Topic: Liverpool 0 - 1 Aston Villa post match winge

[stonty]

Mignolet is becoming a big problem - just wont come for anything in the box to relieve a bit of pressure off our defence.

Their keeper looked tidy, claimed nigh on everything thrown his way

[Upinsmoke]

Mignolet is becoming a big problem - just wont come for anything in the box to relieve a bit of pressure off our defence.

Makes you wonder why we let Reina go when we obviously need competition.

[markedasred]

I asked the question in the pre match thread, What will Brendan do when a team like Villa plays like us, lively and ceding possession and hitting on the break. Bearing in mind that we had so many not yet bedded in players out there, who I suspect will mainly gel very well, I now think Brendan did not answer that question. He will have to, and fast or we will have a few managers thinking they have found us out.
It was almost like in the start of last season when he was just throwing lots of firepower at any team, except this time we were underpowered for a variety of reasons. It has to be said also, I think Villa will have their best season in decades this year. Benteke will improve an already potent force. If Cissokho had played like that a bit more when he had our shirt on, he would still be wearing it.

[trinityroad]

Feel a bit sorry for Villa actually. Chelsea and Mourinho got all the plaudits last season for the same performance. Villa do it and it's touted simply as a poor Liverpool display.

Surprised to see you lot thought we were brilliant. I didn't feel that way watching the match; we were just hoofing the ball away only for it to go to a red shirt for the 2nd half. We got away with it yesterday but that doesn't always happen.

[Mighty_Red]

The worst thing about yesterday was that Brendan seems to have a blind spot when it comes to Villa at home. After our previous 2 results I would've hoped that he would redouble his efforts against them and get the players to start stronger than they have in the previous games. The lack of intensity at the start indicated that we didn't quite take the game as seriously as we should've, as if the points were ours. When we did that last year against Soton it was disappointing, but against Villa where we have already seen them do this to us was unacceptable.

Maybe it would've been better to start Sterling (in the absence of Sturridge) and then rested him for the CL game but since we don't know his state of fitness it's difficult to criticise the decision. What we do know is that it was a case of too many new players at the same time.

Still unhappy with the standard of defending by us, too many soft goals and it doesn't seem to be getting better. We need to make teams earn their goals. The bad thing is that most of their chances were mainly set pieces i.e. not because of our focus on attacking.

Overall, need to pick this up quickly, it's going to get harder to manage the games and we've thrown away 3 home points yesterday. The only good thing is that Arsenal & City have not got away from us but Chelsea are already 6 points ahead.

[Johnnyboy1973]

Makes you wonder why we let Reina go when we obviously need competition.

Cos Reina isn't competition. He's worse, earns more and like to write letters etc.

[FernandoTourettes]

Surprised to see you lot thought we were brilliant. I didn't feel that way watching the match; we were just hoofing the ball away only for it to go to a red shirt for the 2nd half. We got away with it yesterday but that doesn't always happen.

We spanked teams for fun here at Anfield last season. Teams that come here that shut up shop, but also carry a real offensive threat ( counter attacks/set pieces ) deserve all the plaudits because that's how to beat us.

p.s my mate from work is a villa supporter and thinks the same as you. I was more positive about Villa than he was! Funny game this football.

[gandalf50]

It's nothing to do with thinking our 2 wins and 2 defeats is a perfectly good start because other teams have slipped up as well. It's more to do with the fact that even though we've lost 2 games, we're still well within range with the teams who'll be rivaling us for a top 4 finish. And also to show how utterly ridiculous it is to start panicking yet.

So you are saying that last season was a blip and if we finish 5th or 6th this season that will be our true level?

[WelshMike]

Surprised to see you lot thought we were brilliant. I didn't feel that way watching the match; we were just hoofing the ball away only for it to go to a red shirt for the 2nd half. We got away with it yesterday but that doesn't always happen.

I didn't think so either. I thought you did a decent enough job but didn't really have a lot to do. We were woeful all over the pitch and you had the best three chances of the match easily. Should've killed us off with time to spare.

[Snail]

Ian Wright says United will finish fourth ahead of us. It's over, lads.

[JRC_]

Onwards and upwards, let's turn our attention to Tuesday...

