The Liverpool Thread

[Tyton]

Bild are the German Dailymail. They are just as reliable as Marca.

They're pretty reliable with transfer news, actually.

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Those Markovic reports are from Tony Barrett at The Times. I can't agree he's shown promise. He has decent pace and tracks back when needed, but that's about it. In his defence he's been played out of position a lot, but even when played as an attacker, he's hasn't shown any of what I thought we had in store: Taking on his man, accelerating with the ball, cutting inside, and ultimately getting assists and goals. In fact he's shown the opposite: Afraid to take on his man, and basically no composure on the ball.

And we paid another 20 million for that.

You could half put some of it down to the move to another Country/ completely different style of football. But this is a guy who was playing regularly for Benfica the year before and has plenty of European experience the two prior years to getting here.

Given that, you expect FAR more than the little he's shown for the hefty fee paid. Another guy we heavily over paid for when resources could of been so much better used. This bunkum about not being able to pay for the top talent is exactly that. It's how you CHOOSE to spend it. And for years, we've chosen to spend it on average quantity instead of paying more for limited quality.

 

[dilakh2]

Still doesn't excuse the fact three years in, and a ridiculous amount of waisted money in both transfer fees and wages, he STILL doesn't have a spine to the side.

Mingolet was on nobody's radar when we signed him. ****, he was a back-up 'keeper at Sunderland who only got his chance due to Gordon's injury. And we go shell out £ 10 million. We finished second last year with the worst 'keeper in the league, and went through over £ 100 million this past season without addressing the weakest area of the team which has cost us MASSIVELY yet again. As poor as we've been all year, had we had ANY semblance of a solid 'keeper before Christmas, we'd more than likely be sat looking at the Champions League next year. A very poor Utd squad had that and he was the difference in them making the top 4. Mingolet turned it around for a good spell the second half of the year, to his credit; but he fell back again the last month culminating in the last game which just summed up what he is. Or should be. A half decent back-up 'keeper. Who is STILL starting for one of the biggest clubs on the planet. The single worst long term 'keeper I've had the displeasure of watching in a Liverpool shirt from when I first went the match back in '82.

Centre half is a continuing nightmare. Lovren has been an unmitigated disaster. I've never seen a centre half pull out of SO many tackles. The one thing they normally relish. And we unbelievably paid 20 0dd million for him. Sakho has the tools but has been VERY up and down. His lack of consistency and boneheadedness doesn't just go from game to game, but DURING games. Skrtel plays by default as he's the most experienced and solid. Which isn't saying much as he's a continued liability with his recklessness back there. And not one of them has any positonal awareness. The only one that does is Toure who has no pace for the Premier League now.

Now Gerrard's no longer here (who to be perfectly honest, as much as I love him, should have been completely omitted from the team a year back. Games just pass him by now. When your legs go, your legs GO and you may as well hang it up. I fear for him in America. As poor as the MLS is, they're still great athletes out there and he just can't keep up); there's absolutely nobody to step in and take his place. Henderson is as limited and average a footballer as you could wish for. He's your typical modern day player. A great athlete who'll run all day for you. With very little else to his game. Which has shown this year in a very poor team. Last year, when we where flying, we could carry someone like him. This year, when we aren't and the onus has been on him, the majority of games he's been shown up for what he is. Lucas has fallen back to what he was when he first come. Which isn't much of anything. And as for Rodgers perennial favourite Joe Allen ..... he goes sideways and backwards more often than Ray frigging Wilkins. 'He never gives the ball away' ..... he never freaking passes it more than 10 yards and rarely if ever forward! NOBODY has any concept how Joe Allen is even still at the club Yet he's talked up by the manager like he's the best we have.

And up front we have a guy with a horrendous injury history everyone knew wouldn't last for long spells through this season yet we totally and utterly neglected planning ahead for that. And next to nothing behind him.

And that's just the lack of a solid spine through the middle of the team we're talking about here.

To have gone through the turnover of players we've gone through the past 3 years and STILL not have that in place is both criminal and inexcusable.

**** me, couldnt have said it any better. but hey kolo kolo kolo kolo toure...

 

[CataDiaz12]

Liverpool needs a keeper, 1 or 2 CBs, 1 RB, 1 defensive midfielder and 1 goalscorer

Few names come to mind, Keylor Navas, Omer Toprak, Gary Medel and Lacazette

 

[Mr.T]

City are offering ridic wages to Milner because he is good for them and he helps to fill their English quota.

I do see him doing well at Anfield but I have a strong feeling he will play most of his games in the middle of the park. When I've watched him that's where he's done the most damage

 

[Dannybell2011]

the only thing i worry about milner is like what happened with joe cole i know there completely different players but similar situation high wages and i think they were about the same age?

