With Jon Flanagan out injured, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has gambled on Al Cissokho for this afternoon's crunch clash with Manchester City.
FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Cissokho, Skrtel, Sakho, Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Sterling, Coutinho, Suarez.
SUBS: Jones, Toure, Agger, Alberto, Aspas, Moses, Smith.
MAN CITY: Hart, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Silva, Negredo, Navas.
For me, playing Cissokho in this game is a massive gamble. The French defender is not the quickest, and if he's up against the very speedy Jesus Navas, it could be a real problem for the Reds.
Additionally, Cissokho hasn't played since November 11th, so he clearly won't be 100% match-fit.
Given the personnel available, Glen Johnson could've played at left back, with the vastly experienced - and Premier League proven - Kolo Toure coming in at right back.
Decisions like this can make or break a season, but let's hope it turns out well...
Author: Jaimie K
FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Cissokho, Skrtel, Sakho, Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Sterling, Coutinho, Suarez.
SUBS: Jones, Toure, Agger, Alberto, Aspas, Moses, Smith.
MAN CITY: Hart, Zabaleta, Lescott, Kompany, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Silva, Negredo, Navas.
For me, playing Cissokho in this game is a massive gamble. The French defender is not the quickest, and if he's up against the very speedy Jesus Navas, it could be a real problem for the Reds.
Additionally, Cissokho hasn't played since November 11th, so he clearly won't be 100% match-fit.
Given the personnel available, Glen Johnson could've played at left back, with the vastly experienced - and Premier League proven - Kolo Toure coming in at right back.
Decisions like this can make or break a season, but let's hope it turns out well...
Author: Jaimie K
cissokho ouch
ReplyDeleteJK, I'm with you... playing Glen on the Left and Kolo on the right would have been a better play at this point. Cissokho isn't worth giving the time at this point. He's shown nothing against weaker competition... what makes anyone think he'll play well today against the most potent offense in the league.
ReplyDeleteI see a thrashing now.. With aly, and why smith on bench not texeira? Btw what position this smith plays?
ReplyDeleteAly Cissokho!!! can you believe it?
ReplyDeleteAly cannot do anything with his right leg, he will keep running down and let until he is at the corner flag, big problem here. Flank was so versatile in that position, how we will miss him today.
ReplyDeleteI smell a loss. Last time i smelled one was when i saw the team that plays Hull. Hand to god. The Cissokho in looks like the common Liverpool loss.
ReplyDeleteleft back!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand: Borini., stops Everton this time. That's good.
ReplyDeleteim not optimistic about seing chissokho but eh - let´s give him one more chance he knows he has to step up, he has the basic requirements to do a decent job - he hasn´t been to bad defensively, which will be his major role today!
ReplyDeleteSomething to cheer about today...
ReplyDeleteDont think ill watch the whole game.. Maybe just 20-25 first mins..
ReplyDeleteSo Everton have lost their first game at home this season. ha ha.
ReplyDeleteFor me I don't think cissokho has done that badly apart from the game vs aresnal which rodgers was at fault for picking the wrong system. Some players take time to play in a different league and after an injury hit start for him, hopefully he is more settled and can produce his best form for liverpool, in a way the team could be seen more potentially stronger now as he has a lot more experience than flano .
ReplyDeleteI think for the whole 2013
ReplyDeletehe´s not the worst defender in our team, offensively he´s really weak though. can he deal with navas? not so sure
ReplyDeletePoint is that no matter the City result, we stay top 4!
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty strong statement to make!!! And from that it seems you don't trust your manager..that's just me!!
ReplyDeleteI'm all for chances being given but think Cissokho has shown enough already not to warrant another!
ReplyDeleteI always think you should back the managers decision as he sees more than anybody what goes on day to day so here goes hey)
Just shows how limited our options can be at times.
Lets hope he plays out of his skin and we put up a strong performance and do ourselves proud ...c'mon reds!!!!
Masaive decision. Although Cissokho hasn't been as good as I had hoped, I don't think he's been as bad as some people have suggested. Sure, he's made mistakes that've cost us which is why I would have done the Kolo/GJ switch thing too. Anyway, it's a chance for him to step up. The manager is trusting him. If he has a mare today he might as well get his suitcase and passport ready! Looking forward to this.
ReplyDeleteMost of LFC runs will be from right back, if Aly is defensive minded. Or he might just cream through everyone and score one himself, gosh he needs to do something for his future in Lfc. Zabaleta is back! yikes.... Come on LFC. Still dreaming of 3-1 for LFC... Red card anyone?
ReplyDeleteLook at how Rodgers put his faith in Flanno. Let's see if Cissokho can get the business done!
ReplyDeleteTime to put a bet on city,at least when the heart is broken,the pocket won't be.Jesus to show Ally no forgiveness.
ReplyDeleteI think Flano would of struggled tonight with man city most likely targeting that area as out weak link. Lets hope cissokho can be on top form, the one good think is that he should be pumped up for the game as he couldn't of been happy about being preferred to a youth team player.
