Liverpool Banter Archive February 19 2014

 

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19 Feb 2014 23:18:56
Looking at arsenal and bayern earlier and I have to say what a player Toni kroos is. Reminds me of a young stevie with his passing and shooting. Not saying would Liverpool be interested but if he were sold what sort of fee would he command and what's his contract situation. Cheers Ed's

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{Ed002's Note - Plenty.}

I thought the same, plenty of Stevie G like comparisons last night. Definitely worth a look

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I have said this earlier and I will say it again. I have seen him play plenty of times and he is the closest thing that resembles to Steven Gerrard when he was younger (playing style).

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We if we get into the CL who knows, maybe FSG and Rodgers may look at him

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{Ed002's Note - Kroos will not be moving to Liverpool.}

Lol he plays for Bayern (top, top team), has gained the interests of lots of other top teams and would cost an inordinate amount of money in both wages and transfer fee (+ all over fee's on top of them) - he is an absolute impossibility: put him in the same bracket as Ronaldo and Messi because he is in no way shape or form moving to us.

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19 Feb 2014 22:39:29
Hi Ed's,

looking at Man City overtaking Manchester United as the team in Manchester, have any oil rich, or oligarch types ever looked at buying Everton?

Cheers

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{Ed002's Note - I really have zero interest in such questions.}

I'm surprised City's owners haven't bought up United yet and amalgamated the two teams. I guess they City reserve team is already too talented to find places for Rooney, Ferdinand and co

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20 Feb 2014 09:41:51
i think for them to buy a new toy to play fifa it has to be in London r if not in the capital not much work to be done on the stadium and can be bought on the cheap like city.

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19 Feb 2014 21:31:40
Hi Eds, will the World Cup affect the summer transfer window in as much as deals taking longer to agree for those players at the tournament? Also watching Toni Kroos at the moment, one heck of a midfielder who isn't even first choice for Bayen!

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{Ed001's Note - deals that involve players there are very much disrupted. Some players won't even discuss their future while at a big tournament.}

19 Feb 2014 20:49:29
Has anyone mentioned or noticed how well Coady is currently doing at Sheff Utd, played really well against Forest at the weekend and has scored tonight too!
good lad!
YNWA JFT96

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19 Feb 2014 20:29:49
Never a sending of he tried to pull out of the way European ref's are woful if we get in skrtel must stop the shirt pulling and suarez will get a lot more peno's

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They are far better than refrees in england

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It was a foul and a sending off based on the law. Get over it.

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19 Feb 2014 20:18:51
Would Liverpool consider selling naming rights to melwood

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{Ed002's Note - I would think so but I cannot imagine it would bring much income.}

19 Feb 2014 18:14:52
Hi Eds, I trust you're all well. I am interested in your predictions and recollection of how World Cup windows usually transpire. There appears to be some financial incentives for clubs or players to wait until after the WC, or at least the player's exit, to boost value but I'm sure there are many other predictable elements to it all. How do you see things going in the summer?
Thank you

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{Ed002's Note - A number of EPL and other clubs are trying to do their business as early as possible. Some clubs will want to hang on to see how players perform at the World Cup. There is no hard and fast rules.}

Thanks Ed2, wishful thinking I know but I always like hearing rumours on the grapevine of players we're interested in before the tournament starts so I can have a look at them during the WC. Doesn't always lead to the result you want e.g. Deouf :-)

Thanks again

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Hey Ed's do you think World Cup form would really effect a transfer?

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{Ed002's Note - Absolutely.}

El hadji diouf :)

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19 Feb 2014 18:05:26
Not a rumour, but interested to hear the eds take on this; there's a story in the Echo reporting that teams are statistically likely to finish 2 places lower in their domestic leagues due to participation in the Europa League, further adding to the sense that the EL is trapdoor to be avoided rather than an opportunity for professional achievement.

Are UEFA aware of the apparent contempt felt by most of English football towards their second competition, and is this contempt shared in other countries? If so, are UEFA fully aware of this and to they have any plans at all to address the 'image problem' that the competition has?

Thanks for all the hard work eds, love the site.

