Liverpool FC Thread: Numero Deux

by **Crimey** Wed 31 Oct - 11:01

First topic message reminder :

For all Liverpool's based discussion.

If you're here just to wind Liverpool fans up, don't bother posting.

by TRUSSMAN66 Sun 27 Jan - 18:09

I fancy Everton to knock Oldham out....

Not being funny but Liverpool won a trophy and got to the final of the Fa cup last season and were in the same place in the league as they are now...

When you get rid of a Manager the next one is supposed to do better isn't he??..not worse.

by azania Sun 27 Jan - 19:48

They are better this year. You wont find this manager paying £35m on dross.

by TRUSSMAN66 Sun 27 Jan - 21:48

Results show that they are not....

by **Crimey** Sun 27 Jan - 23:27

It's hard to argue with that though, I understand that Dalglish had a lot more funds to use but when you sack a manager you expect an improvement. I don't think there has been any this year compared to last. Scoring more goals, but the defence looks a lot weaker.

I felt that Dalgish had just as much of a long-term strategy as Rodgers had, and the first part of that was to boost confidence by actually winning something, and it worked, one of the few feel good moments last year was 1. winning the Carling Cup and 2. getting to the FA Cup final. Neither of those are an option this year, losing to Swansea was probably marginally acceptable but losing to Oldham, despite a very strong line up is not.

I felt Rodgers approached the game all wrong today, he underestimated Oldham. Whether you argue that the Premier League is getting weaker, or the lower leagues stronger, the fact is that lower league teams are closer than they have been for a long time. Rodgers was wrong to expect to dominate possession with only two in midfield. Oldham were obviously going to play to their strengths and use big, strong players and it worked perfectly.

This meant that the wingers were isolated, the forwards starved of service and the defence suspect to attack. I think Rodgers expected it to be fairly easy, even after seeing a few upsets already this season and thought Sturridge/Suarez/Borini would pick a few goals up.

I'd have gone with a line up of:

---------------------Borini-----------
Assaidi/Sterling--------------Suso

-----------Shelvey---Henderson--

--------------------Allen

Robinson--Carragher---Coates---Wisdom

--------------------Jones---------

I felt like there was no reason to play Suarez and Sturridge again, and I realise that that team is arguably weaker than the one played but I think it has a lot more balance to it. I don't understand why Rodgers refuses to play Assaidi who looked pretty impressive in the Europa League and has width and pace. I also think that Coates looks much more comfortable next to Carragher, Skrtel and Coates both seem to play a very similar role and today Coates just looked confused.

I think Coates and Jones were the most disappointing, I find it hard to blame the attacking players like Sterling and Borini because the two man midfield was a ridiculous and disrespectful approach to the game. I really hope Reina is fit again because I'm not convinced by Jones at all, he's okay, but clearly a second choice goalkeeper rather than a first. I feel for Coates who has played well in the past but just had a bad day, probably because a lack of game time and speculation about his future.

Let's hope this is just a blip, and the good form can continue against Arsenal who are definitely a vulnerable side and I fancy Suarez to run rings around Mertesacker.

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Mon 28 Jan - 11:02

Olly wrote:Shall we cry together

Don't tart Liverpool with your brush! At least Oldham are in League 1 Laugh

FA: THE WEEKEND OF THE UPSETS

by **Kenny** Mon 28 Jan - 15:43

It's not often i agree with anything Andy Townsend says but i think he was spot on yesterday when he said teams should play their better players from the start then take them off if they are winning rather then bringing the likres of Gerrard off the bench with 20 minutes to go .

I was very disappointed with the whole team performance not one stand out player

by **Crimey** Mon 28 Jan - 16:54

It was against Oldham though, Gerrard shouldn't even have been needed, and I doubt he'd have been brought on if it wasn't for the disappointing displays of the rest. It's really an unacceptable performance and I think the pressure has to be on Rodgers to get the team to have a decent Europa League run.

