Topic: Round Table: Liverpool 1 Reading 0

[Garstonite]

It's funny really. If we pulled these kinds of results out in similar circumstances regularly, we'd be commended for grinding out the result. We do it on the back of a shaky, inconsistent run and it's not good enough. It's 'papering over the cracks'.

I was really hoping that one of Sterling and Suso got off the mark today. Unfortunately, predictably, I backed the wrong horse in my pre-match bet. Terrific finish from Raheem though. While we can't expect too much, too soon from the lad, we do need other people pitching in. What is clear is that we can't rely on Suarez. His finishing is erratic.

So my question is; we buy a striker in January, where exactly does Suarez fit? Out wide? I'm not convinced. I think you need his threat down the middle, off the shoulder of defences. That said, part of that threat he poses is, erm, getting the odd free-kick in and around the box.

Brad Jones - worthy of his place? (Who'd have thought you'd ever be saying that with any degree of seriousness?)

Gerrard's ball retention was better today, but does he have the discipline to cover ground across the midfield? Rafa never rated him in this sense and he doesn't have the legs he did then now either. I said we wouldn't miss Lucas as much as we did last season (and we're not) but he still can't come back quick enough, in my opinion)

So. Over to you.

[Aristotle]

It was strange game. We were brilliant at times. In the opening 25-30 minutes you got a real sense of the potential that Rodgers' system has. After only 4-5 minutes I remember Johnson getting the ball and thinking 'why the hell isn't he driving forward'. Ball passed back to Agger, Skrtel, Allen and in what seemed like 6-7 touches combined and all off a sudden Johnson was off down the left hand channel. You could see he wanted to cut in but he looked under instructions to offer width so he tried to cross it. Less than a minute later Sahin got into the channel (missed who made the pass though) and was called offside, which turned out to be a terrible decision. But he was making those runs into the space that our front 3 were creating.

Yet there was also a sense of counter-productivity. If Johnson and Sahin getting into channels was a sign of the system working, Gerrard's and (to a sense) Suarez's impatience was cancelling the good work out. You always get that sense with Gerrard that he either doesn't trust his team mates or gets filled with uncontrollable insecurity that the game is passing him by and he's being made redundant. Suarez is a bit more understandable as for the past 20 months he's had the world on his shoulders, partnered with new people virtually every week and now he's relying on teenagers. But it's the same thing, we're in possession, he's making smart runs, dragging defenders away and everything you'd expect from him and when the ball doesn't come to him he gets annoyed and drops 40 yards away from goal just to get involved.

You get the sense we're trying to change too much and stay the same all at the same time. Like the time Suarez took on 3 defenders before laying it backwards to Sterling who was completely off balance to take the pass (more on that later). Yet on at least two occasions he took on more players than he could handle and took the shot when there were better passing options available. Another bizarre thing was our insistance on playing it wide, with no one to cross to and then when the crosses failed not having anyone come down the middle for the 2nd ball. Similarly when something does happen players tend to just wait for it to come to them or do it themselves. I'm convinced that if we'd had a Kuyt or Maxi in the squad, they would've bagged a goal each as there were so many times we made it into the box but no one made the run for the tap in. I noticed it with Sterling a couple of times with Suarez, when Suarez took defenders on Sterling always stayed wide for the fall back option instead of gambling on a pass/follow up tap in at the far post. Of course this will come with time and he has shown the potential for understanding such matters, but it's what we miss out when failing to replace experienced international with youth, however promising.

We were promising on the counter and with some practice can be absolutely lethal. It won't be too long before the idea of Sterling-Suarez-Suso keeps defenders up the night before a match. All 3 show incredible ability to run at defenders, with pace and technique to burn it's a truly wonderful sight. And yet it's one of the things I find myself questioning under Rodgers. For all the good his system brings, players sometimes seem too hellbent on playing by the rules. If you have fast and technical players vs tree trunks with legs it should be alright to go more direct when breaking. I think Reina's missed it too. I can't shake the feeling that it'll be years before we see another "Riera vs. Aston Villa". Passing it back means resting and drawing the opposition forward but we're too often focused on 'murder by numbers' than to test the defender one on one.

And now to the final point. We looked horribly out of shape when Sahin went off for Shelvey and this has become a recurring theme with Gerrard and Shelvey on the pitch. You can see that Gerrard has great admiration for Shelvey, at times backing off when the young man is in possession but for all their good they are far too similar and tend to offset the balance of midfield. With Allen and Sahin we were much more efficient, cold and patient. Those two could pass it to each other and the tattoo'd duo all day and not get bored. They offer a wonderful sense of balance. Almost as cliché as the brain hemisphere ones. Allen's right foot is methodical, logical and by the book. Sahin's left foot has spacial awareness, creativity and imagination. Throw in the wonderful Lucas Leiva who perfectly balances both and you've got yourself a mouthwatering prospect. But enough about that. The point still stands, as it's ever frequently happening, when Gerrard and Shelvey play the balance tends to go out the window. Allen's calm and methodical way of passing gets overwhelmed by two alpa males who only have eyes for goal. Dropping wider and wider as the game went on, Shelvey to the right and Gerrard to left meaning that in possession they were ready to strike a fatal blow to the opposition. But it resulted in wee Joe getting outmanned a number of times. The LFC locomotive all of a sudden running out of steam. The defensive line dropping increasingly deeper and Gerrard especially running far more than he had in the first hour of the game to cover for it.
I am reminded of another cliché, there are only two kinds of people; thinkers and doers. Lucas-Allen-Sahin give you thinkers who will empirically evaluate every option before going for it, with Allen-Gerrard-Shelvey you have a lot more doing and a lot less thinking. The first option becomes the only option. You drift out of position in defense to have the advantage in the attack.

