Chelsea v Liverpool CL semi 1st Leg

PiE

Gerrard doesn't have the brain to play AMC? I love how these sweeping statements get rolled out every time he has a bad game, yet the same people keep mute when he dominates a game. Shut up; you'd kill for him in your team. And that's coming from someone who'd sell him in a heartbeat should an offer of £25m+ come along.

The problem tonight wasn't Gerrard. It wasn't Alonso. It was Rafa. He picked the complete wrong lineup. Kuyt will never score against a physical team like Chelsea. He is always kept too far away from the danger area to cause a problem in big games. To even think Bellamy and Kuyt could cause problems for Terry and Carvalho... it just boggles the mind. Crouch is the only striker we have who could trouble Terry or Carvalho due to his awkward nature... and considering we were hoofing balls up from the (nervous) beginning, he should have started.

Nothing more needs to be said about Zenden; Rafa must be on a per-appearance bonus for playing him. The one weak link in Chelsea's defence tonight was Ferreira. Chelseas right flank was non-existant and ripe for expoitation... and Rafa pits our worst left winger against him. It just doesn't make sense.

If we don't beat them and go through at Anfield, all blame has to lay at Rafa's feet.

~Rebel~

PiE wrote:

Kuyt will never score against a physical team like Chelsea.

Just like he didnt score and hit the crossbar against them in the 2 league games this season?..oh wait....

I under stand where people are coming from on the whole "gerrard not in the center" thing, but at the same time, Rafa has made it clear he sees gerrardin a roaming Zidane type role. Honestly, where would you put zidane? he's a savage midfielder in an attacking sense, but like gerrard lacks the defensive edge (which gerrard used to have but seems to have lost).

I feel in a roaming/wide position if we're playing a 442 against a big team its the only way. besides that the only viable alternative is a 451 which could work too, though i would like kuyt and crouch on the pitch.

which brings me to my next point. Zenden sucked balls, but Bellamy was worse. Completely ineffective, never even showed for the ball. now i know rafa told him to stay on shoulder of last defender, but jesus you still have to be in the game! Kuyt ended up always having to come deep to keep play going. We know how effective and clinical he can be in the box (well excluding pie) so thats where he should be.

Finnan was a real blow though, as it caused a chain reaction around the team, meaning arbeloa couldnt play left back, and so riise couldnt play left mid.

I think Rafa would have been better solving this problem by putting pennant right and gerrard attacking left OMF so he could get at Ferreira, just like he had 2 fantastic scoring chances against Boulharouz earlier in the season. That was the weak link for chelsea and not putting the strongest team out to exploit it was a major fault.

Having said all this, i still feel that Rafa is happy enough with the 1-0. I think pool will start gung ho next week like he has set them up to do against Juventus in the past and really get them sending wave after wave forward. I expect Sissoko to start. By the way lads chill the **** out with the wanting to sell him lark. does everone forget him being MOM against chelsea in charity shield, or his match winning performance against Barca, or his tireless campaign last season where we missed him so much after the benfica game? How quickly people forget, but i think he deserves the utmost respect, yes he's in a bad spell, but he will still disrupt a good teams play better then anyone on the planet that i can think of! I have never seen an athlete of his caliber in a football match before. Yes sometimes its not pretty and of late he's had serious ball retention troubles, but even still, worst case scenario, those 30 seconds he disrupts play can be priceless.

Mr Alan

did gerrard not have the best season of his career last year playing out on the right for the majority of it, or did i dream that?

Also to the earlier poster who said, Gerrard was poor tonight but it was a big game so you expect that?!!?!?! Has Gerrard not scored in every major final he has ever played in? (or something along those lines). Steven Gerrard can perform on any stage. I actually thought he was liverpools best player tonight

Lex Luthor

el rabitos wrote:

where zenden is busy giving feirrera a nice red rash on his leg from pelting the ball at it continuously.

well said

Stekelly wrote:

How come when Crouch jumps with the keeper its autmatically a free out, yet 3 Chelsea players can barrell into Reina and nothing?

was thinking the very same myself



I think as many agree Rafa got it wrong. Should have put Agger at LB and Hyypia in the middle to deal with Drogba. Drogba kept pulling onto Agger as he knew he would have got little joy out of Carra. Riise or Gonzalez would have been a better choice at LM.
Bellamy was out of it completely. I think next game will be Crouch & Kuyt up front and Pennant on the right. Alonso & SG in the middle.

