Back in the big room again at Parr Street where Neil Atkinson was joined by Andrew Heaton, Sean Rogers, Mike Girling, Nick O’Prey, Rob Gutmann, Peter Hooton, Neil Sang, Michael Kinsella and Paul Machin to discuss the Onside project, that heavy defeat on Saturday and the Hillsborough charity single, ‘He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother’ by the Justice Collective. (Text JUSTICE to 80010 to get a copy of the single, download it from iTunes and Amazon or get a physical copy in any decent record shop).
Direct link to PODCAST: HEAVY JUMPERS
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Can’t believe no one mentioned ‘Save your Love’ by Renée and Renato. Classic song. Renato was actually a struggling singer from Solihull.
Personally, I thought, pre game, that it was crying out for Henderson to play. I also thought he improved us when he came out. If Sterling and Allen are so in need of a rest then why didn’t Henderson replace him?
There was talk (by Rob G) of how we looked ok until the final third. What do you expect with Shelvey and Sterling on the wings? I’m not slating them here because they’re young lads who are still learning. It just highlights the lack of depth in the squad really. Neither are ready to play week in week out for Liverpool. I’m a bit worried about Sterlings footballing brain though. I’ve taught my under 10’s to square it to the man on the penalty spot rather than shoot from obscure angles and they all do every time. At what age / how much experience do you learn these things?
Interesting that there was a lack of analysis this week, although the time spent on the other matters was excellent and worthy.
I am becoming one of those bloggers I hate, but here goes;
Sterling? Sign him and sell him. In a years time he will be a ‘whatever happened to..? ‘And don’t give me that shit about his age…or he’s tired. He does not produce, cannot cross a ball, and his fabled speed was absent in the last two matches. He is Jermaine Pennant without his football brain…make of that comment what you will.
Joe Allen is a Rodgers player, a blue-arsed fly – cannot defend and cannot attack. Ponce around all bloody day going sideways? He’s your man.
Gerrard needs to be told something. He is still a great player, but you all highlighted his present plight. He is no longer Roy of the Rovers.
BR lacks tactical imagination. When we went behind he was stunned, when we went further behind he went home. Joe Cole – super-sub…? FFS. And he seems only interested in players who he is familiar with from his own previous clubs.
Sturridge will NOT gell with Suarez. And what has Coates done wrong? Suso? Sachin? Assaidi?
“Tactical imagination”??? Please explain what you’re talking about mate, & without using the word “rafa”
I don’t blame the players at all. They all seem to be doing as they are told. I think we know who is to blame. I’ll be honest, I never wanted Rodgers. I don’t know anyone who did. I mean, I hope I’m wrong and I hope he really cracks it, but I don’t think he knows what he’s doing. He really, really needs to get his act together. In my book he’s got until Jan 6th ! There I’ve said it. Why shouldn’t we say it? This ’emperor’s new clothes’ thing, which a lot of influential LFC fans seem to be touting, isn’t going to fool everyone for long. I hope he cracks it, I really do, coz we don’t want to be another Chelsea, but rather Chelsea than another Villa !!
Thank you and good night.
So what then? you sack Rodgers, who comes in? How long does he get? 6 months? 12 months? a few games?
Who is next after that? what is the methodology? constant hiring and firing? how does anything ever get a chance to settle and gel into a team.
basically i am saying you and fans like you are f******* bonkers.
All I’m saying ‘Steve’ is with players like Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Lucas, Johnson, Gerrard and Suarez he should be doing a lot better than he is. Also, based on what I’ve seen so far he appears to be a mid table manager, nothing special, no different to the other ‘journey men’: O’neill, Allardyce, Bruce, Robson, etc. However, I’m saying I’m actually behind him until Jan 6th when I’ll reassess the situation. I’m not calling for anyone’s head – yet.
You know I see some stuff on here that beggars belief.
Does anybody here watch Liverpool at the moment?It’s not about individuals!
Ever worked for a boss who came in and had everybody scratching their heads and wondering “how did he get this job?”
