Topic: RAWK Preview Liverpool v Stoke City 12:45pm August 17th

[Hinesy]

And so it comes around. The close season seems shorter every year, the ever increasing desperation for 24 hour rolling news on multi-platforms, means that not a day has gone by where the silence has exceeded the digital babble. Be it about Luis, Danny, Pepe, the in's and out's, the might be ins and who knows out's, Liverpool, as they usually seem to these last few years, have been in the media spotlight, a glare more harsh than sun bouncing off pre transplant Rooney's bonce.

Almost thankfully, then, the silly season is over, and comes the match. No more posturing, preening and pretending, its down to brass tacks as we kick the whole season off, on BT Sport and at lunchtime against a team who are the very definition of brass tacks: Stoke. No longer Tony's Stoke but Mark's Stoke. Mark Hughes, a man more granite faced than a lump of er, granite. And with a great reputation. Great at taking teams and fucking them up.

Be'hatted Tony, bless him. He of the tracksuit and long throw. About as elegant as a fart. But they did what they did well and got results again teams above them, pushing their physical attributes to the fore.

Stoke must hope they've signed the Hughes that did ok at Fulham, not the Hughes that moved across London and humped QPR.

They have had transfer requests from Nzoni which were rejected. Mind you so did we....

They've got Pennant playing for them after being rehired and Crouch, nice to see a couple of ex players popping back and Cameron Jerome was done for betting by the FA. I can't imagine where he learnt his love of gambling. In other news Michael Owen retired.

Meanwhile, Belford, Coady, Mukendi and Stephens have all moved on. I'm on about Liverpool now in case you were wondering. The team thinning continues. And in comes Hughes' old player Toure. And a new goalie.

So can we, a team without Carra, Pepe and who knows with Agger, hold off against a physical, wound up Mark Hughes team that will place emphasis on aggression and muscle?

Of course we can. Well, we should. Be bloody nonsense if we don't take 3 points off these. Yes they can be difficult to play against. But I was Rodgers to re-instill that attitude that was "We're Liverpool, fuck you."

Yes, I'm tired of the close season shenigans and yes I'm tired of being held to ransom by certain players and the press enjoying our difficulties. But is my appetite whetted or jaded when it comes to Saturday? I can't bloody wait. I really can't.

[Hinesy]

As ever, posts just consisting of team formations without reasoning will be removed. Thanks.

[Djibriliant]

Get in, it's finally here!

[CANADAlglish]

Hope we give them a good kicking. . .
anyone in a forward roll will be getting the same treatment.
I could see the Potters going down this year.
and our lads are JUST the ones the get the shit show started.

[CS111]

As obvious as it sounds, we really need to get off to a flyer given our fixtures, get some morale and confidence within the squad
if we start like last year, it will be over after 10 games
Personally im still worried about out defence, especially against stoke

[Paragon]

I'd be surprised if Mark Hughes has made drastic changes to Stoke City's style of play. I'm still expecting more of the same, it's not like Mark Hughes is an enthusiast of the beautiful game is it?

Liverpool will have the lion's share of possession, it will be a tough game but I predict a tight win.

[Harinder]

Well you beat me to it boss

13 odd long weeks. Like a junkie in need of a fix of Football some have reached to the ITK’s in the SKY (Sports 1/2/3/News) and STFU. Others have sought to find solace in the bosom of podcasts and flirted between The Anfield Wrap, The Bib Theorists and the 5 Times crew. Bloggers in desperation of needs have even turned to Indykaila!

Others went cold turkey and said enough is enough. We don’t need the needle. We just need a preview.

You’re screwed if you chose the preview option 

So Stoke. Sparky’s new found haven. Chequered past. Pulis probably still working on the tan he never had but always wanted whilst one Potter went all out to welcome Sparky



Oh Sparky. He loves the sack but lets face it I don’t think he’ll be the first Premiership casualty. Moyesy wants to win that trophy. Under Pulis Stoke were as familiar as your Grandad’s slippers. You knew the pattern, the battered sole and the odd smell along with the crack they’d occasionally give you and therefore that stinging feeling. I guess Stoke have been like that for us in the Premiership. Lord knows they’ve bored us to death but as far as tests go this is a side we want to beat. Especially on the first day of the season. We’ve a real opportunity to change the way Stoke can make us feel about Football against the proverbial bus team but also it’s a chance to see if we’ve improved in dealing with them

So how will we be?

