Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014/15

smileyj1987

rarnes1 wrote: »

Mig for the golden glove

He does have the most clean sheets in the league now. I'm 99% sure he does.

Chucky the tree

whatawaster wrote: »

Last season we found a solution, with Gerrard at DM, that worked for us. It got all our best players on the pitch (including Gerrard, and without his set pieces we would not have come nearly so close to winning the league), it improved the service to our front players, at the expense of some goals conceded. But on balance it was the right choice for us.

After the Southampton game at the start of the season there were plenty who believed Lucas was finished. It's not just that Rodgers is selecting him now, it's that Lucas is playing his best football in years.

how do you know it was the right choice though? You don't and neither do I. At the end of the day goals conceded cost us the title. Maybe if we conceded 10 less goals while scoring 5 less without Gerrard we'd have won the league. Maybe we'd have finished 3rd. Impossible to know.

smileyj1987

Chucky the tree wrote: »

how do you know it was the right choice though? You don't and neither do I. At the end of the day goals conceded cost us the title. Maybe if we conceded 10 less goals while scoring 5 less without Gerrard we'd have won the league. Maybe we'd have finished 3rd. Impossible to know.

The way the team played last season it was a system that suited all 11 players on the field. Well the starting 11 when say Allen or Lucas played the system looked somewhat dis-jointed.

Bowlardo

MD1990 wrote: »

Wonder what will happen with Gerrard with Sturridge back?
Coutinho & Sterling are undropable.

Gerard can play the fa cup and the uefa cup games . he should be nowhere near the team that plays in the league if have an ambition of getting 4th

DVDM93

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The mirror are linking ings with city now which I'd find very hard to believe.

Ya they've a charity game coming up against Accrington Stanley I think so they're buying him in for cover that game.

JohnDaniels

mav79 wrote: »

And Sakho was in beast mode yesterday. Nearly all his passes are forward so not putting defenders and Mignolet under unnecessary pressure. And powerful headers every time the ball came towards him in the box.

He was my MOTM yesterday. Lost count of the number of times I cheered as he came towering through to header a ball. His passing, control, tackling etc were a joy to watch. I wonder how his English is coming along as it would be great to see him become a leader of that defense. If things has gone a little different and Lovren hadn't been so poor he could have been gone this summer. Thank god he has got a proper run in the team to show his quality

K-9

Sturridge is the real deal, thrives on pressure, delivers on his talent and more importantly is a team player.

Basically he's the antithesis of Mario Balotelli.

I'd a big post about Mario but it got lost. We've to accommodate Mario atm, we play with 10 men and let him do whatever he feels like doing, thus effecting our fluidity and creativity, basically he's a luxury player we can't afford because he isn't delivering.

I'd say he has been Diouff bad but at least Mario is likeable! His apologists need to say they got him wrong and move on.

Lambert is limited but doesn't come with any baggage, he's a trier and a good pro, same with Borini. The only use Mario is to us now is as a Cup player, basically giving others a rest or playing because there is no alternative.

Anyway thank God for January 2013 and Sakho is boss.

K-9

Oh yeah, Mario isn't being treated any diffetrently to Lovren, probably better tbh.

SM01

Gerrard has a role to play in league games, just more sparingly for shorter periods during the match. The skill and intelligence is there, just it's better suited for the player and club that it's not a full 90 min. He's a scary proposition as an impact sub IMO.

Gbear

K-9 wrote: »

Oh yeah, Mario isn't being treated any diffetrently to Lovren, probably better tbh.

Well, the difference is that Lovren was behind Sakho, who's a total beast, and our defence in general showed a marked improvement, whereas our attack was still muck and Balotelli had Lambert and Borini in front of him.

Demosthenese

K-9 wrote: »

Sturridge is the real deal, thrives on pressure, delivers on his talent and more importantly is a team player.

Basically he's the antithesis of Mario Balotelli.

I'd a big post about Mario but it got lost. We've to accommodate Mario atm, we play with 10 men and let him do whatever he feels like doing, thus effecting our fluidity and creativity, basically he's a luxury player we can't afford because he isn't delivering.

I'd say he has been Diouff bad but at least Mario is likeable! His apologists need to say they got him wrong and move on.

Lambert is limited but doesn't come with any baggage, he's a trier and a good pro, same with Borini. The only use Mario is to us now is as a Cup player, basically giving others a rest or playing because there is no alternative.

Anyway thank God for January 2013 and Sakho is boss.

Is this how people see Mario right now? I've been having a few conversations about this with fellow reds the past few weeks - but now that we are all in decent spirits with Sturridge back and all it's as good a time as any to ask ...

What do you really think of Mario?

