17 Sept 2013

Blame-Game: Carra slates £18m LFC star for 'poor' performance. Potential flop...?

Liverpool new-boy Mamadou Sakho made his Premier League debut for Liverpool last night, and most Reds fans will probably concede that the French star didn't have the greatest of games. Nervy debuts sometimes happen, and hopefully fans won't be too harsh on Sakho, but LFC legend Jamie Carragher clearly expected more, and made it clear that he wasn't impressed with the £18m signing.

Analysing the game on Sky Sports last night, Carra described Sakho's performance as 'poor' on more than one occasion; argued that he had a 'difficult' debut overall, and blamed him for both goals, noting that:

* Sakho's headed clearance in the first couple of minutes was 'poor' and straight into danger, and when the ball came to Shelvey, he 'drifted past' the defender 'as if he wasn't there'.

* For the second goal, Sakho stepped up too high, leaving a massive space for Shelvey to drift into, which is how the goal came about.

As a top defender for many years, Carra clearly knows what he's talking about, and the stats also show that Sakho's performance lacked in some areas:

* Ground duels won: 37%
* Aerial duels won: 50%

However, there were positives too, including a last-minute clearance under pressure from Michu, which probably stopped the Reds from conceding a goal. Additionally, the stats show that Sakho had a positive impact in other areas:

* Passing accuracy: 95%
* Passing accuracy opposition half: 100%
* Tackles won: 100%
* Clearances: 15

Stats: OPTA

To be honest, I'm not too fussed about the patchy debut; Sakho is undoubtedly a quality player, and with Skrtel - who had another great game - and Wisdom in the team, he came into an unsettled defensive unit, which possibly contributed to his nervy performance.

Additionally, Sakho has barely played any football over the last few months, so he's obviously going to be a little rusty. With that in mind, Rodgers arguably should've started Toure instead, especially in an away game, but it looks to me like the Reds boss gave-in to the price tag on this occasion.

PSG defender Alex is convinced that Liverpool have made a good signing, though. He told ESPN:

"He [Sakho] is a great player. He needs to play. It's a good choice for him because he has joined a great club. He wants to play the World Cup so he has to play. He's a player with talent and a future. It's a choice we understand."

After the game, Sakho posted the following statement on his official website:

"I am very happy to have played tonight for Liverpool. I will continue to work hard on my performance. My teammates help me a lot, I want to thank them and all the fans!"

Sakho will come good, but for now, Toure should be brought back into the fold for the next Premier League game.



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99 comments:

  1. Thought he looked good if a little rash once or twice but generally good!!!

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  2. I think he is very very raw. Shows the difference between Ligue 1 and EPL. I wouldn't have bought him for that price but he is now a Liverpool player. He will need to train a lot and improve his technical, tackle and marking ability. I wish he improves a lot, like Skrtel when he joined Liverpool. I just wouldn't want him in starting XI this season especially in EPL, Agger/Skrtel/Toure are too good to be dropped. Aspas is our new Assaidi. Moses looks good but we need 2-3 more attacking players in January, at least 2.

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  3. I think it was rather harsh. He also made a couple of really good blocks (one particularly when he had given the ball away). I also think that the pace of the game last night would have been a huge shock to him.


    Slightly off topic but I think the game last night also summed up why we sold Shelvey. I remember reading an article (was it yours Jamie about the Mansfield game last year and Rodgers frustration with him). I think if he had been playing for us last night her would have been hooked at halftime).

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  4. But that's kind of the point, whatever Laudrup said to him must have worked, either that or he found it in himself to recover from those two horrendous errors. Who knows, if Rodgers had a little of that he could remedy the second half sloppy sleepy sitting deep defending syndrome that has seen us make snacks of our fingernails for the first three games, and this one as well.

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  5. It's no major problem, just a little tweaking needed in training, we have new players too settle in still. To be top of the lge not having played well for 90mins is very ominous, Imagine what we will be like with Luis Suarez back???

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  6. Thought Victor Moses looked very good, faded a little but he needs games!!.

