Liverpool Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014 - Mod Note in OP 28/8

5starpool

People proclaiming Rodgers as a coaching genius at this point in his career have overstated things based on the evidence so far. He led the team to a fantastic season last time out, and finished the previous one strongly and there is every chance he will do the same this season. I do think he is a very good manager/coach who will hopefully get better with time, but it is not certain he will live up to the hype that some have lavished on him so far.

Harry Palmr

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

Name change suggestions? :P

Why Always Me?

gafferino

5starpool wrote: »

People proclaiming Rodgers as a coaching genius at this point in his career have overstated things based on the evidence so far. He led the team to a fantastic season last time out, and finished the previous one strongly and there is every chance he will do the same this season. I do think he is a very good manager/coach who will hopefully get better with time, but it is not certain he will live up to the hype that some have lavished on him so far.

Agreed. He needs to prove it again this season. Lots of potential and an excellent showing last season. His maiden CL season will test him at another level.

I believe he has all the required ingredients and will go on to show it consistently.

GotTheTshirt

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

Name change suggestions? :P

Baby, you're a fiiiirewooooork.

whatawaster

If Balotelli signs

Gerrard/Lucas/Allen/Henderson/Can/Coutinho/Lallana/Markovic/Sterling/Sturridge/Balotelli/Lambert

12 players for 6 positions. We have never had this kind of quality in depth, so that's exciting. That's excluding Suso and Ibe, who I'd imagine will go out on loan.

ush

5starpool wrote: »

People proclaiming Rodgers as a coaching genius at this point in his career have overstated things based on the evidence so far. He led the team to a fantastic season last time out, and finished the previous one strongly and there is every chance he will do the same this season. I do think he is a very good manager/coach who will hopefully get better with time, but it is not certain he will live up to the hype that some have lavished on him so far.

Nothing in life is certain. But one thing is true - Rodgers is delivering. The club is far ahead of where they thought they'd be; in terms of CL football, title challenges, player development and calibre of player bought.

Underpaid Mike

whatawaster wrote: »

If Balotelli signs

Gerrard/Lucas/Allen/Henderson/Can/Coutinho/Lallana/Markovic/Sterling/Sturridge/Balotelli/Lambert

12 players for 6 positions. We have never had this kind of quality in depth, so that's exciting. That's excluding Suso and Ibe, who I'd imagine will go out on loan.

Imagine when Reus and Falcao sign before the end of the window too?
We will unstoppable

Talisman

Underpaid Mike wrote: »

Henderson was about to be sold to Fulham until a heart to heart with Rodgers changed his mind. He was probably our 3rd best player last season.

I don't think there was any such heart to heart - Henderson was almost the victim of Rodgers asserting his authority at the club. Rodgers tried to offload him to Fulham in part exchange for Clint Dempsey. As crimes against the football club go, that is up there with Hodgson's signing of a certain fullback and including two young prospects in the deal. Henderson was not damaged goods, he had been played out of position by Dalglish in order to accommodate Charlie Adam in the side - Rodgers wanted him out of the way to accommodate Joe Allen. Luckily for us, Fulham refused to deal with Liverpool and Dempsey ended up joining Tottenham.

8-10

whatawaster wrote: »

If Balotelli signs

Gerrard/Lucas/Allen/Henderson/Can/Coutinho/Lallana/Markovic/Sterling/Sturridge/Balotelli/Lambert

12 players for 6 positions. We have never had this kind of quality in depth, so that's exciting. That's excluding Suso and Ibe, who I'd imagine will go out on loan.

Also excludes Assaidi and Borini!

Bloc Party!

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

kfallon

Bloc Party! wrote: »

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

"The ref just called me Cissokho!"

"Did the same to me earlier!!"

whatawaster

Bet Mario would love to score on Monday

djPSB

Bloc Party! wrote: »

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

#DareToCissokho

Panthro

Bloc Party! wrote: »

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

'Why's Gibbs getting sent off?!'

LuckyLloyd

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

Name change suggestions? :P

Why Always Me

garra

Dickerty wrote: »

I made the same comparison this morning. The kind of maverick that sometimes turns a good team into a title winning team...

Lol at maverick, how the language is changing when discussing Mario now!

BenEadir

whatawaster wrote: »

If Balotelli signs

Gerrard/Lucas/Allen/Henderson/Can/Coutinho/Lallana/Markovic/Sterling/Sturridge/Balotelli/Lambert

12 players for 6 positions. We have never had this kind of quality in depth, so that's exciting. That's excluding Suso and Ibe, who I'd imagine will go out on loan.

and not including Borini and Origi who will be arriving back into the squad next year hopefully. I definitely think we should give Borini a shot at being the 4th striker this year and if he doesn't work out ship him out next year to make way for Origi.

