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

MR NINE

It was great to see enrique put in such a good display, he looked very solid in defense and pretty good on the ball. Lallana and sterling both looked very good as well.

Of all our signings, the ones im concerned about are lambert, balotelli and markovic. I know its very early days and Im not gonna write them off but for varying reasons I have fears they wont be succesful signings.

I know ive made my opinions on the signing of lambert clear in the past, and I dont want it to seem like im attacking him, but I thought he was awful tonight. Even when hes playing well I feel his lack of pace and mobility is gonna hurt our attacks.

Knex*

Piece of piss, that.

klose

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

20 million, an average game but lets not get ahead of ourselves.

billymitchell

In defence of Lambert tonight, he was made captain of the club he supported as a kid for the first time, after years of knocking around the game, almost all of his career outside the top flight. I'd forgive they guy if the occasion got to him, had to be some experience for the fella.

MR NINE

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

Roughly 20m pounds. Hes had an underwhelming start. Its very early days though, far too soon to be writing him off. I cant quite explain why but im very confident hes gonna have a bad first season at liverpool. I cant really explain why, just a hunch i guess. Hes still extremely young though, and was bought for the future moreso than the present, so even if my irrational hunch is right, it still doesnt mean he cant be a success for us.

Utopia Parkway

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

Markovic is only 9 months older than Sterling and coming into a new league. He'll need time.

gafferino

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Where did our ability to be clinical go?

To Barcelona

delw

We must of practiced penos in training,pity we don't practice defending aswell :P

MD1990

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

I would give him time. But it was a cowardly performance from him tonight. He rarely ran at players & wouldn't shoot. Always felt he wasn't a player we needed as we have Sterling & Ibe. I wold have bought a goalscoring wide player instead like Griezmann. The problem is we shouldn't have bought a player who would have required time imo. We needed players who could make an instant impact.

Hoki

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

Are you writing someone off before they've had a chance to unpack again Alan?

Y2KBOS86

MR NINE wrote: »

I know ive made my opinions on the signing of lambert clear in the past, and I dont want it to seem like im attacking him, but I thought he was awful tonight. Even when hes playing well I feel his lack of pace and mobility is gonna hurt our attacks.

For a small pacy counter attacking side he is not a good fit, a bit like Giroud for Arsenal only slower and not as good on the ball.

He was a strange signing, especially with Mario there now, who in theory has it all, pace, size, strength etc.

gafferino

Despite making a f€ck up for both goals that for me was ten times better than what I saw against west ham and I don't quite understand the reaction to how we played in general.

Thought Lallana was brilliant.....there was a moment at the end of extra time where he was still running at full pelt chasing down the ball. Some engine on him.... He can't be far off full fitness now, another couple of weeks and he'll be flying.

Charlie19

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

20 Million give or take.

I didnt see the first half myself and I didnt see much of him from what I did see.

BUT he's only 20 years of age and hasn't featured much for us so far.

Come on now, give him a chance.

kingshankly

Hoki wrote: »

Are you writing someone off before they've had a chance to unpack again Alan?

He ain't gonna get faster looked very slow tonight

Harry Palmr

MD1990 wrote: »

I would give him time. But it was a cowardly performance from him tonight. He rarely ran at players & wouldn't shoot. Always felt he wasn't a player we needed as we have Sterling & Ibe. I wold have bought a goalscoring wide player instead like Griezmann.

Eh Derby have him and they love him

Various reactions to tonights performance in 2-0 win.

Ibe is the most exciting player we've had in a while.

Ibe MOTM by a long way. Absolute class. He will start next game no doubt.

Shotton, Mascarell and Ibe were the stand-out performances for me.

Roos, Keogh and Ibe the three top performers for me. The latter MOTM.

ibe was fantastic but if i'm honest I was most chuffed by the fact that mascarell had such a good game.

Ibe - 9 MOTM: This kid is going to be incredible, the run he went on before the Og with 3 players surrounding him was mind blowing, he keeps the ball so well, needs to pass more though.