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  7. True, but let's be realistic, the other teams will get better as well of course, and it'll be up to us to keep ahead of them or at the very least prove we can cut it when it matters, but as you say the signs are predominantly positive!

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  8. He shouldn't have had his EPL debut against free flowing swansea........with southampton he might show his true stature.......

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  9. Steve G was awful but Carra didn't mention a word about that. Lucas and he is a poor CM. We need a proper DM.

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  10. toure got into the team as a no nonsense defender , he was so determined to prove himself...mamadhou was shy..really shy....lets take him down the pecking order and bring him in when we have two more goals than the opponent ..for now.

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  11. In fairness Carra did pull him up for the first goal saying that he should not have turned his back, which is 100% right! Too many mistakes last night but we still ended up with a point which I think is a very important difference between this season and last season!

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  12. I would agree with Gano1 he looked overall good and with a lot of character. As for their 2nd goal I really think Wisdom was the biggest culprit. Had he marked Michu closer AND on the right side the goal would've bee easy to avoid. All in all a fair result tho.

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  13. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:06 am, September 17, 2013

    Move Sakho up to play DM and bring back Toure at CB. Drop Lucas. Sakho can be our Viera/Yaya.

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  14. For what I saw, I agree Gerrard had a poor game, didn't seem very involved. Lucas has generally not yet hit the heights he was at prior to his long-term injury. Unfortunate;y, Wisdom is not the player he was when he first came into the team (same thing happened to Flanagan). He gave the ball away on numerous occasions.


    That sort of match highlighted what many have been saying all along, that we need to sort out our midfield. That can only be done by dipping into the market again. Aspas again failed to make an impression. He needs time, but if he continues to be inconspicuous every time he steps onto the pitch, the more convinced I am that he won't make it as a Liverpool player. Hopefully, with a few more games under his belt, he will show us why he was brought to Liverpool.


    Sakho didn't have the greatest of games, but I'm not worried about him. He at least has all the attributes to succeed at Liverpool.

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  15. I think the main problem with Shelvey is he gives in to his emotions too easily. Seen it very often when he was with us and last night. If he can learn to really control it and be focused, he can perhaps realise his potential.

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  16. Drop Lucas? WTF? Under Kenny and Rodgers combined our average points per game with Lucas is 1.8 - without him it's 1.1. Our MVP for the last two-three years. Bossed the ManUre midfield too.

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  17. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:17 am, September 17, 2013

    I believe BR has made a blunder for letting Jonjo go. He is only 21 and he was better than Gerrard at 21. It could have been SG and him in that midfield and drop Lucas altogether.

    No point crying over spilt milk. Now let's hope Allen can do what he is suppose to do, which is to be the Spanish "Iniesta".

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  18. Sakho was poor on occasion tonight but I definitely saw enough in him to suggest he is a good player and as you say he was probably rusty and given the circumstances Swansea were probably a tough team to make his debut against.


    More worrying is our lack of cutting edge without Coutinho, I know we have Suarez coming but we were playing like Yeovil vs Bayern out there. If you can't keep the ball further up the pitch then you're just making life difficult on your defense.

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  19. I happen to agree with you. I had my doubts about Jonjo at times. Some may use last night's performance to advocate letting him go. But, as you say, he is young, and has shown enough to suggest that he can be a top player in the future.


    However, from Jonjo's point of view, it was the correct thing to leave. With more responsibility on his shoulders, playing week in week out, he will develop quicker at Swansea.

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  20. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:23 am, September 17, 2013

    Yup. Agreed. It was a point gained, rather than 2 points lost.

    This draw could be a blessing in disguise, because if we win again the pressure will be very high in the next game to maintain 100% record.

    At least now we have drop points, it's back to drawing board for BR and co. If BR still insist for both Gerrard n Lucas as preferred midfield, then both should not drop too deep. We lost grip in the middle of the park due to that.


    This has been happening since the first game, but Coutinho has covered the weakness, because he held up the possession so well. This time, he got injured, and see what happened. Aspas can't hold the ball, and we got overrun in midfield.

    Talking about Aspas, he is not a no.10/playmaker. BR should played him as CF, no. 9, that's where he is good at. Yest, should have asked Sturridge to play in the hole, because Sturridge's ball control and possession is much better than Aspas.

