Topic: Round the FA Cup table: Liverpool 6-1 Brighton.

[Hinesy]

Oooh Carroll and Suarez can play together... Andy nods it back for Luis and in he pops it... About time... (84.39mins played to be accurate).

When Kenny put up the number 7 on his fingers it wasn't the number of goals scored, it was a clear indication for Luis Suarez to take the penalty and of course he was going to miss it. At times Luis looked short of confidence, has the whole issue stripped him of some swagger?
Carroll had to put up with a wrestling match from the Fighton, er Brighton, defence without any succour, yet he won man of the match from ESPN. In some ways he is growing into the role, but similarly Downing doesn't seem to be and this was against opponents who to be fair were fairly easy pickings...

So.. Should the manager decide who takes the penalties out of sentimentality?
Should we actually keep Andy and sell Stuart?
And for me, why wasn't Martin Skrtel man of the match?
Or the stripper: the only man to get close to Carra all day...
PS we won and here comes Stoke.

[StevenLFC]

I can see the logic of giving Suarez the pen as it was a cup game, and therefore goal difference isn't a factor. Having said that, he was always going to miss, he's a great player but I think he's a pretty poor penalty taker.

Andy Carroll did very well yesterday, he was getting held and pushed all game, but he gave it back and got a goal and a very good assist for Suarez.

I thought Gerrard looked a bit off yesterday, which is a surprise. Downing looked poor too, which isn't a surprise. I still don't see what Henderson actually does either.

I thought the defence did very well, especially Skrtel who has stepped his game up this year.

I think the scoreline did flatter us somewhat, Brighton are a decent side who pass the ball and attack, which probably suited us more than a team coming and parking the bus.

[Col]

If you don't see what Henderson does, then watch the final OG again from the point where we're defending the corner.

He met the ball, got something on it, got to it first when it drooped, cleared it another 20 yyards and did the same again, then broke box-to-box at pace on his own. If Wayne Rooney had done that, the hype would've been ridiculous, but as it was Jordan I doubt many people revenue realise he was involved.

I like the way Henderson is progressing. He's a bit like a young Darren Fletcher but with the potential to be more effective in attack, once he trusts himself to break the lines and get in behind the defence more often.

[Corkboy]

If you don't see what Henderson does, then watch the final OG again from the point where we're defending the corner.

He met the ball, got something on it, got to it first when it drooped, cleared it another 20 yyards and did the same again, then broke box-to-box at pace on his own. If Wayne Rooney had done that, the hype would've been ridiculous, but as it was Jordan I doubt many people revenue realise he was involved.

I like the way Henderson is progressing. He's a bit like a young Darren Fletcher but with the potential to be more effective in attack, once he trusts himself to break the lines and get in behind the defence more often.

I'd like to see his ground covered stats, he seems to get about the park an awful lot.

[Vulmea]

Bit of an odd game I thought - started off standing - block 207 atmosphere was ok then after about 5-6 minutes everybody sat down - and the atmosphere seemed to go missing until the second half ?

There were an unusual  number of bizzies dotted about the Kop do we know why?

Anyway I need to see some of the replays because it looked like the ref had a disgraceful game - the scoreline may hide it but I thought he was shocking and it made me wonder whether Suarez will not only face a back lash for divvy ffans but the authorities -  - there was one point in the game were he was blatantly fouled three times near the touchline and the ref refused to give any of them only the linesman stepping in saw the foul awarded.

On Suarez - he started poorly I thought, the emotion seemed to have gotten to him but from where I was sitting he tore them a new one after that.

Was there a clear handball in that second half?

On the penalty I thought the delay in taking it - not so much the 'debate' about who took it but the wait for the whistle was ridiculously long - dont think that helped the lad because it was a shocking penalty and when the rebound didn't even go in.............

Another Suarez moment in the second half, just into the Brighton half by the touchline over near the dug outs there was one point where Suarez somehow managed to keep his feet - does he have double jointed knees? it was worth the cost of the game on its own - amazing piece of skill.

