Delicious irony too that you defended Mirallas's snide attack on Suarez that any half-capable referee would have sent him off for.
That's just teamwork. It can exist in any type of socio-economic model. But in football, it cannot exist, even with the best intentions, without coaching and practice. This is, in my opinion, where we are lacking
BREAKING NEWS Costa charged Posted at 17:02 The FA has announced that Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been charged by for violent conduct following an on-field incident which was not seen by the match officials but caught on video. The player has until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the charge. Following a review of an incident during the game involving Costa and Liverpool's Martin Skrtel, The FA will not be taking any further action.
So anyway, I was on nights last night after the game , so I haven't had a chance to post my ratings yet. Before posting, may I just say that whoever does the ratings for the Mirror is a ****. Migs: 7 Best game for long while. Just want to see him smash through someone (even a teammate) to get a reputation, and some self-belief, regarding defending his six-yard line. Can: 7 Benefited from Markovic's hard work this time round, and seemed to have some energy in extra time. He did struggle, however, to get back in the extra period, which made it a crime that twats like balotelli never used him. Skrtel: 8 Determined not to let Costa bully him - wish he'd been this feisty against Giroud last month. Okay, it dragged him out of position occasionally, but Costa had to be countered in kind. Sakho: 5 Two ropey passes and his awkward gait shouldn't hide the fact hat he won most of his tackles. Not his best game, but nowhere near as bad as some commentators espoused, and Moreno offered virtually no support at all. Markovic: 6 Played more as a right back than a wing back, and obviously got forward rarely. But lessons learned from how Chan was fleeced by Hazard at Anfield. Should maybe have played Manquillo, that being the case. Moreno: 6 The exact opposite to markovic, and though he got forward dangerously, he left Sakho isolated. Lucas; 8 Fabulous, and was even winning headers against Costa and Matic on the halfway line. I though Allen would have replaced him by now - well Lucas isn't going quietly. Hendo: 7 Lucky to be on the pitch, but his energy took him everywhere, and watch a replay of just how many times, even in extra time, his speed and stamina let him get his foot in on countless occasions. But whilst his energy got him forward even in extra time, it also exposed his lack of quality in the final ball with THAT miss. Needless booking too. Gerrard: 6 Great first half, but we sagged after the hour mark when he started tiring. Should have been subbed after that. Coutinho: 8 What a ****ing gem, and now he seems to be lasting long than 45 minutes too. Needs a better end product though. Sterling: 7 Fantastic in everything but his final ball and finishing. Criminal myopia when he was through and didn't spot (or didn't use) a totally free gerrard. Subs: Johnson: 5 Wing back formation would have suited him 4 years ago. Evidently though, Lovren is that awful even Johnson is preferred in a back three. balotelli: 4 Can't believe the Mirror gave him 6. WTF was that substitution about with Gerrard fading and Lallana on the bench? I don't blame Balotelli for his plight, and it's as if we bought a Labrador to enter in the greyhound racing, but I sense he's being ocassionally played to prove a point. Only point proved is how dire he is.. Lambo: 5 Did more than Mario, I suppose. Brendan: 5 set the team up well, and lessons learned re Hazard in the first game, but the balotelli substitution was bizarre. Team: 7 Better team in the first half, but did we ever really believe in ourselves? Tie was lost at Anfield, no goalscorer, blah, blah, blah; but Chelsea are fare from invincible: a fine team, yes - but we seemed to be satisfied with just giving them a good game. Shame that: they were there for taking. Story of our season.
Nice overview and one I totally agree with. BR could be rated a 7 or 8 to the point that he brought Mario on. I'm sure he did that for a bet!
'That' one pass aside, I thought Sakho had a really good game - we dipped massively when he was taken off. Either due to us missing how good he was actually performing, or simply because Johnson dragged us down. I don't know which one.
