Liverpool v AFC Bournemouth

billythekid

billythekid

UTC Legend
AFCB Must Go Into Game With ‘Hope In Their Hearts’

After our home defeat against Arsenal in the league, our youngsters gave everyone at our club and the fans a big boost after beating Norwich City away in the League Cup.
Our next Premier League game is probably another one of the toughest this season, when our club make the journey to the North West and the Red side of the City of Liverpool.

Liverpool known as The Reds play at Anfield Stadium the home of the famous Kop, who always sing before every game the well known song from the musical Carousel, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, it has become the Liverpool anthem. It was taken up back in the sixties by Gerry Marsden of Gerry and the Pacemakers and became a number one hit record. One of Liverpool’s famous managers was Bill Shankly and the story goes that Shankly heard and liked the song and wanted to inspire his players from words from the song keeping faith in yourself, the team and togetherness through tough times. He appeared on Desert Island Discs and this was one song he chose, later the Liverpool fans took it up.

Jurgen’s Klopp side have not had the best of starts to the new 2022-23 season by their standards. Their first two games were against London sides. The first was away against last season’s Championship Champions Fulham at Craven Cottage, the game finished 2-2. The Reds were at home at Anfield for their next game, with Crystal Palace being the visitors, it ended 1-1. This was the first time since 2012-13 season when they drew with Manchester City 2-2, that Liverpool hadn’t won their opening game at home. Their most recent game was away against Manchester United at Old Trafford which they lost 2-1, making this also their worst start to a season since the same year (above) in their first three Premier League games. So there are two ways of looking at this, either there is hope for us in they have had a bad start and are hard hit with injuries, the other side is we could face a backlash and Klopp will be looking for his first win of the season and on home turf.

Liverpool have made three signings so far in the Summer transfer window. Uruguay striker 22-year-old Darwin Nunez from Benfica for a club record fee of £85 million, the initial fee is £64 million, will rise to £85 million depending on certain conditions being met in his contract. Other signings have been Fabio Carvalho the winger from Fulham for an undisclosed fee. They have also signed young 18-year-old right back Calvin Ramsay from Aberdeen for £6.5 million. Most notable player leaving Liverpool was Sadio Mane who has joined Bayern Munich for £35 million. They also sold Neco Williams to Nottingham Forest for £16 million.

The last time AFCB visited Anfield in the Premier League was in March of the 2019-20 season, we lost by the odd goal in three. AFCB got off to a great start scoring after nine minutes through Callum Wilson. But two goals in a nine minute spell in the first half from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane gave the home side the lead and that was how it remained, Liverpool winning 2-1, which was their 22nd successive Premier League win at home and breaking the English record set by Bill Shankly’s team in 1972. Liverpool went on to win the title with 99 points,18 points clear of second place Manchester City, the 30-year wait to win a top title was over.

In all our games in the league away against Liverpool, AFCB have W 0, D 1, L 4.
All competitions against Liverpool, AFCB have W 1, D 3, L 13.

Liverpool Team News
They have a large injury list. The latest is Naby Keita who missed the game on Monday night. Others out injured are Thiago Alcantara, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Curtis Jones, Diogo Jota, Caoimhin Kelleher, Ibrahima Konate, Joel Matip and Calvin Ramsay. Their record signing Darwin Nunez is suspended after picking up a red card against Crystal Palace on his home debut.

Liverpool Player To Watch
Mo Salah, a great player to watch. Liverpool’s leading scorer in every season since he joined them in 2017 (joint top scorer 2018-19 with Mane) and leading scorer this season with two goals.

AFCB Team News
Ryan Fredericks, Joe Rothwell and Junior Stanislas will all miss this game as they recover from injuries. David Brooks is gradually getting back towards fitness. Hopefully Dominic Solanke will be available again after injury.

AFCB Player To Watch
If he is fit Dominic Solanke, been badly missed from our team and his strike partner Kieffer Moore.

The Referee
Stuart Atwell is the man in charge of this game.
He was in charge of our home win against Nottingham Forest at the backend of last season.
 
Billy, your previews are great, but I have to say your first line today just had me shaking my head. You’re better than that!
 
Liverpool are struggling defensively. The centre back and full backs are nowhere near last year's form and they can't find a second centre back.
Normally you'd think about tightening up for a game like this, but you actually have a chance by having a go. A front three, with Moore roughing them up would be a way to win.
Their midfield struggled against the energy of ManUre, so there's another opportunity.
Will we go for it? Over to you Scotty.
 
