League Cup Semi - Away at Stoke - Post Match

[LeTallecWiz]

I thought the effort and work levels were top notch for 90 minutes - excellent to see.

A few things stick out -

Mign - great save on Magic to keep the score at 1-0

Clyne - I think this was his best game in a while. Solid defensively, no brain farts while attacking.
Lovren - pity he got injured, he was looking excellent again. How long is he out for?
Toure - Looked very assured and calm. Hope his injury isn't serious as he's going to have to start with Sakho next game.

Allen - He played well. Not really sure why he was subbed out, as he controlled the middle with Can/Lucas well.
Lucas - I think he did well tonight. He's never going to be a great CB (and neither will Can) because their instincts are those of CMs, but he played well in the midfield 3 and then was very solid in the back.
Can - Excellent performance. I know some don't rate him, but you can see how he's growing every game and his tackling is very underrated.

Coutinho - Fucking hammy. He looked well up for it tonight.
Lallana - You can tell why he's so important to us currently, and why he holds us back too. Great work rate, great runs and wonderful touch on the ball - created problems for Stoke non-stop. But he holds onto the ball too long at times, slowing down promising attacks. Nonetheless, good game.
Firmino - Overall, his best game I think. Some great touches, great harassment of the Stoke backline and a few good hits from outside the box. He's still thinking too slowly - and that has to change but I like what I saw tonight.

Subs:
Ibe - confidence building performance for him. A few brain farts - which I sincerely hope Klopp will iron out - but he's such a threat, and his work rate was good today. Should have had a few more goals!
Milner - good to have him back tonight considering the injuries. Played well.
Benteke - n/a

Word of praise for Arnautivic (sp), whom really impressed me. Gets into great positions, some really good passing and WOW - talk about speed and work rate. He is developing into the player ____ (I think it was Froggy) said he would ...

Good win - should have been more, but great response to the shambolic Saturday display

 

[Irish_Red]

Allen was subbed cos he'd nothing left in the tank, he played well up to that stage but he'd ran himself into the ground.

 

[Arn]

Stoke tried to do what West Ham did. Many crosses into the Clyne zone. They see his weakness as our main weakness in defense.

 

[KopRed]

Happy with the win. Saw the highlights it seems like we couldn't have gotten a few more, re Ibe and Firmino misses.

Another 90mins to go, a spot in the finals could do wonders for our confidence I'll reckon.

 

[mom]

Good performance all round really.
What really impressed me was the work rate and desire which have both seemed lacking for some time.

 

[Aidan O' Neill]

Ming - Very good save from Johnson, but he should have claimed that corner. Lucas (I think) had to head it away from 5 yards out.

Clyne - Was very good
Lovren - Was having a great game until the injury. Hopefully he'll be back for Arsenal because he's been excellent lately.
Toure - Had a great game. Hopefully it's just a niggle.
Moreno - Had a good game. Gets caught upfield occasionally but often has the pace to recover.

Allen - Very good game. Good to have another midfield option because it looks like we could be playing a midfielder at CB for a game or two.
Lucas - Had a great game. He's not a CB but did well in there.
Can - Excellent performance. He's starting to look a real player lately and his work rate is excellent.

Coutinho - Did ok before the injury.
Lallana - Did really well for the goal. Great run and smart pull back to Allen. He's frustrating at times, but he works hard and is always available for a pass.
Firmino - Was very impressed. His work rate is good and he doesn't seem to have let his recent performances effect him. Needs to work on his shooting though.

Subs:
Ibe - Took the goal well considering it came at him fast and he wouldn't have been expecting it. He can be a bit loose with his touch at times, but it's nice to have some real pace on the team.
Milner - Played well
Benteke - Nothing of note

 

[Mystic]

Word of praise for Arnautivic (sp), whom really impressed me. Gets into great positions, some really good passing and WOW - talk about speed and work rate. He is developing into the player ____ (I think it was Froggy) said he would ...

Quite, he's really impressed me this season, I especially love how he strikes the ball, he fucking wellies it, so much power in his shots.

 

[mark1975]

I think we need to look at why some fringe players perform better than our so called stars. Like I said last week, we need to look at what functions better rather than what it cost.

 

[Markeh]

I think we need to look at why some fringe players perform better than our so called stars. Like I said last week, we need to look at what functions better rather than what it cost.

If Joe Allen could do that every week he'd be a starter, I'd love to see him back to his best. He did have several weak performances in the league though to get himself into this position.

 

[davud graham]

I think we need to look at why some fringe players perform better than our so called stars. Like I said last week, we need to look at what functions better rather than what it cost.

I agree it's who plays well in Klopps system or style that''s important rather than how much they cost in the first place. It should help Klopp as he doesn't have to justify the signing of any current squad member as they were already here when he arrived. The only fly in the ointment is that some players can't seem to perform against hard working and physical teams like Watford and West ham who sit back and hit us on the break. It's weird that Stoke's new style of play hindered them last night as they were trying to play football. It was only in the last ten minutes when alehouse tactics caused us a few problems.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

 

[manwithnoname]

If Joe Allen could do that every week he'd be a starter, I'd love to see him back to his best. He did have several weak performances in the league though to get himself into this position.

His best? When exactly has that ever been? He's not a very good player, that's his biggest problem.

 

[manwithnoname]

I think we need to look at why some fringe players perform better than our so called stars. Like I said last week, we need to look at what functions better rather than what it cost.

Fringe players appear to perform better because they don't play very often, and the occasional good display is therefore more memorable.

played regularly, it is soon very obvious why the likes of Lucas, Toure and Allen should be, at best, fringe players, and why Lallana, Sakho, Mignolet and Firmino should also not be first team regulars

 

[Markeh]

His best? When exactly has that ever been? He's not a very good player, that's his biggest problem.

When he first came to the club. I disagree with him not being a good player, he has the talent but he has other issues.

 

[manwithnoname]

When he first came to the club. I disagree with him not being a good player, he has the talent but he has other issues.

He had one good game against City. And about 5 other average ones. Because he isn't very good, which is his biggest issue

 

[LeTallecWiz]

He had one good game against City. And about 5 other average ones. Because he isn't very good, which is his biggest issue

Some players take longer to adapt ... Pires
Some just aren't very good ...

Let's hope he's in the first group ... I think he'll be fine.

 

[ILD]

Some players take longer to adapt ... Pires
Some just aren't very good ...

Let's hope he's in the first group ... I think he'll be fine.

They are talking about Allen not Firmino.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

They are talking about Allen not Firmino.

Oh ... thanks Boet