Thought Downing played better second half - horrible feeling it was because of the game next week but he finally looked up and picked out a cross rather than just putting in a cross.

Why did the stewards take the divvy at the end to see Carra?

Left the game thinking we'd scored 6 but somehow missed all our best chances. As for the score flattering us, we missed a hell of a lot of good chances and their goal...........

[Col]

A quick note on Suarez - he was exceptional, without any petulance or whingeing at all. Even after the penalty miss, he seemed to make a conscious decision not to get wound up and kick the ball away.

That, right there, is the Luis Suarez we need to see every week.

[stevieheighway]

I'd like to see his ground covered stats, he seems to get about the park an awful lot.

According to The Anfield Wrap, Charlie Adam covered the most ground, as he routinely does, who'dve thunk it??

[kkjellquist]

A quick note on Suarez - he was exceptional, without any petulance or whingeing at all. Even after the penalty miss, he seemed to make a conscious decision not to get wound up and kick the ball away.

That, right there, is the Luis Suarez we need to see every week.

Agreed, I think he's slowly learning the fine line in the PL between going to ground and staying on his feet.  There were several times yesterday when I think, in the past, he would have gone down and looked for the ref.  He was more effective staying up and he wouldn't get the call anyway.  Excellent game for Luis and the team as a whole.

[No666]

According to The Anfield Wrap, Charlie Adam covered the most ground, as he routinely does, who'dve thunk it??

& was mind-bogglingly accurate, along with GJ, so says the official site:

Opta statistics show how Adam - the only Liverpool midfielder to play the full 90 minutes - hit 59 passes, 96.6 per cent of which went to a man in a red shirt, while Johnson played 39 balls, with a 97.2 per cent completion rate.

[Corkboy]

According to The Anfield Wrap, Charlie Adam covered the most ground, as he routinely does, who'dve thunk it??

Not me, fair play to the fat fucker!

[Phil M]

According to The Anfield Wrap, Charlie Adam covered the most ground, as he routinely does, who'dve thunk it??

And had 90 something % pass completion rate as posted above.

Anyway we were rubbish, and did you know Brighton scored three own goals AND Luis Suarez (boooooo, hisss! ) missed a penalty!

ifithadnabinfertheowngoals etc etc.


My two bobs worth:

Very very good team performance, Kenny picked the right team, got the right response from his players and the crowd got behind the team.

All in all the perfect warm-up for Wembley with Agger and Bellamy rested. Cameos for messrs Shelvey, Kuyt and Maxi and a swashbuckling display from an energised Stevie Gerrard.

Great display, well in Redmen.

[No Appreciation of Liverpool Opposition]

Downing looked poor too, which isn't a surprise. I still don't see what Henderson actually does either.

that's just wrong

[DanA]

I thought Downing was excellent bombing up and down the wing. He did a hell of a lot of good stuff but there is the niggling thought that he could have had a couple more assists. Just seems to either be extremely unlucky of lacking in the final ball. You surely can bag him for that game though. I give him a solid 8 out of 10.

I thought that was a bad game for Suarez but an off game for Suarez is still a very high standard. A lot of play didn't quite come off but one thing about him. I reckon he's the best player in the world at finding space in the penalty box. Just that little bit better finishing and he'd be ridiculously good.

Carroll is coming good and I am hoping it sparks something. There aren't a lot of defenders that match up well against him. Ledley King, Vincent Kompany, Ryan Shawcross & John Terry are probably the players that physically match up and seem to handle him well. Against the rest though, he is really a nightmare for them and it's even more evident against Championship defenders which we saw in this game. I'd be inclined to play him in the cup final, rest him against Stoke but use him against almost everyone else. He's definitely going to be a good player though.

