Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2018

citytillidie

Crash Bang Wall wrote: »

If he had been racially abused, he wouldnt have just pushed him into the stand.....that was just petulance. If he had been racially abused, he would have done more than that IMO.

For me, he heard the foreign language, and either played the racism card, or he thought one of the words was the N word

Holgate pushed him into the crowd 1st

j8wk2feszrnpao

The Mig wrote: »

Swings and roundabouts with Holgate. His twitter is no more. Andre Gray got a 4 game ban for something similar so hopefully the FA follow suit

https://twitter.com/Kop_Central/status/949422469244432387

4.5 to 5 year old tweets. Discussed earlier in the thread. Wouldn’t bashed him too much for that given he was quite young at the time. But doesn’t help his image.

yourdeadwright

Harry Palmr wrote: »

yourdeadwright wrote: »

I see the Clyne rumours i mentioned back in November are no gathering full steam , seems to bebsome truth in it

That he is freebasing craic 90% pure I hear.

Rumour of in house drug test that didn't go well,
Do find it odd that he is never pictured at the games or doing any of the charity gigs or any thing like that .,Its also od that it took the club till Late November to decide he need an op on a injury they knew about since the Summer, Also Terry once had the same op and was back 4 weeks later ,
Wasn't it Berihno that West brom confirmed he failed a n inhouse drug test after they had sold him to Stoke , So its happened before

marklazarcovic

They talk like Bobby 100% racially abused him ffs,those fans.. I blame shearer for this nonsense..

Remember Terry's blatant comment on Anton..yea,this is not even close, but Bobby's a racist ffs.

Holgate needs to come out and say he got it wrong immediately. If he sits on his hands only Bobby suffers. It's disgusting,be a man ffs.

kopite386

So Rakitic thinks Couthino's fee is too high. Understandable as once Neymar sale went though all fees were going to be ridiculous. His place is under threat in the Barca Squad now with Couthino there. Anyone think we should go bid for him

That's a joke by the way he is wouldn't leave Barca for us and he is contracted until 2021 I don't see Barca doing what we did and sell him with that much left on his contract.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/philippe-coutinho-fee-a-bit-14125253.amp?__twitter_impression=true

LuckyLloyd

5starpool wrote: »

Article on the last hours of the Coutinho deal.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5244311/Philippe-Coutinho-world-exclusive-Liverpool-Barca.html

I've been drinking the whole thing in the past week: 'may you live in interesting times'. That article ultimately underlines some realities, even if it's a slight enough piece. We can like it or lump it, but we will inevitably lose South American stars to Real and Barcelona when they reach the level Coutinho is at (or better ala Mascherano and Suarez). I genuinely believe these lads have no ill feeling or disrespect towards Liverpool. I think they probably do love the place and I think that they (Suarez and Mascherano in particular) genuinely gave the best of themselves while here. But Barcelona or Real Madrid are the dream. And playing for those clubs offers the higher global platform that can generate the type of endorsement money that makes spending £11.5m of your own money well worth it to lock in the move.

There is also the human side to be considered. He's a man with a family who are latin and Barcelona is always going to be a better more natural fit when compared to cold, wet, grey North West England. Suarez buying a house for him and his family tells a lot about the subtler personal motivations at play.

There are two ways to look at this I think. Yes, constantly losing your best players is a pretty big negative. In the context of our current season there is no silver lining available. Coutinho is a huge loss (the whole 'he blows hot and cold, not a key player' stuff is pure nonsense) and it destabilizes things just when our outlook was trending very positively. Losing your best player in the January window with no replacement lined up is somewhat emasculating and small time. The bigger boy just stole our favourite toy and there's nothing we could do to stop it.

That said, when you accept the reality of the football food chain then seeing four key world class players go to Barcelona / Real Madrid over the course of a decade is something to be positive about. It shows that we can get in young players with the ability to become world class. And it shows to players in their early twenties with that type of potential that coming here is worthwhile. That it can be a platform to take them onto their promised land.