Personally, i have surprised by his form. Fair enough we can all see that he is not the type of player that can play at a high pressure with the rest of his team but at the same time the guy has some qualities. Take the Chelsea game for example, he came on and had 6-7 really neat touches, linked well, held the ball up and contributed - but then he crosses one from the by line and 1 shot into no mans land and it becomes apparent he is not all that in the final third.

I do think he has improved on his general work-rate, i do not think he has the attitude that he does not need to work hard, just even with his increase in productivity he is still not "our type of attacker" ... am i the only one that thinks that? Don't get me wrong, compared to suarez/sturridge/sterling his workrate is at 50% but then again can anyone say they expected otherwise?

Now Sturridge is back i wouldn't mind seeing them paired maybe with Sterling for half hour of a few games to see if he can fit in better.

All in all, i am surprised he can't even get off the mark in goals. He should have against United away, i mean you can just call that unfortunate. But generally, it's shocking that as a team we could not create 10 chances for him to score even 1 goal. I mean, Crouch/Fletcher/Gale/Ings/Naismith all have a handfull of goals each and Mario has none! Regardless of work-rate, effort etc ... that is the most surprising thing.

Some people scoffed at Ings as a potential striker this week, but even if we signed him now, he would surely score one goal until the end of the season!!! Those are the low expectations to pass Mario out.

Interesting Shearer had a go at him last night on MOTD ... you don't see that very often.

Views?

Agent Coulson

Chucky the tree wrote: »

I do agree but for me the big worry is that the main changes happened purely because of injury. Would Mignolet and Sakho really be starting now if Jones and Lovren didn't get injured? Very hard to know.

I'm not a huge fan of Rodgers (Shock) I do think he lucked into this system.

But so what it works and he has stuck with it thats all that matters for the club.

What my worry would be is if he again changes the system we need to build on this now.

Harry Palmr

Never wanted him, never would have even considered bringing him in if I were in Rodgers position last August. Would have sooner bought someone like Alan (Red Bull Salzburg) or that Ings fella if it was an emergency purchase.

I have no idea what goes through his head when he is on the pitch, off it he has shown himself to be someone with a very short attention span and I think that's how he treats the game as well. I suspect if his first touch was a goal he'd be great for the rest of the game (well that half anyway) but if it doesn't happen for him he just loses interest. Hopeless mentality.

If Mario stays I wouldn't rule out an improvement in fortunes for him. He's not here long to be fair and has performed acceptably while failing to score on occassions.

A goal against utd would have made all the difference. I and many others mentioned he can't be judged until played in a front two, or at least with a main striker. I still think that.

Some appearances with Sturridge are required imo.

K-9

Gbear wrote: »

Well, the difference is that Lovren was behind Sakho, who's a total beast, and our defence in general showed a marked improvement, whereas our attack was still muck and Balotelli had Lambert and Borini in front of him.

Well yeah, I don't go overboard with criticism of signings but Mario and keeping Borini have been disasters. N'Gog was a better signing overall!

I'm realistic about signings which is why the club made a balls of it, we don't even need the benefit of hindsight as an excuse, both Borini and Mario were far too risky. We've 2 strikers at the club that aren't fit for purpose, simple as, waste of spaces on the bench.

That's why Borini staying was useless to us, a pointless debate. Him and Mario are costing big wages, the opportunity cost is having Sturridge, Bony, Lambert and Sterling as our options, plenty enough, but the club was too tight.

Bandana boy

smileyj1987 wrote: »

He does have the most clean sheets in the league now. I'm 99% sure he does.

Just going off fantasy football stats
Forster at Southampton has 10 and joint second is Migs and Fabianski on 8
a chunk including De gea and Courtois at 7

spockety

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Why do people post this sort of thing, just so they can come back to it if it happens and so look really insightful?

Nope not really, more that it is something I would have real concerns about. I could be very wide of the mark, but I haven't seen him do any media etc which gives any sense of attachment to the club, the fans, the city. Now I know that doesn't really guarantee anything anyway, but I could just picture him slipping away at the start of the summer with no saga or fuss.

K-9

K-9 wrote: »

Well yeah, I don't go overboard with criticism of signings but Mario and keeping Borini have been disasters. N'Gog was a better signing overall!

....

Who can you criticise for keeping Borini though? He wouldn't leave when he was urged to, the club couldn't do much else tbf.

Harry Palmr

spockety wrote: »

Nope not really, more that it is something I would have real concerns about. I could be very wide of the mark, but I haven't seen him do any media etc which gives any sense of attachment to the club, the fans, the city. Now I know that doesn't really guarantee anything anyway, but I could just picture him slipping away at the start of the summer with no saga or fuss.

Fuss there'd be plenty of fuss, I don't think Rodgers needs clairvoyancy skills to know he is a fans favourite (maybe more than he deserves to be at times) and there would be a real stink if he looked like not being kept.

NukaCola

I'd like to see Mario up front with Sturridge before i completely write him off but we dont play with 2 CF's and on current form he doesn't deserve a place. He'd need to step it up completely to get into the team.