Just take a step back and think about what’s going on at the moment.We’ve got a team who are clearly instructed to play like line-dancers.It’s as though Rodgers’ formative years were spent playing those arcade games where you have sticks with players on.You throw the wooden ball in and then twist the sticks this way and that way but inevitably you flick the ball against your own man and it rebounds into your own goal.
It doesn’t take much working out if you are opponents.The ball is shuffled sideways sideways and backwards.So as an opponent you move forward then focus on one targeted player.AS soon as the ball is played to him you converge.Then Bingo! One nil!
Gerrad is finished? Oh really come on!Can you imagine what would happen if Messi was instructed no to go beyond the half-way line.Do you think for one minute he would have the same appetite for the game?
This is not about individuals!It’s about one individual.A small time chancer who got lucky with a big job.
I only see it this way.We would piss ourselves laughing if Paul Jewell became the next ManU manager.
I don’t think anybody thinks Gerrard is finished, but he needs to play to his strengths (which are still considerable) and not try to do everything himself. He is still Captain Marvel, but the way he is playing – I assume being asked to play – doesn’t allow him to do so. He has not cruised around outside the area for ages, with a trademark screamer likely.
There seems to be a reluctance to see us as we are; all the talk about who we should buy in the window would be risible if it was Fulham, or Reading talking. But that’s what we are now. I would be more apprehensive about losing players than gaining any stars. We are lower table now, and Anfield is not a fortress. Nobody fears us any more.
Villa are poor, and beat us 3-1. Our manager was like a rabbit in the headlights, with a Liverpool scarf tied around his neck like a circus act. He had no idea how to get back into the game, merely changed like for almost like with Lucas/ Hendo.
I’d rather not comment any further on his deployment of Cole. Simply unbelievable…a manager who hasn’t a clue. I half expected him to start rubbing his face…
@BrianB
You’re Sad.
I’ve referenced this that many times that I’m always foolishly surprised that it isn’t in the lexicon of Liverpool lore (I’m the centre of the universe – aren’t I?), but clearly it isn’t – so OK, here it is – statistically, Steven Gerrard is LFC most successful ‘number 10’ OF ALL TIME.
This I know seems very counter intuitive, and I’ll tell you what I am basing it on – On 8th October 2009 (I know this cos i’ve been googling the fuck out of it) LFC TV presented a show called ‘kop 10 deadly duos’, in a bid to confirm our greatest ever pairing on a goals to game basis. The criteria was you had to have played at least two full seasons together and the outcome was based solely on a goals to game ratio (no subjectivity or any other context). Conventional wisdom would say, up until the Rafa era we’ve have 4 great striking duos Daglish & Rush, Keegan & Toshack, Hunt & The Saint, Beardlsey and Aldridge – again, conventionally speaking, maybe in that order) with two other ‘greats’ who were not as fortunate as the aforementioned in the ‘morcambe and wise’ department (Fowler & Owen). Anyway this show blew that, and a few other ‘conventional’ stats away (I think Fowler and Collymore were in the top three). Basically the conclusion of the show was that, yes Gerrard and Torres is the most successful strike duo in LFC history, based on those (albeit convenient, yet entirely objective) statistics. They scored 62 goals between them in 39 games between the 2007/8 & 2008/9 seasons (a staggering 1.6 goals a game). I can’t find the show anywhere, but this is a ‘promo’ of it, if anybodies interested
http://www.liverpoolfc.com/video/features/1378-free-promo-kop-10-deadly-duos
Whilst there are some specific reasons why this occurred, you don’t better Kenny Dalglish in the role which bears his name without being a bit special there. And when I say specific I mean I don’t think just placing SG in the 10 role would replicate the kind of stats talked about above – Suarez is a striker you play the ball ‘to’, not ‘for’ in that he’s nowhere near as quick as Torres was (I would be interested though to see Walcott in front of SG, not by a long way suggesting pace is all you need, but it is the starting point). But if you give Gerrard the sole objective of creating and scoring goals, trust me, he can do that.
