The Independent Liverpool FC Website, Red and White Kop


Title: Done by Pardew [Newcastle 1 - 0 Liverpool round table]
Post by: Aristotle on November 2, 2014, 12:14:25 am
What can you say after another horrifying performance like that? The template for our games seems to be to play from the back, when we can't, not adjust our midfield when overrun and hope that Balotelli will become Suarez and take a lost hoofball and turn it into magic.
We saw for Skrtel return to the side unannounced for the umpteenth time and like clockwork our passing from the back suffered. Kolo Toure, for all his hick ups is actually very brave in possession. He moves the ball with intent and if the pass doesn't unfold for him, he takes it upon himself to bring it to the nearest red shirt he can find. It might not always come off, but at least the ball is closer to the opposition's goal than ours.

I asked on Twitter whether we could've played more into Newcastle's hands if we'd let Pardew set up both teams before hand. Newcastle's backline likes to drop deep and they like to compete for 50-50 challenges. Coloccini won 3 headers, Taylor won 5 to Balotelli's 1 [Sterling won two, to prove how ineffective it was]. We had one shot at goal the entire first half. It was a header from our center back from a corner. Compared to last season's game at St. James' it's staggering. The only thing we come close to matching up in is possession. Today we had 64% possession - last season 62%. Today we had 6 attempts at goal - last season 23. Today's corners 2 - last season 13.

So in as few points as possible; where did it all go wrong?
Last season we played a back 3 of Toure-Skrtel-Sakho : We went back to a similar system with Johnson-Skrtel-Lovren. Right system but wrong personnel or is the back 3 doomed as LFC's go-to system?
12 games without Daniel Sturridge & 12 games with a lone striker. In these 12 games we've amassed a miserable 13 goals compared to 3 games and 6 goals scored. A drop of 0.9 goals-per-game. Is it as simple as 1+1=2 or is this a more deeply rooted problem?
Last weekend was Martin Skrtel's first clean sheet since Tottenham on March 30th, taking his total up to 6/31 in the calendar year 2014. Is this a case of tried and tested that will never fit or is he simply the wrong man at the wrong time? His correspending starts in 2012/2013 season was 12 clean sheets in 31 starts. Where did it all go wrong?
Lastly I raise the question of how Rodgers has has managed to get so much out of Coutinho & Sterling last year but seemingly incapable of fitting them into the same side this season? Sterling gets marginalised on the flank and Coutinho gets a weird god complex on the ball in the middle of the park. Being two of our most creative players why can't we find a way to get them on the ball when both start?

P.S. Fucking fuck the fuck off, 'Pards'


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