ReplyDeleteCissokho will come good, better option than Kelly Right and Johnson Left. He must be motivated, and will show up - after all it's hard to write him off after only 4 games.
ReplyDeleteThis will be a good game, hard fought win - 3-2.
Im so annoyed zabaleta is playing! he was supposed to be out for weeks! That and the Flanno/Cissoko changed is a big swing in city's favour. Also its annoying that the injury rumour from this morning is to demichelis, one of their weaker players!
ReplyDeleteI'd put it as a far greater gamble to switch Johnson and use Kolo as a winger. Talk about playing players out of their preferred position! At least with the named line-up we have players where there are going to be most comfortable and have the most experience. Cissokho has been solid defensively and we'll need that today. He will see minimal amounts of possession with Coutinho coming more central and all the wide play being out to the right.
ReplyDeletenot feeling confident at all about this one. Ypou never know, but seeing how poorly we played when we shuffled the back 4 last game has me worried especially away from home.
ReplyDeleteCissokho. Last chance.
Really hope City feasted and drank and partied harder than Liverpool!
ReplyDeleteOops just saw now, anyone know why Kelly is not on the bench?
ReplyDeleteLets hope today is the day when Coutinho puts in a man of the match performance... anytime soon, someone is going to feel the wrath of the keymaster.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that Flanno has surprised me so why not Aly too.
ReplyDeleteI just hope we stay solid as these will punish any mistakes we make.
We do have Luis on our side though so anything is possible!)
Heard Collymore on Talksport saying they were title contenders. They have had a great run, could it stay as good for a whole season? Unlikely.
ReplyDeleteWe desperately need to beat them in Jan
It shows how good Flanno has been that we now miss him so much!
ReplyDeleteAgree Cissokho is a gamble but Toure was a headless chicken against Arsenal. I think he gets himself too wound up against his former teams then let's himself down. If he comes on tonight I hope I am proven wrong!
Doubt if Cissokho will be given more than a defenders job today, a career deciding game for him, I expect him to do a job on Navas, to be honest, I am glad Flanno is not up against Navas,
ReplyDeleteok excuse me, I have a few Hail Mary's to say.
Early thoughts: Cissokho's been caught sleeping twice already. Johnson still wasteful in possession. Coutinho seems off the boil...
ReplyDeleteRidiculous decision by linesman
ReplyDeleteYep, shocking decision.
ReplyDeleteSent from Samsung Mobile
-------- Original message --------
Is that LFC leading the game :-)
ReplyDeleteJustice finally......should be 0-2. City are there for the taking. Good start by lfc very positive.
ReplyDeleteOr problem is in defense not attack. We can get 3 goals in the 2nd half, question is how many more will we give to city.
ReplyDeleteWho else then?
ReplyDeletewell, we should be 3-2. I mean really, we should, if it weren't for an almighty f*** up by the linesman, and an awful shot from Coutinho. He should have buried that. Just keep believing guys. We've cut a thread straight through them at least a few times now. No one really expected that.
ReplyDeleteBased on form he's our best right sided center back
ReplyDeleteMaybe Agger? That was just piss weak man marking. He needs to actually try and jump to get the ball, not pull Kompany to the ground through tugging his shirt.
ReplyDeleteI agree...we can win this. We just have to keep pressing and not sit and wait. Cissokho joggin back on a clear break away is not a good sign. If he has to be in the game he should stay back and defend and not go forward.
ReplyDeleteClear on the replay that Sterling eas not off-side.
ReplyDeleteI'll tell you what... I'll let you stand there and hold Kompany's shirt, and Kompany will put his forearm into your chest... and we'll see how far you get off the ground.
ReplyDeleteCity have had all the possession, but they've been for the most part good half chances, with a couple clear cuts involving a potential goal scorer one on one with the keeper. The one Skrtel blocked from Negredo was a comparatively more difficult chance due to angle and etc. We've had 3 clear cut chances however. We need to keep exploiting those weaknesses. And ffs tidy up the defence on their counter attacks.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before when a Refs and Linesmen should have a league just like the premier league.
ReplyDeleteWhere when they make mistakes they are tallied at the end of the season and the refs and linesmen that make the most mistakes get relegated to the championship. The Refs and Linesman in the Championship that make the least mistakes get promoted.
I can assure you, if this happened we would not have had that offside in this game as the linesman would be in the conference.
I don't know why he was casually jogging back. His job as a fullback is to track up and down the field. I've played fullback plenty of times, but I can't do that because I'm not fit enough. He should be able to because he's a top level athlete paid millions per year.
ReplyDeleteLiverpool played well in the first half if we can keep it 1-2 with 15 mins to go we man city might get the jitters (bloody good team by the way)
ReplyDeleteAssaidi scored the Stoke goal...so he's coming into his own.
ReplyDeleteSkrtel did the same thing with Caulker. Can be lucky we did not get two penalties against us last weekend.
ReplyDeleteToure or Agger need to be partnering Sakho.
I think the simpler fix is Sakho should be covering Kompany.
