Liverpool Banter Archive February 09 2015

09 Feb 2015 23:08:41
Is it the right time for me to make an entry.

I am feeling bored sitting outside. Brendend.

{Ed033's Note - Harry, submit something that's post-able

10 Feb 2015 08:44:24
Ed001 still hasn't released you from his dubai house's basemen?

{Ed001's Note - tower thank you very much! He is locked at the top.....}

10 Feb 2015 09:22:57
Oh ed! I can't even imagine what goes on up there in the night

{Ed001's Note - you could just do what the nearby residents do each day, gather at the top of their towers with binoculars and video cameras, no need for imagination.}

10 Feb 2015 10:05:21
I'd rather watch one of evertons matches and that is saying something

{Ed001's Note - you know you would love it.}

10 Feb 2015 10:38:56
Include Megan Fox and I just may bear your fat body :-)

{Ed001's Note - I am not there Reet, no need to worry about that! Far too busy for a life right now.}

Are you sacrificing virgins again ed?

{Ed001's Note - if only I could find one!}

10 Feb 2015 13:06:35
I am pretty sure ems would volunteer

{Ed001's Note - ouch.}

10 Feb 2015 13:33:03
Always fun talking to you, the first Edward

09 Feb 2015 20:46:51
I see Sakho has had a bit of stick for his derby performance? Personally I think if u can go to the home of you're fierce rivals, keep a clean sheet and they don't have a shot on target until the 86th minute then you couldn't of done a lot wrong!
Same tomorrow plz

Specially when your playing behind Joe Allen in midfield.

I think that is a very simplistic view oon it Carragold. Sakho and Can both tried way too much on a couple of occasions. Anybody who follows this site will know I am a massive fan of both but they made a few errors each.

On the contrary, most will know I am a staunch critic of Skrtel and Mingolet. However they were both oustanding against Everton. Skrtel made recovery after recovery and Mingolet plucked every ball into his box clean out the air without even a glimmer of uncertainty.

If I am going to defend Sakho when he is being unfairly criticised, then I feel an obligation to constructively criticise him when I feel he is being unduly praised. And vice versa with Skrtel. Sakho got lucky and hopefully he has learned his lesson; if in doubt, kick it out.

That's a fair point EMS. I wasn't for a second saying it was his best game as there were some errors in there. However if the defence gets a clean sheet ( especially after how poor we were earlier in the season) then I'm not going to moan.
There's always areas for improvement with every player, no1 is perfect week in week out.

Here's to hoping for another clean sheet tomorrow. I work with a few spuds who are unbearable at the moment! Harry Kane is the new white pele

Can and Kirikou have been splendid and if they had one average or poor game once in a while, I`m not too bothered unlike guys like GJ and Enrique who are consistently poor to the point of not bothering as well.

Agree with that wholeheartedly EMS.

Lots to talk about on Saturday but Sakho did ok. He wasn't up to previous performances but it is very difficult when you have Brendan's love child (aka Joe Allen) playing in front of you who clearly never wants the ball and never gives you an easy option.
Moreno was really poor I thought. Very bad luck losing Lucas so early on as we did not control the midfield enough after. I think he should have pulled Gerrard back alongside Hendo and brought Markovic on either pushing Marko or Ibe behind Sterling. That would have been much more productive.
Joe Allen is not good enough to play for us and when he puts such a poor player into a key position it influences the result.
Please keep Can, Sakho and Lucas in the side and stop messing them around, and keep Lovren, Allen, Borini and Manquillo out of th side

Think Can and Sakho both lost the ball a couple of times under the high press however were really strong in the tackle/positioning when Everton in possession. Sakho/Skrtel in particular were really influential in helping offset Lukaku's physicality and consistently won their headers to offset the long ball.

They deserve the odd criticism for dropping the ball in dangerous positions but were also imperious at times and hopefully just learn from the experience to deal with the intensity by clearing the lines early.

09 Feb 2015 17:53:36
Read some very interesting stats on another site.

Since being thrashed by UTD we have scored at 2.25 games starting with the draw vs Arsenal. If we continue at this rate we will end on 70 points. (14 x 2.5 + 39 = 70) which is likely to be the minimum requirement to finish top 4 thsi season. Our goals difference is also a shambles.

We still have Spurs, City, Cheslea, UTD and Southampton to play. UTD in 4th are 5 points ahead of us.

