Liverpool Banter Archive December 18 2014

18 Dec 2014 23:51:02
A lads just signed for my Saturday team (only 17 the wee nipper!) and he has some real skills. Asked about his previous experience at youth level and he told me he used to be coached by John Barnes! Apparently he is one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet and always makes time for you as well as knows his stuff. The lad was unfortunately cut from his academy a couple of years back. I didn't know Barnes did coaching work for academys.

There's no real point to this post other than just to say, it's nice to hear that legends of the club are so humble and kind to us mere mortals.

Wish the manager showed the same level of humility and dignity when dealing with the players and the media instead of being stubborn and arrogant.

Have to agree with you EMS with Barnes being one of the nicest guys around.

It's always been my claim to fame that Barnes walked me in to my first day of school aged 4 (many a year ago now), after my parents had failed to get me out of the car and asked Barnes (whose kids went to the same school as me) to do them this favour. He then stuck around for the next hour signing autographs for everyone.

Still have never been so popular amongst others as when this happened!

18 Dec 2014 22:39:48
Chris Carey u will not be top of the game of thorns for long my friend! Just a mid season dip in form!

18 Dec 2014 22:20:42
Ok, I'm just going to say it: Brendan forever

18 Dec 2014 23:14:08
Who is he? Never heard of him!!

Batman forever . not brendan

*Brendan thinks this post is outstanding*

Brendan Never Forever. First nae, iddle name, last name

The Batman ?

18 Dec 2014 21:22:09
Just thinking about the CC draw, and realistically, if we can overcome Chelsea over 2 legs, we have an excellent chance of going on to win the cup.

18 Dec 2014 22:48:58
I think whoever wins between us and Chelsea will win the cup

Whatever way you look it, the season has still been a failure.

The way I see it is that we would've had to beat Chelsea anyway to win the cup. I think it is a lot harder over two legs but the draw is the draw. We have done them over 2 legged semi finals with worse teams than our current crop.

A 50/50 chance you could say.

18 Dec 2014 21:14:52
My son watched brad Jones in the last two games and said to me " he deals with every shot like other keepers deal with penalties, makes his mind up which way he's going before they have hit the ball". Couldn't have put it better myself

Your son should be the gk coach then because the one we have right now at the club, is flat out aweful

18 Dec 2014 18:33:49
I am sitting on the fence with the whole Rodger's remaining as our manager. I find it strange though how many fans on here agreed with Macca in us having a good transfer window before the season started only to now be complaining that we bought poorly. Liverpool were a work in progress before Suarez left and we lost Sturridge to injury. This combined with an over achievement last year and new players arriving meant we were always going to struggle to get anywhere near 2nd. Rodger's may well be not the one to take us forward, but he is still a young manager and will make mistakes so to some degree he too is developing. The line needs to be drawn as and when it becomes apparent he cannot learn from his mistakes through stubbornness etc. Until then the jury is out. Is it better to cut short his tenure or should he be given more time? Will this set us further back if we do? With so many young players bought for the future is he the one to develop them? Or has he evidenced through his treatment of our under 21s that he doesn't have that ability?

18 Dec 2014 19:00:23
Liverpool have been a work in progress since the mid 1990's. Sterling wasn't even born when the club entered 'work in progress' mode. It seems to be taking longer than the painting of the Cistine Chapel ceiling - let's just hope it ends up an equal thing of majestic awe.

Quite a few people coming on here saying everyone was thrilled with our business in the summer. ??
Funny I don't remember this and I was looking at this site all summer?
Can you can show me one person who was happy to sell Suarez and replace him with Lambert and Ballotelli?
On a personal note I was shocked we bought Lambert, took a risk on Ballotelli, paid so much for LLalana and Markovic who for an AM assisted 0 last season in a p*** poor league. Loveren? looked good last year thought he would be a good buy. Thought he would have been better if we had have got him at 8m when we first looked at him. Manquillo, Can, Moreno didn't know enough about them, neither did most on here.

Why do some fans call LFC coming 2nd last season as an 'over achievement'? (imo, there is no such thing) One creates their own luck, and does the best they can and have believe. LFC had all those attributes last season, they played extremely, yes, mainly because of Suarez, but others contributed as well. The team as a whole created their own luck, as a result they finished whey they did.

