West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool FC | 18 August

I firmly believe that this was a one-off result, and not a sign of things to come. Here are a few reasons:

- Suarez couldn't finish/got little help from the other forwards. Borini looked promising until he got clobbered by a WB CB (Olsson) in the first half. He never looked to be the same afterward. (Should be checked for concussion symptoms, ASAP...)

-Downing does not fit the profile of a wide forward in Rodgers system. Theoretically he should be more than capable of performing this role. In actuality, he appears afraid to cut inside and even on the right he insists on going outside of the defender and crossing. He does know that Carroll isn't starting, right? The sooner we can get Assaidi up-to-speed, the better. I'm hoping to see: Assaidi - Suarez - Borini in a flat, interchanging front-three soon. Assaidi appears to have the nose for goal and willingness to take on defenders that Downing has lacked in his time at Liverpool. From what I can tell, he's more of a forward than Downing, and judging from his number (11) Rodgers sees him as a potential starter.

- Gerrard was poor. As strange as that is to say, he simply was poor yesterday. He seemed to be trying to will Liverpool to a win as he has so many times in his career, but this time he may simply have been pushing too hard. He gave away possession on many occasion while trying to force a pass; he drifted too far forward, often playing as a second striker or even in a false9 position, exposing Lucas and Allen to hold the midfield on their own. I believe this lead to the counter-attack that resulted in Agger's red card. If Gerrard had been more disciplined, Lucas would not have been pulled so far up into midfield, and he would have been closer to Skrtel than Agger when Skrtel fell. To be honest, I would prefer to see Hendo or Shelvey played in CM if Gerrard isn’t capable of playing better than that. Moreover, with Suarez dropping deep to receive the ball, a true CAM is redundant and only causes congestion in that hole behind the forward line. Either we play Suarez wide and allow Gerrard to be a CAM (midfield three in a “masculine triangle” – point up), or we play Suarez centrally as a false-ish9 and ask Gerrard to be more of a CM (midfield three in a “feminine triangle” – point down). At times, it looked as though we were playing a lopsided 1-4-2-3-1:
Borini------------------------------
--------Suarez-Gerrard-Downing
----------Allen-Lucas
GlonJo---Agger-Skrtel---Kelly
------------Reina

- Too often, Liverpool resorted to long-balls or dawdled on the ball. The long balls are not what Rodgers has asked them to do, and I can only imagine that will be hammered home in training this week. Sometimes players simply looked hesitant in possession. This was directly responsible for the second penalty (albeit and incredibly soft one). Skrtel hesitated, allowing Long time to get to him and dispossess him. This is a symptom of a lack of movement and a lack of comfort with the new system. This should be remedied with time and acclimation to Rodgers's system.

- Zoltan Gera's strike was one in a million. That was special, and Liverpool could not be faulted. Beyond conceding the corner that eventually lead to the goal, there was nothing Liverpool could have done better defensively.

- Two SOFT penalties made the score worse than it should’ve been. I understand Agger’s penalty and red card… that doesn’t make it less of a soft penalty. He nudged Long in the back and Long lost his balance. It was pathetic, especially considering the treatment of Suarez and Borini all match. Borini didn’t look to remember his own name after Olsson’s shoulder charge, blocking him from getting on the end of a ball early in the match. As for Skrtel’s penalty, I can honestly say that I’ve never seen that foul given to an attacking player for a penalty. Did he clip his heel? Yeah, maybe… Did the action take place in the box? Yes. Is it really worth a penalty kick? No!!! That’s usually a call where the ref takes into account the situation and has the wherewithal to let play continue. I absolutely hate complaining about refs after the first game of the season. However, I can’t let that go. Zoltan Gera may have earned the MOTM, but Phil Dowd was right behind him for WBA.

With all of this combining in one match, it made for a very bad first day on the job for Rodgers. However, as I have said, I don’t think it’s a fair reflection on the team, or Rodgers as a coach. The unfortunate part about it is that it happened in the first League match of the season, and it happened prior to a difficult run of games. We will need to drastically raise our standard of play and systematical discipline if we hope to get any sort of result in the next few matches.