I think Gerrard is still the best midfield player we have. Come the Merseyside derby, his disadvantages today are likely to win us the game then. But if Rodgers is going to imprint this system of possession, patience and composure then he needs to get Gerrard towing the line, move him to another position or put him on the bench. Gerrard might still be the best midfielder in the team, but it's showing more and more that he's not the best midfielder for this system. And for me personally, a midfield without Gerrard is starting to look better and better with each game. Whether he has another part to play, I'll leave to others.

[guest]

After a familiar narrative came an unfamiliar conclusion. Liverpool played well, created a number of chances and subsequently missed them - but this time, they left Anfield with three points; the first time they have done that this season, and only the third time this year.

Brendan Rodgers' side have not done things easily for the majority of the season, and so it proved again against Reading. Raheem Sterling's 29th minute strike was just reward for an impressive opening half hour, the goal a perfect summary of Liverpool's dominance in the first half. That should have proved the catalyst for a controlling performance from the Reds, something the Anfield crowd have longed to witness this season. Instead, it was ultimately the slender difference between the two sides. Liverpool were never quite on the ropes, but Reading did prompt a few worried glances of the scorecard.

Liverpool still await a home performance they can enjoy throughout; a showing where every intercepted pass isn't followed by a biting intake of worried breath; 90 minutes when every opposition attack isn't viewed amidst trembling fingers. Liverpool are yet to enjoy a two-goal lead at Anfield this season, their profligacy in front of goal refusing to dissipate.

It's not just the mental well-being of the supporters that healthy leads protect, but those of the playing staff, too. It's harder to swagger looking backwards. Less energy is expended when running on multi-goal cushions as well. Rodgers is a firm proponent of letting the ball do the work; it becomes easier to keep it in cruise control.

But enough. Liverpool did enough. Enough is good enough when trying to build momentum ahead of three difficult league games, including trips to local rivals Everton and leaders Chelsea. Enough is more than enough with no victories at home this season. It's a result both supporters and players will have enjoyed once the full-time whistle went, with hindsight their aide. Football is dictated on fine margins. After no victories in their first five league games, Liverpool are now unbeaten in three and have kept clean sheets in their past two home outings.

Rodgers will have also enjoyed the result. He may have even enjoyed the game. Some of the finer aspects were lacking: the midfield three lacked cohesion, all looking tired and lethargic at times. The perils of international football show once more - Gerrard, Sahin and Allen spent midweek in Poland, Hungary and Croatia respectively. The introduction of Shelvey, unsurprisingly, gave a bit of acerbity to the midfield.

But Rodgers won't be too worried about the sub-par midfield performances. He has options there, with Shelvey and Henderson easily utilised if it needs freshening up. It is the defence and attack that has given him food for thought, and often left him ravenous. Saturday provided a bellyful. In defence, Skrtel and Agger looked to edge nearer to the standard expected of them; Wisdom continues to grow at right back and Glen Johnson continues to be the most underrated defender in English football, at left back no less.

It was an afternoon the attack clicked into place too. Though Suarez was culpable for missed chances once more, his link-up with Sterling was sumptuous and surreptitious; Reading's gaze had barely readjusted when the ball found Suarez's feet, and Sterling was already free with the ball in his path. It was the bamboozling duo that gave Liverpool their goal. Suarez's deftness of touch was matched by Sterling's fortitude in front of goal. Perhaps the chances are falling to the wrong forward.

Liverpool needed a result over a performance. That's what they received, with a good performance thrown in for good measure. Rodgers will know it wasn't perfect, but no one expected it to be eight league games into his tenure; that level of perfection - or control, as Rodgers would see it - may only come when his side have the benefit of time. Time and a two, three, four-goal cushion.

Until then, he'll build momentum any way possible - and he won't be complaining if the next three league games end in narrow Liverpool victories. Nor will the supporters, especially with Everton at Goodison Park next up.

Link: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/216?cc=5739

[royhendo]

For me it's one we could over-analyse until the cows come home, because had we finished chances, the game becomes a procession. Suarez, Sahin, Sterling all had chances youd have expected more from, then Shelvey too when he came on. Garstonite asks the big question above - who comes in to improve that? And who moves where to accomodate them?

We got a little flat in terms of tempo and they grew back into it, didn't they? But overall it was OK. Jones did really well and Raheem!

[Juan Loco]

The Suarez thing is, uh, complicated.

You see it when it works, like against Norwich, or Fulham a couple of years back, and it's unplayable. He's a "false 9", but he's running in behind as well and he's just impossible to pick up. It confuses the whole opposition defence. He may not be as good - and as Rodgers mentioned, he's certainly not as quick - but it's Messi-esque. The whole back four and their defensive midfield is at a total loss of when to follow him and which areas they can follow him in to. The messes everyone up.

Course the notable asset alongside pace that Messi has over Suarez is he's an incredible finisher. Suarez is a good goal scorer but a poor finisher. His goal to game ratio might be hovering around 1 in 2, but his goal to shot ratio, well last season it was out around the one in eleven mark.

