Benítez, The Great Money Waster?

[Me]

How is glen johnson doing at right back...husssh mi know it a hot yuh....top 4 mi say

Haven't seen him playing at right back. When did you see that?

Poor thing. Man head a hot him. LOL

[Sir X]

Sarcasm got u confused......peter stay outta it,me affi defend im almshouse....man say a di worse right back in england and the king ave im on the left.....question is would anyone put such a man on the left?....man tun fool..question still stands for me....

[Peter R]

sometimes i'm slow on the uptake...

[Sir X]

[FONT=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1: In-Depth Tactical Analysis

• Part Free, Part Member,Talking Tactics
  
  Posted on February 7th, 2011
  Posted by by Kais
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  While this wasn’t a particularly exciting game, from a tactical perspective there was plenty to intrigue. A fourth consecutive win under Kenny’s managership and a fourth successive clean sheet – just the sort of sequence that, in Hodgson parlance at least, would be described as a “juggernaut”.
  Tactical line-ups
  Having used a 4-3-3 for most of his Chelsea tenure, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti reverted to the 4-1-2-1-2 he had experimented with against Sunderland last week – a shape he had attempted at the beginning of last season as well – employing Nicolas Anelka at the tip of a diamond midfield. This was evidently a precursor to his accommodation of Fernando Torres in the starting line-up, as the former Liverpool striker replaced Salomon Kalou alongside Didier Drogba in a two-man strike force for the Blues.
  King Kenny continued with the three-man central defence he had utilised against Stoke, albeit with Jamie Carragher returning from a protracted injury lay-off following a dislocated shoulder sustained against Tottenham earlier in the season, to replace Kyrgiakos in the starting line-up. Skrtel moved to the centre of the back three, while Agger and Carra played on either side of him, as Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson reprised their wing-back roles further forward.
  The Liverpool midfield four was of particular interest: while Kenny had deployed a midfield ‘square’ against Stoke, with two deeper-lying midfielders and two in advance of them, here the shape was a diamond. Lucas Leiva was the most withdrawn of the four, playing as the sole holding midfielder in front of the defence; Gerrard and Maxi operated as determined shuttlers (or ‘carrileros’) on the right and left respectively; Meireles continued in his now-familiar role ‘in the hole’, supporting lone striker Kuyt.
  
  
  Key tactical points
  To be sure, this was a tactical victory in a fundamentally defensive sense. For LFC, the strategy was three-fold:
  1) Spare man at the back
  From the outset, it appeared as if Kenny’s decision to persist with the back three in order to counter Drogba and Torres was an astute one; as I’d discussed in the post-match analysis of the Stoke game, the use of three centre-backs is – theoretically, at least – designed to be negate the threat offered by a team playing with two strikers. Two ‘markers’ contend with the two frontmen, while there is the security of the ‘spare’ defender who can ‘sweep’ up behind them. For instance, when Carragher was occupied by Torres, and Agger by Drogba, Skrtel’s role was to provide cover as the extra defender, in the eventuality of any attacking danger. Further, if one of the strikers attempted to drop deep to collect the ball – as Drogba notably did in the 35th minute – one of the central defenders (Carragher, in this situation) could pursue him with alacrity, as two central defenders remained to secure the defensive area. (As an aside, Skrtel’s cover was also crucial in the sense that, Carragher, in his advancing years, would be naturally susceptible to Torres’ pace, so have an extra defender as ‘insurance’ was imperative).
  In addition, both Drogba and Torres tended to stay high up the pitch and in central areas even when Chelsea were out of possession, whereas they might have attempted to use the channels more in an attempt to drive a wedge of space between the outside centre-back – either Carragher or Agger – and Skrtel in the centre. However, the fact that both Carragher and Agger have both played at fullback before meant that they were comfortable enough to pursue the strikers into wider areas when the need arose. (Agger’s foul on Torres, close to the left touch-line at around 25 and a half minutes, is an example of such an instance).
  Although, admittedly, Chelsea did have plenty of chances from open play (not many clear-cut ones, to be fair), there was a distinct lack of cohesion between the front two, as Torres, in particular, cut an increasingly frustrated figure as the match wore on. His eventual substitution in the 2nd half – and the now widely-disseminated statistics showing him to have had the least number of touches of any outfield player during his time on the pitch, 29 in 66 minutes, according toOptaJoe on Twitter – suggest that Liverpool’s back three were effective at nullifying the threat posed by Torres and Drogba.
  As the chalkboards below demonstrate, Salomon Kalou (whom Torres replaced in the starting line-up), was far more involved against against Sunderland – a game in which Chelsea also used the diamond formation, while Sunderland used only two centre-backs against Chelsea’s front two of Kalou and Drogba (so there was no spare man in defence) – than Torres was here against his erstwhile team:
  
