The Liverpool FC Thread XIV

Original post by Lyrical Prodigy

****ing Joe Allen at it again eh

Welsh Xavi doing what he's best at haha

Reply 4103

Zerforax

OP

21

Original post by Lúcio

Really really happy that we got through but Jesus Christ we made it difficult.

That was without doubt the worst performance I've seen from us all season. An extremely boring match, absolutely no ability to create and the passing was absolutely embarrassing.

The only players I can commend in that game are Sakho, Mignolet and Allen.
Sakho did exceptionally and saved us on several occasions.
Mignolet commanded his area surprisingly well and was the shootout hero.
Allen was the only player who could pass and he definitely made a difference when he came on, not to mention bailing us out as usual...

Sometimes you win when you don't deserve it. All I'll say is that Stoke did score a clearly offside goal to get themselves back in the tie.

First half was dire. Second half was better by both sides. I don't think we were that bad.

Thought Benteke was decent today actually.

Reply 4104

So the final falls on my bday, I seriously hope we win. :tongue:

I really want a Liverpool v Everton final, that'll be absolutely awesome!

Reply 4105

A Mysterious Lord

I have no voice left.

Reply 4106

Lúcio

19

Original post by The.Joker

Welsh Xavi doing what he's best at haha

He's the Welsh Pirlo now.

Joe Allen does what he wants...

Original post by Zerforax

First half was dire. Second half was better by both sides. I don't think we were that bad.

Thought Benteke was decent today actually.

Perhaps I had a negative predisposition as a result of the first half performance which skewed my perception of the rest of the game.
I do admit we improved in the second half, but not by much. We still weren't creating chances and we still weren't passing the ball with any real accuracy (especially in the final third).
There were too many chances that would've been goalscoring opportunities had we not taken an awful first touch or not rushed an easy pass.

Benteke was different and he was useful against a tiring Stoke side. He showed some bright moments but there were still times when i was shouting on him to pass or shoot and he always made the wrong choice. What frustrates me about the guy is that he's absolutely lethal in the box, whether it be in the air or on the ground. So why the bloody hell does he try his hardest not to be in there?

Everything just seemed way too amateur, but fair play to the lads for getting the victory out of an awful showing.

Reply 4107

TaintedLight

Saw the penalty shootouts; quite pleased to see Ben and firminhio getting on the scoresheet. And Milner seems to be a reliable player under crunch situations. A praiseworthy moment for the transfer commuter :tongue:

Original post by The.Joker

So the final falls on my bday, I seriously hope we win. :tongue:

I really want a Liverpool v Everton final, that'll be absolutely awesome!

Your birthday is on the same day as Stevie G's?

Reply 4108

Performance we were so insipid and ****. There seemed to be no desire from the players to try and make something and don't get me started on the wayward passes. At this level, in the semi final at home we should not be playing like a sunday league team. I'm surprised we got through but we all know penalty shootouts are lotteries more than anything. I hope Klopp can transform the team over the next 4 weeks and make us more solid.

Reply 4109

Original post by DiceTheSlice

Saw the penalty shootouts; quite pleased to see Ben and firminhio getting on the scoresheet. And Milner seems to be a reliable player under crunch situations. A praiseworthy moment for the transfer commuter :tongue:

Your birthday is on the same day as Stevie G's?

Gerrard's bday is on May 30th, which was when the FA cup final was held last season. :tongue:

Reply 4110

samir12

16

Hopefully Coutinho and Sturridge will be fit for the final, Origi too. After today, pay the bloody £38m, we have a final for Teixiera to play in :biggrin:

Reply 4111

mr tim

18

Have to give it to Stoke, they pushed us all the way but we were the winners at the end. Nice to see Mignolet giving a couple of saves. Can the only one who missed the pen for us. Allen doing well lately and has given us the winning penalty.

Potential Merseyside final then. Hoping for a better performance than today of course. Hopefully Klopp'll win his 1st trophy with only a few months in charge.

But time to focus on our next match - West Ham at home, who has done a double over us in the league this season.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4112

samir12

16

Did anyone see how Klopp absolutely lost it at Moreno at one point, never seen him that angry and that is saying something. Carragher teared into him as well, Moreno needs to be dropped.

