His performance has just been labelled as a 'lazy, arguing with refs, doing very little to score' in tonight's canal+ studio. Love Brenton and Slippy G as well, two deluded cnuts.
Liverpool 2014/15 | WARNING: Contains strong amounts of Scouse nonsense
- Thread starter Wumminator
- Start date
His performance has just been labelled as a 'lazy, arguing with refs, doing very little to score' in tonight's canal+ studio. Love Brenton and Slippy G as well, two deluded cnuts.
@Rafateria in your match ratings, Rodgers seems to be on a terrible run of form. A 3 tonight. Gerrard saying afterwards that Liverpool were soft all over the pitch and Basle wanted it more. Are you worried at all about your manager? It's still early days of course, but if this continues?
Replacing Suarez with a player like Balotelli seems a crazy move. Their styles are polar opposites. Like asking the other 9 outfield players to go from a season of the tango to a crushingly slow waltz.
Replacing Suarez with a player like Balotelli seems a crazy move. Their styles are polar opposites. Like asking the other 9 outfield players to go from a season of the tango to a crushingly slow waltz.
Bob, now you know why I said we needed to rest Sterling. His general shittiness tonight is not hindsight, it was foresight which Rodgers didn't share unfortunately.
Now Sterling's fcked for West Brom too. His confidence is gone as well as his sharpness.
Well yeah, he was shite tonight and you're right that fatigue will be one cause, but without Sturridge what was the alternative? If he hadn't played I'm not sure we'd have been any better.
Do agree he needs to be managed better though, that's why I found it ridiculous that he was playing against Boro.
Unless Sturridge comes back and plays with the form he did last season, it's really hard to see Liverpool ending in the top four. Their over-reliance on Sterling is increasingly evident - much like Januzaj for a while last season under Moyes - the boy can do so much, he needs others to step up. And in that Liverpool side, I can't see many - if any. Markovic looks hopeless, Lallana is improving but he's far more of a good squad player, not a top tier talent, Lambert is simply a [not so] super sub, and Balotelli for all his great hold-up play and skill, doesn't seem to want to make runs and score goals in the box. It would be okay if they had a stable back four, but their defence is horrid. Moreno is great going forward but looks fairly suspect defending, Skrtel is too much of a liability in set pieces and in general with his brainfarts and I just do not rate Lovren at all. I'm not sure what's the deal with Sakho but it's odd because he's definitely better than those two. And this culminates with a shakey figure in goal and a player who simply is no longer good enough to play every game at his age, especially as a DM, hindering an already struggling back-line.
In all honesty, It looks more like he got very lucky last year.
Rodgers effectively rendered Coutinho impotent by not playing Borini (in place of Sterling). A forward running striker would have changed Coutinho's game and driven us into more dangerous positions. Lallana should also have played ahead of Markovic, like you said Basle should not be taken lightly.
We would have won reasonably comfortably with that team. But Rodgers is going through some brain farts at the moment which hopefully he'll snap out from soon.
Was it Barney that was going on about Coutinho possibly becoming a deep lying midfield maestro? He looks really crap this season.
I've always thought Coutinho is a bit of a hit or miss player and certainly not worthy of the hype he's been receiving.
Was Alonso returning ever on the cards? He's been absolutely ridiculous for Bayern and surely would've improved Liverpool's midfield.
I've always thought Coutinho is a bit of a hit or miss player and certainly not worthy of the hype he's been receiving.
Was Alonso returning ever on the cards? He's been absolutely ridiculous for Bayern and surely would've improved Liverpool's midfield.
How bad was Balotelli tonight? He was being destroyed on TalkSport, driving home from work.
The reason he has sold to Liverpool was because of his inconsistency and why the price was so low. Great player on his day however he has very long patches of poor form.
The reason he has sold to Liverpool was because of his inconsistency and why the price was so low. Great player on his day however he has very long patches of poor form.
It's a good job Liverpool definitely didn't do a Spurs in the summer. Selling Suarez was nothing to worry about, because squad. Far better equipped to deal with injuries now and the demands of European football.
That old chestnut huh!!
"Suarez was just one cog in the machine last season. A very good piece of the puzzle but he didn't carry us."
