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Thanks Stevie for assuring us with your loyalty. And just wanna let you know, YNWA. You might not see this but there're lots of scousers even in an automotive forum.

taken from http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=389061&cc=4716

Steven Gerrard finally ended his scoring drought with a critical European strike and revealed the deep-rooted fears that have dogged him over his own form this season.

The Liverpool skipper scored the all-important second goal against Bordeaux last night that set the Anfield men on their way to a 3-0 victory and a place in the Champions League knockout stages with two group games still to play.

It was a pivotal moment for Gerrard, who scored 23 goals last term but had failed to net in 14 matches so far this season.

Gerrard said: 'I know I needed to look at my own performances and I know I need to play better.

'I needed to find my own form first, but as captain I have to help other players find their best form.

'The only way this can happen is to take responsibility for yourself and your performances. In terms of our league position, you have to realise you are not doing your job properly if Liverpool are in the position we are in.'

With that in mind, Gerrard's goal against the French side, plus his hugely improved display against Aston Villa last weekend, have gone a long way to settling his own concerns.

And Gerrard admits he has been upset by the rumours buzzing around Merseyside about his attitude towards the club and boss Rafael Benitez as well his own personal life.

He said: 'I've heard it all, my body language isn't right, there's a problem and I am not happy at the club, I've got problems off the field, my head`s not in it. I've heard them all and I'll say now that it is just not the case.

'I'm a professional footballer and the only thing on my mind when I'm playing is the game.

'Walking away from Old Trafford for instance, having lost 2-0 to Manchester United and having let the supporters and ourselves down while watching United celebrate hurt me.

'I'm the Liverpool captain, and a Liverpool fan. It's not a time for me to be smiling or chatting to United players because I'm hurting like hell.'

He added: 'No-one is satisfied with the start we have made to the season in the Premiership. It's not a position we are happy with.

'We have been satisfied with the Champions League form, and it was a weight off my mind to get that goal. I'd had a few chances before and you could see I was getting too anxious. But I had a feeling it was going to come right against Bordeaux.

'My form has been a lot better in training and I knew it was only a matter of time before I took it onto the pitch. The most important thing for me is the team, and I know if I am playing to my best I can have a big influence on our form.

'I've been missing something since the start of the season and I have not had that spark to my game. I think coming back from the World Cup has been a factor.'

Benitez has been quick to praise Gerrard's improved performances in the last two games, saying: 'We needed to score the second to finish the game against Bordeaux and Steven needed to score to stop all the talk about his goal-scoring form.

'He has been playing well, but now it will be easier for him to be focused on matches and not just whether he can score or not.

'This is almost perfect, yes, it is how I would have wanted the European campaign to go, to be qualified as early as this.

'But we have won three group games now, and drawn in Eindhoven. It shows we understand how to play in Europe. Now we can monitor players and give some youngsters experience in Europe.'

And Gerrard - who found himself again linked with Real Madrid at the weekend - added: 'There had to be a reaction from us after the defeat at Old Trafford. And in the last few games you have seen that.

'What gets me down is losing games and hearing so much rubbish about me. I could go on about what was said last weekend and we are all a bit sick reading the same things.

'I'm sick of it, the players are sick of it and so is the manager and the fans. I feel really sorry for the fans who have to see the focus put on me again, but what can I do about it?

'I feel from the reaction of the fans at the Bordeaux game that they are not taking any notice of that stuff any more and that is exactly how I want it to be.'
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I've never read reviews b4 but Duke suggested Paul Tomkins, after reading it...it does make sense, great write Paul!

Last night's result coincided with the end of the run of 99 'rotated' team selections by Rafa Benítez. The victory will of course be attributed solely to keeping a settled side, even though Saturday's performance, with an altered side, was far more impressive.

Personally, I don't care whether the team is rotated or not; if you have a manager who has strong ideas and, more importantly, a long-term vision, and who has proven he can win major trophies with those methods, you have to trust him. If we had another proven top manager who didn't rotate, then he would have his own good reasons for that approach.