Unless we somehow win 11 of our 14 remaining matches then there is no chance of LFC finishing top 4.

Sorry it was supposed to be 14 x 2.25 + 39 = 70.5 but the half point does not count.

09 Feb 2015 19:06:15
You missed Arsenal, unless you are 100% sure we will win away at Arsenal. :)

GoanRed

You made it look even more bleak now :-o

09 Feb 2015 21:11:15
why is 70 points the minimum? a team could sneak in with 65ish at the rate the top 7 keep dropping points to lower table teams

09 Feb 2015 17:03:54
Thanks for all the good work eds and reds. Not a rumour but I notice the LFC accounts are due to be filed and therefore made public by28th feb. They will cover the year to 31 May 2014- ie excluding sale of Suarez and last summers buys. I reckon they will show the club made a small loss/broke even in that year, so not much added to the clubs debt and good news for ffp going forward. Just a thought- and we shall see! Btw I previously posted as Crazyhoss but can't get my i'd to work now. .

{Ed002's Note - Yes they will soon be submitted.}

Gee, i hope your right man.

Can we afford to pay for the electricity bill or do we have to stick on an extra Jumper?

{Ed001's Note - extra jumpers are always useful, that way the players can use them to replace broken goal posts in the future.}

09 Feb 2015 13:29:33
Just watched the Ojo highlights for Wigan. Does anyone else think he has the same posture/running style of Sturridge. Like its too easy for him and moves away from players at will. Even the same kind of arrogance/confidence as Sturridge.

With Ojo, Sterling, Ibe, Rossiter the future of Liverpool and England look good, Are there any other great youngsters thought of as highly as them at LFC Eds or Reds ?

Thanks

Adam Phillipd won academy player of the year last season. Easily one of the best players in our youth system.

Lloyd Jones is good as well but being a defender doesn't get all the hype others do. I read an article when we first knicked him from Plymouth though and the author predicted he would eventually be the best British defender in the league and compared him to Rio Ferdinand.

I hope he's not like Ferdinand now!

Fulton, Chirivella, Wilson, Canos and Kent too are all expected to do well.

09 Feb 2015 19:45:08
We also have one of the youngest Welsh caps in Harry Wilson - great prospect.

09 Feb 2015 20:40:44
I'll be more than happy if we are able to have 3 of those players in our starting XI in 5 years (in a title contender liverpool). I see great potential, but can't see all of them playing for us.

09 Feb 2015 11:50:52
Eds,

A few questions I'd really appreciate your views on.

Do you see this 3 at the back system that Rogers has reluctantly stumbled upon lasting, or is the long term view to revert back to 4 once say Flanagan is fit and available?

Does Ilori still have a future at the club as if we kept this 3 at the back I feel this would be perfect for him and view him in the short term as Kolo's replacement and longer term Skrtel's.

One thing I've noticed since the change is a distinct lack of bodies in the box, where the majority of goals are scored. We are dominating possession and shots on goal are always high, but most of these are from outside the box.

Is this likely to change once Sturridge returns or likely to continue with the 2 behind generally looking to score from distance?

Lastly, only Skrtel appears capable of scoring from corners, does Rogers not work on this and when Gerrard plays why is he not attacking these like he did against Everton last year at Anfield?

Appreciate you're all very busy but once you answer these you can take the rest of the day off !

Ha ha

{Ed002's Note - (1) I have no idea. (2) Try the search engine. (3) I don't think that is the case with the "majority" of the goals being scored from distance. (4) Again, I have no idea.}

1. No. Rodgers couldn't stick to super glue. Eventually he will revert to 4-3-3 possession football.

2. Ilori wants out due to being Brendaned.

3. Again, no. Rodgers doesn't like risking possession and playing balls into the box is too risky, hence why he tells them to pass it around for 10 minutes until the opposition loses focus and leaves a gap, we concede possession due to a sloppy pass, or {insert midfieler} has a shot.

4. Haha. Rodgers work on set pieces? Good one lad!

Hmmm, there's a recurring theme with all of those problems.

