Liverpool Banter Archive February 19 2015

19 Feb 2015 22:20:49
I didn't like Gerrard's comments on ITV about Baloteli being disrespectful to Henderson becuase he took the penalty. I thought Henderson dealt with it much better in his post match interview. Keep these comments to the dressing room, why washing the dirty laundry in front of everyone. Obviously as it is Mario the media will be all over him. He is ten times better penalty taker than Henderson and it only made sense he take it. Even if someone think he should let Henderson kick it I agree with Peter Reid that it had nothing to do with disrespect just a confident player that is sure he will put it in. I really really hope this will not become a major issue now for Mario.

19 Feb 2015 23:04:21
I agree I didn't get that at all, gerrard should have kept quiet.
Didn't think ballotelli did anything wrong, he's taken more and scored more than hendo in his life. He should be our penalty taker if he's on the pitch (behind gerrard).
It's not like merieles incident when he took it off a experienced penalty maestro like Baines.

20 Feb 2015 00:03:55
Fanobip, I literally couldn't agree anymore abd was saying exactly the sane thing to my bro, Gerrard for me did nothing to help keep that indoors so to speak and if anything made it in to more than it was, slightly disappointed in stevie but not enough to have a go or dislike or turn on a great servant, in short could have done better :)

20 Feb 2015 00:17:45
I agree. Balo was the best penalty taker on the pitch at the time, Jordan knew this himself and was more than happy for Mario to take it. I mean come on, Henderson taking a match - winning penalty?
The bitterness from Gerrard I don't like to see it because the whole team was happy about it because we scored and won and that's what matters

20 Feb 2015 00:25:29
One day, someone like Balotelli will write a crazy auto-biography and I fear that Gerrard's reputation will wither away as a result.

20 Feb 2015 00:25:30
I thought Jamie Carragher summed it up perfectly in his tweet about the right man took a penalty, late on in a European tie! Gerrard was just envious, but didn't like his tone and it made it look like he hated Mario!

20 Feb 2015 00:31:50
Mario has scored 27 out of 29 penalties taken. In a game like this where a late goal is a huge factor, you give the ball to your best penalty taker.

20 Feb 2015 03:28:45
Hendo and especially Studge should NEVER go neare the pen spot when Balo`s on the field and SG is not. Only an person would give Hendo pen duties when he has little to no history of being an effective pk taker. As for SG, he needs to keep his gob shot and do his talking on the field and keep things in-house instead of showing severe symptoms of "foot-in-mouth" disease he must hve contracted from BR.

19 Feb 2015 22:17:03
If Rodgers genuinely made Henderson penalty taker over Balotelli (as Gerrard stated), then he's mad. I'm not sure if Henderson has ever taken a penalty in his life, whereas Balotelli is recognised as an excellent spot kick taker. Whilst I do feel Balotelli was stupid to take the ball away from Henderson if the latter truly had been chosen as the taker by the manager, I do sympathise with him to an extent. Just hope people don't start to turn against Balotelli again, he had an excellent game.

19 Feb 2015 23:11:53
Balotelli started on the bench so how could br name him as the penalty taker? Jordan Henderson showed true class to not make a fuss. Bit naughty ballo really I'm sure it will be dealt with behind closed doors. Stevie should keep his gob shut. Hopefully it will blow over as we won

20 Feb 2015 00:29:10
Timo, BR could say Hendo is the taker until Balo comes on.

20 Feb 2015 03:31:18
Big Red is spot on. BR must go have his head examined if he thinks Hendo w/ NO history of being a good pk taker is better than a player who has a near 100% conversion rate. Then again, it`s BR so why am I shocked?

20 Feb 2015 08:09:13
I don't think that is the way it works once you have named your pen taker which was hendo

19 Feb 2015 22:08:16
Stevie seems to have caught Brendan's foot-in-mouth problem. We really need some media training.

On a positive note I thought Hendo handled himself very well.

20 Feb 2015 00:10:52
I mean comon, that was so stupid of Stevie. Hey, let's throw some more gas on the fire that is mario, see if we can't create some more drama.

20 Feb 2015 00:25:44
Gerrard should be keeping negative thoughts about his teammates to himself. As far as I'm concerned, as soon as Marios penalty crossed the line he is blameless. It was great to see someone so eager to take a high-pressure spot kick.

