they just dont seem to be cutting it this year...

what are the problems in your opinion?

just 2 clean sheets so far?
lack of consistent scoring?

i know i dropped reina as my goalkeeper...

Nothing to worry about just yet but plenty to look forward to with Agger about ready and Aquilini not far behind him.

Stevie was pants yesterday neither attacking of dropping back but even the best have off days.

Last year, they overachieved. Liverpool's right league place is 4th

They need to push on this year or find some cash next year(investors) or they could really start to struggle.
Just showed how much Alonso was the key in that midfield.

Before anyone says anything,United are a team in transition again,but if Hargo dont come back we could all be fighting for 2nd.

problem is retaining possession for me and effectively starting off new attacks. when are are being pressured we just cant keep the ball and lucas and masch dont have the ability to pick out that killer pass which alonso used it. they just take too much time

agger will help i guess in that as he is good on the ball

a lot rides or aquaman, all the pressure is on him. in the mean time i really do think we need gerrard in cm playing a deeper role to start off these attacks

they just aren't very good and selling alonso was a bad idea. the italian boy mite be decent and make a bit of a difference but is it all over already?

they treated themselves to a big pair of boots last season and this year there feet have shrunk.......lol


simply put there far from good enough. they have been found out very early on.

Nothing to worry about at all. We are only 6 points off the lead.. that said, I didn't believe we'd win title anyways, especially when Alonso left. I've give up on giving Lucas time to adapt the the EPL - We need rid of him. Can't wait to see Aq fit, and for him to hopefully settle in quickly.

I can't look past Chelsea for the title mind you - I believe we will finish 3rd at best. Man City to finish higher then Le Arse also.

Yeah Chelsea are looking good, but they usually start well and fall apart around christmas time. They started really well last year under Scolari and ended up collapsing, i'm hoping they do the same this year too but who knows...

By your comment i'm assuming you think Liverpool are gonna finish above arsenal? Or do you think city will finish above arsenal AND liverpool? They only times arsenal have lost has been against city and utd right? Other than that they have been looking awesome, despite having injury worries again.

We will finish above Arsenal. Their squad is still weak up front and the midfield doesn't look good at all, they have no depth whatsoever.

Sure they've had big scoring games, but look at who they were playing. Pompy and Blackburn are going down... Everton are in all kinds of trouble. They are no more impresive then our 4-0 Stoke, 4-0 Burnley and 6-1 Hull score lines.

Even in the Chelsea game we had more of the ball, had two beautiful chances to score, one from torres and that Benayoun miss, plus the penalty we should of had, Drogba dragging Skrtel down from the corner. On any other day we would have won the game - It just wasn't our day, and Chelsea took their chances, well done to them.

Our season isn't over, we will continue to push. I'm not going to be delushonal and say this is our year, because it's not. Last year we had a fantastic go of it and fell short. This year we sell our playmaker and play Lucas in his roll... never gonna happen.

Let's hope Aq is worth the £20m.

Their squad is weak up front and their midfield doesnt look good? This from a liverpool fan!?!?!
Arsenal forwards: Van Persie, Bentner, Vela, Eduardo

Liverpool forwards: Torres, N'gog....

Arsenal Midfielders: Fabregas, arshavin, rosicky, song, denilson, ramsey, wiltshire, walcott, diaby, eboue, merida

Liverpool midfielders: Gerrard, mascherano, benayoun, kuyt, lucas, aquilani, babbel, spearing

Also, your defence is looking a shambles, especially so thanks to benitez' blind love of zonal marking.

It's all a matter of opinion but i can't see you finishing above arsenal, maybe above man city but who knows, we can hardly say much about them at the moment.

So says the sky Zombie,try forming your own opinions based on facts insted of spewing the shite you are force fed on your weekly dose of armchair football,you're talking about a defensive system that has helped Pepe win 3 golden glove awards on the spin only missing out on his 4th by one goal.

Blind love of Zonal marking you muppet.

