Jiji Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 That Emre Can pass was incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChesterCopperpot Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Sooner we get a decent centre back and move him back into midfield we'll see a lot more of him. Forget about getting a replacement for Gerrard - he's already there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I really liked how he was allowed to play as a half-assed marauding sweeper/libero a la Beckenbauer once Bolton were down to 10. That's my main issue with three at the back against weaker teams: you lose out a man in midfield which often leads to too much space between attack and defense, forcing the players to constantly break on the counter. The thing is, unless the poorer side is chasing the game, they usually have 5 men committed to defence and counter attacks are largely ineffective. We saw that a lot throughout this tie with Coutinho, Sterling and the third man trying (Gerrard or Lallana) counter attacking a deep Bolton defence with 5-6 players ready for them. But fuggit, that Emre pass got a Vampiro "oooohmaigaaaahd bruther" out of me. I know he doesn't get that time in that space when playing against 11 men but nevertheless, it was a thing of beauty. I know he's a media favourite and all but I really don't like the way Martin Skrtel plays centre back. Way too willing to oblige forwards looking for the pelanty (two weeks in a row he's foolishly stuck his leg out in the box). He's a notorious, all-world shirt grabber and is often focused more on grabbing than jumping when defending corners. Not the greatest positionally. Relies on Stevie G as an outlet way too much. Sakho, on the other hand, is the man. Only thing letting him down is that 1 bad pass out of 10 that people remember him for. He cuts that out and he's a top of the line CB. As for next year without Gerrard, it will be very interesting to see what changes are made. I don't think Can is ready for the game in, game out replacement of Gerrard but he should be playing alongside Henderson a lot. It's what they do with Lucas and who else they bring in I'm curious about. Also, what does Brendan do with his favourite li'l Welshman, Joe Allen? Joe hasn't really done much at Anfield outside of a good run of games in his first season. He's not great at creating in the final third and Henderson does the deep lying stuff better than him. Lastly, Coutinho is clicking right now. His big problem in the past has been inconsistency and poor decision making. While the latter still pops up the odd time, he's gotten much better at seeing spaces before releasing a pass but more importantly he's really strung 10 or more good games together. His new contract is well deserved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I hope Markovic isn't one of those guys that is forever burdened by being "that really good prospect someone paid thirty million pounds for too soon". Because I do think there's a hell of a player in there if people are patient with him. Or, he could forever be that guy where greatness is just over the horizon. But the point is he's still so young, I just hope he gets the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Apparently he took a while to settle in Portugal. He wasn't getting much game time in the first third or so of this season but he's really taken to the right wing back role well over the past few months. So, he's adapting to a new and better league (not that the Primeira Liga is anything to sneeze at) and a new position and doing a bang up job of it. I think once he's played in a position where he's not having to defend as much, you'll really see him shine. His passing needs a bit of work but he's an incredibly quick player, feisty (he and Filipe Luis have established a nice rivalry), a good dribbler and he gets into really good positions. He made an incredible run today from one end to the other but Sterling didn't see him cutting in off the wing at the end of a counter attack, which was a shame. The only early busts from the summer signings appear to be Lovren, Balotelli, and Lambert to a lesser degree. Lovren will improve, Lambert is Lambert, and Balotelli is an enigma. Rodgers is pushing for Balotelli to fit the mould of Rodgers' ideal striker (closing down, moving into channels without the ball, playing outside of the box). If you look at the excellent work Paul Tomkins has done on transfers, he's found that less than 40% of transfers are successes. LFC hit above the average and did pretty well in replacing Suarez. The key miss was the striker, which only really came under examination because Sturridge is injury prone and is just now getting back after being out since August. So, yup, a pretty big miss and likely the difference between 7th and 3rd or 4th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirFozzie Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 So, the Rnagers being clownshoes thing went in a new and exciting direction today, as they reveal in the press conference that they're being REQUIRED to play the five players they took on loan from Newcastle at the deadline http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31145792 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 So, when did we forgot how to attack? The second half of Dortmund's game yesterday was absolutely horrible. And against 10 Augsburger they couldn't create a chance in 20 minutes at all (okay one, but...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoeCristyV.1.6 Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Whoops, sorry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 So, the Rnagers being clownshoes thing went in a new and exciting direction today, as they reveal in the press conference that they're being REQUIRED to play the five players they took on loan from Newcastle at the deadline http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31145792 This story is getting really weird, with the "Mike Ashley now owns two teams without really owning two teams". I can't think of a comparable situation offhand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewar Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Can they force him to sell both? Please??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 today in Equatorial Guinea... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxsGllboLo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1undMW8jwIg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChesterCopperpot Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The Atomic Ant arrives in Toronto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The highest paid Italian soccer player in the world plays for Toronto FC. This is not going to end well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I like him a lot but I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 The thing is I actually *want* TFC to be good. I *want* the Vancouver Whitecaps to be good. I *want* Montreal Impact to be good. Lord knows it can't possibly do the state of the game any harm in this country. I just have no faith in Toronto to get their ship pointed in the right direction. It's just at the point with them where I need to see it before I can believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Guys, I think Giroud is hurt again. I'm really worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Never mind. False alarm. He's back up and fine again. My bad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Harry Kane played like a boss today 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
APO Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hull is fixin' to drop a clean sheet on City's asses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 A couple of big injury time goals in the top 4 from Southampton and Man City that could prove important. Plus, Atletico embarrasing Real is certainly an interesting development. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jiji Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Is this the worst Merseyside derby in the last 10 years or so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Is this the worst Merseyside derby in the last 10 years or so? Yes besides the one little scuffle it was incredibly boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 in survival mode, a point is a point. Plus, another clean sheet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Yeah not a great game. Will admit I struggled to stay awake; doesn't help that Tottenham/Arsenal started at 5:45 am for me, and on top of that my body did that awful thing where it knew I was getting up early and woke me up even earlier (around 5), so I was really ready for a damn nap by halftime of Liverpool/Chelsea. Not to stir up shit about *that guy*, but if ever I saw a game screaming for a bit of Mario Balotelli doing some damned weird thing, it was this one. If that was any indication of what Jordon Ibe can do, he is going to be some fucking player when he actually grows up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 I work until 0730, so on EPL saturdays, i put the early game on the ipad and then fall asleep listening and hopefully wake up to watch mostof the 1230 game. In a way, Everton laying so often on Sundays means i have had a nor al nights sleep and can get up at 9 or 11 to watchthe matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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