Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014 - Mod Note in OP, 1/09

kingshankly

Knex. wrote: »

But it was really that close.

They hit the post. Sakho was then all ends up, and only a great sliding tackle from Moreno saved us. He then got up, broke up field and put the ball in for our goal. A huge turning point.

They then scored, and our penalty was lucky, all things considered.

We really could have lost 3 nil. 3 nil to a team 90% of us can't even spell without the help of Google and Copy & Paste.

This is the team that did the double over psv last season, only conceded two goals in their group in Europa league and got through against latzio over two legs
No great shakes but not no hopers by any means

Francie Barrett

djPSB wrote: »

Easy forget there was 5 new signings playing tonight.

No idea why people are expecting a bunch of players from different leagues/countries should be clicking straight away.

Soft Falling Rain

I'd agree with those who say Skrtel should go straight back in when fit, I just don't know who should partner him. Both Sakho and Lovren have been a disaster waiting to happen in every game so far, the former in particular scares the sh1t out of me every time he gets the ball.

Both have also had their good moments but the consistency just isn't there. If you put a gun to my head I'd have Lovren beside Skrtel but only because I'm still putting stock in the attributes that he was meant to bring to the back. But I'm not holding my breath, for a man who is meant to be a leader and organiser his lack of composure and rashness is scary. Sakho has the same problem, but at least he didn't have the rep of being a cool hand luke when he signed.

GBX

Barca aint signin Ballo ... they can fook right off! :pac:

DVDM93 wrote: »

Some positives for me since the Villa game;

1/ Henderson getting vice-captain, a worthy successor to Agger imo and his attitude and contribution in general highlights what Rodgers is all about, delighted for him.

2/ We're back in the Champions League and it feels damn good!

3/ We won tonight. It was by no means convincing but it's 3 points. We could easily be 3 points behind Madrid right now or at the very least 2. I'd have taken that happily Saturday but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

4/ The average age of the starting XI tonight was 24 which is a nice little statistic I think. Plenty of learning in that team but Jesus lads do it sooner rather than later, we want this young team in the CL and challenging as we learn and peak as a team.

5/ Its one game closer to Sturridge returning. It's really becoming apparent now how much we'll miss Suarez. It's vital that Balotelli & Suarez are playing together as much as possible as I don't think the others will cut it. Not that I don't rate them but when you lose Suarez you really need both of them strikers player as much as possible.

6/ M&Ms are showing their potential, we all know how much we struggled at the full back position last season. Hopefully they keep it up. Deja Lov was good too, one or too nervy mistakes that proved costly but that ship will steady I feel. He's still only a new signing to a big club. Hoping it's just a bit of rust after being injured with Lallana, time will tell. Happy with Balotelli's performance, could have been better but he get his goal.

I'm still pretty upset about the Villa game to go back in to being negative again but they've all been said already. Some might see Mignolet's mistake as a positive as it highlights the need for a replacement, Valdes. I'm 50/50 on that one myself in terms of whether or not Valdes is an able replacement. But with leagues being won by such small margins these past few seasons, the short term really can't be underestimated and quite frankly Mignolet isn't cutting it imo.

Anyway lads it sure is good to be back Stevie G saves the day once again!

DVDM93

kingshankly wrote: »

This is the team that did the double over psv last season, only conceded two goals in their group in Europa league and got through against latzio over two legs
No great shakes but not no hopers by any means

They also came to Anfield tonight off the run of seven games unbeaten. Not against world beaters by any means but it's a good record to have in professional football no matter what league and I'm site they're confidence was high tonight along with a 'nothing to lose' attitude.

Mr_Red

Do you mind me asking ....... after watching your opening games.... how many players and what type of players would you think you need for January?

DVDM93

GBX wrote: »

Barca aint signin Ballo ... they can fook right off! :pac:

My bad!

