Liverpool fans raging at Moreno, Lovren, Henderson…

Sarah Winterburn

Are you on e-mail? Then send us a missive to theeditor@football365.com

 

Unofficial Football365 weekly awards
As the Weekly Awards didn’t get a lot of traction, I’ve come up with some, using the main categories of last season’s. Entirely unofficial, of course:

Premier League Player of the Week – Alexandre Lacazette
Reducing what he did to simply ‘scoring with his first touch after a big money move’ completely downplays the composure and mental strength to deal with all the pressures and expectations that come with making such a move.

Football League Player of the Week – Kieffer Moore
Ipswich Town spent most of last season struggling for goals, never mind wins. Despite this, they’ve made a perfect start to the season and scored a hatful. So confident were they of scoring goals, they sent Moore on loan to Rotherham United. He duly claimed the match ball, bagging a treble as his side beat Southend United 5-0.

European Player of the Week – Ciro Immobile
Immobile scored 23 goals for Lazio on his return to Serie A, having not succeeded in the thankless task of trying to follow Robert Lewandowski in Dortmund. He picked up where he left off, with a brace in the Supercoppa Italiana against the Old Lady.

Best Goal – Stephen Ward
Just because scoring wonder goals seems completely out of character for Burnley, made all the better by the idea of Sean Dyche screaming at his defender to get back into position. You’d almost be scared to not score.

Best Save – Jonas Lossl
A two-goal lead is supposedly the most dangerous, presumably because the opposition have to come out and attack you. Lossl’s save to deny Wilfried Zaha maintained Town’s cushion at a time when the Eagles were trying to force their way back into the contest.

Best Tackle of the Week – Tim Fosu-Mensah

Failure to make clean contact with the ball results in a penalty, a red card, and even more misery for the debutant. Success in this instant following such an effort endeared him greatly to the home fans.

Best Tactical Move – David Wagner
Realising that Crystal Palace were below 100% preparation in their new system, Wagner’s Terriers waited patiently for them to advance and then swarmed, exploiting the space behind them to devastating effect.

Worst Tactical Move – Craig Shakespeare
City’s manager Pardewed himself by turning a 3-2 lead into a 4-3 defeat, having replaced a midfielder with a striker.

Premier League Loanee of the Week – Kieran Dowell
Nottingham Forest are set for a season of unpredictability, although there is a lot more optimism around the club now. They have a squad with potential for some exciting football, chief among them Dowell, even if the club’s two wins have – like many victories – huge slices of luck.

Dick Move – Cristiano Ronaldo
I’ve never understood why a player’s reaction to scoring a goal is to take their shirt off. Also, while it seems harsh that a player has their name taken for this misdemeanour, it’s hardly a new rule. Similarly, taking an easy tumble in the penalty area while already booked is asking for trouble. Despite this, it’s for shoving the referee that Ronaldo wins this award. Football will take a step in the right direction to clamping down on abuse of officials by making examples of elite players.

Plane to Catch of the Week – Tomas Kalas
According to Daniel Storey’s Profile of an Icon series, Johan Cruyff once agreed to let Romario return to Brazil mid-season if he scored two goals. 20 minutes into the next game the Brazilian striker was asking to come off as he’d got a plane to catch. I can only imagine Tomas Kalas, getting himself sent off after 31 (or 26 or 39) seconds, had a similar motive.

Pundit of the Week – Leroy Rosenior
No reason, really, I just thought he was really interesting on the Totally Football Show.

Dembele of the Week – Mousa Dembele
A bit easier this week, as many European leagues haven’t start yet and Ousmane Dembele isn’t likely to play for Borussia Dortmund in the near future.  Apparently Hotspur haven’t signed anyone this summer, but if they can keep their main stars from last season fit, including Mousa Dembele, they won’t need to.

Compiler of the Week – Ed Quoththeraven.
Maybe F365 could set up a rota.

