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

rob316

Downing for me is our worst big money signing, just a painfully average player. if lovren is moved on in the summer he is up there with him.

Knex*

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Carrol scored the winner against Everton in the semi final of the F.A cup. Stewart Downing will, for me, be the worst signing from that bunch.

MOTM in the Carling Cup final.

garra

Had to laugh when I read this in Guardian:

With the Europa League, another route towards qualification for the Champions League, resuming after its winter hiatus next week, the pragmatist in Rodgers could be excused for fielding a young second-string side against Palace and hoping for the best, while keeping his gaze focused solely on the bigger picture. Whether or not his considerable ego will permit such a sensible approach in the wake of recent Selhurst Park reverses remains to be seen.

The thing is, our second string team are the old players.. so we could be seeing more of Glen "What the actual fock am I doing here?" Johnson and Ricky "Chip it in la" Lambert, lovely!

Kirby

Do none of you watch football outside of Liverpool matches? Downing is having the best season of his career. He's playing very well.

Bad signing for Liverpool? Perhaps. Overpaid? Definitely. But to call him "painfully average" is unfair.

Turtyturd

If we could have fit the team with little minature wheelie bin backpacks Stewy D would have been amazing for us.

djPSB

Kirby wrote: »

Do none of you watch football outside of Liverpool matches? Downing is having the best season of his career. He's playing very well.

Bad signing for Liverpool? Perhaps. Overpaid? Definitely. But to call him "painfully average" is unfair.

Mid table player. Not good enough for a top 4 club.

Buford T. Justice XIX

rarnes1 wrote: »

Aquilani for me was the biggest disaster.

I'd say we lost more on him than Carroll.

Signing an injured player - very good idea that

Doing it twice, though.

Aquilani and Carroll have to be up there as just dumb signings.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Turtyturd wrote: »

If we could have fit the team with little minature wheelie bin backpacks Stewy D would have been amazing for us.

If he just pretended the goals was a wheelie bin, we would have had a new Fowler...

redzerdrog

Dont really care that aquilani and carroll cost a lot more at least they contributed positively to at least one match

Paul Konchesky is the worst signing we had imo followed by Poulsen

Buford T. Justice XIX

Today is Sakhos birthday.

Happy birthday, Mamadou.

pmy.murphy

jcsoulinger wrote: »

Toure not back till Monday, I would like to see Allen brought in thought he was solid against everton. I also wouldn't mind seeing can in the centre of a back three given his distribution of the ball.

Personally Id like to see him sold before I would put him in the team again. Not cut out for it and if he ends up against Wanyama and Schneiderlin then that wont end well

BenEadir

[QUOTE=pmy.murphy;94280971if he ends up against Wanyama and Schneiderlin then that wont end well[/QUOTE]

Can Vs Wanyama - that'll be worth seeing :P

whatawaster

pmy.murphy wrote: »

Personally Id like to see him sold before I would put him in the team again. Not cut out for it and if he ends up against Wanyama and Schneiderlin then that wont end well

Allen has performed very well for us against better midfields than Southamptons. Try Yaya Toure and Nigel De Jong. He was part of many of our better performances last season.

He is not in good form, but he is far from a bad player. Why would we sell him? Low wages, proven ability to perform in our midfield. Not grumbling about being on the bench. Exactly the kind of squad player we need

pmy.murphy

whatawaster wrote: »

Allen has performed very well for us against better midfields than Southamptons. Try Yaya Toure and Nigel De Jong. He was part of many of our better performances last season.

He is not in good form, but he is far from a bad player. Why would we sell him? Low wages, proven ability to perform in our midfield. Not grumbling about being on the bench. Exactly the kind of squad player we need

So tell me what is it he contributed exactly to the team when he was supposedly performing well? Was it tackling and breaking up play? providing goals or assists? creating chances? etc. Hes no more than a passenger and a waste of 15 million for what he contributes to the team

pmy.murphy

Interview with Tom Werner....http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tom-werner-qa-read-full-5160214

Allen is fairly average.