It's the games like today that kill you, because you can see how great it is right up until the final moment, and then you immediately think to yourself "if we had a proper striker..."

Case and point today for me was a break in the first half where Sterling got set free down the left and appear to dawdle as he came to making his final decision. You look back at it and you see Suarez holding his position around the penalty spot for a cut back, and Gerrard on exactly the same angle of pass backwards. There is no one running through the centre. There's a huge gaping gap at the back post where a player should be. This was a big deal for me, because about half hour before this you'd seen Daniel Sturridge score a tap in for Chelsea in that area. No one in a red shirt had the thought of making a run there. I suspect Sahin may have, but he was coming from a deeper position and he'll never be able to get into these areas as much as a striker will. There's probably half a dozen top strikers out there right now that could elevate us immediately who would just slot right in there, put away countless chances of that ilk. There's potentially dozens of others out there who aren't yet top players but could score a hatful (maybe Borini is one, maybe Yesil or Morgan are others... If we're looking on the bright side).

I think if we got the threat of someone doing the bread and butter striker stuff in the middle you wouldn't necessarily miss what Suarez does there too much, and you could let him play wide. If you had a Huntelaar in the middle you'd forgive Suarez's odd wandering from wide areas, and leaving his fullback exposed.

What could be really exciting is if we could find the right players to work around Suarez playing in the centre. Someone out wide that's Sterling with the ball, but also scores the type of goals that Kuyt and Maxi would. How rare a player is that? I really, really like Suarez in the centre. I think the potential of it with the right players around him is hugely exciting... But the pessimist/realist in me thinks it's a lot harder to find the right players to fit around Suarez up front than it is to accept the downsides that come with him on the right, and take the fact that he is an awesome creator and goalscorer, and stick some guy who is great at scoring goals through the centre.

I almost feel that if you want to get the best out of Suarez you need to pair him with, well, another Suarez. Maybe one who is slightly more switched on without the ball out wide, but pretty much the same player. Not many of them about.

There's also the really grim way of looking at it. That way where you take a guess at the numbers of goals we might get back. Suarez to me is 17-20, just at a guess. A good striker is 20+ along with that amount of from Suarez regardless of where he plays. For Suarez to continue through the centre I think we need someone else who can hit something around the high teens in
league goals. I know a pure striker should be able to hit more than that, but you'd expect us to have greater fluidity with Suarez through the centre and a wide player doing that, and bring the midfield into the game more.

It's lovely to theorize over, but wide players who hit goals in the high teens aren't commonplace and are out of our reach if we're being brutally honest. They're a lot harder to find than a good striker. I'd love it if we could. I'd prefer to see that to a traditional striker upfront because I think when it's right it's much harder to defend against. But being pragmatic about it, it's much harder to achieve.


Who knows, maybe Raheem Sterling can be that player. I don't want to put any sort of ceiling on that lad (beyond the two freaks out on their own), but I similarly don't want the expectation on him to be hitting numbers at 17 and 18. Same thing with Suso. We need to avoid thinking in terms of figures for what they should be giving us this season, and probably next. Long term they're both capable of scoring and making us a lot of goals, but if the price to pay for getting two potetial £20m+ footballers in the team is a year or two without them making much of an impact in terms of goals they score and create, is that worth it?

I think ideally we could go out and get some senior striker in January to score the goals for a year or two and let Sterling, Suso and over the course of next season, maybe Ibe and a few others, grow into the sort of players who could suit Suarez if we revisited playing him centrally in a year or twos time.

I think that would be the pragmatic way to approach how to get the best out of Suarez. I'm not sure we've got a pragmatist in hte dugout or the board room though (at least not one who will see the value in a senior striker... I think we've seen that already).

[royhendo]

Imagine when the goals come eh Kris? Juan posted elsewhere on the changes that might bring them and it was thought provoking - someone has to come out of the side, and Suarez poses unique problems in that respect.

Great read again, ta!

[Garstonite]

Read this last night; fine stuff as always, Sir.

It was such a bloody shame that it descended into the usual nervy climax because our dominance didn't deserve it. Reading played neat stuff at times but we should have been out of sight. I do think we're lacking that something else needed in the middle and as excellent as Suarez is at certain aspects of that game, he's severely lacking in the ones that will propel us up the league. Accommodating him and somebody who'll hit big numbers is going to be the tricky part.

[The 5th Benitle]

Watched on a fairly dodgy stream.
Sometimes that's a good thing though, when you can't easily tell which player is which it makes you appreciate things like shape and movement more
 
I was slightly surprised at the selection, in that I thought Jonjo would start, but was happy enough with the lineup. Steven Gerrard was of course the player who might have been rested - we manage his games to keep him fresh and it was in the back of my mind that he wouldn't be fresh given his efforts on a sticky pitch in Poland in midweek. I was wrong - what an exemplary performance that was from our skipper. What excited me was that he was the very opposite of what he was against Stoke in that he kept it simple, kept the shape and tried the killer ball less. When he did, it was more often than not to feet.
 
I think it was a pragmatic victory which could have been an emphatic one. Three points were vital though and that's what we picked up. Was very pleased with Brad, although he wasn't challenged too often he stood firm and seemed more comfortable than he had been with the ball at his feet.
 
Glen Johnson was superb yesterday. Defended excellently and was probably our most potent threat. Some player he is, despite what many of the ignorant say. I want him back on the right, not that Andre has done anything wrong but I want our best players playing in their best positions - with that in mind, Jose's cameo was very encouraging, he looked as sharp as I've seen him.
 