The facts actually suggest that Rafa's rotation policy works; not that the facts are ever allowed to get in the way of a good story.

Too much football punditry is based on snap assessments, tired old clichés and perpetuated myths. Falsehoods are presented as truths, simply because people don't bother to check the validity of what they are saying. Misconceptions are rife. This past week has seen the criticism of rotation intensify, and also seen the quality of the players called into question, amongst other things.

Rotation is part of the forward-thinking modern management that Rafa is all about. And the innovators in life are those who look forward, not backwards. Bill Shankly was an innovator. He did things his way. He changed things at Liverpool, updated them. There was no instant success, and there was also a seven-year hiatus between his 2nd and 3rd league titles, but boy did he deliver. Shankly didn't look to what won the league 20 years earlier, but what would win it this season, or the next.

The aim of joining Oliver Anderson to write The Red Review was to get a more accurate assessment of what goes on on the pitch. Things like comparing the Reds' results when Gerrard plays on the right to when he plays centrally; how the team defend set pieces; who tends to be most involved in the 'business end' of goals beyond a simple assist; how many mistakes players make that cost the team goals; which players help the team to better results; and so on.

It's about being better informed. It's not about meaningless stats, but detailed tactical assessments on what works and what doesn't. It's easy to mock zonal marking, slate rotation, say Steven Gerrard is wasted on the right, and call Luis Garcia a liability, but is any of it actually true?

Zonal marking

Let's start with the grand folly that is zonal marking – or so you might have been led to think. Or maybe you've read this column before, and discovered that Liverpool were actually the most successful team at defending set pieces last season?

In 2005/06 the Reds conceded only four league goals from corners and indirect free-kicks; or one every nine games, compared with Chelsea, the next-best team, and their rate of one every six games.

This season the Reds' figure stands at one such goal conceded from ten league games, and that was way back on the opening day; so a further improvement. And yet still, despite all this, not a single game goes by without zonal marking being mentioned by commentators, with the inference that Liverpool are dodgy at set pieces.

Luis Garcia is a luxury suited only to European matches

Luis Garcia has now scored 28 goals in two and a bit seasons. All from open play. That's a great record, especially as he doesn't play every game, and is mostly a midfielder.

In his first season he scored the crucial Champions League goals, which no one can forget, and he's got three in this year's competition already. However, last season he was 'directly involved' in more Liverpool goals per-90 minutes of Premiership football than any other player (involvement being based on the final three players to touch the ball in the scoring of any goal). His best form was in the English game, to which some feel he is not suited. He also leads the club's standings in the league this season, with an even more impressive rate. He makes things happen.

Of course, he also has those days when nothing goes right. But isn't it time we learned to live with his faults, because it's the good things he does that ultimately make a difference, and often in big games?

It's also worth remembering that not once since his arrival has he given the ball away and it led directly to an opposition goal (it might have indirectly at times, further down the line in a move, but then that can be said of anyone who concedes possession).

Give me a Garcia over a player who only ever does the simple thing and never has the bottle to try something special - the kind of thing needed in the final third.

Steven Gerrard is better in the centre

Last season for Liverpool, Gerrard played over 1500 minutes on the right of midfield, compared with more than 2600 minutes centrally (split fairly evenly between a standard midfield role, and that of the second forward). He was productive wherever he played, scoring and creating aplenty, although his personal figures were slightly higher in a central role.

But Liverpool won by far the most points (in all competitions, using three points for cup wins as well) when he was on the right wing: 2.30 per game, compared with 1.89 when central. On the whole, the fixtures where he was used on the right were arguably tougher than average, and predominately away games.

Isn't it Benítez's job to win games, rather than make the side merely a showcase for Steven Gerrard's great talents? Isn't it about getting the best out of all eleven players, with the correct blend? Gerrard might catch the eye more centrally, but results tend to be better when he's on the right.