19 Feb 2015 22:01:26
I honestly think Henderson is not the man for the captains role once Stevie is gone, Skrtel more than deserves it, Balo took the peno and rightly so I'd let him take it over Henderson any day and Henderson was like a child about it didn't even celebrate the goal that might see them through, balotelli would never take the ball from stevie but he could see henderson is letting the captaincy go to his head a bit and thankfully he took the penalty. thoughts fellow reds/eds

{Ed001's Note - he gave Balo a big hug! What are you on about?}

19 Feb 2015 22:13:37
I thought Hendo had an all round good game tried to force it at times maybe, he did celebrate the goal but why can't we stop nit picking every small detail we did win after all

19 Feb 2015 22:10:53
I don't think Mario taking the penalty was anything to do with analyzing Henderson's attitude as captain. Mario is the superior penalty taker. We knew that when we bought Mario.

The thing that bothered me was Henderson acting like a child; admittedly he swallowed his pride, and joined with Balotelli, but a captain keeps his cool. It's a mistake in my book, but I still think Henderson can be a good captain. He's got to keep his emotions at bay though; that was not the moment to call rank and try to be the hero.

19 Feb 2015 22:27:29
Skrtel should be nowhere near the captaincy. Just being long-serving is no reason. He's always depended on having a leader next to him just to perform to standard in defence, making him the leader of the whole team is a horrid thought

19 Feb 2015 22:34:49
Think you've read it wrong mate. Hendo was down to take pen. Stevie clearly pis*ed with Mario. Won, move on.

19 Feb 2015 23:15:21
Henderson acted brilliantly. Balo shouldn't have done that however good he is from the spot unless hendo asks him too. Divisive amongst the players.

19 Feb 2015 23:42:18
If Henderson is going to be captain he will have to show more authority than that.

19 Feb 2015 22:20:35
He tapped him on the arm ballotelli pulled him back and then they hugged !!! Weak by Henderson but its a learning curve to be fair
Sturrdige was childish about it in my opinion he actually ah admitted he isn't good at penos after the Everton game like ballotelli is a class pen taker his hole career give him some credit lads

19 Feb 2015 22:39:43
What he did was to undermine the manager.I am sure the players were informed who was to take the penalty before they left the dressing room.Very unprofessional of Balo, which was a pity because when he came on he played very well. On another note I was not impressed with Can in midfield seemed slow and indecisive to me

19 Feb 2015 22:42:14
Mario needs a kick up the ass for doing that. Football is a team game! Not just about him. He is a muppet.

19 Feb 2015 22:15:18
I have to disagree with you on this one ed, henderson acted like a child, and the hug was just because Balo didn't let him turn around and walk. He was clearly dissapointed with not getting the pen. Weird moment i think.

{Ed001's Note - hardly acting like a child, that would be the knob hanging on to the ball despite it being clear he wasn't the designated taker.}

19 Feb 2015 22:23:53
Watch it again Ed, he patted Balo after the penalty and then Balo grabbed him and started the hug in. Henderson did not and was not going for the hug.

{Ed001's Note - I did watch it, he still hugged him when he should have smacked him for being a prick. I don't care that he scored, the guy is nothing but a problem.}

19 Feb 2015 21:59:31
Well done Mario. He showed some great touches when he came on. Yes there will be a few posts about who should have taken the pen. But he scored we won so who cares.

19 Feb 2015 22:26:43
I do. It is not only about winning but also about the way you win. If someone doesn't respect the hierarchy, he should leave. I respect your opinion about his play but I do not agree with you. I think Ballo absolutely doesn't fit into our system and looks too selfish and lazy. If you look on his wage he is not very good value for money option, there are many other more interesting alternatives.The only positive for me : more goals he score, more easy to sell him in summer. He should leave asap. Just my opinion and I expect many disagree points.

19 Feb 2015 22:41:28
The right man took it for certain

19 Feb 2015 22:46:11
MarcO, I care and so should all Liverpool fans. What do you want to see on a football pitch? Players arguing and bitching about who takes the pens. Very classy I don't think and I don't want the club I have supported for over 40 years brought down to that level

20 Feb 2015 02:00:17
Eomer, jip you certainly got a disagree point from me. Balo's hshold up play is next to none and ball control is excellent. I hope he keeps it up!

20 Feb 2015 06:22:52
Get a grip Red since 46. It was players being passionate about wanting to take a penalty. How you can say that it brings our club down to that level.

We had a player who brought our club down to a low level last year, but because this is Mario supporters and media hype everything up.

