Ratings and Reactions: Liverpool 3-0 Villa

[Harry]

A coupe of quotes from Houllier on the OS post match 'interview':

"But the Frenchman accepted his side must defend better and admits it will be high on the agenda ahead of Saturday's home clash with West Bromwich Albion."

Well there is a statement of the completely obvious. My view is that 'high on the agenda' is not picking those four clowns together in defence.

"We need to address a few problems in the team at the moment and of course one of those is we need to defend better as a team"

We need to defend better??? We need to defend - period

[cbr600rr]

its the style of play thats the problem, gh out!

[Harry]

Houllier"]He added: "It's difficult to say but I prefer to lose 3-0 to Liverpool because I like Liverpool.

He told his post-match press conference: "The fans were good. I appreciated the fact that they chanted my name at the end. It shows they can remember.

It shows you cannot forget.

He lost me tonight.

I think he lost a lot of us tonight. We played some of the worst football for years sandwiched between Houllier's love in with Liverpool.

Forget the fact we were thrashed by a Liverpool side that never had to get out of second gear. Forget the fact Houllier seems to have turned a difficult to beat side into serious relegation candidates because its OK as the Liverpool fans applauded him at the end the game.

The biggest issue I have is the don't care attitude of the senior players. The task facing Houllier is little short of huge and to be quite blunt I don't think he is up to it.

[cbr600rr]

+1 ,we look & play like a bottom 3 side,if gh stays imho we are going down,theirs no fight in the team,were not loosing unlucky games,were getting beat in every department & the common demonator is gh.

[PompeyVillan]

Houllier"]He added: "It's difficult to say but I prefer to lose 3-0 to Liverpool because I like Liverpool.

He told his post-match press conference: "The fans were good. I appreciated the fact that they chanted my name at the end. It shows they can remember.

It shows you cannot forget.

He lost me tonight.

Me too mate, Me too.

He has no respect for this club.

[BrownhillsVillan]

I could accept if Liverpool had to work for their results but I cant accept:

Players putting their hands up for offside and making half hearted tackles.

Centre halves not being to pass 5 yards without the receiver having to stretch.

Centre forwards pulling players back instead of getting infront of the defenders.

Midfielders feeling the need to pass backwards rather than pass and move.

We made Ngog and Babel look like Messi and Drogba.

Proper gutted!!!!!

[villa89]

Friedel - 5 - not alot he can do when the back four in front of him as so bad.

Warnock - 1- So the "scapegoat" puts in another woeful performance. £8.5m MON wasted on this joker was it?

L.Young - 2 - Looked terrible

Collins - 2 - See above

Dunne - 1 - Awful. Just awful. An accident waiting to happen

Albrighton- 6 - at least he tried which ws more than most

Hogg - 3 - can;t really see what he offers to be honest. I though he was supposed to be a cattermole type player but he doesn't make any tackles.

Clark - 3 - put a shift in and at least tried to tackle.

Downing - 5 - Looked our best player, not that that says much

Ireland - 2 - some nice passes but did he even break a sweat?

Gabby - 4 - Had absolutely no support from anyone. Can't blame him for giving up.

Houllier - 0 - It seems he can't even orgainse the side to defend a set piece. You like liverpool? We know and we don't give a f**k.

P.S. That liverpool side is, on paper, the worst Liverpool side I have ever seen.

[villa_shere]

With heinsight in mind what team would others have picked last night?

we were always going to lose that game, its just dissapointing in the performance, this is partly GH fault but a whole lot rests omn the team. The defence have played together several times before they should know how to defend by now without GH having to hold their hand.

The defence was exposed by the lack of support from midfield which we have seen in our last 3 matches.

[VillaAus]

A coupe of quotes from Houllier on the OS post match 'interview':

"But the Frenchman accepted his side must defend better and admits it will be high on the agenda ahead of Saturday's home clash with West Bromwich Albion."

Well there is a statement of the completely obvious. My view is that 'high on the agenda' is not picking those four clowns together in defence.

"We need to address a few problems in the team at the moment and of course one of those is we need to defend better as a team"

We need to defend better??? We need to defend - period

Just adding to Harry's post, Houllier also acknowledged that lifting the confidence of his players will also be a key factor. He insists Villa need to be mentally stronger.

"I think we need to address that [confidence] - both players and staff," he added.

Don't often read what he has to say and frankly I don't really care, but at least it seems he has FINALLY pin-pointed some major concerns.

It's a mystery why the team plays with no passion anymore, maybe Houllier isn't harsh enough and it definitely seems that way since he doesn't drop out of form players. A lot of the players need a wake up call and I think it is time he took a harder stance and began to demand results, rather than saying 'we had our chances.'

