Allen
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That piece of action at the 10-second mark of the clip was gorgeous. Notice how Allen, Henderson and Coutinho totally harried and savaged the Spurs player. And the rest of the clip also showed a few more instances of how Allen and a team mate worked together to win possession. It was great stuff to watch. I'd say Lucas had an easier job yesterday because he had a pair of partners who helped share the defending workload further up the pitch.
The key to effective pressing is hunting in packs, we did this brilliantly against Spurs, Allen Henderson Lucas Suarez Sterling all chasing down and forcing the mistakes. When teams are forced to play against this sort of high tempo game they easily get frustrated, we outplayed Spurs in the first half, in the second half we were relentless and we simply broke them, they just gave up.
Thats not a tactic suited to playing against every opponent but when we do play that way Allen is key to making it work, he joins things up better than any other player we have while keeping us on the front foot by retaining possession. It will be interesting to see if we try and press City and Chelsea in the same way
Thats not a tactic suited to playing against every opponent but when we do play that way Allen is key to making it work, he joins things up better than any other player we have while keeping us on the front foot by retaining possession. It will be interesting to see if we try and press City and Chelsea in the same way
I wanted to see Allen and Henderson playing together in CM, but higher up the pitch. Like others said in the posts above, this combination has worked out great. We had lots of energy in midfield, they worked together very well to press and bully the opposition, Allen provided calmness and quality in possession and Henderson was willing to run forward at every opportunity. It really looks like a good partnership. They both look better when they are playing closer to attack, this way our team can press and win possession high up the pitch – this was the Spurs' undoing. They could never build their attacks comfortably from the back and we won the possession battle decisively.
Of course it was not just Allen and Henderson; all of our attacking players were very much a part of this pressing game.
Now I think Gerrard will need to replace Lucas at the base of the triangle to make our next great midfield complete.
Of course it was not just Allen and Henderson; all of our attacking players were very much a part of this pressing game.
Now I think Gerrard will need to replace Lucas at the base of the triangle to make our next great midfield complete.
We did away to City last season and it should of paid off, it was an excellent performance there last season.
I haven't had any time for Allen from day 1 but its impossible to ignore how well he and the midfield functioned yesterday, credit where it is due if he and the team keep up that type of performance then i won't be complaining, he really fought and scrapped for the shirt yesterday, the whole team did, it was a joy to watch.
Still without Countiho there it wouldn't of worked as well as it did, Coutinho is unreal, really don't understand the people that say he hasn't been playing well, yeah some of his through balls have been a bit more wayward this season but his importance linking up the middle 3rd of the pitch to the final 3rd is huge for us as well as his impact when he is in the final 3rd, love the way he controls and turns in 1 movement when he recieves the ball back to goal, within a flash he is facing goal and looking for forward options, hate that saying about turning on a sixpence but it applies to Coutinho.
All 3 league games we have lost this season aswell as the League Cup defeat Coutinho didn't start, no coincidence.
Coutinho gives us an extra dimension going forward, I think he more than anybody else benefits from a set up that presses the opposition high up the pitch as it means when we turn over the ball he is receiving it closer to goal and he can thread pass into space. I dont think Coutinho is anywhere near as effective when we sit deep. Id like to see us maintain the pressing system, Ive no idea why we stopped doing it last season (possibly certain player reluctance to do it made it ineffective) but a team needs to have more than one way of playing if we become very good at it teams will start to sit very deep and launch the ball long first time to bypass midfield, we can cross that bridge when we get to it.
His composure on the ball is what we've been lacking. I tend to agree with Doc that he does have it in him to play a dangerous ball or lose the ball in a key area at least once a game, hopefully that's just inexperience though. The awareness that he and Henderson showed yesterday, dovetailed perfectly with Coutinho. Too many times the three in the middle have been guilty of slowing down the play and being too cumbersome. Yesterday, everything was quick but measured, assured and cute. You give players like Coutinho and Suarez the ball that little bit quicker, and they will work their magic more and more because you're giving them the initiative constantly while the opposition are on the back foot. It was pretty Arsenal-esque at times yesterday with alot more guile and grit to back it up. That surely bodes well.
Hahaha, state of you.
Oh yeah, he's "what we've been lacking" now apparently.
Some fucking flip-flop from your chat of the last 10 days.
http://www.sixcrazyminutes.com/index.php?threads/allen.40110/page-4#post-1023078 - "not good enough... and had long enough already to prove it"
http://www.sixcrazyminutes.com/index.php?threads/allen.40110/page-4#post-1023234 - "one dimensional"... "the epitome of mediocrity"
http://www.sixcrazyminutes.com/inde...-me-to-see-the-best-of-me.40597/#post-1024201 - "they saw Allen on the teamsheet and pissed themselves laughing"
http://www.sixcrazyminutes.com/index.php?threads/hull-match-thread.40753/#post-1024794 - "surprised super Joe Allen isn't playing after his amazing performance last week"
Wow.
Thats not a "change of mind" though is it? It's a week by week kneejerk flip-flop blusterfest. Of mammoth proportions.
You just end up looking like a clown.
R
RedZeppelin III
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he was decent for a few games, then was wank for ages and now has been decent for a few games . Let's see how he does for the rest of the season .