Sean on the podcast talked about instinct, and this is the key for me to the success or failure of Gerrards latter years. A midfielder needs to have a heavy dose of pessimism in his make up; he needs to expect the oppositions passes to be pin point, and so to always be in the position to defend against that – (he needs to be a bit neurotic to be honest!), and conversely a natural strikers needs to expect the perfect ball from his team mates and run as if he knows it coming, even though it hasn’t for the last 20 moves on the bounce, in short, he must play like the eternal optimist. Gerrard has tasted glory one too many times, technically and physically he can do the midfield stuff as well as anyone in the country in patches, but mentally, and sorry to be crude here, but he’s tasted too many crotches to go back to heavy petting, (and again mentally he’s too old to be asked to).
This is where Rogers comes into it; to lay my cards on the table, I’m a believer (in BR); but where my doubts are, is in his man management of senior players (and also his ability to formulate a ‘goal scoring philosophy’). The senior player thing comes from my impressions gained through being Liverpool (where in the whole I was pleased with how he came over – considering), but he was is very quick to ‘manners’ junior players, often using snr ones as the ‘benchmark’, but his treatment around Suarez (there’s a simple formula to help his reputation, stop falling so dramatically – fall like Gerrard etc. it’s more ‘British’ and ‘culturally acceptable’ i.e. you’ll win more fouls – if Fergie told him to change that small part of his on the field performance, I believe he would) and Gerrard, (i.e. I agree with many on the podcast that a part of the reason why SG is ONLY playing CM is cos of SG). But Rogers, like Benitez did, needs to be prepared to piss him off if it’s for the good of the team (although I’m with Rob in that I think his midfield demise has been a bit overplayed, though the whole point of this is to say that he is infinitely better further up the pitch). Again I agree with Sean, I am much more comfortable with 4231 – although a lot is made of how systemised 433 is, I think the two more advanced CM positions are too vague, and rely on the players intuition, which is fine when you have all the right players, and the system imbedded, but a 4231 is much more prescriptive, which I think would work better for a transitional team – This also affords Gerrard the 10 role and for him to forget about midfield responsibilities and just concentrate on creating and scoring goals.
I’m old enough to have seen all the contenders for ‘Liverpool’s greatest ever player’, from Billy Liddell on. I believe SG is it. I think he should be allowed to play whichever position he wants, just don’t let him take corners, and don’t ask him to defend too much.
Having said that, he makes a great right back…
I think some of you are being a little harsh on Rodgers. Saturday was a funny game but my take on it is different from the comments above. With better personnel we could have been out of sight. To win matches you need goals and score goals you need to create chances. To my mind we did that. You could have Mourinho as your manager but if you’re expecting goals to come from Shelvey and Sterling then you’ll get nowhere. The chances were there. Take Young, Valencia and Rafael out the Utd team and give them RS, JS and SD. We’d soon see their goals reduce.
I take your point about bringing Cole on but did we have that many options? How confident are you that Suso, Sahin and Assiaidi can come on and change games. The reality is the squad is wafer thin.
It still appears to me that this really is a transition year. We all said it before the season starts. It appears the owners want to balance the books this year before kicking on. I don’t understand the benefit of doing that as i’m not an economist. Maybe Stephen (above) can shed some light on why that’s important. If in the long term it benefits us then I can accept it.
I have to say I do not have a lot of faith in FSG.
They haven’t got a lot right since taking over…
1. You cant tell me they didn’t do their due diligence on the manager and staff when buying the club – so why did they take so long to sack Hodgson…they should have known from day one he wasn’t up to it…
2. What sort of arrogance and nativity does it take to think you can apply the statistical processes of a static statistics based game to a free flowing dynamic game? What sort of arrogance does it take to actually think that had anything to do with the Red Sox winning their championship…American sports are designed to constantly generate different winners and keep teams even…its entirely likely that they won despite anything they did.
3. Why were Commoli and Dalgleish sacked after just one year? Yes, finishing 8th wasn’t great – but those of us with a brain can also evaluate the bigger picture…and the bigger picture told you Lucas out for half a year stuffed our team, the bigger picture told you losing to Arsenal cost us any chance of 4th so the determination dropped, the bigger picture told you we dominated most sides for most of the time in most of the games, we created a lot of chances, all we didn’t do was score – something I am sure Dalgleish would have easily fixed…why wasn’t he given the chance?
