Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14 Mod warning post#7005

Courtesy Flush

NukaCola wrote: »

Not really, Southampton cut us open but never took their chances. Utd were muck be we controlled them well. 2 games, we were solid in one and not the other.

Not so. We have been more solid in defence the last two games definitely

Pilsbury Doughboy

NukaCola wrote: »

Not really, Southampton cut us open but never took their chances. Utd were muck be we controlled them well. 2 games, we were solid in one and not the other.

People are being harsh on the defence, yes Southampton cut us open a few times, they are entitled to play some nice football, we are not that good where no one will create a chance against us.

LiamoSail

Fair play to Lloyd on that post, don't think the humble pie is all that necessary though.

Good posters aren't those that are always right, they're those that put forward an articulate argument based on reason. Irrespective of being wrong on Rodgers, there was sound reasoning for the pessimism and such discussion adds greatly to the thread

NukaCola

Courtesy Flush wrote: »

Not so. We have been more solid in defence the last two games definitely

Individual mistakes maybe, but not solid against Southampton first half.....quite shaky even. But i'll take a jammy CS any day.

Nerdlingr

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Since lucas got injured and gerrard has played DM we have a record of
Played 7
Won 6
Drew 1
Lost 0
For 23
Against 7
Pts 19
We have hammered everton, arsenal and utd in that period. My opinion on Lucas is that he is too slow to play the DM position the way we play. Gerrard has been immense in the position and has all the attributes needed to play there for another season atleast. Covers the ground much quicker than lucas and his short and long passing is streets ahead of lucas.

Said it ages ago but the thing with Lucas is he passes the ball back to our centre backs more often than not. He's not progressive with his passing, and rarely turns to face the play. He's grand to have as a sub now. Shore up things if needs be. But again on Sunday he came on as a sub and straight away gave a free kick away at the edge of our box - his trademark; giving away stupid free kicks. We've fallen on our best team now and at the moment it means no space for lucas (or coutinho).

Utopia Parkway

NukaCola wrote: »

Not really, Southampton cut us open but never took their chances. Utd were muck be we controlled them well. 2 games, we were solid in one and not the other.

Southampton really only had two clear chances the entire game though. That's not too bad considering Southampton would expect to create a few good chances at home even against very good teams. In the second half of that game they didn't get a sniff.

emo72

coronation street. pope. royal wedding. anything resembling them?


edit....that was a reply meant for rawk and ended up here? weird.

Gbear

I'd love to see Sakho back against Cardiff.

He could be a huge player for us in the run in. The big mutant.

The best Agger has been is mediocre.

Iused2likebusts

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Said it ages ago but the thing with Lucas is he passes the ball back to our centre backs more often than not. He's not progressive with his passing, and rarely turns to face the play. He's grand to have as a sub now. Shore up things if needs be. But again on Sunday he came on as a sub and straight away gave a free kick away at the edge of our box - his trademark; giving away stupid free kicks. We've fallen on our best team now and at the moment it means no space for lucas (or coutinho).

Totally agree much better if your DM can open up and release our pacey players with quick incisive passing. I think the days of lucas being a regular are gone he is not quite up to the level of a CL team. Id personally alternate sterling/coutinho depending on the opposition.

NabyLadistheman

Well done Llyod great post. I didn't agree with your stance and sparred a few times with you, but all the same you were strong in your opinion and staunch in your defence. The thread has been an interesting place over the last 18 months because of this debate.

My main issue was your pessimisim. Rodgers was only in the job and you had him written off. That frustrated me as I believed he should have been given a chance to prove himself. If he turned out not to be so good then fair enough.

I'm glad you made your post as this put's an end to all the gibes and queries from poster's who were curious to hear your thoughts now the club is doing well. It even entered my head during the match on Sunday what the thoughts of the 'non-deciples' would be!

We are all in agreement that the club are firmly headed in the right direction. Win our final 9 games and a positive summer will be in store for everyone!