Interesting that looked more like what rodgers has preached , a team who wants possession back in 6 seconds (or whatever it was ) . We've not seen that for a long time , i wonder why . Surely it can't be as simple as Gerrard upset the whole thing .
Interesting that looked more like what rodgers has preached , a team who wants possession back in 6 seconds (or whatever it was ) . We've not seen that for a long time , i wonder why . Surely it can't be as simple as Gerrard upset the whole thing .
But I'm the biggest clown on here (in your eyes) and I've always back Allen from day one.
What does that prove?
I think it could be that and Studge, because with a Suarez, Allen, Lucas and Henderson you have 4 players in the middle of the field who actively hound the opposition at pace to win the ball back. You need to do it as a pack for it to be effective, so even one lazy midfielder or one that stands off will make the whole process ineffective.
The difference between me and you is I realise this is an internet forum and that things change in football. And I'm not so far up my own arse that I can't admit I was wrong or that a player has proven me wrong, without worrying about how much of a cunt I look.
You know what mate, when I posted that the first thing I thought is, "open target there for Ryan to have a go", but it's just football, it's a game, it's full of variables, hit and miss form and people being proven right and wrong. He's had bad games and he's had good games. If you'd bothered your arse to look, I've posted as many times lately that he "could" be the composure we lack in the middle, if he gets his act together, but you've obviously missed that, amazingly.
So yeah, knock yourself, you're obviously that desperate to be top of the class all the time, like anyone gives a shiny shit.
I like that. Just hope Gerrard can switch his mindset to that of a DM.
I also thought Lucas was brilliant in the game.
Course I do, while you look like a shit parody of Brendanj. .
Like I said in the post, they looked alot better as a trio on Sunday, alot less cumbersome, more decisive and more direct. I'm judging one game Ryan, not a career. If he does well I'll say he's done well, but like I said, I'm not trying to be a "oneup" cunt over a fucking football player. When he's played poorly - and he has, people have rightfully questioned it, it's the nature of the game. Lets not act like he's been above criticism throughout his time here "just because", he's had to earn the plaudits, like anyone.
I thought Lucas was not so great, to be honest. A few good interceptions, as usual, but also sloppy passing at times and let Soldado turn and beat him way too easily inside our penalty area on one occasion. During the game I was actually thinking he looked a bit rusty, having not started in the last 2 games.
I can't be sure, until we try it and see how it works, but I have a feeling that Gerrard can do Lucas's defensive job adequately enough, while contributing more in attacking play. Having Allen and Henderson playing higher up the pitch together and pressing together with our attacking players like we did lessens the workload on the DM – teams will have a much harder time attacking down the middle. If they continue in this vein, the job of a Liverpool DM can become more about starting attacking moves and making a few timely defensive interventions per game, rather than chasing the ball and covering ground all game.
Lucas had a pass completion percentage of over 94% though. Doesn't sound so sloppy. FWIW the midfield trio were all exceptional, with Allen a shade over 90% and Hendo, despite playing more long and ambitious passes than his fellows with a 92% completion rate. Stunning accuracy from the midfield, all in all.
Stevie is probably the best player we have when it comes to defending one on one, or even one on two. But that's not my worry.
What worries me is him possibly leaving a gaping hole in front of our centre backs, or where a side back has gone forward, when the opposition inevitably goes for a counter attack.
He's never been super disciplined tactically and I just worry that he may not be able to suddenly change in his mid 30s.
Some valid points there. Stevie will have to change his attitude to become a good DM. He has the attributes as you're pointing out, but he must be more disciplined.
That's a little different Mark.
It's how he'd behave if his job description was DM, not a MF playing alongside a DM.
True, but there would inevitably be more onus on him there to defend. If that's him dipping his toes in the water of being a bit more disciplined and defensive, then it's not sold it to me.
I don't think we looked brittle per se in the middle; Lucas and Gerrard actually coped pretty well when under the cosh and limited the opponents' chances (for instance the Villa and Man United games). The problem, for me, was that they conceded way too much TERRITORY to the opponents (with Lucas being naturally conservative and Gerrard not able to cover a lot of ground for all 90 minutes), which led to the opponents pushing us deep inside our own half. Because of this we had to play on the counter a lot of the time this season.
If Allen and Henderson keep playing like they did on Sunday, we will have most of the territory and possession in most games and a defensive specialist like Lucas can become redundant.
If Allen and Henderson keep playing like they did on Sunday, we will have most of the territory and possession in most games and a defensive specialist like Lucas can become redundant.
It's like a guy brilliant at his job, being promoted to a management position, then either still trying to do everything on his own (and thus failing at his new job) or learning to delegate properly and making those around them work that little bit harder for him while keeping track of the essentials he needs to do himself.
We'll just have to see whether Gerrard's capable of that. But I don't think we can make a definitive assumption on it based on his appearances in other positions.
That's right. But maybe things can change. I also don't see either Allen or Hendo being dropped in favor of Gerrard, if they keep playing well.
To me it's the high pressing by the pair along with the attackers which is precisely the reason a player like Lucas becomes vital for us.
It's a highly effective, yet risky tactic.
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