[trinityroad]

We spanked teams for fun here at Anfield last season. Teams that come here that shut up shop, but also carry a real offensive threat ( counter attacks/set pieces ) deserve all the plaudits because that's how to beat us.

p.s my mate from work is a villa supporter and thinks the same as you. I was more positive about Villa than he was! Funny game this football.

It is indeed  . See what you're saying but under Lambert and mostly last season that's basically how we've played; very little possession, hoof the ball away and more often than not come unstuck. I didn't think we looked comfortable. Such fine margins in football though; Coutinho (?) scores that shot that hit the post and I think we'd have collapsed.

I didn't think so either. I thought you did a decent enough job but didn't really have a lot to do. We were woeful all over the pitch and you had the best three chances of the match easily. Should've killed us off with time to spare.

The goal and Senderos x 2?

[redhot-robbie]

Always going to have a game like this, last season it was Southampton and this Season it's villa. We need to learn how to break teams down when they drop 10 yards, when that happens the systems we play can easily change, lambert should have been on sooner and we should have used the width much better.

The biggest surprise for me was how far Gerrard was going forward but he didn't have a shot.

Teams are going to do this to us so we need to learn quickly how to deal with it and ffs we need to defend better! Someone else has said it and I have said it for 18 months, our next upgrade has to be a keeper, mignolet is terrible at crosses and the whole of the kop holds it's breath when we have to deal with a set piece! Don't get me started on the slow distribution either.

[swoopy]

Ian Wright says United will finish fourth ahead of us. It's over, lads.

Ian Wright is a Sun Loving bellend as well

[Fromola]

Always going to have a game like this, last season it was Southampton and this Season it's villa. We need to learn how to break teams down when they drop 10 yards, when that happens the systems we play can easily change, lambert should have been on sooner and we should have used the width much better.

The biggest surprise for me was how far Gerrard was going forward but he didn't have a shot.

Teams are going to do this to us so we need to learn quickly how to deal with it and ffs we need to defend better! Someone else has said it and I have said it for 18 months, our next upgrade has to be a keeper, mignolet is terrible at crosses and the whole of the kop holds it's breath when we have to deal with a set piece! Don't get me started on the slow distribution either.

Don't get why we ever signed him. Terrible scouting, hopefully Valdes signs and gets fit.

[JohnnyLFC]

I'm pissed all day, really horrible game yesterday. One thing instantly cheer me up: Tuesday and back of Champions League. We'll destroy Ludogorets. Btw. I'm a new member of RAWK. Hi everybody!

[diegoLFC7]

Its alright lets try to be optimistic. We lost to hull city last season and we still got close to winning the league. All we have to do is beat the top 4s. Last season we lost to Arsenal on the road, and to chelsea twice. We have a brand new team, and obviously they haven't adjusted to playing alongside each other yet. With time we should see improvement. Rome wasn't built in a day  Lets forget this one and keep our heads high. Man of the match for me although difficult to call was Manquillo.

[Upinsmoke]

Always going to have a game like this, last season it was Southampton and this Season it's villa. We need to learn how to break teams down when they drop 10 yards, when that happens the systems we play can easily change, lambert should have been on sooner and we should have used the width much better.

The biggest surprise for me was how far Gerrard was going forward but he didn't have a shot.

Teams are going to do this to us so we need to learn quickly how to deal with it and ffs we need to defend better! Someone else has said it and I have said it for 18 months, our next upgrade has to be a keeper, mignolet is terrible at crosses and the whole of the kop holds it's breath when we have to deal with a set piece! Don't get me started on the slow distribution either.

Yeah, I've stuck up for Mignolet for a while because he is a brilliant shot stopper but he isn't commanding enough, doesn't inspire confidence. He roars after the problem has occurs, that solves nothing. He's a reason problems are occurring, you can't be indecisive in the area and he is and therefor so are the defence.
His distribution is slow too, I'm yelling at the TV sometimes telling him to hurry up because he's taking the sting out of a game when we don't want it slowed down, we want it to speed up, that hesitation in distribution causes the crowd to groan also.

[thegeneral3018]

Yesterday was just a bad day at the office, we had too many new faces against a defensive and dreary villa team, they are fast becoming our bogey team though under Lambert.

Think it would've been better to play the diamond and try to stretch the villa defence, but hindsight is a great thing. Onwards and upwards to Ludogorets!