He hasnt progressed since he joined Liverpool

whatawaster

pmy.murphy wrote: »

So tell me what is it he contributed exactly to the team when he was supposedly performing well? Was it tackling and breaking up play? providing goals or assists? creating chances? etc. Hes no more than a passenger and a waste of 15 million for what he contributes to the team

Yes, he is good at breaking up play, hassling the opposition and winning the ball back high up the pitch. He is a good passer. He is not amazing, but he does plenty well and is a good squad player.

atilladehun

The anfield index had an entire show on Allen today. I haven't finished yet but basically they have an Allen apologist on who says his roll is to keep the ball in an area of the pitch that it is vital not to lose it. Through a series of passes he helps un-shape the opposition which eventually allows Coutinho etc receive the ball moving forward in the opposition half. Allen's work prevents Coutinho as a result doesn't have to retreat to Liverpool's own half and try to carry the ball throught the half way line.

I don't know

Hoki

whatawaster wrote: »

Yes, he is good at breaking up play, hassling the opposition and winning the ball back high up the pitch. He is a good passer. He is not amazing, but he does plenty well and is a good squad player.

He's a decent squad player, better than what we've had down through the years but thats about it , I wouldn't like to rely on him for an extended period of time . He looked promising at Swansea but hasn't kicked on really.

pmy.murphy

whatawaster wrote: »

Yes, he is good at breaking up play, hassling the opposition and winning the ball back high up the pitch. He is a good passer. He is not amazing, but he does plenty well and is a good squad player.

A good passer? Do you actually watch him or are you just raving? All he does is pass the ball backwards and sideways. Sure even I could do that

pmy.murphy

atilladehun wrote: »

The anfield index had an entire show on Allen today. I haven't finished yet but basically they have an Allen apologist on who says his roll is to keep the ball in an area of the pitch that it is vital not to lose it. Through a series of passes he helps un-shape the opposition which eventually allows Coutinho etc receive the ball moving forward in the opposition half. Allen's work prevents Coutinho as a result doesn't have to retreat to Liverpool's own half and try to carry the ball throught the half way line.

I don't know

Talk about clutching at straws

Super-Rush

atilladehun wrote: »

The anfield index had an entire show on Allen today. I haven't finished yet but basically they have an Allen apologist on who says his roll is to keep the ball in an area of the pitch that it is vital not to lose it. Through a series of passes he helps un-shape the opposition which eventually allows Coutinho etc receive the ball moving forward in the opposition half. Allen's work prevents Coutinho as a result doesn't have to retreat to Liverpool's own half and try to carry the ball throught the half way line.

I don't know

Lucas however tackles, wins the ball and passes to Coutinho who is in space.

googled eyes

Mig talking about how he rebooted hisLiverpool career

At his own request, Simon Mignolet is explaining to a room of journalists where his Liverpool career was going wrong and how it is being corrected.
What follows over the course of 30 minutes of self-analysis in a suite within Anfield’s Centenary Stand is akin to psychological unburdening.

When Rodgers said Mignolet would be left out "indefinitely" there must have been doubts about his long-term Liverpool career?
"Never," he insists.
"You can let your head drop or say this is the moment I learn, that I can come back strong. Being out gave me time to reflect.
"I was disappointed [to be left out]. It was Manchester United away – a big game, but during the short space of time I had time to reflect. Steve Peters came into the picture together with the manager, head of performance and the goalkeeper coach to make sure I was decisive as that’s something that goes on in your mind.
"I thank the manager and coaching staff. The manager has shown his faith and confidence – it shows he believes in me. I appreciate that."

So Peters is still around. Thats good to hear

Kerrigooney

Allen is the whipping boy at the moment. It's just the way it works.

That said,I defended him a lot last year when he was being criticised despite playing well. It's less easy to defend him atm...he's giving the ball away quite a lot this season,something he rarely did last year. He also gets injured way too often which doesn't help.

Still...he hasn't reached Johnson or Lovren levels of ****ness yet.

Harry Palmr

Rodgers throughout his career has taken players out of the side and issued them a challenge or just given them time to improve away from the fray. Seems to work.

from the Werner interview

Q. I guess you’d say the progress being made by likes of Raheem Sterling, Emre Can and Jordon Ibe fits well with FSG’s philosophy on investing in young talent and developing it - but that aside is there still scope for ‘finished article’ signings too?

