Liverpool v Exeter City - Official Matchday Thread

[Red Bill]

You don't have to pay, you choose to.

I'd say that this cup run has provided us with plenty of entertainment (not to mention it will help to fund future entertainment).

You are a very different type of supporter to me, it seems - if we'd nicked a late one at 0-0 I'd have made it one of the best nights of the year (and I know it's only January), regardless of the quality of the rest of the game.

We clearly are different, it seems winning any way any how is what you pay your money to see whereas although I want us to win I want it to be entertaining more. For example, I'm guessing you didn't enjoy the Luton game because we lost, whereas I thought it was a fantastic match, and went home thoroughly satisfied, I wish we'd won but I certainly got my money's worth. Even if we'd got a lucky undeserved win against Liverpool last night (playing the way we did first half) it wouldn't have been as good for me as the Luton game was.

And for the sake of pedantry; I want to watch football and I therefore CHOOSE to watch it, but I therefore HAVE to pay, it's not a choice I can't choose to watch without paying. I As I said football is a business., their product is entertainment, and therefore if they are prepared to accept my money I do have a right to expect entertainment in return.

 

[BigBanker]

We clearly are different, it seems winning any way any how is what you pay your money to see whereas although I want us to win I want it to be entertaining more. For example, I'm guessing you didn't enjoy the Luton game because we lost, whereas I thought it was a fantastic match, and went home thoroughly satisfied, I wish we'd won but I certainly got my money's worth. Even if we'd got a lucky undeserved win against Liverpool last night (playing the way we did first half) it wouldn't have been as good for me as the Luton game was.

And for the sake of pedantry; I want to watch football and I therefore CHOOSE to watch it, but I therefore HAVE to pay, it's not a choice I can't choose to watch without paying. I As I said football is a business., their product is entertainment, and therefore if they are prepared to accept my money I do have a right to expect entertainment in return.

I'm not talking about winning any old game ugly, I'm talking about winning at Anfield which, however it may have come about, would have entertained me thoroughly. The win itself and subsequent away end capers would have been enough entertainment for little old me.

I wasn't at the Luton match so can't comment on that one I'm afraid.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the right to be entertained. I get that a football club needs to provide entertainment in order to survive, but it can't be a 'right' for you to entertained for any one particular match. Like I said, over the course of this cup run we've been thoroughly entertained - the home matches against Port Vale and Liverpool were two of the best I can remember at SJP for a few seasons.

 

[arthur]

As I said football is a business., their product is entertainment, and therefore if they are prepared to accept my money I do have a right to expect entertainment in return.

This is exactly the point I've been making about Tisdale choosing to play the "wrong way round" (attacking the bank in the first half). Die hard, week in week out fans are always going to be there, but for the business to be successful it needs to offer a product people will pay to see. The production manager (P Tiz) has a consistent record of failure in this regard

 

[shoot on sight]

Before the replay I had a faint hope that if Klopp picked a very similar young side we might just nick it, though that was unlikely.
In the time since the first game the Liverpool players will have had time to get to know one another and for some to get up to speed.
When I saw the starting team I guessed that Tisdale was hoping to use experience to stay in the game and then use younger fresher legs to mount a later challenge, which would seem to be a plan of sorts.

I watched on TV and in the first minute thought there was a lot of room out wide on both flanks.
Checking the stats am I right in thinking that the Anfield playing surface is 101m x 68m against the Park which is 104m x 64m?
If so as well as the state of our pitch the narrowness must have helped us defend in the first game.

We will never know what would have happened if Tis has set out to attack from the start, but I think if we had started trying to chase the
game early it might well have been 4 or 5 at least, and I was glad we avoided that,

cheers

We were also exposed on our flanks in the home game but they didn't really capitalise on it whereas last night -----.
Actually they could easily have been 3 or 4 up at half time if a rather useless Benteke had been more composed-ditto second half.
Amazing how talent and a couple of (Premiership standard)coaching sessions can transform a team compared to the one at SJP.
I feel for some of the younger players who warranted a chance to play at Anfield rather than Oakley (a cup finalist) and CM.

 

[Antony Moxey]

People are actually citing the opinions of James and Macmanaman? Macmanaman especially is particularly clueless and only interested in his own opinion and the fact that he played for Liverpool and Real - I find him as about insightful as that other perennial dullard Jamie Redknapp.

As it was, Tis got it wrong, but we could see that with our own eyes, we didn't need those two idiots feigning mock ignorance.

 

[andrew p long]

Ah well...The Hartlepool trip is still on...

We should have turned them over at SJP...A few extra quid for going to Anfield but we missed out on the glory of being in the last 32...I know what I would have preferred..

Indeed . The money will tide us over a bit longer but a win at SJP would have lived up to the Red Legion banner...and echoed down the years...

 

[Egg]

There's an awful lot of BS on here this morning.

If Tis' strategy was to be cautious and defensive in the first half to leave us with a shout at the second half, it worked (who could deny that at 1-0 at half time we were still in the game? We only went 2 down as late as the 74th minute), but I have to say I think it worked more by luck than judgement. I also don't think he should have started the 3 old fogeys. I'm totally perplexed as to why he refuses to play Manny and McReady - if they're that **** he is massively at fault for buying them in the first place - but instead plays Butterfield and Oakley together in midfield. I'd also have Tillson over Butterfield any day of the week.

That said, when we started playing the way the 'attack attack attack' mob wanted us to in the second half, and with a line up getting closer to what we may have hoped to start with, we looked extremely vulnerable on the break and gave away many more clear cut chances (as well as the 2 goals). If we played that way in the first half they could have been out of sight by half time.

