Topic: What are our potential weaknesses? (Hope the grammar is OK)

[Hayer]

and what relevance has this got to this season ?

Well what has changed this season, for us to score less?

Is there any need for the stupid kneejerking off one loss?.We lost a game. Whoop de doo.

[Fruity]

United had possibly the best defence in the country with Ferdinand and Vidic in their prime. They also have had some of the best attacking options in the world over the last few years as well. It's all well and good saying play a load of attacking players and be more offensive but not every team has the players to do that. When we were more attacking we leaked goals on the counter and our defence looked extremely vunerable.

We need to get the balance right but we also need better players in some areas or at the very least for certain players to start improving.

[Hayer]

10 points without our best player. How can anyone not be happy with that start?

[ANFIELDGATES]

Well what has changed this season, for us to score less?

Is there any need for the stupid kneejerking off one loss?.We lost a game. Whoop de doo.

jesus,want me to spell it out for ya?...its the manner in which u lose that defines your reaction...second halves against nts county/villa/utd/swans and now southampton totally unacceptable imo,when u settle for mediocrity then ur fcuked!!this defeat has been coming and if a lot of fans could see it then why couldnt the management and players?i dont know what the answers are but its obvious that our form has been dipping since the first game of season.if you were really honest in your views on our first 4 matches then u would have to say we were lucky to be on top.

[bas5times]

Just to clarify - this isn't a 'knee jerk' thread - In fact its in response to the knee jerkers calling out our best players after one bad game. It seems a lot of people just live on this forum, dong fuck all else waiting for the chance to tell someone how they are better than them. It's pathetic. The point is to say when we have a bad game don't point fingers at individuals, just get real and look at our squad depth and quality and understand from time to time we will have off days, especially if 2 of our 3 key attackers are missing 

[bas5times]

lol...thats made me fuckin laugh on a shitty mon afternoon!!!

It's true though mate, I don't post often but I can't help but notice a worrying kind of god complex some posters have on here. Weren't popular at school so making up for lost time? It's pathetic. People need to chill out. Always coming to conclusions about people based on very little, lording it up on a fan forum. I don't understand

[bas5times]

10 points without our best player. How can anyone not be happy with that start?

I for one am quite pleased, as I said on the first page. But at the same time the the 3 wins have made people delusional about our prospects still. We have a hell of a fight on our hands for 4th. We can do it, but we will have over achieved if we do. The boss needs another window or two to make a couple of more quality additions before our squads are on par with our rivals.

[PIPA23]

many problems are created by the fans without even having a reason for that in big perspective....let´s judge the team after the season will end.. our aim should be top 4 right now and we can achieve it imo.

[bas5times]

many problems are created by the fans without even having a reason for that in big perspective....let´s judge the team after the season will end.. our aim should be top 4 right now and we can achieve it imo.

I agree we can achieve it but with 5 other teams to compete with who have better overall squads than us, we shouldn't start expecting fourth, and then when we lose go apeshit and start blaming our most loyal 'servants'

[JackWard33]

Our problem is that we've completely changed the way we play from the end of last season with the exception of the first halves against Villa and Stoke
To be honest this thread could have started after Swansea because the signs have been apparent for a lot of this - admittedly short season

Without the ball we've stopped pressing high up the pitch at all
With the ball we've become panicky and far FAR too direct with way too many long passes (tiki taka is a distant dream)

The big question is why and I don't think anyone has really explained it - Rodgers certainly hasn't been properly asked it

I'd have to guess its a combination of personnel, player fitness, tactical decisions and player 'real time' decisions but god knows really - all we can really see is the output which stinks at the moment

In the second half of the season not only where our results good but our underlying numbers were excellent. This is important because while you can't always control your results in football you can control (or attempt to) your performance
Every indicator that matters, shots attempted / areas we took shots from (although this isn't our strongest point) / shot differentials with our opponents / possession etc were really REALLY strong in the second half of last season - all of them are in the toilet at the start of this
The most worrying thing is that we're simply not creating good shooting chances; something we were doing by the bucket load at the end of last year
The reality is we actually have more points than our play deserves at the moment

