Liverpool Thread: Road to thinking we might get top 4, only to feel stupid at the end of the season

by **Crimey** Wed 05 Jun 2013, 2:52 pm

First topic message reminder :

Transfer ins:
Kolo Toure (free transfer from Manchester City)

Transfers out:
Danny Wilson (free to Hearts)
Jamie Carragher (free to Sky)
Peter Gulacsi (free to Salzburg)

by Guest Sun 05 Jan 2014, 2:34 pm

Yeah this should be a stroll today.

by **Crimey** Sun 05 Jan 2014, 2:37 pm

hampo171 wrote:I'd be dissappointed if Aspas, Moses, Sterling, Alberto struggling to create and score chances against a League One side Crimey.

So would I, but I'm not ruling it out. Aspas has looked completely void of confidence, and Moses has struggled without being in the first team. I have confidence in Henderson and Sterling. I'm hoping away from Sturridge and Suarez, Aspas steps up.

by **Kenny** Sun 05 Jan 2014, 5:44 pm

Not the most dominant display by all accounts be we are through 2-0 , and Bournemouth or Burton Albion away next round

by lfc91 Sun 05 Jan 2014, 7:34 pm

Wins a win, would have been better to dominate but the end result is the most important! Nice to see the likes of kelly and alberto getting starts. Only downside is the injury to agger...on the brightside though CB is one of the few positions we have real depth and quality so we should be fine for stoke. Think we need all 3 points, no slip ups!

by Guest Mon 06 Jan 2014, 10:19 am

I think the presuure of NOT LOSING got to both Rodgers and the team. Had they slipped up again it could have been the catalyst for a distastrous second half of the season and stifled them a bit. I agree with Rodgers that there are still some players who aren't doing enough to force their way into the starting eleven despite the opportunities they have given the depleted squad.

Our best eleven is good enough to get us CL qualification but once those guys starting missing games, the breach doesn't look like being filled by anyone with any real quality and whilst there's an argumentfor bolstering the squad, there's a bigger argument for some people having a bloody good look at themselves

by **Crimey** Mon 06 Jan 2014, 10:33 am

Yeah, think it was a matter of being a bit cautious of an upset, a win is a win and judging from what I heard and the highlights it was quite comfortable really. Just took a while for the goals to happen.

A bit disappointed in the likes of Moses, Alberto and Aspas who didn't seem to show enough to be considered for the first team in the future, this was an excellent opportunity to show what they could do considering the open spots in the squad. Hoping Aspas' goal, which was fairly well taken as it wasn't an easy shot will give him a boost of confidence. Think Alberto and Moses will lose a lot from being taken off at half-time but hopefully it's the kick up the arse they need.

by lfc91 Mon 06 Jan 2014, 10:41 am

Think the bottom line is we need reinforcements in january! Everyone will obviously have there own opinions on what positions we need reinforced but for me i would like to see a creative attacking midfield player and a winger.

by **Crimey** Mon 06 Jan 2014, 10:46 am

I'd like to see a central midfielder, a winger and possibly a left back depending on when Enrique is back.

Don't want to see big money spent though, or buying lots of players from foreign leagues and they struggle to adapt. I think keeping the squad balanced is more important at this stage than reinforcements, injuries haven't taken their toll so far and we've had Suarez out (suspension), Enrique, Sturridge, Gerrard, Allen etc. for long periods and coped, I think it'll be hard but could still continue. We have no European football which gives us a major advantage over those above us.

by Guest Mon 06 Jan 2014, 10:54 am

Crimey wrote:I'd like to see a central midfielder, a winger and possibly a left back depending on when Enrique is back.

Don't want to see big money spent though, or buying lots of players from foreign leagues and they struggle to adapt. I think keeping the squad balanced is more important at this stage than reinforcements, injuries haven't taken their toll so far and we've had Suarez out (suspension), Enrique, Sturridge, Gerrard, Allen etc. for long periods and coped, I think it'll be hard but could still continue. We have no European football which gives us a major advantage over those above us.

The problem being that if we DO get CL football next season and don't buy in January, we're not giving ourselves much opportunity to get in a raft of new players and give them time to settle in order to maintain our postion in Europe

by **Crimey** Mon 06 Jan 2014, 2:02 pm

DAVE667 wrote:
Crimey wrote:I'd like to see a central midfielder, a winger and possibly a left back depending on when Enrique is back.