*Mario & Sturridge

As you can see I still haven't gotten over Suarez leaving, still in the system

MD1990

My player ratings

Mignolet 5 - Poor for the goal & doesn't inspire confidence.
Manquillo 7 - Improving with every game. Great engine & is aggresive in defence
Lovren 6.5 - Recieving way too much criticism. Made some great tackles & interceptions before Ludo's goal which was an error byhim but not helped by Moreno way out of position.
Sakho 6 - Looked shaky at times as he is too confident & willing to take too many risks
Moreno 7.5 - Great threat down the left & made a vital tackle in the 2nd half but was too high up the pitch for the goal.

Gerrard 5 - Good penalty but doesn't have the legs to cover the defence.
Henderson 6.5 - Great energy as usual
Coutinho 5 - Tried hard but just wasn't his night & his passing was off.

Lallana 5 - A bit too ponderous with the ball & lacks some pace. But needs time to get match fitness
Balotelli 6.5 - Worked hard & showed great strength & touch at times. Works better with a a partner
Sterling 5.5 - Struggled to get into the game & lost the ball for there goal. We needed to get the ball to him quicker. Started the 2nd half brighter though.

Borini 6 - His energy helped create more space.
Lucas 5 - Lacks mobility & didn't do anything when he came on

Mr Alan

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

I'd agree with those who say Skrtel should go straight back in when fit, I just don't know who should partner him. Both Sakho and Lovren have been a disaster waiting to happen in every game so far, the former in particular scares the sh1t out of me every time he gets the ball.

Both have also had their good moments but the consistency just isn't there. If you put a gun to my head I'd have Lovren beside Skrtel but only because I'm still putting stock in the attributes that he was meant to bring to the back. But I'm not holding my breath, for a man who is meant to be a leader and organiser his lack of composure and rashness is scary. Sakho has the same problem, but at least he didn't have the rep of being a cool hand luke when he signed.

The real head scratcher here for anyone who isn't lying to themselves is that Agger & Skrtel is a better CB combo than Sktrel & one of the other lads.

Harry Palmr

Mr_Red wrote: »

Do you mind me asking ....... after watching your opening games.... how many players and what type of players would you think you need for January?

Why would you care? The season has hardly started.

Harry Palmr

That penalty goal was worth a million euro by the way.

Knex*

kingshankly wrote: »

This is the team that did the double over psv last season, only conceded two goals in their group in Europa league and got through against latzio over two legs
No great shakes but not no hopers by any means

Yeah, I suppose. That's pretty valid, in fairness.

Speak Now

Harry Palmr wrote: »

That penalty goal was worth a million euro by the way.

Half really ;-)

Any just midnight now, a interesting champions league Tuesday done and dusted or just Tuesday to some!

DVDM93

Harry Palmr wrote: »

That penalty goal was worth a million euro by the way.

Gerrard saving the day though, priceless

Knex*

Let, "We're fucked Wednesday", commence.

Soft Falling Rain

Mr Alan wrote: »

The real head scratcher here for anyone who isn't lying to themselves is that Agger & Skrtel is a better CB combo than Sktrel & one of the other lads.

Agger wanted to go and in hindsight, we can say that was apparent for quite a while. So your point is moot. A good cb pairing can still be forged from what we have, and maybe time will help them as well as the full backs gel better. I'm pessimistic towards it but also hopeful.

Charlie19

Maybe its the coaching staff that might have to be looked at rather than the players.

John Achterberg. After retiring from playing in 2009, Achterberg joined Liverpool FC in June 2009 as a goalkeeping coach of the reserve and academy goalkeepers before being promoted to first-team goalkeeping coach in summer 2011

Colin Pascoe. Ten caps for wales and Rodgers buddy from his Swansea days.

Mike Marsh. 69 appearances for Liverpool in six year period after being singed in 1987 and then went on to coach at youth level.

Looking at that brief description after a quick wiki search, it doesn't breed much confidence and looks to be lacking that bit of European pedigree and maybe its time for BR to look for some help in the coaching department.

billymitchell

Great result tonight, delight with the 3 points. Roll on next week

Gbear

Knex. wrote: »

Let, "We're fucked Wednesday", commence.

I reckon positivity will win out in the end.

We did win after all.

klose

Mr Alan wrote: »

The real head scratcher here for anyone who isn't lying to themselves is that Agger & Skrtel is a better CB combo than Sktrel & one of the other lads.

