Liverpool Banter Archive March 23 2015

 

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23 Mar 2015 21:52:30
Omg the negativity on this page is ridiculous! I know we are all hurt from the horrible result yesterday but it is one loss this whole year! There were always going to be a couple of slip ups. It's ridiculous that everyone is questioning Rodgers tactics when everyone was amazed with our new formation that he implemented and while going on this amazing run. Top four is certainly not over, unlikely but definitely not impossible especially with man u and arsenal having tough fixtures to come. If we go the rest of the season unbeaten top four is more than possible. And won't it be sweeter now if we reach it now after all the heat we are getting from the united fans!
YNWA and in Rodgers we trust

Believable15 Unbelievable11

24 Mar 2015 06:49:17
TBH. We will have to beat Arsenal on Saturday and I can't remember the last time we won at the Emirates.

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24 Mar 2015 11:46:14
Not that long ago Fast-and-furious, under Kenny in the 2011/2012 season a certain Mr Suarez scored 2 goals to give us a 0-2 win. Our win was against the odds then, let's hope its repeated on Saturday.

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24 Mar 2015 13:01:46
Not that long ago? 3 seasons ago is a long time Roy.

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24 Mar 2015 17:32:38
Problem is Roy, we don't have a world class match winner any more.

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24 Mar 2015 21:12:19
One great man once said:
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

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23 Mar 2015 20:19:01
So we have a bunch of under 22 years old in the team, some in their first or second home game against United, and the two most expreinced players in the team, two over thirties behave like it is their first game. Gerrard with a red and Skertel with stepping on De Gea that will cost both of them 3 games ban. I highly rate both and their commitment to the club and I think overall Skertl was our best player this year, but this only makes it worse as we will need him desperatley ub these games.

I thought until yesterday, discipline wise we were pretty ok this year. Cannot remember many cards not even from Baloteli, Skertl stopped pulling shirts in the box, but obviously the frustration of the loss made them lose it. well just for their info I was also highly frustrated but still didn't step on any one.

Believable7 Unbelievable0

23 Mar 2015 20:40:26
Aahh it's only football Frustration, I've ripped doors off the walls because of Liverpool in the past. We've all done stupid things either playing or watching Liverpool in the heat of the moment. Imagine being on the actual pitch! Stamps and kicks happen, we all know it could've been Rooney and Fellaini for example.
Stevie and Skirts know they've messed up, like us when we've lost it at the game or watching tv. Then you look back 5 minutes later, and think what an absolute clown you are, and your missus makes you sleep on the couch because you've destroyed the house, and after a week This is only the SECOND most visited website in your internet history.

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23 Mar 2015 21:44:34
Stupid things

I back 2 - 2 when we were loosen 2-0 hahaha

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23 Mar 2015 20:14:41
without getting dragged into who are next managers should be but think next season could either be massive or terrible for lfc. Regardless if we get fourth or not, have a lot of players who are or should be moving on who I think it is best are, not just your johnsons or borini's but love the man but stevie going gives who ever manages is just to build on a great young squad.

Have a young squad with amazing potential (studge, hendo, sterling, couts, can, I've etc) that needs 2-3 signings that if gotten right can turn us into a great team. But FSG need to have a well though out plan and execute it early or we could be left behind for years!

Arsenal have a great squad that is still young and after paying off their stadium money to bolster it. Man U Tbf need a lot of signings (cm, 2 CBs, a right back, winger, etc) but I'd they secure CL have money to get the best in the world! City look set for a few seasons and Spurs. well are spurs! If we plan our summer and get all the players out who don't have a future should raise a good amount of funds and clear up the wage bill which could set us up for a great few years - but have to get everything right off the pitch or don't know where we'll be.

Have a good young squad, a lot of promise from the academy and think if we get our signings right and staff to make the most of it can be in for great things. But if we mess up our transfers and have a manager who won't accept help and keeps making the same mistakes will be another 20 years till we get a title! Not saying BR has to go but our set up can't be the same and expect different results with a great foundation

Believable8 Unbelievable0

23 Mar 2015 20:38:03
Sorry mate how do city in any way, shape or form look set for a few years? They are a very oldish squad and there key players are either old or injury prone.

I'd say if u think us getting CL football puts us in better shape than u and arsenal's pay off of debt puts them in strong position. I would think city are the team u can catch.

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23 Mar 2015 20:39:24
We have never got our signings right, huge amount of money spent and still struggling to get into top 4. So please tell me what will be different this transfer window ???

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23 Mar 2015 21:23:32
Tbh mate meant to write chelsea but drinks make you mess things up, but even so please tell me if you genuinely think city aren't going to finish in the 4 in the next few years? Have massively under performed for two seasons but won a league title and look likely for 2nd.

Obviously CL football helps but are in a good position that bar sterling should retain best our players and should only need a few signings to make us compete and don't think that's unrealstic. Obviously United and arsenal are in a stronger position due to finances but our best players are mostly under 23 (studge is what 25?) and have depth just need quality. Have gone on fantastic runs last two seasons with a very young side, just need to be consistent from the start!

We have a track record in the transfer window has been poor but looks like FSG are trying to address this, isn't easy but isn't impossible either. Not saying it's likely as we seem to do terribly in transfer windows, but to say we can't get 2 or 3 signing a right is ridiculous. Chelsea got 3 players in (obviously easier for them) and now are head and shoulders above the rest!

Not saying it is likely but is more than possible, but club have to make sure they get eveything right before hand (structure, coaching staff, transfer targets, managing youth etc)'and are no where near as far off as everyone thinks

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23 Mar 2015 22:00:06
So utd beat us once and they're gone we won't ever catch them again CTR you really r a typical utd fan Billy big boots.

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24 Mar 2015 02:00:58
CTR, all you did was win 3 points and NOTHING more. You have achieved NOTHING yet and who says you will get top four w/ 24 points left to play for? I sggest you keep calm, enjoy the deserved victory and keep it at thatt because you ahve been aweful all season bar the past two games so no need to gloat. As for us, the PL is pretty poor right now and though City nd Chelsea seem ahead of us, I think if we get or house in order globally, we can give the league a real go.

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24 Mar 2015 06:49:40
OP

who will buy our flops?

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24 Mar 2015 07:04:20
F+F, we've moved on worse bunches of players, we'll take a hit but they will be moved on.

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24 Mar 2015 07:37:58
We got offered £14m for borini, can move them on. Will take a hit on most of them but luckily/stupidly we have a lot of players to move on so even if we take a hit will have funds. Big bonus is big salaries off the wage bill.

