I really really really liked Rob Jones .... injuries got him too and he wasn't even touching 32/33 !
Toure update?
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I really really really liked Rob Jones .... injuries got him too and he wasn't even touching 32/33 !
Well that's bollocks. You've basically just said, "you can't field a certain player on the off-chance he gets injured".
Yes. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the side Rodgers picked. Quite the contrary. The problem was the attitude they showed out on the pitch. For far too long, sides from lower divisions, drawn against us in cups, have rubbed their hands together and thought, 'They'll give us a chance,' because we've acquired a habit of resting far too many first choice players, fielding a team full of far too many unfamiliar partnerships,and the opposing team has started aggressively and confidently with the smell of blood in their nostrils. So it was good to see us start with a side that visibly took the wind out of the opponents' sails (their manager, in particular, looked set to throw up with trepidation). But we soon signalled to them that we were only prepared to sleepwalk through the game, which encouraged them to really have a go. What we need to do in future is not switch back to the old shambolic selection strategy but begin such games with cold and hard professionalism, treating it as a half-hour of ruthless and aggressive attacking.. Then we can take players off and bring on pretty much who we like. That's MUCH better than how we behaved against, say, Oldham, sending on Gerrard to chase a game against opponents who by that time were convinced they were destined for glory and quite prepared to injure anyone who threatened to spoil their day. Rodgers is going in the right direction. It's now up to the players to show the right attitude.
They thought they'd have a field day, thus the amount of shots that could have been passes to better placed team mates.
Scoring two goals was the perfect start so we did start the game with good intentions. But those two goals were exactly what made us complacent.
Scoring two goals was the perfect start so we did start the game with good intentions. But those two goals were exactly what made us complacent.
Come on you've got more sense than that ... I hope. What I said was there was no point in risking them for that match when we should have been able to field a damn good team without them (what happened in the match ..injuries etc. ... is irrelevant to the part of this conversation concerning the team we should have started with). Especially bearing in mind who we were playing, the quality of their players (and the tackles that might be expected) and with United in mind. As it turned out it was the extra 30 mins that done for Toure.
Which is not so bad given the international breaks, only misses 2-3 games. Could have been worse.
We've tried in previous seasons to rest our better players, and we've gotten knocked out.
Other seasons our players get injured in training.
As GK has said, his theory was sound, we just got unlucky. At least we made it through the round and have another win under our belt.
Other seasons our players get injured in training.
As GK has said, his theory was sound, we just got unlucky. At least we made it through the round and have another win under our belt.
I said that I didn't understand the logic of fielding weakened teams. I basically asked the question "why should Toure NOT have been picked?". And you responded with:
Now forgive me, but that seems like you were suggesting he shouldn't be fielded in case he picked up an injury. I totally take your point, but why Toure and Gerrard? Why not rest Mignolet and Sturridge? I mean anyone can pick up and injury. It's a bullshit approach. When you play a shit team like Notts County, you should go out all guns blazing, and rip the shit out of them. Once you've made sure you've won, then you can rest up to 3 players.
In any case, He rested Agger, Enrique, Aspas and Coutinho. Was that not a weakened enough team for you?
Under the circumstances, the most impressive debut I've ever seen. He was remarkable that day.
Scariest thing for me is if Kolo really has done his groin, that was the injury that set him back 5-6 years ago and knocked him off of his top form.
Nope it wasn't. And it isn't a BS approach (except to some supporters). IMHO he benched the wrong players - as I posted in the pre-match thread. We don't know what may have happened had we fielded a different team but we do now know our defence has been weakened considerably for United, when it should be at it's strongerst, .. and that was eminently foreseeable. 4th or better is what will take this club forward .. you know where you can stick your Milk/League/Capitol cup if that ends up costing us a place in the CL due to injuries.
I don't think the injuries helped the cause during the game. Ideally we'd have gone 3-0 up, not lost Cissokho to injury and then threw Borini and a couple of others on, while withdrawing Toure, Gerrard and Sturridge. He's damned if he does go strong and damned if he doesn't. He doesn't and we risk another Barnsley/Burnley/whoever, he goes strong and he risks losing players to injury.