[na fir dearg]

Yeah, I've stuck up for Mignolet for a while because he is a brilliant shot stopper but he isn't commanding enough, doesn't inspire confidence. He roars after the problem has occurs, that solves nothing. He's a reason problems are occurring, you can't be indecisive in the area and he is and therefor so are the defence.
His distribution is slow too, I'm yelling at the TV sometimes telling him to hurry up because he's taking the sting out of a game when we don't want it slowed down, we want it to speed up, that hesitation in distribution causes the crowd to groan also.

His distrubution isnt that bad imo, its good enough. His shot-stopping is excellent, has bailed us out on a number of occasions.

But he doesnt take command of the box, doesnt seem to want to come for corners unless its right on top of him, doesnt seem to come out to sweep away any stuff behind the back 4. His lack of authority in the box is creating a nervousness in the defence, especially from set-pieces. Theres no point in shouting at the back 4 before the setpiece is delivered if your not going to lead by example.

[Timbo's Goals]

I think yesterday proved just how much the effectiveness [and ultimate success] of our game hinges upon having our front line attacking stars in place.

Last year we had the three outstanding stars plus Coutinho whenever he happened to be on his game. Deprived of one or more of these stars we tended to struggle since their replacements did not have that extra quality needed.

Yesterday we had none of the stars [until the 60th minute and it seems Raheem is no Davy Fairclough coming off the bench].

Their replacements - whilst potentially a huge improvement on their counterparts last season - are a fair way off being able to replicate the attacking thrust and impetus of the three stars of last season. Add into the mix a largely mis-firing display from little Coutinho and I have to say an impressively executed game plan from a Delph/Agbonlahoor inspired Villa and you have to conclude we could have played for the next 12 months without opening up their defence.

Of course such reliance for our game's success upon the top cutting edge attackers is scarcely a rocket-science reflection. It's the way the game has always been for any side with the highest aspirations. Deprived of that cutting edge it's odds on you'll struggle against any side with the determination and defensive quality Villa displayed. The comforting thing is that with Sturridge, Sterling to return and the other newcomers I'm sure capable of emulating their quality - and hopefully that will be sooner rather than later - there will not be many more depressing episodes to come like yesterday.

In the above post I mistakenly limited my own take to the missing attacking trio. I hadn't done my sums.

Macca off another forum posted the following which makes you wonder how the fuck we were ever going to resemble a team on the day.

We had 3 outfield players starting who were regulars plus Sakho.

Lovren & The Spaniards in defence with 2 home debutants in front in MF & Mario playing his 2nd game.

7 of our starting lineup had roughly 20 LFC games of all types between them

We haven't beaten Villa at home in 4 seasons now

Bit fuckin daft really to go into a premier league game against the sort of opposition Villa were always going to provide with so few experienced players. Clearly Rodgers didn't have that many options with injuries to Skrtel, Johnson, Flanagan, Allen, Sturridge and with Enrique not match fit, Lucas not favoured and Sterling in need of a rest thanks to that fuckin loon in charge of England but perhaps Lucas, Enrique and even a tired Sterling starting may have just provided some much needed cohesion and Anfield experience.

Clearly we're really unfortunate with the injury situation etc but still a bit of naievety gone on there methinks. A bit too much trust that it'd simply go right on the day when clearly the woeful lack of LFC experience and the stern Villa resistance was always going to be a bit too much for a side with so many untried and untested newbies.

[thegeneral3018]

One thing that I have pondered is why we never used balotelli's (or Gerrard's, for that matter) ability to shoot from distance whenever he got a couple of yards of space, it might've offered something different to test the villa defence.

[diegoLFC7]

One thing that I have pondered is why we never used balotelli's (or Gerrard's, for that matter) ability to shoot from distance whenever he got a couple of yards of space, it might've offered something different to test the villa defence.

They pressed us the whole game, it was nearly impossible to get space for a shot. When we did have space it was at an impossible angle for a shot. Balo had one or two shots that were close but thats about it.

[Mighty_Red]

Ian Wright says United will finish fourth ahead of us. It's over, lads.

Which is why I would happily pay to hear his opinion and extensive insight into the game! 

