Fulham 1, Liverpool 0: No Luck, No Finishing, No Fun

Any one cared to have watched what Fulham did to the Tottenham, the hottest team in the league, at Craven Cottage last month despite a losing effort? Spurs got lucky. The LFC managers must have studied the game film, right?    

I have been supporting Liverpool since i was 7! Currently, i am 29. Those were the heydays of John Barnes and Ian Rush...screaming my head off and feeling so proud. I am still proud of my beloved Reds but when on earth will i see us lift the trophy again? This hurts! The longing, annual fevered hopes and false dawns. As soon as Lucas finally added steel to our midfield and made our backline stingy Fate had to stick our her skinny leg and trip him up; in the Fulham game, she added a couple of coats of paint to the goal posts just to deny us! Not content we just had to have the rotten luck to play against rookie referee. It's cruel being a liverpool fan but i will persevere.

I almost cried at the end of the match....

we will see what squad kenny chooses for qpr. If carrol plays again, we can all be sure that kenny has his own personal agenda and we will even struggle to make 7th place. The EPL is a hard league now and there is no room for experimentation. right now unless we WIN our next 5 games, there is no hope for a top four or even five finish.

we're 10pts out of second, with 2/3 of the season (72pts) to play for. early days.

even earlier for 'kenny...personal agenda', no? 

agreed, not much joy from(for) andy so far, but we can't permanently abandon him at the same time we're struggling to score goals.  to me, the problem is we're asking him to be Heskey and play with his back to goal.  or asking him to be Nando and control, create, and finish by himself. i.e. he's not getting much service from the wings. so why not start him with Stewie e'ry onceina, isn't that what we got him for?

I don't know that we can say "personal" for sure. It could be professional, because having Carroll succeed has been the plan and goal of the entire club for the last 10 months.

They planned on him carrying the club for years like Torres did, if you can believe it. Jesus Christ on a popsicle stick!!

silly me, i thought the 'professional' agenda was qualifying for CL (and giving the title a run).  so, it's only having Andy succeed is it? 

Let's say you want to get from your house to a big city 200 miles away and your plan is to go by car, so you buy a brand new shiny car for a lot of money. On the morning of the day to go, when you go to the garage to drive your car, it doesn't start. 

Some would say to leave the broken car there, waste no time and take a taxi to the bus station to get a bus to the big city. Others would say to take the time to open the hood, fix the car, and drive it to the city as planned. Even if that means a delay because you have to take it to a mechanic.

Does this story help you understand better? In both cases the goal is the same.

excellent allegory... but there is one problem. Lets say we must get to the city in 3 days, fixing the car takes 4 days. Do we give up on the city and fix the car??

not as useful an allegory as you might have imagined. Beat QPR!?

It's football lads and lasses (I'm sure we have some around), we get screwed on calls, (Suarez off/notoff) it's what happens.  It sucks, when luck doesn't bounce our way.  If it had been 5 degrees warmer would Hendo have scored?  Would Suarez have not been ruled offside.  If the pitch been damper would the keeper been able to push downing's shot onto the post?  When Suarez does something stupid give the international sign of peace to the home fans it's just stupid and shows his frustrations.  Would you be frustrated if you had the goal to shot ratio he had?  Or even more so, the Goal to oh-my-RobbieFowler-how-did-that-not-go-in ratio?  It's football.  One of these days, Suarez is going to get 4 or 5.  This season?  Next season?  Who knows.  It's the agonizing affliction antagonistically associated apparently with being so close and yet so far.   But when that day comes boys, I'll be proud to have said I knew it was coming, and even when the chips were down, and we couldn't score to save our collective lives, add on top of that keepers being absolutely outstanding against us, I was a redman.  It's Liverpool FC that I love.  The day will come, when a man among us shall rise up and take Liverpool to the forefront of English football.  That day may come soon, or it may come when I am an old man, but it is coming, mark my words it is coming.

Yego, baba!

hap tip for that 5 word alliteration. is there a holiday in Alabama or somfink?

I'm glad someone noticed, I had 3 accidentally and then said, oh lets go for broke.  No holiday, just a boring day in the office.. and by boring I mean I'm ignoring work.

Bobby, you're a top man. My intended post was so similar in tone that I scrapped it in order to acknowledge yours via reply.
 
For many, including one or two compadres on here, there are fuck all positives to what happened yesterday because for most, the result is all. You're a shit player or you're a world-beater. Kenny is the Infallible King or, as one insightful gent said, "Kenny Out!!".........yeah.
 
