Topic: Round Table Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle

[Yorkykopite]

Some things I noticed.

*No one else in the team hits a dead ball quite like Craig Bellamy. His technique is superb. He knows that the best delivery is a quick one - whether he's going straight for goal or going for a head. He knows also that he has to clear the first obstacle - a wall when it's a free kick or a man defending the near post when it's a corner - and that vicious top spin will be needed if he wants to clear the man and keep the pace on the ball. His solution is brilliant. We saw it against the Geordies and we saw it at Villa Park too when he placed the ball on Skrtel's head at the Holte End. To generate the top spin he gets is head and shoulders through the ball very quickly. In other words he keeps them extremely low. To do this he alamost throws his body at the ball. You will see his trailing foot off the ground at the moment the leading foot hits the ball. This allows him to accelerate through the ball while keeping his body weight over it. At the moment of impact he's totally airborne. It's such a difficult technique to master but when he gets it right the result is beautiful. The parabola he creates is a bitch for defenders and goalies. I'd have him taking all the corners and most of the free-kicks outside the box.   

*Enrique works better when Downing is in front of him. He's less inclined to attack when Bellamy and Maxi are there on the left flank. I like Bellamy and Maxi though. That's called a dilemma.

*Agger produced an almost perfect game. Only once did Demba Ba get on his blind-side. Our second goal came - I was going to say inevitably came - from one of his several incursions upfield. (It wasn't a free kick though)

*Gerrard had me thinking, again, that he should play on the right of midfield. He worked well with Johnson and he put in two savage crosses from deep positions that brought the best out of Carroll. But then he scored by running into the left channel which proved, again, that you confine Gerrard's play (or restrict his role) at your peril.

*Gerrard knows he's the best player on the pitch. Even when he isn't that is such an massive advantage for the man and the team.

*Tiote was good. With better players around him he'd be very interesting.

*We played our scrappiest match for ages. Centre midfield needs to move much better off the ball if we are to have a chance against Man City. I'd play three in centre midfield again, but I'd play Shelvey instead of Charlie Adam.

[Vulmea]

Bellamy's delivery has been excellent but striking a dead ball will place a lot of pressure on that creaking body - knees and groin in particular - I wince every time he or Gerrard take a set piece

[Corkboy]

Some things I noticed.

*No one else in the team hits a dead ball quite like Craig Bellamy. His technique is superb. He knows that the best delivery is a quick one - whether he's going straight for goal or going for a head. He knows also that he has to clear the first obstacle - a wall when it's a free kick or a man defending the near post when it's a corner - and that vicious top spin will be needed if he wants to clear the man and keep the pace on the ball. His solution is brilliant. We saw it against the Geordies and we saw it at Villa Park too when he placed the ball on Skrtel's head at the Holte End. To generate the top spin he gets is head and shoulders through the ball very quickly. In other words he keeps them extremely low. To do this he alamost throws his body at the ball. You will see his trailing foot off the ground at the moment the leading foot hits the ball. This allows him to accelerate through the ball while keeping his body weight over it. At the moment of impact he's totally airborne. It's such a difficult technique to master but when he gets it right the result is beautiful. The parabola he creates is a bitch for defenders and goalies. I'd have him taking all the corners and most of the free-kicks outside the box.   

I somewhat agree but as you indicate, he doesn't always get it right. If I could be so bold as to quote from my own comms...

Bellamy gets a corner wrong twice. Failed to beat the first man and then overhit the rebounder.

All the same, we went out and paid money for a player who was supposedly the best dead ball merchant in the league in Adam, (most effective corner stats 10/11) and yet we are in a position where our best dead ball expert is a free 32 year old. Hmm.

Enrique works better when Downing is in front of him.

I don't think Enrique thinks that. I read him say somewhere recently that he loves playing behind Maxi, which I thought was an oddly specific thing to say. I can't find the exact quote but he does say this.

"I really enjoy it here because it is easy to play with the players that are here: players like Maxi Rodriguez, Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez.

"When you have players like that around you it is easy to play with them and I really enjoy it. I am happy here." source

My view is that while Enrique may work better behind Downing, Downing doesn't work better ahead of Enrique. I thought Downing on the right with Johnson created all sorts of problems for Newcastle's left side, resulting in Taylor getting booked and then yanked for Santon.

*Agger produced an almost perfect game. Only once did Demba Ba get on his blind-side.

If that was for the Ba chance which Skrtel cleared then yes, he misread the pass.

[Yorkykopite]

I somewhat agree but as you indicate, he doesn't always get it right.

You expect 100% success rate with a complex piece of skill? Get out of it Corky! Like anything involving articulated technique the margin for error is high.

All the same, we went out and paid money for a player who was supposedly the best dead ball merchant in the league in Adam, (most effective corner stats 10/11) and yet we are in a position where our best dead ball expert is a free 32 year old. Hmm.

We're all a bit disappointed with Adam's dead ball strikes, but it doesn't faze me at all that a 32 year-old hits the best corner - especially one who thinks about the game intelligently like Bellamy does.

[steveeastend]

*Enrique works better when Downing is in front of him. He's less inclined to attack when Bellamy and Maxi are there on the left flank. I like Bellamy and Maxi though. That's called a dilemma.

To me it´s the other way around. I prefer when he is less inclined to attack as I think that his performance rushing forward is pretty poor in the outcome, similiar to Downing.

To me, he is better staying back, controlling the wing, doing is job as a defender properly, which is one of his strengths, and let the likes of Maxi and Bellamy do the job in the final third. They show far more game intelligence in passing and movement.