Davelfc38,

there was a lot of fans on here who wanted rid of suarez, because of his bad points, not one said at the time how he got us 2nd and improved the team so much, they were also saying how good BR was at man management and how he was bringing players on, now that he has gone all the ones who wanted him gone have turned on BR i remember because i could not believe what they where saying about suarez and how he was dragging the club through the gutter and gow we should get rid and take the money, i bet they would all love to have him back now, but they are scared little fans who don't have the guts to say it was them who wanted suarez gone and wanted the money we could get for him, they all know who they are, so do the eds they can go back and look in the archives, it would be a good page titled in hindsight, i never wanted suarez to go, man utd had cantona and rooney who have gave the club a bad name but man utd stood by their players, i even remember kenny daglish getting loads of stick for coming out with the t-shirts in support of suarez, oh well they have all got what they wanted, and we all knew sturridge would be out for a few months with injuries, he has been out since the begining of the season and it was expected and when he comes back by the time he gets match fit he will only play 2 to 3 months of this season, but i agree lambert was a shock but he is very good at free kick and pens, and i remember EMS singing ballotellis praises as a good risk signing because he is a good player he went on and on and came out with all balos good points, he said it was a risk worth taking while at the same time he was saying fabregas was not worth signing because of how bad he was at barca and how much his wages would be, i think balo is not far from the same wage, so there's a few answers for you

They did buy well Coutinho Sturridge Sakho Can Lallana Manquillo Moreno Markovic have all perfored well but they just don't play Rodgers played some of them last night and yous got the win its not the players it the manager

I can say that I was excited about the new signings purely because we'd had such a great season previously. Which supporter would not wish the best for new players arriving at the club with the wish that they would do well and add to the team? Southampton were rightly raved about last season and those good players that we raided don't turn into bad players overnight. Markovich was raved about too but not to the tune of £20million imho. This is why I put the blame squarely at Brendan's door. He has shown that he hasn't been able to get the best out of the new players as of yet. His tactics have not helped but overall his unwillingness to adapt and progress as a manager by not trying to develop his weaknesses into strengths are showing as arrogance. I think he's taken the club as far as he can take it and he doesn't have the skills or the capabilities to take it further.
If he does know he's going then the only thing I commend him for is his resilience in not giving up.

If you don't think Rodgers is to blame for us being so poor, let me ask you this:

Who's fault is it that our two GK are Mignolet and Jones (easily the two worst 'keepers at any one club at the same time in the Premier League)?

This is just the tip of the iceberg tbh, but for this reason alone Brendan must go, surely?

I didn't want saurez gone, at the end of the day he did the business on the field.

Now we have balo stirring up rubbish and doing naff all on the field.

Mbrock what do you mean there is a few answers for you? answers to what?

I for one have a clear view on Suarez and have always been clear on this,

Suarez is one of the best strikers I have seen play the game in my 30 years of going to watch Liverpool. His work rate and skill was a pleasure to see.And I was sad to see him leave,

As a person I thought he was a rat. 3 times I have witnessed him leave Melwood avoiding signatures with the fans. He twice bit players under LFC's employ, banned for racially abusing EVRA, told the club he shake hands and didn't, cost KD his job, And did nothing but try to engineer his departure for the best part of 2 years. he did all this and still managed to convince fans he loved the club? in 3 seasons.

Cantona and Rooney have played for Man UTD for nearly 15 years between them?

18 Dec 2014 21:53:23
DaveLfc38 you're wrong.

EVERYONE on here was happy with the signings as the optimism and faith in the manager led them to believe so.

Now, when times are tough, they slag everyone off, including the manager who was the best thing since sliced bread. The original poster is spot on.

Daveybootle, EVERYONE??Do you include me in that stupid comment? I must have been reading a different site in the summer. the reactions were mixed at most.

What about you? are you sticking with BR and waiting for this squad to march on to domestic and european glory?

Good luck with that.

I was optimistic about Balotelli but he wasn't the player I wanted. Everyone here will remember that I wanted Lacazette. I defended Balotelli from the abuse he got before he kicked a ball and admittedly was way too optimistic. I was not pleased with our summer business though. I didn't think wny of the signings would underperform as badly as some have. I spent months trying to tell people Moreno couldn't defend ny better than Brad Smith. I preached for hours that Ilori should be given a chance before signing Lovren. I wanted Wisdom, McLaughlin and Flanno as our right backs and never approved of Manquillo. I wanted Ibe, Suso and Texeira to play instead of blowing £47m on Lallana.

Sure, I defended the new signings and pointed out their positives. But I also made it very clear I thought we were signing the wrong players and too many players.