If we believe the old especially chosen bum, I mean one, Maureen then we don’t get any points for friendlies. We don’t get prizes either Josey. The Community Shield meant Moyes got a trophy and thought it was a platter for Tony Hibbert’s leaving present of a fishy. Oh how they laughed in the corridors of Old Trafford. They couldn’t take the Everton out of him.

So really, how will we be?

We will be triumphant! Having seen how we were last year away at West Brom for the opener last season it won’t be like that. We’ve come a long way in the last season and even without Luis we’ll work harder as a unit and therefore better together. Or so the theory goes. Stoke won’t really be cavalier on the opening day but I’m hoping we take the fight to them. Brendan knows we have a chance to make a swift start to the campaign. The friendlies showed that at times we can be a bit rusty. That should be expected. Being at a peak straight off the bat isn’t really what anyone should think will happen. What we should be able to do though is grind out a result. This is where the little differences in confidence will come from in my opinion so with that in mind what have we done in that department?

Well for starters have you seen our manager? Brendan most definitely found the treadmill. Lopped off a few pounds just in time to chase Suarez out of his office and outrun Downing in the “race you for a contract” sprint. How Agger laughed at that one the old tease that he is. Next he’ll be running after the transfer committee so that he can beat the “no new business” message getting out. In the next three weeks there will be a few more comings and goings. None who come or go will be bigger than the club they represent and with that we have the ultimate measure of where we are in regards to confidence. We found a swagger in the last couple of weeks that truth be told we’d lost somewhere along the way in the echelons above us. That hopefully has resonated in the deeper souls of our passing players who come, who play and one day usually move on. It will happen again and again but one things for sure you’d rather be doing the playing with us than against us.

We come not to play you see? We come to stick around and support through thick and thin.

Now lets go kick Sparky’s arse.

PS – I can’t be too harsh against Stoke City fans. When we needed them they stood with us and the Oatcake fanzine will always be remembered for that.
http://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thread/202080

[Bruce88]

Debuts for Toure and Mignolet (a Belgian Red, yay!), and a first real test for Aspas, it will be interesting to see him play against a tough defence in the PL. Counting on Coutinho to make the difference. Not counting on Sturridge to start but I guess he'll come on somewhere in the second half.

Don't care if it's 1 or 3-0 and don't care if it's a good game or not, I'll be happy as long as we take the 3 points. Going out on Friday night so once again I'm counting on the Reds to cure my future hangover! The race for Europe begins on Saturday, bring it on.

[EstonianRed]

Need to start strong, to get our confidence going, come on red man, cant wait !!

[DyingAtheist]

I'm nervous.
And excited.
And have waited all summer for this.

It's like losing your virginity all over again.

[Fitzy.]

#excited is trending in my brain!

[Hinesy]

Thanks Harinder. Forgot

[John C]

Nice one Hinesy, I expect a fresh looking Liverpool to encounter a similar dogged Stoke performance despite their change of manager. Indeed Hughes is probably loathed by some people more than the Pullis was.

Hopefully Brendan has churned over in his mind some of our lesser displays last year and the frustration of dropping points unexpectedly and will have his side hungry.

Lets not kid ourselves, we're going to stroll this, Celtic gave us a reminder on Saturday that we can't have it all our own way. So I'll be happy with a 1-0 win with some of the new lads getting their first game under their belt and in particular a feel for what's ahead - tough times.

We have a manager that demands hard work, and this game will require both concentration & graft. It will be a stiff test for the lads but one that will judge whether we are likely to hit the ground running.

I expect skill and fitness to prevail against those bunch of oat-cake-eaters on a brilliant Anfield surface.

Oh that green luscious grass that glistens in the bright August sunshine.

[tommy LFC]

I really thought Hughes was going to be a top manager when he was at Blackburn, but he has lost that spark (pun very much intended).

Big job for him at Stoke. If he fails there he might be finished.

[tommy LFC]

Stoke's only signing is Marc Muniesa, a 21 year old centre back from Barcelona.

Do you reckon ol' Sparky would be kind enough to break up Huth and Shawcross and play this lad? There's all this talk about Hughes changing their style of play, what better way to do that than take out one of those hackers and replace them with a kid brought up in La Masia? That's what I'm hoping Hughes is thinking anyway...

[rafathegaffa83]

I just want the three points with no injuries. I'd suspect Stoke will be up for it (first game under new manager).

Stoke's only signing is Marc Muniesa, a 21 year old centre back from Barcelona.

