Lille v Liverpool

mayordenis

noodler wrote: »

?

Sorry the lol was to your post, which I thought was funny.

The "my word." was in response to the match.

ilovelamp2000

Kess73 wrote: »

So the next installment on Aquilani gets paid in June. That will bring it to 15 million paid out on him with a final instalment of €5 million to be paid in June 2011, and he still doesn't get played.

What did Sneijder cost Inter during the summer. €14 million I think.

It's okay though, we'll get €12m back for him during the summer and people will say Rafa did well.

Johner

Johner wrote: »

15/8 for a Lille win looks value.

I love money.

Gerrard scaring the ****e out of me at the end there!

evil_seed

one of my mates just text me. pissing in the wind he said. not watching it myself. but from reading here and gettin that message i'll assume the worst.

better or worse than the wigan game?

Kess73

Wonder what the post match interview will contain.

mike65

Meh. Can't recall Kuyt doing anything tonight - at all.

MementoMori

Feck that I'm going drinkin

bluefinger

leninbenjamin wrote: »

Lads, a thought has occurred to me. Considering how **** Pool are and Rafa's seeming reluctance to do anything about it, could he be trying to force the hands of the American's? i.e. He knows the games up, but doesn't want to walk because of the bumper compensation he's entitled to?

yes and yes

not to mention that some blinkered fans will insist on saying he was the best thing to happen to liverpool since bill shankly

noodler

mayordenis wrote: »

Sorry the lol was to your post, which I thought was funny.

The "my word." was in response to the match.

Well, trophies are nice, but I would rather be in the CL next year then win this.

I don't think it is just me.

mayordenis wrote: »

Aye sorry I actually thought you were making a joke, on the whole draw positives from this.

Nah, would just rather the team get a week's rest in between league games and we could at least try to make a go of it.

Its another 6 Thursdays of this if we get through to the final/

Kess73

Rosco1982 wrote: »

It's okay though, we'll get €12m back for him during the summer and people will say Rafa did well.

Even if we sell him in the summer, we will still owe the final instalment, plus Roma get a % of any fee we sell him for.

At least Rafa can blame Parry for this one, oh wait.............

murpho999

Kess73 wrote: »

Wonder what the post match interview will contain.

We showed more character, unlucky not to score, pitch was poor, it's only half time...blah blah blah!

That was our 15th defeat this season.

Wow.

mayordenis

noodler wrote: »

Well, trophies are nice, but I would rather be in the CL next year then win this.

I don't think it is just me.

Aye sorry I actually thought you were making a joke, on the whole draw positives from this.

noodler

Something still to know about Aquaman.

No matter what emerges it won't look good for Rafa.

super_furry

It's like when you've been with a girl you loved, you had all these amazing times with, but suddenly she's grown a cock. It's sad to have to end it, and you can kid yourself that you can make it work, but in the end you've no choice.

Tusky

I'm glad we lost. As crazy as that sounds, its true.

Rafa was holding out for a 0-0 draw....against ****ing Lille, in the Europa League. I watched United attack Milan last night, running at them with pace and actually trying to win the game, so to watch us play like this tonight was depressing.

Babel was arguably our best attacker yet he was taken off ahead of Kuyt. Kuyt has been in v.poor form for about a month now, and it sometimes feels like he is playing for the other team, so bad is his touch. Yet he stayed on for 88 ****ing minutes. Why bother make a substitution in the 88th minute ? Giving someone 2 minutes to try do something is madness.

Why leave Aquilani on the bench ? If hes not match fit its beacuse you bought him when he was injured Rafa, and you never play him! It really isnt necessary to play both Mascherano and and Lucas in the middle as it completely stifles our creativity.

Rafa was extremely negative and got what he deserved in my opinion.

dougal

rarnes1 wrote: »

That was our 15th defeat this season.

Wow.

At least we have solved last seasons problem of too many draws!:o

billymitchell

No positives can be taken from tonights game. Everybody delighted to see babel start, played well, then gets taken off!!
Rafa and the yanks, please stop killing my club

monkey9

I have no emotion to put into this post. I just feel numb to it all now. Honestly, i couldn't even say i'm disappointed at this defeat.

The match went exactly the way i thought it would go. No quality, no more than three passes before it breaks down, Lille to attack a lot with the crowd behind them, maybe we could get a draw. In the end, we lost. Meh!!!

Roll on Pompey. Meh!

This season! Meh

I think i'm more disppointed that there's no jaffa cakes in the house. Now that, i wasn't expecting. I think i'll go round to the shop and get some.

On the way, i may ponder whether i prefer South Park or Family Guy (i'm pretty certain i prefer South Park). I may giggle again at the joke i heard on some stand up show about sending a werewolf to the moon just so as he can stay a werewolf.

