Liverpool Banter Archive February 22 2013

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22 Feb 2013 23:40:06
Watch impact of Sturridge and coutinho have and remember. If we had them in the zenit games we'd have won hansomly I see us doing well til the end of season. Quality 3 in CB, def mid colossus, and another quality striker, in the summer months and we'll be challenging next season.

22 Feb 2013 23:33:06
Rodgers is not the manager for Liverpool.
I still cannot believe that Dalglish was sacked.
Rodgers will be good for another team, but not Liverpool.

The players we have, are actually quite good.
Skertl is very good, he does not become bad over night.

I do not see the need for new players.

Just a new manager.

I hope FSG, look at this post and realise.

Big club = Big manager.

That means that CV includes success at many levels.

Better to pay more for a top manager than players.

I suspect the Rodgers lovers will be upset by this post, but they are juveniles.

I want us to be winners.

Money does not always buy success.

But a canny and wise manager will.

Listen up you at FSG.

The Owl.

Go back to your cave

'Money does not always buy success.

But a canny and wise manager will. '




kind of goes against all the rest of your post?

x

I actually enjoy watching our football, for the first time since 2009. consistency and results will come with experience. what rodgers is doing with the players he has is nothing short of a miracle.
but hey, what do I know, i'm just a juvenile.

Hoot, you're a hoot!

There's a village somewhere missing it's person as he's on here making posts like that

You can never take away what KK achieved as a player at Liverpool. And you can not argue with the fact that he inherited a great albeit aging team from Joe Fagan. However, he made some very dubious signings in his first tenure as Liverpool manager, for gods sake the last signing highlight it. Jimmy Carter and David Speedie. When he quit the team needed massive rebuilding, the Chelsea pensioners probably had a lower average age. And KK again showed a lack of prowess in signing on his reappointment as Liverpool manager. Adam and Carroll aren't fit to wear the shirt and Downing is hit and miss. Henderson I hold great hope for, he seems to have a point to prove at the moment.

Face it, KK was and always will be a legend of a player at Liverpool, however I am firmly of the opinion the downhill spiral started under his stewardship the first time around. Whilst BR hasn't immediately gone and set the premiership alight, performances have improved, look at the recent Arsenal and Man City games plus the Manchester United game at Anfield, hwo we came out of those 3 games with 2 points still amazes me. Rome wasn't built in a day! We are not a Chelsea who go through managers like Katie Price goes through men. Give BR 3 seasons minimum to judge him.

I am getting sick and fed up of people spouting at least KK won a cup last season. He only won because we were the only team in the top half of the premiership to take it seriously and even then we won it on goal difference. Call me a BR lover all you like if it makes you feel any better. But I will correct you, I only have love for LFC, and KK clearly wasn't the right direction for the club. Get behind the current manager or shut your mouth up. Thursday night showed that with the fans on their side and backing the players almost anything is possible.

ChrisE

Canny and wise manager with money won the premiership with blackburn. ynwa

The owl, should be on wednesdays banter site then shouldn't you.

To the owl - you need to wise up.
The club is in transition from the debacle left by the two clowns. I feel Fsg are doing a great job in sorting out the finances and the commercial incompetence from the past. Don't forget that there is a stadium to pay for shortly.
With regards to the manager I feel it is a smart move cheap hungry and untested. Whereby if you go for an experience manager with european credentials its going to cost a lot of money not for his services but for the players he wants.
You also have to remember that there are a lot of players who have been on Champion league wages and to move them on is difficult, but even more difficult when your recruiting.
Not being in the champions league is like a relegation.
Liverpool is a big big club but it needs to get its house in order, you can't keeping referring to the past.

Aldo

23 Feb 2013 10:27:20
Are u for real

Its the truth but daglish did sign some good players barnes beardsley aldridge mcmahon but when he walked out our team was older and slipping in quailty ' great player though and is still a king. this time around hendo and downing overpriced but beginning to play, andy carroll way way overpriced but commoli did the deal. adam a mistake and enrique a good signing. hope he comes back in his old role but never as manager again

I see that The Owl's post has stirred up a rather vitriolic response from a combination of those in favour of Brendan, and some of those with an anti-Kenny agenda. Having re-read the original post a couple of times, I fail to see why it has attracted a number of insults. It is merely an opinion after all, as are the counter-arguments. Some of the counter-arguments are ridiculously weak, however, especially that of Chris E. I was at Wembley for the League Cup Final and can state with a reasonable amount of immunity from contradiction that 'goal difference' had nothing to do with the outcome of the match, although a penalty shoot-out did.

Red Owl

Red Owl, I wasn't a t Wembley for the League Cup final since I now live in Canada. However I grew up watching Keegan and then Dalglish, I am not taking anything away from KK as a player. He truely will always be the King, what he achieved as a player was second to none. Also a legendary manager for his first stint, not so much for what he won but the way he bought the club and the whole city together in the wake of Hillsborough. How he wasn't offered a knighthood on the back of that still disgusts me.

However, you never go back. FSG apppointing him was in my opinion a mistake. He could never live up to the hope of him restoring us to 80's style glory. It like getting back with a ex after a few of your friends have had a go on her. You just don't do it! I don't have an anti-Kenny agenda, when he was given the job I was just glad we had got rid of Roy. But other than being giving a blank cheque at Blackburn he had achieved nothing since leaving Liverpool, and he had endured a very long spell out of the game. Dubred68, I will give you those players, and counter with Glen Hysen. lol

There are too many agenda's at the moment, people need to decide do they support Liverpool or not? If you do give the team and the manager the support they need, the support which give us those 90 minutes on Thursday. If not bugger off and cheer on someone else.

ChrisE

Chris E, fans such as myself have quite literally spent tens of thousands that many of us can ill afford actively supporting our club, and we are more than entitled to express our views, whether the people of Canada agree or not. Since, your posts indicate that you have yet to even grasp the difference between goal-difference and a penalty shoot-out, I suggest you stick to ice hockey.

Red Owl

Red Owl, I clearly stated I now live in Canada. I only moved here 5 years ago, prior to that I watched Liverpool home and away, I travelled all over Europe to watch the boys play. FYI, I am 100% british, my father served 22 yrs in the British army, amongst that time he was on the Sir Galahad when she was hit and he served in the first Gulf War. So keep your petty insults to yourself. What part of last years Carling Cup final wasn't decided on a penalty shoot out? Since you clearly have forgotten it was 2-2 at the end of extra time, with Liverpool winning 3-2 on pens.

ChrisE

22 Feb 2013 22:31:51
I think we were brilliant last night and our play bodes well for the future.
One area the attacking players could work on is their crossing. Too many times from wide areas and from free kicks and corners the ball went too close to the Zenit keeper. Or we gave awayfree kicks by impeding their keeper,
As well as practising ball retention BR should also concentrate on precise crossing during training

I agree entirely with this post and have said the same for years. Our crossing from wide areas is abysmal. Downing, for example, worked hard last night and did ok but I can't remember him picking out a man or even getting the cross into the box once. It's the same story from the left flank too.

Ferguson is no master tactician but there is one thing he preaches and it has won him numerous titles at Utd. That is, get it out wide and deliver balls into the danger area consistently. They also flood the box to ensure they get any knockdowns or loose balls. It gets so many goals for them. That is why he always goes for decent wingers.

Maybe we should try it now and again.

redmersey

Redmersey did you not see Jose cross in for Allen?

22 Feb 2013 22:26:57
Players out in the summer will be Reina, Downing, Henderson and Coates. None of these are good enough.

Add Shelvey, Assaidi and Carroll to that list

FranklyMrShankly

Shelvey, are you joking he is the next Charlie Adam.

Nahh. Adam was better than Shelvey. I can't see any club paying even 5 million for Shelvey if he became available in the transfer market.

Red PG

22 Feb 2013 22:19:10
dreading end of the season. carragher leaving, suarez head in hands obviously loves the club but rodgers will sell him. gerrard will lose faith. really fear for the future, a manager who starts downing every game! youngsters looked good at the start of the season, look awful now! destroyed pepe reina please tell me any improvements before the seasons over. if it was not for suarez we would be in relegation zone. benitez had a plan at least. rodgers puts on subs the team look clueless. let's hope we win fair play league then brendan rodgers can say we had a good season!

Sorry ed but this site is Becomming a joke and you continue to allow clowns like this who lack any form of informed knowledge to post BS without a name just to cause unrest and troll real fans

Alot of real fans will just stop visiting this site soon if it continues {Ed002's Note - So you want me to ban them because they are what? If you are a Liverpool fan it should be embarrassing.}

Just let the disagrees do the talking

Red Bish

Agree to disagree that is the question.

" If it wasnt for Suarez" well mate you could say that about any team really. If it wasnt for RVP, If it wasnt for Fellani, If it wasnt for Michu, If it wasnt for Walcott, If it wasnt for Aguero etc etc

22 Feb 2013 22:46:59
Just like to say a big thanks to waro v welshboydave for there earlier argument. Absolutely top drawer. Like a soap opera. More of the same boys. Just brilliant. Your both wrong!

Took me back to the playground ( and that was a LONG time ago)

22 Feb 2013 20:56:36
Sterling:

Pushed into first team wwwwwwayyy too early for my liking. His confidence seems shot to bits, he looks scared to take a man on now, just seems to dribble it at the man and bounce it off them.

He would benefit from dropping back into ressies or going on loan IMO.

Don't you think this court case he's going through is taking it's toll out in him?

23 Feb 2013 02:36:00
Imo I think that sterling has been so over taught that he has less confidence in his raw ability, which was different to the experienced wingers. Of course It's a good thing being taught about the technical side of the game, but I think we should have let him use his abilities for longer. I believe that he has been asked to mature early due to the thin squad. I hope his confidence comes back I loved watching him dribbling past some good defenders.

Also the abuse he received on twitter probably effed the faith he had in himself.

22 Feb 2013 20:56:17
Assessing the squad:

who's good enough for a top four push next season:

Jones - a stable back up keeper
Agger - One of the league's top defenders
Johnson - England's top right back
Enrique - has shown impressive form
Kelly - flexible defender, bright future
Wisdom - same as Kelly
Lucas - crucial midfield linchpin
Gerrard - still one of Europe's finest
Henderson - beginning to show his worth
Allen - yes his form has been suffering of late, but he's young and a good prospect to have
Coutinho - already shown flashes of his potential
Sterling - form has dipped since the turn of the year, but is still very young and one of England's brightest prospects
Suso - positionally flexible and has bags of potential
Suarez - don't need to say much more, one of the very best players in the league
Sturridge - looking like a fantastic addition

So where are the weak links:

Reina - I still rate him as one of Europe's finest stoppers, but his form has been erratic. Unsure whether we should sell him or not.
Skrtel - one of our best players last year, but his recent string of shaky performances have seen him fall out of favour. Unlike Agger he could be replaced.
Carragher - great servant to the club, but retiring
Coates - hasn't lived up to his billing, perhaps England isn't the league for him.
Shelvey - can be great, but not often enough. He's at the age when we need to assess whether he's worth keeping or not.
Assaidi - people call for his inclusion more often, but there's obviously some reason why he doesn't play every week. Perhaps like Sahin he's not fitted to the Premiership.
Downing - has improved lately, but he doesn't seem to have that cutting edge we need. At 28 I think we should consider any bid that comes this summer.
Borini - has been unlucky with injuries, but when he has played he's been thoroughly unconvincing. If Fiorentina do weigh on with a bid I think we should consider it.
Carroll - what a shame, had promise, but Rodgers obviously doesn't think he fits his plans. Almost certainly will depart this summer.

So what additions could we look at:

1) We should see how Reina performs til the end of the season, but if Rodgers decides that this area could be improved who would we look at?
a) Ter Stegen - promising young keeper, will be hard to get though
b) Vorm - Rodgers knows him, but is he an upgrade on Reina?
c) Begovic - will probably go to United
d) Valdes - personally I don't think he's better than Reina
e) Trapp - decent young prospect, but lacks experience which we need
f) Mandanda - superb stopper and could be attainable, but does he fit our system?
g) Krul - makes mistakes like Reina and is not an improvement

Verdict: There's probably other keepers we're keeping tabs on (e. g. Ochoa) but I personally think we should focus on improving the form of a fantastic keeper in Reina, and perhaps look at a young understudy in the next year or so.

