Liverpool Banter Archive March 24 2015

24 Mar 2015 15:46:07
Eds, I feel Brendan got the team selection very wrong against UTD, and given the fallout from the game in terms of suspensions for the Arsenal game, may well have ruined our chances of top 4 finish. Regardless of his contract, is he on borrowed time now

{Ed002's Note - Done to death - try the search engine.}

24 Mar 2015 17:14:15
What really gets up my nose is when people say Rogers got the team selection wrong but fails to mention what team selection he should have put out. Just a lazy way to have a pop at him.When we went on that amazing run I didn't see too many saying the selection was wrong

24 Mar 2015 18:56:12
Red since I totally agree with you mate people just like a cheap shot at Rodgers, also people forget we have the 5th biggest wage bill in the prem, so he is not doing a bad job.

24 Mar 2015 19:40:31
Time and again over that period 64 I said I wanted Toure in instead of Skrtel and Allen no where near the team & If possible pushing Can into midfield. There have been plenty of people asking for similar things, but during that ''run'' when we were still getting results people shot you down because of the results, even when we got absolutely battered in some games and it took wonder strikes from Couts or some quite frankly world class saves from Migs

24 Mar 2015 20:54:27
Brendan Rodgers may have got it wrong against Man Utd. and i may not know what team or tactics i would have used but i don't get paid millions of pounds to! he does!! and if fans are critical of him it's because their team was embarrassed in the first half and their captain made himself look a fool. The buck stops with Rodgers.

24 Mar 2015 21:05:30
Whose job is it to motivate the team to start the game with all guns blazing? the team all went home in their Ferrari's took their Wags out and the fans were left in pain, well i know i was, i am beginning to resent the huge money they are paid and how they just brush off a defeat to our fiercest rivals so easily.
Will people please stop going on about last season, we were not good enough then either and we had Suarez! 2nd is not good enough.

24 Mar 2015 21:32:53
"He's not doing a bad job" that's got to be the funniest thing I've read today, he's failed this season Dalglish was sacked for similar failure so that will be his fate as things stand.

24 Mar 2015 22:12:19
He did not get the selection wrong. He got the tactics TOTALLY wrong by not adapting to the problems we had during the first half. After 15-20mis, BR should have made changes like sbbing Toure in for Allen hence moving Can to mid and letting Kolo (who is a beast) to deal w/ Fellaini. Also, he should have had us press them high up the field instead of dropping off which was strange because we have always pressed high epecially at home in the big games. These were his faults which he did not react to in time. He still is not learning and I doubt he will be given time to do so because these owners ain`t playing. We shall see.

24 Mar 2015 22:32:27
The King was only ever going to be a short term appointment.
They wanted to bring their own man in. And they did. Rodgers funnily enough.
I just hope they show a very valuable virtue.
Patience.

24 Mar 2015 21:11:30
mighty reds so liverpool have the 5th largest wage bill in the prem, and they are lanquishing in 5th position, brenda isn't breaking much delph then is he! i mean if lfc where 6th, then they would be punching below their weight

24 Mar 2015 22:34:30
Would appreciate some feedback here from ed1 in particular.

Sure Rodgers' selection for the starting XI, or at least our set up, was wrong, and we were found out. In particular our wing-backs were all over the place at times (Moreno due to poor positioning, Sterling due to fear of 50/50s). This was clear for all inside the stadium to see.
However after 35 minutes we woke up and looked likely to score at the end of that first half.
After that, throughout the second half we were the stronger team due to tactical changes, despite our numerical disadvantage.
They looked threatening on the counter, sure, but we had to push forward and leave less men at the back than we would normally.
The only point they looked safe was from the 85th minute, despite taking a two goal lead against ten men, when all bar Hendo and Sakho seemed dead on their feet as they'd had to work twice as hard for all of the second half.
It wasn't our manager who lost us that game, it was our captain.

{Ed001's Note - so you don't think that they sat back and invited us on to them and that is why we looked the stronger team? I am not sure we really did look likely to score, and I am not sure we would have without a mistake from them. The manager did nothing to help us out, he made no tactical change other than putting Gerrard in the centre to sit and hold and hope he could hit a Hollywood pass or actually make a challenge. But when you have Joe Allen put in the most powder puff performance I have seen in a long time, Sterling go missing, Skrtel lost, Moreno asleep, Lallana headless chicken, Can completely outmatched in the air etc, how is the defeat down to the captain?

Rodgers has to be the luckiest man on earth, he made a complete arse of the weekend but he is getting away with it due to another one of his own errors! He was the one that chose to bring on an obviously overly fired-up Gerrard. Why not make the obvious change? Why not bring on Lucas? Sorry but Gerrard messed up, but he was not the one who lost us the game in any way shape or form.}

24 Mar 2015 23:50:10
Blackburn, Swansea and united all figured out BRs tactics. The writing was on the wall after those games. BR then plays lalana in the front 3 and moves sterling to wingback. BR needs to play the players in proper positions. He got the tactics all wrong and should have used the 4-4-2 diamond vs untd. Sterling and Sturridge up top with pip behind. Our club deserves better than playing 3-4 players out of position every game.