 

[Vanjagl]

Yea but Joe Cole was never consistently good, and he was injury prone.

 

[mersk]

OT: This whole FIFA circus is really tragicomic. I just can't understand how Blatter himself hasn't been charged, I guess he's good at covering his tracks.

 

[Ride The Walrus]

I like milner, I hope he signs. But as a replacement for Gerrard, that ain't gonna work. Rodgers really hates using a defensive mid. Lucas attracting Inter Milan, and open to a move. Apparently rodgers thinks with a midfield of Allen, Hendo, Can, and Milner is enough to see us through the season. He's wrong, completely wrong.

I like Hendo, but he's not a captain. He hides when we're doing badly.

We're a mess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qxFVrdaMHc

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

Yea but Joe Cole was never consistently good, and he was injury prone.

That's harsh on Joe to say he was 'never consistently good.'

He was terrific at West Ham the first go-around and was a mainstay of Mourinho's Chelsea sides, really standing out the first couple of years. He'd tailed off the couple of years before we picked him up, mainly down to injury as you mentioned.

What happened with him at Anfield I honestly don't know. When Kenny took over from Hodgson the season we signed him you would of thought he was the perfect Dalglish type player but he never got a look in at all for whatever reason. Even youngsters like Spearing and Shelvey where preferred. What went wrong between him and Dalglish I don't know as he still had the talent and desire as he showed when he went out on loan to Lille; who loved him and really wanted to sign him on a permy.

His career has gone South since then, but Joe Cole was a real tidy little player the first decade or so of his career.

 

[mersk]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qxFVrdaMHc

"... the other thing is buying players who are emerging, buy them before they become world class. Well that's a great idea, superb idea, you think no one's ever thought of that before?"

Made me chuckle.

 

[xJamieWilliams]

Bring back Voronin and N'gog!!! XD

 

[PA11111]

Yea but Joe Cole was never consistently good, and he was injury prone.

joe cole not being consistently good hahaha he was one of the best players in england for 5 or 6 years before his injurys stated to take there tole on him when he was at chelsea he was absolutely class

 

[LFCMarshall]

The more I think about it the more Ancelotti or Klopp just make total sense in being appointed this summer. However, should Rodgers say I wouldn't exactly complain either

Interesting few weeks ahead though

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

The more I think about it the more Ancelotti or Klopp just make total sense in being appointed this summer. However, should Rodgers say I wouldn't exactly complain either

Interesting few weeks ahead though

Ancelotti would be a fantastic leveller for the loss of the Champions League in attracting top tier players.

I read a real interesting piece from Albertini a week or so back on the current mess at Milan that could of been talking about us. The basic gist was if Milan want to win now and gt back to prominence quickly, you bring back Carletto. If Berlusconi wanted to build another dynasty, you go with Klopp and afford him the time to do his thing. Then you've the health concern with Ancelotti which I take him at his word to take the time out and have the op and recuperate.

Here's my (not so) bold prediction .....

Ancelotti will finish the season as Liverpool manager. But he won't start it.

In the interim, it might well have to REALLY bottom out before it starts to get better .....

 

[Aannddyy]

Am I the only one who doesn't think Rodgers should be sacked?

We didn't have Suarez, we had the pleasure of an unfit Sturridge in a handful of games. Our forwards consisted of Balotelli, Lambert, & Borini, who between them didn't reach double figures.

This season, we put in one of the best defensive performances I've seen from a Liverpool side. If it wasn't for our dip towards the end of the season we would have ran United close to 4th place. Our abysmal end to the year really made United's awful performance look good, which is very frustrating.

If sacking Rodgers meant we would get Ancelotti and a world-class forward then I would accept it.. But very few managers that would be interested in Liverpool are better than Rodgers, and sacking him would be a huge mistake.

 

[mersk]

Am I the only one who doesn't think Rodgers should be sacked?

We didn't have Suarez, we had the pleasure of an unfit Sturridge in a handful of games. Our forwards consisted of Balotelli, Lambert, & Borini, who between them didn't reach double figures.

This season, we put in one of the best defensive performances I've seen from a Liverpool side. If it wasn't for our dip towards the end of the season we would have ran United close to 4th place. Our abysmal end to the year really made United's awful performance look good, which is very frustrating.

If sacking Rodgers meant we would get Ancelotti and a world-class forward then I would accept it.. But very few managers that would be interested in Liverpool are better than Rodgers, and sacking him would be a huge mistake.

There are too many problems to fix with one solution anyway, sacking Rodgers or not.