Can could also use a bit of time out, has looked quite poor the past few games.

West Ham are going to rek us this weekend, we need a miracle.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4113

Zerforax

OP

21

Original post by mr tim

Have to give it to Stoke, they pushed us all the way but we were the winners at the end. Nice to see Mignolet giving a couple of saves. Can the only one who missed the pen for us. Allen doing well lately and has given us the winning penalty.

Potential Merseyside final then. Hoping for a better performance than today of course. Hopefully Klopp'll win his 1st trophy with only a few months in charge.

But time to focus on our next match - West Ham at home, who has done a double over us in the league this season.

Wonder if we just play the kids.. our first team going to run out of steam/break down again at this rate.

Original post by samir12

Did anyone see how Klopp absolutely lost it at Moreno at one point, never seen him that angry and that is saying something. Carragher teared into him as well, Moreno needs to be dropped.

Can could also use a bit of time out, has looked quite poor the past few games.

West Ham are going to rek us this weekend, we need a miracle.

Might be worth giving Smith a game or two?

Reply 4114

joey11223

Aww **** off I had money on Stoke to qualify, hope you get slaughtered at wembley *flounces* (and with a performance like that...you probably will be tbf)

Reply 4115

Mackay

17

Back from Anfield.

First thing is first, the atmosphere was great. Stoke fans seemed to relish chanting "is this a library?" in the first half, but that came in between swathes of fans and supporters singing in the Kop. The tribute to that young kid who lost his battle with cancer was amazing, too. We do sentiment extremely well - and, sure, you can all be cynical and say we're too emotional at Liverpool - but at the end of the day we all sit cheering 22 men kicking a leather thing around. Football is all sentiment.

The performance was extremely poor from us. We got away with one tonight - but nobody remembers how you got there, they just remember if your name is on the trophy. We have a fantastic chance of lifting silverware within four months of Klopp's arrival. That's brilliant.

Stoke really lacked a cutting edge, despite the Arnautovic equaliser (which I've seen was offside). Crouch being deployed meant they lost something, because he seems a pale imitation of his former self post-injuries. He isn't a PL player anymore. He gave us no trouble whatsoever, and Sakho/Toure were probably our best players - and Lucas found it more than comfortable when he dropped back to centre-back late on.

I'm chuffed for Allen. He deserves to start more games after this run he has been on. He made the difference against Arsenal, and shone again tonight with the match-winning penalty. Good for him.

I've been thinking about Allen and Lallana...and I think we use them too much. Given their price tags, we want them to start every week. There's no need for that, though. They can't make a difference every week. It's illogical. I've not seen anybody capable of that - bar Fowler, Gerrard and Suarez.

Lallana in particular needs rest and to be used sparingly. I prefer him coming off the bench with 25 minutes left, personally. He seems to have a habit of working really hard as a substitute - with much more energy. When he starts, it's almost as if he is saving himself and leaving a bit in the tank. I also prefer him away rather than at home, because he spends too much time on the ball and is too mid-paced and pedestrian to make a difference against sides who sit in and soak up pressure. An open game like Arsenal - or Norwich - is ideal for him.

The penalties were never-wracking - and I wasn't surprised Can missed. I felt he was poor all night, and he's becoming a player who needs to be indulged. He'll have one good game in four at the minute, and as a young player, that's to be expected. Problem is, we're shoe-horning him into a side - through injuries probably - when he could probably do with less game time.

Henderson, too, was flat and unremarkable in the middle of the park. He is clearly still hampered by that injury - which we're told is reoccuring - but it was great to see Flanagan back starting. Firmino was absolutely anonymous first-half. I didn't really notice him - and that's no surprise. We had no shots on target in normal time, which is a damning indictment indicative of LVG's reign at Old Trafford.

The least pleasing performance came from Moreno for me. He's very offensively minded, of course, but his defensive liability is there for all to see. He can't play off-side, and has a very bizarre tackling technique which sees him go in with his wrong leg. With Flanagan back and Smith thriving, I wouldn't be adverse to him spending some time on the bench.

Reply 4116

A Mysterious Lord