can we talk about this fuckery? please

[anais-molko.livejournal.com]

Roy's Everton verdict



Roy Hodgson revealed his frustrations after Liverpool slipped to a 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby clash with Everton on Sunday afternoon.



Goals in each half from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta secured local bragging rights for the Blues on a disappointing afternoon at Goodison Park.

Afterwards, Hodgson told reporters: "This was always going to be a difficult game to win.

"We suffered at the hands of an early onslaught, which you invariably do here at Goodison. They put us under pressure and made it difficult for us to get the ball, but towards the end of the first half we started to do better - we were starting to more than even the game out

"I thought the shape of the team was good and I thought the quality of our passing and moving was good today."

He continued: "We had plenty of the ball in the second half and we were camped out in their half of the field in the final third for large periods.

"I thought we caused them plenty of problems, but you're never going to get the really clear one-on-one chances when teams are defending a two-goal lead."

The timing of Arteta's goal in particular came as a blow to Liverpool in the early stages of the second period, and Hodgson admitted his team are culpable of conceding too many goals at the moment.

He said: "We are conceding too many goals and yet today I think we were a little bit unlucky to do so. Even in the good spell of pressure Everton had at the beginning, we weren't shipping goal chances.

"But it is a problem that we're letting in goals. We need to score goals to take pressure off the fact we could let them in, especially when you're playing with the sort of line-up we were at the end of the game.

"Good teams score goals and don't let many in and that's what we have got to be trying to do as well. We need to get better in both areas.

"In particular today, one could argue with all the possession we had in the second half and the time we had in the final third, we should have scored because the possibility was there."

The boss added: "We're not trying to disguise the fact this is a predicament or whatever word you want to use. For any team to take six points from eight games at the start of the season and go through that type of bad spell is a predicament. We don't in anyway try to deny that."

Though disappointed with the performance, Hodgson refuted suggestions from journalists his players are suffering from a lack of confidence.

He said: "I didn't see it (a lack of confidence) with Maxi Rodriguez, Gerrard, Meireles or any of the back players. I thought all of those showed plenty of confidence in themselves.

"Fernando (Torres) is going through a bad time, he needs a goal and his confidence is low.

"I wouldn't say it is a question of too many (players) lacking confidence, but people are playing under pressure. That's the bottom line.

"We've taken six points from eight games and every game we don't win, the pressure builds up even more. That will affect people's confidence in the long run."

Reporters quizzed the boss on whether he would be forced to reassess his target of a top-four finish following Liverpool's disappointing start to the campaign.

He replied: "There are 30 games to go and 90 points to play for. I don't know if I would write that off at the moment.

"It would take a really good run of four to five wins on the spin, but I thought there were signs in the game today and who knows, maybe we can get those four or five wins on the spin. That's what it is going to take."

Away from the pitch, New England Sports Ventures' Principal Owner John W Henry and Chairman Thomas Werner took in their first game as Liverpool owners from the directors' box.

Reporters asked Hodgson if he felt as though today's defeat could be classed as a missed opportunity to build on the surge of optimism following the sale to NESV on Friday.

He replied: "Yes, of course I feel that. This would have been the ideal opportunity to turn things around on the back of the entry of the new owners and the way that has been received by everyone. To get a result here and win the game would have been utopia.

"But I can only analyse the performance and there is no point in attempting to analyse dreams. The dream was we would come here on the back of new owners and win, but we had to play a game of football."

On NESV's involvement in the January transfer window, Hodgson added: "They're going to be very interested in doing that I think. It's still two and half months off and there is a lot of football to be played, so there is no point in us trying to put all our eggs into that basket.

"The first thing we have to do is start playing and winning matches. Hopefully we can do that and get ourselves in a better position, then if the owners can find a way to back us and improve the team in the transfer window we will obviously do so.

"Of course the January transfer window is something that interests us. We'll have to do our scouting work for future transfers like any other club, but it's not something that interests us in the coming weeks. What interests me is preparing for Napoli and Blackburn - a game we need to win."



mothership

Comments

[miselemeas.livejournal.com]

What infuriates me more than sitting here being baffled as to how Roy thinks the team are playing hunky dory is that so far this season it's been the fault of:

Gillett and Hicks for having no money and Rafa spending all of it - somehow

A hugely overstaffed and assembled squad - when we all knew we were missing players in certain positions and Roy goes off to strip the reserves and youth team of those potential up and coming players. Along with Insua and Aquilani.