He was complaining about depth the other day as one of the reasons of losing, but I don't think that's really an excuse, the team chosen was a very strong one and the squad does actually have quite a bit of depth now, even up front.

by **Kenny** Mon 28 Jan - 17:14

I agree the team should of been good enough to win , but personally i would rather get the game won then take the players off ......but thats just me .

I really dont think that laying into the young players in interview is a good idea either .

Fair play to Oldham they were the better team on the day and deserved to win .

I agree about the Europa league , we really need to take in seriously and try and win it , not just put all our eggs in one basket going for a top 4 place in the league .

by **Kenny** Tue 29 Jan - 14:56

Countinho at Mellwood for medical , fee agreed £8.2 million

by **Crimey** Tue 29 Jan - 14:57

I think it's vital that we win at Arsenal tomorrow, we still haven't beaten a team above us and beating Arsenal would push us towards the top 5.

by **Kenny** Tue 29 Jan - 14:59

next 2 games are both must wins for me Arsenal and Man City , we need to start picking points up on the teams above us and start taking points off them .

by Stella Tue 29 Jan - 15:00

Kenny wrote:next 2 games are both must wins for me Arsenal and Man City , we need to start picking points up on the teams above us and start taking points
off them .

I can't see you getting much from either of those, Kenny.

by **Crimey** Tue 29 Jan - 15:02

I think 4 points would be perfect from them two games, 3 points acceptable, 2 points okay.

by Stella Tue 29 Jan - 15:04

Two points would be a job well done, IMO.

by **Kenny** Tue 29 Jan - 15:04

I kind of agree , but you never know which Liverpool is going to turn up . We do create chances and if we can take a few then who knows ? but i wouldn't bet my own money on 2 wins

by GSC Tue 29 Jan - 15:05

Crimey wrote:I think 4 points would be perfect from them two games, 3 points acceptable, 2 points okay.

2 points ok? Taking 2 points from those 2 would be a good return.

by **Crimey** Tue 29 Jan - 15:05

Stella wrote:Two points would be a job well done, IMO.

I think we need to make for the poor performances earlier in the season with some big wins in the second half though, which is why I'd hope for 4-6 points.

by **Crimey** Tue 29 Jan - 15:06

GSC wrote:
Crimey wrote:I think 4 points would be perfect from them two games, 3 points acceptable, 2 points okay.

2 points ok? Taking 2 points from those 2 would be a good return.

See above.

by Stella Tue 29 Jan - 15:07

Arsenal seem to be getting back to more consistent form now and City are never easy.

by **Kenny** Tue 29 Jan - 15:09

Arsenal give you chances as do City , the key and i know it's obvious is to stop them scoring .............. i can see 3 - 4 goals in both games

by **Kenny** Wed 30 Jan - 14:59

Could be at least one other deal done before deadline aswell as Coutinho , mate was talking to staff at mellwood and they are anticipating medicals tomorrow being done

by **Kenny** Wed 30 Jan - 16:49

Coutinho deal complete

by **Crimey** Wed 30 Jan - 17:03

I'm very edgy with this deal, £8.5 million is a lot to spend on a player who is largely considered to have struggled in Italy and has a reputation for being lightweight, even in Brazil! It does also raise the question why we couldn't spend £5-6 million Dempsey.

I understand that he was older and didn't have the resale possibility like Coutinho but he was just the kind of player we needed, scored lots of goals from midfield, wanted to join the club and was very cheap. Real shame.

I hope Coutinho is a success, but I can't help but feel he's just the kind of player to not fulfil their potential.

by **Crimey** Wed 30 Jan - 21:42

Can't help but feel that was not only 2 points lost, but that Rodgers was happy to take the one point. 2-0 at 60 minutes, Arsenal's defence all over the place, that game should be over.

When Arsenal bring it back to 2-2 you want to see a response, but we sat back and soaked the pressure rather than going for the win. I don't understand what Rodgers was attempting to protect? Our mid-table position?

It was painfully obvious towards the end of the match that we needed to inject some pace, Suarez looked tired, Gerrard looked tired and Enrique and Downing don't have the pace to attack. Sterling should have been brought on, he'd have been hungry to take on a defence, which by all accounts, were very poor today and is speed would have forced more errors.

