Sunderland v Liverpool Pre|Post Match Discussion Thread

[Arquitecto]

Venue:

EPL Liverpool - Arsenal 0 - 2
EL Liverpool - Hearts 1 - 1
EPL Liverpool - Manchester City 2 - 2
EL Hearts - Liverpool 0 - 1
EPL West Brom - Liverpool 3 - 0
FR Liverpool - Leverkusen 3 - 1
EL Liverpool - Gomel 3 - 0
EL Gomel - Liverpool

Here is our season's record which as you can see is not that impressive despite some of our encouraging performances.


20 Aug 2005 Liverpool v Sunderland L 1-0 Premier League
30 Nov 2005 Sunderland v Liverpool L 0-2 Premier League
25 Aug 2007 Sunderland v Liverpool L 0-2 Premier League
02 Feb 2008 Liverpool v Sunderland L 3-0 Premier League
16 Aug 2008 Sunderland v Liverpool L 0-1 Premier League
03 Mar 2009 Liverpool v Sunderland L 2-0 Premier League
17 Oct 2009 Sunderland v Liverpool W 1-0 Premier League
28 Mar 2010 Liverpool v Sunderland L 3-0 Premier League
25 Sep 2010 Liverpool v Sunderland D 2-2 Premier League
20 Mar 2011 Sunderland v Liverpool L 0-2 Premier League
13 Aug 2011 Liverpool v Sunderland D 1-1 Premier League
10 Mar 2012 Sunderland v Liverpool W 1-0 Premier League


Here is also our record against Sunderland which as you can see also is quite poor. Quite obviously this team brings out the worst in our team by play and result.

Formation: 4-3-3 (Since BR will only use this formation)


Reina
Johnson-Skrtel-Agger-Enrique

Sahin-Allen-Gerrard

Suarez-Borini-Assaidi


Backline is fairly obvious bar if someone wants Johnson off for Kelly. Midfield should remain the same seeing as Gerrard won't be an SS anytime soon while Allen and Sahin would be favourites to start.

Frontline? Suarez is capable on both flanks as instead of playing central I would like him to play his best role in as an inside forward where he can use the best of his requisites. Borini most people don't know is closer to being a David Villa then an inside forward which is why he needs to play central. Sadly I don't see this happening. Assaidi since I am eager to see him in action while I don't want Sterling overplayed and overexposed.

Subs: Henderson, Sterling, Yesil (?)


I'm not one for predictions but I don't see a positive result here given that we are atrocious against Sunderland along with Martin O'Neil have given Sunderland a resurgence since his arrival.

[Art Morte]

Impossible to say what to expect from this game. Win and we could say "this is where our season starts".

[McAgger]

I just want to see improvements on the aspects that we have been lacking this season. The season for us, I believe, will start around matchday 8-10. Till then I'm just hoping we keep improving on our weak spots.

- FINISHING
- Fluidity in attack
- Patience in the final third
- CONCENTRATION (I'm looking especially at Reina and our defense)
- Players finding form
- Getting used to the system
- FANS, especially at Anfield, actually start supporting the team like back in successful years. (Arq you were right my friend, the atmosphere at Anfield isn't as it used to be back in the day).

If I see improvements in these regard I'll be more than content with whatever result we get against the Black cats.

[Fahim89]

Call me a hopeless romantic . . .

But i feel this week any person wearing the Liverbird will run the extra mile. . will fight extra hard. . will cross the extra hurdle. . will cheer the extra bit. . will shout the loudest. . will sing the proudest. . will jump the highest. . will unite in one name one place Liverpool.

No matter which part on earth the Liverbird are this week Liverpool will play the best game for a long long time.

Call me a hopeless romantic. . .

But this week will be special & one we will remember.

I believe in a small fact that "Truth inspires Greatness"

Hillsborough & its truth will inspire every one with the Liverbird in his chest & every man & woman cheering them.

Justice for the 96 who loved & cherished this club will never go unnoticed anymore.

This week will be a reminder for all of us for the rest of our lives what we are what we love and no matter what who we support and most importantly what we stand by.

I remember this now and for the rest of my life I am proud to be a Kop I am proud to be part of the club and indirectly the city which fights for its people everyday.

Again call me a hopeless romantic. . . .

This week of all weeks we will remember for the rest our lives as Liverpool Fans.

To you all . . . . . . . .

YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

[McAgger]

FAHIM you sexy beast you.....If BR gives exactly that speech before the game, I'm sure Sunderland will have no chance of stopping us.

[Art Morte]

Great post, Fahim

[Fahim89]

@Messiah & Art: Thanks mate was reading some of the articles from yesterday & got a little too emotional so went with the flow. Will undoubtedly come true on Saturday

[BeautifulGame]

Pretty special match.Comes after a momentous day in our history.