Chelsea talk after the game was all about "if they got a 2nd"....they know the tie is still in the balance and they don't like Anfield.

WhiteWashMan

Orizio wrote:

They have more experience at this European level,.

you mean they have played in a CL final? i cant really think of any 'experience' that liverpool would have over chelsea that would make a difference

Orizio wrote:

I still expect Liverpool to go through.

Orizio wrote:

and have been inconsistent all year in Europe.

you dont think those two statements might contradict each other?

me, i personally think the team with the 1 goal lead and the ability to chrun out a result would be favourites to go through.
but tis football, so i wouldnt rule out anything tbh.

although, i would be happier to see chelsea play milan in the final.

Sizzler

My 2cents.
Poor game. Chelsea determined as per usual and carried more of a threat overall as you would expect the home team to do. Liverpool stuck rigidly to their tactics and got out of jail with a 1-0 defeat.Their game plan did not seem to have made provision for the fact it would have been useful to get an away goal :eek: Apart form Cech's save from Gerrard Im struggling to remember Cech having to anything other than routine.
Chelsea did their usual and churned out a 1-0, Liverpool players did not step out of the comfort zone for me of their tactical plan and never showed the passion or realisation that they were in an actual CL Semi-Final! Possibly an opportunity lost, we'll find out Tuesday.

The Muppet

Stekelly wrote:

Whereas Gerrard, for some reason known only to Rafa, is rarely played in his best posiiton.

Either Souness of Redknapp said thereason is that he does not track back enough .

If liverpool had got an away goal I would have fancied them to do it but as it stands if Chelsea score as they usually do Pool will have to beat them by 2 clear goals. I think Chelsea are most lielky to proceed.

empirix

redspider wrote:

Well, not a good night from a Liverpool perspective. Like others here, I was particularly dissapointed with the selection, but not only that, the application that the players put in, and the shape that they played, the moves they tried, etc, - they were not creating any real threats. Chelsea only created a handful of chances, thats true, but Liverpool's were just a couple.

Going forward, Zenden saw a lot of the ball, too much, but Riise didnt link up well with him and Zenden's end product crossing to Bellamy and Kuyt was never going to work. Alonso and Mascherano were too similar, and Gerrard was too isolated on the right. At times, Liverpool struggled to pass the ball around.

Bringing on Crouch was the right idea, but Gonzalez should have also been brought on, and Gerrard moved to the centre.

> Rafa completly screwed-up his formation/selection

I agree, but I also think the players didnt do things perhaps they way he wanted them to do. Liverpool were geared up for breakway football but Chelsea stayed deep and never gave them a chance. Bellamy didnt get a sniff and was completely ineffective. That doesnt mean h'e a bad player though, just the wrong tool for the job.

Ironically, Chelsea's goal came on the break, after Liverpool showed a spell of dominance (in possesion anyway, they had a lot of it), and it was a sort of sucker punch. Drogba got by the less experienced Agger and Joe Cole sucked Arbeloa in, and scored easily.

Overall though, 1-0 was probably a fair result on the game, and indeed Liverpool can consider themselves better off not to have lost another one.

But here is something to ponder. This tie is not over. Rafa can and does learn. I have no doubt he will play a different team. Zenden was a 'Kewell in the final' type of moment. The players will respond, and the gap is a mere one goal. This is the achilles heel of Chelsea in Europe. They nearly got caught out by Valencia but for a last gasp winner by Essien. In this tie with Liverpool, a 1-0 would be equivalent to 3 pts in the league, a grinding out of another result. But this is a 180 min match. The gap is just 1, and Chelsea should have been pushing for a 2nd, much harder than they were. Instead, they were concentrating nearly 100% on holding onto the 1-0 lead, and just hoping for a 2nd goal.



