[KingEros]

Originally Posted by rahl

WTH we played with one striker at home to Wigan!!! Rafa, I thought we were way over that!!

Originally Posted by Cummon

Ya instead of sticking to 4-4-2 we paid too much respects to Fat Bruce knwoing that he would try to get away with a point with the same old trick.

Originally Posted by hotsoup16

When I saw the line-up, I said WTF playing at Home to lower team with 1 striker. Knowing Wigan would come to Anfield and depend with their lifes, why not kill them early but instead ...

Ok, I am the odd one out here ... yet again.

I swear this is not 马后炮 or any bootroom diplomacy ... but in my "Fantasy Rafa" line-up, I also played Gerrard as the supporting striker.
It was not 4-5-1 Rafa played ... it's a 4-4-1-1 with Gerrard in a free role, with supporting runs from deep.
After all, isn't it a fact that Gerrard is the next highest scorer after Torres??
Didn't the lot here moaned & groaned just days agao ... about how Kuyt has been firing blanks, despite being in good positions??

Wigan is having relegation woes becoz the team cannot win matches ... but nobody said they are a team that can be easily trodded over. In the reciprocal game at JJB, we also only won by a solitary goal via Benayoun's moment of brilliance.
So, why should it be any more of a steamroll over this same team ... when all already know they're prepared to park their team-bus in front of their goal (if the groundsman would allow them) ... especially when they've just been inspired by a managerial change ... plus an out-of-his-skin performance by Kirkland against the club who decided to let him go, despite he being an England regular.
But what pissed me most is ... I cannot recall Kirkland diving this good to save point-blank follow-up shots when he was under the LFC payroll!!!

Rafa was angry ... so was I!!
It was the players on the pitch who didn't step up to the plate & made a difference ... when playing against a team that's bent on defending, the team resorted to long balls instead of playing short passes ... & all becoz nobody was running into space** ... & probably becoz all of them were feeling the fatigue effect from the hectic festive program.

** Just try to recall how our goal was scored ... how 3 passes with some intelligent running created space from Wigan's tight defence. If that had happened more in last night's game, we would have won the game handsomely. The lack of THIS is the root of the problem last nite ... the very reason WHY Rafa was showing his frustrations on the touchline, while I was pulling my hair in front of the telly!!