Liverpool (a) Pre-Match Thread

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Exeter Blue I am here said:
The day we beat a Klopp team at Klanfield is the day that we win the league again, as it will mean we have acquired a squad with not just the skill (which we already have) but also the power and athleticism to overcome all opposition playing styles. They were my tip for the title at the start of the season and they remain the acid test IMO. I watched them the other night against Stoke and even after 75-80 minutes the pressing was absolutely maniacal, as if their lives depended on it, the man in possession hounded at full sprint speed by the nearest dipper, and the two nearest passing options closed down immediately. And even when Stoke managed to break the press with the first pass, so the process simply began again. They are absolutely relentless and once they've turned the ball over they have an array of players with not just pace but incredibly quick feet who can all fashion individual chances in packed penalty areas - Sturridge, Coutinho, Mane, Firminho, Lallana, they're all superb at it.

None of that is to say they're infallible of course. They were beaten several times last season, but almost always by muscular counterattacking teams with pace, who simply bypassed the insane pressing. Palace with Zaha and Sako, West Ham with Sakho, Valencia and Kouyate, Newcastle with Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Cisse, the rags with Martial and Rashford. It was also telling that we had the best of them in the Capital One Cup Final with Ya Ya, Fernandinho and Fernando starting, but missing Ya Ya 3 days later in the league we went with Sterling, Silva, Navas and Aguero as a diddyman attacking quartet and got bullied to the point of embarrassment in a 3-0 defeat that could easily have been 8-0. This year their failures have been even fewer, but noticeably they were frustrated by both Burnley lumping 60 yard missiles downfield to Vokes and by the rags, who did what Mourinho always does at Klanfield in selecting no less than 7 players 6ft 2' or taller and parking a gigantic bus.

As to Saturday I don't think Pep can risk his preferred style, cos if we overplay at the back then Mane & Co will tear Kolarov and Otamendi to shreds. We don't have an excess of power and pace to play long with either unfortunately, so I think a hybrid set up of the type we saw 2nd half against Barcelona is our best bet - ie. sit reasonably deep, knock it over the first wave of attackers and then hound their defensive players in the middle of the park. To that end I'd plump for Fernando, Fernandinho and Ya Ya in front of a back 4, and KDB, Silva and Sterling in a trio in front of them. 4-3-3 and leave Kun on the bench. Even that way though it'll be an almighty ask and one that I don't think we're quite ready for yet
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And yet Stoke could have been out of sight at half time had they taken their chances.
 
BillyShears said:
Anfield's one of the most difficult grounds to go to in the world of football and has been for a very long time. Absolutely Sterling completely went missing last season but that's happened to plenty of much bigger and much more experienced players. That's not really a reason to say he's mentally weak. Especially given the earlier examples i gave you of why his mental strength and character are quite evident.
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He's better but still rather ' flakey ' when things are not running well for him Billy.

For a lad with pace as his major attribute he appears to lack the confidence or commitment to use it to terrify defenders,back them in to the box,commit them to concede fouls,hit the by line. Look what happened at Hull after his half time bollocking off Pep.

To be the elite player we all want him to be he's got to play for 95 minutes EVERY game and truely boss games on a regular basis.

Saturday please young man.....right up those vile river rats.

PS. Respect to the Mackam flag nickers......has it been burnt yet ??
 
Exeter Blue I am here said:
The day we beat a Klopp team at Klanfield is the day that we win the league again, as it will mean we have acquired a squad with not just the skill (which we already have) but also the power and athleticism to overcome all opposition playing styles. They were my tip for the title at the start of the season and they remain the acid test IMO. I watched them the other night against Stoke and even after 75-80 minutes the pressing was absolutely maniacal, as if their lives depended on it, the man in possession hounded at full sprint speed by the nearest dipper, and the two nearest passing options closed down immediately. And even when Stoke managed to break the press with the first pass, so the process simply began again. They are absolutely relentless and once they've turned the ball over they have an array of players with not just pace but incredibly quick feet who can all fashion individual chances in packed penalty areas - Sturridge, Coutinho, Mane, Firminho, Lallana, they're all superb at it.