I agree, and I think there will be a lot of people calling for that formation from within the camp as well.

I expect Liverpool to be something like this in the 2nd tie:

---

Reina

---

Finnan - Carra - Agger - Riise
---- Alonso --- Mascherano ---
Pennant --- Gerrard --- Gonzalez

---

Crouch

---

Mind you, that could have too many wide-men and not enough finishers, such as a Kuyt, and therein lies the dillema. Maybe play Bellamy on a wide position.

The tie is not over, but it is advantage Chelsea. A lot will depend on who is played where in the next match, and then, if Liverpool can break Chelsea down. I think that if Chelsea did get the first goal, and away goal, I could not see Liverpool coming back and getting 3. That said, if Liverpool do get a goal, and in these tight games a goal can come from a dead-ball situation or anything, it will be game on.

Liverpool are not out of it by any shape of the imagination. We need to dust ourselves down, and give it one more go. It is doable.

Redspider

Exactly what i was thinking - excellent post son!:)
The anfield game is a different kettle of fish, possibly salmon and mackerel, my worries are that chelsea are well capable of scoring a goal there and we weren't capable of doing so at the bridge. Personally i'd start crouch and bellamy, in my opinion Alonso and Gerrard do not work well together in the centre and i think rafa knows this. Gerrards best position is just playing behind the two strikers but can rafa afford to give chelski thaty much space in the middle of the park - i think not! no doubt he will be out on the right wing again. I'd drop Zenden, as posted above, his final delivery was poor, John Arnie is much more effective as an attacking winger. If it was me i'd have him and pennant on the wings. crouch up front, gerrard just playing in behind him with alonso and maschar in the middle - an exciting prospect, which is bound to see a few goals - is rafa willing to gamble with this kind of formation - certainly not from the start, perhaps in the last 20 mins of the 2nd half if still behind. I don't think this is a case of nick a goal here and there(which he will be trying to do), this can only work so many times, something new is needed!
Its salmon and mackerel gentlemen

HashSlinging

Thought Liverpool played really bad, and made Chelsea look really good, I lost count of the missed passes at one stage, not sure where that performance came from. Alonso coming off" am I right to think thats the first time he's been subbed.

Dosent look good for the second leg thats for sure.

redspider

Well, now that people have had a little more time to reflect on it, are there any different views?

I think that at 1-0 down this tie is still all to play for. Granted, not getting an away goal against a weakened Chelsea side may have been an opportunity lost, but there is still an opportunity there, and one goal for Liverpool and the tie is back in our favour. With a week's recovery and ponderonce, I am sure Liverpool will be in a different state of mind, will have a different set-up, and will have the capability to do it and it will be at Anfield. That will surey spur the Liverpool players on. Chelsea, aren't over-enamoured with the scoreline as it stands and their body language in interviews etc revealed that.

~Rebel~ wrote:

I under stand where people are coming from on the whole "gerrard not in the center" thing ... I feel in a roaming/wide position if we're playing a 442 against a big team its the only way. besides that the only viable alternative is a 451 which could work too, though i would like kuyt and crouch on the pitch.

Zenden sucked balls, but Bellamy was worse. Completely ineffective, never even showed for the ball.

Finnan was a real blow though, as it caused a chain reaction around the team, meaning arbeloa couldnt play left back, and so riise couldnt play left mid.

I think Rafa would have been better solving this problem by putting pennant right and gerrard attacking left OMF so he could get at Ferreira

Having said all this, i still feel that Rafa is happy enough with the 1-0.

Sissoko to start. ... i think he deserves the utmost respect, yes he's in a bad spell, but he will still disrupt a good teams play better then anyone on the planet that i can think of!

Yes, Gerrard in the centre would have been a good option last night I think, but what you say also makes a lot of sense, playing him left and getting at Ferreira. It has to be acknowledged that Ashley Cole did a quiet effective and unsung job tracking Gerrard a lot last night on the right and following him inside.