ReplyDeleteSkrtel and Kompany both fouled each other. I couldn't find much fault with Skrtel for that goal. Obviously I want him to prevent it, but he's doing all he can at that point short of tackling him to the ground.
Dude do you know how much I bench? 2x Vincent Kompanys.
ReplyDeleteWell then we should have you out there covering those set pieces!!! :)
ReplyDeleteSkrtel doing all he can by just holding onto another players shirt. You kidding me?
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe it. It's like the linesman ASSUMED he was offside based on the fact Sterling is really fast, and must surely have gone too far, too fast before the pass was given. Absolutely amateur shit.
ReplyDeleteI'm 6'1" too!
ReplyDeleteOMG another chance gone begging.
ReplyDeleteWe need to dig deep now. We can still win it.
ReplyDeleteCissokho is looking so bloody slow.
ReplyDeletePlease can somebody else mark Company or just take Skrtel off FFS.
ReplyDeleteCoutinho's end product has been shit!
ReplyDeleteToure seems impossible to tackle...
ReplyDeleteCome on we need Suarez more involved!
ReplyDeleteThis ref is on crack
ReplyDeleteso is sakho at the moment. He's given it away about 3 times in five minutes.
ReplyDeleteCoutinho not a team player and our defence very fragile.
ReplyDeletesakho continues to give the ball in dangerous areas
ReplyDeleteCome on Moses, give us a goal!
ReplyDeleteI feel this game has one more goal in it, who gets it though.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent idea. Or at least, I agree that there should be some sort of performance based system. Why should any official be allowed to get away with abysmal decisions such as this one?
ReplyDeleteCOME ON NOW YOUE REDS. RALLY.
ReplyDeleteF_________
ReplyDeleteanother bloody chance gone.
ReplyDeleteffs sterling
ReplyDelete4th time lol
ReplyDeletethis is such a shame. no way do we deserve 0 pts from this game.
ReplyDeleteThe officiating has been a shambles today.
ReplyDeleteIt is ok, still top 4 :)
ReplyDelete............I AM SO F***KING PISSED OFF. WE REALLY COULD HAVE WON THIS. FAROUT. F*** YOU REFEREES. YOU ABSOLUTELY F**KED IT FOR US
ReplyDeletei think our main problem is lack of players like yaya and fernandinho...still, good game today, missed a little bit of luck :(
ReplyDeletenothing to say
ReplyDeleteWhat else would you prefer him to do? Tackle him in the box, get a red, and have us play a man down the rest of the game. Please.
ReplyDeleteFirst: hate to say i was dead right.
ReplyDeleteSecond: PROUD OF THE TEAM.
Thee: Oh Luis, Luis...
Four: Please inforce in Jan
FIVE: LOSER REFEREES. SOMETHING HAS TO BE DONE. THEY ARE COWARDS.
Two goals no they took in big games: Arsenal and now.
City will feel lucky to get 3 points from that. Should have drawn and had chances to get a number of goals. No disgrace in that, although it was still defensive stuff-ups that cost us. Going forward with the ball we looked great, Sterling a real threat, Suarez brilliant, the three in midfield more than capable. Johnson ineffective today.
ReplyDeletewe´ve been the best team to face ManC this year, im proud of the team but we lacked the killer instinct + referees stole us a goal ...
ReplyDeleteToday? hahaha. Oh i've ben keeping track.
ReplyDeleteBugger. Still, we can't be unhappy with the performance in general, and we attacked beautifully at times. Could have easily gone either way in the end. The most disappointing aspect for me is conceding from yet another set piece and this is something that needs to be addressed swiftly. But we're still in the top 4, Chelsea up next. If we play this well then there's every chance of beating them.
ReplyDeleteChelsea won't play like that, I think we've got more than a good chance of knocking them off. Mourinho will want a bore-fest but we've got the players to get through so let's look for that win and stay in touch.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days Skrtel will concede a penalty and be sent off for taking an opponents shirt off while defending, BR needs to talk to him about that.
ReplyDeleteIf the referee is not going to call fouls against Suarez because he deems him to go to ground too easily, then he has to give him a card for simulation.
ReplyDeleteIf he's not going to call for a card, then he has to give the foul.
How is it that he can simply look the other way over and over and over again.
Lee Mason should not referee any other game this year that involves Suarez. It's that simple.
Now on to the rest of the game:
1. We did not lose because of the ref. It didn't help... but...
2. We couldn't put the ball into the back of the net. How many point blank chances did we miss? At the end of the day, that's why we lost.
3. Cissokho looked completely out of shape. No energy to run back and cover the quick counters.
4. Played too much from the left with Cissokho. Felt like Johnson got ignored practically the entire first half.
5. Mignolet should have probably made the save on the second goal. Just an unfortunate bounce for us that he couldn't get more of a punch on it. Defense put him in a bad spot there.
6. Why we took off Coutinho and not Cissokho is beyond me.
7. I can't say I'm too upset with the result considering that I expected us to lose going in. I'm more upset with the idea that we played well enough to win overall, but couldn't score when we needed it.