2) We obviously need some defensive reinforcements. But the question is how many. I think Kelly will be our replacement for Carragher. But we still need to replace Coates and possibly Skrtel.

a) Williams - solid, but at 28 is he really better than Skrtel?
b) Lovren - been linked a lot lately, a good prospect at 23.
c) Diakhite - free in the summer, could be a decent Coates replacement.
d) Mirin - good prospect.
e) Amorebieta - perhaps a player who would be an improvement (technically) on Skrtel
f) Kjaer - same as Amorebieta, has played with Agger before.
g) Sakho - doesn't get a lot of 1st team action for PSG, but unlikely.

verdict: I think we should only sell Skrtel if we have a better replacement in mind. Lovren or Amorebieta wouldn't be bad but we'll see. Mirin or Diakhite would be decent Coates replacements.

3) We apparently were interested in Sneijder in January, whether that was true or not, it still reminds us that we need someone with more drive and ability in the midfield than Shelvey.

a) Alonso - a return this summer at least still seems somewhat unlikely, but you never know - he would add invaluable experience.
b) Eriksen - there's been a lot of talk about him lately, with ESPN and various other media outlets saying we're strongly interested. Would be difficult to beat off the likes of City and Real etc for his signature - but hey you never know we did sign Suarez.
c) Biglia - links are also frequent, would add a bit of rigidness to the midfield. But I just can't see this one.

verdict: I feel we do need more bodies in the middle and whether any of these three arrive or not is unlikely - but I do think Eriksen would be a fantastic signing.

4) With Assaidi looking set to leave and Downing possibly following suit we need reinforcements in the wide areas.

a) Turan - like Eriksen he'd be tough to sign, especially with (probably) no champions league to offer.
b) Ben Arfa - has been linked, and this would excite me. But at this moment in time I just can't see it.
c) Ince - a more likely target, but he's young and would he, at this age, be a vast improvement on Downing?


verdict: Turan would be ideal for me, however unlikely it is.

5) Finally I think we need another attacker - even if Borini stays - when sturridge or Suarez are out we just can't seem to kill teams off.

a) Jovetic - again unlikely but not impossible, we could use Fiorentina's interest in Borini to our advantage
b) Michu - I'm still not convinced by him as it's still his first season in the premiership - remember a certain £35m striker? Besides he'll cost alot.
c) Villa - would add experience that Rodgers wants, but is a very unlikely signing.
d) Soldado - if only we had a place in Europe - he'd be perfect

verdict: these are just my suggestions, but I think Jovetic would be perfect. Rafa identified him as a perfect addition to the team in his tenure, he plays for a team outside Italy's top four and offers a flexibility in attack which could cover various positions.

Overall these are just my observations. Feel free to give me yours.

FranklyMrShankly

You bored mate?

Yes meant to be doing an assignment

Irishdom15

If we sell the player that you want us to sell and buy any 1 that you recommend that means next year we will have another transitional year and next you not agree with another player so we sell and buy again. Circle continue. So when will get a stable team. Be logical and use your head before writing anything. Don't you also want manager replaced so he can buy a new set of player his liking?

-qs-

Teams do not progress by wholesale player changes as you suggest unless you are Man Citee and can buy a whole bunch of top class players - even then it may not work see QPR. Look at our past and that of others eg dare I say it Man U. Tweak the squad with a couple of good signings each season to strengthen where you need to. Spend your money wisely on those players you need and do not gamble on lots of players that give no guarantee of playing well together. We have the basis of a good squad now and Sturridge and Coutinho look to have improved that. More of the same for me.

Iggypop

22 Feb 2013 20:01:40
Big changes are going to happen over the course of the summer. Reina whether u like it or not will be leaving along with skertel, downing, Carroll, coates and a few more. the manager knows he has to get his signings right. It's certainly going to be a very interesting summer.

22 Feb 2013 19:37:47
I think Suarez will leave in the summer; I just have this horrible feeling. Hope I'm wrong.

Can't bare thinking about it - nevertheless everyone can be replaced so long as he goes for £40mil plus,
ideal replacements;
Stefan Jovetic
Erik Lamela
Alexis Sanchez
Stephan El Shaarawy
Michu
Or even Coutinho to play where Suarez does.

Still I must stress Suarez is our best player therefore if he were to leave we would undoubtedly suffer unless FSG and BR use their money effectively.

I agree he may leave, I think he would love to say but if we ain't in the CL and a club comes in for him with a big offer I can see how both club and player would find it hard to say no!

Hope I'm wrong I think next season we will be better and he will get some rewards for his efforts!

Players come and players go. keegan daglish rush barnes torres etc etc, we just need to replace them with quality and if luis does go well then good luck to him get top dollar and go again, hopefully your wrong and we get to go again with him in the team

22 Feb 2013 19:30:45
Settle something for me guys!

Do you think we have conceded more goals this season because we play it out from the back, or do you think that approach has enebaled us to score more?

I. E play the ball out from the back, win a set piece and score or something similar.

Was chatting to someone earlier who said we should stop passing it out from the back, and hoof it whenever the CBs get the ball. He argued that we've conceded a lot of goals because of this, I agreed but countered that it's probably helped us more than hindered us.

Although I respect Skrtels error v City and Carras error last night will live longer in the memory than playing the ball out and scoring an unspectacular goal!

Thanks for opinions!

The problem is they try to play out when in trouble instead of just getting it up field there is a time and a place for both

mike

What do you think Bob Paisley would say? Bearing in mind he is Liverpools all time most successful Manager and personally as far I'm concerned probably the most knowledgeable and astute Manager that's ever lived.
I'll give you a clue: Think about the centre backs he employed.

22 Feb 2013 22:09:04
Welshboy mate we have conceded a lot of goals this season because of playing highline, we play with 3 midfields once our midfield attacks our defenders come till half ground to cover them but when we lose ball opposition fast counter attack us and our defenders struggle to return back because they lack pace, we need defenders who have a lot of pace.

We've conceded 3 more goals than united and 1 less than West brom. Pretty much all teams in top 10 have a 30 goals against we have 34.

We have the second best goals against at home. Citeh are top with only 11, we have only 12 GA at home. Away, we are leaking goals.

It's not the defense as a whole as much as its little individual mistakes that are simply going to happen until the full squad get comfortable with the new tactics or we get a couple of defenders in that are comfortable playing this style.

I know absolutely no-one wants to hear it but it takes time.

We concede goals because of ridiculous mistakes and rank bad defending at set pieces. nothing to do with playing out from the back, from my memory only two goals are a consequence of that, carra's mistake and skyrtl's against city

23 Feb 2013 10:42:25
Thanks guys. It seemed a bit odd as the guy I was talking to was well into his 40's, and i'd have guessed he'd watched Lawro and Hansen, were they not famous for passing back to the keeper reapetedly?

Also, Carraghers mistake was his mistake, not Rodgers.
How many times have we seen him pass back under that sort of presssure? He could do that again 1000 times and each one would go straight to Reina, freak accident IMO!

Passing back to the keeper is not new is it? That is why the rule was brought in to stop the keeper using his hands for a ball passed back by his own players. ie when it was used constantly as a time-wasting measure.
But I don't see anything wrong with passing back to relieve pressure. There are 11 players in the team - use them all

22 Feb 2013 19:24:27
Think Ryan shawcross is the type of defender we should be going for in the summer. He's big no nonsense defender who is excellent in the air, and offers a goal threat from set pieces. I know he wouldn't come cheap but in my opinion, he's way better than our alleged number 1 target Ashley Williams.

Do we really want a thug like Shawcross playing for us? I know I don't.
ALDNZ

22 Feb 2013 18:45:24
Simon Mignolet?

22 Feb 2013 18:06:42
I can not believe the silly comments by some people on this side.
Last night we got out of Europa League yes, but the team gave everything to win the game and they did.

The manager is still slated and the players are critisised badly by their own fans.

LFC fans never used to put their manager and their players down like they do now. Some others make other silly comments that Reina, Suarez etc will leave the club if we do not achieve CL. Instead of making silly comments about them encourage them to stay at the club. If our good experience players leave we will never play CL again

The first team players did not get slated the reason we didn't go on to win was rogers making sill subs at wrong times we score our third in the late 50 mins so obviously the players are playing well with there tales why not leave it for another ten fiftheen mins see if we get another goal if not then go for it with the subs everyone needs to realise Liverpool does not have time to for there manager to be on a learning curve

mike g

Rubbish mike it was carras comical era, assaidi won a free kick and caused havoc and shelvey nearly scored the winner

Mike g
the reason we won 3-1 was because of BR selections! Is mine the only glass that's half full? If he didn't make the substitutions and we'd conceded a goal or 2 who would you have blamed?

23 Feb 2013 07:58:07
i think removing hendreson was big mistake our two goals were scored from a free kick, second goal which was all about hendreson one touch pass releasing enrique. he should have stayed for mote time just after the substitutions zenit strated pressing more.

Rubbish look the team was playing well scoring three goals why change so early when were all over them it stupid u say assaidi got a good free kick jonjo nearly scored big deal they didn't what have these two playes done all season nothing we had more chance soring with the first team put out and if that doesn't happen change it 10 15 mins later not when were on the up rodgers makes mistakes all the time and like I said Liverpool do not have time to babysit a manger through his early years making these sill mistakes

mike g

22 Feb 2013 18:05:35
I think learning on the job is fine for BR, as long as there is learning on the job actually taking place. Although, when you keep making the same wrong mistakes (lineup, subs, strategy, etc. ) then there isn't much learning going on is there. Maybe BR is stuck in his ways and isn't learning on the job, but me for one really hope he is.

22 Feb 2013 17:43:34
Really think we need a centre back that can score more than 5 goals a season from corners any names?

Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtle?

Really think we need to learn to take decent corners in the first place!

Jan vertonghen

Stick Suarez at centre half, get at least 25

Dede of vasco the gama gets my vote. Young, quick, and technically sound. Would continue the Brazilian thread through the team with coutinho and Lucas. He would settle quickly with his compatriots.

23 Feb 2013 00:37:14
Coates would if he played

Coates is too slow, too timid and can not get off the ground to head the ball

22 Feb 2013 17:26:40
Thought the performance was good last night and deserved to go through, however I think BR made a terrible decision on the timings of his double substitution, being straight after we went 3-1 up and were all over them

alan50

Assaidi put in some deadly crosses and was energetic vs tired legs

If shelvey is on target at the end we go through an we all cal BR a genius

So people who know little need to stop having digs hendo had a knock and allen was exhausted running the full lenghth of the pitch for over an hour

I think he was right to take Allen off as he was becoming sloppy but he should of kept Henderson on just switch position's and put Assaidi on the flank!

22 Feb 2013 17:15:46
Ed001, your knowledge of the game is quite simply phenomenal. You have mentioned that you think bielsa is the best coach in world football. In your opinion, who are top10 best managers in the world? Very interested to hear your response!
Redfanatic {Ed001's Note - managers? That is a difficult one, very few outside of the English leagues are managers any more. They are usually head coaches and have little power in management terms. So that only really leaves Ferguson, out on his own, as the best in modern football. Or do you mean throughout history? Because that would put Paisley head and shoulders above anyone, in my opinion.}

Quiet Bob was the main man. Totally ruthless, but without causing a scene.

22 Feb 2013 22:29:52
Ed1 mate spot on paisley was Genius, never got respect which he deserved, Shankly always overshadowed paisley`s achievements. I'm still surprised why Bob Paisley haven't got statue?

Did bob learn from bill or vice versa.

22 Feb 2013 15:59:45
hows texeria getting on?

22 Feb 2013 16:47:52
Dont get carried away by last night, we are still an inconsitant average side.

3 mistakes over 2 legs and 3 goals conceeded, no Europa league, no FA cup and no Carling cup and some ways off top 4 for the same reasons.

I thought the subs should have been made at half time or not at all as we defo had the momentum before they happened only to be lost when changes were made.

Shelvey should be moved on as he's as mobile as a tortoise, good effort to pull things around but when you gift teams goals then your always on the back foot i'm afraid.

I wonder how will players perform if they listen to comments from a fan like you

Shelvey -Well that is what they said about Lucas at the same age - also, make up your mind, subs at half or not at all? Look, as mentioned 100 times the team is in transition with a lot of young guys - have patience and try not to be so anxious.