EMS. . Your love of Rodgers is clouding your judgement:)
Really, the lack of respect given to our manager sometimes is uncalled for.
Being Brendaned.
Was Mignolet not Brendaned and then responded to his Brendaning by improving his game?.
Compare our side now to the one Kenny left and it's clear to see we are on the right track.
Some people may disagree but for me it's obvious that getting rid of our manager would be the single most lunatic decision since appointing Souness.
Young players are coming through. not as fast as I would hope but they are coming through now.
I have had my moments of being anti Brendan this year but for me it's quite clear that he knows what he is up to and should be left to finish the job.

Jonny it's a banter page. Rodgers isn't immune to criticism just because he is pretending to care about the club whilst having one eye on a job in Spain.

BR`s decision-making, team selections and subs will cost us top4 more than anything else, IMO. Barnes, let it go. He knows what he`s up to, you say. Like he did vs Everton when he bottled it and didn`t go for their throats or when he brought on allen instead of Lovren and moving Can to DM? BR will recieve the stick he rightly deserves if he screws up. If you`re mad about it, prove us wrong or sue us.

09 Feb 2015 14:02:44
'Stumbled upon' if this was any other high profile club manager that was doing poorly and changed systems you'd be out of underwear by the time you'd finished creaming over them.

Often the incessant passing is annoying but when there's no one running from deep or there's 8-9 men defedlndig behind the ball, I'm not sure how you expect us to get in behind with ease?

Set pieces is a concern but offensively our delivery is just down right shocking. I don't see us scoring many until that's fixed. Defensively I don't think anyone is taking enough control organising.

EMS, you're right, Rodgers has never made it a secret he wants to manage in Spain. But that doesn't mean he doesn't care about his current job and what he is doing right now.

09 Feb 2015 15:39:37
Rogers also said "I want to remain at Liverpool for e very long time" I believe

Im sure while at Liverpool Rodgers is focused at doing his best. If he happens to move to Spain in the future has nothing to do with anything. Did Suarez stop playing well because he wanted to move to Spain? Pointless dig!

He should just shut his gob and focus on the games at hand. He is severely loquashious which is why he says things that look and sound dumb

I am aware this is a banter page EMS. .
redohio. Calm your passion fella.
let what go?
You sound like my daughter singing "Frozen".
I don't mind a difference in opinion as long as it is constructive and explained.
We had one the other day about Ronaldinho being in the same bracket as Maradona.
EMS thought he was and I did not.
We both explained why we thought the way we did and both agreed to disagree. no drama. just banter and debate.
1. Did Brendan Rodgers team selections and decision making mean that we came second last year?
2.How do you know he bottled it? How do you know what he was thinking?
EMS posted a thread earlier about how we should not change the defense for the Spurs game "if it ain't broke don't fix it" logic. maybe that was what Brendan was thinking by not moving Can into midfield against Everton?

I honestly do not know what your last sentence is on about.

"If your mad about it, prove us wrong or sue us"
wtf??
Behave soft lad.
Why would I want to sue anyone on here for expressing an opinion?
Bizzare.

Post of the day Jonnybarnes!

09 Feb 2015 19:05:40
Original post was made because unless we sign another out and out striker, I feel we will stick with the 3 at the back which would be perfect for Ilori to slot into next season.

Starting tomo night if we are sticking with it, and no reason why we shouldn't as without it, our best defender in Sakho would never have been given a game, Lovren must come in on the right or middle and Can back to his natural position in CM.

Also for me, want to see more bodies in the box as too often we only have one or two max in there, making it tough to score and get the easy wins our overall dominance deserves.

How many goals have we scored from a cross in the box and a one touch finish ? ?

HUGE game tomo and one we need to win to give us a realistic chance of top 4.

Do above and we can blow this lot out the water as we are better than them

Barnes, calm yourself down. I said the "sue" thing in gest so lighten up, bro. I just voiced my opinions the same way you did and I NEVER said either of you were wrong because there is no wrong or right when voicing opinions. If I disagree with you and vice versa then so be it. By the way, you don`t know me hence, I will suggest you keep your "soft" name calling to yourself because that is just childish, IMO.

09 Feb 2015 10:59:55
I agree with everyone that Emre Can needs to be played in midfield, but I don't think tomorrow is the right game. He has gotten used to far more time and space than he will get in midfield so throwing him in there against the pressing of Mason and Bentaleb is suicide. Everton are in awful form and that was the game to try it in but Rodgers bottled it.

