tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621067242654259279.post8735766820582800136..comments2023-10-25T13:23:25.230+01:00Comments on Hikayat Skuter Hijau...: Liverpool 2010/2011: Dismantling the Rafalution?Chiphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05838305605723415744noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621067242654259279.post-77250245247087906942010-12-08T22:18:00.350+00:002010-12-08T22:18:00.350+00:00Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with you...Great post, I am almost 100% in agreement with youAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621067242654259279.post-90543414354330348532010-09-01T11:00:58.068+01:002010-09-01T11:00:58.068+01:00True... I see what you mean. It's not just abo...True... I see what you mean. It's not just about how deep teams defend, it's also about how they press the ball, and in that sense I totally agree. You can't give the top teams any time on the ball like before if wanna pull off an upset.<br /><br />I think it's because the top teams have also been learning how to play against teams who sit back and defend. United reverted to a traditional 4-4-2 with two wingers to stretch the opposition defence and send crosses in from out wide. <br /><br />Cristiano Ronaldo had a lot of difficulty against the smaller teams who sat back because he liked to dribble in-field (and never seemed to realise when it wasn't working), whereas Antonio Valencia goes wide and sends the ball in more often. You can't sit back against players like that. You have to press them higher up the field to make sure he doesn't get the ball or in to positions to put the ball in.<br /><br />As for that freak result against City, maybe Hodgson was hoping to build on Liverpool's greatest strength last season - their defense. They had the best defensive record outside of the top two, and they weren't too far behind either. But he needs to realise that a lot of it was down to Mascherano pressing from midfield as well, not just the back four. If he thinks the back four can soak up pressure against teams like Man City, without Mascherano, then he's being naive.<br /><br />He seems to have realised that, though, buying Mereiles as a like-for-like replacement for Mascherano. Not on the same level, but quite similar in terms of his style of play. He'll put himself around quite a bit in midfield, but unfortunately, he probably won't win as many balls as Mascherano. Then again, who could?Ian Yeehttp://bit.ly/ianythingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621067242654259279.post-70985407125864481352010-08-25T09:47:15.670+01:002010-08-25T09:47:15.670+01:00Hi Ian,
So, all that messing with the comments th...Hi Ian,<br /><br />So, all that messing with the comments thing finally worked! Good of you to drop by my humble blog.<br /><br />As we're in agreement with points #1 and #3, I'd just like to expand on the second point you made.<br /><br />Mourinho's Inter did "park-the-bus" against many of their opposition but they pressed and harried all of their opponents. Something that was definitely lacking with the Liverpool team on Monday.<br /><br />If Hodgson works on that, Liverpool should be fine against the bigger teams or at least, not lose by that many goalsChiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05838305605723415744noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1621067242654259279.post-51422365941126730742010-08-25T05:08:20.549+01:002010-08-25T05:08:20.549+01:00Hey Chip,
Nice blog you're running over here ...Hey Chip,<br /><br />Nice blog you're running over here ;-)<br /><br />1. It is a real shame that Aquilani has to go out on loan. He's a magical little player who would have gone some way in filling the void left by Xabi Alonso if he was fit. I guess he just needs first team football now to get his fitness back. But as a United fan, I hope he never comes back...<br /><br />2. And though I do agree that a Liverpool team with all those players at their disposal should never sit back against a team like Man City, I don't think it's true that "all good teams" should do it. Not everyone can play like Barcelona. Inter Milan played sitting back a lot and they won the Treble. United defended deep and played on the counter a lot during the season they won the League and UCL double too. It all depends on the opposition, I guess.<br /><br />3. Yea, putting Gerrard anywhere else apart from attacking midfield/in the hole is a waste of his abilities. Why leave such a potent attacking force to do all the tackling? It's like asking Mascherano to play up front.Ian Yeehttp://bit.ly/ianythingnoreply@blogger.com