Biggest concern is getting the spending righ

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24 Mar 2015 09:04:00
Tommy Irish Red - "So utd beat us once"

We've played them 3 times this season (including a friendly) and been comprehensively outplayed in all of them. Check the results. Apart from which, it's the significance of the game at this time of the season. Basically, when United buried that second goal, they buried any realistic hopes we had of fourth. It was less than a fortnight ago Rodgers was claiming second spot was realistic.

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24 Mar 2015 09:56:12
Ok red Lenin let's just throw the towel in and give up then, for me how the team played with ten men gives me a bit of hope and imo if Gerrard hadn't have been sent off I think we would have got at least a draw but you just look for the negatives as usual.

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24 Mar 2015 11:10:21
What positives were there to take from Sunday? Please enlighten me? Aside from Rooneys comedy attempt at stopping a team mate from having a hat trick for his own personal glory, I am at a complete loss.

The reality is that once again Brendan couldn't get a team to play when it mattered, once again, we have to rely on a lightweight to play in a mans position(Joe Allen), once again Brendan doesn't realise that the opposition have a plan that is better than his.

As Lenin rightly says, three times we've played them and three times we've been outclassed.

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24 Mar 2015 12:02:01
I didn't say u wouldn't catch us lads it was the OP that suggested that.

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24 Mar 2015 22:20:30
Sahko was a positive.

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24 Mar 2015 22:20:45
The half time music was great as well.

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23 Mar 2015 20:07:19
KDB ex Chelsea player is anyone interested is singing him

Believable1 Unbelievable0

24 Mar 2015 02:02:04
He will be severely expensive BUT I think City is on his trail per the meia.

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23 Mar 2015 19:13:14
It's funny. I live in the U.S. and before every game the analysts robbie earl and an ex american player talk about how poor sakho is on the ball and how the opposition should focus on pressing him. Always makes me think of a quote from snatch. Sakho is good on the ball but looks as though he shouldn't be.

Believable7 Unbelievable0

23 Mar 2015 19:32:04
Dude I feel ya! Every time they say that. Every time they get proved wrong. UGH!

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23 Mar 2015 19:38:24
Sakho is fast becoming the rock of our defence, if not already. The opposition seem to have given up trying to go through him, you have to go around him.

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23 Mar 2015 19:49:34
I really like the way he always find the right pass - almost never backwards and always a good ball.

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23 Mar 2015 20:06:46
It was the same Mustoe who said we should have just bowed to SG`s demands as well as Sterling`s just so we could avoid all the drama and by magic, SG wold not have lost his head and Sterling would have signed already. Dumb comments!! They make good points atimes BT on that topic that as well as Sahko`s topic, they are dead wrong.

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23 Mar 2015 20:25:38
I must admit guys I always thought Sakho was bad on the ball, I didn't really watch much of him to be honest but I thought this notion was the the general consensus. So I take it buy this thread u don't think he is? I can't not take your guys opinion as right I guess cause u watch him a lot more than me.

He didn't look shakey yesterday I have to agree.

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23 Mar 2015 22:47:56
I'm just glad they stopped the experiments with the American announcers because if I had to hear Gus Johnson yelling about some shot from 40 out that was clearly going wide from the time it left the foot I'd have started watching figure skating.

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23 Mar 2015 22:56:21
and chris, I think he looks really clumsy but more often than not does make good decisions. He's had to spend a lot of time out this season. More importantly, it's been start a few sit a few and repeat so it's been hard for him to focus and keep building his confidence. He looked terrified when he came back during the Swansea game and their crowd really let him have it but it was impressive how that had a bit of a calming effect and he gained more belief in himself as the game went on. Tough to play with our bunch at times too especially on Moreno's side.

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23 Mar 2015 23:58:02
The one thing I never get with his passing, is he sometimes absolutely thumps a 10 yard pass into feet, and it's just not necessary, he makes it so hard for the recipient to control. He does it about 10 times a game to Moreno and Coutinho.Just seems a risk to me of giving posession away. Not meaning to criticise in any way, they're often the right passes to make, just struck me as odd

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24 Mar 2015 00:02:14
C"Mon now Chris we all know you love the real reds that's why you always come over here for a bit of banter you watch us more than utd closet liverpool fan imo.

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24 Mar 2015 02:09:45
Sahko is the best CB we have, IMO. He is a better defender than the rest of our CB`s and only Can can pass th ball out of the back as ell as he can. Skrtel will never be at his level. Why? because Skrtel needs to be babysat i.e needs other players like Can and you guessed it, Sahko to cover his defeciencies in order for him to be effective because when exposed, he is woeful.

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{Ed001's Note - and Skrtel has no pace, unlike Sakho.}

24 Mar 2015 05:23:04
I would have played him on the right hand side to mark Fellaini.

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24 Mar 2015 05:55:44
Nothing wrong with Sakho on the ball, just takes too long some times when there is no movement in front of him.

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24 Mar 2015 13:55:33
Haha, Tommy Tommy Tommy are u STILL upset? I come over for the banter it's a lot easier reeling in people like u on this page than others :)

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23 Mar 2015 19:01:18
Seems as reality isn't that good for lfc fans could we close our eyes and imagine Klopp and cruyff combo ! ! !

Believable1 Unbelievable1

23 Mar 2015 20:44:37
Hi Dezy, I thought you were one of BRs biggest supporters, apologies if I am wrong but I was sure you defended him most of the season, if that's true then why the change of heart?

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23 Mar 2015 23:21:52
Those wanting Klopp obviously don't have BT Sport! Dortmund's defence makes ours look like impregnable

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24 Mar 2015 07:59:15
Mcgoveb I still am a Rogers fan but i'm easing away mostly because with out top 4 he doesn't deserve a chance next season I mean taken lfc from 7th to 2nd was amazing last season but from 2nd to 5th 6th or back to 7th ??? Just isn't good enough no matter who is in charge

With the promises he made (quoted by the ed's) about CL and a PL challenge I think 4th and the F.A cup may only be enough to save his job at LFC and if we push for a D.O.F I just can't see Rogers working with one the press will have a field day all about under minding Rogers and his interviews will show to be even worse

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23 Mar 2015 18:38:51
Let's face it without a load of wonder goals recently we would be even more off the pace or out of cup. The signs have been there for a while. Can't score goals. Suarez made just about everyone look better than they were last year.

Believable9 Unbelievable4

23 Mar 2015 19:05:23
The one at Swansea will really go down in history. What a strike

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23 Mar 2015 19:31:49
Suarez was a god compared to these lot

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{Ed002's Note - A mythical creature?