Under kenny and steve clarke yeah but that was 3 seasons ago. Skrtel was a constant player in a team that conceded 50+ league goals last season, i don't see any reasoning for him to come back in straight away?

Knex*

Gbear wrote: »

I reckon positivity will win out in the end.

We've did win after all.

Aye, here's hoping.

Tbh, I'm not worried, or panicking, about this team at all. Far too early to be doing so in any rational way.

Mr_Red

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Why would you care? The season has hardly started.

Because im interested. is it a difficult question for you that you cant answer?

I might be a United supporter but Im a football supporter too

Do you always carry a Chip on your shoulder?

Knex*

Gerrard's post match interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRX2lQJszgk

Knex*

And Rodgers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqtQ6UbzmVA

Harry Palmr

Mr_Red wrote: »

Because im interested. is it a difficult question for you that you cant answer?

I might be a United supporter but Im a football supporter too

Do you always carry a Chip on your shoulder?

Have you enquired in the Arsenal thread yet? :pac:

Nerdlingr

klose wrote: »

Under kenny and steve clarke yeah but that was 3 seasons ago. Skrtel was a constant player in a team that conceded 50+ league goals last season, i don't see any reasoning for him to come back in straight away?

I do. One reason ...Sakho.
Last season Agger and Skrtel kept more clean sheets as a centre back pairing than Skrtel and Sakho did. Of what I've seen of Sakho in the last nine months I think we'd be stronger with Skrtel and Lovren as our first choice pairing.

Sir Gallagher

Mr_Red wrote: »

Because im interested. is it a difficult question for you that you cant answer?

I might be a United supporter but Im a football supporter too

Do you always carry a Chip on your shoulder?

It's a silly question to be fair, the season has only begun, players need time to settle, adjust to different systems etc.

Mr_Red

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Have you enquired in the Arsenal thread yet? :pac:

They need a new manager. thats where i i think they need to start and believe they feel the same

Knex*

Some decent atmosphere before the game, actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctZFu7oQ5a0

Charlie19

Nerdlingr wrote: »

I do. One reason ...Sakho.
Last season Agger and Skrtel kept more clean sheets as a centre back pairing than Skrtel and Sakho did. Of what I've seen of Sakho in the last nine months I think we'd be stronger with Skrtel and Lovren as our first choice pairing.

I liked Agger but he's gone now and by the looks of things he'd no ambition/confidence in himself by going back to the Danish football.

Skrtel on the other hand has been a revelation in defence and also by popping up with the odd goal.

Knex*

And before I forget, not enough credit to Balotelli for the goal. He did extremely well and it was a quality, instinctive finish after he battled for the ball and had the touch to give him the chance for the shot.

More of the same, hopefully.

Edit:

Charlie19

Knex. wrote: »

And before I forget, not enough credit to Balotelli for the goal. He did extremely well and it was a quality, instinctive finish after he battled for the ball and had the touch to give him the chance for the shot.

More of the same, hopefully.

I'm still not sold on Balotelli, I'm delighted he scored and I hope he pushes on from that but I don't agree with Stevie's interview as I dont see Balotelli putting in the work off the ball.

Balotelli looked far too casual at times tonight and on Saturday which makes me think he probably wont see out his contract.

citytillidie

Will people stop going on about Saurez he is gone and there was no player out there who could replace him that Liverpool could get.

The forward line is missing pace, when Sturridge comes back you may see a different team with him doing runs off the ball to open space for Sterling and Mario to exploit

T-K-O

Charlie19 wrote: »

I'm still not sold on Balotelli, I'm delighted he scored and I hope he pushes on from that but I don't agree with Stevie's interview as I dont see Balotelli putting in the work off the ball.

Balotelli looked far too casual at times tonight and on Saturday which makes me think he probably wont see out his contract.

Disagree, he put in a decent shift last night. The problem is that we all compare him to that nameless beast.

