Post Bayer game: Where do we go from here?

Just like we never lost heart in the 90s

we should not loose heart now...

In fact we should all stand tall...

Liverpool is not about losers or quitters... ...

We'll be back stronger.... and Houllier will be the man to lead us back... ...

I am listening to the chumbawamba song - "tubthumping"
at this moment and I would like to say this to all true Liverpool supporters - "We get knock down but we'll get up again and nobody's gonna keep us down"

Lets hope Le Boss will finalise the signing of anelka and sign some other great players in the summer

You'll Never Walk Alone

Yasir, you can write this piece too, if only you have the time...

I do not wish to heap blame on anyone who played last nite. It was a courageous display by the lads, but in the end, our experience lost out to Bayer's, who have been in Champions League for years before us. What puzzles me perhaps is why did Liverpool not keep possession after Jari's goal. IMO, we could have gone through with that cunning strike. However, as what GH said, it was probably Bayer's dominance in midfield that unsettled us, despite the experience of Hamann, who most probably played his poorest game for months. No doubt it was an important clash, but he has done that before, against Arsenal, Alaves, but sadly not against Bayer. I am willing to let it go, his performance and the rest of the team. For every bad game that everyone had, we had 10 good games. You ask me to exchange for it, I would rather not. It is like playing Man U these days... It is no fun playing bridesmaid to Man U season in season out. I would rather lose to them every game and win EPL than the other way round. But at least we were better than Evan's days. We could not beat Man U then and we finish behind them. Always.

Strikers going through a lean spell are to be excused. But not for Heskey at the start of the season. All I ask for is to be fair to the players. Judge them based on the performance throughout the season, instead of just one game. Everyone says Henry is not a class finisher, but the truth is if he scores, that is what it matters most. I would go for three points anytime now. We could do it the 'ugly' way, we could do it the 'nice' way, but what matters is the win.

We did not win last nite. We did not qualify last nite. But what the lads did for us was probably a dream long before GH arrived. Now, the European glory days are back. And the least we could do is to back the team. Through thick and thin.

paw

I doubt anyone blamed Houllier and only for what happened last night. At least not a Liverpool fan, some dude who learned what Liverpool is just because Dudek moved here should not really count as a fan as far as I'm concerned. He is learning though, and may Dudek be the reason he becomes a red!

Anyhow, I do think Houllier holds some responsibility over last night's performance, like everyone else. The Italian commentator said Hamann was injured but now I learned that is not the case. That was a very bad sub for various reasons. First of all because Hamann is the kind of player who never has a bad game, he has average games. His passing was hideous but he did do his usual job of shielding the defence and when he was brought out hell broke loose. Secondly, moving Gerrard to the defencive midfielder position resulted in us being completely unable to make a good through ball from midfield, resulting in us looking toothless and unable to take advantage of the space Smicer, Owen and Riise could have in a counter attack. Murphy cant pass and was given the role of someone who especially in a game where you need to his on counter attack you need a good passer. Moreover, Murphy was having a bad game so why not take him out?

Secondly, we saw a bad Liverpool yesterday. Bad in all lines. The defence was hideous and after they made it 3-1 we never seemed like able to attack with a plan and score a goal organised. We were just launching the balls up front (Murhpy as a central midfielder was useless - no passing game!) and only reason we scored a goal was due to Litmanen's individual brilliance- I honeslty did not expect us to score and I was reliefed when we did (I banged my head on the wall as celebration and it bleeded :embarass: ) and I honeslty did not expect us to concede one more goal.

Overal, scoring two goals on an away game is very good, but to put it simply, we were let down by our strong point: the defence. It was just one of those nights where nothing goes right. The defence holds responsibility, Owen does, and Houllier does for Hamann's sub and the inexistant game plan- it seemed to me we did not expect to have to attack today...

Moving on.

Well, ManUtd did qualify tonight, so eymc, be strong :strong:, man! I know how it's like to be in your shoes, believe me. Just remember that you'll always be proud as Liverpool fan no matter what. That usually keeps me going .

paw, very thoughtful posts from you :star:.
I understand your devastation, I really do. It is exactly what I'm going through right now, in fact I still can't accept the fact that we actually lost that game. Why now? Why after we managed to get through this far?

Perhaps if we got kicked out of the competition in the previous stage I wouldn't be feeling this down.
Or if we lost in the semi I would be saying "At least we got to the semi" instead of weeping.
Perhaps if we lost to stronger team (no offense to Bayer) I would swallow the result more easily.
Perhaps if the team played better I would still say "At least we tried our best" (I didn't watch the game but I've heard and read enough).

I feel so angry, but I don't know what or who am I angry at. All I know is that I can't blame GH on this. 'Wouldn't be fair, would it?
He has contributed so much to the team. Yeah, of course he did several mistakes too, perhaps his "tactics" for the Bayer - Pool match was one of those mistakes... But come on, he ain't no saint. He builds the team, he gets us to where we are now, and that just ought to mean something. He deserves some credits , too.