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{Ed002's Note - The data set will not be large enough to draw significant inclusions. I don't think UEFA know of any "image" issues. If Liverpool don't wish to play in the competition then they can simply say so and not play.}

We don't ed we prefer the champions league like everyone else

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19 Feb 2014 17:59:26
What is it with Ilori ED? does he feel he should be in the team already?

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{Ed002's Note - Search engine please.}

At the rate we have been letting goals in, he might be justified. Him and Sakho would be ideal.

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19 Feb 2014 17:09:37
Not Liverpool related at all, but I've just taken a look at the Bundesliga table and it's mental! Bayern have only conceded 9 goals in the league and scored 57. They've not lost a game and only drawn 2, that's stupidly impressive. 5 years ago, I'd have said "typical" but the Bundesliga is definitely getting stronger and Bayern are destroying everything. I fear for Arsenal, if Liverpool and City put 5 and 6 past Arsenal, then God knows what Bayern will do.

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{Ed001's Note - the Bundesliga is not getting stronger though. The rest of the league are weaker than they were, much weaker.}

I second what Ed001 says, the other teams are very weak. Fulham, who actually have a decent squad, are fighting relegation, so hope you see the difference. EPL, according to me, has the strongest lower table clubs.

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Bayern will continue to dominate the league because it buys it`s rivals` best players therefore, weakening the competition. When BVB became a real threat to them, they bought their two best players. When Leverkusen became a threat, they bought a couple of their best players (Ballack, Ze Roberto and later, Lucio). Weaken the competition and the league is yours. That`s not a league. It`s a joke

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19 Feb 2014 17:15:44
do you get the feeling there is some in the media trying to put pressure on Liverpool just read a piece in the mirror web site on how bad it will be if we don't make top 4 as the owners want us to generate money for transfers through cl involvement, how we will struggle to attract the top players bla bla, how much they want utd in the top 4 is prob the real problem imo.well its in r own hands so win 9 from the last 12 and that's 80 points should do the job.

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That much is clear isn't it? that's the truth, we'll suffer if we don't get CL. This is the best chance we've got to get that CL position. And there's always pressure at any club, there's good pressure and bad, we're having the former right now.

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19 Feb 2014 14:59:01
Ed001, who do you think is a better right back, Wisdom or Flanagan? Also in the long term if you had to pick between cissokho and enrique to play left back, who would you go for?

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{Ed001's Note - they are pretty much on a par ability wise, Flanno has more drive and will to win, a real determination to succeed but Wisdom has the physical attributes to be a real powerhouse wing back, if he can raise his technique. I would have them on a par, just totally different types of players.

Long term, I would go for Cissokho, Enrique is technically better, but no one likes playing with him as he just does his own thing, regardless of the team. Cissokho at least tries to listen, when he makes a mistake you can see his frustration with himself and will to do better next time. Enrique just shrugs and carries on doing it over and over. He really doesn't have the attitude required to improve his game and make the most of his athleticism, strength and technique. He just wants to do what he wants to do and is not going to change for anyone. That is ok if you are Zidane or Ronaldo or someone of that quality, but he is not them or even close to them in terms of ability.}

I wouldn't mind seeing flanno given a shot as dm ed001. I like his positional sense, good pace, good in the air and tidy on the ball. Obviously we would have to have an upgrade at both full back positions. Would defo be a good back up imo. What do you think?

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{Ed001's Note - he has been tried out there for the U21s, so obviously there is chance that could come about.}

Hi Ed001. Think me&you are on the same wave length regarding our full back's.Right now Cissokho is the better defender for me.I remember a post by you some time ago saying GJ&JE are not the player's to take us to the next level long term.JE for me get's caught in up the field fair to often and GJ well he's just plain bad at defending.As you said last night I also would keep Aly&Flanno around they deserve it.
BarryinLouth

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Eds and reds,
Could you potentially see Aly Cissokho being bought by Liverpool, Jose Enrique being sold and Liverpool looking for a replacement?

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I would like to see Enrique and Sissokho cover the left, Wisdom and Mclaughlin cover the Right and keep Flanno as an option for either side. I think we need to move Enrique and Johnson on whilst they still have any value left.

