Liverpool vs AK

jesus_thats_gre

Anyone got any idea what channel this is been shown on?

Should be a straight forward game for the pool.. Predict 4 - 1.

PiE

I'd prefer a clean sheet to a high scoring win, but either way I can't see them having many problems. Hopefully. Touch wood.

Drag00n79

Only on ITV2 I'm afraid :mad:

jesus_thats_gre

Shamrok wrote:

Only on ITV2 I'm afraid :mad:

Bastards!

p.pete

I think it could be a lot tighter then 4-1. I'll be happy just to get through and for a few players to be rested. Maybe one half each for Baros and Cisse and give a full run out to FSP. Also start Warnock instead of Gerrard and only use him if things turn for the worse.

Match is on ITV2

Kone

I'm torn between this and the Shels game, but with the pool comfortably ahead I think I'll have to watch Irish soccer history!

p.pete

I don't have the option of watching the Shels game but if I did I'd watch that until Shels went behind - then I'd start watching Pool. Hopefully I'd end up watching the whole Shels match

mike65

Heck they cant blow this! 2-1 to Liverpool but only cos they'll ease off.

Mike.

mike65

Well they did win 2-1 just not in a good way....sounds like they were pants.

Mike.

Kone

Oh dear.......

Did anyone see the game?

StickyMcGinty

poor, poor result. especially with they team they put out!

Thanx 4 The Fish

Was a poor game and the pool really did not impress, while they had lots of shots they failed to stick any of them andy good goal scoring chances were few and far between.

The Graz goal was a cracker rattled the woodwork on the way inafter a poorly cleared corner , am not entirely sure if I sw it right or not, was watching it in the pub and the sound was off but i think that one of the Graz guys got two yellows and was not sent off.

On the plus side, Darren Potter made his first start for the first team and acquitted himself well on the right hand side of midfield.

mike65

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote:

am not entirely sure if I sw it right or not, was watching it in the pub and the sound was off but i think that one of the Graz guys got two yellows and was not sent off.

Yep thats correct, it seems to be catching!

Mike.

jesus_thats_gre

Watching it at the moment..

25 mins gone and its a decent enough game so far..

mayordenis

i watched it all liverpool werent overly bad just looked a little complacent and graz's goal was one of those no-one can do anythinga about, and yeah some player got 2 yellows and should had 4 or 5 :P

redspider

I didnt see the game (saw most of Shels until the goals came pouring in), but judging by the reports on planetfootball.com it looks like it was a very poor showing from Liverpool, and probably has Benitez worried.

How could a team like Liverpool get such a poor result at home against a lowly team like Graz? I cant imagine an Arsenal, a Man U or a Chelsea doing that and neither can Benitez. This was a night to create a 3-0 win or something like that, and set up a motivational boost for the rest of the season. Instead, it has created doubts in the minds of all.

This is the challenge for Liverpool as they try to build a new team spirit. It looks like it was severely lacking last night, and although the Graz goal was a 1 in a 100 and more or less unstoppable, where were the created chances from Liverpool? Only a handful of chances all night according to the stats.


The line-ups were:
Jerzy Dudek Andreas Schranz
John Arne Riise Mario Majstorovic
Stephane Henchoz Emanuel Pogatetz
Sami Hyypia Mario Tokic
Jamie Carragher Joachim Standfest
Harry Kewell Martin Amerhauser
Salif Diao Rene Aufhauser
Steven Gerrard Gernot Sick
Darren Potter Gernot Plassnegger
Milan Baros Mario Bazina
Djibril Cisse Roland Kollmann

subs:
Warnock (Kewell 58), Pongolle (Ciise (75), Hamann (Baros 90)

So, Finnan was dropped (he was on the bench)
Henchoz was in central defence (how did he play anyone?)
Carragher was played at his stronger right back position
Hamann came on as a 90th min sub, I presume he was rested and
his presence muct have been missed by Gerrard

Josemi wasnt on the bench, I presume injured
Diao in central midfield (is he good enough to partner Gerrard?)
Kewell in left midfield I presume
leaving (Harry) Potter on right midfield
and Baros and Cisse up front


Now, surely Finnan is better in right midfield than Potter, both of
them playing for Ireland (Potter u-21) and all that?

I think Diao is worse than Hamann in midfield, and may be better
than Henchoz in central defence. Right midfield is still the weakest
position probably.

How did Riise play with Kewell? did they create?

I also saw that some of the subs were:
Paul Harrison
Zak Whitbread

Not exactly well-known names I would have thought, showing a
lack of depth in the squad. Where are the spanish armada?

p.pete

Hopefully the match was good from the point of view that it shows Diao isn't good enough to be a squad player, Hamann is important enough to try to keep and we need and additional Central Defender - don't think Henchoz showed much for himself.

Surprising he didn't give Biscan a run out (is he injured?) after all the pre-season hype.

Potter was quiet but seemed to gain confidence as the game went on. Still seems a bit raw but that's allowed. Warnock was bright when he came on.

I was hoping FSP would get more of a run out. It's unrealistic to hope Baros and Cisse can play twice a week, every week - would have liked to let him either prove or disprove himself. There's talk of Garcia playing up front - hopefully that's enough if we don't grab anyone else.

Wasn't pretty but we're through.

uberwolf

redspider wrote:

Now, surely Finnan is better in right midfield than Potter, both of
them playing for Ireland (Potter u-21) and all that?


Not exactly well-known names I would have thought, showing a
lack of depth in the squad. Where are the spanish armada?

