Charlie Adam, Holding Midfielder

By: Noel | February 7th, 2012

For many, there has been a belief that in order to get the most out of Charlie Adam he must be played as part of a three-man midfield, alongside players who will be able to cover for his shortcomings and in doing so allow him to do what he does best—break down tough opponents and create scoring opportunities. And against Tottenham on Monday, he was indeed played as part of a three-man midfield. However, it turned out to be Adam and not Jay Spearing or Steven Gerrard who was tasked with the primary defensive role in a system that seemed designed to force Adam into doing what he’s least suited for while curtailing his ability to contribute in the attacking third.

Adam’s four interceptions and nine attempted tackles—four of them won, and with the player going 2/4 immediately in front of Liverpool’s penalty area—reflected that he was by far Liverpool’s most defensively active midfielder, as did his passing chart, where of the three midfielders he was shown to have by far the greatest density of passes in his own half. This perhaps shouldn’t be a huge surprise in comparison to Gerrard, with the captain having one interception and four successful tackles on four attempts in Tottenham’s half while playing a decidedly advanced role. What is surprising, however, is that Jay Spearing showed little defensive intent against Spurs. In fact, his only defensive actions in Liverpool’s end were made on the right as he at times helped to cover Martin Kelly’s flank against Gareth Bale and made one interception and two of his four attempted tackles there.

By design, it appears as though it was Adam who was tasked with being the primary screening, holding midfielder. Perhaps, with that in mind, his largely anonymous performance in the final third is more forgivable. Yet it’s hardly a slight to say that, even after having one of his better days defensively against a Tottenham side largely content to draw, his contributions in Liverpool’s end of the pitch were far from stellar—particularly a trio of clumsy tackles that gifted Tottenham free kicks within range of goal.

It’s also worth noting that compared to Hederson last week—even though the young midfielder was in a more advanced position—and compared to Lucas before he was injured, none of Liverpool’s midfielders seemed especially interested in building a foundation for the attack. Whether by design or simply a reflection of the natural tendencies of the players on the pitch, almost all of the passing from Liverpool’s trio was direct and aggressive, reflecting attempts to push the ball past Tottenham’s well-drilled defenders quickly rather than stretching them and waiting for holes to develop. Even Adam in the holding role sends almost none of his seventy passes from open play less than twenty yards, and given how little Liverpool created by way of genuine goal threat it certainly seems as though the club missed having a solid foundation on which to build their attacks.

Beyond that, Adam’s unsuitability for the role is also reflected in Liverpool’s two best performances coming from defenders, with Glen Johnson and Martin Skrtel putting in man of the match-calibre performances. Liverpool’s defence has played superbly more often than not when called upon, but given that Tottenham seemed largely content to play for the draw it’s surprising just how often that defence was called upon to save the day. Though of course, suggesting that Adam is poorly suited to play the role of the deepest, most defensive midfielder and the man responsible for screening the defence is hardly revelatory or controversial. And so again, as is often the case, it all comes back to the manager.

It comes back to questions of why, exactly, Adam would start as the deepest player in a midfield trio against a Tottenham side that flustered him into a pair of first half yellows in the fall’s reverse fixture. Certainly he did better this time around, in part as a result of Tottenham’s pressure falling off after the opening minutes and the aforementioned classy performances from Liverpool’s defenders, but that he wasn’t a massive liability is hardly a ringing endorsement. Moreover, chaining him to a more defensive role—one that is anything but his specialty—hindered his ability to contribute the things that he does do well. In the end it meant a performance from Adam in particular, and Liverpool’s midfield as a whole, that while competent enough not to lose hardly seemed best suited to securing a win.

In microcosm it’s a question even the most reasonable fans have been asking all season: Even accepting the shortcomings of the players on hand, is the talent available being used in a way that gives Liverpool its best chance to win week in and week out? Adam’s inclusion in a role he would seem poorly suited for didn’t lead to a loss, but it still left a lot to be desired and seemed a waste of a player when even the most ardent Adam supporter would likely admit the role he was chosen for only highlights his flaws while minimising his ability to make an impact.