  In fact, Chelsea’s front two and Anelka looked more effective in a defensive posture: Reina was unable to distribute the ball to the peripheral centre-backs from short goal-kicks as easily as he had done against Stoke, because the Chelsea strikers would frequently mark the outside two central defenders (Torres on Carragher; Drogba pressing Agger), while Anelka would push up to close down Skrtel – forming a de facto 4-3-3 for Chelsea, but a tenuous one, as it only materialised from LFC goal-kick situations.
  By the time Chelsea had made a genuine switch to a 4-3-3 in the 2nd half, so that the advanced wide-attackers might drag the 2 outer centre-backs out of position and thus create space, LFC had taken the lead; this prompted Dalglish’s instructions for the wing-backs to drop deeper – along the same ‘band’ as the centre-backs – creating a 5 versus 3 advantage in defence for LFC (3 centre-backs plus two full-backs, in effect, against 3 CFC attackers). It therefore allowed the three centre-backs to remain central and not get drawn out wide to confront the likes of Kalou and Malouda. This necessarily entailed a shortfall further up the pitch for LFC, but it proved inconsequential as the Reds sought to cede both territory and possession in an attempt to remain defensively impermeable.
  2. Matching Chelsea’s shape in midfield
  
  Kenny’s rationale for altering the midfield square used against Stoke, to a diamond here, was presumably to replicate Chelsea’s own alignment in midfield. As Michael Cox of ZonalMarking.net correctly points out, each LFC midfielder had what was essentially a direct opponent in midfield: Lucas, as the deepest of the four, picked up Anelka in the trequartista role; Gerrard tracked Lampard; Maxi confronted Essien; and Meireles contended with Mikel further up the pitch.
  Lucas, in particular, was brilliant at restricting Anelka’s efforts to find space behind the two Chelsea strikers – as the Frenchman had done to great effect in his ‘trequartista’ role against Sunderland – by closing down astutely and tracking his movements between the lines. By virtue of the diamond midfield’s structure, the major creative burden of the team rests on the player at the apex of the diamond; keeping this player (Anelka) subdued was thus crucial.
  

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[Paul Marin]

Yuh forget to mention the staggering wage bill that many of these duds costing the club. It's one thing to make a net profit from the purchase and sale of players, but you also have to consider the huge wages of these players that drives down the club's profitability.

Liverpool has posted profits under Rafa more than once. Profit is something I wouldn't expec' you to understan' since yu tun to di darkside...young Anakin. (dem need a light saber smilie)

[Sir X]

Liverpool prove that the team is more important than the individual
Craig Rimmer took the trip down to Stamford Bridge to see Liverpool's 1-0 victory over Chelsea - and what a trip.
Written by Craig Rimmer on February 7th, 2011 18 Comments

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Chelsea 0-1 Liverpool
Sunday, 6th February 2011

A feeling of regret may just have been being to bite at Fernando Torres as he returned to his new London home on Sunday evening. Whilst the vociferous away following in the corner of the Shed End had done their best to leave him in little doubt over who was the bigger club. The Liverpool players had put in their best efforts to prove that the gap between the two clubs on the pitch, which the Spaniard had hinted at, may not be quite so clear cut.

The events which played out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon could have been plucked straight from a Hollywood script. The hero-turned-villain returning to face his former comrades, on whom he had recently turned his back and whom he no longer felt matched his values and ambition. Only to see all come back to haunt him, as his former colleagues triumphed at the conclusion.

All of the attention both before and during the match was predictably focused on Torres. But this was not a day to be concentrating on the past and allowing former acquaintances to take centre stage. This was a moment to look forward positively to the future and celebrate the immense turnaround which has taken place in the 28 short days since Kenny Dalglish’s return to the club.

This was a superb team performance. Full of guile, determination and effort. Not to mention some outstanding defending. Everyone – both playing and coaching staff – deserves credit for achieving a result which would not have seemed feasible just a few weeks ago.

