Blackburn v Liverpool Match Thread Sat 3pm

mike65

Fiorentina is the test, if he plays no part in that then I'll be concerned.

Game over.

magma69

PHB wrote: »

Sorry but Aquilani has had a horrid history with injuries throughout his career, indeed has played an absurdly low number of games for his age. It makes no sense whatsoever, whatsoever, to bring him on now and potentially risk his injury. You gotta ease him into it irrespective of the position you are in, because otherwise he'll get injured and then you're ****ed for the season.

I think Rafa is doing the right then with Aquilani personally, having seen United rush Hargreaves back for games, even though is resulted in the double, it's hurt us long term.

Then why have him on the feckin bench wasting a sub place. That excuse doesn't cut it. I am losing patience with Rafa. I have defended him enough. He makes some asinine decisions.

dannydiamond

Brilliant Pepe!

ctrl-alt-delete

Poor result for Liverpool.

Happy with the point for Blackburn, game panned out pretty much as expected.

Kess73

PHB wrote: »

Sorry but Aquilani has had a horrid history with injuries throughout his career, indeed has played an absurdly low number of games for his age. It makes no sense whatsoever, whatsoever, to bring him on now and potentially risk his injury. You gotta ease him into it irrespective of the position you are in, because otherwise he'll get injured and then you're ****ed for the season.

I think Rafa is doing the right then with Aquilani personally, having seen United rush Hargreaves back for games, even though is resulted in the double, it's hurt us long term.

Easing Aquilani back would require him to be getting some game time.

He got 15 minutes of matchtime five weeks ago, and then got literally less than a minute in injury time in the CL.

If he is not being risked because we are playing so badly and not getting results, then he may not get a game until well into the new year, as we are poor in pretty much each game.

The guy needs gametime to start getting matchfit, if Aquilani is not ready for any matchtime, then he should not be on the bench for game after game.

mayordenis

absolute disgrace

tok9

Oh god the draws are back


at least we kept a clean sheet

Holsten

Another terrible result.

At least it wasn't a loss... ugh.

jesus_thats_gre

Bad result but it didn't look like we deserved anything more.

Sir Gallagher

Another weekend wrecked, nice one Rafa and the lads.

Kess73

mike65 wrote: »

Fiorentina is the test, if he plays no part in that then I'll be concerned.

Game over.

Well the Fiorentina game is a nothing game, so he would be expected to play in it, plus the Arsenal game is against a team that is not overly physical so I would expect him to get at least 30 minutes in that one.

My worry is that even if he gets time in both those games, that Rafa goes back to keeping him on the bench after that.

PHB

Perhaps, just perhaps, Rafa doesn't think that he's match fit enough to change a game. As such, isn't bringing him on when you are chasing a result, but is happy to bring him on when you're winning. It's not as if there's a massive need to get other people on your bench.

Eire-Dearg

Aquilani will start midweek.

dannydiamond

PHB wrote: »

Perhaps, just perhaps, Rafa doesn't think that he's match fit enough to change a game. As such, isn't bringing him on when you are chasing a result, but is happy to bring him on when you're winning. It's not as if there's a massive need to get other people on your bench.

He pretty much said that during the week.

NukaCola

elshambo wrote: »

The only reason i can see for having him on bench and not bringing him on is he wants to ease him in in games that are already won with 20 or so mins left
The way we are playing he could be on the bench for a while:(

Its a bit of a joke....
Should have bought him in the january transfer window, save on wages, or better still buy a player who can actually play....
Aquilani cost 20 mil and Rafa not buying a suitable replacement for Alonso has cost us dear this season, Aquilani might work out in the long run but this season is over. Surely for 20 mil Rafa could have got a player for now and the future.

Our midfield as it stands

Masch + Lucas = Zero Creativity
Gerard = Injurys
Riera = Injurys/Not bothered/Very Poor
Kuyt = Very Poor
Benny = Excellent
Aquilani = Injured

curry-muff

Gerrard sickens me more than Henry, Disguisting Dive :mad:

~Rebel~

Folks, you're really not looking at like for like. If it was plessis or something coming on, then fair enough, but he's bringing on people totally different to aquilani, because he happens to want a totally different option to what aquilani provides at that particular time.

It sucks, cause we all want to see him, and I would have put on Aqui for Lucas with 20 to go, but Rafa obviously wanted to go for the tricky, nippy type of player (and to be fair i thought El Zhar did quite well, some lovely touches and interplay), and wasn't comfortable with Aqui being 1/2 our midfield defence with no EPL experience.

I very much doubt its due to injury he's not getting minutes, id say its as rafa said "when you're in a tight game, bringing on someone in the middle who could make a fatal error is not the right option" or words to that effect. Put simply I dont think Rafa trusts Aqui to be able to get straight into the EPL without any mistakes right off the bat, which is whats needed in big games.