It’s also another sign that, cost and wishful thinking aside, Charlie Adam wasn’t only brought in to be a squad player, an impact sub, or an option to unlock tough defences. Many have insisted throughout the season that for six or seven million pounds he offers quality depth and a potentially difference-making skill-set, and that it has only been injuries that have led to him being used—or overused—as a constant starter. That argument seems far less convincing when not only is he consistently given starts ahead of other midfield options, but he is even given starts as the side’s primary holding midfielder over the seemingly more suitable Jay Spearing.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:

Category: Match Recaps, Miscellaneous, Premier League

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Latortillablanca

if we dont look at it from the filter of all this chartage and just remember back to what the game actually looked like, playing adam deepest freed spearing up to pick up men to mark one on one, where he excels, as opposed to asking him to read the game and cover for the other two midfielders, which is his weakness. weird tactic for sure, kinda cutesy. but it worked, right? we kept a clean sheet... what's to complain about?
Nic

Great to see more and more people commenting on here, testament to Noel and Ed's writing ability.

Either that or they log-on as different people and just spar against each other with different opinions :)

Just adding this, i am an Adam apologist, Noel is spot on that he shouldn't have been asked to play in this position and it clearly doesn't work to his strengths.

I'm not sure if we should be questioning Adam for that but rather Kenny? Not SHOUTING Kenny out! just saying Adam was asked to play the role so did what he could in the position, which we all know was not and will never be very much.

On a side note, these were copied from a Tomkins tweet re:Adam

6 key passes, 8 tackles, 3 interceptions, 8/11 accurate long balls, 87% pass accuracy

Doesn't make for terrible reading, although clearly nothing to rate it against.

Although going from the stats above Spearo had a 81% pass completion/accuracy and Stevie 78% and Adam had a 82%

I'm still expecting Adam to be a squad player when Lucas returns and Henderson grows into the role [even though i think he's been doing pretty well].

A midfield of Lucas & Gerrard or a 3 of Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson surely doesn't have room for Adam?
Waiting for Sterling

I mean, the title says it all. Charlie clearly is not and by no means should be used in this position. It's almost counter-productive to anyone who thinks he's good going forward. IMO, I think he's a very boring player who plays in spurts and most of the time is lazy. Every so often he picks a pass that looks spectacular, but do we really need two players like that on the field at the same time? He's not Xavi or Xabi, he's Charlie Adam and that's who he'll always be. Kenny can not play Gerrard and Adam.

In reply to why Jay was not selected as the holding midfielder, maybe it was Kenny's tactics. Modric and Bale were pretty quite for most of the match, besides one Bale fast break that was wasted. It could have been that Jay was meant to keep a close eye on them while Charlie held the fort down. I think after this match it's clear that Hendo deserves a run of games though. I pick him over Adam in a midfield duo with Jay and Stevie playing the Gerrard role (self-named) behind a striker.

I'm glad you pointed out that all 3 center mids were trying to play balls far forward instead of to the wings. As a heavy fan of Carroll I stand behind him in his frustration of always having to deal with arial duels. PLAY THE BOY FEET. You could see Andy constantly hounding players to play it outside and work it that way. I even recall a failed attempt at a cross by Bellars that resulted in a corner and Andy applauded for trying becausssseeee that's exactly what we should be trying to do.

Bottom line and my own personal opinion, shift Suarez and Bellars BOTH to the side of Andy as wingers. Starting XI:

---------The Dog---------
Kelly-----Skagger-----Jonno (Only because Enrique is out, sorry for reminding you.)
--------Hendo---Jay-----------
Bellars-----Stevie--------Luis
----------Big Andy-------------

A heaving attacking side that is very versatile. It has pace, strength and quality passers (NOT ADAM). The mids know how to keep it simple and clean - not counting Stevie as a CM.