But with Pennant and Gerrard on the 'flanks' in such a setup, and Chelsea staying deep, Crouch up-front was the only way to break it down and provide a target. Bellamy is an over-the-top, over-the-shoulder type of player, ideal against teams that attack in numbers and leave a sparse defence, but Chelsea didnt.

Agreed, Finnan was a loss, not only in going up front but in the overall structure. I would have preferred to see Riise at left midfield, and use his pace and also get off some threatening shots. Liverpool lacked any threats. Also defensively Finnan would have likely stopped Coles goal. He was missed, no doubt about that.

I agree, Rafa IS happy with a 1-0 gap. True, we may not have played well, but we are where we are now and there is still an opportunity so he doesnt see it as a disaster.

As for Momo, he has his uses, but I would not play him in the next Chelsea match. We need creativity. We need Mascherano not only to break up the play, which he is good at, but also for him to create more, along with Alonso. Gerrard is ready and willing to do one two's, flicks, etc, and run at pace, and try and get off a shot, but he doesnt have enough other players to work with. Let Sissoko play in the league.

Overall, I think that whilst the Liverpool players may this morning feel somewhat dissappointed, the reality is that it is only a 1 goal gap, and that can be overcome.

Paddypower.com meanwhile have changed the odds of the CL winner to:
Chelsea 11-8 (was 2-1)
Man Utd 2-1 (same)
AC Milan 4-1 (same)
Liverpool 9-2 (was 3-1)

That's better value for Liverpool now.

Keep the faith .....

Redspider

iregk

Personally I thought it was a woeful game. I thought we did the job and could have had 3, lamps 2 missed chances/great saves and of course joes goal.

I really couldn't understand Rafa's thinking. Zenden didn't deserve to be in the same stadium as the rest of those lads, not even as a supporter. I'm sure Ferrera is in bits this morning from being constantly hit as another poster said. To leave him on and take Alonso, who was the only one really passing the ball was just baffling. Why was Zended also taking corners, I didnt' see one that got by the first man!

Gerrard was nowhere all night apart from one shot which was a fabulous strike it must be said and met with an equally fine save. Drogba well I'm not a fan anyway, he turned me slightly this year due to his goals but last night he was back to his worst. If he is not carefull the blues faithful will turn on him again.

raven136

Think Rafa is coming in for way too much stick this morning,being savaged on newstalk this morning and the sky.
Zenden issue:Finnan was injured and meant arbeloa had to go right back,otherwise Riise would have played left mid.All those people calling for gonzalez to be played,on his form this season(and he will get better) i wouldnt trust him to cross the road never mind deliver a great ball.
Zenden was the better option it just didnt work out and next week he wont be playing.
Agger was torn apart by Drogba but it should have been decided by Carra or Agger to go in physically and hard on him from the start and let him know that they wouldnt be overawed by his physical presence,that was a major disappointment.
Lets stop after every bad game saying Gerrard is played out of position and he needs to be moved into the middle,its time for the players to stand up and be coounted.Chelsea wanted it more last night and we need to be quicker,harder and have more guile next week.

Rafa was wrong about one thing,Crouch shud have played

shane86

Disappointing stuff alright. Both Kuyt and Crouch looked chronically out of form last night, I thought Crouch introduction might turn it. Im not sure you can really say Chelsea had a home advantage per say. The differences between home and away are usually how many supporters you bring and the quality of the field. The pitches of any major club in England are of equal quality. Judging by the noise half the support last night was for Liverpool. Therefore for the return leg, I really dont think playing in an Anfield full of Chelsea fans is the same boost as, lets say, playing in Anfield against an Italian team that has brought 1800 fans on the night.

If Kuyt, Gerrard and Crouch are back on form they can take it. If they play like last night they are finished, and tbh even if they do win the 2nd leg and go through Id dread a final against Man U if they play like that again.

empirix

redspider wrote:

Paddypower.com meanwhile have changed the odds of the CL winner to:
Chelsea 11-8 (was 2-1)
Man Utd 2-1 (same)
AC Milan 4-1 (same)
Liverpool 9-2 (was 3-1)

That's better value for Liverpool now.