I'm not sure we'll ever be able to stem such a tide. Maybe if we got back to regularly competing for the CL or won a couple of league titles we'd be better able to hold onto players, but I genuinely believe the lure of Real / Madrid will always trump us as far as South American footballers are concerned. We've been well compensated for the experience. We've profited off each of Alonso / Mascherano / Suarez / Coutinho and under FSG we're learning how to extract higher prices when we are forced to part with key assets. We also gained on the pitch with two CL finals and a 2nd place out of the first two; another 2nd place and Europa League Final out of the 2nd two. We just have to have faith in Klopp that, with the club on a much stabler footing than during Benitez's reign, he can continue to make good acquisitions and keep them hungry enough that we start to win a couple of trophies along the way. That the quality across the pitch rises to such an extent that these inevitable transfer deals don't completely scupper us for a couple of years at a time.

I say sign Mahrez, replace a mercurial type attacking talent with a similar type of player. Retain the balance in the squad and cross the fingers that Klopp keeps the show on the road. If we finish the season in the top four and get past Porto it won't have been a terrible season by any measure.

qm1bv4p8i92aoj

Lads just a suggestion.
If you don't want to get upset about what other fans think of Bobby then don't go reading their threads.
Hardly surprising they are baying for his blood now is it.
The obsession is strong with both.

Sappy404

Talisman wrote: »

Coutinho's move was on the cards since July 2016.

https://twitter.com/Zizouology/status/750807701781749760

It stands to reason that the first thing Joorabchian would want to do after taking on Coutinho as a client would be to get him sold. He'd just signed a new deal.

Talisman

Talisman wrote: »

At present all evidence suggests that he was the only individual present that thought he was racially abused. So far there's no evidence to support his claim - this may change if the powers that be release alternative camera angles of the incident.

Firmino is innocent of the charge until there is evidence to support Holgate's claim.

You're in no position to say what evidence is there. You're only getting fed whatever is currently in the public domain.

Innocent of the charge? What's he been charged with?

marklazarcovic

Misael Many Ref wrote: »

Lads just a suggestion.
If you don't want to get upset about what other fans think of Bobby then don't go reading their threads.
Hardly surprising they are baying for his blood now is it.
The obsession is strong with both.

You think boards is the only place on the internet?

yourdeadwright

marklazarcovic wrote: »

They talk like Bobby 100% racially abused him ffs,those fans.. I blame shearer for this nonsense..

Remember Terry's blatant comment on Anton..yea,this is not even close, but Bobby's a racist ffs.

Holgate needs to come out and say he got it wrong immediately. If he sits on his hands only Bobby suffers. It's disgusting,be a man ffs.

Mirror reporting Bobby Madley wrote in his match report on the incident that he did not hear any racial insults and if he did he would have taken action ,
I think its a case of Holgate mishearing Bobby , nothing wrong with that people make honest mistakes,

yourdeadwright

The ref and Kenny where closer to Firmino than Holgate and neither reacted to what Bobby said I think that's a clear indication he did not say anything racial ,

Potential Underachiever

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Constantly being in Liverpools shadow has hardened the ingrained bitterness of Everton fans.

Surprised how badly the Irish Everton fans are considering they are non scouse.

I've said it before I think but you seem to be always bashing Everton, that surprises me, I presume you're not a Scouser yourself? Even the above post mentioning the word bitter is just another needless jab, never mind the countless posts in the 'humour' thread. You're always well in the thick of the Liverpool/Everton slagging going on but yet you're surprised about Irish Everton fans!

5starpool

1. Firmino said something bad that no one can confirm except Holgate.
2. Firmino said something bad that someone or some camera evidence we haven't seen can back up.
3. Firmino said nothing like he is being accused of, but Holgate is adamant he did.

1 and 3 are effectively the same thing in terms of punishment likely hood. Logic says that no ban can be made, but I don't think logic has anything to do with it and wouldn't be surprised to see a 5 game ban on the balance of probability according to the FA panel based purely on the reaction.

I'd like to find out that there was camera footage that could conclusively show him all the way through this exchange, whether he said anything or not. I'm slightly worried by the fact that he is off in Cyprus on his own when the rest of the squad is in Dubai. Might mean nothing, but it might either.