After watching the Spurs match I think Kelly is actually better than Jonno overall as a RB.
Geoff Twentyman

I like it; although I'd prefer to free up the front 3 rather than have too much defensive duty for Luis and Bellars. I think Jay can work laterally rather than pressing up field to:

a) free up Hendo to motor around the midfield keeping possession &
B) free up Stevie to support the attackers

possession without an ability to create is just possession. Gerrard must play higher up and pressure Carrrick/Schole or whoever playus deep in their CM, and Bellars/Luis must be closer to goal rather than doubling up on wingers
Ed

"Certainly he did better this time around..."

The moment Noel wrote something resembling a compliment toward Charlie Adam. We can hold this over him forever and ever.
tony

We do not want to bash Adam of course. But he is visibly the weakest link in this team. What do you do when you have the ball? You always avoid passing to a teammate whom you anticipate will do nothing with it and likely lose possession.

Adam is not a Liverpool calibre. Period. But it is not his fault that he is here. Therefore it begs the question to the manager why he is a regular starter.
Jose Enrique's Bicep

I miss Lucas :(
Seanster

Great Piece as always Noel, point accepted, but at this stage can we all get past the Adam bashing. Age aside, he played in the back garden league that is Scotland up until a couple of seasons ago and had a totally different role and environment at Blackpool. Granted, he does make me want to kick me tellly in sometimes but give the lad a break. So he played as our most defensive mid in a game where we didn't concede?

we can't go criticising him week in and out for not covering defence and then jumping on the fact the he did okay covering the defence when he should have been further forward.

His shortcomings are there for all to see but I reckon, given time, he'll turn out to be a fantastic player for us at both ends of the pitch. Age is all well and good as a measurement of where a player should be at but we've got to take into account where chaz came from and stop criticising the fact that he was the "main man" at Blackpool and can't cut it.......etc. Fact is he's been our main creater of chances this season.
nebhamoo

Are you really Charlie Adam?
Seanster

Actually, I do have an unsightly gap in my front teeth and a rubbish right foot.
nebhamoo

If you said you had the turning circle of the HMS queen mary I would've said yep he really is Charlie.
Scotty

It seems that Charlie Adam has become many fans' whipping boy. A tad harsh I would say. I thought he had a decent game against Spurs.

Moreover, and tell me if I am wrong, doesn't he lead the team in assists this season? And his cost was about a third of Downing's or Henderson's.

Lots of frustration re: the Spurs game but I thought we played very well with one exception. The quality of our crossing which was desperately bad for the bulk of the game. Had it been better we could have created more chances.
brother jon

wtf?? indeed. i guess Kenny thinks he's got a magic wand in
charlie's left peg...and that he thinks he'd be jinxing himself if he
left that magic on the bench, but ffs...

and i don't even think Gaps had an especially bad game. i.e. he didn't fuck up as a cdm against a team that (mostly) parked it or worked the wings.

but he doesn't do any one thing well, consistently. which is why (to my eyes at least) half the team would rather knock the ball back 15 than pass it to an open charlie. and that seems just fine by him. so tactical considerations aside, his continued starting could affect squad morale. cuz NOBODY likes a magician that can't do magic. or better, a piano player that can't play the piano.
nebhamoo

So what you're telling me is, it's not all just a bad dream?
Suarez from the car park...

Gerrard was the advanced midfielder, Spearing was tasked with covering the fast wing threat/covering for the fullback so Adam was left holding the centre/deep DM ground.

Presumably Kenny saw his passing ability as valuable in that role to push the play back into the opposition half hopefully with incisive passes, using the Gerrard or the wide men as outlets.

It worked ok though there wasn't too much pressure on us, Spurs playing for the odd counter and nothing more.

The penalty box action was blunted, sometimes by poor balls into the area, or miscontrol by those in the box or just poor finishing.