I have to say honestly even though i dont have any direct link to Liverpool city or the Hillsborough disaster its been very emotional reading all these articles in the last 2 days.Not just because i am a Liverpool fan but more so reading the struggles of the families last 23 years.Pretty inspirational in every sense

[Emaharg]

Hope Borini is played as a CF and not a Winger, his main attribute is his finishing which seems wasted out wide.
Surely Suarez can create much more from wide areas with his dribbling etc.

[Red Alert]

Great post fahim.

Hope Borini is played as a CF and not a Winger, his main attribute is his finishing which seems wasted out wide.
Surely Suarez can create much more from wide areas with his dribbling etc.

Borini can't play as a CF as of yet. Suarez is double the size of Borini and find's it hard to play as the CF. I really want Suarez as an inside forward or on the right flank as he's much better there. The problem is we have no other forward that can compete with playing against two physical CB's - they'll only just get bullied, so we persist in playing Luis up top.

Borini and to an extent, Morgan can also exploit the space out going behind the full back. This a lot easier than playing in the middle and generating space there. I really don't want to see Borini on the right, I feel he's much better on the left. I can see the point to it though. Seeing as we have no other right winger, and as Sterling is our only other decent threat, I think we're just going to accomodate and let Sterling bleed through playing Borini out on the right.

[Nishankly]

A video about the highs and lows we have been through in recent years..
YNWA

[Red Alert]

Thanks for that nish.

[Helmer]

Just returned from Budapest,
was there for 4-days vacation,
one full day I was wearing liverpool shirt, n proved to be awesome day of my life
in walking tour, i met so many liverpool fans, i never walked alone
then in the night, height of surprise, went to a club named 'Instant', wearing the same shirt, now even more proudly...everyone was drunk,many people coming and saying RESPECT, few coming and kissing liverpool logo on my shirt, ... even girls
it was crazy, unbelievable feeling,one must visit this beautiful city

[Arquitecto]

I just want to see improvements on the aspects that we have been lacking this season. The season for us, I believe, will start around matchday 8-10. Till then I'm just hoping we keep improving on our weak spots.

- FINISHING
- Fluidity in attack
- Patience in the final third
- CONCENTRATION (I'm looking especially at Reina and our defense)
- Players finding form
- Getting used to the system
- FANS, especially at Anfield, actually start supporting the team like back in successful years. (Arq you were right my friend, the atmosphere at Anfield isn't as it used to be back in the day).

If I see improvements in these regard I'll be more than content with whatever result we get against the Black cats.

Good analysis as my thoughts resonate yours here. Fortunately the signs of our system coming into play have come quicker than I thought as now we only need an x factor in the final third.....or composure.

I'm glad you agree with me on the Anfield atmosphere as its frankly an insult to how it was back then. It might be our disastrous last 3 years along with how Anfield European nights aren't there. I'm sure if we have CL back into play and other factors Anfield should be the same. Forget the rest of the stands now even the Kop has gone quiet.

Call me a hopeless romantic . . .

But i feel this week any person wearing the Liverbird will run the extra mile. . will fight extra hard. . will cross the extra hurdle. . will cheer the extra bit. . will shout the loudest. . will sing the proudest. . will jump the highest. . will unite in one name one place Liverpool.

No matter which part on earth the Liverbird are this week Liverpool will play the best game for a long long time.

Call me a hopeless romantic. . .

But this week will be special & one we will remember.

I believe in a small fact that "Truth inspires Greatness"

Hillsborough & its truth will inspire every one with the Liverbird in his chest & every man & woman cheering them.

Justice for the 96 who loved & cherished this club will never go unnoticed anymore.

This week will be a reminder for all of us for the rest of our lives what we are what we love and no matter what who we support and most importantly what we stand by.

I remember this now and for the rest of my life I am proud to be a Kop I am proud to be part of the club and indirectly the city which fights for its people everyday.

Again call me a hopeless romantic. . . .

This week of all weeks we will remember for the rest our lives as Liverpool Fans.

To you all . . . . . . . .

YOU WILL NEVER WALK ALONE

Fahim, this is why you are one of my fav Kopites. You embody the spirit of this club in this forum as your enthusiasm and craft is highly appreciated. Keep it up.

[Fahim89]

Fahim, this is why you are one of my fav Kopites. You embody the spirit of this club in this forum as your enthusiasm and craft is highly appreciated. Keep it up.

Wow man that's a huge complement . . Thanks & as i said i would like to keep this feeling as long as i live

[Fahim89]

This is something that would bring a smile in a lot of our faces

Suso is on the provisional 20 man squad for tomorrow's game.