That makes for a very young fullback lineup but we have adequate age and leadership in our CB's. Brenden has shown what he can do with players and the younger they are the easier it would be to grow them into their role. Johnson and Enrique are not going to adapt and I don't think either of them deserve a starting position over any of the younger players we have, especially flanno.

I also think its time Agger stood upto the task of becoming our leader at the back, he has shown what this club means to us and I think its time he shows us how good he is.

Do you think any of the CB's have the ability to cover lucas as CDM? Rather than keeping 2 of the 4 on the bench, do you think it would be better to utilise any of them in that role when needed?

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I think Cissokho has blended into the team well now - his distribution definitely needs work (specifically his crossing) but defensively and positionally he seems to have a very clear idea of where to be and how to execute his role well. I'm in total agreement with the ed about Enrique - given the natural talents he has been blessed with he could be a phenomenal fullback, instead he just does whatever he wants which often involves pinging the ball forward to no-one and to leaving himself open at the back. His attitude isn't good enough and to be honest I hope Cissokho retains his place in the team - he has done well enough to earn it.

p.s. I hope Johnson gets nowhere near the team again this season - his all round form was abysmal before his injury and, with Flanagan at right back we have looked immeasurably better.

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The only problem with wisdom is he 99% of the time passes to back. if only we had the kelly that played under KD.

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19 Feb 2014 12:33:01
Potentially, if we get into the champions league this season, we could have some good spending power for the summer.
We have Coates, Ilori, Borini, Aspas, Assaidi, Suso, Alberto, Reina, Robinson, Ngoo and Wisdom on the books, with all making little or no impact in our first team this season.
Add on that we have signed some lucrative partnerships this year, and didn't spend anything in January, it bodes well.
We have arguably £50 million worth of talent there,

I'm not suggesting we sell everyone, but we should have some money available this summer, as it's fair to say most of these players will be moved on.

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Don't see llori, suso, or alberto being sold personally, we will after all need some depth. I could also see borini staying if we don't get anyone interested in meeting his value.

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The only one I see as safe is Ilori. All the rest could be sold and I would not be shocked especially if we do get CL football.

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That's a big overhaul.Coates, reina, robinson and ngoo are the only certainties for me. I think Borini has done really well for Sunderland, he's given 110% everygame, and has made a good impact. Ilori will stay, suso will ad depth for europe, same with albertoand wisdom.

Assaidi I'd hate to leave, we better sell him for what he's worth.

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19 Feb 2014 14:06:14
I don't see Ilori as safe, not given it was him who forced the loan.
I think on that list we have many players who either need first team football, or players or are likely to just want out.
It may be with funds and champions league lure, we decide to let all but 1 or 2 go and buy players for the first 11, whilst loaning Suso and Ilori again,

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I think you are being a bit disrespectful of Wisdom. I think he is a quality replacement for Johnson. Might save us a few pence as well. Eds do the club value Wisdom highly?

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{Ed001's Note - he is seen as having potential, but the club would also be willing to let him leave, if the right offer came along.}

Ilori, Alberto, Wisdom & Suso for me are going to still be here definitely next season whether its in the first team squad or out on loan. would like the first three to go out on loan though but maybe not Wisdom as he would provide good cover for RB & CB in a potentially long 2014/15 season.

Coates, Assaidi, Robinson, Reina, Aspas & Ngoo (depending on how he progresses in the next 5-6months) are the players the club would most likely want to get moved on(just my opinion) though I wouldn't mind if the first three stayed as squad players.

Borini will also most likely come back & will only leave if we offer him on loan or permanently as part of a deal for someone like Muriel or if a team comes in for him with an offer around of £7m+.

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Ed 001 and the rest of my fellow Reds

We are analyzing too much! The team are doing FINE! If we hadn't dropped silly points to inferior (with respect) opposition we would be top of the league.

The team has spirit and scary pace. We have begun to have a pattern of play. Teams know of it but can not prevent it!

Just need Ibe, Texiera, Smith and Wilson to make their presence felt like Sterling and Flanagan.

12 games, BR needs to fashion the team to his system with no other cup/Europe distraction.
IT IS THERE FOR THE TAKING.