I have to say for all the talk about Suarez' finishing, I was incredibly impressed at his energy levels given his recent schedule. On another day he'd have had 4, and I don't think that day is far off. Delighted of course for Raheem who showed composure beyond his years with his finish.

[BabuYagu]

All good posts in here so far. Still waiting for my downloads to finish to have a second watch and will post more then as I find I miss a lot of things when doing the commentary while watching the game.

I almost feel that if you want to get the best out of Suarez you need to pair him with, well, another Suarez. Maybe one who is slightly more switched on without the ball out wide, but pretty much the same player. Not many of them about.

Loved your analysis of the Suarez situation. On this part here, you just described for me Neymar. I watch him every week out here in Brasil and he really is turning into a beast of a player. It's hard to tell at the moment if you just watch his performances for Brasil because they are doing the Harlem Globetrotters thing of playing exhibition games and spanking teams packed with semi-pro level players for 6 or more. However he has become a leader/talisman for Santos. He missed a lot of games at the start of the season while they were pushing for the Copa Libertadores and he was being saved for them. Santos ended up bottom of the table.

The main thing Neymar has that Suarez doesn´t at the moment is Neymar can play as a striker. When isolated he holds the ball up or cleverly draws a foul. He is also a finisher. He would put away a lot of the chances that Suarez isn't at the moment. That said, he does have more space and time in this league and I'm not sure how he would adapt. I don't think he would be able to create things out of nothing the way Suarez does here, not right away anyway.

Of course the problem is I reckon Neymar is being groomed for Barca or Real Madrid. Also he would cost in the region of £35m. He's worth every penny. In terms of marketability the guy is already massive in Asia, South America and North America. Maybe the problem for us is right now, his profile is for Champions League semi final teams and we are still some way off that. Looking at things from his perspective, if he becomes available the likes of Barca, Real, Bayern Munich, PSG, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester City & United would all be falling over themselves to sign him. So why chose Liverpool? He will want to come here to win things. He stayed at Santos to win the Libertadoes so leaving the club he loves to come here and battle for 4th place makes no sense in his career path.

As an extra little treat, here is a link of the goal he scored in the last round of games. The nutmeg at the start is just outrageous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsFGCXS-n68

His record this season in the league is played 11, scored 9. A goal every 106 minutes. In all competitions it's an insane 38 goals in 41 games. That's one goal every 96 minutes of football. He is a big admirer of Lucas Leiva as he was taken under his wing somewhat as a kid in the national team. Lucas recently said he would be the one player from the Brazilian league he would bring to Liverpool with him. Let's hope their mutual admiration of each other gives us a chance to get him when he comes available. With Santos missing out on the Libertadoes this season and selling his best mate, Ganso, to Sao Paulo. I can't see him wanting to spend another 2 years in Brasil to try and win it. He'll be in Europe come Feb 2013.

[guest]

Imagine when the goals come eh Kris? Juan posted elsewhere on the changes that might bring them and it was thought provoking - someone has to come out of the side, and Suarez poses unique problems in that respect.

Great read again, ta!

Sterling through the middle is something worth contemplating, perhaps. I don't feel he has the bend/whip on strikes out wide (though he did against Leverkusen in the pre-season friendly), but he can drill a ball into a small space. Then you think of Suarez, his goal against Stoke, for Uruguay vs. South Korea - he can do that whip from out wide.

[BabuYagu]

I have to say for all the talk about Suarez' finishing, I was incredibly impressed at his energy levels given his recent schedule. On another day he'd have had 4, and I don't think that day is far off. Delighted of course for Raheem who showed composure beyond his years with his finish.

The main problem for Suarez is he played at La Paz 12,000 feet above sea level. FIFA actually have a ban on stadiums 8000ft above sea level which Bolivia is exempt from on the basis that they pretty much don't have an alternative. Given that a 3 day rest period is required to recover from a game.... playing at this altitude more than double that is recommended. When you add in jet lag there is no way Suarez should have played giving the proximity to the game against Bolivia on 16th.

However, we needed him, so he played. It's hard to criticise someone though for their performance in those circumstances. His feet would have felt like lead yesterday... one of the many side effects of playing at high altitude.

[Veinticinco de Mayo]

Open for general discussion

[Groundskeeper Willie]

Wasted a lot of chances again. Should have put it well beyond them first half. Familiar story.

Read quite a few posts yesterday what a shit performance this was, to that I can only say that we´ve come a long way if what we saw yesterday was shit. Imagine when we play well then.

Other than that I can´t say much because I was watching it on a shit stream that kept freezing and lagging every two minutes.

Thought Raheem did very well again and Jones did good as well.

[Fat Scouser]

I absolutely love Luis Suarez. How he continues to do that, while carrying all that weight on his shoulders, is beyond me. Get someone in there with him, to take a bit of the burden, and we'll be fine. Don't, and he'll probably do one. I wouldn't blame him. The only question I can see... when do we get the lad the support he needs. I hope it's quick.

[Limbo]

Less than a minute later Sahin got into the channel (missed who made the pass though) and was called offside, which turned out to be a terrible decision.

Think that was Suso? Commentator didn't mention the name and my stream was dodgy but it looked like him.