Ibe 9 (this lad will go far, he has all the tricks in the book, he's strong, he's quick and has a pretty decent shot on him, the only thing that he needs to improve is his decision making on occasion)

MR NINE

How many jordans are there at liverpool? At this rate we could be fielding a team of them in a couple years time

SuperTortoise

Having not seen the game and not knowing much about rossiter how far off first team is he?

~Rebel~

ush wrote: »

He's pissed off after having been shown the door. Now's he's back in Denmark he lets off a bit of steam. Makes sense.

You were the one being superior by dismissing an interview, simply because it was given in another language. I don't think Agger said anything unusual or out of character. And its not like it was one word in a single sentence, that got deliberately taken out of context.

I think you're getting awfully upset about this. it might be worth reading the chain of posts again, and seeing that actually no dismissing of an interview was done, but rather that i said reading into the one word, "competent", another poster pointed out as a dig might not be as beneficial as reading the tone of the interview - which I agreed was exactly as you said. That he was pissed off, at not having been played, but respected the manager and his talents.

And also I was at no point rude to yourself, or anyone else, so maybe tone back your vitriol in replies where it's not warranted.

Anyway, enough of this sillyness.

Glad to be through tonight - should really be a competition we go out to win at this point. Arsenal, Utd and Everton all gone already.

Utopia Parkway

Can't see how Lambert gets a game from now on apart from maybe being thrown on near the end of games if you desperately need a goal. He just looks so ponderous and at 32 isn't going to get any quicker. Seems like the manager after watching him in training rates Borini ahead of him as well.

Suddenly I'm not all that confident about our striking depth. Especially if Sturridge gets injured again.

billymitchell

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Having not seen the game and not knowing much about rossiter how far off first team is he?

Didn't show much tonight beside his goal tbh, not that he did anything wrong, just didnt do a whole pile to deserve a place on our bench just yet. He is also a bit too slight

Utopia Parkway

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Having not seen the game and not knowing much about rossiter how far off first team is he?

I'd say at least another 2 years. Physically not ready yet. Played well tonight though.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Here is another on Balotelli tonight.

https://twitter.com/Joey7Barton/status/514512322464071680

lol, one has to laugh, Joey isn't fit to comment really

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

I'm sure you know, very early to have the negative hat on regarding Markovich

MD1990

We will be in for a striker in January imo. Borini & lambert I don't think will have much of a future. Been impressed with Origi when ive seen him for Lille this season.

garra

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Having not seen the game and not knowing much about rossiter how far off first team is he?

A year or two yet

murpho999

Mr Alan wrote: »

Someone remind me how much we paid for Markovich?

Just a bit more than we paid for Jordan Henderson who took 2 seasons to establish himself and is now undroppable.

Harry Palmr

Markovic is 8 months older than Raheem Sterling, one forgets how callow some of these players are.

daithijjj

I think some are being a bit harsh on Sturridge, even by not mentioning his name.

Suarez was never going to be replaced like for like but Sturridge is a massive loss to us also and is being underestimated in the Suarez talk.

garra

Hoki wrote: »

Are you writing someone off before they've had a chance to unpack again Alan?

Is there any harm in commenting on first impressions? My first impression is that we over-spent on potential, gambling on that potential to a great extent.

Utopia Parkway

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Markovic is 8 months older than Raheem Sterling, one forgets how callow some of these players are.

You can see his ability. Just thought he seemed reluctant to pull the trigger tonight. At one stage he jinked past 2 Boro defenders and the space opened up to shoot and he hesitated and tried to beat a 3rd and lost the ball. Think Rodgers will be telling him to pull the trigger a bit earlier. He's just passing the buck a little too much at the moment.

Super-Rush

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/real-madrid-step-up-efforts-7821974

Real Madrid are stepping up their efforts to sign Raheem Sterling for next summer, according to reports.

Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has apparently put the Liverpool star on top of his hit list after his stunning form for club and country.