YNWA

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In all honesty I think we will see:

J. Reina.
B. Jones.
J. Robinson.
S. Coates.
A. Wisdom.
G. Johnson.
O. Assiaidi.
I. Aspas.

There's also an outside chance Allen and Enrique could go too (depending on arrivals.

I only think Wisdom due to the amount of defenders we already have. I think Rodgers will buy at least one full back in the summer possibly two.

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Yes IranRed, we need to give more minutes to those who are deserving in the U21 team. Like have Brad Smith on the bench and could come on for good spells to see out games at left back(not left wing).

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18 Feb 2014 21:44:17
ED001 hope you are well mate, was wondering what you've made of Brendan so far?
I personally love the fact that he changes his system to suit the players and does not expect them to adapt to his system.

Oh and what is your opinion on Aspas? is he likely to leave in the summer? I personally love the lad, i've been told he risked quite a lot of money to force through a transfer to us and I love his work rate, determination.

Also do you reckon there will be a relatively healthy transfer budget in the summer? Obviously not on a Citeh or Chelski level but around the 40m figure to get in some quality players.

Last question would be, would you be comfortable with Brendan having that much to spend? He has made some very questionable signings in my opinion, the main one being Mignolet; quality shot stopper but buying a keeper with really poor distribution and then asking him to play a role in which he needs to have good distribution is either down right stupid or shockingly naive. or maybe he had no other options

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{Ed001's Note - I will start with Aspas, decent player but far too lightweight, he can be blown over by the wind of someone passing him. It is ok being small and light, but he is also weak, so the ball can be taken from him too easily. Shame, because his overall play is good, good movement, excellent workrate, good touch and good vision. Useless if you are spending the game sat on your backside after a slight brush with an opponent though!

Rodgers now. The budget will depend on where we finish, his job could well depend on that too. If we fall away now, he will have no budget or job! So it is difficult to discuss that really, though I would have worries about some of his signings. I would want to sort out who is really responsible for picking the players we sign, when the first choice can not be obtained. Begovic was the keeper we tried to sign but Stoke refused to sell so we moved for Mignolet instead. Never understood that choice, I honestly thought it was a wind up as it was blatantly obvious he is hopeless with his feet. Not just in distribution, but in his shot stopping using them. He has so little confidence in them that he will try and get down with his hands to a shot that is passing within inches of a foot. He doesn't even want to use them then. It is odd, and it needs to be fixed via coaching or we need to think again and find a different long term keeper. I don't know who made the choice of Mignolet, I am not sure how much say the committee had in the summer. The whole transfer situation is a bit of a mess at the club right now. Too many chiefs etc. That needs a complete overhaul.

It is not that the players that have been brought in are bad players, all of them have a lot to offer the right teams, but none, other than Sakho and Ilori, seem to be a fit for the way we look to play the game. Alberto might well be able to fit in, with time, but is he any upgrade on the options we already had in his position? Certainly I have seen nothing to suggest the lad offers any more than Suso, so why spend the money?

Our targeting is poor, we are looking at players that make public statements about joining Champions League teams (Salah), then wonder why they choose to join a Champions League team rather than us. We don't even make a real push to sign them at a price the club are willing to accept anyway. Why did we waste so much time there? Then afterwards we target a player that was keen to join but had no chance of convincing the club owner to allow him to go. Someone needs to take responsibility for the January mess and either fix it before the summer, or fall on their sword and let someone else take charge.

As for Brendan's football, I am really enjoying watching us at the moment, we look devastating and ready to score at will. Having said that, he has done nothing to fix the defensive issues at the club, though I understand that it could take time. I won't hold that against him yet, as he needs time to integrate players that suit us into the team and time to coach the defensive aspect of the game. Barcelona were never able to defend either, but they just never gave the ball away enough to give teams a chance to test that woeful defence. I just hope Rodgers doesn't just try to copy them and remembers it is possible to have both aspects of the game at one club. A team doesn't have to be totally lacking in defensive positioning to allow it to score.