23 Mar 2015 20:07:39
So wonder goals should not count? Strange comment.

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23 Mar 2015 20:40:33
Obviously they should count. I'm saying we are not creating or scoring. We have only won as many points as we have recently due to wonder strikes. Soon as they dry up which they have we draw Blackburn and loose United.

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23 Mar 2015 20:50:58
We lost a game.
And we lost a game because of the manager's tactics.
To play Sterling at wing back when he should have known that Fellaini would be pulling into that channel to win headers was naive.
Johnson or Manquillo would have been better options in my opinion.
Sterling should have been further forward targeting Blind who was toasted by Raheem in the first few minutes.
They targeted our weaknesses and we should have targeted theirs.
If a team is going to block up the centre of the pitch to deny space to Coutinho, Lallana etc then we have to have a plan b.
That should be using pace out wide and getting in behind teams who use this tactic.
We have the players to do it as well.
I honestly do not know why we sat off United.
It was bizarre.
I don't know if it was planned or because our players got stage fright but what set us apart last year was our relentlessness to win the ball back high up the pitch.
That was sadly lacking.
I still can't criticize the team too much.
Yes it was a poor day yesterday but that was on the back of a lot of very good days.
We have to bounce back.
I have heard a lot of people talking about yesterday in a similar way to Chelsea last season and what happened was that we drew the next game and the league was effectively gone.
This is a different scenario.
Our season is not over yet.
We can still get what we want but we will have to do it the hard way.
Is beating Arsenal more difficult than beating City?
Maybe but that is what we have to do.
I hope the players do not feel sorry for themselves.
We go again.
That is all we can do.

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24 Mar 2015 02:12:58
You just ticked every box imaginable. Beautiful post, Johnny! Nothing else to add.

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24 Mar 2015 05:31:25
More like the Dracula Ed002.

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24 Mar 2015 07:24:16
We beat city at home. Which at anfield would be expected!

We won't be going away to arsenal and winning. Get a grip!

It's not the fact we lost one game.

We have been playing awful for ages, couldn't score against Blackburn at home.

Swansea found us out.

We then sat off a must win game at anfield to MANCESTER UNITED and lost.

Top 4 is all but over, get off the drink!

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23 Mar 2015 18:36:38
Reading ed's conments about the Rogers backers (im one)
I agree most would like to keep him and age has a impact personaly if Klopp was a option i'd go for it other wise have some faith in Rogers like he only messed the 1st 45 minutes up and Gerrard done us in for the 2nd half

Believable1 Unbelievable0

23 Mar 2015 19:06:45
I'm in the Rodgers camp but failure to reach the top four isn't good enough should we not make it.

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23 Mar 2015 19:25:04
Rodgers is a Championship manager.

That is why Reading sacked him.

Not good enough for Liverpool.

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23 Mar 2015 19:34:16
The problem I have is his intentions for a career in Spain. What if he wins the treble for the pool? He will leave eventually, so why not sooner?

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{Ed002's Note - I am in Madrid right now - dreadful dirty city.}

23 Mar 2015 19:49:52
He didn't just mess up the first half of the United game.
He messed up the first half of the season.
I have to give him credit for the way he turned it around, really good going that.
But he's aloud the opposition to figure us out again and is already about 3 or 4 games behind on changing tactics.
Far too slow to adapt, you can't just keep singing from the same hymn sheet you have to change your tune and adapt to what's in front of you.
Anybody here could set up a winning team, it's tweaking it on a game by game basis to keep it fresh and keep the opposition unsure of what we will put in front of them that makes a good manager.
Rodgers is not a good manager, at least not yet.
I see a lot of comments like "he's still learning" and "as long as he learns his lesson" but shouldn't he be doing that at a lower league club? No disrespect but Liverpool should have a proven top class manager (coach) not be the classroom of a rookie still yet to learn the basics.
May as well stick anybody off the street on as manager and let them learn the trade on a week by week basis.
Harsh? No, truth hurts. I like Brendan a lot, met him a few times now and he's great. I just don't think he's ready for the Liverpool job. He's failed badly.

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23 Mar 2015 20:54:21
Agree with some of what you say Mickey but he has a very very good group of players that should be in the top three this season as its a very very poor league. i'm sorry to say that I belive he messed up the first few months of the season and got lucky with a change of tactics but the proof of his mediocrity is that in the last few weeks other teams have started to find our weaknesses and BR has not changed tactics to remedy this. Swansea were all over us and very unlucky and he didn't change and then Man U gave us a lesson in the first half.
In my opinion a good manager sees these things and has a plan or better still starts with a new approach to catch out the opposition, BR has none of these qualities, almost three months of his poor tactics at the start of the season before he "finds this great new formation". Problem now is that it's four games since we've been found out and he still has nothing new . De Boer for me, can't be any worst than beaten in league then followed by over 100million in new players and going for 5th.

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24 Mar 2015 02:15:07
Agree Mcgoveb! BR is on the brink ATM and needs to show what he has got or he might be out of a job come this summer.

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24 Mar 2015 04:49:57
With the financial outlay we should be getting top 4, it's really that simple for me. Rodgers has bought badly, not used his squad correctly and, by the looks of things, we will probably miss out on top 4. He has to go if that proves to be our final position.

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24 Mar 2015 05:33:18
I don't agree that he has failed badly Mickey.
I agree with almost everything else in your post though just not that.

Was it a naive appointment; Yes.
Was Rodgers too young; Maybe.
But having given him the job in my opinion he has made a decent fist of it.

Two managers have tactically out thought him blatantly.
Maureen and now Van Gaal.
Very public and very hurtful defeats for us to take.
But these are not fly by night managers, they are two of the very best managers, look at their records.

Mourinho; pains me to say it is one of the best of all time and Van Gaal's reputation and achievements are vast as well.
I think a lot of our fan base always think of Rodgers as being old when he's not he is 40 which is a baby in management terms.

Now the question is do we get rid of him or allow him to keep learning and improving here?
I don't think we need much in the transfer market this season.

Just some tweaking.
The squad is young, hungry and strong.
His style of play is good (when he employs the pressing system) although there are some negatives like a patchy transfer record and his stubbornness at the start of the season.

All of those managers who I would want we won't be able to get.
I would stick with him, limit the transfers in this season so we don't spend money we don't have (Ed002 insert comment here) and see where he takes us.
I would rather be absolutely sure he is not the man for us than get rid of him before he has had a proper chance.
But then again I am old school and would like to see every manager given 5 yrs unless they produce Hodgson like results.