Positive: this match showed we are up there with the best in the league, and can bring the game to them. F***king bring on Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteNegative: our finishing....and the referees.
Nothing changed. Wee need about 5 players. 3 or two now, 3 or 2 in summer. Good performance. I'm upset of Suarez behavior, while i understand this is not the way we are progressing nicely.
ReplyDeleteLike i said before the game, there will be luck factor with the way of our defense, and etc.
3 big misses that were un believable, still Suarez shouldn't act this way towards his teammates.
ReplyDeleteCould you elaborate more on the "Suarez shouldn't act this way towards his teammates" line? I didn't see anything untoward... but maybe you noticed something?
ReplyDeleteCissokho did nothing wrong. Sure, he wasn't bombing up the wing but he was solid, didn't give the ball away and made no awful mistakes. Our finishing and defensive failings for the two goals had nothing to do with him, he was part of an otherwise very effective team.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about the referee call not the reason overall, but IN OTHER BIG GAMES they always get us. Mirralles not getting a red, goal dis called against Everton. When you are a team with less money and quality when it repeats itself it takes the fun and hope out of everything. We deserved that goal very simple. Oh man fu** it. It's too much with those cowards
ReplyDeleteWe could have won this game. The linesman robbed Sterling of a clear goal and all Sterling had to do was get the side of his foot sqaurely on the ball and we win 3-2. It would have been 4-2 if Hendo would have had the composure to hop into the air and let Suarez's shot go under him into the net.
ReplyDeleteIt's more mathematical notice with body language and frustration that kind of says : What's wrong with you how do you miss that". And baby moans and expression. Again, i understand him cause when i play with my mates its the same, but it's not the way and it gets only bad out of him.
ReplyDeleteIt's more mathematical notice with body language and frustration that
ReplyDeletekind of says : What's wrong with you how do you miss that". And baby
moans and expression. Again, i understand him caus when i play with my
mates its the same, but it's not the way and it gets only bad out of him.
I agree...easily could have been a 4-2 win. Chelsea should watch out.
ReplyDeletesorry against Arsenal.
ReplyDeleteThe ref could have waived the flag off if he saw that Sterling was on-side.
ReplyDeleteWe could have won this game. The linesman robbed Sterling of a clear goal and all Sterling had to do was get the side of his foot squarely on the ball and we win 3-2. It would have been 4-2 if Hendo would have had the composure to hop into the air and let Suarez's shot go under him into the net.
ReplyDeleteat least everton lost. we really bloody needed that. Imagine going from 1st to 5th in one day.
ReplyDeleteIt's more metaphysical notice with body language and frustration that
ReplyDeletekind of says : What's wrong with you how do you miss that". And baby
moans and expression. Again, i understand him cause when i play with my
mates its the same, but it's not the way progress and it gets only bad out of
him.
It was in the air but he separated himself mostly is the call i make and things it led to
He provided nothing offensively. And we kept going up his side.
ReplyDeleteSo while he may have done "nothing wrong", I wouldn't say he did much right either.
I don't understand why we didn't force the ball up the right more often with Glen. Found that to be very strange.
metaphysical notice. He separates him self and acts childish.
ReplyDeletewhich i get cause i use to be like that playing with my mates.
ReplyDeleteWe definitely played well enough to win it, just not our day and the linesman bears a lot of responsibility for that. But I'm proud of the performance. Let's hope we can pick up points against Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteIf Arsenal fans ever tell you to shut up because they missed some chances too, just don't forget to tell them that teams who leak 6 goals never deserved to win anyway.
ReplyDeleteplease admin don't put on the awaiting comments they are useless now. thanks.
ReplyDeleteAnother not so favourable result on sunday,and we can see manu breathing down our neck, and that is dreadful
ReplyDelete2nd goal, Cissoko, absent, end of story, send him back ASAP,
ReplyDeleteAfter Sunday, we're halfway through the season and in contention for top 4, having played away at 6 of other 7 teams around us. The only one that we played against at home was Man U (I believe).
ReplyDeleteI don't think we could have asked for much more than that in August.
sakho didnt do any better this game ..
ReplyDeletevery happy with the way Liverpool played tonight make me feel very confident that they will finish in the top 4...we are 2 transfer windows away from going for the title. This result reminds me of when Liverpool went down fighting when they lost to Man U in the F.A cup in 99 and Houlier making the pledge that one day we will beat them.
ReplyDeleteIf you told me I can get a point at Chelsea on Sunday, I'd sign up for it right now.
ReplyDeleteSakho has been our best CB this year and was easily our best defender this game, in spite of a crazy 5-10 min spell.
ReplyDeleteCissokho was better than Johnson today, and easily better than Flanagan
Also one other thing I neglected to mention about the refs before... after Sterling missed his point blank chance off the Suarez cross, he was completely taken out by the incoming defender.
ReplyDeleteTHAT was a penalty.
Ok, my grievances against the refs are at rest for the remainder of the day.