Also I wish he would just shut up. I know Shanks was full of quotes, but Brendan is not Shanks and this is not then. These days the media will just spin everything said to suit their agenda, so just give them nothing to work with and concentrate on the team please! Overall though, I am happy with the progress we have made, though we can never settle with what we have and always need to look to improve.}

19 Feb 2014 00:19:28
Great post Ed, you're spot on with the vast majority.

Mignolet is starting to worry me a lot. He's clearly a good shot stopper, but I can't really get my head around the amount of silly mistakes he's made and gotten away with.

Arsenal game was a good example, he punched a straightforward catch against Flanagan at 1-0 up and we were lucky that Skrtel was more switched on than Monreal and we didn't concede. It didn't even end up making the MotD highlights because we won 5-1. Now he has been caught a couple of times (Sunderland and Man City away), but he's gotten away a lot more of his errors than is normal, imo. If he keeps making them, he (and by extension, we) will get punished a lot more.

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{Ed001's Note - I was thinking about this after typing up my reply, I am coming to the conclusion that he has been overcoached. He tries to use his hands for everything, like it has been constantly forced into him and he has simply not been coached on using his feet. That is my best guess from what I have seen of him. So it may be possible to fix it, but it could also be too late for him to change. Only time will tell, just don't see that we have time to wait for that if we want to win trophies.}

19 Feb 2014 01:03:28
I can understand coaching players out of foot saves a bit, because a lot of keepers then just resort to sitting on their arse whilst trying to kick the ball away and conceding some seriously soft goals in the process (it was highlighted excellently donkeys years ago when we played Ipswich and both teams basically took the exact same shot, but we scored because their keeper just sat on his arse, whereas Dudek actually dived). Maybe it is something that, has you say, been overdone on Mignolet.

That being said, some of the errors that come to mind don't have any real pattern to them, other than them being errors. The aforementioned Arsenal one was punching a through ball he should've caught. He flapped at nearly every cross on the opening day against Stoke. Spilled a very saveable high shot into the goal against City. That's just general brain fade for me and I don't think it can be coached out.

Now he has offset it a little with some good saves, and some keepers just go through odd phases and he might be rock solid next year (although his kicking will still be below par). Reina had 6 years where he'd have 1 bad game a season and otherwise be brilliant, but then was all over the place for the first half of last season. And let's not forget Dudek going from Hero to Zero, and then eventually back to Hero again.

But it's still worrying me.

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{Ed001's Note - to be fair to Reina, he was excellent until his goalkeeping coach left, he was never the same after that. With Dudek, and Westerveld before him, their confidence and ability was destroyed by the woeful 'coaching' of Joe Corrigan. Corrigan may well be a nice guy, he may well have been a good keeper in his day, but he has never been a coach. I am just hoping the coaching situation has been improved since those days, though it is difficult to judge quality of coaching over anything but an extended period of time.}

I think Rodgers has done a great job overall. No manager is ever going to hit on every signing, and I'll grant that I'd like to see us hit on more, but don't forget that we did bring in Sturridge and Coutinho during Brendan's time. I also think Sakho looks like he could have a long career here. So it's not like we have had no success.

As for the football on the field, the results have been tremendous. Just look at the progress:

2011-12: 52 pts, 47 goals, 40 against
2012-13: 61 pts, 71 goals, 43 against
2013-14: 53 pts, 66 goals, 32 against

Obviously this year is only in 26 games. So we've gone from earning 1.37 points per game the year before Rodgers, to 1.61 in his first year and now 2.04 in his 2nd year. that's very quick improvement.

We've gone from scoring 1.24 goals a game to 1.87 and now to 2.54.

Defensively we've gone from allowing 1.05 to 1.13 to 1.23.

Now obviously you'd love to see the defense be better. But we are scoring more than double the goals we were before Brendana, MORE THAN DOUBLE! The slight increase in goals allowed is as much linked to playing a more open style as it is to any actual defensive problems.

Plus you can't just expect a manager to fix every single aspect of a team in a short time. We do need to improve the defense, but it's not like we are a poor defensive team. Other than Chelsea, we've only allowed 5 or 6 more than anyone else.

Just look at it this way, the year before Brendan our goal differential was +7 over a full 38 game season. This year in 26 games it is already +34 and will likely end the year over +40, +45, something like that. that's incredible improvement.