But the right wing is just a starting position. When Gerrard drifts inside he can quickly change the dynamics of a game; putting a defence under pressure with his movement and creating space for others, as he did for the third goal this weekend.

With Sissoko and Alonso the type of midfielders who rarely get ahead of the ball, it needs darting runs infield from the wings; so long as others cover the captain when he wanders, and that's down to the two central players a lot of the time. The bonus is that when Gerrard stays out wide he can deliver superb crosses, while also having the stamina, pace and tackling ability to do the ugly work, too.

Peter Crouch is not a goalscorer

Eight goals for Crouch for the Reds this season, and 21 in total. Add 11 for England, and you have 32 goals in a fraction less than 11 months. Include his Southampton goals since the start of 2005 and it takes him to 42 in two months short of two years.

When will people ever take him seriously as a goalscorer?

Rotation, and the new 'Tinkerman'

What I don't get is that going into last weekend's fixtures, Benítez had made only one change more than Alex Ferguson in the Premiership: 30, to 29. Chelsea were the third-most rotated team. So rotation, as a concept, doesn't work? Hmm...

Meanwhile, Arsenal kept the same team as the weekend before, and dropped two more points at home. No one blamed it on having a settled side. But why should they?

Another irritant is that rotation has been heavily criticised after Liverpool defeats this season – but the '99 games since last unchanged line-up' got brought up as a criticism too, as if it was been a problem for 99 games. Which, clearly, is insane. Why did no one actually bother to look at the results over those 99 games?

Let me remind people that despite the stuttering start to this season, Liverpool had won 60 out of the previous 100 games, which is easy to work out at 60%. Or in other words, the kind of win percentage that used to land Liverpool the league. (The average over those 18 league titles is also 60% of games won.)

Times have changed. As an example, the Reds secured the league in 1984 with a mere 52.4% win rating, drawing 14 games and losing six of the 42 matches. That many draws alone would be the same as losing more than eight games in the modern points system, and that's on top of the six actual defeats; so the dropped points would now be the same as 14 defeats in a season (or 12-13 in a 38 game season).

I don't wish to knock that great side's achievement, as it was a case of doing what was required at the time (not to mention it being part of a stunning treble). But that was back then. Alex Ferguson never rotated in 1986, when he took charge of Manchester United; but he has for the last decade or so. He moved with the times.

The Reds' 99 game run covered all competitions, of course, and included domestic cup games, which could be said to be easier. But in a bizarre quirk of the luck of the draw, Benítez has yet to face a side lower that mid-table in the Championship since his arrival, and has faced mostly Premiership sides. No lower or non-league opposition in the last two years, unlike Manchester United.

That run of 99 games also included an incredible ten games against Chelsea, that show how tough the fixture list has been in that time, plus four against United. And more importantly than anything else, it included the European Cup, World Club Championship and FA Cup finals, the former and latter of which were won. We're not talking easy games here.

Some say only rotate when you're winning. But rotate a winning side and lose, and you'd hear "you never change a winning team".

As I've said in recent weeks, there were a number of factors at work in the disappointing start: dips in individual form, silly mistakes, bad finishing, near misses (the Reds have now hit the woodwork a staggering 14 times this season), all leading to a dip in the collective confidence. You need luck, too. At the Reebok the officials turned the game in Bolton's favour, while at the weekend Luis Garcia was offside in a sublime team goal; neither of which had anything to do with rotation.

But in these days of pithy 200 word articles and rushed 30 second analyses, everything has to be distilled down into one issue, one great line, one snappy soundbite. And that doesn't give time to discuss proper ideas.

New players have been criticised without thought of what they are facing. As an example, Dirk Kuyt is trying to settle into a new league, with new tactics, and having to cope with a big money move to a massive-pressure club, while his dad recovers from a life-saving cancer operation back home. Are such difficulties ever taken into account?