Not as slow as Flanagan though...
ReplyDeleteI don't know what Fernandinho did to be MOTM tbh...
ReplyDeletebut flannagan runs up and down till the end, cissokho is tired
ReplyDeleteimo skrtel has been our best defender so far and also in this game, eventhough he lost the header to kompany!
ReplyDeleteI hope with the kind of performance on display BR can convince the owners for two world class players.
ReplyDeleteWe've been better than Chelsea all year.
ReplyDeleteMan City and Arsenal are better than us, and we should've beaten one of them
lmao never seen that one before!
ReplyDeleteCissokho was better than Johnson today. And at least the very minimum as Flanagan has been. And that's against the best right flank attack in the league!
ReplyDeleteThe main reason that we conceded the second goal was Mignolet having a shocker.
Allen and Johnson both had GREAT opportunities to score if they exhibited a little bit of ball control and composure in the box also...
ReplyDeleteI never said Johnson played well... he was unnoticeable. Mainly because we didn't utilize him by going down the right flank. It was bizarre strategy on our part... I mean, for all the times Cissokho went down the left with the ball, did he cross even once?
ReplyDeleteour back line looked very shaky tonight and i am in shock that sterling got called off side on the break away he is looking brighter and brigher every game. but on the reals please send back aly he is worthless i lost complete faith in him and i really thought he would be a solid cat and i cant believe that flanno has head on straight.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely...forgot those two...could have been 6-2
ReplyDeletewe need sturridge asap.one of those games where he would fire in those rocket shots from outside the box
ReplyDeleteI thought we were great tonight. Not many teams will rip through City like we did, and but for the run of the ball and a tw@t of a linesman, we could have won that. Gutted but proud.
ReplyDeleteMoses doesn't seem fussed whether he gets a contract or not........
RIP Wayne Harrison. What a waste.
Loved Rodgers comment after the game:
ReplyDelete"Hopefully we don’t have a Greater Manchester referee again on a Liverpool-Manchester City [game]"
My point is that everybody is being so hypercritical about Cissokho as if he has been so way below par, when he was in fact better than his counterpart on the right and at least as good as the guy that has been picking up so much plaudits in recent weeks,
ReplyDeleteHow many crosses did Johnson complete for however many he attempted?? I'd rather the fullback retain possession if there are no viable options, rather than just hand possession over to the opposition just for the sake of it...
I'd rather the full back get back on defense after he gets trapped in a corner after offering nothing offensively.
ReplyDeleteNot one agree with Gary Neville but we do need some power in the midfield, we were over run by their midfielders. We pressed reasonable well, but when our players go in for a tackle on a more physical player its like watching Miley Cyrus with a foam finger (pointless). When Joe Allen or Lucas run shoulder to should with someone, its almost inevitable they'll finish up on the deck when running over 10 yards. We will need at least one player who's able hold his own, so we don't get over run and beat down. Over all good display from us, just need some fine tuning.
ReplyDeleteRobbed! Deserved at least a point, if not the win. Over all good performance from the team - but luck didn't go our way, of course there's going to be some calls that don't go your way - but this time a few too many. And Mignolet has to make his first error. Oh well, can't be too disappointed about the performance.
ReplyDeleteWell I think we will beat Chelsea and if Brendan and his team have a good January window with maybe two signings we should make the top four. It's really close.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you ON about ??!!! Suarez was immense again, and opened up their defence for other players. The only thing I would fault him on were the speculative free kicks.
ReplyDeleteHe's a great captain.
We should have won the match today, we had the better chances, had a harsh decision against us and learned a tough lesson. If you don't take your chances you don't win big games like this
ReplyDeleteOur performance was immense. This was the main thing I was looking for
I have real confidence that this team can make top four and possibly challenge for the title
Some concerns though.
- Sakho is still getting to grips with us, but given that it was City, I would give him a pass. Why wasn't he on Kompany though :(
- Cissokho is a lunatic. Get rid ASAP. Why did he not just lash the ball of a defender in 46th minute, win a corner, go in a at 1-1. His tracking back was horribly laboured
- GJ is mentally very slow. He tries ridiculous flicks and back heels in advanced positions and squanders possession. Jamie was right about this guy
- Sterling is really showing his ability, miss aside
- Moses can f**k off back to Chelsea. Sickens me that we are developing this guy. He is so lazy
- Skrtel was shaky, positionally. I don't blame him for Kompany goal, it was a good grapple between them. Kompany's forearm in his throat. Some last ditch slides saved his bacon a few times
- good to see Aspas being trusted to come on and do something
- Mignolet error was unfortunate, but just an error
- Rodgers is wrong about referee, I suspect he is trying to take focus off any individual errors
- City's midfield were immense, so good in possession, as were we. Joy to watch
- Ibe for Moses please
- Linesman made a a terrible error but it is a tricky thing to call at times, I would imagine they sometimes watch the player with ball about to pass, then flick eyes to runner and determine if offside based on sound of player kicking pass. Suarez hit the pass a stride or two before anyone expected, hence the mistake. Technology needed or maybe a linesman on each side with push buttons, not flags. Both would need to call an offside simultaneously, otherwise play on. Like scoring in Olympic boxing
I will attaché a photo below if possible to demonstrate how current system has inherent flaws. We need technology for offside. Technology exists. I will post link to Italian developed system also
Here is the 2nd goal v Cardiff. Lino is miles behind play and cannot possibly make a call on this pass.