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{Ed001's Note - I do agree, it is just that just saying 'yeah he is doing a good job' is not really much of an answer. I was just trying to give a full answer, and point out areas that can still be improved, rather than trying to be negative.}

Sh**e Ed001, along with Sturridge and Coutinho, Minolet's proven an excellent acquisition, he's kept us in the game on numerous occasions so far this season and made some match winning saves.Any keeper would struggle with confidence and form with the shambles that is our defence at the moment in front of them!

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{Ed001's Note - wow what a well thought out reply! He has made a few good stops yes, but that doesn't excuse the ridiculous amount of times he has nearly cost us games. He has weaknesses that need to be worked on, or they will just be targeted game after game. It is nothing to do with the defence, which he is partly at fault for anyway! What is wrong with you? Instead of being a knob, try looking at what is happening. He is meant to be organising the defence, taking charge, instead he is standing back on his line watching most of the game. When Skrtel drops too deep, the keeper should be the one screaming at him right then, and as soon as a break in play happens, he should be straight over to tell him again. Grob would be out there giving them a punch if they go as out of position as they have been in some games this season. You have nothing to offer this conversation bar to tell me he has done one part of his game well and that the most important thing a goalkeeper needs, confidence, is gone! You are not helping him at all.}

Brad Jones showed v Arsenal that we miss a keeper who is confident in coming off his line to punch or take a cross.

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19 Feb 2014 09:51:00
i have to say the football we have been served up this season has been out of this world and in a few defeats we can count ourselves very unlucky chelsea and city, it would take a very big drop on r form to see us drop out of the top 4 but if we did drop to 5th considering all the evidence of improvment i'm shocked to see ed 01 posting brendan would be out of a job.But this shows the fine line these days on how you r judged a success and a failure.

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{Ed001's Note - I wasn't really meaning 5th mate. I was just meaning if our form collapsed and we dropped out of the running altogether. Though that could see us end in 5th, it really wasn't about the position, but the way things are behind the scenes with the team. Right now, they are full of confidence and flying. Until we hit a bad patch, we won't really find out for sure what Rodgers has got to offer long term. While I don't expect us to drop away, I never expected Laudrup to get the hook either, so you never know in this game.}

. great post, Martin. Excellent and interesting stats.
I understand your reply was positively critical, ed, but I don't agree that Brendan will (or should) be sacked if the team falls away. He has succeeded on a number of levels:
- he has entertained us immeasurably
- he has once again turned Anfield into a genuine fortress.
- he has made us a feared team again
- he has demonstrated ability to manage players egos
- he has created a healthy atmosphere in the dressing room
- he is operating under the economic shadow of big spending clubs (not just Chelsea & City - Spurs are spending big money, United too, Arsenal. Not to mention European teams).
And ye know what. I don't mind his talking to the media. In fact I like his honesty. My view is this; Liverpool fans are often credited with being 'intelligent'. If this is indeed the case then should we not see through the media BS and take our manager for his word - his honesty?
Our manager is young, innovative, honest, fair, intelligent, modern, etc etc - all the things you would want from a manager. Talk of sacking him would be professional suicide IMO. He is one of the most talented young managers in Europe.
Let me ask a question. What do we want as fans? Obviously the immediate goal is Champions League football. But we don't have the money - and personally I don't see the point in a suga-daddy like what City and Chelsea have got themselves. In fact I would be extremely opposed to that approach. Let the manager build us an honest team. Let him make mistakes - that's how people learn. I enjoy watching his development and influence on our club. If he went who would we bring in? Moyes might be free soon? Hiddink? Van Haal? Benitez?
. or should we go for a young manager? Someone modern, innovative, fair, intelligent, talented.
Me, well, I'm really enjoying the ride. Go on Brendan. Entertain us!

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I wish i'd read that before asking my question about whether or not we'd keep Reina. Jusdging from the posts, keeping him could be the best option and using him to bring Mignolet on. Reinas distribution in the team and style we have now would be much better. Somehow I don't think BR will see it like that nor the powers that be. Shame

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We've improved considerably since Kenny left - and have done so with a clear footballing philosophy and plan. You can see the difference when comparing to Man U. Can anyone even tell me what Moyes long term strategy is? I can't - and nor can any Man U fans I know.