5starpool

On the tasteless chants thing, I was rewatching the game a few mins here and there earlier (up to half time now only, will finish tomorrow) and I noticed that on the 30 minute mark approximately, Liverpool fans did the usual "Fergie's right, your fans are ****e" chant, which was met by a very loud and audible (if short enough) chant of "The s*n was right, murderers" which was a disgraceful reaction. I have no doubt that at time Liverpool fans have chanted tasteless stuff in utd's direction as well, but in this instance it certainly wasn't a reaction to a Munich chant, at least directly.

mike65

emo72 wrote: »

coronation street. pope. royal wedding. anything resembling them?


edit....that was a reply meant for rawk and ended up here? weird.

there's a a wormhole between the two you know, one of my posts got quoted there a few weeks back (I lurk but I also peek at redcafe, bluemoon, arsemania etc).

Pilsbury Doughboy

Suarezistheman wrote: »

Well done Llyod great post. I didn't agree with your stance and sparred a few times with you, but all the same you were strong in your opinion and staunch in your defence. The thread has been an interesting place over the last 18 months because of this debate.

My main issue was your pessimisim. Rodgers was only in the job and you had him written off. That frustrated me as I believed he should have been given a chance to prove himself. If he turned out not to be so good then fair enough.

I'm glad you made your post as this put's an end to all the gibes and queries from poster's who were curious to hear your thoughts now the club is doing well. It even entered my head during the match on Sunday what the thoughts of the 'non-deciples' would be!

We are all in agreement that the club are firmly headed in the right direction. Win our final 9 games and a positive summer will be in store for everyone!

Good post imo, I can relate to the bolded bit, it might be simplistic but I believe any new Liverpool manager deserves respect, at least until he shows himself to be out of his depth a la Hodgson. Voice your concerns by all means but the name calling was a bit much I felt.

opr

Gbear wrote: »

I'd love to see Sakho back against Cardiff.

He could be a huge player for us in the run in. The big mutant.

The best Agger has been is mediocre.

I really don't get this Agger bashing. I certainly don't get it in the context of this Sakho defensive savior stuff which seems to happen most of our players when they spend extended periods on the sidelines. The tomkin times did a huge analysis recently on defensive errors by players which has led to goals this season and I believe Sakho led the number of errors. Agger had a tough game on his return which was quite natural given his lengthy time out due to injury. Since then we've kept two clean sheets away from home, something which we've really struggled to do all season but yet somehow Agger is a problem. That's a tiny sample I know but Agger's stats over a much larger sample bear out that we're more defensively solid with him in the team.

Opr

Pilsbury Doughboy

It's weird how it works you have games where Agger is pansying about the place, being bullied aerially and lax in general, then you have Skrtel who piles in needlessly, tugs jersey relentlessly and also on occasion looks like a faux hardman with his tattoos. Sakho had a few dodgy moments of his own albeit from way less games, then other days the all look like world beaters, it can literally change from game to game perceptions of these players, so right now Agger and Skrtel were solid against Utd , so stick with them, if Skrtel the donk returns against Cardiff then I'll want him out and Sakho back in!

Overall, I said it before I wanna see Agger and Sakho play a few games together.

mada999

I wonder now that we have the full squad back will it cause Rodger's to over think formations and personnel? Should he stick to the team of the last month or swap and change? imo as regards Gerrard and lucas, I'd rather now have Gerrard there since he's playing so well and also keep Coutinho in and Allen out and swap depending on the opponents (ie. chelsea and city)

Holsten

Chances Liverpool can finally win the league?

What are everyone's views currently?

Paulegend

Holsten wrote: »

Chances Liverpool can finally win the league?

What are everyone's views currently?

we're gonna win the league:D

opr

The Gerrard holding thing is really interesting. I think Rodger's deserves all the credit in the world for how he has worked it out recently in this diamond formation. Gerrard's huge strengths in that position are his ability on the ball and the way in which he can transition us into attack with his array of passing ability. Defensively though is where he isn't going to give you as much as a dedicated DM. So Rodger's has put Allen/Henderson in front of him who between them get through huge amounts of work off the ball with Gerrard cleaning up behind.