Gerrard drifted too far forward, often playing as a second striker or even in a false9 position, exposing Lucas and Allen to hold the midfield on their own. I believe this lead to the counter-attack that resulted in Agger's red card.

Agger has only himself to blame for that red. He slowed down his running, thinking he'd out-smart Long who'd cut in the middle... but Long didn't. Agger should have run full pace all the way, he didn't and he was left badly behind and had to give Long a push that deserved a red card. I thought it was exciting to see Gerrard playing so high up at times, but true enough he didn't quite have the skill to make something dangerous happen there.

Too often, Liverpool resorted to long-balls or dawdled on the ball. The long balls are not what Rodgers has asked them to do, and I can only imagine that will be hammered home in training this week.

I didn't see too many long balls, not so that we would have looked desperate. We played fairly well until Agger's red. Although I would have switched to a 4-4-1-1 with Carroll and Suarez up front after, like you said, Borini and Downing went completely missing. This is what I was afraid of when we appointed Rodgers, that he would stubbornly stick to his 4-3-3 style even when other options might work out better.

Art Morte wrote:Agger has only himself to blame for that red. He slowed down his running, thinking he'd out-smart Long who'd cut in the middle... but Long didn't. Agger should have run full pace all the way, he didn't and he was left badly behind and had to give Long a push that deserved a red card. I thought it was exciting to see Gerrard playing so high up at times, but true enough he didn't quite have the skill to make something dangerous happen there.

I didn't see too many long balls, not so that we would have looked desperate. We played fairly well until Agger's red. Although I would have switched to a 4-4-1-1 with Carroll and Suarez up front after, like you said, Borini and Downing went completely missing. This is what I was afraid of when we appointed Rodgers, that he would stubbornly stick to his 4-3-3 style even when other options might work out better.

I agree that it was Agger's fault, I'm just saying Lucas would usually reside in between the CBs in this system. But with Gerrard pushing ofrward, he was forced to advance parallel to Allen in order to have any chance at controlling the midfield. The lack of control in the midfield was disappointing, and I largely blame Gerrard. Allen and Lucas were composed in possession, even if Lucas was lacking in tackling due to fitness/form after his injury. Gerrard simply pushed up and out of the midfield so often, he left the midfield outmanned and subsequently there was a large hole between the CBs. That is precisely where WBA played the pass that resulted in the first penalty. Granted, had Skrtel not slipped, we wouldn't be talking about this, but the point remains.

The long balls I was referring to were usually out of defense. Kelly and sometimes Johnson would be unable to find a pass, and would subsequently try to find Suarez through a longer pass. It was far less frequent than last season, but still more than I would have expected. I do think Borini was suffering from his encounter with Olsson's shoulder, but Downing copped-out in my opinion. He's not doing the job he will be asked to do in this system.

I also understand and sympathize with what you're saying about different approaches, but I actually like that Rodgers is sticking to his guns. We need to establish an identity in our tactical approach. I felt that we had so much variation and uncertainty last season, that the team was never comfortable with their roles and how to play with each other. Rodgers is trying to instill that identity. He wasn't brought in to achieve individual results. He was brought in to revamp multiple aspects of the clubs identity, including the play on the field and the dealings in transfer market. Part of that means defining how we play before we start making alterations to account for individual players. It was obvious we weren't quite comfortable in our own playing style yesterday, especially after enduring a few hardships (early goal against and then Agger's red). Abandoning the approach so soon could send the wrong message to the players.

I also understand and sympathize with what you're saying about different approaches, but I actually like that Rodgers is sticking to his guns. We need to establish an identity in our tactical approach. I felt that we had so much variation and uncertainty last season, that the team was never comfortable with their roles and how to play with each other. Rodgers is trying to instill that identity. He wasn't brought in to achieve individual results. He was brought in to revamp multiple aspects of the clubs identity, including the play on the field and the dealings in transfer market. Part of that means defining how we play before we start making alterations to account for individual players. It was obvious we weren't quite comfortable in our own playing style yesterday, especially after enduring a few hardships (early goal against and then Agger's red). Abandoning the approach so soon could send the wrong message to the players.