Knex*

Augeo wrote: »

I dunno TBH.

We seen to be happy to gloss over the fact the lad seems to think he was racially abused....that's not good.

Grayditch wrote: »

Yeah, nobody is glossing over it.

I think people are fairly quick to throw blame on Holgate to say he reacted like he did just to get out of a card.

That line of reasoning is absolute bollocks to me, tbh.

Most likely he misheard something, and hopefully this enquiry will reason such, but regardless of his tweets coming to light from when he was 15, or whatever, I don't think he's going to go up to a referee and tell him that Firmino racially abused him, just to avoid a red card.

Think of the levity of the accusation, and also what it actually must be like to genuinely be racially abused. I don't think Holgate himself would be so flippant with something like that.

Honestly, that type of stuff that I'm reading on here is actually baffling.

As for the push, people need to get over it. It's not up for question and right now has nothing to do with the enquiry.

Benimar

yourdeadwright wrote: »

Mirror reporting Bobby Madley wrote in his match report on the incident that he did not hear any racial insults and if he did he would have taken action ,
I think its a case of Holgate mishearing Bobby , nothing wrong with that people make honest mistakes,

If thats the case, fair enough.

However, I do think Holgate should come out and say that he misheard. He has made an allegation against Firmino, and that will stick (at least with certain fan bases) unless he publicly states he was wrong.

Misunderstandings happen, and I have no problem giving him the benefit of the doubt IF he makes it clear Firmino didn't racially abuse him.

Knex*

5starpool wrote: »

1. Firmino said something bad that no one can confirm except Holgate.
2. Firmino said something bad that someone or some camera evidence we haven't seen can back up.
3. Firmino said nothing like he is being accused of, but Holgate is adamant he did.

1 and 3 are effectively the same thing in terms of punishment likely hood. Logic says that no ban can be made, but I don't think logic has anything to do with it and wouldn't be surprised to see a 5 game ban on the balance of probability according to the FA panel based purely on the reaction.

I'd like to find out that there was camera footage that could conclusively show him all the way through this exchange, whether he said anything or not. I'm slightly worried by the fact that he is off in Cyprus on his own when the rest of the squad is in Dubai. Might mean nothing, but it might either.

Didn't know that. Have to agree that it is at least mildly concerning.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Misael Many Ref wrote: »

don't go reading their threads.

The Liverpool v Everton thread is also their thread?
If you’ve an issue reading the comments in here, don’t go reading them.

Knex*

Benimar wrote: »

If thats the case, fair enough.

However, I do think Holgate should come out and say that he misheard. He has made an allegation against Firmino, and that will stick (at least with certain fan bases) unless he publicly states he was wrong.

Misunderstandings happen, and I have no problem giving him the benefit of the doubt IF he makes it clear Firmino didn't racially abuse him.

This has been said a bit, implying that he should come out right now and say this, but it just isn't realistic at all. If he misheard, then his brain still processed it as such, meaning it's his only version of events.

He then has to take on everyone else's accounts and convince himself that what he heard wasn't what was actually said. He may very well, if not most likely, do this once all evidence and accounts are brought to light. At this point you'd be likely to hear some statement.

Why would he come out and say anything until this has been thoroughly investigated? It's just not practical. No way would anybody here do that in similar circumstances.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Knex. wrote: »

This has been said a bit, implying that he should come out right now and say this, but it just isn't realistic at all. If he misheard, then his brain still processed it as such, meaning it's his only version of events.

He then has to take on everyone else's accounts and convince himself that what he heard wasn't what was actually said. He may very well, if not most likely, do this once all evidence and accounts are brought to light. At this point you'd be likely to hear some statement.

Why would he come out and say anything until this has been thoroughly investigated? It's just not practical. No way would anybody here do that in similar circumstances.

Well, he didn’t use Twitter to apologize for his previous homophobic comments and move on from it. He just closed his account. So maybe he’ll just not apologize for getting this wrong either?