Don't want to see big money spent though, or buying lots of players from foreign leagues and they struggle to adapt. I think keeping the squad balanced is more important at this stage than reinforcements, injuries haven't taken their toll so far and we've had Suarez out (suspension), Enrique, Sturridge, Gerrard, Allen etc. for long periods and coped, I think it'll be hard but could still continue. We have no European football which gives us a major advantage over those above us.
The problem being that if we DO get CL football next season and don't buy in January, we're not giving ourselves much opportunity to get in a raft of new players and give them time to settle in order to maintain our postion in Europe

I agree, but the level of player available this January before a World Cup is going to be low. Bigger clubs than us will snap up any quality available players, leaving us with not much to work with. Juan Mata is probably the best player I can see moving, but I think Chelsea will only sell him abroad.

by Guest Mon 06 Jan 2014, 2:23 pm

Crimey wrote:
DAVE667 wrote:
Crimey wrote:I'd like to see a central midfielder, a winger and possibly a left back depending on when Enrique is back.

Don't want to see big money spent though, or buying lots of players from foreign leagues and they struggle to adapt. I think keeping the squad balanced is more important at this stage than reinforcements, injuries haven't taken their toll so far and we've had Suarez out (suspension), Enrique, Sturridge, Gerrard, Allen etc. for long periods and coped, I think it'll be hard but could still continue. We have no European football which gives us a major advantage over those above us.
The problem being that if we DO get CL football next season and don't buy in January, we're not giving ourselves much opportunity to get in a raft of new players and give them time to settle in order to maintain our postion in Europe

I agree, but the level of player available this January before a World Cup is going to be low. Bigger clubs than us will snap up any quality available players, leaving us with not much to work with. Juan Mata is probably the best player I can see moving, but I think Chelsea will only sell him abroad.

We can hope against hope that we get another signing like Sturridge who makes an instant impact (when's he back BTW?)

by lfc91 Mon 06 Jan 2014, 3:38 pm

To be honest if soneone could look in a cyrstal ball and tell me that for the remainder of the season we would have our current squad all fit with no injuries, i would happily leave new signings to the summer! But we all know that wont happen, and if say sterling and coutinho were out for a few games at the same time we would be in serious trouble! Think 2 signings in this window would be ideal. We seem to be being linked alot with salah and rakitic (sp?). Good buys??

by **Kenny** Wed 08 Jan 2014, 4:54 pm

Rakitic could be a good buy if the price is right , only seen him a few times but he looks like he has a decent touch and plays the holding midfielder role ... but like i said would depend on the fee .

Salah has looked very good at Basel at times and would imo me a good signing but i think other clubs will offer more money for him .

the one that is interesting is Bertrand from Chelsea , would they sell him ? especially to a rival ?

by **Crimey** Wed 08 Jan 2014, 8:09 pm

I don't think Bertrand is better than Enrique or even Cissokho for that matter. For me he's just a level above Flanagan. Think he'd come at an inflated price as well because he's English, young and at Chelsea. Don't want to go near him.

by lfc91 Thu 09 Jan 2014, 8:55 am

Yes i see no point in signing a left back, once enriques back we will have plenty of options there! Either a CM or CAM, and a winger and i would be more than happy.

by nasisillmatic Thu 09 Jan 2014, 9:13 am

I've never heard of Rakitic, but if he's a holding midfielder then I'm all for it. What kind of fee would we be looking at paying for him?

by **Kenny** Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:05 pm

nasisillmatic wrote:I've never heard of Rakitic, but if he's a holding midfielder then I'm all for it. What kind of fee would we be looking at paying for him?

papers are saying between £5 - £8 million depending on which report you read .

by nasisillmatic Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:26 pm

Cheers.

Does anyone think it's worth trying to get Matuidi on a pre-contract for the summer?

by Guest Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:43 pm

We need signings that are not only going to get us over the finish line for at least a top four place but for them to be good enough to allow us to be competitive in Europe the following season and to maintain that top four place.

Would hate to sign someone whose just looked good for a short period but with no proven consistency.

by **Kenny** Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:49 pm

I know we are looking to the future but most of the ' targets ' all seem to be of a certain age .....not much experience

by Guest Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:52 pm

Danger is that we buy more players who end up like Aspas as opposed to Sturridge

by **Kenny** Thu 09 Jan 2014, 12:54 pm

I said at the time that i would of rather spent the 5-6 million on Shane Long

by lfc91 Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:37 pm

Just wondering whether anyone knows if theres a clause with our loaned out players that says we can recall them at any time? If we dont actually manage to sign anyone this window, i think recalling assaidi and suso could improve our squad greatly!(especially suso). Would maybe leave borini where he is though.

by mystiroakey Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:37 pm

I dont know but I doubt it.

by **Crimey** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:41 pm

Yeah, not sure if we do, and not sure if we do whether it'd be a good idea, might just ruin relationships with certain clubs and give the club a bad reputation making it harder to send our players out on loan.

