Topic: Europa League Round Table: Hearts 0 - 1 Liverpool

[Hinesy]

So an own goal from ex player of Charlie Adam's old team helps guide us through a tricky tie's first leg.
These are no-win games in some respects, win, well, we're expected to. Lose, well its a banana skin waiting to happen.

Hearts played with heart and closed us down, but the later fitness and continued sticking to a passing game helped us but both sides could've had a goal or two.

Not much to comment on individual performances, suffice to say Shelvey at times looked like he was following Rodgers' maxim "pass pass pass". Just to Hearts. And Reina looked a class apart.

Onwards and upwards to Sunday and the visit of City.

Thoughts? Was Brendan vindicated in leaving out bigger names? Would he have been if the result had been 0-0 or even 1-0 to them?

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

I was quite excited about this one as it was the first chance I'd had to see a game since Rodgers took charge. In the event we fielded a very young and rather makeshift team so it was hard to really draw too much from it. Especially as a few of the players in the key midfield positions are clearly not really suited to the type of football Rodgers wants to play.
So in the end we got a workmanlike and professional performance and a result which gives us an excellent platform for the 2nd leg.

A few obvious observations. Shelvey needs taking to one side to sort out his tackling. He seems unable to challenge while remaining on his feet which is going to be a huge problem or him in today's game. Sterling did his chances no harm at all. Carragher is, as those of us who remember him as a youth midfielder would have predicted, a better passer than many have given him credit for.

Let's kick off the discussion by looking at Borini. He reminds me of a younger faster Dirk Kuyt. What do we think so far? Also he was playing as an out-and-out number 9 today. Do we think he is better there than he is in the inside forward role he occupied against West Brom?

[Yorkykopite]

What a chance for the younger and more marginal players in the squad to impress. The three central midfielders in particular must have been on their mettle since it's obvious to all and sundry that Rodgers has a surfeit of players in that position and some will have to go. So how did they do?

Well, Shelvey - for the second time in his Liverpool career - fucked up when the prize was there for the taking. Last season he turned in his worst-ever display on the eve of the Cup Final and left Kenny with no choice but to play Spearing at Wembley (we know what happened next). Tonight he messed up again with a pretty diabolical display of under-hit and plain inaccurate passing. He's a nice player but he's nowhere near consistent enough at the moment to warrant a first-team start. He's also reckless at diving into tackles, just like Carroll is. And is he dynamic enough? I hope so, but there's something oddly leaden about him which is worrying in someone so young. It's a pity that Pacheco has never been given the chances that Shelvey has in that advanced midfield position.

As for Spearing? Surely Brendan's seen enough now. I don't think he's good enough for Hearts, let alone Liverpool. In fact their Moroccan lad showed him a thing or two in the first half. That he manages to cling on at Liverpool is more a reflection of the talent around him than anything he brings to the table. It gives him some leeway and allows him to make mistakes that would devastating if he were playing in an inferior side. He loves the club and I wish him well but he must have been miserable on the bench when he saw Joe Allen do all the things he should have done himself - and with such ease as well. Suddenly Hearts looked like shite when Allen came on.

Adam? Last game for Liverpool, surely. He's overweight, criminally unfit, allergic to tackling and plays the game like it's still the early 1970s. "Great pass from Adam" the stupid ITV commentator kept saying, as yet another Charlie 40-yarder was floated gently out wide for poor Borini to pull down with two defenders on him, a third poised, and no other Red shirt for miles around. Sometimes the long ball is the right ball. But few good things ever come from the Adam long pass. They nearly always throw the initiative back to the opposition. They invariably leave the player on the ball isolated and pushed to the edges. It's real old-fashioned football. Not a Rodgers player.

So with Spearing and Adam in centre midfield - and the hapless Shelvey ahead of them - it was no great surprise that we failed even once to work the ball through the centre of the pitch in the first half. Granted, the team tried to apply the Brendan Rodgers method and at least didn't hoof the ball aimlessly forward, but when you get three extremely slow players like Charlie, Jay and Jamie Carragher trying to build from the back it's a gift for the oppo. None of them go for the gaps. None of them are "courageous" on the ball. All of three them need at least one touch, and usually two or three, before they produce a pass. And Jamie is becoming a parody of himself. Is someone driving nails into his boots and bolting him to the turf as soon as he touches the ball? It bloody well looks like it. I've never seen a professional footballer so incapable of moving with the ball. You can't build from the back when one of your central defenders is shuffling along like grandad.

Ok, that's enough of the crap. Sterling was good wasn't he? What a magnificent winger he is going to be under Rodgers. The take that led to Borini's chance on the stroke of half time was high-calibre skill. By Christmas time it's possible the whole football world will have heard of Raheem Sterling. 

Borini's movement was good and occasionally very good. He attacked the cross that led to the goal superbly well too. He got hit again by big fuck-off defenders but he stuck to his task well and showed a lot of tenacity. In the end he was better than they were and it was a nice touch when one of the blokes who'd been clobbering him all night scored the winner.

Kelly recovered from a poor display against the Baggies to turn in a very impressive performance. His first touch for the goal was magnificent. In fact I shouted "goal" as soon as he did it. From the moment the ball touched his boot the defence was dying. 

And Agger and Reina are gods. In truth they've been on Olympus now for several years. Maybe, just maybe, the rest of the team will join them over the next couple of seasons.

One little annoyance which might grow into a massive one. For the second game running we've been on the end of some wretched off-side decisions. Suarez against West Brom and now Borini against Hearts. Three times tonight Borini was wrongly flagged off-side. I hope this doesn't become the 2012-13 version of 'hitting the woodwork'.   

[StevenLFC]

It was kind of what i expected once i saw the line up. It was a mix of first teamers, fringe players and youngsters so expecting them to gel together was probably unrealistic.


