POST MATCH Thread: Liverpool 1-2 Man Utd

[WrinkledMind]

1]The ref ruined the game.We could have at least got the draw but the git gave a senseless penalty when he had a good view.

2]Our finishing is worrying.It really is.We should have been 3-4 up at the end of first half.I am more than crossed today.It is not a problem that has started this season, its been on since last season.What the fuck are the coaches paid for?I am sorry this no longer is down to bad luck.The finishing has to improve.One or two games is alright, but this is turning into a disease.

3]Nice to see more and more players getting more and more comfortable to possession football.

4]I am praying Kelly and Agger are not seriously injured.

PS: He was unlucky but also a little naive with his challenge.But Jonjo has attained cult status.Does anyone know what he said to Fergie?

 

[Billy Biskix]

Effort, fight, commitment, determination. All the usual things you get from a Liverpool performance at home against Man U. I actually think Halsey's one of the better referees normally. Allows the game to flow and doesn't give out too many cards, but, christ, did he have a shocker today. I can see why he gave the Shelvey card, but it was more Evans's reaction that got him sent off.

In the long run it will be a good learning point for Jonjo. He tends to fly in a bit and I have to say that someone needs to tell Sterling to start rolling around when he's fouled because he's getting some terrible stick and no action is being taken. It was never a penalty in a million years and of course Suarez was clearly fouled but if he was shot in the head he'd be booked for diving so I suppose that's par for the course.

In games when we score first we are really going to have to tighten up because goals are going to be very hard to come by this season but we give the ball away and get caught on the break AGAIN and concede a penalty. It's Groundhog day I'm afraid. Shelvey, Agger and Kelly all out for god knows how long and the squad is looking scarily thin now. Yes it was a good performance but 2 points from 5 games tells a story. This is going to be a long, hard season.

 

[boogieonalice]

Parody of a ref.

Agger injured.

Kelly injured.

Shelvey suspended.

Worst match ever.

Maybe we should focus on Europe instead. At least we're given a fair shot in that competition.

as upset as i am about the officiating & the injuries & the result, like the rest of us, there is no way that we should be so deflated about the match. In the past 3 seasons, an early red has signaled certain death, and we outplayed them in a fast paced match and had a chance to take it. Incredible positives from this one.

All the shit about this being our worst start is just statistics... when you make that basic observation you disregard the manner in which we have failed to earn points. In no way have we been terrible this season.
- west brom, agger unlucky to be sent off when long goes down from nothing, and that set the pace the rest of the match, of which we were outplaying them.
- man city, we dominate one of the most potent clubs in football only to surrender to 2 individual mistakes
- arsenal was a closely contested match until they broke through. could have gone either way.
- sunderland we fell behind from a fantastic fantastic strike, and simply struggled to finish. again, we outplayed them.
In no match have we been dominated, sans west brom after going a man down. Is this really something to overlook?

Even Dragonshadow, our Admin, in the In-Game:
"And you think every other league club aren't rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of facing us?
How to go from Champions League to Championship league in three years. Cos that's where we're heading."

I highly doubt that any club is looking forward to us, the way we've been playing under BR. Obviously we have not perfected the system yet, and obviously we are having trouble finding the net with our under-staffed forwards, but to say such a thing is certainly blasphemy. Had you said that under Hodgson or Kenny, I may have shrugged & nodded silently, but results aside (and of course i know that points are what speak in the end), to hear an Admin, and a member who's opinion i often admire, say these things is embarrassing.

 

[indianscouser]

Statistically Brendan has had the worst start of any LFC manager since 1928 or something.

But you can't compare tricky fixtures and dodgy refs. Personally think we're playing decent football, creating chances and working hard, so things should come good if we get some decent reinforcements in Jan.

I doubt that. I expect 0 investment in jan when we prices are inflated.
I give BR credit for giving youngsters a chance. But he is missing something. I dont know what it is. 2 points out 5 is no excuse for a manager at LFC. no matter who the 1st 5 games were.
If we dont win the net 3 games, i will be really keen on what fsg think.

 

[blndcat]

I can't believe what just happened with regards to the refereeing. Two things were clear even without slow-mo replays, not a red and not a penalty. There was more contact on Luis for his penalty claim than Valencia. Totally mind-boggling crazy bad.

Other things from the match, we played well but it's obviously clear that the owners made a mistake not spending on an extra striker. You know what, even paying for Kuyt's wages and losing the 1 mill we got for him would have been a better decision. Penny-wise, pound foolish.

