The Soccer Blog: Matchday: Liverpool v. Manchester United

Sunday, 19 September 2010

Matchday: Liverpool v. Manchester United

By: Ed | September 19th, 2010
old_trafford

Kickoff from Old Trafford at 13:30 GMT, 8:30am EST.

Ways to Watch:

Match televised live on Sky Sports 1(HD) in the UK and Fox Soccer Plus(HD) in the US.

MyP2P.eu
Atdhe.net
ChannelSurfing.net

Liverpool:

Reina
Johnson Carragher Skrtel Konchesky
Meireles Poulsen
Maxi Gerrard Cole
Torres

Bench: Jones, Agger, Jovanovic, Kyrgiakos, Babel, Lucas, Ngog

We largely get the lineup we’ve been asking for—Raul Meireles partnered with Christian Poulsen in central midfield, Steven Gerrard pushed further forward, and Joe Cole out wide. Given the names available, I think this has to be close to Liverpool’s most talented eleven. It’ll be interesting to see how the formation works out; we know what we’d like to see from these names, but whether or not we get that is an entirely different matter.

Manchester United:

Van der Sar
O’Shea Evans Vidic Evra
Nani Scholes Fletcher Giggs
Berbatov Rooney

Bench: Kuszczak, Brown, Owen, Anderson, Smalling, Macheda, Gibson

Big surprise here is that Rio Ferdinand misses out completely—this was expected to be his first match back, but word is that he’s out with the flu. Other than that, it’s the squad we all knew was coming.

In the run-up:

There’s blissfully little to report ahead of kickoff—some random pieces of litter about Martin O’Neill becoming the head man after the ownership deal is sorted and another assuring us that the ownership deal will, in fact, never be sorted. Glad there’s consensus.

But after days of reading about the beautiful friendship between Roy Hodgson and Alex Ferguson, it seems like the focus has finally shifted to the pitch. Which, for a match like today’s, is how it should be.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Match Preview: Liverpool v. Manchester United, 09.19.10Matchday: Liverpool v. SteauaMatchday: Liverpool v. West BromSquad Announced; Fernando Torres Has Been Paying AttentionMatchday: Liverpool v. Birmingham City

Category: Matchday Posts, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

Tags: Christian Poulsen, Dani Pacheco, Daniel Agger, David Ngog, Dirk Kuyt, Fabio Aurelio, Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Joe Cole, Lucas, Martin Škrtel, Matchday Posts, Maxi Rodriguez, Milan Jovanovic, Miscellaneous, Paul Konchesky, Pepe Reina, Premier League, Raúl Meireles, Roy Hodgson, Ryan Babel, Steven Gerrard, Team News
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NoelWell. I'm not sure how to feel about that. Not happy, obviously, but I don't feel like throwing something at the TV. Lowered expectations at work? Signs of life that suggest Liverpool could have at least beaten Birmingham today? Nascent attempts at possession to suggest Hodgeson might actually have pass and move as an eventual goal to work towards? Movement in defense to suggest he's capable of more than two narrow banks of four? And are those last three tempering disappointment a reflection of lowered expectations anyhow?EdShit.RoscoIndeedIsabel_GPlease do not let Owen score the winner!EdI don't know what to think anymore.ChrisRunning the gamut?EdExactly.RoscoMereles is a fuckin genius

YASSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!mieleFuck fuckety fuckIsabel_GNice one! 2-2!ChrisYEEEEEAHHH!!!!!RoscoThats a fuckin horrendous descisionIsabel_GThat has to be a red.ChrisWow, our play in the box is poor....RoscoOh fuckin get up u wee NancyEdCome on Gerrard...Isabel_GThat goal was sexual... lifeline now for LiverpoolRoscoFlukeshyamyou really cant be blaming the owners for all the on-field problems of liverpool.... i think hodgson is over rated.. he has never won anything of significance in his 'vast experience' of coaching.... and just bcos he is an englishman the press has feted him.. change your manager.. bcos with cole, johnson, gerrard, meireles, torres, reina etc you have more talent than what the scores justify...am waiting for hodgson to say 'but we came to play to make sure that we dont lose heavily'.. pathetic!!mieleSorry 3-0. Berbasex! *drool*mieleThe score should be at least 2-0 by now.EdWell there need to be some changes I suppose, and not really to do with the personnel.

Same passive negative bullshit we've become accustomed to, no real intent moving forward. And that's with a "best" eleven.Isabel_GReally poor marking from Konchesky and TorresChrisIs that what they were trying to do?RoscoThink Torres was after a bit of dry humpingRoscoFuck shitNoelOh lovely, wonderful Sky color man, I missed your name at the start, but I wish I hadn't, because if I knew who you were I'd track you down and make you suffer before the end you horrible, horrible bastard.NoelYou do have to expect those spells of dominant possession by United at home. Signs of pass and move possession football at least, but too often let down by impatience in the attacking half leading to hopeful balls. They need to just avoid that urge to throw it in for United to counter off of and keep it on the turf.EdLiverpool have looked decent in possession in the United half, it's just happened far too little. Always going to be like that early at Old Trafford, though.NoelThe defense is playing wider and seems to be putting a premium on pressure rather than shape... baby steps, baby steps.

Don't get Merieles in the hole, but whatever.EdFair to say that I am sort of excited right now.NoelPositive team selection... but it's all down to deployment and mentality, because that's not an eleven that should have to meekly play for a point and completely concede possession. Well, there's always hope. Until there isn't, at least.Isabel_GGood to see a more positive line-up from Liverpool. Looking at Man Us line-up and bench especially, I do think Liverpool have chance if they actually play with the desire to win. With a five man midfield against Man Us 4 man, they could dominate.GrubbI didn't sleep well either, was up half the night bent over a bucket. Yay.

But on to football matters! No "Pucas" partnership today and a top-level hit out with basically our most talented team on display. Agger for me is better than Skrtel, but considering we'll probably do our fair share of defending, it's a reasonable selection.

I reckon Meireles will contribute a lot in terms of the movement of the team, even if he doesn't set the world alight on the ball today. I like the mobility I've seen from him so far and look forward to seeing it deployed in a first-team context.

I predict a cheeky 2-1 smash and grab for us tonight, got a good feeling about it. Jovanovic to come off the bench and cheerily tweak Vidic's balls before scoring our winner. Wouldn't that be perfect?KatieGood morning, everyone! I'm sure that I'm not the only one among us that didn't sleep well at all last night because of this game, and I probably won't breathe properly until the game is over. Please, Liverpool. Please. Begging is the only thing that I have.RoscoAfraid I've trumped that issue Katie! Cutting out sleep altogether, hopefully it will be celebratory hard drinking come 3 o'clock! Actually doesn't make me feel any different todays game, I'm a bag of nerves every pool game these days.

Owen to come off the bench and bag a hat-trick at the wrong end. . .blog comments powered by Disqus

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Sunday, 19 September 2010

Matchday: Liverpool v. Manchester United

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