4. Regardless of that – why wasn’t Benetiz at least interviewed for the post?
5. Why was Rodgers appointed? What has he achieved? He is NOT responsible for Swansea…that was built by others…Liverpool is where ESTABLISHED managers come – not an on-the-job training site…
6. Who is providing them with their footballing advice? It cant be anyone with that much of a clue…because its been less than rubbish so far…and do their advisors have their own agenda?
To me – the only thing they have got right is the commercials…and even then – how can we be certain they have actually done that well – considering every other top EPL club has done exactly the same – including some lesser known clubs.
FSG are not going to put their hands in their pockets…we know this…we will only be self funded…so unless we get every signing absolutely right we aren’t going anywhere quickly…
A lot of the clueless supporters bang on about the 100 million spent on Adam/Henderson/Downing/Carroll etc (forgetting that part of that 100 million was Suarez and Enrique)…despite the fact they all contributed last season…and if Dalgleish had been given the chance would almost certainly have continued to grow this season (especially with Lucas returning) – but what about the small fortune spent of Boroni/Allen/Assadi…none of whom look any better than what was there before…in fact I’d argue Carroll would be better off for us than Boroni (especially as we seem to be sending in no end of crosses) and at least Adam could score a goal…Allen looks like yet another over rated championship player (seriously – what does he add to the side).
And what sort of idiot bangs on about finishing 2nd when you are in the lower half of the table? Miles off of 4th let alone 2nd. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot…
So whats the answer…well there probably isn’t one…FSG aren’t going anywhere…we can only hope they start getting their act together and they start getting advice from people with a clue and without agenda…and what would be the point in sacking Rodgers…there isn’t another manager out there worth approaching that would come to us (considering they seem to have ruled out Benetiz).
Quite frankly – I believe we are stuck with at least 2 to 3 more years of mediocrity…mediocre players…mediocre tactics…mediocre results…
Hi Mark,
I may not have much to back me on this but I do faith that FSG will get there in the end. From the off they were pretty honest in saying that they had a lot to learn, and I don’t mind them experimenting with a few things and backing themselves to hit on the winning formula. To address your points (which were very conveniently numbered).
1. Don’t have inside knowledge on this one (or any others for that matter), but it looked to me like they were trying to limp to the end of season when they could actually get the type of manager that they wanted. They weren’t to know just how bad a job as Liverpool manager Hodgson could do, that was an inspired effort on his behalf (anyone reckon he was deliberating trying to get the sack? I mean who would think that calling Ferguson a good friend as Liverpool manager would be a good idea).
2. I also think this was a bit naive but again you never know until you try, and maybe they can find the right formula. I don’t think this is the only way they scout players though, more a compliment to traditional methods.
3. I think the thing that think that made me lose faith in Dalglish more than anything else is Charlie bloody-hell-you-are-a-professional-footballer-loose-the-beer-gut Adam. I like to give football managers the benefit of the doubt because you never know what goes on and whether the players are doing what they are supposed to be, But in no universe is Adam a good option for a two man midfield (or a three-man for that matter unless you are Blackpool), and he was undoubtedly Dalglish’s man. With Lucas was in and in amazing form he could just about cover Adam but we never looked good and sometimes, particularly when Gerrard was alongside him, it was just plain embarrassing. Go back and watch the Swansea game at home last season, we were completely dominated.
4. Was really disappointed about this one also, I suppose the only thing from their perspective (and why Benetiz has struggled to get a gig since) is that as an owner would you really want to hire someone with a track record of sticking up to owners and complaining to fans about transfer budgets (even if in the Hicks and Gillet case it was entirely justified).
5. While BR doesn’t deserve credit for all of Swansea’s success, he undoubtedly deserves some credit. He may not have won any titles but everyone needs to start somewhere, and anyway I didn’t see Jurgen Klop being desperate to come here.
All in all, I think we could do a lot worse than FSG (and have done of course). For mine, the fans demanding we bring back Kenny and give him a new contract has really thrown their plans out, and they are only starting to get back to what they had envisaged now. Sure Commoli was part of this problem but for me it was the decision to buy British that really screwed us and I reckon that is more likely Kenny’s plan (when Commoli looked overseas he brought in Suarez and Coates, both of which represent good value for mine).