Agger, Kelly out injured. Don't think "manning up" will be much use in their cases.

 

[indianscouser]

MCFC ARSENAL UTD WBA SUNDERLAND
1.............0............0.......0..........1.............
i expected a 3+3 [sunderland and wba].

 

[SirBillShankly]

On a positive note, i thought we were magnificent today, it was a really good performance. I wish Suarez would learn to release the ball earlier, we really must start taking our numerous chances.

Lets just hope Sahin and Enrique return to form and get their match fitness quickly as i imagine both will soon be returning to the starting line up.

 

[IGrewUpToBarnes]

We played United off the park today.

I don't like beating on the refs, they have a difficult job. It was a poor decision, and it changed the game, but it doesn't bother me that much. Some fans will only look at the results. I know that's is what the opposition fans will be saying, but there are so many good things to take from that game that that the loss doesn't bother me.

1) We pressed damn well today. We made life very hard for United.
2) We we patient in possession and hardly gave the ball away for long stretches of the game. Even when down to ten men. We all wondered what the game plan would be with ten men after the thumping away at West Brom. Now we know, and it wasn't bad.
3) We moved up the pitch well in possession. Sterling kept the ball well, so did Suso, and so did Gerrard, who played very well today. Borini and Suarez were not bad, Borini worked very hard up front, and that contributed to our possession, Suarez may have tried to do too much, but he was dangerous often enough.
4)The defense looked solid. Kelly got on the attack well, and Johnson had a great game. I don't understand why some people down play his value. He is a fantastic player and we are lucky to have him. Agger and Skrtl did not look like repeating the mistakes of the last few games.

Scholes coming on also changed the game. He is a fantastic footballer. He makes United tick the way Allen makes out midfield work. Working the balls out to the wings, spreading it, but keeping possession. They were a mess before that. Shelvey being sent off didn't help either, because Scholes had plenty of space.

The injuries are a worry. Hopefully they won't be too awful.

Thing is, seasons are not won or lost early. There are plenty of points still to be taken. If we keep playing like this we will win a lot of games.

 

[#9_Higsta]

 

[Wathik_LFC]

Man united need to be investigated for match fixing with the refs.. This is becoming more than a habit. They get every call there way it's pathetic. Seriously I'm positive something is going on.

 

[boogieonalice]

great performance, Gerrard was brilliant.

i blame the loss on FSG

BR squad looks so thin, the thinest i have seen in watching the reds for 30 years. He had no options.

We can talk about the ref, Fergie but we are sitting bottom 3!! We need a goal scorer as we had lots of chances.

Back the manager or sell the club

for the love of god, can we not beat this bloody horse to dust? it was bad enough when carroll was referred to as "35 mil" every other post.

we all know how ownership dropped the ball, we all know of our unmet transfer goals, we all know ownership is aware of that. please tell me every single thread is not going to be overtaken by this endless circle of blame.

 

[WrinkledMind]

Got this from telegraph.Does anyone have a video link

Not need I got it.This is awesome. Apparently he said you paid him.Wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2tHr5Y0t3E&feature=youtu.be

 

[icemanwan]

Anyone think we'll appeal Shelvey's red?

We should appeal. Evans deserved the red more than he. It is the just thing to do.

 

[RichLFC]

Man united need to be investigated for match fixing with the refs.. This is becoming more than a habit. They get every call there way it's pathetic. Seriously I'm positive something is going on.

Todays refereeing performance was the sort of thing that tends to happen to teams who are struggling. Halsey isnt usually that bad but seemed a bit overawed by the occasion

the real blame lies with those who lumbered the manager with a squad which is starting to look like a cobbled together reserve team, albeit one who do at any rate seem to be trying

have to win next week. if we dont...and with increasing injuries thinning things out further, we could end up in a really difficult position. No easy games in the prem this season and we havent always responded well to adversity

trouble is with FSG, they may not be G and H but it took relegation for Mike Ashley to learn how to be a half decent club owner, for me the way we set up this season is playing with fire somewhat

 

[Hope in your heart]

Man united need to be investigated for match fixing with the refs.. This is becoming more than a habit. They get every call there way it's pathetic. Seriously I'm positive something is going on.

