Chelsea vs. Liverpool (LC semi-final 2nd leg) - 19.45 Tues. 27th Jan. 2015
- Thread starter Frogfish
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We played a good game of football and deserved better from both games..... Noone in particular to blame... over twotigvt games it is down to luck.. our poor luck was Sakho injured. Not because he is brilliant, but it disturbed us back and ever red seemed to notice it.
I'm still sitting here wondering how Lallana didn't get on. We bring on Lambert instead and take off the one player who might supply him with a cross into the box. Sakho had a couple of shaky moments but when he went off we missed him badly. Can is going to be a monster player for us. Delighted to see Ming's improved form. Lucas was excellent at DM. Thought Markovic was quiet but was on defensive duties mostly. Both Sterling and Coutinho worked their arses off with very little protection. Stevie should have been hooked after 60/70 minutes like last week.
Despite everything, the bottom line is that we needed to score at least one goal tonight and in that singular target we failed miserably.
Despite everything, the bottom line is that we needed to score at least one goal tonight and in that singular target we failed miserably.
Well, I suppose we could say that playing against arguably the best team in the league at their home, in an important match which they're up for, gives us a glimpse if what we're capable of but also exposes our weaknesses & limitations.
We can almost mix it with Chelsea - but not quite.
Gerrard & Lucas are not so mobile and will run out gas over the course of a game like this.
Sterling, Coutinho, Markovic need to add that clinical touch our finish in the final third - or else we'll be forever a "nearly" team.
Lambert is, I hesitate to say terrible, but he's not good.
Whatever the thought process behind Balotelli's signing was - it was very, very wrong.
There is absolutely no reason why Johnson should be given a new contract - time to cut him loose.
There's an emerging team there, but all the real talent is under 24 - so we either free up some wages & invest in signing as many quality players around the age of 27 that we can get our hands on to provide results right now (and we'll be able to afford 2 or 3 at most), or we invest in more youngsters and play the patient wait & hope game.
We can almost mix it with Chelsea - but not quite.
Gerrard & Lucas are not so mobile and will run out gas over the course of a game like this.
Sterling, Coutinho, Markovic need to add that clinical touch our finish in the final third - or else we'll be forever a "nearly" team.
Lambert is, I hesitate to say terrible, but he's not good.
Whatever the thought process behind Balotelli's signing was - it was very, very wrong.
There is absolutely no reason why Johnson should be given a new contract - time to cut him loose.
There's an emerging team there, but all the real talent is under 24 - so we either free up some wages & invest in signing as many quality players around the age of 27 that we can get our hands on to provide results right now (and we'll be able to afford 2 or 3 at most), or we invest in more youngsters and play the patient wait & hope game.
Coutinho does indeed suffer from that.
He also suffers from constantly scuffing his shots, holding on to the ball too long, over-hitting passes and attempting too many impossible passes.
Well that was a slobber knocker. Just a quick few points;
- Lucas was heroic in both legs. I must have said "Well Done Lucas" about 50 times over the course of the two legs. He could barely walk at the end of the game tonight. He was reduced to a passenger as one more tackle would have warranted a red card. He did give away the free for a foul but Balotelli didn't do him any favours. He held his position and rarely got ahead of the ball unnecessarily. Cesc didn't get a kick over two legs.
- Emre Can is a player. I love the slick bastard. More machismo dripping off him than Razor Roman. I love his now customary foray up the pitch. He relieves pressure with his big fuck off marauding gallop up the field. You'd need a brick wall to try stop him when he picks up the pace. The wall would be left shaking with a giant Emre Can shaped hole in the middle of it. I love him. His inexperience and naivety in a new position will obviously mean that he makes the odd mistake but I can forgive him for that.
- Fair play to Simon Mingolet for turning a corner. I thought he was dead and buried. Not sure how he picked himself up from rock bottom but he seems a new man. He is confident and dare I say it, commanding.