BR has already said that all our problem won't be solved this season, expect the defense to be shaken up this summer

22 Feb 2013 16:27:49
Just wondering how many people think if a manger doesn't qualify for champions league he has to be replaced, or are there still people who believe in identifying a talent and nurturing it and supporting it to help fulfill his promise. I always think back to fergie, if he was judged on his early seasons united would be nowhere now.

So every seaon 15 Managers get replaced for non CL qualification.
Are you mad!
David Moyes.

22 Feb 2013 19:23:45
Mate comparing Fergie situation with Rodgers is just childish or your knowledge of footy is weak, your trying to compare old division with Epl, now footy is more a bussiness it takes a lot of investment to run club like Liverpool so they expect their money to return, without champions league we are losing a lot of money eg: can't attract new sponsors or get fully paid from our current sponsors, revenues, champions league money etc, no owners will accept losing all this money in order to give manager unlimited time or else they will be bankrupt

22 Feb 2013 19:35:27
How can u reasonably say that United would've been nowhere? Someone else could have done the damn job, possibly,

Anyone who believed wed get champions league this season is an optimist of the highest order

Most of the English sides that get in to the champions league falter at the first and even second time of trying. It is usually as much of a learning curve for the manager as the team.
Phooey.

Isn't it more about what our owners think?

After sacking Dalglish and Werners comments about CL being critical I think that is more important than what is written on a message board, no offends Eds

22 Feb 2013 16:21:11
This is going to be one of the most important summers in a long time for the club. failure to add the right quality to the squad, and I believe it will set the benchmark for the club for where we're heading ie mid table. no longer can quantity be put before quality, we need proven players. We did some great business in january with the arrival of coutinho and more impressively sturridge, just hope we can add 2-3 more quality players in the summer.

Agree completely - need another centre back and hope that Skertl recovers form. Also, upgrade on Downing and one dynamo in centre mid, so Stevie can get rest time.
Just 3 top players!

At least we've got time to get it right without any distractions! No excuses this year for not getting the purchases correct!

New centre half, playmaker and a quality wide player would be nice.

22 Feb 2013 16:19:56
Popped in for a quick gander this morning. Overall some different opinions on here regarding last night and the run in to the league. I have no problem listening to both sides of any argument as after all this is a banter page. Heck, if you want to tell me black is white, as long as you put a name to the post I'll agree to disagree with you. (Love the log-in feature BTW Eds) I thought last night was a very good Liverpool performance. Feel for Carra a little as his one mistake cost us in the end. Thought we saw an overall great team effort. Regarding the timing of the subs. The subs were warming up. Hendo in all fairness put in an almighty shift. Go back and look and his movement and how much ground he covered. Fresh legs when we had them on the rack seemed to be the right idea at the time and then we scored and had the at 3-3. Saurez just amazes me week in week out. If we can keep hold of him (and I think we will) he has the potential to become iconic. That being said, if we could have scored one of the chances last week on the tillage patch in Russia we'd be in the last 16. Last night proved one thing, We've got the greatest fans when they want to be, we really missed Sturridge, and we are possibly 2-3 additional players to Kelly, Sturridge and Coutinho shy of having a deep enough squad. We'll benefit from being forced to play Wisdom, Sterling and Suso, but they're still babies and cannot be expected to do what they're being asked to do on a week in week out basis. 11 more games in this season, let's hope we finish strong. Let's hope Luis wins the golden boot. Let's hope Carra gets a send off he deserves, and let's hope we as fans get behind each and every squad player that gives 100% for that crest on the jersey, when they are in and out of form for the remainder of the year. That also includes our young manager, who in my opinion has done well and will also learn from his 1st season. He and his staff, like any player needs a chance to adjust and bed in too.

Great post

22 Feb 2013 19:24:59
Great post!

Well said, great post

Well said mate.

22 Feb 2013 16:17:36
apparently br is looking for one defender and one midfielder for the summer, with the cb being efe ambrose and the midfield being turan. and only one forward if suarez leaves,
good deal or not?

I can't see us being able to sign arda turan in a million years (one or two years)

If we are looking at the celtic centre half we are looking in the wrong place after his game against juve.

22 Feb 2013 16:13:15
Question for Macca do you have any news on the stadium or even the supposed rumours of the club being sold?
Thanks

22 Feb 2013 16:04:11
Arsenal FC currently top the Europe Fair Play award and Liverpool are second, if we do end up winning it, we will be assured a Europa league spot irrespective of our league position.

got this from somewhere. Is this true?

FanfromIndia {Ed002's Note - The positions are true but there is no guarantee one of teh places will go to England at this time.}

How does the fair play league qualification work, ed?

Cheers,

ChrisMiz {Ed002's Note - Each league is assessed on overall fair play and the top three (I think) countries get allocated a Europa qualifying round place. If England get one of those places, the Fair League Place goes to the highest placed team in the English FPL not already qualified for Europe.}

Thanks, ed.

22 Feb 2013 15:43:24
Guys before i'm lambasted for saying this I am his biggest fan and admire what he stands for in the current game, BUT.
Jamie Carragher throughtout his career has never been great with his feet in regard to distrubution, when it comes to reading the game and occupying the correct space he's fantastic but he's oldschool and I'm a firmed believer you can't teach an old dog new tricks : ( so why Rodgers try's to encourage him to try and play at the back is beyond me. ok it was 1 mistake in the whole 90 but when you look how it came about you tear you're hair out, it's a simple ball to be played foward or as Carragher would usually do when under pressure HOOF. famed for clearing his lines and asking questions later.
I seen throughtout the game the importance of keeping the ball which leads us trying to back all the way up the pitch but sometimes you just need to mix it up a little, far to many times we've looked nervous! certain players like Skrtel Enrique and even Agger hav'nt looked like they want to do this at times when teams press high. Ultimately it cost us last night, sure Jamie will be disapointed but it's simple science at the end of the day.

How can you disagree with this post, he/she is dead right in what they say.

I didn't press disagree on this, but I can see why one might. In general, I agree there are absolutely times when the ball just needs a good kicking far, far away.

One example might be when Enrique tried to play it out by saving the corner last night then turning and summarily giving it right back to Zenit- didn't cost us a goal, but was probably a poor decision as there were so many Zenit players in and around the box.

Contrast that with Carra last night. He was moving towards Reina with about 25 yards between the two. Under a bit of pressure from Hulk, but not much really. That's precisely the perfect time to pass it back to the keeper for redistribution and something he does dozens of times a game. The decision to pass back was not the problem as it was a completely logical thing to do, the problem was he unfortunately flubbed it.

Have you ever played football.
It wasn't a forward pass that Carra got caught out by it was a block tackle by Steven Gerrard in their half that spun violently into our half and when it hit the ground still spinning it didn't bounce true and Carra miskicked and they got fortunate. End of!
I've never ever been Carra's biggest fan but you can't lay the blame on him for that goal, it was just a freakish incident that lead to it.

Cheers Tirconnail, "He" :)YNWA

The mistake was Carraghers, not the coach's - the coach will have overall instructions for keeping possession - if Carra fails to make a snap decision in favor of safety, that is not the coach's problem. He sets overall plans not situation by situation decision making.

I disagree with this post because I think carra has had to save our skin so many times purely because the current "correct" way hasn't worked and teams have walked through our defence at times. It's a good job he plays the way he does and in my opinion has been our best defender by far this year.
As for taking the blame for the goal last night, it wasn't really anybody's fault! Yes carra made the mistake but watch it, he under hit the back-pass for what ever reason (to me he looked like he was off balance as he hit it, looks like he staggers a little to his left as he tries to connect)
My point is it was an honest mistake it could of happened to anybody unfortunately it was carra and we were punished on an important night.
He played brilliantly last night in my opinion and whilst passing has never been the strongest part of his game he rarely made a mistake that he didn't rectify (the goal accepted).

Anyway I want to say thanks to anybody on the site who made the trip to anfield last night, I was there and the atmosphere was electric and that is exactly what was needed. The fans were amazing and that reflected in the lads performance if the crowd was like that every week we would be so much better off. So thank you all for getting there and being amazing. I have no doubt you people who didn't make it were screaming at the box at home. let's try to keep it up.

Ashy

22 Feb 2013 23:11:23
@Kidmillions, I respect you're views on here but your wrong in this instance. Carragher had time to pass that ball forward to a Liverpool player stood right in front of him or if he felt that threatened then get rid and re-organise, instead he took a min to compose himself an decided to do what he often does in games which is safety first hence the passback. my view was he has never been a great distrubuter and often makes rash decisions on the "ball".

22 Feb 2013 23:11:55
@Ashy, how can you disagree with my post when I clearly state I am a massive fan of Carra and what he's done for us and football in general. I was merely highlighting when u watch it back he had the had to do what he usually does and get rid or make a simple pass forward to an unmarked player when under no significant pressure at the time, I stated also if you read the post my disbief at Rodgers naieve management not realising what Carra's strongest attributes are, I mean it's not as if he young enough nowadays to try and change his game to be the next Baraisi is he? he is what he is, a no nonesence defender who see's trouble gets rid and asks questions later, unfortunately last night he didnt! why, probably because of Brendan's philosphy. Yes it was unfortunate but play to you're strengths because as Paisley said you're strength is the opponents weakness. Please watch us carefully because for the amount of times Enrique Skrtel Reina Agger try to pass us out of trouble and get away with it equals the amount of times we've got ourselfs in trouble with slack misplaced passes, it's cost us 2/3 times this season and we've been lucky to get away with a few as well. My point being these players don't look entirely comfortable technically for me to being doing this ALL THE TIME.

22 Feb 2013 15:40:33
quality player and bags of goals by suarez if we were a top 4 team i'd say keep him but we are not and need investment so if somebody wants to offer 40 to 50 million take it just please spend it wisely

mystic red

How are we supposed to become a top 4 side if we sell our best player?

We will never be a top team selling your top players what we should do is buy top players to play with ls if fsg sell him in the summer they have sold the 2 best forwards we have had that would finish me with them I would be calling for new owners

The problem is we don't have the finances to buy what I assume you mean by 'top players' to be with Luis. If you want the Higuains, Cavanis, Lewandowskis, or Sanchezs of the world, the only way I see them arriving is if Suarez were to leave.

At the end of the day, I believe the decision largely resides with Suarez.

I think the manager and owners would consider Sturridge, Suarez, Borini, Countinho, etc. to be adequate coverage up front for the time being, so my opinion is they are not likely looking to sell, but if he gets his head turned by the likes of Bayern Munich for big money and wants to go, then so be it. We'll just have to wait and see how the summer pans out.

22 Feb 2013 14:59:49
Hi Eds, I was just wondering something about our infrastructure that you might be able to help with. I know a lot of clubs worldwide have footballing partnerships (Arsenal with local league 2 club Barnet FC for example - the Arsenal u21 games are often held at Barnet FC, for a fairly nominal fee and a pre-season exhibition match in return plus some good will when Arsenal are sending people out on a lower league loan). I was just wondering if Liverpool had any arrangements with clubs in a similar way, and if so who do they have them with and how are the arrangements being utilised? {Ed001's Note - I believe we dissolved ours as they were not working for us, we have close relationships with a couple of clubs. They are more friendships than anything else though, not really a true working relationship, that I know of anyway. I believe we are working to develop them, in order to make it easier to loan out young hopefuls. We are certainly working towards this end with Hearts, hence the loan of Ngoo and Wilson, with us still covering their wages. There is also a hope of building a similar one with Wolves, hence the loan of Robinson there. The idea being they make sure the lads play, and so we get more experienced young talent.}

22 Feb 2013 15:13:50
11 games 11 wins 33points would give us 72 total an now were out of Europe an the others are still in, we HAVE to beat Tottenham, Chelsea an Everton an with our form lately with Sturbridge an Suarez I believe we can get a great run going!

Come in boys

YNWA!

I think all of our remaining games are definitely winnable. The thing is, we are LFC and consistency isn't out deal! That said, I can see us, if we can be consistent, getting a very high amount of points from our next 11 games.

If we beat Wigan I think it will give us a lot of confidence to push on. I seriously think we can finish 4th we have to stay unbeaten an prob win 10 out of the 11 to do it!

22 Feb 2013 16:40:25
Don't you think our next 3 games are also loses waiting to happen. We are so inconsistent. I'm by no means sitting here thinking 9 points are heading our way. 5 points would be ok. Any more and we've hit a bit of form. Sadly it could be 3 or 2 points And after the WBA performance 0 points is not impossible. Hate to sound pessimistic but were where we are because we're not that good.