Barney was a funny guy.
They wouldn't have finished close to where they did without him. Still stand by my preseason prediction of 6th for them.
How he has been all season, really. Some great glimpses of control on the ball, holding up play to invite others into the game, but was fairly useless besides this. Didn't impose himself or get into the box enough, often went down/gave up 50/50's too easily, and in general looked a bit disinterested. A lack of creativity could be used as a caveat to [somewhat] justify this, but where will that come from in future matches?
BR needs to start scouting Southampton again for a Balotelli replacement... Pelle is making some serious waves there isn't he? Perhaps a cheeky 30 mil bid for him?
On a more serious note, they seriously need to sort out that defense. The lack of solidity and confidence in the defense in ultimately spilling over to the rest of the team. It is imperative that they buy a quality top notch centre-back in the January transfer window although there really aren't many viable ones in the market right now. A commanding defensive midfielder capable of shielding the defense and organising it could help as well.
On a more serious note, they seriously need to sort out that defense. The lack of solidity and confidence in the defense in ultimately spilling over to the rest of the team. It is imperative that they buy a quality top notch centre-back in the January transfer window although there really aren't many viable ones in the market right now. A commanding defensive midfielder capable of shielding the defense and organising it could help as well.
Very harsh on Rodgers to put our form last season down to luck. Obviously Suárez played his part and we wouldn't have made 2nd without him but Rodgers did a lot right too.
He's been awful so far this season though, made some questionable decisions in the transfer market and some even more questionable tactical/team selection decisions. Hopefully he snaps out of it soon, starting by getting us sorted at defending set pieces. Until we sort that out we're almost going into games 1 goal down.
Seriously lads, if we don't finish above this sorry lot...
They need Sturridge badly. Sterling may burn out so they will have to rely on backups for at least one game a week. Markovic has been poor, as has Coutinho for a while. Lallana looks the most ready at the moment. Sturridge misses another month through injury and it's goodbye top four. Not much depth imo.
It seems Sturridge is prone to injury, Sterling cannot play every game, and neither can Gerrard. Looking at it realistically, they would have to be lucky to have all three on a consistent basis. Also, what is their best CB pairing? You cannot rely on the bench and even your keeper is a mess.
Just like Suarez pushed them to second, Falcao, Rooney, Mata, di Maria and RVP will push us into the top four at the very least. They cannot boast such a threat going forwards on a regular basis.
It seems Sturridge is prone to injury, Sterling cannot play every game, and neither can Gerrard. Looking at it realistically, they would have to be lucky to have all three on a consistent basis. Also, what is their best CB pairing? You cannot rely on the bench and even your keeper is a mess.
Just like Suarez pushed them to second, Falcao, Rooney, Mata, di Maria and RVP will push us into the top four at the very least. They cannot boast such a threat going forwards on a regular basis.
Think his management of Gerrard has been very poor. At 34 years of age you can't play 3 games a week.
Although, I do think Gerrard is the stubborn kind and won't exactly take being "rested" all too well.
Although, I do think Gerrard is the stubborn kind and won't exactly take being "rested" all too well.
Was thinking the same. They have CL as a distraction too (for now at least). Very reassuring to see them step backwards this much this early.
Sounds like Sterling wasn't overly impressive. Why was he played against Boro in the league cup? I just cannot fathom the decision to rest him against Villa in the PL (and lose) and then play him for 120 minutes in the league cup? If he needed a rest then the perfect time was then. Now he can't afford to rest him because they are playing catch-up and it's just making things worse. I think the entire season depends on Sturridge. If he can stay fot and score then top four is probably still on, but if he doesn't then they're in serious trouble. Obviously if they miss out then players like Sterling will be approached by teams in the UCL and that causes so many new problems.
The decision to not sign Remy was a bad one. I know there were medical issues but he seemed like the perfect for for Liverpool. Feeling more confident as a United fan that top four will be reached this year (now I've said that we'll probably go on a losing streak
). Liverpool will have to turn it around quickly.
The decision to not sign Remy was a bad one. I know there were medical issues but he seemed like the perfect for for Liverpool. Feeling more confident as a United fan that top four will be reached this year (now I've said that we'll probably go on a losing streak
). Liverpool will have to turn it around quickly.From RAWK, but not necessarily to laugh at
Just on the four points listed...