We are missing big Samis influence around the place but that will pass.

Cold hard facts show that you have no clue...

The vast majority of the goals you've conceded have been from set plays. You play a zonal marking system from set plays...i dont need sky sports to help me put 2 and 2 together...you muppet.

The fact that you're missing big sami's influence shows you are weak defensively right now.
do you agree with tams that you're stronger than arsenal?

And yet Pepe has won 3 golden gloves on the bounce only missing out on last years by a single goal,are you going to claim that sides who man mark do not conceed goals from set pieces.

Is that what you are trying to claim with your cold hard facts ?

Arsenal will fade away like they do every season and won't qualify for next years Cl.

Do you think Liverpool will finish above them then?

Your zonal marking may have worked in past seasons but you can't deny that this season it is failing. Maybe it worked well with hypia but he isn't there anymore and the evidence this season shows it's failing now.

Sami hasn't been a regular for the past 3 seasons ffs & yes we will finish above the Gunners as will City & hopefully Spurs.

Your fixation from brainwashing about ZM doesn't explain why sides that Man Mark have consistantly been poorer at defending that us,but atleast you have now admitted that ZM has done us well for the past 4 seasons but you need to understand that real football isn't like your FM game and there's a reason why the so called experts are not employed where it counts.

I don't own FM so thats out of the window...

You're conceding an exceptional amount of goals from 'ZM' this season, surely you admit it isn't working? For what ever reason you wanna give.

What reason have you got to think you will finish above arsenal? Just churning out the same old shit all the 'experts' churn out every year, 'arsenal won't finish in the top 4...' Liverpool look more likely to not make it this year.

We've conceded 2 more goals than the Gunners having played 1 game extra (not bad for a team whos defence is a shambles) so do you think that Wengers fixation with man marking is costing them ?

Not arsed if you relpy or not,just think about what you're claiming and why you're claiming it.
I'm bored of your posts to be honest mate and only replied because of your brainfart about Rafa being Fixated with a system that is proven (Pepe has the GGs) for the way we play.

Our tactics differ to any other top team in the EPL. We play one forward - Who is better then Torres for Arsenal? No one.

Benayoun has been impeccable all last season and this season so far - Mascherano is one of the greatest defensive mids in the world - I only rate Essien better then him, and who is better then Gerrard? Fabergas? Fuck no. Do Man Utd currently have a better PROVEN right winger then Kuyt, nevermind Arsenal. The answer is no, you haven't, nor have they. You lost your starlett in the summer.

Seriously, who are Wiltshire, Eboue and Merida? They have done fuck all to be even mentioned. Rosicky is a sick note also, and Ramsey isn't even proven to be a valuble EPL starter.

Arsenal have bashed poor clubs and have been beaten by greater clubs, convincingly. The City game should have been won by a larger margin in the Sky Blues favour, Adebayor is a fucking freak of a player for City, absolute monster. At Old trafford they did well but turned off, more fool them.

Don't know if you watched the last game we played (Against Chelsea) but Skrtel was man of the match for a Liverpool player's point of view. Sure Drogba stole the headlines with his assists, but Skrtel was emmence through out the game. Like I said before, any other day we would have won the game - We had more of the ball, 2 embassesingly easy chances that Torres and Benayoun missed, and a clear penalty decision get waved away. I'm not bitter though, it was our own fault - Chelsea took their chances, fair play to them.

No Gerrard and Torres, could be three points for us tomorrow.

Midfield assist from Reid, Bent goal. Both in my fantasy team, haway the lads.

havent seen us this bad for a long long time

lost 4 out of first 9, need to step it up big time

I will tell you what is wrong,no strength in depth

dissapeared from here as i moved home and never got the internet sorted.

as for liverpool in plain and simple terms your not good enough. last season was an over achievement, this season is more like ' normal service resumed '.

you may very well win the game next weekend, your lesser players will raise there game as there attitude towards smaller teams is ' oh its only this team, 70% capacity lads dont strain yourselves ' and if the terrible twosome are back they will boost you aswell but dont think that such a result, if it did happen would mean your seasons back on track.