20 Feb 2015 09:07:53
For Henderson it was no win situation and I am satisfied what he did. He showed character and team spirit. Something what Ballo is missing. Ballotelli should be judged based on his wage. I don’t care he had better last three games off the bench than first half of season. He is not in first eleven and still doesn’t deserve it. There are other more promising players with lower wage. We have to think on FFP rules and based on this, he is good candidate for sale because his value for money doesn’t make a sense to me. He is paid like world class striker, but he didn’t show it, I don’t care about his potential, he will never fulfill it, we should judge him based on number of goals, his attitude on and off the pitch. Everywhere he was, he made problems and he didn’t change. I m afraid there will be a problem for us to sell him, he is paid too good and he will stay with us for more seasons. Probably worst summer transfer for me.

19 Feb 2015 19:06:34
Apparently the Lille manager has said Origi isn't easy to manage, the quote (which I assume is translated) is

"Divock Origi is a young player. He drags his signature to Liverpool from the beginning. Not easy to manage. But we need him."

Think perhaps he is suggesting Origi's head is already at Liverpool, though you can never be sure with translations.

20 Feb 2015 03:40:51
That is coming from a manager who is facing severe pressure from the fans for his dreadfully negative tactics, poor showing in the league and who needs a fall guy to mask his failures hence, use him as a scapegoat because the fans are already on his back. Very convenient, IMO.

19 Feb 2015 14:40:19
Ref the racism issue. and before somebody cracks on about it being on a train in Paris and out of FIFA's hands and they're not taking responsibility etc etc

The answer to me is relatively simple. The clubs can be far more proactive in identifying these people on match days by using the stewards and security cameras to identify people making racist chants.

Stewards should be made to actively seek such behaviour, but not engage, merely communicate the seat number for security to identify. General public as well could do this via a steward.

Once identified, report to police and prosecute with the evidence provided. Ban them as well. Name and shame them (though some will see this as a badge of honour - in time they will see differently)

You might not be able to catch all at once, but if the club(s) announces it will be done, whether selected arbitrarily out of a bunch of racist chants or not, believe me, once people realise its being targeted, they will stop. If they don't they will eventually be caught, banned, prosecuted, named, shamed, passport removed even etc etc

If you're going to have stewards, make sure they do something positive in this manner.

Hopefully then these idiots will be less and less and not on trains in Paris to abuse innocent bystanders.

We should be able to take our kids to the match without fear.
The sooner we get to that stage the better.

19 Feb 2015 16:52:04
Hate to name and shame but in matches I went to at Millwall, Brighton, Bouremouth, Barnet, Leicester, Aston Villa, Hull and Crawley I've reported people being racist in the crowd to stewards and policemen and they did absolutely nothing and told me to go away. A friend was on an internship with a club in the midlands in their media department at the time, they posted an article on it on their private blog (together with video evidence - after being told to go away by a policeman and a steward, I filmed my third approach (another steward)). They had their internship canceled a week later because 'they didn't want people thinking they could get ahead by shaming rival clubs'. Clubs certainly need to do more - starting by caring because it's right to care rather than just caring when they can't avoid or shut down the media storm.

19 Feb 2015 12:25:12
For Ed033 - really like the new layout on the home page. Is there a reason you have changed the Ed's comments to appear in black rather than red? I don't know whether I speak for the majority, but I really like the Ed's comments standing out in a different colour as it makes it easier to skip from comment to comment, and also I do like to see the Ed's views most of all!

Z

{Ed033's Note - no, this is an oversight. The eds comments should appear in red

Would you pay extra for this option Zeddicus ;)

{Ed001's Note - ooooo good thinking Sean!}

19 Feb 2015 14:37:40
I would pay a whole 5p per month for a customisable colour pallette! I suspect it may cost a little more. ;-)

If it was doable, I could flag Harry's posts in some sort of psychedelic colour mix, The Word & Sydney's in a muddy, dirty brown and perhaps yours in green?

{Ed001's Note - make it 10p and you are on if you start paying now. By the time Ed033 gets to that part of his to do list you will have paid enough to make it worthwhile! He has about 10 years worth of things to do I have given him already. Mind the speed he works, with the regular nap breaks he informs me are required by law here, it will probably be about 50 years....}

19 Feb 2015 18:35:56
Maybe you need someone else on board then :-) I wouldn't mind helping out with technical web stuff.

19 Feb 2015 19:37:32
You're on, Ed001. Sounds like you're not paying Ed033 enough if it will only take £12 of labour cost for him to develop a completely customisable colour pallette ;-)

