Manchester United vs Liverpool. Monday 14th January 12.30am AEST

[moomba]

It is funny as if you remember his debut at City he was subbed at half time as City were knocking long balls at him and he was getting killed in the air.

By Trevor Sinclair too.

Oh how we laughed.

 

[Northalives]

Was a pretty average game. Liverpoool were just terrible in the first half. Gerrard had a stinker, again.

How on earth Evra keeps getting his head to balls in the air is beyond me.

Liverpool showed a lot of balls. Even when the class of Man. Utd. was on show in the first half, Liverpool stuck at it and if it wasn't for Agger's woeful defending, they may well have gone in at half time nil-nil.

The beauty that Reina copped really woke him up and from then on, I thought he looked like the top class 'keeper he was before losing all form, for whatever reason over the last season and a half.

Rodgers should be commended for his positive tactical move of playing Suarez behind Sturridge and it worried United no end. I can hear people saying "well why didn't he play that formation from the beginning?" but they were away to Man. United and if they had started with Sturridge from the beginning and Suarez running around between Sturridge and the midfield, United would have, in all probability, neutralised that threat because of the amount of possession they would have had, United that is, early on which is expected when you visit Old Trafford.

 

[Cooldude]

The beauty that Reina copped really woke him up and from then on, I thought he looked like the top class 'keeper he was before losing all form, for whatever reason over the last season and a half.

Think he's looked far better the past month or two since he came back from injury, noticeably lost weight and look a lot sharper and fitter. Unlucky with the deflection for the 2nd

Still, Agger and Skrtel's reputation > their performance atm, two woeful pieces of defending that led to both goals. They have been pretty average for a while tbh. Although you can blame the complete absence of the midfield at times, which is the worrying thing coz we seemingly have no real defensive setup for the whole season

 

[moomba]

Liverpool showed a lot of balls. Even when the class of Man. Utd. was on show in the first half, Liverpool stuck at it and if it wasn't for Agger's woeful defending, they may well have gone in at half time nil-nil.

The beauty that Reina copped really woke him up and from then on, I thought he looked like the top class 'keeper he was before losing all form, for whatever reason over the last season and a half.

Rodgers should be commended for his positive tactical move of playing Suarez behind Sturridge and it worried United no end. I can hear people saying "well why didn't he play that formation from the beginning?" but they were away to Man. United and if they had started with Sturridge from the beginning and Suarez running around between Sturridge and the midfield, United would have, in all probability, neutralised that threat because of the amount of possession they would have had, United that is, early on which is expected when you visit Old Trafford.

Only thing I disagree with is that he could have replaced the witches hat on the right side of midfield with Sturridge from the start and he couldn't have done any worse.

 

[A Bit High]

United were pretty unlucky not to be more than a goal at half time and that had nothing to do with LFC having balls.

LFC definitely showed more in the 2nd half but they were also chasing the game and you tend to show more balls when chasing a game.

 

[Cruyff14]

Yes, United dominated first half.

 

[Northalives]

United were pretty unlucky not to be more than a goal at half time and that had nothing to do with LFC having balls.

LFC definitely showed more in the 2nd half but they were also chasing the game and you tend to show more balls when chasing a game.

No doubt, United showed their class in the first half but even when Liverpool were under the cosh, none of them threw in the towel or shirked any issue.

Somewhere else in this thread, people had their ten cents worth as to what would be the team if one could chose players from both clubs and it was pretty obvious that United have by far, the better cattle but in football, especially in the EPL, that does not translate into certain victory.

Look at the last two results that QPR have had. They beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and were completely "out-possessed" by Tottenham but came away with a draw and up until van Persie was gifted a goal, I could see another QPR-Tottenham repeat.

