Liverpool Fc @ Anfield - Reds Supporters Gatherings

[beck7777]

So is Torres fit to join the team to Turkey?

[south and north]

Hopefully hes fit and also alonso
need some spark in the midfield at the moment
a 1nil victory is gd enuff but i got a feeling it will be a draw game hopefully again im wrong sorry just my 0.02 cents feeling

[Luckytime]

finally win liao... hope can get the 1st win in champions league if not need to say bye bye liao...

[beck7777]

Originally Posted by Luckytime

finally win liao... hope can get the 1st win in champions league if not need to say bye bye liao...

Well though I dont wish Liverpool to get knocked out so early but its good in a sense that less games, more focus on the League....

The league is afterall, our bread n butter!

[NightShade]

Originally Posted by beck7777

Well though I dont wish Liverpool to get knocked out so early but its good in a sense that less games, more focus on the League....

The league is afterall, our bread n butter!

But Champions league progress gives us a big transfer fund boost for next season.

[KingEros]

TOMKINS: GOODISON GRACIOUS ME
Paul Tomkins 22 October 2007

So was this the 'Olympiakos Moment' the Reds have been searching for?

Form tends to turn on a defining moment that, from the brink of despair, inspires belief. The more remarkable and unbelievable the moment or the turnaround, the bigger the boost it often brings. It makes anything seem possible.

It happened against Olympiakos and Luton in the two recent cup successes, and something similar happened on the opening day at Aston Villa, with Gerrard's amazing free-kick able to rescue the result that set up the Reds for their best start in years. Could Kuyt's late, late penalty be another catalyst for success? Who knows. But it certainly can't hurt, going into the Arsenal game.

Two weeks ago I said: "A win at Everton would provide just the kind of confidence boost that can lead to a revival. Liverpool's superb form on the way to the 2001 Treble was kick-started by another 'Olympiakos moment' –– Gary McAllister's 93rd-minute winning goal at Goodison. On such things seasons can turn." But of course I didn't expect such an identical conclusion.

Whisper it quietly, but Liverpool's away form in the league, results-wise, is the best in the Premiership and far and away above what is needed to win a league title. Four wins and a draw from five away games is superb. But the unexpected twist is the home form.

I don't believe the form at Anfield will continue to be as problematic as it has been so far, following three excellent seasons at home under Benítez, but of course, some more consistency (in the good sense) between the two is needed.

In the circumstances, with the talented spine of Torres, Agger and Alonso out injured, as well as the in-form Arbeloa, and the team lacking confidence after a run of disappointing draws, it was a massive result. The injury-time nature of the winner made the victory all the more profound.

Add yet another awkward lunchtime start, with seven players having played midweek internationals to Everton's solitary one, not to mention the blow of going behind to a freakish own goal, and it puts into context just how immense the result was at a fired-up Goodison Park (where 'Every Little Helps').

It was a monumental victory, even if the Reds' football was good only in fits and starts, and one that required a generous refereeing decision in the 94th minute to secure. Of course, with Reina in goal, even the award of a penalty wouldn't have made a draw easy for Everton.

It's not really possible for any team to suddenly play good football when confidence is lacking; they can't just turn it on like a tap, and even when a game is starting to go their way it remains a difficult situation. In the back of the players' minds is how one mistake can make it all crumble, and it's hard for them to express themselves unless they have a two or three goal margin. That's only natural.

Liverpool had a number of great second-half chances, particularly late-on, to run up such a relaxing lead, but the strikers showed their tension –– in open play at least.

Voronin in particular was a real handful, finding himself in a number of great positions; while his finishing let him down, his movement and approach play was superb. He forced Tim Howard, with two fine stops, into making more saves than Pepe Reina had to all match; indeed, Sami Hyypia's own goal made for the bizarre half-time stat of Everton leading with zero shots on target. They only managed one of their own accord in the whole game: a tame overhead kick.

Of course, once the result is in the bag the players can bank that confidence. And in the next game it becomes easier for the players to express themselves, with the pressure somewhat lessened. But to get that longed-for win in the first place, you often need to dig in and grind it out. You can't expect breathtaking football in that context, and even less so in the Merseyside derby. It's not about pleasing the purists. It's about the points.

The ability to succeed in a derby often depends on who is under least pressure. Last season was always going to be difficult; the Reds went to Goodison early in the season, with the Toffees having their best start in years. While Everton desperately wanted the bragging rights of victory, they'd still have had the pride of the league table to show after the game. The pressure was off.

Lose to Everton, and no matter where you're from it feels like dropping nine points, given the cloud that can descend on the team. Win, and the boost is immense. In terms of actual points it's the same as normal, but in all psychological senses it's clearly more than just another game.

I don't believe that luck evens itself out with equal measure over the season, but regarding major decisions it's natural that you win some and lose others.

Liverpool won their first penalties of the season, and they've been long overdue (remember Torres being hacked down at Reading?). Both were blatant, and both were rightly followed by red cards: they were clear goalscoring opportunities. Liverpool have also conceded some ludicrously harsh ones, and so this game compensated for those, and in particular for the Chelsea debacle, which cost Benítez's men victory in that six-pointer.