[willybeamin]

What excited me at the weekend is that this system (fingers crossed) looks capable of beating the smaller teams at home. This I think is what we have struggled to do ever since Rafa. If we can continue to improve our home game and if our performances against City and United have anything to go by this could be a good season. We really just need so catch up on some momentum now just.

[shelovesyou]

Perhaps a debate for another time but January worries me because everyone knows what we need and we may have to pay the price for that.
Suarez needs support, id stick Gerrard up front when Lucas returns. Maybe thats mental but I think it could work, he has great finishing ability.

Yesterday was encouraging, we looked nervous yes but we held our nerve, that has to be good for morale.
We played some slick football and controlled many areas of the game, we tired near the end then picked up a bit with a small flourish, internationals can do that.

All in all a well earned victory and a much needed 3 points. Expectations are none existent for me this season, so it was a welcome distraction to the negativity we have witnessed since Stoke.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

We need to at least try in games, to play with orthodox wide men. With the inverted system, they are coming inside decreasing the amount of space for Suarez, Gerrard, Shelvey, Sahin etc.

Tight spaces ad tiki taka is great if you are producing at the end. Unfortunately we aren't at the moment and could probably profit from the extra space that would be gained by the wide men staying wide and stretching the play.

[Thog]

Away from home against teams we expect to win, control and dominate games, Suarez needs to be upfront as a false nine. QPR, Fulham, Norwich, Aston Villa are some examples of when that has worked very well. Tricky players either side of him, Gerrard just behind with your two controlling midfielders in Allen and Lucas.

At Anfield though, Suarez should play on the left with the freedom to roam and cause havoc, with a true goalscorer up top that has a bit more of a physical presence. Llorente is the perfect buy. Very good technical ability but strong and good in the air. More importantly, he puts the ball in the back of the net. Gerrard on the right, can cross it in knowing Llorente's there or just come inside. Any three of Henderson, Sahin, Lucas, Allen, Shelvey in the centre.

[Warks Moustache]

Perhaps a debate for another time but January worries me because everyone knows what we need and we may have to pay the price for that.
Suarez needs support, id stick Gerrard up front when Lucas returns. Maybe thats mental but I think it could work, he has great finishing ability.

A common theme in the response to the game is the lack of the final man to run in for a tap in. If there is any player we have with the ability to time finishes in the box, its surely Gerrard.

[Thog]

Think that was Suso? Commentator didn't mention the name and my stream was dodgy but it looked like him.

Nope it was Sahin. Suso played the pass, and it was a great one at that.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

Away from home against teams we expect to win, control and dominate games, Suarez needs to be upfront as a false nine. QPR, Fulham, Norwich, Aston Villa are some examples of when that has worked very well. Tricky players either side of him, Gerrard just behind with your two controlling midfielders in Allen and Lucas.

At Anfield though, Suarez should play on the left with the freedom to roam and cause havoc, with a true goalscorer up top that has a bit more of a physical presence. Llorente is the perfect buy. Very good technical ability but strong and good in the air. More importantly, he puts the ball in the back of the net. Gerrard on the right, can cross it in knowing Llorente's there or just come inside. Any three of Henderson, Sahin, Lucas, Allen, Shelvey in the centre.

Is Brendan's philosophy to pump ball's into the box though? I know Llorente's good with his feet, but I see him more as a target man, and he won't work in Brendan's team.

I genuinely believe that we have the players already to play well and score. Borini through the middle, with any two of Sterling, Suarez, Suso, Assaidi, Gerrard, Yesil either side.

[Groundskeeper Willie]

Perhaps a debate for another time but January worries me because everyone knows what we need and we may have to pay the price for that.
Suarez needs support, id stick Gerrard up front when Lucas returns. Maybe thats mental but I think it could work, he has great finishing ability.

Yesterday was encouraging, we looked nervous yes but we held our nerve, that has to be good for morale.
We played some slick football and controlled many areas of the game, we tired near the end then picked up a bit with a small flourish, internationals can do that.

All in all a well earned victory and a much needed 3 points. Expectations are none existent for me this season, so it was a welcome distraction to the negativity we have witnessed since Stoke.

Rodgers said as much in the latest episode of Being: Liverpool. He sees a midfield three of Allen, Lucas and Shelvey with Gerrard out wide up front with Suarez and a striker.

[Warks Moustache]

Is Neymar an unrealistic buy? That guys post got me excited?

Neymar's stock is so high that really only Madrid and Barcelona are credible options for him. But thats not to say there arent cheap quality strikers available on the market in January. Llorente and Huntellar both spring to mind.

[RooiBefok]

Whilst I have come to accept that for the first 5 minutes of every game we play like a bunch of skittish nuns who have accidently wandered into John Terry’s change room, I cannot understand that until we get our first goal we go on and play a structured, composed and patient game.  Beautiful pass and move football as drilled and practiced on the Melwood training pitch.  But once we have scored our first goal we become totally fractious, run different lines and seem to play as individuals or in pairs as opposed to a unit.  If we stick to the game plan and continue to play the way we practice throughout the ninety minutes we will win far more than we loose.

Obviously I am thrilled that we got 3 points at Anfield but was left feeling highly frustrated at the end of the game due to the reason mentioned above and whilst I have no problem with the Shelvey for Sahin replacement I cannot fathom Rodgers’ rationale for replacing two of our attacking forwards with Enrique and Henderson when we had Assaidi and Downing on the bench.  Nevertheless, Enrique needed some match-time and played magnificently during his 15 minute cameo and thankfully he seems fully recovered from his injury.