Your right, but I think it's down to keeping Sturridge an Suarez fit! If they play every game we have a chance!

I've heard it all before.

In December it was 'we can win all our next 6 games' then we get smashed 3-1 at home to relegation candidates.

We've just lost to WBA! Taken 5 points from 4 games!

All 38 league games are winnable, and they are all potential defeats. Let's have a bit of realism. It took us 27 games to get 39 points. We're not going to get 33 in 11. 20 more points from 11 is realistic.

Every time we get our hopes up, we get dissapointed. Why not just sit back and support the team and see how it pans out?

More realistic to hope for 22pts which at an average of 2pts per game is a good performance. 61pts total would have us about 6th and a step forward from last year. If we could average 2pts per game all season that's 76pts and we would certainly finish top four.
Hop

22 Feb 2013 14:25:16
Hi Eds

The team playing so well full of energy then Rafa like changes stops the momentum. Henderson and Allen playing some good football, we could see the 4th goal comming. Rogers should take the blame for the defeat not the players. Why tinker with a winning formulae.

Thanks
Zorro

Allen and hendo ran non-stop as they did most of closing down. What we needed was more depth on the bench!

What did the subs cotribute to the game mate? when hendo allen and downing on pitch I was confident we would score again and win game this is not the first time rogers has made subs which have no impact but in his defence he is still learning his trade and I am sure in time he will get it right

Iseem to remember assaidi running their left back ragged and shelvey almost scoring the winning goal

Shh

Classic after-timing. Can't be wrong can you when its happened and you have perfect hindsight. I'd love Brendan to pop into this blokes workplace and second guess his every decision.

22 Feb 2013 14:24:16
Ed can you see a lot of players leaving this summer. Reina&Suarez look like leaving Henderson and downing are not good enough carra retiring. so despite big investment and finance sorting our squad is weaker than when Rafa was sacked. {Ed002's Note - I can see players leaving. "Weaker" is purely subjective of course.}

Hendo and Downing have been performing well recently, and Henderson is still only young,

I love Rafa but to suggest his was a perfectly balanced squad is laughable. Check out the turnover of players on transfermarkt and the wasted millions in fees and signings and you'll realise Rafa's reign came at a cost. And apart from one season we never mounted a title challenge - even though we had CL money and no threat from Man City, Spurs or Everton for our top 4 place. We're doing the right things now for the future because at one stage we could have gone the way of Leeds. Slow, consistent growth is better than a Big Bang and steep decline.

Kidder: Excellent, spot on.

22 Feb 2013 14:19:07
Before I start, please don't take this post as negative, wanting BR out, blaming FSG or any of that rubbish.

Say by some sort of miracle we finish 4th and qualify for the CL. The question I put to everyone is this. Are we actually ready to play in the CL? Are we good enough? Look at Dortmund last year. Champions of the Bundesliga, but were found wanting in Europe, although admitedly they have been excellent this year. Would love to hear people's opinions.

El Pi**edolero

We are not ready because we are not good enough.
We've been embarrassed in every competition this season so why we'd think we were ready to compete in the most competitive is beyond me.

A bit hypothetical, but I'll indulge it for a response. If by this miracle we do qualify for CL then I don't really see how we can say we wouldn't be ready. Yes we are a growing team that seems to be miles off CL form currently, but qualifying would be a nice sweetner for acquiring "world class" players this summer. Who's to say that a few quality key additions to the current squad wouldn't result in a more coherent team and ensure more successes if we were actually in CL.

PS. We also would be less worried about Suarez's departure and have more time as a group under BR's system.

Based on your hypothetical scenario, if we somehow defy the insurmountable odds and qualify to play in the CL (yes, I am aware that is not possible given the odds are insurmountable. but, let's play along with your game shall we?), well, then of course, we are good enough to play in the tournament.

The competition has a qualification criterion; we have met that criterion, ergo, we are good enough and we deserve to be there.

If you are asking "are we ready to win the competition, be competitive and avoid embarrassment" at this particular point, that is an entirely different question and the answer is "no". This said, we only have to look at Chelski last year--by all accounts, they had no business winning the competition yet, we all know what happened. Actually, look no further than our very own history: was LFC always the best team in Europe when we lifted the trophy?

Our concern should be doing everything we can to qualify for the competition. Once in, anything can, and more often than not, does happen. even overcoming insurmountable odds!

Moreover, qualifying for the CL is really the tip of the iceberg--it's the ancillary benefits it brings that are key: increased revenues (from the competition itself but, from advertising opportunities as well), greater appeal for potential new signings, retaining star players (you think Suarez would leave if we were in the CL?) and increasing the global brand of LFC.

Even if we get to the CL and perform poorly, the money we receive just from being there will be a huge help for us growing, qualifying again and competing better in the future. There really is no good argument for a team not wanting to get in the CL at any opportunity possible

We waste money the more you have the more you want. ynwa

Yes, you're right. Let's not bother. Lol.

Look were LFC we are feared in the Champions League.
This was our line up in Istanbul.
Doesn't look great on paper. Enough said.
DUDEK
FINNAN
CARRA
HYPPIA
TRAORE
ALONSO
GARCIA
GERRARD
RIISE
KEWELL
BAROS

If you waste money, the solution isn't to deprive yourself of money, but to figure out how to spend it better. suggesting CL would be bad because 'we waste money' is a pretty poor argument!

Think wed do ok if brendan learnt how to be tactical in europe by this I mean going to zenit looking to win and so open hope he's also learning along the way lots of good things to go with his small amount of bad things

What nonsense. when we won the CL in 2005 it had some of the worst Liverpool team I have ever seen, but it rose and put in a some great performances. We won the CL with Djimi Traore, Harry Kewell and Vladimir Smitzer for heavens sake!

22 Feb 2013 19:54:49
What about the 2005 champions league. we won it with a squad that wasn't the strongest. loosing 3-0 v Milan and we won for lfc any thing is possible even

By getting 4th place and getting CL footie, means we are good enough to qualify, but that does not mean we will be good enough to be competitive. At a guess I would say at our first attempt under BR we would get knocked out in the group stages.
Not all doom and gloom, because we will raise monies from being in the competition, but how will this fair with the fans that think because we are back in the CL for the first time in years we should win it! Come on there are lot's of clubs with a lot more recent CL experience than us.
We need to consistently gain CL qualification to enable BR and the team to learn what is expected, just as Man U had to do, Man city are still learning even with all their world class players, it took Chelsea a few years to get it sorted.
I hope we get CL footie soon, but when we do I hope everyone understands how hard it is going to be to win old big ears for the 6th time!

Phooey.

CL nights under the floodlights at Anfield. You don't think Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge would be even better.
There's one thing that's guaranteed when we get in the Champions League we will be a force.

22 Feb 2013 13:58:45
Eds, who would you say are the most likely targets for this summer. A reply would be most appreciated. {Ed002's Note - You need to read the posts Luke. It is also still very early.}

Who can you see coming in Jan 2014 or Summer 2014?

Use the force Luke

No, the forks

22 Feb 2013 13:34:43
Typical Brendan, we claw it back to 3-3 agg and he makes changes. I'm not Allens biggest fan but to be fair whilst he started slow, he grew into the game and was integral in pushing their defence back in his break up play in the final third, it was working. So what does Rodgers do? Brings on the plodder, we lose shape, lose momentum and we fizzle out.

Nice one Brendan, that's Zenit, Arsenal and Man City all in a month. Your unecessary tampering has cost us or are you listening to sports scientists to much?

Ozone

Totally agree saidthis last night three stupid subs cost us the game simple as that this the reason he's not for me we as Liverpool do not have time to babysit a manager we need someone who has already made these silly mistakes learning the game already we need experiance

mike g

Sterling assaidi and shelvey all attacking players!!

GET REAL

If he hadnt of made the changes and stayed the same score you would still be on here moaning saying why didn't he bring on some fresh legs. Some people just like to moan and are never happy. And what's now zenit city and arsenal in a month. In case you didn't notice we won the game not drew. Its sad when we beat a eurpean team with unlimited funds 3-1 but some people still feel they need to moan.

Gaz

We're you at the game Gaz? Probably not. I can assure you, everyone around me in the Kop was moaning about the changes, specifically the Allen/ Shelvey swap. Whilst I can see good points in Brendan, he, as Mike G points out, is making ameturish mistakes that are costing us. He's not hear to serve an apprentiship, we want the right decisions that win us games.

Ozone

Gaz
I think the issue was the timing of the subs. We had Zenit on the rack after scoring our 3rd goal. After the subs, Liverpool became less of a force, momentum was lost. I could see making subs if Liverpool had not got a 4th by the 75th-80th minute but not directly after scoring the third. that's my take on it anyway.

The Irish Rover

Got to agreee with with ozone and irish here, making those subs at that time, and both at the same time was absolutley insane. hendo and allen were very impressive, so it was a bit of a strange decision. anyway what's done is done, time to move on to next game and hoope we can carry thgis momentum on through to end of season.
huddz red

Ozone, just because people AT the game IN the KOP were complaining, doesn't mean they're right, open yourself up to someone else's opinion.

Addaidi was electric and shelvey nearly scored the winner br was right

So now Allen is the saviour after being completely slated. I didn't agree with the subs at the time as we had the momentum but they had run themselves into the ground as well

Irish rover I agree we had them on the rack. Creating chance after chance but not scoring so what did br do he bought on shelvey who gets in the box more and is much more of a goal threat. All 3 players that came on are attacking players who csn score. He didn't take off allen for skrtel. Ozone does it matter where I watched the game it was still the same game you watched. doesn't matter what some of the kop were saying either try thinking for yourself

gaz

Shelvey is rubbish but he and br do not see this

I am thinking for myself Gaz you plumb, hence the original post. I was at each of the 3 said games and in my opinion Brendan got the changes wrong.

I am aware of the sports science input nowadays, a player coming back from injury assessed to have 70 mins before the affected damaged tissue could become inflamed etc. etc. , but in my opinion he's flapped and made the wrong calls. Shelvey in the box? The lad doesn't know what he's doing in the role Brendan's expecting him to play. He looked both lost and startled last night when he came on. His body language was all wrong for the occasion. Sterling and Assiadi, I can see the logic but don't necessarily agree with he changes but Shelvey for Allen was a mistake. The Kop was vociferous, we were level, everything to play for, Allen getting better as the game went on, half an hour to get the winner, all the momentum with us, the 11 men on the pitch have the bit between their teeth as a unit and Brendan brings a 20 year old on suffering with a confidence issue just now and unfamiliar with the role he's expected to carry out. Decision made after consideration of sub section 3B under section C (substitution criteria) of the dossier no doubt, ignoring any human element and players mindset on the night.

Ozone

Ozone

Chrismiz and Gaz, I wasnt listening I was one of those complaining.

Ozone

Rogers just can't win with some on this site simple as.

You see this is where you can't win when you have plumbs such as the nameless 'now Allens our saviour' poster.

I never said he was our saviour and I've said I'm not his greatest fan but credit where credits due, he started slow last night and in my opinion grew into the game, certainly one of his better games. I personally never felt Lucas and Allen couldn't play together, last night proved to the contrary.

Ozone

And Gaz, no it wasn't the same game I watched. You couldn't see Shelvey lethargically prancing around off the ball looking disinterested, I could.

Ozone

Sterling did nothing again needs to go on loan and learn to beat defenders.

I go the match with me dad who's in his eighties and we sit in the kop and were surounded by moaners, every game it's the same people, crying fekkers, to be be honest me dads one of them. That's why I take a bag of toffees and hand them round.
There's been loads of arguments in our house with me dad. You say to him you never stopped moaning all through the game! He always says "I didn't" he genuinly doesn't realise he's doing it.
I think moaning is hereditary, my wife for example unfortunately comes from a long line of moaners, her brother is an amazing moaner, her dad is just the worst moaner ever and I really mean ever. The grandad I don't even want to go there.
Anyway the point is don't be too harsh on ozone as it's probably not his fault and he himself as inherited the "Moan Gene. "

Shelvey is a wannabe who thinks he's the real deal. I would sell him in the summer.

So Shelvey lethargically prancing around is BR fault. players have to be responsible for the way the play

, great post Kidmillions, you've nailed it mate, if it's in the gene pool there's nothing much that can be done about it but moan!

