Liverpool Banter Archive September 05 2014

05 Sep 2014 22:47:29
I'm really curious to see what you guys make of your Champions League chances this year.

Obviously you've been away from it for a few years and you've got a lot of player who have never played in it or have been fringe players in it.

I think we've seen from City in the past that your league form and success doesn't really count for anything in Europe.

You've got a lot of first timers who may or may not struggle with playing against the top sides in Europe. Obviously everyone takes on challenges differently but I think a few of your lot may not enjoy the same fortune that they have in the EPL.

I also think that a lot of the European teams will be used to your continental style of play, which will only make things harder for you.

Looking at your group I'd full expect you to make it out the group, Basel are not as good as they were but could provide a threat.

I think Real Madrid will walk through it, their fire power should be too strong for anyone and i'd expect them to put 2 or 3 past every team in that group.

After you've got through the group, you'll be playing a group winner, and that's when I think things will get difficult, obviously it's sheer pot luck but I think you'll end up playing any one of; Athletico Madrid, Leverkusen, Munich, Barcelona, Bilbao.

The only team that I think you'll beat relatively comfortably would be Leverkusen, Bilbao would prove to be a test and I can't see you beating any of the others over 2 legs. (btw the teams I listed above the ones that I'd expect to win the group).

My prediction for Liverpool is a 2nd place finish in the group. Then I think you'll either go out at the last 16 or the last 8 depending on your draw.

One final thing, It'll also be interesting to see how Rodgers reacts to playing in the Champions League, it's a completely new experience for him.

Hopefully Sterling can give a good account of himself against some of the best teams in the world too.

I'm interested in your opinions of your Champions League run.

I'd prefer it if we can go without posts like 'What does it matter you're not in the UCL'.

Eds, have you got any opinions?

Have a good weekend my weird Liverpool counterparts.

Liverpool just DO Europe, it's just part of the club.

Most neutrals will agree with you I guess but if Liverpool hit form for the knockout stages, anything is possible.

I think we will do well. I think the way we play will suit the champions league. Madrid are a bit disjointed at the moment and the weekend showed they're vulnerable at the back. I would happily take 2nd place but wouldn't be completely surprised if we won the group, in fact it could go to goal difference with a win apiece.
How far we could go beyond the group well I wouldn't hazard a guess. We could get a good draw and go far or get a stinker and go out.
It's really hard to say how well we would be doing at the knockout stage when it's so far away. I mean you've got the jan window and everything before that too. I will say QF if you were to push me for an answer.

I really like it if people underrate us and say that we cannot go far bla bla bla.
That's what really happened at the start of last season and just look where we finish, way above anyone expectations.

Agree with MM, when it comes to Europe comparing Liverpool with man city is like comparing a dog with a hump back whale.
Having said that I wouldn't be too gutted if we only made it to the last 16, our priority over this season has to be establishing ourselves in the top 4!

City have struggled since they got Europe to do well. However look at Dortmund and Atletico who were both out of Europe for a while. Dortmund have always done well since they got back in, and Atletico got to the final and were within minutes of winning it in their first season back in the Champions League for four/five seasons.

Depends on the team.

I agree with you. First knockout phase defeat in my opinion.

Lots of new players and while some have European experience they don't have experience in our team. Next year we'll be much stronger in Europe

06 Sep 2014 09:49:52
You have to laugh at this utd fan he lists teams we won't beat over 2 legs and then says we may get to the last 8 he has plenty of respect for some teams who I think we should beat over 2 legs but that's just because some of these teams beat utd last couple of seasons, he seems to forget the hiding we gave them as well oh sorry Suarez done that all by himself I forgot.