In the past three games where Allen, Sahin and Gerrard have started, Allen lay the deepest with Sahin between himself and Gerrard, with Gerrard playing as the forward attacking midfielder.  Gerrard has come in for some rightful criticism in his role as the forward attacking midfielder with the majority of Supporters calling that he be moved into a more defined forward role.  I thought that Rodgers showed his technical acumen yesterday by instead of moving Gerrard forward he in fact swapped him around with Sahin and moved him slightly backwards.  Gerrard reveled as the midfielder between Allen and Sahin yesterday and Sahin is better suited further forward in Rodgers’ Team dynamics.  On a whole I thought our three midfielders gelled well as a unit yesterday.

It is only the third game that the front three of Suso, Suarez and Sterling have started as a unit and over time will become extremely efficient once they have a better understanding of one another.  Understandably, after the ‘high’ of signing his first long-term-contract the day before, Suso was quiet compared to his normal standard.

Congratulations to Sterling on his first team and league goal and may that be the catalyst for many more over many Liverpool playing years.  My only constructive criticism on Sterling is that he tends to sit on the ball one to two moments too long before pulling the trigger, but this should improve exponentially as his confidence improves.  Not a criticism, but Sterling also needs to perhaps beef up a little in the gym.  Very lightweight in contact and easily grounded in a tackle.

As for our little RugRat  Suarez, one moment I want to throttle him and the next hug him.  Having travelled 23,000 kms since his last Liverpool game and not forgetting the fact, that just three days prior to the Reading game, he had played at one of the highest (if not the highest) grounds in the world at 3,600 meters above sea level his performance and tenacity yesterday was a top drawer performance.  His work rate and physical performance is leaps ahead of any other professional footballer I have witnessed in my time.  Either he mixes some ‘really good shit’ into that flask of his or he is blessed with superhuman fitness, stamina and mental doggedness.  To all those Supporters who constantly criticize his near misses, try twisting, turning and spinning around your living room for ninety minutes whilst staring at your feet and then test your directional honing skills on any box close at hand.

Our defensive unit was sublime and a very big ‘Well Played’ to Jones on his first Liverpool Premier League start.  He slotted in extremely well, looked composed and relaxed and never once looked hesitant in his decision making.  Whilst I am normally full of anxiety, my heart in my mouth and practically shit myself every time the opposition run into our box with Reina in goal, yesterday I was decidedly at ease throughout, so ‘Well In’ in Mr Jones.

Wisdom, Skrtel and Agger were at their sublime best but easily the Man-of-the-Match for me was Johnson.  He was part of practically every attacking move and yet when Reading caught us on the occasional counter-attack who invariably popped up in disrupting their attack all the way back in our own third, none other than Johnson himself.  Wherever you looked yesterday he was there.  A stellar performance from our versatile Defender.

Roll On Anzhi (Thursday) and Everton (Sunday).

[Thog]

Is Brendan's philosophy to pump ball's into the box though? I know Llorente's good with his feet, but I see him more as a target man, and he won't work in Brendan's team.

I genuinely believe that we have the players already to play well and score. Borini through the middle, with any two of Sterling, Suarez, Suso, Assaidi, Gerrard, Yesil either side.

He plays regularly for Spain and Bilbao and they most definitely are not teams who pump it into the box. I see him as a far better Danny Graham. Borini I don't think is good enough to play as a lone striker, Roma played him out wide aswell. Would give us more goal threat if we had three strikers on the pitch.

[BabuYagu]

Away from home against teams we expect to win, control and dominate games, Suarez needs to be upfront as a false nine. QPR, Fulham, Norwich, Aston Villa are some examples of when that has worked very well. Tricky players either side of him, Gerrard just behind with your two controlling midfielders in Allen and Lucas.

At Anfield though, Suarez should play on the left with the freedom to roam and cause havoc, with a true goalscorer up top that has a bit more of a physical presence. Llorente is the perfect buy. Very good technical ability but strong and good in the air. More importantly, he puts the ball in the back of the net. Gerrard on the right, can cross it in knowing Llorente's there or just come inside. Any three of Henderson, Sahin, Lucas, Allen, Shelvey in the centre.

Llorente is a good shout. Although apparantly his people are already in the middle of a tug-of-war between Barca and Real. Which leads onto this...

Is Neymar an unrealistic buy? That guys post got me excited?

To be honest. It is a bit unrealistic but there are a lot of things on our side here. For one.... there is going to be a lot of top strikers coming available very soon. Llorente already mentioned, Neymar and Leandro Damaio are both flirting with Europe now. Falcao is also being linked away from Atletico. Then there are players like Cavani, Mario Gomez, Huntelaar who are always linked with transfers away. Mario Gomez is an interesting one as he is injured at the moment and yet Bayern are scoring a shedload of goals without him.

So I think the market might be flooded with attacking players and that suits us just fine. Chelsea are the only top side I see that really NEED a striker. Barca and Real will probably end up with Falcao & Llorente.

I´m not saying we have a real chance of signing Neymar. I just think he is the one player we should go all in for. He also ticks all the FSG boxes and unlike Suarez when he arrived, his rep is squeeky clean (bar one spat with the Santos coach when he was 17) and has already been marketed worldwide, but in particular in asia.

The other thing I would say about Neymar is, he needs to end up at a club that will love him. If he ends up at City or Real or a side that could easily drop him if he has a poor start... he could easily do a Robinho/Tevez. I think the way we as fans handle Suarez, for example, and Torres before him.... must be a massive draw too.

