[Guest]

Houllier has done a good job in turning Liverpool's leaky defence into one of the best (and infact it is the Best!) in the EPL this season. But unfortunately, a new problem arised which is in the attacking department. It's goalscoring record is just average. This maybe due to injuries to key players, and Reds new centre-forwards has yet to gel. But I personally believes that Liverpool would do well in future if they could score goals without depending too much on their forwards.

I may not be a Man U fan, but I sometimes do admire the way they play. They could score goals from all cylinders. Just look at their scorers without taking their forwards into account. Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Giggs and even Keane can score goals. That is one of the main reason why they have the highest scoring record in the EPL.

Another good example is Real Madrid. When they play true to their form, you can see that their midfielders and centre-forwards work together well as a cohesive unit taking turns having a crack at their opponent's defence. It's trully exciting to see them play when they switched into their attack mode.

If Liverpool could emulate Man U and Real Madrid in the attacking department, and with their already strong backline, only then will I believe they're ready for Europe.

From what I observed, the trend is changing and Liverpool have to realise that...and fast!

From The Heart
Reds Fan

 

[pool_till_I_die]

So what would we do, play three up front? I think Berger chips in with his fair share of the goals but apart from him no-one has really contributed from the midfield. I expected more from Smicer but injury has upset his season and Didi and Gerrad are more defensive. Thomo and Murphey seem to be incocnsisitent and the injury to Redders has not helped matters. What will we do??

 

[Guest]

i think we need to get some more top class attacking midfielders. Thompson and murphy are reds thru and thru but in my opinion lack the class to play in top league and european matches.
they play their hearts out and run all day but we need them to play more confidently and shoot instead of expecting long rangers to only come from hamann and berger.
by the way i see berger about once every month and he is a good ambassador for lverpool and would never do the same kinds of things while out that we used to hear about the spice boys.

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[LFCNet]

The current Liverpool team have certainly improved a lot. I guess maybe we were expecting too much in too short a period of time.

Just 10 months back I was telling my mates I would be happy if Liverpool qualify for the UEFA Cup. However, they surprised many by very much improved performance and shot up to 2nd. That was when we were all raving for automatic CL qualification. Now it seems the team are still lacking in some department, and surely Houllier must sign more players to make the squad as competitive as possible.

The main difference with Man Utd is that they have such flair, options and confidence in attack that none other Premiership team possess. Man for man Liverpool have better strikers (c'mon, will Cole EVER be as good as Fowler at his best?), but our Reds lack the cohesiveness.

I may sound redundant with this parting shot: With two games left, Liverpool must go for it. Hopefully Leeds will falter at Everton. A draw will be very fine but their new striker Jevons looked a very promising player, and I'm backing them to pull of a shock win.

 

[Jan A]

We do have the best defence in the league and with three England strikers in the squad, I do believe we have the quality up front as well. The problem is the midfield as people say here.

Hamann has been an important player in his defensive midfield role. He has contributed a lot for making our defensive record the best in the league. I know Jamie Redknapp is a popular player at Anfield and the longest serving as well, but I can't see him dominate in European matches. He is way too much injured as well. "sean" mentioned something important as well with Thompson and Murphy. They don't have what it takes to play at the highest level. At least not at the moment.

Our strikers haven't received the kind of service they should from midfield. Only Berger can be satisfied with his season of the attacking midfielders. Hopefully we'll sign a top player in that position this summer.

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Webmaster
http://worldcup.socceralliance.com

 

[Guest]

Since Liverpool’s backline is strong enough, I would not comment on it. So let me start from the midfield.

I think Liverpool missed Macca badly. He's a versatile player who could switched positions easily - from right to left of midfield. With Berger now doing well, Macca could have formed a potent parnership in that dept. if he hasn't left for Real.

Macca’s replacement? Well, the only player whom I personally see who can take over his place is, don’t be surprise…it’s Heggem. Though not as versatile as Macca, he can be very effective if he’s been given the position of a rightwinger. He’s a very straight forward player who’s not afraid of taking on defenders, and very fast too. If given a choice between Smicer and Heggem, I’ll take Heggem anytime. Heggem’s style of play is similar to Ryan Giggs, but the only difference is, Giggs a leftwinger.

From what I've seen, Gerrard is not a defensive player. In fact, he's an adventurous player who loves to get involve in the attack. But unfortunately due to specific instructions from Houllier, he was given a limited role in the midfield. I believe he should be given a dual role of a midfield cum striker. Gerrard reminds me of Paul Scholes from Man U. Both have the same style of play.

Didi should remain defensive and play his own game. He's the vital link between the defenders and the midfielders. The same goes to Berger. Let him play his own game. He thrives on it!

Now we come to the centre forwards. In my earlier posting, I did mentioned that Liverpool would do well if they would not depend too much on the forwards. And I will stick to that point. The reason is basically simple. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of reasons why the forwards couldn’t put their name on the scoresheets. (eg, they’re being marked tightly, they’re going through a dry spell, just recovering from injuries….etc ) If that happens (even if it didn’t), it is the midfielders duty to take over an active role in putting themselves in a scoring position. To put it simply, I wouldn’t worry if any of our forwards couldn’t score, coz I have other players who can.

Of coz we need strikers. Who doesn’t?? But the way I looked at it is, if we have strong enough midfield players who has the ability to score goals from every angle, our strikers can be likened as an added, "deadly" ammunition.


Best Regards From Your Fellow Pool Fans,
Reds
Ps: I’ll be posting a strategy on how to effectively defend and breakdown a Man U’s attack soon. So keep posted.

 

[Guest]

It took the lunatic Fergie several years to make the team he wanted and I think Gh will do the same given time . If you can think back pre 92 ' Uniteds team was ****e and who was the manager (AF), then it started to take shape , but it then took a number of years before they could compete in Europe .
Time ,it all takes time and the right manager .AS far as the first example goes by Reds , I think Real showed Utd no respect and played there own game and made ****e of them (which was nice ) but utd messed up in the first leg , so it just goes to show they still havent learnt every thing and they have been it the CL 6 of the last 8 years .
So when we do win the title and we will,
be paitent and
WALK ON .........

 

[LFCNet]

So... the conclusion...

C.MON YOU REDS!!!!

 

[pool_till_I_die]

echo what Conman says, lets give GH some time and I'm sure he will prevail.