Liverpool v Atletico Madrid

Ush1

redzerdrog wrote: »

jesus the majority of posters here are such droolers

ilovelamp2000

daithijjj wrote: »

Rafa must have been saving ngog for chelsea i suppose.

What about Riera ?

Handsome Bob

Mr Alan wrote: »

fresh right back who's strength is going forward brought on for a right back after about 110 mins, and a couple of attacking mid/wide players with pace brought on for similar players......yea baffling stuff altogether

It was all pointless though because every time the ball came to Kuyt he couldn't move. He was drained for the majority of ET. I'm not blaming him, Rafa should have taken him off at the beginning of ET. That way you would have FRESH legs taking advantage of the pace that Degen and El Zhar offered. There's no point of movement on the wings if the focal point of the attack can't ****ing run.

Mr Alan

ngog is injured. riera? never heard of him.

Villain

Ush1 wrote: »

He looked knackered.

Would that be because he races forward at every chance, said it years ago and still say it, Johnson going forward is class but his defending is not up to top 4 level. I honestly can't figure out why he isn't a winger or wide midfielder.

Good game but you have to wonder now was it worth playing first team in the competition? 4th place in the league looks a very unlikely result now, Martin O'Neill was criticised last year for playing weakened teams in the competition but he said only in the last week he would do it again next year. You need a big squad to compete in both.

Mr Alan

LZ5by5 wrote: »

It was all pointless though because every time the ball came to Kuyt he couldn't move. He was drained for the majority of ET. I'm not blaming him, Rafa should have taken him off at the beginning of ET. That way you would have FRESH legs taking advantage of the pace that Degen and El Zhar offered. There's no point of movement on the wings if the focal point of the attack can't ****ing run.

No strikers to bring on.

Handsome Bob

Mr Alan wrote: »

No strikers to bring on.

Could have brought Pacheco on for Dirk instead of taking Yossi off.

flahavaj

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Could have brought Pacheco on for Dirk.

Epic Ninja edit.;)

Just back from watching that - very disapointing finish.

Thought we were the better team in the 90mins but Madrid seemed to have a lot more in the tank in ET. We looked knackered tbh.

I was imppressed with Aqualani tonight, why he doesny get more game time is baffling. As I've said a good few times, him and Gerrard play very well together.

On the other hand Masherano was muck tonight, his passing was terrible. He's supposed to be a leader for us, his distribution was abysmal.

Anyway, well done A. Madrid, I hope they win it now.

ps, there's some serious plonkers in here tonight !!

Mr Alan

i don't think Pacheco can play that role to be honest. villian, you're right, o'neill throwing the uefa cup last year worked out great for Villas run in. . . .hold on . . . .

Headshot

Mr Alan wrote: »

No strikers to bring on.

not a striker but he could of brought the greek on, with his air dominance he would of been a real danger man up front

barca did it last night with pique

Handsome Bob

flahavaj wrote: »

Epic Ninja edit.;)

Shhhhh. :pac:

ilovelamp2000

Headshot wrote: »

not a striker but he could of brought the greek on, with his air dominance he would of been a real danger man up front

barca did it last night with pique

And ......

daithijjj

Rosco1982 wrote: »

What about Riera ?

What about him?

Mr Alan

rarnes1 wrote:

On the other hand Masherano was muck tonight, his passing was terrible. He's supposed to be a leader for us, his distribution was abysmal.

For real? He was sensational.

flahavaj

Headshot wrote: »

not a striker but he could of brought the greek on, with his air dominance he would of been a real danger man up front

barca did it last night with pique

Was he on the bench?

If so why didn't they start with this back four?

Johnsen----Greek

---

Carra

---

Agger

Better than playing 2 lads out of position?

ilovelamp2000

daithijjj wrote: »

What about him?

We could have done with him tonight

Mr Alan

Mr Alan wrote: »

For real? He was sensational.

?

Mash?

His passing was shocking

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

villian, you're right, o'neill throwing the uefa cup last year worked out great for Villas run in. . . .hold on . . . .

Loosing Laursen was the issue you that only too well, loosing Torres was Liverpools, but your right it didn't work out that was why I added the bit about him saying he would do it again, I could say not playing a weakened team has worked out well for Liverpool if you want to be smart.

Both managers tried different methods both failed although I really don't think Villa would be ahead of Liverpool in the league if we had played full strength team and got to the semi's

Headshot

flahavaj wrote: »

Was he on the bench?

If so why didn't they start with this back four?

Johnsen----Greek

---

Carra

---

Agger

Better than playing 2 lads out of position?

I saw him on the bench alright

I think rafa doesnt pick him against the type of strikers like kun and forlan

Liam O

eZe^ wrote: »

Didn't see the game, so I can't really comment about the match performance, but if Atletico go on to win a double (UEFA Cup and the Copa Del Rey) then football has officially become a farce. They will go down in history as the most awful team to ever win a double. Can't believe that they're in the final despite only winning one game, awful domestically too. Football is mental really.