Gerrard is finding form but I don't reckon he's at his very best yet. He's still got another gear, particularly in terms of his shooting. I think with another month of football we'll be seeing an even better Gerrard. He was unleashed a bit this game but I can't wait until we have a proper DM so we can get the best out of Gerrard.

Jordan Henderson. I can see why we got him. He's going to be a huge talent but to me he doesn't quite contribute enough to be playing as regularly as he is. I feel like he's where Lucas was in 08/09 which is to say a decent squad player but 18 months off being comfortably in the starting 11.

[soberphobia]

If you don't see what Henderson does, then watch the final OG again from the point where we're defending the corner.

He met the ball, got something on it, got to it first when it drooped, cleared it another 20 yyards and did the same again, then broke box-to-box at pace on his own. If Wayne Rooney had done that, the hype would've been ridiculous, but as it was Jordan I doubt many people revenue realise he was involved.

I like the way Henderson is progressing. He's a bit like a young Darren Fletcher but with the potential to be more effective in attack, once he trusts himself to break the lines and get in behind the defence more often.

It's an interesting one with Jordan. I have a manc friend who in the infinite wisdom of consensus of opinion with all his other manc friends have determined that Henderson is nothing but a set of legs and lungs. Has a great ability to run up and down but doesn't do much they say. For me i have seen bits of his one touch stuff (mostly when at Sunderland) in the final third that is instinctive and cannot be taught.

I think as he matures and gets more confident he will be a great contributor to us but will always be one of those players that kind of goes a bit un noticed. I think sometimes we are too quick to criticise young players and they need a season or so to bed in and i think we are seeing that with him and Carroll.

As fro the game i think it was just the perfect hitout for us. A few guys Gerrard Downing Suarez that either haven't played heaps of footy this season or have been a bit out of touch got a bit of a gallop. Carroll seems to be getting better by the match and i think the cup game against the mancs was a breakout game for him. He hasn't had a poor one since then. The opposition were not great but sometimes it is good to get a hitout like that to get everyone into a bit of touch.

[Fuzion6]

Movement, movement, movement is what struck me yesterday. Very fluid formation with player popping up everywhere. Suarez dropping deep, gerrard moving wide with johnson bombing on and henderson dropping nicely into RCM covering them both. Downing moving inside, enriqque getting forward. Was great to see with Carroll as the reference up front.

[Phil M]

It's an interesting one with Jordan. I have a manc friend who in the infinite wisdom of consensus of opinion with all his other manc friends have determined that Henderson is nothing but a set of legs and lungs. Has a great ability to run up and down but doesn't do much they say. For me i have seen bits of his one touch stuff (mostly when at Sunderland) in the final third that is instinctive and cannot be taught.

I think as he matures and gets more confident he will be a great contributor to us but will always be one of those players that kind of goes a bit un noticed. I think sometimes we are too quick to criticise young players and they need a season or so to bed in and i think we are seeing that with him and Carroll.

As fro the game i think it was just the perfect hitout for us. A few guys Gerrard Downing Suarez that either haven't played heaps of footy this season or have been a bit out of touch got a bit of a gallop. Carroll seems to be getting better by the match and i think the cup game against the mancs was a breakout game for him. He hasn't had a poor one since then. The opposition were not great but sometimes it is good to get a hitout like that to get everyone into a bit of touch.

I think with respect to what you've written, the same was labelled at Lucas Leiva when he was an understudy to Alonso in his early days.
It's a big learning curve for Jordan and I think he will be a very influential player for us in a couple of seasons.

[stockdam]

I thought Brighton played quite well especially in the first half. The difference is that they defended very poorly at times and didn't hold onto the ball as well as we did. The scoreline flattered us a bit but I think Brighton will learn from this......I think Poyet will be a decent manager.

Skrtel's goal was excellent.....perfect header. Andy's goal was very well taken also.

The only downside was the silly free kick that Henderson gave away but as was said above his run for Gerrard's goal was top class.