Everton could have had one, maybe even two penalties of their own, but in the 3-0 defeat last season they got some very dubious decisions, with Arteta's assault on Alonso and Finnan blatantly body checked. Did David Moyes criticise the referee then?

With regard to questioning Benítez's methods, I have to take exception to Andy Gray's performance on Sky. I actually think that, at times at least, Gray is one of the better pundits in the game, but this was never going to be one of those moments.

It was a very bold move but I did find it incredible that a commentator could lambast Benítez for making a change while at the same time admitting he didn't know about the substitute's strengths.

How can you judge a substitution if you know little about the man coming on? Lucas is the current Brazilian Footballer of the Year! He's also a player with a good goalscoring record. Benítez made a decision based on his own knowledge; Gray made a statement based on his lack of it.

And it was Lucas' 'goal' that Phil Neville denied with an outrageous handball.

And while Andy Gray criticised the Liverpool manager when Sissoko, on the pitch while Gerrard wasn't, missed from the kind of situation Gerrard often scores from (even though, had he been on the pitch, there's nothing to say Gerrard would have made that exact same run at that very moment), Gerrard's direct replacement won Liverpool the game. And not by luck.

I also felt the Match of the Day team made too much of Benítez removing Gerrard; half-heartedly mumbling under their breath how well Lucas had played, as if it was an irrelevance.

I do wish there wouldn't be such a fuss made when Gerrard is taken off, or left out of a game; which, admittedly, happens only rarely. He's a very special player, but it's not all about him. It's the same with his position –– he has good and bad games, and good and bad spells, in both the centre and on the right. But the criticism only flows when there's a bad result with him on the flank.

Liverpool got excellent results when he was absent with a broken toe, and yet again this weekend the Reds showed that, should they occasionally need to or choose to, they can succeed without him. But of course, if ever he doesn't play and Liverpool lose, then the tiresome "one man team" stuff will resurface.

This season the Reds have scored a lot of goals, but Gerrard has just one, back on the opening day. He'll find his goalscoring touch again soon, as he's too good not to (the same happened last season), but I'll bet that the next time he does score, a commentator or pundit will say "who else?" –– as if there is no other who's capable at the club, despite the heavily-rotated strikers already having 17 goals between them, and both Benayoun and Alonso currently outscoring him.

Talk of rotation will continue, and yet little was made when David Moyes 'rested' James McFadden, who is one of their best players, because he'd just played two internationals in quick succession. At least Gerrard played 70 minutes at Goodison, rather than seven, and left the pitch before he could do damage to his tiring muscles.

But the Liverpool manager has to have the right to remove any player he feels he needs to, for whatever reason, if he feels it will help the team get a result. Gerrard had just played two high-pressure games for England, the second of which was on an unforgiving pitch way over in Russia. He was playing well, but arguably (and in some senses understandably) trying too hard to win the game, while Lucas' fresh legs and fresh mind proved the difference.

While Benítez was mocked for saying Gerrard was playing with too much passion, the subsequent events showed that –– sometimes at least –– a calmer influence can cut through the emotion of the occasion.

After the change, Everton's ten men were exploited in a way in which they previously hadn't. More chances were created, and whatever the final result had been, Liverpool had by far their best spell of the game. So what's to argue with?

So in every conceivable sense it proved an inspired substitution. It might have gone horribly wrong, but the fact is it went brilliantly right. End of story. And Gerrard will be back in the side for the upcoming games and, almost certainly before too long, back to his very best.

Hopefully, with this victory in the bag, the same will be said of the most important thing: the team as a whole.

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by Dirk Kuyt

Your Royal Highness the King of EROS.... we were playing 3-5-2 yesterday

Sometimes, I really dunno which planet you are on ... Rafa played 4-5-1 (or what some choose to call 4-4-1-1) yesterday:

GK - Reina

RB - Finnan
DF - Hypia
DF - Carragher
LB - Riise

RM - Benayoun
DM - Marscherano
DM - Sissoko
LM - Voronin

AM - Gerrard

CF - Kuyt ... & most definitely not YOU.

FOOTBALL.co.uk

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has admitted that his team's recent struggles have been caused by his tactical and selection decisions.

The Spaniard has seen his side record just one win in their last four Premier League games, as well as making a poor start to their Champions League campaign with a draw away to FC Porto and a loss at home to Marseille.

Benitez said: "The problem is a tactical problem and it is my problem.

"Confidence in the squad is also an issue, but not the physical condition of the players. We are running more and faster than before."


?????? Without Pako the Boss is lost

[ANDYSIAO14]

Benitez clears the air with Gerrard

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has cleared the air with Steven Gerrard over replacing him in Saturday's Merseyside derby after the midfielder had declared he was 'hurt and disappointed' by the decision.

With 20 minutes left at Goodison Park and the clash finely poised at 1-1, the Reds manager controversially replaced his skipper with Lucas Leiva - much to the surprise of Gerrard and the travelling support.

The Spaniard claimed afterwards he had made the switch because his side needed 'less passion' and the change was vindicated when the Brazilian's shot was handled by Phil Neville on the line to give Liverpool a last-minute penalty, which Dirk Kuyt duly converted.