ReplyDeleteHe is blameless as he is supposed to be level with last defender, no linesman in his 40s can keep up with Sterling so our rules / manner of officiating is utterly flawed
What if this happens in WC finals? Joke
Cissokho drew the attention of an opposition defender in the corner and played the ball to a teammate in space on the edge of the opposition box.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely nobody could have anticipated his teammate cheaply losing possession and get back goalside from that position in the time it took City to counter.
As such, if anybody, the fullback that you should be criticising is Johnson, who was not involved in the play offensively at all, nor defensively as either while the goal was scored from his side of the pitch...
6 hours later and this loss is still giving me the almighty shits.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know where I can find Gary Neville opinion/punditry on the game? Forget about his loyalties, he's one top pundit.
ReplyDelete- Sakho was busy keeping Lescott quiet at set-pieces - Lescott is even bigger and stronger than Skrtel, so it was a lose-lose situation - Skrtel just has to do a MUCH better job at getting front of his man and challenging fairly at set-pieces
ReplyDelete- For the second goal, Cissokho passed the ball to the feet of a teammate, in space, on the edge of the opposition box - that his teammate proceeded to cheaply lose possession and the opposite fullback & holding midfielder also decided to push all the way up the pitch while out of possession, rather than covering, was not his fault.
- Rodgers was right to put some attention on a pi$$ poor performance from the referees. Title contenders don't just accept such aberrations with the assurance that such mistakes even themselves out other time - they complain and put pressure on refs to make decisions in their favor
- The Sterling offside error was not tight or contentious at all. I understand complaints about the existing set-up, but this was not one of those cases where the 'mistake; could be justified
not a penalty because the chance had long passed. however a red card was needed. completely late, knee high from behind tackle. could have ended sterling's career.
ReplyDeleteWhen I'm at a match, in the park or in a stadium, I personally look at runner just as the pass is played. I do this by listening for the pass being played. It is impossible to look at Suarez playing pass and then instantaneously flick your eyes to runner. It's not possible. Technology will solve this
ReplyDeleteWhat mistakes did referee make? Suarez maybe coulda had a pen late on, but then Skrtel shoulda conceded 5 in last week alone. There was a blatant foul on Suarez by Lescott alright
Cissokho had a nightmare. Given the stage of game he should have managed the situation until half time whistle
Fair point on Skrtel / Lescott
ReplyDeleteYep should've won but not too worried. A couple of addition in Jan and we'll be ready to face all the top teams. We have played most of the big teams away this year ( except for Manure home, but they are not a big team lol ). We will be alright come May
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I understand the difficulties of accurately running the line and have done so (reluctantly!) on the odd occasion myself. I maintain that that decision was not a difficult one to make however, for me as a casual observer on the tv much less for a professional in perfect alignment with the last defender.
ReplyDeleteCissokho maintained possession of the ball and depends on his teammates to allow him to progress up the pitch - should he have just took the ball into the corner until he got tackled, or aimlessly whacked it into the box?? It is Johnson that should have recognised his counterpart had already pushed all the way up, and hung back a bit, as well as one of the centre midfielders filling in the space and preventing the 2-on-2 situation that occurred - Cissokho was not at fault for the second goal by any stretch of the imagination.
A great performance by LFC. I'm 100% certain we will finish top 2. Man C have the best squad in the league by far and we were the equal of them in this game. We will murder Chelski on that form and kick Arsenals ass in the return fixture. Sturridge comes back we wont be missing so many chances. This is the season folks I can really see it now.
ReplyDeleteThing is with these big games, you lose them sometimes. This is only a minor setback provided we don't lose to Chelsea and Hull too. 4 points are an absolute minimum required. When we gave the title to Man U in 2008/09 we beat them twice, comfortably. Losing to City and Arsenal means nothing if they can't pick up more points to us from the other 36 games they play. It's tight at the top right now but I'm confident we'll come out and beat Chelski.
ReplyDeleteVery disappointing that we did not at least get 1 point from the match. We played the better football and not being allowed a goal etc saw us getting robbed but we had other chances and missing those came back to haunt us even more. Plus there was the blunder from Mignolet, he should have done better not to allow Negredo to score. That is football for you.
ReplyDeleteRodgers now has to IMO drop Skrtel. He is a total and utter liability at set pieces. We are conceding at set pieces in every match! Sakho may have made a few mistakes in the game but his general play and defensive work is on a different level to any of our other defenders at the moment. Kolo or Agger need to be partnering Sakho. Skrtel is a good player but should be on the bench with Toure and Agger ahead of him in the pecking order.