I was listening to the Anfield Index podcast earlier who love stats. The amount of presses, interceptions, tackles and ground covered by those two is just incredible. Joe Allen covered the most ground of any player on the pitch yesterday (11.87km) & Jordan Henderson covered the second most (11.25km). The pressing stats are incredible in numbers for both along with the tackling stats. (First half and hour is well worth a listen)

How we pressed as a team was for me the most impressive aspect of the United performance. We've been hugely fluid with the ball for most of the season while not pressing and defending with the same level. If we can put that kind of performance off the ball together with our attacking play, I would fear playing no one.

Opr

hefferboi

I love the way Joe Allen plays. Won't get the plaudits like Gerrard, Suarez or even Henderson but he'll work his arse off for the team and is technically as good as anyone imo. Players like him are badly needed in any successful team.

K-9

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Said it ages ago but the thing with Lucas is he passes the ball back to our centre backs more often than not. He's not progressive with his passing, and rarely turns to face the play.

He's grand to have as a sub now. Shore up things if needs be. But again on Sunday he came on as a sub and straight away gave a free kick away at the edge of our box - his trademark; giving away stupid free kicks. We've fallen on our best team now and at the moment it means no space for lucas (or coutinho).

This is one of those things often said about him and taken as truth. I posted stats a few weeks ago about chance creation, not just looking at assists and who scored, but build up play, and Lucas was heavily involved in build ups to goals. The stats just don't back you up.

I'd agree on the free kicks and his tendency to give away yellows. I'd say he just isn't as good a DM as he was pre injuries, but this creative thing is just a bit of a myth for me.

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

Southampton really only had two clear chances the entire game though. That's not too bad considering Southampton would expect to create a few good chances at home even against very good teams. In the second half of that game they didn't get a sniff.

Yeah, we defended quite well against Southampton.

Just on the Hillsborough comments article, they've been raised in the press before while SAF was there, I think SAF and Dalglish appealed for people to stop the vile chants a couple of years ago, so unless I've missed something, I don't see why SAF is coming in for criticism on it.

Did SAF ban a journalist for bringing up the chants?

hefferboi

This was posted by the official LFC Facebook page earlier on tonight. Tweeted by the daughter of MH370 chief steward Andrew Nari.

Augmerson

hefferboi wrote: »

I love the way Joe Allen plays. Won't get the plaudits like Gerrard, Suarez or even Henderson but he'll work his arse off for the team and is technically as good as anyone imo. Players like him are badly needed in any successful team.

I wonder does Rodgers still have the picture of him on his desk.

opr

opr wrote: »

I was listening to the Anfield Index podcast earlier who love stats. The amount of presses, interceptions, tackles and ground covered by those two is just incredible. Joe Allen covered the most ground of any player on the pitch yesterday (11.87km) & Jordan Henderson covered the second most (11.25km). The pressing stats are incredible in numbers for both along with the tackling stats. (First half and hour is well worth a listen)

It'll be interesting next season if that can continue. There's only a couple of eh, regimes, that seem to be able to get players to do that kind of thing on a regular basis when having to deal with European football and all.

opr

Deleted User wrote: »

It'll be interesting next season if that can continue. There's only a couple of eh, regimes, that seem to be able to get players to do that kind of thing on a regular basis when having to deal with European football and all.

Absolutely no way it can continue with our squad size. We will need serious investment in the summer if we want to continue playing like that with European football. It hasn't though been a feature of our games for most of the season. We've tended up until recently to just outscore teams. I do think Rodgers wants to evolve into a team that can press with that relentless attitude coupled with ability on the ball. To do that though we'll need serious squad depth.