The problem is that, contrarily to Italy or Germany, where justice (and also the Italian/German FA) are very serious about trying to catch the cheaters, which results in serious 'affairs', in England, it's quite the opposite. The FA fixes everything, included match-fixing, and doesn't get any challenge. It would need some really tough investigation from the outside to get into this.

I for one am convinced that if a judge began to seriously dig into this, he'd find many, many things...

 

[Red Armada]

Ref isn't corrupt, he had an off day

This sort of thing can plague struggling teams, and we are in a bit of trouble now

Some managers are lucky, but it's not looking like Brendan is one of those. It's sad because he was brave with his selections and subs and we haven't got the sort of squad that will cope too well with injuries

In a bad situation for me. Can't get results. In the end once all the ranting at the ref has stopped, the penny regarding us having sod all up top will drop eventually

Rich i agree with you most of the times but what the hell does the ref's performance have to do with our lack of attacking options ?

That cunt robbed us, pure and simple, it wasn't an off day, he made those decisions having every intention to help United.

 

[boogieonalice]

Man united need to be investigated for match fixing with the refs.. This is becoming more than a habit. They get every call there way it's pathetic. Seriously I'm positive something is going on.

another one... Ref had a horrible game. Made horrible decisions which directly impacted the result. Let's not start the 'manu is buying matches' thing. That is also embarrassing.

they do get every call, but that's a different issue... it's SAF's influence, in the FA, on matchday, and his words in media. The officials are wrong to let him influence them, but let's not start a calcio rumor, eh?

 

[LFC-Orlando]

...have to win next week. if we dont...and with increasing injuries thinning things out further, we could end up in a really difficult position. No easy games in the prem this season and we havent always responded well to adversity

trouble is with FSG, they may not be G and H but it took relegation for Mike Ashley to learn how to be a half decent club owner, for me the way we set up this season is playing with fire somewhat

Bingo.

They mean well. They are honest, etc. But they are clueless about how this whole thing works.

And our management is so green, they just got their first assignment for a "big club".

Instead of searching for the next LFC Documentary series on national TV or even HBO, they need to either get some help from some experts, or quickly GTFO.

With all the injuries we'll have now, we thought our offense was poor? Our defense is allowing over 2 goals per game with our best back 4. What will happen next?

 

[rab]

The reason I keep asking for help for our management is not because they are not technically brilliant. It's how we set-up for big games and how we prepare the players.

The few derby games each season are usually won marginally, iike today's 1-2.

They must be treated like cup finals. Unless you are Barca and have all the talent in the midfield to score for fun.

So yes, I'm suggesting that 4-5-1 should be our starting plan in tough matches.

We should have defended first. And we should have not allowed our heads to go so overly excited about the revolution like 2 of our best, in Shelvey and Agger, did today.

Like against Arsenal we played like a newly promoted team that's ready to die for the cause and if crap happens, so be it, we are not a big club.

That's why I'm concerned about our short-term. As we build our team for the long term, we must ensure we keep getting results and not become such a "joy to watch that never wins". Cause if we do, our own players and staff will subconsciously treat losing as the norm.

Oh, and the refs and all our opponents will treat us like this too.

Expert help for our new management is needed quickly.

we dominated that game with 11 men and for times when we only had 10. We're at home and you want to adopt a defend first policy? United barely had the ball or a shot until Shelvey went so I think the set up and preparation was exceptional. Yes Arsenal tought us a lesson but sometimes that happens. We dominated City at home as well and if it weren't for a couple of defensive lapses we'd have beaten them too.

Not everything is working perfectly yet but to suggest the management need help is ludicrous, what would you like, a specialist derby coach? A new coach is going to take some time to get the team playing his way, five games in and you're suggesting they aren't able to prepare a team correctly despite the positives that can be taken from todays game.

 

[#9_Higsta]

Todays refereeing performance was the sort of thing that tends to happen to teams who are struggling. Halsey isnt usually that bad but seemed a bit overawed by the occasion

the real blame lies with those who lumbered the manager with a squad which is starting to look like a cobbled together reserve team, albeit one who do at any rate seem to be trying

Sorry i dont agree ..... Liverpool did not look like a reserve team today, we were by far the better team, we still played better football that united right to the end of the game. The referee dictated the way this game turned out. If he really thought shelvey was a red card then he should have sent evans off aswell , so he got that wrong but even when van persie did the same type of challenge later he only yellow carded him! IMO it was never a penalty how he could give it when he didnt give the one for us when agger went down is unbelievable.