So to my mind FSG have been very responsive to fan’s requests, probably a little too much if anything. I would take them rather than a rich sheik or Russian oil tycoon, who could simply buy the league without having earnt it (how many city fans have that feeling in the bottom of the heart like they have cheated), all the while with the risk that the sheik/tycoon could loose interest and send the club into bankruptcy at any time.
Excellent reply…agree with a lot of what you have to say and your reasoning…
But…
Am not sure you can dam Kenny over Adam…remember no manager gets every signing right…and Adam wasnt as bad as many made out…and arguably would have been a lot better had Lucas not got injured (my reasoning here is that in modern football every team needs a Lucas/Mascherano/Makelele/Whomever and without its hard for the other players to fully shine)…
Also – Rafa only stuck it up the owners because he was lied too…so damming him with that is a bit weak…esp. as these new owners claim to be honest…
And Klopp – well he’s already at a top club…which is why I said the decision not to interview Rafa was foolish – also Klopp had a LOT more experiance before being promoted…over 5 years in the German 1st Div with Mainz before landing the Dortmund role…
And big whoop – we didnt perform well in ONE game (actually against Swansea at home – go check the stats – we dominated that game – more possession/more shots – not sure what game you are talking about)…however on the whole – under Kenny we dominated most teams and created many chances (far more than we are now)…
And of course we could do a lot worse than FSG – we were…but I am not impressed with being rated so highly either…they havent done anything particularly well as yet…
I never said Commoli was a problem…he also never got a chance…
What I did say is that FSG didnt give Kenny a chance…one season was NOT enough…and a look a the BIG picture clearly showed he had us moving in the right direction…rather than starting again perhaps they should have allowed him to continue his project…because right now we are going nowhere fast…
Also – BR’s success at Swansea is much like Robbie Deans at the Crusaders – a myth built on the back of his predecesors…example…Swansea this year…better all round…
And you keep telling yourself that about the Rich Oil Men…if it makes you happy and allows you to suffer through this shite…youre only lying to yourself…any supporter that says they wouldnt take a rich benefactor owning their club is full of it…the Man City and Chav owners arent going to go anywhere…not for a very long
time…weve been waiting over 20 years for a league title…were will be waiting just as long under the current arrangement…
In fairness mate, you’re talking a fair bit of shit there.
There were other things that really worried me about Kenny, not just Adam, it is just that to my mind Adam is clear undeniable proof the game had passed him by (which is not really surprising when you look at it objectively, seeing as though he had been out of management for nearly 20 years barring a bit of a disaster at Newcastle). It probably isn’t good to keep going over last season but since you asked, I actually think under Dalglish we even more reliant on Suarez (even with Carroll in the team), and the possession stats we usually won were even more meaningless than they are now, because our movement in a 4-4-2 was so predictable that we really needed Suarez to do something unpredictable to make even half chances happen.
Getting back to Adam, it wasn’t that Dalglish signed him that had me worried because as you say every manager can make a bad signing, it was the fact that he stuck with him when he clearly wasn’t working that really petrified me. For mine, he was actually a lot worse than people make out, because every now and again he would completely surprise his marker by being able to run 5 metres and then get off a shot, which caught the eye. But these shots were usually a waste of time (especially as other teams became wise to his one move) and coupled with his clueless positioning without the ball, horrendous tackling, giving the ball away by trying to force unrealistic passes (which only came off a couple of times), and I won’t even start on his 10 million pounds worth of set pieces, he was absolutely hopeless and still is at Stoke!
(apologies for dragging that all up again, it is probably not very helpful as it certainly got me worked up)
Re Rafa, I am not damning him. I love Rafa and thought he was the obvious choice to return us to the champions league. All I was saying was that putting myself in the shoes of the owners, especially after pissing off every Liverpool fan over 40 by sacking Dalglish, I can see why appointing another manager with a cult following at the club and a long history of arguing with owners at every club he has managed wouldn’t seem like a good idea to them.