Keep the faith .....

Redspider

Took liverpool at 33/1 when they were paired with barcelona, put €50 lids on it. C'mon you reds!

empirix

Kuyt is too slow, great worker/battler but his too slow, in other will never be a goal machine

RE*AC*TOR

I wasn't happy with the team sheet right from the off.

Finnan was missed, Zenden is thorughly average, Crouch should have started, Mascherano was disspointing, he got caught in posession a number of times, he gave stray passes a number of times.

Sissoko, despite his inability to pass would have been better, and judging on last night's performance (especially the first half) there are plenty of liverpool players who can't pass.

Pennant should have started, his form of late has been excellent.

I would have much preferred a 4-5-1 with Riise in left midfield, Pennant in right, Gerrard / Alonso / Masch or Sissoko in the middle, and Crouch up front on his own.

Anyway, 1-0 is not a terrible result, but we have to raise our game for next tuesday. It will either be another memorable Anfield Euro night, or a disspointing anti-climax to the season.

PS Daniel Agger could not handle Drogba. Drogba won nearly every header. Methinks Sami might be needed.

PHB

1-0 is a really hard task.
They have to score, which is something Liverpool never like going out there to do.
From that, they have to score again, but if Chelsea can get a goal, and I think we can see how there are goals aplenty in their team, then that will mean that they will need to get three goals to win.
I think there is a serious advantage to Chelsea.

In regards to Gerrard, my opinions on him have been the same for a while.
If he plays AMC, the only way you win the game is through him. If he has a poor game, the team has a poor game. If he has a great game, the team has a great game. Because if you play him as an AMC, everything goes through him. Because he plays the killer ball all the time, he can be very destructive to your play. That said, he makes the killer ball at least one in every four passes, which is incredible.
But that's just too destructive to the overall team play, which is why Rafa, the man widely considered to be a tactical genius, plays him on the right wing.
He can do all the stuff he normally does there, provide his drive and determination, but the key is, if he plays badly, the team can still play well.

yom 1

Liverpool were piss poor last night and it hurt badly. Arbeloa had a shocker - he was awful. I dont think he actually made 1 complete pass in the match. Zenden - I actually cant say what I want to about him cos I'll get banned. How he could have so much of the play for Liverpool and not put in one single decent cross is a noodle scratcher to say the least!

Agger was bullied from the first minute by Drogba and it set the tone for the game. He just coudlnt get near him. He's young though and learning and has been excellent pretty much all season so we can let this poor showing slide. Loved it when he took the piss outta Drogba for crying though:p

Liverpool have it all to do in the second leg. But it isnt beyond them. The match is nicely poised for Chelsea. It will suit them to have Liverpool have to come at them to hit them on the break. Liverpool need an early goal to settle nerves and give themselves a chance. Anfield will be electric and will hopefully be the famous 12th man again.

Gerrard needs to do what he hasnt really been doin this season which is preform. He is the one player who can drag us through the rough times and inspire a win.

Crouch will have a big big say in the second leg I think. The difference he made when he came on last night could be easily seen.

Rafa will hopefully pull off another tactical masterstroke. In Rafa we trust.

growler

Excellent game, from my point of view at least, proper end to end stuff. Disappointing that chelsea didn't make the most of their first half dominance at put this game to bed, Liverpool were disorganised and pretty tactically poor. I'm surprised that zenden is getting so much stick, if it wasn't for him they would have looked far more toothless, fair enough I think he got one cross in all game but there wasn't much else on offer with Riise playing so far back.

Also amazed that Liverpool kept all 11 players on the pitch, Drogba was fouled constantly, the number of Liverpool fouls was outrageous.