25 Mar 2015 08:43:30
I would go as far to say that Sterling's form has nothing to do with a contract and everything to do with playing 3 positions every week.
Head must be frazzled.

26 Mar 2015 00:35:00
Well said, Barnes. People beat up on Sterling yet NEVER take into account the way BR has severely mismanaged him by playing him in multiple positions yet we are shocked he is struggling and gets bashed as a result, for not signing his contract. Pathetic management

24 Mar 2015 12:53:50
Interesting comments from Lowe that he thinks Can should play at the Euro u21's next summer. Instinct is to moan but when you look at the dominance of the current German team, as well as the individual excellence, and consider that something like 9 of the guys that started the WC Final started the Euro U21 final they battered us in, you have to say they know what they are doing. What do you guys think (and yes I know if they are called up we don't really get a choice) - should we be encouraging people to go to the U21's more than we do?

24 Mar 2015 13:40:28
I think the U21’s is a tremendous platform which has seen young talent emerge from the likes of Germany, France, Portugal and the Netherlands. We seem to throw our kids in the deep end in England, with Sterling, Barkley & Stones just to name a few that are all likely to not feature in the competition although they are eligible due to senior commitments. With the U21 tournaments it gives them a taster of what’s to come in their careers and also gives the other U21 squad players a chance to play with better quality talent of a similar age which is likely to improve their game. When you take the best players out of the U21 squad you are left with the rest playing with the rest which doesn’t help them one bit. The likes of Tom Ince and his father Paul should be ashamed of themselves, but I will resist ranting too long and hard about. But my point is you have a group of young lads, some better than others that are winning things and competing as one team and for me not just on a footballing basis, it’s a tremendous part of learning to be a team player, a adult and a decent grounded human being.

24 Mar 2015 17:52:12
If it means he plays with and against better players, then I'd say yes, as it will only help improve his form! I'd say the same for Sterling too.

24 Mar 2015 22:26:00
The thing is in these countries, players of that age have to come through the ranks in the national team setup. Even Pogba had to do that with France as well as Robben, Iniesta, Xavi, Pirlo, Gatusso and I can go on. In England, it seems youngsters are not put through their paces in the youth teams or are not interested in doing that and want to go into the full England team. Everything is a process and until England do that, young players will contine to struggle in the England team.

24 Mar 2015 10:40:11
The thing about Sunday's defeat that most annoyed me was the fact that all the named substitutes will probably not be at Anfield next season. Where is Markovic? We have to win all eight matches now to have a chance of CL football so I think that it is a question of all-out attack. This constantly passing the ball back to Mignolet from the opposition penalty area is nonsense (and always has been). If we are to go down then let us go down in a positive manner that shows promise for next season at least. We once again made man u look like a good side when we all know that they are not good enough for the CL and are no better than Liverpool.

24 Mar 2015 12:01:29
Why do you need Markovic? He is not a WB anyway.

24 Mar 2015 12:47:49
I'm also fairly sure he pulled up in training on Friday

24 Mar 2015 13:22:15
That's the thing that annoyed you about that game?

24 Mar 2015 08:01:12
Is there any way you can LVG of the top of the page he is putting me of my coco pops.

23 Mar 2015 20:33:06
Eds, I here that Pjanic's agent was in Liverpool last week to discuss a potential move to us. Any truth please?

{Ed002's Note - None.}

24 Mar 2015 10:06:59
Not entirely sure that Pjanic is what we need at the moment considering what a soft centre midfield we have when Lucas isn't available.

24 Mar 2015 10:26:38
Pjanic is exactly what we need. He is a top drawer player. We don't have that in the middle.

It's not about being soft (but I do get where you're coming from). It's about being intelligent. The reason we're so much more solid with Lucas is his intelligence and awareness.

24 Mar 2015 11:03:04
We seriously need a top draw centre midfielder who can actually tackle and dominate a game, Pjanic is a floaty number ten type, much like Coutinho, so I don't see the point myself and since money is tight, I'd rather lash out that kind of money on William Carvalho(Although its all fairly academic because no champions league means bargain basement shopping again, well done Brendan. ) and actually have some presence in midfield.

24 Mar 2015 11:53:51
Mr Dennis,

I understand and agree with the point you're making. We definitely need quality in there, especially with a player that can dominate/control the game. I see Pjanic as more than a number 10, floating type of player. I see similarities to someone like Modric with Pjanic, and a player like that can control the game.

The tackling part is a non-issue for me. I'd rather a player that positions himself in the right place and intercepts possession and keeps us ticking over than a bulldozing central mid type. We do need a bit of bite so again, I get where you're coming from. You can impose yourself in many ways on a pitch though, I would prefer an Alonso type than a Mascherano type.

24 Mar 2015 17:31:36
And I'd love to find another Souness type as he was a force of nature. Best midfielder EVER to wear a liverpool shirt.

24 Mar 2015 23:48:51
Gerrard *coughs*
Souness was very good though. I would not like to choose between them and having either one of them knocking at my door.