I think Sturridge was a huge disappointment today, these are the games where needs to score goals and get involved and he did very, very little. I felt that he dwelt on the ball too long, ruining chances to break and wasn't alert enough.

I think Sturridge needs to try harder to show why Suarez should be shoved out on the left to accommodate him.

by **Kenny** Wed 30 Jan - 22:54

I'm disappointed with a draw to be honest , we were far the better team for an hour and should of won , Sturridge wasn't in the game but Suarez annoyed me tonight ....... he gave the ball away far to much trying impossible passes through players .

by azania Thu 31 Jan - 0:38

Pool were lucky to come away with a draw. When Arsenal started playing we totally dominated and should have run away with it.

by **Crimey** Thu 31 Jan - 8:23

You could say Arsenal were lucky to come away with a draw, for the first hour you struggled and we should have definitely had more than 1 at half time. Then Liverpool still had a few really good chances in the last half an hour.

by Nakatomi Plaza Thu 31 Jan - 10:37

As poor as Arsenal were defensively all game, I thought the Gunners had more quality going forward, and still created two or three decent chances in the first half.

Both sides could have won it late on, but a lot of Liverpool's chances were aided and abetting by some clown like defending from Arsenal, whereas Arsenal had to work harder to create chances, because Liverpoo's back four, in particular Johnson and Carragher had really solid games.

by **Crimey** Thu 31 Jan - 10:57

I actually thought this was one of Johnson's poorer games, but that was likely because Walcott on the right and the team playing so horribly deep meant he couldn't push up as much as he wanted to do.

For me Wilshere was the man of the match, I don't know how long Wenger can put off giving him the armband as he is clearly the heart of the side and dragged them back into it. Vermaelen is not the player he once was.

by **Kenny** Thu 31 Jan - 11:01

Wilshere was everywhere for Arsenal lastnight , in fact it was a Gerrard esq type performance really impressed me .

by nasisillmatic Thu 31 Jan - 11:21

Carragher showed all his qualities last night, will be a big loss when he leaves or retires.

by **Kenny** Thu 31 Jan - 11:46

Rodgers not confident of getting Ince as Blackpool dont want to sell

by Soldier_Of_Fortune Thu 31 Jan - 11:49

Well it will be there loss. Apprantely he can leave for nothing in the summer.

by **Kenny** Thu 31 Jan - 11:58

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:Well it will be there loss. Apprantely he can leave for nothing in the summer.

If thats true then Blackpool must be crazy , imo they are being far to greedy they only paid £250,000 for him ............ i know we get 25% of any future sale which is why they dont want sell to us at the same prize as say Reading

by **Kenny** Wed 6 Feb - 23:24

Anyone heard if Coutinho is in the squad for the West Brom game ?

by nasisillmatic Thu 7 Feb - 13:19

Carragher has announced he will retire at the end of the season. This will be a massive loss for us.

Lets hope he stays on in a coaching role of some sort.

by **Crimey** Thu 7 Feb - 13:20

https://www.606v2.com/t40391-jamie-carragher-announces-retirement-at-the-end-of-the-season

by **Kenny** Thu 7 Feb - 13:43

Like you have said on the thread , im surprised at the timing cosidering how well he has played in the last few games .

by **Crimey** Thu 7 Feb - 13:44

Kenny wrote:Like you have said on the thread , im surprised at the timing cosidering how well he has played in the last few games .

From what he said about the manager, I think perhaps he has timed it like that purposely to tell Rodgers that while he's using him now don't plan to use him next year.

by **Kenny** Thu 7 Feb - 13:47

Yes in that way it lets Rodgers plan for the future , heard alot of talk about a bid foe Ashley Williams ( but given his opinion of Suarez ) im not sure that would be wise . Maybe Shawcross ?

by **Crimey** Thu 7 Feb - 13:52

I'm not a fan of Williams who is an average defender, I also think Shawcross is massively overrated. I think Huth is the better defender for Stoke.