We looked decent enough at times, but it took Joe Allen coming on to really get us playing. I've got big hopes for this lad. He was dropping deep to collect the ball and playing simple passes that Adam, Shelvey & Spearing seemed incapable of doing.


Sterling looked impressive again, he has all the natural talent in the world and with some coaching regarding the tactical side of the game, he could be a very good player for us.


I was interested to see Rodgers try Downing at left-back, Neil from TAW will be pleased! Brendan admitted post match that it was an experiment so it could be something we see more often, although I imagine that could be at home against lesser sides as Downing isn't the greatest defender in the world, and was easily beaten in the air.


All in all, we got the result we wanted but we didn't really learn much (other than Brendan may possibly be listening to TAW on the sly!).

[Azi]

Before I start can I just say fair play to hearts first time Ive seen them play at this tempo and way of pressing but glynn got his tactics spot on and with a bit of luck really should be going into the second leg at least level if not in the lead but anyway where to start,
Sterling showing us once again the potential this lad had started slowly but once he was in gear he was brilliant like a proper winger, I mean when the last time we could say that at Liverpool  !!

Borini for me is another kuyt runs his socks off but felt maybe today that game was crying out for Andy Carroll the way we humped the ball up the park in the first half we needed someone to show their muscle about but me personally I think borini is too small to have any influence on the defenders

Can I also praise Allen when he came on with 15 mins to go our mid changed shape completely he was coming deep to collect and passing it on something our midfield in the first 60 mins couldn’t do  but I think I also finally understood what Rodgers meant by possession football. With the way where if we had no forward move we would be happy to go all the way back to pepe to start our next move although i must admit seeing carra hoof the ball out of play 30 secs into the match i did think "uh-oh" once again I think carra showed that age has caught up with him John Sutton dominated him and was unlucky not to score in the first half could also see Agger growing frustrated with him as he constantly dropping deep and needed reminding to push up,


Overall a clean sheet and a one goal lead to take to Anfield it will do but can I just leave one final moment from the game that I will prob remember for the rest of my life so we kick off and there’s a young kid who must have been only 5/6 dressed in the full kit Suarez turned round to his dad and ask how we got to play our mascot (spearing) and if it was cos we're a English side.

[Mr Dilkington]

Bit messy that. It was always going to be the way of it though. Tynecastle was bouncing, and the fans are so close to the pitch it was quite the atmosphere. There were loads of players out there who were playing for their future me thinks. The atmosphere probably didn't help 'em.

Yorky, Steven, Kev, and Azi have summed things up well. Just a few things I'd like to add:

I think Borini will be much better suited playing centrally. I do think he looks a bit awkward when he's asked to take the ball under control in tight areas. To me, you play him through the middle, ideally as high up the pitch as possible, and tell him to get on the end of things. When Sahin signs, get Gerrard and Suarez flanking him, and watch the goals flow. To me we should do a Jelavic with him. Get in the box, and when it arrives, just back yourself and hit it first time. Check out his stats from last season. He's a good finisher, despite the wee blub last night.

Talking of people taking the ball in tight areas of the pitch... the wee fella that played wide left isn't bad at it. There were so many instances when the ball was played out to him, and he was under immediate pressure from a couple of Hearts players, but rather than panic, he just gave a wee movement in the hips and sure enough the Hearts player would concede some ground. And we know what happens when you concede ground to Raheem Sterling. Shame that he didn't quite catch that chance at the end properly. He did wonderfully to cut in from the left, beating two or three in the process, but the shot lacked conviction. He'll start to get better at that finish though, and when he does we're talking about a real weapon. Whether it's coming off the bench, or starting is yet to be seen. He's one of the few who enhanced his chances tonight. As did the kid that played behind him for an hour.

So in conclusion, it's still a work in progress. And yay we signed Sahin! (hopefully).

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

Looking at the midfielders it was noticeable what a huge difference it made when Allen came on.  Prior to that our midfielders had all lacked the key skill needed to play the way Rodgers wants them to. As Shanks said it is about the taking and giving of passes.  The players in our engine room need to be able to play short and accurate passes, they need to be able to recieve and shield the ball when under pressure, they need to be able to consistently find space in a congested midfield and above all else they need to do it metronomically. 95% plus pass completion needs to be the norm for them.  Spearing, Adam and Shelvey are never going to do that.  The question is, can Gerrard?

[Corkboy]

Shelvey is a funny one. He has a natural grace about him, in the way he moves, in the way he deals with the ball, but it can deceive him sometimes, too. It's as if he is genuinely surprised when his control lets him down, as if there was something unfair about the bounce the ball took before it hit his shin, or when a pass goes astray. He also looks for the long ball too often. In that regard, he seems to have been watching Gerrard rather than Allen or Lucas. I agree with Yorky on this, he is not taking his chances, and by that I mean chances to advance in the pecking order.

Kelly had an odd game. I thought he was genuinely skittish in possession, like the ball didn't want to co-operate with him, and yet he was excellent for the goal, a deadly cross into the Corridor of Uncertainty. He still looks very raw, although his natural physical attributes mostly get him out of trouble. Does anyone else think there is a top class centre half in there somewhere?

Joe Allen looks like a class act, doesn't he? Already, I have the comforting feeling that anytime he gets the ball, he will do the right thing. At one point, he showed a really subtle part of his work beautifully. Taking the ball from one of the centre halves, he waited until he was closed down before releasing it back, to Carragher, I think. Sounds workaday? Sure, but it's the little things. If you have the ball in front of your centre halves and are being closed down, and then you release the ball too early, the player who is closing you down doesn't have to break stride to close down your centre half, just bend his run and bam, your defender is under pressure. If you wait until he's almost on you before releasing, he has to slow down and then start up again to get to the centre half, and often, as in this instance, he just won't bother. Et voila, your centre half has more time to (in Carra's case) take four touches. You need bravery to do it, it's a lot easier to release early, on the off chance that the presser might nick it off you. Allen is brave that way.

