Liverpool v West Brom 15:00 [Match Thread]

MementoMori

So the "injured" trio of Torres, Gerrard and Agger are back in contention for this one, but Maxi is not fully recovered so he will not feature. Joe Cole missed the match due to bannage.

Only rumoured ITK lineup I could find is the following

---

Reina

---

---Johnson--Carra--Skrtel--Agger---
--Kuyt--Poulsen--Lucas--Jovanovic--

---

Gerrard

---

---

Torres

---

Personally I think at home to West Brom that's a ******** awful team selection (mainly for the awfullness that is the CM Lucas Poulsen pairing of doom) and would have gone for something like the following

---

Reina

---

---Johnson--Carra--Agger---Kelly---

---

Gerrard--Lucas

---

--Kuyt

---

Pacheco---Jovanovic----

---

Torres

---

The fact that Pacheco looked better in his 15 minutes playing out of position against Trabzonspor than Cole looked in his entire 90 minutes would suggest to me that Pacheco is worthy of a chance. A home game against West Brom is surely the place to give him a start in the league.

Kelly is in there at LB on the assumption that he would offer the most in terms of getting forward. For me on the basis of their performances so far this season, he should be ahead of Aurelio in the pecking order. Might be down to rustiness by Aurelio but he has not convinced me at all so far and I'm not sure it was the right decision to re-sign him.

doc_17

A central pairing of Lucas and poulsen? Oh dear.....

We need a good win today to kickstart things.....and to also get out of the relegation zone:D

Hoki

Lets not get too carried away until the selection is confirmed but if it is to be Poulsen & Lucas il be awfully disappointed . Would be a really negative team choice based on that pairing alone. This would be the perfect game to unleash Pacheco , i havent seen a lot of him at all but his cameo in Turkey didnt go un-noticed & i think he deserves a start as a direct replacement for Cole .
On a side note , i absolutely hate the fact this isnt on tv , damn you to hell Europa League.

LuckyLloyd

Playing Lucas and Poulsen at home to West Brom as part of a 4 - 5 - 1 when we played a wide open 4 - 4 - 2 against City would be very backwards. Don't expect Hodgson to get it mixed up like that, so would be highly surprised if that ends up being how we start.

RasTa

Small bets on the draw and West Brom for the craic.

Hoki

RasTa wrote: »

Small bets on the draw and West Brom for the craic.

no craic in losing money

spockety

This is not on TV, correct?

niallo27

spockety wrote: »

This is not on TV, correct?

No it is not

jesus_thats_gre

Hopefully Torres has a good game. Should paper over any cracks nicely.

MR NINE

I'd like to see Babel get a start, I don't expect it to happen at all though. Him and Pacheco looked good on Thursday, and Jova has not impressed me at all so far this season. However, considering Jova was rested on Thursday, I'd be surprised if he wasn't in the starting line up tonight. The ITK line up Memento Mori posted looks very plausible IMO, and I too would be very disappointed with it.

Dublin_Gunner

MR NINE wrote: »

I'd like to see Babel get a start, I don't expect it to happen at all though. Him and Pacheco looked good on Thursday, and Jova has not impressed me at all so far this season. However, considering Jova was rested on Thursday, I'd be surprised if he wasn't in the starting line up tonight. The ITK line up Memento Mori posted looks very plausible IMO, and I too would be very disappointed with it.

The front 4 I'd like to see:


Babel

---

Gerrard/Pacheco

---

Jova

---

Torres

Gerrard in behind, depending on who is selected at CM.

Wouldn't mind seeing Pacheco in behind Torres, but not sure he has the strength just yet.

Poulsen & Gerrard in CM might be the way to go.

If 4-4-2 here would be my choice:

---

Reina
Johnson----Carra--Socky/Skrtyl----Kelly
Babel

---

Gerrard--Poulsen---Jova

---

Kuyt----Torres


I think that team could get a lot of goals against a weak West Brom.

argosy2006

---

Reina

---

Carra--Skrtyl--agger-
johnson

---

Poulsen

---

jova/aurelio

---

gerrard --lucas

---

---

Pacheco

---

Torres

poulsen to sit in that hole and fill holes left by johnson and jova
i would want johnson and jova to get forward every chance they get,
and for poulsen to fill gerrards role too when gerrard gets forward,
of course i'd instruct them to take turns getting forward, poulsen can only fill so many positions,
its all about freedom when gerrard johnson or jova have ball, i want them not to worry about defending when either three have ball, knowing pouslen will be filling their possition once they take possesion of ball,
thats how i'd play it. its very defensive when we dont have it, very attacking when we do, i'd play it home and away,:D
its 5 in defense when we dont have it, 5 in midfield when we do,
that hole between defense and midfield ruined us agaisnt city, tevez picked it up and set up attack for city over n over n over n over n over again,

mike65

:eek:

Kimbot

Lads, just a thought.... with the weak midfield would Kuyt not be a good option there and babel out on the right??