Hope Fulham knock them rightly out of the final.

you're just angry 'cause they beat Barca a few weeks ago

Mr Alan

Headshot wrote: »

not a striker but he could of brought the greek on, with his air dominance he would of been a real danger man up front

barca did it last night with pique

God no. The greek is great at clearing **** up, but he can't play ball. And i hate seeing managers throw big centre halves up front. Prefer dirk to stay no, wrecked or not. Despite him having an excellent game overall, gerrard tiring was more the season our performance fell in the extra time imo

monkey9

RasTa wrote: »

Ah us football fans.... Busquets is a disgrace etc etc but Kuyt going down the exact same manner is a red card

Kuyt is an absolute disgrace for his reaction, yes indeed!! No doubt about it. Embarrassing!!

Still an absolute hero though :cool:

daithijjj

Rosco1982 wrote: »

We could have done with him tonight

Aye, i think he would have given us something extra but tbh, i never even gave him a thought. Burned his bridges with the boss and is now more deadweight we are carrying on the wage bill like aurelio.

Headshot

Mr Alan wrote: »

God no. The greek is great at clearing **** up, but he can't play ball. And i hate seeing managers throw big centre halves up front. Prefer dirk to stay no, wrecked or not. Despite him having an excellent game overall, gerrard tiring was more the season our performance fell in the extra time imo

jebus Im the opposite

i see no harm putting a cb like the greek up front with 5-10mins to play, how many goals has he score this season ?

mayordenis

Rosco1982 wrote: »

We could have done with him tonight

Yea we could of done with alot from him all ****ing season, if he wanted to play for Liverpool all along he would of.

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

Loosing Laursen was the issue you that only too well, loosing Torres was Liverpools, but your right it didn't work out that was why I added the bit about him saying he would do it again, I could say not playing a weakened team has worked out well for Liverpool if you want to be smart.

Both managers tried different methods both failed although I really don't think Villa would be ahead of Liverpool in the league if we had played full strength team and got to the semi's

Our form since entering the europa league hasn't been much of an issue to be honest. The damage was done earlier in the season.

murpho999

Well I'm very disappointed with that result.
Can't understand all the 'Rafa Out calls', the game was lost by an away goal in extra-time. It was that close. Over-reaction to me.

However, the biggest worry to me was the subs and also the lack of quality on the bench. Degen & El Zhar are not the standard required and Pacheco is inexperienced in the first team and one for the future.

One could argue that Rafa should go because he assembled that bench but his hands were definitely tied by injuries tonight.

I personally hope he stays, club gets good new owners with money behind them who give him a good transfer kitty and see what happens. This season has been awful but has had a lot of bad luck and could easily have gone the other way.

SlickRic

you know what, i don't even care.

this season needs to just end now.

i can't take anymore.

Mr Alan

Headshot wrote: »

jebus Im the opposite

i see no harm putting a cb like the greek up front with 5-10mins to play, how many goals has he score this season ?

A fair few less than Dirk!

everdead.ie

monkey9 wrote: »

Kuyt is an absolute disgrace for his reaction, yes indeed!! No doubt about it. Embarrassing!!

Still an absolute hero though :cool:

What did kuyt do? :eek:

missingtime

rarnes1 wrote: »

On the other hand Masherano was muck tonight, his passing was terrible. He's supposed to be a leader for us, his distribution was abysmal.

Thought masch was epic tonight.

mike65

SlickRic wrote: »

you know what, i don't even care.

this season needs to just end now.

i can't take anymore.

This man speaks the truth.

Headshot

Mr Alan wrote: »

A fair few less than Dirk!

ah but Dirk has had more games, you have to admit the greek is better in the air than Dirk

with that bombshell im off

monkey9

everdead.ie wrote: »

What did kuyt do? :eek:

He went down holding his face for no apparent reason!!

missingtime

monkey9 wrote: »

He went down holding his face for no apparent reason!!

It looked like he got a slap to the face when he went back to the keeper.

UnitedIrishman

Headshot wrote: »

jebus Im the opposite

i see no harm putting a cb like the greek up front with 5-10mins to play, how many goals has he score this season ?

Same as. Watched Roy Hodgson talk about it on a coaching vid before, made a good point - when your a goal down near the end you have to work the percentages and get the big men in the box -> more balls into the box = more chances of scoring. Likelihood at that late stage with teams so deep that it's impossible to get in behind them.

everdead.ie

monkey9 wrote: »

He went down holding his face for no apparent reason!!

Ah i hate that where's the gif already :P

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

Our form since entering the europa league hasn't been much of an issue to be honest. The damage was done earlier in the season.

Umm really?

Thursday, 8 April 2010 Uefa Europa League Liverpool 4-1 Benfica
Sunday, 11 April 2010 PL Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

Thursday, 1 April 2010 Uefa Europa League Benfica 2-1 Liverpool
Sunday, 4 April 2010 PL Birmingham 1-1 Liverpool

Thursday, 18 March 2010 Uefa Europa League Liverpool 3-0 Lille
Sunday, 21 March 2010 PL Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool

Thats just 3 matches that Liverpool dropped points after playing in Europe, you really think it didn't affect their form?

nacho libre

rarnes1 wrote: »

?