The fact that we've players like Henderson/Allen who maybe know they need to show that kind of work off the ball to justify a place in the starting 11 has been a huge plus for us. I think sometimes teams concentrate too much on creatively rather than winning the battles.

The other massive thing and I said it when he almost signed for Arsenal was just how much Suarez influences things. When you have your star player working as hard as he does off the ball then every other player on that team has no excuse for not putting in the same kind of effort.

We will though in the summer need to invest lots of money and buy well. I just hope that doesn't get lost in the euphoria of how well this small squad does this season.

Opr

opr

opr wrote: »

Absolutely no way it can continue with our squad size. We will need serious investment in the summer if we want to continue playing like that with European football. It hasn't though been a feature of our games for most of the season. We've tended up until recently to just outscore teams. I do think Rodgers wants to evolve into a team that can press with that relentless attitude coupled with ability on the ball. To do that though we'll need serious squad depth.

The fact that we've players like Henderson/Allen who maybe know they need to show that kind of work off the ball to justify a place in the starting 11 has been a huge plus for us. I think sometimes teams concentrate too much on creatively rather than winning the battles.

The other massive thing and I said it when he almost signed for Arsenal was just how much Suarez influences things. When you have your star player working as hard as he does off the ball then every other player on that team has no excuse for not putting in the same kind of effort.

We will though in the summer need to invest lots of money and buy well. I just hope that doesn't get lost in the euphoria of how well this small squad does this season.

Opr

Suarez needs to do **** all even, just being on the pitch means 2 players have to cover him.

ardinn

I was thinking to myself a few weeks ago that the team could simply not keep the tempo up that they are currently running at - Even with a week between games, Obvs they can but with midweek nights?? Not a chance. Also think lucas will do really well in this set-up if he gets the game time, just a feeling - he will be hungry to prove his worth once again!!

Charlie19

---

Mig

---

back four

---

Gerrard
----Allen--Henderson

---

Sterling or Couthino
----Suarez--Sturridge

Players in Bold are the must start at the moment and BR can do what he likes with the rest, don't change what's not broken. No need for any tinkering. Anyone notice the lack of Moses lately?

Didn't think so;)

ardinn

Just pulled this out of the utd thread but thought it was a giggle

stankratz wrote: »

It really is bonkers what is being tolerated and accepted. I don't think Laurent Blanc actually said the following as was previously 'reported' - "In France, he'd already be sacked". But I do know for a fact that the following words were actually said "In Hong Kong, you'd already be dead."

It was the wise Jett Li who uttered them, Lethal Weapon 4, and he too had to deal with endless incompetence from his Triad-backed boss called Uncle Benny. Eventually, Jett Li had to take care of things himself. He used piano wire to violently asphyxiate Uncle Benny in the end, but then went on to fall in battle himself against the weathered but deadly Detective Martin Riggs. This victory lifted the self-esteem of Det. Riggs as he previously believed that he was "too old for this shít".

Anyway my point here is, if we (Jett Li) get rid of Moyes (Uncle Benny) at this moment, we think we'll be grand and happy and we'll get our forefathers back. But Riggs and Murtagh (Man City) are still coming to kill us next week, just after Leo Getz (Liverpool) beat us to within an inch of our lives a few days ago in our own house.

Point; Lethal Weapon 4 is awesome and highly underrated.

K-9

Flanagan in the European whoscored.com team of the week again!

Vicxas

K-9 wrote: »

Flanagan in the European whoscored.com team of the week again!

So flanno is on par with Dani Alves.

punk_one82

Charlie19 wrote: »

---

Mig

---

back four

---

Gerrard
----Allen--Henderson

---

Sterling or Couthino
----Suarez--Sturridge

Players in Bold are the must start at the moment and BR can do what he likes with the rest, don't change what's not broken. No need for any tinkering. Anyone notice the lack of Moses lately?