Everyone is quick to point out I was wrong about Balotelli. Not many are holding there hands up and admitting I was right about Moreno being no better than Ryan Bertrand though who by the way has been one of the best left backs in the league this season and a mainstay in Southamptons defence which has the best record in the league. I've admitted I was wrong about Balotelli. I had too much blind optimism in the risk paying off and I have not made any effort to deny that. People are massiveky distortinf the truth though. I reoearedly said Suarez needed to be replaced with a versatile and pacey forward like Lacazette, Lavezzi or Sanchez/Pedro. I don't know why people are still bringing up me having too much faith in Balotelli despite the fact I've admitted being wrong. It's almost as if you've all never been wrong about a player in your lives.

Besides, Balotelli has only played about 15 games for us. Some players take longer to settle in. I think he should be dropped whilst he is playing so badly but people are just writing him off as a flop. It's nice when players hit the ground running but not everybody does. The lack of time fsns give new signings for me is ridiculous. Fir example even though I was right about Moreno neing poor defensively, I don't want the poor lad sold. He clearly has ability and could develop into a great little player once he settles into the club.

Oh and selling Suarez was not the problem. It was the recruitment process which was. I don't watch Italian football so all my opinions on Balo were based on time with City, Italy etc. I would liked to have thought the scouts would've spent far more time watching him and realised he was not right for us. We failed to replace Suarez. Selling him was not the issue. The issue was how we spent the money.

Sorry for some of that spelling. Samsung Galaxy mini has a tiny keypad! Meant to say £47m on Lallana and Markovic.

I so agree, respect to you EMS, I didn't want Balo, (there are better forwards out there) and after Suarez antics it was out of the frying pan into the fire for me, Balo has talent but he has a child's mentality, and does not work hard enough, maybe he will prove us all wrong? but i won't hold my breath! after all the disappointments of our previous transfer dealings everyone (what kind of fans would we be if we wanted failure?)wanted BR's signings to work, well they haven't, maybe in time some will come good but there was a LOT of wasted money with no real need to spend it, (I still don't understand that business) it will be BR's downfall IMO, unless he spends huge on players he should have bought the first time around! it may be too late for him, his team selection and tactics may have already earned him the axe!

EMS I would take it as flattery because it means they pay attention to your posts mate. I would generally agree with you and I remember fine rightly lots of people being unhappy with the signing of Balotelli, Manquillo andsigning both of Lallana and Markovic when we had academy players who could fill in. I only thought a lb, cb, cm and striker were necessary. Don't get me wrong I had little complaints over the players we signed (except Balo and Manquillo) however it is unfair to write them off now. I think our squad is easily good enough to challenge for top 4 and has enough potential to challenge for a title. We need a good coach to organize our defence and for Sturridge to boycott England duty.

I'm quite happy Suarez is gone, not at all happy the money received was spent so, so poorly. Most of the signings are not bad players, but many of them were overpriced and none really fixed the obvious problems we had. We needed goal scorers after Suarez left and didn't really get any. We needed a CDM as cover/competition for Lucas, didn't really get any (maybe Can, if you consider him a CDM). Needed a left back, got a Moreno, who is just a bit better than Enrique but is young so I think that might work out. Why we didn't go for another keeper is an absolute head scratcher. Fix those first, then worry about the depth and young players.

Cheers Jackthelad and Calmdown.

18 Dec 2014 17:59:06
If I could play football i'd love to play like Lallana.

Its like watching Fred Astaire

18 Dec 2014 18:50:41
I stopped being a fan of Fred Astaire when he ate somebody's hamster .

Always thought Fred Astaire was a "hoofer" myself!

18 Dec 2014 17:14:50
Why are we so poor defensively?

DEFENCE
The defenders aren't the problem. We have some good centre backs, but due to the poor midfield in front of them the centre backs are the ones trying to control the game and if they make a mistake there is no one behind them to bail them out. If your can get your central midfielders on the ball as often as possible then you are minimising the risk of conceding sloppy goals from individual errors.

MIDFIELD
The problem is we have no quality central midfielders. It is as simple as that. The only central midfielders we have are Lucas and Allen, yet these 2 would not get into any top team in Europe. The quality just isn't there. The job of the central midfielders is to always make themselves available for the pass either from the defence or the forwards. They are there to control the flow of the game and keep the ball moving. When not in possession, their job is to be in the correct position defensively to win back the ball and turn defence into attack.