Ozone

Do you know why he's suffering from confidence issues ozone? It's because mentally ill fans like you.
AnfieldUSA

Yes of course it is Red Branch, who else's fault is it. A manager should know the character of his players. AnfieldUSA, go and take a S**t at the John after munching on the popcorn whilst watching soccer.

Ozone

Shelvey is never going to be the player he or we want him to be

22 Feb 2013 13:23:36
Alright guys.

I previously posted as Ell, but changed with the log in feature. Anyway, although I am unbelievably proud to be a red after last night (even though we lost), does anyone else think Rodgers may have actually lost us the game? 3-1 up and the team we had on had possibly the most pressure I've ever seen in a game. Why change it? I'm personally not a fan at all of Shelvey, I really don't think he's good enough and Henderson was having a good game. If we kept the same team on I do think we could have got that next goal, because it looked like it was coming any second. The minute we put our subs on did anyone else feel like we weren't pressuring as much? Even though I do like Assaidi and Sterling, should they have been brought on into such a high intensity game where they'd need to make an IMMEDIATE impact. Downing wasn't playing bad, neither Allen (pretty good actually), so why change?

I can't help but feel Rodgers may have cost us that game by changing things up, I really don't think Shelvey is good enough for LFC so although (as I've always said) I'll never boo a player in an LFC top, I do hope he moves on in the Summer and we bring in some better players.

On a more positive note, Suarez is incredible and I WISH I was at Anfield last night, the atmosphere looked absolutely incredible. I cannot wait 'til the day I go and experience such a massive European night.

Thanks.

I think your spot on Exodus.

Ozone

Carra was at afult for their away goal. i'd we'd have kept a clean sheet, we would be through. Simple really. Get off Brendan's back!

We didn't get beat mate we lost on away goals 2-0 3-1 = 3-3 but I have noticed a lot of people saying rogers subs were to blame maybe but then again suarez four golden chances in first leg didn't help either did they

But we didn't keep a clean sheet RD, we were one down after 19 mins, which meant we needed to score 4. We'd levelled the tie on the hour and had half hour to win it. I'd put my mortgage on it, if that were Utd and Taggart, they'd now be in the draw for the next round now.

Ozone

Or if we had taken one or two of our chances in Russia!

phooey.

Just to clarify, I'm not at all on 'Brendans back', in fact I'm a big fan of his and look forward to our future with him, but just considering if it was his fault. Of course you can blame Carragher, but as Ozone said we had 30 minutes left to score a goal and couldn't.

For future also, I never will be someone who slates any LFC player without reason or get on their 'backs', player or manager. Whether they're the best player in the world or the worst, I'll always be cheering them on and encouraging them for better performances in future, as long as they wear our famous red.

So, please don't try to brush me aside like some fickle supporter. I try to be as patient, open minded and constructive as humanly possible with all LFC players and managers.

Thanks.

22 Feb 2013 13:05:28
It's not new news that LFC need cover for defenders, strikers and goal this summer, but it'll be news to anyone at FSG. lol

22 Feb 2013 13:05:23
how can lewis holtby play for tottenham but sturridge can't play for us in the europa league {Ed002's Note - Spurs is a London based club and they all have exemptions.}

Ed, you've just opened a can of worms

Haha Love this response, must have been answered several times though

ED002 not everyone can see that little smile playing around your lips so you are letting yourself in for a whole heap of anti-London team posts {Ed002's Note - Smile?}

Honestly guys, it's getting a tad silly now. How many times does the same question need to be asked and answered? Holtby played for Schalke, Schalke is in the CL, Spurs and in EL. Sturridge played for Chelsea, Chelsea is in the EL, Liverpool is in EL. Ba played for Newcastle, Newcastle are in EL, Chelsea is in EL.

Spot the difference and see if you can work it out.

Melbourne CFC

Lewis holtby play CL football his team still in CL. Sturridge play CL and his team drop in EL.

Those are the rules but let's face it these rules are years out of date. Players can only be transferred at certain times and once that has happened they should be allowed to play in any competition in which there club is involved. (SREFEd002)
DM2013

Well if the current manager of blackburn can be in the FA cup after being in it with portsmouth and blackpool in the same season or a manager can't be involved then their is a case of discrimination and as the fa are under uefa then there must be a case to answer for players being stopped from playing for their team after being transfered

You honestly just said its discrimination no name? Discrimination? They are discriminating against players by not letting them play in a competition that their previous club was in?

Read words 3-8 in my original reply and replace tab with an expletitive.

Melbourne CFC

We've been let down by Chelsea's inconsistency, one minute there winning it, next minute they can't get out the group stage :0 (

22 Feb 2013 13:03:05
Isn't it telling to anyone else, that Swansea City is where we were last year (league cup final) and LFC is where they were.

Isn't that a song by Barbra Streisand?
DM2013

Didn't we just smash them 5-0?

Are you also going to argue that Bradford City are where Cardiff were last year? You know, the team that are many points clear in the Championship?

22 Feb 2013 13:00:38
I think everyone slating FSG is doing so because the actions they took in January were really needed in the summer window. Hindsight is 20/20, but if Sturridge and Coutinho would have came in in the summer, they wouldn't have been cup tied. The way FSG handle things is their problem with the people who don't like them and it's not new to them, just ask all of their detractors in America. 27 million spent on bench/reserve players, in the summer, what a joke. {Ed002's Note - I rather think the joke is you and the other fans who will not let up trying to put the owners down - if you think this is making the Liverpool fans anything apart from a collective laughing stock you are wrong. I can however assure you that FSG understand clearly all of this.}

22 feb 2013 12:58:57
hey ed's
i have been a liverpool fan from last 3 years, even i get frustrated when my team don't perform well but no matter what happens never did i ever call for manager to step down or a player to be sold no matter what happens i will support this football club and all of them part of it till my last breadth and i request all my liverpool fans to support the team no matter what goes wrong
we are going to become a good team once again just be patient and just remember the team needs u more when u loose than when u win so support the team we will be back to were we were soon.
(this is to all thoes fans who wants manager out after loosing a game)
you never walk alone
liverpool for life
sterlin red

22 Feb 2013 12:51:56
Look, if we keep the likes of Downing, Borini, Allen and Carra out of the team, I guarantee wins. All of these playes, no doubt about it, make the team weaker when they are in, plain and simple. Too many times, other players have to help and cover these weak links responsibilities.

Downing was prety good last night as was allen, allen has lost a bit of form recently but name a plyer who hasnt. we haven't got champions league so we cannot get top drawer players. so instead FSG moaning just back the team.
huddz red

Borini is injured and has barely had a chance to prove himself, Downing has been performing well recently, Allen was one of our best players at the start of the season and Carra sorts out the defence, clearly someone who doesn't watch the games. Enough said

22 Feb 2013 12:35:26
It was an inspiring peformance last night! incredible game and it's a shame we didn't go through. We should go in for a Striker, midfielder (Eriksen I hope!) and a centre back to replace our retiring legend JC!

Arda turan over eriksen all day! Will cost the same and he is more experienced. More versatile and has already stated how much he loves Liverpool

22 Feb 2013 12:24:37
It's been a long long time since there has been that level of electricity at Anfield. I remember the days where you'd think that that was a League game! Throat's in tatters! It's such a shame that in Carra's last European game he has a 2 second lapse that cost so dearly.

The game now should be to tune our play throughout the remainder of the season, just taking game by game and every-so-often letting a few youngsters let rip. Then in the summer, get the business wrapped up early and get the newboys in with the squad for pre-season. I'd love to see Eriksen come in, and we've got a few people here and there that could help that!

Finishing on last night, I think we were all fearing a glorified defeat, but honestly, I think that we can take some solace in the return of the atmosphere. Needs to ring out each week like the proper Anfield now.

Oh, and how fudgecaking good is that Suarez fella?!

The question redfellar that should be asked how can our team up there game for uefa cup when they don't in league against so called lesser clubs after that performance last night we fans and manager and directors should expect that level every game we play till end of season not when it suits players they work for LFC not LFC work for the players it showed last night the players gave the fans something to support and their is no better fans in the world as we seen last night now they have to do it for next 11 games and give us the hope to get in champions league

22 Feb 2013 12:18:44
Hello Eds,
Could Carlos Vela be an option in the summer to replace Downing and Assaidi?
He really seems to have progressed after going to Spain. {Ed002's Note - I am not aware of interest.}

22 Feb 2013 12:08:04
Just a question
With Jamie carragher retiring in the summer, could you tell me if any other club has tried to buy or shown interest in him

Thanks G {Ed002's Note - He will be retiring from the game, not just Liverpool.}

22 Feb 2013 11:58:17
The way we have progressed.
I wish our last 11 games, were our 1st 11 games and the season was just starting. I'd be right down bookies with large bet on a top 4 finish.
Next season I am going to win loadsa money on Liverpool.

We've been playing quite well for a lot of matches, it's the sticky 20 minutes in a half here and there which has been letting us down. Before Sturridge arrived it was all a bit thin in attack but now we seem to have more options and if Suarez forgets his boots then chances are Sturridge has brought his along.

It's a much better and healthier balance throughout the squad. I get exactly what you mean about starting the season over right now, it would be a different contest and we would be much stronger, at least in attack anyway. Players like Downing and Henderson have shown a much higher standard of quality and consistently, Suarez has shown he is a goal machine.

I still think it's going to be tough finding the right defensive players in the Summer, losing Carragher and possibly more is going to need close attention to detail. I'm not sure who we will be trying to sign, whether it's a Lovern of Lyon or, Godin of Atletico for example or, possibly a relatively unknown it will most likely be a big cause of debate and many won't appreciate the time that is sometimes needed and the teething problems we will have to bare through. But a lot of the work has been done and much of the transition has been successful.

BCDI.

22 Feb 2013 10:47:21
Well, I've seen Assaidi in bits and pieces of about 5 matches this season.
And he's still looked more dangerous with the ball than Stewart Downing has!
I know Downing does work quite hard tracking back and that, but you want a winger to to able to beat his full back don't you?
Here's hoping we see a bit more of Assaidi.
The Juicer

22 Feb 2013 10:39:06
hi eds have you heard anything of Liverpool playing a game in australia has anything been confirmed? {Ed002's Note - As far as I know nothing has been confirmed and I suspect it will be down to the money on offer. There have certainly been two options looked at in Australia - which AP in Melbourne reported on recently.}

22 Feb 2013 10:36:07
As I said last night we played very well. One position that does worry me though is right back. I think that Johnson is too inconsistent. Kelly and Wisdom I really like both but I just think its an important position to nail down in the summer whoever may play there next season.

Peoples thoughts would be great and I am not just having a pop at Johnson because he is a lot more consistent at Left back but I think Enrique we nail that position down.

I think the answer is to change Johnson's approach a bit and develop his defensive work via coaching, rather than to get another player in.

He has good skills and and offers a lot more than most RBs going forward, and although his form has dipped a bit lately, he's a still a top quality player.

TC

Johnson too inconsistent! Have you actually watched us play this season? He's been the best right back in the Prem without a shadow of a doubt. Scouser Tommy

Agree with Scouser Tommy: It beggars belief the tosh people come out with on here.

But Johnson is not consistent at Right back. But a lot more consistent at left back as I said and stick to my comments.

I agree with Scouser Tommy and kidmillions. Johnson has been one of our best players this season. His defending ability can probably be developed a little but that does not mean he is inconsistent.
Cheers,
LS7.

Have you guys not seen Zabaleta this season for City than? LOL. He, Rafael and Walker are all beter RB's. Johnson started the season well and people thought he might have improved his consistency (again) but since then he's made countless defensive howler's!

HBadger

Rafael is awful and Walker hasn't played particularly well this season. Magic had his best season since being at the club. This season one of the best in europe never mind the prem

Yes, Johnson my player of the season second too Suarez. Plus we have an embarrassment of riches coming through at right back, mclochlan being the cream of the bunch.