Not to mention, it'd be nice if he tried to motivate players during the game, or yell out orders, instead of sitting silently on the bench.

I still have some faith in him, and the upcoming transfer window will definitely be a 'make' or 'break' scenario. If he cannot muster some wins soon, I see no future for him at the club. The same applies to many of the players.

I did lose some respect for him today as well. It's a joke that he would say things like that after such a horrid performance.

[wiggyrichard]

Right, i dont usually do this whole reaction thing, but having watched that last night and had time to digest it, here goes...

Friedel - Couldnt do much about any of the goals. And it doesnt make your job easier when the people in front of you who are supposed to help you out, fail to do their job. Good save from Johnson in the second half. Personal opinion is that he is too old and coming to the end of his career and should look to be replaced. 6

L Young - Not great but not shocking as some on here are saying. He will always battle for you and always gives 100%. Didnt get chance to get forward as Mazi kept him pinned back. 5

Collins - 1st goal is down to you big man. Got caught ball watching and left N'Gog free in the 6 yard box. Supposed to be the ball playing centre half but last night resulted to lumping the ball up to Gabby. Still our best centre half but lacking any real form. 5

Dunne - Dont know where to start, awful 90% of this season and awful again last night. Really dont know whats gone on with him? Looks low on confidance and just doesnt look fit. It looks to me like every match is a struggle for him. Good in the air as is to be expected but nothing much else. Needs to be dropped to get himself sorted. Simply not good enough. Cant think of anything worthy that he contributed to the team last night. Captain or not he needs to be dropped.4

Warnock - I used to think he was one of the best left backs in the league...how wrong! In fairness i think the second goal was slightly offside but regardless of that, you play to the whistle. He lost half a yard on Babel by waving his arm in the air appealing for the offside. Awful distribution in the opposition half, just never seems to find a shirt. Again, needs dropping, maybe give Lichej a run. 4

Albrighton - Looked lively and started well. Always happy to run at the full back but sometimes looks a little lost for ideas also final ball needs to be better. Missed a couple of weeks so can be excused for looking a little rusty. 6

Hogg - Got into the game more 2nd half and looked decent, still dont think he has what it takes to be any more than a squad player for us unfortunatly. Saying that he is young and if he could iron out a few of the bad habits than could maybe push on and challenge but still has a way to go IMO. 6

Clark - Game passed him by, never really got going and looked frustrated with the continued long balls from the back. Even thou he didnt have a great game you can still see that touch of class the young man has. Going to be a cracking player for us in the future but was suprisingly quite last night. Lets not forget he's playing out of position. 5

Ireland - 50/50 Just as you think he is getting a grip of the game he goes missing. Played too deep, i think he got frustrated with the long balls and went searching but when you have already got Hogg & Clark doing that it leaves Gabby very isolated indeed. A few clever balls and at times it seemed like he was a pass in front of his own team mates. A better performance but still some way short of his best. 6

Downing - Best of a very bad bunch. Worked and worked and tried to pick passes but it was one of those nights when he was going to have to do it on his own as everyone else was off colour. Played well and continued his good run of form, shame none of his team mates helped him enough. 7

Gabby - Little to no service, should have scored with his chance. Now i rate Gabby highly, but the difference between a good striker and a top top striker is they nly need 1 chance. When you play on your own you know you may only get 1 chance in 90 mins and you have to put it away. Saying that it was hard for him last night, the gap between the midfield and himself was huge, Collins & Dunne lumped balls upto him for most of the game and when you being marked by Kyrgiakos you are never going to win many. Worked hard and tracked back well when needed. 6

Delfounso - Bright and lively, give the kid a chance. To be fair is hard coming on with you team trailing but he worked hard and caused a few problems for Liverpool. Deserves his chance at a starting role alongside Gabby. 6

Pires - Pointless. Im yet to see what is justifying his 6 month deal. He looks like he is struggling and its a real effort to run. I say again...pointless! 4

Carew - Didnt have time to get into the match but did look lively on the couple of occasions he touched the ball. Dont think he has long left and will be gone in January. 5

Summary - Poor, we are struggling with injuries and will limp into the new year. Gabby needs some help up top and soon. We are low on confidance and personel. We need a win desperate, but i just cant see where one is going to come from. A striker is a must in January as is some creative spark. We need some experience as its unfair to heap the pressure onto the kids. We were beaten by a Liverpool team missing Gerrard, Torres and Carragher and we were beaten well. 5-0 would not have flattered Liverpool. We posed little to no threat to Reina which is a big worry. Petrov's absence is really causing problems.

Am i worried...yes.

Do i think we are in danger of going down...stranger things have happened.