ATTACK
We have no problems in this department except for firepower. A natural goalscorer who fits into our system will fix this problem.

FIXING THE PROBLEM
We need to bring in a central midfielder who is comfortable on the ball and specialises in keeping possession. He must be disciplined and the must be the engine in their current team. We also need to bring in a midfielder who will concentrate more on the defensive side of things. This player should be positionally good and comfortable on the ball. Let's just say for instance we still had Alonso and Mascherano at the club. I very much doubt that we'd be so poor defensively.

Finding 2 midfielders who fit the above profile should be the priority, but there are still other areas that need to be improved. We need a new goalkeeper and a natural goalscorer, then we should be ready to compete.

MY CHOICE
Granit Xhaka is the engine for Borussia M.Gladbach. He is only 22 but the Swiss international is already making a name for himself in the Bundesliga. In fact, the only midfielder making more passes per game in the Bundesliga is Alonso. Xhaka can also contribute defensively.

Morgan Schneiderlin would be my choice of defensive midfielder. He not only has the pace and positional awareness to defend effectively, but he is also very good at playing the possession game. He is comfortable on the ball and is currently 5th in the premier league with most average passes per game.

My goalkeeper would be Cech. He is experienced and is premier league proven.

My choice of striker would be Lacazette. He is a natural goalscorer who would fit perfectly into our system with his pace and ability. He is currently top scorer in Ligue 1 having scored 15 goals in 18 games.

Any other signings would be luxury signings. In my opinion these 4 positions are the ones that require immediate attention.

Red Rum

The only difference to last year is two forwards. If we spend more time attacking it's less time defending. I'm not saying are defending is good, it's barely average, same as last year. When we were on a roll last year, teams were petrified of us, and sat back. Who ever decided on the transfers this summer? Whether it be the manager, a committee, or the owners, I don't think they've done to badly apart from balotelli and lambert, who play in the two most important positions for last seasons style of play.
They've bought young players who I'm sure in a few years will prove to be good acquisitions. I suppose it averages out to an ok transfer window. Great prospects 10/10. Shocking replacements for the best strike partnership I've seen play in my lifetime 1/10.

We've been crying out for a quality DM for absolutely ages now, it's an issue that is not being addressed. I rate Can, but I wouldn't categorise him as a DM, in my opinion anyway. Someone who can break up play and distribute well, someone with a bit of bite. We haven't effectively had this since Mascherano/Alonso. all that time ago.

Platini said any great midfield has to have 3 things, a passer, a dribbler and a destroyer. Gerrard is a passer but ofc he's getting near the end of his top flight footballing career. i'm not sure we have anyone to fill either of these roles to a top class level. Maybe Can could be the passer but the destroyer is where were short. We don't need magic from this type of player but we need someone to be dominant that's for sure.

18 Dec 2014 19:48:44
GOAL KEEPER !! We could do with one of them because we don't have any at the club. We've got 2 giant Polo Mints that like to wear gloves but I think it's time we invested in a decent keeper.

18 Dec 2014 16:29:55
Hi eds, this is kind of a different question but I didn't know who else to ask.

What do the medical staffs of certain clubs, for this instance like liverpool, consist of? And in relation to others in their field, what do they earn? I'm not really familiar with the club setup in England. i'm just curious as i'm hoping to go into medicine and it was something that crossed my mind. If you don't know it's fine, even a rough estimate would be greatly appreciated.

{Ed002's Note - Clubs such as Liverpool will typically have a few physiotherapists, two massage therapists, a rehabilitation specialist, a sports science graduate gofer, administrators and one or two medical assistants. Some clubs employ a full time club doctor. Obviously a lot less will employed by lower division clubs.

We are not going to discuss wages.}

18 Dec 2014 17:01:59
Cheers Ed

18 Dec 2014 16:14:49
Just watched a video about Gerrard - his goals, assists and contribution to the club over the years. It brought back some very good memories.
Some of the people over here calling Gerrard useless/deadweight and have forgotten that as recently as last season he played a very important role for us.
This season he is little short of confidence which coupled with the failure of BR, looks like Gerrard will probably be forced out of the club soon. Just hope that i can save enough money and travel halfway round the world to watch his last match for LFC.
Just remember the many seasons when our team was filled with average players and our great club was going downhill, Gerrard stayed with us. Now that he (and the team) are having problems and old age is finally catching up, we should at least give him the respect and honor to choose his own day of stepping down.
Just cherish him for the short time we still have him, believe me, people will remember him long after we all are gone.