- Lallana must feel hard done by not to get on the field tonight. I think Rodgers muddled his subs up a bit.The Sakho sub was forced upon him due to injury and he kept faith in the formation. Why not sure, we were still comfortably in the game. It did however mean Glen went to LCB. I thought we were very shaky on the left for a while with Johnson and Moreno as a pairing. I thought the arrival of Glen would also allow us the option of switching to a 4-4-2 IF required. When Balotelli was introduced I was curious as to how we would set up. For a moment I thought Sterling was going to go RWB instead of Lazar and I had my reservations. Henderson went there in the end which was the correct decision I suppose but I do hate players playing out of position if not necessary.
To bring on Lallana Rodgers would have needed to switch personnel again unless he took off Coutinho. Then it would have been like for like. I can see the merit in rolling the dice with Balotelli but when that didn't work why lump on Lambert? Moreno came off and we rejigged the players again. Glen went LWB and Gerrard slotted in as third CB so effectively we moved players around again yet no sign of Lallana.
- Mourinho is some painful c*nt. For some reason I hated his altercation with the 4th official as they scored their goal. First of all he missed the goal going in as he was berating the official. Once he realised they had scored he continued to act disinterested in this as he continued to berate the official to add weight and sincerity to his actions. No one is buying it Jose. I wish he'd fuck off my scream for a day or two. He's impossible to like.
- Lucas was heroic in both legs. I must have said "Well Done Lucas" about 50 times over the course of the two legs. He could barely walk at the end of the game tonight. He was reduced to a passenger as one more tackle would have warranted a red card. He did give away the free for a foul but Balotelli didn't do him any favours. He held his position and rarely got ahead of the ball unnecessarily. Cesc didn't get a kick over two legs.
- Emre Can is a player. I love the slick bastard. More machismo dripping off him than Razor Roman. I love his now customary foray up the pitch. He relieves pressure with his big fuck off marauding gallop up the field. You'd need a brick wall to try stop him when he picks up the pace. The wall would be left shaking with a giant Emre Can shaped hole in the middle of it. I love him. His inexperience and naivety in a new position will obviously mean that he makes the odd mistake but I can forgive him for that.
- Fair play to Simon Mingolet for turning a corner. I thought he was dead and buried. Not sure how he picked himself up from rock bottom but he seems a new man. He is confident and dare I say it, commanding.
- Lallana must feel hard done by not to get on the field tonight. I think Rodgers muddled his subs up a bit.The Sakho sub was forced upon him due to injury and he kept faith in the formation. Why not sure, we were still comfortably in the game. It did however mean Glen went to LCB. I thought we were very shaky on the left for a while with Johnson and Moreno as a pairing. I thought the arrival of Glen would also allow us the option of switching to a 4-4-2 IF required. When Balotelli was introduced I was curious as to how we would set up. For a moment I thought Sterling was going to go RWB instead of Lazar and I had my reservations. Henderson went there in the end which was the correct decision I suppose but I do hate players playing out of position if not necessary.
To bring on Lallana Rodgers would have needed to switch personnel again unless he took off Coutinho. Then it would have been like for like. I can see the merit in rolling the dice with Balotelli but when that didn't work why lump on Lambert? Moreno came off and we rejigged the players again. Glen went LWB and Gerrard slotted in as third CB so effectively we moved players around again yet no sign of Lallana.
- Mourinho is some painful c*nt. For some reason I hated his altercation with the 4th official as they scored their goal. First of all he missed the goal going in as he was berating the official. Once he realised they had scored he continued to act disinterested in this as he continued to berate the official to add weight and sincerity to his actions. No one is buying it Jose. I wish he'd fuck off my scream for a day or two. He's impossible to like.
I walked you right into that opportunity.
The team as a whole played magnificently. Rodgers' subs is where I think the game was lost.