It's definitely true injuries haven't helped us, it's also true we've been protecting leads for a decent percentage of the season so far
However its the way we've tried to play that's worrying as if either Rodgers or the players or both have abandoned what was starting to bring success
We either can't keep possession and play through the midfield or we're not trying or both

The Gerrard / Lucas CM pairing has been debated a lot and - even though I don't think they're the only culprits - its pretty clear either the level and manner of their performance needs to change or our set up does
Our full back positions are also a massive problem. Full back has become incredibly important in modern football and it's a weakness for us even when our first choice players are fit, at the moment it's a millstone around the neck of our attacking play

Anyway I don't want to get too far away from my main point / concern which is that it looks like how we play or are attempting to play has gone. I hope we get back to a higher back line, a higher and more urgent pressing of our opponents and shorter more fluid passing soon or we'll have more games like Swansea and Southampton

[bas5times]

Our problem is that we've completely changed the way we play from the end of last season with the exception of the first halves against Villa and Stoke

I like to think it's been tactically motivated for the most part. Injury to GJ and BR going for 4 center halves didn't help either. People are panning Lucas and Gerrard at the minute because of Saturday - but add width from fullbacks, decent distribution out the defense plus Suarez n Coutinho and maybe the team would have played more like we expect them to.

On Wednesday we go to Old Trafford, so don't expect a high line, but rather more of the same with added brilliance from Suarez

[SportBilly]

10 points without our best player. How can anyone not be happy with that start?

We (temporarily) scraped our way to the top of the table without our best player then failed to increase that lead by beating teams we really should have beaten with or without him.

[Samie]

We (temporarily) scraped our way to the top of the table without our best player then failed to increase that lead by beating teams we really should have beaten with or without him.

but  are you are you happy with our start or not?

[Nebnotsew]

Our problem is over the past 4 seasons we've bought players, they haven't performed - we replace them. Those replacement players then don't perform either. If some of our big money squad players would start playing at the level expected of them we can build on the squad instead of attoning to previous errors with our transfer budget.

[ANFIELDGATES]

i suppose we can be a fickle bunch at times but as fans we can only give an opinion and opinions are like assholes...everyones got one!!!yeah maybe we shouldnt be too hard on the team after only 5 games but lets be honest here,we finished last season playing a really attractive game with neat intricate passing,something i grew up watching but this season we seem to be playing it differently and im at a loss to understand why.weve actually signed technically good players but the whole thing hasnt gelled yet.im just frustrated that we arent storming all over teams like we did espec at home.sat was a very lethargic display and i would have thought at home we would have the opposition on the back foot from the off.oh well,onwards and upwards an all malarkey,bring on the mancs wed and lets see if the lads can give us a performance to get us up again.

[Pinky_Bieber]

but  are you are you happy with our start or not?

we have ten points mostly thanks to Sturridge,Toure and Mignolet... they cant get us 3 points in every game,other players needs to step up,or Rodgers needs to change something... just imagine Mignolet having a bad day, that would be apocalyptic

[Fromola]

jesus,want me to spell it out for ya?...its the manner in which u lose that defines your reaction...second halves against nts county/villa/utd/swans and now southampton totally unacceptable imo,when u settle for mediocrity then ur fcuked!!this defeat has been coming and if a lot of fans could see it then why couldnt the management and players?i dont know what the answers are but its obvious that our form has been dipping since the first game of season.if you were really honest in your views on our first 4 matches then u would have to say we were lucky to be on top.

There's a cliche when you get towards the end of the season that performances don't matter and it's all about results. Early season, performances do matter because that shapes your season. If you're winning games without playing well then one of two things happen. Either the confidence and momentum from the wins sees performances improve which can help maintain results, or soon enough the poor performances - or only turning up for one half - will catch up with you and results will just dip. That's what happened to us on Saturday and in the second half at Swansea.

We have to improve and get better now. We have to work out how we actually want to play this season because we look clueless at the moment. We'll be better with everyone available but we're not going to have Coutinho or Johnson for a while so we have to work around injuries.

