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

Utopia Parkway

Too many players slightly off their game tonight. Can, Lallana, Sturridge, etc. Coutinho looking a bit tired so taken off after an hour. Did well to battle for the win considering and important not to concede of course. Think we'll score over there which means Besiktas will need 3.

Not sure why we just didn't keep feeding Ibe the ball. He had the left back on toast to such an extent they had to double up on him.

Osmosis Jones

Gerrard said he'd take the penalty had he come on from the bench, so why not Balo?

He was right to take it, I'm sure Rodgers intended on him taking it, Henderson just didn't get the message.

~Rebel~

Also Gerrards comment of "what if he had missed" works stronger the other way - imagine if Henderson had insisted on taking it, and then missed, with one of the best penalty takers on the field with him. He'd look awful.

At least if Balo misses, you know you had the best possible person trying. No regrets.

Iused2likebusts

MR NINE wrote: »

My understanding of the situation was that henderson was the delegated taker and so he grabbed the ball. Balotelli took it off him and henderson was a little miffed at the disrespect but willing to let balotelli go ahead. Sturridge didnt like seeing this disrespect towards the captain and questioned why balotelli was taking it. Id say it had been decided before the game that of the 11 players who started, henderson was the delegated penalty taker. However, with balotelli on the pitch it should be a no brainer to let him take it. Has he ever missed one? Has henderson ever taken one? It was a bit disrespectful to henderson but i say fair play to balotelli all the same for making the right call and backing himself. Hes certainly not short of confidence which is good to see. I dont think sturridge was ever arguing to take the penalty himself.

Thats exactly what happened. An oversight by rodgers in not letting it be known mario should take pens if on the pitch. Id imagine hendo's name was on a board in the dressing rooms before the game saying he was the peno taker.

NukaCola

klose wrote: »

None iirc thankfully. Love hendo but my grandmother has better shooting and shes dead.

Sturridge probably has an argument to take a peno but balo, for all his faults is one of the best peno takers around. Disappointing to see gerrard give the media something to latch onto with his comments, think rodgers handled the post match presser well regarding the situation.

You cant say a player is a bad penalty taker based on poor shooting from distance. Mario's shooting has been ****ing awful but the man can take a mean peno, makes no sense to be so sure on something without the data but at the end of the day Mario didn't listen to his captain. No-one is surprised.

Chucky the tree

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Gerrard said he'd take the penalty had he come on from the bench, so why not Balo?

He was right to take it, I'm sure Rodgers intended on him taking it, Henderson just didn't get the message.

Because Balo isn't captain. It's the captains decision.

MD1990

Jordon Ibe: Completed more successful dribbles in a single Europa League match (10 vs Besiktas) than any other player has this season #LFC

What a talent we have

djPSB

Kerrigooney wrote: »

Whatever about the penalty incident,whose idea is it to let Henderson take the direct free kicks because he's ****ing hopeless at them.

Went very close with one.

No other option really if Balo and Gerrard aren't on the pitch.

Turtyturd

NukaCola wrote: »

Mario's shooting has been great though has it?

Good point.

klose

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Being the best peno taker in the world or not is absolutely no reason for him to disrespect his captain and club, having first shot at a peno or free kick is something you earn, so i'll say again Ballo has not come anywhere near having done enough to have a shout at either.

We did'nt pay 16m and 120k a week for a player who's only good at taking a peno now and again.

Ball was in hendos court regarding the peno, if he really wanted it he would have taken it given he is captain. He folded and gave the ball to balo. Hardly a good sign of a designated peno taker and captain that he will so easily hand over the ball?

Pyjamarama

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Because Balo isn't captain. It's the captains decision.

Surely its the managers decision. I imagine Rodgers told Balo he was to take one. Maybe not today but i imagine they know the order in general.

MR NINE

Sakho was brilliant today. I was watching the game with my dad, who tends to make a kneejerk judgement on players. Hes adamant sakho is a hopeless passer of the ball, probably as a result of seeing one or two of his infamous blunders. I cant wait to show him the sakho highlight reel from this match, i can only recall one time he gave the ball away, and that was attempting a 40 yard crossfield pass. His distribution was excellent and a lot of his passes were far from simple. He was very dominant off the ball as well, his reading of the game seems to have improved, hes showed great pace a couple of times in winning a chase to a loose ball and great strength and composure to just shepherd it out of play.

NukaCola

Ibe is looking like a serious player. Great to see him starting games

djPSB

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Being the best peno taker in the world or not is absolutely no reason for him to disrespect his captain and club, having first shot at a peno or free kick is something you earn, so i'll say again Ballo has not come anywhere near having done enough to have a shout at either.

We did'nt pay 16m and 120k a week for a player who's only good at taking a peno now and again.

And your captain should be willing to let a better penalty taker take the penalty.