SEVEN points behind already. the small chance you have remaining is slipping away game by game, and next week is MASSIVE for your club, simple as that, its the biggest game you will play this season bar none and wer still in october, that shows how bad your season is.

now im not saying you wont finish in the top 4 or anything like that, you almost certainly will, but winning the league is all but a distant dream that this season, well it wont come true.

That was just plain poor, ironic it was a LIVERPOOL balloon that got the deflection, sums up our current state - It's our own fault.

Sunderland deserved the win, we were ridiculously poor.

And Arsenal, who have more players injured are winning.

Granted that Torres and Gerrard are better than any players Arsenal have in respective positions but it isn't all about first 11 anymore, which is why i think Arsenal will finish above them.

...it just keeps getting better and better,cant wait till sunday...

4 losses in a row. cant see us do anything but lose against united

our cm was once again poor, we just need some damn control in the middle johnson has been a fantastic buy but i believe if we brought in another cm with aquaman who is forward thinking we would be doing so much better

watch em hang 4 goals on utd...

...i somehow doubt that,but i do believe it will be a tight game as liverpool always raise their game against us (last season is the proof) ...

Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of Rafa and thankful for what he has done for us down the years, but if this was any other manager at a top club in any league, he'd be out on his backside if he lost the next game. Four straight losses and your biggest rivals coming up? It would be a make or break game for any manager.

I said months ago (IN JUNE, REMEMBER SKAMP?) we needed to strengthen our midfield and fire power - We didn't. We have Lucas, Voronin and N FUCKING'OG playing for us instead... they wouldn't get a game for a top 6 club, absolute useless.

If we win against United, which I highley doubt due to confidence issues, and the fact half the team isn't up for the challenge, it's game on... if not, our season is over... if it isn't over already.

I mean FUCKING COME ON, Lyon had central midfielders as CENTER BACKS!!!!!

Someone like Alonso maybe,as i said he was your key but you couldnt see it.
massive loss and i can see Rafas head being primed for Lyon away

Anyone want to buy 4 tickets for Sunday.

Seriously everyone knows that i'd take a few years out of Europe if it meant that the club was sold on,the only thing that pains me is that United are on 18 & i can see them fuckers battering us at the weekend.

i doubt it too but strange things happen in the epl...

And you still think you have a better squad than arsenal?

like i said no other manager would be doing a better job tbh, maybe they would have gone for a cheap rb and another cm

we dont need someone good as alonso, what we need is a play maker in the middle who can hold and distribute position effectively in the premiership.

i was shocked, and i told this to everyone that we didnt bring in 2 cm to replace alonso. i told all my mates we would struggle at the start of the season with masch and lucas in the middle

not because lucas is poor but because neither can play possession football. this is why i said we must have gerrard in cm, we take a lot away from his game but the team will be so much more balanced with him in cm, problem is now he is injured

rafa has made some strange decision, lets remember he wanted a 4th player in the summer, he even said this but couldnt get him. the title is over, dont kid yourselves if you think we can challenge, we need that top 4 spot

all thought i promise you the owners will sell out if we lose a top 4 spot. but in saying all of this, rafa has had 5 seasons, he should have had enough time to find another good young offensive cm. he should have realised tha masch and lucas will not be enough in the middle, he should have realised we needed 2 cm not one injured cm

pray united dont humiliate us, i got a feeling they are going to really embarrass us in front of our own fans sunday

I wish you were right but i don't see us humiliating you. Liverpool will raise their game and it will be a tight match. I don't think you will compete for the league this year but i still think there's always a good chance liverpool will turn utd over, just through sheer passion and pride.

maybe tom but one thing that raised our game were the fans

i honestly believe the fans have lost patience (i have) and the players have lost faith in the manager. i cant see gerrard or torres being fit. where will the passion and pride come from?