Ozone

22 Feb 2013 10:29:40
sat in the kop last night and I've never been as proud as what I am this morning, istanbul and chelsea semi's aside! the atmosphere was fantastic and the players gave every ounce they could, it was a privelige to be there. just a shame we couldn't get the 4th goal, we deserved it! I truly believe if sturridge played last night we may have got a couple more! feel sorry for jamie, but it doesn't matter to me that he made a mistake. he's put is body on the line enough times for us and i'm proud to have watched him play many times! you did us proud reds, we are on the up!

ian the red

Fully agree - I was also on the Kop and the place was rocking. I took my eldest who was celebrating his 18th birthday and (although we didn't match his 17th with a victory at Wembley to win the Carling Cup like last year) he did say it was the best place to be for his birthday!
Scousehouse

22 Feb 2013 10:27:16
Although I think the substitutions were made at the wrong time ( Henderson and Allen both played well ) I thought Assaidi looked really good and needs more game time for me.
Assaidi, Downing, Suso, Sterling, Couhtinio, Borini, Sturidge, Suarez are all looking good and need to be kept for me. Adorjan has been playing well and I would like to see him get some game time soon to.
I think the manager, Stevie and Suarez have all now aired concerns about the lack of quality experienced players been signed. The key this summer must be to hold on to the majority of the Squad, especially players like Suarez and I think Assaidi, who linked up well with Suarez I thought, and then add 3 experienced good players ( who are vocal ) and then I don't think we will be far off.
A front 4 of Assaidi, Sturridge, Suarez and Courthinio could be great.
The team will be a lot more consistent next year if we can keep it together and just add to it. The problem is I think we will lose good players and be stuck rebuilding again.
In your honest opinion Ed's do you rate the chances of Suarez better or worse than 50/50 to stay?
RNred {Ed002's Note - There is little point in my "rating" the chances of Suarez staying or leaving right now.}

22 Feb 2013 10:18:41
Reading a lot of posts congratulating the team.

Hello people - we lost and are out of the cup!

This is one of our worst seasons by a country mile.

At least last season we won the league cup and were runners up in the FA Cup.

We are not a meant to be a small club celebrating glorious defeat - we lost the overall match, so why is everyone gloating about a defeat.

We didn't play well enough, poor tactics, poor substitutions and poor management.

We are simply not good enough with BR in charge.

Winning is everything, second is nothing.

Moronic posters glorifying in defeat should take a look at themselves and consider we are just a mediocre side at the moment.

Yes we support the team, but ultimately we need a winning mentality and we simply do not have it.

We played a decent game against poor opposition.

There is no comfort in ultimate defeat.

Simply not good enough BR.

M

22 Feb 2013 10:34:33
you are the one totally clueless I think, its certainly not Brendan!

The praise for last nights game is fully justified, we went out of the competition because of the first leg, not anything we did wrong last night!

Zenit, Russian champions in 2 out of the 3 seasons with Spalletti in charge are poor opposition? You are clueless and just after attention, which unfortunately I have given you. This year was always going to be tough, but I never expected to play great football that I have seen. We just need to fix the defence and be more consistent.

MartinC

The great British mentality M. "We are out, but didn't we play well?" I never thought it would be accepted at Liverpool, it certainly isn't at Man Utd. I've never been so despondant about Liverpool FC in my life. Apparently we are not a big club anymore! One of the biggest supports in the world, top PL spenders outside of Citeh and Chelsea, top 10 revenue in the world (9th), year after year of transition while new players bed in while other clubs buy players and still win trophies. Like I ssid last night, seriously pi##ed off. We need to see things for what they are and stop this constant trail of excuses for a team that should be doing a hell of a lot better than what they are.

The Irish Rover

I know we played well but I have to agree BR is clueless. His substitutions were clueless and mistimed.

Errrr sorry I saw us score only once from open play!

the changes were needed hence two attacking players came on!

GET REAL

At current we are not a top club, what is difficult to understand here?

M; Hello! we won 3-1 on the night and were absolutely brilliant in every department.

Yeah, except for the away goal we gave away, which decided the outcome of the tie, other than that they played really well an I agree with the other posters in that, I believe, the only thing really wrong with LFC is the joke of a manager they have making poor decisions, so.

22 Feb 2013 12:47:30
I too criticise and feel very much frustuated thorugh out this season.
But mate. yesterday we were sublime.
these are the moments which made this club great.
I was born as a Liverpool supporter 9 years back. when steve g. hit a screamer at the 86th min against olympiacos.
luis suarez. second goal. OMG.
25 year old. 23 million pound. 25 goals this season. 25 yeards out. that was the freekick of the season.
boy. power. pace. and how did it curved in.

his freekick against udinese, city and yesterday. will cost him 50 mill.

feeling proud to be a Liverpool fan.

Lets look forward to the new season. and get in CL.

I am not botehrd of FA or carling cup.
CL. means good money. business. and world stars.
When your owners are smiling. your club prospers.

Poor opposition? Zenit won the Russian League twice in the past 3 seasons.

We didn't play well enough? 3-1 win over a Champions League class team not good enough for you?

We are out of the cup because we didn't take our chances in the first leg.

Poor management? If that was the case we would have lost the game.

We showed the spirit and mentality of a team on the up. The pride and hunger to win the game shone through and we were unlucky not to got through. We are playing great football, and we are on the up. We dominated a top team as we have all season. Far from a defeat in my eyes.
Cheers,
LS7.

22 Feb 2013 13:49:56
pls. don't compare russian league with EPL. rusiian league is as good as SPL.
celtic is winning it every year. does that make them better opposition?
We played brilliant. But still feel BR is not the right man.
An experienced Manger could have won the game for us yesterday.
Shelvey and sterling were not good at all.
Assaidi was superkool. I like this kid.

I think the bottom line is that BR is learning his trade while in the job. It might not be the best decision to employ a rookie at a club of our size but he's here now and will be for at least next season. Imagine everyone gave their opinion but still supported the team and FSG for now. It would help them so much. let's just stick together for now. I still agree with all the points. its really sucks every othr week or so. but I remain 100% behind FSG, BR and the players. This is the first time we have had true transition since the early days of the prem. Its long overdue and will smart for a while as it's all worked out. but I bet we won't be moaning in 2-3 yrs.

irishimon. Opps forgot to log in.

22 Feb 2013 20:17:45
I wonder if you were one of the Sturridge will be a rubbish signing that have suddenly vanished?

The words that come to mind are passion, hunger, want, need and style.
One mistake by the reddest of red players ever to have worn an LFC shirt who has given blood and guts performances for years ultimately cost us the game. I can bearly imagine how he felt afterwards. Just keep playing the same way and let's see what happens.

Liverno1

22 Feb 2013 10:04:09
Everyone is criticising BR and the changes that he made. I bet during the game, you were all wanting the changes! You can't tell me that you wouldn't have brought on the pace and unpredictability of Sterling and Assaidi against a tiring Zenit defence.

Can any eds shine a light on why we haven't seen a great deal of Assaidi in the first team (except AFCON)? I personally thought he performed well last night, wasn't afraid to run at defenders and trust his own pace and footwork. Looks like a player who could definitely fit in with the likes of Coutinho and Suarez.

But if you remember that tiring defense were not tested to the extent they were before the changes-59 minutes 3-1 up, keep the momentum going. BR made changes and they came back into the game. don't try and fix if it's not broken.

Exactly my view - good link up play, with the capability of moments of brilliance to beat 2-3 players. When he signed I must admit I thought he'd be a regular.

22 Feb 2013 10:39:19
Hi Eds

To be fair to brendan allen hadnt played for a few weeks and probably was tiring and assadi came on and looked good so if we got through nobody would care about subs coming and going, the lads done very well last night so let's support them all not just your fav players. i'm cutted for carra to be finishing his european career on a low but he will always be alegend no matter what.

I'm sure if BR had the ability of hindsight then there are a lot of things he wouldn't have done.
Give him time!

MUSHROOM

Although I kind of agree with what you say (and this is just my opinion) I do think that Shelvey and Assaidi showed weaknesses in their game last night. I think they're both fine going forward but tend to be a little weak when having to perform defensive duties.

This doesn't mean they don't get back and tackle but rather that it's a part of their game they don't seem to do enough work on. Both of them seem to time their tackles badly at vital moments giving away needless free kicks. In Shelvey's case I think this was lack of actual recent matchplay as I've seen him perform much better and they will both get better with training anyway. More worrying is that Assaidi occasionally seems to lose focus and interest a la Berbatov-style. I think he still needs to show that he'll work hard for the team as well as himself. he's a good player but maybe the difficulty stems from him not having fully settled yet. It's easy for us to not understand how hard it can be for foreign players to settle quickly. some do but some don't and he might fall into the latter group.

In a sense this dilemma of working harder is surely what SG was pointing to prior to the game when asked about the youngsters. and he indicated they still need to work harder. this doesn't mean they are no good but that they need to continue to grow, learn and improve. Ironically the one player I always thought a little full of himself (Sterling) is proving to be hardworking and loyal. perhaps I bought into some stupid social media rumour-mongering. Assuming he sticks to a hard work regime and learns whenever he gets the chance then I think he'll go on from a Liverpool favourite to become a Liverpool legend.

I have despaired at times BUT I have reason to hold on to hope for our future if we can keep hold of our core players and build a little more. AND, like you (I suspect) I think that BR might be the best person to take us forward.

Er, no, don't agree. I didn't want changes because we where battering them, make changes whern necessary not just for the hell of it. His subs are a worry, as its not the first time this season he made some stupid ones

22 Feb 2013 10:02:40
Happy to see positivity on the site, despite going out. We have got to try and Finnish as high as we can in the league now. Proud of the boys last night.

Thats how much our club has fallen we used to get upset when we lost champs league semi now we are pleased we put a good game against a poor russianteam yes they spent big but there were nothing special. In the summer let's buy 2 big players who can help ls not 5 squad men I would get rid of downing, henderson. Shelvey not goodenough we need more quailty in the wide areas & a top cb to play with agger

Agree! But what I don't like is fans who are positive one game Denmark us down next game ;-)

Yes we have fallen a long way in the last 6 years. That's the reality of the situation - bad management behind the scenes and too many average players on astronimical wages put the club in a bad way. But what I saw last night at the game made me positive about the future. Last season, if we'd have gone 1-0 down we'd have lost the game but I thought it was great the way the team fought and the crowd were great. Scosuer Tommy

In response to Scouser Tommy, your claim that last season Liverpool would have lost if they went a goal behind is totally unjustified. See if you can find some footage of last season's FA Cup semi-final, or the second leg of last season's League Cup semi-final, or even the League Cup Final.

Red Owl

Love the reply RedSpud

RedSpud, that reply was Swede. I mean sweet!

22 Feb 2013 09:48:36
Gotta say we played really well last night and I thought we deserved more.
Firstly all the damage was done in the first game when we missed a hat full of chances.
Secondly the club is moving in the right direction and if Br is given time and money we will do well.
Thirdly I think BR scored a massive own goal last night we where 3-1 up Zenit where on the ropes and then he makes a dbl substitution and we never really threatened after that.

Dont get me wrong from time to time even Jose and whiskey nose make mistakes.

Lastly Suarez you are a genius but if you where playing for me last night and you stood on a player like that I would read you the riot act it was a disgrace.

Thoughts
Lurgan Red

To be fair to BR we had two fantastic chances after the double substitution: 1 when SG's shot required an incredible save by Zenit's keeper and 2 when a more composed Shelvey might have put it in the net instead of the side-netting.

I do agree that we really blew the game in the first leg when we couldn't get one goal from a whole host of chances but I guess those are the breaks. Ultimately it was a great game to watch for neutrals and a spectacular advert for the ability of the EPL.

Suarez pulled his weight off his foot as he went over him, their player then held his calf not his back. His momentum took him over the player, that's all. Couldn't be avoided. Suarez himself took an absolute battering as usual, how that centre half didn't get booked was beyond me, he was all over Suarez all night.
ND

Get real! Suarez didn't stamp, there was no weight applied. Man up! It is: what is? It's a mans game; Suarez get's the full treatment off defenders, sometimes you just give a little bit back.
It's all part of the game, the defender didn't make a big thing out of it and neither did any of their players. So I don't see the problem.

I totally agree with ND. Neto was very lucky not to have been booked on several occasions.

Red Owl

He was lucky Graham Poll wasn't the ref. booked on several occasions. geddit. I'll get my coat :- (

22 Feb 2013 09:28:26
How good was Lucas last night? Unbelievable. What a player. Assiadi looked good when he come on as he always does, cannot see why Brendan won't give him a chance. Great atmosphere last night, hats off to all you who sat there in the freezing cold. Shame it's another mistake that costs us, must be the 5th or 6th time this season. Great effort though.

YNWA

Bristol Red

"How good was lucas last night". 2 years ago thousands on here were saying he was rubbish and should'nt be anywhere near the first team, a bit like allen now. I am confident that in 2 years time we will all be singing allen's praises, just give the boy time
fforestfach red

Yeah I know mate, I have to say I was a doubter at the start. Allen played well last night. Hopefully come good once he settles!