It's alot over nothing anyways. They'll tweet a picture of them both shifting later and it'll all be forgotten about.

googled eyes

https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/568536433683615744

djPSB

googled eyes wrote: »

https://twitter.com/Carra23/status/568536433683615744

The real issue was Sturridge getting involved.

NukaCola

klose wrote: »

Ball was in hendos court regarding the peno, if he really wanted it he would to have taken it given he is captain. He folded and gave the ball to balo. Hardly a good sign of a designated peno taker and captain that he will so easily hand over the ball?

I have absolutely no doubt had Hendo told Mario no and been more forceful it would have turned into a fiasco. Hendo did absolutely the right thing and leave him have the peno, and hopefully he'll sort it out in the dressing room.

Iused2likebusts

NukaCola wrote: »

Ibe is looking like a serious player. Great to see him starting games

Early days but really impressed with him so far. From what Ive seen Id much prefer him over markovic.

Utopia Parkway

NukaCola wrote: »

Ibe is looking like a serious player. Great to see him starting games

He's got a great ability to go past defenders both on the outside and the inside. Has got pace and power. Just has to improve his decision making and finishing but that will come in time. Easy to forget how few games he's played at this level.

Osmosis Jones

djPSB wrote: »

The real issue was Sturridge getting involved.

Seemed to just be telling Henderson to stand his ground.

Henderson did the right thing, stepping down to the better penalty taker (albeit reluctantly) shows great leadership.

kfallon

The Rodgers wrote: »

Yea but how many has he scored m8.

Loads....but you asked if he missed any pens in competitive games and I gave you your answer

If anyone other than Mario had taken the pen tonight I'd have been pretty pissed off tbh

NukaCola

djPSB wrote: »

And your captain should be willing to let a better penalty taker take the penalty.

Thats a good point actually.

SuperTortoise

klose wrote: »

Ball was in hendos court regarding the peno, if he really wanted it he would to have taken it given he is captain. He folded and gave the ball to balo. Hardly a good sign of a designated peno taker and captain that he will so easily hand over the ball?

I agree, i think Hendo has come on a lot in the last 12 months with his leadership but i still think he's a few years away from being ready to be captain, simply put he's not strong enough, and i thought that even before tonight.

Looking through that team i'd say Can is the best of the lot but he's still only 20.

billymitchell

klose wrote: »

Ball was in hendos court regarding the peno, if he really wanted it he would have taken it given he is captain. He folded and gave the ball to balo. Hardly a good sign of a designated peno taker and captain that he will so easily hand over the ball?

I think it was a good sign that he walked away, he knows Balo is a better peno taker. So hendo made the right call to leave him too it. Sturridge would want to being a beatch and adding to the situation!

Kerrigooney

NukaCola wrote: »

Mario's shooting has been great though has it?

He's won us 2 of the last 3 games and assisted the winner against Palace so he's not doing too badly at the minute.

NukaCola

NukaCola wrote: »

I have absolutely no doubt had Hendo told Mario no and been more forceful it would have turned into a fiasco. Hendo did absolutely the right thing and leave him have the peno, and hopefully he'll sort it out in the dressing room.

Yeah, if Henderson had stood his ground it would actually have been more farcical.

Ballotelli will get a ticking off and it'll all be forgotten.

Agent Coulson

Just enjoy.

https://vine.co/v/Ox2elmxtbag

5starpool

I'm guessing (without checking) we've seen Henderson take 2 penos anyhow in the shootout against Middlesboro as I assume he was playing.

Turtyturd

He didn't let him take it, he was just afraid to stop him. All well and good beating up pensioners in the tunnel but tonight he showed a lack of backbone.

googled eyes

Biggest issue of the whole debacle for me was Gerrard blabbing about it on tv. Makes everyone look worse

Kerrigooney

rarnes1 wrote: »

Yeah, if Henderson had stood his ground it would actually have been more farcical.

Ballotelli will be thrown under a bus by Rodgers again and it'll all be forgotten.

gafferino

Storm in a tea cup. Forget about it.

Good result. Besiktas are a good team. They took 4 points off Spurs and iirc a Arsenal only beat them by a goal to qualify for CL.

No goals conceded is fantastic.

Sterling looked good when he came on, will be great if he can start V Southampton.

Thought Balotelli did very well when he came on. Held the ball up well, passed it around and won some good free kicks in dangerous positions. That and more please Mario.

billymitchell

5starpool wrote: »

I'm guessing (without checking) we've seen Henderson take 2 penos anyhow in the shootout against Middlesboro as I assume he was playing.

Mig also took one in that game

Agent Coulson

"I wanted the penalty"

NukaCola

Kerrigooney wrote: »

He's won us 2 of the last 3 games and assisted the winner against Palace so he's not doing too badly at the minute.