Our back 3 has now gone 4 straight league games without conceding a goal. I simply don't believe there is any justification to break that up in our make or break game. Win, and top 4 is actually starting to look feasible. Lose, and top 4 is gone for sure.

I just cannot see why we should tinker in such a massive game. Henderson and Allen are a capable midfield pairing who will offer protection to a strong backline. Allen might not be in Lucas's league but he does break up play and he is always available for a pass from the defence. His best game in a Liverpool shirt came against spurs in the 5-0 win last season.

I agree with faniobip. Don't fix what isn't broken. Lucas will be a big loss but we should just play so offensively that Spurs simply cannot press us. They hate pace. Markovic and Ibe should be utilised out wide and put Coutinho in the hole with Sterling snd Sturridge playing on the shoulder. Moreno is fast but he offers little going forward and leaves Sakho hung out to dry far too often. The left side is more natural to Ibe anyway.

Learn from Wengers mistake. Don't drop your fastest players against a team who try to play a high line. The only way to nulify Spurs is to pin them back. Kane hasn't got the pace to get i'm behind Can or Sakho and in a 50/50 high ball contest I fancy Skrtel every time outside of his own penalty area. Press them and we win. Sit back and we lose. This is the wrong game to start dismantling the best defence we've had since Steve Clarke left us though. Even if Kolo is back, is it really wise to throw him in against premier league opposition after an entire tournament playing against (with all due respect) very average teams? Probably without even a single training session?

I'm all for risks lads, but there's a time and place in my opinion. Tomorrow night isn't it.

Sorry EMS completely disagree. We have Lovren and possibly Toure, who can fill that role, Can's done well, but has been exposed at times.
Allen is an extremely weak defensive mid, who doesn't bother to make himself available for posession from the centrebacks, we saw this time and again vs Everton. I have never liked him in the deeper role as you well know.

I would feel Can would offer more protection and composure, with a greater range of passing forward than Allen. This protection in the DM role, would mean less pressure on whoever fills at right sided centreback.

I feel your suggestion of moving Can as suicide a little extreme. We haven't conceded(In the league) because we simply haven't played any one decent.

With regard to don't fix what isn't broken. The system is broken though, as we don't have Lucas there. So I don't personally get that argument. If we were dropping Lucas I'd agree, but we aren't he's injured, therefore the system IS broken. Even then you are saying to drop Moreno for Ibe, when Moreno has been part of that ''successful'' system. So you do want it changed.

Moreno isn't part of the back 3 and has been a weak link in recent weeks.

The only reason that the back 3 works is because Can and Sakho are both quick. That means that we can hold a higher line, opposition strikers cannot make runs into the channels and that if either make a mistake Skrtel is there to make a recovery tackle. If you put Lovren or Skrtel right centre back you eliminate the pace either side of the central defender which will cause the entire team to drop deeper.

If Toure wasn't fresh off the plane I would be all for putting him on the roght and Can in midfield. I just think it is tinkering for the sake of not playing Joe Allen who is nothing but a scapegoat. He rarely puts a foot wrong, makes more tackles than most, tracks runners very well and always makes himself available. He isn't the best in the air and doesn't play many penetrative passes but so what? He does an ugly job to a good, albeit unspectacular standard.

This all cones down to one thing really; is Allen so bad that we should chop our system to pieces just to kerp him off the pitch? My answer to that is no. Fair enough if you disagree but if we take Can out of the back 3, the only option barring a risky recall of Toure is to play with a back 4.

There is no denying Allen isn't a long term first eleven solution, but he is a no nonsense squad player and until we have an adequate replacement for Can in the back 3, and for as long as Lucas is injured, we have no realistic choice in my humble opinion.

I see you're argument. Can is definitely better than Allen in midfield, but unfortunately we need him in defence until Toure is properly prepared for a return.

I don´t think Can would have any problem playing as midfielder. Problem is his replacement, Lovren, who have played in a back 3 before. When he played there, he kept passing it back to Mignolet, who began to panic which let to goals. This was at a time where Lovren played regularly, and he hasn´t played for some time, so I think it would be suicide to play him there. I see no point in tinkering in our back 3.

Tottenhams main weakness is their backline, especially Rose, who leaves space for either Ibe or Markovic to exploit. So if was up to me, then I would let us defend deep and hit them on the counter. Sturridge, Ibe and Markovic will cause them all sorts of trouble.

