Liverpool Thread III: He Scores, He Saves, Hes Gerrard

[Canadian Saint]

Sure ukjets, I'll give it a shot.

Reina: I'm not sure what's up with him. 1st goal was clearly on him, and it was a stupid mistake clearly. Problem is, this is not the first time this season he has done it. Little worrying that. His reflexes are still there, as he saved a few shots really well, but there are little things(like second half he mishandled a cross but it landed safely somewhere else).

Wisdom: Started off a little shakey but got solid as the match went on. Didn't offer much, if anything going forward, but defensively was rock solid. When going forward kept it simple, but it was good. From Opta:
Andre Wisdom may secure a spot at RB: 96% Passing Accuracy: 69/72 (3rd most) 100% tackles won 86% Ground Duels won 100% Aerials Duels

Skrtel: Had another gaffe which ended up as another goal conceded. His second of the season, but other than that he was solid. Had a nice body check in the first half to send a Norwich player into the boards. Good in the air, and doing pretty well at the back.

Agger: I was surprised to see him back, but glad he was there. Played well through out. Good positionally, good tackling. Get this man signed to a new deal.

Johnson: I thought he was really exceptional. Going forward he opened up some space. You know he'd be better at RB, but I'm glad he's versatile. Played well.

Sahin: Played really good, and he's not even fully match fit! 4 games 3g and 3a. Really smart player. Great touch, knows where to be and fits in Rodger's system really well. Good movement, good vision, and just a beauty left foot. Honestly, if I'm FSG + Ayre + Rodgers, I starting scraping every penny together to make his loan permanent in Jan. Love him as a player, and him, Allen and Lucas is going to be sex.

Allen: Speak of the devil, I'll probably be told I'm crazy for this, but he is our most important player. According to OptaLiverpool, completed 95% of the 96 passes today, and leads the EPL with the number of times won possession. This guy is the reason others have more freedom to play. Just bossed the midfield today, and basically every game. When Lucas is back, push Allen up the pitch a little more, and watch him flourish again. Amazing player. Worth every freaking penny. Him, Sahin and Lucas is going to be sex.

Suso: Brilliant first touch. Has good chemistry with Suarez, makes good decisions. Made his debut today, and I think he did really well. Great first touch, good vision, even tracks back well, and just knows where to be. Excited by him, but he needs to be signed to a deal.

Sterling: Not as impressive as past performances, but still good. I think he's better on the right side than left, but good assist on the Stevie goal. His development needs a little more help with regards to what he does in the box. I feel he wastes possession a little there, but no complaints here. Great talent, and at 17, having more success than I would have predicted. Great future.

Gerrard: You can see him slowly but surely fitting into Rodgers' system. Cutting down the hollywood balls, recycling possession and really really being more effective due to his movement. Had a few questionable balls, but overall was good. I think he'll be more effective as he gets used to Rodgers' system. Give him enough rest and he'll be great.

Suarez: Was absolutely brilliant today. I don't think there would be many teams who could've stopped him in the type of form he was in today. Just going around his defenders with ease. Should've had another penalty, but his movement and dribbling were top notch today.

Overall we played well. Only real worry is conceding the goals we are. They are stupid mistakes, and we're averaging 2 a game. We look shakey at the back 4 at times, so that needs to be fixed(damn it Clarke, we could use you now!). This team is really buying into Rodgers' style of play and it's showing. The last 5 matches from Sunderland onwards have been positive. Even though the results have not. We've dominated possession, created chances and really controlled the tempo. If we can finish our chances, we'll have a great season.

And incredible props to Brendan Rodgers once again. He played Sterling against top teams, and today gave a chance to other youngsters in Suso and Wisdom. As such, our lack of depth has really become less of a problem. His tactical ability has been pretty top notch from where I'm sitting too. I haven't had this much faith in a manager after this little time in a long time. I love how the team is playing, and I love how he had us playing. Great bloke too.

If you want to know anything else, let me know!
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NFL: New Orleans Saints
NHL: Edmonton Oilers
MLB: Minnesota Twins/ Toronto Blue Jays
NBA: Phoenix Suns/Toronto Raptors

[ThinkICare]

Thanks for the run down, Saint. I wonder what's up with Skrtel and Reina. Hopefully this doesn't become a recurring theme with them. Can't wait to see the PL Review show to see them in action.

[ukjets21]

Thanks for that, great summary.

Suso is giving me plenty of hope, though we could really do with more depth at forward at least midfield and defence seems stacked with talented young role players. Yesil or Morgan may be relied upon at some point so I'm hoping that one of them shows something (far more likely to be Yesil).
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[dotmotion]

The point you made about Wisdom not being able to push forward is why I don't want Wisdom at the RB position. Has stats make him standout if you are looking at a CB. However, he offers nothing as a modern full back. I rarely saw him wander up the pitch which to me is important for Liverpool because outside of Sterling, the wingers do not provide a lot of width. And even if he does wander up, he does not have the pace to cover back. I know this is just a short term solution because of injuries and hopefully Enriques recover of form so Wisdom can move back to CB, but if this is what is going to happen for the next 6-7 months till Kelly returns, I am not confident about the FB position.

I hope Robinson gets more chances. From what I heard, Wisdom didn't really stand out compared to him against West Brom. Maybe with more opportunities, he can slip into the LB position and move Johnson back to RB.
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[dotmotion]

Being Liverpool is awesome.

They showed a full minute of Ian Ayre talking about how awesome it is to ride a motorcycle while showing him ride through Liverpool.
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[ThinkICare]

I'm glad I got to see the highlights.

How does an elbow to Suarez's head not lead to a penalty? It seriously seems like all the refs got together and agreed to be blind to anything that happens when Luis is in the penalty box.

[Canadian Saint]

So bit of a congested fixture list coming up. Udinese Thursday followed by Stoke 3 days later. I assume most of the starting team will be rested.

I'm guessing:

---------------Borini-----------------
--Downing-------------Assaidi------
----------Pacheco----Shelvey------
-----------------Hendo---------------
--Robinson--Coates--Wilson--Flannagan-
----------------Jones-----------------

That'd be my line up. It gives all of our 1st team players a good break, especially considering how soon after we play Stoke.
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NFL: New Orleans Saints
NHL: Edmonton Oilers
MLB: Minnesota Twins/ Toronto Blue Jays
NBA: Phoenix Suns/Toronto Raptors

[dotmotion]

The Guardian is awesome.

Second headline right now just below the live blog for the QPR/West Ham game is.

Cole scores for Liverpool on return
and then with the awesome description of

[ThinkICare]

Apparently Di Natale will be traveling with the team, so he will probably start Thursday. Not good.

[dhunt2402]

[Dr. Philly]

[The Wyzzinator]

[Dr. Philly]

[dotmotion]

[Davey]

Screwed over yet again. Udinese scores two goals when they shouldn't even have been playing with eleven men. You really start to wonder when Liverpool don't even get a call like that. Ridiculous.