We always do very good in europe we are after all the best english team in europe, we have always been the best Liverpool F c and europe go hand in hand, i'm sure when we last won it a lot of football fans never gave us a chance the best come back ever and the rest is history

I don't know why you got so many disagrees there.
I think saying Liverpool will realistically get through the groups at least is a fair comment.
I think Liverpool will be stronger than people think though, the style of play will give us an advantage.
Plus the team is more experienced in the champions league than you think, Gerrard, Sturridge and ballotelli are all winners of the champions league after all. Plus the likes of flanno and hendo are fearless and playing in a huge game will not affect them one bit.
Who would bet against us after Istanbul? No team in Europe will see us as an easy game. Least of all Madrid, 5-0 I think it was last time.
So I think we will have a good showing in Europe and hopefully we will absolutely destroy a big team about 6-0 as well. Just to let everyone know we are back.

05 Sep 2014 21:37:27
Lets not panic and read too much into the papers.
Moreno was limping against City and came back in 5 days.
Lets wait till the club releases official statement.

But this must be an alarm ringing into BR ears.

05 Sep 2014 22:53:35
Harry the voice of reason.

I don't know where anyone would get their information because results from any scans won't be available at least until tomorrow.

Oh crap - I agree with Harry - what next. lol

Hoola
I can't frigging believe it.I also agree with him
Look what has the world come to

I don't read the papers, that's why I'm not paranoid about sturridges injury and about Romanians stealing my job/wife/child. Lol

05 Sep 2014 17:17:05
Hearing Sturridge injury could be worse than first thought. any news eds?

{Ed002's Note - We need to wait until the club's medical staff has assessed the injury - anything else is supposition.}

05 Sep 2014 19:44:37
God I hate international breaks Sturridge injired who looks after the plays at the England camp always players getting injured wwlsher walcott

Wow really miss spelled that text haha

You MISSPELT that last one as well Dezyboy.just sayin. :)

05 Sep 2014 23:15:35
Grab another beer Dezy lad.

05 Sep 2014 18:55:15
Any update on how serious this Sturridge injury is Eds?

Thanks!

{Ed001's Note - no sorry not yet.}

05 Sep 2014 14:58:32
A song for Danny to Blondie's Heart of Glass

I once knew a striker and he was class
Though Danny turned out to be made of glass
He seemed like the real thing, only to find
England called, injuries not far behind

05 Sep 2014 18:48:04
That's so good man!! HaHa!

05 Sep 2014 14:09:39
Daniel Sturridge's new song?

Danny Sturridge ohhhh, Danny Sturridge ohhhh, he goes and gets the ball, and scores another goal!

(To the tune of Man City ohhh, Man City ohhh) I don't actually know the original song but hopefully the City reference (only team I could think of!) will help!

The song is called Volare, made famous by crooner and Rat Pack member Dean Martin, although the Gipsy Kings also do a fine version.

05 Sep 2014 14:51:01
Danny. Danny. No More Knockky. knockky.

05 Sep 2014 14:01:45
Okay so it looks like I'm getting involved in the debate! I'm not going to compare everyone as it would take all day so I'm just going to do some of the main ones.

Mignolet vs De Gea - I think De Gea wins this one. Was a little bit shaky and had, still does have, the odd error in him, but so do all keepers. Mignolet is a good shot stopper but I'd take De Gea, even as a Liverpool fan. De Gea for me.

Johnson vs Rafael - Pointless. Both are useless if I'm being honest, and I can't see either being first choice.

Jones, Smalling & Evans vs Skrtel, Sakho and Lovren - I'd bring Rojo into it but honestly I haven't seen him play much. Apart from that I think we have a great defensive pairing in Sakho and Lovren, while Skrtel provides good backup. I reckon we have better defenders (despite our Goals Conceded last season). Without Vidic and Ferdinand United have no experience at the back, which is a huge problem. I'd prefer our defence, definitely.

Moreno vs Shaw - Shaw has great potential in my opinion. I rate him highly, although I could say the same with Moreno. I took great interest in Southampton last season and thought Shaw was great at such a young age aswell. I think right now Moreno has the edge, great all round full back but with 3 years in the difference in terms of age I can't predict how Shaw will be. Moreno for now anyway.