So never say never. It´s just very unlikely.

Edit: PSG already have Ibrahimovic, Gameiro, Menez and Lucas Moura joining them in January. That´s another side you can rule out that would offer stiff competition.

[BabuYagu]

Is Brendan's philosophy to pump ball's into the box though? I know Llorente's good with his feet, but I see him more as a target man, and he won't work in Brendan's team.

I genuinely believe that we have the players already to play well and score. Borini through the middle, with any two of Sterling, Suarez, Suso, Assaidi, Gerrard, Yesil either side.

I think because Llorente is tall he's getting unfairly pigeon holed as a target man. He can definately play that way if thats what you want but Athletic Bilbao can and will pass teams to death and Llorente is the finishing touch. His close control, first touch and dribbling are under rated. He will be fairly static though and won't drift out wide much or switch positions with the other 2 forward much. Then again that seems to be what we want? Huntelaar, Mario Gomez, Leandro Damaio, Cavani, Llorente.... I think they are all similar in this way. They will also all score a fuck load of goals.

[willybeamin]

Will Wisdom play next week against Mirallas or Pienaar at Everton? If so we will get a real sense of how he is settling into first team football as these two are having a great start to the season.

Could a left back be on the purchase list in January. Enrique constantly looks limited with the ball.

[shelovesyou]

Will Wisdom play next week against Mirallas or Pienaar at Everton? If so we will get a real sense of how he is settling into first team football as these two are having a great start to the season.

Could a left back be on the purchase list in January. Enrique constantly looks limited with the ball.

Pienaar suspended. Been very impressed with Wisdom, he's adapting well.

[Mr Mingebag Squid]

I think because Llorente is tall he's getting unfairly pigeon holed as a target man. He can definately play that way if thats what you want but Athletic Bilbao can and will pass teams to death and Llorente is the finishing touch. His close control, first touch and dribbling are under rated. He will be fairly static though and won't drift out wide much or switch positions with the other 2 forward much. Then again that seems to be what we want? Huntelaar, Mario Gomez, Leandro Damaio, Cavani, Llorente.... I think they are all similar in this way. They will also all score a fuck load of goals.

I'm not pigeon holing Llorente purely as a target man, it was mentioned in an earlier post how we could play him through the middle and he'd thrive on Gerrard's crosses from out wide. I've no doubt he would, my point being though, that Brendan doesn't want to play a game of swinging in crosses - if he did, surely he would have kept Andy?

That aside, I think Llorente would slot in nicely to the whole pass and move game - he does after all live with it with Munian, Susieta et al at Bilbao, and then of course when he's with the national team.

I'd have a couple of issues with him though; 1) His age. 2) Barca, Real and Juventus seem to be courting him, with Juve rumoured to be offering him a lot of money - we'd have to throw a lot at him! 3) Would we be signing him for the sake of signing a big name striker? Are their other hidden gems we could get?

[royhendo]

From the Reading perspective - you might say we're quite harsh on ourselves.
http://t.co/k6sEt1YP

[The G in Gerrard]

Is there an issue with Sahin's fitness still? Seems to have been subbed last couple of games when imo he should have stayed on.

[Groundskeeper Willie]

From the Reading perspective - you might say we're quite harsh on ourselves.
http://t.co/k6sEt1YP

I think so too. Sobering to get the perspective from the other side sometimes.

[Twelfth Man]

And now to the final point. We looked horribly out of shape when Sahin went off for Shelvey and this has become a recurring theme with Gerrard and Shelvey on the pitch. You can see that Gerrard has great admiration for Shelvey, at times backing off when the young man is in possession but for all their good they are far too similar and tend to offset the balance of midfield. With Allen and Sahin we were much more efficient, cold and patient. Those two could pass it to each other and the tattoo'd duo all day and not get bored. They offer a wonderful sense of balance. Almost as cliché as the brain hemisphere ones. Allen's right foot is methodical, logical and by the book. Sahin's left foot has spacial awareness, creativity and imagination. Throw in the wonderful Lucas Leiva who perfectly balances both and you've got yourself a mouthwatering prospect. But enough about that. The point still stands, as it's ever frequently happening, when Gerrard and Shelvey play the balance tends to go out the window. Allen's calm and methodical way of passing gets overwhelmed by two alpa males who only have eyes for goal. Dropping wider and wider as the game went on, Shelvey to the right and Gerrard to left meaning that in possession they were ready to strike a fatal blow to the opposition. But it resulted in wee Joe getting outmanned a number of times. The LFC locomotive all of a sudden running out of steam. The defensive line dropping increasingly deeper and Gerrard especially running far more than he had in the first hour of the game to cover for it.
I am reminded of another cliché, there are only two kinds of people; thinkers and doers. Lucas-Allen-Sahin give you thinkers who will empirically evaluate every option before going for it, with Allen-Gerrard-Shelvey you have a lot more doing and a lot less thinking. The first option becomes the only option. You drift out of position in defense to have the advantage in the attack.

This is what I saw. I felt Sahin coming off around the 65 minute mark was too early. And we immediately lost balance and control. Gerrard has been curbing his usual game this season, so its not quite as bad as a Shelvey and Gerrard from a couple of years ago on the pitch. Rodgers thinking was probably the need for goals and killing the game off, but it backfired in that Reading had the best spell as soon as the substitution was made.

