EPL:Liverpool v Arsenal|Tuesday, April 21, 2009@2000

[Stevo the Villan]

Of course. i understand why he said it completely, still annoyed me though

 

[Zico]

I actually thought every goal last night was the result of defensive areas.

The crisp packet hand was terrible, if you get down to a ball and get a full hand on it, you must save it.

The last Liverpool goal was horrible to conceade, firstly why on earth are we so deep, its just inviting pressure. Secondly, what on earth is Diaby doing standing on the edge of the area when 2 Liverpool players are on the penalty spot waiting on the ball to drop, pathetic.

Rufus, at the end of the day, our defense is just not of the quality required to win titles. With Gallas out, I cannot see us overcoming both United and the winner of the Barca/Chelsea tie. And I doubt Wenger will ever address the defense

 

[AFCG7]

Just like the Sp**s game we cocked things up after leading in injury time. Our defense was all over the place last night , i was surprised with Howard Webb's extra injury time that we didnt conceded a 5th.
Its ridiculous the amount of time and space Benayoun had for the equalizer. For Arshavin to score 4 goals at Anfield and have the rest of the team let him down is really disheartening. How can a guy score 4 goals on his Anfield debut and still not end up in a winning side? its nonsense.. why are we having to put up with this **** again? Ok so our team has a lot of injuries , but surely..surely to hold out for 4 minutes is not asking too much?

Why are people going on about Bendy's 'no-goal'?
Reina would have easily saved that had he not stopped after hearing the whistle for offside.

 

[General]

People keep talking about defensive errors but at least we had an excuse with our patched up back four. What were Liverpool's.

And Quincy - Can we stop exaggerating man. Any gulf in class in finishing, if any, is minute. Torres can be just as profligate. He may surpass Ade but I consider a fully fit Robin just as good a finisher. No way is there an enormous gulf in class in finishing between them.

 

[Asmo]

Every goal can be the result of defensive errors, ask Alan Hansen.

Having said that, the whole back four were poor last night, and weren't adequately protected either. To leave Benayoun in that much space when defending an injury-time lead was dissappointing.

 

[USArsenal]

Did anyone else want to punch the TV when Gerrard claimed Arshavin's first goal was offside even when they drew a line across the bloody pitch to show it wasn't? And then he had the audacity to say he couldn't believe the linesman didn't give it when he was in front of the kop!!

I love the way Gerrard plays, he's world class. Unfortunately he's also a world class prick.

at the end of the day he is a fan and he is talking during a game that could shape his teams championship challenge, i am not sure you should read that much into his objectivity last night to be honest......

even 'Pool fans, once seeing the replays, would concede that it was onsides.. he was just trying to be belligerent... honestly, it just made him look and sound really really stupid..

 

[sabret00the]

Did anyone else want to punch the TV when Gerrard claimed Arshavin's first goal was offside even when they drew a line across the bloody pitch to show it wasn't? And then he had the audacity to say he couldn't believe the linesman didn't give it when he was in front of the kop!!

I love the way Gerrard plays, he's world class. Unfortunately he's also a world class prick.

at the end of the day he is a fan and he is talking during a game that could shape his teams championship challenge, i am not sure you should read that much into his objectivity last night to be honest......

IAWTC*

*I Agree With This Comment.

 

[Asmo]

Gerrard in gormless shocker?

 

[JGooner]

I think quincy was saying that there is a gulf in class between Torres and Ade/RvP all-round, not just finishing. Which is true. He's on another level to our guys.

 

[Asmo]

He's on another level full stop. Terrific player.

 

[General]

At the risk of sparking a debate - I don't see no gulf in class here let alone an enormous one. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. Torres is a terrific player but he can easily marked out of games compared to Ade. He hasn't got a better technique that Robin either. In terms of variation to play, Ade gets my vote. Only a handful of strikers can play the lone striker role the way he does, irrespective of the offsides. You really don't know what you have till it's gone.

