Given that both Jova and Kuyt are actually strikers and not midfielders, we effectively played with two midfielders : Gerrard and Lucas!

I would either haved played Poulsen and Maxi in place of Lucas and Torres (let him come on later) or Poulsen and Agger again in place of Lucas and Torres, and played Carra as LB with Soto & Skrtle as CBs. As it turned out, I think we were out-skilled (Johnson & Milner) and outmuscled (De Jong & Toure) in the middle.

Perhaps RH is still getting to know his players and has overestimated Torres and Gerrard. This is a major hiccup!?

The only positive thing about it is that this has happened early ..

Too early to be pressing all the panic/hopeless buttons. Give RH a chance. After all, we gave RB 5 years+ and he left us in quite a mess. RH is an experienced, well-travelled professional who has managed both clubs and national sides. I like the team he assembled at Fulham altho' it was never going to be a CL team.

Once a manager leaves, a few players will feel unsettled and the whole team need to gel again - quite normal. Of course the excellent team gels much faster and LFC is not there yet. If RH is willing to listen (unlike RB) then we can be more hopeful going forward.

I believe we will do better than 7th this season and will probably be chasing a top 4 position. If RH can identify the really good players from the mediocre ones, motivate them quickly enough, who knows ...

You forget too quickly how valiantly we played the second half against Arsenal with 10 players. We could have won that game if not for that unfortunate incident right at the end. Delusional we are not. Hopeful and positive we definitely try to be.

To say that we'll be "totally out of sorts" against the top 6 is really negative, and to be that negative so early in the season is ... so sad

Too early in the season to go so negative, throwing in the towel, condemning this player and that etc.. Too early in the season to swing the other way also.

Don't laugh, but Ngog has the makings of a great striker. Like the two sides of a coin, a great player needs skills on one side and confidence on the other. A great manager must be good in cultivation and motivation. I think RH is miles ahead of RB in these areas.

To be sure, RB did buy many good players. Unfortunately due to his non-communicative and dictatorial style, he neither cultivated nor motivated players like Babel, Benayoun, Riera, Pacheco (and a host of youngsters with great potential) and some of them actually declined during their stay in LFC.

Hopefully, things will be very different from now on. We will have a good season but there might be ups and downs along the way. Let's get behind our team!

We got the crucial first 3 points of the season!

However the team didn't play well and RH knows it. Here's how I rate our players tonight :

Reina 9 - reliable as usual
Johnson 5 - he's certainly better going forward
Carra 7 - his usual
Skrtle 6 - with another referee, he may not escape
Agger 6 - LB is really not his position
Lucas 6 - not solid, not creative just average
Poulsen 8 - breath of fresh air; should be regular
Kuyt 6 - not as quick as he could be but great assist for Torres
Jovan 5 - losing his way a little it seems
Gerrard 5 - probably not fit, not chasing, not tackling, not passing consistently well
Torres 6 - he scored a good goal that makes up for everything else

Lots of room for improvement. Birmingham away is going to be very, very tough!

Did I watch a different Poulsen play on Sunday night?! I thought he did much better than Lucas and played his part very well as defensive midfielder. Yet, most people seem to think he played poorly ... hmmm?

I like Masch and thought he was not fully utilised by Argentina at the WC. However, he's got a rather volatile temperament and I can imagine him arguing and even throwing tantrums when things don't go his way. Not all Argies are like that mind you .. I think Maxi looks more even tempered. So, did he "go on strike" against Man City? Not important now - we already lost 3 points there.

I think RH is trying to close the gap between our 'seniors' and our very younger players by bringing in these experienced ones and at the same time hoping to make an immediate impact this season. Players like Babel, Lucas, Skrtle, Ngog etc.. are no longer youth but still not steady enough.

Anyway, I hope everything will work out!

Let Masch say whatever he wants - he's no longer a Red. Generally, Argies are temperamental and when they are upset, they cannot control themselves (remember Masch's national team boss Maradona's outburst?).

Back to our team. I'd be very happy if we can get back into the CL and quite elated if we manage to win something this season. One of my worries is Gerrard. He's been blowing hot and cold, and shows more interest wearing an England shirt than Liverpool's. Hopefully, his performance against WBA is down to his match fitness but I remember seeing Torres being more willing to run after the ball and closing down WBA's defenders than his captain. Just hope that RH can talk some sense into him. You know alot of these Brits are rather immature these days, not to mention footballers. Sometimes we forget that. That's why having a coach/manager who can also be a mentor is so critical.

Of course, as a mentor he must communicate with his players and that's where the previous manager failed. That's why I remain optimistic that better days are ahead for us.

Come on RH, ... and come on you Reds!

Hope Gerrard's position in the hole behind Torres is temporary with the suspension of Joe Cole, because he's playing poorly there.

Passing from defence to midfield is poor with Birmingham cutting off or just getting those passes instead. Carra and Skrtle are not defending well either. If not for Reina, we'd be 0-2 behind. Fortunately for us he's clearly not letting the Argentina game affect him.

Just hope RH can rally them or change things in the second half. Otherwise, we can consider ourselves fortunate to escape with one point.

The game against MU will be very different. Cole will be back and this will have tremendous effect on the make-up of the line-up.

1. Our captain should be back in the centre of midfield - he contributed much more when he played there last night after Mereiles replaced Lucas.
2. Mereiles will begin to bring the Terry Mc effect on our play
3. Our defence will become more confident with the additional support, especially from the captain.
4. Torres should get more chances from Cole and between the two of them cause problems for MU's defence.

I've watched Poulsen play two or three times now and I get very puzzled by the very negative comments about him. Perhaps Lucas made him look bad because he has had to struggle to cover him, but I think he's a much more skillful holder than Lucas and unless you knock him down, it is not easy to get the ball from Poulsen.

Maxi is small and can get pushed around by PL defenders but his skills make up for that. I think he did his part adequately.

Give some of these guys some time - genuinely world-class players don't suddenly become duds when they put on the red of LFC.

When Konchesky and Lucas were replaced, we actually had 11 world cuppers in our team!

We drew 1-1 away to Birmingham last season, so this is not a disastrous result. We didn't perform well in the game because we are still makeshift due the absence of 2 key players : Cole and Kuyt, and adjusting to life without Masch.

I absolutely agree with RH's statement that LFC was overstaffed when he came. We still have too many players and unhappy players affect performances. I've a good feeling that we'll have a good run soon, hopefully starting with Man Utd this weekend.

No doubt RH will also have his favourites (like Konchesky) but I look forward to his trimming away the surplus to requirements in the new year - hopefully, Lucas will be one of them. Until then, I believe he will gradually play his best 11+3 players.

My "suspects" : Reina, Johnson (no choice for now?), Carra, Agger, Konchesky, Jovanovich, Gerrard, Mereiles, Kuyt, Cole, Torres + Skrtle, Poulsen and Ngog

Just got back from Perth. Watched the ManU game there live. Painful loss atho' we also lost there last season. Our midfield was much better in the second half and is an encouraging sign.

Australians are generally more interested in rugby but I saw about half a dozen guys wearing football jerseys during my few days there and guess what ...? Five of them were wearing the LFC shirt!

Our players are losing confidence with each mistake. If they can string a few passes together and make a couple of genuine attempts at goal, the confidence will be back.

Good pressure during the last two minutes, for a change!

Keep going lads, the winning goal will come ... come on!