The bottom line is, we don't really have the squad to support either approach, without compromising either fitness or quality. That's the risks of small squads. There's no ideal "Our B squad should be good enough to beat them because they're in a lesser league", we all know it rarely works like that, that's why we have domestic cup competition and why the early rounds are good value for money in terms of watching a few big dogs get found wanting. Different variables come into play. Arrogance, punching above weight, dodgy decisions, injuries, it's just football, but saying one way or the other would have been the best way is always easy in hindsight, and when on the end of the negative side to the approach you've opted for.
Shit happens.
The bottom line is, we don't really have the squad to support either approach, without compromising either fitness or quality. That's the risks of small squads. There's no ideal "Our B squad should be good enough to beat them because they're in a lesser league", we all know it rarely works like that, that's why we have domestic cup competition and why the early rounds are good value for money in terms of watching a few big dogs get found wanting. Different variables come into play. Arrogance, punching above weight, dodgy decisions, injuries, it's just football, but saying one way or the other would have been the best way is always easy in hindsight, and when on the end of the negative side to the approach you've opted for.
Shit happens.
Exactly, players like gerrard, agger, toure and sturridge I wouldn't have had anywhere near Anfield yesterday. The manure game is way more important than notts county imo.sturridge, agger and gerrard need protection because they get injured regularly and toure because we don't have a decent backup. I'd only play them in league matches until we have big enough squad. I was Pissed off when I saw they were starting.
Glen you'd be first on here last night moaning if we got knocked out with a weak team.
He played a strong team to keep the confidence high and trying to avoid extra time.
It didn't work out because we were wasteful again in front of goal.
It's damned if you do and damned if you don't regarding cup games.
He played a strong team to keep the confidence high and trying to avoid extra time.
It didn't work out because we were wasteful again in front of goal.
It's damned if you do and damned if you don't regarding cup games.
Aren't you permanently pissed off?
confirmed.
Yep, imagine if he'd tweaked the groin ten mins into that game and forced an early sub. I don't want him injured but we have been dealt a hand and will have to deal with it.
Ok the reasoning and rationale is correct. But if none of them had played and we'd lost then there'd still be loads pissing and moaning that we fielded a weakened side. We have no Europa league this year so the squad we have, thin though it is, should cope with the league games and few cup games surely?
I don't want us losing in the 2nd round of the cup to a league one side and winning builds momentum.
Heh.. Hopefully it does, and hopefully people will be grateful enough to appreciate it and not compare it to where we were several years ago. We need to build again, all our managers in recent years have had to do that some degree and a good way to start is in the domestic cups, silverware is silverware and even during our long barren league spell, we've still been the second most successful English Club in terms of trophies won. Let's keep that up, like Ged, Rafa and Kenny did. Let's win a trophy and get the hunger back for winning more and bigger.
No I wouldn't actually as I'm not bothered by the carling cup. To me our thin squad should be focused on the league. This is our best chance of making top 4 this season. I'm always advocating using the kids for the carling cup for experience. To me it's all about the league this season. Our squad doesn't have enough quality to be taking gambles with certain players.
Because in this instance it could end up costing us points .. that may ultimately cost us a CL place. Focus on what is really important, and will take us forward, instead of trying to spread the love.
Even if we wanted to save our first team players for Man U, there was no real alternative to playing Toure. Skrtel was injured and not OK to play, Agger was carrying a knock and ended up playing anyway, Kelly also not ready (didn't even make the reserves). Toure and Wisdom was pretty much our only choice at CB.
This is what I initially suggested :
------------------ Jones --------------------
Kelly -- Wisdom -- Skrtel (match fit or not -- Cissokho
................................so long as not injured)
-------------- Allen ---- Coady --------------
----------------- Alberto --------------------
------ Sterling ---- Borini ---- Ibe -----
Forgot about Coady (in for Lucas) - thanks DB.
So of course I forgot Coady is at Sheff Utd so Lucas would have to start and Skrtel it seems is still not ready so for me Kelly & Wisdom at CB and Flanagan at RB.
Win or lose it's just the Capital Cup.
If we were to start with a clearly unfit player, one who couldn't even make the bench for a Carling Cup match, then we would probably lose. Wisdom and an unfit Kelly as pair a of CBs - that doesnt inspire confidence, does it? If you want us to go out meekly in the first round of every competition, why bother at all?
If not last night, this injury might well have happened to Toure in training during the week.
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