They've also signed Dutch LB Erik Pieters

[Fiasco]

Comes around quick, doesn't it? Early goal will be key here. Not just because it's the first game of the season but because it's Stoke, too many dull games against them when we struggled to break them down. I think if we can get a goal within the first 20 minutes or so we'll settle and go on to get  a couple more. The test comes if it's 0-0 after halftime and how the team reacts to that.

[Gus 1855]

One of our best chances in recent years of starting with 3 points, psychologically so important this year I feel so we're not playing catch up from day one.

Team by and large picks itself in my view, maybe 2 or 3 tops up for debate.

Will be interesting to see how Mignolet does in particular, big test for him. Kolo will have to be on good form.

[gregorio]

With each year outside of the top 4 comes an increase in pressure at the start of the season. BT Sport will be desperate for the big upset story to get their coverage off to a flyer and the ingredients are all there. International friendlies a few days before, our poor early form in the last few years, the Hughes sub-plot and let's not forget, a team that took 4 points off us last year.

But if the players and the crowd can relax and get into it then we can make a real statement.

Really excited

[mkferdy]

I wonder if Stoke attempt to adjust their style and try to keep the ball on the deck?

Being the first game away from home I fully expect them to keep things the same being very organised with the midfield playing very close to the defence keeping things compact in the middle.

An early goal will really help as its one of those games that could end up being a struggle the longer the game goes on. Fully expect Bekovic to have a mom performance too as most keepers seem to do when they come to Anfield.

Early prediction for me 1-0 and top of the league before the 3pm kickoffs

[Cattive Maniere]

Big test for our attacking players also. We are not that physically strong in that area so it won't be easy. Still confident that we will get 3 points. 

[Harinder]

Stoke's only signing is Marc Muniesa, a 21 year old centre back from Barcelona.

Do you reckon ol' Sparky would be kind enough to break up Huth and Shawcross and play this lad? There's all this talk about Hughes changing their style of play, what better way to do that than take out one of those hackers and replace them with a kid brought up in La Masia? That's what I'm hoping Hughes is thinking anyway...

American player too?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23637199

[exiledintheUSA]

American player too?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23637199

Pre-contract agreemement, due over Jan 2nd, alas wont be playing Saturday

[Harinder]

Pre-contract agreemement, due over Jan 2nd, alas wont be playing Saturday

Well at least he won't feel that Sparky feeling then til next year 

[trembles97]

Nice one Hinesy and Harinder.

Really looking forward to this. Hope to see Alberto start, but it'll be Allen over him. Hopefully Sturridge bags a few and stays injury free.

[Reeves]

Regrettably I think the above confidence is misplaced. This is exactly the sort of team that our young light-weight team will get bullied by unless we sign some real class. Hate saying it, but I'm not confident.

[TXRed]

Want to cry from pure joy at seeing this thread. It means that a summer full of transfer shite is almost over, at least for a little while. Now RAWK can get on and moan about the actual footy.

My hope for this game? 3 points and injury free (Sturridge!!!!1one) at the end of 90. A tall task with a team that plays the way Stoke do, new manager be damned.

While I'll be far away from Merseyside in the States, seeing that beautiful green grass at Anfield again on the tube is going to give me butterflies in my stomach. Here's to the 2013-14 season. Can't wait to see what's in store.

[the_red_pill]

So can we, a team without Carra, Pepe and who knows with Agger, hold off against a physical, wound up Mark Hughes team that will place emphasis on aggression and muscle?

Luis Suarez?

Anyway, I don't think we'd see much of a difference between this season's Stoke and last season's- where they began passing the ball a bit and keeping it on the deck more.


They'll still be Stoke, it's their identity. Their community is laced with that "Stokeness". It will just be Stoke with a bit of passing.

[El Ninos Black Eye]

I'd be surprised if Mark Hughes has made drastic changes to Stoke City's style of play. I'm still expecting more of the same, it's not like Mark Hughes is an enthusiast of the beautiful game is it?

Liverpool will have the lion's share of possession, it will be a tough game but I predict a tight win.

As a cheeky young Fabregas once said to him, 'are you sure you used to play for Barca' Sparky never took to kindly to that.

[Harinder]

Regrettably I think the above confidence is misplaced. This is exactly the sort of team that our young light-weight team will get bullied by unless we sign some real class. Hate saying it, but I'm not confident.

But then this is exactly the team we need to get past. If we truly want to see if we've got beyond the stumbling blocks of last season it is the very test we need.