Our performance yesterday should give our team the confidence to beat Chelsea.
Cissoko was slow footed and un imaginative on offense passing backward every time except once. Don't know if Glen could do left back but would have been worth a gamble and have Kolo on right. Sterling got ripped off by the ref and Coutinho missed a golden opportunity as well. Truth is they had more class top to Bottom today. Their defense was more solid and kompany showed Skrtel he is his Daddy.....wish Sturridge was available for Chelsea ............
ReplyDeleteThey had more class top to bottom? What game did you watch? I watched it with some city fans i know & they all agreed we were unlucky & gave them easily their hardest match at their stadium this season
ReplyDeleteYep, set pieces are killing us
ReplyDeleteWe were the better team and we have played some devastatingly good football without Sturridge in the team. It will be fantastic when he is back but it is not like we are lacking without him.
ReplyDeleteOh my the FA are after Rodgers now. They can't get at Suarez so now it's him. In fairness though, questioning the referee? Who does he think he is? Ferguson?
ReplyDeleteThis will not be popular, but I think Coutinho has refgressed lately. I know he scored the goal, and he didn't play BADLY. But what set him apart before was his final ball.
ReplyDeleteHis ability to transition defence to attack has been fine, so he still deserves his place. But his final ball has been lacking for a while now, and his shooting is particularly poor, including from right in front of goal- why not put your foot through that chance he had? If you're going to sidefoot it should at least be in the corner.
Glen Johnson seems to have his mind on his next move already. Slow to react to danger. Wasteful in possession. Hits the first man ,or overhits his crosses. Plays stupid flicks or tries impossible passes. Fails almost every time to stop opposition crosses. He needs better competition, and to shape up or ship out.
Mackay just got sacked, go and take him as your vice Brendan!
ReplyDeleteYou'd prefer him to challenge for the ball... that's nice.
ReplyDeleteJust like I said to Nick above... Consider the fact that Kompany's elbow was under Skrtel's chin. They both fouled each other.
The only reason why it would be a penalty is because he was in the box.
ReplyDeleteJust don't understand what the ref was looking at there. It wasn't like the play swung back the other way and the ref had his back turned... he had to be watching it because the ball just went out of bounds off Sterling's shot.
Watch Cissokho running back on the play... if you're going to get caught deep in the final third, you have to make sure you can get back to cover... he couldn't at least twice that I saw.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of Johnson, he was disappointing as well. He wasn't involved in the play but he also wasn't given the ball much. The goal was scored from his side of the pitch because the quick counterattack wasn't being covered by Cissokho on the left. So the counter broke, Cissokho applied ZERO cover back, and Man City had an odd man rush.
I personally felt that the game was even overall. Both teams were deserving of a draw because neither outplayed the other. For our misses, Man City had their fair share as well.
ReplyDeleteI personally didn't have an issue with the Lescott foul on Suarez at the end when he grabbed his shirt. Skrtel did it all game and it wasn't called. If I was Man City and Suarez got a penalty on that, I would have felt aggrieved.
ReplyDeleteThe issue I had was that Suarez was fouled numerous other times and the ref just let the play go on instead of giving us free kicks. I understand that it may not be a foul every time he goes to ground, but I believe he got 2 free kicks yesterday and was fouled another 6-8 times that weren't called.
Cissokho crossed at least three times that I can remember, each of them a good delivery. He played very well and looked more like the player we expected him to be. He was solid and competitive and attacked pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI also think people have started taking the good things Johnson does for granted. The number of times he beats the first defender in a dribble is outrageous, he draws people to him, and his positional play is outstanding, invariably.
All the good things Johnson does are cancelled out, if not outweighed by the bad things he does. You're right he beats the first defender all the time, which is great. But then when getting near the box he either delays play too much, ignoring the obvious play, then making it later at not such a good moment, goes for that extra dribble and is dispossessed, or shoots - normally way off target.
ReplyDeleteSome how he made Garth Crooks team of the week last week, when consensus among fans was that he was the worst performer at cardiff, any way the highlighted stat was that he shot 68 times, more than any other defenders since the beginning of last season - goal return on that was 1 goal.
1. I don't recall him crossing once.
ReplyDelete2. Considering the number of times he had the ball, if he only crossed 3 times as you remember, then that's a problem because he wasn't playing the ball into an attacking position enough.
3. Johnson was invisible for the most part yesterday. Granted he had the one good chance and it was unfortunate he couldn't control the ball, but I can't fault him for that. It was a tough play. But he didn't have the ball down the flank enough... I don't know who's fault that is.
But considering the amount that Cissokho was with the ball vs. the amount that Johnson wasn't, especially in the first half, I was befuddled by the strategy since Johnson is one of the best offensive full backs in the EPL.
Was Skrtel supposed to keep an eye on his player instead of running for the other player giving Negredo space and time to score?
ReplyDeleteWas Skrtel supposed to keep an eye on his player instead of running for the other player giving Negredo space and time to score?
ReplyDeleteSkrtel was our best defender yesterday and saved us couple of times, but both goals went through him..