"I was hurt and disappointed at being taken off because, like I said, I'm a local lad and the derby means everything to me.

"I'll be speaking to the manager about it just to find out why I was substituted, but I won't be banging on his door or anything like that.

"We'll just have a chat and whatever is said will remain between us. But I've been in the game long enough to know that no-one is going to play every minute of every game and there will be times when I'm taken off like everyone else.

"The most important thing is that we won the game.

"When we lost there last season it left a bad feeling that didn't go away for quite some time, so it is good to get that out of our systems."

By his own admission, the inspirational midfielder has not been in top form in recent weeks, but after receiving some tremendous backing from the travelling fans during an improved display at Goodison Park, he is keen to say thank you for their support.

"The way the fans got behind me was fantastic and I loved it," he said.

Benitez discussed the matter with Liverpool-born Gerrard at the club's training ground in Melwood this morning and believes the midfielder's reaction was perfectly natural.

He told the club's website: 'When you are a manager you need to make decisions, not just think about them. You must think how you can win the game. Every player is the same for me when you are trying to win a game.

'We have talked because every player would be disappointed, especially Gerrard because it was a derby. He wanted to score the winning goal, but he is okay. After some time he'll understand that it was an idea and I was thinking about the best for the team.

'You know when you change a player he must show that he wants to play, but I think he was okay at the end.'

Gerrard, who captained England during last week's defeat to Russia in Moscow, had earlier admitted he had found the decision hard to take despite victory over their derby rivals being 'the most important thing'.

'I'm a local lad so the derby is really important to me and I would have liked nothing better than to play the full game and to be on the pitch when we got the winner,' he said.

'But as it turned out I was taken off and Lucas Leiva who replaced me played a crucial role in us getting the winning goal.

'I was hurt and disappointed at being taken off because, like I said, I'm a local lad and the derby means everything to me.'

Meanwhile, the Reds will attempt to get their Champions League campaign back on track against Besiktas on Wednesday after their disastrous defeat to Marseille in the last round of games left them out of the qualification spots in third, five points behind the French side.

Gerrard admits his own form has been below par of late, but believes the support of Reds fans is helping him rediscover top form.

'I know I haven't been at my best lately but I'm doing everything I can to get back there and having that kind of backing really does make a difference.

'I'm working back towards my best and knowing the fans are behind me will definitely help me get there much quicker.' -soccernet(bold words frm lfcnews)

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by Saito-san

Benitez said: "The problem is a tactical problem and it is my problem.

"Confidence in the squad is also an issue, but not the physical condition of the players. We are running more and faster than before."

?????? Without Pako the Boss is lost

Pako is a fitness coach while Rafa is the master tactician.
He's just said stats showed the players are fitter ... therefore, running more & running faster.
He's also admitting it is his sole responsibility where tactics are concerned. So, what's your justification in concluding that Rafa is lost??

Whatever the case, he also cannot be more lost than you ... try following the fortunes of Woodlands Rams or Geylang Eagles instead ... it's more of a no-brainer.

[ANDYSIAO14]

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/st...474965&cc=4716
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drill...71023-1426.htm

[KingEros]

Latest odds:

Manure as BPL champs this summer
$2.00 >> $3.60 >> $2.25

Chelsea as BPL champs this summer
$2.25 >> $5.50 >> $8.00 >> $5.50

Liverpool as BPL champs this summer
$6.00 >> $2.60 >> $3.50 >> $3.30 >> $5.40

Arsenal as BPL champs this summer
$13.00 >> $6.20 >> $2.30

Man City as BPL champs this summer
$180.00 >> $40.00 ... worth a $50 investment?

What a whirlwind season so far ... have never seen the odds swing up & down like this before.

[hawksbay]

guys wat do u think is stevie g overated as a central midfield player?

[KingEros]

Originally Posted by hawksbay

guys wat do u think is stevie g overated as a central midfield player?

I've said this all along ... I personally think Stevie G is better deployed on the right, for the following reasons:
1) Alonso & Marscherano cannot be deployed elsewhere besides central midfield
2) Only putting Gerrard on the right, can we have 3 world-class midfielders in the team at any one time

On the subject of whether Stevie G is over-rated ... well, depends on what do you expect most of a central midfielder.
To me, everything is relative ...
If you're looking at defensive skills, it's Marscherano > Gerrard > Alonso.
If you're looking at passing skills, it's Alonso > Gerrard > Marscherano.
If you're looking at attacking skills, it's Gerrard > Alonso > Marscherano.
However, this attacking skills can still be applied when Stevie G play on the right or just behind the lone striker.

But of course, if Stevie G is playing for a small club like Everton, then he'll be their #1 central midfielder for years to come.

[ANDYSIAO14]

Originally Posted by KingEros

But of course, if Stevie G is playing for a small club like Everton, then he'll be their #1 central midfielder for years to come.

i like the way u type- small club like Everton


Bill Shankly Once Quote --
"To Alan Ball after he'd signed for Everton:
'Never mind Alan, at least you'll be able to play next to a great team'"

http://www.shankly.com/random.htm