Liverpool Message Board

Hobs, I hadn't even considered that one, that is truly sickening. If we come out in t...

Hobs, I hadn't even considered that one, that is truly sickening. If we come out in that formation, with those players at home vs West Ham, Roy should be taken away in a straightjacket! It makes no sense to me that he scouted and bought the player for everything he's good at, and misuses him especially while we have players available to play those positions.. Makes me mad

If there is any silver lining, and believe me, it's hard to find one, but with Gerrard out, it's the perfect opportunity to let Meireles really do a job in the center of the pitch. I am not suggesting he is Gerrard by any means, just simply stating that with his passing range, defensive qualities, box to box nature and long range striking abilities, he could really be utilized to his best. And, I think Spearing would do ok next to him, though like you say, it will be Poulsen... maybe he can raise his game vs Champions League contenders West Ham??

Maxi Poulsen Meireles Babel
Kuyt Torres

Because I hate him so much, I cannot in good conscious put his name on the team sheet desp...

Because I hate him so much, I cannot in good conscious put his name on the team sheet despite the fact it seems there's a high probability Poulsen plays if Gerrard can't.

However, I don't care how poorly we played the last 2 matches, we still have more quality than West Ham, and playing anything defensive or negative minded just makes me want to vomit in my mouth with them coming to Anfield on 7 points!

Pepe
Kelly Carra Skrtel Konch

Maxi Spearing Meireles Babel
Kuyt Torres

or

Kuyt Spearing Meireles Maxi
Ngog Torres

For what it's worth, in the final 7-8 minutes vs Stoke, Ryan Babel looked more likely than anyone to at least put a shot on target and possibly nick one back, he did have a couple of long range rips and actually dribbled and controlled decent, and aside from Torres he's the most athletic player we have, since Jovanovic is just a seat warmer and towel boy...

Agree w/ you Hobs 100%. And, if we are going to play players out of position which had be...

Agree w/ you Hobs 100%. And, if we are going to play players out of position which had been a habit of Rafa and now Roy too, whether it be out of necessity or just best fit from our personnel, it should be done by players who are used to it. What I mean by that is Kuyt in particular. Yes, he is a striker or support striker by trade from his days in the Dutch league, but for all his years at the club (5?), mostly under Rafa and with Netherlands, he's been used as right wing, or right wide man.

Though we all know he's not burning up the pitch with pace, he's always done a more than adequate job there and has the ability to deliver crosses (see @ trafford last year to Torres header), and he helps keep that side busy for the full back to get forward as well as track back. What he lacks in pace, he makes up for with hard work and clever play. There is no problem with him on the right, since he's played about 80-90% of his time there, and has been successful in goals/assists.

As for Meireles, he can do everything Alonso did, but is far more athletic, faster, quicker and plays box to box. Per my Portuguese friend watching yesterday's match vs Spain :

"Meireles has been brilliant in the center, breaking up plays and distributing the ball nicely, what a waste for you lot".

Perfect evidence to match what my friend was describing to me, and what Meireles can do:
http://fernando9torres.com/index.php?s=multimedia&t=videos&id=1022&pagina=1

Notice he comes all the way across from the right, to disrupt and create from the middle...

Begs the question then. Shouldn't we be playing Babel up with Torres?

Begs the question then. Shouldn't we be playing Babel up with Torres?

Jason, thats the one thing that pi55es me off the most is that I finally get excited at wh...

Jason, thats the one thing that pi55es me off the most is that I finally get excited at what I also consider an Alonso replacement being purchased only to see him out wide to accomodate Lucas who should be playing back up to the central pair.
Seeing this nonsense of Shelvey on the right side frustrates me also. When everyone is fit we should be playing
----------------------------------------------Reina---------------------------------------
Johnson---------------Carragher------------------ Agger----------- ---Aurelio
----------------------------Meireles------------------Gerrard------------------------
Kuyt----------------------------------------Cole-------------------------Jovanovic
---------------------------------------------Torres--------------------------------------

There is no way that side would be in the same position as our current one.