Gerrard vs Blind - This is a tough one. I haven't seen Blind play in midfield to be honest, but having seen him play in Holland's defence at the WC I can see he has the capabilities for the holding midfield role. Gerrard's range of passing is superb. I think in terms of defensive capabilities, Blind has the edge over Gerrard, but Stevie has a better passing range. Gerrard by an inch for me.

Henderson vs Herrera - Again a close one. Henderson has been instrumental in the past couple of seasons. He's the engine in our midfield, and we seen just how crucial he is to the team when he was suspended last season. Herrera likewise. Both are capable of leading the team, both have a great passing range and have fantastic work rate. I think Henderson is slightly better in other areas, however I feel Herrera has better finishing right now. Too close this one. Equal in my opinion.

Sterling and Coutinho vs Mata and Di Maria - Both sets of players are very different. Mata and Di Maria are 'bigger name' players, while Coutinho and Sterling have been brilliant in the current Liverpool team. In terms of better technical players I'd have to say Di Maria and Mata but ONLY because they are much, much older than our lads. Sterling and Coutinho have potential to be as good if not better. In terms of who I'd rather have in my team, I'd say Sterling and Coutinho, in terms of bigger names I'd say Mata and Di Maria. As individuals Mata and Di Maria (unproven in PL), but Sterling and Coutinho as team players.

Balotelli and Sturridge vs Rooney and RVP/Falcao - Balotelli and Falcao are both fair unproven in the PL. Balo was young when he was first in the PL whereas Falcao hasn't played at all. Both could be dangerous in the PL if they can hit top form. Falcao has a better record but is a lot older so I'm not sure you can compare them. Rooney has been a shadow of his former self. He just doesn't seem confident, doesn't seem to know his best position and has been in decline the past 2 or 3 years. RVP is a good goalscorer WHEN he is fit, but his injury problems have ruined him lately. Sturridge has been the complete opposite as of late, and in my opinion is the better of the three at the moment.

In terms of squad I also think we have a better squad by a distance. If I'm going by right now, I would say United have the bigger names, but we play better as a team. I think my views are fairly unbiased, granted I only watch maybe 3/4 of United's games (Dad is a United fan), but from what I've seen that's my view. Remember a good few of these aren't PL proven so I can't compare two players new to the PL (eg Falcao and Balotelli), but I've done my best based on what I've seen of players from foreign leagues.

Sorry for the long post, if you've gotten this far down the fair play!

Your dad is United fan, yet you are a Liverpool fan? Blimey, I'd have disowned my kids if they did that to me

05 Sep 2014 15:33:50
This is rounding up here from quiet some days with absolutely no meaning.

So would I AJH! I chose from a very young age (think I was only 3 or 4), and its the best decision I've ever made! No doubt my kids will be Liverpool fans!

And Boom atleast its keeping us entertained, I mean it is a banter page after all!

05 Sep 2014 13:04:09
3 people genuinely think deadline day is more exciting than a World Cup, Champions league or FA cup final? Even just the final day of the Premier League! Surely you can't honestly find QPR signing Sandro more exciting than Real Madrid beating Athletico 4-1?

I suppose "each to their own" has to stand here, but for me, people who find the transfer window more exciting than the actual football are a large part of what is wrong with the modern game; materialism is everything in modern life, and apparently football is no different to some.

05 Sep 2014 13:22:39
Hi E.M.S. I completely agree with you. I personally think that the transfer windows should be scrapped. They don't exist in any other occupation and are the cause of too much unrest and wasted finance. By the way, can you put your original photo back - it was far better than the one you have now.

Just to say as someone who have lived long periods in other European countries, as far as I remember, no other country pay a special attention to deadline day as here, let alone treat it as some kind a very exciting day. Where I lived they treat the dealine day the same as the transfer news in the rest of the transfer windows, a small gossip section in the bottom of sport site. It is a totally invention of the British media. I don't think anyone is really interested other than the reportes themselves. If there is a big signing like Falcau by all mean give it the space it deserves but in some years very few big names are changing teams in the last day so no need for all this fuss.