Both of these suggest a willingness to blood new players. Potter is perhaps a better prospect than Finnan is a player

yop

Lucky result, early in the season but things do not seem to have improved. With the Cisse and Baros partnership not kicking in yet pool are left very sparce if it does not work out.
Seems to have been the same old same old, if I was a pool fan I would be worried if they came up against the likes of Arsenal or Madrid, could get a whipping if they do not up the effort

midget lord

Rafa was saying that he learned a lot from last nights game.

It has become blatantly apparent by now, that whatever he learns, he acts upon, and does so without delay.

So this is what I personally hope he takes from last night in terms of a few players ;

Jerzy Dudek ; Looks anything but steady at the moment, and could not inspire confidence in a back four. As soon as Kirkland is fit, he should be undisputed first choice, and if he remains as injury prone as ever, there is a strong case for bringing in another keeper.

Salif Diao ; Is not good enough full stop. If we are relying on players of his calibre, should the likes of Alonso or Gerrard get injured, the God help us. Hopefully his display tonight will expedite his departure from Liverpool. I was amazed he did not make way for Hamann midway through the second half when the ship needed steadying.

Harry Kewell ; Needs a good root up the behind after his display last night. Is very lucky that Nunez is injured presently, as there would be a real argument for going with Garcia on the left, and Nunez on the right on Sunday, such is Harry's poor form at present. Looks very limited playin on the left, and his end product is very poor. If he keeps this level of performance up, Rafa will drop him without as much as a second thought, and quite rightly so.

Milan Baros & Djibril Cisse ; I have considered them together, because, although it is very early days, one has to question whether they will be able to forge a partnership. Both are similar to the extent that they are at their mosy effective picking the ball up outside the box and using their speed to take defenders on. Is either a natural goalscorer, who would tuck away opportunities in the box like Fowler, Rush, or dare I say it, Owen, in their primes. I would not rule out Rafa pulling out the stops to bring in Mista from Valencia before the deadline.

Big Nelly

redspider wrote:

Where are the spanish armada?

Still in Spain or off da coast of Cork and Clare!!

Most of the new signing cudnt play in europe because not registered for first round!! can play from now on! same as Owen and Woodgate(injuryed anyway as usual) could play for Madrid

redspider

midget lord wrote:

Jerzy Dudek ; Looks anything but steady at the moment
Salif Diao ; Is not good enough full stop.
Harry Kewell ; Needs a good root up the behind after his display last night.
Milan Baros & Djibril Cisse ; whether they will be able to forge a partnership.

I agree with you about these problems in the squad. Its Kirkland ahead of Dudek for me. I've only seen Diao in the game against Man C and thought he was very solid in central defence. He could be part of the 23 player first team squad with that role in mind. I agree he is not good enough for midfield.

Kewell was good against Man C I thought. Lets see what he plays like in the next match. Last season he was abysmal for the latter half and more and I thougt he was supposed to be rejuvenated now. By what you say here it looks not. I'm willing to give him a coupld of more games.

Yor are right about Baros/Cisse. I rate Baros ahead of Cisse and for the moment its not clear if they will form a good partnership. I think both players are trying to be the no.1, yet they need each other to get the goals. Better have two mediocre players that play for each other like Toshack/Keegan or Raul/Morientes (before Ronaldo came along) than two players "competing". Its up to Benitez to sort this out though. I see Pongolle as a super-sub ala Solskjaer. Bring him on with 25 mins to go with fresh legs and pace.

And these are just some of the problem areas on the pitch, there are plenty more ..... Benitez has a lot of work to do, and I hope there are not too many "lessons" along the way like last night. Wasn't that what the pre-season games were supposed to be about?

p.pete

redspider wrote:

Carragher was played at his stronger right back position
Hamann came on as a 90th min sub, I presume he was rested and
his presence muct have been missed by Gerrard

Diao in central midfield (is he good enough to partner Gerrard?)
Kewell in left midfield I presume
leaving (Harry) Potter on right midfield

Now, surely Finnan is better in right midfield than Potter, both of
them playing for Ireland (Potter u-21) and all that?

I think Diao is worse than Hamann in midfield, and may be better
than Henchoz in central defence. Right midfield is still the weakest
position probably.

How did Riise play with Kewell? did they create?

Where are the spanish armada?

Carragher was solid enough but it was a new partnership so as a result both seemed quiet I guess. I thought it developed a bit as it went on. Yes, Finnan is stronger then Potter but it's still good to give him a chance - possibly with a view to seeing what cover there is if Finnan goes elsewhere.

Diao was fairly tidy in the midfield - partnered Gerrard quite well but Hamann is miles better. He is never going to be a brilliant performer for us.

Kewell and Riise started off very well. With Carra and Potter being quiet everything was going down the left to start with. Hopefully the partnership has a lot more to offer but it went a bit quiet after a while, that was just the nature of the match though.

Spanish Armada (or 3 amigos as Beglin came up with) are ineligible until the group stage.

p.pete

midget lord wrote:

Jerzy Dudek ; Looks anything but steady at the moment, and could not inspire confidence in a back four. As soon as Kirkland is fit, he should be undisputed first choice, and if he remains as injury prone as ever, there is a strong case for bringing in another keeper.

Forgot about him - terrible performance. Don't think Kirkland is going to have a long career, very accident prone - so definitely another keeper would be a good investment.

Hopefully the midfield is now sorted with the recent investment, so we need a keeper, central defender and probably a striker.

midget lord

And i think RB is the man to address these weak points. I have complete faith in him.