I still have no doubt if we could just put a fuking game away with 30mins to go he'd be on. but we can't.

I would be immensely surprised if he does't figure heavily in that Cl game, as that will be the first 'nothing' game we'll have been involved in for months. Every fuking game seems to go right to the wire for us right now.

Spiritoftheseventies

Just heard the result. Depressing. Why didn't he take a chance with Aquilani. So he might get injured. But at this rate we are dropping back further and further.

daithijjj

curry-muff wrote: »

Gerrard sickens me more than Henry, Disguisting Dive :mad:

Funnily enough, the commentators on my stream both thought it was a penalty.

jesus_thats_gre

PHB wrote: »

Perhaps, just perhaps, Rafa doesn't think that he's match fit enough to change a game. As such, isn't bringing him on when you are chasing a result, but is happy to bring him on when you're winning. It's not as if there's a massive need to get other people on your bench.

Sure Rafa has come out and pretty much said that he isn't fit or sharp enough to play yet and that he doesn't want to rush him back in case he makes a mistake that costs us a match and majorly knocks his confidence.

Unfortunately, Liverpool fans are so desperate for success and don't really get that.

Kess73

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Folks, you're really not looking at like for like. If it was plessis or something coming on, then fair enough, but he's bringing on people totally different to aquilani, because he happens to want a totally different option to what aquilani provides at that particular time.

It sucks, cause we all want to see him, and I would have put on Aqui for Lucas with 20 to go, but Rafa obviously wanted to go for the tricky, nippy type of player (and to be fair i thought El Zhar did quite well, some lovely touches and interplay), and wasn't comfortable with Aqui being 1/2 our midfield defence with no EPL experience.

I very much doubt its due to injury he's not getting minutes, id say its as rafa said "when you're in a tight game, bringing on someone in the middle who could make a fatal error is not the right option" or words to that effect. Put simply I dont think Rafa trusts Aqui to be able to get straight into the EPL without any mistakes right off the bat, which is whats needed in big games.

I still have no doubt if we could just put a fuking game away with 30mins to go he'd be on. but we can't.

I would be immensely surprised if he does't figure heavily in that Cl game, as that will be the first 'nothing' game we'll have been involved in for months. Every fuking game seems to go right to the wire for us right now.

But that's just it, Aquilani was spoken of by Rafa when he got him as being a matchwinner and a gamechanger. The type of player who can change a game with a clever pass.

Now Rafa is not playing him in case he makes a mistake that proves costly.

Maybe Rafa should start looking at the players that he currently starts who are making mistakes all season, or who are causing us to be in tight games due to a lack of creativity.

Sir Gallagher

curry-muff wrote: »

Gerrard sickens me more than Henry, Disguisting Dive :mad:

So you hate Liverpool more than you love Ireland?

Kess73

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Sure Rafa has come out and pretty much said that he isn't fit or sharp enough to play yet and that he doesn't want to rush him back in case he makes a mistake that costs us a match and majorly knocks his confidence.

I am sure sitting on the bench and not being played in case he makes a mistake is doing wonders for his confidence.

curry-muff

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

So you hate Liverpool more than you love Ireland?

Not what i said at all, i hate cheaters and hypocrites, Henry admitted to his, Gerrard claims he hates cheaters and divers and says he would tell him team mates to stop diving, way to lead by example :rolleyes:

jesus_thats_gre

Kess73 wrote: »

I am sure sitting on the bench and not being played in case he makes a mistake is doing wonders for his confidence.

I am sure that the manager knows what he is doing. We know very little about what is going on when compared to what the staff at the club know. I would be inclined to assume that they are basing their decision on something that we aren't aware off than talk complete bollox about it.

evil_seed

todays game was pure horse****. how come we can only up it a gear in the final 10 minutes. we got dragged down to their level and this happens far too much against lower teams for my liking. we have no match winner at the moment and the teams confidence is so low right now i just want the season to end because it's going nowhere fast

mike65

bayviewclose wrote: »

Just heard the result. Depressing. Why didn't he take a chance with Aquilani. So he might get injured. But at this rate we are dropping back further and further.

Actually not the case fortunately, if the results with Spurs and City go as expected Liverpool will finish the weekend one place worse off.

Kess73

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

I am sure that the manager knows what he is doing. We know very little about what is going on when compared to what the staff at the club know. I would be inclined to assume that they are basing their decision on something that we aren't aware off than talk complete bollox about it.

Well the player is either fit enough to play for some bit of a game or he is not fit enough. If it is the latter, then he should say so and not put him on the bench. If it is the former, then a player that was bought with the intention of being a first team player should be getting 20 to 30 min run outs to start building up his match fitness.