[JackWard33]

but  are you are you happy with our start or not?

it's perfectly fair enough and logical to be happy with the points we've won but unhappy with our performances (especially the last 2) and worried about the points we'll be getting in the future if we don't improve
(I do think we'll improve by the way - Rodgers is too smart not to and Luis and other coming back can't fail to help; but the approach has to change from the last few games)

[ocecynwa]

Our problem is the midfield. We need to get a dynamic/athletic powerhouse midfielder in, someone in the mold of a YaYa Toure. Gerrard used to be that but Father Time has caught up with him in that role.

[cliffm]

Erectile dysfunction?

   Love it.  Keep it light!

[Mountainman]

Our best team, rested, is not so bad. But we rarely get to play that team.

We lack strength in depth. Given the injuries we already suffered I think we went from a real top 4 contender to probably not so (unless we get the players back soon and suffer few injuries for rest of season).

Even at full strength, we lack creativity in midfield (Coutinho can't do it all) and effective wingers.

[Pistolero]

Sadly we're just not much cop anymore...the game has overtaken us...grim but true

[psycllone]

Our problem is a simple one, our best player for a decade isn't our best player anymore. Steven Gerrard is and has been my favorite player for a long time, but it is quiet evident that he has lost his pace and aggression. It will be interesting to see what Brendan does if these below par performances keep continuing.

[Solomon Grundy]

we have ten points mostly thanks to Sturridge,Toure and Mignolet... they cant get us 3 points in every game,other players needs to step up,or Rodgers needs to change something... just imagine Mignolet having a bad day, that would be apocalyptic

Stop acting like a politician and answer his question.

[jake11]

Erectile dysfunction?

Are you suggesting we replace Brendan with Pele?

[exiledinyorkshire]

To say our squad is not good enough for top 4 is over the top.

Personally, I think we've been too pragmatic this season, we've talked endlessly about Rogers imposing his footballing philosophy over various stages when suitable players have been brought in.

Last season the pragmatism was understandable, we did not have defenders for a high line, which meant to play too expansively left too much space for Gerrard and Lucas to cover. So we played counter attack mainly to a good deal of success with elements of possesion based football.

At this point I feel we should be playing with a high line attacking football even if we do fall down against teams excelelnt on the attack Villa etc .

yep time to play the high line, he now has the CB's to do it.

May well help the midfield conserve energy enough to play a second half every game and all. Allen back will make a big difference with possession I hope too.

[Fitzy.]

we have ten points mostly thanks to Sturridge,Toure and Mignolet... they cant get us 3 points in every game,other players needs to step up,or Rodgers needs to change something... just imagine Mignolet having a bad day, that would be apocalyptic

Measured analysis...

[ser_renely]

Central midfield is too slow against certain teams.

It seems Sakho may have a bit of pace on him, too early to tell, so that might help the back line a bit, but we are pretty slow defensively through the spine.

[tommy LFC]

Regards to scoring, it's obviously early yet.

I would like to think Henderson and Moses will chip in with 5/6 each, and the defence as a whole could add the same.

Set pieces is a big problem. Seeing Baines and Rooney score those frees over the weekend was tough because we have nobody that can do that, except maybe Suarez who'll get one in ten right.

Simply put, we need to start scoring from set pieces, both direct free kicks and corners.

[stockdam]

It depends on what your yardstick is.

If you look at City then we do not have the same quality, either in the first team or in the squad. We stack up quite well against Utd and possibly Chelsea and Arsenal. I think Spurs have more depth to their squad.

Our problem is that if collect a couple of injuries or some of our key players have an off-day then we don't have anyone to really step in.

Our best player is struggling for pace and it's clear that he cannot last 90 minutes; that gives the other team a bit of an advantage in midfield. Gerrard needs to be rested and looked after but he is playing too much as he's still our best CM.

We had to play 4 Centre backs on Saturday which restricted our attacking options (good full backs are sometimes the best option for getting the ball out wide and behind the defence).