MD1990

Agree with daithijj. Sturridge is a huge loss. Remember how we done with Sturridge up front on his own without Suarez for a 10 game stretch in 2013. Sturridge behind Aguero & Costa is the best striker in the PL imo.

Pilsbury Doughboy

garra wrote: »

Is there any harm in commenting on first impressions? My first impression is that we over-spent on potential, gambling on that potential to a great extent.

Nope, not at all, I'm underwhelmed myself, would be nice if Alan strung a sentence together rather than just some random easily googled question that he all ready knew the answer to.

SuperTortoise

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

You can see his ability. Just thought he seemed reluctant to pull the trigger tonight. At one stage he jinked past 2 Boro defenders and the space opened up to shoot and he hesitated and tried to beat a 3rd and lost the ball. Think Rodgers will be telling him to pull the trigger a bit earlier. He's just passing the buck a little too much at the moment.

Hendo still has that problem IMO , and Raheem had it until the second half of last season they just need to have a bit confidence in their own ability , jury is still out on markovic as far as I'm concerned

Iused2likebusts

MD1990 wrote: »

Agree with daithijj. Sturridge is a huge loss. Remember how we done with Sturridge up front on his own without Suarez for a 10 game stretch in 2013. Sturridge behind Aguero & Costa is the best striker in the PL imo.

He is a huge loss 9 of those games were league games he scored 9 goals and we got 20 pts.

~Rebel~

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

You can see his ability. Just thought he seemed reluctant to pull the trigger tonight. At one stage he jinked past 2 Boro defenders and the space opened up to shoot and he hesitated and tried to beat a 3rd and lost the ball. Think Rodgers will be telling him to pull the trigger a bit earlier. He's just passing the buck a little too much at the moment.

This is it, he just looks to be playing with a lot of fear. I'm pretty confident he'll come good once he's a bit more settled though. He's still played very little in real terms, and was obviously bought for the future.

No point comparing him to Sterling, who is pretty much the best player on the planet for his age, and would have cost at least twice what Markovic did.

Really a shame Suso if is leaving though, really like that kid.

SuperTortoise

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

He is a huge loss 9 of those games were league games he scored 9 goals and we got 20 pts.

Agreed, augero is the only striker I'd have ahead of Sturidge right now

MD1990

We badly lack a striker with pace when Sturridge is out. Could really have done with Remy. But I can undertand why we were not willing to buy because of his medical as we will have Origi next season.

Agent Coulson

Super-Rush wrote: »

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/real-madrid-step-up-efforts-7821974

I'd take Bale and Isco in return for Sterling

Sure we'll have Ibe ready to go next season anyway :P

SuperTortoise

Agent Coulson wrote: »

I'd take Bale and Isco in return for Sterling

Sure we'll have Ibe ready to go next season anyway :P

Should have kept him this season IMO , with the current form of markovic and lallana I'd throw him in for a few games

daithijjj

daithijjj wrote: »

I think some are being a bit harsh on Sturridge, even by not mentioning his name.

Suarez was never going to be replaced like for like but Sturridge is a massive loss to us also and is being underestimated in the Suarez talk.

MD1990 wrote: »

Agree with daithijj. Sturridge is a huge loss. Remember how we done with Sturridge up front on his own without Suarez for a 10 game stretch in 2013. Sturridge behind Aguero & Costa is the best striker in the PL imo.

Saying it since I signed up

daithijjj

Robbed from twitter

When the last penalty was taken

gafferino

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Should have kept him this season IMO , with the current form of markovic and lallana I'd throw him in for a few games

What's wrong with the form of Lallana? He was one of our best players tonight. I think he will be very very good for us.

Ferris_Bueller

Only really caught the second half of normal time but despite it not being a great performance there were probably one or two positives we could take from it, Lallana being the biggest, I thought he looked a class above everyone else on the pitch. Enrique also had a good game, if you include Flanagan we are now extremely well stocked at left back. We didn't seem to give away too many chances, but then again it was weaker opposition that we faced, very disappointing to concede from a set piece again. Was keeping a close eye on Sakho and didn't think he done too badly, he hit one beautiful cross field pass to Sterling late on.

