Liverpool - The verdict

Neil Dawson said:
We were playing badly and getting humped. We have played well in the last four games and got one point. We have given so many goals away this season it’s mind boggling.

Ultimately we are playing too many players who are not at this level and never really have been... Simpson, Stanislas, Gosling, Solanke shouldn’t be on the pitch at this level and it shows.

Our inability to make the squad right despite time and money and our inability to get players match fit will be the reason we go down if we do.
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Hmmmm Simpson is 5th choice cb behind Ake, Cook, Francis and Mepham, it’s hardly Eddies fault that the other three are injured. Other than a younger inexperienced player who else are we going to get who is better and able to be 5th choice? And before you say we should have kept Mings, I think we’ve all seen the impact this season of having an unhappy player lingering around. As for Stanislas, he was our best player today so you have picked a bizarre moment to bash him. His injury record is appalling for sure and you could make and argument for getting rid based on that, but quality wise he is certainly good enough. Gosling has been pivotal to us staying in this league for so long, you could make a strong argument that we wouldn’t have even made a second season without him. The only bit I agree with is Solanke, clearly not good enough and baffled as to why Surridge wasn’t bought on instead. I get more than most that emotions run high after defeat, but I’m sorry I think you are talking rubbish here!
 
I’m going to ask an extremely boring question, from the stream I was watching I couldn’t see who took over the captains armband when Cook went off, Ake, Smith and Wilson were the obvious choices and couldn’t see it on any of them.
 
Neil Dawson said:
We were playing badly and getting humped. We have played well in the last four games and got one point. We have given so many goals away this season it’s mind boggling.

Ultimately we are playing too many players who are not at this level and never really have been... Simpson, Stanislas, Gosling, Solanke shouldn’t be on the pitch at this level and it shows.

Our inability to make the squad right despite time and money and our inability to get players match fit will be the reason we go down if we do.
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Well that's a surprise. A negative post from Neil ;)

Play really well away at Liverpool....two errors undid us but we were a few inches from scoring three goals there....[ where Stan had a good game, Simpson was solid aside from a couple of sloppy errors, Gosling and Solanke only on as late subs ].....so yeah, a great time to pick holes in the squad again eh....

:sleep::sleep::sleep:
 
Ake was brilliant today and could have scored one of those chances, a future captain, if we keep him. Billing & Wilson played well. Simpson really is a liability In back four, regardless of excuses of age or experience, total lack of nous trying to outplay a class forward when a simple boot up field would’ve sufficed. Rico could have come on and changed positions at back. Liverpool came alive after Cook injury, so frustrating to throw away that crucial lead for such a stupid avoidable error. Cannot understand Surridge not going on, instead of Solanke, he must be seething being brought back after playing so well, just to sit on bench. Solanke added nothing,apart from injuring Billing. Overall good team performance going forward but however well we play doesn’t count unless points won... and we’re seriously running out of matches and chances.
 
The loss of Cook quite possibly cost us a point there, although we will never know. Poor old Simpson....horrendous error for the first goal obviously and a couple of other moments where he nearly gave them the ball....but strangely thought he was solid aside from that. The whole defensive unit was solid aside from those two moments. We probably had more clear chances than they did.

The Ake header, a couple of yards either side would have been in, the Milner clearance from Fraser, I suspect he is one of the few players that would have carried on and cleared it. Good job for Callum with his late miskick that it would have been given offside anyway! [ But he played well otherwise ].

I think we played well....we kept them at arms length for most of the game....we battled, we defended very well for 90% of the game. With Steve Cook for the full ninety and Josh as well [ although Stan played very well ], who knows.
 
davygravy said:
Good job for Callum with his late miskick that it would have been given offside anyway!
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I only saw one replay in the match but Callum was definitely onside for the pass. Ake was borderline but looked on from the one replay I saw. However, he may have been off under closer examination.

Did they show it clearer after the match?
 
So is Franno injured then...? Long-term?

Would have been a very tough call, but Eddie could have put Surman in at CB... He’s played there before and has a lot of composure. Would have done very little for Simpson’s general confidence mind, but we perhaps would have come away with more than nothing if he had...
 
Johnny Comelately said:
He's had 9 games in 3 years. I don't think any of us would shine in any job if we only got to do it 3 times a year
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Don't buy that I'm afraid. If anything he comes on and gives his absolute best to prove he should get more games. Look at Billy Gilmour the other night. Doesn't play regularly but gave a shining performance. Eddie has alot of the blame here. He doesn't seem to want give fringe players a chance. Then again I guess this season we haven't been in a position where we can use that luxury.
 
Red_till_im_ded said:
Don't buy that I'm afraid. If anything he comes on and gives his absolute best to prove he should get more games. Look at Billy Gilmour the other night. Doesn't play regularly but gave a shining performance. Eddie has alot of the blame here. He doesn't seem to want give fringe players a chance. Then again I guess this season we haven't been in a position where we can use that luxury.
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Tbf to Simpson when he does play it's usually to fill in somewhere other than his actual position.....I.e left back v Chelsea or as a right sided CB today ...... unfortunately along with Ming's he's another victim of Nathan Ake's brilliance.....
 
davygravy said:
Well that's a surprise. A negative post from Neil ;)

Play really well away at Liverpool....two errors undid us but we were a few inches from scoring three goals there....[ where Stan had a good game, Simpson was solid aside from a couple of sloppy errors, Gosling and Solanke only on as late subs ].....so yeah, a great time to pick holes in the squad again eh....

:sleep::sleep::sleep:
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Yawn.... yep, had Simpson not thought he was Maldini twice, had Fraser’s lob been a little harder, had Wilson been able to score from three yards, had Solanke not gone in like David Batty on his team mates when he goes in like Nora Batty on opponents then we could have got a point. Take individual errors out of all our games and we would be challenging Liverpool for that title. Nothing wrong then is there.... I must be holding my newspaper upside down....
 
Neil Dawson said:
Ultimately we are playing too many players who are not at this level and never really have been... Simpson, Stanislas, Gosling, Solanke shouldn’t be on the pitch at this level and it shows.
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Very hesitant to reply to this, as I don't want to turn another thread into Neil's ramblings, but really?

Jack Simpson is sixth choice and only playing due to injuries to Steve Cook, Simon Francis, Chris Mepham and Lloyd Kelly.

Junior Stanislas was arguably our best-attacking player today, in a game where we did look threatening against the most dominant side the top flight has seen in 30 years.

Dan Gosling who has put in far more decent performances and had more of an impact than Lewis "Iniesta" Cook.

and Solanke...who I actually quite like but won't win me any favours in this debate...
 
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