 

[alonso14]

At the risk of sparking a debate - I don't see no gulf in class here let alone an enormous one. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. Torres is a terrific player but he can easily marked out of games compared to Ade. He hasn't got a better technique that Robin either. In terms of variation to play, Ade gets my vote. Only a handful of strikers can play the lone striker role the way he does, irrespective of the offsides. You really don't know what you have till it's gone.

i dont remember him being marked out of many games tbh

 

[General]

Have a look at both your league losses against United last season for one or even the recent 1-3 loss to Chelsea where he was rendered ineffective. Against a well marshalled defence where there's no space to exploit he struggles and I'd pick Ade for a lone striker role any day.

 

[Clrnc]

We didnt play well and got lucky with a point...

But given how the things went by, we could only blame ourself for not grabbing the win. We have more than 1 occasions

 

[JGooner]

At the risk of sparking a debate - I don't see no gulf in class here let alone an enormous one. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. Torres is a terrific player but he can easily marked out of games compared to Ade. He hasn't got a better technique that Robin either. In terms of variation to play, Ade gets my vote. Only a handful of strikers can play the lone striker role the way he does, irrespective of the offsides. You really don't know what you have till it's gone.

A lot of wishful thinking here. If you've seen Torres get marked out of games more easily than Adebayor, you've been watching a different league these past two seasons.

Variation of play is exactly where Torres excels. He can score almost any type of goal, which isn't true of Adebayor, who can't do long-range shots. His all-round centre-forward play is phenomenal and more consistent than Adebayor - it just doesn't get emphasised as much because people focus on his touch and finishing, which are leagues above Ade's. We cream ourselves when Ade holds off a challenge with his back to goal and lays off the ball to a midfield runner. Torres does that routinely (ask Gerrard, Benayoun, etc) but it's only one feather in his cap.

I really struggle to see which combination of "strengths" any of our strikers have that comes close to matching his. I wouldn't even necessarily choose Ade above Torres in the air - Ade is taller but Torres is better at meeting crosses and is a better technical header of the ball. His football brain is 10 times better than Ade's and 100 times better than RvP's, who doesn't have the first clue what to do when not in possession.

 

[outlaw_member]

He was marked out of the game on 4 seperate ocassions against us last season, despite grabbing a goal in the CL. In saying that, he is the best striker in the league, and I would take him ahead of Ade or RVP every day of the week. What suprises me about the Spaniard is that he is absolutely lethal in the air, and has a huge array of skills in his game. Adebayor's supposedly unique variety of skills is a myth, in my opinion.

 

[marco]

At the risk of sparking a debate - I don't see no gulf in class here let alone an enormous one. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. Torres is a terrific player but he can easily marked out of games compared to Ade. He hasn't got a better technique that Robin either. In terms of variation to play, Ade gets my vote. Only a handful of strikers can play the lone striker role the way he does, irrespective of the offsides. You really don't know what you have till it's gone.

i dont remember him being marked out of many games tbh

haha ADE! above torres you have got to be joking me!
ade last night wouldnt have done any of the work bendtner did..
im so happy he didnt play
to compare the guyto torres is just as insulting as our **** arshavin song putting his name in the same sentence as defoe!

rvp isnt in the same league as torres either

 

[outlaw_member]

A lot of wishful thinking here. If you've seen Torres get marked out of games more easily than Adebayor, you've been watching a different league these past two seasons.

Variation of play is exactly where Torres excels. He can score almost any type of goal, which isn't true of Adebayor, who can't do long-range shots. His all-round centre-forward play is phenomenal and more consistent than Adebayor - it just doesn't get emphasised as much because people focus on his touch and finishing, which are leagues above Ade's. We cream ourselves when Ade holds off a challenge with his back to goal and lays off the ball to a midfield runner. Torres does that routinely (ask Gerrard, Benayoun, etc) but it's only one feather in his cap.