Ben

Charlie19

Kolo told me he's only 33.

Bloc Party! wrote: »

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

Panthro

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

Name change suggestions? :P

I heart Bib'otelli

googled eyes

Bloc Party! wrote: »

Love this photo...a caption anyone?

Love your hair! Can I get your barbers number?

happyoutscan

I'd be happy enough getting Mario, especially if the asking price is what's being quoted. A bloody steal and as someone has already said he could become a fan favorite, something he appears to enjoy. Fingers crossed.

El Inho

Exciting times... This thread.'s gonna pop

Vinz Mesrine

El Inho wrote: »

Exciting times... This thread.'s gonna pop

Only 10 minutes til we see what Claire Rourke was talking about out.

kfallon

BenThere wrote: »

and not including Borini and Origi who will be arriving back into the squad next year hopefully. I definitely think we should give Borini a shot at being the 4th striker this year and if he doesn't work out ship him out next year to make way for Origi.

Ben

Rodgers should be sitting Borini down and telling him he has absolutely no future at the club, he'll never be a regular and will only get games if a plague descends over the first team squad! Then tell him to pack his bags and piss off to Sunderland so we can get £14m for him.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind! He'll never make it at Liverpool, the pressure of playing for a big club will always get to him!

googled eyes

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

Name change suggestions? :P

Dare2Mario

YouTookMyName

Mario attending his medical with Dr Zaff

kfallon

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

Only 10 minutes til we see what Claire Rourke was talking about out.

From her Twitter it seems it's just a show with Roy Evans and Mark Wright on it.....oh and a couple of Youth team players!

garra

messinkiapina wrote: »

I'm probably on my own here in thinking he's a good player but also quite over-rated. He'd be worth circa 20m if he has his head screwed on, had a decent attitude at all times, head didn't go down easily etc. As it is, I don't think he's worth the money. Most people think this guy could be a superstar if he got his head right, I just don't see that. Just my opinion.... cue the abuse...!

Ability, strength, pace, technique, finishing, he is the embodiment of a top top striker. Id be the first to criticize his attitude or team ethic, but when on form he is a sight to behold

Super-Rush

kfallon wrote: »

Rodgers should be sitting Borini down and telling him he has absolutely no future at the club, he'll never be a regular and will only get games if a plague descends over the first team squad! Then tell him to pack his bags and piss off to Sunderland so we can get £14m for him.

Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind! He'll never make it at Liverpool, the pressure of playing for a big club will always get to him!

*Cough* Henderson *cough*

kfallon

Super-Rush wrote: »

*Cough* Henderson *cough*

Henderson hadn't been as bad as Borini! Borini never even looks like scoring goals for Liverpool.

Plus we would never have made a profit on Henderson if we sold him during 12/13.....we will make a profit on Borini, it's a no brainer to get rid!

BenEadir

kfallon wrote: »

the pressure of playing for a big club will always get to him!

And exactly how do you determine that? Before he can be a flop for not handling the pressure he first has to get some games!!!

Ben

kfallon

BenThere wrote: »

And exactly how do you determine that? Before he can be a flop for not handling the pressure he first has to get some games!!!

Ben

Ok well answer me this, who do you propose we drop to give him (another) chance?

Talisman

michael999999 wrote: »

Will he be eligible for Monday night?

Not likely if hasn't left Italy today. It's a 2-3 hour flight from Milan to the UK which doesn't leave a lot of time for the medical, as he has to be registered by 12:00pm in order to be eligible for the game this weekend.

Vinz Mesrine

kfallon wrote: »

Ok well answer me this, who do you propose we drop to give him (another) chance?

Another chance? He has played 13 games for Liverpool and I don't recall him ever starting up front.

ush

Talisman wrote: »

Not likely if hasn't left Italy today. It's a 2-3 hour flight from Milan to the UK which doesn't leave a lot of time for the medical, as he has to be registered by 12:00pm in order to be eligible for the game this weekend.

Henry's private jet? Or is he expected to fly Ryanair?

daRobot

ush wrote: »

Henry's private jet? Or is he expected to fly Ryanair?

You can always charter a plane. No big deal for businesses at this level.

kfallon

Vinz Mesrine wrote: »

Another chance? He has played 13 games for Liverpool and I don't recall him ever starting up front.

