red_ed

and bikinis

That seems to complement elite football stars really well.

If only I were an elite football player

Another example. Ronaldo and Raica <_<

hahahaha just like last year. We're not clinical but Rafa doesn't do anything about it We have some kind of striker curse as well. All imported strikers don't do very well. Our best strikers were all locals

Not at all. There's just no understanding between the centre backs and the keeper. Agger and Carra don't communicate well and it's rubbing off on Reina as well.

He could, which is a good thing, but his finishing is not the best, hence why I value him as a SS. He's being paired with Bells as well, which means he sits back while Bells makes the forward runs. If he was teamed with Crouch then I guess we can make him more of a striker. We should give him the chance to play as striker though. Sometimes he's too far out to be effective.

It's the way Rafa likes it Bellamy switches between the wings as the ball, or Kuijt drops back to play link-up or Crouch comes back to be the target man. Even Fowler has been dragged down the field to become second striker Bellamy has no problem with dropping deeper, but the others don't have the pace to be effective when they drop deep and move into the box.

Same here. We create about 15 chances per game, but we never put any in. If we can learn to be clinical we can demolish teams. And our defence still isn't really strong. I'd be tempted to go the other way and say that it was very weak. I watched the Newcastle game and although we dominated for the first half, we did nothing to deserve such a flattering scoreline. See you on Wednesday

We need a poacher but poachers don't work into Rafa's tactics.

Deep-lying midfielder is my weakness but I heard he used to be an OMF in the Totti mould. I suspect he may have picked up his "no defence" policy from playing there all his life until he changed to a CM/CDM Kaka, Gourcoff and Pirlo You should've snapped up Gallas! :persuazn: He would've been a great addition to your squad. I rate him as one of the best defenders in the world

So why not play him in a more advanced position? He's a good playmaker in his own right up the field. The only problem being that he'd be afforded less space and time. Wait, Trappatoni tried that in EURO2004 right? I don't remember how that worked out though..

Carrick is like the poor man's Pirlo. Very good passing and vision, but defensively not-so-great. He makes an effort to defend sometimes but doesn't normally come out with the ball. Hedwiges Maduro (21) plays for Ajax and Holland. I haven't seen him play lately, since Ten Cate took over. Was called into the national team straight from the Ajax reserves. Was called into the World Cup but didn't get many minutes. Fernando Gago (17) plays for Boca and Argentina. Haven't seen much of him lately either as I haven't downloaded any South American stuff lately Already a regular in the Boca first team. Hailed as the next Redondo.

The only defence Pirlo knows is how to tug on shirts <_< But I did see him try to attempt a slide tackle last year well he's not THAT bad. I mean sure he's a bit lazy at times but he still does an alright job. At least he attempts to channel players on the ball away from the centre of the park, where Gattuso can then hassle them while he covers. Does he intentionally do that or am I just reading too much into the play whenever I watch him?

If Alonso wasn't playing for Liverpool I'd change my mind too but I think the reasons I gave would make me lean a bit more towards Alonso. I love the deep-lying playmaker position Anyone that plays there well is automatically on my good books. Pirlo, Alonso and Carrick. I'm also watching out for Maduro and Gago. There were a few other youngsters but I forgot their names

65-70 yards out. Which is very impressive considering the ball was nearly dead straight and pretty much went in on the full.

well we outplayed Chelsea at the Bridge but lost to a Drogba wonderstrike <_< and normally they come to Anfield and refuse to play. We're no good at breaking teams down or converting our chances, so if Gala catch us on the break we could be in for some trouble

Personally, I like Xabi playing the holding midfielder/deep-lying playmaker role where he just sits in front of the defence and plays like a quarterback a la the CDM in a midfield trio, but he's getting better at the moment. He's getting faster, stronger and much fitter. He's playing the CM role really well, much better than he used to in Spain. He's been relieved of much of his passing duties but he has more permission to storm up the field now and support the attack. He's higher up the pitch when defending as well, now that Sissoko is playing beside him. He's been really impressive (even though his form has been somewhat off lately)

Anfield :evil:

It'll probably be a draw. We have another match against Spurs next before we take you on. That's like a match every 3-4 days

hmmm... It'd have to be Alonso for his defensive capabilities. He's got more fight in him :lullaby: and at the moment he's doing really well supporting the defense and the attack. He strikes the ball well, but he needs to work on his free kicks. I love Pirlo as well though and his freekicks and ability to manipulate the ball are just mind-blowing. Too bad he's not the best at defense

but luckily the keeper slipped *slips wad of cash into Harper's pocket*

right click and save: Kuyt 1-0 Xabi's pass for Finnan was perfect Xabi 2-0 full highlights All cred to Captain Gerrard8 @ MaxXed Football Forums