Whatever the flaws in the system, the ball did end up in the box, there were serious attempts on goal, perhaps not enough, but the finishing was lacking again from all and sundry, despite finding space in the box.

How do you get people to finish? Search me.
jpr

I'll take a performance like that against Spurs every time. That's a very talented team and we beat their asses pretty convincingly in every phase of the game up and down the field. Even without VdV it's still one of the best midfields in the league. Adebayor had ONE shot on goal and Saha had none. Our defense did a magical job in handling Bale, with that one exeption where he broke in on goal (and Pepe had to make that first class save). The only thing we didn't do was score. I thought every one of our guys put in a TOP shift and gave 110%.

We just need to find a way to translate that kind of dominating possession and field position into dangerous chances on goal. I didn't really feel that our inability to create real quality goal scoring chances was on Charlie so much. I thought he played pretty well in general. Not sure what the answer is. We had 16 shots, but never seemed to be really threatening their goal. I just feel that our mids are not pushing into the box enough and the movement among the guys up the field is not coordinated and "cutting edge' enough to be able to carve out really good chances.

We also rely on crosses to create goal scoring opportunities. And we are absolutely shit at it. 33 crosses in that game. 8 successful per the opta stats. I bet you most of those 8 "successful" crosses were where AC gets his head on the ball and the ball then goes straight to a defender for an easy clearance. We cross into the box with one or two guys and five or six defenders and expect to create a good goal scoring chance? Even the rare times we get a head shot, it's always a harmless shot. We float balls in 10 feet over our guys heads. Our crosses are never, Never, NEVER, fucking NEEEEVER dangerous. And a large part of out attacking impetus/build up play ends in a harmless cross followed by an easy clearance/change in possession. Our midfielders are NEVER in a position in the box to get a shot off a Carroll knock down. There is NEVER intelligent movement from our mids while the cross is in the air to dictate to AC where to try to place the knock down. Our mids are 20 yards away watching to see what happens and where the ball goes. We are just completely incapable of creating a dangerous goal scoring opportunity from our crosses and AC knock downs. It's just completely hapless.
Geoff Twentyman

I think we lacked creativity either side of Gerrard with the two wide men doing a very good defensive job, but not offering enough attacking threat.

Adam and Jay were the best double pivot Kenny could field in the circumstances without blooding one of the youngsters like Coady.
purify_the_body

True about the wide men. Bellamy put in a good shift but was unable to get around Walker and Kuyt had a stinker. In particular, there was one time when Carroll flicked it on, Kuyt had it in space with Gerrard streaming into the box, and he dithered and let the entire Spurs team get back instead of just sending it across first time.
Luis Suarez Dentist

Now we can say we have had bad luck this season - which we have.

We can say the FA, Evra and Fungus are a bunch of lying, political cheaters - which they are.

We can say that on occasions players have been played out of position - They have.

But what it really comes down to is that we have too many mediocre players at the club. Charlie Adam is one of these, Carroll is another.

Despite good ball retention i'm not convinced that Henderson is good enough for Liverpool. Downing (a poor mans Jovanovic) has managed to out crap Joe Cole - which is really saying something!

Andy Carroll in fairness has had two or three decent (not great) games in a row. But it comes to something when we are praising our £35 million signing for been commited and holding the ball up!

We struggle against poor teams at home because we lack players who can make a difference in the final third. We are too reliant on Suarez pulling of a bit of genious. If teams sit back against us they know that we will pass the ball in front of them and then inevitably give it to Downing (not the only culprit) who will float a lazy cross into the box for our 1 striker to battle with 2-3 defenders for.

How I miss a Xabi Alonso in our midfield. Three seasons ago Gerrard could look to his left and see Masc and to his right and see Xabi. We just do not have that quality in our midfield anymore.

