Originally posted by Palynkahe was devastated when Torres left, had the Spanish national kit as well as the official Liverpool one, he will come around I hope. What Dagleish has accomplished is nothing short of miraculous. I think, although i am no expert, Meireles has been given a much looser and attacking role and he is relishing the opportunity, his goal against Wolves was just amazing!
Nobody's perfect, eh? 🙂
25 Nov '10
Originally posted by Palynka
By ACM do you mean like a Ozil/Sneijder type of player? He's not particularly technical to play there, I think. You need a refined first touch for that, as you tend to receive the ball under pressure already. He's great at transitions, though, as he doesn't hog the ball and can also do his runs in the box. If you had better wingers, I think a trio of Lucas, Meireles and Gerrard could work very well.
25 Nov '10
Originally posted by Angry Boy
He's certainly better in the middle, no doubt. He's also an effective replacement for Gerrard at ACM on occasions - Cole has yet to show me that he can play that position effectively.
I prefer Gerrard where he can do the most damage (ACM) and not where he's got to be a bit more disciplined (CM), and with Meireles with Lucas in CM allows Meireles to get forward in support or ping a few of those long shots of his.
There's no way it'll happen but I wish Gerrard would let him take the corners. The WHU game was the first time I actually thought we looked dangerous from them with him taking them. We actually scored one albeit against the worst PL team I've seen in some time.
We seem to agree more than disagree there. We both thought it would be best to have Gerrard at ACM and Meireles at CM, although you were definitely more positive about his ability to play more upfront. So fair play to you.
I'm not going to lie, how well he's doing in a more forward role is a huge surprise (to every football fan I know who followed Meireles at Porto) and he seems to be oozing with confidence, although obviously I don't think this frequency of goal scoring is going to last. The question is how big will it be going forward.
What is beyond doubt is that Liverpool have finally found their preferred midfield and it includes Meireles more forward and Gerrard more central. Meireles and Lucas seemed to just click perfectly in the current system and their performances went up several levels.
I want to see Meireles taking more corners and set pieces too, his delivery is excellent. I think Dalglish has given Raul, Gerrard and Lucas the licence to get up and beyond the ball as long as one of them covers - with Meireles normally more advanced of the three. It's an attack minded system, especially with our two wide(r) men getting up to join the striker at every opp. It all hinges on Gerrard though - he has to know when to sit, and that's something that he's never been particularly good at.