Liverpool Banter Archive April 23 2015

23 Apr 2015 20:09:42
I have a question re transfers. What is the power of the players to refuse a transfer to to insist if they go they go to a certain club or at least country. I assume in terms of refusing to move at all, as long as they have a contract the only threat is that they will not play. But they will still be have to play their full salary right?

In terms of where to play, all the top 4 are trying as much as possible not to sell good players to other top PL teams. City for example now want to send Nasri and Dzeko to Italy. What if the players say well we are happy to go but want to stay in the PL.

{Ed002's Note - In simple terms they have the veto over any contract offered.}

23 Apr 2015 23:07:07
Did Carroll want to come here? I remember him being proper miffed about leaving Newcastle.

{Ed001's Note - he wasn't keen but was talked into it after initially blocking the deal.}

24 Apr 2015 10:14:36
He soon got a look at the silly wages he was going to get and couldn't wait to find melwood.

24 Apr 2015 15:32:37
loooool, made me chuckle irish red.

23 Apr 2015 17:22:46
Edd002 can I ask you your opinion of Abrahamovic at Chelsea as a man and owner . He is mostly known by the English media as Chelseas sugar daddy but outside of the game I am aware he is very generous to charity.And now too Chelsea run very well as a club

{Ed002's Note - I cannot say I know him as a man as such, but as an owner he has invested a lot in the early days and has driven the club to be generally self-sufficient. He stays involved with the business and supports anything which may improve the club. He is supportive, as many of the EPL side owners are, of initiatives around the world. On several occasions the Chelsea players have gotten him to play in practice games, but Liverpool have not approached Chelsea about making an offer.

I am very aware that he arrived and changed the paradigm, but he is one of the longest serving owners and the club has become very responsible.}

23 Apr 2015 23:13:19
My wife's boss met him in a corporate box at the PSG game and he said he came across as a really nice man, willing to talk to anyone!

{Ed007's Note - I kind of get that impression whenever I see him on TV, he always looks chilled out and laid back but obviously he's ruthless in his business dealings. He can come up the park with me, my mates and a crate of Buckfast any time, I've told Ed002 to invite him but I've not had an answer yet.}

24 Apr 2015 08:32:13
He is a proper football fan. Always twitching watching the game. Kicking every ball. He loves it.

24 Apr 2015 09:51:31
In fairness, chelsea in terms of transfer fees alone, probably do as well as anyone with buying young players, loaning then out, and selling on players for a considerable fee, mata de Bruyne, luiz, lukaku.

23 Apr 2015 16:40:35
Rodgers is now coming across as a self indulging arrogant pr**k.
EmbarrasIng conference.
And what is worse is not one journo questioned the failures this season.
No trophys, appalling performances for most of the season, shocking cl campaign, amount of money spent, man mangagement. I could go on.
He even quoted himself as a "tactical genious". I have never heard that mentioned anywhere before for him to be acknowledge himself as that.
I think ferguson is having private meetings with him and putting something in his teA. That is more believable than the belief in this man to take the club forward

23 Apr 2015 17:08:38
Agreed Big Al, the more he opens his mouth the more it spouts nonsense, i'm beginning to wonder if he wants the big payoff

23 Apr 2015 17:14:42
Listen to this utter tripe from the man who is a legend in his own mind.

Rodgers insists where Liverpool currently find themselves is “on a par” with where they should be.

“If you take the emotion out of last weekend, this was a team who over achieved last season. We were not expected to get in the top four,” he said.


“Where we sit now, fifth place and having reached two semi-finals is probably on a par with where we’re at."

He the goes on to contradict himself massively with this.

“We missed out on one of our goals which was to win a trophy.

“Another was to get in the top four. That will be difficult but we need to be fighting right to the very end.

So not acheiving the targets is ok because we are where we're meant to be? And he thinks there is no one out there better to manage our great club, heaven help us! I just hope that J W Henry has got one hell of nose on him and can smell bull a thousand miles away.

23 Apr 2015 17:53:25
It's typical managerial "fighting talk", really. It's coming out because he thinks he's going to be sacked.

Maybe he knows rather than thinks he's going to be sacked. Only time will tell.

23 Apr 2015 18:02:52
Dan - John Henry is a very savvy intelligent man who has brought success to the Red Sox. No way is he going to put up with this guy's indulgent self promotion and delusion!