My heart sank when I saw Lambert ready to come on before the final 15 minutes. I can't quite explain Rodgers' decision-making process there; throughout the tie we were always so close to outplaying Chelsea and here with all these tired legs we just needed another creative player like Lallana to give us the edge and suddenly Rodgers decided to shift it into the territory of aerial duels and hopeful punts – as if the aerial presence of Balotelli and Lambert gave us a decisive edge over Terry, Zouma, Matic and Ivanovic (not even close). His whole philosophy is based on outplaying teams, death by football, but at the decisive moment it goes out the window? What good is it then?
Johnson at LCB... aaarrgggh... Somebody please buy him and offer him a huge contract ASAP to take this decision out of Rodgers' hands. How can he possibly be ahead of Lovren in the pecking order... at LCB, the specific position we paid £20M for Lovren to play in?
Balotelli for Markovic was actually the most defensible sub Rodgers has made. Lazar wasn't having a good game, although he might have made more impact in added time when everybody got tired and there was more space to carry the ball into. Balotelli was good and useful in a few episodes, but when it mattered most, he faltered on both ends of the pitch. Bringing a player who is low on confidence and out of step with teammates into a big game and hoping the energy and atmosphere will make everything click may seem like it can work, but it rarely does.
Overall, the impact of the loss of Sakho's aggression and Henderson's graft in midfield meant that we were pushed back and conceded territory in the 2nd half. In hindsight, I would have brought in Lovren for Sakho, Lallana for Gerrard and maybe Allen for Moreno. If we needed a big body in the box for the final assault, I would switch to 4 at the back and send Can forward. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Rodgers outplayed himself again.
My heart sank when I saw Lambert ready to come on before the final 15 minutes. I can't quite explain Rodgers' decision-making process there; throughout the tie we were always so close to outplaying Chelsea and here with all these tired legs we just needed another creative player like Lallana to give us the edge and suddenly Rodgers decided to shift it into the territory of aerial duels and hopeful punts – as if the aerial presence of Balotelli and Lambert gave us a decisive edge over Terry, Zouma, Matic and Ivanovic (not even close). His whole philosophy is based on outplaying teams, death by football, but at the decisive moment it goes out the window? What good is it then?
Johnson at LCB... aaarrgggh... Somebody please buy him and offer him a huge contract ASAP to take this decision out of Rodgers' hands. How can he possibly be ahead of Lovren in the pecking order... at LCB, the specific position we paid £20M for Lovren to play in?
Balotelli for Markovic was actually the most defensible sub Rodgers has made. Lazar wasn't having a good game, although he might have made more impact in added time when everybody got tired and there was more space to carry the ball into. Balotelli was good and useful in a few episodes, but when it mattered most, he faltered on both ends of the pitch. Bringing a player who is low on confidence and out of step with teammates into a big game and hoping the energy and atmosphere will make everything click may seem like it can work, but it rarely does.
Overall, the impact of the loss of Sakho's aggression and Henderson's graft in midfield meant that we were pushed back and conceded territory in the 2nd half. In hindsight, I would have brought in Lovren for Sakho, Lallana for Gerrard and maybe Allen for Moreno. If we needed a big body in the box for the final assault, I would switch to 4 at the back and send Can forward. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best. Rodgers outplayed himself again.
An article in Guardian mentioned this:
What's this about - don't recall seeing this incident during the game.
What's this about - don't recall seeing this incident during the game.
With all due respect, the game was lost because our our inability to stick the ball in the back of the net from clear goal scoring opportunities, not because Rodgers made a couple of subs that didn't change the outcome.
Gerrard. Moreno, Henderson, Coutinho, sterling, Lallana - all had opportunities to win this tie over the course of the 2 legs and didn't take them.
Here it is. All the other stuff about tactical switches, subs, managerial thinking etc etc are irrelevant. We had ample opportunities and missed them all.
You can shuffle your cards & play as many jokers as you want (lord knows Rodgers has a few jokers to play) but at the end of the day if the cards you're dealt aren't good enough....
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