let the whole team down by interfering when he shouldn't have, and Gerrard was invisible!! If he'd stepped up as captain to question the ref I don't think he'd even have got a yellow... don't know what's going through his head lately. 

From the outset the LFC team was there for a good beating, Benitez has prepared his team to be very negative mantally and sloppy, and it was quite clear all the players were lacking the positive approach and metal to cope with M.utd's players, who they were far superior than our players, Rena had a shocker, so is the whole line of defence, Sami Hyypia should have started, so is Crouch up front with Torres, to take some of the pressure of him, in place of that idiot Kuyt ( an absolute useless) but in Benitez's eyes he is a top class !!!!.

Benitez will not produce a league winning LFC team, even if he stays in charge for the next 10 years!!!!, it is totally beyond him.

From the outset the LFC team was there for a good beating, Benitez has prepared his team to be very negative mantally and sloppy, and it was quite clear all the players were lacking the positive approach and metal to cope with M.utd's players, who they were far superior than our players, Rena had a shocker, so is the whole line of defence, Sami Hyypia should have started, so is Crouch up front with Torres, to take some of the pressure of him, in place of that idiot Kuyt ( an absolute useless) but in Benitez's eyes he is a top class !!!!.

Benitez will not produce a league winning LFC team, even if he stays in charge for the next 10 years!!!!, it is totally beyond him.

Bit of a defeatist attitude there mate.

Rafa has shown his quality since he first arrived here. He isn't just going to go win the league in a season or two is he. He will need time to make his own team. Theres still dead wood players left here from when houiller was in charge. Im sure once Rafa has a whole squad of his own then we"ll be up there in the coming few seasons fighting for the title. Just like it took Ferguson and Wenger a while to sort out a squad capable of fighting for the title every year.

From the outset the LFC team was there for a good beating, Benitez has prepared his team to be very negative mantally and sloppy, and it was quite clear all the players were lacking the positive approach and metal to cope with M.utd's players, who they were far superior than our players, Rena had a shocker, so is the whole line of defence, Sami Hyypia should have started, so is Crouch up front with Torres, to take some of the pressure of him, in place of that idiot Kuyt ( an absolute useless) but in Benitez's eyes he is a top class !!!!.

Benitez will not produce a league winning LFC team, even if he stays in charge for the next 10 years!!!!, it is totally beyond him.

I agree to some extent with your post, though this is more how I felt yesterday in the heat of the moment than after a good night's sleep!

I don't think Benitez is deliberately preparing the team to be sloppy, but I do feel that they lack confidence in themselves going into certain matches (excluding European ones for some reason), and this is an issue that needs addressing before we're going to bring the title back home. Maybe is because after Istnbul, our players know they are capable of beating anyone in Europe and that no match is ever out of our reach until the final whistle blows. What we need to do is translate this belief into the premier league matches.

I honestly believe that if we face Man Utd in the Champs League we will beat them, but are the players going to have to win the league miraculously for us to have faith in our ability? There's no problem having respect for the opponent, but we can't play the big teams on their terms, we have to go at them and impose ourselves, else we aren't going to be winning at Old Trafford for a long time.

I still think rafa is the man to bring us the title though, his problem is that his hands have been tied in the transfer market for too long, and when we come up against a team that can afford to have the likes of Tevez on the bench for a match like this we are far behind them.

Totally agree with you AussieRed. I couldn't believe it when Mascherano ran up to the ref, it was like it was going in slow motion or something. I just thought "here we go he's gonna get booked", I can't honestly believe the reaction (or lack of it!) from our other players!  Alonso was the worst cuplrit for me; he's got so much experience, he knew Javier was on a yellow already, and his effort to hold him back was pathetic! He just half-grabbed him, and then it was like he just thought "oh F**k it, who cares" and let him go!! The others weren't any better they didn't even try, but Xabi had his arm on him and IMO shouldn't have let go.

It kind of summed up the match really, the team didn't play like a team at all. Alonso let his team-mate down, Mascherano let the whole team down by interfering when he shouldn't have, and Gerrard was invisible!! If he'd stepped up as captain to question the ref I don't think he'd even have got a yellow... don't know what's going through his head lately. 

spot on aryton, couldn't have said it better myself mate.

I was so annoyed  yesterday I couldnt even read peoples posts let alone reply to them. But after sleeping on it these are my thoughts

1) In the opening minutes why did 2 of our most reliable players look nervous and made a few unusual errors, Reina and Carra, ok Pepe made some good saves in the game but thses 2 should be well able for a big occasion like yesterday

2) Man utd v Liverpool is possibliy the biggest game in the world. You are going to get tackles flying in early therefore why did the ref dish out his yellow card to Masch so early why not have a word with him first?

3) He didnt book Anderson for a similar tackle but booked Torres for complaining which led to the masch red card. Masch shouldnt have got involved but he didnt abuse the ref nor was he threatening towards him so why the yellow card?

4) This is my harshest point but one Ill make. As captain I felt Gerrard should have had a word with Masch to calm him down and he certainly should have been there to drag him away from the ref before the second yellow card. Being a captain isnt just about lifting trophies

In the second half our lads gave an excellent account of themselves but against a side like them you are always likely to get caught while looking for an equaliser. Look im sure you are all as disappointed as me but lets now move on to the derby win that and then go for the champions league. The season is far from over for us and whio knows we may yet get the sweetest revenge for yesterday in Mosscow!

http://www.skysports.com/experts/expert_story/0,19793,12064_3343128,00.html

Andy Gray Speaks:

While many will continue to argue that Mascherano should have been nowhere near the referee and didn't need to get involved, Andy Gray stood up for the Liverpool midfielder, telling The Last Word, that football has a problem if you get sent off for asking the referee a question

"First of all I think Mascherano was disappointed with his booking," he told the Sky Sports show. "We could tell the minute it happened when he slid in on (Paul) Scholes, a lot of referees would have let it go, but Steve Bennett decided that he would book him.
"He was rattled by that, Mascherano, you could see it in his play.