19 Dec 2014 08:10:17
Personally I think he needs a couple of weeks out of the limelight and on the therapy chair with Dr Peters, but we don't really have that luxury. Or a manager who is capable of keeping anyone out of the limelight

18 Dec 2014 15:07:01
Better game but we're still suspect in defence largely because Gerard and Lucas aren't mobile enough to play DM together. If one of our CB's is pulled wide, we're really vulnerable in the middle as no-ones tracking back fast enough or covering the runners properly.

If we're going 3-4-3 I'd personally put Toure, Skrtel and Sakho at the back, play Markovic at RWB, Moreno at LWB (both with pace to burn to get back in defence and good crossers of the ball in attack), leaving Henderson to play a more mobile holding midfield role alongside Lucas, and then push Gerard a little higher up the pitch just behind Sterling and Llalana.

At least we've got the pace and movement back in the side though and playing some of the new talent rather than Allen or GJ.

18 Dec 2014 14:46:03
James Pearce has said today that Rodgers wants a Keeper and a Striker in January Ed?

Would the striker likely be only if we can sell Mario on? Also would it likely be a cheap option as like you have stated we have Studge and Origi coming back.

{Ed002's Note - Why do I have to keep answering the same question?}

Given that we have 7 strikers on the books, all bought under BR's watch, I can't imagine FSG would be overly thrilled about the idea of adding an 8th.

If the club wants to finish in the top4, then money needs to be spent on these 2 positions irrespective of the financial constraints. The club should sell Balo, Borini, Enrique for whatever they can get and move on by spending the cash wisely. Lacazette and Trapp/Begovic would be brilliant additions to the team.

Those two positions should have been sorted in the summer when we had £120M to spend, Indian Buzzer (along with CDM).

RDL, i know that but its nobodies fault but FSG for hiring incompetent and useless people to run the club. Instead of buying Balotelli, Lovren and one of Lallana or Markovic, the club should have just paid for Lacazette (who is perfect for the way we played last season) and a top GK. I very much doubt FSG will even entertain Brendan's demands anymore. Better to get rid now and give the job to De Boer and let him sign the players he wants in January itself.

{Ed002's Note - De Boer already has a job.}

Unless things just go completely wrong and we're sat near the relegation zone, I suspect BR will be here until the summer. Seems FSG are being a bit more methodical this time rather than relying on a quick interview at the local Miami Starbucks (an exaggeration I know) in order to figure out their next move which is probably a good thing as, as you note, Indian Buzzer, thus far their appointments have not been what I would call great either.

Dezmondo, if james pearce says it then it must be true, he seems to have the ear of br. .ha.

BR is not getting a dime, IMO, at least I wouldn`t give him as much as a sausage for players. He should use the very players he bought instead passing the buck to the owners to clean up his own mess by asking for more money.

18 Dec 2014 14:33:12
Hi Ed's regardless of the result last night Rodgers won't turn things around in my opinion. Why are the owners now so quite and have not acted so far? Do you think he will be gone by Xmas or summer? for me the best option is Rafa till summer and through some money at winning the Europa
Keep up the good work

{Ed002's Note - I have given my opinion on this repeatedly. Read the posts.}

18 Dec 2014 13:12:13
Can't wait for flano to come back I don't rate Moreno as a defender not tall enough to deal with crosses frequently out of position if smith was available I would prefer him

18 Dec 2014 13:59:03
I like Flanno , but do think Moreno has great potential .

If Moreno was playing next to next to a leader every game we would see him improve quite quickly in terms of his defending.

Toure for me is the only leader we have at the back . He talks throughout the game and has the experience of big games .

Some people argue that Lovren talks as well but I shudder to think what advice he would give.

I think Moreno was a good if overpriced signing that in time will prove himself.

18 Dec 2014 15:25:08
I'd like our defence next year to be:

Flannagan, Wisdom, Sakho, Moreno

With Manquillo, Illori, Toure/new guy and Smith in reserve.

Moreno's concentration worries me, he seems to have really bad lapses at times and these have cost us goals this season. If he could maintain focus all game every game i'd be a lot happier.

18 Dec 2014 16:01:45
McLaughlin should be given a chance too as he has more potential than Flanno or Wisdom at right back and he is also an attacking threat they will never be

Why are you comparing a RB to a LB though (original poster)?