 

Who would you want back at your club?
With the transfer window slamming shut in a little over two weeks I’ve a question for fans of all football clubs:

Which player, within reason and practicality, do you wish your club would re-sign?

So United fans can’t say Ronaldo, Liverpool fans can’t say Suarez, Spurs fans can’t say Bale etc.

I’ll start. Danny Welbeck.

I’ll admit, it was with a heavy heart I bid him farewell, but my head was turned by the arrival of Falcao. ‘Sad to see him go, but Falcao!’ I thought. As much as all United fans loved Danny – local boy, good prospect developing in the first team – the Colombian seemed an obvious upgrade, on paper at least.

Fair to say that didn’t go to plan.

Reckon he’d be the perfect Jose player, too. Big, strong, quick, a workhorse…
Sean Peter-Budge

 

Moreno!
Tom Picton, please go and lie down in a darkened room and calm down. Your analysis of Liverpools performance and in particular Moreno’s, is so far off the mark I think you’re a ManU fan doing this as a wind up.

Would say more but I’m pretty sure there’ll be many more e-mails along the same lines.
Howard (he was the furthest man up the pitch when the penalty was given!) Jones

 

…I cannot believe I read a Liverpool fan hoping Moreno stays in this morning’s mailbox after watching that performance last night. Lovren and Henderson had poor games but Moreno was the weakest link all night and it wasn’t a poor game or bad day at the office it was just what happens with Moreno, he can’t defend to the standard required. The moment that sums him up from last night is when he saw a ball floated into the box, he thought he could let it run past him and out harmlessly for a goal kick but a Hoffenheim player got to the ball before it bounced and but for his inability to take it under control he would have been in our box with the ball at his feet in an extremely threatening position. He commits mortal sins as dictated by the full back Bible.

The upside to having Moreno in the team is his pace which is very much welcome when we are attacking but it’s nowhere near worth the sloppiness at the back. Hoffenheim realised the weakness on our left side (which is not helped by Salah being new and not very much help to his full back) and started switching the play to that side especially in the second half. Better teams will destroy us down that side. Moreno also exposes Lovren and puts him in situations no centre-back wants to be in. Milner back in now! It’s not sexy, it’s not what we all want but it is what this team needs right now.

I thought we looked good in attack and shaky in defence again but where oh where was our midfield. We were so stretched in the middle of the park last night it was criminal. Hoffenheim players picking up the ball in the middle of the park and turning and running at will. It was scary. I am really worried about this season now. We look so vulnerable. The first two games of the season have exposed major problems. You can press us high and force us to kick the ball away and going a little longer against us into your strikers will pay dividends. The midfield has not supported the centre backs by getting to the strikers feet and taking the ball form him when he tries to control it. I thought Hoffenheim got plenty of joy when going a little longer and more direct into their strikers and I am not sure why they didn’t deploy this tactic more frequently last night. I feel they will at Anfield. I don’t think this tie is over yet at all and that is a problem, we can all see Hoffenheim or anyone else for that matter, getting goals against Liverpool. Hoffenheim are a good team. They are neat and tidy and carry a threat but in my opinion they are Europa League quality and I think Liverpool have a Champions League attack and a Europa League defence.

Last point is this…we can blow teams away. Firmino is perfect for the pace of Mane and Salah, his hard work and clever passing is exactly what is required to maximise the pace of attacking wingers but I think Liverpool take their foot off the gas too often. When we score and at certain periods in matches I think we can kill teams off but we take our foot off their neck. I don’t know why but it’s something I’d like to see change because we certainly cannot rely on ourselves to defend slim leads. At this moment in time attack is definitely our best form of defence. We have the potential to be brilliant this season I am not all doom and gloom but it’s been a sloppy and worrying start.
Gough, LFC, Dublin

 

…Tom Picton – [Moreno has found a bit of confidence, hasn’t he? His defensive work has been markedly improved in the last two games at Watford and Hoffenheim.[

His defensive work was appalling in both those games. Last night, a remarkably poor Hoffenheim team targeted him in a way akin to when playing schoolboy football, you noticed they had put the div kid in a FB position. Any time anyone on your team found some space on the ball, you turn and ping it directly at said div kid and watch him panic. And oh boy did Moreno panic.