It would be fine, even preferred, if Rodgers stuck to his methods when he has just the players for it. But when the best you can do to try and improve your system is bringing on Joe Cole (while still leaving one of the disappointing wing-forwards on the field) I think you really should try a more direct approach when you've got a player like Carroll on the bench.

In other words, if Rodgers had the option to bring on Dyer and Sinclair, yeah, stick with that 4-3-3, but if you need to bring on Joe Cole, please, think again.

I hope Oussama proves to be the real deal, because my blood boils every time I see Downing play.

We need 2 offensive players QUICK, or we'll struggle massively this season

Reina
Kelly--Agger--Skrtel--Enrique
Allen----Lucas
Suarez---Gerrard---Assaidi/Dempsey
Borini

That looks like a team that could break into the top four.However,There is no one to finish chances in that team other than Borini who is still settling into the EPL and cant be relied on.And the thing is your second best goalscorer will be Gerrard who's pushing into his mid-thirties.The second problem is that Pool dont have very good backups.For example if Lucas gets injured his backup is Charlie Adam.If Agger/Skrtel gets injured their backup is Carragher.Suarez gets injured same thing.So thats a really worrying thing for Liverpool.

vivabarca38 wrote: Reina
Kelly--Agger--Skrtel--Enrique
Allen----Lucas
Suarez---Gerrard---Assaidi/Dempsey
Borini

That looks like a team that could break into the top four.However,There is no one to finish chances in that team other than Borini who is still settling into the EPL and cant be relied on.And the thing is your second best goalscorer will be Gerrard who's pushing into his mid-thirties.The second problem is that Pool dont have very good backups.For example if Lucas gets injured his backup is Charlie Adam.If Agger/Skrtel gets injured their backup is Carragher.Suarez gets injured same thing.So thats a really worrying thing for Liverpool.

Dempsey is still not a reality . . actually far from it

vivabarca38 wrote: Reina
Kelly--Agger--Skrtel--Enrique
Allen----Lucas
Suarez---Gerrard---Assaidi/Dempsey
Borini

That looks like a team that could break into the top four.However,There is no one to finish chances in that team other than Borini who is still settling into the EPL and cant be relied on.And the thing is your second best goalscorer will be Gerrard who's pushing into his mid-thirties.The second problem is that Pool dont have very good backups.For example if Lucas gets injured his backup is Charlie Adam.If Agger/Skrtel gets injured their backup is Carragher.Suarez gets injured same thing.So thats a really worrying thing for Liverpool.

Where is Glen Johnson!!! Benched !!!

Such a depressing start. Tough few games coming up too.

To be fair it was the routine....

Start strong
miss a few chances
concede a wonder goal
miss a couple of more chances
penalty + Red card in their first attack of 2nd half
game over

We didn't hit the post., Sepp #positive.

Nishank wrote:We didn't hit the post., Sepp #positive.

But sadly we didn't hit anything near the post much

The Score line says it all

Lol we try to tolerate you idiocy in the general section, but now you've brought it to our section

Kindly

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Lol we try to tolerate you idiocy in the general section, but now you've brought it to our section

Kindly

ok. I am out since you dont want the truth, like I said I dont sugar coat things, I like Liverpool more than any other team in EPL and I want them to reclaim their days of glory, I fyou want to be pampered, well that's fine but I tell you one thing before I leave.


Criticism is more effective than praise. Thank You sir

We would do well without your opinion altogether. And if the day ever came when we needed your opinion, we might just have to question our sanity OR just shoot ourselves in the f*cking heads. Good day to you sir.

Did you even watch the game

The Messiah wrote:

Messiah "Aggerswagger" wrote:Lol we try to tolerate you idiocy in the general section, but now you've brought it to our section

Kindly

ok. I am out since you dont want the truth, like I said I dont sugar coat things, I like Liverpool more than any other team in EPL and I want them to reclaim their days of glory, I fyou want to be pampered, well that's fine but I tell you one thing before I leave.


Criticism is more effective than praise. Thank You sir

Kindly try reading the thread and you'll see we agree, criticism is more effective than praise. Sadly for you, though, stupidity is less effective than either.