Then there are those who don't lose their shit every time Mama doesn't give them sweeties. Those who see that, although the Fulham result was hideous, the performance, overall, was good. The performances have been almost uniformly good (the abomination at Spurs aside). Even pinatas like Chaz have warranted less and less pummelling of late as our pass-and-move style flourishes under Kenny.
 
Last night I wanted Dirk and Maxi to start. Last night I was frustrated, again, by Big Andy. Last night I cursed the absence of good fortune that has plagued the club since Dalglish's return.
 
However, last night I also applauded Hendo's composure and authority, Spearo's safe productivity and Skrtel's continuing emergence as the league's top old-school stopper.
 
We've lost the most effective midfielder in the Prem, a guy many of the knee-jerky 'Kenny-Out' types would have loudly derided over recent years. Any team would feel that and we certainly did. Had Kevin Friend the sense of an amoeba, we would be better able to judge how plan B (life without Lucas...and Gerrard) was progressing. Initial observations suggest that the new midfield is a little too porous but busy and creative.
 
So, hats off to Bob and his ilk for not going down the shouty road of the reactionary. Thanks to Ed for another top-notch and fair-minded write-up (this is not an easy task so soon after a sickening result and I appreciate it). God, I love this club and think about it more deeply than most. This has led to much post-match angst in recent times (again, kudos to Ed for not simply ranting in the match-reports) but after some time breaking shit and scowling at my wife and daughter I can eventually see how much is right at the club.
 
Things are a bit shit but other things aren't...it's like life, man... The one constant is our love and passion for LFC and the centrality of the club to our lives...that, and the incredible ability of Redmen to strike the woodwork.

Kind words sir.  I love Liverpool FC.  I will always love Liverpool FC. 

yego, baba again!

This Yego baba, what does it mean?

forget wat the baba means, but yego means 'yes' in a variety of different african dialects.  jus a typical affirmation in these parts..

Thanks, but now I'm only more than slightly concerned at the baba... :-)

I noticed Pepe's fumbles have gradually increased this season compared to last, I wonder if its a confidence issue or what has changed. Usually such a reliable keeper. What is happening wiht Spearing now, how long will he be banned for.

Niall Bishop
http://liverpoolslipping.blogs...

I think three is the max, I'd guess Liverpool appeal though.

I doubt it, likely only 1 game.

they say the table never lies, but imo liverpool have been unlucky not to be higher up the table this season. I just think of all the chances we have created and have not scored not too mention hitting the post just under 20 times this season. i think i read somewhere we've had more shots than any other team this season and have had most corners along with one of the best defensive records. we need some luck to get us 3 points and really finish teams off, lets just hope that we get 15 points over the next 5 games and see if top 4 is still achievable.

Henderson completed 95% of his passes.... now THAT shows how much better he is in the middle.

Is that really true?
That is stunning. I thought he was rather invisible, other than the nice poke at goal.

AVB must be thinking...WHAT THE FUCK?????

if we win the next 5 (qpr @villa @wigan blkbrn and newcastle - very doable if not likely) we'll have taken 2 pts a game for the first half of the season.  and then losing one late (a man down) at the hands of the best american player evah, wont hurt as much.
til then, more shots from distance please (and look for the rebounds).

As a fan of any club, any time you find yourself saying "if we win the next 5", you know you've gone past the point of reason. I'm so sorry, brother jon...

thanks (i guess), tho ur pt is better made in april/may than december. but i suppose that leaves an extra seat on the doom n gloom (i mean, reason) bus then. ur welcome.

Nice, balanced game analysis. And really spot on. But since poor player selection is getting to be a chronic condition with the Reds, it's time to actually call out who is responsible for it....it's Kenny. No need to pull any punches here. It's a problem for him not only for the starting line-up, but also subbing.

You shouldn't be too disappointed. The Nasty-Set-of-Teeth gave it a real go, with his dives, attempt to convince the referee to give a penalty, and his fooballing trickery. It just wasn't meant to be. 

im done making excuses - andy carrroll is shit.. & wats even mo annoying is he is bringing down the team's attacking finesse with his bumbling, unintelligent play - for Christ's sake kenny wats wrong with playing maxi?

