The OFFICIAL Liverpool Supporters thread

[AZOffaly]

But GBB, I think they are right to criticise Liverpool when thye have the ball. We gove it away so often it's crazy. It's something that has to change. I already mentioned that I thought at the time that Benitez' substitution to go 4-5-1 (or 4-4--1-1) was bananas. It invited Barca on to them. And that was longer than 10 minutes to go. It was before they got their goal I thought.

Liverpool have many admirable qualities. They are brave, they battle and they are full of energy when they attack. The quality is still missing going forward though, and LFC will not win a title until that is addressed in my opinion.

Of course RTE's panel are OTT, but they are OTT, hyper critical, about everything.

[deiseach]

Of course RTE's panel are OTT, but they are OTT, hyper critical, about everything.

True. Dunphy was asked after Liverpool beat Olympiakos in 2005 whether Liverpool could win the European Cup. "No chance!" barked Amoan. More please.

[GalwayBayBoy]

By the way for all the criticism he gets does anyone think we've been missing Garcia since his injury? The little fella drives me mental at times but he's fantastic at drifting into scoring positions and he's one of the best finishers at the club. It's tight games like the last two where he would have popped up in the box to slide one home. Even if he was just coming off the bench.

[bingobus]

What annoys me about the 3 RTE panel members more than anything is that while they are all outspoken and OTT they never disagree which each other to any great extent. I know plenty of people like this and they are all fine people but put any three of them in a room, give them any topic and they'll disagree about it on a range of issues.

Them 3 wait for the first to speak and then all pull in behind them. Only Bill dares to disagree and they normally respond "we played football, blah, blah, blah...."

[AZOffaly]

By the way for all the criticism he gets does anyone think we've been missing Garcia since his injury?

No.

I know what you are saying, and we can't deny he scored some vital goals, especially in Europe, but he is one of the WORST culprits at giving the ball away. I want Liverpool to go back to the pass and move game. Retain possession, pull teams around with clever passing, and take opportunities when they arrive. Garcia treats the ball as if it will give him a disease.

[AZOffaly]

Ah bingobus, I think there are plenty of occassions when the RTE panel disagree. Brady and Dunphy regularly fall out, and Giles and Dunphy don't speak to each other off air since the Roy Keane situation. I think the reason that they agree most of the time is that they tend to be fairly much on the ball. The problem is how far 'over the ball' they go.

[Rossie11]

pull teams around with clever passing

Thats not going tp happen with the current crop. Garcia for all his faults has a passing football brain.
He is the one player who can play a clever pass. More often than not he irritates but at times you think he is thinking too far ahead for his team mates..

[brokencrossbar1]

Garcia is an annoying wee bollix and they are better without him than they are with him him.  I firmly believe if they had one more top class defender and a goal scorer they would be an excellent team.  Also a change in formation could see them playing better too.  Instead of playing 4-4-2 if they had Hyppia(or another top class defender) in alongside Carra and Agger with Riise and Finnan as wing backs, Alonso and Sissoko or Mascherano as the holding midfield players with Gerrard in an advanced midfield role with Kuyt and Bellamy(or a new striker) I think they would be much better.  You would have Gerrard where he can cause most damage, and the balance would be better than it is at the minute.

[Farrandeelin]

Those RTE boys are way OTT about everything. Really, listen to them tonight about the Utd players and all you'll hear is Ronaldo's crap, as is Carrick, as is Ferdinand, as is Saha, as is all the Utd players who haven't played in the treble season (apart from Rooney). It sickens my hole the way they are always OTT about everything.

[Rossie11]

I firmly believe if they had one more top class defender and a goal scorer they would be an excellent team

Do you not think that last night showed that our midfield completely lacks a footballing brain??
Am very disappointed with Alonsos form at the moment.
The 2 goals we got in the Nou camp were defensives errors..
Yes we hit the bar twice last night but it wasnt creativity that made the chances..

[brokencrossbar1]

Alonso is playing poorly at the minute but that doesn't mean he is not a good player.  I have seen him dictate games with his range of passing, and I sometimes feel that because so much has to go through Gerrard that Alonso's game suffers.  I think he has the footballing brain to be the one who makes things happen.  I would be more concerned about how much Sissoko gives away than Alonso.  I feel that his contribution is outweighed at the minute by how much possession he losses.  From what I have seen of Mascherano he can do an adequate enough ball winning job but is smarter on the ball. 

[AZOffaly]

Rossie, you say 'not with the current crop', and to an extent I agree. However, these guys are professional footballers and should be able to pass the ball around. You need to work on these things in training, and I think that is being neglected.

Also, if the 'current' crop cannot do this, even after training, then get rid of them. I still think that every one of them could be proficient ball-players if that was made a priority. You can't tell me that Xabi Alonso cannot pass a ball 15 yards, and that Sissoko should not be able to do likewise.

Pass and Move is more than a tactic, it's a philosophy, and it has to be drummed into the players. Arsenal have it, United have it and Liverpool made an art form of it in the 70s and 80s. We need to get it back.

[magpie seanie]

Do ye remeber Sissoko hoofing the ball straight up in the air last Saturday. There was no-one near him and the ball came straight down to him. A surreal moment.

[SlimShady]

Rossie, you say 'not with the current crop', and to an extent I agree. However, these guys are professional footballers and should be able to pass the ball around. You need to work on these things in training, and I think that is being neglected.

Also, if the 'current' crop cannot do this, even after training, then get rid of them. I still think that every one of them could be proficient ball-players if that was made a priority. You can't tell me that Xabi Alonso cannot pass a ball 15 yards, and that Sissoko should not be able to do likewise.

Pass and Move is more than a tactic, it's a philosophy, and it has to be drummed into the players. Arsenal have it, United have it and Liverpool made an art form of it in the 70s and 80s. We need to get it back.

it is, its the Liverpool groove  

[AZOffaly]

Yep Seanie. That was the moment when I finally got to use George Best's quote, and mean it. 'That lad can control the ball further than I can kick it'.

He did something similar last night as well. Sissoko will be a good player for Liverpool if he is groomed right, and made learn passing (see my posts above) but at the moment he is pure raw, and a liability when LFC have the ball.