23 Apr 2015 19:45:08
John Henry couldn't be that savvy. He hired Rodgers and Kenny before that. He has screwed up on the only thing he had to get right.

23 Apr 2015 20:40:45
Disagree about Kenny.

The team was nearer relegation than top 4 when he came in, with record in 1st season outstanding.

2nd season won a cup and got to another final.

He also had to manage the team during the whole Suarez affair, had lots of injuries to key players, hut the woodwork more than any other team that year alongside missing more pens than anyone.

Had it not been for the way he backed Suarez he would and should not have lost his job.

That aside , John Henry has been magnificent for Liverpool in backing the manager and off the pitch With funds made available, the commercial expansion and the stadium development.

If he can secure Klopp though that would top the lot

23 Apr 2015 23:53:18
He hired BR and would have been a master stroke had he won the PL. He has been a great owner and did not wanna hire KK to begin BUT listened to fans who wanted him and hired him YET kept him at the club as an ambassador. In spite of his honor and dignified conduct, he is a ruthless businessman and if you mess with him, you will get smashed. Ask the Red Sox managers he has fired for failing him miserably as BR has done.

24 Apr 2015 08:08:10
Thats like if your granny had balls she would be your uncle! BR hasn't won any leagues or trophies and has been a disaster as you are only to willing to tell us on every post you put up. Deal wiyh the reality and not fantasy. Henry hired Kenny on the back of the fans, not a great move and Rodgers on a dossier. Henry cocked up big style and i'm sure he knows it.

23 Apr 2015 14:56:53
Rodgers press conference
"doesn't think there's anyone better " to manage club.
Still talking about suarez a year and 100million spent on.

23 Apr 2015 15:53:05
Unreal once again. And he thinks 'this is the level we should be at'. Grrr

23 Apr 2015 23:55:55
He is getting his escape route ready because IMO, he knows he will be sacked hence, pleading his case in the media like the pathetic politician he is.

23 Apr 2015 12:57:12
Great news regarding Henderson signing a long term contract and committing his future to Liverpool. Our new captain fantastic. Quick question to the Ed's (I know it's not official yet) but who do you think will be awarded the vice captain role and also do you see Yesil being given the opportunity to shine next season.

{Ed002's Note - No idea.}

23 Apr 2015 14:48:51
Lucas for vice captain if he stays

23 Apr 2015 14:05:39
Hendo's signed new 5 year deal on £100k per week.

Thanks god we've got our new captain tied down!

Keep doing it for us la!

23 Apr 2015 14:27:28
Hendo, Sturridge and Coutinho all signed up.

Good work by the management.

23 Apr 2015 16:52:15
Agreed Ron Keague. Good work by the management, normally no praise for them, just slagging off. Brilliant work tying down Hendo, Sturridge and Coutinho.

23 Apr 2015 18:06:18
Brendan wasn't negotiating the contract! Haven't seen many criticising the owners or the senior management group at Liverpool. Just the guy causing us to underachieve

24 Apr 2015 00:06:06
Essex on the money, again. The pitch is where our issues are and the head man is who our ire is aimed at. Not the owners nor the management group. Try to stay on topic instead of make pointless, snide innuendos.

23 Apr 2015 11:36:27
I have not posted in quite some time however I have gotten a little hacked off about a lot of Brendan bashing on this site.
This is a young manager who last year was hailed as the best thing since sliced bread, who guided us to 2nd in the league and played a pretty good attractive style of football.
Has he made mistakes in the last 3 years, yes of course he has. have you not made mistakes in your daily life?
Not to bang on about the Suarez situation, but we knew he was going, he engineered the move away and we suffered for it. Put that along with the injuries to Sturridge and we have taken 53 goals out of the team. (half of our goals for last season)
Then we go into the new season and yes again we can finger point at some of the new signings. I truly feel that most of these guys will come good, probably with the exception of Balotelli who has been the biggest mistake ever. That I cannot forgive Brendan for as we should NEVER have signed this guy, but hey we move on and back the team for next year.
Martin Skrtel has come in for some flack but again I think he has been covering for problems in other areas of the park which sees him dragged out of position.
You then have the circus that has followed the likes of Gerrard and Sterling which cannot have helped BR in any way. Sterling should go. If the lad cannot sign a 100k a week deal then surely he has made up his mind. let him try pastures new and see where it gets him. With regards to Gerrard, much was made of his decision but I think he is well past his best and we need to look to the future. He has been a wonderful player and his legacy is intact but now is the right time for him to leave.
Many people on this site, including the Eds, seem desperate to get BR out. Give the guy a break. we might be Liverpool but things have changed greatly since the glory days of the 70's and 80's. The press are quick to point out that BR has not won a trophy in his first 3 years. What do we do? Who do we bring in? Who would want to come? (can you say for certain that Klopp, De Boer etc would definitely sign on?
I am Liverpool thru and thru but sometimes you need to be a realist and have patience. There is no quick fix.

