Match Day Thread PL: Liverpool v West Ham United

I'd like to see a diamond with 2 up top

 

That could help us a lot

 

But I thought Benteke could slot into our normal style of play i.e. play through the middle, ball on the deck?

I thought there was plenty of evidence over the past 4 games given the stick I took? Surely we can play the same way and still do damage given how successful he has been already.

 

He can, but without Coutinho who is our main creative player, he might struggle to get those balls in behind. What I'm saying is for one game where we are missing our best player, let's adapt and target United at their weakest point, blind! Horses for courses, Milner and Moreno have decent delivery and playing on their natural side, not as inverted wingers will allow better crosses into benteke to feed off.

 

Even with Coutinho, he still would have struggled and he has done.

But you're right - this is how we should have started this season. Forget all the b*llocks about how he is more than a target man. That's what he is. Don't try and turn him into something else.

Milner can put in a great ball but he won't play wide - he came to play centrally.

 

Youre ignoring the point I'm making.

He ca play ball to feet, he's been good first few games and was brilliant v arsenal, can't comment on Saturdays game as not seen any.

But it for one game there is no harm in switching it up, Milners not going to throw a hissy fit and put I transfer request of he plays one game out wide.

 

I think he's been ok - he's not been awful but he's not been good bar 45 mins against Arsenal (which included missing a sitter). Any decent CB will be able to mark him out of the game and negate his physical nature. Chambers struggled but Gabriel marked him in the 2nd half and owned him.

He was awful against West Ham - no service, and did nothing on the ball.

Milner will not have a problem playing out wide - but will Rodgers do it? No because he's cluess and thinks Milner is a great a CM.

 

Out of interest why Ings and not Origi?

 

Because Ings is not a committee signing.

But in all seriousness, I would start Ings - looked promising when he came on and looks far more compatible than our £32.5m striker.

Plus Origi will probably go out on loan as well.

 

????????????????????????

 

Were we absolutely ****e and WHam brilliant, or a bit of both? What a shocking turnaround after our performance against L'Arse, especially in the first half.

 

That's the script we play to though isn't it? Good against good sides, poor against poor sides.

 

West Ham weren't great. We were so poor.

We have only created 3 clear cut chances this season. We averaged 3 per game when Suarez was here.

 

Interesting stats which are somewhat relevant to the 'character' in the team:

When conceding first, we have won the following points in those games:

12/13 season - 16 out of 42 points.

13/14 season - 12 out of 30 points.

14/15 season - 4 out of 33 points.

 

This is relevant to a comment I made about Rodgers taking the Liverpool out of our team, we've always been considered a danger even when losing. The type of team that will always come back at you. With Rodgers he is so wrapped up in his tactics that he has built a team that seems to lack heart.

I'd have rather lost 5-3 to West Ham by going gung ho and at least trying to get back in it other than the playing the ball around the edge of the box that we did, there was simply no threat from us.

 

At 0-1 I was worried but optimistic. At 0-2 the game was dead and buried as far as I was concerned. I couldn't see any way we could get back into it unless it was a stroke of luck.
I think that in the past it was players like Gerrard who had the drive and the will to drag us back into games. I never thought he was a great captain in terms of communication, but he led by example, and we have nobody to do that now.

 

I agree, players need to step up and take on the responsibility that comes with wearing the shirt, as much as Rodgers gets the flack we have to look at the players and they need to take their share of the blame and I don't mean the usual scapegoats but every single one of them.

 

I said as much the other day. Who's left who has LFC at their very centre? Nobody. Henderson may turn out to be a great captain but Liverpool isn't in his blood. I can't think we've ever been in this situation before, there's always been a player to whom the mantle was passed. Gerrard's taken it with him.

I said this as well and I completely agree with you.

 

The fact that Henderson is now club captain shows you how far we have fallen.

 

I have no objection to him as captain, he may turn out great and may possibly replace Gerrard on the pitch but he'll never be the Mr Liverpool that Gerrard was and that was my point. Had we signed Lambert 5 years ago, he could have been a likely candidate. Unless one of the youngsters is developed into the role, it's possibly gone for the foreseeable.