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  21. We must not drop back so much, It is ridiculously dangerous as a tactic.

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  22. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:26 am, September 17, 2013

    Yup. And signing Allen for 15mil, when you already have Jonjo in your squad is plain mistake by BR. That 15mil could have spent on Eriksen or Honda.

    Again, no crying of spoilt milk. Let's see how BR review this match performance, and I'm 100% sure he can spot where we can improve.

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  23. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:28 am, September 17, 2013

    Agreed. SG and Lucas were too deep. Let's hope BR caught this during the match analysis and review in midweek to sort this out.

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  24. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:29 am, September 17, 2013

    Would love Sakho to be our DM. He could be our Viera/Yaya.

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  25. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:33 am, September 17, 2013

    Agreed. MVP for last 2-3 years. But his form since the first game this season is average at best. Is he taking his spot for granted? I don't know. Perhaps we need a different DM?

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  26. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:42 am, September 17, 2013

    Yup. He will learn no doubt. It comes with age and experience.

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  27. Does anyone have any update about Coutinho's injury..? Without him, it will be very difficult even when Suarez is back.

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  28. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:46 am, September 17, 2013

    Agreed. He is raw, and we should use his power and pace in midfield as DM role. That's the best place to hone his skills. To play as CB is just too risky. We miss the calming influence of Toure yesterday at CB. Our defense we all over the place....

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  29. Yeah! And I don't like the way we have been playing so many long balls up to the frontman, almost every ball was turned into a Swans attack.

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  30. It would be interesting to see against some of the more powerful teams, however I believe that a more subtle DM suits us more, breaking up attacks by intercepting passes and the like.

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  31. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa9:48 am, September 17, 2013

    Agreed. We need somebody who is comfortable to hold the ball despite pressure from the opponents. The next best candidate is Sturridge. I'm very impressed with his close control, and technique. Let Sturridge play in the hole until Coutinho is back.

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  32. Should have kept Suso at Anfield, he can play that roll if needed!!!

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  33. I wasn't happy about the overall performance of the team yesterday but when it comes to Sakho, it is very early days and he has a lot of potential, so be too harsh for me to single him out negatively. Whereas Wisdom, going forward, he didn't look comfortable at all and thus we had no reliable width outlet on the right, which cost us at times. Still plenty of time for the lad but I don't think his game is cut out for right back for us in the long run. The midfield, for me, were the bigger let downs as Swansea found it too easy to those little pass-n-move combinations in and around midfield. Partially why, incorrectly at times, Sakho decided to step at times. It was just too easy for Swansea to get the better of our midfield.


    Against a static side, midfield do good but that is easy, against a cohesive that moves the ball in and around your midfield, there are still big questions marks to answer from midfield. Swansea were a bigger test for our so-called second half tactic than a disjointed Man United side as the Swans were cohesive and penetrative, and last night showed this tactic of ours is very much a work in progress. But than again, it is early days into the season. Lets give it a while before bringing out the grim reaper.

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  34. Many talking points from this game. Personally I am satisfied we let shelvey go. He was always going to play out of his skin for against us and on his day he can be inspirational. Problem is he is inconsistent and immature. We are gunning for 4th and cannot afford any liabilities on the pitch. We have many talented midfielders coming through the ranks and they all deserve the chance to show what they can do.

    He is however the type of player we will need to replace Gerrard in that he can and regularly attempts the long diagonal balls. When Gerrard goes we will definitely miss those and if none of our youngsters have that in their game we will have to spend big on an Alonso/Gerrard type.

    Good morning and thank you for reading.

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  35. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa10:22 am, September 17, 2013

    Yes Alan. We were made to look good since our first game this season, because Coutinho has been doing the holding. When he went off yest, the shortcomings (SG & Lucas too deep) were too obvious.