Knex*

Rodgers talking about the tactics behind the 5-1 Arsenal game

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/08/exclusive-brendan-rodgers-reveals-tactics-behind-liverpools/

Apparently there's more coming on the website http://www.coachesvoice.com/, which launches sometime today.

LuckyLloyd

Knex. wrote: »

Rodgers talking about the tactics behind the 5-1 Arsenal game

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/08/exclusive-brendan-rodgers-reveals-tactics-behind-liverpools/

Apparently there's more coming on the website http://www.coachesvoice.com/, which launches sometime today.

I'd love to hear him talk about tactics for the Chelsea game.

Talisman

Augeo wrote: »

You're in no position to say what evidence is there. You're only getting fed whatever is currently in the public domain.

Innocent of the charge? What's he been charged with?

Of course you're right - apart from seeing the incident on tv and the reaction of those on the field, none of us know anything.

It does not mean people are glossing over the fact that Holgate thinks he was racially abused.

Equally it doesn't mean Firmino racially abused him.

ERG89

Knex. wrote:

Apparently there's more coming on the website

I want that to be a Rodgers only website.
How I beat Norwich City
By Brendan Rodgers

SlickRic

seriously, shut the fúck up Brendan.

Morzadec

Re: Firmino being in Cyprus and not Dubai.

Apparently the FA want to interview both players (i.e. get their version of events). So makes sense he's a bit close to home perhaps. The FA have to be seen to take this allegation seriously and investigate all avenues even if there's no proof.

I believe the fact that we haven't heard anything at this point suggests there is no proof.

We know there is no video footage (at least available to the public as it's very clear what he says in the clip we have). Madley clearly at the time does not hear it and the Mirror article backs this up.

The only thing that could implicate Firmino is the ref's mic (if he did indeed say something). I feel like if there was something dodgy picked up by the mic we'd hear it by now.

Another possibility is a fellow Everton player coming in to support Holgate's claim. That would be a murkier area with regards to being evidence / proof.

Knex*

SlickRic wrote: »

seriously, shut the fúck up Brendan.

Jesus Christ, such unnecessary hostility :pac:

j8wk2feszrnpao

Morzadec wrote: »

Apparently the FA want to interview both players (i.e. get their version of events). So makes sense he's a bit close to home perhaps. The FA have to be seen to take this allegation seriously and investigate all avenues even if there's no proof.

If the FA were serious about this, they’d have begun their investigation on Fri. Not waiting days before interviewing players and officials when it’s not fresh in their heads. This could have been resolved by lunchtime on Sat.

5starpool

Morzadec wrote: »

Re: Firmino being in Cyprus and not Dubai.

Apparently the FA want to interview both players (i.e. get their version of events). So makes sense he's a bit close to home perhaps. The FA have to be seen to take this allegation seriously and investigate all avenues even if there's no proof.

I believe the fact that we haven't heard anything at this point suggests there is no proof.

We know there is no video footage (at least available to the public as it's very clear what he says in the clip we have). Madley clearly at the time does not hear it and the Mirror article backs this up.

The only thing that could implicate Firmino is the ref's mic (if he did indeed say something). I feel like if there was something dodgy picked up by the mic we'd hear it by now.

Another possibility is a fellow Everton player coming in to support Holgate's claim. That would be a murkier area with regards to being evidence / proof.

It's as easy to fly from dubai as Cyprus if needed. Hardly like it's Scotland and Australia we're talking about. If the club were confident there was nothing in it, he'd be preparing for city with everyone else.

yourdeadwright

Morzadec wrote: »

Re: Firmino being in Cyprus and not Dubai.

Apparently the FA want to interview both players (i.e. get their version of events).  So makes sense he's a bit close to home perhaps.  The FA have to be seen to take this allegation seriously and investigate all avenues even if there's no proof.

I believe the fact that we haven't heard anything at this point suggests there is no proof.

We know there is no video footage (at least available to the public as it's very clear what he says in the clip we have).  Madley clearly at the time does not hear it and the Mirror article backs this up.