And that without the firepower of recent big money signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll. Suarez was an unused substitute. Whilst Carroll continues to recover from injury.

Jamie Carragher and Daniel Agger were colossal at the back. Preventing a potentially lethal attacking trio of Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka and Torres from laying siege to the visitors goal mouth. So much so, that Pepe Reina was actually barely called into action for the entirety.

Match winner Raul Meireles, Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva outshone a Chelsea midfield, which has so often been the key to their success over recent years. Lucas, in particular, stood out. The Brazilian delivered another performance full of persistence and energy. Refusing the Chelsea midfield time on the ball and consistently retaining possession. Whilst Dirk Kuyt also deserves great credit for a tireless display as the lone-striker, occupying John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic and bringing others into play.

Meanwhile, in the dug out the majority of the praise has been reserved for Dalglish – who has clearly implemented a greater freedom of expression and more pleasing style of play. However the role of Steve Clarke in the turnaround should also not be overlooked. His influence on the defence in particular has been discernable. The Reds have now not conceded a goal in over 400 minutes of football.

The West Londoners were off-colour. However Liverpool also prevented them from playing and made Chelsea appear short on ideas and creativity. The home side seemed to be finding it more difficult than their counterparts to adapt to a new, unfamiliar formation.

Despite a couple of early scares – which were more the result of some uncharacteristically slack Liverpool passing, rather than incisive Chelsea play – the Reds were unflustered for the most part. This was a deserved victory. On a ground were Liverpool have a poor record over the last 20 years.

Torres was somewhat reminiscent of the striker which Liverpool fans had witnessed – and stood by – over the last 18 months. Largely ineffective, aside from a couple of first half cameos. Chelsea’s new man appeared to be taking time to adapt to his new surroundings and a new formation.

The former Red was very nearly gifted an opportunity in the opening 2 minutes, though. Maxi Rodriguez offered his friend a leaving present when his slack pass presented the ball to Torres 30 yards from goal. Yet Torres blazed his effort over the bar from outside the box.

Liverpool were again caught in possession. This time Lucas was out-muscled by Dider Drogba. The Ivorian feeding the ball through for Torres; only for Carragher to appear on the scene with a crucial block with Torres sensing his chance to strike.

But everyone in a red shirt barely put a foot wrong from there on in. And, having tempered the threat of Carlo Ancelotti’s men, Liverpool began to grow into the match.

Maxi really should have broken the deadlock before half-time. In fact the Argentine is never likely to get a better chance than this. Gerrard’s drilled cross from the left of the penalty area found Maxi, three-yards out and facing an open goal. However his first time effort somehow caught his shin and agonisingly struck the bar.

Liverpool’s delivery into the box from wide areas was causing some problems and confusion amongst the home defence. And it was from such an attack that Meireles struck the decisive goal. Gerrard’s cross – this time from the right – was not dealt with by Chelsea, with Kuyt loitering. And Meireles should great desire to make up the ground and fire past Petr Cech at the far post. His fourth goal in five games sending the travelling fans into delirium.

Chelsea were struggling for penetration and ideas. Torres had already been withdrawn to the delight of the away following. And Anelka, initially Chelsea’s main threat when operating from deep behind the front two, was no longer influencing the game.

Michael Essien had flashed a shot from distance narrowly over, before the opening goal. And Reina was required to save at his near post late on. Whilst Chelsea also had claims for a penalty, when Glen Johnson barged into Ivanovic when challenging for a header.

Yet, it was the Reds who came closest to increasing the scoreline on the counter-attack. Johnson went close with a shot from the edge of the box. Before substitute Fabio Aurelio out-foxed Terry and forced Cech into a fine save to keep it at one.

Liverpool fans continued to taunt their former striker up until the final whistle. And Torres was, without question, destined to make all the headlines, whatever the result. However the significance of this win and performance for those still at the club will not be lost on Liverpool fans in Merseyside and beyond.

[Me]

Cause him mussi a struggle pon the right. LOL

[Sir X]

Got you ! put the wutliss bwoy outa position fi expose im shortcomings.Kenny is a bigger idiot than Rafa and Cappelo at least dem mek im play im true position.

The only one who ave your masterfull train of thought or sense was Hodgson, bench im baxide yes.

3 points off relegation by last years end.

Top 4 mi say.

[Me]

top baller who did a defend well at right back LOL