[royhendo]

Ah the Jambons, the glorious auld reekers, their glorious tight stacked fruit box ground, steep like the north face of the Eiger, the stink of brewery hops (sadly missing last night other than through my pores), they're a credit to their nation as the stadium announcer said at the end, said nation of course being Lithuania. 

Being a Dundonian, there are few things more enjoyable in life than seeing exasperation in the part of the Hearts fans. For the return game, remember the forbidden words "Albert Kidd" and witness the effect they have - it's like that scene from Scanners - and of course bask in the deliciousness of the irony of a ground full of them singing "You're Not Famous Any More" to the Travelling Kop. That, to me, was laugh out loud funny. 

They did well though. But as Yorky says above, we allowed them to. The midfield three were poor, and the change of shape and personnel (Robinson for Downing and Spearing for Allen) changed the entire balance from where we were stood. Allen is a bit special I think. 

Borini makes the right runs, but boy did he look depressed with the passing behind him. Remember the ball Shelvey played to put Suarez in on goal at Craven Cottage two seasons ago? Borini could have had three I'd venture if the boys behind him could have done a little better. 

The Hearts right back did well to try and contain Sterling early on, but ultimately it proved futile, and he really does look like he's gonna force his manager to consider him. Borini hit the post when Sterling should maybe have taken it on himself - would have been lovely to see him mark his full debut with a well deserved goal. 

I really like Henderson. I hope he has a big role to play in this set up. 

What else? Special mention to the little Hearts defensive mid. And to Andy Webster, of "Ruling" fame, who my sister thinks the world of, and who put in a pretty creditable physical display, only to finish with an O.G. 

A very enjoyable night all round. I was convinced we'd win 3-0 until near the end. They're learning the system and debating what they should be doing positionally and with passing choices on the park. Someone behind commented "These don't look like a team." I don't know about that. They looked like a team learning how to work a new system. It'll come. We just have to stay calm.

[Yorkykopite]

That's a hell of a question Kev. Gerrard has a huge repertoire of skills but turning sharply on the ball is not one of them. He can do it, for sure. But not with the economy and regularity of a Lucas or (it seems) a Joe Allen. Plus there's the classic blind spot that Gerrard's had for years - and which will probably be with him to the end. His instinct is to solve things immediately. Over the seasons it has led to some glorious pieces of improvisation from the skipper but if we're honest it has also led to him squandering possession when a more patient approach might have seen Liverpool building pressure on the opposition. To play in midfield for Rodgers he needs to develop more of a chess-player's mentality. He needs, in other words, to think how three or four passes will kill the opposition rather than one instant, almighty blow. We probably wouldn't even be having this discussion if Gerrard agreed to move out to the right flank and play the role that Henderson tried to play last night. But evidently he won't. That's a shame.

Just another little thought on Raheem Sterling. He looks to have genuine football intelligence. I was impressed by his movement after Downing came on last night. A number of times he vacated the wing altogether and took up a classic inside left position when Downing had the ball. It threw Hearts and, at least on one occasion, meant Sterling got the ball at his feet in an entirely new position on the pitch. I liked that. Over the 75 minutes the Hearts defence had started to adjust to his wing-play. But when Downing found him with a square pass and Sterling took it cleanly five yards from the 'D' the Scots had to start learning from scratch again. 

Also, was he chopped in the box in the second half? It looked like it to me.   

[Corkboy]

Just another little thought on Raheem Sterling. He looks to have genuine football intelligence. I was impressed by his movement after Downing came on last night. A number of times he vacated the wing altogether and took up a classic inside left position when Downing had the ball. It threw Hearts and, at least on one occasion, meant Sterling got the ball at his feet in an entirely new position on the pitch. I liked that.

He also sent McGowan forward with a wave a few times, to such an extent that I wondered whether he was under instructions to pass him on?

[Chakan]

He also sent McGowan forward with a wave a few times, to such an extent that I wondered whether he was under instructions to pass him on?

You can always tell how intelligent a footballer is by the way he bypasses a defender. Sterling love to drop the shoulder one way and go round defender by "faking him out". It shows maturity beyond his years, whereas you see Downing will blindly run straight at the defender and try go through him. Sterling also has so much confidence in his speed, he'll dink it past the defender and then chase after it, knowing 8 time out of 10 he will be first to the ball.

If he keeps going like this he is going to be something really special and something we have been missing for years.

[Corkboy]

You can always tell how intelligent a footballer is by the way he bypasses a defender. Sterling love to drop the shoulder one way and go round defender by "faking him out". It shows maturity beyond his years, whereas you see Downing will blindly run straight at the defender and try go through him. Sterling also has so much confidence in his speed, he'll dink it past the defender and then chase after it, knowing 8 time out of 10 he will be first to the ball.

Not sure if I was clear. Sterling let his marker stride forward and didn't bother following him.

[Chakan]

Not sure if I was clear. Sterling let his marker stride forward and didn't bother following him.

Fair enough, although my points still stand

[No666]

As a footnote to the analysis of Sterling - it's interesting that Rodgers has changed his mind about loaning him out. His progress has been so fast since the pre-season that he's changed his manager's plans. & far preferable I think that he gets developed here and learns Rodgers's system inside out from the get-go.

[Yorkykopite]

As a footnote to the analysis of Sterling - it's interesting that Rodgers has changed his mind about loaning him out. His progress has been so fast since the pre-season that he's changed his manager's plans. & far preferable I think that he gets developed here and learns Rodgers's system inside out from the get-go.

That's encouraging. There's a good chance that Sterling's development will take the pretty well-worn path beaten by other prodigies playing on the wing. Think Giggs and McManaman (and Steve Heighway). The kid comes into the team, carefree and full of tricks and turns of pace that seasoned pros apparently can't live with. They are sensational for a few months and then something happens. Perhaps they get jaded. Coaches begin to study them more and defenders start to prepare. Some of the fire goes out of the young lad and they have to go away and add another dimension to their game.

