Liverpool Banter Archive February 03 2015

03 Feb 2015 22:27:58
Lots of discussion on our recent improvement and more optimism about our chances of a top 4 finish which is good to see. But.

My anxiety lies on the ability of BR to rotate the squad, particularly when the Europa League games re-start. I'm yet to see anything that fills me with hope that suggests the manager can successfully rotate players at the right time to keep them sharp. I hope he keeps rotation to a minimum and that my concerns are unfounded (and that we don't get knocked out in the next round).

He should just play gerrard in cup games from here on in. Rotate lallana with pipco. Rotate sterling with balo. Play Sturridge every game- he's had 5 months off!

{Ed001's Note - why on earth would you want to rotate Sterling with Balotelli? What insanity would cause anyone to do that???}

04 Feb 2015 12:20:50
Surely the natural rotation for giving Sterling rest would be Lallana

Haha. Well it was tongue-in-cheek (which I think you got). But tbf, Balo's best position is behind, and servicing, a main striker (rather than being a lone striker). i.e. replacing Sterling in this central role now that Sturridge is back.

Sterling could be played out wide in this formation, drawing players out and creating space for Balo and his back heels

Could it be worth a chance? (How many more chances will he get i wonder?)

03 Feb 2015 20:49:48
Hi Ed, good to see a nice quiet window with no panic signings! Have you any insight into who Liverpool will be interested in the summer? I think we need a GK, Att Mid, and a Striker. I would also really like to see Ibe and Rossiter be involved next season! What do you think?

{Ed002's Note - I think the club is well served for attacking midfield players but a central MF makes sense - with a GK and a striker.}

03 Feb 2015 16:22:12
Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho has signed a long-term contract with Liverpool.

The club has not confirmed the length of the contract but Sky sources understand it runs until June 2020.

Best news of the window. Hard to believe we paid 8.5 million pounds for him, considering he's been one of our most integral players the last two seasons. Great if its true that his contract runs that long.

Now, I hope he kicks on and improves on his finishing and plays with greater consistency. Brilliant player though, he makes LFC tick, make no mistake about that.

Made up.

{Ed002's Note - No, it's true.}

03 Feb 2015 14:25:28
Hey eds
I just thought of something. Imagine if we get Gerrard on loan next season until say Jan or Feb and just before his loan deal expires we are still in contention for the league ( like really close) do you think they can work something out for him to stay the season ( I know apparently Lampard hadn't signed a deal with the mls team so he could extend his time at city)??
Gerrard might just get that BPL he deserves
Thanks

{Ed002's Note - No, Gerrard is off.}

Looking at that scenario. How many apperances does a player have to make to qualify for a medal? If your question were to happen, like ED answered he does not stay, we win the EPL could he still recieve a winners medal.

BTW, we won't win the league next season

I seem to remember that when Arsenal won the league they had to get Martin Keown to 10 appearances for him to get a winners medal (I remember him coming on in the 85th minute for the last few games of the season).

Don't know if that is still the case or not.

If I was SG then I'd do the doing for LA then eff off to his place in Dubai for a rest. forget flogging himself back here

Both parties need to move on once the season is finished, coming back would be no good for either.

I honestly don't see the point, Gerrard is the past. His legs are gone.

04 Feb 2015 00:18:18
Haha it's started already. . "next year will be our year" lol :')

03 Feb 2015 14:07:40
Greeting Eds & Fellow Reds

I have to say that I am quite happy with the last transfer window my reasons.

1) We did not spend even more cash that we don't have.

2) We did not put even more barriers in front of our younger talents.

3) Ojo will have competitive games and hopefully will improve as I believe he is a real talent .

4) Some of our fans will ave to take a dose or reality . Benzema . honestly .

5) BR will have to fix his own mistakes, we have to work with what we have, this may or may not give BR a chance to improve or will expose his coaching flaws.

6) We will see more youth in the 1st team set up hopefully.

03 Feb 2015 13:02:28
Hi Edds,
With all the rumours about the review being held by the owners on the management and structures of the club. Will we ever likely be able to see the results/information about that review? Or will it just be a case of one day seeing rodgers replaced/warned and some management changes? Really curious to see if the recent upturn in form will affect the review and the managerial situation!
Cheers!