This result is purely down to the referee, as far as i see it the lads couldn't have done more than they did and if they carry on and dont lose belief in what rodgers is trying to achieve it will all come together soon enough. YNWA .

 

[legalalien]

Man united need to be investigated for match fixing with the refs.. This is becoming more than a habit. They get every call there way it's pathetic. Seriously I'm positive something is going on.

You're probably quite right, but what I have been wanting to know for some time now is, how come your avatar looks just like me 20 years ago? You didn't happen to be in Hong Kong back then, eh? It's uncanny.

 

[RichLFC]

Rich i agree with you most of the times but what the hell does the ref's performance have to do with our lack of attacking options ?

That cunt robbed us, pure and simple, it wasn't an off day, he made those decisions having every intention to help United.

he was poor on the day, overawed for me but we did struggle when it came to getting in to shooting positions, there just wasnt anyone there

it is definitely true for me that when teams are on an extended poor run, things all round tend to start to go wrong, including things that may be beyond our control i.e. with refereeing calls and so on, and injuries as well come to that

its easy to be angry with the referees but unfortunately we cant turn the clock back and we are going to have to find some way to win a game soon, longer we go without, the more difficult it may start to get and already fragile confidence levels fall further

there is just nothing up front right now, Suarez was having to try and beat players on his own, or we were hitting balls in to the box with no one to put them in the back of the net

 

[lfc.eddie]

they do get every call, but that's a different issue... it's SAF's influence, in the FA, on matchday, and his words in media. The officials are wrong to let him influence them, but let's not start a calcio rumor, eh?

Yeah, it is never a corruption when it is sanctioned and agreed by both parties. David Gill has a board seat in the FA, who so happened to be the CEO of Man United. That is not corruption, that is legal because no rule saying they can't do what they do.

 

[bigdai77]

he's a decent ref but had a poor game that cost us dear. Something really has to be done about inconsistency and a lack of accountability. It happens to most teams - look at Luiz against Stoke yesterday. Aside from that, I thought we were great today, I do think we'll see the results come in the next few weeks, the team is starting to tick.

 

[Billy Biskix]

Blame the ref all you like. He was terrible, but corrupt? Don't embarrass yourself. Halsey reffed Carra's testimonial. He's usually a good official. Today he was shite.

Why not focus on the real issues that are costing us at the moment and are likely to cost us all season long if we don't do anything about it i.e. no cutting edge and getting caught time and time again on the break.

 

[boogieonalice]

We should appeal. Evans deserved the red more than he. It is the just thing to do.

not sure if appeal will help. The replay does show that shelvey won the ball with the inside of his foot. We have that going for us, but against us is:
1. his left foot curling around in a scissor action
2. right foot coming up afterwards (not that he had control)
3. the aggressiveness of the tackle

it seems like an appeal needs to be beyond a doubt to be successful. Too many arguments on this one. Depends on how much the referee's report details the decision.

Need to remember:
1. an appeal will not get Evans suspended
2. Jonjo will not be excused just because Evans/vanPersie got away with it
3. losing the appeal could add an extra match, which our thin squad can't afford (4 matches in 2 weeks coming up... need jonjo back ASAP)

 

[Prolix]

So far we have:

• the manager (termed the 'management team', but we all know what that means) isn't competent and we should hire an 'expert' to undermine him and somehow magically get results
• matches and refereeing are fixed
• we're heading for the Championship
• it's the owners' fault!

Anyone got any other completely over the top crap they'd like to throw out there?

I used to come on TIA for the quality of discussion, but it seems that at the inevitable sign of things not going perfectly that's going out the window. A pity.

 

[Genius]

Jonjo Shelvey ‏@shelveyJ
I apologise to the fans for getting sent off but no way was I pulling out of that tackle in a game of that importance. Im sorry.

 

[LFC7NH]

I pray that Kelly hasn't done his ACL. Don't be fooled by the fact he walked off, I've done my right one twice and the first time I thought I could get back on the field... Hope he's okay.

 

[sami]

Lets calm down here and see it again, can see Halsey's thinking for sending off Shelvey, but Evans went in as bad.

Horrible truth is that you leave the ground for a tackle you'll be off, ball or no ball. But Evans went is as bad, he however missed the ball and the man, Shelvey got both. That is a good tackle.

But second half Van Persie goes in with his foot showing, only a yellow. Two wrongs don't make a right.