Posted April 22, 200817 yr I would strongly suggest dropping Maka. Don't know if it's just me .. but he's been a tad off the pace last few games. IF he's played against United then he might not have the legs for the return leg. Start Kalou Ask Drogba to stop the antics. ...
April 22, 200817 yr I was thinking the same thing with one minute to go - not so sure now - more tempted to drop Lamps and play Essien alongside Ballack.
April 22, 200817 yr Agree Maka cant play 2nd leg , just dont think he has the legs anymore. Christ i just hope we dont sit in our own half, then were in trouble.
April 22, 200817 yr It's good that we have Essien back for the second leg. Essien, Mikel or Ballack should play the Maka role at the Bridge. Maybe not Mikel...there's always the risk of getting a red card.
April 22, 200817 yr Don't want to turn this into a Maka assassination thread but have to agree. He was very sloppy at times tonight and cost us once and could have easily cost us more than that. That said you could take your pick of players who didn't perform. Lamps was shocking, Ballack not all that and Joe was invisible. Have to say we looked a lot more threatening when Kalou came on for Joe. Hope the lads don't think that away goal means we are as good as there 'cos we need a huge improvement at the bridge.
April 22, 200817 yr Hope the lads don't think that away goal means we are as good as there 'cos we need a huge improvement at the bridge. Spot on! And I don't want to put all the blame on Maka either. He was very iffy, but so were a few others as well. Carvalho and Cech are the ones that REALLY stood out in a good way.
April 22, 200817 yr Won't be to many changes for next wednesday,plus got a certain pretty important game on saturday,deff Essien back. when we move the ball fast and accurate we look superb,really gotta start with Nelks for at least his supposed ability,because Drogba looks to isolated,malouda at least desrved his inclusion,and will probably start as grant seems keen on him????. :
April 22, 200817 yr Have to agree that Drogba needs help up front. He was on a hiding to nothing tonight. I would play Mikel instead of Maka who had a shocker tonight along with: Cole A Cole J Lampard Ballack Malouda Despite Frank's poor showing it would be crazy to leave him out next week. a) he can't be that bad again and he can always score you a goal.
April 22, 200817 yr Its only half time we have to play better at the bridge, don,t know what it is but i can,t remember the last time we played good oh well this is football
April 22, 200817 yr Not wanting to put a damper on things but that late goal (whilst a massive bonus for us) will have a direct effect on the way Liverpool approach the 2nd leg. At 1-0 up they may have come to the Bridge with half an eye on focusing on not conceding. With us getting the late away goal they know they will have to score and I suspect they might start the game looking to attack us and score early. Whilst this will give us opportunities on the break it will also mean we are under pressure in the middle of the park and we will need to play a lot better in the centre than we did tonight. Essien must not play at right back, Paulo should keep his place there and Essien must play in the centre.
April 22, 200817 yr -----------------Cech------------------ Paulo------Riccy--------J/T-------A.Cole ------------------Mikel----------------- --------Ballack-----------Lampard------- Essien-----------------------------Kalou ------------------Drogba--------------- If they score take Mikel off and go 4-4-2 with Anelka joining Dogba up front, straightforward enough if it wasnt for the small fact of Avram f**king Grant.
April 22, 200817 yr Not wanting to put a damper on things but that late goal (whilst a massive bonus for us) will have a direct effect on the way Liverpool approach the 2nd leg. At 1-0 up they may have come to the Bridge with half an eye on focusing on not conceding. I think you are being a bit silly Loz - the Bridge has been a fortress for four seasons, and this bit of luck will give our boys the belief - it felt like predestiny when we were losing, but now they might have the belief that the time has come regardless of the managerial sitauation.
April 22, 200817 yr Fortress maybe but an excessive number of home draws this season. Yes we are in the driving seat now but only marginally and a weak central midfield performance (as we had tonight) could be disastrous.
April 22, 200817 yr I agree about dropping Maka. I also think Anelka needs to be played Center forward rather than wing or attacking midfield. I just hope JT doesn't get a yellow card but i've got a funny feeling he will.
April 23, 200817 yr Not wanting to put a damper on things but that late goal (whilst a massive bonus for us) will have a direct effect on the way Liverpool approach the 2nd leg. At 1-0 up they may have come to the Bridge with half an eye on focusing on not conceding. With us getting the late away goal they know they will have to score and I suspect they might start the game looking to attack us and score early. Whilst this will give us opportunities on the break it will also mean we are under pressure in the middle of the park and we will need to play a lot better in the centre than we did tonight.quote] I agree with that thought. We will now be more defence minded and they will be more attack minded. That will open up more counterattacking options for us which could be good. Although we haven't lost at the Bridge for a long time that record is becoming a millstone. Our relative lack of wins at home this season is what's cost us the league. They have the injury to aurelio but we have a very tough game on the weekend. Its a (very) hard call but it maximises our payoffs to play for a draw on the weekend and focus on this comp.
April 23, 200817 yr What the f**k was wrong with Makelele's performance? Think about how much Gerrard did in the match (that's f**kall) and think about why.
April 23, 200817 yr Have to agree that Drogba needs help up front. He was on a hiding to nothing tonight. Drogba needs help to understand you play football standing on your feet. As I've said before he must have the pain threshold of a flea. Despite Frank's poor showing it would be crazy to leave him out next week. a) he can't be that bad again and B) he can always score you a goal. The coaching staff have Frank playing much deeper with Ballack the further forward of the two, that's why he "seems" to have less impact. Play Frank further forward with Essien playing slightly behind him and our old goal scoring Frank would be back in an instant.
April 23, 200817 yr Author Grant needs to earn his money for this game ----------------------Ballack ----------Drogba-------------------Anelka JC was not comfortable dealing with Drogba, imagine the pressure of having to cope with Drogba and Anelka (as striker not on the right)
April 23, 200817 yr A number of the lads did not really perform last night - Frank, Joey (had a shocker), Maka, Drogba. Although having said that, I thought that for the first half hour of the 1st half we played some of the best football we've played all season. Why can't we sustain that level of performance??? Fair do's, Kalou's introduction had an impact ( to him for putting in the cross). But why can't AG see that we look more effective when we have 2 strikers up front?? I think that we will still do 'em at the Bridge - so long as we don't sit back, inviting them on. We need to be positive, play like that 1st half hour. Essien back, too My only concern, is JT's yellow cards - he may have that in the back of his mind cos another one will mean he misses the Final......
April 23, 200817 yr I thought that for the first half hour of the 1st half we played some of the best football we've played all season. I forgot to add that I thought the first half hour of the 2nd half was the worst we've played all season!!
April 24, 200817 yr But why can't AG see that we look more effective when we have 2 strikers up front?? That's his speciality mate, if there is anything good for the team, he will 'leave it for the next season' and well, Somethings never change you see...