I think Rodgers does a lot of things well and some things wrong and over time given his experience and youth then he should eradicate those negatives.
I think he would be a very good manager then.
There are even signs from this season that he is learning quickly in my opinion.

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{Ed001's Note - what signs are they? I am failing to see those signs myself.}

24 Mar 2015 09:16:46
the only sign i'd show BR is the EXIT one myself

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24 Mar 2015 21:13:25
Mikey, have to say that learning triumphs over knowing
The best managers in the world are learners, the problem with Rodgers was he stopped learning in my view

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24 Mar 2015 22:26:24
Well the switch to 3-4-3.
The switch from sitting off (first half of the season) to full on pressing.
Switching Can into defense.
Moving Markovic to wing back.
Bringing Ibe back from loan.
Dropping Glen:)

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23 Mar 2015 17:36:16
Hey lfc fans

So after the weekend I'm sure everyone can jump on board my bandwagon and say I told you so

No I'm not a man utd fan
My point is that I said numerous times. Liverpool can't win games when they have to win and there's a big weekly build up to the game
They always flop
They never make the same effort as a regular game
So don't expect any fa cup finals or some send off for gerrard
Because the team lacks leadership just like arsenal
Both teams can't win when it matters and when there is big pressure on them.


And deep down we all knew Rodgers would play the same way same team even though signs were all there to see since the Blackburn game or Bolton game where the lack of goals started in that formation and an isolated Sturridge

So yes be disappointed and don't let anyone say oh let's move on next game rubbish
What better incentive is there. Beat man utd and be a step closer to 4th🙈
So don't celebrate these players because they flop when it matters Everytime

Believable7 Unbelievable7

23 Mar 2015 18:03:58
I see us making Wembley tbh, also you could say the same for Chelsea and City who flopped in Europe, Arsenal won at Old Trafford in a pressure game. Better post needed me thinks.

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23 Mar 2015 18:22:03
Man city last season was a huge huge game !!!
Man city this season saints spurs were all big games

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23 Mar 2015 19:10:42
I'm not being funny mate (makes a change for me I know) but after your start I think every game has been a pressure game?

I said it a week or so ago ure a confidence based team and a few bad results or performances would bring u back down. Uve had the warning signs for weeks now, really since Bolton but more so Blackburn and Swansea.

It's the managers job to keep that going wether that be through team talks or tweeks to the set up. fortunately for us he didn't do that and pretty much has lost u a season again baring a fa cup win maybe.

U looked a lot better when down to 10 tbh maybe us taking our foot off or maybe the players fighting together and holding a very good shape.

Massive game for u in 2 weeks and hopefully a win for us which for a change this season will make your game a win win for us.

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23 Mar 2015 20:17:13
For the life of me, I don`t understand why these mancs are here to gloat over looking decent after 2 games while their team has been aweful the whole season before that. Credit to you, it was your day yesterday BUT all you won was 3 points and nothing else because you may still not make top 4 in spite of it. You have achieved nothing yet and there are still 8 games and 24 points to play for. Even if we had won, we would still not have achieved top 4 nor have the uupper hand so don`t know what you all are gloating about. We shall see who will laugh las but till then, stop the premature trash talk because you might end up w/ eggs on your faces like say it with me, Agueroooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

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23 Mar 2015 20:48:10
Lol ok mate. I was not really gloating, in fact I was only mentioning things that a lot of your fans have been saying.

I agree nothing is won yet at all, we HAVE took a massive step forward in the CL direction.

I get your upset but tbh was this much of a suprise to u? let's be honest u have previous like this such as, let's say it together "oh no Gerrard has slipped and let Ba in"

:)

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23 Mar 2015 20:59:59
We've been woeful all season yet were 5 points clear of you.

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23 Mar 2015 21:54:21
Wow.
Fellaini for player of the season.
Fickle United fans.
Not what you were saying last year was it.
We were top at this stage last year with only one game a week.
You are 4th.
Well done on your win, you deserved it.
But best to gloat at the end of the season.
The biggest slip last season was United's slip form 1st to 7th by the way.
But again congratulations on the win.

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24 Mar 2015 02:24:02
Exactly Johnny! They come on these boards after winning 3 points and NOTHING more, to gloat and try to brush their aweful season bar the last two games under the rug. Typical bandwagoners, really. You won a game. So what? Are you in the CL yet? NO! Didn`t hear you`all breathing after Arsenal took you to the wood shed w/o breaking a sweat at the Toilet two weeks ago, did we? Didn`t think so. You won a game. Kudos BUT save your gloating till the end of the season. That will save you from looking a lot less smarter than you look now.

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24 Mar 2015 12:05:00
Will your anger be gone by then will it?
Lol we had plenty of banter on our page before the game saying how u were going to put us to the sword.

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24 Mar 2015 12:29:46
If you have to resort to talking about Arsenal beating us than you really need to rethink your argument.

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23 Mar 2015 17:32:18
hey eds will Flanagan get a new contract at the club ? do you know of any approach because all the fuss about sterling is making me sick think we need to sort flanagan his future out first.

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{Ed001's Note - I fully expect him to get and sign a new deal.}

23 Mar 2015 20:11:05
We can't get the kid back quick enough IMO.

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23 Mar 2015 17:19:05
Eds wr do u think bale wil end up as he seems certain to leave now ?!

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{Ed001's Note - no idea try the Real Madrid site.}

24 Mar 2015 09:59:55
Imo Chelsea swap for micky hazard.

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23 Mar 2015 17:17:45
Eds i here sturridge and lallana both injured again now. Do you have any idea how bad and how long. we have 2 week break so hopefully be back?

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{Ed001's Note - they are both injured but not sure how long, though I believe Sturridge will be ok for the next game.}

23 Mar 2015 20:40:46
Cheers Ed, Mignolet, Lovren also should be fine you think? Lallana has 2 weeks to get fit also don't he.

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{Ed001's Note - not sure, but I would expect so. Most importantly of all, Ibe should be back as well. He adds such a huge element to the team when he plays. I just hope having him back doesn't convince Brendan to stick with the same system.}

23 Mar 2015 21:12:01
Worried about Lallana.
Hope he has a good start to next season.
There is a good player in there somewhere.
But I look at the price tag of 25 million or thereabouts and think. Arsenal got Sanchez for 30 million.
I would much rather have spent the money on Firmino.
Am I being too harsh on the lad??

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23 Mar 2015 21:13:38
agree mate. Need to get back to 442 or the diamond again with 2 up top.