If we play three at the back then it has to be with a front three, either Moore and Solanke with Tav in behind or Moore up top with Anthony left and Christie right. None of this nonsense we witnessed vs Arsenal of just throwing on as many defensive players as possible and hoping for the best. If Moore is going to be that isolated again then we may as well just take him out of the team too and stick in another defensive player! Imagine it:

Travers
Smith Mepham Senesi Kelly Zemura
Billing Pearson Lerma Tav Cook

The line up Parker thinks about when he makes love to his wife.

In all seriousness Cook deserves to start, I’d play him with Billing who was fantastic vs Villa. The issue we have with the three at the back is Senesi, he doesn’t look anywhere near ready for the physicality of the PL yet. He even struggled vs Jordan Hugill yesterday!

My team would be:

Travers
Lerma Mepham Kelly
Smith Zemura
Cook Billing
Tav
Moore Solanke (if fit)

I’m sure people will get their knickers in a twist about the prospect of Jeff in defence, I don’t know why. His ability to find a teammate with a pass is very suspect and he doesn’t even offer great protection to the back four, he has great energy but this isn’t the game for that. This is the game for midfielders to be disciplined in their positioning and to close down passing lanes and choose the right moments to press, Lerma just doesn’t have that in his locker. He demonstrated this in abundance vs Arsenal.
 
These four paras below are from the Liverpool Echo.

Also the article goes on and Jurgen Klopp mentions he had thought of changing the structure for Saturday, but his problem is his choice of players.


Having failed to take flight after three Premier League games, Jurgen Klopp will be thankful of a Saturday afternoon visit to Anfield from a newly-promoted club.

But the Reds cannot be under any illusion that the game with Scott Parker's Bournemouth offers an automatic route towards three precious points this weekend.

In fact, Liverpool must alter a frankly absurd trend that began way back in May before they can think about finally picking up a win this term. Manchester United's opener in the Reds' 2-1 loss at Old Trafford on Monday was the seventh successive league game that Klopp' men have fallen behind in.

And with an injury-hit and underperforming Liverpool team spluttering so far this term, having taken just two points from a possible nine, a repeat on Saturday does not bare thinking about.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/spo.../jurgen-klopp-darwin-nunez-liverpool-24832472
 
KingKieffer said:
If we play three at the back then it has to be with a front three, either Moore and Solanke with Tav in behind or Moore up top with Anthony left and Christie right. None of this nonsense we witnessed vs Arsenal of just throwing on as many defensive players as possible and hoping for the best. If Moore is going to be that isolated again then we may as well just take him out of the team too and stick in another defensive player! Imagine it:

Travers
Smith Mepham Senesi Kelly Zemura
Billing Pearson Lerma Tav Cook

The line up Parker thinks about when he makes love to his wife.

In all seriousness Cook deserves to start, I’d play him with Billing who was fantastic vs Villa. The issue we have with the three at the back is Senesi, he doesn’t look anywhere near ready for the physicality of the PL yet. He even struggled vs Jordan Hugill yesterday!

My team would be:

Travers
Lerma Mepham Kelly
Smith Zemura
Cook Billing
Tav
Moore Solanke (if fit)

I’m sure people will get their knickers in a twist about the prospect of Jeff in defence, I don’t know why. His ability to find a teammate with a pass is very suspect and he doesn’t even offer great protection to the back four, he has great energy but this isn’t the game for that. This is the game for midfielders to be disciplined in their positioning and to close down passing lanes and choose the right moments to press, Lerma just doesn’t have that in his locker. He demonstrated this in abundance vs Arsenal.
Click to expand...
Great analysis of the situation imo. Senesi is an interesting one, it was only 3 months ago he was playing in a major European club competition final and being called up to the Argentinian squad. Liverpool don’t have particularly physical players up front and the only way he’s going to adapt to the league is by playing games. Tough call for Parker.
 
On my our first league visit to Anfield (you remember, "we won" 1-0 thanks to Tommy Elphick's disallowed goal (0.47 in the video below) and Benteke's blatantly offside effort (2.09) I went to the Flatiron after the match. There, courtesy of Peter Wicks RIP, I met a taxi driver from the Wirral who gave me a free ride back into the city. Since then, the Flatiron has been my usual port of call.

However, can anyone suggest anywhere else decent between Lime Street and the ground?


PS. Liverpool's no. 33: has "never should have..." ever been more applicable?
 
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Let’s not forget our inbuilt ability to play struggling teams into form. I think Liverpool have too much about them for this to be anything other than a 2 or 3 goal beating.
The hope in my heart says go for them from the off. Rattle them. Chase everything down and if necessary pump loads of high stuff onto Kieffer’s head. I’d like to see some of the lads from last night on the bench and if it’s not going too well throw them on, see what youthful exuberance can do.
 