I don't buy into this luck/bad luck thing as a general rule. If you hit the post, you hit the post. Luck has nothing to do with it. If you miss from 5 yards, 10 yards, 20 yards; luck has nothing to do with it nor is there any luck involved when defenders throwing out a leg in desperation to block a shot and succeed in doing so. I don't believe that Liverpool were "unlucky" not to draw after Sturridge missed a relatively straight forward opportunity late on: it was bad play to miss, if the truth be told.

It takes a great deal of self belief to take on the might of Man. Utd away and not give up and you can't do that without having balls.

 

[Cooldude]

People talk about Man Utd having the better cattle, although that's the case, think Fergie gets very little credit for always getting the absolute best out of what he has. He plays a certain way depending on what he has, rather than making his squad play a certain way

If BR wants to become a truly top class manager that's what he's gotta learn, this is football, results are what matters

 

[pantskyle]

Liverpool were shithouse in the first half and the game could have been over by half time.

After we scored our second they came to the party.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

People talk about Man Utd having the better cattle, although that's the case, think Fergie gets very little credit for always getting the absolute best out of what he has. He plays a certain way depending on what he has, rather than making his squad play a certain way

If BR wants to become a truly top class manager that's what he's gotta learn, this is football, results are what matters

Collective teams of the season or best EPL XI's on here usually have one United player (RVP) and that's it.

 

[BluesMan]

People talk about Man Utd having the better cattle, although that's the case, think Fergie gets very little credit for always getting the absolute best out of what he has. He plays a certain way depending on what he has, rather than making his squad play a certain way

If BR wants to become a truly top class manager that's what he's gotta learn, this is football, results are what matters

Great call about Fergie. As much as we hate him, he's one of the best managers ever. He extracts everything from his players, which is why you see them never give in.

 

[Noobz0r]

The most noticeable thing for mine was the united press compared to the Liverpool press. The pressure we put on Liverpool in their back third was immense, and they often had serious trouble getting the ball out. United easily passed the bowl between the back 4, then through Carrick / Cleverly / Kagawa (who then themselves moved around with minimal pressure).

 

[Cooldude]

The most noticeable thing for mine was the united press compared to the Liverpool press. The pressure we put on Liverpool in their back third was immense, and they often had serious trouble getting the ball out. United easily passed the bowl between the back 4, then through Carrick / Cleverly / Kagawa (who then themselves moved around with minimal pressure).

This is bang on. Loads of teams know Rodgers like to play out the back, so they just press us. We've always had trouble as soon as anyone press our midfield or back four. If we hoof it up, only Suarez is up there with no one near him, easy turn over of possession

In contrast 2nd half, when Suarez worked hard to press Carrick, Sturridge pushed back their back 4 and suddenly our midfield has it far easier and we pinned them in their own half. You don't necessarily play more midfielders and you're more secured defensively, it's all defending from the front, which Allen was kinda woeful at

 

[moomba]

The most noticeable thing for mine was the united press compared to the Liverpool press. The pressure we put on Liverpool in their back third was immense, and they often had serious trouble getting the ball out. United easily passed the bowl between the back 4, then through Carrick / Cleverly / Kagawa (who then themselves moved around with minimal pressure).

The thing is, that press comes at a cost to defensive solidity. It creates opportunities for clubs that are willing to take a risk and attack back. And we've seen United struggle against those sort of teams this season.

Liverpool did very little of that in the first half. Had they approached the first half as they did the second it could have been very different. But in reality, a lot of teams go to Old Trafford beaten before the first whistle.

 

[Magma]

what what what?

too much praising, not enough cheap, uneducated slagging for mine

 

[Northalives]

People talk about Man Utd having the better cattle, although that's the case, think Fergie gets very little credit for always getting the absolute best out of what he has. He plays a certain way depending on what he has, rather than making his squad play a certain way

If BR wants to become a truly top class manager that's what he's gotta learn, this is football, results are what matters

Dead right. Fergie is superb!

