CHOULO19

As usual with your posts there is that one word that I have no idea what you mean by But I rate McCarthy quite a lot as well and think he can do even better with a higher caliber of players around him. Think it's about time he made a switch to a better side than Wigan (no offence to Wigan)

I actually find his case similar to Mata's last season. He shows some classy touches and creative flair at times but sort of disappears at others and looks to be struggling with the physicality of the league. Mata just looked better because we were really lacking quality in our side last season. I also think his excellent first 2-3 matches made people expect too much of him (just like our great start to the season fooled people into thinking we were title contenders) Point I'm making is that it's only his first season in the toughest league in the world. Let's hope his second is as good as Mata's second season here.

True. I think we need more refs like him (bar the pens to Manu ) who are not just robots who follow rules blindly but smart men who can evaluate a situation well. I remember last season or the one before that a player scored and took off his shirt to reveal a message of respect to his father who had died a week earlier and got booked for it and I thought it was the stupidest decision if it is what the rules say.

Full credit to Webb for stopping the game till the idiot was arrested.

Any news on his injury? If he isn't fit for the game after Leeds (can't remember what that is) we are practically screwed!

Agree, but I think he needs a rest, looked a yard off pace today.

I was judging him by the requirements of playing in the pivot. If he wants to play in the pivot he will have to pick his runs because giving us that extra man in attack is also at the same time giving the opposition an extra man in attack if we loose the ball because we will be defending without an integral part of our defensive system. Also when your playing this deep, you can't afford to be this aggressive defensively because you will be giving players a better chance of getting past you. In the pivot defending is all about containing the other team and covering the channels, not winning possession back. In fact I think Ramires is also too aggressive to play in the pivot but we currently don't have anyone better to play there. Maybe Oscar can play in the pivot in the future, he just didn't show it today imo.

I thought, apart from a few classy touches including the first assist, that he was poor today. Lost the ball too often; I think it was something like 1 out of 9 successful dribbles today.

An open letter from Rafa Benitez: http://www.rafabenitez.com/web/index.php?act=mostrarContenidos&idioma=in&co=2007

Imagine he had missed it He wouldn't have had the confidence to walk on the pitch for the rest of the season let alone score. I was literally on my knees begging when he stepped up.

Extremely surprised by the praise he is getting for today. I thought he terrible defensively in the pivot. His positioning was poor at times and his covering when Ash and Rami went forward was minimal. He also committed himself to tackles and went to ground way too often leaving Rami to mark two men and the defense on the back foot. You could literally see the change in tempo and amount of possession before and after he came on.

I hate to be the pessimistic cunt (that I am ) but today really could have been another West ham. It certainly was similar in terms of performance. We literally only controlled a third of the game: the starting 15mins of each half and we got battered for the other 60 mins. If it weren't for Larson gifting us the penalty just before HT and Mata scoring just after we could have been looking at another defeat imho. If it weren't for Luiz being brilliant and winning every header in the box and Cech's two amazing FK saves we would have definitely conceded more.

Congrats Romper

Would much rather Klopp than Pep tbh. The work he did at Dortmund is unbelievable and his style of football is much more achievable.

That final save by Cech was amazing! Absolutely world class.

DM= Defensive midfielder Despite the score line we were getting battered without a DM. Rafa needs to find a solution at HT. I think we need to switch to 4-3-3 if we want to hold on.

Mikel has a 3 match ban. We currently have no DMs available

Penalty!

We are getting battered without a proper DM and suddenly everyone is under performing.

FFS This is the last thing we wanted to see. I hope it's nothing serious and he'll be back after the CWC.

Just got home. What did I miss? GET IN TORRES!

Welcome We have a lot of Belgian members here so I'm sure you'll fut right in. Stick around and please feel free to contact me or any other mod/admin if you need anything.

Need to keep the momentum of the previous match going. We need a couple of wins on the trot to restore the confidence to the lads.

First time I have ever wished the Daily Mail was right. Klopp here would be an absolute dream. Argue with logic not insults or don't argue at all.

Can we get back on topic please? This is the match thread not the crazy conspiracy theories thread It's not about the Manchester derby imo; we are not genuine title contenders. It's a must win game because of Arsenal vs West Brom and Everton vs Tottenham this weekend. We must take advantage.