12m is not overpriced, IMO. Moreno has been good of late even though he has lapses in jugement and concentration. GJ has been having tht for 3 yrs now and will only get worse. Toure should play every game because he is a leader and a worrior who plays every game like it`s his last. Toure/Sahko at the back wouldn`t be a bad shout.

18 Dec 2014 12:04:25
Can a young person somewhere please explain to me WHY a Bournemouth player wore a hair-piece in the game last night. and will he have a good or embarrassing Christmas after it fell off in the middle of the televised game?!

18 Dec 2014 12:31:06
It was for a bet which he lost when it fell off. He tried to protest the result but in the end he had toupe.

18 Dec 2014 13:21:31
Could be any number of reasons, from a lucky charm to embarrassment over baldness. Could have a scar under there, a friend could have shaved something on him as a joke. who knows?

18 Dec 2014 13:29:27
Or it could be teenage vanity.

Let's have a vote

18 Dec 2014 14:21:57
lol, I agree with you Zed. he seems to have thought it looked "cool" :D

18 Dec 2014 16:10:10
So as it turns out, it wasn't a hairpiece it was a bandage

18 Dec 2014 17:27:09
Aww hjikle, why ruin a perfectly serviceable pun

18 Dec 2014 23:10:39
It was simply a bit of banter. the Independent story even indicated it was a bandage.

Thanks for the laugh Zed ;)

18 Dec 2014 10:44:51
Think people are getting a bit carried away with our performance last night. Thought we did play well but wasn't even bournemouths best XI but main points are:

1) Fair play to markovic - have said not sure he was the right player to buy but is starting to look like he may be able to up his game just not at lwb. Showed some moments of quality (ball for hendo and goal) but just couldn't defend and that side was exposed.

2) Henderson isn't a RWB and is massively limited in this role. He isn't a player who can beat his man to get into the box and try cut the ball back, added that isn't the greatest crosser of a ball (not that he had anything to aim at). As a result most of game ran down the right side, came in and passed it infield. Should be deployed in the midfield where his energy to track runners as well as get back to make runs into the box can be utilised (e.g. setting up sterlings goal).

3) Midfield and marking is just non existent atm. If you see their goal there are about 2/3 midfielders making runs into the box that aren't being picked up. I like lucas but with him and gerrard acting as a midfield they just don't have the legs to pick anyone up. Would love to see Can and henderson brought in field to help lucas, as well as protect our CBs.

4) Lovren needs some time out the squad. confidence looks shot and genuinely rate him as a defender just needs time to rest and get his confidence back. Would personally like to see toure/sakho with the three mentioned midfielders against arsenal.

5) The day flannaghan returns the better - manq has looked ok and johnson just doesn't provide defensive cover. Think flanno being a far more defensive fullback would be fantastic and help our defence.

6) Both goal keepers just aren't up to the job. Jones has helped in that he can somewhat pass the ball in the general vicinity of our players, but isn't a great shot stopper which he showed last night.

Think we were very lucky in that game, could have conceded a goal in the first 5 minutes and not like they had 1 or 2 chances. they had about 4/5 good chances to score and with better finishing would make things much more difficult, give diego costa or alexis sanchez them it is a differnet story. On a positive not our attack looked much better with more pace and movement, just need to get a formation to balance that against our complete inability to defend.

18 Dec 2014 09:09:39
Hi eds.

Hearing some rumours that Rodgers is getting a thesaurus for Christmas, which would be an outstanding gift in my opinion. His family have identified his constant use of certain words and think the gift will be really beneficial. Rodgers commented 'I think that's an outstanding gift idea, absolutely outstanding'.

Any truth in this?

A top, top gift I heard him say.

Didn't he go on to say "this is a quality quality gift, and one that will show everyone my character. And it will help me to regain my confidence, and become stronger in the second half of the season."

YNWA.

Gotvthe full quote here:

"The book was not my personal choice, it was actually a decision made by the transfer committee. However they're all wonderful people and they do mean well. I still think the book could be outstanding for us. It is a world class piece of literature with the potential to be even better. Who knows? One day it may write itself into folklore. But no, its a wonderful gift. As I say, not one I'd have chosen but I'm sure it'll be an absolute privilege. I think technically, it's one of the best young books in the game right now. The potential it has is scary and I'm sure it'll be an absolutely outstanding read. But it wasn't my choice."

Outstanding responses. You guys showed real character, which is pleasing.

I think purchasing such a gift showed character and nobody can blame the commitment shown in buying the gift.