Also, when Lucas comes back and we go with Lucas/Allen and Sahin, where exactly do we put Gerrard? I would love for him to play upfront out wide, but that would mean dropping Suso/Sterling.

[djschembri]

Fully agree with Juan Loco's post.

We'll get bags of goals if we get a striker who comes alive in the six yard box. The amount of times Suso, Sterling & Johnson got to the byline, looked up only to see no one in and around that area was infuriating.

Instead of taking a gamble and making the run for a simple finish, Suarez stays back and offers an option. On the occasions he does get it, he attempts to dribble past two or three players to get into a goal scoring position.

Its up to Rodgers to decide whether he should coach Suarez to start making those runs, or look for a striker who performs that role. I think much of Suarez's play is instinct, which makes him so hard to handle and defend against.

Either way, we desperately need a striker, or a forward player who will look to score the "easy" goals, who will score one out of every two or three chances that come his way. If/when we get such a player, then we will be rewarded for with the results we deserve. Until then though, every game is going to be a struggle in front of goal

[BigT_85]

I was waiting for the Reading equaliser that thankfully didn't come.

My fingernails needed a trim so I am not complaining

Johnson was fucking immense. If he continues to put in performances like that he will be classed as one of the best RB's in the world.

Aussie pride speaking here, but Jones was also perfect. I say keep him in unless he gets the wobbles or has a major brain fade or two. As much as I have a total man-crush on Pepe, I'm certain (given his recent form) he would have spillied one or two of those saves and it would have finished 1-1.

Wisdom was once again excellent, and I don't think he has got as much praise as he should have the last few weeks, but the lad has done nothing wrong and everything right.

Enrique made a brilliant cameo, and I'm glad to see him play so well after coming back from injury.

Gerrard was much better than the Stoke game. In fact he had a pretty good game.  I think he has been very inconsisitent, and quite average at times this season (thats coming from probably the biggest Stevie G fan of all time) but yeah, good to see him play well.

Luis Suarez. Well, what can I say. He makes 40 yard blooters look easy but he can't score tap ins. I love the motherfucker but shit, he needs to sort his shit out.

In summary, great to get 3 points and a clean sheet, but it felt more like relief once the whistle had blown. I dont want to sound negative, but more realistic: WE NEED A GOALSCORER. Given how poor Reading were for the majority of the first 65-75 odd minutes, we could've absolutely destroyed them if we had a clinical finisher.

[iamrobk]

We were promising on the counter and with some practice can be absolutely lethal. It won't be too long before the idea of Sterling-Suarez-Suso keeps defenders up the night before a match. All 3 show incredible ability to run at defenders, with pace and technique to burn it's a truly wonderful sight. And yet it's one of the things I find myself questioning under Rodgers. For all the good his system brings, players sometimes seem too hellbent on playing by the rules. If you have fast and technical players vs tree trunks with legs it should be alright to go more direct when breaking. I think Reina's missed it too. I can't shake the feeling that it'll be years before we see another "Riera vs. Aston Villa". Passing it back means resting and drawing the opposition forward but we're too often focused on 'murder by numbers' than to test the defender one on one.

A lot of good in this post, but this is one of the sections that I sort of disagree with (or perhaps its better said that I have a different perspective on it!). I think the 'problem' is that right now the players are still learning and memorizing the 'rules' of Rodgers system. The players are naturally going to do their best to stick to the rules rather than perhaps playing their natural game as they're trying to learn this new system. And I think we've seen pretty clear progress, from pre-season to the current day, in the team better learning Rodgers system. Once the system becomes natural to the players, they'll show all their best attributes. I think Joe Allen is the best example of this. He's basically grown up in Rodgers system (or one very similar to it), and you can tell in the way he plays. He plays by the 'rules' but there's still a lot to his game that he's able to show off. Or even the goal we scored yesterday. Basically was a quick counter attack. May not be 'tiki taka' but the players did it and it worked.

I feel like I may not have worded this post as well as I could have (a bit busy with other things), but I hope I got my point across.

[Fat Scouser]

From the Reading perspective - you might say we're quite harsh on ourselves.
http://t.co/k6sEt1YP

Not really Roy, especially when you read the end of that report. We were playing a team that can't buy a win with Nickey Shorey in it. But they could have nicked all three points. Yes. I know we could have battered them, but we are having to field kids week in week out. It's not a good situation. We could easily burn them lads out. We've seen it happen before. And we can all see the missing link, so I've no doubt even the owners can see it. The problem is, will we spend the few quid and, if we do, will we be able to find the missing part of the jigsaw in January?

That is not a swipe at FSG or anyone else, it's a legitimate question but only time will answer it. So, until then, and more likely the end of the season, we'll have to accept it for what it is and hope no further lasting damage is done to the squad and it's morale.

I'm sure plenty of people will want to take a swipe at me for saying that, but I'm not a cheerleader. I'm just being honest about the problems I see facing our team and manager. And if anything, I think a bit of realism is the best way we can support Brendan at this time. If we accept that he can't perform miracles without being given a wand, we might no repeat the mistakes that helped to put us in this position.

[iamrobk]

Also, the last 20-30 minutes of the match really made me miss Lucas. I felt like we couldn't really dominate the game as much as I would have liked, and having Lucas would have made a big difference. He's that calming influence that we seem to miss whenever he's out. Going to be really exciting to see our play once he's able to get back to full fitness.