I do think Assaidi would be good for the club though, said the same last year, was never really given a good shot at the first team despite showing promise when he did play. Think he'd be better than Moses currently. Suso is having a great year in Spain but I do worry whether or not he'll ever properly adjust to England, would like to see him given a shot next year.

by **Kenny** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:48 pm

I think with most season long loan deals there is a clause stating the player can be recalled in the january transfer window ( speaking to my mate at Hull City i know that is the case with both their loans in and out ) but i agree with Crimey it may damage relations between clubs if we were to recall them .

Maybe we could recall them and send another player out to replace them ? that is tongue in cheek by the way

by mystiroakey Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:49 pm

if that was the case wouldn't we be seeing Lukaka back in at chelsea?

by **Kenny** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:53 pm

mystiroakey wrote:if that was the case wouldn't we be seeing Lukaka back in at chelsea?

That would be upto Jose ? like i said I'm only going on what happens at other clubs not sure there is a defined loan process but it would seem odd if it were different club to club ?

by mystiroakey Sat 11 Jan 2014, 12:59 pm

Well yes it would be - but i would have assumed we would have least heard speculation that jose would have the option to do it

by **Kenny** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 1:01 pm

mystiroakey wrote:Well yes it would be - but i would have assumed we would have least heard speculation that jose would have the option to do it

As odd as it sounds i just get the impression Jose doesn't think Lukaku is ready to play for Chelsea ......but thats just my opinion

by mystiroakey Sat 11 Jan 2014, 1:04 pm

But fans may have mentioned it. The media may have mentioned it. I have never heard players being able to be recalled during January . But then surely its just up to the individual contracts between the two clubs. I am sure its possible and that there is no ruling against it. January must be the time when players could potentially return- But I would expect that would take a new deal between the two clubs involved. Just like any other new loan deal.

by **Kenny** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 1:08 pm

I know Sunderland can recall Danny Graham upto January 31st and Hull can do the same with Hobbs at Forest .

Had a look about but can't find a actual definition regarding loans that says anything about it , so maybe it is individual contracts ? It would make sense for the loaning out club to insert a clause though wouldn't it .

by lfc91 Sat 11 Jan 2014, 1:29 pm

Cheers guys. Was just a thought because i think we definatley need a few more players either way. At the same time though both assaidi and suso are doing well at their respective clubs and maybe leaving them there for the remainder of the season will be more benificial for them and the club in the long run.

by **Kenny** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 1:38 pm

I have texted my mate at City ( he deals with contracts there ) and asked him if there is a rule , let you know when he gets back to me .

by **Crimey** Sat 11 Jan 2014, 3:20 pm

It surely depends on the fee? If Stoke have paid £500k for Assaidi for the season and paid that up front, then Liverpool surely can't recall him in January, unless they pay Stoke for the privilege.

I think it'll be done on an individual basis, so some loans will have it in the deal that the club will pay x amount up until January 31st, and then if the parent club doesn't recall them, y amount for the rest of the season. Or the club pays z amount at the start of the season and the parent club has no recall ability.

The loanee club is allowed to send the player back as well, as last year Sahin was sent back early, but it is very confusing as the parent club might not want the player back...and have to start paying the wages back?

I'm sure it's very confusing and it really depends on what the deal is between the two clubs.

by lfc91 Sun 12 Jan 2014, 3:27 pm

Best team we could field in my opinion (with all the injuries).

by **Crimey** Sun 12 Jan 2014, 4:33 pm

Agreed, I would prefer Kelly instead of Cissokho with Johnson moving to the left, but Johnson and Sterling have a good understanding so it wouldn't really make sense to make that change.

by Hulking_up Sun 12 Jan 2014, 4:43 pm

Suarez hulking up thumbsup

by lfc91 Sun 12 Jan 2014, 5:03 pm

Im in total disbelief that we just threw away a 2 goal lead like that. Would love to know what was going through the players minds when they decided not to close the crosser down/charlie adam down. Literally in shock here, our defence has been a real shambles for a lot of this season! Gerrards passings been very poor this year and cissohko is just a horrible player.

by **Crimey** Sun 12 Jan 2014, 5:28 pm

I think Gerrard is still unfit, hence being made to play much deeper. Definitely shouldn't last the full 90 minutes. Would consider putting Sturridge on for him, pulling Henderson deeper.

by lfc91 Sun 12 Jan 2014, 6:56 pm

Well what a game for the neutrals! Large element of good fortune to 2/3 of liverpools goals. Poor defending from both sides at times. But credit where its due we got a win (which against stoke has seemed impossible in the past) so credit to rodgers and the team.