Great atmosphere at the bridge last night again although there was quite a few scraps breaking out all over west london before the game and another in the matthew harding stand when 6 scumbags were identified as pool supporters and didn't take to kindly to being ejected, almost felt sorry for them as the touts were selling tickets for over £250 each last night. Liverpool seem to cause more trouble than any other team at chelsea in recent years, which is a shame as most of their support are genuine fans.


Chelsea well set up for the second leg, Liverpool will have to chase it and I can see Crouch being their mani target, that will give Chelsea plently of opportunity to attack on the break and I can't see us not scoring one. Roll on Athens!!

yom 1

growler wrote:

Great atmosphere at the bridge last night again...

I thought the atmosphere was actually poor. Start of the game the only fans that could be heard were pool fans. All Chelsea fans seemed to do was boo liverpool fans for singing. Dont Chelsea fans have songs of there own to sing

growler wrote:

Also amazed that Liverpool kept all 11 players on the pitch, Drogba was fouled constantly, the number of Liverpool fouls was outrageous.

Thats quiet funny considering Drogba should have had booked a few times for diving. Joe Cole could have too as could SWP.

empirix

Lads, many of yee are getting too carried away, leave the sickles in the shed for the time being, 1-0 is not that bad a result,liverpool are well capable of scoring a bag full of goals on their day and usually rise to the big occasions, the team fielded last night was aimed at getting a draw or nicking a goal. I've seen it all before including all the european cup final wins, always the underdog that "should" lose - but they didn't and instead rose to the occasion, a lot more to come at Anfield and tbh i think we'll be in Athens come May 23rd

_blank_

yom 1 wrote:

I thought the atmosphere was actually poor. Start of the game the only fans that could be heard were pool fans. All Chelsea fans seemed to do was boo liverpool fans for singing. Dont Chelsea fans have songs of there own to sing

I was hearing 'The Blue Flag' from the very start anyway.

On this note, and sorry to hijack the thread, but what is the tune of the 'We won it five times, we won it five tii-imes'(Liverpool) and 'He plays on the left, he plays on the rii-iight'(C. Ronaldo). We've started using it for one of our players this season. Where is it from?

And please, don't tell me Liverpool made up the tune.

Nalz

seansouth wrote:

I was hearing 'The Blue Flag' from the very start anyway.

On this note, and sorry to hijack the thread, but what is the tune of the 'We won it five times, we won it five tii-imes'(Liverpool) and 'He plays on the left, he plays on the rii-iight'(C. Ronaldo). We've started using it for one of our players this season. Where is it from?

And please, don't tell me Liverpool made up the tune.

The song is the tune of the Beach Boys track "Sloop John B".

yom 1

I didnt actually know this till now but its the Beach Boys "Sloop John B"

just wiki'd it there

PHB

Fouls, from Sky Sports
Chelsea : 9
Liverpool : 19

PiE

Yea but half of them were either Drogba falling backwards into Agger or Crouch getting penalised for being so tall.

BaZmO*

Not the worst result from Liverpools pov, it could've been a lot worse and they always had to win at Anfield. But I feel if Chelsea get a goal at Anfield it's bye bye Liverpool.

Also wanna point out that some of the Liverpool were throwing objects at Cech just like some of the Utd. fans were throwing objects at Dida.
See, idiots follow every team.

Orizio

you mean they have played in a CL final? i cant really think of any 'experience' that liverpool would have over chelsea that would make a difference

Under Rafa Liverpool have gone all the way.Chelsea haven't.Yes that seems to be very clear advantage of experience this far into the Championship's league.

you dont think those two statements might contradict each other?

Umm no.Liverpool were terrible tonight, however they have been doing this regurly in Europe and domestically for the last few years - playing badly one week and then excelling the next week.

growler

yom 1 wrote:

I thought the atmosphere was actually poor. Start of the game the only fans that could be heard were pool fans. All Chelsea fans seemed to do was boo liverpool fans for singing. Dont Chelsea fans have songs of there own to sing



Thats quiet funny considering Drogba should have had booked a few times for diving. Joe Cole could have too as could SWP.