[Haito]

I haven't agreed with all the negativity thus far as i think a lot of it has been uncalled for. However our last two league performances have been gutless and poor and that's something that shouldn't be glossed over injury's or no injury's.

We were second to every ball tonight. Second to every 50-50 and totally clueless in the final third. We lacked just about everything tonight against a Liverpool side without Gerrard, Torres and Carragher. They made us look like a pub team.

Now most regulars on here will know im not one of the doom mongers who love to moan but i am also a realist and our injury problems shouldn't be used as a ready made excuse everytime we lose. Yes they are a hinderence but our league position should be better than it is Injury's or not.

Houllier needs to sort out our huge defensive problems quickly. Our marking is appalling. Our defending from set plays is embarrassing and our defenders are making far too many errors. Our confidence is low and we need to start getting points on the board ASAP. We need to grind out wins and were not going to do that conceding sloppy goals every game.

Sorry for the negative post fella's but im passionate about the club i love and im reasonable with it some losses are understandable i expect them. I dont boo or get on the players backs. What i dont like though is to see gutless and totally inadequate performances from our experiences players which i have seen too many times this season. Its unnaceptable.

[briny_ear]

I wonder if Houllier knows how to play 4-5-1/4-3-3?

Gabby got virtually zilch service and the midfield never seemd to be near enough to him.

Lone striker, yes - lonely striker, no!

I worry about the kids playing in this run. They generally came out with the most credit but it can't be good for them losing week in week out in a side apparently with no direction or fight.

That's all - very little to say about this match or anything to do with Villa this morning.

[Pricey_1984]

the worrying thing last night apart from the lack of fight and spirt from us was the fact that liverpool didnt even play well at all they were mis placing passes out of play and all sorts yet they still comfortably won 3-0.

[Hiney]

Appalling performance, absolutely gutless display. I hate to jump on the "Houlier out" bandwagon but my patience is wearing thin. There are very few positives to take from our last few performances.

It's absolutely imperative we win our next two fixtures.. good performances or not, we need a couple of wins to a) pull us away from the bottom three and give us a bit of confidence because it looks shot at the moment

[Richard]

The thing for me is reagrdless of the injuries etc he has made many mistakes.

He is , apparently, an extremely successful and experienced manager supposedly better than we have had before yet has made mistakes in defence, made mistakes in midfield, made mistakes upfront and made mistakes in handling the players.

We are a team in a relegation fight

[villande]

Senior players aren't helping out the youngsters enough.

Not playing as a team, Dunne and Warnock becoming liabilities.

Ireland anonymous, may as well play with 10 men.

Missed Bannan & Ash badly. WTF

[gums]

We've seen what happens when you try and radically change the style of play overnight with a bunch of players who aren't used to/can't play that way. The same happened to Bolton when Big Sam left and Sammy Lee tried to get them to play football.

MON saw that we'd never have enough money to take on the big boys at a passing game, so built a team that were at least EFFECTIVE at playing a system that while wasn't great to watch, at least got results.

Houllier was the wrong choice i'm afraid, we needed someone who could carry on the same style as MON, with a few tweaks and a bit of rotation (basically address MONs annoying points). What we've now got is someone who wants to play the game differently with a load of players who simply cant play that way. There's 2 options for me:

1) Spend big (£60m)+ in Jan on some quality that fit into GH's style of play and build half a new team

2) Get rid of GH and bring in someone who can play effective football and get the best out of the current bunch

There's only one feasible option.

[Cracker1234]

The only visitors to emerge with any credit were Villa’s terrific fans, who responded to the supine offering of their players with a series of songs like “let’s pretend we’ve scored a goal”, “it’s just like watching Brazil” and “we’re going to win the League”, all of which possibilities looked highly unlikely

Part of Henry Winter's article.

Telegraph

[gilbertoAVFC]

How has James Collins suddenly become 'a disgrace', 'a c***' and 'shocking'. So fickle. He has had one stinker yes, but he has hardly been dire other than last night.

I can't help but think people are acting in such a reactionary way. Most of our players are half-fit or injured, the rest are knackered. It's not acceptable, no, but some of the comments on here are pretty outrageous.

[cbr600rr]

How has James Collins suddenly become 'a disgrace', 'a c***' and 'shocking'. So fickle. He has had one stinker yes, but he has hardly been dire other than last night.

I can't help but think people are acting in such a reactionary way. Most of our players are half-fit or injured, the rest are knackered. It's not acceptable, no, but some of the comments on here are pretty outrageous.

not being funny but do you go down vp? dunne has been poor this season & collins has been ok at best, warnock is a disaster & i was shouting for luke young to play rb all last year, i have never wanted carlos so bad in the back 4 as i have now.carlos was mon against wolves & hasnt played since! bad managment