Quote from: RAWKite on Yesterday at 10:47:30 PM
I feel a bit sorry for the man at the moment. Remember, this is the man that almost won us the PL last season while playing some of the best football I've seen from a Liverpool team in my lifetime. Let that statement sink in for a second.
The Spurs game is evidence that we are still capable of such performances but we've been dealt an awful hand this season.
1) Losing Suarez was always going to hurt. (Baffled me when some of our own wanted him sold!!!)
2) The last thing we needed after losing Suarez was losing key players like Allen and Sturridge to injury. (and coutinho's form).
3) The disappointment of last season and losing our star player seems to be having a negative affect on all.
4) The fixture list hasn't been kind. Already played 4 teams likely to finish in the top 8 as well as the extra fixtures.
The biggest issue for me is that our success last season was based on pressing and pace and movement up front.
The injury to Sturridge has stifled our movement up front.
The injuries to Can and Allen have stifled our ability to press in midfield. Gerrard and Lucas can't do it.
We are being forced to play Balotelli up front on his own when he is not suited to this role. The criticism of him is unfair!
We are being forced to play 2 deep midfielders as we don't have the personnel available to play a 1 - 2. This takes away the best aspects of Hendo's game.
On top of all these issues, we are hoping new signings will fit in to the team. But its SO much harder when that team isn't firing on all cylinders.
Give it time lads. Sturridge and Allen returing will be huge. In jan, we need a pacy striker and probably another midfielder who can actually run.
Rodgers is being forced to play 1 upfront through his own fault. He worked with Fabio Borini at Chelsea and then again with him at Swansea. He knew the player extremely well and that's why he invested 12 million of the clubs money on him. When he needed a goal tonight did he turn to his man Borini? Did he shite, because he knows now he wasted 12 million on a player he should have known 100% having worked with him twice already.
I have serious worries about the majority of his signings. Sturridge has been a great signing though injury prone and has been for most of his career.
Countinho is a hit and miss player but if your hoping to be involved in winning trophies then that's not good enough.
Balotelli, Lovren, Migolet, Markovic will never be good enough to play for our club.
Manquillo, Moreno and Llanllana have shown enough promise to show they can have successful careers here
I feel a bit sorry for the man at the moment. Remember, this is the man that almost won us the PL last season while playing some of the best football I've seen from a Liverpool team in my lifetime. Let that statement sink in for a second.
The Spurs game is evidence that we are still capable of such performances but we've been dealt an awful hand this season.
1) Losing Suarez was always going to hurt. (Baffled me when some of our own wanted him sold!!!)
2) The last thing we needed after losing Suarez was losing key players like Allen and Sturridge to injury. (and coutinho's form).
3) The disappointment of last season and losing our star player seems to be having a negative affect on all.
4) The fixture list hasn't been kind. Already played 4 teams likely to finish in the top 8 as well as the extra fixtures.
The biggest issue for me is that our success last season was based on pressing and pace and movement up front.
The injury to Sturridge has stifled our movement up front.
The injuries to Can and Allen have stifled our ability to press in midfield. Gerrard and Lucas can't do it.
We are being forced to play Balotelli up front on his own when he is not suited to this role. The criticism of him is unfair!
We are being forced to play 2 deep midfielders as we don't have the personnel available to play a 1 - 2. This takes away the best aspects of Hendo's game.
On top of all these issues, we are hoping new signings will fit in to the team. But its SO much harder when that team isn't firing on all cylinders.
Give it time lads. Sturridge and Allen returing will be huge. In jan, we need a pacy striker and probably another midfielder who can actually run.
Rodgers is being forced to play 1 upfront through his own fault. He worked with Fabio Borini at Chelsea and then again with him at Swansea. He knew the player extremely well and that's why he invested 12 million of the clubs money on him. When he needed a goal tonight did he turn to his man Borini? Did he shite, because he knows now he wasted 12 million on a player he should have known 100% having worked with him twice already.
I have serious worries about the majority of his signings. Sturridge has been a great signing though injury prone and has been for most of his career.