Been to Anfield three times. Only once have I seen afcb there, and that was the last match before lockdown.

As a student in Coventry I saw the Sky Blues at Anfield in the League Cup (my 12th League ground), and later saw Luton play there, with goalie Les Sealey giving a cheekly behind-the-back V-sign to the Kop! Unlike today, it was taken in good spirit without pages of 'soccer shame' media outrage.
 
KingKieffer said:
If we play three at the back then it has to be with a front three, either Moore and Solanke with Tav in behind or Moore up top with Anthony left and Christie right. None of this nonsense we witnessed vs Arsenal of just throwing on as many defensive players as possible and hoping for the best. If Moore is going to be that isolated again then we may as well just take him out of the team too and stick in another defensive player! Imagine it:

Travers
Smith Mepham Senesi Kelly Zemura
Billing Pearson Lerma Tav Cook

The line up Parker thinks about when he makes love to his wife.

In all seriousness Cook deserves to start, I’d play him with Billing who was fantastic vs Villa. The issue we have with the three at the back is Senesi, he doesn’t look anywhere near ready for the physicality of the PL yet. He even struggled vs Jordan Hugill yesterday!

My team would be:

Travers
Lerma Mepham Kelly
Smith Zemura
Cook Billing
Tav
Moore Solanke (if fit)

I’m sure people will get their knickers in a twist about the prospect of Jeff in defence, I don’t know why. His ability to find a teammate with a pass is very suspect and he doesn’t even offer great protection to the back four, he has great energy but this isn’t the game for that. This is the game for midfielders to be disciplined in their positioning and to close down passing lanes and choose the right moments to press, Lerma just doesn’t have that in his locker. He demonstrated this in abundance vs Arsenal.
Click to expand...

I really hope we don't play with three at the back. I would prefer one of our energetic midfielders tracking back to help defend (Maybe Cook or Lerma). We have to be brave. If we lose being brave then so be it, but a defensive mindset that bores the hell out of the supporters and probably the team can't happen. I would like to see Anthony given a chance to team up with Zemura again. He played the full 90 yesterday, though, so who knows if that will happen. I would drop Kieffer to the bench and play this team:

................................Travers
.........Smith Mepham Kelly Zemura
..............................Cook Lerma
............... Christie Tavernier Anthony
................................Solanke

That will be an awesome line up to give Liverpool a headache.

Alternatively, if we have to do it Parker's way:

..............................Travers
...........Mepham....Senessi....Kelly
....Smith......Cook.........Lerma........Zemura
..................Tavernier.........Anthony
...............................Solanke
 
I noticed yesterday all three subs who came on against Arsenal and started to make a difference all played the full game at Norwich, plus taking penalties.

If they were going to start Saturday, thought SP might have brought one or two off earlier.

The other thought to this, maybe he wanted to give them minutes after they had been on the bench.

Will be interesting what team he decides to start with at Liverpool.
 
ErikthViking said:
On my our first league visit to Anfield (you remember, "we won" 1-0 thanks to Tommy Elphick's disallowed goal (0.47 in the video below) and Benteke's blatantly offside effort (2.09) I went to the Flatiron after the match. There, courtesy of Peter Wicks RIP, I met a taxi driver from the Wirral who gave me a free ride back into the city. Since then, the Flatiron has been my usual port of call.

However, can anyone suggest anywhere else decent between Lime Street and the ground?


PS. Liverpool's no. 33: has "never should have..." ever been more applicable?
Click to expand...
Robbed that night.
The 2-2 draw a year later was a great night.
https://www.skysports.com/football/...atch-highlights-as-josh-king-scores-equaliser
 
sjhafcb said:
Great analysis of the situation imo. Senesi is an interesting one, it was only 3 months ago he was playing in a major European club competition final and being called up to the Argentinian squad. Liverpool don’t have particularly physical players up front and the only way he’s going to adapt to the league is by playing games. Tough call for Parker.
Click to expand...
Perhaps we are seeing first hand why a defender who was playing in a major European final last season has ended up at Bournemouth. You’d think that a defender of his stature wouldn’t even look twice at a newly promoted team, maybe scouts at top clubs could see that his lack of pace and physicality would be an issue when adapting to a new league. Not to say that he won’t adapt in time of course, the only issue is do we have the time to give him? This guy is either going to turn out to be one of our greatest ever players or he will be seen as one of our worst transfers of the PL era, there will be no i between. I have to be honest, although I expected an adaption period, I did not expect him to look quite so suspect straight off of the bat.
 
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