Premier League 28/29 Dec 2014

[thinktank]

In case anyone missed it Sterling's efforts on Fernandez.

https://vine.co/v/OwhOYFhw7te

Commentators didn't even mention it as something that should be a retrospective by the FA.

That is a blatant red (like the commentators).

 

[Mr Pink]

I fucking hate Liverpool, their fans, their players and Rodgers.

Disgusting from Swansea. Hope they get smashed in their next game too.

Anyone who enables Rodgers to keep talking shit...that smug prick should be taken out back and have a pole stuffed up his arse.

As expected, refs trying their hardest to help Liverpool now. Sterling should be off. The day our team actually gets together and pulls a run and fuck the established order and the refs will be so fucking sweet. Fucking come already.

Also, Shelvey should be sued by Swansea and banished to play non-League football or work as the Anfield tea lady.

Rodgers makes me cringe. If I here him use the word 'outstanding' one more fecking time I'm going to lose my shit. Can't stand him.

As for Liverpool, I just can't stand the allowances the media make for them - and the bias they all show.

They're bang up there with the Clubs I detest. Sure the rivalry with Arsenal and Chelsea is much bigger and I'd always prefer to beat them, but I can't stand Liverpool.

 

[thinktank]

I'd have gone down like a sack of stones at that slap and played unconscious. :dead:

 

[prawnsandwich]

In case anyone missed it Sterling's efforts on Fernandez.

https://vine.co/v/OwhOYFhw7te

I don't think the linesman got a good enough view to make a decision.

 

[ajspurs]

On tonight's evidence a league two side would look like Barcelona on this Swansea performance.

Couldn't believe what I was watching when Lallana sailed through unchallenged with white shirts everywhere to score the crucial goal that effectively killed it.

They've produced some good football tonight but they've been allowed to - big time.

Its not too dissimilar to our 4-0 rout of QPR, and we played some nice stuff that day.

True Swansea looked shit but even in their general way of just playing the ball around they currently look better IMO. They're faster in their attack and more direct. Having someone like Sterling helps that massively, but little players like Coutinho and Lallana buzzing around help that too.

It's impossible to judge whether one team was worse than another on the day in terms of QPR against us and Swansea tonight, but QPR were proven to be the shittest of shit in the league for quite a few games in period that we played them, you can't say the same for Swansea.

I know we did against QPR but that was a long time ago and they were truly awful then, I'd be happy if we produced football with consistent flow, directness and at least a reasonable amount of fluidity against anyone at this moment in time.

 

[Dirty Ewok]

I genuinely am growing to despise Raheem Sterling....just seems like a entitled little ****.

Every game i watch he is rolling on the ground over being breathed on and then moaning to the ref because someone would have the audacity to lay a finger on him (yet never picking up cards for continual diving)...but if the FA give any form of discipline for the slap (which they won't because he is their new golden boy since Wilshire is always broken) it will be treated as Sterling being persecuted for standing up for himself to the giants in the league. Would like to see the little **** get thumped by someone and see if it knocks some sense into him....

 

[mark87]

Does Sakho get an assist for that?

 

[mark87]

I genuinely am growing to despise Raheem Sterling....just seems like a entitled little ****.

Every game i watch he is rolling on the ground over being breathed on and then moaning to the ref because someone would have the audacity to lay a finger on him (yet never picking up cards for continual diving)...but if the FA give any form of discipline for the slap (which they won't because he is their new golden boy since Wilshire is always broken) it will be treated as Sterling being persecuted for standing up for himself to the giants in the league. Would like to see the little **** get thumped by someone and see if it knocks some sense into him....

Also the whole 'too tired' to play for England, at 19 years old he should be BEGGING to play for England. Stupid, jumped up little prick.

 

[nightgoat]

Ada: If Liverpool finish as strong as last season we will land champions league again. 15 wins from last 18 games last season.

Alicia: Now THIS is progress! Shades of season 2013/14,brought a tear to my eye! Lallana, Courtino and Henderson on fire! WE GO AGAIN!