[DanA]

It's an interesting one with Jordan. I have a manc friend who in the infinite wisdom of consensus of opinion with all his other manc friends have determined that Henderson is nothing but a set of legs and lungs. Has a great ability to run up and down but doesn't do much they say. For me i have seen bits of his one touch stuff (mostly when at Sunderland) in the final third that is instinctive and cannot be taught.

As fro the game i think it was just the perfect hitout for us. A few guys Gerrard Downing Suarez that either haven't played heaps of footy this season or have been a bit out of touch got a bit of a gallop. Carroll seems to be getting better by the match and i think the cup game against the mancs was a breakout game for him. He hasn't had a poor one since then. The opposition were not great but sometimes it is good to get a hitout like that to get everyone into a bit of touch.

Agree, the club needed a confidence boosting game to put this racism stuff behind us and 6-1 win in the FA cup is just what the doctor ordered. Maybe I make to much of it but I reckon we were in danger of dropping our heads a bit with the pressure from the media etc. I think a win like this has the potential to relieve that pressure and give us the opportunity to go the other way. Spark a revival giving us a bit of resolve.

On Jordan Henderson I can see why your Manc friends would say that, in some games he not doing an aweful lot. There are large parts of games where he goes missing with his only contribution some neat unadventurous passes and little else. But he's got brilliant technique, he's got fantastic aerobic capacity, he's not slow. He's a hard worker and intelligent player. I think the next step for him is to develop his tackling and become more adventurous. It'll take time but I think he will eventually be that quality deep lying playmaker we haven't had since Alonso.

[Fuzion6]

Yday Henderson was filling in and dropping / covering defensivley a lot. We had Johnson bombing forward, often in the box, and Gerrard advancing also. Henderson kept covering both these guys superbly. Not match of the day type stuff but equally necessary and important.

[John C]

A quick note on Suarez - he was exceptional, without any petulance or whingeing at all. Even after the penalty miss, he seemed to make a conscious decision not to get wound up and kick the ball away.

That, right there, is the Luis Suarez we need to see every week.

Deffo worth mentioning mate, I notice it every time its repeated on the telly, he demonstrated control in that instant despite massive frustration (although he may have got a ticking off for blasting the ball on the half time whistle at OT).

Overall I just think it was a comfortable win with everyone having a fairly solid, steady game without anyone really standing out apart from perhaps Carroll. Andy was more industrious than he has been in recent weeks, although that's not hard relatively, but it was great to see his efforts rewarded with a well taken strike. He met the ball wonderfully.

It was also delightful to see so many of our expectations transpire in a single game. A Downing assist to Carroll, a Carroll nod down assist to Suarez and a Suarez / Carroll double. But in particular I enjoyed the bit of good fortune bestowed on us - isn't it just about fucking time.

That must give us confidence for Sunday with the aim of another early goal.

[WOOLTONIAN]

Great day had by all

Fans overjoyed
Club through to next round
Brighton got the matchball for a superb hat-trick

lovin int

[Twelfth Man]

Playing devils advocate: I doubt other teams will be so generous in allowing us so much space in midfield. Adam/Gerrard had hardly any pressure on them. We know from all the bore draws at Anfield by so-called lesser teams and Bolton away that when you put pressure on our midfield it buckles. I suspect Stoke will not afford it that much space.

[Nessy76]

& was mind-bogglingly accurate, along with GJ, so says the official site:

Opta statistics show how Adam - the only Liverpool midfielder to play the full 90 minutes - hit 59 passes, 96.6 per cent of which went to a man in a red shirt, while Johnson played 39 balls, with a 97.2 per cent completion rate.

That is astonishing.

[Robbie_9]

Not even off the first page  imagine we lost.

[Garcepticon]

Oooh Carroll and Suarez can play together... Andy nods it back for Luis and in he pops it... About time... (84.39mins played to be accurate).

