The OFFICIAL Liverpool Supporters thread

[ExiledGael]

If the manager is averaging just under 5 changes per game how can any team expect to gain some momentum or rhythm? A number of the players have had their confidence shattered, most of all Crouch who now looks like he'll never get a goal. Surely a settled team, injuries permitting, would be a better team.
Professionals or not you can't just throw them together in different partnerships every week hoping they click together. You need to work on these things and become accustomed to these things in big games, training together is totally different, but then I suppose you have to look at his record and say how can you argue.
Think he's holding hte team back though at the minute IMO

[GalwayBayBoy]

Shocking display. One of the worst under Rafa. We've been awful ever since the international break. The departure of Pako at the same time along with the injuries to Agger and Alonso seem to have had an affect on the team. Couldn't believe how bad Momo was. When he's good he's fantastic but when he's bad he's bloody rotten. Should have been subbed early on. Gerrard too has been completely out of sorts since he went off to play for England with his gammy toe.

Rafa needs to get the team playing again because I think the fans are getting tired of the constant rotation now. He's very stubborn though so I don't think he'll change. We have some tougher games coming up so we need to get 3 points from Spurs on the weekend.

[J70]

Didn't see it (mercifully it seems!) as I was working. There's no excuses for losing at home to a struggling team like Marseilles, even if we haven't been too hot of late either. Its a good job United had a slow start and Chelsea are struggling a bit too, otherwise Liverpool might be starting to slip back into the pack. They'd better get it together quickly, in the league and in Europe. They probably can't afford to lose another champions league now at this stage, and may have to go to France and beat Marseilles. And after Spurs on Saturday, its Everton, Arsenal and Blackburn. The form of the last few weeks will not be near good enough to keep Liverpool in the hunt going into November.

[magpie seanie]

Tuned in for a few minutes near the end and maybe I'll have to accept you guys are right about the great Anfield Euro nights atmosphere. The fans never stopped singing and made great noise. Funny how they were all wearing that light blue and white strip - must be a new away strip or something.

[nifan]

Ive always thought sissoko was rubbish - i know all the plusses "good engine", "braks up play", but come on, the man cant pass the length of himself.
He wins the ball (when he doesnt try to take someones leg off at the knee), strides away and then passes it 5 yards to the opposition. How the feck can someone like that be expected to replace the likes of Hamann!

Bingobus - mascherano is miles better than sissoko

[Chrisowc]

Shocking display. One of the worst under Rafa. We've been awful ever since the international break. The departure of Pako at the same time along with the injuries to Agger and Alonso seem to have had an affect on the team. Couldn't believe how bad Momo was. When he's good he's fantastic but when he's bad he's bloody rotten. Should have been subbed early on. Gerrard too has been completely out of sorts since he went off to play for England with his gammy toe.

Rafa needs to get the team playing again because I think the fans are getting tired of the constant rotation now. He's very stubborn though so I don't think he'll change. We have some tougher games coming up so we need to get 3 points from Spurs on the weekend.

My sentiments too GalwayBayBoy.

Rafa's stubbornness was highlighted perfectly when, after his explanation about leaving Torres out against Birmingham was that how little space he would get and therefore other strikers would be more suitable, he was then asked was he now shown to be wrong about leaving Torres out after his hattrick against Reading.  He replied along the lines of - "It is clear.  You can see what Fernando can do when he gets space."  Infuriating!

A point too about the atmosphere lastnight.  It was very flat from the start.  Maybe both the team and the supporters thought it was a matter of turning up?  The Marseille fans were excellent and were a credit to their club.

Sissoko makes Danny Murphy's passing look on a par with Jan Molby!

[Balboa]

Bingobus......Mascherano is a far superior player to Sissoko, how often does Mascherano give the ball away? how often does Sissoko?......Sissoko is possibly the kind of player you need in an away game when you are under the cosh but he does not offer enough in a home match when we should be attacking a team. A sfor the fans, they need something to feed off, they were not getting it last night.