If Sterling does follow that familiar path then I'd rather it is Liverpool FC - and not some lucky club who's just loaned him - which derives the benefit from the first glorious flush of success. And I'd rather have Brendan Rodgers whispering into his ear when things get more difficult for the lad than a know-nothing like Tony Pulis.   

[royhendo]

He also sent McGowan forward with a wave a few times, to such an extent that I wondered whether he was under instructions to pass him on?

Yup - was saying that this morning to a mate - Rodgers rarely emerged from the dugout, but one instance was him standing 2nd half and gesturing to Sterling to 'stay up' if that makes sense.

[royhendo]

Whilst I am a huge proponent of Brendan Rodgers playing philosophy, last night showed up the huge divide he has to bridge in getting his players not only to buy into the concept, but to understand the workings thereof.

One of the fundamental principals in playing ‘Possession/Pass & Move’ football is to not hesitate in passing the ball backwards into your own defensive third if nothing is ‘On’ when in the second or final third.  Retain possession and move forward once again on attack.  Rinse and repeat if necessary.

The major problem with the likes of Henderson, Spearing, Adam and Carragher is that they don’t have the Mental Acumen or Technical Ability to ‘Hold On’ to the ball, ‘Take On’ an opposition player or execute accurate ‘Forward Passes’.  (Adam at least tried at times last night).

They all just take the easy route out and continually pass the ball backwards to the likes of our four defenders and in the case of Carragher, back to Reina.  The problem is that once they have passed the ball backwards they stand ‘Static’ and don’t immediately run into a better position in which to receive the ball back.  These results in our Defenders endlessly passing the ball amongst themselves as they have no opportunities open for the ‘Short Pass’ forward.  This in turn allows the opposition Forwards to press up on us and put our Defenders under pressure where they invariably cough up the ball to the opposition or in Carraghers case, waits until the opposition player is on top of him and then passes a suicidal ball back to Riena, who has no alternative but to hoof the ball up field. 

If we are going to play ‘Pass & Move’ football we need to have Players with an equal amount of Mental Astuteness as well as Technical Ability.  Whilst our Defenders - Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Coates and Enrique; along with our Midfielders – Lucas, Allen, Gerrard and too a lesser extent, Shelvey have the Mental Astuteness, the likes of Henderson, Spearing, Adam and Carragher are distinctly lacking in the ‘Grey Matter’ department.  This regrettably makes them more of a hindrance that an asset to our new style of play.

Whereas Sterling, Agger and Robinson were by far our best players last night, with Shelvey and Adam at least trying to ‘Go Forward’, the likes of Henderson and Spearing were by far our worst Players on the field.  Henderson was really irritating - Missing In Action and just seen ‘nodding’ around the field trying to look important.

snip

You've had a few plaudits for this post and I agree in part about the 'mental astuteness' but you make a couple of observations where, I've got to be honest, I don't really agree.

The issue isn't  hestitating passing the ball backwards (playing the way you are facing if you prefer) or passing it backwards too often - and here your post seems a little contradictory. Nor are the assertions that Carra passes to Reina and stands still or the back four just keep the ball going nowhere true. Carra, or either centre back imediately split when Reina gets the ball and the fullbacks head to the half way line. Whilst Carra isn't particularly technicaly comfortable he is fine at playing it between the centre backs and moving up towards the centre circle.

The real issue is what comes next. Our problems are quite clearly in the midfield balance and particularly the middle 3. The ability of the deepest lying of the 3 to work off the ball, see space and opportunities for vertical passes and move the ball quickly is vital. It's the key component of moving the ball out of defence in this system. Almost as crucial are the positions taken up and the off the ball movement of the other 2 central midfielders. This is where I agree in part with your post and where I think we have the most progress to make in 'learning' the new system. Allen coming on for Spearing made a huge difference to the link from defence into midfield but we are still very disjointed after this. Our other midfield players have either been too slow, wanted too many touches, failed to read the game properly or not been brave enough to take responsibility in possession.

The questions are: can the players we have (Adam, Shelvey, Henderson, Spearing and even Gerrard) learn to play this system in midfield and what do we do if they can't?

Pleased with the result and to a lesser extent the performance. There were definite positives to take from it, but a few worries as well.

Positives:

- Performances of the youngsters, especially Sterling and Robinson. Sterling is a real edge-of-your-seat player. I can't wait to see him playing more for the first team. What impressed me as much as his talent was his thinking, in that in the first half he cut inside every time, but then switched it up a bit and went down the line a bit in the second. Also his reading of the game for that chance at the end of the first half, fantastic stuff. Robinson I thought was very solid, I reckon this was a test for him and he got taken off because he's starting on Sunday.

- Playing it out from the back. Despite a few hairy moments, I'm glad to see Pepe more involved with the football rather than just keeping goal. I'm also glad that the players are generally sticking to the instruction to play it out from defence. It will take some getting used to, but the more the defence do it, the easier it will become. I do think we might concede a couple of daft goals this season due to defensive errors though.

- Carra starting. Almost gifted them a goal in the first half. Tended to hoof under pressure instead of sticking to the gameplan. Hopefully this means Coates starts on Sunday.

- Rodgers' experimentation, in trying Downing at LB. I think he did pretty well for the most part. Definitely a tactic that could be used if we're chasing a game, essentially playing with two left wingers when we've got the ball.

- There was a great passage of play from 82-83 mins where we strung together 20+ passes without Hearts getting a sniff of the ball. It ended with a Sterling chance that he curled wide, but it was a fantastic display of short, neat passing, the kind I guess many of us envisaged when Rodgers came in. If we can learn to play like that more consistently, I think we'll be delighted with the results.

- We won without playing very well, with a second XI.


