Liverpool v Sunderland // Sat 13 August // Pre-match

gahhhhhh I OVERSLEPT!!!!! someone wanna give me a report aside from we apparently got screwed by dowd again?

RAWK is already on meltdown

Honestly felt we got really tired in the 2nd half lack of preseason for for some of our players clearly showed IMO

The first half was really promising. .with Downing's runs, Suarez (apart from the missed penalty), Adam was passing good . .

2nd half disaster. .Suarez clearly looked unfit! ! the rest i don't know what happened to them ! ! Flanno well i guess Kenny could have done better with Kelly! !

overall pretty sad result

Aquilani should've been on the bench at least.

A lot of positives to come from this, a lot of them from the first half.

We should of put the game to bed, Adam was dictating play, Lucas doing his underrated role, with Henderson doing well keeping it in possesion. Enrique killed it at left back, look's like the worries on the left are over. DAgger isn't injured. Downing did well, he cut inside too much, and he can't really cross on the right hand side.

Poor Flanagan. Getting blasted on RAWK. /facepalm

Anyway, could of been 3-0 if the ref wasn't Phil Dowd, and Sunderland should of been down to 10 men, but blaming the ref is not good enough. :\
Should of started Kuyt (he would of buried the PK!!!!) and Kelly, but we can't do much about that. Roll on Arsenal.

Make your ratings in the analysis thread...I'm gonna edit it very soon

I don't know if its just me but i sort of felt we were a player short . .not in terms filling the squad! ! that we have too many . .but in terms of the fact that players coming of our bench weren't actually impact players i mean who would like change the game drastically . .i guess one like that wouldn't harm instead might just rejuvenate the whole team . .but that is just my point of view ! !

1. Good first half.

2. But we looked a bit disjointed throughout the game. New players need to gel and the whole team find the right rhythm. We had occasional good chances but didn't put much constant pressure on Sunderland.

3. A bit too much hoofing, imo.

4. I watched Newcastle v Arsenal, too, and we need to improve our game if we want a result from the Emirates next week.

Art Morte wrote:1. Good first half.

2. But we looked a bit disjointed throughout the game. New players need to gel and the whole team find the right rhythm. We had occasional good chances but didn't put much constant pressure on Sunderland.

3. A bit too much hoofing, imo.

4. I watched Newcastle v Arsenal, too, and we need to improve our game if we want a result from the Emirates next week.

I'm very much in agreement.

The first half was very promising. Great passing, movement and possession. The style of play was very nice to watch. It had a bit of a cutting edge, as well. The squad looked hungry. Honestly, we were two unfortunate events from being 3-0 at the break (Suarez's mistake on the penalty, and the crossbar being 3-inches too low for Downing's impressive shot).

The hoofing did rear its ugly head in the second half once players became fatigued and the pressure to score the go-ahead goal weighing down on them. I

Flanno's inclusion in the starting lineup was interesting. I can only assume that this was because Kelly was being saved as cover for the CBs with Skrtel, Wilson and Kyrgiakos not dressing. I have to say that I believe Kelly would have dealt with the cross to Laarson, before Laarson would get a foot to it. I like Flanno, but you just can't teach the lad how to be 6'3 (1.91m for you metric folk). What we should teach him is not to leave his man alone at our back post. To be fair though, Laarson's volley was absolutely brilliant.

This game just has the feeling of a single moment of brilliance erasing the good feelings created by a lot of good play. However, it's our own fault for not making the most of our chances.

I'm rather happy with the positive outlook for the LFC fans here after the opening fixture. I too, have not many complaints after the match and see many positive outputs from this match as only the 2 points lost disappoints me.

Overall I wasn't surprised on how well we started with Kenny's pass and move increasingly gaining momentum and increasingly troubling Sunderland. But what I did not expect was the immediate chemistry between the team to the extent that 4 new debutantes played among each other like they have been for years. Reina was superb as usual. Enrique although a bit cautious in attack (understandable) was superb in defense and recovery. Carra and Agger had their vintage "CarrAgger" partnership going on with the silk and steel chemistry of old. Flano? I love the boy but he needs to erase his concentration lapses that take him in the box as before the goal he was solid but the Larsson goal destroyed his confidence and left him vulnerable and made me wonder why the more experienced Kelly wasn't on board. Not disappointed with Flano as he is only 17.

