Credit must go to Kenny for recognizing that the tactics were not working out and in the second half, the introduction of Andy Carroll and a switch to 4-4-2 had an instant impact on the team’s play. The side was instantly more positive with Kuyt, Carroll, Meireles and Cole all interacting much more effectively, and the Reds could have snatched an equaliser in the second half. Liverpool’s new number 9 Andy Carroll had a promising 35 minutes and held up the ball as well won nearly every header.
The only concern will of course be to get the balance right from going route one to keeping the ball on the floor. Carroll gives the team an added dimension but at the same time it is imperative we don’t become one dimensional in how we use the 22 year old. In Europe he will frighten the life out of opposition defences and he will be crucial to Liverpool’s progression in the competition. Continental defences seem to have real problems with aerial threats and Kaka’s cynical elbow was testament to the amount of carnage Carroll had created in such a short period of time.
The Reds should progress to the quarter finals with a convincing win at Anfield, but after two very poor away displays in a row in Europe, a tactical rethink maybe in order for when they next face European opponents.
Follow us on twitter @live4Liverpool or like us on Facebook
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
INTRODUCING THE WINDOWS PHONE 7!
This week it is Liverpool midfielder Albert Aquilani’s former girlfriend Pamela Camassa!
————–
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR HERE TO GET TO THE GALLERY
Poulsen(NOT good enough), Spearing(needs more time) and Cole(NOT good enough)should NOT be playing for Liverpool FC
it was really a huge mistake to use all three of Spearing,Lucas,Poulsen at the same time..it’s like asking for the game to end.when carroll came in we had some chances to equalise and the team pressurised up front..i think that also Maxi should have come in for Spearing’s place..now at Anfield,i’d say a 4-4-2 like this:
Reina
Johnson Carragher Agger Wilson
Lucas Meireles
J.Cole Maxi
Kuyt Carroll
Attack Attack Attack..our objective should be to score an early goal and then take our time to score 2 more..but put pressure on them from the 1st minute so that it doesnt get bad in the end..lets go on to the next round and with zenit,manchester city in difficult home games,if they get out of europa league,we have a huge chance of winning it..YNWA
I’d add Lucas in there, a centre midfield pairing of Lucas and Poulsen must be the most uncreative in the clubs history.
I knew when I saw Poulsen, Lucas and Spearing in the midfield we would struggle. None of them has an attacking bone in their body
my line up in a 4-2-3-1 would have read:
johnson–Carra–Skrtel–Wilson
—–Spearing–Lucas——
Kuyt——-Raul——-Maxi
——–Carroll———-
Raul has to be played in the centre where he plays for Portugal. Spearing isn’t up to it. You’d drop Suarez as well Oz
it took u until now to realise that those three shudn’t be played together??? i was absolutely flabbergasted when i saw the team line-up, it was the most outrageous liverpool team to step on a football pitch for quite some time…
firstly, playing three defensive midfielders together was inexplicable to say the least, out of the eleven players, just three were attacking players…
secondly, playng kuyt up front as a lone striker was just as bad.. he can play as a secondary striker feeding off the scraps but he has no quality or skills required to play as a lone striker…
this result shows the lack of depth in our squad required to seriously challenge for honours in europe…
I must admit as soon as I saw Poulsen and Cole playing I watched 25 minutes of the crap and went and found something useful to do on the computer. Whatever was KD’s idea?????
Agreed on the article, but yet again, we are very limited in players. The depth of the squad is amazingly poor. If we would have Shelvey he could have made a difference. But still he is a youngster too. Lets just hope we get Gerrard back soon and Kenny has learned never to play Poulsen ever again.
Agger, Gerrard and Kelly should all return in the next 4 weeks. Hopefully all in time for some crucial matches.
I would love to see Daniel Pacheco given the chance he is miles ahead of spearing n poulsen. He has been our best player in the reserves for the last 2 seasons yet he gets no opportunity? Not feeling the negative tactics daglish keeps on playing in Europe away from home! Dnt understand it…?
I agree, I just don’t get it either, 20 mins to go I was almost shouting at the box Pacheco should’ve been on givin’ us at least some width especially with Carroll on, why won’t he (KK) give him a chance can’t do any worse than the players on the pitch. He might be a bit of a lightweight but he’s got pace and skill and he needs to be on the pitch.
Liverpool lacked the creativity and attacking threat last night with Meireles and Cole the only ones supporting Kuyt up front on his own. There was no need to play with three midfielders with no attacking abilities in Poulsen, Lucas and especially Spearing. Playing those three together also meant there was no space for a natural winger or wide man. Maxi or Pacheco should have played instead of the average Spearing and for some reason Jovanovic was missing from the squad. He would have provided a much greater threat out wide and would have given us a different dimension in attack. Also, injuries to Kelly, Agger and Aurelio meant Kenny didn’t really have much choice at the back and was forced to play Skrtel and Soto together at the back which meant no pace and no one to distribute the ball from the back. The second half introduction of Andy Carroll was pretty much the only positive from a poor game and I expect him to play a major role in the return leg at Anfield next week. Hopefully we have Agger back by next week which will give us more options at the back but the absence of Gerrard and Suarez means we will have to rely more on Meireles and Cole while Carroll must start if we are to keep our Europa League dreams alive. Liverpool really need to step up in the second leg. My team for the game would be:
Reina
Carra Skrtel Agger Johnson
Maxi Lucas Meireles Cole
Kuyt
Carroll
Subs:Gulacsi Soto Wilson Poulsen Jova Pacheco Ngog
Little Jay, for all his enthusiasm and as much as I desperately want to see him succeed, just isn’t cut out for being anything other than a squad player at Premier League level. God how we could have done with an Aquilani the other night. No ingenuity in the middle at all. Completely devoid of ideas. Joe Cole is exactly what Mourinho always said he was. A luxury player. Can’t ever expect a performance of any consistency except bad from him. To add vicous insult to an already life threatening injury is the lamentable Dirk Kuyt. Just has not got the footballing intelligence to comtribute constructively at the top level. He has nothing except work rate about him. I remember something Ronnie Moran once said about the modern young players coming through Academies. They teach them everything. The attributes, the physicality everything except how to play football. Dirk Kuyt, sure he can run all day, but he brings nothing else other than his stamina. We might as well hire an Ethiopian long distance runner if stamina is all we require. A clearout is absolutely desperately required and players with above all else a footballing brain brought in.
Jovanovic offers nothing, he came from a rubbish league and was useless on the leftwing earlier this season coming infield and compressing the play.
COLE is crap! Spearing is crap!Poulson is crap! Wilson is NOT ready!, so why the hell these very average players keep getting selected?, ahead of the likes of PACHECO and MAXI?……for god sake KD take a closer look at ‘video replays’ and see what we are seeing!!!.
Time to let spearing go on a free transfer, he’s just not good enough and never will be
to be fair, cole has only played 2 or 3 FULL games with a full strength liverpool team
Cole is an extremely limited player, he has no speed,strength,shooting power or tactical awareness. It says a lot about Carragher and Gerrard that they lauded Cole as a great signing. Maybe they wanted Cole signed so he could go boozing with them at Carragher’s restaurant every week.