Doesn't take much to set them off, does it? The delusion is strong...

 

[nightgoat]

Also the whole 'too tired' to play for England, at 19 years old he should be BEGGING to play for England. Stupid, jumped up little prick.

Dier got slaughtered left, right and centre for withdrawing from the u21 squad, yet the press rounded on anyone daring to criticise poor little Raheem...

 

[Mr Pink]

True Swansea looked shit but even in their general way of just playing the ball around they currently look better IMO. They're faster in their attack and more direct. Having someone like Sterling helps that massively, but little players like Coutinho and Lallana buzzing around help that too.

It's impossible to judge whether one team was worse than another on the day in terms of QPR against us and Swansea tonight, but QPR were proven to be the shittest of shit in the league for quite a few games in period that we played them, you can't say the same for Swansea.

I know we did against QPR but that was a long time ago and they were truly awful then, I'd be happy if we produced football with consistent flow, directness and at least a reasonable amount of fluidity against anyone at this moment in time.

For me, they havn't showed too much of what we saw tonight this season. A few glimpses against United being the height of it and a good performance against us of course. If you give clever ball players like Coutinho and Lallana time and space they'll cause you real problems. We need more pace in our attack which is why I would play Lennon - as others would benefit from the space he creates.

In terms of tonight, that was one of the worst performances I've seen all season. Swansea were absolutely atrocious off the ball.

Swansea certainly didn't come to park the bus, they came to play but they were brutal. I lost count the amount of times Routledge lost the ball in the opening 20 minutes. A poorly executed game plan, that wasn't about containing Liverpool - more how they play - controlling the ball, meant Liverpool had acres of space to move the ball around. Nothing like the challenge we face regularly at WHL when teams, below us in the table, come to sit deep and stay compact and say break us down.

All that said you would expect them to be ahead in terms of fluidity/development as a team. This is Rodgers third season and Pochettino's first. Yet we're above them half way through the season.

 

[Bobbins]

In case anyone missed it Sterling's efforts on Fernandez.

https://vine.co/v/OwhOYFhw7te

From RAWK:

If you watch it back - the defender grabbed Raheem round the back of the neck and it looked to me like he was trying to do the same but because he's so short he couldn't reach and it looked like a slap.

 

[prawnsandwich]

We need at least a point from the Chelsea game otherwise we slip a place. Liverpool's GD went from minus to plus tonight.

New Year's Day fixtures:

Stoke V Man Utd
12:45
Aston Villa V Crystal Palace
15:00
Hull V Everton
15:00
Liverpool V Leicester
15:00
Man City V Sunderland
15:00
Newcastle V Burnley
15:00
QPR V Swansea
15:00
Southampton V Arsenal
15:00
West Ham V West Brom
15:00
Tottenham V Chelsea
17:30

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/fixtures

 

[mark87]

Rodgers is a twat, if the Sterling incident never happened, he would have said Shelvey should have been sent off for his incident, because Sterling did what he did, apparently both incidents are nothing. Cock.

 

[ajspurs]

For me, they havn't showed too much of what we saw tonight this season. A few glimpses against United being the height of it and a good performance against us of course. If you give clever ball players like Coutinho and Lallana time and space they'll cause you real problems. We need more pace in our attack which is why I would play Lennon - as others would benefit from the space he creates.

In terms of tonight, that was one of the worst performances I've seen all season. Swansea were absolutely atrocious off the ball.

Swansea certainly didn't come to park the bus, they came to play but they were brutal. I lost count the amount of times Routledge lost the ball in the opening 20 minutes. A poorly executed game plan, that wasn't about containing Liverpool - more how they play - controlling the ball, meant Liverpool had acres of space to move the ball around. Nothing like the challenge we face regularly at WHL when teams, below us in the table, come to sit deep and stay compact and say break us down.

All that said you would expect them to be ahead in terms of fluidity/development as a team. This is Rodgers third season and Pochettino's first. Yet we're above them half way through the season.