23 Apr 2015 12:39:32
"You then have the circus that has followed the likes of Gerrard and Sterling which cannot have helped"

The above scenario in regards to Sterling was entirely the fault of BR. He never needed to open his mouth to the public about how Sterling had been offered an 'incredible' deal. The second he said that, Sterling was open to criticism.

We have other clubs laughing at us every time he does a press conference. Not to mention his failure to tighten up our defence after 3 years in charge.

Last season happened because we had a football genius in Suarez at the top of his game.

In my opinion, the club has to go all out to get Klopp. Fail to do so and De Boer and Rafa will be waiting for a call.

23 Apr 2015 12:40:03
Who was it who failed to replace suarez and failed to buy a striker that can step in for sturridge? Because lambert, balotelli, borini and aspas are nothing to do with rodgers.

Gerrard has been relied upon for far too long and if he had been phased out and not forced into the team by rodgers we wouldn't be so bothered by now.

Sterling is a direct result of rodgers' awful man management and horrendous media skills. When you play a 20 year old every game, out of position, like your life depends on it, and then hype him up in the media with comments like 'the best young player in the world' instead of keeping your fat mouth shut, what do you expect?

Skrtel and johnson combined on the right hand side of defence last season to lose us the title. We carried them through games and yet rodgers continued selecting these collosal liabilities and made them his favourites.

23 Apr 2015 13:01:31
Brendans job is results and performance driven.

He has had the money and not done anything with it , and for the best part of the season the results have been shocking.

If I was in brendans shoes I would be expecting the sack.

23 Apr 2015 13:17:04
I am free to bash BR as much as I want because he has failed woefully and is an embarassment to the club when it comes to the media. All that has happened (results, mistakes, targets, Sterling, mismanagement etc.) is all down to him and no one else and the facts prove that. If you can`t stand people venting their frustration at a failed manager (within the realms of civility, mind you) then DON`T POST.

23 Apr 2015 13:34:21
I think it's madness to blame Rodgers for the Sterling contract situation. The only thing Rodgers has done to annoy Sterling is play him out of position. He gave the lad a winter holiday, now he's turning down 100k per week. There are other people who are responsible for contract negotiations, not Rodgers.
To be honest, if Sterling is not happy about being played out of position then he's not a team player and better off disrupting some other club for 100k per week.

Last summer Rodgers had 2 problems: 1) Replace Suarez. 2) improve squad size and strength to cope with extra Champions league games.

Very few complained about any of our signings apart from Lambert and Mario.
There are very few players in the world who can directly replace Suarez. They are on big contracts at big clubs and would not be available to us.
I think people are being harsh on Rodgers, the task last summer post World Cup was nigh on impossible and I personally don't think Klopp or De Boer or Rafa would have fared any better.

23 Apr 2015 14:22:32
"I think it's madness to blame Rodgers for the Sterling contract situation"

As well as constantly bring it up to the media. The media never needed to know an 'incredible' deal had been offered. All it did was pile more press on the young lad.

Rodgers is a clown, more and more people are seeing this now.

23 Apr 2015 14:33:47
Brilliant to see that the same people were hailing BR as a genius last season and now he should be sacked,

And as for this rubbish about Klopp you could say the same thing - Do you know where Dortmund are this season?? in a poor german league,

A few of you say it was Suarez who made our season last year - We were actually in the top 4 when Suarez came back from the ban so everything a lot of you are saying is absolute nonsense and plus you add Klopp to that he had lewandowski and Reus at the top of their games last season so did they make Dortmunds season last season and if so what has Klopp done but if not why aren't they up there now - Some of you people must not watch football.