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  36. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa10:24 am, September 17, 2013

    Well, we got Welsh Iniesta to do that. :P

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  37. yes 1 goal and 3 assists says it all ;)

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  38. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa10:28 am, September 17, 2013

    To be honest, I wasn't happy with our performance since the first game this season. The 3 points are nice, but we were averagely poor in our overall gameplay especially second halves. The wins only covered our shortcomings. This draw is a blessing in disguise, and I believe BR can learn from our shortcomings in this match, and believe he can rectify it before it's too late.

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  39. Yes because Eriksen and Honda are banging at our door begging us to them....

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  40. God no. Hope Agger recovers till then! Maybe the following two games he'll be more prepared. Southampton can be a very similar game to this one if masseurs aren't taken!!!

    Plus too bad Alberto didn't play yesterday instead of Aspas. And bad decision not to give Sterling more time yesterday as well. Plus - i still question the out come of playing Hendo instead of Lucas.

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  41. Sakho needs to wake up asap.



    I like his feel with ball plenty but defenselessly wtf? only glances of quality there. Either he slept or he doesn't have it in him. Train him hard train him hard train him hard!!! He can be great use for us.

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  42. He need's games and some solid confidence backing up from midfield that we don't get from Stevie and Lucas proper. Hursh truth.

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  43. Thank God for hearing this from someone but myself! Wanna talk about LFC problems? Names walk before players. Started way back in Beniteze's last season in charge. Benayoun was amazing but he didn't saw minutes, while Stevie was poor at the time and didn't pass him the ball out of ego. And more of this sort esppecialy then. Still not acknowledged! Every time you think that something starts to work for us you eventually go back to sore on these thoughts. Just bring top quality players for all opinions and stop messing around God! Midfield is good, i'm not saying these are not good players, but every game they disappoint to many times. Start showing some heart and STANDARDS for it!

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  44. The thing is that we have it going for us in order to win it!!! We should not comfort ourselves for other teams performances. We should not look at the table at all. There should no game that will look like this one threw all the season and right now it should be acknowledged and get taken care of!!!!


    LFC right now has the cards with her. She has great team unity and spirit, and so we should have one yesterday. There should be no more to say about it.

    We had a chance to maintain and increase a BIG gap on league table, and to keep it going next games! Bad results should occur when we are playing well and not getting lucky, not whenever the team collapses in every couple of games or during each game a couple of times! If we would have drawn vs Stoke for example i could have lived with it more easily.
    We should not be comforting on this 1 point lead. It will vanish very easily with this attitude.

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  45. What bullcrap.



    If that's youre idea of blessing then when a blessing does happen you will faint over and die.

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  46. your'e pathetic mate. you got no idea about football.

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  47. In this manner i can understand why you prefer to it has a blessing. But it's still pathetic in my eyes to hold the way of thinking in which a manager of a top football club should be forced a tie in order to acknowledge his team's weaknesses. Plus i don't see any dramatic change in our game in the horizon. I've said it and i'll say it again: Around same position for us as last season at the end of season. To many time passes and the same disappointments float each game.

    We did broke threw during the course of last season, on the later parts, but it kind of disappeared.

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  48. Hey guys, didn't get a chance to watch the macth...can anyone tell me how we played in general? Seems like we sucked?
    Wisdom? Aspa? Coutinho?

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  49. First half was excellent but 2nd half was average to say the least.............10pts and top of the lge without playing well for 90 mins, what does that suggest???............ :-)

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  50. Sakho his to blame for both goals. His creative and calm with the ball but not the forced you were to believe he was. 60 mins we played all right, we were dangerous on attack's. Two bad finishing's from Henderson, but his midfield defense was great in my eyes which is a lot to consider as some comment's has mentioned. We seemed to be able to dominate the game more whole like than we managed to evantually. Moses good but midfield isn't which left him alone. Sturridge is close to perfection in his form. Was an assent. Skrtel good. Wisdom a joke can't pass. Henrique was Henrique.