 

[Northalives]

This is bang on. Loads of teams know Rodgers like to play out the back, so they just press us. We've always had trouble as soon as anyone press our midfield or back four. If we hoof it up, only Suarez is up there with no one near him, easy turn over of possession

In contrast 2nd half, when Suarez worked hard to press Carrick, Sturridge pushed back their back 4 and suddenly our midfield has it far easier and we pinned them in their own half. You don't necessarily play more midfielders and you're more secured defensively, it's all defending from the front, which Allen was kinda woeful at

People can talk about any system they like but the truth is, if you haven't got the ball, you ain't going to win the match.

 

[A Bit High]

Collective teams of the season or best EPL XI's on here usually have one United player (RVP) and that's it.

This might be true but I reckon a case could be made for Michael Carrick and Rafael.

 

[A Bit High]

No doubt, United showed their class in the first half but even when Liverpool were under the cosh, none of them threw in the towel or shirked any issue.

Somewhere else in this thread, people had their ten cents worth as to what would be the team if one could chose players from both clubs and it was pretty obvious that United have by far, the better cattle but in football, especially in the EPL, that does not translate into certain victory.

Look at the last two results that QPR have had. They beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and were completely "out-possessed" by Tottenham but came away with a draw and up until van Persie was gifted a goal, I could see another QPR-Tottenham repeat.

I don't buy into this luck/bad luck thing as a general rule. If you hit the post, you hit the post. Luck has nothing to do with it. If you miss from 5 yards, 10 yards, 20 yards; luck has nothing to do with it nor is there any luck involved when defenders throwing out a leg in desperation to block a shot and succeed in doing so. I don't believe that Liverpool were "unlucky" not to draw after Sturridge missed a relatively straight forward opportunity late on: it was bad play to miss, if the truth be told.

It takes a great deal of self belief to take on the might of Man. Utd away and not give up and you can't do that without having balls.

End of the day when the game was in the balance and there for the taking Liverpool were not at the races. Only when they had to chase the game and take risks did they look good.

They never had the balls to do that at 0-0

Every team has to goto OT and I think Liverpool played the wrong tactics and hoped for a result rather than expecting one and that comes down to the Manager, his team sheet and tactics both of which were suspect.

 

[Thewlis Dish]

This might be true but I reckon a case could be made for Michael Carrick and Rafael.

Oh I agree, Evans too. It's just amusing how the team is perceived individually (as opposed to say Spurs, who have a lot of players who are rated very highly individually).

 

[Northalives]

End of the day when the game was in the balance and there for the taking Liverpool were not at the races. Only when they had to chase the game and take risks did they look good.

They never had the balls to do that at 0-0

Every team has to goto OT and I think Liverpool played the wrong tactics and hoped for a result rather than expecting one and that comes down to the Manager, his team sheet and tactics both of which were suspect.

I wasn't referring to the tactics of Liverpool being ballsy. I was referring to the fact that the players of Liverpool showed a lot of balls to keep fighting in the face of a United onslaught and as I said commented earlier, if it wasn't for some woeful defending by Agger, it could well have been nil nil at half time.

 

[A Bit High]

I wasn't referring to the tactics of Liverpool being ballsy. I was referring to the fact that the players of Liverpool showed a lot of balls to keep fighting in the face of a United onslaught and as I said commented earlier, if it wasn't for some woeful defending by Agger, it could well have been nil nil at half time.

And if they put up the shite they did in the first half on a regular basis they will be punished as United should have

 

[Northalives]

And if they put up the shite they did in the first half on a regular basis they will be punished as United should have

Don't underestimate nor undervalue just how good United are. They can make the best of sides look decidedly average.

 

[A Bit High]

And don't over play a side that in 22 rounds has not beaten a side in the top half of the table.

 

[A Bit High]

You played 30 minutes of competitive football and still De Gea only had one save to make which he stuffed. And this shot only occurred due to Cleverly not hoofing a Carragher type ball out of defense.

You were playing your bitter rivals and looked out classed in the first half. Of course you were going to improve in the 2nd half, I would not have expected any different.