However, due to this buy, we are unfortunately in a transitional period indefinitely.

Well, as I said, with a wee bit of luck hopefully I'll be able to take my chance and get to the read the book as well.

18 Dec 2014 06:37:49
Hi, question and banter for Ed001 and fellow reds,

I think next season we should be much better than this season. The inevitable change of the manager/coaching staff and players moving on would make things much better next season. I'm very optimistic about the future.

Think about it:

1) The new DoF and head coach system. There's so much room for improvement here and can see our team start playing much better with better tactics, system and coaching.

2)Player moving on and being moved on. Players who contracts are expiring at the end of the season should be moved on (Gerrard, Johnson, Toure). The same goes for players who are not good enough for our club (Aspas, Assaidi, Jones, Mignolet, Alberto, Enrique, Skrtel, Balotelli, Allen, Borini, Manquillo, Coates)

3) Young players should be given chances and replace most of the outgoing. Ibe, Origi, Ward, Texiera, Suso, Brad Smith, Wisdom, Illori, McLaughlin and etc. ).

What is your opinion Ed001? Do you agree with my optimism? I'm not saying that for sure we would become world-beater next season. But who knows what the future holds and thing can only get better from now on.


p/s: sorry for my bad English, I'm Malaysian btw.

Cheers :)

{Ed001's Note - I am worried that the young players will be the ones going personally. I mean Suso still has no contract with us for next season, what are the hopes of keeping him??}

My hopes of keeping Suso rely on replacing Rodgers before he signs a pre-contract with somebody else.

18 Dec 2014 09:04:01
I see where you are coming from Ed001. I guess our only hope is that the manager and coaching staff changes happen in January, so that Suso can eventually get his much deserved chances when he is fit and hopefully get new contract to stay with us. Here is hoping that to happen.

Suso, Texiera, Can and Rossiter deserve to get their chances in the team instead of Allen who does next to nothing.

{Ed002's Note - Suso is desperate to reach agreement for a move to Milan in January that will see him leave the club at the end of the season. However, there is a hiccup in the potential move that will need to be resolved.}

18 Dec 2014 10:17:09
From what I have read from the Eds comments about Suso he is well within his rights to push getting this deal agreed as quickly as possible to kick on with his career.

Shame because he looks a quality young player with bags of talent who with better management and given the chance could prove to be a great player to have.

Best of luck to him with moving forward with his career. If adel taraabt got into the milan XI he should prove to be a massive improvement

18 Dec 2014 16:06:53
Is Suso still injured?

What's the hiccup regarding Suso ed, or would you rather not say?

{Ed002's Note - I don't want to get in to it.}

No probs ed, thanks anyway.

Are there any other clubs interested if he doesn't get his Milan move, or would we maybe have a chance of keeping him if that deal fell through?

{Ed002's Note - Borussia Moenchengladbach and Porto have previously shown interest but I suspect it has gone.}

Thanks ed; hopefully we get a chance to keep him.

Not as convinced as everyone else about him, as I'm sure there's a reason he hasn't played as much as we hoped. But at the same time, I'd love him to get the chance he deserves. See if he can prove he IS worth a starting spot.

Tbh, my fear is that with Lallana, Sterling, Coutinho, Gerrard and maybe even Teixeira capable of playing in the same position, he will be gone sooner rather than later.

18 Dec 2014 06:34:18
I know it's wrong to say this but I was hoping we would lose so that Rodgers gets sacked. Didn't watch the game but from the highlights it looks like we still can't defend properly which has been the case since Brendan joined, this is the main reason I want him out.

18 Dec 2014 08:33:05
Shameful comment. I would like to see BR move on sooner rather than later but I'd give if not my right hand then at least a few figures to see us lift a trophy this year.

Yeah would've been nice, pity about drawing Chelsea. :(

Disgrace

I know it's shameful. But in the long term, maybe better for the club? Besides, Mourinho will get the better of Rodgers in the semis. I also hope Sterling isn't to "tired" for the arsenal game

Mournho will get the better? Why do we place so much emphasis on the managers? I know they dictate the formation and strategy, but clinical finishing and defensive errors are more likely to have a baring on the result. I can't stand mourinho.