    After coutinho injured (which btw was all right but still kind of anxious as to last three games as you've watched) we didn't had the ball. Got an equaliser; again, sakho's fault, mainly; Wouldn't happen in former games. Aspas was all over the place, was a bad sub for coutinho. Sterling got some minutes which he mainly defended him but should have played more! he got form in him solid now! Toure came for wisdom and was an improvement! one of the most significant point's i might add. I was almost shitting my self the all game though. Still no insurance in our play as you probably are familiar with, even when we seem to lean good.

    haaa.... Mignolet some great saves. Can't be blamed, even though, hursh prospecters would suggest that on better day he whould have managed to stop michus goal, which was kind of a weak shot from close range to the left side. Mignolet was standing to close to the ball to react well when maybe he sould have stood closer to the goal line.

    Shelvey palys better for Swansea than he did for Liverpool, still makes you wanna kill him if he plays for your club.

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  51. high team spirit and unity and an difficult to win because of theyre skeleton of play kind of team [lfc]. Always hard to beat, but always the opportunity to do so is given by us. I predict bad things if we don't seem to shape up quick

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  52. WE HAD TWO SOLID CHANCES TO GO 3-1, but i believe that exactly there all of the team anxiety summed up.

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  53. I was surprised to see Sakho starting so early in his LFC career (Moses also), but am not overly concerned tbh.


    He was pretty rash/over-zealous with some of his ground challenges - much like Skrtel regularly is - and I just have to hope that he'll calm down and play a more controlled game once he's settled in and isn't so desperate to make an impressive first impression.

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  54. Sorry but Carra's assessment is aoimed at the wrong guys. I thought Sakho played well enough even though he made some mistakes. The correct targets IMO are Aspas and Wisdom. Neither looked comfortable...ever. Wisdom is too nervous and Aspas seems lost and tentative.

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  55. Good first half, stopped playing in the second half.
    Same as every game this season.
    Except we were made to pay for it this time...

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  56. Shy? He was taking the ball out from the back consistently, and probably too aggressive defensively!

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  57. The major difference between this season and last season is that we now have a goalkeeper that makes a few saves. If not, we'd be in the same position, on 4-5 pts, rather than on the 10 that we do have.


    The attack will become a lot better when Suarez returns and Sturridge regains full fitness (he is barely shooting right now!).


    The midfield collapses every second half are the major concerns for me, and for me Gerrard is a major culprit for this. I still prefer him as an AM to a DM because he likes to walk around way too much for my liking. If we're dominating, it's fine, but without the ball Gerrard is not a good fit for that role at all.

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  58. For me Wisdom was the weak link, he finds it hard to retain the ball and constantly gave it away with inaccurate passing, imo he is not technical enough nor does he seem comfy on the ball when under pressure, panicks easily. Coutinho is a revelation in midfield, very happy to receive the ball even when under pressure, constantly looking forwards, his link up play is great and seems LFC's only really exciting creative midfielder, need him fit an playing more than Suarez. I just don't get why we could overrun Swansea in the first half, yet in the second half we looked so lethargic an were lucky to hang in there. Verdict is still out on Aspas, takes him time to settle into a game so don't think he makes a good impact player, we really need another Coutinho !!!

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  59. As much as I like Lucas, he's not really the anchoring force that we currently badly need, in my opinion, someone to get stuck in to protect the defence from overloading midfielders racing forward. Perhaps when Toure and Agger are fit, we could try Sakho in defensive mid and see how he fits. Until he settles into a defensive partnership with the experience of Toure and Agger next to him, he's going to have tofind his feet quickly.

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  60. I did not get to watch the game yesterday... in the USA it was on in the middle of the work-day unfortunately.


    But from the reports I've read, it sounds like the game was played at a very fast pace. If that's true, I'm sure that contributed to a tough game for Sakho considering his lack of real action recently.


    I'm not concerned yet about him. Defenders are going to have poor performances on occasion... the hope is that he can rebound and play well this weekend.

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  61. Agreed Sakho was all over the place. However if Rodgers he leaves him out how is he going to lose the 'rust'?