Europa League! Portsmouth! We'll probably beat Utd. Yay!!! We won't finish in the top four. Boooooo!!!!

It's a horrible, horrible season!!!!


And it keeps continuing.


I wish i could hibernate. I wish i was a bear!

whatawaster

Tusky wrote: »

I'm glad we lost. As crazy as that sounds, its true.

Rafa was holding out for a 0-0 draw....against ****ing Lille, in the Europa League. I watched United attack Milan last night, running at them with pace and actually trying to win the game, so to watch us play like this tonight was depressing.

Babel was arguably our best attacker yet he was taken off ahead of Kuyt. Kuyt has been in v.poor form for about a month now, and it sometimes feels like he is playing for the other team, so bad is his touch. Yet he stayed on for 88 ****ing minutes. Why bother make a substitution in the 88th minute ? Giving someone 2 minutes to try do something is madness.

Why leave Aquilani on the bench ? If hes not match fit its beacuse you bought him when he was injured Rafa, and you never play him! It really isnt necessary to play both Mascherano and and Lucas in the middle as it completely stifles our creativity.

Rafa was extremely negative and got what he deserved in my opinion.

I felt nothing tonight when lille scored. The last time I felt this apathetic towards pool was when heskey equalised in the last minute against arsenal about six years ago.

murpho999

billymitchell wrote: »

No positives can be taken from tonights game. Everybody delighted to see Babel start, played well, then gets taken off!!
Rafa and the yanks, please stop killing my club

What have the yanks got to do with Rafa taking Babel off?

I really find that the owners get blamed for too much. They are not responsible for inept performances. Rafa and the players are.

ThunbergsAreGo

Tusky wrote: »

I'm glad we lost. As crazy as that sounds, its true.

Rafa was holding out for a 0-0 draw....against ****ing Lille, in the Europa League. I watched United attack Milan last night, running at them with pace and actually trying to win the game, so to watch us play like this tonight was depressing.

Babel was arguably our best attacker yet he was taken off ahead of Kuyt. Kuyt has been in v.poor form for about a month now, and it sometimes feels like he is playing for the other team, so bad is his touch. Yet he stayed on for 88 ****ing minutes. Why bother make a substitution in the 88th minute ? Giving someone 2 minutes to try do something is madness.

Why leave Aquilani on the bench ? If hes not match fit its beacuse you bought him when he was injured Rafa, and you never play him! It really isnt necessary to play both Mascherano and and Lucas in the middle as it completely stifles our creativity.

Rafa was extremely negative and got what he deserved in my opinion.

Totally agree!, we have no pace, no plan and no tactic bar kicking it (or slicing it) away as far as we can

its horrible to watch

El Zhar did more in three minutes than Kuyt for the whole game

everdead.ie

Did anyone else think that Lille weren't that great I thought Liverpool had a couple of pretty good chances

Tusky

whatawaster wrote: »

I felt nothing tonight when lille scored. The last time I felt this apathetic towards pool was when heskey equalised in the last minute against arsenal about six years ago.

Yeah, neither did I. Absolutely no reaction.

We have been awful in the Carling Cup, Fa Cup, the league and the Champions League. Now we are awful in the Europea League too. Injuries cannot be blamed.

I wouldnt mind if we were going out and playing good attacking football but losing. But playing this turgid negative ****e and doing it BADLY, is just too much.

everdead.ie wrote: »

Did anyone else think that Lille weren't that great I thought Liverpool had a couple of pretty good chances

Well they are 6th in the French league, yet they played more fluid attacking football then us. They passed it better, played as a team and wanted it more.

billymitchell

murpho999 wrote: »

What have the yanks got to do with Rafa taking Babel off?

I really find that the owners get blamed for too much. They are not responsible for inept performances. Rafa and the players are.

But they are partly responsible for us having too many inept players!!
Btw, yer wan Kirsteen would get IT

ThunbergsAreGo

As said on another site the tipping point has been reached, possibly along time ago

IvySlayer

Some people call Rafa a tactical genius, wtf? He rarely gets it spot on. He's too late with subs. He's loyal to his formation and players, which is only good it if works. He inspires no confidence in his players. Reina is usually the only player who actually wants to play and he's been a hero for Liverpool. Torres just isn't getting the service. Tonight showed everything that was wrong. 82 (?) minutes to sub Kuyt. Gerrard, used to be a joy to watch.

Tonight, I saw Rafa, he just looked miserable. It's a big step back from last year. If Liverpool go out next week, I reckon he's gone. As a United fan, watching Liverpool slip away is something I should be jumping for joy at. I do feel sorry for the club.

super_furry

It's the exact same thing that happened to Houllier. Over achieved in the season before, finished second with what seemed to be a geniune title challenge, the wheels fall off the next season and both had no idea how to stop the rot.