[RedOranje]

Yesil has traveled as well, according to reports.


As I said in the squad thread though, Suso needs to stop being so whiney on twitter about his place in the squad and simply take his chance to prove himself.

[Nishankly]

Just returned from Budapest,
was there for 4-days vacation,
one full day I was wearing liverpool shirt, n proved to be awesome day of my life
in walking tour, i met so many liverpool fans, i never walked alone
then in the night, height of surprise, went to a club named 'Instant', wearing the same shirt, now even more proudly...everyone was drunk,many people coming and saying RESPECT, few coming and kissing liverpool logo on my shirt, ... even girls
it was crazy, unbelievable feeling,one must visit this beautiful city

Also yeah even i noticed Suso.
Hopefully he gets a few minutes on the field.

Ill be missing this game

[Le Samourai]

Yesil has traveled as well, according to reports.


As I said in the squad thread though, Suso needs to stop being so whiney on twitter about his place in the squad and simply take his chance to prove himself.

What did he do?

Anyway, as for the game, I have no idea what's going on with Sunderland at the moment, and I hate the idea of "must win" games, but I think here would mean a great deal more than under normal circumstances.

Obvioulsy finishing needs to be better.

[RedOranje]

I think we're all aware of his previous complaints about not being part of the senior squad for the West Brom match and others. This time he tweeted that he was part of the squad, but rather than being happy about it, he simply complained that he only made it because two others were injured/missing (at least, I think that's what he said).

[Arquitecto]

I think we can all agree that Twitter is the modern day equivalent of a punching bag (or a Mortar and Pestle for Females) for young and frustrated individuals. Its disappointing to see our most talented youngster channel his irritation in such a manner in which he knows will have consequences. Or it could be just his sheer desire to play for the first team. Nonetheless I hope BR will address this issue with Suso.

[Art Morte]

Sounds very disappointing if Suso is moaning about his place in the squad. Would be a shame if it didn't work out for a prospect like him in Liverpool for being too cocky and impatient.

[Le Samourai]

I think we can all agree that Twitter is the modern day equivalent of a punching bag (or a Mortar and Pestle for Females) for young and frustrated individuals. Its disappointing to see our most talented youngster channel his irritation in such a manner in which he knows will have consequences. Or it could be just his sheer desire to play for the first team. Nonetheless I hope BR will address this issue with Suso.

The days before blenders lol.

I think he just wants to play at the end of the day, I completely understand that. With Sahin's addition, I think he comes a hugely important part of the team, I think he slides into that attacking role of the 3 midfielders as nicely as anyone in the squad so he should get some time.

OT: As you mention Mortar and Pestle, I was wondering if you ever read "La Llluvia Amarilla" by Llamazares, I'm doing it for school this year, would probably have more questions about Basque culture and so on if you yourself have studied it.

[Fahim89]

Yesil has traveled as well, according to reports.


As I said in the squad thread though, Suso needs to stop being so whiney on twitter about his place in the squad and simply take his chance to prove himself.

Couldn't find any photo of Yesil in training. . Saw the Suso's comments on Twitter i am a little surprised he is allowed to post stuff like that. There is a group of people in our Communications Dept. who look after this i guess. .

[Arquitecto]

I think we can all agree that Twitter is the modern day equivalent of a punching bag (or a Mortar and Pestle for Females) for young and frustrated individuals. Its disappointing to see our most talented youngster channel his irritation in such a manner in which he knows will have consequences. Or it could be just his sheer desire to play for the first team. Nonetheless I hope BR will address this issue with Suso.

The days before blenders lol.

I think he just wants to play at the end of the day, I completely understand that. With Sahin's addition, I think he comes a hugely important part of the team, I think he slides into that attacking role of the 3 midfielders as nicely as anyone in the squad so he should get some time.

OT: As you mention Mortar and Pestle, I was wondering if you ever read "La Llluvia Amarilla" by Llamazares, I'm doing it for school this year, would probably have more questions about Basque culture and so on if you yourself have studied it.

It'll be interesting to see how he copes with a 4-3-3 given that he is more like Silva/Ander in which he likes to cope as a Trequartista as 4-3-3 doesn't allow so much freedom for that position. Although what I know is he did play a right sided role in the youth squad as a wide forward. Obviously his central role is more beneficial to his development yet it will be intriguing to see how Rodgers uses him. I can understand his frustration as these kind of players who always demand possession and control games usually are the ones that end up complaining, nonetheless he must follow a strict protocol when being granted his spot.

OT: I have read it Llamanzares is one of my favourite authors as I've also read luna de lobos and el cielo de Madrid. Brilliant author. Questions on Basque culture? It would be an honour as months ago I had the same session with BarcaKizz for a University project. I'd be happy to help.

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