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24 Mar 2015 06:24:58
Barnes

United got Di Maria for 60 Million and they got Herrera for 30 Million.

Arsenal just got a good deal

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{Ed001's Note - Herrera is an excellent player, I don't think they did badly there. Buying from Bilbao is difficult as the money is of little use to them, they are so limited in the players they can buy. So you have to pay the buyout clause to get anyone from them.}

24 Mar 2015 21:17:22
Transfer fee is not proportional to player quality

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23 Mar 2015 16:45:50
What i don't understand is we have needed a top quality strong midfielder for at least 2 seasons and a top striker as the cheap players were bought were not up to it, if we the fans can see it why can't the club? Sterling is a quick player but against big strong men he is a boy that is easily brushed aside, same as Markovic, Allen, there is only Can IMO who has the build to cope with this situation, I think we were sadly lacking in muscle in our team, maybe Milner isn't such a bad shout after all.

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23 Mar 2015 20:12:38
Milner is still a poor shout, he's going to be 30 soon and he's not getting any younger or better. Waste of a salary IMHO.

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23 Mar 2015 20:17:58
Lucas?

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23 Mar 2015 22:08:43
to dismiss my point by quoting Milners age? my point was our midfield is too lightweight and we need to sign players who won't be easily knocked off the ball and can apply themselves when necessary, he may be dangerously reaching the"too old for us" but he represents what we are lacking in midfield, and even for 2/3 years may help, remember a bit of experience (Gary MacAllister) made a big difference and helped us win, was he a wasted salary?

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23 Mar 2015 22:16:56
Oh if only Souness was under 22!!

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24 Mar 2015 04:52:47
Milner isn't good enough and lacks the technical ability required for our midfield. Emre Can is clearly good enough - how about we start playing him in midfield instead of centre back?

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23 Mar 2015 16:19:14
Surprise surprise 1 defeat and everybody is hanging BR and certain players out to dry.

We have been on a fantastic run with a young dynamic team playing good passing football, then 1 bad day at the office and all the doom and gloom merchants crawl out the woodwork to have a pop.

For people sticking the boot into Sturridge - have a look at his goal to game ratio.

For all the people laying into BR -
Where were we before he joined, 8th! We almost won the league last season, he's building a young side, so days like yesterday are going to happen. Unfortunately, he is a fantastic head coach and we should stick by him as this young team can grow into a title winning team.

The race for 4th is far from over Utd WILL drop points, and we can still win an FA cup, so chin up and stay positive.

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{Ed001's Note - it is not 1 bad day at the office, it is repeated bad days over the last few weeks that have culminated in an awful defeat. It is weeks since the team played well and yet Rodgers has stuck with the same system, just like he did at the start of the season when we were awful and he left it too long to change it. He has to be more decisive.}

23 Mar 2015 17:17:19
Spot on ed. it seems like some supporters are happy with mediocre football and basic faults in our tactics

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23 Mar 2015 17:24:54
"Surprise surprise 1 defeat" It is not 1 defeat, it is 8 defeats this season in the league. It is repeated slow starts to the season and a dubious transfer record. It is a dreadful Champions League campaign.

It is failing to see that teams will and have figured out our system and that there are games for players like Allen to play where he will be useful eg. City, Burnley, Swansea or coming on to see out games like West Ham last season and games where Lucas needs to sit in the middle. I do not like criticizing players for playing poorly unless there is a complete lack of effort. It is the managers responsibility to win with those players and get them playing well, he knows there strengths and weaknesses, it is his job to get them playing well.

I do not want Rodgers to leave, I think he is the one of the best managers in the league at improving players, he has his strengths and is still learning. But he needs a structure above him, all the world class teams have technical directors that sit above the manager.

If we just miss out on top 4 this year I and most of us will be extremely unhappy, I assume the owners will be also and if he isn't sacked he will be sitting on the knife edge come next season and he better start the bloody thing like a house on fire.

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23 Mar 2015 17:42:06
Well no surprise there ed. It took him 15 games to change his initial system, I expect a change in early September next season.

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{Ed001's Note - that is the worrying thing.}

23 Mar 2015 17:42:40
We were found out well by Southampton and Swansea.

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23 Mar 2015 20:09:01
Spot on.yesterday has been coming, shame one got injured when he did, sterling useless as wing back yesterday, Moreno just as bad.

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23 Mar 2015 20:23:14
Blackburn and Bolto as well. He needs to figure it out and fast. The alarm bells must have been rung after the Swansea game Winning doesn`t mean you don`t focus on the glaring faults in the team and Swansea did a good job of beating the system. He has got two weeks to work on the team and find a plan to fix this because if Blackburn, Utd and Swansea could figure us out then you better believe other teams will.

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23 Mar 2015 21:13:51
Good post Imred.

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23 Mar 2015 16:18:41
Loads on here are saying that they would love a dof. My biggest worry is that we get rid of Rogers and get a dof who turns out to be less than useless and a good manager gone

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23 Mar 2015 17:07:36
Brendan is hardly a good manager, more like an inept one.

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23 Mar 2015 17:21:03
So stick with something broken in case your first try to fix doesn't work out?

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23 Mar 2015 20:25:28
With that thinking, might as well crawl up a corner and die because striving for success and taking risks is no longer worth the trouble. We will do what is needed and if it doesn`t work over time, we tweak it and keep going.

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23 Mar 2015 21:20:06
Just show a bit of patience. That is all I want.
Ferguson was given it and look how that turned out.
And then contrast that with all the other teams who change their managers every other season.
Patience in managers is vital.
It is a shame that in today's football is all about now now now when it should be about building.
I sound like my grand dad now!!!

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23 Mar 2015 21:30:56
Eds fellow reds, I think the club should pull BR in and tell him they will bring a DOF in someone with good expierenced in European football to guide him over next 2 years .if he doesn't like it then tough shite . It's there club /buisness so you'll do as they want or leave .simple .there a few good managers out there that would take the offer on IMO

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23 Mar 2015 15:47:04
Hi eds, if Skrtel receives punishment for the stamp then do you think Lovren will be given another chance?
Or perhaps BR may play 4 at the back. What are your thoughts?