A.“I’m not going to say that there aren’t exceptions to the rule but we feel that it is valuable to have a team that can coalesce for the long term.

“Every individual signing can be debated. But we are building a team that we think is only going to get stronger.

looks like anyone who is hoping for a couple of mid-career 30 million players is going to be disappointed

Gbear

Kerrigooney wrote: »

Allen is the whipping boy at the moment. It's just the way it works.
Still...he hasn't reached Johnson or Lovren levels of ****ness yet.

I think his problem is that we just don't know what a definitive good Joe Allen performance looks like.

What does he actually do? What is his role?

He's a good footballer but he's just not focused enough to get through on his technical abilities and doesn't have the physical attributes to be a good all-rounder (like Can, who's a good all-round technician crossed with a main battle tank).

By the end of the season he'll have been here 3 years and I'll be no closer to understanding what it is he's supposed to be doing.

I like the idea of Joe Allen - a tenacious footballer with great awareness, touch and ability to feed the ball. I just don't see it translating to an important part of this team when everyone else has such clearly defined roles.

With Gerrard and Lucas out I think, if possible, it's Lovren we need to try to get back into form first and foremost, while also giving Can a bit of room to spread his wings.

mosstin

Almost every player has their apologists on here - Johnson even! - but Allen is the hardest to figure. There's a sort of vague, hipster-like suggestion that Allen contributes because he recycles the ball. Arse. Waste of frigging time and has been so for quite some time now.

K-9

I'd say Mig was dropped when there was really no other option, the press and fan base had been going on about him for ages, Lovren similar.

Sometimes Rodgers cannot win.

Agent Coulson

Mignolet better watch his back now.


https://twitter.com/Brad_Jones1/status/565943864192946176

MonkeyTennis

Allen was bought to be a metronome in the middle of the park. Im pretty sure we dont want that kind of player as we had progressed into a sexy wham bam thank you mam team last year

Decent player. Just dunno where he belongs.

Super-Rush

Allen is a player who will do well in a team with low expectations like Downing, Adam, Lovern etc. The pressure to win every game is something these players cannot and have not been able to deal with.

mosstin

MonkeyTennis wrote: »

Allen was bought to be a metronome in the middle of the park. Im pretty sure we dont want that kind of player as we had progressed into a sexy wham bam thank you mam team last year

Decent player. Just dunno where he belongs.

Swansea.

pmy.murphy

MonkeyTennis wrote: »

Allen was bought to be a metronome in the middle of the park. Im pretty sure we dont want that kind of player as we had progressed into a sexy wham bam thank you mam team last year

Decent player. Just dunno where he belongs.

Brought in to be an "outstanding technician" and the "Welsh Xavi". Turned out to be a lost sheep on a football pitch whose role if there is any is microscopic. This recycling possession stuff people come up with is a crock of shiit

MonkeyTennis

How on earth have you managed to put Allen, Downing, Adam and Lovren into an etc?

MonkeyTennis

pmy.murphy wrote: »

Brought in to be an "outstanding technician" and the "Welsh Xavi". Turned out to be a lost sheep on a football pitch whose role if there is any is microscopic. This recycling possession stuff people come up with is a crock of shiit

Oh come on.. Welsh Xavi... where did that even come from?

pmy.murphy

MonkeyTennis wrote: »

Oh come on.. Welsh Xavi... where did that even come from?

Brendan Rodgers mouth. You know the more days that pass the funnier that statement gets

Rodgers hasn't played Allen much lately, new midfielders have been bought. Allen available if required.... Now a squad player...Problem? What problem?

Super-Rush

To be fair to Rodgers he ships them out fairly quickly if he feels they're not up to the task. He's been forced to hold onto Allen, as we do have short numbers in CM.

Henderson has been hit and miss this season, Gerrard is a shadow of what he used to be, plus he is now injured, Lucas is injured more often than not and Can is playing in defense.

Imagine Can picks up and injury now. That will leave Henderson and Allen as our only CM's. As much as i rate Rossiter, he's not near strong enough for the PL right now.