here is what you cant expect the team to be

------------------------------Reina--------------------------------

Johnson-----Agger--------carragher------Skirtel----Aurelio

-------------Lucas----------------------Masch--------------------

-------Benny----------------Kuyt-------------------------Babel

yes i am deadly seriously, that honestly is our best team with the players left. we had passion and pride in the must but that was always backed up by quality, the confidence is finished, the quality is little, the players and fans have lost faith.

we are doomed
god i sound like someone who is depressed but i really aint

For the majority of our team? Yes I do. A full strength Liverpool squad>Full strength Arsenal, fact.

..

Cant see it myself....thing is you only have 11 players and no-one in reserve to slot in.

god forbid Gerrard/torres gets injured.
Rafa has had 5yrs(?) and you are still really a 1 man team

That's not a fact at all. Your first 11 isn't even better, let alone your actual squads.

Almunia
Sagna Gallas Vermaelan Clichy
Song
Rosicky Fabregas Arshavin
Van Persie Bendner

Then arsenal still have players like Walcott, Eduardo, Denilson, Diaby, Vela, Eboue, Gibbs...and many more on the bench. I really don't see how you can claim to have a better squad than them, all of the neutrals i speak to laugh when i tell them your claim.

you took 6 pts off us and won NOTHING....well done

out of your "team" i would have Reina,Gerrard,Torres the rest are average and you know it.

Take them 3 out of your team and i could put any United,Arsenal player there and they would play as a Team.

You overachieved last year,sold your best player and will win NOTHING again this year.
We sold our "best player" and guess what,because we can adapt and play as a team we are Top of the pile.

Your team may win on Sunday as they are a bunch of game raisers, but as has been shown already this season when it comes to consistency.........zero.
Massive game for you,just another game for us.

Nice to see the "Best Fans in The World" jeering their manager on Tuesday

Joker

Arsenal's squad>Liverpool's squad

on the arsenal/liverpool debate this is the team i would pick from both squads..........


-------------------Reina----------------

Johnson--Vermaelen--Carra--Clichy

---------Masch--------Fabregas--------

Arshavin-----Gerrard------Van Persie

-----------------Torres-----------------

Bench - Almunia, Gallas, Sagna, Diaby, Kuyt, Benayoun and Rosicky.

Carra is a shadow of himself this season....if you cant see that you are soft in the head.

Make the most of what you got because it is on the demise

And the reason for that is because he no longer has Xabi (highest numbers of tackles in the league) infront of him and yet we still have dickheads claiming we didn't/don't need a player like Xabi

carragher is fine

skamp is right, you see alonso was very good at defending despite what people said, also he kept the ball and kept launching attacks. masch and lucas cant do that, if anything they dont make those passes which makes gerrard or benny to come into cm to start attacks but that leaves us light up front

or they just lose the ball so extra pressure is put on the defenders

carragher is in the top 5 of being the fittest players in the club

i am not confident in our season at all because it is finished if aquaman doesnt come good right away or if rafa doesnt move gerrard to cm. we need to take pressure off the defence.

i kinda do feel for rafa, when he bought aquaman he thought and roma thought that he would return to FULL training at the end of august, but due to their doctors being fucked up we found a bigger problem, so we had to settle for him

i think we will improve with a player more offensive than xabi, we only need someone to start off quick attacks and keep possession. if we can a box to box in that role which aquaman seems to be then hopefully we will add goals

but one thing i will say, we need another cm for the start of next season, we cant rely on a good cm for the whole season

Other then Arshavin not playing on the right (he dislikes playing on the left for that matter), this is spot on. I'd put Kuyt ahead of Arshavin for the simple fact - he plays there, Arshavin does not. that's 7-4 players in Liverpool's favour.

@ kwacka, Rio has had a bad start to the season.. would you say he was average? I highley much doubt it.

as the resident noob i still dont get the hype over rio...
plus the guy is hurt alot...