I guess Sky decided to stick a speaker by the pool fans then

Chelsea have plenty of songs, and did boo every time YNWA was started up.

yom 1

growler wrote:

I guess Sky decided to stick a speaker by the pool fans then

Ha ha that could've been it alright:)

Chardee MacDennis

stamford bridge is a graveyard though. and the home fans are always rubbish there. it is not uncommon to hear the away fans over them.

Dont be at yourself

Shocking performance from the 'pool, and we were lucky to escape with the 0-1.

Zenden, as has been said, was rubbish. Rafa obviously highlighted Ferreira as a weakness, which meant Zenden saw a lot of the ball, but his touch was awful, as was his crossing. It looked like he hadn't kicked a ball in weeks.

We were very nervy for most of the first half, and after a few misplaced passes, and Chelsea's pressure, we didn't settle. We made a meal of nearly everything that came into the box. Agger was bullied time and again by Drogba in the first half, including for the goal.

Kuyt, Bellamy and Crouch did absolutely nothing, but they had very little service.

Finnan was missed. Arbeloa didn't push forward at all, and with Gerrard going wandering, we had no threat from the right. Had Finnan been on, Arbeloa and Riise could have provided our left-side, which would have been a lot more effective.

We're still in with a shout in Anfield. At last night's game, the 'pool fans drowned out the Chelsea fans, and it's gonna be 10 times the atmosphere at home.

Finnan will hopefully be back, and Rafa will hopefully drop Zenden. Chelsea will hopefully sit back and not press for a goal, because if they do score one, it's gonna be hard for us to find the required three. We've got to be very mindful of Chelsea on the counter-attack.

My line-up for the second leg?

                 Reina
Finnan   Carra  Agger  Arbeloa
Pennant Mach  Alonso  Riise
             Gerrard
                Crouch

I think our best chance for a goal comes from Gerrard, Riise, or a set-piece. Terry & Carvahlo will pick up crosses all night, and none of our forwards are prolific in the air (or on the ground...).

Either way, I'm not particularly confident, but European nights at Anfield often surprise us.

_blank_

Trilla wrote:

The song is the tune of the Beach Boys track "Sloop John B".

Thank you very much.

Now, I have to get me a copy of that.

yom 1 wrote:

I didnt actually know this till now but its the Beach Boys "Sloop John B"

just wiki'd it there

How did you wiki that

raven136

All the people giving out **** about Rafa then calling for him to play Gerrard behing Crouch.If he dared play 4-5-1 at home there would be murder and people would be bitching about that.
The players need to want it and the atmosphere should be intense,but the mestialla was buzzing against Chelsea but they still pummelled Valencia.

Reina
Finnan Carra Agger Arbeloa

Gerrard Alsonso Sissoko Riise

Crouch Kuyt

Rafa could surprise us all and go 3-5-2 and give Gerarrd the free role

Reina
carra agger hypia
pennant/finnan alsonso sissoko riise

gerrard

kuyt crouch

redspider

NekkidBibleMan> My line-up for the second leg ...

same as mine .... I'd play it 4-2-3-1.


Keeping things positive, Gerrard is fairly positive and I think that's the way we have to be:

Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool's Champions League semi-final remains wide open despite the first leg defeat at Stamford Bridge.
The skipper insists he's still confident he and his teammates can manufacture one of Anfield's greatest ever European nights on Tuesday.

"The mood wasn't downbeat in the dressing room after the game. It's still game on. If we score first at Anfield, we could be in for a very good second leg," said Gerrard.

"I think Chelsea were happy with the result, but I think they will still show us a lot of respect in the second leg. They know the tie isn't over yet and they've witnessed the atmosphere at Anfield before. They know that we're capable of beating them at Anfield - as we proved in the Premiership earlier this year.

"It's only half-time. We would have liked a better scoreline going back to Anfield but we're one down and we'll get on with it. We'll approach the game knowing that we need to score the first goal and we'll be ready for Tuesday night.

"We're confident we can hurt them a lot more at our place with the crowd behind us. We'll raise the tempo and the first 20 minutes will be really interesting next week. If any supporters can raise the roof, it's our supporters, so I think we could be in store for another memorable European night."