Not good enough. Now we can blame the ref (who was poor) we can say we were unlucky (which we were) but the fact is this. We are not good enough. The buy British policy has been an absolute disaster. We all knew when we brought Carroll, Downing (no goals, no assists) and Henderson that we were paying way over the odds, but that is no reason to play them repeatably over better players. Henderson in fairness has shown signs that he may in the future become a decent player but the other two have been mediocre on their best days and outright atrocious on their bad days.We have got Bellamy a player who didn't make the grade with us first time round, and despite the enthusiasm and pace he has never been a consistent goalscorer and is very much in the autumn of his career. A player who was playing in the Championship last year is now a Liverpool player!?We have purchased a midfield that comprises players who were last year playing for Blackpool, Sunderland and Aston Villa and they are supposed to take us into the top 4 and challenge for trophies?We have a genius in Suarez. But who do we have to play quick one-two's and link with him? Carroll certainly can't do it! Downing - not a chance. How many through balls or quick one-twos has Downing played? Next to zero. Adam will only pick out Suarez if he can pass the ball via Hollywood.The sad thing is we have a player in Maxi who could link with Suarez but he is repeatably left on the bench. Now it may well be true that Maxi's biggest positive is that he is not Downing but come on King Kenny give him a chance!We lack pace (with the exception of Bellamy) and teams have wised up to the fact that if you can stop Suarez (by fair means or foul) then you are well over 50% of the way of stopping Liverpool.Now yes we have been unlucky at points this season. If the goals were an Inch wider we would be looking a lot better! We seem to have had more than our fair share of dodgy refs decisions as well. But lets not kid ourselves that we are the only team that racks up chances against the samller teams. The cold hard fact is this. We have played Swansea, Stoke, Fulham, Norwich, Sunderland and scored a total of two goals and a total of 3 points. No way near good enough.Again I must mention. Since Barnes and Beardsley Liverpool have not purchased a British player who has been a success. So what on earth prompted the buy British revolution? The only English players that have been a success for us over the years are scousers brought through the ranks like Gerrard, Carra, Macca, Kelly etc.We must face hard facts. A few years ago our midfield had Alonso, Masc, Gerrard (at his peak) Kuyt (at his peak). Now we are over reliant on the only player who is good enough to be mentioned with the above Lucas. Of course (bad luck again) Lucas is injured.Downing (no goals, no assists) has spent his whole career playing for mid-table teams. He has never shone or stood out and all of a sudden Liverpool are paying £20 million for him? Insane!Adam had a good season playing in a free role for a relegated club and all of a sudden he is supposed to be good enough to play for Liverpool?Henderson had hardly set the world on fire with Sunderland as we spend £14 million on him and start him ahead of one of our most reliable players (Kuyt)?Carroll had half a good season and we spend £35 million on him? Absolutely crazy!Now the more positive of our fans are saying 'well if we have a good run then we can still challenge for the top 4' or 'give the British players time they may come good'Seriously is this how far we have fallen? That maybe 'challenging' for the top 4 is considered acceptable? That buying mediocre British players who 'may' do a job for us is considered good enough?We are Liverpool FC. A giant in Europe and across the World. A bad season for us should be 'one year we finished second' (to butcher a Bob Paisley quote!). We need to remind the players, ourselves and the whole World that we are Liverpool FC and show them exactly what that means.Now please, please, please, don't take this as a Kenny out post. Kenny has made some mistakes and I'm sure privately he would admit that. But make no mistake he saved us from even worse mediocrity at the hands of Hodge Podge. The man is a legend and always will be and I have faith that we will bring back the glory days. However, with that said we need to seriously review our purchases (no more over rated, over priced British players please). I have big doubts over Comolli and I do strongly suspect that Downing (no goals, no assists), Carroll and possibly Adam will all be sold at the end of the season back to mid - lower table teams where they belong.Come on Liverpool lets get back to where we belong.

"The cold hard fact is this. We have played Swansea, Stoke, Fulham, Norwich, Sunderland and scored a total of two goals and a total of 3 points."

Ouch, the truth hurts! Please don't slag off Bellamy, though. He has been brilliant.

yes. this season, getting into the top 4 is the name of the game. 
rehashing summer transfer business in december, less so. 

Those you don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them....

there are some decent points mixed into the typically blunt logic, but did you have to make my eyes work so hard for it?  paragraph breaks!

Firstly, I'll never take a paragraph break for granted again.