And Downing and Johnson do the job for me as Johnson offers what Downing can´t do. In addition, Downings mobility keeps the winger of the other team pretty busy and makes the job in defense for Johnson easier, which isn´t his biggest strength. Furthermore, Dowing usually runs down the full backs, makes them tired which makes it a lot easier for Johnson to make his great runs into the box.

To me, Johnson/Downing and Enrique/Maxi or Bellamy work fine as it somehow brings out the best of those players and prevents them to play beyond their abilities as in these pairings Enrique is forced to rather stay back and Downing forced to rather work for defense and let Johnson contribute in our attack.

[Sangria]

You expect 100% success rate with a complex piece of skill? Get out of it Corky! Like anything involving articulated technique the margin for error is high.

I remember Barnes trying repeatedly to score against Tony Parks direct from a corner. It was one of the most deliciously arrogant expressions of superiority that I've ever seen.

[Yorkykopite]

To me, Johnson/Downing and Enrique/Maxi or Bellamy work fine as it somehow brings out the best of those players and prevents them to play beyond their abilities as in these pairings Enrique is forced to rather stay back and Downing forced to rather work for defense and let Johnson contribute in our attack.

I don't like it when any of our full backs are "forced to stay back". I especially don't like it when the full-back in question is as quick and skillful as Jose Enrique. It's madness to play in that old-fashioned 1930s way with the full backs never moving beyond the half way line. 

There aqain you've never rated Enrique have you?

[YayaP]

And Downing and Johnson do the job for me as Johnson offers what Downing can´t do. In addition, Downings mobility keeps the winger of the other team pretty busy and makes the job in defense for Johnson easier, which isn´t his biggest strength. Furthermore, Dowing usually runs down the full backs, makes them tired which makes it a lot easier for Johnson to make his great runs into the box.

To me, Johnson/Downing and Enrique/Maxi or Bellamy work fine as it somehow brings out the best of those players and prevents them to play beyond their abilities as in these pairings Enrique is forced to rather stay back and Downing forced to rather work for defense and let Johnson contribute in our attack.

Whole-heartedly agree with this. I think that Downing and Johnson are incredibly good compliments of one another on that right side. In many ways I think fullbacks and wingers can be placed in two categories, vertical and horizontal. Where Downing is certainly a vertical player who takes the ball down the wing, Johnson is more a horizontal player who does a good job overlapping and cutting inside Stewart. In many ways that's why I think Enrique and Downing struggled together at times on the left side of the pitch. They are both very much vertical wing players, and would get in each other's way at times, taking the ball off one another's feet. Meanwhile, both Maxi and Bellamy have a tendency to cut the ball inside, try to play intricate passes at the edge of the box. It plays to Enrique's strengths because he has the ability to bomb down the wings. I'm sure there's a better "football term" for what I'm trying to say if someone wants to fill me in.

That being said, I would love to see Kenny have wingers switch wings during the game at times. I think fullbacks struggle when they get multiple different looks throughout a game, and if the game goes flat it would be nice for us to mix things up. Tonight I would love to see Bellamy and Downing back on their respective wings. Richards does not want a player that's going to try to take him inside, so Bellamy is the type of player that would cause him a lot of probelms whereas Downing might play right into Richards' hands because Richards is so mobile and strong. Meanwhile Cliche will probably play on the left hand side for City, who tends to get caught out at times from lapses of concentration, which is perfect because Downing and Johnson have been so apt to cause confusion with their overlapping play.

[steveeastend]

I don't like it when any of our full backs are "forced to stay back". I especially don't like it when the full-back in question is as quick and skillful as Jose Enrique. It's madness to play in that old-fashioned 1930s way with the full backs never moving beyond the half way line. 

There aqain you've never rated Enrique have you?

You are right in everything here. Because I don´t rate him when it comes to our attaking play, I want him rather to stay back as I think that he does more damage to our attacking play than good, especially when it comes to the final third, the passing in and around the box, where he is just too sloppy, rushed and lacking creativity. In defense he´s been very good so far with the exception of some problems to adopt in the first couple of games.

For me, Enrique is only a compromise as I second that it´s best to have talented, attacking full backs on both sides.

[steveeastend]

That being said, I would love to see Kenny have wingers switch wings during the game at times.

They do.

[YayaP]

They do.

Did they during the Newcastle game? I must have missed it.

[steveeastend]

Did they during the Newcastle game? I must have missed it.

I cannot remember during the Newcastle game but before I noticed that they did in almost every game when Downing started on the right.

[Filler.]

Haven't posted for a week, and it's been a tough one, tho at least things ON the pitch went well.

The only thing that I really want to mention, as many have said what I would probably say, is that I don't think we'll miss Suarez as much as we fear, and that's because of Gerrard coming back. Tonight we play City away, and I think he'll probably start, but if not, he'll come on and we will look better.

I also think (and have thought for a good while) that Gerrard will bring the best out of Andy Carroll. I think they'll team up nicely. We've missed the catalyst in midfield - the fella who makes everyone get into position, and this 3 in midfield thing will suit him well.

Spearing was again very good, and although he's not Lucas, and shouldn't be asked to replicate his game totally, he can certainly be himself in there in a 3. Shelvey and Gerrard with wee Jay intrigues me. Ganso with SG and Lucas behind intrigues me too (STOP IT! STOP IT!).

Bellamy again great, a bit of Maxi, a sound back 5, Downing can improve, but we've needed SG back. He looks very fit.

If Adam and Henderson are together, they need another midfielder with them. In a two there's just nothing to hang your coat on. This 3 in midfield, one staying a little further back suits us, and is something to build on when looking at this transfer window. Ganso. Cough.