{Ed002's Note - Many changes have already been made - you need to look beyond just the players and the manager. There has been a new office opening in London, medical team changes are happening, commercial changes are happening and Billy Hogan has arrived. The scouting system has changed. If you are expecting some published report full of tittle tattle - it will be a long wait.}

Thanks for answer Ed and DeanW for question, that's what I was looking for as well.

Who is Billy Hogan?

{Ed002's Note - He has been put in place as the Chief Commercial Officer.}

03 Feb 2015 12:10:55
{Ed001's Note - We have posted a new article entitled, Manchester United; Have our UCL rivals moved ahead of us this winter?

". and with the squad we have available in direct comparison to our rivals then we should be achieving that at least." That one made me giggle.

Haha good one.
Considering Liverpool for top 4 made me giggle on the other hand as well.

03 Feb 2015 22:53:54
Top four would probably have been a reality if BR had dragged his harris into gear sooner instead of wasting half a season being stubborn and trying to prove a point.

Unfortunately true Red Lenin, we should have walked top four this year, but alas the damage is done and we're left with egg on our faces considering the quality, or rather lack thereof, of our rivals.

03 Feb 2015 10:47:47
Hi Eds,

Just wondering do we have any goalkeepers coming through that are the quality/potential of making it in the first team?

Still not sure why we didn't look at Foster when at Celtic, could have been our no.1 for years to come.

{Ed001's Note - we looked at Foster when he was at Newcastle, he was crap, so we loooked away quickly. Even Celtic only ended up signing after exhausting other options. He was extremely average for them, a flapper, so little interest saw him end up at Southampton. He has been, at best, average and a flapper, since joining them, why would we want him? He just isn't very good.

Right now, there is no particularly outstanding keeper, not one that you can immediately see he is good enough.}

Dare, I say it but Mignolet has looked a lot better in the last few weeks, having a more solid defence and midfield isn't putting him under pressure so much. Maybe the answer isn't a new first choice, but a good understudy to push Mignolet and a tope goalkeeper coach(Xavi Valero?)

Two words: Sak. Ho.

03 Feb 2015 09:50:45
Hi all.
Just want to kno your thoughts on whether no business this month means owners are considering Rodgers' position?

Everything is under review as the EDs keep saying over and over.

We didn't buy anyone this window because we didn't sell anyone and we don't have the money to keep buying players. I'm sure if we had sold a bunch of our fringe players we would have seen one or two signings.

Nothing to do with BR's future!

I for one am very happy with this window, no knee jerk purchases, no sales for massive losses and no scrabbling about at the end of the window. Finally some clear thinking (maybe!)

03 Feb 2015 08:52:19
Our strategy should be "see what we have" before buying anymore players.
I am glad we did not buy anyone in this window.
I think we only need to buy 3 players in the summer.
A gk, dm and a striker.
Use the players we have and get rid of what we don't need and then look at the market.

Some really good points jonny but I don’t really understand why do we still concentrate only on buying players. First of all we need to sell/ release (out of contract) fringe or “brendaned” players because of financial rules and our current situation. This should be our priority. Some candidates to leave in summer - Jones, Enrique, Toure, Coates, maybe Ilori, Johnson, Gerrard (already leaving to US), maybe Lucas (hope not) or Allen, Balloteli, Aspas, Borini, Luis Alberto, Yesil… ) I don’t expect leaving all of them of course, there will be maybe no interest on transfermarket or they will have not interest in transfer because of really good salary in Liverpool…. But this could also give a chance and more time on pitch for young players from academy like Wisdom, Flanagan, Rossiter, Ojo, Ibe…I think our squad is really good and has potential on top 4. Then we need to concentrate on our real problem – coaches, DoF, manager, scouts… And after all these steps we can concentrate on possibility to buy new player/s.

Wouldn't even bother with a defensive mid. I'd recall Wisdom or Ilori and just use Can in midfield as well as giving chances to Rossiter, Phillips, Pelosi, Williams and Chirivella. Those 5 youngsters along with Hendo, Lucas and Can should be plenty of depth. I'd just grovel with Lucas and only sign a cdm if he leaves.