We're a couple of players short defensively. I can't really understand why we went out and bought so many centre backs in the summer. We needed two at most, but bought three. We definitely need some full back cover.

We also need defensive midfield cover too.

Our first choice up front is superb. I'd have loved to have seen us versus Barcelona last night. Would have been intriguing to have seen us break quickly against their back four. Maybe next season.

I am really hoping one of our youth team strikers comes through. Ed - is there anyone? Ideally you'd want Sturridge, Suarez and another decent striker who's prepared to sit on the bench a bit and wait their chance. I'd suggest we'll struggle to convince a top player to sign and sit on the bench, so the best bet is a youth player. We have potential cover for Sterling in the youth ranks with Ibe. Hopefully he'll come through and play more next season.

Genuinely think we're not far away. We just need to stop buying average players as cover. We have spent (wasted?) money on players like Alberto and Apas (maybe even Borini) who I don't think are players likely to secure our place in the top four.

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{Ed001's Note - Ibe is a striker really, though he can play anywhere across the front line. He would be the one closest to breaking through. Sinclair is probably the next best bet, but he is likely to be a couple of years away yet.}

I think he's doing a great job in general but the job is still not even half done.
I was an original Brendan-skeptic but I have changed my stance completely over the last 12 months.
I do find his transfer record very disappointing. Aside from Coutinho and Sturridge, they have been poor.
Allen - expensive & not needed
Borini - expensive & not good enough
Assaidi - yet to break through
Alberto - yet to break through
Mignolet - strange choice, technically limited
Sakho - early days but seems overpriced
Ilori- on loan.

Basically he's had one good window and 3 bloody awful +/- wasteful windows.

That's my only gripe and he's got the team playing well and getting results.

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I would have to agree that Brendan needs to be better in the transfer window. We can't have players about that he does not have faith in. What I will say is that i'm happy how he gets youth players into the first team. Sterling, Flanno and nearly Ibe. Hopefully 1 or 2 next season helps the first team squad big time. Which we could well do with if we get CL football.

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It really is a shame Reina went into decline.

His style of goalkeeping would have been perfect for our fast tempo style of football.

Probably best distribution from a keeper I have ever seen.

Mignolet? I now get nervous when he has the ball. He is simply not equipped to do what BR wants him to do. That Toure blunder at West Brom was partly Mignolet's fault.

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I would say our team is still very much a work in progress, but a really really good work in progress but with still a lot more to learn and improve.
Great answer to the OP ed001. Agree with more or less everything, I'm hoping migs sorts his little issues out and that he can be coached properly into being the top keeper he can inevitably become. His shot stopping is brilliant so nothing wrong with his instincts it's just his footballing brain and confidence that needs sorting out. He really does need to organise the defence and start shouting at his defenders, it's almost as if he's still in awe of them.
It will be interesting to see how Brendan copes in The champions league, considering he gets there that is.

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Some great points Ed001, most of which I agree with.

what has bugged me, and continues to is the transfer situation. I still can not understand why some sort of middleman wasnt appointed to coordinate close out the transfers. I don't think Ayre is good at this but also don't think it should be his job. in the past people like Robinson were so good at this job - unfortunately the perception being that it is almost a manager in waiting position or undermines Rodgers hence his reluctance to work with a DoF means we are missing something. Commoli continues to haunt us!

It appears Ed001 you favour a Daglish - focus on the next game mantra as opposed to the Mourinho absorb the pressure and deflect it to other teams - that fair? Unfortunately in the media frenzy world Daglish was thought of as aloof and boring - I agree here Rodgers is almost trying to be Shanks - or copying Mourinho too much for my liking. he's got to be his own man but put the focus firmly on the next 3 points.

Do you think its fair to say he has improved the team but not the squad? Admittedly he's lost experienced players but for me personally I don't understand the choices - example being Allen/Henderson - he had almost cut Hendo out and had already signed Allen - was that necessary? Does he offer more than Hendo? Even before his resurgence I felt he had done well under Daglish but was finding his feet - potentially he has so many attributes. Yet we signed Allen regardless - a player I think is decent - can be very good but was he really needed at that time?
For me it highlights some of the planning around the squad. same questions can be asked about Alberto? Is he an upgrade on Suso - hard to argue at this stage as I've seen so much more of Suso.