The only thing that could implicate Firmino is the ref's mic (if he did indeed say something).  I feel like if there was something dodgy picked up by the mic we'd hear it by now.

Another possibility is a fellow Everton player coming in to support Holgate's claim.  That would be a murkier area with regards to being evidence / proof.

I can't see Kenny wanted to get involved unless he is  100% certain Booby said some thing racial ,
I don't think Holgate needs to apologise either , just let it be over and let the young lad get on with his career ,
Personally I think it was cleared up at halftime with the players but as the ref had noted it the incident it was sent to the FA ,
If the Everton players felt Bobby had abused Holgate there would have been some robust tackles and players would have been at him the whole game and at the end of the game, the situation seemed to defuse very quickly

Morzadec

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I've been drinking the whole thing in the past week: 'may you live in interesting times'. That article ultimately underlines some realities, even if it's a slight enough piece. We can like it or lump it, but we will inevitably lose South American stars to Real and Barcelona when they reach the level Coutinho is at (or better ala Mascherano and Suarez). I genuinely believe these lads have no ill feeling or disrespect towards Liverpool. I think they probably do love the place and I think that they (Suarez and Mascherano in particular) genuinely gave the best of themselves while here. But Barcelona or Real Madrid are the dream. And playing for those clubs offers the higher global platform that can generate the type of endorsement money that makes spending £11.5m of your own money well worth it to lock in the move.

There is also the human side to be considered. He's a man with a family who are latin and Barcelona is always going to be a better more natural fit when compared to cold, wet, grey North West England. Suarez buying a house for him and his family tells a lot about the subtler personal motivations at play.

There are two ways to look at this I think. Yes, constantly losing your best players is a pretty big negative. In the context of our current season there is no silver lining available. Coutinho is a huge loss (the whole 'he blows hot and cold, not a key player' stuff is pure nonsense) and it destabilizes things just when our outlook was trending very positively. Losing your best player in the January window with no replacement lined up is somewhat emasculating and small time. The bigger boy just stole our favourite toy and there's nothing we could do to stop it.

That said, when you accept the reality of the football food chain then seeing four key world class players go to Barcelona / Real Madrid over the course of a decade is something to be positive about. It shows that we can get in young players with the ability to become world class. And it shows to players in their early twenties with that type of potential that coming here is worthwhile. That it can be a platform to take them onto their promised land.

I'm not sure we'll ever be able to stem such a tide. Maybe if we got back to regularly competing for the CL or won a couple of league titles we'd be better able to hold onto players, but I genuinely believe the lure of Real / Madrid will always trump us as far as South American footballers are concerned. We've been well compensated for the experience. We've profited off each of Alonso / Mascherano / Suarez / Coutinho and under FSG we're learning how to extract higher prices when we are forced to part with key assets. We also gained on the pitch with two CL finals and a 2nd place out of the first two; another 2nd place and Europa League Final out of the 2nd two. We just have to have faith in Klopp that, with the club on a much stabler footing than during Benitez's reign, he can continue to make good acquisitions and keep them hungry enough that we start to win a couple of trophies along the way. That the quality across the pitch rises to such an extent that these inevitable transfer deals don't completely scupper us for a couple of years at a time.

I say sign Mahrez, replace a mercurial type attacking talent with a similar type of player. Retain the balance in the squad and cross the fingers that Klopp keeps the show on the road. If we finish the season in the top four and get past Porto it won't have been a terrible season by any measure.

Good post, you are right, Madrid and Barca are a huge draw - even think of the Barcelona stadium, 90,000 people watching you every week.

Then of course their success in the period Cout has grown up watching football.

Of course I would have loved him to stay, but I'm not going in for this "Coutinho is a snake" talk. I dislike the way Barca went about the transfer at points so it's hard for me to wish him success there in some ways (as it means Barca success), but ultimately I still really like Cout as a player.

I'll enjoy watching him at the WC for example and I'll be happy for him if he's to have a big tournament and prove a lot of his doubters wrong (those that think he's not a really top player, that he's streaky etc...).