Zonal-marking and 4-2-3-1.

Players confidence.

Agger for being the "wrong side of 30" whatever that means

"The B-team" for not playing the way he wanted them to (though they did - it was awful to watch)

Torres - he's diabolical apparently.

Rafa Benitez because he's only gone to Inter to ruin José's team and left a terrible squad that could only finish in 7th for Roy to manage - disgraceful

SOS and the people in the protest marches

The Internet Terrorists

Rafa - Harry Redknapp says so

The players are letting him down, it's not their confidence at all.

Liverpool supporters because we're stupid according to Patrick Barclay for speaking of our concerns about Roy's ability to manage a big club.



But there's nothing about Roy, his tactics or his absurd press meetings. I'm sick of every excuse I've seen so far, it takes me back to the opening game when Sky altered all the banners and professed "the beginning of the new Red Revolution" to give Roy his platform. Sigh.

Now I know Roy said judge him after 10 games (assuming he meant 10 EPL games)but it's been enough for me. 8 played with 1 win, 19th place only because of goal difference or else we'd be rock bottom. And what's awful is that we did not even deserve that win against West Brom, sure maybe against Arsenal if Pepe didn't make that mistake but Arsenal on the day still played far better than we did.

[anais-molko.livejournal.com]

ugh exactly

[verses.livejournal.com]

You can kick me out of this post if you want for butting in, but I really don't understand the level of hate being leveled at Torres. Like, at all. What has he done that's so bad? I've only seen 4 or 5 Liverpool games this season, but he must be the most subtle saboteur ever, because he didn't stick out as a game-ruiner in any game I watched. Unless he's supposed to singlehandedly win because he's a striker.

[miselemeas.livejournal.com]

I have no idea why either. He does look disillusioned and is walking around with a sulk - but I think it's frustration at having to completely change his game to accommodate Roy's tactics and even then they aren't working. And yes, I believe because the media built the whole "one-man/two-man team" as a stick to beat us with constantly about the rest of squad, Torres has had that stick whipped at him this season because of support for Roy.

[verses.livejournal.com]

Well, Torres always sulks. He sulked his heart out at Atleti. But I've never really put a lot of weight on how stoic/temperamental players are, in that IDGAF if they play well. It just seems disproportionate. A striker cannot score if he does not receive the ball. It's not like the rest of Liverpool has been playing fantastically and then Torres fucks everything up. He's never been an OMGAMAZING player to me, but he barely had the ball yesterday. How is this his fault?

[miselemeas.livejournal.com]

Yeah he's most definitely been made a scapegoat this season because he hasn't clocked up the goals that he's been accustomed to since he came to the EPL - the media forgetting that he's had no service or expected to chase aimlessly for a ball hoofed up to him.

What's worse is that they start using his performances in the WC as a reason to why he's poor and off-form. He was an apparent terrible purchase made by Rafa in the form of Morientes to the media when he came to Liverpool (wasn't a prolific striker and if Sir Alex turned his nose up at Nando, then he mustn't have been great). And the way things are going, he'll be in the eyes of the media (and the fools that take their word so seriously) a terrible want-away if things don't get sorted soon.

[verses.livejournal.com]

Obviously nobody sent him the memo that he's supposed to leapfrog over the rest of the field to receive the ball from his own GK!

Oh, what the fuck ever. None of the big-name superstars did well in the WC. I've always found it incredibly stupid to judge overall talent on the basis of a competition wedged between two grueling seasons. Messi didn't score either, obviously he's worthless too.

[shadow-sea.livejournal.com]

Yep.

You can add the way that last year Rafa was failing to get the most out of a talented squad of players but now Roy is hamstrung by the awful squad that Rafa left behind to the list.

I hate the english press.

[hi-mimi.livejournal.com]

Most sense I've read all day.
I wish people would sit up and watch Rafa... I mean, how he ditched at the right time, drove players away and mysteriously spent money.
IDK, still, silly tactics around.