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{Ed001's Note - I would expect it to be either Lovren or Toure regardless of whether or not we go 4 at the back.}

23 Mar 2015 16:12:05
Isn`t Lovren injured?

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{Ed001's Note - yes, but I believe he is meant to be fit in time for the next game.}

23 Mar 2015 15:08:59
We've pretty much blown our chance of top four this season, but it is at least mathematically possible.
Utd still have to play city, chelsea and the gunners, and they could easily lose all three games.
We have to play chelsea and arsenal away, and we could win both games. Yes its very unlikely but possible.
In fact it would be typical of rodgers to find a winning tweak to his system and have us win both of those very difficult games.
Problem is that utd will likely win the rest of their games even if they lose those three, so we probably need to win every single game to overhaul them, and that is too much of a miracle for me personally to get excited about.
Brendan has great attributes in some respects and you have to give him a lot of credit for the recent great run of results, but if he is a genius in some ways, he is a badly flawed genius.

His downside is he has been incredibly stubborn in sticking with a failing system far too long. He is a very poor judge of a player and most of his buys have been average to poor, and he is a very poor judge of what positions to strengthen as a priority.
I think one day he will be a top class coach, but that won't happen until he gets rid of his deep attachment to posession-football idealogy, and learns to be truly flexible and adaptable in his tactical thinking, and consider a wider variety of tactical options.
I think its a great shame that it hasn't worked out, because he is hard working and very talented; he's not a bad guy and doesn't deserve all the personal insults and snipes. But the bottom line is that he has cost us fourth place by his awful management and stubbornness from sept to december.
And he doesn't seem able to get the squad motivated before big games either. How many times have we looked lack lustre and devoid of motivation, passion and creativity in the first half of games this year?
I am starting to doubt his ability to motivate the players.
The numerous new players bedding-in is no excuse either- Koeman also had numerous new players but he hit the ground sprinting at Southampton.
And yes our best striker forced his way out last year, but Brendan had a lot of money available, and he refused good options like Remy and Bony, and instead settled on Mario.
Watching our manager be out-thought by Van Gaal, and his players being outfought by utd, was painful, but it was just the icing on the cake.
I suspect sunday's game will turn out to have been the key 4th place decider, and I think the owners will soon call time.
The three seasons he has had might be all he gets at lfc, or all the owners feel they can risk giving him.
The irony is that if he had accepted the owners preference of a dof handling player buys- and directing him to change hus failing tactics back in september- we might be in the top four now and brendan might have been looking at a long and successful tenure at lfc.

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23 Mar 2015 15:23:46
united aren't the only team fighting for 4th spot arsenal still need to play use chelsea and us so if they lose all 3 they could be pushed out of the top 4

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23 Mar 2015 15:26:29
That's one thing I've never really understood about Rodgers. He's stated repeatedly that he doesn't want I work under a DoF type and prefers himself to manage the ins and outs yet he's also been pretty clear his ultimate ambition is to manage one of the big two in Spain. Are these two thoughts not contradictory? I have to admit to not being much of a follower of either Barca or Real, but neither club strike me as one where the manager has any sort of full control over transfers?

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{Ed001's Note - both clubs operate with a DoF in charge of transfers.}

23 Mar 2015 15:55:24
That's what I would have thought, Ed001. But then the contradiction from Rodgers makes no sense, although granted it wouldn't be the first time. Does he genuinely think Barca or Real would ever think of giving him full control? I suspect not as he can't be that foolish which makes his current stance just bizarre to me.

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{Ed001's Note - you are not the only one who struggles to understand it.}

23 Mar 2015 16:18:56
It is such contradictions that hamper his thought process which lead to him flip-flopping on issues, IMO. Anonymuch is spot on. It was always going to be an uphill battle for 4th after the start we had and it is a miracle in itself that we are still in contention. Well, we have been playing big games since Jan and even if we had won, nothing would have changed because we would still need to win the rest of our games so to me, the beat goes on. Let us keep the faith and make sure we are in position with 5 games to go and in the FA Cup final

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23 Mar 2015 17:43:16
why on earth would barca and real take BR?
What's his resume?

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{Ed001's Note - he once came second....}

23 Mar 2015 20:26:25
I guess that`s all you need to get the job then, Ed. LOL!

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23 Mar 2015 21:27:15
Harsh Ed001. ha ha.
I don't buy that United's win has sown up the top 4 spot.
I see 5 very hard games for United.
In fact every game is hard for everyone so points can and will be dropped.
United have City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
They also have Everton away, Palace away, Villa at home who are fighting for every point.
A Tony Pulis West Brom side and Hull who again are fighting for survival.
It's all if's and buts granted but to say it's all over is just plain wrong.
They have the upper hand and I ould rather be in their shoes than our shoes but football is a funny old game.
Villa could beat them this weekend.
Arsenal could get a man sent off in the first minute and we could beat them and then it's back to 2 pts.
Please god. ha ha

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{Ed001's Note - sadly it is true he has only ever come second. The closest he has ever come to winning anything is the play offs, but that means he won the Championship equivalent of Arsenal's 4th place trophy.....}

24 Mar 2015 07:02:10
Sad but true. So far.

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{Ed001's Note - fingers crossed this season will see him change that and lift the FA Cup.}

23 Mar 2015 14:45:43
Ed001, I just read you are a fan of Monchi as I am also. My question or my concerns would be Rodgers willingness to work alongside somebody like him, do you share similar concerns? Or, if you could bring a new head coach in who do you think would best fit the profile? Me personally it would be Klopp but understand that is very unlikely to happen.

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{Ed001's Note - if Rodgers was not willing to work alongside him then I would not hesitate to replace him. For me Rodgers only stays in the role because I don't see an outstanding replacement option, not because of his abilities. I mean it is keeping Rodgers in the hope he learns from the mistakes he is making and improves, rather than because of what he is doing right. So I would not be in the slightest worried about changing him for another head coach who might make mistakes learning the role and the league. If we could get Klopp, well then Rodgers would be getting his cards now if it was up to me.}

23 Mar 2015 14:57:10
I have to agree with Ed001. It seems we are keeping Rodgers in the hope he will change, despite the fact that all the evidence is that he will not. That is not a logical position, especially not for a business that seeks to make money and make a net profit.