Countinho is a hit and miss player but if your hoping to be involved in winning trophies then that's not good enough.
Balotelli, Lovren, Migolet, Markovic will never be good enough to play for our club.
Manquillo, Moreno and Llanllana have shown enough promise to show they can have successful careers here
Just on the four points listed...
- Was going to happen at some point, but fair point
- Allen hardly played last year and was considered a bit shite, absence makes the heart fonder no?
- So not Suarez goals, assists fear factor, it's the disappointment, righto.
- When Moyes mentioned fixtures he was rightly laughed at, but more importantly, the higher placed teams, Everton, spurs, saints have provided Liverpools points (also a loss to city in that but no shame there), but it's defeats to west ham, villa
Well if it were to continue for say another 2 months then yes, I'd be a bit worried about the manager, though I seriously doubt that will be the case. At the moment I feel like he is struggling to integrate the new players, that probably our best formation is not viable (2 up front) due to Sturridge's absence, which is BR's and the transfer committee's failing (such a pity Remy failed his medical) and that he has still not sorted out the defence (Skrtel should not start and Lovren+Sakho should be given time to form a partnership).
Balotelli was, I felt at the time and still do, a bit of a panic buy, we'd tried for good quality players that suited our system better but failed to get them for one reason or another (wages & loan fee too high - Falcao, call of London for the missus - Sanchez, PSG wouldn't sell due to Ibra's injury - Cavani, Remy failing his medical, and so on).
I guess that the Transfer Committee (I'm not convinced this was a BR signing - those that he is particularly keen on he seems to really big up in the media prior to the deal being concluded) were the ones that forced this through. Personally I'd have preferred players like Firmino or Lacazette. I know Firmino is not an out and out striker but he scores a lot of goals and could easily have been integrated. Balo is not a lone striker and really should be played with a partner - I've advocated Sterling in Sturridge's absence, that would give Coutinho/Lallana two options to aim for because at the moment with only Balo we are too static.
Rodgers' has got a lot on his plate but we do have the youngest squad in the league, I think this is partly why he bought Lambert, another old head to help the younger players. We need to give him time, you can't put down the current malaise being shown by the team as simply missing Suarez. The team is lacking energy, pace (not in individuals' per se but as a team) and the desire to press that were keystones of our form last season, that is down to a lack of confidence.
Our performance away at Spurs (and at times against Everton and also City) showed that this team still has 'it' but BR needs to find a way to emulate that when missing a couple of key players (in this case Allen & Sturridge). It's disappointing that players like Ibe, and his searing pace, were permitted to go out on loan (though it's also easy to see why as he is very young too) and that Suso isn't seeing more pitch time. BR is a very good manager and although he may or may not end up having an off-season this year, we need to give him time and hopefully he will learn from his mistakes.
Last edited:
Xabi would have been brilliant for us but he himself said he had great memories but didn't want to return, fair enough, he made the right choice for him joining a team that is surely going to win the BL again and is one of the strong favourites for the CL too.
Coutinho needs runners ahead of him on the shoulders of defenders, this is what we haven't had for most of the season so far (when Sturridge is in the team then defenders can't put 2-3 players on Sterling), when we don't have them then he tries too hard to force some magic. His defensive play has improved a lot overall.
There was a lot of parameters that came into effect to push you on last season. The timing and relative lack of injuries in key players, Suarez entering beast mode, Sterling coming of age. Then you had top teams failing to ignite under new management, the collapse of United under Moyes must have paved the way to a degree in regards to confidence.
Many parameters made last season what it was and Rogers did well to seize upon them, I am not saying he's shit and lucky just that last years league finish was helped along the way by certain elements beyond a managers control.
This season isn't a fair reflection on him either so far, I believe the pressure of what he had to face has Moyesified him to some degree, the boosting of the squad in numbers rather than strength looks to have been too one sided, should have added at least some top quality for the gross outlay surely.
Rogers this season and Rogers last is Jeckyl and Hyde, once the pressure settles down I think you might find him somewhere inbetween to be honest but I do stand by what I said about luck playing a big part.