At the end of the season I hope that Carroll, Adam and especially Downing are shown the exit and we replace them with players who are good enough to wear a Liverpool shirt.
ejbauer11

One of the things I keep reminding players is that when you're lost in a fog, you must stick together. Then you don't get lost. If there's a secret about Liverpool, that's it. - Bob Paisley
nebhamoo

Love it.
Parkje04

Totally unrelated, but Noel and Ed, can we get a post on how awesome Daniel Agger is?

See evidence below. Bale's face is priceless...
kenny

anyone have a video of this? I missed the game
Parkje04

http://www.dailymotion.com/vid...

Skip ahead to 4:20 (giggle) for Agger putting Bale in his place. I love the thumbs up to the ref by Bale after he gets yellow, as if to say the ref got it wrong. What a shit.
jpr

I would love to know what DAgger had to say. Bale seems to be paying close attention and is obviously very receptive. I hope he wasn't being racist or using any foul language.
Red2death

"That was horrible! Who taught you to dive like that! You're a disgrace to divers everywhere! I've played against some truly great divers in my time, and they'd be ashamed to be associated with you. In fact, I'm going to tell Nani and Rooney next week how pathetic you were. You didn't wait to get into the box, didn't check that the ref was viewing it from the right partially-obstructed angle. Heck, you couldn't even get that cat sent off if you tried. Pathetic! And where are your team mates. Do they not support you? Shouldn't they be surrounding the ref by now? Did Harry not make his payments before the game? Watch the Mancs play us this weekend and learn from the pros. Fergie's not gonna sign you with that kind of drivel. He only takes world class professionals. You've got a long way to go! Now get up, kid!"
ejbauer11

I f-cking love my scandanavian brethren. Not that anyone cares, but were it not for Stevie G, Agger would be favorite pool player. Darkhorse candidate: Martin Kelly.

Oh - and here's a post on the awesomeness of Dagger, which post obviously could use some updating, given it was from last season: http://ohyoubeauty.blogspot.co...
Stavroskyrtsosthess

i predict our starting lineup against sc*ms next week:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Gerrard Spearing Adam
Bellamy Carroll Suarez

for me Adam's been a bit underrated by some fans,he plays his part and makes some great long balls and freekicks to create chances.also i think Henderson is underrated,at 21 years of old and he's shown very good talent.who i find overrated though is Maxi Rodriguez.some want him to play all the time for 2 or 3 goals he has scored.he offers nothing else and is too lazy,he never defends.against man utd,Jose was alone in the defence.and yeah we miss Lucas a lot.still a lot to play for and i whisper it but i strongly believe that we will beat the mancs next week.
Come on Redmen
YNWA
Mekusdagama

Maxi has 4 goals for the time he has been on the pitch. We need goals and you wonder why people are clamouring for his inclusion? For all the games Hendo, Downing and Adam have played they have 4 goals all together. And we wonder why we draw games?
hopeur 2100fansdieatOT

How come there is a video of a cat at Anfield but there has been a
donkey playing there every week in a red number 9 shirt and nobody has
noticed???
Geoff Twentyman

I don't think Adam is underrated - he's precisely the type of player you get for 8m.

Henderson has room to grow and we could see a very good player in the coming years.

Maxi excels at finding space and ghosting into dangerous areas, but his pace and defensive work lets him down, although I would have thought he would have seen a few more minutes on the pitch.

Lucas is irreplaceable.
Red2death

Exactly.
Deyansab

Liverpool v Tottenham match player ratings at
http://oursoccerblog.blogspot....
Geoff Twentyman

Jay Spearing is more of a box to box midfielder with defensive midfielder capabilities and capabilities - he is not a disciplined DM who sits in front of the back four sweeeping up.

His all action style of play is suited to pressing the oppositon further up the field, hence why I think Kenny had a word with Adam about hanging back.

With Stevie in the side linking with the forwards, Adam had to sit deep to allow Jay to press.

Adam is not an attacking midfielder in the Nasri/Silva sense. He has a good passing range and vision that does lend itself to sitting a little deeper.