Didn't think so;)

I do agree that in order to be competitive we need to start some defenders

K-9

Reds analysis: how much does momentum count for title-chasing Liverpool FC? - Liverpool Echo

Good read about momentum and form. W8 and D2 but if we go back to the Hull loss, we've won 12 D2 and L2 since, 38/48 points!

Something like 21/27 is the minimum we'd need to have a chance of the title I'd say. If it was 2 months ago I'd have had said no hope.

rob316

Same line up for every game the only thing I would is rotate between Sterling, Coutinho and Allen.
Leave the defence, one of Agger/Skrtel will be off in the summer I imagine so Sakho will get his chance next year.

9 games to go, plenty of depth there and plenty of quality.

tok9

I'm just happy to see Allen get a few games under his belt and show he can be a really good player for us.

I really felt he was judged far too early by a few people due to his price tag, dip in form and injuries, but he's come back and as far as I'm concerned should be starting every game.

rob316

tok9 wrote: »

I'm just happy to see Allen get a few games under his belt and show he can be a really good player for us.

I really felt he was judged far too early by a few people due to his price tag, dip in form and injuries, but he's come back and as far as I'm concerned should be starting every game.

I think the problem posters have with him is he isn't creative and for his price tag that is a a problem. I have no issue with that, you need players like that in your squad. He is tough, recycles possession well and breaks up play well. He will get better as he gets more games.

billy2012

tok9 wrote: »

I'm just happy to see Allen get a few games under his belt and show he can be a really good player for us.

I really felt he was judged far too early by a few people due to his price tag, dip in form and injuries, but he's come back and as far as I'm concerned should be starting every game.

Ever since I saw Allen against City in Anfield last year I was convinced he was a seriously class player. I really like the the guy, he is sooo underrated!!! He does such an important job that goes unnoticed by so many.

barone

i actually think we need to win all our games and should play to win all of them ,its what were best doing right now.

one game at a time ,full concentration ,move onto next game then,and only then

Grayditch

barone wrote: »

i actually think we need to win all our games and should play to win all of them ,its what were best doing right now.

one game at a time ,full concentration ,move onto next game then,and only then

That's a mad idea!

Knex*

Allen is quietly efficient and I've said it since he first joined, I'm happy to have him in the squad.

He's not always what we need, but you always know what you're going to get from him. Football is a squad game nowadays, and he has an important role to play for us.

Knex*

barone wrote: »

i actually think we need to win all our games and should play to win all of them ,its what were best doing right now.

one game at a time ,full concentration ,move onto next game then,and only then

Nerdlingr

K-9 wrote: »

I posted stats a few weeks ago about chance creation, not just looking at assists and who scored, but build up play, and Lucas was heavily involved in build ups to goals. The stats just don't back you up.

Of course Lucas is gonna be involved in 'build up play' if he more often than not is the first point of contact for the centre backs. Stats arent the be all and end all. They can be mis-leading you know.

Paulegend

---

migs
new---new----sakho---new

---

gerrard

---

hendo---new
sturridge

---

sterling

---

suarez

---

jones
flano---wisdom----kelly---robo

---

lucas

---

allen---coutinho
aspas

---

ossaidi

---

borini

---

youth
ryan---jones----new---smith

---

youth

---

tex---alberto
suso

---

ibe

---

new

we will def need a lot of work done in the summer.

i can see toure leaving this year. maybe a new experienced defender brought it in his place. someone like hangeland i would love but i think rodgers might go for someone he knows like Ashley Williams.

one of skrtel and agger will def go but there is the possibility they both might. our defense has been poor this season. usually the reason for not getting rid of both s&a would be that we wouldnt want to upset the back 4 too much in one go. but since we dont exactly have a great defense this season i dont see why he would be reluctant to just go for it and replace everyone. he brought in his expensive young sakho last season and for those reasons i can see him getting sakho a full time partner this year. so a think agger and skrtel might just be leaving if an offer of around the 10 million mark for each comes in.