Mash?

His passing was shocking

He had a great game.
He's a brilliant tackler who breaks up the play of the opposition.
Aquilani was good tonight as well. That's about all the positives you could take out of tonight's game as a liverpool fan. As was said previously the season can't end quick enough:(

happyoutscan

SantryRed wrote: »

Lost the team years ago even though they came within 4 points of the title last season?

Kneejerk reactions are fun to read

Sorry I did get the 'years' wrong, I was meaning this year. Emotions all over the shop after that match but I'm gonna sleep on it.

Hopefully wake up in the morn to find he's on his way to Italy though, I will be one happy 'scan then.:D

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

Umm really?

Thursday, 8 April 2010 Uefa Europa League Liverpool 4-1 Benfica
Sunday, 11 April 2010 PL Liverpool 0-0 Fulham

Thursday, 1 April 2010 Uefa Europa League Benfica 2-1 Liverpool
Sunday, 4 April 2010 PL Birmingham 1-1 Liverpool

Thursday, 18 March 2010 Uefa Europa League Liverpool 3-0 Lille
Sunday, 21 March 2010 PL Man Utd 2-1 Liverpool

Thats just 3 matches that Liverpool dropped points after playing in Europe, you really think it didn't affect their form?

Nope. Maybe the Fulham game but they came to park the bus and did so successfully. Draw away to brum is a decent result this season, and we should've won with the chances we created-just one of those days and United away, well, obviously i wouldn't blame the uefa cup game for losing at old trafford.

ilovelamp2000

mayordenis wrote: »

Yea we could of done with alot from him all ****ing season, if he wanted to play for Liverpool all along he would of.

I think that's bull**** to be fair.

It's been obvious since the start of the season that there was some falling out even way before his sinking ship comments. The reason he hasn't played is he hasn't been picked by Rafa and not for footballing reasons.

Rafa doesn't help himself.

Nani had a pop at Fergie in the media earlier this year, had Fergie frozen him out because of it they wouldn't still be in with a shout of the title.

SlickRic

FlawedGenius wrote: »

Only consolation for Liverpool fans is that it is surely the end of Rafa Benitez.

nope.

we won't get anyone better than him.

i'm a bit sick of him, i've made that quite clear, but he's a very good manager, and whoever we'd get would be a huge risk, and more than likely will not have his pedigree.

unless he's pushed, he's here for at least the start of next season.

flahavaj

UnitedIrishman wrote: »

Same as. Watched Roy Hodgson talk about it on a coaching vid before, made a good point - when your a goal down near the end you have to work the percentages and get the big men in the box -> more balls into the box = more chances of scoring. Likelihood at that late stage with teams so deep that it's impossible to get in behind them.

I wouldn't agree tbh. Look at United, the masters of the late late goal. They rarely resort to lumping the ball forward, they keep playing their football and it usualy pays off. Stick to your footballing principles I say. Keeping the heads in the last second and picking the right run or pass (see Giggs to Owen vs City) has a better chance of succeeding than blind hit and hope IMO.

Also sticking Pique up top is hardly throwing a big man up front to put the ball on his head. Look at the skill of him for the goal, hes a better footballer than a lot of average strikers!

everdead.ie

I've been hearing a lot of people giving out about away goals(Friends no one here) counting after 90 minutes but in my opinion the home side still have an advantage in extra time so they should count.

Villain

Mr Alan wrote: »

Nope. Maybe the Fulham game but they came to park the bus and did so successfully. Draw away to brum is a decent result this season, and we should've won with the chances we created-just one of those days and United away, well, obviously i wouldn't blame the uefa cup game for losing at old trafford.

Fair enough but I think it had to have some impact and two wins instead of those draws and 4th would be very likely, oh and just an FYI we beat Brum and Fulham away

Liam O

Rosco1982 wrote: »

I think that's bull**** to be fair.

It's been obvious since the start of the season that there was some falling out even way before his sinking ship comments. The reason he hasn't played is he hasn't been picked by Rafa and not for footballing reasons.

Rafa doesn't help himself.

Nani had a pop at Fergie in the media earlier this year, had Fergie frozen him out because of it they wouldn't still be in with a shout of the title.

no he didn't...

Mr Alan

Villain wrote: »

Fair enough but I think it had to have some impact and two wins instead of those draws and 4th would be very likely, oh and just an FYI we beat Brum and Fulham away

Well done.

The Recliner

Ush1 wrote: »

Probably not, except for Forlan, he told us all his motivations.

I wonder how many more Liverpool fans are hoping they lose at the weekend now after this.

Not me for one, I want Liverpool to win whenever they play regardless of what the result may mean for other teams

Well done Fulham, hope they go on to win it (because I like them not because it is against Athletico)