Fact remains that the only reason they are only a point behind us is because of our own failings yesterday.
All our problems are solvable and, at worst, minimised.
We sort ourselves out and they won't get close, whatever the pundits think.

[C10TINHO]

Ian Wright says United will finish fourth ahead of us. It's over, lads.

How these people are paid pundits is beyond me. How can he be so confident? We have had a much tougher start yet still lead them by a point. And to say united havent settled and will get into ryhthm is a poor excuse. We also made many signings and will take a few games to settle into out stride. And i wont even mention Arsenal as he is a supporter so will obviously expect them to finish above us.

[Timbo's Goals]

One thing that I have pondered is why we never used balotelli's (or Gerrard's, for that matter) ability to shoot from distance whenever he got a couple of yards of space, it might've offered something different to test the villa defence.

It's something that often occurs to me watching us. Even when things are going well I wonder why we don't seem to try it. Going right back it's a tactic we've often employed. I guess the best recent example is Olympiakos when mellor nodded it back to SG. Souness often popped them in in a similar way. In essence a tee up from the edge of the box. Ball rolled back to an incoming shooter. maybe it's no longer de rigeur.

 

[jets red 44]

The man of the match for me was.......................

the ref for blowing the final whistle

wow that was awful

[Shaved Crossbar]

Is there not a round table yet?

[RK7]

How these people are paid pundits is beyond me. How can he be so confident? We have had a much tougher start yet still lead them by a point. And to say united havent settled and will get into ryhthm is a poor excuse. We also made many signings and will take a few games to settle into out stride. And i wont even mention Arsenal as he is a supporter so will obviously expect them to finish above us.

They only have the League to worry about, have a proven manager and have a very good squad, sign a defender and they will be very hard to finish above.

[thegeneral3018]

It's something that often occurs to me watching us. Even when things are going well I wonder why we don't seem to try it. Going right back it's a tactic we've often employed. I guess the best recent example is Olympiakos when mellor nodded it back to SG. Souness often popped them in in a similar way. In essence a tee up from the edge of the box. Ball rolled back to an incoming shooter. maybe it's no longer de rigeur.

 

Yeah I know what you mean, I can't remember the last time Stevie smashed one in for us from 20+ yards. If we were struggling to play through, then a few long range shots that the keeper may spill could've worked in our favour.

Interesting point though, it does seem like the long distance shooters are being phased out (Gerrard, Lampard, Riise, Drogba) and midfielders in particular seem to be less prevalent in long range shooting nowadays.

[howes hound]

It's something that often occurs to me watching us. Even when things are going well I wonder why we don't seem to try it. Going right back it's a tactic we've often employed. I guess the best recent example is Olympiakos when mellor nodded it back to SG. Souness often popped them in in a similar way. In essence a tee up from the edge of the box. Ball rolled back to an incoming shooter. maybe it's no longer de rigeur.

 

I'm with you lads. It's a time-honoured way to beat a massed defence, going way back to the famous Celtic/Inter European Cup final. Cut it back to an incoming shooter. Sure, you'll get blocked shots but you'll also get lucky deflections and an unsighted goalie. Without Sturridge we've got too little movement off the ball to be able to link passes through a packed box.

[Schmidt]

I've mostly avoided this thread as it's been action-packed with knee jerk bullshit, but I've got a few thoughts:

Yesterday was just a bad situation for us, Villa are a good away team (as we saw last season) and the early defensive confusion allowed them to grab a goal and sit deep. If we had our first choice attack fit and ready then we could've picked our way through their defence, but unfortunately we had to throw in a group of attackers who are talented but lacking fitness and an understanding with each other.

People questioning why Raheem didn't start need to get a grip. Brendan uses him at every opportunity, so the fact that he was rested can only be because he knew just how tired Sterling was. We all clapped Rodgers when he complained about the owl overworking Sturridge, but when he rests Sterling after a strenuous week everyone kicks up a fuss.

The defence looked good individually and when they gel as a group I think we'll start to see more clean sheets.

I don't think the manager really made any mistakes, he just reacted to injuries and fitness concerns in the best way possible, and the result was a disjointed performance that was unfortunately inevitable.

Lallana had some really good moments despite his expected lack of fitness, I can see him fitting in well after a few games and having a big impact on our season.

Markovic had some nice little touches too but I think we won't see the best of him until next season at the earliest.