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  62. *If Rodgers leaves him out

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  63. Think Carra-s comments were quite harsh. Skrtel and Sakho has probably never played together even in training. It was reported before the match that Sakho was not even in the squad. Gerrard was poor in the DM role, Lucas to a lesser extend. Those are difficult conditions to make a debut in.
    In general, I think that we should use Jordan's energy in CM instead of either Lucas or Gerrard.
    Finally, what I have seen of Aspas until now is really disappointing. E.g. yesterday, he is knocked off the ball all the time (I can only remember one occasion where he retained the ball) and moreover he is not putting in the shit. Whereas all others Liverpool players were chasing the opposition and putting in tackles, he only half-heartedly were chasing and never put in a tackle or a follow through. Toughen up and start working for the team, son. Otherwise, you might a

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  64. ya, he's no good there. . . no true confidence. i just don't see the club making the right changes anymore i lost faith

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  65. He seemed to go to ground at every oppertunity.
    Was not a good performance from him.
    But he is athletic, powerful and think he will caise defenders all sorts of problems from corners. I'm gonna put last night down to nerves and game sharpeness.
    Butt if he doesn't start to stay on his feet more he will cost us.

    He seems very passionate (completely crazy) during a game which i like to see sometimes. Maybe needs a bit of temperment.

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  66. Sakho was great, not sure whoever wrote this watched the game. Good feet, quick thinker, intelligent passer, strong in challenges but didn't even come close to dangerous play. The first goal was a fluke and Shelvey was very lucky to end up with the ball at his feet.


    Carra might "know what he's talking about" but he rarely looked as composed with the ball at his feet as Sakho did last night. Great signing, expect him to remain first choice in that position.

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  67. it wasn't a patchy debut though. the more i read this piece the more angry it makes me... you should actually have a think about the game and watch the way he plays before writing such needlessly negative pieces which attempt to second guess what the fans will think.

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  68. JK,

    Completely agree about Sakho. His footing and positioning was tentative and seemed afraid to pass and handle the ball. Still, one performance means little, given his lack of field time. I was much more disappointment in Aspas who just trotted around the field, added very little to play except for his casual passes and slew or turnovers. Wow I expected so much more from him. We lose a lot of offensive purpose when Coutinho went down. I would rather see Ibe or Alberto get some minutes than Aspas who has more years experience than other new arrivals but got blown around the field by Swansea. Hope he has more in him that what we saw!

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  69. First goal was Henderson heading Sakho's clearance back to Shelvey... Then crap Enrique standing and watching Shelvey go to goal and doing nothing... Could have easily challenged Shelvey's touch around Sakho. We need new outside backs as Enrique does not support the centers well enough...

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  70. Sakho needs to get used to the physicality and speed of the EPL game but he did OK for a debutant. Carra should know better and should not make Sakho fully responsible for the two goals. On both occasions, it was Stevie G. who was at fault. He never tracked Jonjo's runs and overall Stevie looked tired. He should have been subbed in the second half!

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  71. Exactly, either Carragher or JK are wrong, Sakho did not head the ball into a dangerous area, Henderson did, and SG was also at fault for turning his back on Shelvey.
    I was happy enough with Sakho's first competitive game for 4 months.
    Who was supposed to track Shelvey for their second goal, when he ran from almost the halfway line, certainly not a CB.

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  72. Watch the goal again. Sakho initially headed the ball onto the 18-yard line in the centre of the box; hardly a safe clearance. Hendo contributed too, but he shouldn't have had to head it at all.

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  73. I am looking at it now in slow motion, Sakho headed the ball away from goal to the right of the area, Henderson headed it back infield, instead of nodding it down to wisdom, who was unmarked and available for Henderson, if anyone was culpable it was Henderson, i'm looking at it now, look at it from behind the goal, and you will realise you are wrong. Henderson headed the ball on the extreme right of the "D". And the camera behind the goal proves this.

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  74. Hendos' header was really poor, headed back to Shelvey instead of out wide. Gerrard and Lucas watched on, only Skrtel put in an effort. Sakho was thrown in the deep end, specially against Michu and Bony, not the best performance but what do we expect, he has'nt settled in yet.