We will finish above manu this season..
ReplyDeleteIt irks me still as well... much more than I thought it would
ReplyDeleteI mentioned the poor positioning of Johnson and the centre midfielders, who put the centrebacks in a difficult situation, but I didn't say anything about the centrebacks themselves on that occassion.
ReplyDeleteSkrtel made a number of saving tackles but Sakho stood out for me more anyway, with his interceptions and stronger tackling
The linesman got the Sterling off-sides call wrong...because he wasn't in position to see. Any doubtful benefit should have gone to Sterling. It isn't Sterling's fault the linesman can't keep up.
ReplyDeleteAgree on everything, but in that situation- was he supposed to stay on Negredo and let Sakho and Sissokho catch the other guy who was in worse position to score.
ReplyDeleteI didn't criticise Skrtel (or Sakho) as they were put in a catch-22 situation by the failure of the right-back and central midfielders to react in time to what was going on on the pitch.
ReplyDeleteMy point was that there's no blame to be put on Cissokho for that goal
Cissokho ran back as much as could be expected from somebody starting the play by the opposition corner flag, and he got closer to influencing the play defensively than anybody bar Sakho and Skrtel.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to fail to understand the point of covering - it is the responsibility of a second player to cover his teammates; how can a player cover himself???
Does everyone actually think he's a genuine good manager? I myself actually don't know, It's just what I've perceived with everyone fiercely backing him.
ReplyDeleteIt's not even that he couldn't keep up. The linesman was smack bang in the perfect spot to make a judgement.
ReplyDeleteCity did have good chances, But I feel our misses were quite more tragic and clear cut than theirs. They had a lot of great half chances, and Negredo's blocked shot by Skrtel was maybe their only clear cut chance If I can remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteHaving another finisher in there like Sturridge would have IMO made quite a difference.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to fail to understand the concept of a defender's responsibility... to defend.
ReplyDeleteThey had several chances in the first 10-15 minutes before we got going, including one that went off the post. All things considered, we should have gotten a point out of the game.
ReplyDeleteMasochist that I am, I watched the game again tonight. Cissokho was solid, have another look, and he got several good crosses in. He also looked more with it and less sketchy overall than in his previous performances. His recovery pace isn't great, but honestly, he put in a decent stint.
ReplyDeleteOk, but I am asking you for opinion regarding my part of the theory, because I find your part of the theory well thought through.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking...
ReplyDeleteBut then even so, you're never 100% positive when you make vague assumptions like that. He had to be 100% positive that sterling blew his defender because he was offside. makes it seem even more amateur
ReplyDeleteI don't think so to be honest. He's tried to bring up a number of Championship clubs and always failed until he was given such a ridiculous amount of cash that it would have been a disgrace had he not
ReplyDeleteMy team for tomorrow
ReplyDelete-----------Mignolet-------------
Kelly Toure Sakho Johnson
------------Lucas--------------
------Allen--------Hendo----
Sterling Suarez Coutinho
Sorry but Skrtel should not be allowing players to get the better of him.
ReplyDeleteAll those tattoos he has to make him look mean is just paper over the cracks. He is the weakest link in our defence and stuck out like a sour thumb at set pieces each and every time and not only in this match. How you can defend him for piss poor defending is beyond me.
How long have you been watching him play? He gets mad all the time when things are not going right. Good grief.....are you just looking to make a big deal out of nothing just because it is him. IF this is the worst thing that he is doing and YET his teammates still love him and play well with him..... think of something else. Talk about whining over nothing...that had to do with the outcome of the game.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone else concerned that if we lose tomorrow we might be out of top 4 and only 2 points ahead of United?
ReplyDeleteJust be positive :-)
ReplyDeleteChelsea are not that great at the moment plus they will be without Ramires. Suarez will be very hungry for goals too. Drawing the game will see us stay top 4 too.
That is true. But we have failed to pick up points against arsenal, man city, and picked one with everton, even though we have played away in all of them. I feel as if we are struggling with the other big boys in the league. Anyway, can't wait for tomorrow's game. Hopefully Flano will be back.
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note, half way through the season now and all the remaining games after tomorrow's against top 4 opp.onents will be at anfield. If we do not lose any of them we might finish 2nd.
What's in common with all of these games?
ReplyDeleteArsenal - Fine goal cancelled by referee.
Everton - Mirrallas staying on the pitch.
Man city - ...
Falnno is out for some time i hear.
I think the team are not confident enough and it costs us big games especially.
If Sterling wasn't scared, Coutinho, they would have scored. love Henderson's development though.
I think Torres will get the start. We have to shut down Hazard and Schurrle. They are the dangerous ones I think. Set pieces will be a worry again. Terry will be the danger man. Chelski will put Ivanovich on Suarez man-man with help from whichever side Suarez is on...and try to take him out of the game just like City did with Suarez. That just means Henderson, Coutinho and Sterling need to be better on the ball at shot time. We can win this game with as good attacking mindset.
ReplyDelete