Bristol Red

22 Feb 2013 12:51:02
just bought a jersey of lucas from ebay.
the second one.
he is sublime.
when we dominate. it means. our midfield is looking awesome.
captain contender for me.
loves the club and people.
easily among the top 5 DM in current generation.
5 mill. rafa. you were genius is some purchases.

22 Feb 2013 09:29:51
Extremely proud of the effort shown by everyone last night. That attitude in every game and we won't be where we currently are in the League for long.

Unfortunately there were 2 things that p!$$ed me off last night

1. What is wrong wit Glen Johnson, I have noticed a lot of times lately when he gets put through down the right and has ample time and space to put a cross in he slows the play right down dallies on the ball and ends up either turning back, running straight into the defender losing the ball, or just ends up kicking the ball sluggishly and aimlessly towards the box. Is this a form thing or a tactical thing that's not working?

2. Why take off Henderson last night? He was having a brilliant game, his passing and workrate were causing Zenit all sorts of problems and I think we definitely lost some energy once he went off which allowed Zenit to relax and compose themselves a bit in the last 20 minutes. Not slagging or wrighting Shelvey off but at the moment he just doesn't merit a place in the team, he looks slugghish and his tackling is reckless and dangerous and is going to end up seriously hurting someone, his confidence is clearly very low and a loan somewhere would do him the world of good.

Felt really sorry for Carragher on what should have been a memorable night for him it will haunt him that his error cost us. But if we'd taken our chances in the first leg then we wouldn't have been in such a difficult position to qualify.

We're not far off having a competitive squad that can challenge for 3-4 place, definitely need a new CD, cover for Lucas and another striker in the same mould of Sturridge so we have options up front should Suarez or Sturridge get injured or suspended.

Get behind the players and support them and as we saw last night they will respond and put in a performance that we can be proud of win, lose or draw.

Henderson - Brilliant? You must have been watching a different game. Henderson, Downing and Allen far too weak.

1. If you look at who's in the box (usually only none player), that might give you a clue as to why Johnson turns back out. We do not get enough bodies into the bax wwhen we work a good position out wide.

2. Totally agree with you re Henderson. Has looked a completely different player since Christmas. Confident on the ball, good passer and phenominal work rate.

On other thing. Lucas Leiva was outstanding last night. Scouser Tommy

22 Feb 2013 09:13:15
Very dissapointed FOR the lads last night they deserved to go through, But did anyone else notice Lucas passing was a lot like pirlo last night, 4-5 balls over the top to split the defence open, I think we should continue to play Hendo and stevie in front of Lucas to protect him so he can play those passes, as stevie and hendo strenth possisioning and work rate will make them a good shield for our new deep lying playmaker/ ball winning midfielder.

Also thank you Luis Suarez you don't see many flair players with that kind of work rate passion and never say die attitude that he showed last night, Any more of that Luis and you might be talked about as future caprian material :)

Please do not put Lucas in the same bracket as Pirlo. Pirlo is way, way, way above Lucas. Get real.

Oy - div - why not put Lucas in the same bracket as Pirlo. Look at our performances since he returned to full fitness. His reading of the game is superb. I saw one misplaced pass from him last night and he broke up their attacks time and time again. His name was sung more than anyone last night because the kop, unlike you, is pretty knowledgable. Rant over. Scouser Tommy

Lucas & Pirlo? What a non-sensical comparison!

HBadger

22 Feb 2013 09:06:22
I posted last week in relation to the decisions the BR has made and will continue to have to make and yet again I think that last night he got it so wrong. Obviously as a manager you pick what team you think will do what is required and to be fair he got it right. But why he made the changes when he did baffles me. 4 goals needed. Zenit with their backs to the wall. 3rd goal scored and he changes it. momentum lost. Zenit came into the game. out of Europe. I like Shelvey but what was he going to give that was not being given out there already and his only notably contribution was to get booked. Assaidi to his credit did show some glimpses of what he can do. BR is abviously a good coach but that doesn't mean you make a good manager.

22 Feb 2013 08:58:32
If we were as positive in the Premiership (going forward with less side to side movement) as we were last night, we'd be in a much stronger position the the table.

22 Feb 2013 08:49:23
thats why we love Liverpool fc well played from players and BR pity we did not get through but that's life
red rrab

22 Feb 2013 08:36:03
Out of the Carling Cup, out of the FA Cup, out of the Europa Cup and realistically no chance of top four. Brendan this is not an improvement on last year. Sorry but this job is far too big for you.

I don't understand fans like you, Liverpool is no longer a BIG club, There still a big name but not a big club how can we be too big for a tallented manager?

Quite agree. After every match even if it is a win, draw or loss he says the team were fantastic. And please Brendan have a word with Suarez about the nasty side of his game, he is an embarrassment to our club.

So predictable this post from mr no name. If we had got through last night he would have been mad as he would have had to hold this post over until another defeat

Liverpool "no longer a big club"?

Written like a true Manc, HPH.

Now go back to the United page.

22 Feb 2013 08:34:21
Suarez is am amazing player and his second goal last night was fabulous but did you see the nasty side of him when he stood on the defenders back late on - this is why he is hated so much.

You will never change him. He has calmed down over the last 6 months but he will always have the nasty streak to him. I am just glad he plays for Liverpool and hopefully will do for a few years yet.

To be honest - good as he is - they shackled him as well as anyone I've
seen to date. Good job we now have Sturridge and Coutinho as we're still having problems scoring from open play. exciting match though

Because Cantona, Keane and C Ronaldo were little angels weren't they?

22 Feb 2013 08:33:13
Very exciting game last night and we were unlucky but the fact shows that this is the worst Liverpool team since the premiership began.

Are you joking!??
This is a better team that won the CL in 2005!

WHAT!!!

In terms of results, he's right.

22 Feb 2013 08:31:28
In Allen, Henderson and Downing we must have the weakest midfield in Liverpools history - only my point of view.

I though all three played well last night

22 Feb 2013 09:38:58
henderson. is doing pretty good. but no where to be a 16 mill signing.
allen was awful apart from that goal. he gaved away atleast 5-10 times ball yesterday in first half.
lucas and geerad need to be our midfiled.
After watching assaid. dribbling and beating past defenders on the left side.
1.5 mill is better than 20 mill downing.

Look at the stats again.

Allen completeted 32 of 34 passes yesterday, 14 of 16 were in the final third. He played really well, got a vital goal and created a couple of chances.

People love to be critical for criticals sake.

Papa G

So when it's Joe Allen we don't look at how he played, we look at the stats.

But when it's Rodgers, we don't look at the results, we look at how we played.

Double standards.

22 Feb 2013 08:09:25
Jose Enrique must be our most composed player by a country mile. His ball retention's simply superb. He was responsible for some of the howlers that'd cost us the past 18 or so months.

But the improvement in his game has been marked.
A player I often mistrusted, I now am most relaxed and comfortable with the ball at his feet. Beast player absolutely.

Talking about men in defence, last night I was impressed with the manner in which we passed our way out of danger at the back. The courage and composure shown were simply tremendous.

Risky and potentially costly? Yes. Foolhardy? NO. Necessary? YES. 9/10 times I wasn't concerned that we'd give away and get punished as a result of this. In August, yes, but not now.

The lads have come a long in this aspect of their game. Still there's much improvement to be made. And the only way to do is to keep taking these risks until we've mastered the trade enough it becomes natural and non-challantly executed.
Whether it's playing out from the back, keeping the ball in dangerous situations or threading difficult thru balls, it MUST be done.

What worries me is, bar Agger, Enrique, Suarez, SG, Sturridge and Jono, our players' inability or disinclination to attack space and drive forward with the ball.
Last night alone I could count a plethora of instances when for example Hendo or Allen had acres of space in front of them to run into, yet they went for typically easy and often unwise option of passing.

One of the main reasons why Suarez is so good is his ability to create space for those around by attacking the space and driving forward, drawing players to him and dragging defenders out of position.
Coutinho will be doing this as well.

This summer we really could do with one or two additions in the mould of Jack Wilshere and Toure Yaya. There are just way too many bhistis right now (Henderson, Allen).

What is also of great concen to me is our seeming few options when in possession. Many have decried our 'snail-paced' passing.
Rightly so. In my view this is largely down to the poor to sometimes non-existent mobility we display.
Passing is a function of movement and positioning.
For a forward pass to be possible such a position must be taken up. You cannot pass the football to where there isn't anyone to receive it.

What the ball holder does is informed by what those round him are doing.
It really is that simple, which is what I find baffling about us sometimes.

Why can't we consistently take up good positions. I watched Bayern score their first goal against Arsenal. The plethora of options was such that even if the ball had not found Kroos there were about two more players who'd have got that ball and been clean thru on goal.

Sometimes the initial strike is parried back, hits the post or is half cleared.
If you have numbers in the box in good positions, you can finish off the scraps. You can also win many tap-ins.

So I ask? Why can't we consistently take up good positions like many decent teams do? Our positioning in the last 2 thirds will need significant improving if we are to consistently and genuinely move the ball quicker and trouble the opposition.

The attack aspect of it will be addressed with the arrivals of Sturridge and Coutinho.
It's the midfield we have to sort out.
A midfield player of varied and balanced attributes as Yaya or Wilshere would be an integral addition.

For me a good summer would be keeping Suarez, adding in Mertens/Ben Arfa, De Frij an that bhisti-come-quarterback.
I want Carroll gone and am open to the idea of Reina, Downing and Hendersen.

Agree to a lot of the points in the above review. And IMHO the fact that Allen and Henderson didn't run into open spaces and open up the Zenit midfiled could have been due to the fact that they are never asked to do that job.

In our midfield trio, IDEALLY we should have one Ball-winning DM, one crafty and technically robust AM and one Box-to-Box midfielder who can keep the former 2 guys linked up. Someone in the mould of the SG of 4-5 years back or more recently Moussa Sissoko or Yaya Toure. And we currently lack the perfect players for the AM and CM position with Gerrard often dropping deeper to play both roles himself. Leaving Allen/Henderson in a role which isn't really clearly defined per se. That could be a reason for the sometimes lack-lustre performance in the centre of the park.

Just my opinion, would love to hear your take on it unnamed poster.

sama491

Forget Ben Arfa. He is staying at the Geordies.

22 Feb 2013 09:41:22
exactly.
a new contract for gerrard.
keeping suarez.
i would also like to keep agger and skertel. and buy a decent CB.
replace downing with Mertens.
send jono for another loan not to Championship. but to a PL side.
Buy another forward on the right side. young cheap. who have pace. which we don't have on the right had side.

22 Feb 2013 08:03:51
I think first 11 we're not far off challenging for a top 3-4 place next year. Reina, Enrique, Johnson, Agger, Lucas, Suarez, Sturridge and Gerrard all of the required quality. Henderson, Coutinho, Kelly, Allen, Skrtel, Downing and possibly Borini all strong squad men. A few like Assaidi, Coates, Carroll etc are bound to leave, but we need to freshen up in areas.

What we desperately need is a strong, intelligent and quick centre half. Some experience, composure and quality in the middle of the pitch and a winger, who will offer a genuine threat, someone who can stretch teams, beat a man and contribute goals.

We're still trying to build that squad capable of challenging competitively for each game. We need more match winners and general experience in a few key areas. I think long term some of the youth can deliver, but it's clear this takes a long time. Sterling, Suso, Ibe, Wisdom, McLaughlin, Sinclair and Yesil etc all have potential to suceed in our side. Whether they make the final step is down to them. Be rest assured however, that if they're good enough BR will give them a shot.

It's extremely difficult to predict what will happen come summer. If Suarez commits, then I'm sure we can persuade other top talents, on the project were undertaking. Players like Turan, Eriksen, Alonso etc would consider joining for one reason or another. We can attract top talent, I just hope BR gets his men and not boys.

A note on last night. I was extremely proud of everyone involved, BR, the coaching staff, players and the fans. Everyone put their heart and soul into that performance. Slowly, despite what the negativity on this site/twitter etc would have you believe, LFC are at a very delicate crossroads. If we get it right in the summer, (keeping Suarez is key to this) then I genuinely feel we're not far off having a really good go at the top in a year or two. The balance is coming and if we cut out the silly mistakes and start taking our chances we can be a real force again.