I think Mario will play better with quick players running beyond him, something we didn't really have available today.

[Gray Hamster]

They pressed us the whole game, it was nearly impossible to get space for a shot. When we did have space it was at an impossible angle for a shot. Balo had one or two shots that were close but thats about it.

We had plenty of the ball in there half as they stopped pressing centre mid half 20 minutes of the match. The problem was movement up front, we had none!  How many times did we have to watch countino gestering with his hands at our forwards to move and make runs. Forward players are just static and I don't give a shitte what anyone says, players like Balotelli won't run there socks off for 90 minutes. If fact not even 45 minutes! Our game relies heavily on movement and we had none!

[Draex]

I think I was most disapointed in our complete lack of threat from set pieces - not sure why we let 4 different people take corners and free kicks? Seemed there was no plan, don't think we managed a single attempt from a set piece and we had pleanty. That's what we are lacking which seperates the top teams to the championship winning teams.. That ability when it's just not going your way but you still grab a "yammy" goal from a set piece.

[Gray Hamster]

I think I was most disapointed in our complete lack of threat from set pieces - not sure why we let 4 different people take corners and free kicks? Seemed there was no plan, don't think we managed a single attempt from a set piece and we had pleanty. That's what we are lacking which seperates the top teams to the championship winning teams.. That ability when it's just not going your way but you still grab a "yammy" goal from a set piece.

I know what your saying mate but that wasn't it for me. Our crosses into Aston Villa defence were meat and veg to them. Villa struggle big time on clever movement and quick passing through balls, (perfect for our game). I think it was very evident yesterday that no sturidge and for the part no sterling means, no quick dynamic movement up front. A little worrying really

[irish musicman]

One thing that I have pondered is why we never used balotelli's (or Gerrard's, for that matter) ability to shoot from distance whenever he got a couple of yards of space, it might've offered something different to test the villa defence.

Unfortunately Gerrard's ability to shoot from distance seems to have gone since he had the op on his groin. How long has it been now since he scored from play and his accuracy from dead balls seems to be on the decline also. Mario will need a little time to bed in and build up some confidence.

[Saul Goodman]

I know what your saying mate but that wasn't it for me. Our crosses into Aston Villa defence were meat and veg to them. Villa struggle big time on clever movement and quick passing through balls, (perfect for our game). I think it was very evident yesterday that no sturidge and for the part no sterling means, no quick dynamic movement up front. A little worrying really

Or just maybe having three players in attacking areas never having played together before all making home debuts can be attributed somewhat towards that lack attacking quality.

[RK7]

I know what your saying mate but that wasn't it for me. Our crosses into Aston Villa defence were meat and veg to them. Villa struggle big time on clever movement and quick passing through balls, (perfect for our game). I think it was very evident yesterday that no sturidge and for the part no sterling means, no quick dynamic movement up front. A little worrying really

I second this, we were very static up top and made it easy for Villa's defenders. We really could have done with bringing in a mobile forward in the summer to step in  when Sturridge was missing.

[johnsmithlfc]

So you are saying that last season was a blip and if we finish 5th or 6th this season that will be our true level?

I don't think last season was a blip (not that you're replying to me anyway) but even Rodgers said we're ahead of where he planned for us to be at this time.
There is a lot of pressure this season but realistically we cannot better last season without winning something.
I personally don't think 5th or 6th is 'our level' but I think that is close to where we'll finish.
Last season we had so many things going for us including issues with rival clubs having new managers and shit managers plus we had a core group of players and belief and team spirit were great.

We just lost our talisman and we've added the depth we needed but I think there are a couple of areas that still need sorting...this season will be tough and we have many games.
we have a lot of work to do integrating players and I don't think we'll quite do a spurs but nor do I think we'll be anything like we were last season.

I believe we can be and would love nothing more than for us to be challenging for the CL & PL....  We have many things in our favour, but our rivals have all significantly strengthened.

[Gray Hamster]

Or just maybe having three players in attacking areas never having played together before all making home debuts can be attributed somewhat towards that lack attacking quality.

Agree with this, it's no doubt unfortunate that we had to bed 3 new forward players in the same game. Hopefully we might be able to integrate them a little differently in the coming weeks. I do have some doubts though