[bingobus]

I would always pick Mash above Sissoke but regarding giving the ball away have you not seen the last few games? Mash has been as guility of giving the ball away as much as anyone. He's been poor of late, although Sissoko took it to new levels last night. But we all thought he had turned the corner this season, against Sunderland he was MOM in manys eyes.

My point is that a team should never put in a display like that. Regardless of 5 changes, Marseille are fourth for Bottom of French league and have just appointed a new manager. Yet they passed us of the park. Did we even look to pass it? Nasa must be looking at the Liverpool Centre backs to luanch the next space probe, we hit that many long balls from the back.

I would be far more worried that we have no structure ot our game, that making 5 changes from the weekend, that shouldn't have weakened the team imho.

[Mentalman]

Going on what the lads said on TV last night, Rafa picks his team to suit the opposition. In that case he severely underestimated OM and got his homework wrong, simply as that really. I think the product of all the chopping and changing could be seen in someone like Momo, who, while not the best passer, is normally very alert and forceful, looked like a guy short of game time. Sticking in Leto showed a complete lack of respect for the French also. Nothing against the lad, he's a young fella learning his trade, but in the two games I've seen him in he's been as timid as a mouse, and standing on the sideline like he would rather be in the dressing room. Not his fault he's selected for a champs league match. Was the team not changed at the last minute, as that weasn't the side publicised earlier? I thought Mascher and Babel were due to start?

[gawa316]

That's the worst perfomance I've seen in 10 years. Momo was awful his second touch was always a tackle, his 1st touch was that bad. Leto wasn't much better. He reminds me of Zenden. No pace but a half decent left foot. Crouch again looked well short (no pun intended) of the pace. I could go on but that'll do me for now.

Please Alonso hurry up and come back from injury

[DirtyDozen12]

Gawa, Alonso hasnt been firing on all cyclinders this past 2 seasons although i do respect his passing is usually up to scratch most of the time which it definatly wasnt last night from a Liverpool team that looked fresh out of ideas.  Never ever seen them play worse, can anyone remember if we even created 1 half decent scoring opportunity until the 89th minute???

Only man that can hold his head up last night was Steve Finnan as usual, totally reliable, totally dependable got forward and defended well.

Im a big fan of Sissoko but he had his worst game in a Liverpool jersey last night - agree with the opinion that the team is not settled and this is affecting players...their is a big difference between a training game and a real game no matter what anyone says.

[J70]

Tuned in for a few minutes near the end and maybe I'll have to accept you guys are right about the great Anfield Euro nights atmosphere. The fans never stopped singing and made great noise. Funny how they were all wearing that light blue and white strip - must be a new away strip or something.

Yes, it was all lies all along.

[deiseach]

Not too worried about the result. Given the choice between three points in this and three points in the league, I know which I'd prefer - not only because the league is the priority, but they can recover easier from three points dropped in a four-team group where finishing second is somewhere (so to speak).

But the performance seems to have been rank. You can't just switch it on and off, and it's been off for a half-dozen games now. Worrying.

[J70]

Not too worried about the result. Given the choice between three points in this and three points in the league, I know which I'd prefer - not only because the league is the priority, but they can recover easier from three points dropped in a four-team group where finishing second is somewhere (so to speak).

But the performance seems to have been rank. You can't just switch it on and off, and it's been off for a half-dozen games now. Worrying.

Its all very well to say we're not pushed about the Champions League and would prefer the league, but as you then say, you can't just switch it on and off depending on the competition. If the team was playing as it should, keeping up in the league AND quickly accumulating the necessary points to get out of the group should not be a problem. If they don't find form quickly, they could be out of the running in both, very soon.

[Balboa]

Hopefully that is the bad performances over for a while, we cant play as bad again, but I am very worried about the defence, Carragher cant keep covering for everyone.

Hopefully thats what it is, just a bad patch. If it lasts any longer we could be out of the title race & Champions League so they would need to get their collective fingers out, starting with the Spuds on Sunday. The scum are not playing that well either but they are still taking maximum points and if they finally click they could be out of sight.