As for Mignolet, a talented shot stopper but issues kicking and Catching - sound familiar? We've been here before . Achterberg is still the coach - how? We need a leader, organiser at the back - Mig needs to be more vocal true but our Centre halves just don't balance for me - A carra or Hyypia with anyone else would see our defence dramatically imrpove.

Im a bit disappointed in the Wisdom comments above - I'm convinced he can play CB and be a true leader - I'm told he's very vocal for U21. He's another of that clutch of youngsters that came through - Sterling, Suso etc that I felt at the time would be our first teamers for years to come.

Any comments would be appreciated.

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{Ed001's Note - with Wisdom, it is not so much the club want him gone, but that he may not want to wait for his chance to come. He won't be shoved out the door, but they aren't going to hold him against his will.

I don't want him to be like Dalglish, nor do I want him to be like Mourinho, I just don't want him constantly talking up or down chances to win the league etc. It only gets twisted and we have a raft of fans whining about the little snippet that was twisted and taken out of context in the paper, because they forget how much nonsense is in papers and still bother to take notice of them. Journalists are sat there looking for a question that will give them a chance to make some story out of, they are not asking relevant or interesting questions any more. I just wish the press conferences would be removed altogether being honest, they are just there for the media to pick up some innocuous remark from and turn it into something completely different.

It is probably fair to say the team has improved, whereas the squad is not really moving forward. Though I would have to disagree on Allen, he is a totally different type of player to Hendo, I think having Allen as an extra body in midfield is a good thing. It is more strength in depth we require, not less. It is signings such as Alberto I find strange, we have such good quality youngsters, I just don't see the need for him.

I also think Achterberg needs to show he deserves to be at the club, Mignolet is still lacking in confidence, even in the basics. That needs to be sorted.}

If the penny drops with Mignolet and he realises that it is HIS back line and starts to shout his mouth of a bit ( in a productive sense of course ) then I can see things dropping into place quite nicely. (if!)

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So ed001, how do you think we can improve our defense at the training grounds? does BR have to better teach them how to play a certain a way, are the players we have not fit for his style of play or is it due to other factors such as coaches? also is BR the one who chooses our transfer targets or does his opinion not really matter in those dealings? do you believe that if we get cl football we will be able to attract some top players or will they see Liverpool as a work in progress and not want to join still?

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{Ed001's Note - coaching, you work them in pairs and groups purely on defending and the vocal aspects of it in particular. We are clearly lacking in that respect, so you force it into them, constantly pushing them to shout at each other. You make games of shouting things to each other at odd times too, to make the quieter players less nervous about using their voice. It is the lack of any kind of commanding voice at the back that is our main issue, so you have to change that. A lot of the time in coaching sessions, you will see the coach taking it will be the only one doing the shouting, as he instructs the players. With our players lacking a vocal leader, the coaches should delegate responsibility to a defender to lead the drills etc, while they just concentrate on filming and watching the drills to spot weaknesses. That gives the defenders a bit more responsibility and might pull one of them out of their shell enough to take charge on the pitch too. At least that is what I would suggest the club looks at doing. The drills can be set up on a tablet in advance, so the defender would literally just have to take charge and get the players to do as he says. It establishes him as the one to listen to, once the others get used to it, and they will start automatically responding on the pitch without thinking about it.
Rodgers can do any number of other things though, a lot does come down to just running training routines of attack against defence in training on small sided pitches. Mind it would be little wonder if our defence lost confidence training against our forwards! It must be a nightmare training against the SASAS each day.
The transfer targets are now the work of the committee, with Rodgers being a part of it. Each will have recommendations for players to bring in, then they will sit down and make a choice between them. It is not a very efficient method of doing business, in my opinion.
Yes, getting Champions League football will make Liverpool an attractive prospect, it is a big well known club around the world, that is always a plus. Our main issue is not having the money others have though. It is difficult to attract a player when you can't agree a fee to buy them in the first place.}

 
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