We have a young team who are competing - Results haven't been great but we haven't got finances like the others so stop acting as if we have - You want to turn on managers and players at a drop of a hat then go and support City because you would be more suited - We will no doubt be back there next season if not this season - You may all be 10 years of age and not realise but there are always twists and turns come the end of the season - We are 4 points off not 40

23 Apr 2015 14:34:06
Agree with you Ron, I don't think that BR has done that bad a job. I mentioned he certainly has made errors but at 42 years old does he not get a bit of time to steady the ship? We are so quick to criticise when I think we should be giving the team some more time to bed in.
What are our thoughts on the signings?
Can these guys get another pre-season and then step up to the mark?
Lovren, Can, Lallana, Moreno, Markovic. do we bag them and sell them on. Start again with new signings and a new manager?
More upheaval and uncertainty?

23 Apr 2015 14:34:44
Funny thing is at all the matches I've been to, 30 this season, I'd say 75% of LFC fans are still on Brendan's side. As part of the experience you obviously talk pre-match in local refreshment establishments.
Does anyone else experience the same overall support for Brendan?

23 Apr 2015 14:41:08
all you wh oare giving flack to BR about playing sterling out of position need to give your head a shake , he is a prima a dona who thinks he is better than he really is , in fact who is he to demand more than a 100 k a week get rid i say what can he do to get better than he already is , he is a winger who got moved up front because of the glass bodied studge , i don't see him moaning about getting moved up front , i do see him moaning because he has to help the team out by doing his defensive duties or am i missing something , if glass man studge was made of glass then sterling would not have been used as a part time striker , for me this is where BR got everything mixed up and that led him down the path of sterling thinking he is worth more than a 100k a week ,

sterling is a greedy player who makes bad decisions when he is around the box , he does not score goals that any other striker could not do the fact he is our leading scorer is because he has been played the most out of all our strikers , i think if lambert or ballo or even borini had the same amount of chances sterling has had then they would have a lot more goals they have grew up putting the ball in the back of the net where as sterling has not he is a dribbler , he has been treated better than any other player at the club with his winter holiday and he did get rewarded for his form but he turned it down , when we get a striker that BR plays in all the games sterling will be forgot and to me the reason Br said that about his contract in the press was because he knew the agent was haggling for more so he put a bit of pressure on sterling by letting people know how good the contract offer was and to me what has come out as shown it was a very good offer for his age and for what he has done in games and going on holiday ,

if other players get played out of position and don't moan about it shows me they are playing for the club and are pro's not like the crying moaning kid sterling , the other just get on with it and show they are willing to help the team out where and when needed , i have not heard lambert moaning , or markovic , hendo and ibe and emre can moaning about getting played out of position even when hendo got played out of position and was offered the chance to leave the club he got his head down and worked even harder and he got rewarded with the captains arm band well done to him for showing us he will do anything needed for the club to win games like the rest except sterling , jordan ibe will soon replace sterling as the best kid in the squad or the 2nd behind couthino ,

just get off BR's case for trying to get sterling to sign a very good contract one which the agent more than the player was trying to push through , one thing that's for sure is when he leaves sterling won't be missed and that's the true value of his as a player

23 Apr 2015 15:24:10
Love the 4 post above this - Shows we still have actual fans who know what they're talking about and not full of muppets

23 Apr 2015 15:46:25
Re the Sterling situation: Rodgers didn't instigate discussing Sterlings contract in the media. The 'incredible' deal quote was a naïve defence of the club, after insinuations were made through 'other parties' that the club were dragging its heels. He should have just ignored it all, but nonetheless, his intentions were well meant and honourable. As for playing Sterling 'out of position', since when has this been a crime? perhaps those wishing for Klopp should look at who he plays where at Dortmund, in particular on the flanks.

23 Apr 2015 15:48:57
Well mbrock99, I pretty much agree however i think the Sterling thing is more of a side issue now.
This is a guy who has been very fortunate to be in the position he is. A fantastic little footballer who I would like to see sign up again for 4 or 5 years but if he is not prepared to sign the contract then get rid.
100k a week for a 20 year old!! Seriously??. and he has turned this down and then said its not about the money!!
Please don't forget that this lad has had one and a bit good seasons. (Great last year and has been fairly patchy this season.)
As football fans who put their hands in the pockets, don't you find it insulting that a young boy of 20 rejects such a massive contract?
I don't take what BR has said about this in the media, it is not BR who is unloyal here. Sterling is the mercenary and BR has to deal with his tantrums.

23 Apr 2015 16:17:41
I think he deserves another year.
But I can understand if the club decides to sack him.
It really is 50-50.
He has been at the club for 3 yrs at the end of this season and we have been good for 1.5 years and crap for 1.5 years.
It really is that simple.
There are arguments to merit him going and staying in my mind.
So for that reason I would give him another year.