Yeah like Mirallas had a rap sheet on the same level as the cannibal racist.........obvious comparison - Plus at the time you ignored the fact that in the previous seasons fixture that ****ing horror had broken his foot with a stamp which he got away with. He bore a grudge and who could blame him.
Of course whilst it is mathematically possible why not? But realistically 4th will just be beyond us as it seems we may have left it too late.
Why? Arsenal are due their mid season crumble where they fall out of every competition in the space of a couple of weeks and West Ham and Southampton are still prone to dropping away. For us, we've started keeping clean sheets while playing quick pressing football again, it's a big if but IF Sturridge comes back and hits form he had before his injury and gets 12-15 goals in the remaining 16 games then we could just sneak in. Especially as we are considered the outsiders which just may suit us. Going to be tricky, but certainly not out the question.
Even without Sturridge our current form is title challenging, let alone top 4 The problem is the points already dropped, but it's just a 5 point gap to 4th to make up over 16 games And we have 6 pointers too It's basically in our own hands
Harsh on Sakho. Not his best game but the fact we were completely overrun as soon as he came off speaks volumes. Not having a go at Donga, but it does show how some dodgy passes/style can influence someones opinion on a player and disregard the fundamental ability of being able to defend. Also don't agree on Balotelli - find it remarkable how much abuse the lad is getting. He was not poor - he showed clever link up at times, and was often outnumbered but still managed to make things happen. If he was the one who had effort at the end instead of Lambert, he'd been given pelters. Lambert, as usual, gets away with it. All in all - Rodgers cost us the game. He killed the second half.
He was a real mix when he came on, some good (flicks and the drive into the box) some bad his shooting and decision making, he is so inconsistent it's horrible to watch. Just when you think it may click for him he'll do something you'd see in a Sunday League game.
I agree he was very good and people may well be focusing on the one bad pass, he's ben consistently good and his passing is superb.
Yep, agree on his shooting and he really should be doing better. But the same can be said about Lambert, yet he seems to avoid the abuse. Personally, I can see Mario getting better and better for us once Sturridge returns. He's been so poorly managed by the manager, been insulted and humilated by the manager, the public and our own fans. The lad is destined to fail. He has shown signs of quality - working harder, pressing, making better runs, and his hold up play (at times) is special.
That's where we will disagree I don't think he'll get better and have never rated the lad, there are aspects of the game he is good at but so many more that where he is poor.
Was trying really hard not to have a go at sakho, as I too regard him as our best 'pure' defender. There was two bad passes though, and as I indicated, to some extent Moreno bears a tad of blame for them as he was nowhere near to receive the ball. However, as you said, it wasn't his best game and I'd give him 5.5 at best if we were giving half marks. And I've always laughed at those who judge him because of his awkwardness. Balotelli is cack. I don't castigate or blame him, but he's all flick and 30-yard hoofs. He's strong and can hold a ball, but his close control is iffy and I'm convinced he elected to do a fancy attempt at goal after Inspector Gadget's spill because he knows he doesn't have the technique to pick out a man on the six-yard line. His pass to Lucas that lead to the free-kick was ****e (and I said so at the time, not just parroting the commentators) and lost his man for the goal. That's pretty basic stuff that the rest of the team have to compensate for. I just don't think he has the intelligence to play our way. True, at the beginning I doubted Markovic, but you can already see how hard he's worked and his put in several shifts out of position in wing back and full back role, and you can't question his determination and adaptability. Sakho has taken to playing in back three, as has can (though I hope to see him in a DM role in the future - he was twice the player of the overrated matic on Tuesday, and multiple time better than faberagas). All these players show skill, commitment and adaptability. Mario doesn't -and I'm afraid he never will. Some cock at our club (Brendan?) took a punt that he could. He can't and he won't: but when Studge comes back all that will change, eh? We'll see... As for Lambo - good God, I've never seen him as anything else but plan F, but I can't see the point of losing either of them now until the summer as it's obvious we're not getting a striker this month.