The dynamic of our midfield really does hinge on Lucas.

As the deepest midfilder, a specialist in breaking up play and simple distribution, Lucas affords the pther midfielders the opportunity to play their own game.

Kenny can use our midfiled alongside Lucas depending on the opposition:

Adam to try and create things
Henderson to keep the ball moving
Spearing to press the opposition further up the field

For me it all hinges on Gerrard linking with the forwards and Lucas shoring things up at the back.
ejbauer11

Thanks for the post.

It seemed to me that Spearing played more recessed than is suggested in the post and by the passing / tackling chalks - he just didn't involve himself in the game as much as Adam. That's not to say Adam was deployed correctly, but that maybe both were tasked w/ staying back - w/ Adam's deployment in a more recessed role a waste given Spurs' reluctance to cross midfield (on the soccernet gamecast average position, only SKAGGER's average positions are behind midfield; Spearo and Adam's average position were nearly identical, with Spearing slightly behind Adam). It seems to me that we were playing w/ essentially two holding midfielders, which I would assume was done in fear of being overrun by Spurs. That tactic should've been changed when it became apparent that Spurs were playing for the draw. So either Adam did not possess the tactical nous to move up the pitch when given space, or he's scared-shitless of Kenny and wasn't going to step out of his pre-match role, or Kenny didn't think of directing him further up the pitch, or all of the above. Regardless, it should've been changed. We left one for the taking. I'm also inclined to think Hendo gets the start on Saturday, w/ Adam starting on the bench, which is the only reason I can come up with to justify Hendo not coming on for Adam late in the game. Spearing's forward passes were shite on a number of occasions, by the way. Two or three, in particular, immediately ended what might've been promising counter-attacks. Frustrating all around.

Still looking forward to Saturday.

YNWA.
purify_the_body

But Adam is an attacking midfielder, and he did get forward a number of times. We didn't lose tactically as much as just not have anyone to provide a bit of class or magic to open them up.

Spurs have only lost once in 20 or more matches, and we are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the top half, not to mention the history of Liverpool in the Premier League. So would it really have made a difference to play Henderson over Adam? Seems unlikely, with how deep they defended and how many players they had behind the ball.

A clever run like Bale's or a swift counterattack may have been our best chance to score yesterday, and the way to get that was Suarez on for Carroll from the start...and perhaps Henderson for Adam with Hendo's one-touch play, but I don't know. Henderson is often quite slow in the buildup as well.
Geoff Twentyman

Adam is not an attacking midfielder - he's a playmaker.

You can't compare his sytle of play to Nasri/Silva/Hazard/Gotze.....

He's more in the regista style, but not quite positionally disciplined to be a true deep lying playmaker.
purify_the_body

Yes, he is. :)
ejbauer11

I'll agree that we didn't lose tactically and that we drew b/c we lacked magic / inventiveness: Spurs only crossed the halfway line on a handful of occasions in the second half.

And I don't know that Adam pushing even further up would've changed that. But given that he played substantially similar to Spearo during the game (notwithstanding his normal job is as an attacking midfielder), it seems a wasted opportunity to push another body farther up the pitch in an explicitly attacking role. Again - there were long stretches where we had no less than 6 or 7 men spread out and along their box, so perhaps it wouldn't've mattered at all since there was nowhere else to go.
I'll also agree that Hendo is not always the swiftest counter-attack player, but he's undeniably quicker than Adam as a general matter, so maybe in those last 10 - 20 minutes some fresh legs would've helped?

I don't agree that Luis should've started over Carroll as a general matter, but if Bellers was never gonna play the full 90 (and it's rare that he can, I guess, w/ the knees) then I would've preferred to see he and Luis on the pitch at the same time. The way Bellers has been playing, putting in Luis and taking Craig off doesn't change much, given their style of play.
We've definitely exhibited a frustrating inability to break down bus-parking sides. Whether from lack of confidence or class or luck, I don't know. I do know that we still can nick fourth, but we certainly have been profligate with points.
purify_the_body

I pretty much agree with you, too. I just wonder if shuffling not-top-class midfielders is like deck chairs on the Titanic when it comes to playing teams like this -- Champions League standard. Heart and class are two separate things, no?