They have taken a gamble with Rodgers, but one which if it comes off could be something really special like the dynasties of old. And if it doesn’t come off, what do we really have to lose bar a couple more seasons of frustration? I don’t think the Liverpool brand is going anywhere any time soon, and we were already a long way from champions league and not an attractive place for top-class players/managers so it can only improve from where we were at the start of the season.
Re Commoli, to me it wasn’t so much who, because I don’t mind Downing (at left back), Henderson and even at times Carroll (although he is no good for a club with champions league ambitions), it was just that we paid almost exactly double what they are worth that cost Commoli his job. Even if he was trying to buy British to help foster a sense of unity in the squad there has to come a point where you say that is way more than he is worth.
Sure Swansea’s success in recent years is more down to a very good chairman, who knows what he wants and has consistently picked the right manager to take them forward (kind of like the Director of Football FSG tried to bring in). But that doesn’t take anything away from BR being a very good manager. The jury is still out on whether he can step up his game to be a great manager but we will need to give him more time and more strikers before it is fair to make a call on that one.
As I said in my other post, get the atmosphere right at Anfield and then start pointing the finger at the players/manager. Lobby the club for better ticketing plans if you have to, get to know the people sitting around you so it actually feels like a club, I don’t know just try something!
Mark,
Agree with every last word and have been asking the exact same questions
PLayed 38
Wins 17
Drawn 7
Lost 14
GF 52
GA 41
Total points 58
The great Rafa’s first season in charge lads, so put those rose colored specs away. The very least some of you experts need is to give the man the same respect that Rafa Benitez received and at least give him one “full” season to prove himself.
Rafa’s first year versus Rodgers first year; I’d say the chances of LFC winning 12 matches from here to the end of the season is virtually nil. We’ll have a lot of possession, though…
I was not holding Rafa up as the tactical guru, although he is by comparison. I doubt that anybody else, 3-0 down, would have brought Joe Cole on for Shelvey, or swapped Hendo for Lucas and asked him to do more or less the same job. Like for like when we’d already shipped 3. You win games by scoring more goals, not by holding onto the ball, especially if you have players who you can guarantee will lose it anyway.
At 3-0 down you hope to score 4 goals (I am of the Wizard/Hotspur mentality – I think you can make a change and the new man can score 5), but we won’t with Sterling – in thrall to his fabricated image as the Boy Wonder – running into cul-de-sacs, propping, coming back, poncing along the edge of the box while the defenders compose themselves. I likened him to Pennant, but I doubt that his career will last that long. Sign him and sell him, he has no football brain.
BR eliminated the only possible game changer we had when he shipped Carroll out. The FA Cup final was an example of doing something different if what you are doing isn’t working. WBA played lovely football the season they were relegated. I happen to believe that the fans don’t give a shit how we get 3 points as log as we get them. Bore us shitless but win for a change.
Kevin
If I have to even start explaining why Carroll was shipped out then there’s nearly no point in replying at all. He has contributed one goal to a team he was born to play for, enough said.
Brendan is very clever and believe me there is a reason why Joe Cole is playing now & while it’s “tactical” it’s a different type of tactical. the point is he won’t be playing after January.
I have to say that my reservations about BR stem from two things,one; his dossier, all 180 pages of it outlining his “philosophy” which is KK’s vision, wrapped up with talk of recovering the ball after losing it , retaining posssession ( which is stupid if you continue to lose it. ) Somewhere along the line the ball should end up in the net, which he does not seem to to cover at great length. The second is the fact that he pointedly stated that he did not want the job, this a big fat pants on fire lie! Anyone with ambition should be prepared to walk on hot coals to get to it.
FSG have not covered themselves in glory by only interviewing one man. How many firms do you know who interview one person, especially when they could have looked at a proven match winner and one who would not cost millions in compensation. Rafa and Laudrup step forward.
Our squad is wafer thin, why ? BR has bought players who you would say have added numbers to the squad but not necessarily quality. I’ve said it here before the Lucas problem was not addressed, we have only one recognised DM at the club. Allen is too lightwight in that department and be honest, if Carroll was overpriced at 35 mill, how overpriced is Allen?