Yea I don't really now how they've looked through other stages of the seasons, I know they've looked worse than us on occasion and have struggled like us too, without a doubt, I just think when they have been good, whether it be rare or not, the football they've played has been at a standard that we currently seem unable to produce. We have no flow in our play at the moment. Also I'd like to say again, I'm not saying they're the better team, I'm sure I can pick out things that we do that they can't. Completely agree regarding Lennon too.

Don't get me wrong though because I'm not trying to turn it into a Poch vs Rodgers debate, I'm fully behind Poch at the moment regardless of what I'm seeing on the pitch. It's just an observation.

Good football doesn't always produce good results, I was watching a bit of the Swansea v Arsenal game in which they were struggling score wise but with some of their play, they had Welbeck making overlapping runs, Sanchez running into the box, Chamberlain bringing a lot of energy and I remember thinking at the time that, they still look a really dangerous team, they just lack ruthlessness. The end result though, was a 2-1 defeat. We go their, in similar wet conditions too actually, and pick up a 2-1 win playing pretty shit, so my point is that even though I'm praising Liverpool's ability to produce good football at times, it's obviously not always enough. I just wish we were showing more signs of improvement and an effective method of attack, but I've thought for a while that I don't think Poch even has the players to do what he wants us to do at the moment.

 

[tommo84]

Our fans shouldn't concern themselves with the table after we play Chelsea - we'll effectively have a game in hand on everyone else having played Chelsea twice.

Swansea tonight, and in particular Shelvey, were worse than abject. Liverpool are improving but recently they've come up against two teams in Arsenal and Swansea who seem to have turned up at Anfield with a major mental block and provided little or no opposition. This next month is Liverpool's chance to pick up some momentum - if they don't take that chance they'll be nowhere near the top 4 come May.

 

[Mr Pink]

Yea I don't really now how they've looked through other stages of the seasons, I know they've looked worse than us on occasion and have struggled like us too, without a doubt, I just think when they have been good, whether it be rare or not, the football they've played has been at a standard that we currently seem unable to produce. We have no flow in our play at the moment. Also I'd like to say again, I'm not saying they're the better team, I'm sure I can pick out things that we do that they can't. Completely agree regarding Lennon too.

Don't get me wrong though because I'm not trying to turn it into a Poch vs Rodgers debate, I'm fully behind Poch at the moment regardless of what I'm seeing on the pitch. It's just an observation.

Good football doesn't always produce good results, I was watching a bit of the Swansea v Arsenal game in which they were struggling score wise but with some of their play, they had Welbeck making overlapping runs, Sanchez running into the box, Chamberlain bringing a lot of energy and I remember thinking at the time that, they still look a really dangerous team, they just lack ruthlessness. The end result though, was a 2-1 defeat. We go their, in similar wet conditions too actually, and pick up a 2-1 win playing pretty shit, so my point is that even though I'm praising Liverpool's ability to produce good football at times, it's obviously not always enough. I just wish we were showing more signs of improvement and an effective method of attack, but I've thought for a while that I don't think Poch even has the players to do what he wants us to do at the moment.

i think improvement will always be sporadic in the early months when a manager like Pochettino comes in and tries to implement his style. It involves lots of changes and I'm sure he hasn't been helped with the likes of Adebayor/Kaboul or whatever is going on there.

Lets be honest, there's a shit lot to sort out - from the balance of the squad, to assessing who's suitable and has the right attitude etc - this is why Kane, Mason and Bentaleb have formed the nucleus of the team now. Where would be sitting had they all been playing from the off? Higher up the table I reckon and perhaps we'd probably be seeing more signs of Pochettino's style in our performances more regularly.

All that said, its still only half way through his first season and we need to remain patient. The performance against Everton was a very good one and I hope we see more of that in the coming weeks.

