NEIL was joined in the tower by Ben Johnson, John Gibbons and Rory Smith as they reflected on Jamie Carragher’s last ever European appearance for Liverpool
Music this week from DoubleDoublePlusGood and Silent Sleep
Direct link to CITYTALK: 10p MIX
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I was not at the match, but wondering if everyone in the ground gave the “behindyer!!” scream to arr Jamie. Did not seem as though Agger was bawling a warning, are our players so aloof now we can’t be bothered communicating. Could have cried when I saw Suarez at the end. Can only pray to the gods he decides to stay next year.
Is there anything wrong with the podcast? I can’t play it on my ipod even though others are no problem.
Jamie Carragher has spent almost 20 years making last ditch tackles then hoofing the ball as far as he could.And we were grateful for that in so many games in the past.So,Jamie’s not to blame.
But why ask him to start playing tippy tappy in his own area.His natural inclination is to find row Z.
Just look again at what happened the other night.They came forward in numbers and we the played pass and move to get behind them.That’s great when the opposition are trying to regroup and players are trying to reorganise themselves.You can catch them out.
But when a long ball is played forward with nobody on the end of it and we pick it up it’s like formation dancing.They start to move forward to close Carragher down and limit his options.They know he’s looking for a “tippy tappy” pass so already they are moving towards Agger and Enrique.They know he’s going to try and shuffle it to one or the other.Next thing we’re in trouble because we’re playing this stuff along the back four with everybody drilled to pass it backwards and sideways.
Look at Barcelona.They play “tippy tappy” but when the back four gets it they immediately get the ball to somewhere around the half-way line before they start playing “tippy tappy”.
Pass and move is a great philosophy but there’s a time and a place for everything.
Substitutions? Downing might have had a knock.But I know this much from watching the game.He was desperate to stay on.He knew he would find a second wind.The same with Henderson.He wasn’t that productive but a player with that committment is worth his weight in gold.
But the subs changed the whole dynamic of the game.The momentum was lost and they started to impose themselves more and more.I can guarantee you this;if you are playing in a game like that you just know that you are going to win.The whole team begins to get more and more in tune with each other.Every player begins to get an extra yard and every other player knows they are going to do that.They become increasingly convinced that they are going to win.That’s the nature of football at this level in those circumstances.
You might say that Rodgers needs another 4 or 5 years to learn this stuff .I would just ask why?
You might say that Rodgers is inexperienced in talking to the media and shouldn’t have criticised young players when he was the one who picked them.But why?
You might say that he he deserves another 4 or 5 seasons to get the team he wants because we were a pretty poor side when he came in.But why?
We were at 2 cup-finals last year and but for the Suarez affair we would have done a lot better.No need to go on about Dalglish or Benitez or Hodgson or anybody else.
Just why Rodgers seems to think he’s now managing some down-trodden relegation-threatened club and now he’s trying to save us is just a mystery to me.
This Club is one of the biggest Clubs in the world.We’re not Leeds United.But if we’re not careful we’re going to be heading that way.Why?
Anyway,I just think that in the main it was a great performance against St Petersburgh but we should have got through.
I just have a lot of doubts about the present set-up!
Didn’t see too much wrong with the performance on Thursday but the substitutions came at a crucial time and didn’t pay off.
I feel for Carragher, it looked from his body shape like his intention was to knock it back to Pepe and get into a position out wide to receive it again. Nothing wrong with the idea, just poorly executed.
Carraghers error, the double substitution and our failure to net a fourth were not the reason we went out, the cause of our exit occurred a week earlier.
Queue BrianB to demonstrate a point made in the show, that one of the challenges facing Rodgers is that with some fans he will not get any credit, simply because he isn’t a previous favourite manager, or does not have the depth of experience on his CV of a Roy Hodgson.
Trying to lay Carra’s mistake at the manager’s door!? A badly miss hit back pass has nothing to do Rodger’s introducing “tippy tappy”.
It may well be that a different approach to the substitutions could have seen us get a further goal, but on the other hand maybe not. Many of the fans moaning about the substitutions will have been groaning when Allen’s name appeared in the starting line up, or will have been calling for Shelvey, Assaidi and Suso to be given game time ahead of Henderson, Allen and Downing.
At the end of the day, we should credit all the players and the manager for a great performance against Zenit. Unfortunately they simply left themselves with too much to do after the first leg.
Fella’s, for some reason this weeks podcast won’t play off direct link on my Android phone. Is there any chance you can look in to providing a download for Android please.
Thanks
Is anybody else’s podcasts playing too fast?? The city talk one and tonight’s!!
Marclfc – if it’s an iPod/iPhone you may have the 2x button pressed. It is below the progress bar when held in the vertical position.
I haven’t seen the 2nd leg yet, but my worry from our patchy form is the team don’t seem to be playing for each other. Downing obviously has a reason to celebrate his goals as if he’s the only man on the pitch, and Sterling’s change in workrate is possibly due to distractions off the pitch, but overall the impression is no one feels a certain part of the team into the future. Pepe may be going, Carra and Stevie are ageing, and most importantly the style change demanded by Bren hints at Barca like players being desired, and we have players with the English direct line of attack approach. Wins will unify; losses will dishearten.