IT doesn’t take a football superbrain to realise that Gerrard is now best further forward , we aren’t dealing with Roy Evans here, pandering to his stars, BR should have the gumption to tell Steve where he wants him to play. He did it with Downing and Enrique. I deon’t think think Gerrard is finished but he needs protecting to get through the season. The same with Sterling , or have we just seen the shutters left up for the January sales?
I am willing to give BR his chance to steer the ship as long as he spots the iceberg.
Jeasus Bob are you for real
Didn’t they interview Roberto Martinez in Miami? The squad is thin because we had to go through a transition. It was doing us no favours having players like Adam, Aquilani, Spearing and Eccleston. Maxi & Kuyt both wanted to leave but decided to give Kenny one more season. Bellamy wanted to go too (and although a good player is no good if he can only play 1 in 3). How many of you were happy with Carroll last season?
Of the ones who’ve come in, Allen looked good at the start of the season but has faded in the last 6 weeks (could that be a result of not having a summer break?). Borini is injured so although many of us are worried about how good he is, as yet we can’t judge him. Sahin is ok and Assaidi is ok for the price. Yesil was bought for the future. So, to say Rodgers has added numbers to the squad is not strictly true.
The point being, it’s a season of transition. Out with the players who are simply not good enough for LFC (Cole and Downing will follow) and in with young talent. Some of whom won’t live up to the expectation. I’m happy to see this even it means suffering this season. I’m sick of seeing some of the shite that turns out for us.
Well said Robin. Finally a brain on someone.
Ageed, well said Robin. Losing Kuyt, Bellamy and Maxi in one go hit us hard in the squad department.
Anyone calling for a Carroll return is mad in my eyes, ‘Game Changer’? Not for me!
If we lose Downing and Cole in January and boost the squad especially in the attacking third, we’ll have Borini back too, then we could have a half decent second half of the season.
I’ve seen so many encouraging performances this year, we’ve played some wonderful stuff and have been painfully unlucky in a number of different ways. The last 3 – 4 weeks have been increasingly tough but that can quite easily be explained by a clearly tired looking squad stretched to its limits.
I do agree on the Cole substitution though, that was madness, seems like Rodgers has been trying to sneak Cole and Downing in the shop window while also trying to pick up points along the way.
Great section on footballers and the lack of a plan B in their lives. Lots of young footballers get tossed by the wayside or just don’t make it. The dream is so big, the stakes are so high and nothing else matters for the young kids. The competition is fierce and I’d like to see another follow up on the podcast in the the future.
Really excellent stuff.
I was really disappointed with the players performance on the weekend, particularly Suarez, thought he had an absolute stinker. Even I could have played that through ball to Gerrard 99 times out of 100. His attitude, which is usually first-class, was also way off too, as he was way too greedy and didn’t chase back after he lost the ball which ultimately led to the first goal.
But I thought that the crowd put in an even worse performance, which is unfortunately the norm these days. Watching on the TV, all you can hear is the Villa fans. I honestly believe it is playing a big part in the poor mentality that you guys were talking about on the podcast, because if I was depressed watching it on TV I can’t imagine how the players must feel. I have said this before, but something needs to be done about it before people start pointing fingers at the players. Because with that level of support we don’t deserve a good performance, let alone to be at the top again.
I agree with all your points. I mentioned the lack of atmosphere in the comments below the latest City Talk podcast. It was embarrassing. When the Villa fans sang ‘where’s your famous atmosphere’ I felt like joining in.
Kevin,
I’m for real I’m beginning to think you aren’t.
In the absence of any point of dispute, let me make a fewf guesses.
One, we are told that the squad/ group is paper thin and yet where we do have cover in midfield the same players are playing week in week out despite growing levels of tiredness an drop in effectiveness.
Two, players are being moved out to accomodate others. This despite the fact that those who have been accomodated are also showing as getting increasingly jaded.
Three, the play in the final third would appear to be ” Give Suarez the ball” at all costs, hardly the sign of a brilliant tactician at work, why not take advantage of the space Suarez creates when two men chase after him. That’s what used to happen under Shankly, Paisley, Dalgleish, even Souness and Evans. Obviously the plan is working so far, not far enough. We are not creating enough” force the the keeper to work ones”. This comes down to the manager’s tactics. Slick passing: Swanselona Barcasea, call it what you want its not happening here. Build up is ponderous , players constantly caught in possession, Joe Cole’s last week being the easiest example.