All friendlies aside, I'd be surprised that we hadn't worked on handling this. Stoke defensively are as old as the hills too so this will be more worrying for them I feel

You'd be right in the sentiment that we should exercise caution but that being said it wouldn't be the opening day buzz if we went in thinking about a draw or a loss 

[lindylou100]

Its a difficult one, I've always seen stoke as a good benchmark to measure our progress as a team. They are physical, long ball side which up until the second half of last season had an impressive defensive record. I always felt that if we could breakdown a team of this type then that bodes well for the future as there are many teams that liked to park the bus and go for the draw against us and we've been unable to break them down. We also seemed to struggle against the more physical teams that would bully us off the ball and the big CFs too ( west ham player - diame?). Its hard to really get a feel as to how stoke will be under Hughes so I'll have to use a new benchmark team but I really hope we can take advantage whilst they are in transition.

[Gifted Right Foot]

Sturridge
Sterling Coutinho Aspas
Lucas Gerrard
Enrique Agger Toure Johnson
Mignolet

Good side and it's probably going to be something like that but you can't just post formations without explaining things lad.  It's in the first comment on here.

Anyway nothing beats the preseason excitement for me.  Hopefully the buzz lasts longer this year and we start off with a blinder.  I've been really impressed with most of what i've seen in preseason.  Well up for this. 

Oh and great op!  I missed them. 

[helmboy_nige]

Well that came around fast. We have so many attacking players I have no idea how we'll line-up.  I guess Rodgers has spoken on having Lucas, Gerrard and Allen as his preferred starters in the middle.  I'd prefer Henderson in there, but I guess he's a great option to come on after 60 minutes and hassle like no one has hassled before.

Can't wait!

[reds7]

You know it's near when the previews are back.

Stoke are a good test first up, they'll be looking for a point, like they always are.

I'll be looking to Coutinho to unlock their defence, Toure to provide the physicality at set pieces. Could be an insight to how well we are going to fair against the mid-table anti-footballers, despite it being the first run out.

Early goal will do us good

[telekon]

I could see the Potters going down this year.
and our lads are JUST the ones the get the shit show started.

Good shout. Stoke will lose whatever they balanced on since Pulis left. A team built for many years around a rather odd philosophy and players being purchased for the sole purpose of fitting that system. Take that away and there's inevitably not very much to stand on. I can see them falling this year as well and struggle to stay up.

Given our early purchases and them being able to blend in, given Rodgers first year is behind him and the experience that came with it, given it's Anfield, and given that Stoke is at the start of a re-building or whatever they might call it - this should be 3 points in the bag. It might not be pretty. We might make a few mistakes, but we should outplay this lot 9 times out of 10.

Can't wait for Saturday!

[Vork+The Knights of Good]

Wait, we still play games? I thought football had just become a contest between two clubs fighting to see who could make the most players actually honour the contracts they signed. An actual football match? This is brilliant.

Legitimately can't wait for Saturday. As hinesy said in the op, the summers seem to get shorter and shorter each year, but every time mid-August rolls around time begins to stretch out like treacle from a spoon. I've got genuine optimism over this upcoming season. I fancy Sturridge to set the league alight and take home the golden boot come May. Lucas should be back to his fighting best and if he's feeling kind he might let Yaya Toure out of his back pocket. And our new Belgian between the sticks, well if I might be so presumptuous as to steal a few words from the great man himself, "He's a colossus."

And once again, we get to watch Coutinho play football. What a joy that is. With the little magician pulling the strings, who's to say what's possible?

Another nine months of countless exultation's, dropped heads, laughs, and pints. Who'd trade that for anything in the world?

[reds7]

Another nine months of countless exultation's, dropped heads, laughs, and pints. Who'd trade that for anything in the world?

And that, my friend, is what it all comes down to.

[theCanadian]

Comes around quick, doesn't it? Early goal will be key here. Not just because it's the first game of the season but because it's Stoke, too many dull games against them when we struggled to break them down. I think if we can get a goal within the first 20 minutes or so we'll settle and go on to get  a couple more. The test comes if it's 0-0 after halftime and how the team reacts to that.

I believe last season we got an early goal against them (via a penalty) and then lost the game. At the Britannia, mind you.

[Dentron]

Sturridge
Sterling Coutinho Aspas
Lucas Gerrard
Enrique Agger Toure Johnson
Mignolet

This is definitely the intuitive starting 11. Our best players in their best positions except for maybe Aspas. Definitely one of my new favorites, but have we seen him playing wide?

Either way, I'm expecting to see Joe Allen at attacking mid, pushing Coutinho to the flank, where they can pin him to the line and punish him for being both small and quintessentially un-British.

[CHOPPER]

Stoke to get relegated this year.


Bye, bye Nick Handcock.