I was happy when he signed but Mario was always a risk. When the club needed him to step up he wasn't good enough. Some people will say our style and setup didn't suit him but he wasn't even doing the basics right, missing open goals etc. I wouldn't be too bothered if he was moved on being honest. Same could be said for Borini and Lambert, just not good enough.

K-9

Augeo wrote: »

Who can you criticise for keeping Borini though? He wouldn't leave when he was urged to, the club couldn't do much else tbf.

The club should have just taken the hit on him, made him available at a cheaper price. We took the hit on Carroll pretty sharpish, and we'll have to do the same with Mario.

The only way Mario might work is playing 2 upfront and that might upset the balance that we've finally found, which obviously doesn't include him.

I get the feeling the rest of the squad would resent him getting yet another chance. We've been lucky that he hasn't affected the spirit in the squad.

SuperTortoise

Just wanted to comment on a few posts i seen earlier.
I find it strange that a lot of posters seemingly don't consider Spurs in with a good shout of 4th, our next 4 or 5 games will determine if we're going to be in the mix come May but Spurs have shown they are a decent team capable of giving anyone a game on their day, i'd say they have an equally good a chance as Arsenal, and both of those are in a better position than us IMO not to mention utd and southampton as well.

We need maximum points in Feb to be in with a shout i'd say.

Turtyturd

All well and good saying Balotelli should start up front with sturridge but it should only be for 10-15 minutes at the end of games that are wrapped up...nobody deserves to be dropped for him.

Demosthenese

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Just wanted to comment on a few posts i seen earlier.
I find it strange that a lot of posters seemingly don't consider Spurs in with a good shout of 4th, our next 4 or 5 games will determine if we're going to be in the mix come May but Spurs have shown they are a decent team capable of giving anyone a game on their day, i'd say they have an equally good a chance as Arsenal, and both of those are in a better position than us IMO not to mention utd and southampton as well.

We need maximum points in Feb to be in with a shout i'd say.

I just have a feeling that we have been through the mill somewhat this season and have finally gotten into 3rd gear- and expect us to kick on from that. I do not see Spurs keeping it up until the end of the season and expect them to fall away somewhat without maybe losing though completely. Same with Southampton ... Southampton are playing without fear or a leash at the moment but as soon as it becomes a NEED to win game they'll not be the same.

Right now, our chances of making 4th are slim at best. 5 points doesn't seem like alot but it really is hard to overtake the better teams when this far behind. United and Arsenal have plenty of goals in them ... we need Sturridge to make the difference.

Still a pretty big ask.

mosstin

Demosthenese wrote: »

I just have a feeling that we have been through the mill somewhat this season and have finally gotten into 3rd gear- and expect us to kick on from that. I do not see Spurs keeping it up until the end of the season and expect them to fall away somewhat without maybe losing though completely. Same with Southampton ... Southampton are playing without fear or a leash at the moment but as soon as it becomes a NEED to win game they'll not be the same.

Right now, our chances of making 4th are slim at best. 5 points doesn't seem like alot but it really is hard to overtake the better teams when this far behind. United and Arsenal have plenty of goals in them ... we need Sturridge to make the difference.

Still a pretty big ask.

Arsenal do but United? They have 6 goals more than we have and we've had our well documented problems with our strikers this season i.e. we don't have any good enough (Sturridge apart).
They're also playing a system that doesn't seem suited to getting the best out of its constituent parts. They're definitely a team in our sights. Arsenal will certainly get a Top 4 place though.

spockety

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Fuss there'd be plenty of fuss, I don't think Rodgers needs clairvoyancy skills to know he is a fans favourite (maybe more than he deserves to be at times) and there would be a real stink if he looked like not being kept.

Looks like there actually has been recent talk about a new contract.. Excellent..

Ciano35

4 clean sheets in the last 6 league games

Kirby

Ciano35 wrote: »

4 clean sheets in the last 6 league games

The Linda effect.....

smileyj1987

mosstin wrote: »

Arsenal do but United? They have 6 goals more than we have and we've had our well documented problems with our strikers this season i.e. we don't have any good enough (Sturridge apart).
They're also playing a system that doesn't seem suited to getting the best out of its constituent parts. They're definitely a team in our sights. Arsenal will certainly get a Top 4 place though.

I don't think any team from 3rd to 8th is gauranteed a top 4 place. There has been plenty of twists and turns this season and plenty more to come.

cj maxx

Re the goal keeping sitution , i thinl mig has done well lately and jones shpuldn't be there but i do think the sunderland keeper, pantillimon , has come on alot lately too and would be a good keeper to push/ stand in for mig..

Was he at chelsea ?