Dublin_Gunner

argosy2006 wrote: »

---

Reina

---

Carra--Skrtyl--agger-
johnson

---

Poulsen

---

jova

---

gerrard --lucas

---

---

Pacheco

---

Torres

poulsen to sit in that hole and fill holes left by johnson and jova
i would want johnson and jova to get forward every chance they get,
and for poulsen to fill gerrards role too when gerrard gets forward,
of course i'd instruct them to take turns getting forward, poulsen can only fill so many positions,
its all about freedom when gerrard johnson or jova have ball, i want them not to worry about defending when either three have ball, knowing pouslen will be filling their possition once they take possesion of ball,
thats how i'd play it. its very defensive when we dont have it, very attacking when we do, i'd play it home and away,:D

I never want to see Lucas and Poulsen on the same pitch again tbh.

jonny24ie wrote: »

Lads, just a thought.... with the weak midfield would Kuyt not be a good option there and babel out on the right??

I have Kuyt beside Torres in my 442. If you're suggesting Kuyt to play CM - just no.

argosy2006

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

I never want to see Lucas and Poulsen on the same pitch again tbh.

its way too early to think that surely, they need bit more time, depends on their roles,
4 4 2 would not be ideal for those two ur right there

Gang of Gin

niallo27 wrote: »

No it is not

One can catch it in Murray's, The Living Room, or The Woolshed, should you be in Dublin. Can't stand any of those places, but this is what one must do to watch their team.

Kess73

Radio just said that Poulsen and Lucas start today in the centre.

Kess73

Sounds like Agger at left back as well today

Kess73

Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Kuyt
Lucas
Poulsen
Jovanovic
Gerrard
Torres


is the team according to Radio City.

If that is right, then it looks like 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 today.

MementoMori

From the official

Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Jovanovic, Torres. Subs: Jones, Pacheco, Babel, Spearing, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Kelly.

Underwhelemed with that selection

thelongfellow

The Reds team in full is: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Jovanovic, Torres. Subs: Jones, Pacheco, Babel, Spearing, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Kelly.

Daemonic

From the official site:

The Reds team in full is: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Jovanovic, Torres. Subs: Jones, Pacheco, Babel, Spearing, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Kelly.

SNAPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!

MementoMori

Kess73 wrote: »

Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Kuyt
Lucas
Poulsen
Jovanovic
Gerrard
Torres


is the team according to Radio City.

If that is right, then it looks like 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 today.

Surely it cant be 4-4-1-1 with Kuyt and Jovanovic again can it?

And people used to call Rafa defensive.

thelongfellow

thelongfellow wrote: »

The Reds team in full is: Reina, Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Skrtel, Poulsen, Lucas, Gerrard, Kuyt, Jovanovic, Torres. Subs: Jones, Pacheco, Babel, Spearing, Kyrgiakos, Maxi, Kelly.

Why, at home to West Brom, are we playing with two essentially holding midfielder's? No sign of any flair/spark in that team.

Disappointing.

argosy2006

Kess73 wrote: »

Reina
Johnson
Carragher
Skrtel
Agger
Kuyt
Lucas
Poulsen
Jovanovic
Gerrard
Torres


is the team according to Radio City.

If that is right, then it looks like 4-4-1-1 or 4-2-3-1 today.

gerrard up with torres only positive in that line up,
its a 4 4 1 1 , hope that vast area of space that was there between defense and midfield in city game will be governed by someone,
west brom dont have a tevez but still!

Dublin_Gunner

Thats a sh1te starting 11 against a team we should be hammering tbh.

4-4-2 against city, and 4-2-3-1 against West Brom - just doesn't make sense at all.

argosy2006

i think to play 4 4 2, or 4 4 1 1 , you need two central defenders with huge amounts of pace,
we dont have that,
they tend to sit back, and create huge gap between defense and midfield,
defense should be much tighter to midfield but their to wary of people getting in behind them due to thier lack of pace,
cant expect carra to push up and leave gaps behind him, he would never get back,
at home we might get away with it, but away from home, 3-0!

mike65

---

Carson
Jara - Tamas - Olsson - Shorey

---

Mulumbu
Odem'ie- Morrison - Dorrans - Brunt

---

Fortune

Subs: Myhill, Ibanez, Reid, Tchoyi, Bednar, Cox.

ilovelamp2000

Meireles has been paraded in front of the crowd, and Konchesky is in the stands

ilovelamp2000

Dorrans looks like a tidy midfielder every time I see him play.

MementoMori

Johnson might be worth an anytime goal scorer bet as surely he will have free licencse to get forward as Agger aint going to be raiding and Poulsen and Lucas will surely offer enough defensive protection against the mighty West Brom attack.

Also once Johnson gets into decent form he tends to stay in for a couple of matches and he looked decent midweek.

A 7-0 win would take us above Newcastle into sixth.

argosy2006

Dublin_Gunner wrote: »

Thats a sh1te starting 11 against a team we should be hammering tbh.