18 Dec 2014 10:22:49
Czech over Migs
Matic over Lucas
Schrulle over Balletolli.
Then we could tempt Jose to Liverpool.

RedKenyan thinking about the big picture there

18 Dec 2014 13:24:55
These are probably the same people who were slating Everton and their fans last season for hoping they lost to City

Personally I see no difference between wnating your manager out and wanting the team to lose to get your manager out. You don't sack a winning manager, therefore if youw ant the manager out, you are therefore not succedding (Thus losing games) People want the end result but without the means?!?! How F*ing dumb is that

18 Dec 2014 16:14:25
Bobatron, when you want the team you support to lose you don't get to talk about anyone else being 'f*ing dumb'. Period. It's embarrassing

Hjikle, what do you expect off a reader!

Do i want rodger gone. Yes
Do i want him gone sooner rather than later. yes
How does this happen. losing
Do i want to lose more of our gifted youngsters like Suso, Kelly etc. NO

If keeping the likes of Ibe, Ilori, sakho, texeira means me wanting BR knocked out a sh!t cup that has very little baring, and financial gain, I'll take that loss ahead of Rodgers getting us in 11th place, and letting several talents leave cus he won't give them a chance, it's not a case of wanting to lose.
It's a case of having an end product, if that end product is wanting the manager sacked and as soon as possible, the way to do that is to simply lose.

Boba, no matter how you try to justify your case, wanting us to lose in order for a coach to get sacked is an effing disgrace. Majority of us here including the Ed`s IMO, really don`t want him sacked at least not yet and would prefer he saw the light and made changes as well as fielded on-form players and stopped being arrogant and petty by freezin players ot an wasting money. Rooting for us to lose is an embarassment and unbefitting of a so-called LFC fan.

So let me get this right. are you one of those that wants the manager gone, but also want to go on an another 11 game winning streak?

Seriously how the contradiction of wanting a manager gone, but not wanting to lose, doesn't smack people in the face is beyond me.

I also wouldn't speak for most people on here if I were you, the last 4 weeks have been calls for BR out.

18 Dec 2014 06:01:13
Hi Eds,

What do you think of the 3-4-3 recently implemented by Rodgers?

In my opinion, it seems to work well (attacking-wise). But defensively, it's still abysmal. Is there any young academy centre back we should be trying instead? Taking Toure Skrtel and Sakho in the first XI, and seeing Lovren is a disaster at the moment.

Cheers,

{Ed002's Note - I have no interest in where the players stand at the start. Liverpool is largely overrun with CBs with Ilori and Coates out on loan as well.}

Or how about appointing a specialist defense coach so that the players u just mentioned start playing better. The defensive shambles is a result of poor coaching or a lack of coaching itself. Skrtel, Sakho and Lovren are all international quality defenders, who have been made to look average by Brendan. A good coach would make the team better defensively and more rounded and compact.

18 Dec 2014 08:42:57
Unfortunately the CB's are poor. They have played along with each other in every possible system out there and the outcome well you know it.

18 Dec 2014 08:47:07
Indian


Let's not talk about the international quality.
Sakho is playing France. Which means the likes of pogba, matuidi and co in the midfield
What does he gets at Liverpool?
Lucas and Gerrard ain't it?

Skretel plays for Slovakia who has never reached a group stage in any major tournament.

18 Dec 2014 09:24:07
Hi Ed002, I wasn't just talking about their starting position. I believe throughout the game, there were 3 at the back.

And yes, I'm aware that Coates and Illori are on loan. Are there any decent kids (defender) that we currently have at our club though?

{Ed002's Note - Flanagan, Wisdom, Paez, Smith, the kid who arrived from Spurs....}

18 Dec 2014 17:56:41
Kevin Stewart Ed002?

{Ed002's Note - Yes, I think so.}

So, Harry, is it that the players are poor or that they are not protected by their mid?

You've said both you see, so would love to know which you actually believe in?

@ passion pride

Just shows your ignorance, Slovakia qualified for the World Cup for years ago with skrtel in defence. They got through the group which involved New Zealand, Uruguay or Paraguay and Italy . Lost to finalist Holand in 2:1 or 1:0.
This year in qualification for euros they top the group with 1 goal conceded which was against Spain . 2:1 was result. Although I'm not fan of his, but he seems to be doing ok for national team.

18 Dec 2014 08:08:11
Morning Ed's and fellow reds

Better performance last night but it doesn't alter my view on Rodgers leaving the club.

Glad we're through to a semi final no matter what competition it is, at last a bit of excitement to what has been a dreadful season so far!

On a side note did anyone notice the snarl Souness gave Redknapp when he pulled out Chelsea? I thought he was going to knock him out, was not happy at all!

YNWA.