Muahahaha

I feel like we got out of jail somewhat tonight. Sakho and Loven looked shaky at times tonight and their positioning wasn't great. Sakho getting nutmegged towards the end didn't fill me with confidence, I still think we need to keep playing him though. If he can reproduce for Liverpool how he played for France in the World Cup we'll have some centre back on our hands. Right now its not clicking 100% with Lovern but I think we have to give it time. We shipped an extraordinary amount of goals last season and although I know there is lots of love for Skitrel on this thread there's no getting away from the fact that if Skirtel was on the pitch we leaked goals. I do like him going forward as he's always a threat but something is not right when we concede the amount we do with him in the team. There's no point in us going back to trying something proven not to work, Sakho and Lovern have to be given time to bed in together so we can at least see if we have a viable CB pairing that will keep clean sheets.

How do people feel about our other fixtures having seen Basel & Real play tonight? If we play Madrid and our midfield is as loose as it was tonight I think we could get hockeyed by four or five, they'll tear us open. I'm also worried that Rogers is going to show his tactical naivety in the game against Madrid. A bit like the end of season game against Chelsea I think he'll be going for a win when a draw is the favoured result. Madrid are a shoe in to top the group, I think whoever comes 2nd will have done so by either a shock defeat of them or nicking at least one draw from them.

There was some positives tonight but I have to say the upcoming fixtures worry me. Rogers has worked in Spain a lot and he should know Madrids game inside out. But there's a part of me hoping he might give Rafa a ring for a bit of friendly advice on playing them=)

bur

It's bizarre to me how overrated Henderson has become. I like him, he's decent and i love his attitude and workrate. But, i still don't see enough quality in much of anything he does with the ball.
Fantastic grafter but the way a lot of Liverpool fans go on about him you'd think he was prime Gerrard and Alonso rolled into one.

Liam McPoyle

bur wrote: »

It's bizarre to me how overrated Henderson has become. I like him, he's decent and i love his attitude and workrate. But, i still don't see enough quality in much of anything he does with the ball.
Fantastic grafter but the way a lot of Liverpool fans go on about him you'd think he was prime Gerrard and Alonso rolled into one.

Tbf, Ive not seen a single Liverpool fan ever mention him in the same breath as players the caliber of Gerrard or Alonso. The general consensus (that Ive seen & heard at least) is that he is a solid, reliable but unspectacular player. He rarely does anything flashy but he does the grunt work and does it well.

5live

Charlie19 wrote: »

I liked Agger but he's gone now and by the looks of things he'd no ambition/confidence in himself by going back to the Danish football.

Skrtel on the other hand has been a revelation in defence and also by popping up with the odd goal.

Skrtel is a goal machine.

11 goals scored last season...

Charlie19

T-K-O wrote: »

Disagree, he put in a decent shift last night. The problem is that we all compare him to that nameless beast.

I'm comparing him to players at the club and I don't think he's putting enough of a shift in.

I just expect more of an effort to be put in from a new player, especially with the reputation Mario has.

Charlie19

5live wrote: »

Skrtel is a goal machine.

11 goals scored last season...

For some reason I thought he only got 7.

Edit. Yeah 7 in the league and 2 in the cups according to wiki.

Underpaid Mike

Gbear wrote: »

Individually quite a few good performances.

Moreno seriously looks the business. An absolute steal if he keeps playing like this.

Manquillo lacks a bit of composure in the final third but there's the making of a great full back in there. Dunno what he was doing up front to win the penalty but that's some damn fine initiative.

Sakho and Lovren were pretty solid. They both made a couple of mistakes but were both let down by players supposed to be covering them as well.
We've conceded relatively few chances in the last 2 games so I'm not sure what else Rodgers can do. Your defence needs to be able to make mistakes without it almost guaranteeing a goal be the result of it. They're supposed to be a team and cover each other (there were also a few examples of that working very well).

Mistake by Mignolet. Disappointing. He failed virtually the only test he had all match.

Coutinho was trying things that maybe should've been there. But they weren't and he constantly gave the ball away. If we get better balance up front we might see the best out of him but for the moment I think he needs to be benched.

Lallana was pretty good. Lost the ball a few too many times though. He needs some more game time. The few times he's gotten close to the attack it's looked very promising. A bit more of that hopefully.