I don't think the officials could have been more influential in that game if he wore a blind fold.Senderos could have had 4 yellow cards, should have conceded a penalty and Suarez' brilliant goal should have been given.  That's the game sown up.

As for the over riding point from LSD, I wonder if many fans including LSD, aren't taking for granted who would sign for lfc currently without European footy and monster wages.

Given that, you're into choosing lesser overseas players, always a risk.  If you're a mid table team, you can take that risk as you don't need outstanding performances.  

Comolli's record, going by Spurs and Arsenal,  is buying young players who need a couple of seasons of development.   The lower the wage structure the more he had to go overseas but it took time to get them working into a new team (and with Spurs a new manager too!).

The loss wasn't a bad performance, we just didn't get the job done and Fulham defended everything very well in numbers, from the midfield back.

important point re: attracting players.  'why buy british'?   because its more attractive for a top british prospect to come to LFC's rebuilding project than it is for a top french/brazilian/argentinean prospect...

My apologies.

For some reason when I put a comment on here via my Blackberry all sentence structure seems to vanish!

I suppose that blunt Logic is still Logical?    ;o)

indeed ;p

With all the players Kenny's bought , he had better alternatives already.
It seems that  Kenny finds  proving  that the new signings are successful and promising more important than gaining points.
But don't you dare be so hard on him.
Because you never know is that what he wants, or what he was told to do...

If only Henry were Russian, it would all make sense. 

There's nothing I hate more in football than the fact that you know these guys aren't idiots, yet they can't make better decisions than a bunch of blunk droggers. 

They're trying to run the new players in.  Next summer is clearly intended to be a big clear out of seniors (extend contracts or remove) but they need the new guys to show where we're at, and the lower table teams are being used to showcase that and sort them out.

As for last night, if Senderos had got 2 of his 4 yellow cards, conceded the penalty as it was and Suarez' brilliant goal was given, it would have been a riot.

They defended in packs, we didn't get the decisions and Reina fumbled.  That's it.

Comolli's signings at Spurs/Arsenal have taken a couple of seasons to really come good (and at Spurs, a change of manager).

Sure, but about a third of the signings at Spurs never worked out. There's no guarantee a player will succeed just by waiting.

wait a minute, shouldn't a two-thirds hit rate in the transfer market be seen as exceptional...??

I know the problem... it is my shirt, I wore it again yesterday. Sorry Liverpool, I will not do it again. I swear, just win. Please.

How could you?

All about the cups this year, only way into Europe in my opinion

Why would we want to play in the Europa League? No thanks.

Before i get smothered with hate replies, i want to be the first to say it: break the bank and get Torres back. Suarez is starting many of our moves..but the problem is essentially the other way round-we need him to be the finisher NOT the starter. Our current finisher just doesn't fit in. The obvious solution will be to make Suarez the finisher but then again who starts the moves? Maxi, Bellamy and Kuyt can to an extent. Torres and Suarez were made for each other. Gosh! Why did he have to leave? Spearing was unlucky today but he'll have to improve his positional sense and ball distribution. This is the first game all year i have seen another team take a lot of shots at Reina and slice our defense way too much for my liking.

I want to believe in Carroll but he's not giving me anything to go on as much i would wish it.

Torres back would be nice.  If anyone can revive him, Kenny can.  But for a whole lot less than 50m.

lol!  u had me goin there for a second, but u gave it away insinuating that torres is a finisher... good one!

Just chalk it up as another vote for "we need a striker".

I want an FA investigation if you're gonna call him that.

I think he remembers old Torres.  Not Torres-come-lately.

torres is still a world class finisher, he just doesnt get the service at chelsea he got from liverpool

i feel like a parent who's just watched their teenager make some dimwitted mistake for the umpteenth time in a row, and just can't muster the rage anymore so now its just "disappointment"... *sigh*
 
Id agree with the sentiments alluded to by Ed & GT - are we gonna go through this doomsday thing every single time we come up with a dissapointing result?  cuz its boring. 
 
That first half was a great platform for a win.  When suarez stayed left and andy focused his runs up the gut, and hendo was doin his all action thing, and adam was looking crisp and aware, it seemed like just a matter of time before a goal would go in.  the 433 looked at the very least viable.  and then in the 2nd, just inexplicably poor.  9 was drifting out wide and coming deep, forgetting that his only competitive advantage is to go stand in the 18 and bruise some faces.  hendo basically disappeared.  it became evident that adam didnt have lucas next to him.  equally evident that spearing is not lucas. (where was lucas? he wat? oh...) so a game we shud've gone from edging to bossing to winning, instead went from edging to even to wtf how did that happen?  *sigh*
 
you've all made points re: specific players, agree with some more than others - but at the end of the day the main point that no one can disagree with is we didn't compete as a team in that 2nd half.  that's basically wat it comes down to. 
 