I'm not putting him down, just saying general shooting from distance is not proof that you are good/bad at peno's.

brevity

Seems poor Mario can do no right. Come off the bench, play well, set Ibe up for a run which ultimately results in a penalty. Grabs ball, "I'm ****ing having that, sod off Sturridge", Boom! Back of the net.

But ya, useless lazy fecker who plays with no passion...

billymitchell

Turtyturd wrote: »

He didn't let him take it, he was just afraid to stop him. All well and good beating up pensioners in the tunnel but tonight he showed a lack of backbone.

So you think he should have fought with Balo and taken the peno himself? Two wrongs dont make a right

DVDM93

Lads, let's all just imagine the Liverpool lads are on a night out. None of them are on their game and not one of them has pulled. Next thing, out of nowhere, an absolute cracker with the tits of an angel decides she wants a bit of Hendo. Balotelli has arrived late to the party but decides he wants this female for himself. Do you think Hendo would willingly give her over like he did the penalty? I don't think so. Henderson knew deep down that Balotelli was the best man for the job in the penalty situation, thus why he gave over the ball and why Balotelli scored.

We won lads. Let's be happy

5starpool

billymitchell wrote: »

Mig also took one in that game

Yep, it finished just before his second one so that's why I assume Henderson took two.

Osmosis Jones

DVDM93 wrote: »

Lads, let's all just imagine the Liverpool lads are on a night out. None of them are on their game and not one of them has pulled. Next thing, out of nowhere, an absolute cracker with the tits of an angel decides she wants a bit of Hendo. Balotelli has arrived late to the party but decides he wants this female for himself. Do you think Hendo would willingly give her over like he did the penalty? I don't think so. Henderson knew deep down that Balotelli was the best man for the job in the penalty situation, thus why he gave over the ball and why Balotelli scored.

We won lads. Let's be happy

Keep your LFC fan fiction to yourself please.

billymitchell

5starpool wrote: »

Yep, it finished just before his second one so that's why I assume Henderson took two.

Just sayin that I wouldn't judge anybodies penalty takin from that game.

J Mysterio

mayordenis wrote: »

Rising Sons - just at the entrance to TK Maxx

Decent spot but they had Celtic on the big screen so skipped out before kick off!

NukaCola

brevity wrote: »

Seems poor Mario can do no right. Come off the bench, play well, set Ibe up for a run which ultimately results in a penalty. Grabs ball, "I'm ****ing having that, sod off Sturridge", Boom! Back of the net.

But ya, useless lazy fecker who plays with no passion...

Is that what people are posting or did you just completely make that up.

Turtyturd

billymitchell wrote: »

So you think he should have fought with Balo and taken the peno himself? Two wrongs dont make a right

There is no need for any fight, if he wanted it he just needed to stand his ground and tell Balotelli he was the taker, or give him the ball and forget about it instead of walking away mumbling and not celebrating.

spockety

The only giving out should be Henderson having a word with Sturridge and saying in future back off, he can take care of himself and his decisions shouldn't be second guessed or undermined in public.

Gerrard also should have kept quiet, but if anything, again, saved his words for Sturridge, not balotelli.

pmy.murphy

Turtyturd wrote: »

There is no need for any fight, if he wanted it he just needed to stand his ground and tell Balotelli he was the taker, or give him the ball and forget about it instead of walking away mumbling and not celebrating.

Youve hit the nail on the head there, If Hendo wanted it he should have told Mario "Im taking it, Im captain end of story" instead of sulking like a schoolgirl. Thats not the behaviour of a good captain. A good captain should be authorative

Plus Sturridges behaviour was completely out of order

To be fair to Hendo he handled the post match interview well

NukaCola

Turtyturd wrote: »

There is no need for any fight, if he wanted it he just needed to stand his ground and tell Balotelli he was the taker, or give him the ball and forget about it instead of walking away mumbling and not celebrating.

Jordan would be in a headlock in less than 10 seconds had he not backed down.......:pac:

billymitchell

Turtyturd wrote: »

There is no need for any fight, if he wanted it he just needed to stand his ground and tell Balotelli he was the taker, or give him the ball and forget about it instead of walking away mumbling and not celebrating.

He's ego took a bit of a bruising once Balo took the ball off him, hence him being pissed off. BUt he knew deep down the best man took the peno, even if it was hard for him to accept.
But hey, we won, so who really gives a damn about it!

brevity

NukaCola wrote: »

Is that what people are posting or did you just completely make that up.

People were giving out about Balotelli...him being a trouble maker

spockety

pmy.murphy wrote: »

Youve hit the nail on the head there, If Hendo wanted it he should have told Mario "Im taking it, Im captain end of story" instead of sulking like a schoolgirl. Thats not the behaviour of a good captain. A good captain should be authorative

I think that if it wasn't for Sturridge, Henderson would have been absolutely fine with the whole situation. Sturridge absolutely flustered him and caused him to doubt himself, resulting in the mumbling and the face.