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  75. Sakho impressed me, first game for 4 months, granted he made a few errors, but overall he looks a great prospect to me. Pity Sturridge didnt score that easy header, but we got what we deserved a point, SG and Lucas were out of form. Every match Lucas is giving away free kicks not far from goal, and a yellow card G'teed every game, definitely needs competition for his place, Sakho, Toure, Llori,?? maybe.
    I dont see anyone else to do his job,

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  76. Can't understand the nagatives on Lucas. He is defensive mid and he does pretty well there. If we need offense, look to the other guys. Stevie was not very good last night. Henderson was active. We did too many headers instead of trapping and passing with our feet. Headers were killing us in our end last night!
    Regarding Allen, please he couldn't fill Lucas role at all. Better to use Sakho, Kelly Johnson or Cissoko when healthy if needed. Offensively, mids were terrible. Thank GOD BR started Moses on the wing. He was great, albeit looked a little gassed at the end but he is money for us.....Aspas, I hope turns it around but he was a totally lost soul last night. One play, he got knocked into next week right at the center of the field, like a rag doll.......wont last in EPL like that buddy...........

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  77. Hendo reminds me of dirk kuyt nowdays....imo he has tactical disciple but never a match winner

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  78. He had to step into the role at the last minute because of Agger's injury and word was that otherwise he wasn't even going to be in the squad. He's not fit, not match fit, has no idea of the systems we use and came up against a team that passes the ball well in a league he's got zero experience in. Not surprising at all that he made mistakes but otherwise he showed plenty of positive qualities. It doesn't worry me in any way.

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  79. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:10 am, September 18, 2013

    Yes totally agree! If you remember correctly, Lucas was bought to be the box-to-box midfielder, but somehow due to circumstances he had been converted to a DM, which is not the role he was bought for in the first place...

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  80. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:15 am, September 18, 2013

    That's why I said I said it's back to drawing board. Our previous 1 nil wins give a false impression to the team, that everything is alright. E.g. Lucas-Gerrard partnership is ok so don't fix what is not broken. But in actual fact it's not. So with this draw, which we could have lost.

    So, with this result, I'm sure BR and the coaching team will review the team's performance and may actually then fix what is clearly broken since the first match of the season.

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  81. Indeed, but he has mutated into a sort of a spoiling and link midfielder, when what we truly seem to need is 1, a similarly creative outlet to compete with Coutinho, who we were interested in but lost to Spurs, again! And 2, a Holding destroyer with energy to burn forming an impediment for opposition attacking midfielders. If Gerrard can't make those tackles any more then we need someone who can, perhaps something to consider in January, or... Henderson as defensive mid, or Sakho?

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  82. Jamie, as much as I find your articles of interest, must you resort to reactionary sensationalist headlines?

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  83. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:23 am, September 18, 2013

    Alan, I think Gerrard can be our subtle DM. Yes, I agree with other posters that Gerrard's performance was poor as well, but he is our club talisman and captain.. He takes set-pieces, penalties, inspire team-mates. So, it's tough to leave Gerrard out.

    If that's the case, do you think Lucas is redundant in the team since Gerrard can break up play by intercepting passes as well. So what can Lucas do besides intercepting passes?

    In modern game, you need players who are versatile and can perform more than one function.

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  84. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:30 am, September 18, 2013

    I know you feel it's a defeatist attitude, but it's not. The title race is a long marathon, it's a war in fact. We may have lost (draw, but felt like a lost) a battle yesterday, but in the bigger picture, we are still very much leading the race, despite leading only by one point.

    Really, do you expect us to win all 38 games this season? Cmon, Swansea is a good team, it's a good point away from home.

    The sooner you acknowledge that we are still work in progress, the better you are to count our blessings.

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  85. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:36 am, September 18, 2013

    Gerrard can be the DM. He is already doing that for England. That's why I feel Lucas is redundant.

    Sakho to be the DM for time being, until he finds his feet, be more composed, before eventually taking over from Toure as a CB.

    As for Hendo, he is much better playing in middle of the field (but not as DM) pulling the string between the defense and attack. He has the energy to play there. Future captain.

    Allen will play same position with Hendo. So the midfield partnership should be:


    Gerrard/Sakho - Allen/Hendo

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  86. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:47 am, September 18, 2013

    I find it surprising that BR decided to start Sakho for this match. Being in foreign league and all, and a difficult away game, it's sure gonna be challenging.
    Toure should have started, because we needed his calm composure to ride out the storm, the pressure from the home team in an away game for the first 10mins at least. Football management 101.