I'd rather we gave the likes of Coates and Wilson the chance to be the back up next year, we've spent quite a bit of money on those guys and if we can continue with Agger/Skrtel as the main partnership they are good back up.

by **Kenny** Thu 7 Feb - 14:06

There was talk of a defender coming in in the summer but i forget his name ? free agent i think ?

Lots of storys going about on the net about players

Zenit to offer £15 million for Skrtel - that should be a non starter especially at that price

Fiorentina looking at Borini

Carroll to Newcastle in swap deal for Ben Arfa

by mobilemaster8 Thu 7 Feb - 14:19

mobilemaster8 wrote:
GSC wrote:I think this shouldve come 1 or 2 years earlier. Has been a shadow of himself the last couple of years.

What he lacked maybe in overall talent he more than made up for in commitment. Unfortunate to play in the same era as Sol, Rio and Terry in terms of England.

Whats even more of a shame is that he was just as good as those you mention.

Sol was at Arsenal who had been winning the league/fa cup along with unbeaten runs, Rio made a HUGE transfer to the number 1 club at the time in Man Utd and went on to win numerous titles and John Terry was the vocal point of a Chelsea team, who, in 2003, turned the Premier League on its head with copious amounts of money which inevitably brought them titles back to back.

Had Jamie been in ANY of those squads, and had any of thos mentioned players been at an underachieving Liverpool squad, he would have been picked hands down.

Well, thats how i feel anyway!

by nasisillmatic Thu 7 Feb - 14:23

Shawcross has just signed a 5 and half year contract, we'd be taken to cleaners if we signed him. I've never rated him either to be honest.

by **Kenny** Thu 7 Feb - 14:50

mobilemaster8 wrote:
mobilemaster8 wrote:
GSC wrote:I think this shouldve come 1 or 2 years earlier. Has been a shadow of himself the last couple of years.

What he lacked maybe in overall talent he more than made up for in commitment. Unfortunate to play in the same era as Sol, Rio and Terry in terms of England.

Whats even more of a shame is that he was just as good as those you mention.

Sol was at Arsenal who had been winning the league/fa cup along with unbeaten runs, Rio made a HUGE transfer to the number 1 club at the time in Man Utd and went on to win numerous titles and John Terry was the vocal point of a Chelsea team, who, in 2003, turned the Premier League on its head with copious amounts of money which inevitably brought them titles back to back.

Had Jamie been in ANY of those squads, and had any of thos mentioned players been at an underachieving Liverpool squad, he would have been picked hands down.

Well, thats how i feel anyway!

I wouldn't of swapped Carra for any of those 3

by **Crimey** Sun 10 Feb - 23:18

I'm hoping for a win tomorrow, not had a better chance at beating a side in the top half than against West Brom. Would put us in 7th and hopefully a good chance at pushing up.

Would be nice to get revenge for one of the most embarrassing results of the season, the 3-0 at the start of the year. Don't want to see Coutinho starting just yet, may as well ease him in. If Sturridge isn't fit, start with Sterling and move Suarez into the main striker's role.

by **Kenny** Mon 11 Feb - 10:22

Yes i agree unless Coutinho has trained with the rest of the squad and has an understanding of the way Rodgers wants to play then i wouldn't rush him in . Sturridge i heard should be fit but again i wouldn't rush him back ( maybe on the bench for 10-15 minutes if needed but hopefully not needed ), haven't seen the line up yet still early

by LivinginItaly Mon 11 Feb - 10:47

Do we have a europa league match on thursday also? If so why on earth are we playing on a monday. I know the decision will be sky's, but it still seems ridiculous.

by **Kenny** Mon 11 Feb - 10:54

We do have a game on thursday v Zenit ( itv 4 from 16.30 ) , we also have a game on sunday v Swansea ( only premier league game this weekend )

by **Crimey** Mon 11 Feb - 12:49

In that case I'd definitely rest Sturridge, no point aggravating an injury with an important game coming up.

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