Negatives:

- Poor finishing, again. Borini should've scored when he hit the post.

- Carra. How long will this go on for? I'm just hoping him playing last night was due to his demotion to fourth choice CB, and not because he needs gametime cos he's playing again on Sunday. He can't play this system.

- Although Adam played fairly decent, driving forward from midfield quite effectively and playing a couple of really nice ranged passes, I was frustrated once again with his 'shoot on sight' policy. Three times he did it when there appeared to be a teammate in a better position.

- We didn't soak up pressure particularly well in the first half and a better side would have punished us.

- The Hearts fans, despite creating a great atmosphere, gave our players dogs abuse. Wtf was that about? Downing getting all kinds of abuse whilst taking a throw-in. Probably the most unassuming player around. Weird.

 

Well I for one quite enjoyed that.

Let me start by saying well done to Hearts. They were far better than I expected them to be. They pressed with a very high intensity and extremely coherently  throughout the whole 90 minutes, and showed that with the ball they are not a bad side, particularly individually, with some lovely touchs and turns. Great atmosphere from what I could tell on tele too.

As far as we are concerned it wasn’t too bad. Pepe was rarely tested apart from making a top drawer sae towards the end when the ball flashed across his goal sharply and he got down extremely quickly and got a good hand to the ball. Looks to be enjoying seeing more of the ball at his feet too, was very comfortable with the ball at his feet as we know he is and his kicking/passing game was perfect.

Kelly was solid throughout. The cross for the OG was superb and extremely difficult to defend against. Last season it would hae come off the centre half and hit the bar…. Martin was faultless tonight.Carragher and Agger were good. Saw a lot of the ball as Hearts were pressing so high up the pitch and at times the midfield in front of them wasn’t quite at it. Both kept the ball well and it was nice to see Jamie keep the ball on the deck regularly and play from the back.
Robinson also had a fairly good game, as did the back four in general. A couple of slightly shakey moments, but a couple of bold and brave ones too. Didn’t do himself any harm

Jay was okay in the midfield. Just, okay. He used the ball pretty well; spreading the play accurately and moving the ball pretty quickly. On the flip side he didn’t quite bring his A game defensively and could be accounted for a few of the times when Hearts slipped through the middle of us. Overall, average game.

I’m a big fan of Jonjo Shelvey but he didn’t play well today. Bar a couple of neat touches and a decent turn, he was fairly wasteful in possession. Too often looking for the Hollywood ball. The boy clearly has talent and a hell of a lot of confident, but he needs to be more patient, and I think/hope Rodgers will hammer that into his game.
Adam, I’m not such a fan of but I think he played well tonight. A little like Shelvey but to a lesser extent in his distribution choices, but generally more successful and also went on a couple of decent runs at their back four. Couple of half decent efforts at goal on each foot too. Looks better when he’s not playing so deep, I think.

Jordan had a good game out on the right I thought, very methodical with his ball retention and at ease in possession. We know he isn’t a natural winger, but he’s got intelligence beyond his years and a high level of technical ability. I wanted to see him tucked into the middle as the game wore on as we weren’t great through there, and he could have got us under more control. Still needs to just impose himself more on the game.

Sterling was excellent for 60 minutes. By far our most potent attacking threat and it got to the point where he was who the midfield players were instantly looking for as he gave the right back a real tough time with his pace and skill. I feel this actually made us predictable unfortunately, therefore slightly hindering us, but that’s not Sterling fault and actually re-affirms how much he is rated among the players. Hope we see much more of him.

Again I was impressed by Borini’s movement. He got through on goal twice and was unfairly ruled offside. He didn’t get an awful lot of service but he worked his socks off and is clearly a team player with his work rate and movement. Was unlucky to only hit the post.
As for the subs, I thought Allen came on well and we looked more in control. I don’t know whether the goal settled us or he did, probably a tad of both. Good player. Downing at left back was interesting, the thought had crossed my mind at some point over the summer, and I think he coped well defensively and got forward when he could.

I like the way we are moving. Players are looking more confident on the ball at times and we are always looking for 5-10 yards with sharp movement. The football is not fantastic but you can see some basics taking hold; players being prepared to wait with the ball and for possession to be king. A little more reminiscent of Rafa’s later years only he’d near perfected his side. I think if Rodgers gets the time Rafa did, then we will do okay over the next few years even without major investment.

That's exactly the type of performance and result we'd put in under Rafa in Europe, especially during the early rounds before players were settled or fully fit. All that matters is the result, and all things considered I'd call it very good.

When you take into account the fact that Hearts were well up for it and the crowd were going mental, we did a good job of defending. How many actual chances did they have? I think they forced Reina into two saves of note, both right at the end.

Our performance wasn't particularly good, in fact it was shoddy at times, but as said that doesn't matter now. It's difficult to expect much else if you play so many youngsters and - unfortunately - poor players. That's not Brendan's fault, but combined that with his new system and it was always going to be a tricky one. Add in the fact that the centre midfield - potentially the most pivotal area to be strong for his style of football to work - featured Spearing, Adam and a Shelvey who looked like he'd had eighteen pints the night before, and you notice just how impressive the result is. All without any natural width on the right too.

Although speaking of which, great cross by Kelly. Shame Borini couldn't put it in, looked a little rusty with his finishing opportunities but hopefully that'll come. Otherwise very bright in his runs; looked sharp, focused and intelligent. I like him already. Reina and Agger, as ever, remind us how essential they are. But the real stars, as hinted at above (and Borini aside), were the youngsters. Robinson, Kelly, Sterling. That's without Flanagan, Shelvey potentially (who was disastrous tonight, second half particularly, but is usually lots better) and others.

Sterling had an all-round game tonight that I don't think I've seen Walcott show as much of. He played like a 25-year-old with a few years European Cup experience. Excellent performance, particularly in the first half. Delighted for him. He'll make match day squads for us week in and week out if he keeps that up.