If lucad leaves we need a top top DM to replace him

03 Feb 2015 12:10:10
How many times has Ed002 said it (doh)

03 Feb 2015 12:51:50
I wonder if Lucas being given the VC next season would help sway him? Should be a candidate for it anyway

I agree hjikle. Captain and Vice captain should be players with leadership qualities who when fit, are automatic starters.

That limits it to Sakho, Hendo, Lucas, Sterling and Sturridge on the automatic starters front.

Sakho is probably a more natural leader than Lucas, but Lucas leads by and sets an example. Hendo captain and Lucas or Sakho vice captain for me. Sturridge isn't really a leader as such. Seems a great role model though. Sterling is a great player, but he's no leader.

The ed's have said on numerous occasions that Lucas wants to leave. Why would making him VC change his mind? Can would be his DM replacement. What is it that makes this so hard for people to understand?

03 Feb 2015 22:20:52
Perhaps Lucas would change his mind because he's actually playing now rather than being on the bench or out of the match day squad?

04 Feb 2015 12:29:33
Brisbane - maybe a more solid indication of his importance to us, and respect we have for him, and that BR isn't going to write him out of the plans again any time soon, will convince him not to leave after all. People have been known to change their mind and reconsider things once or twice in human history, there is no harm in asking such a valuable player to do the same. Also re: Can replacing him, short term fine but Can has such a big range of ability and movement it would be slightly wasteful to confine him to protecting the defense for the next 5 years non-stop! And unless something major changes about our defense, it does need dedicated protection

03 Feb 2015 08:02:46
Missed out on Dele Alli. Oops

I was disappointed about that too - but the more i think about it the less disappointed i am to be honest. We have a lot of young talented midfield players around the same age as Dele Alli in J.Rossiter, J.Williams, A.Phillips, P.Chirivella and even Emre Can who is like 20 right? Already difficult enough for them to get a game and who is to say Dele Alli is a better player than any or all of them? He has been exposed to first team football contrary to our players. He could be a hyge player but so could some of the above mentioned if given the chance to play. This will all sound stupid if he end up being a "Gareth Bale" and get sold to Madrid for a huge amount of money some day in the future. But i really want those young players who are already here to be given the chance before we bring in someone like Dele Alli. We will never know how good they are unless they are exposed to first team football.

03 Feb 2015 02:05:32
Like to say I am relieved that liverpool have not signed anyone this transfer window. Of course I wouldn't say no to a proven world class player, but the fact we didn't go and make a 'hope for the best' purchase shows the club has learnt from past mistakes.

IMO the squad has had better quality than last season, losing sturridge (and signing poor back up) cost us a title challenge.
And the less said about Brendan's tactics the better.

A good run from now and I think top four is for the taking.

Tbh, i would have liked to see the club move on a couple of players namely Enrique and Lambert. Enrique is simply the club's twitter boy and makes no contribution on the pitch whatsoever. The club should have pushed him harder to make the move to Palace. Lambert is a different case but he was never going to be a first team player for us and with Sturridge back, even a place on the bench will not be guaranteed. Why spend the twilight years of your career stuck on the bench? Again here, the club should have urged Lambert to make the move to Villa. The club just does not seem decisive enough when selling its players.

03 Feb 2015 07:59:16
Don't get your argument re: Lambert Indian. He's perfectly happy and wants to stay and contribute in the way he knew he would be i.e. as a partner, understudy and option with Sturridge as the main guy. It's what we really bought him for. Why force him to go to a club he doesn't want to go to or care about?

Rather we had sold Ballo to give a youngster a place. Doesn't bring anything to the team, and totally shown up by Sturridge on Saturday.

{Ed002's Note - There was nobody to sell Balotelli to at the price Liverpool wanted.}

03 Feb 2015 13:50:37
{Ed002's Note - There was nobody to sell Balotelli to at the price Liverpool wanted.}

Quelle surprise. He's probably only worth south of £5m.

8 million to Galatasary in the summer.