I hope the 2 people who voted for Pires are just having a laugh.
I never want to see him on the pitch for us again.
He's slow, makes poor passes, and just is a liability when you are trying to chase a game.
I thought Collins had a **** poor game.
Someone needs to teach him not to get sucked in towards the ball so easily. It makes him rather easy to beat.
Cuellar made quite a few mistakes tonight, including the one against Bale for the second goal but with him an Lichaj on the right, I thought they were very solid. It was only when Cuellar was pulled over to cover Collins side that he made a lot of **** ups.
I still think he's a great defender, he just needs the right partner. I really think Clark should be starting for us alongside Cuellar, the lack of positional sense and intelligent decision-making from Collins doesn't inspire me with ANY confidence.
Warnock, ok offensively, but **** shit defensively. Wtf is wrong with him?
Downing doesn't get back to defend. He's great going forward, but what made us so hard to beat under MON was players like Ashley coming back from the LW position to defend and put some pressure on the opposing team. Downing doesn't do that. I don't know why, it's not like he has a lack of pace and has to stay upfield to ensure a more potent counter.
I was impressed with Petrov when he came on, we really missed his presence in the middle of the park.
Albrighton struggled on the right, because he was essentially double-marked out of the game. He got a lot more joy on the left, when he had the 'Ashley Young' inswinger option, and it worked wonders. Only question is why didn't Houllier ask him to swap wings with Downing earlier, especially when it was obvious Marc wasn't getting much joy out on the left?
Lichaj, only positive from this game. Best right-back I've seen since Delaney, heck I would say on current performances, he seems better than Delaney. He possesses a great mix of natural ability and defensive acumen, for instance using his pace and his positioning to shut out Bale almost completely in the first-half. Cutting out the angles, and not letting Bale run around him. Fantastic player. And his attacking qualities, both in supporting the overlap and getting in crosses, those were top notch. His long crosses back into the box after the ball was cleared was fantastic. And his supporting runs into the box? Awesome to watch, and really dangerous.
Lichaj's performance today makes sitting through this disaster of a match almost worth it.