Easiest Man of the Match decision ever, Sterling. No contest.

Kelly, Reina and Agger all had decent games. Robinson did okay too. Allen and Downing were good when they came on, even though Downing was at LB. Henderson was good 1st half and vanished in the second. The entire midfield was poor though which if you have any hope of playing a possession orientated game, we need more. I think you need one of Allen or Lucas in there at all times just to give us some form of control, even against "weaker opposition". Spearing isn´t good enough. Shelvey and Adam are too rushed in their play and all 3 gave away possession cheaply in dangerous areas. Adam was evening running away from a loose ball near the end. No clue why. Carragher is past it, no point in pretending otherwise. Delaying playing Coates ahead of him is hurting us in both the short and long term IMO. Carragher should be an emergency option and nothing more and should be valued as a coach/role model more than as a player now.

Borini looks dangerous, has excellent movement and yet his finishing seems poor and frequently misses the ball completely. He was 1-on-1 3 times despite being flagged WRONGLY offside in each instance which shows we have a good striker on our hands who maybe needs a little luck and confidence. It was the Sterling show tonight though, was absolutely brilliant all game and should have had an assist credited too him when he intercepted and played Borini in only for the post to be hammered once more.

Nice to see Morgan get his full debut also, it´s hopefully the start of a prosperous future for the highly rated kid.

Should put this to bed second leg now although hopefully with Lucas/Allen in midfield to compose us a little on the ball. Can´t see them getting 2 at Anfield.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

That's a hell of a question Kev. Gerrard has a huge repertoire of skills but turning sharply on the ball is not one of them. He can do it, for sure. But not with the economy and regularity of a Lucas or (it seems) a Joe Allen. Plus there's the classic blind spot that Gerrard's had for years - and which will probably be with him to the end. His instinct is to solve things immediately. Over the seasons it has led to some glorious pieces of improvisation from the skipper but if we're honest it has also led to him squandering possession when a more patient approach might have seen Liverpool building pressure on the opposition. To play in midfield for Rodgers he needs to develop more of a chess-player's mentality. He needs, in other words, to think how three or four passes will kill the opposition rather than one instant, almighty blow. We probably wouldn't even be having this discussion if Gerrard agreed to move out to the right flank and play the role that Henderson tried to play last night. But evidently he won't. That's a shame.

Is it that he won't or that successive managers have not persuaded him of the logic?  Your reservations are the same as mine I think.  Stevie has a tendency to try and force things, often this is brilliant, occasionally it is simply breathtaking.  However in the system that Rodgers wants to play with this midfield three he is looking for patient lock pickers rather than someone whose inclination is just to blow the bloody doors off.

[Yorkykopite]

Is it that he won't or that successive managers have not persuaded him of the logic?  Your reservations are the same as mine I think.  Stevie has a tendency to try and force things, often this is brilliant, occasionally it is simply breathtaking.  However in the system that Rodgers wants to play with this midfield three he is looking for patient lock pickers rather than someone whose inclination is just to blow the bloody doors off.

Fair question. I don't know. I'm just repeating what 'the street' says. Perhaps it's bollocks and - like you say - no one has asked him since Rafa. If that's true I wish Rodgers would.

Lock pickers indeed! But sometimes it's nice to have someone who can 'blow the bloody doors off' too.

[Corkboy]

Is it that he won't or that successive managers have not persuaded him of the logic?  Your reservations are the same as mine I think.  Stevie has a tendency to try and force things, often this is brilliant, occasionally it is simply breathtaking.  However in the system that Rodgers wants to play with this midfield three he is looking for patient lock pickers rather than someone whose inclination is just to blow the bloody doors off.

Impossible to read that without a Michael Caine voice in your head!

All true, though. it's going to be one of Rodgers' biggest challenges to get the best out of Gerrard, because as both you and Yorky point out, it isn't his natural game. He has always been much more kinetic in his style, more Dani Alves than Xavi Hernandez. I've always felt that with Gerrard, his "natural" gifts are such that he has never had to learn how to control the tempo of a game, to look ahead four passes instead of one Hollywood ball. He has no feel for the percentage pass.

[DutchRed]

You can't expect a team as mixed as that one to perform magnificently, so the disjointed performance wasn't hard to understand. Some players did  well. Sterling being the obvious one, but Robinson and Downing did well at left-back too. Joe Allen looked classy in his cameo and I thought Martin Kelly did well. On the other hand, Spearing and Shelvey didn't have their best night and Carragher, sadly, is a source of fear rather than safety nowadays. The younger lads though, did well to hold their own against a team of Scottish bullies well up for it. Charlie Adam's performance was a mixed one. Some good passes over long range, but also wasted possession in dangerous areas. If Adam learns how to mix the easy with the difficult, he could be a very useful player.

As to the result, I think that realistically, we couldn't have hoped for more. After an hour or so, the sting clearly went out of their team and it was punished duly with a goal. I don't see how we'll get in trouble next week. Given that it is at Anfield, I'd expect Brendan Rodgers to play the kids and fringe players again in order to have the first-teamers fresh for the Arsenal match. Conclusion is that the performance wasn't great, yet the result was.

[Garstonite]

Jordan Henderson. Rodgers is going to love him. He presses the opposition so efficiently. So quick off the ground. It was painstaking watching him over one the right in the first half. Not because he was poor out there, but because of who was occupying the three central midfield positions. Yorky's breakdown of them individually earlier on said it better than I could. Fortunately, a) Rodgers has clearly identified this position as top priority, and b) we DO have the personnel. Fingers crossed we get confirmation on Sahin. With him in the mix, our options there look strong and we can focus on strengthening our forward positions.

[No666]

Fair question. I don't know. I'm just repeating what 'the street' says. Perhaps it's bollocks and - like you say - no one has asked him since Rafa. If that's true I wish Rodgers would.