I really hope he has made signing two good quality CM's his number one priority in the summer.

jcsoulinger

I can't understand the Allen hate, he had some massive games for us last year himself and Henderson in the centre really complimented each other. He closes space quickly, dogged in the tackle but rarely fouls, very rarely loses possession, always comes looking for the ball, and despite what people think is a very good passer of the ball. He may pass it back a lot but that is a part of our game even now skrtel receives the ball from mid field a lot over 90 min and its recycled.

He may have lost his way a bit this season and injuries haven't helped but he's only 24 so has loads of time to but it right,

MonkeyTennis

Nor can I . But nor can I understand a lot of the debate in here. I often hope Liverpool fans have a bit of nouse. A little bit of 'wait and see'.

pmy.murphy

whatawaster wrote: »

Yes, he is good at breaking up play, hassling the opposition and winning the ball back high up the pitch. He is a good passer. He is not amazing, but he does plenty well and is a good squad player.

These qualities are what you get from a good defensive midfielder. Joe Allen is not a defensive midfielder nor does he have any real notable attacking qualities. For a team like Liverpool he is a nothing player. I do hope we sign 2 decent central midfield players in the summer who are more suitable in quality in what were trying to achieve

Also he is an average passer like every other aspect of his game. Basicly he has no outstanding qualities which equals a very average player. Are we an average club with average expectations? No we are not. We need to upgrade on him in the summer along with replacing Gerrard properly.

Sir Gallagher

Whether people rate him or not, Allen's skillset is just not good enough to offset his awful injury record.

Anyway on another note, is Balo gonna start today? He's a complete maniac, but i'm curious to see how he'd link up with Sturridge.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Whether people rate him or not, Allen's skillset is just not good enough to offset his awful injury record.

Anyway on another note, is Balo gonna start today? He's a complete maniac, but i'm curious to see how he'd link up with Sturridge.

Isn't Sturridge being rested today?

Sir Gallagher

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Isn't Sturridge being rested today?

Oh, i suppose that would make sense. Balo and Lallana in for Sturridge and phil/Marko so. I'm assuming Sterling will be back?

Hoki

Sir Gallagher wrote: »

Oh, i suppose that would make sense. Balo and Lallana in for Sturridge and phil/Marko so. I'm assuming Sterling will be back?

Think I read somewhere last night Sterling still hasn't recovered and will miss today.

garra

Migs had the yips

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11411736/Simon-Mignolet-How-I-rebooted-my-Liverpool-career.html

From that article:
Mignolet has kept five clean sheets in his eight Premier League appearances since his return, but his rewiring, for which he credits Brendan Rodgers, goalkeeper coach John Achterberg and Liverpool psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, came amid vilification.

Not much there for Rodgers to be embarrassed about.

jcsoulinger

Hoki wrote: »

Think I read somewhere last night Sterling still hasn't recovered and will miss today.

Ya he's still not 100% so sits this one out, would be surprised if sturridge doesn't play some part he need game time to get his sharpness back. I would like to see the same back three, Ibe and Moreno on wings, hendo and Allen in cm, lallana no 10 and danny, balo up top.

NukaCola

jcsoulinger wrote: »

Ya he's still not 100% so sits this one out, would be surprised if sturridge doesn't play some part he need game time to get his sharpness back. I would like to see the same back three, Ibe and Moreno on wings, hendo and Allen in cm, lallana no 10 and danny, balo up top.

Ibe is cup tied also

rob316

I don't get the criticism of Rodgers over Mignolet, Rodgers isn't a dope he knows Mignolet is a far superior keeper to Jones. Publically dropping a player and re-instating him is nothing new, Ferguson had been doing it for years and taking the plaudits.

And who actually cares anyway, our keeper is playing a lot better now that's all that matters.

NukaCola

garra wrote: »

Migs had the yips

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/11411736/Simon-Mignolet-How-I-rebooted-my-Liverpool-career.html

From that article:
Mignolet has kept five clean sheets in his eight Premier League appearances since his return, but his rewiring, for which he credits Brendan Rodgers, goalkeeper coach John Achterberg and Liverpool psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, came amid vilification.

Not much there for Rodgers to be embarrassed about.

Its good to see Mignolet recover form, but dropping him for Brad Jones was dangerous. Jones is awful a complete liability, thankfully Mig came back much quicker due to his injury.