The guy has given us some unbelievable moments and £134m in profit. As Lloyd says you have to accept the reality that Madrid / Barca is the pinnacle for South American players - Firmino would do the same thing and he's still a fan hero.

LuckyLloyd

Knex. wrote: »

Jesus Christ, such unnecessary hostility :pac:

Arrah, who cares what he has to say about tactics when it comes down to it? Even what he wrote is an extremely fancy way of saying 'we planned to let Arsenal have the possession, aim to win it with them in an advanced position and counter quickly at pace'. Or in other words, what the team did most games against top opponents that season. The Chelsea game and various things over the subsequent 18 months after the title was gone backed up the idea that he's no tactical genius. He had / has qualities, but that wasn't his strong point by any measure.

SlickRic

Knex. wrote: »

Jesus Christ, such unnecessary hostility :pac:

ah, i don't hate him at all. and i think he gets too much of a hard time about his time with us.

but the idea of him talking me through how his side beat Arsenal 5-1 is just so utterly, stereotypically Brendan Rodgers.

jebidiah

marklazarcovic wrote: »

They talk like Bobby 100% racially abused him ffs,those fans.. I blame shearer for this nonsense..

Remember Terry's blatant comment on Anton..yea,this is not even close, but Bobby's a racist ffs.

Holgate needs to come out and say he got it wrong immediately. If he sits on his hands only Bobby suffers. It's disgusting,be a man ffs.

This is exactly it, Holgate knew he was in trouble and quickly jumped on the racism thing once firmino yelled something at him in Portuguese.

I was shocked none of the commentators said anything at all about the push during the BBC coverage. Not a pip, just oh he must have spat on him.

Is Holgate English? I suppose that would explain it

Agent Coulson

Knex. wrote: »

Rodgers talking about the tactics behind the 5-1 Arsenal game

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/01/08/exclusive-brendan-rodgers-reveals-tactics-behind-liverpools/

Apparently there's more coming on the website http://www.coachesvoice.com/, which launches sometime today.

Any chance he will do the Stoke game we lost 5 - 1.

Benimar

Knex. wrote: »

This has been said a bit, implying that he should come out right now and say this, but it just isn't realistic at all. If he misheard, then his brain still processed it as such, meaning it's his only version of events.

He then has to take on everyone else's accounts and convince himself that what he heard wasn't what was actually said. He may very well, if not most likely, do this once all evidence and accounts are brought to light. At this point you'd be likely to hear some statement.

Why would he come out and say anything until this has been thoroughly investigated? It's just not practical. No way would anybody here do that in similar circumstances.

I'm not saying he has to do it right now, but once the investigation is completed and it becomes clear that nothing untoward was said, I do think Holgate needs to acknowledge this.

He can't just leave the allegation hang out there.

SlickRic

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Any chance he will do the Stoke game we lost 5 - 1.

6-1.

Kerrigooney

Coutinho is injured and out for 20 days so he wasn't lying about that anyway.

Rumple Stillson

Brendan Rodgers is a very good manager. Deserves a lot more respect than he gets from Liverpool fans. He came very close to winning the league with a poorer team than Klopp has now and Benitez had before.

redzerdrog

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I'd love to hear him talk about tactics for the Chelsea game.

Yep I think Gerrards slip has taken the the heat off what such a tactically inept performance it was

SlickRic

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

Brendan Rodgers is a very good manager. Deserves a lot more respect than he gets from Liverpool fans. He came very close to winning the league with a poorer team than Klopp has now and Benitez had before.

it's not poorer.

Klopp's in more rounded, but Suarez, a mobile Sturridge, Sterling and Coutinho, with Gerrard behind isn't to be sneezed at.

in the case of Suarez, we had the best player in the league.

Agent Coulson

I honestly think Fun Bobby was the player of the month.

Mohamed Salah has been named PFA Player of the Month for December.

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/286688-salah-wins-pfa-player-of-the-month

Rumple Stillson

redzerdrog wrote: »

Yep I think Gerrards slip has taken the the heat off what such a tactically inept performance it was

Both Suarez and Gerrard were atrocious in that game, both lost their heads completely. Shooting from ridiculous areas, trying to do it all themselves.

