Swansea (H) 29th Dec.
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That's three wins, one draw, one defeat...10 points from 15 this season. Top four form. Unfortunately, I won't be back until Burnley...unless there are any spares going...
His link up play has been great over the last several games, he's started alot of our good work from deep in midfield. That header against Burnley gave Coutinho the chance to play that sublime flick. I didn't think he had an awful lot to do defensively, because the way we're set up allows him to support the attack a bit more, but what he had to do he did with no fuss, some good important clearances and the whole dynamic of the midfield looked better with him and Henderson.
I thought he was almost perfect in the first half. But in the 2nd he lost the ball that resulted in a Swans counter – he was way too slow to catch his player, so Skrtel had to dive in and earn a booking. Also a couple of times he did the typical Lucas thing of receiving the ball in a promising position, looking at his partners busing a gut making attacking runs in all directions and just playing the ball harmlessly back, rendering all these runs useless. Still, a good game for him overall, but not enough for top 3 for me.
The movement and fluidity in the game was reminiscent of last season. Thought Hendo did a much better job in the middle and is a waste of space anywhere else. It looked like we had two Brazilians in the side last night, Lallana's close control is just amazing.
One thing is getting right on my tits though and that is the back pass to Ming. Why fucking bother - it almost exclusively ends up as a throw in or even a corner or cedes possession, why not forget about the back pass and if nothing else is on just fucking hoof it. It will do Ming's confidence the world of good and lower my blood pressure imeasureably
One thing is getting right on my tits though and that is the back pass to Ming. Why fucking bother - it almost exclusively ends up as a throw in or even a corner or cedes possession, why not forget about the back pass and if nothing else is on just fucking hoof it. It will do Ming's confidence the world of good and lower my blood pressure imeasureably
I felt for Lucas in that phase of play. He was beaten in a foot race and then tried to take the professional booking but couldn't catch the player to take him down. I watched it again and it looked like he tried to clip his heels.
I'd say more... Henderson looks a better player when he's played centrally in a role that means he's not the only one with defensive responsibilities & isn't in a forward attacking position.
That is.... he's played in a position that utilises his strengths, and doesn't magnify his weaknesses.
One of the commentators made the point last night that players seemed to slot in to and be more comfortable with this system.
Earlier on in the season we seemed to playing a lot if players out of position. That combined with constant changes of personnel & system hurt us.
Rodgers has got a system working again - the heart is beating again.
The system isn't without flaws, much like last season, but maybe the balance has swung back to the positive outweighing the negative again.
Surely it means the opposite??
Unless you mean that the only accurate shots are the ones that score. 😎
Spent last night getting fucked and missed the game. Anyone got the goals?
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Well, we did, didn't we?
You may be surprised to hear that Ming has one of the best GK kick success percentages in the PL. Third I think he is.
I admire his stamina
I think the set up gives us alot more movement and ability to break in numbers - you saw last night later in the game, there was always a ball on into space, triangles to be played, etc, it was alot more fluid than the static flat variations we've seen this season with four at the back. The extra body at the back allows for someone to drop in and cover and for a player to step out from the back with the ball, when in possession. I'm sure it'll get exploited somehow at some point, but it's working well at the minute and getting the most out of what we have.
I can scream louder than you
Aye, Bedford innit.
We're really missing your wee Joe. You know, to keep things ticking over in the midfield.
Yes, he did. IMHO he was worth a 7 and not more. Echo : 6.4 (joint 8th), Sky 6.3 (fans, 7th) 7.0 (Sky, 3rd - they only give integers).
Agreed - when Stevie is there there is too much of a tendency for many of the players to look for him first when they have the ball, when he is out this stigma doesn't exist and I think we use our options much better.
Henderson when he gets a chance to attack is quality - some of his balls today were insanely good and the one for Sterling's shot against the post was sublime.
Sterlings shooting was alot more composed yesterday I felt, he was unlucky with the first time shot from Moreno's cross, the shot against the post after Hendo's cross and also the shot from a tight angle from the left flank. He's getting there and looking stronger and more and more of a threat.
If he wasn't a footballer he'd be a van driver
I think Rodgers deserves a wee bit of credit for finding a system to include as many of the best players as possible and getting a bit of form and football going. Only a little bit though it's taken him a while and a lot of trial and error.
It worked well in the latter half of last season with Gerrard there, we became more expansive as a result, but his reluctance to not play a DM in games that were crying out for one, came back to haunt us. Particularly when we lost Hendo to suspension and tried to persevere with Allen instead. The options are there, there will be points where players come in and do well and other times when they do less so and someone else steps in. I guess that's the beauty of having a squad, but it takes a while to reach a point where everything clicks and you feel you can chop and change without disrupting the balance too much.
It seems as if Brendan decided to go back to basics and play the "tried and trusted", which proved to be the right decision.
Out went basically all our new signings, in came Touré and Lucas and we haven't lost since (except the game where he decided to bench Lucas for no reason at all)
Out went basically all our new signings, in came Touré and Lucas and we haven't lost since (except the game where he decided to bench Lucas for no reason at all)
Shame it took half a season but hopefully something has come together and we go on a decent run now. The attacking midfield positions seem good, we're looking a bit Arsenal at the moment which at the very least should be entertaining.
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