People seem to be forgetting that we were playing against much, much better players last night. As we were in the first game at SJP. The difference last night is that Liverpool reserves HAD played together before, were playing on a pitch that was less forgiving (anyone who's ever played football against a much better team knows how much this affects things, regardless of your own style of play) and Klopp had clearly managed to motivate and organise them in a much more effective way than he did in the first game, no surprise considering that at the time of the SJP match he'd never even seen some of them play.

The sense of entitlement to a cup shock at Anfield on here is ridiculous and shows very little understanding of the gulf in class between us and Liverpool reserves. By all means moan when Hoskins and Nicholls aren't showing cutting edge against Yeovil, but we're playing Liverpool, away, here.

And as seems usual for any FA Cup defeat we suffer (be it against Warrington or Liverpool), the 'I want an apology' brigade are piping up. Get over yourselves. It's a football match, not Alton Towers. You go in full knowledge that we might play well/play badly, win/lose/draw. Frankly how any of you went to Anfield last night expecting the same tight game we had at SJP is beyond me. Last night puts into perspective how well we did in the home game. Tis and players deserve huge credit for that and the financial reward it brought the club.

Atmosphere was OK, not incredible, as you come to expect from these sort of games. '10 German Bombers' was cringe-worthy, glad that the Red Legion have publicly distanced themselves from this. Who do you lot think you are, balding 40 year olds wearing Hackett polo shirts throwing chairs through a Belgian town square at Euro 2000? Embarrassing. Gerrard song was funny once, but the fact that more people seemed to join in with that than any pro-City (or anti Argyle) songs shows how many day-trippers were diluting the atmosphere.

So in summary, no, I didn't agree with Tis' starting line up, but it did keep us within a shout of getting something out of the game until the 74th minute.

And the sense of entitlement, overreaction and whinging on here is pathetic. Grow up and get on with supporting your team.


Roll on Accy Stanley.

While being distinctly underwhelmed by proceedings on and off the pitch last night, on balance I find myself in agreement with BigBanker.

Like him, I wouldn't have gone with the team Tis did – in particular, I thought asking Clinton to play up front on his own was nonsensical – but, at the same time, I can, just about, see where he was coming from.

Moreover, there are a couple of factors which might have influenced Tis's selection and, as far as I can see, have gone largely unremarked upon here:

[1] The 6-3 defeat at Sunderland. Understandably, there will be those who say they'd rather have seen us go down in a similar style last night. Indeed, I'd be among them. However, hindsight is a wonderful thing. We shipped six goals at the Stadium of Light when, you'll note, the team included Messrs Tilson, McCready and Oyeleke. Now, I like all three of there aforementioned players but maybe, just maybe, Tis had that game in mind when he picked his side for last night and it occurred to him if we were to stand a chance of getting a different result we would need to batten down the hatches.

[2] The David Noble factor. Nobes was the heartbeat of the team in the home game and, like others, I was feared for our chances when I heard he wouldn't be playing. While I haven't heard categorically that he's injured, I'm guessing this to be the case. On that basis, I'm happy to give Tis the benefit of the doubt and assume we would have set up rather differently had David been fit. Instead, I'm guessing he must have picked up a knock in training on either Monday or Tuesday and, it seems to me, entirely conceivable that might have prompted a wholesale change in Tis' tactics.

Notwithstanding all the above, I'll concede the side really didn't do itself justice last night and, ultimately, Tis must take responsibility for that. However, taking a step back for a minute, I'd suggest the disappointment we all felt was heightened by the fact that we'd exceeded all expectations in the first game and that we were a long war short of being 'humiliated', as one or two have suggested.

If, come the end of the season, we fail to make the play-offs then I'd suggest that's a much more legitimate cause for disappointment than losing a cup tie at the home of the seven-times FA Cup winners and five-times European Champions. Right now the play-offs are some considerable way off but if Tis can deliver on that front I for one will be more than happy to put last night down to [painful] experience.

 

[Egg]

People are actually citing the opinions of James and Macmanaman? Macmanaman especially is particularly clueless and only interested in his own opinion and the fact that he played for Liverpool and Real - I find him as about insightful as that other perennial dullard Jamie Redknapp.

As it was, Tis got it wrong, but we could see that with our own eyes, we didn't need those two idiots feigning mock ignorance.

Serious question: mindful of your reservations about watching the original game from the big bank, what did you think of the view? I only ask, because I was sitting a few rows behind you from where it was 5hite – I could just about see all of the playing surface but not a lot else. Certainly, the view from behind the goal at SJP is markedly better.

That aside, I never thought I'd see the day when Ant Moxey was taking selfies, so allowed myself a wry smile when I looked up to see you taking one of yourself with the Kop in the background at the end of the game! ;-)

 

[dontpassback]

We missed noble big time,he is a quality player who would have thrived on that pitch,but he is injured and that's that.the team tried their best but Liverpool showed some quality and they werent going to slip up this time.we made a lot of money from the cup run and hopefully it will be put to good use and we can now push on for the playoffs !

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

People are actually citing the opinions of James and Macmanaman? Macmanaman especially is particularly clueless and only interested in his own opinion and the fact that he played for Liverpool and Real - I find him as about insightful as that other perennial dullard Jamie Redknapp.

As it was, Tis got it wrong, but we could see that with our own eyes, we didn't need those two idiots feigning mock ignorance.[/QUOTE

He knows nothing that Mcmanaman after all he's only won and scored in the champions league final for the biggest club in the world in Real Madrid

His opinion doesn't count.

Behave