Liverpool v Man City

very tough game and selection problems for Rafa



-----------------Reina-------------
Johnson---Carra---Agger---Insua
-------------Lucas-----Masch---------
Gerrard----------Aquilani--------Aurelio
------------------Kuyt-------------------


subs
Cavalieri
Skrtel
Degen
Spearing
Dossena
Babel
N'Gog


very weak from us, Lucas and Aquilani could interchange depending on how games going

1-1
Kuyt
Bellamy

yeah Liverpool have already suffered five league defeats this season and last weeks recent 2-2 draw with Birmingham has done little to ease the pressure on Rafa Benitez who has been under fire for his team selection decisions in recent weeks .

Liverpool are 7th in the table and already 11pts behind leaders Chelsea ...Benitez still has injury problems ...Fernando Torres is unlikely to be available for another few weeks and Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera are doubtful with muscle injuries . captain Steven Gerrard is still nursing the groin injury he sustained a while back ...Glen Johnson has a hamstring problem so is struggling to be fit for the game . The good news is captain Steven Gerrard is likely to play after the international break has allowed him time to recover from the groin problem that has plagued him over the last month .....is Rafa taking a risk though by playing his capain while not fully fit .

Man City are keen to get a win after a run of five successive draws has seen their title chances falter like Liverpool`s . They do have a game in hand over leaders Chelsea but as they always say ...its points that matter and Mark Hughes will want to add to the pressure on Rafa Benitez by winning at Anfield . He is hoping to have Robinho available after his ankle injury back in september ....Hughes says `it is probably too close but we wil see` .


What a game this could be .....Liverpool are at home but that is not neccesarily a guaranteed 3 points ....Man City would go five points clear of Liverpool if they won ...could this be Rafa Benitez last game in charge ..

why babel and Ngog on the bench?
They are the only legit strikers Liverpool have left in fact i would play both of those.

Babel is shite and N'Gog isnt ready to start against the top 6 but could be a decent option from the bench

Babel is crap 90% of the time but he has a higher chance of doing something than N'Gog.

whilst N'Gog is good 90% of the time, and has a decent goal record, if he was english and cost more than 1.5million he wouldnt get half the crap he does

i think Rafa may well have just 3 games left to save his job

Liverpool v Man City
Debercan v Liverpool
Everton v Liverpool

fail to win any of those and i think it will be bye bye Rafa ..

I've given up on reiterating the fact that the Liverpool board can't afford to sack Benitez.

But he may feel obliged to quit if he loses any more than two games.

N'Gog's record:

PSG
Appearances 25
Scored 3

Liverpool
Appearances 26
Scored 7

yes you are right. his goalscoring record is certainly "good".

I agree N'Gog should play Specnur.

Babel on the other hand... the simple thing with Babel is this: if he is on his game he can be a problem for defences, although he's still hit-and-miss; if he isn't on his game, it will not merely be like playing with 10 men, but like playing with 10 versus 12. The reason for this is that Babel acts like an opposition player, with the way in which he consistently breaks up our own play with a horrible touch, a mistimed pass, a run into a blind alley, a greedy shot blazed over the bar (it goes on). What's more, he has a poor mentality. Babel is unpredictable, which is why he's better to bring off the bench. If he has a poor game, it will be for a matter of 20-30 minutes and hurt us less. It will also be at a point where we are more desperate, if we are chasing a result; so it will be at a stage where you have to take a risk anyway.

I would much rather we played Aurelio on the left, who actually has very good control, passing and crossing ability. He won't dribble past 5 players and score a wonder goal (...not that Babel does that often either, but he does have more flair...), yet we'll play far better as a team with him on the left as opposed to the Dutchman. The only way i'd feel remotely optimistic about using Babel from the start is if he was on the right-wing - which would be an option, but not in an important match like this where Kuyt will be key.

N'Gog has superseded Babel in terms of our options up front for a reason. He's more intelligent, more consistent, a better finisher, more composed and less erratic, naturally suited to leading the line and has a far better attitude.

Or we could look at it like this (2009/10):

Premier League games started: 1
Premier League games as sub: 4
Premier League goals: 3

I'd say that's quite decent.

"Appearances" is so misleading for a player who mainly is used as a substitute and may only come on for 5-10 minutes at the end of a match.

or we could look at it like this:

N'Gog scores the final goal of a 4-0 win against the might of Stoke.
he then scored a goal in the 96th minute in the 2–0 win against ten men manchester united who had thrown their whole team forward in pursuit of a goal.
then he went on to net a goal past premier league giants Birmingham City.

Earth shattering.

Or we could look at this:

He can only score in the situations he has been put in. Which he has done. Plenty of players don't.

He scored and won a penalty in his only start against the 5th best defence in the Premier League.

the guys 20 years old, his goal per minute record for Liverpool is good

Agreed, N'Gog is a kid who's settling into a foreign country and a tough top league, in a side which is low on confidence, many injuries and he doesn't have the experience to be netting goals like Torres. The lads real good and has immense potential, I judge him on his record this season and he's scored a few goals and played well... fair play to him! At £1.5m, 20yrs old and doing well.... is better than Nani who cost more than 10x that amount and in 3 seasons has struggled to break into the side even when they have players out. Not doubting Nani's potential, just stating that N'Gog is value for money!!!!!

I'm not going to get into an 'our player is better than yours' debate.......I will just say that I think Steely is being a little harsh on NGog and the boy does have potential...he just needs to be given the time and opportunity to show it.

I'd agree that he has limited potential. He could become a good striker in this league, but he is never going to make a huge impact. I find it hard to see him reaching the heights of Saha and Anelka, but perhaps, with a bit of luck and good progress from now he could get close some day.

I can't complain with what he has done so far this season. I didn't rate him before, but he's done a good job and if it continues, the boy might win me over.

You also didn't rate Torres when we signed him.

Apparently N'Gog has a suspected broken nose after a collision in training and Kelly has picked up a small injury in his first training session which will keep him out for 7-10 days.

I start to wonder if it is something we're doing you know. Obviously some things are unavoidable like injuries on international duty, but when so many injuries are occurring you have to question what the fitness coaches and physios are doing with the players.

what is his goals per minute record for Liverpool?