glen and enrique. the former wont sign a reduced term contract (to be fair non of us would ewant a paycut either) but he hasnt proved he deserves the high figure he is on. young flanno is one about a quarter of what glen is on and id have flanno in the team before glen. if we could (we wont ) but if we could get coleman he would be younger and on less wages. plus he is better both going forward and in defense. enrique will leave. he has picked up a lot of niggles that have led to this long term injury and i cant see him ever coming back to first team full time for us. if we get 7 million between the 2 of them id be happily surpirised. we will need to replace them though.

kelly wisdom robo jones ryan and coates. the young lads......... kinda. the only ones i see leaving are coates for free and possibly kelly. wisdom is on loan right now and with a possible 60 games next season we will need all the help we can get. kelly hasnt really made the step up needed so might eave to get first team footie but i think aside from coates the rest will stay.


Reina and jones of course is leaving. anywhere up to 5 million and he is gone. i know a few that would love if he stayed and gave migs a bit of competition but he was always leaving as soon as he flirted with barca and then wrote a letter saying he was forced out................ will always remember the good times. jones might stay as he seems happy as a back up and next year might get the cup games aswell as the "easy" CL games. we do need a young keeper though badly. havent really had a 19-20 year old keeper who looked like he could make it here for awhile. i think that rodgers might try to sort that this summer.

aspas borini ossaidi suso and alberto none of these lads will be leaving. we will be lookign to reinforce the squad this year and with defensive positions alone we could be bringing in up to 4 or 5 new faces. i cant see us doing that and reinventing our attacking mid too. borini aspas ossaidi suso and alberto are all sufficient as squad players next season. when we can afford to blow our budget on one player these players can start leaving but for now they will be part of our team. they dont all need to come into the first at the same time. nothing stopping us resting sterling and playing ossaidi or resting strurridge and playing borini or resting suarez and playing aspas and so on. resting one or two players at a time will mean we still have suarez playing when sturridge isnt or we still have sterling and sturridge when suarez isnt. cant see any of them leaving...................... unless offers come in of course. if we get an offer of 7 million for aspas ossaidi borini etc they might go. while we need the squad im sure money will speak and if rodgers thinks he can replace the player then there is only one outcome.



so in summary i feel the only players def leaving are
reina coates

the players that could very well leave are
kelly glen enrique agger skrtel toure

the players that are vital to the team
gerrard suarez sturridge sterling hendo sakho

the players that are are vital squad members
flanno allen coutinho

the players that are decent back ups but could leave at the right price
aspas ossaidi borini alberto suso wisdom robbo

this season we had 40-50 games to possibly play if we made the finals of both cups.

next season we could play as many as 70 games with CL

so that means we need about 25% more players in our squad. our squad is currently around 20-22 members. that includes players in on loan and players under the age of 20 who wouldnt need to be registered. of that 22 we have a couple that could be improved on such as our loanees.

thats why i cant see a total overhaul of the squad. while i expect a lot of movement in our defensive areas i cant see us doing too much in terms of attacking or mids. so unfortunately i dont see us going for the kroos's of this world just yet


although knowing rodgers he would probably replace our backline with messi ronaldo bale falcao and cavani next year if he could.

a flat 10 formation. all attacking line:D


well thats 15 mins that i needed to kill

K-9

barone wrote: »

i actually think we need to win all our games and should play to win all of them ,its what were best doing right now.

one game at a time ,full concentration ,move onto next game then,and only then

It's all settled according to the stats guys anyway!
Revealed by computer! The 2014 Premier League champions will be… | talkSPORT

Shows you how tight it could be. I'd favour Chelsea myself, City have the easier home games but play 4 of the top 7 Away.

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Of course Lucas is gonna be involved in 'build up play' if he more often than not is the first point of contact for the centre backs. Stats arent the be all and end all. They can be mis-leading you know.

But you claimed he passes the ball back to the CB's more often than not! Which makes the stats, even more impressive as that means when he chooses attacking passes, they often lead to goals!