{Ed001's Note - Souness could defend, Gerrard has never been able to bother with that part of the game. Souness was a team player, Gerrard is not. Gerrard was a fantastic midfielder that could have been better but he never achieved his potential because of his own attitude. Not all his own fault, as he was never surrounded by the quality Souness was, but he should have learnt how to work with them, instead of just trying to do it all by himself. The best players make all those working with him better players, Gerrard never did that.}

24 Mar 2015 01:48:42
A lot of people here are upset at the bashing myself and others have given rodgers after one defeat. Under normal circumstances you'd be totally correct.
The problem is that firstly, although it's one defeat, it has come after a number of shocking performances.
Secondly rodgers used up all his chances in the first half of the season. So unless he had a flawless second half this backlash wash inevitable.
Once again he is showing his unwillingness to adapt until it's way too late. I fear for the remaining games to be honest.

Even if he were to get us into top 4, which is highly unlikely, he must go in my opinion. He's not good enough for liverpool, he's been given time and money to build his squad and it just is not working.

Over and over again Rodgers has given the fans a reason to doubt him. Even if a DOF did come in and improved our signings, rodgers is tactically slow, he just doesn't see the need to change until it's too late.

I'm not offering any names, but surely there are better managers out there. Perhaps not in talent, but in adaptability and cunning.

24 Mar 2015 08:26:17
I'm no expert but regardless of league position and success in the FA Cup, he will be given till January minimum and if were not challenging for the title it will be goodbye.
I can't say though that I trust him and his garbage transfer committee in another summer transfer window. They will invest poorly and in players with potential, they will sell cheaply or loan out those who have no future at the club whatsoever, and finally who is going to want to join us? Youngsters looking for a stepping stone and players looking for a payday. No lure to Liverpool at all I'm afraid, even less so with Gerrard leaving.
Carragher for the managers job, knowledge, passion and love for the club. Can't think of a better person personally and Carra has an extensive knowledge of world football, tactically astute and he wouldn't let a poor performance slide

24 Mar 2015 10:07:26
@Magic, I agree with you that he deserves criticism but I don't agree that he deserves to go no matter what.

24 Mar 2015 21:26:50
Sorry but this isn't a defeat in isolation. This is the second defeat in almost exactly the same way we lost at old Trafford. The defeats against West Ham, Newcastle, crystal palace, etc were appalling. Who do you blame? The guy that picks the team, wastes £100m and fails to replace a world class striker.

24 Mar 2015 22:40:29
BR has been on the hot seat since the season began based on the promises he made to the owners. He will face the music for all his blunders during his whole tenure here and if he goes, I hope we FINALLY revamp the club`s structure and get people within the framework who can get us going again.

24 Mar 2015 01:16:17
Bit of a disaster weekend that was lads, lost to our rivals Gerrard banned skrtle will get banned, sturridge injured again lallana injured, I'm hearing mignolet has picked up a knock and may be heading home to.

IMO Rodgers would have noted down away to arsenal as one of the games we will drop points in so if we beat them i think it could really spur us on, unlikely though, seems our top players are all dipping in form at the wrong time.
Sterling has been woefull since this contract stuff has been made public.
Coutinho seems to have used all his energy against city and he's done now.
Lallana is just so wasteful, I've never seen a guy with so much skill & ball control who has zero end product.
Sturridge shouldn't be anywhere near the team, seems scared of getting stuck in, backs out of everything.
And to make it worse City now want hendo and I don't blame them, apart from matic and fab I don't see a better CM in the prem right now.

All a bit hectic isn't it, BUT even though utd have picked it up lately I really can't see this utd team picking up more than 6 points in there next 4 games. Think it'll be close but can't see us catching up based on the form of our best players right now. Hendo can't do it all himself.

{Ed001's Note - worrying how you mention Matic and Fabregas as better when both have been awful recently.....}

24 Mar 2015 12:16:07
Ed did you see the analysis on Fabregas and how he has a massive drop off in production from the first half to the second half of pretty much every season in his pro career? Was an interesting read.

{Ed001's Note - I have said time and again, I don't rate the lad, he can be worked out easily.}

23 Mar 2015 22:46:01
How can Rodgers be against having a director of football at our club but be happy to have one over him if he were to go abroad?
Every team abroad has one so why is he against it at Liverpool?
Just a thought.

24 Mar 2015 16:35:44
because there is none at liverpool and there already are DoFs in spain

24 Mar 2015 22:17:35
Ha ha Kaizer.

23 Mar 2015 21:57:44
Since rodgers took over Lfc against the big boys city united arsenal Chelsea in 22 league games we have 21 points

24 Mar 2015 08:55:02
From a potential 66 points.

24 Mar 2015 22:19:40
That is roughly a 3rd.
If that improved to half then we would be winning the league.
Nice to know.

24 Mar 2015 22:47:03
Pointless stat, IMO. There are other teams you have to play in the PL and not just the big boys. Arsenal has a dismal record as well vs the big boys BUT they slaughter the other teams which makes the situation look good that is, top 4 is a guarantee.