Hoki

am i too old to start supporting arsenal i wonder

Tusky

Also, Aquilani must be thinking that he has made the biggest mistake of his career. I genuinely feel sorry for the guy. At this rate he will not make the Italian world cup squad either. A waste of 20m.

ilovelamp2000

I've always said getting a reputation as a tactical genius is similar to getting a reputation for being a child molester. It doesn't matter what you do afterwards you'll never shake that reputation.

Benitez has had some great moments, but he needs to realise that when we're playing weaker sides we should play to our strengths rather than try to counter theirs. He inhibits this team so much and you can see they've just gotten fed up of it.

mayordenis

Tusky wrote: »

Also, Aquilani must be thinking that he has made the biggest mistake of his career. I genuinely feel sorry for the guy. At this rate he will not make the Italian world cup squad either. A waste of 20m.

Nah not a waste he'll come good when Rafa's gone.

GuanYin

IvySlayer wrote: »

Some people call Rafa a tactical genius, wtf?

I think that might have been in the context of connect 4....

SlickRic

Rosco1982 wrote: »

Benitez has had some great moments, but he needs to realise that when we're playing weaker sides we should play to our strengths rather than try to counter theirs. He inhibits this team so much and you can see they've just gotten fed up of it.

he will never change.

direct, long football all the way.

murpho999

billymitchell wrote: »

But they are partly responsible for us having too many inept players!!

.


Disagree totally, owners have provided money. Rafa made the decision to buy these players. Remember he has full control over transfers now. They may not have provided him with as much money as he would have liked but Rafa did buy the likes of Aqua, Keane, Insua, Lucas, Riera etc.

I really blame Rafa and his negative tactics. If he had 11 world class players on the field he would still play for a nil-nil draw, and that is the whole problem!

Mr.Nice Guy

Really surprised Liverpool didn't come away with a clean sheet at least.

How have Liverpool reached this stage when one considers how devastating they were last season. Is it Alonso? Was he that integral to the team or has Benitez just lost the dressing room? It's a crazy transformation.

everdead.ie

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Really surprised Liverpool didn't come away with a clean sheet at least.

How have Liverpool reached this stage when one considers how devastating they were last season. Is it Alonso? Was he that integral to the team or has Benitez just lost the dressing room? It's a crazy transformation.

I wonder did Benitez's handeling of Alonso over the summer cause a problem?

K-9

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Really surprised Liverpool didn't come away with a clean sheet at least.

How have Liverpool reached this stage when one considers how devastating they were last season. Is it Alonso? Was he that integral to the team or has Benitez just lost the dressing room? It's a crazy transformation.

Alonso was integral to his style, because he could pick a long ball and defend, nobody has replaced him. The problem is, Rafa doesn't seem to have a plan B.

SlickRic

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

How have Liverpool reached this stage when one considers how devastating they were last season. Is it Alonso? Was he that integral to the team or has Benitez just lost the dressing room? It's a crazy transformation.

yes.

Lucas, God love him, can't get the ball into Benny, Riera, Dirk, Gerrard and Torres' feet as quick as he could.

and that was the basis of our entire attacking strategy pretty much; quick direct counter attacking football.

and i also think it's not a stretch to believe that when the squad saw an injured Aquilani on his way to replace him, they probably (definitely Gerrard anyway considering his demeanour this season) said f*ck it, couldn't be arsed.

noodler

whatawaster wrote: »

I felt nothing tonight when lille scored. The last time I felt this apathetic towards pool was when heskey equalised in the last minute against arsenal about six years ago.

The Heskey goal in the 2-2 home game?

I celebrated that like mad I must say.

Mr Alan

i'd imagine Slick it was more when the squad realised we were in the transfer market to try and make a profit for the second year running they said, **** this, in fact tony barrett reported as early as our first pre-season training that the morale in the team was very low because the money that was available in the window had been withdrawn. lucas has been good this season, not as good as alonso, but not a million miles off it, certainly pretty much as good as alonso was in the two seasons previous. Johnson is an improvement on Arbeloa, so even taking into account the midfield has been weakened, the attacking full back options have been strengthened big time. Our starting 11 this year is about equal to last year imo. Our club is rotten from the board room right down onto the pitch.

leninbenjamin

Mr Alan wrote: »

i'd imagine Slick it was more when the squad realised we were in the transfer market to try and make a profit for the second year running they said, **** this, in fact tony barrett reported as early as our first pre-season training that the morale in the team was very low because the money that was available in the window had been withdrawn. lucas has been good this season, not as good as alonso, but not a million miles off it, certainly pretty much as good as alonso was in the two seasons previous. Johnson is an improvement on Arbeloa, so even taking into account the midfield has been weakened, the attacking full back options have been strengthened big time. Our starting 11 this year is about equal to last year imo. Our club is rotten from the board room right down onto the pitch.