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{Ed001's Note - I took a step back recently just to read what people said about him, mostly because people were accusing me of having personal reasons for not wanting him at the club, so I thought I would just read what his backers have to say and see if it would convince me. It does seem that most of them only back him because he is young and learning, rather than because of what he is doing now.}

23 Mar 2015 15:37:48
I worry he won’t learn, his stubbornness will be his own Achilles heel in my opinion. I hope he proves me wrong and, as you say, learn from his errors. I get the feeling and I could be wrong it’s his way or no way hence why he has surrounded himself around yes men in Pascoe and Marsh. That for me, if of course that Is the case, is very weak management. I remember Fergie bringing McClaren in because of his slightly left sided views and I believe Ball was promoted at Arsenal for the same reason. I don’t have confidence in team of people Brendan has surrounded himself with, let’s put it like this, the number 2 would or should be able to run a club if something happened to the manager, i'd have little to no faith in Pascoe to run our team. These are contributing factors to why I don’t think he will work well beside a DOF unless he has the say in who gets it which he shouldn’t and don’t think he would. In my opinion the club should have sorted the DOF first then appointed the manager, they shouldn’t have bowed to Brendans requests of ‘let me run the club’. However, do you think after the whole Comolli thing it put the owners off appointing a DOF at that particular time?

I guess, Klopp would have his pick of clubs in Europe including the big 2 in Spain should he become available, it’s a shame because I think as a coach he fits the job perfectly but again doubt he’d even consider us.

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{Ed001's Note - no, the owners still wanted a DoF but couldn't get a manager to agree to work under one.}

23 Mar 2015 16:27:20
Great to see that you have evaluated the situation perfectly, Ed. BR is on a knife`s edge with the owners and this summer will determine if he is let go or not. If Klopp/De Boer are the guys and both work w/ a DOF at their cluubs then pull the trigger. BR needs to re-evaluate himself as a coach and a man because right now IMO, he needs to change and get help (on the pitch, of course) because his persistent stubborness will only lead to sackings.

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{Ed001's Note - both work under a DoF.}

23 Mar 2015 17:35:33
Ed apart from De Boer, who do you expect to be available in terms of Managers that are of sufficient ability? I have read here before that Klopp and Simeone have clubs pining after them and they essentially have their pick and that will not be Liverpool is that right?

Bielsa doesn't speak English well so is unlikely to come (from what I've read), I can't really think of anyone else who Liverpool could go after if the owners decide to go on without Rodgers, Hecking has done well at Wolfsburg this season, my worry with him is that Maximilian Arnold and Knoche are the only two players that have come through the youth system under him as far as I can recall.

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{Ed001's Note - Simeone and Ancelotti are both out of reach but Klopp is not entirely ridiculous, he has admitted an affection for us. For me it has to be him if he can be persuaded. Bielsa doesn't speak English so won't be an option, sadly for me.}

23 Mar 2015 20:29:09
For me too Ed. He has turned OM around with using the same players that came 6th last year to challenging PSG and Lyon for the title.

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{Ed001's Note - young players as well he is good with. He did wonders to turn Sanchez and Vidal into the players they are now.}

23 Mar 2015 21:30:39
Klopp would not come though Ed.
Or would he?
Also on Rodgers, for his age how do you rate him?
I know it is hard to compare due to most managers being a bit older but interested to hear your opinion.
I think he has great potential but then you know me. ha ha
Do you think he has the potential to be an elite manager?

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{Ed001's Note - why would Klopp not come? From what I am told he is looking to move on at the end of the season, so why not at least try? He has publicly stated his liking for the club, so it has to be worth a try.

Rodgers has shown nothing as a manager to rate him at all. He has a very good young side but has no idea how to work with them. He is extremely indecisive, every change is too late, from tactical switches to subs. I am sorry but I can see why people believe he has potential but he has shown nothing to me to see a single sign of a top class manager in there at all. He is never a manager, not in any way. His handling of the club and the players has been little short of inept management wise. As a coach, one of the best in the game, as a manager he is awful. His coaching skills are covering up his deficiencies as a manager.}

24 Mar 2015 00:20:59
I find it a bit odd that Bielsa would know French and not English but hey ho. Ed do you know if Bielsa has ever expressed an interest in moving to England to manage?

I remember reading that Chelsea looked at him but that was around 2012 when he was at Bilbao, not entirely sure of the truth in that. I also find it strange for a coach so well respected among other coaches and people within football that he has yet to land himself a 'big job' not that Marseille isn't a big job but you get my meaning hopefully.

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{Ed001's Note - you do realise he is Argentinian and they don't like England there right? There is good reason for them not to be taught English at school level! Though they do have the most Welsh speakers in the world there, so maybe he could speak that?

I do know he has considered offers from England, but I don't know any more than that. There will be interest from England in him in the summer as well, so it will be interesting to see what happens.}

24 Mar 2015 02:28:13
Correct!

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24 Mar 2015 02:34:13
To add, he is also giving youth a chance at OM as well with Benjamin Mendy, Mario Lemina and Jean Baptiste Aloe. Also, watch out for the young Belgian stiker Michy Batshuayi. He is a hell of a player and is improving with every game under Bielsa

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{Ed001's Note - that is one of the reasons he was given the job, to play the youth. It is also a big part of the reason I so want him as our manager. We have a great youth academy, we just need a manager with the balls to give them their chances.}

24 Mar 2015 07:03:55
Cheers for the reply Ed. As always.

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{Ed001's Note - welcome mate. I wish I could see signs of him being a top class manager but I just can't see any. We have to change it at the top, to take more of the management away from him.}

24 Mar 2015 09:52:44
I do ed, I travelled around Argentina for a few months a few years back. Most everyone in the cities and some in the villages knew English as a second language, a bit broken sure but well enough.

I suppose things were a bit different when Bielsa would have grown up since he is a little older. You are completely right about his use of young players. Javi Martinez was 'one of his' also right?

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{Ed001's Note - very much so mate.}

23 Mar 2015 14:35:03
I'm sure I can't be the only one that is p*ssed off with Jose Enriques attitude this season.

He's constantly on twitter posting rubbish about him and his girlfriend and today, after being defeated by our biggest rivals, he's posted pictures of him and his wag chilling out in Dubai on holiday.

He couldn't give a monkeys and is raking the cash in at our club for nothing.

Hopefully he is first out the door in the summer and his wages are put to better use.

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{Ed001's Note - that is another example of poor management. Players shouldn't be going off on jaunts midseason, they have the summer for that.}

23 Mar 2015 14:45:43
He's had more days off than Santa Claus!

Shockin

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23 Mar 2015 15:51:09
Maybe he doesn't have permission but no-one noticed that he wasn't at training?

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23 Mar 2015 16:29:27
To me, he should be sacked for not playing football at all and spending his time taking selfies and on social media alone.

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23 Mar 2015 17:10:40
I would just get rid of Enrique in the summer, even if its for a free transfer. Time to get his wages of the books and one less pain the a** for the manager to deal with. The club suffers a major defeat and this guy is relaxing in Dubai. There is no need for the club to entertain such players.