Lock pickers indeed! But sometimes it's nice to have someone who can 'blow the bloody doors off' too.

Wasn't that the complaint about Swansea last term? They picked and picked and by the time they got near the crown jewels, there was an armed guard standing in front of them. I'd like to think Rodgers's comments about Gerrard being one of the attacking four mean that he'll be roaming freely with his dynamite at the ready while Job Allen and Job Lucas display the patience of angels behind him.

[Danyaals Kop]

As soon as the team sheet came out yesterday, I knew that I was going focus myself onto watching how the midfield of Henderson, Spearing, Adam, Shelvey and whether they would fit into Rodgers' system.

And it was that area on the pitch which disappointed me the most. It was just too wasteful and compressed that none of them could perform their roles as Rodger's may have wanted to them. I think this probably signalled it was time to call end on Adam's career at Liverpool who through out at the match tried to keep playing the hollywood balls onto the wings - but would fail notice (and I would cringe everytime) that the player on the wing, whether it would be Borini or Sterling would already have two players marking them. For some reason, he just tried to control the game as if it was his own show. He's was too slow to actually play the box to box role and was the main reason that the midfield was struggling. Him, along with Spearing are going to stuggle if kept for this season.

It was only when Allen came on that the midfield gained the assurance and composure required, that we did finally to settle and stop some of Heart's momentum. It's very strange about Allen because his contribution seems very demeanour but actually may have a significant impact on how we shape up in games.

Positives were there as well. The obvious stand out was Sterling who was easily my man of the match. Apart from the obvious, I think Kelly picked himself up from the poor display againt WBA with a steady performance. Borini's workrate was acknowledgable but if he did have to play that no.9 role, he need another striker along with him or at least a bit more support from the attacking potent of midfield to have shown more. I think his partnership along with Suarez will be something special along the course of the season. Robinson had a good time as LB although sometimes beaten by strength and even Downing's cameo was something intriguing and definitely worth trying again.

But all in all, fair play to Hearts, who played very well and probably did deserve more but fuck that. A win is a win.

[BabuYagu]

Having rewatched the game, the one thing that struck me is how many of their chances came from a failure of basic things instructed to players. For example, several times I noticed Spearing would track a player right out to full back past Robinson/Kelly instead of passing him off. On 2 instances Hearts attacked the space he vacated and it left us very exposed. The most memorable is when their right back got away from Sterling and both Adam and Spearing were marking players on the left flank allowing him the freedom to charge straight through the middle, arriving at the edge of our box unchallenged.

Also, when you rewatch and the tension is removed you see how brilliant Agger really was out there. Sterling stood out because he it was his first start and he tore them up a few times but Agger was such a calming influence. He never got successfully pressed into a mistake, picked the right pass despite both Adam and Spearing not offering him much in terms of movement or passing angles to work with. He was excellent yesterday and I can understand now how some would give him MOTM ahead of Raheem.

Kelly was quite hit and miss for me. He can be sloppy in possession and gave away the ball with simple 5 yard passes a few times. Defensively he was excellent though. I don´t think their right flank worried us all game. That has as much to do with Henderson as Kelly though. Henderson may not shine the way "Razza" but he did the team job perfectly. It was a very Dirk Kuyt performance if ever I saw one. He always provided an option and found space well to receive the ball. He is so quick in closing down his man he was by far our most successful player in winning the ball back high up the pitch tonight. I´d be curious to knw what the original plan was tonight if Carroll was expected to start. I assume Borini was to play on the right and Henderson in the middle?

I also think Rodgers was giving Adam, Spearing and Shelvey a start in their "best" positions to see if he can use them or not. None of them will have particularly impressed. Adam was the best of the 3 but is probably earning 3 or 4 times what Spearing and Shelvey do. The main problem Brendan has with them is they are all weak at their "team" job. Adam and Spearing in particular don´t move very well off the ball. In Rodgers system this is a massive problem as it leaves players with no options when they need to move the ball on. All 3 were very wasteful in possession also and most of Adams good work was actually at the detriment to the team by either vacating his position to help the attack at the wrong time leaving us exposed or by trying the spectacular when there was a simple option available in a good position.

A lot of people are talking about how to use Gerrard and I really think this is Rodgers biggest headache. IF we sign Sahin it will be hard to leave out Sahin, Lucas or Allen as they will all do their team jobs perfectly. Henderson can deputise for any of them without the team losing out. As we seen at the weekend though, the team breaks down with Gerrard in the middle. Can he change that at 32? Also moving him out to the flanks may be a problem also. I have read various managers to like to play a high line pressing game say that the most vital initial press comes from the flanks. They have to instantly shutdown the full backs to avoid being countered by a quick striker (look at the WBA game and see how Long did this). The reason is a straight ball is easier to cut out by either CB or the sweeper keeper. However from the flanks it´s a lot harder to cut out the diagonal ball. Gerrard often switches off when we loose the ball. Or goes into a walking pace.

In addition, these sides usually burn through wide players pretty quickly and get 2 or 3 years from them before moving them on in favour of another young, energetic kid with the legs and enthusiasm to close down all game. This is why Rafa loved taking off his left winger at 60mins every game. You need them fresh. It´s why he loved Kuyt on the right. He has more stamina than any other player we had and could give you his all for the full 90 mins. Gerrard doesn´t offer that. Maybe he did when Rafa put him on the right as a 25 year old, but he doesnt now. Plus I think we would vastly increase the injury risk to him and burn him out in no time. If Gerrard is suitable for any position in this side, it may be the central striker position with a very free role, Suarez/Borini either side. Was this what Rafa had in mind all along when he said he saw Gerrard end his career as a striker? I´ve no idea whether he would work out in that position. I do have a good idea though that he won´t work out in midfield or out wide. Unfortunately.