If the Balotelli deal goes thru we'll have Mario, Sturridge, Lambert, Sterling, Markovic, Llalana, Coutinho as offensive players not to mention Suso and Ibe. Do you honestly think it's worth keeping Borini? Do you think he'll be the first one we turn to if we are behind in a game and that's presuming he's on the bench. We can sell him at a profit and cut our ties, it's the best move for everyone.

And as for only playing 13 games and giving him a chance, the likes of Poulsen and Konchesky were castigated after about 5 so it's not like supporters always give players time to prove themselves. Sometimes it's plainly obvious the player doesn't fit the club and I believe this is a prime example of it.

Did he not start up front against Hearts in the Europa League in 12/13?

BenEadir

kfallon wrote: »

Ok well answer me this, who do you propose we drop to give him (another) chance?

In domestic cup games I propose we play Borini and Lambert. Due that satisfactorily answer your question?

Ben

kfallon

BenThere wrote: »

In domestic cup games I purpose we play Borini and Lambert. Due that satisfactorily answer your question?

Ben

So just keep a guy who has no chance of playing PL or CL instead of cashing in at a profit for £14m?

Worth keeping for a League Cup campaign!

ush

daRobot wrote: »

You can always charter a plane. No big deal for businesses at this level.

So he could be signed up by noon tomorrow. Medicals take about 3hrs I do believe.

garra

Underpaid Mike wrote: »

If he signs by noon tomorrow then yes

This is a very enjoyable 9mins watch. The speed of his feet and his control is outrageous

Some of that stuff is crazy talent.. he seems to just have that vainglorious impudence in his finishing. Gets fouled a LOT!!

BenEadir

Talisman wrote: »

he has to be registered by 12:00pm in order to be eligible for the game this weekend.

Incorrect

ush

BenThere wrote: »

Incorrect

Ah, you tease you. What is correct then?

spiritcrusher

John Giles on the Balotelli transfer on Newstalk: "I wouldn't take him for nothing", "It's a disastrous signing for Liverpool", "To me it looks like Rodgers is not in control of signing the players". I like Giles, well I used to, but he hasn't a clue here. Rodgers not in control of the signings... Ridiculous.

Agent Coulson

That works out about £90k a week.

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/502550467277492224

Strongbow10

Off topic, but Eder Balanta is signing for Sampdoria for £5 million I see.

Will be worth 4 or 5 times that in a couple of seasons.

Love to see us have signed this guy and loan him out for a couple of seasons like we are doing with Ilori.

Tuisceanch

Well since I applied for access to this thread i thought I should post something.

I have to say that I'm quite thrilled that we have signed Mario Balotelli for only 16 million particularly having seen that clip posted yesterday of his spectacular goal.

Having watched the pre-season games i was impressed by the organisation of the team but the lack of presence in the box was glaring.

The match against Southampton didn't fill me with much confidence as Southampton played far more as a team whereas we had a few good individual performances. The passing lacked sharpness and they struggled to find any space. I'm sure that they are much better than that and i can only presume that there might have being a bit of lethargy after their recent travel. However what do I know anyway.

I have supported Liverpool since 1977 which doesn't mean I know much but only that I have lots of memories!

garra

BenThere wrote: »

And exactly how do you determine that? Before he can be a flop for not handling the pressure he first has to get some games!!!

Ben

I think its more the expectations to be met at LFC compared to Sunderland, he will not score enough goals at the top level to play long-term for us and loyal as he is and all... its just better for everyone if he gets games elsewhere. If he could leave his fighting spirit for Mario it would be a perfect world...

Strongbow10

spiritcrusher wrote: »

John Giles on the Balotelli transfer on Newstalk: "I wouldn't take him for nothing", "It's a disastrous signing for Liverpool", "To me it looks like Rodgers is not in control of signing the players". I like Giles, well I used to, but he hasn't a clue here. Rodgers not in control of the signings... Ridiculous.

i'd tend to agree with you but BR was very adamant not so long ago that Balotelli wouldn't be a Liverpool player.

taidghbaby

spiritcrusher wrote: »

John Giles on the Balotelli transfer on Newstalk: "I wouldn't take him for nothing", "It's a disastrous signing for Liverpool", "To me it looks like Rodgers is not in control of signing the players". I like Giles, well I used to, but he hasn't a clue here. Rodgers not in control of the signings... Ridiculous.

I won't lie I stopped reading after Giles