tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post909748526679995026..comments2023-12-22T01:47:49.178-05:00Comments on oh you beauty: Liverpool 4-1 Portsmouthnatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10043601945557998732noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-39048083544043497732010-03-17T07:44:28.263-04:002010-03-17T07:44:28.263-04:00Let's face it, Portsmouth ain't no ManU or...Let's face it, Portsmouth ain't no ManU or Lille, but at least we weren't struggling to score the goals -- and that should give the boys more confidence as we head ever closer towards the final stretch of games.<br /><br />It's natural that Reds finish rather strongly towards the end of the season where rotation policy ensured fresh legs, but we probably have the least *koff* good senior players this season.<br /><br />Babel definitely should partner Torres upfront more often, as they both pull defenders all over the place. In fact, Torres+Gerrard+Aquilani+Babel pulls defenders and defensive midfielders all over the place.<br /><br />In any case, I'd still prefer to see a 4-4-2 or 4-1-3-2 considering the potential of attacking talents at our disposal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-7839282502771255042010-03-16T07:59:13.771-04:002010-03-16T07:59:13.771-04:00TV said they brought 390. Good guess.
Tivo screw...TV said they brought 390. Good guess.<br /><br />Tivo screwed up, so I missed the first half. Pissed off when the recording light wasn't on when I walked in, but it was still a great feeling to frantically flip it on and then see that 3-0 scoreline at the half.Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11585007019421806111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-88138412383131365802010-03-16T04:43:25.954-04:002010-03-16T04:43:25.954-04:00Few responses:
• Yeah, Insua was not good. Wonder...Few responses:<br /><br />• Yeah, Insua was not good. Wonder if Rafa regrets selling Dossena now? Didn't see any of that money (unless it went to contract renewals) and a struggling Emmy is the only LB with Aurelio injured again. I still think Insua's getting a short stick – he's young and overworked, like most freshmen in college basketball for a current American parallel, it doesn't mean he has no future – but I do wish there was an alternative.<br /><br />• I do think the improved attack and Gleninho back is partly coincidence. The next two games will be far more important tests. Johnson got forward well yesterday, but Pompey was pegged back from the off. If there was any game where Johnson would shine, it'd be yesterday.<br /><br />• Highlights would make Stevie's performance look better than it actually was. Don't get me wrong; it was wonderful to see him so involved with Torres and Aquilani, and the dummy for Aqua's goal was marvelous. But his shooting boots were obviously left at home, and that elbow on Brown (which probably should have been a red card and could still see him suspended) was yet another sign of petulance which Liverpool really doesn't need.<br /><br />• I really want to see, and will probably predict, the same line-up against Lille except with Kuyt for Maxi. Aquilani absolutely needs to play again unless he doesn't recover in time.natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043601945557998732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-16475469365041226172010-03-16T04:03:03.388-04:002010-03-16T04:03:03.388-04:00"it looked like Gerrard said something to the..."it looked like Gerrard said something to them as part of an awesome bonding moment."<br /><br />not in the public, boys...i'll see you guys in the locker room after the game :P<br /><br />i've only got the chance to watch the highlight, i have to say i'm pleased with gerrard's performance even though he's not scoring. he definitely opened up pompey.<br /><br />however, i have a bad feeling against lille and united. we have a chasing game against lille and what's the odds of doing doubles over united in 2 successive seasons? fingers crossedvinnienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-26535219004085483762010-03-15T21:22:42.983-04:002010-03-15T21:22:42.983-04:00WHAT A DAY. Home from work and was able to catch ...WHAT A DAY. Home from work and was able to catch the whole thing in HD. Hallelujah. <br /><br />Aquilani was superb offensively, just a delight. I really enjoyed that hug with him Gerrard, Torres, and someone else (Maxi maybe?) after one of the goals -- it looked like Gerrard said something to them as part of an awesome bonding moment.<br /><br />All of the good has been covered here, and I can't stress enough that this was an A+ performance. But it wouldn't be the internetz if there wasn't quibbling to be done, so:<br /><br />1) We need to stop acting like it's unusual for Gerrard to be totally off on his finishing this year. He is a mess when it comes to shooting. Everything else is fine, but he cannot fire the ball to save his life right now.