What i learned, again, and i can't believe we have to keep going back to this - when Carra and Stevie are out, the only "old guard" inspirational leader we have on this team is Dirk Kuyt.  That's it.  No one else.  Not agger, not reina, not bellamy, not suarez.  Dirk Kuyt is our only available leader that can motivate, inspire, organize and galvanize the side midgame.  that's his thing, its why he would start for every team in the world.  So, why on folwer's green earth was he on the bench?  Craven Cottage is not exactly known as a walk in the park type game, and in case kenny had forgotten, there were a couple players on their team with a point to prove after last season.  We can sit here and deliberate and bring shit up after the fact, but it is kenny's handsombely compensated responsibility to think about these things beforehand and get them right.  i can't guess as to what kind of squad he thinks he has, but what i'm seeing in hindsight is no leaders on a pitch for a tough away fixture.  disappointing result?  wtf did we expect? *sigh* 

I haven't had the strength to go back and watch it again, but I don't remember us not competing in the 2nd half. Fulham were never going to score without Pepe dropping the ball, and for a while in that second half we had the ball continuously in their box. 

2nd half was when we had the break with the penalty appeal, wasn't it? The problem there wasn't a lack of competitiveness, but Adam delaying his pass too long. Play it to the open man on the wing, dummy!~

lol, i shuda known!!! i rly shud start running my post's by you first. u know, to ensure their accuracy... 

for me, all of hendo, adam, bellamy, carroll, and johnson either went missing completely or were ineffective in the second half.  spearo was about as bad in the 1st as he was improved in the 2nd positionally, and then he got sent off, so he literally wasn't competing...  u were the one talkin bout downing playing so pathetically shook... 

so, ok, only half the team wasn't competing in the second half...

maybe, but we were kind of playing the officials too.

they certainly didn't help us, but that's always a mild salsa excuse.

Well, now we do need to think about what to do for replacing Lucas. :/

rough first outing for spearo, but he showed enough to suggest he can come good.  hopefully he'll do well enough that we'll only be shopping for a loan or a back up... 

Some comments from the southern tip of Africa. 1. Pepe actually fumbled three shots of which the thrid cost us dearly. He has done it before this season. But he has also been good at coming out to smother attacks. 2. The loss had nothing to do with Lucas missing. Kuyt and Maxi should have played. Kenny is making some strange selection decsions. 3. I think Hendo had a very good game.

i think i agree with that.

i agree

Officials determined the outcome last night.

They defended in packs, we didn't get the decisions and Reina fumbled.  That's it.

First half we actually looked pretty good. Always looked the more likely to score. I need to find a video of Spearo's clearance (tackle on Dembele??) in front of Dembele. I still can't picture in my mind how his studs ended up on Dembo's ankle. I know you mentioned he seemed to be raising the studs in the follow thru, but I need to see it again. Always tough to go a man down. 8 of their 19 shots were in the last 20 minutes. Schwarzer made a great save on Downings shot right before they scored. We have to find a way to get goals. 14 goals in 14 games (+3 OG) is a recipe for disaster. Our D is still strong. A little more porous without Lucas though.

Gee there's a lot of over reaction and contradiction on here today....

Come on man its not over reaction,i think its totally normal considering we are really fucked up again and again when it comes to luck,maxi being not included,carroll being shit and all those chances being not converted....

Exactly. Maxi in against Chelsea, chance converted, win.

Senderos could have had 4 yellows, we could have had a pen, Suarez' goal was good.
They defended in packs, we didn't get the decisions and Reina fumbled.  That's it.

its an overreaction in the same way a lot of us overreacted to beating a confused chelsea side...  we're some where in between the side that drew to citeh and lost to fulham, that's a pretty good foundation to be getting on with.  plenty of time to come into our own.

Is really shame because Liverpool just won Chelsea twist then lose to small chicken team like Fulham. This is because player never play hard and the only know how to fuck off! I can said that Liverpool will play at division one if the player character never change! Is shame to support to Liverpool. Better support Manchestet City! Fuck Liverpool!!!!!