23 Apr 2015 20:10:23
Rodgers has had enough transfer money and transfer windows to buy the players he needs.

So how is it he is playing so many players out of position.

Instead of buying a top class striker last summer he went and packed the squad with midfield players hoping they would score the goals.

And what was the point in getting manquillo?

23 Apr 2015 20:32:44
Forget the media stuff. The question I think is important is does br after one season of working with his squad know hos best team or formation? I don't think he does at all. Yes he s young as are the team but you can't expect success or fluidity on the pitch with management like that.

24 Apr 2015 00:14:20
Guess his apologists are out in force again. Always ready to ignore his blunders and failures when they are all there for all to see. Making excuses for him will no longer work because many did that with KK and he still got the sack and they all got over it. If you goy over it then, you will get over BR getting the boot now, if it happens. We all know what we have seen and heard over the past three years and the Villa game was the last straw. FSG will do what is right and if sacking him is the best then you will all take a chill pill and get over it.

23 Apr 2015 09:04:01
My Twopenneth:

Sacking a manager is a big risk. When FFP wasn't around and some clubs had unlimited funds, sacking a manager for them was less risky. If we take the case of Chelsea, even they finished outside the top 4 after a high turnover of managers.

Sacking Hodgson - necessary. Results were bad, performances were ugly, his criticism and relationship with the fans was worse.
Sacking Kenny - necessary after the Suarez/Evra debacle.

I don't see sacking Rodgers as necessary. How many of his detractors were saying sack him 12 months ago? He's a young manager, he struggled to adapt to losing one of the best players in the world. At a club like Liverpool, in this competitive environment, who wouldn't have struggled? Especially with players coming back from a World Cup, the extra burden of playing champions league and your top goalscorer being injured by Team England for most of the season.
He tried to bolster the squad. Many agreed after running out of gas the season before. Many lauded Lallana and Lovren, some still do. But they've had a bad season. How many people remember Lucas's first season, or even Henderson's? Give these guys a chance.
He also tried changing tactics after teams began to leave a player man marking Gerrard at the base of the diamond. He found a system that worked mid season, but again has failed in the biggest games.

Which managers do people want to replace Rodgers? Most go for Klopp or De Boer. Both have great domestic records. But neither have any experience of Premier League football. They would be a massive risk in my opinion and likely require wholesale squad surgery and more instability.
In my opinion, Rodgers is a manager we can build with. He has leaned a heck of a lot already and to chuck him on the bonfire would be a waste. Get behind him, get behind the players. I think Everton will take points off Man Utd. We can still do this. let's be the 12th man for the last 6 games!

{Ed001's Note - why lie? No new man requires any more major squad surgery than keeping Rodgers does.}

23 Apr 2015 09:54:52
If he's learnt anything why did he revert to Gerrard at DM against villa?!

23 Apr 2015 09:59:30
It's not a lie as I was not stating it as a fact, it's just an opinion based on observation. Without knowing what changes Rodgers wants or who the alternative manager would be, I can't state any of my opinion as fact. But I'm glad you've focused on that minor point so I can clarify my reasoning.
Obviously it depends on the new manager, but most of the time new managers come with different ideas/philosophies otherwise why change.
This usually requires different a squad composition.

23 Apr 2015 10:11:00
Just my opinion (twopenneth).
Can't answer for him lads.
I don't intend to upset anyone I just turn up for the matches and call it as I see it.

23 Apr 2015 10:50:45
A blind man could see that ballotelli was nowhere near going to fire US into the top 4,but like a lot of fans I'm just can't believe some of Brendans decisions like being left short up front, playing Allen leaving out Lucas for so long ,playing a passing game with players happy in possession of the ball and buying sackho telling mignolet he was dropped for the foreseeable ,future telling everyone sterling was the best young player in Europe making him the biggest overrated player since Ross Barkley.The spine of the team is unbelievably weak we need a cb,top class midfielder,at least 2 top class strikers all this needed after all the money spent is I'm afraid a sackable offence.

23 Apr 2015 11:39:11
I agree it is a risk but you have to take risks in life sometimes and be a bit ruthless to win. The question is also what we risk. Let's say things don't work with a new manager and we finish 10th instead of 5th, is it such a big difference? Not ideal of course but with every risk comes also a chance to improve and Klopp represent our best chance.