Goal Involvement 2013/14

Stats are stats, but it does question this cliche about Lucas. Because of the nature of his position he isn't going to get many assists.

Soft Falling Rain

I hadn't even realised this happened, completely went over my head. It really is depressing how a small minority refused to be snuffed out.

The chant that came from the Manchester United supporters in the K Stand at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon went like this: “The Sun was right, you’re murderers.”

It was aimed at the Liverpool fans sitting away to their left, but what I found most sinister about it were the denials that followed.

It wasn’t about Hillsborough. Oh, no. How could anyone think that? Just the press chasing an agenda again.

Not about Hillsborough? Really?

Why mention The Sun then, with the inevitable connection to be drawn about its front page headline after the Sheffield tragedy?

That’s what I find so bizarre: people sing these songs and then become unfeasibly angry when someone mentions it.

Are they ashamed? Are they playing some sort of sick game that allows them to accuse others of making it up?

You know what the truth is? The truth is that people who sing that song and then deny its meaning are not just idiots, they are dishonest idiots.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/manchester-united-fans-taunting-liverpool-3257402

billy2012

K-9 wrote: »

It's all settled according to the stats guys anyway!
Revealed by computer! The 2014 Premier League champions will be… | talkSPORT

Shows you how tight it could be. I'd favour Chelsea myself, City have the easier home games but play 4 of the top 7 Away.



But you claimed he passes the ball back to the CB's more often than not! Which makes the stats, even more impressive as that means when he chooses attacking passes, they often lead to goals!

Goal Involvement 2013/14

Stats are stats, but it does question this cliche about Lucas. Because of the nature of his position he isn't going to get many assists.

Gerrard manages it

Dickerty

Mr Alan wrote: »

On a serious note, regardless of how this season finishes, this summer is absolutely huge for the club. We all know what happened in 2009 & so far, despite all his positives, Rodgers record in the transfer market hasn't been great. We need to get this summer right.

We really need to solidify our position this summer & move forward, investing in the calibre of player that hasn't been available to us the last few years. Otherwise I'd worry our position in the top 4 would be precarious going into next season.

+1 on this. This summer is a huge one. We know the players we can rely on today, but some big calls to be made at FB positions, for Gerrard's long-term replacement, additional striking options, and hat to do with the likes Suso, Borini, Wisdom, Robinson and Ibe...

djPSB

LiamoSail wrote: »

Fair play to Lloyd on that post, don't think the humble pie is all that necessary though.

Good posters aren't those that are always right, they're those that put forward an articulate argument based on reason. Irrespective of being wrong on Rodgers, there was sound reasoning for the pessimism and such discussion adds greatly to the thread

Agree fair play to Llyod.

But just one point on it, I did think Llyod was disrespectful to Rodgers and a bit OTT with the 'used cars salesman' jibes etc.

mayordenis

The only thing I would really object to about Lloyd's mini-rants was that he basically made out that anyone who saw something in Rodgers was a kind of sheepish simpleton who obviously couldn't see football in the same light as Lloyd. Bit of a jerk move, but **** it you can't ask more than for someone to hold their hands up, in this forum its a rare thing.

whatawaster

Dickerty wrote: »

+1 on this. This summer is a huge one. We know the players we can rely on today, but some big calls to be made at FB positions, for Gerrard's long-term replacement, additional striking options, and hat to do with the likes Suso, Borini, Wisdom, Robinson and Ibe...

At the same time we don't need to overstretch ourselves.

First priority should be to keep this squad together, minus the bits we could probably afford to lose. I think one or two first team defenders will leave.

Secondly, I think we need to reintegrate 2 or 3 of our loanees back into the squad. Personally, I would keep Wisdom, Suso and Borini around next season.

Thirdly, we need to add first 11 quality.
A defender
A midfielder
An attacker,

all of first 11 quality, coupled with the players back from loan, would really boost our squad. One or two other additions would be nice of course, but that is my hope for the summer - 3 first 11 additions.