Yes...Fuck Liverpool....................Yes. 

wat the hell? wat gibberish fuck u chicken

Good point, we defintetely need to not fuck off against small chicken teams.

WTF!!!are you for real???

Probably not.

With Suarez failing to control himself again (using a hand again but for other reasons than stopping a ball), he looks likely to be banned for at least a game.  

When Andy and Luis were bought, the jokes were that we got a fighter and a biter. I was worried that we had purchased a slow and aggressive brute and another who was prone to irrational and unprofessional behavior.  After an impressive end to last season, Suarez appearing to be under control and fine display against Man City by the big man, respectively, I thought the gamble had paid off. Now, those early concerns seem to the be constant narrative with these two. I want to defend the Uruguayan, but he just keeps treading that fine line.  At some point he will become too great a distraction and no amount of penalty-box trickery will be worth it.  

Contrair. Mario Balotelli is looking really good these days. That's just me, though. 

ballotelli is world class.. no question. In carolls place.. he would get the job done

Wait, that didn't make any sense. sorry. just saying that I'd put up with attitude if the goals stood. 

Just finished watching the replay:

1) Liverpool are great at keeping possession, yet when they get within reach of the penalty box, they aren't going for the kill.  I have not recently seen a player try to make something of a situation himself and then pull up for a shot.  I can recall only Downing doing this when he almost scored late in the game.  LFC get numbers and when there is nothing available, they pull back or go into the corner.  I am completely in favor of a pass-and-move game, but you have to take the defense on one-on-one sometimes, at the very least to show them that you are willing to do so.  During the early part of the first half, LFC were dominating, but Fulham had the better chances on their counter-attacks.

2) There is very little creativity in the midfield.  Related: I am sick of Adam's Hollywood balls (he's so proud of them...).  Henderson had one good run, but any player should have done what he did and likely better.  You could have driven a truck through that hole that was given, and he could have taken a powerful shot instead of trying to dink it in.  To be fair, Fulham closed rather quickly once he made his move.

Charlie Adam is tough and he's got a cracking left foot, but he doesn't appear to be very smart on the field, and he can't break down the opposition.  This team really needs a playmaker in the midfield like Gerrard (victim of the British hospital system?), or Aquilani (whoops), or Merielles (whoops).  I feel like FSG really wanted to make an impact this offseason and picked up a bunch of nice players.  However, they just don't seem to work well enough together.  Sometimes, I feel that dropping Suarez deeper might be worth trying.

3) The Andy Carroll problem.  Well, there are multiple problems really.  For starters, he's slow.  I don't think he won a header of consequence the whole game, which is indicative of lack of quickness, positional understanding, or fitness.  Maybe all three...  Then what is worse (and this game wasn't the worst example of it) is that the squad sees big Andy up front and they lob it forward hoping he will do something with it.  Tonight, he didn't win any of those balls.  Other days, there aren't people waiting to get the balls he does win.  To top it off, both Downing and Enrique are excellent crossers, which I am pretty sure is why Downing was brought to Liverpool, but it's just not working with Carroll.  After early season success, it seems that Enrique and Downing are too similar in the attack.  I would suggest moving Downing out right and let him try to be a goalscorer, but that negates his best talent: crossing.  So there is a left side built to cross the ball to Carroll (who is left footed by the way, when the ball does get low), who can't seem to get unstuck from the mud long enough to get a head on the ball.

Also, what is with Carroll checking back to the ball, receiving it, passing it back to the passer, and then finding himself 10 yards from midfield instead of making runs near the box?

4) Henderson took himself out of the witness protection program, but he still did very little positive with the ball other than the aforementioned run towards goal.  Johnson was not very good tonight.  He didn't get forward well and made some mistakes defensively.  I wouldn't mind seeing Kelly get a start soon.

5) I thought Spearing had a solid game.  He made some mistakes with the ball, but I think this was his first EPL start, so I can forgive that.  His positioning and defense was very good though.  I won't comment on the red card except to say that LFC should have created more chances and scored at least once by then.  Rarely does the ref beat a team...  I do miss Lucas.

6) I feel like there is hesitation to criticize KG's decisions.  I get it, he's a legend.  However, I am not British, nor from Liverpool, nor a lifelong LFC supporter, so I will make suggestions from 5000 miles away.  I don't think the formation/player choice is working.  It's time to try some new things.  This 4-2-2-2 seems like it really works for defense, as the multiple layers provide a nice cushion for the back four, but it isn't allowing for midfield creativity.  I would like to see Maxi and Shelvey get a chance to play.  And how about this Ngog fellow?  Never seen him play, but maybe he would hook up well with Suarez.