We played well against Tottenham but we aren't good enough to beat them without a bit of luck. It's possible that's explanation enough.
ejbauer11

I think Hendo will be top-class in a year or two, but for now, yeah: "Shuffling deck chairs on the titanic..." - don't know whether to laugh or cry at that (particularly b/c I thought Downing would be top-class when we signed him).

I know it's been said many times before, but infuriating to think that midfield is where we lack that necessary spark given that was the opposite of what we'd thought the problem would be back in August...f'ing live or die by the midfield.
N.b. - have to wonder how much better Carroll would look were he not forced to play on the other side of the chasm for so many matches this season.
Mekusdagama

Don't agree with this summation at all. No one prevented Adam from surging into the opponents third but himself. He simply lacked the pace to recover when losing the ball hence he chose the easy route, stay back! Spearing was the obvious destroyer in midfield but even he pushed the game up when he saw the opportunity. Gerrard was definitely the advanced playmaker and Adam chose to cover for him. The only relevant question here is why play the both of them? Gerrard is losing his legs hence with Alonso and Masch he had the freedom he needed. Now with Adam one of them has to stay around the centre circle. Thus, either of them is a liaility. Makes me wonder again why Meireless was let go. As it is now Hendo is our best option besides Gerrard as midfield general. Unless Jonjo or Coady grow up fast.
purify_the_body

In this game Adam chipped in his usual blunder (blocking Gerrard's free kick early on) and he had his usual mix of a few quality balls along with punts into the stands, and in the end he simply wasn't class enough to make a difference.

At one point he pressed high and perfectly ambushed Walker, taking the ball and cruising past him towards the byline with every advantage...but in 2 quick steps Walker made up the difference and easily took the ball from him. Owned.

In the Championship or mid-table, that might have been a decisive move in the game. That's where Charlie belongs and can be a star -- has been a star -- and it's just too bad we have to dissect every performance he makes for us. I suspect Kenny will stick with him through 2012-13 also as a nailed-on starter. He believes in Adam in a way no supporter does.
Danny

well if KK has had an eye on keeping gerrard as the most advanced in a midfield trio when lucas returns, partnering adam and lucas in the centre, it makes sense to give adam some deep end game time, i think he possibly saw tottenhams manager-less, half-squad as an easier game than it turned out. could adam have been put there not for adams defensive education but for spearings attacking education? a nice lil break for wee jay, whos had a couple of great passes and crosses in recent memory, maybe KK thought he deserved a day to remember against an (allegedly) handicapped opposition, at home? and, that cat was cute, no?
DJ-Chutfield

Good fucking question. Had Jay been put in the defensive role where he belongs and Chaz further up, we just may have been able to unlock the Parker-inspired defensive masterclass Spurs put on. The King is trying to build Chaz's defensive game? A league match against direct opponents for fourth place is hardly the right time and place for that. One can only wonder...
Geoff Twentyman

Gerrard should have put more pressure on Parker when in possession - that's probably down to his fitness level, but it just allowed Parker the time to orchestrate the defensive masterclass....
purify_the_body

Adam's position aside, Tottenham are head and shoulders above us and we are no competition for them for places this season. They are ahead of us by 11 pts, just like we lead Villa by 11 pts -- do you think Villa are our direct opponents for 8th place? Don't kid yourself.
DJ-Chutfield

It's my job to kid myself. That's what being a sports fan is all about. WE GONNA MAKE FOURTH YAAAAAAA YNWA!!!
jpr

Let's shoot for 3rd. Let's go you Reds.
Jose Enrique's Bicep

Still hoping we can win the Champions League this season