The OFFICIAL Liverpool Supporters thread

[nifan]

ive been impressed with the way torres has been picking himself up after he gets clattered, that was a bit of a concern when he signed - how hed handle the hatchet men like duberry and bikey last night

[magpie seanie]

Aha - but were they "active"?

[AZOffaly]

Seanie, the lad directly in front of the Liverpool keeper was clearly interfering with the Goalkeepers view, and was therefore active, and offside.

Edit. This is from an explanation of the offside rule, by offside-ref.co.uk

Commiting an Offside Offence
A player in an offside position is only penalised if, at the moment the ball touches or is played by one of his team, he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:

interfering with play
interfering with an opponent
gaining an advantage by being in that position

[GalwayBayBoy]

Thing I liked most about Torres last night (apart from the goals) is that he was kicked up and down the park all evening but he kept working hard and kept coming back for more. The lad seems to have a great attitude and is certainly dispelling fears that he would struggle to adapt to the hatchet men of the premier league. He is well able to hold his own in the physical exchanges.

[stiffler]

I cant really get my head around Torres playing last night, but not starting against Birmingham. However, the team that started on Saturday were well able to win the game, and if they had ended up winning there would not have been too many complaints about leaving Torres on the Bench.

I think Alonso was missed on Saturday, and believe it or not Luis Garcia. That was the sort of game he would have thrived in.

All is not lost though, were still in touching difference to Arsenal and its still early doors. What we need to do is be more clinical up front with our opportunities.

I was dissapointed in not seeing Jack Hobbs get a start last night. If there are a few more injuries in our defence he will have to be pushed into the starting eleven. 90 minutes under his belt would have done him the world of good.

[deiseach]

I had a couple of glasses of wine taken when I saw these goals but are you sure you understand the offside rule?

If one of them had been standing any closer to the goalie he'd have knocked the goalie over.

Might be an interesting tactic - plonk a striker directly in front of the goalkeeper at all times. As long as he doesn't attempt to go near the ball then he's not offside . . .

[AZOffaly]

Is that not what Peter Crouch does?

[DirtyDozen12]

I was dissapointed in not seeing Jack Hobbs get a start last night. If there are a few more injuries in our defence he will have to be pushed into the starting eleven. 90 minutes under his belt would have done him the world of good.

I too would have liked to see Jack being played.  Supposed to be playing exceptionally well for the reserves.  Big strong lad and a game against a premiership side would have done he the world of good.  Shame Rafa didnt start him after talk of the possibility of a senior start for the lad.

[magpie seanie]

Yeah, it could be argued that the lad in the line of the keepers view was "active" alright but i'm not sure its conclusive. I think we'll all agree on this though - the rule is no complete bollix.

Like a few here I simply cannot understand Benitez playing Torres last night but not in the league last weekend. Makes no sense.

[Gabriel_Hurl]

 

[Gabriel_Hurl]

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has demanded greater protection from referees for striker Fernando Torres.

Benitez was furious with the treatment dished out to Torres as he scored a hat-trick in the 4-2 Carling Cup win at Reading on Tuesday.

He said: "I was trying to make my feelings clear during the game about how he was being kicked all the time.

"The answer is clear. Players with quality must be given better protection by officials."

Benitez added: "You need to protect key players. It is important that if you want to see better football you need to protect the players with quality then we'll see more goals and maybe people will be happier.

"People keep wondering whether Fernando will be in the starting line-up on Saturday when they should be asking why he isn't getting more protection.

"That is the real question and it needs addressing. Every time he goes out there he faces a physical problem from centre-backs. People have to decide if they want football to be worth watching or not.

"It is fortunate that he is a strong boy and can stand up to the challenge, but there is always a chance he could pick up an injury that may keep him out for two or three days - or even two or three months."

Benitez, meanwhile, says his squad rotation system will pay dividends at the end of the season.

He did not start Torres in the goalless draws with Portsmouth and Birmingham before the forward scored a hat-trick at Reading.

"I don't need Torres for playing Birmingham if I have Dirk Kuyt, Andriy Voronin and Peter Crouch," he said.

"I need the speed of Torres in the last game of the season - maybe a Champions League final or to win the league."

"Those are the decisions of a manager," he added.

Despite Torres' triple in the Carling Cup win over Reading, Benitez said it does not guarantee him a starting place for the Reds at Wigan on Saturday.

"When you are playing for winning trophies you must analyse everything and say 'OK for the last 10-15 games I need Torres fit'," he said.

"People are talking about players playing a lot of games now. They can do it. I don't say that they can't.

"You can play 20, 25 or 30 games in a row. No problem. Everybody can do it. The problem is at the end of the season after 30-40 games.

"The last 10-15 games you are playing for trophies and you must be fresh, ready and fit."

[Stalin]

never like to see finnan dropped

[J70]

1-0 away to Wigan. Good win in the end. Didn't look like they were going to do it for a long time, as quite a number of chances were missed and given up at the other end. Apparently a Wigan forward missed a free header from six yards out in injury time! Nice goal from Benayoun according to the Liverpool FC internet commentary.

[From the Bunker]

1-0 away to Wigan. Good win in the end. Didn't look like they were going to do it for a long time, as quite a number of chances were missed and given up at the other end. Apparently a Wigan forward missed a free header from six yards out in injury time! Nice goal from Benayoun according to the Liverpool FC internet commentary.

Phew!!!!

[Gabriel_Hurl]

the goal

http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1423084