4-4-2 against city, and 4-2-3-1 against West Brom - just doesn't make sense at all.

we should have most of the ball today, so wont matter, lucas and poulsen to get it lay it off to one of 4, kuyt jova torres gerrard,
if they cant do that i give up!

argosy2006

mike65 wrote: »

---

Carson
Jara - Tamas - Olsson - Shorey

---

Mulumbu
Odem'ie- Morrison - Dorrans - Brunt

---

Fortune

Subs: Myhill, Ibanez, Reid, Tchoyi, Bednar, Cox.

Well thier playing for the draw. not to worry lucas and poulsen will break em down

~Marky~

I hope we get a good win today and get some confidence back in the team

stumpypeeps

argosy2006 wrote: »

Well thier playing for the draw. not to worry lucas and poulsen will break em down

A little harsh on Poulsen, he's a good passer. Neat and precise, in my opinion. Which means absolutely nothing.

Melion

Why are people giving out about the starting 11? Gerrard cannot play in central midfield anymore, sorry but people need to realise it. There are no other options to play there at the moment so Lucas and Poulsen will have to do.

argosy2006

stumpypeeps wrote: »

A little harsh on Poulsen, he's a good passer. Neat and precise, in my opinion. Which means absolutely nothing.

Your opinion means absolutely nothing,
Everyone should have thier opinion, in fact ur right i know nothing of poulsen to make assumptions about him,

ilovelamp2000

Melion wrote: »

Why are people giving out about the starting 11? Gerrard cannot play in central midfield anymore, sorry but people need to realise it. There are no other options to play there at the moment so Lucas and Poulsen will have to do.

Why can't Gerrard play there anymore ?

stumpypeeps

Melion wrote: »

Why are people giving out about the starting 11? Gerrard cannot play in central midfield anymore, sorry but people need to realise it. There are no other options to play there at the moment so Lucas and Poulsen will have to do.

Gerrard can and will play in central midfield. But he can also play behind Torres. And although I may be a little early in my judgement, he may well be more of a success there than Joe Cole. Who may just find himself operating from the left if he doesn't get to grips with the role quickly.

Melion

Rosco1982 wrote: »

Why can't Gerrard play there anymore ?

I know its been said a million times but he doesnt have the discipline for it. For him to play in there he needs someone like Masch who will do ALL of the defensive work for him that frees Gerrard up so he can do all the attacking.

argosy2006

Melion wrote: »

Why are people giving out about the starting 11? Gerrard cannot play in central midfield anymore, sorry but people need to realise it. There are no other options to play there at the moment so Lucas and Poulsen will have to do.

not in a 4 4 2 he cant,

mada999

you seen him against City yeah? CM means that you have to defend and attack... he didn't really defend tbh

MR NINE

Upon seeing that lineup, I'm expecting a very dull performance. We'll probaly get the win but I don't expect it to be convincing, 1 or 2 nil.

Melion

MR NINE wrote: »

Upon seeing that lineup, I'm expecting a very dull performance. We'll probaly get the win but I don't expect it to be convincing, 1 or 2 nil.

What would you have preferred?

MR NINE

Melion wrote: »

What would you have preferred?

Gerrard playing deeper alongside Lucas or Poulsen. I fear that West Brom are going to sit back and Lucas and Poulsen won't have the capability to carve enough openings for the front four between them. Also I haven't been too impressed with Jova so far but I'll give him time obviously.

Kess73

stumpypeeps wrote: »

Gerrard can and will play in central midfield. But he can also play behind Torres. And although I may be a little early in my judgement, he may well be more of a success there than Joe Cole. Who may just find himself operating from the left if he doesn't get to grips with the role quickly.

May be more of a success behind Torres than Joe Cole?


No offence, but Gerrard playing behind Torres is well proven at this point, and I would rate Gerrard as being far superior in that particular role than Joe Cole who has never had any kind of regular run in that role at anytime during his career.

MementoMori

If it was a case of Gerrard plus one of Lucas and Poulsen in CM that would increase our attacking threat a fair bit, espcially if Pacheco came in.

Also playing three CBs at home to West Brom is pretty defensive - why not play an actual full-back there who might get forward and attack i.e Kelly or Insua (busy twiddling his thumbs at the moment)

Also the rumoured ITK indicated who had the correct team indicated that it was to be a 4-4-1-1 formation which is the wrong approach to be taking against West Brom at home.

We went with Torres and Dave up front against City away but are going with one up top today against West Brom at home. How does that make sense?

mike65

Torres first shot at goal, very narrow angle.

stumpypeeps

Kess73 wrote: »

May be more of a success behind Torres than Joe Cole?


No offence, but Gerrard playing behind Torres is well proven at this point, and I would rate Gerrard as being far superior in that particular role than Joe Cole who has never had any kind of regular run in that role at anytime during his career.

Well on the basis that Roy has played Cole in that central position everytime he's lined out, I'd say the initial thinking would have been that Gerrard is better in central midfield as a creative influence than anyone else at the club. And Cole is at his best in a more central role. I may be judging things a little early but this experiment with Cole doesn't seem to be working. Now Mereiles is on board Gerrard may not be needed in midfield to the same extent and will revert to that role behind Torres with Cole going wide.

mike65

Torres again from narrow angle on left, stream dies...