<br /><br />2) Insua was awful on at least six occasions, especially and including that weird header that gave away an unecessary corner late-ish in the second half. I thought Carra was gonna upchuck.<br /><br />Gerrard made a lot of plays today, so I'm hardly trying to rubbish his whole performance, just worried about his yips. <br /><br />Going forward, I would love to see the same lineup against Lille because we need 2 goals at home, and that's only if they don't score. So I hope we roll out the same squad, maybe resting one of the CBs for Kyrgiakos. <br /><br />But if we do that, we'll definitely need to rest some dudes at OT, and that's cool b/c our more physical lineup totally flustered the Mancs earlier this year. <br /><br />Maybe the best blend would be to run out Kuyt vs Lille then bring Maxi back in on Sunday since he and Torres are telepathically linked. Then use Aquaman and Babel off the bench if we fall behind.<br /><br />It's funny how much we talk about the lack of depth on this squad, but it's really only at striker, isn't it? We have wingers/midfielders in excess now - Maxi, Kuyt, Babel, Riera, Benayoun, Aquilani, Masch, Lucas, and the skipper. <br /><br />Last note: do you think it's any coincidence we look awesome in the final third now that Johnson's back up to full speed? B/c I don't...<br /><br />Here's hoping Adam Johnson catches a 2-month cold.Marcnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-75119931634981034972010-03-15T20:26:38.722-04:002010-03-15T20:26:38.722-04:00Easiest ticket of the year by some distance. I kno...Easiest ticket of the year by some distance. I know Pompey couldn't have brought but maybe 400 with them so there were plenty of extras on the Anny Road end. Had a wonderful view from there and then of course we kick off into the Kop.<br /><br />So we saw plenty of Piquionne and not much else--he does look a useful player though. And then Torres' lovely second. (Watching him you understand why defenders are kicking him constantly, because if you're not kicking him then he's got enough space to score on you.)<br /><br />And then Gerrard twatting Brown--well-deserved that, though risky as hell with United coming up. But even Brown's teammates hate him (O'Hara gave him a black eye in training last month), so hoping they don't put in an appeal to the FA.<br /><br />Still fuming over the goal though. Pepe Reina deserves better than that.drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16041903590665426891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-49655065138163097682010-03-15T20:18:33.269-04:002010-03-15T20:18:33.269-04:00It's what I expect Benitez to do, unless Aqua ...It's what I expect Benitez to do, unless Aqua has an absolute blinder against Lille. What I'd do is insignificant. He's obviously better in the final third than Lucas, but his defense is still suspect looking iffy in the past and not being tested in that department today. I do hope Rafa keeps the same system, if not the same players (outside of Kuyt or Yossi for the ineligible Maxi) on Thursday.<br /><br />Plus, Lucas and Masch (and Kuyt) have started in the last two wins over United, including an away victory with the same scoreline as today.natehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10043601945557998732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33779660.post-21710565390561283222010-03-15T19:59:20.437-04:002010-03-15T19:59:20.437-04:00Nate -- when you say:
"But it’s almost certa...Nate -- when you say:<br /><br />"But it’s almost certainly Lucas/Mascherano, as well as Kuyt, against the Mancs"<br /><br />is this what you would do or what you expect Benitez to do? I'm of the opinion that at this point, Liverpool can't really worry about playing cautiously. Although bringing this exact same starting 11 into Old Trafford increases the chance of a big night for the Mancs, it also increases the chance of Liverpool having a big offensive night, and I'd say that the benefit of getting all three from OT is much greater than the risk of losing or drawing. Don't get me wrong -- I don't dislike Lucas or Kuyt. I just think it's silly to go back to the well that has produced little to no offensive consistency this season.<br /><br />Regarding this game, I think this is the result that we've all been waiting to see. Not only did they score four goals, but they missed several other good opportunities and had three legit penalty shouts (seriously -- how unlucky was it that Liverpool wasn't even granted one?). It was an absolutely clinical performance, and throwing most-everyone forward is almost certainly worth the opposing team's counter opportunities, at least from an aesthetic point of view.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06197009964549077635noreply@blogger.com