I don't understand why more people arn't positive, it perplexes me. We're picking up points at a good rate even though our performances arn't the best at the moment. He's already changing our mentality IMO, certainly our fitness looks fantastic. You only had to look at how young and inexperienced most of our team was compared to United's. Quite unbelievable really and I'm very optimistic we'll start seeing some real progression with performances soon enough. Kane leading the line is really exciting me at the moment. Having that desire is infectious.

The fluid stuff will come in time mate.

 

[tommo84]

i think improvement will always be sporadic in the early months when a manager like Pochettino comes in and tries to implement his style. It involves lots of changes and I'm sure he hasn't been helped with the likes of Adebayor/Kaboul or whatever is going on there.

Lets be honest, there's a shit lot to sort out - from the balance of the squad, to assessing who's suitable and has the right attitude etc - this is why Kane, Mason and Bentaleb have formed the nucleus of the team now. Where would be sitting had they all been playing from the off? Higher up the table I reckon and perhaps we'd probably be seeing more signs of Pochettino's style in our performances more regularly.

All that said, its still only half way through his first season and we need to remain patient. The performance against Everton was a very good one and I hope we see more of that in the coming weeks.

I don't understand why more people arn't positive, it perplexes me. We're picking up points at a good rate even though are performances arn't the best at the moment. He's already changing our mentality IMO, certainly our fitness looks fantastic. You only had to look at how young and inexperienced most of our team was compared to United's. Quite unbelievable really and I'm very optimistic we'll start seeing some real progression with performances soon enough. Kane leading the line is really exciting me at the moment. Having that desire is infectious.

The fluid stuff will come in time mate.

Agree wholeheartedly. The average age of our starting XI recently has been approx 23.5 - which is ridiculous by any standards but when you add in that our GK is among our oldest players in that XI that shows just how youthful the spine of the team is. We can't and mustn't expect or demand anything close to perfection for a while but there are lots of reasons to be hopeful of continued improvement.

 

[ajspurs]

i think improvement will always be sporadic in the early months when a manager like Pochettino comes in and tries to implement his style. It involves lots of changes and I'm sure he hasn't been helped with the likes of Adebayor/Kaboul or whatever is going on there.

Lets be honest, there's a shit lot to sort out - from the balance of the squad, to assessing who's suitable and has the right attitude etc - this is why Kane, Mason and Bentaleb have formed the nucleus of the team now. Where would be sitting had they all been playing from the off? Higher up the table I reckon and perhaps we'd probably be seeing more signs of Pochettino's style in our performances more regularly.

All that said, its still only half way through his first season and we need to remain patient. The performance against Everton was a very good one and I hope we see more of that in the coming weeks.

I don't understand why more people arn't positive, it perplexes me. We're picking up points at a good rate even though our performances arn't the best at the moment. He's already changing our mentality IMO, certainly our fitness looks fantastic. You only had to look at how young and inexperienced most of our team was compared to United's. Quite unbelievable really and I'm very optimistic we'll start seeing some real progression with performances soon enough. Kane leading the line is really exciting me at the moment. Having that desire is infectious.

The fluid stuff will come in time mate.

Yea definitely. the squad is a mess in terms of balacnce really and we still lack certain personalities and particualr individuals. I'm very happy with our ability to keep winning without playing well, Kane is showing that he has real ability and a knack for just scoring, even at this level, a tremendous trait to have. Bentaleb + Mason have also been much better than expected. Based purely on what I'm seeing now, I can't really say I'm as optimistic as you, but I'm hopeful. I'll be a lot more optimistic when Poch more or less gets the sort of players that he wants. At least from the Everton game he did show he can get a good display out of these players, just nowhere near enough. Although even though a lot on here will disagree, I can't help but think how important Lennon was to that performance.

 

[ziggy]

Dier got slaughtered left, right and centre for withdrawing from the u21 squad, yet the press rounded on anyone daring to criticise poor little Raheem...

Look at any back page of a newspaper at the weekend or sky ad and it's always pics of Chelsea, City, Utd, Arse and Pool. They are the media favs, even if Pool or Utd are lower down the table they are seen as the big 5