Neil is joined by Sean Rogers, Rob Gutmann and Mike Nevin to talk about Liverpool’s scrappy 1-0 thrashing of Stoke City. Seventy minutes! Everyone is very excitable…
Direct link to PODCAST: LI-VER-POOL
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The striker you wanted who is a “presence with good movement and football ability on top” is Leandro Damiao.
Been looking forward to the return of the Podcasts as much as I have the new season.
Okay, that’s bollocks, but it’s still good to listen to these on the Monday train home.
Agree with most of what was said, but didn’t think Agger had too bad a game at all (penalty excepted). He looked a little more aggressive than last season (okay, it’s all relative) and nipped in front of the Stoke attacker a couple of times to steal balls. He played like he thinks he has a point to prove and/or wants to prove some people wrong and I was encouraged. Yes, we still looked suspect at set-pieces but at the end of the day this was Stoke – other than Man City who have their own giants, I think every team in the league will look suspect defending Stoke set-pieces. All in all, we dealt with most of what they threw at us pretty well, and Agger was a part of that. The penalty concession was a little bizarre but I didn’t think it was representative of his overall performance.
I’d also keep Coates or loan him out. I’m not ready to give up on him yet.
Our fluidity in attack was very impressive, but the one thing I saw on Saturday that gives me hope for the season ahead was the performance of Lucas. His first half was as good as I’ve seen him for Liverpool. If he can get back to his pre-injury form then Liverpool will be in business this season. We were wide open in transition play last year which is one reason why I thought we should have bought Wanyama from Celtic, but if Lucas is going to keep playing as he did against Stoke we’ll be fine (assuming he stays clear of injury).
Agree with Neil about the need for another striker to keep the play stretched and keep the opposition honest in the latter stages of games when Sturridge has shot his bolt. I would have like to have seen Ngoo given a chance but he’s obviously at Yeovil for this year. Here’s my suggestion:
Berbatov.
He’s still only 32. He’s only got one year left on his Fulham contract, so we’d get him fairly cheaply. He can hold up play as well as anyone, is retired from international football and I think he’d find it hard to turn down a club of our stature at this stage in his career. Basically Jari Litmanen but Jari Litmanen 3 years before we bought him.
I forget who said “Sturridge has only had 45 minutes of preseason football,” but that’s wrong. He played 45 against Celtic, and 90 against Newcastle in the behind closed doors match. I’m sure you realised after you said it.
Genius podcast.
Neil, I think the words your looking for is ‘Loric Remy on loan’ unfortunately I think Newcastle have gotten there first
Love the enthusiasm that comes with an opening day win, but if you’re looking for Mario Gomez it might pay to have a quick glance at Fiorentina as opposed to Bayern ;)
I think the issue with Gomez and Remy is that both harbour thoughts of making their respective country’s world cup squads, meaning they need to be playing first team football. We can’t offer that assuming we’re agreed that Sturridge is going to be our main man. This is one of the reasons why I think Berbatov would be a good shout – no international football aspirations to get in the way.
That’s more like it guys – great show. Singing in the Kop? Wow.
One of the most encouraging signs you mentioned is the fans accepting we are underdogs for 4th. I’m sick of people saying we should be aiming for top. The first step in recovery is to admit where you are. I doubt we’ll ever win the league till we admit where we are. I think various things outside LFC (new managers, fixtures etc) are a perfect storm that could give us an advantage this season.
The Reds are coming up the hill boys! Unfortunately the hill stops at 5th so I hope Rodgers and the group are prepared to pitch base camp, sign some lads with decent mountaineering skills and pick up some good quality guide rope and crampons (we don’t want Sturidge in the wrong footware).
Quality podcast as usual chaps, always a good listen.
I agree about us needing another striker. I had convinced myself that I needed Willian’s afro in my life and now that its not going to happen I’d quite like a plain Jane to wake up to on a Saturday (it’s the exotic ones that’ll break your heart). So on that note my wildcard would be Stefan Kiessling from Leverkusen. Top scorer in the Bundesliga last year, may not be a pure footballer in the Rodgers mould but he knows where the net is. Okay, he’s not as good as Gomez but there is the Hyypia factor. We should find dealing with them a bit easier and I’m sure we could make a deal like this happen. There are definitely options out their if the club want to be pragmatic. To paraphrase an obnoxious quote “Show them the money!”
Way too positive, clearly still hyped after beating the dreadful Stoke thanks to Mingo’s double save. Imagine the mood had one of those gone in. Fucking love it!
I wouldn’t be too bothered about missing out on a marquee signing. Wait until the January transfer window and if we’re hovering around the top four places – which I think is highly likely, we will certainly pick up on a couple of very proficient players struggling to get matches in with their team again – just like Sturridge and Coutinho, so that wasn’t a bad bit of business!
I’m honestly shocked that some people are talking of Willian as a “marquee signing”. What he is is a player Anzhi paid way over the odds to get last year and they’re demanding that buying clubs basically make up for their profligacy.
Based on the returns, there’s NO WAY this lad is worth anywhere near the £30-35m Anzhi have priced him at. £20-25m tops is my thinking, considering what other midfielders like Mkhitaryan have gone for this summer. He’s a good player, but for that price he’d better be a household name, and “Willian” is nothing of the sort.
Fair point mate. Truth is, I couldn’t say one way or the other how good he is. He doesn’t look that good on You Tube though, lol.
This happens time and time again. We get linked with an expensive player that 90% of the fans know minimal amounts about, if anything, and all of sudden he’s the difference between 6th and winning the league. About time this was addressed.