We seem to lack fitness as a team and although we can play well for the first half we fade badly.

Some of the recent buys either need more time or they aren't up to the demands of the EPL.

So over a season I think we'll struggle due to injuries and a lack of quality on the bench (to come on and make an impact).

We've made a good start and if we can get a couple of players fit again then we'll do ok. I think we can push for fourth against Utd and Arsenal and maybe Chelsea.

[Scaryscouse]

Our problem is we have injuries and some of our best players aren't match fit. That said we've still made a decent points haul. We still have new members coming in who've had a disrupted pre season and getting used to life in Liverpool.

We'll be fine, chill out.

[WillyWonka]

10 points are 5 games is what I would have expected us to get. The only surprise is we beat United while losing to Southampton. I don't think anything less than a win at home to Stoke, a win away at Villa and draw away to Swansea should be the bar we aim for. If we drew with Stoke, Villa or lost to Swansea I think our start would have been very disappointing then.

[Youb]

There isn't a major problem to me. We are just trying to figure out how to play the team with a few key players missing. It obviously didn't go well last time out but have a look at the players we were missing and trying to get the most out of the rest it was ineviatable that we'd slip up. Aspas just needs to get into the games more and produce some of the pre-season form again and Alberto should be given a start or two. 1st team players are out injured so the squad needs to step up. It'll come good. We have to be happy with where we are right now.

[ghost1359]

Midfield for me, I haven't been happy with the way we've been set up there since Rodgers came in and I still don't think the balance is right. Gerrard can be great anywhere so why are we shoehorning him into a position that's burdening Lucas and Henderson with a work load they're clearly struggling with? 

[Zoomers]

Regards to scoring, it's obviously early yet.

I would like to think Henderson and Moses will chip in with 5/6 each, and the defence as a whole could add the same.

Set pieces is a big problem. Seeing Baines and Rooney score those frees over the weekend was tough because we have nobody that can do that, except maybe Suarez who'll get one in ten right.

Simply put, we need to start scoring from set pieces, both direct free kicks and corners.

I think Suarez would get much more than 1 in 10 honestly.

[houkura]

Our problem? Being in first place for the first 5 weeks of the season and dropping to joint 2nd.

Life sucks and everything sucks and Gerrard is past it and our signings are shit. Aspas is useless. I mean really Iago? 5 games and you aren't in double figures yet? That's not very Shakespearean. WTF hombre?  Sturridge had the audacity to not score a goal against Southampton. What a jerk. Football is supposed to be about all winning and all scoring and 90% pass completion or I'm gonna throw some shit. 1-0?!?! Are you kidding me? What good is 1-0? I want 6-0 or I'm not watching anymore.

[BFM]

but  are you are you happy with our start or not?

Bloody hell, of course. But 3 points against Southampton would have had me over the flippin' moon. The difference to our play when young Coutinho is not on the pitch is a cause for concern and something that needs to be addressed, hopefully in January.

[spider-neil]

2 points per game is top 4 form so we aren't doing too badly.

The main problem imho is we aren't pressing as high up the pitch as we can.
* Gaps open up all over the pitch.
* Lucas and Gerrard have too much ground to cover.
* Passing becomes difficult as the passing options are too spread out.
* Midfield is too far away from the attack.

I would play Touré and Sakho as they are mobile and aggressive in the manner they go after the ball.
After the team have got to learn to simply recycle the ball and the ball do the work, this way the entire team will have more in the tank in the second half of games.

The pisser is the next match is Manu away so I would be surprised to see us hold a high line.

[kobayashi]

but  are you are you happy with our start or not?

Don't let the points total gloss over the performances. We haven't been that good, at best we've had a good half in three of the games.

Have you seen Spurs? They're absolutely flying. They have only 2 points more than us. Performance wise, at this rate they'll finish with 20 points more than us.

I think TAW boys nailed our problem recently when they questioned why we are absolutely knackered after an 60/70 minutes every game.

[Carra-ton]

I think part of our problem is that Iago Aspas is no good, atleast not so far. Need someone better in there. Hopefully Suarez will change things.