Sterling didn't do much wrong. Not hugely effective either though. His final ball is a long way from the finished article but he gives you so much solid possession in the final third that it just makes things happen around him. Wasn't his fault they mostly didn't.

Gerrard was ok. Just isn't involved a whole lot in our general play these days.
His set piece delivery was mostly pretty poor. Nice to have a virtually guaranteed penalty taker though.
I'm eager to see what our midfield looks like with someone more mobile. It's a bit sad seeing what was such an amazing player doing a menial task that pretty much any of our midfielders could do just as well.

Balotelli, I was pretty impressed with. Made a few stupid fouls but worked pretty hard the whole game. He needs a partner though. Nice little finish.
Borini seemed to work fairly well alongside him but losing Lallana and Coutinho from midfield and replacing them with Lucas was a blow.

Lucas isn't good enough further up the pitch. He was never great on the ball aside from being able to turn, shield and pass it. He can't run at people.

Our biggest problem is that Rodgers still hasn't quite figured out how to make this work with Mario.
Hopefully we see the diamond against WHam. It still didn't work brilliantly but he hamstrung our midfield at the same time as changing the system - having players like Markovic, Lallana and Allen should do the trick.

All in all I'm pretty pleased by the result. This is a problem that I think is down to Rodgers having to juggle too many things at the same time - we're trying to attack without both of last season's strikers as well as integrate 3 new attackers. We need to get a few results while Bren gets a firm grasp on the situation and to tide us over til Sturridge gets back.

Good god man were you watching the same game as me?
Lovern, Countinho, Lallana, Balotelli etc all had very poor games to my eyes
Sub par performance to say the least, got out of jail with a lucky peno

Oh come on Valdes and get fit, you will walk into this team!

Underpaid Mike

bur wrote: »

It's bizarre to me how overrated Henderson has become. I like him, he's decent and i love his attitude and workrate. But, i still don't see enough quality in much of anything he does with the ball.
Fantastic grafter but the way a lot of Liverpool fans go on about him you'd think he was prime Gerrard and Alonso rolled into one.

That is very very harsh, how many games have you actually seen him play?
He does two roles for the team which no other player we have can do as effectively. His passing stats are always around the 90% mark even though he loves to try the Gerrard type long balls to the wings. He is inventive, sees the difficult pass and gets his jollies from chasing down lost causes and tacking relentlessly. Superb player and if you ask me is underrated considering what he brings to the team

Agent Coulson

Charlie19 wrote: »

For some reason I thought he only got 7.

Edit. Yeah 7 in the league and 2 in the cups according to wiki.

The rest were own goals :eek::pac:

Charlie19

Agent Coulson wrote: »

The rest were own goals :eek::pac:

Haha. That was a couple of hours too early for me.

noodler

Charlie19 wrote: »

I'm still not sold on Balotelli, I'm delighted he scored and I hope he pushes on from that but I don't agree with Stevie's interview as I dont see Balotelli putting in the work off the ball.

Balotelli looked far too casual at times tonight and on Saturday which makes me think he probably wont see out his contract.

Agreed.

Still not convinced at all at all.

kfallon

Btw was it just me or was the pitch made smaller last night?

cj maxx

5live wrote: »

Skrtel is a goal machine.

11 goals scored last season...

Wasnt he the only player to score against each of the top 4 last year ? Inc ys (

razorblunt

Have to say I'm not getting the writing off of Manquillo, he's not been bad at all, bar his crossing he seems to always play it behind those in the box. The one he put on Borini's head was a beaut.


Coutinho can not start on Saturday, that's two games in a row he's been absolutely pedestrian.

Also - Moreno loves a tackle, Josemi and Arbeloa set the tone before him he'll be a fan favourite in no time if he keeps that up.

Lovely Bloke

kfallon wrote: »

Btw was it just me or was the pitch made smaller last night?

if it was it will have to be the same size for all the CL games.

kfallon

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

if it was it will have to be the same size for all the CL games.

Yeah I was thinking it was something to do with that. Aren't the advertising hoardings bigger too which is why you often see the first row or two of the stands empty in stadiums?