Match Day Thread PL: Stoke City vs Liverpool FC

Finally your team have finally overcome the departure of Luis Suarez which had a massive impact on performances last season. You won't miss Sterling.

 

Who?

 

Gas pipe baron !.

 

Easier said than done. A good result and a tricky fixture out of the way. That's about it.

Talking about titles after one game is, to put it kindly, just a tad premature

 

Stoke should be top half side. This is a decent result for us.... but unimpressive.

We can build on it as our games build up and cohesion builds.

Lallana has to be dropped out and can must play.

 

Don't worry a few more games and he will be minding himself.

 

I'm not a fan of the two man midfield unless we have the right personnel.

Henderson and Milner are too similar and neither have the specialist qualities to excel. As expected they gave us more fight in the middle and worked hard, and provided some decent protection for the defence. Worth noting that Stoke didn't really trouble us tbh.

Once we come up against a team which moves the ball around well, their hard work and pressing will be bypassed. And they also lack drive from the midfield - they sit too deep and can't get the ball to the attackers.

Once Can came on, it changed everything - Hendo and Milner were able to get further up the pitch (Milner even moved into the wide position) and supported the attack. Even Can was able to drive the team forward and almost played Benteke in. The 3 man midfield should work IMO - as it possesses a lot of different qualities.

Re. the defence - I thought Clyne was brilliant defensively Gomez was patchy but overall decent and a good performance for someone with his limited experience. Lovren was good - he did the basics well and got little wrong but he was rarely challenged. Skrtel on the other hand was atrocious. He was easily pressed, poor on the ball and lost his man on a couple of occasions on crosses/set pieces.

Benteke linked up well at times but was isolated and didn;t offer much other than a physical presence. Still concerned with the lack of movement and failure to get players around him but he showed some encouraging signs.

Overall, I thought it was a solid performance - we need to get more control in the midfield and we need to attack far better but I finally saw some positive signs re. defensive set up. We even played them offside a couple of times!

Keep clean sheets and nicking 1 goal to win is easier than having to score 3-4 goals.

 

Still annoyed that we didn't maul Glen though - unsurprising considering we had Gomez and Lallana on that side but I still expected us to attack him since Muniesa did a good job on the right side.

 

I agree on all expect benteke... he's my hero. The others did indeed not get close enough and they need to get with his lead.

 

Lallana never went near him.... he was nowhere all day... very very very poor

He should be dropped after that. Coutinho to left, can in at DM and go 433. Firmino looks like he needs to learn how to fit in do ibe to continue

 

Couldn't believe lallana's display today - non existent and after a decent preseason I actually thought he'd be bang up for today

 

I noticed the offside too and wondered if Skerts had fell over up the pitch and wasn't able to run backwards as normal

 

No different when Balotelli played, Ricky Lambert etc.

 

To be fair, this is nothing new from him. The media hyped him so much because he was an Englishman who looks stylish on the ball. I call him a MOTD player - he looks good in the highlight packages but he rarely impacts the flow of the game.

Coutinho was poor today but some of the stuff he does on the ball is brilliant. He achieves more in 3 touches than Lallana does with 6.

 

Can is a quality player, every time he's been played in CM he's played well, why Rodgers doesn't persist with him baffles me, same with Sakho. With that said I do like Henderson and Milner but for me it has to be one or the other.. I'd actually like to see Lucas alongside Can with Henderson or Milner just infront, it's like the **** version of Gerrard/Alonso/Mascherano.. But now Rodgers has made Milner VC there's no chance.

 

I agree - Benteke did show some encouraging signs though.

I know we need more goals than last season but the solution is simply to buy a striker who has scored goals. We could have Cavani up front but only he could do much with the lack of support. and chances created.

We took off an attacker (Lallana) and brought on a holding mid (Can) - this wasn't a defensive move, it was positive and our attack look more penetrative because our CM;s could play with more freedom and support the attack,

#Balance

 

Yeah I agree, the formation set up today looks cool but will not work in reality (would work much better with ings or sturride as CF tbf)

Really impressed with Can once again and here's to hoping he just didn't start due to fitness/sharpness only

 

Lucas is finished IMO. Not even on the bench and Can was preferred tp play that role - justly.

I think Can hasn't had much of a preseason since he was playing in the u21 tournament, and Sakho's wife gave birth this week. Can't fault Rodgers for leaving them out.

With both players likely to be fit next week, it will be interesting to see if either get back into the first team. 4-2-3-1 does not work with Hendo-Milner.

Can is quality though - you could see him pointing and organising players, and telling them to play forward. And I love the way he gets on the ball and carries it forward. There was also a moment when he tracked back and made a great recovery tackle - great DM play. He has to be starting.

 

I really can;'t wait for Sturridge to come to back - he could have field day with Firmino and Coutinho.

Coutinho and Benteke looked awkward - Couts looked caught up in how to play to him - his typical through balls, short passes, or the chips of the top of the defence. Didn't seem to compliment one another.

Hopefully with a few more games, Benteke will make more runs and Coutinho will be able to find him better.

 

I agree Can did change the game. I said over a week ago that he would set the team up the way he did. I just knew he would go with a two man midfield, we were comfortable but clueless.