Four, Gerrard’s role, nuff said
Five, Signings, Mark said Joe Allen isn’t good enough for Liverpool, I say he wasn’t worth the money we paid for him, he brings nothing to the party , lightweight, poor tackler, plays percentage safety passes In his defense though he did do the summer Olympics, thank God Wales never makes final competitions. Borini, the jury’s out, his injury came at the wrong time, but would he get a game for a top club? Sahin, same problem, again, he can’t get a game even though others need a rest.Jose must quaking in his boots in case he decides to sell him on. Don’t forget, he has added to the wage bill that forced us to shed Maxi and Kuyt.
FSG’s involvement in the transfer market , why no alternative to Dempsey, he himself was a replacement for the failed attempt on Siggurdson. Again, Gerrard is the best there is in that position
I know we have moved on from Hodge ball, and GerardHoofier but the fact is the footbal we are playing is nothing new. BR billed himself as bringing something different to the table.Tell me what it is please.
You quoted Benitez’s record in his first season, you failed to mention the enormeous task he took on in sorting out an even bigger wage bill moving on droves of neverwazzas and neverwouldbes. Prize assets deserting what they perceived to be a club in decline. The constant juggling of resources, in the future H and G. There was one other thing that happened that season, what was it now?
Robin, Tom Werner said they only ever interviewed BR. If I’m wrong I stand corrected.
I think he said BR was the only one they wanted. Martinez flew from the Caribbean to Miami to meet them. The photo’s are all over the internet.
So Bob, would you rather go back to the counter attack long ball hoofing that Rafa employed, the type of “tactics” that everyone had figured out in the last season which led to our final league position, fight with all your best players & magnificant number two, forcing them out of the club, & run the club into debt paying 100K a week to the likes of Jovanich.
You want to know why he wasn’t interviewed for the job, well there you go, & maybe it has something to do with the blind fanatical “Rafa Heads” who blindly support him no matter what.
Your club has one of the best managers in the game right now. Just get on and support him or follow Rafa to the Chav’s.
Josek,
That’s the exact opposite of what I want, but I’m sorry, sometimes the Emperor really is in the nude.
I did say we’ve moved on but to think BR is the Messiah is wrong on so many levels. He may need time but basic errors should not be happening at this level .
Robin,
Having checked Tom Werner’s statementand he said: “We did speak a number of people but I want to say Brendan was the only person we made an offer to.”
I can’t argue with that, but the article also said BR only made his mind up once it became clear he was the club’s preferred target.
The arrogance of the man! It also mention bringing “attacking relentless football” to the club. Well Brendan bring it on!
Mate, I can understand his predicament to a degree. The Swansea fans worshipped him (based on the calls to 606 last season). I don’t think he thought he would get the job. Part of his ethos (I’m assuming this based on Being Liverpool) is the unity of the team. It doesn’t look good if he says ‘lads, we’re all together as a team but I’m just gonna see if I can get the Liverpool job – I probably won’t so then we’ll be back to being a tight team again when I get back. When it became clear he was first choice he didn’t hesitate. Perfectly understandable and sensible.
I don’t want to have a go here mate, just an observation, but I can’t help thinking if you interpret the above scenario as you have then, you’re not giving Rodgers a fair chance. What I mean is, if you fall head over heels in love with another woman, when you get home it doesn’t matter if your wife has made a perfect dinner, is sat there in sexy lingerie and is actually laughin for once. You’re not gonna be interested. It doesn’t matter what she does. Your head has been turned.
Robin Well said, lets just say once you’ve been stung by a girl who turned to be a broke your heart, the new bird is going to work extra
hard to win you over!
haha. true
one more thing Josek, Rafa was hardly promoting route one, but handing out huge wages to freebies was definitely not his fault, the blame lies elsewhere.
It always does Bob doesn’t it.
I thought you meant about new birds at first, stop being so anti Rafa, youre not a Chelski fan. Purslow the prick to blame for Jovanavich.