Sir Gallagher

curry-muff wrote: »

Not what i said at all, i hate cheaters and hypocrites, Henry admitted to his, Gerrard claims he hates cheaters and divers and says he would tell him team mates to stop diving, way to lead by example :rolleyes:

Yeah give Henry a big gold star and a lollipop for owning up. I take it you're a United fan, do you feel the same about Rooney then?

Kess73

mike65 wrote: »

Actually not the case fortunately, if the results with Spurs and City go as expected Liverpool will finish the weekend one place worse off.

Which is still losing ground.

mike65

Jesus Christ don't get your knockers er knickers in a twist! You may not have noticed but we're shiot this season we;re gonna win nothing and will be glad for a top 4 finish, so slipping a point or two back now is no big deal in that race to 4th.

NukaCola

Just watching Sky and Rafa said Aquilani could start vs Fiorentina!!??
Why not throw him on today, when we actually need him to play ffs

ctrl-alt-delete

daithijjj wrote: »

Funnily enough, the commentators on my stream both thought it was a penalty.

It was never a penalty, honestly if it was reversed would you be saying the same?

I know i can say i would be, it was a dive.

daithijjj

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

It was never a penalty, honestly if it was reversed would you be saying the same?

I know i can say i would be, it was a dive.

It really doesnt matter what we think, two people/commentators independent of both our bias said they thought it was a penalty, that is all.

Kess73

mike65 wrote: »

Jesus Christ don't get your knockers er knickers in a twist! You may not have noticed but we're shiot this season we;re gonna win nothing and will be glad for a top 4 finish, so slipping a point or two back now is no big deal in that race to 4th.

Slipping a point of two can be a big deal, regardless of whether you are a title challenging team or one of the teams who have no chance of a title but are scrambling for fourth.

Dropping points when we are scrambling for a CL place could become the difference between being a fourth placed team and being a Europa cup place chasing team, and the way we are playing the latter is a possibility.

Headshot

who dived ?

ctrl-alt-delete

daithijjj wrote: »

It really doesnt matter what we think, two people/commentators independent of both our bias said they thought it was a penalty, that is all.

And the ref, Independent of our bias disagreed with them, if you want to go down the order of importance of opinions route.

He copped out of booking him for the dive though.

ctrl-alt-delete

Headshot wrote: »

who dived ?

Gerrard, nothing came of it though, luckily enough,

Still disgusting to see though.

daithijjj

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

And the ref, Independent of our bias disagreed with them, if you want to go down the order of importance of opinions route.

He copped out of booking him for the dive though.

Refs always get it right dont they :rolleyes:

ctrl-alt-delete

daithijjj wrote: »

Refs always get it right dont they :rolleyes:

Yeah, just like commentators eh?

daithijjj wrote: »

:rolleyes:

RasTa

Great point for Blackburn, fair play. It must suck to be a Liverpool fan atm

daithijjj

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Yeah, just like commentators eh?

Ones that see the replay usually do :rolleyes:.

Its not like bringing in video hasnt been in the news with important decisions lately.

dannydiamond

Headshot wrote: »

who dived ?

No-one dived, it was a nothing incident,but someone here is the only one that seems bothered.

whatnext

ctrl-alt-delete wrote: »

Yeah, just like commentators eh?

Not seen it yet, but Matt Le Tiss said on SSN he should have been booked for Diving

curry-muff

dannydiamond wrote: »

No-one dived, it was a nothing incident,

Oh come one, Gerrard tried to cheat the game away from Blackburn and this isnt a talking point? Lets just paper over the cracks :rolleyes:

~Rebel~

BumbleBee123 wrote: »

Just watching Sky and Rafa said Aquilani could start vs Fiorentina!!??
Why not throw him on today, when we actually need him to play ffs

because he's completely untested and today was an important game. Its nought to do with fitness, as evidenced by Rafa saying he could start in the CL.

Lets put it this way. Say Aqui started today, or came on, and got given the run around and was culpable for important goals conceded and important points lost. The abuse from the media would be ridiculous, and we all know it. Last thing i'd imagine rafa wants is another Lucas situation where mistakes early on ruin the players reputation regardless of improved later performances.

Now theres going to be no pressure midweek, there are no consequences for the game and it shouldn't be overly physical. Perfect. If Aqui can start and get a good hour or more, that could be a massive boost.

ctrl-alt-delete

dannydiamond wrote: »

No-one dived, it was a nothing incident,but someone here is the only one that seems bothered.

It turned out to be a nothing incident, as he failed.

And if i'm the one who seems bothered, i pointed it out at the time, and have commented again in response to Liverpool fans dismissing it.

Sir Gallagher

curry-muff wrote: »

Oh come one, Gerrard tried to cheat the game away from Blackburn and this isnt a talking point? Lets just paper over the cracks :rolleyes:

So are you going to answer my question? Are you a United fan and do you feel the same about Rooney?

mike65

[insert rolleyes here]

Villain

Gerrard dived? Never