There are not enough people with actual football expertise at the club. The transfer strategy isn't working. We're supposed to buy talents before they break through, which is pretty stupid for 2 reasons: 1) Everyone does that, and 2) We're still spending a shitload of money, so why not buy quality?

We have a mediocre team. We have only one good striker, and he's injured more than he's not. Yet we failed to provide proper cover for him. Rodgers said he wasn't interested in Balotelli - 2 weeks later we sign Balotelli. I don't care who's to blame, Rodgers or the committee. I blame both.

I would like to see Rodgers leave. But I'd also like to see the owners and the transfer committee removed. If there's even a small chance we can get someone like Ancelotti or Klopp, we should already have approached them. But my guess is we'll continue with the committee, continue with Rodgers, and hope that everything miraculously solves itself next season.

 

[LFCMarshall]

Ancelotti would be a fantastic leveller for the loss of the Champions League in attracting top tier players.

I read a real interesting piece from Albertini a week or so back on the current mess at Milan that could of been talking about us. The basic gist was if Milan want to win now and gt back to prominence quickly, you bring back Carletto. If Berlusconi wanted to build another dynasty, you go with Klopp and afford him the time to do his thing. Then you've the health concern with Ancelotti which I take him at his word to take the time out and have the op and recuperate.

Here's my (not so) bold prediction .....

Ancelotti will finish the season as Liverpool manager. But he won't start it.

In the interim, it might well have to REALLY bottom out before it starts to get better .....

It depends what you class as 'bottom out'? I mean we rarely finish above 5th so it would have to be Hodgson esque relegation zone standered to be classed as that

Despite the crisis people are talking about the league position has not been changed from what we have on average achieved in the last 10 or so years

 

[Scouseinthehouse]

It depends what you class as 'bottom out'? I mean we rarely finish above 5th so it would have to be Hodgson esque relegation zone standered to be classed as that .....

The first half of next season being as poor as this past one, being well outside the top 4 come Christmas, pushing toward mid table and possibly out of the Leg Cup and Europe as well.

Anything remotely as bad as that I can't see Boston not finally acting.

 

[Aannddyy]

There are too many problems to fix with one solution anyway, sacking Rodgers or not.

There are not enough people with actual football expertise at the club. The transfer strategy isn't working. We're supposed to buy talents before they break through, which is pretty stupid for 2 reasons: 1) Everyone does that, and 2) We're still spending a shitload of money, so why not buy quality?

We have a mediocre team. We have only one good striker, and he's injured more than he's not. Yet we failed to provide proper cover for him. Rodgers said he wasn't interested in Balotelli - 2 weeks later we sign Balotelli. I don't care who's to blame, Rodgers or the committee. I blame both.

I would like to see Rodgers leave. But I'd also like to see the owners and the transfer committee removed. If there's even a small chance we can get someone like Ancelotti or Klopp, we should already have approached them. But my guess is we'll continue with the committee, continue with Rodgers, and hope that everything miraculously solves itself next season.

There is a huge gulf between clubs like City, United, & Chelsea compared to the rest of the league.. There are very few managers who could compete with those three with our squad. Sure you can blame Rodgers for the signings but what else was he meant to do!? We're not as tempting as the big 3 clubs and we don't pay the wages Arsenal do. Nor can we guarantee fourth place. Our biggest regret over the summer was not paying whatever it takes to sign Sanchez.

The transfer strategy isn't great, we've paid a lot of money for average players. That much is true. Perhaps it's Rodgers, perhaps it's not. Who really knows? Buying talents before we break through (which, btw, we're not doing, atm) is something Newcastle do, and it doesn't get you anywhere in football. It might get your relegated, though. We haven't spent well but players like Markovic, Coutinho, Lallana, Allen, Can, & Moreno are good players. Players that would get in most top clubs or at least have the potential to do so. Rodgers probably didn't want Balotelli, for obvious reasons.. I wish people would stop using Balotelli as an example of our transfers, he was a poorly thought out buy after all our other targets were taken by bigger clubs.

It's sad to see just how fickle Liverpool fans can be. We're similar to Newcastle in that way. When things go well we all sing and are proud to be red but as soon as things take a turn for the worst the manager should be sacked, the owners are bleeding us try and don't care about the fans, the players are useless, the world hates us, it's all a conspiracy! No, stop being ridiculous.

For all of Rodgers faults past and present, I honestly believe he is an incredibly talented manager. When he gets it right we're unstoppable and I really think we could benefit from having him long term. Tactically he is incredible, I know the team have made mistakes, but he has learned from every one of them. He may not be the man to buy our players, and perhaps the guys around him aren't the best to advise him, but every transfer is a flip of a coin, especially when the players you really want are signing for teams that can offer more money and consistent European football.