{Ed001's Note - paying him? Don't be putting ideas in his head!}

19 Feb 2015 10:59:38
UK only question - is the game tonight on TV? And if so, what channel?

Its on itv mate, tho normal one not itv 12 ot anythin. Lol

19 Feb 2015 11:11:45
Yes its on ITV

19 Feb 2015 11:15:05
Itv 4 brah

ITV 1 not 4, supermario

19 Feb 2015 12:13:01
Cheers guys!

19 Feb 2015 14:13:46
For anyone outside uk use filmon.Com Its better than usual sport streams

{Ed001's Note - film on is very good, though no good if it is a FIFA event like the World Cup, they block those matches.}

19 Feb 2015 14:25:46
Html5 streaming as well so you don't need flash

{Ed001's Note - it is also a free app for android and iOS. Though you don't get HD quality unless you subscribe.}

19 Feb 2015 14:30:54
Thank you Omalleylfc was just about to ask that question

19 Feb 2015 15:53:44
Haha don't know what I'm going on about clearly. .

Itv 1 brah

19 Feb 2015 09:32:02
From my observation on Mario he seems to effect games better when coming from the bench. Would like to see Sterling and Sturridge as a two up top tonight, what does everyone else think?

He does, but what an expensive option. If it's the only way to get the best then stick, but he's a good player, clever (on the pitch). I think playing just off Sturridge is a good option and would try that tonight, then replace the Glass man with Borini cause I also think he and Mario would link well

19 Feb 2015 06:35:01
Hello fellow Reds! I am currently in Australia, and planning on getting up nice and early tomorrow morning for the besiktas game, in a Brisbane bar, the pig and whistle! Any one know of any especially good places in Sydney for liverpool games as we are going there next week?

19 Feb 2015 09:35:25
Mate there is only one place to be to watch a liverpool game and that is at Cheers bar on George St. Depending on time of the game though you might have to get there before the lockout.
Full of reds and an experience on its own :)
Might see you there

I remember a few sports bars in the King's cross area of sydney. If you head that way. There was one right next to the underground station there.

Casino can be good. Went there for the city game last year. Massive screens, late booze and there must have been 250 lfc fans in there ( and about 12 city fans lol)

Meant to add be weary of the lockout laws in sydney. That's why casino is a good option as it doesn't apply there.

18 Feb 2015 22:08:06
Hi Ed01!

As it's been well documented, I am a firm believer in Brendan and I hope we stick with him.

However, like I've stated before, I do agree he has many flaws.

I know you've stated they have taken many roles from him, but don't you think the club would step in on the alienating players part?

A couple of players have spoken out about him since leaving, but if the players were worth keeping, would the club not have intervened?

And this isn't me having a go back at the players that have spoken out, I promise you no one was more devastated than me when Agger left. He was and still is my favourite player to appear in our shirt. The move made no sense to me and I'm sure to many fans, similar to letting Suso go so cheaply.

But again, surely if everyone at the club thought the same, they wouldn't have let Brendan let them go?

Cheers mate.

{Ed001's Note - so you think alienated players that are desperate to leave the club would keep? Not sure you have thought that through.}

19 Feb 2015 04:15:21
But in Agger's case Ed, was he desperate to leave the club?

If i'm not mistaken, had he not previously turned down moves to the likes of Barcelona and Man City etc? Plus it's always been well documented how much he loved Liverpool FC.

I see it as a massive shame as I think he would suit our back 3 system perfectly right now.

Cheers Ed.

{Ed001's Note - he wanted out because Rodgers had alienated him. I love Liverpool but I wouldn't have stayed if I was treated the way he was.}

And to think that sakho at the beginning of the season looked like he was going to end up like agger ey ed001? arguably our best cb imo and alienated until lovrens form and injury prompted br to put him in the team.

It would be agger or sakho though right? Sakho is younger and is playing well at the moment! Couldn't see him playing as the centre of the three as he is not as strong aerially as skrtel!

19 Feb 2015 04:57:50
That one still confuses me see.

As Brendan loves the idea of possession football, why was he keen to let our Vice Captain and best footballing defender leave :(

How do you fancy our chances for tonight Ed?

Alienated Agger he played 20 odd games in the title charge last season and when he was "alienated" it was his own fault for playing terrible
Skrtel was also Alienated but worked his ass of and is noe one of the 1st players on the team shit

Agger as had his say too many times now, he had a dig earlier in the season he should leave it now. Plus he was never available for selection.

19 Feb 2015 12:56:57
Why do so many people have so much trouble differentiating 'dropped' and 'alienated'? Almost every footballer in the world has been dropped for a few games or left out of the squad or XI. It's not the same as being left out in the wilderness with no idea what you need to do to get back in, guidance on how to do it etc