09 Feb 2015 12:19:17
EMS, don't you think in a 2 man midfield Can would be the better option? More than capable of winning the midfield battle. If it was a midfield 3 of Lucas, Hendo and Allen then i'd say Allen could do a good job. Not sure that holds true if he's part of a 2.

09 Feb 2015 12:24:49
To me the justification is simple - we don't have Lucas and therefore need his defensive ability in the midfield. It's opportunity cost - he's the best to have at CB at the moment and the best available for CDM. But the 2nd best option for CB is much better than the second best for CDM. Therefore, he needs to be in the CDM for the best overall team

I do believe Allen is that bad, it's nothing to do with scapegoating him, I've always thought he was a silly purchase who was never up to the job especially in a deeper role.
As I said further down the page on another thread, we played Lovren often in a back 2 with just skretel next to him and enrique/Moreno.This is a completely different arrangement and may see Lovren more comfortable, especially without SG in front of him.

Before he was injured or dropped(I can't remember) I actually thought Lovren improved.

Allen and Britton used to dominate midfield battles for Swansea as part of a two. They had Sigurdson ahead of them, but Hendo and Alen will have Coutinho ahead of them.

Allen is nothing but a scapegoat. He is our very own Darren Fletcher. Massively under rated, not world class, always puts in 100% despite being in and out of the team, never complains and will do any job asked to a good standard. He'll never be good enough to be sustained first choice player but as a squad player he is fine.

Fuzz, I too think Can would do just fine. However there is the risk he could take a little bit of time to settle into the game in a position he hasn't played in about 3 months. If we start slow because of this and Tottenham go ahead we are immediately on the back foot. You are correct though. The biggest issue with putting Can in midfield is the damage it will do to our defence.

Unless Toure is training right now, the only other player in our team who suits the right centre back position is Glen Johnson. In a choice between Joe Allen in midfield and Glen Johnson at centre back, I know who I'd pick!

Sorry EMS Joe Allen isn't good enough to be a Liverpool squad player IMO. I'm not scapegoating him. I never wanted him at the club. We'd have been better buying Britton. I don't think Allen is underrated at all, I think he's rated in line with his ability

I don't think any 1 at United under rates Flether he's often very highly through of by most people I know, but that's another issue.

I don't know why you're ignoring my point on lovren, I guess you think he's not good enough?Which is fine that's your opinion, but you just haven't addressed my point.

09 Feb 2015 12:55:07
What about Lovren in defense EMS? He's fit again, surely the logical option?

I partly agree about Allen, but I think he's just too old for that role. With so many younger players like Rossiter around who bring the same things as he brings but who have the potential to be so much more, what do we get from continuing with Allen? Fine for now, but one to move whilst he still has value for me and free the space either for a quality inclusion like Schneiderlin, or for young players to get game time

Tbh, I can´t remember if Lovren has played well for us? He might have improved, but he is no where Liverpool standard. He is constantly out of position, which his fellow cb must compensate for --> they also gets out of position.
He keeps playing the ball backwards to migs who´s under pressure and has to pass it long, and gives away possesion.

Please tell me which game he has been playing well for us, because the last game I saw him playing well, was for Southhampton, where he had adequate protection from Schneiderlin and Wanyama.

Lovren is slower than Skrtel. Putting him at right centre back would be a ridiculous decision. If Can goes into midfield, we need to go back to 4 at the back unless Toure is genuinely ready to play. Defensively we've been solid though. I don't see any reason to change the defence. Scoring goals has been our problem. Hence why I'd play Sturridge instead of Gerrard and Ibe instead of Moreno.

Lovren could play in the central position but not off the side. He doesn't have the pace to cope with a fast winger running at him or a striker running into the channel. He'd be torn to pieces.

09 Feb 2015 13:36:21
Bob & Adam, are you two secret bessies or brothers?

Unless Toure is raring to go, Johnson is the best option to replace Can but only by default.

I seriously don't think my heart will cope with seeing Johnson next to Skrtel again though. I had enough of their complete lack of communication last season.