That's fair. Perhaps it will just take Brendan time to fit in the new signings and get the likes of Sturridge and Allen back. Regain the confidence and you will improve. I just asked because in your ratings it's handy to have a manager rated and not just the players. Brendan has scored poorly so far. After probably scoring something like an 8 or a 9 last season he's getting much lower ratings now.
If only to shift the focus off the players for a bit (Balotelli in particular) Rodgers could come out and take some of the blame publicly for a poor start? Last night he didn't do that and said "Mario will be judged on the goals he scores"
As a lot of posters here said, this year is Rodgers biggest test as a manager. Juggling a larger squad for two games a week, less time on the training ground to help the 8 new signings fit in and dealing with expectations after such a strong season last time out.
When Suarez left, all the dippers were saying "its alright, Coutinho was the reason we did so well last season".
Probably the same set of dippers that thought they would "win the treble" this season too.
Coutinho was very good. I remember wondering how those idiots had someone as good as him. Just shows what a world class player (Suarez) can bring out of people. Sterling doesn't seem as good as last year either. Gerrard for me is gone. He will get steadily worse and they need to phase him out like we did with Robson.
I'd stop eating those 'wild' mushrooms if I were you.
Won't even need to walk at this rate.
I always like to rate the manager. He's obviously an integral part of how the team plays. I also don't mind blasting them when, IMHO, they are to blame. Last night, for me, BR set the team up wrong. Sterling should have been up top with Balo and Lallana, who is beginning to look really good, in behind instead of Markovic, that would have been far more potent and allowed Coutinho to play his natural game and be more effective. Henderson should have been pushed further forward too and then there wouldn't have been so much space for them in the middle third, the 'Hendo' effect is nullified when he has to sit back.
To be fair BR has been very protective of Balo so far, probably recognising his volatility and possible delicate confidence too. Balo did not do as he was instructed to do in the 2nd half against Ludo, that is get into the box ! The fact he didn't have a single shot from inside the box says a lot for your line-leading striker.
Agree absolutely on the 'biggest test' sentence. For me, considering how great a loss Suarez is, and as I said in pre-season, I'd be very happy with Top 4, decent cup run somewhere and Last 16/8 of the CL. That would be a very good result for a transitional season.
Top 4 and a cup would be one hell of a season for you. If Rodgers pulls that off, he's done extremely well. If that was offered to Utd fans right now I think most of us would snap your hand off.
One other thing, I may have jumped the gun on Lallana. Wrote him off way too early when he has started to show signs in the last week. Only signs but still, something.
How many new players are they starting most matches? They basically bought a new squad in the summer. No wonder they are struggling. Add Balotelli to the mix and I can really see them flirting with relegation this year.
You do know his name isn't Rogers yes?
Not sure if it was Rodgers idea to buy Balotelli or not but he seems to have upset the closeness in the squad you had last season.
The games I've seen from Balotelli so far suggest he's too lazy to even run back onside at times, his teammates see this and get frustrated which only leads to arguments. You do have some easier looking fixtures coming up and I think Sturridge will make a big difference if you can keep him fit.
Hopefully they won't finish bottom of their group. We need them to play more matches then their squad can cope with
They will finish third i think. No way they finish lower than Ludgorets which is just perfect for us as they will have more games and i don't see them winning Europe League playing like that.
I don't think they will. They'll finish second then get knocked out by a decent team in the next round. We just have to hope Rodgers takes the domestic cups seriously as well.
I also think that looking at Balotelli and Gerrard as the most senior players (forgetting defence), and watching them stroll around the park, the younger, less experienced players must look and think they can follow suit. That's a far cry from Suarez launching into every defender like a bat out of hell, Suarez set the tone and the others followed because Suarez would call them out, Balotelli doesn't do that and I can't see sturridge doing that if his partner isn't.
Also with a bigger squad you need to keep everyone happy, brentan fell on the first hurdle with sahko, is that a one off or first of many arguments...
I said 'decent cup run' mate, not necessarily a cup
I said 'decent cup run' mate, not necessarily a cup
Ah right. Well that would still be excellent. I'm sure Rodgers is desperate to finally win a trophy though.
There are those that are deluded, there are those that are just biased to the bone, there are those that are just haters through and through, and there are even those that live and breath on Wishful Thinking ...... and then there is Dans.