[DanA]

Borini's hold up play I thought was woeful. Other areas were bad (passing & finishing) but I suspect that was just a one off bad game. The hold up play though....for me that's a concern because I fear it's not just a one off. If he wants to regularly be our CF it needs to be much better. Does anyone else feel this way?

[BabuYagu]

Borini's hold up play I thought was woeful. Other areas were bad (passing & finishing) but I suspect that was just a one off bad game. The hold up play though....for me that's a concern because I fear it's not just a one off. If he wants to regularly be our CF it needs to be much better. Does anyone else feel this way?

Actually yes, I noticed a few times instead of simply controlling the ball and playing it to someone in support he was trying to beat his marker with his first touch.

[Yorkykopite]

Actually yes, I noticed a few times instead of simply controlling the ball and playing it to someone in support he was trying to beat his marker with his first touch.

Long live this instinct. If you're a forward it's a beautiful thing to be able to do. And defenders hate it.

[Garcepticon]

I'm starting to think that the most important position in the Brendan Rodgers 4-3-3 is the deepest of the three midfielders. This player has to be available for a pass from the centrebacks/goalkeeper or he should occupy a forward so that one of the defenders can move further forward and create space. The role also requires a player who is not at all bothered by pressure when he is on the ball because he needs to be making clever calm passes to the back four and linking to the midfield when the opportunity arises. Against a lot of sides, especially away from home, we are going to get the shit pressed out of us and the deepest CM needs to keep possession recycling in our third and tire the opposition so they give up pressing.

Watching Spearing in the role last night confirmed to me that he can not be the deepest of our three midfielders, he has a tendency to panic when pressured (ala Rooney's second goal at Old Trafford) and we simply cannot afford to see that happen in this formation. Spearing's best moment of the entire game was when he played a gorgeous pass out the Sterling in the first half, I think he hit it first time and it completely changed the tempo of the move - unfortunately this pass failed a few times too. Too often though no one was confident passing him the ball and he didn't look comfortable receiving it, because of that we started to bypass midfield or fail to build attacks.

When Allen came on the whole team glued together, the defence was much more comfortable keeping possession and the midfield started to receive the ball at the right times. For me that was the most important thing to take away from the game last night, and it is also comforting that we have signed (hopefully) Sahin because now we have three players in Allen, Lucas and Sahin that will control the tempo of our passing from deep and allow us to recycle passes efficiently around the team. If Rodges can coach that deepest CM role to those three players then our passing game, possession stats and control should give us a platform to dominate teams.

[archie]

First time I've watched us under Rodgers.

Hearts played at their optimum and it is clear we can play much better.
I'm sure it's all been covered but stand outs for me (apart from Sterling) were Agger and Allen. It was a bit frustrating to see Henderson on the right as I think
he has alot to offer. He grew into the game and seems that he will fit in to a quick passing game.

Borini ploughed a lonely furrow at times. Frustrating night for him especially with some poor officiating. That said he did have chances that he couldn't convert.

Obviously, the most frustrating thing continues to be the spasmodic performances of Shelvey/Adam/Spearing. Spearing appeared to struggle positionally, especially in the first half.
Shelvey struggles for consistency, but he is young and still learning.
Adam can offer something (I think) as a squad player but only if he has top quality around him.

I was impressed with how we tried to keep the ball on the deck and for some brief periods, did this quite well. It will get better, but there is a long way to go.

Moving forward, if Lucas can work his way towards full fitness and top form, with him and Allen there is quality there.
We still appear to lack a real goal threat (even with other players who weren't playing) which is a concern. More firepower is definitely needed.

Massive tests coming up in the next few games as we all know. Be interesting to see how we set up, especially at home. There might be some tough viewing in the coming weeks.

[TepidT2O]

I thought it was a very intersting game to watch.

You could see therodgers system better with worse players....


That is, that in them struggling to do it at times, it made it more obvious what they were trying to do.

The pressing game was particularly aparent and the split centre backs is now something I'm almost getting used to.

It made it clear that Carra can actually give and take the ball very well when he wants to.  I might also argue that short quick passing isn't necessarily Aggers baset asset.  Yes, he moves well with the ball and strikes it sweetly, but was his short distribution as good as Carras last night?  Not sure if it was.

Control was more evident in the second half, players stuck to the system better and obviously the introduction of Allen assisted that (a real Liverpool type player we'd have called him 25 years ago).

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

Have to say, although sterling played well, he needs to work on his first touch. Spearing is a liability. Should only play in domestic cups he cant play a passing game as he can't pass.

Good 2nd half performance anyway by us, got better as the game went on until the last 10 mins when either we fell asleep, hearts woke up, or both

[DanA]

Have to say, although sterling played well, he needs to work on his first touch. Spearing is a liability. Should only play in domestic cups he cant play a passing game as he can't pass.

Good 2nd half performance anyway by us, got better as the game went on until the last 10 mins when either we fell asleep, hearts woke up, or both

I find this comment ridiculous. I think he's got the best first touch I have ever in a young player.  I just re-watched his every touch highlight reel from the game to try and get an understanding of where you were coming from and still I have know idea. Even the 30m interception was a one touch take down where he didn't break stride. Got to say his first touch looked superb.

[Sir Psycho Sexy]

I find this comment ridiculous. I think he's got the best first touch I have ever in a young player.  I just re-watched his every touch highlight reel from the game to try and get an understanding of where you were coming from and still I have know idea. Even the 30m interception was a one touch take down where he didn't break stride. Got to say his first touch looked superb.

The times I'm mainly talking about is when he's picking the ball up with his back to goal and under pressure. He didn't always lose it, just showed a little too much of it to the player. But maybe I'm just looking for something for him to improve in. At 17 he has so much ability.

[rushyman]

After the smoke settled now Id like to say I loved the approach. Obviously the players Brendan has to work with are not his choice and it executed poorly.

That team may well have lost under the previous regimes.

Hope for the future