As for what's next... Hmm, I'm still not through this loss yet, so it would be hard for me to think about what's next, but at least I will always be proud of Liverpool, no matter what roud:.

Walk on, fellas... 'cuz you'll never walk alone .

From BBCSport

Wednesday, 10 April, 2002, 15:00 GMT 16:00 UK
Liverpool still on course

BBC Sport Online chief football writer Phil McNulty reflects on the aftermath of Liverpool's dramatic Champions League exit against Bayer Leverkusen.

Gerard Houllier has been able to place total faith in two key elements of his Liverpool revolution - the safety of his defence and the marksmanship of Michael Owen.

It will be to Houllier and Liverpool's eternal regret that these reliable parts in Liverpool's machinery developed faults in the Champions League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen.

The previously impregnable Liverpool rearguard sprung leaks in a variety of places in the face of Bayer's imaginative attack.

And the normally lethal Owen found his radar off beam at a point when just one more goal would have sealed Liverpool's place in the Champions League semi-finals.

It was a night of bitter disappointment for Liverpool as hey lost 4-2 to Leverkusen, but not one which should deflect Houllier from his belief that his team have made massive strides in the past three seasons.

Houllier rightly pointed out that on another night Owen would have had a hat-trick, adding that lack of protection for defenders rom midfield led to the uncharacteristic sight of Sami Hyypia and Stephane Henchoz in desperate straits.

All the more surprising then, that Houllier removed his most effective defensive screen in Dietmar Hamann with the score at 1-1 and Bayer needing two more goals to qualify.

A puzzling decision maybe, but it should still be remembered that after it was taken Liverpool were only six minutes away from winning the tie.

Houllier will analyse that decision, as he does all decisions, and maybe if he had his night again he would do things differently, but he was clearly dissatisfield with Hamann's contribution.

Liverpool, in brutal truth, probably fulfilled their potential in reaching the last eight of the Champions League.

It is a true reflection of their current standing in Europe - on the fringe of the elite but not quite ready to gatecrash it completely.

This in itself is a tribute to the work Houllir has done at Liverpool since he took sole charge.

Liverpool have made more progress than Arsenal and Manchester United in the last three seasons - and that is because they had to.

Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were able to add to established squads, whereas Houllier had a massive rebuilding job on his hands.

Houllier inherited a talented but wayward squad, "The Spice Boys" as they were known.

He removed free spirits such as Steve McManaman and David James and simply shoved Paul Ince out of the door.

He set about establishing a reliability, consistency and discipline which has flourished in the shape of men like Hyypia, Henchoz and Hamman.

It is a policy that has continued successfully with the addition of Jerzy Dudek as replacement for Sander Westerveld.

It has led to the constant cry that Liverpool are boring, but the simply reality is that Houllier's side had to learn to walk before they could run.

True, their desire to play the percentages in Europe may have been an accident waiting to happen if, as in Leverkusen, they were caught out defensively.

But once the disappointment has subsided, it will become clear Liverpool are steering the correct course under Houllier.

And when he makes further additions this summer, which he will with his usual ruthless approach, Houllier's Liverpool may well be ready to run.
---
When it comes to writing about Liverpool, I usually do not come to cut-and-paste actions. But this article is too good to be missed and I hope that everyone can enjoy what the analysis means to all.

To Barlinek and other doubters out there (there are, no matter how well we do), all I wish for is for you to judge GH and the team fairly. When Liverpool wins, GH is a hero. When Liverpool loses, GH is a thoughtless frog (or any unkind remarks to that state). Surely, the fickle mind of football world hopefully does not imprint such thoughts on one's mind. But it does. We win as a team, we lose as one. YNWA epitomises that spirit. We would never have gotten here if we had stayed on with Evans. The transformation is not complete yet, but we have at least smelled the sweet success that comes with it. The next thing (logical, I must add), is to get our hands on greater things next season.

paw

Well I've stayed away from this subject until now, my pain has been too great to even think about writing about this.
Now my emotions have started to settle and I can start to think a little clearer, I can see we had a bad day, a day where nothing really went right. On another day Owen would have had a hat trick, the defence surely will not play a game as bad again.
Yes over 2 legs we didn't deserve to qualify, all credit to Bayer. Was it us playing bad or them making us play bad? Probably a combination of both.

So where does this leave us now?

Well it leaves us with the small matter of battling manure and the Arse for the title. We must improve on last season's final tally. If we end up 3rd with 6 more points than last year I'll see it as an improvement, likewise if we finish top with 1 point more it'll be an improvement. The Irony is we need manure to beat the Arse and another point dropped to have any chance of the title.
Realistically I expect us to finish 2nd, but there is the possibility of 3rd or champions. The team needs to dig in now and overcome this dissapointment. I'm expecting them to rip into Sunderland this weekend, at least that's the attitude I expect from them, and I'll be dissapointed if there is a poor display this weekend.
Overall it's been a good season so far, maybe it'll become an awesome one at the end, we don't know yet.
But for that poor spell we'd have been champions already.

As GH says "Aim for the moon, and maybe you'll land amongst the stars!"