None of that is to say they're infallible of course. They were beaten several times last season, but almost always by muscular counterattacking teams with pace, who simply bypassed the insane pressing. Palace with Zaha and Sako, West Ham with Sakho, Valencia and Kouyate, Newcastle with Wijnaldum, Sissoko and Cisse, the rags with Martial and Rashford. It was also telling that we had the best of them in the Capital One Cup Final with Ya Ya, Fernandinho and Fernando starting, but missing Ya Ya 3 days later in the league we went with Sterling, Silva, Navas and Aguero as a diddyman attacking quartet and got bullied to the point of embarrassment in a 3-0 defeat that could easily have been 8-0. This year their failures have been even fewer, but noticeably they were frustrated by both Burnley lumping 60 yard missiles downfield to Vokes and by the rags, who did what Mourinho always does at Klanfield in selecting no less than 7 players 6ft 2' or taller and parking a gigantic bus.

As to Saturday I don't think Pep can risk his preferred style, cos if we overplay at the back then Mane & Co will tear Kolarov and Otamendi to shreds. We don't have an excess of power and pace to play long with either unfortunately, so I think a hybrid set up of the type we saw 2nd half against Barcelona is our best bet - ie. sit reasonably deep, knock it over the first wave of attackers and then hound their defensive players in the middle of the park. To that end I'd plump for Fernando, Fernandinho and Ya Ya in front of a back 4, and KDB, Silva and Sterling in a trio in front of them. 4-3-3 and leave Kun on the bench. Even that way though it'll be an almighty ask and one that I don't think we're quite ready for yet
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Well after that analysis i don't why we are bothering turning up, but we have heard all this shit before from the Mourners themselves in 2014 , so they may well beat us on saturday in their cup final , but when the pots are given out at the end of the season , the smart money is'nt on our friendly welcoming candle peddlers. If they do get back in the champs league there will be an open top bus tour around Bootle docks and that is the sum of their ambitions.
 
Exeter Blue I am here said:
I'm sure Big Sam would be flattered to know that you consider Pep's tactics against Barcelona comparable to his own unique brand of hoofing
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Yeah I missed Yaya in the home game.

We also still pressed the fuck out of them.

I think Pep will play as he did against Dortmund with Bayern.
 
It all depends on Yaya , silva and kdb .
If they control the middle when we have possession than we will win this game.
 
Their players will be rabid with Henderson leading the gurning parade. The crowd will boo incessantly for 90 minutes whenever we touch the ball. Raheem will be vilified mercilessly. We need to be mentally strong for his. Play our game the way we can ala Barcelona and Arsenal.take our chances early and shut the crowd up and take the heat out of their play.
I really think this game will be decided in the first 15 minutes. Keep them out and we're in, if they score it's over.
 
No doubts they are going to put one heck of a shift on Saturday but the good thing is they have another game away to Sunderland at the same time as us on top of both CoC fixtures and the FA Cup. Shame they are not in Europe as they would of have an extra headache to deal with. What I am trying to say is we shouldn't crap ourselves when playing them.
 
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It may be true that most teams that take points off Liverpool park the bus and hit them on the break, but it's also true that most teams that try this tactic lose badly. So, even if we tried it, we'd almost certainly lose (especially as this is far from our forte). And if we tried this and lost, well, I don't need to draw you a picture of the likely fan reaction. If we want to consistently beat the uber-press (which we'd better figure out how to do if we're ever going to be as good as we want to be), then we may as well go all-in right now. I'm sure Pep has a pretty good idea of how to do it in theory, and if his players won't, or can't follow his instructions, then presumably he'll go out and find some that will can.
 