Lucas was superb as usual as his partnership with Adam was excellent. Speaking of Adam, I never expected a debutante to be pulling the strings for the reds so effectively. I always knew he has passing skills and vision as he didn't hesitate to show it here but his on the ball dribbling and positioning was excellent along with his superb set-piece assist to Suarez.

Henderson? This was his first game as I was debating with others that I feel he is more effective in a central role where it can exploit his 360 range of passing distribution, box-to-box engine, and overall viewpoint in which he has more options to split the defense and create chances in the centre. I understand he is also effectual in cutting in from the right and making crosses but I feel this investment into him will bring out more of his rather complete qualities. Decent debut though.

Downing? I would've preferred if he was involved with just a tad bit more of the play but was promising nonetheless with accurate crosses and showed us all why it doesn't take speed and fancy move to dazzle the opponents as he proved that guile and intelligence is the way to go with his superb run and other flashes of brilliance.

Suarez? Despite the missed penalty, he redeemed himself by his incisive finish. But, he does need more chemistry with the team-mates as this is understandable as Raul and Kuyt (his partners in action) were on the bench along with the fact is some decision making can be off at some times but a solid performance nonetheless.

Carroll? I'm surprised with all the criticism on him considering his hold-up of the ball was excellent along with his touches and chest control. He dropped deep many a times to distribute as it showed initiative and did have a positive effect. Despite what the idiots in the general say, he out matched his markers many times yet was just of the mark with some attempts. Headers? Considering the whole mid and back line insisting on crossing to him with 3 defenders on him, it was quite hard for him to perform in that sense.

This brings up the main problem I have with the tactics.

Why is it that everytime we feel under pressure for a goal in the 2nd half, the strategy automatically changes to: Hoof the ball and do it mostly to Carroll.

I understand that Andy is one of the best header-ers in the world but this destroys the meaning and concept of pass and move and shows how we cannot be clutch enough when it matters. We have seen in many games that Carroll is just as good with his feet as he is with his head! Also, hoofing the ball to Carroll is read by the opposition who surround him every time a ball is aimed towards him. This is the only problem I have had so far with the tactics as the end time hoofing has to stop!

But overall, many young players on the pitch along with some great performances and not to mention Carroll disallowed goal (for a nudge) and a daft call against Richardson.

Edit: It seem Aquilani will be leaving despite his pre-season promise as this is a major loss for the team.

YNWA

Overall I wasn't surprised on how well we started with Kenny's pass and move increasingly gaining momentum and increasingly troubling Sunderland. But what I did not expect was the immediate chemistry between the team to the extent that 4 new debutantes played among each other like they have been for years.

I have to disagree, I thought our team-play wasn't at a good level.
We weren't in trouble in the middle of the park, but at Anfield, against Sunderland, we should be creating more clear-cut chances and creating more plays overall in the final third.

We kept the ball OK in midfield, but too high a percentage of our attacks ended up being a cross into the box since the guys didn't seem to be at the same wavelength yet to create clever passing plays around the Sunderland penalty area.

Let's not forget we had 4 players debuting and 3 with less than a season of first team appearances under their belts.

It's no surprise that as we tired we looked a bit disjointed... we have a very, very young team in terms of experience together.

For me lack of match fitness was the major issue in this game. . & sort of feel the newbies need a little more time to gel in & feel the vibe of playing for Liverpool Football Club . .once those are set straight i guess performances would naturally improve!

RedOranje wrote:Let's not forget we had 4 players debuting and 3 with less than a season of first team appearances under their belts.

It's no surprise that as we tired we looked a bit disjointed... we have a very, very young team in terms of experience together.

While this is an explanation for the game this weekend, I see it less as a mediating factor and more as something of a problem I have with Kenny... Several of us, myself included, made this point in the preseason when the new signings, as well as several fit first teamers, were left out of friendlys or only played for brief amounts of time instead of allowing time to play together to gel. We spent all last year about the benefits of suarez and carroll having a preseason together, and now that the season is come, we're making the same excuses. granted, suarez didn't have much of the preseason to use this, but the point is - new players are always going to be coming into the side, and we're not the only side that has debutants - there should have been more of an emphasis on first team (or first team plus a few certain players) cohesiveness in the preseason, especially the friendlys, which i just didn't see.