Team him up on the left side of defence with Dejan Lovern, and that my friends is a recipe for chaos.

There have been explanations brought up to why this clownshoe has started both games so far (Shop Window/He is bezzies with Coutinho etc) but none make sense.

He is too short and too rash to provide any defensive security and lacks composure when in an advanced position.

The fact that Liverpool rejected a bid for him earlier in the summer, that was valued higher than most fans valuation of the player (about £30 of expired Woolworth vouchers), is even more galling.

#FreeAndyRobertson
Conor (I’ll never forget that sham in the Europa League final – ruined my honeymoon) Dublin

 

Let’s talk Henderson and Lovren….
My! I had my heart in my mouth throughout that sh*t show by pool. Hoffenfeim even though they lost were the better team throughout that game, and bar some very woeful finishing, should have won that game.

To my main reason for writing in, Henderson is just a sh***y footballer. How he made to to being a professional I don’t know, I for one don’t think he’s good enough for Coventry. So what the f###ing hell is he doing playing for my team. And the worst bit is that he is the captain, what does he do, can’t drive forward with the ball, can’t tackle properly, can’t intercept., I mean it’s mental he is even around that first team.

Oh and don’t get me started on Lovren. He has a pretty name, but he is really bad at football. I kept shouting at the TV any time he tried and failed miserably to make a tackle. He and Hendo were battling for the mantle of worst player on the pitch.

Bottom line is they are both cr#p.

Since we didn’t lose, I guess it’s not all bad, and Trent is bloody good too.
Fubara (I am tired of seeing us concede avoidable goals) Ab

 

Comfort from Chelsea’s loan army
This weekend was extremely frustrating. The football was finally back, MOTD, winners and losers, Monday night football analysis. After such a long break even ‘5 (bullshit) things I learned from this match’ would have quenched the thirst in the desert that was this summer. So Chelsea promptly went and lost and this all was tarnished. Maybe I’ll have to bypass next weekend as well (we play Sp*rs).

There was a saviour, a silver lining – the loan army. Some kind Mother-Teresa-like soul made individual highlights of all the Chelsea Prem loan players.

Loftus-Cheek vs Huddersfield – yes they lost badly but RLC was the best player in a Palace shirt.
Palmer vs Crystal palace – so much bite and drive in that midfield.
Abraham vs Southampton – movement better than Batshuayi and will put those chances away next game.
Zouma vs Everton – looked like a fellow Champions League winner at Stoke. Not quite but put in a typical breathtaking Zouma sliding tackle and had plenty of defensive header practice.
Izzy Brown vs Man City – ok so 4/5 isn’t bad – poor guy picked up an injury in the 24th minute.

This is optimistically the core of the next Chelsea team. They all look like starters for their loan club which means they’ll get the coveted playing time they could never get at Chelsea to be ready to play for Chelsea. Now the last time I was this excited about a loan player was that man Lukaku but surely, surely this time they will be integrated back in. So yes, Stamford Bridge may be burning to the ground depending on which news source you look at but it’s ok because I have 5 second teams now. Long live the loan army.
Saaj (CFC)

 

Oh Wrighty…
This maybe should have been one for Mediawatch but I’ve only just had the chance to bring this to light for those who missed this gem.

It relates to a quite excellent/totally mind boggling piece of punditry genius courtesy of Ian Wright on last nights ‘The Debate’ on Sky Sports.

Whilst discussing the situation which is rumbling on at Chelsea with Conte and Costa, Wright proceeded to add to the conversation that from what he’s heard, apparently Antonio Conte ‘doesn’t really like things that he doesn’t like’…

What. A. Revelation!
Al Williams