I really struggle to see which combination of "strengths" any of our strikers have that comes close to matching his. I wouldn't even necessarily choose Ade above Torres in the air - Ade is taller but Torres is better at meeting crosses and is a better technical header of the ball. His football brain is 10 times better than Ade's and 100 times better than RvP's, who doesn't have the first clue what to do when not in possession.

Agreed, Torres also has better aerial intelligence than Adebayor. You will rarely see Adebayor score a header like Torres did against Chelsea, earlier in the season. Adebayor is a great at heading, but he has a habit of expecting the ball to land on his head, rather than attacking a loose aerial ball. Adebayor is big and brawny, so it seems like he does things that other strikers don't do. However, Torres plays in exactly the same manner, except he has more pace and guile, and doesn't look as awkward. Afterall, the majority of his performances have come as the lone striker. Regarding RVP, I think I need to see him in a fully functioning team, before I pass judgement on him.

 

[General]

At the risk of sparking a debate - I don't see no gulf in class here let alone an enormous one. They all have different strengths and weaknesses. Torres is a terrific player but he can easily marked out of games compared to Ade. He hasn't got a better technique that Robin either. In terms of variation to play, Ade gets my vote. Only a handful of strikers can play the lone striker role the way he does, irrespective of the offsides. You really don't know what you have till it's gone.

A lot of wishful thinking here. If you've seen Torres get marked out of games more easily than Adebayor, you've been watching a different league these past two seasons.

Variation of play is exactly where Torres excels. He can score almost any type of goal, which isn't true of Adebayor, who can't do long-range shots. His all-round centre-forward play is phenomenal and more consistent than Adebayor - it just doesn't get emphasised as much because people focus on his touch and finishing, which are leagues above Ade's. We cream ourselves when Ade holds off a challenge with his back to goal and lays off the ball to a midfield runner. Torres does that routinely (ask Gerrard, Benayoun, etc) but it's only one feather in his cap.

I really struggle to see which combination of "strengths" any of our strikers have that comes close to matching his. I wouldn't even necessarily choose Ade above Torres in the air - Ade is taller but Torres is better at meeting crosses and is a better technical header of the ball. His football brain is 10 times better than Ade's and 100 times better than RvP's, who doesn't have the first clue what to do when not in possession.

There's no wishful thinking here mate. I've seen Torres easily bullied into submission in games. He's an easier player to negate compared to Ade in my opinion. Ferdinand described Ade as one of the most difficult strikers he's ever played against and that's saying a lot. This was the same guy who had Torres in his pocket on both occasions against Liverpool last season.

Aerially it's a non-contest. There's no way Torres is a more competent header of the ball and doesn't even come close to matching Ade's ceiling. You've just preposterously gone and used one of his biggest strengths to formulate a compelling argument for Torres. I won't argue against Ade's flaws - his lack of long range shots, poor composure in front of goal and obliviousness to the offside rile BUT he more than makes up for this in his unpredictability.

Like I said, you really don't know what you have till it's gone. Quite simply there aren't many strikers in the world capable of executing the lone striker role the way Ade does. It's all a matter of opinion and without acknowledging the subtleties in their strengths and weaknesses, it's easy to get carried. Especially with Torres being easy on the eye. In fact, in terms of pure technique, I think Robin shades both and is obviously more adept with both feet.

Marco - You've an avid Ade hater aren't you mate? :wink: If we had this argument in Jan, I'm not you'd be brave enough to say Robin isn't in the same league as Torres. He was the hottest striker in the few weeks preceding our goalless draws and was head and shoulders above any striker in the league.

 

[outlaw_member]

Torres has executed the lone striker role for 2 seasons running, scoring a huge amount of goals in the process. There might not be many strikers who can execute the role effectively, but Torres is definitely one of the players that can.

Torres's style and qualities are very misleading. Being Spanish and possessing good technique and pace, gives the impression that he is a technical forward. Infact, he is just like Adebayor or Drogba, powerful, excellent with his back to goal, and has a huge variety of skills, including aerial power. There isn't anything that Adebayor does, that Torres is incapable of.