"I agree that he (Mascherano) should have stayed away. He didn't, so forget that. Are you telling me that Steve Bennett is going to send off every single player that comes up to him and says, 'what's happening?'."

"But if you are telling me that if you go up to a referee and you stand in front of him and you are being not aggressive and he didn't swear at him (you should be sent off).
"Where are we going with this game? Where are we going with it? Do me a favour. There are problems in the game, we know there are, and Ashley Cole's was an unpleasent part of modern day football.

"But if we are going to send players off for going up to a referee and saying, 'what's happening?', and the referee cannot handle it and reacts like that every time, then we have got a problem.

That may well be the the first sensible thing ever to have come from Andy Gray's mouth.

That may well be the the first sensible thing ever to have come from Andy Gray's mouth.

Totally agree with you.

That may well be the the first sensible thing ever to have come from Andy Gray's mouth.

It will probably be the last though 

It will probably be the last though 

Considering how long it took for him to make sense this one time, it will take forever for him to ever make sense again. 

Apparently masch may have the FA throw the book at him resulting in an increased suspension. So sick of this if he get suspended for the arsenal games i will never get over that

Apparently masch may have the FA throw the book at him resulting in an increased suspension. So sick of this if he get suspended for the arsenal games I will never get over that

Can only get suspended for the league game mate.

FFS, why did they leave it till one of our players steps out of line to make an example of him ?  F***ing monkey faced Rooney's been doing it for years !!     


P.S.  sorry if I offended any monkeys   

I heard on radio city news this morning, that some Merseyside society spokesman trying to get our Masch in more trouble with the FA by saying the full law of the FA should be thrown at him. What a pr**k. Just jumping on the media bandwagon i reckon. Didn't catch the whole interview as to what he said, anyone else heard this.

No Ste but you can bet it's either a blue or some manc from St Helens - F**k em' all now!!!

Time to circle the wagons

The lads name will get sung next week whether he is banned or not!

No Ste but you can bet it's either a blue or some manc from St Helens - F**k em' all now!!!

Time to circle the wagons

The lads name will get sung next week whether he is banned or not!

I was thinking the same mate, thought it was a bluenose the way he just blurted out bullshit, prob didn't even watch the game.

Wont be going the game next week, but gonna sing his name in pub with everyone else.

http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/sports/mascherano+set+to+face+fas+wrath/1854347

The Football Association has warned that Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano could face a lengthy ban after being sent off against Manchester United for dissent.
Mascherano, already on one yellow card, protested to referee Steve Bennett over his booking of teammate Fernando Torres only to be shown a second yellow himself and then the red just before half-time with Liverpool losing 1-0.
The Argentina international then went from a show of bemused surprise to outright anger and tried to continue his protest but was forcibly ushered from the field by Liverpool players and staff and calmed down by manager Rafa Benitez.
The dismissal carries an automatic one-match suspension but the FA can sanction Mascherano further for his refusal to leave the pitch immediately after being sent off.
A spokesman said: "When the player refuses to leave the field promptly, we do have mechanisms for further punishment."
"We can act on anything the referee has not seen or is outside his jurisdiction. The referee has done all he can under the laws up to that point. Any subsequent action is outside the referee's jurisdiction."
United won the match at Old Trafford 3-0, opening a five-point lead in the title race after Arsenal's 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, who leaped over the Gunners into second place.
Mascherano could not have chosen a worse week to get in a referee's bad books, and Bennett's in particular, with the FA calling for a clampdown on dissent.
At White Hart Lane in midweek, Chelsea defender Ashley Cole was booked for a bad foul on Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Hutton but contemptuously turned his back on referee Mike Riley when asked for his name and could have been sent off.
Bennett was the fourth official at that match and, like Riley, was criticised by the media for not being harsher on Cole.
________________________ ___________

Things look set for worse folks.

Know the feeling - think my dads gonna be going, I went the home Man U game!!

Load of sh*te all this respect to the ref bollocks - maybe if this discussion was had when fat boy was sent off in Spain playing against Villareal or even when he played for England against Spain and acted like a petulant gobs***e.

But no, wait for something to happen involving the scousers, then everyone sticks the knife in!!

I'm off to fry these f***in chips on my shoulder 

I think you may be the one on the wind-up mate!

The Mancs won easily and the winning margin was deserved.

WHY IS DIRK sh*te PLAYING ON THE RIGHT SIDE....SOMEONE PLEASE FECKING TELL ME.

Why doesn't Rafa ever take him off - are they sleeping together or something? 

This sums up why Rafa isn't quite the genius you alll like to think...I'm afraid!

Why do you always try to pick an argument with someone Rich? I admitted Utd were the better team, the fact that I said grudgingly means that it hurts to admit it, not that I don't accept that fact. To be fair maybe I didn't quite make myself clear when I said the scoreline didn't reflect the game, what I actually meant was it didn't reflect how the game should have been if Masch was on the pitch. At 1-0 down we had to go for a goal even though we were a man short, and this left gaps at the back, which Mascherano would have (hopefully) been covering. Oviously we can't say for certain what would've happened if he'd stayed on, in all fairness I think we probably would've still lost with the way we were playing up to the sending  off, but I don't think the margin would have been the same.

We were disappointing even before the red card but it made us worse. Masch was always skating on thin ice and Stevie shouldve given him a short but clear order to stay off the refs face. Alonso speaks spanish right?