When Kenny put up the number 7 on his fingers it wasn't the number of goals scored, it was a clear indication for Luis Suarez to take the penalty and of course he was going to miss it. At times Luis looked short of confidence, has the whole issue stripped him of some swagger?
Carroll had to put up with a wrestling match from the Fighton, er Brighton, defence without any succour, yet he won man of the match from ESPN. In some ways he is growing into the role, but similarly Downing doesn't seem to be and this was against opponents who to be fair were fairly easy pickings...

So.. Should the manager decide who takes the penalties out of sentimentality?
Should we actually keep Andy and sell Stuart?
And for me, why wasn't Martin Skrtel man of the match?
Or the stripper: the only man to get close to Carra all day...
PS we won and here comes Stoke.

I agree Skrtel had a good game, but when the game is 6-1 then you have to take into account how much the players was involved and for that is why Andy should have been MotM.

There definitely needs to be some Charlie Adam praise, for the first time he didn't run into the back of the opposition and give away a foul! Another thing that impressed me hugely was his passes out to Downing on the counter attack, they set him up perfectly and showed that it isn't just hollywood balls which he can spray. Carragher gave a brilliant performance, he distributed the ball brilliantly and he didn't make a mistake. It is fantastic that we have such a good defender who can fill in for Agger and Skrtel at the drop of a hat.

[The Jackal]

Don't understand people having a go at Downing. OK, it wasn't like he was Messi out there, but he played a good solid game, got up and downt he wing well; linked up well with Enrique; attacked the box on sevral occasions; had some decent shots; got some good crosses in; earned a free-kick in a dangerous area; got an assist as a result of some good movement, some skill and awareness to pick out Carroll (going for the cut back rather than the ball across the box). All that on it's own is a fairly decent performance in my book.

Perhaps even more important though was his tactical contribution. I thought he was too narrow in the first half, but second half he pushed up high and wide and kept the width well. Brighton were obviously worried about him as whenver he received the ball they tended to double up on him straight away (Bridcutt often coming over as the second man) when we timed this right (e.g. if Enrique was backing up quickly enough - which he often was on Sunday) it created space in the middle as their other midfielders often didn't drop in quickly enough to cover - so Downing could easily drop the ball off to Enrique who could pop it into the middle either  for Suarez who had dropped off, or for Adam/ Gerrard in advanced positions.

I'd like to see more of this kind of tactical play using Downing. This is something we used to do really well with Riera in his first season - he had a really good understanding with Insua down that side and the comination was used to great effect draging players out and creating space in the middle. I think for it to work though, Downing needs to 'make himself a threat' early on in games - by taking on his full-back, running at the box, etc.. so that they are aware of him and feel the need to double up. I think it's a really good way of using wingers tactically - Brighton were trying the same thing down their left side but not as effectively because a) their full-back didn't back-up their winger as quickly/ well as Enrique did Downing and b) our midfield closed the space better - largely due to Henderson's excellent covering play.

[The Jackal]

Yday Henderson was filling in and dropping / covering defensivley a lot. We had Johnson bombing forward, often in the box, and Gerrard advancing also. Henderson kept covering both these guys superbly. Not match of the day type stuff but equally necessary and important.

Thought Henderson was superb, personally. Played his role to perfection. He was the 'glue' in that team performance allowing the other parts to work effectively. Picked him as man of the match.

[Lucas DuoFlush]

Actually thought Downing played well, although I still think so far he is categorically our worst signing under Kenny. I liked that he was ambitious in the first quarter of the first half (had two or three decent attempts in the game didn't he?) - anyway, I liked the cheekiness of them, we should be seeing that more in a winger. I'd like him to start the final if he is going to put in the same performance - I see him as very much a confidence player and I think if he scores a few or gets an assist or two in the final we'll start to see the improved league form we desperately need from him. On the other hand, Craig will probably play exceptional in that final so its a hard call to make. Hopefully a sub for one of them at '60 or so.

Everyone else was superb in my opinion, and I'm about 1 good game away of being convinced Andy will be a class centre forward.