Lovren has pace to burn and is lightyears quicker than Skrtel. Allen dominated at Swansea when they played the tiki taka boring footie that no longer works to the point that even Monk plays a more direct style and has binned that dreadful system. IMO, play the guy you know can do the job (Can in DM and Lovren at CB) instead of playing who you think/hope can do the job (Allen in DM). I don`t trust BR`s decision making at all and has spent the first half of the season forcing Allen, GJ, SG (atimes) and a dreadful system down our throats and we are yet to swallow them. So any opportunity to prove us all wrong, he will take (like he did at the wknd) which may have cost us points vs the most hapless Everton ream I have ever seen.

Allen is getting a lot of stick on here and, whilst I agree he is not pulling up any trees, I think Henderson is getting away with murder.

He seems to be taking his vice-captain role seriously with regard to squaring up to opponents. However, he needs to up his game in a lot of other respects. His composure on the ball in big games is very poor. Next time we play, notice how many moves come to an end once Henderson gets possession. His touch and shooting skills leave a lot to be desired and he needs to improve his assist and goalscoring ratio.

He is mid 20's now and should be approaching his peak as a performer. Being able to run box to box for 90 minutes is no substitute for basic ability. Never mind Allen coming under pressure for his place from the likes of Can and Rossiter, Henderson is the one who should be looking over his shoulder, especially if the new season brings about a change of management.

He'd have markovic backing him up and Skrtel.
I wouldn't go into pace at all really, I think if a defender can read a situation pace is taken out of it, EG Terry Adams and a whole host of other centrebacks who weren't pacey.

I don't think Lovren is a particularly ploddy centreback myself. I guess that's yourposition though I can't say I have ever seen Skrtel and Lovren in a 100m race

I'll agree to disagree lads. Let's just hope that whoever Rodgers plays, that we get a win. A loss will all but end our assault on the top 4 as it'd put us roughly 6-9 pts behind 4th with a really congested fixture list over the next 2 months.

Right you are, EMS! In the end, we want our team/club to win and that is where we should all be united.

Sorry EMS, have to disagree with you about Allen.
In the three years he has been here he has shown nothing to suggest that he has any quality to offer the team, his tackling is poor, he has no physical presence, his usage of the ball is quite appalling and let's not talk about the fact that he is unable to win headers in midfield. Contrast that with Can, who in a short space of time has shown very clearly that he is very good young midfielder and well up to the physical and technical challenges that the he has to face.
I would also add that before any of us write off Lovren, let's take into account that for the vast majority of his games he had virtually no protection from midfield as he was often had to contend with Gerrard and Allen being the midfielders "protecting" the back four.(In this context of the word protecting it means not tackling, being knocked off of the ball and generally watching play go by).

Correct me if i'm wrong but i seem to recall that toure has played dm at arsenal, surely he would be a better choice than allen

09 Feb 2015 20:59:20
Correct me if I'm wrong,but did someone just diss Hendo????

09 Feb 2015 09:02:11
A good point against Everton or a bad point?
When you draw it all comes down to your next game.
If you win it then you say 4 pts against Everton away and Spurs at home is a good return.
If we lose or draw against Spurs then it's a bad point.
It really is that simple.
As for whether we can finish top 4 then I say we can.
But it won't be easy.
When has LFC ever done "easy"???
My nerves are shot.

09 Feb 2015 10:49:39
Two points dropped Everton were there for the taking.We should be at least 3rd BR sent out the wrong team.That's why I feel he will be gone in the summer.
Just to let you all know I'm here in the labour ward in the Lourdes Hospital Drogheda waiting for the wife to give me another member for the Red Army.I'll let you know when the baby arrives .
BarryinLouth

Bloody hell Barry. Your brave.
I know this site is important but priorities lad:)
Good luck fella.
Hope mother and baby are in rude health.

Congrats barry mate

Congrats, mate.

09 Feb 2015 15:41:30
Hi all Red's.
Baby James(My late dad's name)born 12:00 8lb 9oz mam and baby doing fantastic.Thank you for all your good wishes.
BarryinLouth

{Ed007's Note - Congratulations, Barry.}

09 Feb 2015 16:40:10
Congrats mate. Welcome to the Red Army, as you call it :D

Big congratulations Barry.
Lets hope he witnesses the first win of his life for the redmen tomorrow.

Congrats Barry.