05 Sep 2014 14:53:19
That's Slys doing, if it wasn't broadcasted on the net and mainly the tele, you wouldn't have this deadline day fiasco, you would just find out the next day.

05 Sep 2014 12:29:09
Eds, i've heard from some mates that Vidal has injured his knee again. Is this true? If so, it's a shame as he's a quality player, and suspect he'll be on the sidelines for some time.

{Ed002's Note - He had a problem in training, yes.}

And this right here, Is exactly why you don't sign players fresh off the back of knee injuries.

05 Sep 2014 14:14:19
Can we sign players fresh off the knee of back injuries?


Leaving :)

05 Sep 2014 15:37:24
Vidal would have kicked himself seeing the wages UTD pay to their players.
So a slight knock.

05 Sep 2014 10:31:53
For those who doubt sakho. Personally I quite like him as an all round player and lad. Just something that crossed my mind, say ilori has a good loan spell, would you be happy with him rcb partnering lovren? That's my dream to be honest, I rate ilori extremely highly. So yeah, would you rather ilori or sakho to partner lovren.

You MeatLoafed me! Spot on

On the last match the first player that would be dropped was lovren not sakho. Sakho made one error which was a pass he tried to force into midfield that wasn't on. Lovren made several, running for & missing a header that was sakhos, sliding in multiple times & missing player & ball however these were barely mentioned in commentary compared to sakho's 1 misplaced pass. Why I ask? Because currently the media doesn't like sakho for reasons I don't know & are picking on him. He is our best defender currently & it is no surprise to me that skrtel goes out & we get a clean sheet, sakho plays for France & they also get a clean sheet.

Have to agree with not one of harrys.

An Ilori-Sakho partnership (once both players have sufficient experience in English football) would be far superior to any other combination purely because both Sakho and particularly Ilori are fast. Therefore we could press much higher up the pitch, hold a high line and cause more problems for the opposition in their own half. We need a sweeper keeper before that can happen though. Somebody quick off their line, but not reckless!

Sadly, I think the Lovren signing has ended Ilori's Anfield career unless next season Rodgers considers dropping Gerrard and going for a flat back 3 of Ilori-Lovren-Sakho with Lovren stepping up into the midfield when we're on the attack due to his excellent passing range and technical ability (plus ability with both feet). That could work, and it's honestly the only way I see Ilori having a future here.

Just think that they are both desperate to impress.

Sakho just looks awkward and clumsy - but he's a beast! You can't have Manquillo and Moreno types everywhere - I like the mix with Lovren and Sakho - with flair of M&M.

Come next season we will see several central defenders leave.

Toure, Coates, maybe Skrtel. Therefore, I can see Ilori coming in as one of our 4 centre backs.

Personally, next season I'd like to see Lovren, Sakho, Ilori and Wisdom as our 4 centre backs.

Red Rum

Why does Ilori have to leave if he has a successfull loan spell? Isn't that the point of having backups anyway? To have backups that are as close or the same level as the starters? How do the top teams all over the World do it anyway?

05 Sep 2014 15:39:44
Ra

Coz He is an ambitious young lad wanting to play in the first team.
It would be a disaster If we Sell him and Keep Skretel.

Boom, Harry. I'm really impressed with your crystal ball and your predictions. So you've come to the conclusion that he has ambition? And that he'll leave because of it? And what about the remaining players who stay? They don't have any ambition and therefore they stay? Just brilliant deductive powers you have. Your responses have progressively gotten condescending and patronizing. But actually infantile.

05 Sep 2014 00:33:43
Can't wait for the A Villa game (providing all our team return injury free from internationals).

Hopefully lallana will be ready to start; Balotelli would've benefited from remaining with us and the other players getting used to the surroundings.