7) Something positive: Skrtl, Agger, and Enrique were fantastic tonight.

Over analysed.
They defended in packs, we didn't get the decisions and Reina fumbled.  That's it.

how can you complain about lacking creativity in one sentence, and then bash adam's passing, which, if nothing else, is creative almost to a fault?

I gueus u meant N’Goo.

N'gog on Bolton's books, thank goodness. Kuyt is perfectly suited to play in a formation like we used, anyway.

Henderson is getting better all the time and has been contributing every game (not sure why you didn't see it). He is doing some of the "Maxi" things right a lot, for example small touches in midfield to keep possession that are not eye-catching but add up to quality play.

About going for the kill...yeah. I think Bellamy and Suarez do, but Henderson and Downing sometimes seem so hesitant, like they need the opponent's permission to attack. Not aggressive. Downing often looks downright scared.

i've no problem with henderson.. his getting better and better and his got potential and downing needs a quality finisher in the make of torres, drogba,ibrahmovic etc to finsh his crosses.

Apart from the goal he scored against Everton, I can't remember a single good thing Andy has looked good doing this season. He falls over, misses penalties, runs very slowly, scuffs shots and brings in a general sense of busy but frustrating malaise to whatever side of the pitch he is occupying. It's not that I don't think he is trying, but he is like a college frat boy who out of his element.  He was living the dream, albeit and  alcohol-tinged but productive one with his mates at Newcastle. Now it's just not that fun, and everyone is expecting so much, and he didn't ask to be sold for 35m, and so on and so on. 

Oh wait, he did score in the league cup, too. Still, a forward needs to score goals and he can't for whatever reason. Maxi doesn't seem to have the problem, so why is he on the freaking bench?!  

So, come January we need to buy another striker, a replacement for Gerrard because I don't think he's ever coming back (yes, I am in a bad mood) and another DM.  On the  plus side, with Spearing out, Shelvey could make a glorious return and score a butt-load of goals. Am I right?! 

come janruary.. we need to sell caroll and buy a top, top quality striker/finisher even though. If not that, we must bench carol and play our winning combination (maxi, bellamy, kuyt ,suarez)

For such a big dude, Carroll goes to the ground a lot.  I would like to seem him fight through some challenges or keep his balance on occasion.  He's like a teetering drunk.

It's not like everyone else is banging them in is it?

How could Dalglish have thought that Fulham away was a good time to test a 4-3-3 with Andy Carroll as the spearhead.  Our consistent problem this season has been scoring goals and Andy Carroll is the main reason behind that.  With Lucas injured I am confident that our season is going to be defined by Charlie Adam and Andy Carroll.  We need to spend in January and that is an indictment of Dalglish and Comolli.  We were not bold.  Jordan Henderson, Jose Enrique and Sebastian Coates are the only players that look like good long term purchases.  Downing has quality but given his age and lack of high end potential only looks like a £12-14 million player.  Bellamy is great but he is 32.  He is basically another Maxi, but older.  Charlie Adam is a central midfielder that has to be carried for stretches of matches and this is unacceptable.  We can talk all we want about how much Andy Carroll 'actually' cost but we SPENT £35 million pounds on him.  It looks like wasted money at the moment as he looks like he needs, at least, a loan to play himself into form.  The squad is in desperate need of someone who can carry the ball with pace and do something creative.  We need a also need a finisher, particularly someone that likes to operate on the right.  Central midfield is a complete mess without Lucas.  It was really inefficient yesterday.

I completely agree that Carroll "looks" like wasted money, but it is a long-term investment that will hopefully pay dividends.  I am the first one to argue that he needs to be on the bench right now, but to loan him out would be a huge mistake.  He doesn't need to develop his game - he has the game, as evidenced by his superb play at Newcastle which made him worth 35 million (or thereabout).  He needs to develop at Liverpool.  And he may need years to do it.  But sending him to a Championship side, ala Shelvey is not what Carroll needs.

What he needs is a racecar seat on the sidelines, while he watches Maxi and Suarez make the magic happen.  

They defended in packs, we didn't get the decisions and Reina fumbled.  That's it.

Unfair about adam.He is really playing some good football right now.

I disagree.