Was it just me or did we line up slightly different tonight with Rossiter and Lucas operating as two deeper midfielders? Again hard to know because it was against championship opposition but it seemed to work out a bit better than playing just the one anchorman.

SuperTortoise

gafferino wrote: »

What's wrong with the form of Lallana? He was one of our best players tonight. I think he will be very very good for us.

Didn't see the game tonight but from what I've seen so far lallana looks rusty, Ibe was immense in post season and pre season and I think he deserves a shot.

Devilman40k

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Didn't see the game tonight but from what I've seen so far lallana looks rusty, Ibe was immense in post season and pre season and I think he deserves a shot.

Of course Lallana has looked rusty. He had no pre season and is only back 2 weeks. He has gradually gotten better over those games and put in a good performance last night.

Vicxas

Ratings for last night:

Mignolet - No control over the box, making me very nervous every time the ball comes in to the box

Enrique - Great to have him back, adds a bit more pace going forward

Sakho - Had a good game, solid at the back for the most part

Toure - Insane first half, followed by a solid second half (apart from his leroy jenkins moment for the second boro goal)

Manquillo - Good performance, is starting to settle in.

Lallana - Brilliant game and no where near full fitness, exciting times ahead

Lucas - Decent performance, cant complain

Rossiter - Made up for him, great performance.

Markovic - Pretty quiet game, he's still only young so im not that worried just yet

Sterling - Great performance apart from the second goal brain fart

Lambert - Eh....... no, hes a impact striker. Not a game starter

Subs:

Williams - Solid performance, cool peno for his debut

Ballotelli - Tried to impact on the game but got no service, had to make it work for himself.

Suso - Great return game, nice goal too. I reckon he should be ahead of Borini/Lambert

dogbert27

Devilman40k wrote: »

Of course Lallana has looked rusty. He had no pre season and is only back 2 weeks. He has gradually gotten better over those games and put in a good performance last night.

Yeah, looked like he was getting his form back from his Southampton days and took his two penalties really well.

After the first few games there was the fear of the move and price tag affecting him like Henderson but I don't see that now.

Think he will be a great player for us.

fred funk }{

Thought Lallana has a decent game myself. We do have a serious goal keeping problem that needs to be sorted ASAP.

slingerz

Thought Suso looked more of an option than Markovic ever did anyway

Would have Suso in the squad/team more often

Dickerty

Vicxas wrote: »

Ratings for last night:

Mignolet - No control over the box, making me very nervous every time the ball comes in to the box
Enrique - Great to have him back, adds a bit more pace going forward
Sakho - Had a good game, solid at the back for the most part
Toure - Insane first half, followed by a solid second half (apart from his leroy jenkins moment for the second boro goal)
Manquillo - Good performance, is starting to settle in.
Lallana - Brilliant game and no where near full fitness, exciting times ahead
Lucas - Decent performance, cant complain
Rossiter - Made up for him, great performance.
Markovic - Pretty quiet game, he's still only young so im not that worried just yet
Sterling - Great performance apart from the second goal brain fart
Lambert - Eh....... no, hes a impact striker. Not a game starter
Subs:
Williams - Solid performance, cool peno for his debut
Ballotelli - Tried to impact on the game but got no service, had to make it work for himself.
Suso - Great return game, nice goal too. I reckon he should be ahead of Borini/Lambert

Can't argue with any of that. I think we c*cked up as a team for their first, just didn't set up well to defend that cross. The second was two mistakes from two tired players, should never have been in that position.

Manquillo, Lallana and Sterling were my top 3. Lambert was pure awful, and Markovic really needs to get to the tune of his team-mates, which I am sure he will. But despite going to penos, we were pretty decent. With Sturridge instead of Lambert, we win by a couple...