On the other hand do you see us getting into the top 4 or getting a trophy with BR? I am a fan of the guy and impressed with a lot of things he did, but I can't see him take us back to the top 4 next season or getting us the FA cup or the Europa League (I don't care about the league cup). Among other problems, with him the team fail to show up to big games. Now if we don't win anything next year and don't get top 4, which is very likely even if we play better and have less injuries because the other top 4 keep on strengthening, then surely BR will go at the end (or middle) of next season? They will not keep a manager who for 4 years with LFC didn't win anything. The problem is then Klopp may be already working elsewhere and you will have to settle for another young 'promising' guy.

I agree a new manager may want to replace half the squad but I think that is our only hope to improve. Half of our squad at least is not good enough. BR who brought many of them will not be able to say get rid of 10 players I brought so it is more of the same.

23 Apr 2015 11:11:33
Sacking Rodgers is not necessary, it is imperative.

23 Apr 2015 13:22:45
12 months ago, we were going for the league (in spite of the same mistakes and blunders he made then and is till making now) while 12 months later, he has broken all promises, wasted money and is still a walking embarassment in the media (as he was 12 months ago). Ron give it a rest. BR has failed and after three years we are worse of with the money he has spent. he needs to go and you need to get over it because his blunders ca NO LONGER be overcome by such poor excuses for why he should be kept.

23 Apr 2015 14:22:25
I'm interested. What "promises" has he broken?
We have a different point if view redohio, but I don't ask you to give it a rest.

{Ed002's Note - Challenging for the EPL and Champions League.}

23 Apr 2015 14:41:22
If he promised that then I'm surprised FSG did not act in December.
Doubt anyone acquainted with English or European football would have not challenged those promises.

24 Apr 2015 00:17:00
You must have been off the grid because ed02 has been saying this for ages. They do not believe in knee jerk reactions and allowed BR to redeem himself or more rope to hang himself with which based on our season being over, he has. Hence, the axe will prolly fall.

24 Apr 2015 05:45:10
Ron, we already require a different squad composition because rodgers wants to put square pegs in round holes. Be bought a load of players without the slightest clue how to use them. He may as well have got them out of a lucky dip bag.

23 Apr 2015 00:28:43
Hi Eds

I have a question about the finances of the current manger situation. I heard that if FSG were to sack Rodgers, it would set them back around 10 million pounds, and then the same again to hire another manager, like Klopp.

Would you know this information to be true? If it is, do you think it'd be a massive obstacle to getting rid of Rodgers, or is it really no object? Are there perhaps some clauses in Rodgers' contract that protects FSG if they decide to go down that route?

Some feedback would be really appreciated.

Love your work.
Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - just ignore these kind of things as no one can know until after it happens. Until then it is just guesswork.}

23 Apr 2015 09:11:43
Rodgers has cost us champions league revenue plus all the money wasted last summer.
Think of it like that.

23 Apr 2015 09:56:57
I'd be surprised if there wasn't a contract clause reducing the payoff substantially if the club's targets are not met. And he hasn't met any of the preseason playing targets

23 Apr 2015 10:43:25
That's what I'm thinking, Mikey.

Who would you feel, based on gut feeling or facts, would the favourite to take over, ed001? AVB? I'm really not sure about him.

23 Apr 2015 11:57:16
I have no idea who would be most likely to come in nick.
I was thinking De boer but one of the eds suggested he will likely be staying put now.
My gut says we need a change of manager in the summer though, I like Rodgers but he's been a massive failure at Liverpool.

23 Apr 2015 13:28:38
Agree, Mikey! Things can no longer continue the way they are and a change of ideas is needed and the head man needs to go for that to happen. As for AVB, I personally feel he is NOT good enuff and is just as full of himself as BR is.

23 Apr 2015 00:21:22
With the general assumption that the manager is off in the summer, and an overall feeling of satisfaction in the squad, are there any players or positions in particular that anybody would like filling or injected with quality?

Personally i feel mignolets resurgence has earned him a stay, remarkable when most people, including myself, wanted him out for good a few months ago. But he has proved me wrong and has been remarkably solid since new year.

Id say that right back and defensive mid are the positions of greatest concern. Gerrard and lucas, possibly allen looking for moves, at least one defensive mid is required, with rossiter and williams hopefully stepping up.