Red Rum

09 Feb 2015 07:05:30
Does anyone know the extent of Lucas injury? Hopefully not serious!
In his absence I'd push Can into midfield and give Lovren the £20mil centre back a chance to kick a ball. My fear however is Gerrard will move there, and Allen will be cover.
Or if Can does move up he will replace him with Johnson not lovren

09 Feb 2015 05:17:20
Hi guys,
If we loose to spurs tomorrow we'll be 7 points behind spurs and possibly even further behind arsenal & utd who both have easy home games.
Time to prioritize the Europa? Looking at the teams left init were probably the best team.
Spurs, Roma, Bilbao, Napoli, inter could cause us a little problem but if we play at our max we should be able to beat these teams without much trouble.

Munchengladbach, holders sevilla, past LFC knockouters Zenit, all dutch clubs (ajax, PSV) and wolfsburg are also up there and in form teams . however we aren't going . if we beat besiktas, we have four more rounds, which means four more games against these clubs and the ones you mentioned. i don't know how you think we can win it, when we couldn't beat basel at home or beat ludogreats in bulgaria
(i think) . two clubs much below the clubs we will face in europa. make peace with it that this is season is going to be a failure, with an outside chance of FA cup at best. with our manager making dubious decisions game in and game out it will an achievement if we make it to the quater finals of europa league. in my view we have to give it all for top 4 but i can easily see rodgers going for europa glory to save the season, and by the way i forgot everton are also there, we couldn't beat them last game . if we get beaten by spurs, this season is almost over for us .

09 Feb 2015 07:12:42
We're a different team now then we were at the start of the season, if the CL started now we'd have no problem getting out of that group.
The Everton game is a derby ffs, yes it's disappointing that we didn't win but current form doesn't matter in derby games.
Everyone complaining just because we didn't win away to an Everton team who had no desire to win the game, apart from that late Chelsea goal were unbeaten in the last 13 games and kept 4 clean sheets in a row, things are better than your making out.

I would guess if we played Basle now we would beat them. Football, its all about form.

I am not convinced we can beat basel now and without doubt teams like roma, spurs, sevilla, zenit, wolfsburg, ajax, napoli, are top notch teams.
we couldn't win against an absolute rubbish everton and that's all there is to it .
please understand the teams in europa we might have to face are above basel with all due respect to basel.
we beat a few teams like aston villa and sunderland who were woeful. we got a good display against west ham. europa has atleast 6 clubs better than us on form and better squad too, it wouldn't be easy . we would need the right system right team performing on the given day and i quite know it in my mind with rodgers around we will somehow manage to screw it.

09 Feb 2015 08:00:02
BennyC at least there is someone here who just looks things as they are and not moaning about positions.
In this form we have the upper hand against Tottenham by a mile and i see us moving closer to the 4th position in this game.
If we also beat Southampton the 4th spot is ours.

09 Feb 2015 08:03:50
Agree, it's tempting to say 'this is just who you are' but form is important and we are not playing the same as we did when we were in the CL early this season. Look at the Chelsea games recently - they barely had a shot on target for the whole 2 games in the cups recently but rolled us over when we met early season in the league

09 Feb 2015 09:02:56
We can beat Spurs, we beat them earlier when we were really poor, but it's no given and when it comes to form they just beat Arsenal, we couldn't beat Everton. Simple fact.

We can beat anyone if we play the way we know how to play in the system that has shown success. The manager and his ego trips, questionable selections and decision-aking in crucal moments are what I don`t trust.

09 Feb 2015 02:51:42
The last time Lucas got a long term injury. Liverpool's form dived and King Kenny lost his job as manager

Some players appear anonymous. When they are gone, that is when one notices the huge unsung contribution they have made.

Get fit soon Lucas. You WILL be missed.

Well said mate. Lucas has been the team's unsung hero for quite a while but some people just refuse to acknowledge they were wrong about writing him off so soon. Hopefully Brendan does the right thing and move Can into Lucas' place while he is injured and play Lovren or Kolo at CB. Playing Allen or Johnson would simply hinder the team's progress.

09 Feb 2015 08:04:55
Only thing I would disagree with is unsung. As a fan group, we rarely shut up about how much we like Lucas

KK was hindered and did not have a ready-made replacement in Can as we do now. BR IMO, will likely play Allen again vs a midfield of Dembele, Bentaleb and Mason. If that happens, Heaven help us all.

Agree 110% ohio, Allen is an accident waiting to happen and Gerrard is past it. Can and Henderson for that battle.