Daemonic

cjmc wrote: »

Re the goal keeping sitution , i thinl mig has done well lately and jones shpuldn't be there but i do think the sunderland keeper, pantillimon , has come on alot lately too and would be a good keeper to push/ stand in for mig..

Was he at chelsea ?

No, Many City.

Demosthenese

mosstin wrote: »

Arsenal do but United? They have 6 goals more than we have and we've had our well documented problems with our strikers this season i.e. we don't have any good enough (Sturridge apart).
They're also playing a system that doesn't seem suited to getting the best out of its constituent parts. They're definitely a team in our sights. Arsenal will certainly get a Top 4 place though.

I hear what you are saying, but i look at United and see Di Maria, RVP, Rooney, Falcao and then Mata in behind ... there's more goals in them than in us i feel. Obviously they have been underperforming but they've also been on a decent run of form. LVG is trying to prove a point by playing a system he likes and the players struggle with but they are still above us comfortably ... if we were level with them on points i'd be confident ... but we have alot of catching up to do.

Goals win games ... they have more natural goal scorers in the team - we do not.

LuckyLloyd

Shelvey just put Southampton to the sword with a superb strike. Good result for us.

passremarkable

Hope Swansea can hold on

Lord Trollington

That was a long month. Good to be back.

Knex*

Just noticed; Coutinho has 1 goal and 5 assists in his last 7 games in the league.

In his previous 13 he had just 1 goal.

Now I know stats are just a small part of it, but he really has improved a hell of a lot lately, as have the whole team.

klose

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Shelvey just put Southampton to the sword with a superb strike. Good result for us.

Bertrand straight red there so it's as good as done, 4 points off 4th, well essentially 5 with goal difference.

IWantToBelieve.Jpeg

Lord Trollington

Knex. wrote: »

Just noticed; Coutinho has 1 goal and 5 assists in his last 7 games in the league.

In his previous 13 he had just 1 goal.

Now I know stats are just a small part of it, but he really has improved a hell of a lot lately, as have the whole team.

Long way to go until end of season but really pleased Rodgers has adjusted things and seems to have turned things around a bit.

I think we could do well in the UEFA cup and will push all the way for 4th. Only 4pts off 4th now with Danny back.

~Rebel~

Thank you Williams, thank you Shelvey.

So, only 4 off 4th and 5 off 3rd.

Dirty Steve

People are saying they don't want to judge Balotelli until they see him play up front with a striking partner?
So we're going to change the current formation to accommodate a player who has done nothing to warrant that?
Wake up and smell the fireworks, he's been muck, he's most likely going to stay muck and he should be only used as a last resort.

kfallon

Knex. wrote: »

Just noticed; Coutinho has 1 goal and 5 assists in his last 7 games in the league.

In his previous 13 he had just 1 goal.

Now I know stats are just a small part of it, but he really has improved a hell of a lot lately, as have the whole team.

His assist yesterday for Sterling was delicious, so delicious in fact I licked the screen during the replay!

Makes a change from me licking windows I suppose

~Rebel~

Dirty Steve wrote: »

People are saying they don't want to judge Balotelli until they see him play up front with a striking partner?
So we're going to change the current formation to accommodate a player who has done nothing to warrant that?
Wake up and smell the fireworks, he's been muck, he's most likely going to stay muck and he should be only used as a last resort.

the two things you said above are not mutually exclusive.

15 or 20 minutes left, we don't look like scoring, bring on Balo to play two up with Sturridge. If it works, great, if it doesn't then perhaps Balo's last chance is gone.

Francie Barrett

Iago starting for Sevilla.

Lord Trollington

Dirty Steve wrote: »

People are saying they don't want to judge Balotelli until they see him play up front with a striking partner?
So we're going to change the current formation to accommodate a player who has done nothing to warrant that?
Wake up and smell the fireworks, he's been muck, he's most likely going to stay muck and he should be only used as a last resort.

Use him in Uefa and FA Cup

Knex*

kfallon wrote: »

His assist yesterday for Sterling was delicious, so delicious in fact I licked the screen during the replay!

Makes a change from me licking windows I suppose

Were you using a mac?

donfers

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Iago starting for Sevilla.

Hopefully he'll score 4 for them and we'll get most of our money back

klose

donfers wrote: »

Hopefully he'll score 4 for them and we'll get most of our money back

https://twitter.com/sidlowe/status/561957554168029187

Boo that guy

smileyj1987

Lord Trollington wrote: »

That was a long month. Good to be back.

Don't tell me you did helicopters outside the gpo !!

kfallon

Knex. wrote: »

Were you using a mac?

TV Screen....that static electricity had my tongue tingling!

8.5/10 would recommend

citytillidie

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Thank you Williams, thank you Shelvey.

So, only 4 off 4th and 5 off 3rd.

Well a win next week could be huge with the North London derby also on, not that Everton at Goodison will be easy. Then Spurs at Anfield the following Tuesday