You could argue that Liverpool should have taken a more cautious approach but to me that would have been against everything that got them into the position in the first place.

5starpool

Agent Coulson wrote: »

I honestly think Fun Bobby was the player of the month.



http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/first-team/286688-salah-wins-pfa-player-of-the-month

He was never going to get it give the current stuff.

LiamoSail

SlickRic wrote: »

it's not poorer.

Klopp's in more rounded, but Suarez, a mobile Sturridge, Sterling and Coutinho, with Gerrard behind isn't to be sneezed at.

in the case of Suarez, we had the best player in the league.

You reference a more mobile Sturbridge, but make no reference to Sterling, Gerrard and Coutinho all being far from their prime.

Rodgers is no tactical genius but what he did that season was incredible yet any hint of praise from Liverpool fans is always qualified with a "yea but..." etc.

Rodgers came closer to the PL title than any other Liverpool manager has. I'd take Klopp ahead of him any day of the week and feel a lot more confident in Klopp spending the Coutinho windfall than I did in Rodgers spending the Suarez windfall and rebuilding, but that doesn't take away from the credit Rodgers deserves for that season. If he want to talk to whatever website about it, so what? I bet Rafa wouldn't be criticised for for talking about the Athens run

LuckyLloyd

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

Brendan Rodgers is a very good manager. Deserves a lot more respect than he gets from Liverpool fans. He came very close to winning the league with a poorer team than Klopp has now and Benitez had before.

He's a good manager. He had the best player in the league; Sturridge at the apex of his career; Gerrard enjoying an excellent season; Sterling and Coutinho as excellent young attacking talents. He also had a very light schedule of games. He enjoyed a very disappointing 18 months following the loss of the league, and his first season was hardly vintage.

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

Both Suarez and Gerrard were atrocious in that game, both lost their heads completely. Shooting from ridiculous areas, trying to do it all themselves.

You could argue that Liverpool should have taken a more cautious approach but to me that would have been against everything that got them into the position in the first place.

The great managers, particularly the great tactical managers, have an ability to be flexible in their approach and cut their cloth to suit the task at hand. If Liverpool had sat back that day and gone out with a relaxed approach they may very well have won the league. Instead they were pushed all the way up the park and utterly frantic from the off: getting upset at Chelsea's spoiling tactics from the off. They weren't right tactically or mentally for the game on the day.

Poor individual performances were symptoms of the problem, not causes.

murpho999

Rumple Stillson wrote: »

Brendan Rodgers is a very good manager. Deserves a lot more respect than he gets from Liverpool fans. He came very close to winning the league with a poorer team than Klopp has now and Benitez had before.

A poor team with Sterling, Gerrard, Sturridge, Coutinho and Suarez, all in top form?

Rodgers is a decent manager but not a great one. As Lloyd has pointed out, after an amazing run to get us to top of the league and within touching distance of the title, he blew it in the Chelsea match through not adapting to Chelsea's plan. We only needed to draw that game to stay in control of the league. Many blame it on Gerrard's slip but that is not the reason. Team was set up all wrong that day.

Rumple Stillson

murpho999 wrote: »

A poor team with Sterling, Gerrard, Sturridge, Coutinho and Suarez, all in top form?

I said a poorer team than either Klopp has at his disposal now or Benitez had previously.

Gerrard, Sterling and Coutinho were no where near the top of their abilities.

LuckyLloyd

LiamoSail wrote: »

I bet Rafa wouldn't be criticised for for talking about the Athens run

I doubt Rafa would be talking about it though. I'm utterly not surprised Rodgers is. That difference does matter.

Not that it really matters whether either side of this will ever convince the other. It was a long three and a half years with some highs and lots of lows. It's in the rear view mirror. The new regime is not perfect and we've plenty to be talking about.

BorneTobyWilde

If one could read the text messages between Suarez and Coutinho we'd all be knocking them. Suarez played a huge part is turning Coutinho's head.
Still think he had a right to go there, in a matter of weeks he'll have a league medal.