For right back, i see absolutely no purpose for us loaning manquillo, absolutely none at all. He is an academymlevel player, and bizarrly, we have an academy of our own. With enrique, johnson, and maybe manquillo all possibly leaving, full back is a priority. i'd personally go for janmaat or clyne, though clyne will likely be very expensive. Maybe even carvajal after the arrival of danilo at madrid, or coentrao for left back? Flanagan is also coming back and i have no idea what has happened to mclaughlin, would like to see him and wisdom given another chance.

Up front, a clear out is needed, but i would only maybe buy vietto and get luiz adriano on a free, and give sinclair, yesil and ibe chances up front.

Other than that, i really fail to see how our squad is inadequate. I would really like the name of the game this summer would be clearing out and promoting the excellent you we already have, what do you guys think?

23 Apr 2015 02:04:07
Think I would agree with that.

For me, a clearing out of sorts of the 7 strikers we have on the books is a necessity. Instead of a new CF/striker though, I'd rather look at more general forward of the Sanchez/Pedro/Son/Bellarabi/Depay variety so they could play with or without Sturridge in the side.

Agreed we need a new holding mid if Lucas were to leave (which I hope he does not), although who that might be I have no idea. Personal preference might be Gonalons, but no idea if that's even remotely realistic.

And agreed on RB as well. Not sure what the deal is with Flanagan and his contract, but it seems we do need maybe someone there and, for me, Manquillo isn't it.

Overall maybe 3 in or so seems about right to me, the squad is overall pretty solid with more outs than ins for me.

23 Apr 2015 03:13:16
Good post mate. The name of the game this summer is a clearout. Only a def mid if lucas leaves and a striker.

23 Apr 2015 05:43:52
Its going to be more about if we can sell some players that are not needed in the squad at all. i wish we can clear a few names and then if possible get in a good midfielder who can protect the center backs along with a goal keeper who is better than mignolet. i think we can do with sterling and sturridge and origi up front next season, supported by the wealth of youth we have at our disposal.
i don't see ourselves challenging for the league unless we acquire some major big names and even then it will take a couple of years.

23 Apr 2015 07:06:57
Another striker for me.

When sturridge and the new striker are fit play 2 up top.

We have looked absolutely shocking upfront this season and playing a lone striker doesn't work in my eyes.

23 Apr 2015 07:50:20
I think your general assumption (that BR is going) is wrong (for the record i think if we can get Klopp he should go but am more and more certain it will not happen). Re where we need new players. If we want to challange for the title we need new players in all the positions that Sterling and Couts do not occupy.

23 Apr 2015 09:09:23
getting rid is "THE" biggest challenge imo this summer? I think BR and this " transfer committee " need to held accountable? the system of buying for the future is great if you are strong NOW, if you are weak and getting to play regular the future prospects don't have to aim high to get to play for us? that is where it breaks down for me. Priority number 1 though is bringing BR and Sterling to book for the contract fiasco that's been played out in the media! For me they should both leave.

23 Apr 2015 09:20:17
I posted a few weeks ago saying right back would be my first priority, get some real quality in there and go back to a back 4.
A striker yeah I would agree, clear out and bring in the best we can to have studge, origi and X plus academy as back up. Maybe even bring in 2 strikers depending on if we plan on playing 1 or 2 upfront.
I'm not sure on a DM, depends if Lucas goes for me, I would rather use Lucas and Can in that position, interchanging to suit whatever opposition we are playing.
I'm not sure I would bring anybody else in, depends on who goes as well I suppose. If a really good goalkeeper becomes available I would look to replace Migs.
Not a whole lot wrong with the squad, it's the way they are being used mainly.

23 Apr 2015 12:44:42
i can understand the need for a clear out. however, can the committee and the manager be trusted to do it? cut away the 'dead wood' and replace them with sufficiently? i think if that is the route the club wants to take then a new manager is a priority as soon the season is over and any changes implemented to the structure of the club . there is obviously the availability of a manager, money and the players required to consider. we also know that chopping and changing a squad to excess generally reduces consistency. a lot of 'unanswerables' i think. a big summer it will be, regardless of what happens. personally, short term i think we'll only see progress if rodgers stays and adds a few quality players, perhaps long term the opposite will be true. again, who knows.

23 Apr 2015 13:34:18
The commitee needs to be scrapped and a DOF put in first and foremost, who can then evaluate the squad along with the new manager and see what we need and don`t need. We will be in a mess in the summer regardless of a DOF and new/same manager tho.