On the performance at Stamford Bridge, Gerrard added: "I think Chelsea edged the first half on chances and Pepe Reina made a couple of good saves, but second half I thought we dominated possession and pushed forward, although we didn't create clear-cut chances.

"The manager told us to be more positive at the break because although we kept the ball well enough during the first half, we didn't get down the sides and hurt Chelsea.

"Petr Cech has pulled off a top save from myself and I don't think any other 'keeper in Europe would have got that - I was almost away celebrating!"

redspider

yom 1

seansouth wrote:

How did you wiki that

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ve_Won_It_Five_Times

Guy:Incognito

The Muppet wrote:

Either Souness of Redknapp said thereason is that he does not track back enough ..

Its been said over and over on here how its ok for the likes of C.Ronaldo, Lamard etc to not have to track back becaus eof what they offer in attack. Why should it not be the same for Gerrard?

raven136

Stekelly wrote:

Its been said over and over on here how its ok for the likes of C.Ronaldo, Lamard etc to not have to track back becaus eof what they offer in attack. Why should it not be the same for Gerrard?

First off i dont think it is ok,they shud(lampard in particular)track back more and help out teammates.
2nd they have 45 goals between them and so offer more going forward than Gerrard

Guy:Incognito

raven136 wrote:

First off i dont think it is ok,they shud(lampard in particular)track back more and help out teammates.
2nd they have 45 goals between them and so offer more going forward than Gerrard

And as I said above, they are played in their preferred positions with the team playing to suite them as their managers know they are a source of goals. Rafa seems to fit Gerrard around the team as opposed to the other two who have the team set up to get the most from them.

Necronomicon

Anyone else see an ad on Sky advertising the game for tonight, or am I going crazy??

Aquos76

Necromomicon wrote:

Anyone else see an ad on Sky advertising the game for tonight, or am I going crazy??

I think you may be going slightly crazy, they have been advertising the FA Youth cup which is been played at OT tonight all day

Guy:Incognito

Actually now that you mention it (and completeyl OT) but why are womens and underage finals played over 2 legs? Packie bonner was talking on the radio yesterday and mentioned 2 of the Irish women are playign in the UEFA cup final with Arsenal, it's over 2 legs.

mike65

Have'nt any of you got jobs?

I'll just reiterate what I said when I saw the team sheet - oh dear (shortened version). Did anyone catch Ray Houghton on RTE news this morning? He said Rafa got it wrong by playing a too attacking line-up. How in Gods name is two holding mid-fielders and no true wing play atttacking? He also was certain the 'handball' was in the area. Ho-hum.

As for next week, I can only hope Rafa has leaned something from last night and plays my "win-guaranteed"* formation.

---

Reina
Finnan-Carra-Agger-Arbaola

---

Macharano
Pennant---Alonso---Riise

---

Gerrard

---

Crouch

Bench - Dudek, Gonzo, Hyypia, Kuyt, Bellamy, Sissoko, KEWELL (really)

Certainly another mismatch of postions and talents will mean certain doom.

Mike.

*not an actual guarantee

Vokes

Reckon we need Hyypia back in to combat Drogba - he always does a decent against him + hes a fantastic aerial threat on corners, which we haven't had for a while now. BUT he is out of match-practice

If Finnan is back - I hope then for a 3-5-2 with Gerrard placed centrally.

            Reina

      Carra Hyypia Agger

Finnan                   Riise
       
       Sissoko   Alonso
   
            Gerrard

        Crouch     Kuyt

The Muppet

Stekelly wrote:

Its been said over and over on here how its ok for the likes of C.Ronaldo, Lamard etc to not have to track back becaus eof what they offer in attack. Why should it not be the same for Gerrard?

I don't know, The question was asked and I gave the answer , I assume Benitz expects him to Track back where as Murinho and Fergie are happy enough for Ronald and Lampard not to.

It sounds plausable, what other reason could there be for playing him out of position.