If we can have a good attacking performance (Sterling top of the diamond - sorry Coutinho) then 9 points from 12 (and having to play the champions on their own ground in one of the games) will put us in a good position.

Lots of games coming up that the squad will need rotating for; what's your thoughts on the Capital one Cup - 2nd string + youngsters playing v Middlesborough?

05 Sep 2014 06:05:42
Hi Hoola. We only have 1 point from our last 2 home games against the Villa, so hopefully new players like Mario, Moreno and Lallana, who have not been subject to these previous 2 performances, will help us get the Villa monkey off our back. Sterling is pretty awesome at the moment, so more of the same please, but I would love to see Lazar get some quality game time too. I would like Lazar to start against Boro, as well as Flanno and Skrtel (if fit), Toure, Enrique, Can, Henderson, Suso, Coutinho, and Lambert as the main striker. Get some of the U21s on the bench. It's a shame that Ibe is on loan as this would have been an ideal game for him to have a go at the Boro defence.

For the first time in years our second-string is looking good enough to beat most teams on their day. You could even say we have two first teams to a degree as the likes of Can, Markovic, Lambert, Flanno, Lucas, Llalana have yet to start a match but wouldn't be considered 'second-string' players.

Villa home, west ham away and everton home. If after those games we have 12 pts we are doing OK. If more, bonus! Play best defence to give then games and then use squad against midd.

I would give the Capital One Cup a miss at least for this season. Play as many academy players as possible along with a couple of fringe players like Kolo, Lucas, Borini because the tie is sandwiched between two important premier league and champions league games. The squad is still young, BR does not quite have the experience of challenging on 4 fronts and the monetary reward in the domestic cups is not very appealing as compared to the league and UCL. Maybe next season, but right now the focus should be on getting outa the group stages and finishing top3 in the league, we simply cannot afford to have any of our first team players getting exhausted against the likes of Middlesbrough (no disrespect intended) with games against Everton and Real coming up.

I get what your saying and I agree with you Indian buzzer but I have a feeling Brendan will want a trophy this year. The capital one cup is a reletavly easy one to win so we could see a stronger team than we are expecting.

05 Sep 2014 09:50:39
Villans Back 4 is the worst in the Country. We would hit atleast 5 at Anfield.

05 Sep 2014 10:01:57
We always seem to struggle versus Villa. All the focus should be on that game, one game at a time. I'm hoping for the same back 4 as last week against Spurs, most comfortable we've been yet

I agree Indian Buzzer; I wouldn't risk any of the preferred squad of 18 players in the Capital One that are likely to play in the games in Champions League or Premiership.

04 Sep 2014 21:27:33
Ed001, could you give your opinion on what you think our strongest centre back pairing is/will be please?

Personally I think the Lovren-Sakho partnership showed some promise against Spurs, and given some game time together they could be the way forward!

{Ed001's Note - by far Lovren-Sakho for me. They compliment each other, at least on paper, far better than any other partnership we have, plus they are our best two defenders. If they can establish an understanding too, then they will have to be seen as our strongest pair.}

Lovren and Sakho are 24/25, so effectively could be our first choice CB pairing for the next 7-8 seasons. They compliment each other very well by keeping a high line unlike Skrtel who drops too deep and has a tendency to play the opposition strikers on side. Lovren, Sakho, Moreno should be undisputed first choice with Manquillo and Flanno rotating for the RB position.

05 Sep 2014 10:02:48
I assume Lovren can speak French after 3 years at Lyon. At least enough to communicate on the pitch. Sakho obviously speaks French and I remember someone saying that he was shouting instructions/warnings on pitch in French during last season. Mignolet also speaks French, amongst other languages. Maybe this will help the communication at the back. Obviously the aim is for everyone to communicate in english eventually

05 Sep 2014 13:02:58
I want them to communicate via clean sheets. haha