Papa G

22 Feb 2013 07:42:37
ed. what a match.
the only europa league match which was equal to any CL fixture.
and it happens when we play.
Luis suarez. what a player.
its been years we never had a freekick specialist apart from gerrard.
this guy is genius.
No summer signings. double the wages and keep suarez. He plays for the shirt. he wants to play for us. Pls don't sell him. plsssss.

Assaidi. looked real great. finally a winger dribbling and beating some man on the left flank.

2 handballs. and no penalty.

What a game lucas had. Outstanding he was. tackling. passing. splitting people. the best game so far this season.
allen again gaved away too much possession.

Carra is past. hulk could easily get past him.

we need to improve the defence.
I think we should play lucas and agger in Middle like luiz doing at chelsea.
and release gerrard or hendo up front.
agger. is class when carrying the ball forward.

missed sturridge. and probably borini.

on the whole the best game so far.

Luis suares. you know you are the star.
one more season. out of your whole life.
The reds needs you.

23 mill pounds. 24 goals. still 12 gmaes to go for.

YNWA

22 Feb 2013 09:44:37
how can someone disagree this post. is beyond me?
nonsense. I haven't mentioned anything about downing. still disagree?
or is that with the case of welsh xavi. ?

22 Feb 2013 07:23:43
Seriously though, sometimes in defence you do have to play the percentages and clear the ball. Their goal cam from Carra trying to "recycle possession" instead of giving away a throw in on half way. Then we nearly conceded again with Agger mucking about with it deep in his penalty area. Great save from Pepe.
Overall it was a good performance last night. We lost it a week ago. But please Brendan, let the defenders clear the ball when the opponents are pressurising them.

22 Feb 2013 09:02:20
No blame attached to Rodgers surely. Carragher has passed back to the keeper under minimal pressure literally thousands of times!

I don't blame him, players make mistakes and if there's one player who's earnt the right to cock up, its Carragher.

I think Carra from 2 years ago would have hoofed it into row Z.

The Irish Rover

Carra was not "under minimal pressure" last night, he was under significant pressure from 1 of Zenits 2 half decent players.
I agree with the Irish Rover.

22 Feb 2013 07:06:11
How good has Lucas become after regaining his match fitness. he's come back even stronger. Unsung hero.

RedMan

And yet he still gets called rubbish by other teams. They couldn't be more wrong

22 Feb 2013 06:49:52
Dont let the win paper over the cracks. Two goals from free kicks by a genius don't hide the fact we barely tested the keeper in open play. Our squad is so poor we are bringing on an 18 yr old, a 20 yr old and a bloke noones seen for three months! Oh and can someone tell Brendan that tactical subs are for when things ain't working not when you are in the ascendancy with the opposition rocking. No other manager in the world wouldve made those changes then.

22 Feb 2013 09:05:37
Really didn't understand the substitutions at that time. Jir63

Maybe if we played with infatiguable robots we wouldn't have to sub players. And would you really have wanted Henderson on the flanks at the death when one accurate cross or dribble can completely unlock the opposition defence? Hence why he brought on Assaidi who looked lively especially with the Zenit defenders already having been run ragged by Suarez.

sama491

22 Feb 2013 10:16:31
The reason why we've not seem assaidi is because he's been playing in the africa cup of nations. I thought he played brilliantly when he came on. Would love to see more of him.


Mikey d

22 Feb 2013 06:34:06
Sturridge is now so obviously missed when he isn't playing, hope he is fit for all our remaining fixtures.
This was yet another game where letting Andy Carroll go out on loan has looked such a bad decision. When shelvey is still deemed good enough by Rodgers it's hard to see how Carroll wouldn't be more potent a weapon in the hunt for a goal.
If we had Suarez, Sturridge and Carroll in the squad we would have options.
Last night we looked like Barcelona

NO PLAN B.

NO PLAN B - letting Carroll has NEVER seemed like a bad decision to me! The bad decision was getting the lad here in the first place. (and I know that was not his fault)
Our problem (especially with our latest two players being ineligible) is having such a thin (talent-wise) squad. Shelvey and Sterling are a long way from being good enough (I know they are young, I know they may be 'world-beaters'- one day - I am talking about the here and the now)
I too was excited last night, but like
Barcelona'? I wish

How can you say shevley is preferred by rodgers the lad is so far down the pecking order now after the arrival of coutinho and sturridge and the refound confidence of downing and downing he just seems to be there to carry out the water bottles. jk.

but be proud of the team last night and stop blaming everyone and get behind the lads and be proud of our club

22 Feb 2013 06:31:21
Just want to say that I'm proud of our performance last night after conceding. I hadn't been that nervous about a game in a couple of years at least!

I believe that last night alone will be a huge lesson to the likes of Downing, Henderson, Allen and all of the most recent arrivals as to what it is to play for Liverpool. We're on the up!

22 Feb 2013 05:50:31
Great game last night. Gutted about not going through. But can push for 4 th place now. Spurs through. Blessing in disguise.

22 Feb 2013 03:10:33
Great game tonight. Lost the tie, but really battered Zenit in the game. I feel for Carra, whose defensive blunder surely stung his pride. He went on and played a solid game.

Hard to imagine we could have played better tonight, though, if we had Sturridge there, I think we would have scored 5 or 6.

Well done lads.

Coop

It was really impressive that Carragher's blunder didn't affect him for the rest of the game. That is a sign of his experience and mental strength

22 Feb 2013 02:02:54
Another trophyless season. 6 out of last 7 now.
Not good enough

Only the King has won anything for us and he got sacked.

All you Dalglish Doubters hang your heads in shame.

If you're telling me 8th and a carling cup every season would be success for you then I think you're the one who should hang your head in shame. We should want more.
Sam

Hang YOUR head in shame for being a dalglish fanboy instead of a Liverpool FC fan

22 Feb 2013 05:27:10
So you ignore our form throughout the second half of last season because of a trophy?

22 Feb 2013 07:05:45
Kenny didn't deserve to get sack but blaming fans for kenny sack is just not right its more to do with owners, who knows Rodgers might get sack if we don't finish in top4 next season as I said we don't know what's going on our owners mind, winning carling cup and reaching FA cup final was not enough for our owners next season is going to be big test for Rodgers, champions league is must if we want to move foward without champions league we are losing a lot of money which is unacceptable for our owners they want champions league as quick as possible to move us foward and attract new sponsors, bring in revenues etc etc.

Oh my, I wasn't expecting this comment!
Your words bore me, what's more annoying is, it is currently the first one I read today!

Yeah thank god for the league cup hey. What an person.

Jonesred

22 Feb 2013 08:06:14
getting a mickey mouse cup. and beating a championship side. in shootout?
get a grip mate.
be proud of the best game Liverpool played all season yesterday.
truely the Europa league came into live.
neither I trust BR nor KK.
IN Liverpool FC I trust.

Harry scousser

Ed was there a reason my post wasn't posted? Thanks in advance

RR! {Ed002's Note - I have no idea, sorry. A lot of posts have been deleted due to abuse this morning.}

I don't seen how people can compare KK to Brendon Rodgers! It's not the mangers fault it's not the teams fault it lies at the feet of the supporters. The amount of pressure and expectancy from fans is ridiculous! I'm lucky enough to have seen us at our best but the game has moved on so much since then! patience is what is needed! I hate to use the as a reference but it took whiskey nose 9 seasons before he won his first major and that was solely down to united floating on the stock exchange and the introduction of Sky! We're not going to win the league this season and maybe not next season either but the way we play football at times under Brendan is breath taking at times! All we need to do to make us stronger is continue the support we showed last night! Make anfield a fortress where teams fear to come! I've been to games where you could hear a fly fart at the opposite end of the ground! Belief, Trust and patience is what Is needed and this club will become a Bastian of invincibility once again!

So it wasnt Kennys fault last year? All down to the players?

The Irish Rover

22 Feb 2013 01:07:45
I think a lot of teams to what I feared Liverpool doing tonight, go 3 nil down and then give up. The lads really went for it though and still beleived they could do i4, whereas zenit didn't even think we would attempt it.

I think unitednare the only ones that have realised that if you never give up then you will often come out with apleasing resultt.

The point is, Liverpool will only begin to win things when they adopt the attitude shown tonight in every game, all the best teams have a never say die attitude consistently.

Anonymous woolback

What does shelvey do

22 Feb 2013 00:57:51
So glad to see the love for our team by far outweighing the negativity tonight - makes a nice change :-) we played a blinder - feel so bad for Carra, he must be gutted. Played as a real team tonight, not enough good words to say about Suarez - what a player!

22 Feb 2013 00:42:34
To all fans and eds we can all hold our heads high the boys have done us proud. I have always been proud to be armed but so much more to day where the boys gave it their all and made zenit look like rabbits.
You were all amazing apart from two blunders, look forward from now to your next with a total belief because you were all very hard workers and fantastic.
Finally the twelfth man was in full swing tonight it was wonderful Anfield was singing its heart out. Look to the future.
Hibsylfc

22 Feb 2013 00:36:28
gutted at going out tonite but think we played really well think the substitutes off both allen and hendo at same time were a big blow but I also believe that zenit then knew they had to press us or else go out so can't just say subs cost us because u could see in last 15 they were pushing onto our back 4 and we were looking a bit panicked and that hadnt happened through game just wish that sometimes when pressured at back clear your lines and regroup that is to me what keeps costing us as teams know we try to play our way out and u can't always do that hence them closing the space down

This passing from the back debate.

If they have 4 or 5 players pressing high and you pass through them it means you have only 5 or 6 players to worry about in their half. If you pump it long into their half with 20 outfield players condensed into a 40 yard area on the edge of their box you are highly unlikely to gain an advantage very often. It's about creating more room to play in. It's football not hoofball.

22 Feb 2013 00:14:35
Have to take the positives tonight and for me the biggest who was seeing a field back to its rocking bests when we support like that there are few sets of fans around the world that can match us couple this with the fact the boys haven't everything they had proud to be a Liverpool fan tonight

Feel maybe some poor misses and a little bit of naivety from Rodgers cost us in the first leg however he is a young manager in terms of European competitions so hopefully he will learn from this experience, even still was happy with how Brendan setup the team tonight considering we had no sturridge I'm not shore if we use full back anymore or just have 2 wingers on each side good stuff YNWA

22 Feb 2013 00:09:47
Thought assaidi did well, hope he is used a lot more till the end of the season to at least assess if he has a long term future at the club. Jir63

22 Feb 2013 00:00:59
Gutted we couldn't find that 4th goal, but can't fault the overall performance by any means. Just think the defence needs tweaked for next season though - the stress level seems to rise every time our back line is in possession. Still, seeing that passionate, never say die attitude right up until the bitter end from the team completely swells you with pride. YNWA, put it down to experience and onto better things.

Cuchulainn's Hounds

22 Feb 2013 00:00:50
First full season=
Dalglish=1 Trophy.
Rodgers=Nothing.

22 Feb 2013 03:47:07
Do you realize it's Rodgers' 2nd season in the top flight? Stupid!

Jack D.

Ddnt he spend 100 million on carroll adam and downing though? Lol

Bradford might win the league cup with a team which costs 7 grand!

Seriously though its not a conpetition so get behind our manager and team

Or atleast leave your name and dnt be a coward

22 Feb 2013 05:32:03
At least Rodgers got the best out of Henderson, Downing and Enrique

22 Feb 2013 09:17:03
i think king kenny was sacked because after spending more than 100 mil owners were expecting a top 4 finish we finished 8th this season also this season we have to improve our league position european football is must next season if we are not able to to do that I think BR will be sacked I trust our owners more that BR {Ed002's Note - The reasons he went have been dealt with at length but it is time for people to get over it and move on.}

21 Feb 2013 23:32:55
Hi eds and all reds, I know welost tonight but it did not feel like one, the lads were great except for a blunder or two. The boys should hold their heads up high and they made us proud. Zenit were like a little rabbit overcome by a giant.
As for the twelfth man, Anfield was absolutely amazing everyone sang their hearts out it was electric.
I was and am very proud to be Liverpool fan especially after this good performance. Well done! eds 001, 002, or others available what did you think?
hibsylfc {Ed001's Note - I thought it was an incredible night, shame we didn't go through, but what a performance. Just a shame that it was Carra's mistake that will be remembered as the difference, because it was more down to the away leg.}

Carling cup means nothing to the big teams anymore