The corner won't be turned for the Reds until the away form picks up, but a win against Reading and at least it can be approached with four straight victories, and with confidence significantly buoyed.
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b00n said:
dun like alonso's guts......
prefer Garcia as he's nimble....
no offence to Alonso's supporters though......how many player actually tried from half way line??
That's why I always said our play tactics should change...
midfielders should connect with strikers which is seldom our style. U see midfielders trying on shots most of the time from outside the box.
Is there really no chance for us to get inside the box?!
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Well Alonso is more a finess player than he is a combatant but you have to remember that he finished second on the list of players who won the most tackles in the whole premiership last season.
 
Wenger could claim what he wants...but final result still 0-0....
our boys also could have win by a bigger margin; obviously if every thing connects...

kekekekeke
 
duke, he's a good back. A tough player indeed; rough too for his size.
he's got the most cards (yellow and red) too I believe....
Maybe it's just me who don't really like rough players...but anyway he does his job; no complaints on that. And yes, EPL is a fast pace rough league. That's why most of the italian league players whom joined can't perform in EPL.
 
thteh86 said:
I've never read reviews b4 but Duke suggested Paul Tomkins, after reading it...it does make sense, great write Paul!
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Tomkins makes very salient points which is why I enjoy reading his books. Sadly, they aren't available in Malaysia but if you follow the forum, he'll promote any new publication he has over it. "Red Review" is a book based purely on statistics compiled by one Oliver Anderson who is a statistician by trade. After reading his books, I sometimes find it frustrating when putting forth arguments with fans on other forums.

You should also looks for posts from people like Mottman and Wooltonian. Some of these dudes have been around for ages, as far back as when Shanks was in charge. They know what they are talking about and I find their posts very informative.
 
b00n said:
duke, he's a good back. A tough player indeed; rough too for his size.
he's got the most cards (yellow and red) too I believe....
Maybe it's just me who don't really like rough players...but anyway he does his job; no complaints on that. And yes, EPL is a fast pace rough league. That's why most of the italian league players whom joined can't perform in EPL.
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Men from Basque country are known for their toughness which is what Rafa said when he first brought Xabi in. I have a Spanish friend from Barcelona and she affirmed this. I actually think it's important to have a battling midfielder in the English League because of it's physical nature. Refs are more lenient with contact in England and it helps to have a certain amount of toughness about you. I hate Italian pansies like Pippo Inzaghi.
 
i second that.. there is always a need for a battling midfielders in every team but particularly significant for teams in the EPL. MU wouldnt have been MU without Keane or Robo. And look at what happened to Real Madrid when their only combative midfielder left. These midfield generals do battle for the 50-50 balls, win posession back and covering the back four. The worse thing about them is that their contributions which is so so so significant in the modern game usually go unnoticed.. (remeber hamann??)

Alonso, to be honest, is not really built to be a combative midfielder. Like you said he's more of finess player. Keeping posession, distributing the ball around intelligently. But kudos to him for trying to be one. His challenges seem more accurate than those of Momo. He seems to have lost a bit of form. Could still remember him during his best in the CL semifinal match against Juve. Brilliant... just brilliant and that was his first match after his broken ankle injury.. well... just can't for him, gerard and carra to discover thier best again..
 
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Reading up this weekend.

i reckon same line-up cos thers a League Cup game mid-week so then he will rotate.

prediction 2-0 to who else laaaaa..
kuyt n riise scores.

dun ask me y riise. i LOVE that bloke.
 
When you decide what you want, let me know then you can pass me cash lah. It will amount to about RM 100 per book though, inclusive of postage.
 

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The RX8 convoy 11/09/09 Friday Night at Shell Across Eastin.
Anyone here that was part of the RX8 convoy last night at the Shell, across Eastin Hotel last night?
Thumbs up to you guys. Sorry if I got in the way. :biggrin:

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