    The early goal conceded was the result of change of new CB, who has yet to familiarize the system, caused confusion, and havoc throughout. We were all over the place in the game, when the previous 3 games, we were so calm and composed at the back.

    Sakho is a monster, but the away match, is really the wrong game for him to start.

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  87. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:49 am, September 18, 2013

    Don't forget, he played for Nigeria in midweek. He is a bargain signing.

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  88. The only thing I can say to Jamie Carragher right now, is that he is retired and so far Sakho has not scored any own goals. Thanks for the memories Jamie, but please try to critique in a positive manner, especially when talking about players from LFC. One game a "season" does not make.

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  89. Sakho was very good in the air in that game. But sadly I also agree with Jamie watching the game I also felt he was to blame for both goals. Still I'm optimistic he looks promising and he's passings pretty good.

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  90. No matter what Carra says Sakho had an alright debut. Why be so harsh on a player who has quality and bags of potential but will need a few weeks to get into the Liverppol Groove and way of playing. Stay of his back Carra.

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  91. Why ex players like to pile on pressure. They should help and support him. He's 23 yrs old for feck sake!!

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  92. Agree. Toure should have played. Always go for experience away from home. I feel BR like the right sided, left sided CB pairing hence went for a like for like when replacing Agger.

    I felt Sakho had an ok game. Enough to suggest he could be a good player for us. I'm concerned however how we looked a different side once coutinho went off injured. Aaspas made no impact and is quickly realising what the premiership is all about.

    I also feel Liverpool were crying out for a target man who can relieve some pressure I.e. crouch, Carroll, heskey. We just lost possession too easily and had to defend for longer periods then we would have liked.

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  93. BR should try him in DM with those stats. It may make him more at ease as well with two defenders behind him. Still think he's a very limited player though but time will tell.

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  94. Generally im impressed by Liverp ths season. FSG and Rodgers do deserve a bit of praise. Looking forward to see how Suarez will perform once he's back, Sturridge tho is undroppable.

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  95. He wasnt nearly as bad as Carra made out - with high profile media jobs comes exaggeration. What everyone missed and had it been suarez who had committed such a cynical foul the media would have had a field day.

    Williams throughout the match was frustrated and the foul on coutinho took him out of the game. From then onwards we we were all at sea for the last half hour. BR couldnt say anything but the smirk on williams face showed how it was a deliberate foul.

    I think BR blundered by starting Sakho - it should have been the more experienced Toure - defensively we are a different proposition with him there. Wisdom too was shaky in the second half when swansea threw everything at us.

    The question is why do we allow teams to come at us in the second half? What happened to the 5-0, 4-0, 3-0 and 6-0 of last season?

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  96. Great article.
    It is without a doubt that Carra knows what he is talking about but with due respect, he may have spoken too soon unless he has a live update of the OPTA stats. Just as he would not want to be written off after his first LFC game, nether should he write Sakho off after the first game. Would anyone write Henderson or Lucas now; they did not have a great start for a prolonged period either.
    As for Sakho instead of Toure, I don't think it was due the price tag,but more of preserving Toure for the road ahead. We need Toure for at least 2-3 seasons as the younger players are eased into shouldering the responsibility over time.

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  97. Sakho was one of the best players on Monday night. English experts Carra & JR are taking him parts without appreciating his good works.


    He had to debut in a very difficult match - away from home, a very good passing team with 2 top class strikers & a night match. Also, he must have known that he is starting, may be just about on the last minute. Looked to be very good with ball on feet, he ran almost entire match tireless.


    I think worst 2 starters of the match for LFC was SG & Wisdom. Unfortunately, it was their fault for which LFC paid in 2 goals Sakho is being bashed. He should start every match.

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  98. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:30 am, September 19, 2013

    Brilliant analysis why Sakho performed well, and why SG/Lucas partnership is now our Archilles heel - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1777312-analysing-mamadou-sakhos-liverpool-debut-vs-swansea-city

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