In terms of our team, the sooner kelly and enrique are back to full fitness the better! No confidence in johnson anymore and cissohko is awful in my eyes. Gerrards passing at times was poor but hes been out quite a while so that could be the reason. He was fantastic tracking back and what he brings to the team in terms of leadership is irreplaceable! Bring on villa, one happy man here this sunday night!

by **Crimey** Sun 12 Jan 2014, 10:06 pm

Yeah Gerrard didn't look fit, but he's only going to get fitter through playing, the older you get the harder it is to come back at your best so wiling to give him some leeway. Sturridge coming back straight away and getting a goal and an assist is very good though.

I think Johnson has been poor this year, which is unfortunate as I felt he was very good the last two years. Perhaps his age and lack of pace is catching up to him. Not sure Kelly is the answer, I like him but he's just not got the fitness to be our long-term option. Perhaps that somewhere Rodgers should be looking at improving, think there is a dearth of quality right backs all over the world though at the moment.

by lfc91 Sun 12 Jan 2014, 10:13 pm

Short term though i think kelly should be given a run of games, plus might also give johnson a kick up the ar*e and make him realise that he cant continue to start games whilst playing like this. He has pretty much been the only RB for the majority of the season so knew he would be playing regardless!

Still hope there will be some new faces before the end of the month but i didnt get the feeling that rodgers was very optimistic going by his interview...

by nasisillmatic Mon 13 Jan 2014, 9:33 am

Coming away from Stoke with 3 points is a great feeling, but our defense needs to sort itself out. The quality of our forwards was what kept us alive yesterday. Since his return from injury Glen Johnson has been just plain awful, can't seem to defend and his on ball ability has gone. No idea what's wrong with him but he needs to sort it out.

Mignolets' mistakes are getting beyond a joke. The problem is he can't be dropped because we only have Jones as back up.

by liverbnz Mon 13 Jan 2014, 10:14 am

I think Mignolet has earned himself a bit of leeway. He's in bad form yes, but still pulling off game-changing saves.

by Guest Mon 13 Jan 2014, 10:36 am

Mignolet will reduce the number of goals conceded when our defence stops gifting chances to the opposition. We were all over the shop yesterday and it something that needs addressing. Agger and Skyrtel used to be a pretty dominant pairing but with Agger injured and Martin having a somewhat bi-polar approach to his defensive duties this season, we are going to get hammered pretty soon if we don't tighten up.

Johnson's form has dipped of late, we got rid of Wisdom, Cissokho isn't working out, Kelly has a lot of work to do to get back to the form he showed before injury, Toure seems to be suffering from a lack of game time and on and on and on. I think Sakho may work out nicely and Flanagan has been a revelation thus far but outside of those two, our defenders haven't done particularly well and both Gerrard and Lucas have been pulling their chestnuts out of the fire on, to my way of thinking, far too many occasions.

Still, fourth place with the majority of a our main rivals having to come to Anfield, there's a real hope that we can turn a couple of them over and ensure CL football is secure without having to bank on other results out of our control. We could do with a Arsenal, City and Chelsea drawing against each other just to give us a bit of a boost as well.

by Lumbering_Jack Mon 13 Jan 2014, 10:43 am

It would be shame for Liverpool to makes the Champions League. Whilst, in Suarez, Liverpool has the best player in the league, he is such a disgusting little cheat that seeing him achieve his goal of champions league football would be wrong.

What did LFC fans make of the dive from Sterling yesterday? Happy as it set you on your way to 3 points, or ashamed because he went down quicker that a hooker giver a 20 quid note.

by nasisillmatic Mon 13 Jan 2014, 10:59 am

I think we'd all be lying if we said if we wern't happy. Tt wasn't a penalty in my eyes, tf it went against us I wouldn't I'd have been fuming.

by **Crimey** Mon 13 Jan 2014, 11:00 am

Leave it out Jack.

Don't think it was a dive, not a penalty no, but do think Sterling was pushed slightly and went down too easily, don't think it was a dive, wasn't looking for something that wasn't there. Took quite a lot of replays for me to come to that decision, definitely looked like a penalty on first viewing.

To be fair to the defence yesterday, it was very make-shift. Toure and Cissokho haven't played a lot recently and that's are also new players so that is always going to disrupt the balance. Think a fully fit first choice defence is pretty decent to be honest and they'll get better once they get some consistency.

by Guest Mon 13 Jan 2014, 11:01 am

It wouldn't be a shame for Liverpool to make the Champions League. They've played great attacking football and, in Suarez, have a world class striker who makes the EPL better in terms of quality. Yeah, he comes with baggage but so do alot of players. He's improved his attitude & reduced the amount of controversial situations that he used to get caught up in. Yeah, I don't like him, but I'd rather watch him play than see him go to Spain & make the EPL weaker.

It was never a penalty, referee got done but it wasn't a ridiculous dive, there was actual contact. Not sure what Liverpool fans will make of your post though, clearly trying to start some kind of argument.

by Sponsored content