I like Lucas, but to say he was pretty much as good as Alonso was in his weaker seasons is still pushing it. Even on a bad day Alonso can spray the ball about the pitch. He was the heart and soul of your team tbh for 5 years. He's very hard to replace. Liverpool are missing a playmaker on the field, although they have a decent one in Aquilani going to waste.

Mr Alan

never before has a players contribution been so blown out of a proportion. For years i've listened to how we were a one man team, Gerrard being that man, then Nando came along, and we were a two man team, then Alonso leaves, and all of a sudden it turns out we were a one man team all along, and neither torres or gerrard were ever that man. Tis bull**** to be honest. Alonso was a brilliant player for us in his first and last reason (playing for his move), the two seasons in between he was good, thats all. The way people talk about him you'd swear he was the second coming of Zidane.

JPA

Rosco1982 wrote: »

I've always said getting a reputation as a tactical genius is similar to getting a reputation for being a child molester. It doesn't matter what you do afterwards you'll never shake that reputation.

That's the worst analogy in the history of analogies, WTF? :pac:

billymitchell

GuanYin wrote: »

I think that might have been in the context of connect 4....

LOL

Morzadec

Have to agree with leninbenjamin.

I always said that Alonso would be a huge loss, and after he left I went from thinking we were right up there with Chelsea and United as challengers, to thinking we had an outside chance but would probably finish 3rd or 4th.

However I never envisaged that it would be this bad. It's not all down to him but it would be the most obvious reason, and probably the number one reason on my list.

Also saying that Johnson is an improvement on Arbeloa is something I take issue with. Maybe longterm he will be a better player, but when you take into account the amount of time he's been injured, I think we would've done better with a fit, reliable, consistent and underrated Arbeloa ticking things over. As far as the squad goes, he's been a significant loss.

SlickRic

Mr Alan wrote: »

i'd imagine Slick it was more when the squad realised we were in the transfer market to try and make a profit for the second year running they said, **** this, in fact tony barrett reported as early as our first pre-season training that the morale in the team was very low because the money that was available in the window had been withdrawn. lucas has been good this season, not as good as alonso, but not a million miles off it, certainly pretty much as good as alonso was in the two seasons previous. Johnson is an improvement on Arbeloa, so even taking into account the midfield has been weakened, the attacking full back options have been strengthened big time. Our starting 11 this year is about equal to last year imo. Our club is rotten from the board room right down onto the pitch.

you know i like Lucas.

Johnson's been great when fit, absolutely.

did someone force him to spend £18m on an injured Aquilani. we could have had Sneijder for a full season for less. and he's all but said he can't be trusted.

joke.

you can't just go purely on personnel and go 'we're as good as last year'. the unit does not work properly without Alonso in it. that's no slight on the player Lucas is. our counter attacking style isn't as effective without Xabi, has been figured out, and Rafa will not change it, in any way, even against weaker teams.

he sets his team out with fear, and that's how we play. 11 defenders at corner time for example; no outlet

if every time we go through a 'bad patch' he resorts to fear, and 'don't lose at all costs' then he will never ever take us to the next level.

he has taken us as far as he can.

Tusky

Mr Alan wrote: »

Lucas has been good this season, not as good as alonso, but not a million miles off it, certainly pretty much as good as alonso was in the two seasons previous.

I like Lucas, but that comment is nonsense. Lucas is a good few levels below Alonso, even during his poorer seasons. I also think Lucas has gone off the boil in the last 3 games or so.

Mr Alan

schneider's wages are about twice wat aquilanis are. but ok. we aren't gonna agree.

kryogen

Mr Alan wrote: »

i'd imagine Slick it was more when the squad realised we were in the transfer market to try and make a profit for the second year running they said, **** this, in fact tony barrett reported as early as our first pre-season training that the morale in the team was very low because the money that was available in the window had been withdrawn. lucas has been good this season, not as good as alonso, but not a million miles off it, certainly pretty much as good as alonso was in the two seasons previous. Johnson is an improvement on Arbeloa, so even taking into account the midfield has been weakened, the attacking full back options have been strengthened big time. Our starting 11 this year is about equal to last year imo. Our club is rotten from the board room right down onto the pitch.

this is not their concern, it is just a cop out

they should perform to the best of their ability or they are not fit to wear the shirt

they are not playing for the jersey, they are not playing for the manager (who's tactics i actually understand and i have genuine sympathy for him at the moment) and they are not playing for the fans

they should be ashamed picking up their wages cause they are not putting a proper shift in anymore