Against the top teams so far we have dominated against the rags and the arse, denied by a bent ref against Chelski and played poorly against spuds. I think as usual we underestimate what we're capable of. Man for man we are the better team and have the better manager so can't see a problem. The past is the past, not relevant any more. The only delight the dippers will get this new year will be from the shell suit sale at JD Sports
 
Just want our players to stand up to these f*ckers , man for man we are a better team and we need all our players to put a shift in and win the 50/50 balls , if we dont give any stupid goals away and our defence and midfield do their jobs we can win this , the candelabras will definitely let a soft goal in because their defence is garbage
 
super_city_si said:
Their players will be rabid with Henderson leading the gurning parade. The crowd will boo incessantly for 90 minutes whenever we touch the ball. Raheem will be vilified mercilessly. We need to be mentally strong for his. Play our game the way we can ala Barcelona and Arsenal.take our chances early and shut the crowd up and take the heat out of their play.
I really think this game will be decided in the first 15 minutes. Keep them out and we're in, if they score it's over.
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I can't help thinking that this is correct
 
jimmygrimblesboots said:
Well after that analysis i don't why we are bothering turning up, but we have heard all this shit before from the Mourners themselves in 2014 , so they may well beat us on saturday in their cup final , but when the pots are given out at the end of the season , the smart money is'nt on our friendly welcoming candle peddlers. If they do get back in the champs league there will be an open top bus tour around Bootle docks and that is the sum of their ambitions.
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It's not meant to be a defeatist assessment. As we showed last year in the Capital One Cup Final we have it within ourselves to beat them and to do so deservedly. My analysis was meant to be a reflection of my own personal belief (and I may or may not be wrong - it's just an opinion) that Liverpool, home or away, are the toughest ask on the Premier League calendar and particularly given the way we prefer to play and the way they prefer to play. If we defend too far up the pitch then Mane and Origi will have a field day, if we start playing short balls out of defence to Fernando and Ya Ya with their backs to play, Henderson and Lallana will have a field day. Like GDM said earlier, I don't really believe in history and bogey grounds and that sort of shit. We just have to be smart about how we set up and play with total concentration and commitment and we've every chance of beating them. If we don't however, then we're liable to take a proper fucking.

I disagree (QED) about where they will finish at the end of the season. They don't have the Chimps League to burn themselves out with and this isn't the 2014 Candlepool managed by a 'B' lister like Bodgers, it's an excellent team, with the emphasis on team, and has one of the half dozen best managers in the world in charge of them.

You're right about it being their cup final. I married into a red Scouse family and although the in-laws tone it down when they're discussing footie with me, when I meet their friends they are often spectacularly bitter about City. 'Nothing club' this, 'oil money cheats' that, 'no history' the other. Every cliche under the sun in fact, spewed out by minds that cannot reconcile themselves to the fact that they long since ceased to be of any particular relevance in the modern game, and you've only got to look at the hysterical reaction to Sterling wanting to join us for realisation of that fact. In their heads they're still the mighty reds, despite not having won the league for 26 years. Fuck me, they still regard Chelsea as interlopers even though they've been winning trophies regularly for nearly 20 years now and have a bigger global fanbase than the candle bearers. I would love nothing more than for us to beat them on Saturday, but I just think there are too many flaws in our make up still at the moment to make that likely. Next year when Pep's had a proper crack in the transfer market though, I think we'll be able to take just about anybody
 
Well hoofing or not, there is a case for parking and going long, sure Pep won't but I would definitely go fo inverting the full backs dropping Ferdinhinho between the centre halves and playing two wide men
 
If Raheem scores I can see the ref having to abandon the match and our fans being locked in for a week while the grief monkeys calm down.
If we do get a result I hope pep gets the players to hold hands and run up to our fans at the end just to take the piss.
 
Helmet Cole said:
If Raheem scores I can see the ref having to abandon the match and our fans being locked in for a week while the grief monkeys calm down.
If we do get a result I hope pep gets the players to hold hands and run up to our fans at the end just to take the piss.
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Could you imagine a Sterling hattrick?

I don't think I'd be able to walk for a week.
 
Think the wings in particular the right will be key for us. Would go with Sané and tell him to stick to the touchline then when he receives the ball go straight at Milner (hopefully he'll be at left back) which will give us endless free kicks & the odd run into the box. I have confidence in Pep to do a job on Klopp and I'd love nothing more than for Raheem to score a late winner.
 
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