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23 Mar 2015 17:22:35
But remember redohio he is very, very good at table tennis

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23 Mar 2015 17:36:28
Jose Enrique is our new club mascot and social media marketing executive has no one told you guys?

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23 Mar 2015 20:31:18
Then he is aweful at being either a mascot or social media excecutive an still needs to be sacked.

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23 Mar 2015 21:31:26
Better him in Dubai then in the team.

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24 Mar 2015 02:29:15
I return the compliment. You are on fire as well, Johnny.

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23 Mar 2015 14:24:19
Hi Eds

With the recent defeat to Man U and the fact that it is looking more and more unlikely that we are going to make the top four spot do you think Brendon Rodgers will still be the manager next season ?

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{Ed001's Note - it is looking less and less likely, but there is still a way to go yet.}

23 Mar 2015 16:30:07
Right yo are, Ed. It is not over uuntil it is ALL over.

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23 Mar 2015 14:12:58
Hii eds i have one question. earlier you said that we might be able to convince monchi for the DOF's role. but are we in anyway interested in him or considering him for the role?

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{Ed001's Note - there was certainly at least one person at the club who wanted to approach him. That is as far as I know as he is the only one I have discussed it with.}

23 Mar 2015 14:11:37
I think we could saw yesterday exactly why we are unlikely to finish in the top 4. It happened in the 56 minute of the match when one, Luis Suarez, scored a fantastic goal out of nothing and won the game for his team against one of the best teams in the world.

The said truth is that players like Suzrez are simply non-replaceable, not their goals, not their assists, not there general impact on the team. And the fact that Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern buy them all, is one of he main reason some of he PL teams are left behind in Europe (thought I think they could have done better with their squads this year). I will not be surprised if Aguero and De Gea will also follow suit sonner or later.

The top Pl teams are still able to attract the next level of players - ths likes of Hazard, Costa, Di Maria and Sanches. Unfortunately all we could attract was Baloteli, and with Sturridge injured half of the season we were pretty doomed.

The lesson for the future is that if you lose a world class player, it is better to try to make all the effort to bring someone from this second level, a Benzema and the like instead of 2-3 other good but noot good enough players. Easy to say of course - most of these player won't come without CL (and some like Sanches even with it) but you need them in order to get into the CL - this is our paradox.

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23 Mar 2015 16:34:17
I agree to a degree BUT it is not the sole reason for our "demise" at getting top 4 or even challenging for the PL in such a poor league where Chelsea is literally stumbling over the line because their rivls keep screwing up. The reasons are well-documented and we could have overcame Suuarez`s loss had BR done what we all know should have been done. Simple, really.

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23 Mar 2015 19:52:00
Not just very simple, but really really simple, as long as it is done here in the Banter site.

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23 Mar 2015 21:34:02
Sanchez would have been a great replacement for Suarez.
And to be fair he was our first choice.
Balotelli has been a nightmare.
I would rather we had signed a worldie for 40 million and not bought Balo and Lallana to be fair.

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24 Mar 2015 00:27:32
Amazingly, football is a team game, not 11 individuals, and just because you may have assembled the best group of individuals does not mean you have the best team, hence why i would take carragher over gerrard in his prime if given the choice right now.

Suarez was an amazing player who offered a lot to our team, obviously could not be replaced. However, the answer was not to cry about how he could not be replaced and balls the whole team up, it was to buy a similar player, even if of lower quality, so at least the team continued to function as normal, and allow other players to step up in suarez' absence.

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23 Mar 2015 13:58:20
I'm confused why is BR linked to top Spanish teams and the Man City managers position.

Am I missing something?

I just don't rate Rodgers at all.

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23 Mar 2015 16:13:15
And what qualifications do you posses that enables you to make that assessment.Before the Mancs game most pundits and the media were doing nothing but sing his praises

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{Ed001's Note - so pundits and media are suddenly the be all and end all are they? If you are so blind as to think their opinions are important, that is your problem.}

23 Mar 2015 16:36:20
Which Spanish teams?

As for City, he won`t be at City because a) they have a DOF which he hates and b) they want Pep or Simeone. Moral of the story? Not going to hapen with City.

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23 Mar 2015 13:38:35
Disappointing outcome in UEFA's meeting regards to technology.

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23 Mar 2015 16:37:42
What do you expect from a bunch of dinosaurs meeting on how to get out of football`s pre-historic times?

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23 Mar 2015 12:31:35
Eds,

Interesting to hear LVG's comments re DOF role offered to him at Liverpool previously but refused as he wanted a managers role.

What's good to hear is FSG are clearly ambitious in who they are looking for in this role, which if Rogers stays I feel will be put in place.

Have any of a similar stature been approached recently if this is the preferred way forward or are the club still undecided on Rogers future beyond this season if top 4 is not secured.

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{Ed001's Note - as far as I am aware, the search is still on for the right man to be DoF, Rodgers position will be decided after that, dependent on the DoF.}

23 Mar 2015 13:14:30
So if rumours r true everton have the manager we wanted and utd have the DOF we wanted up until yesterday utd weren't happy with Lvg and Roberta is living on borrowed time.

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23 Mar 2015 13:45:21
Ed001, regarding the search for the right man to be DOF, I know the search can take time, but i hope it doesn't go into next season with them still lokking for the right man. I just hope they get the correct person very soon.

Do you feel they will have found someone and installed them for the start of next season (which is all but about 5 months away)?

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{Ed001's Note - yes, I expect someone to be in place by the start of the next season. I just hope it is the right person.}

23 Mar 2015 14:24:35
Thanks for that Ed001. I know names like Monchi etc have been mentioned by other posters, but i guess whether FSG have made contact with these people is another thing altogether. Anyway, if they relace Rogers, I just hope they don't go down the Klinsman or Bruce Arena route.

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{Ed001's Note - that is my fear.}

23 Mar 2015 14:26:17
While I'm not a Rogers fan as a manager, I feel as a coach and with the correct DOF above him, hopefully with some decent European stature to help attract some proven quality, he can be the man to take us back to the elite of English & European football.

Strikes me though that if this was the structure he would fight against it and it could be negative overall, meaning a new DOF and manager would be better.

Hopefully the former though as feel this is less of a gamble and if in place by end of season would result in some positive activity around players re signing and better quality coming in.

A real pity someone like Cruyff wasn't up for it as he'd be perfect.

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23 Mar 2015 12:28:54
So do we change formation now this one has been found out?

A flat back Four with Toure and Sakho? Flanno is back soon so would have to be nailed on for Rb. Can we trust Moreno at Lb without as much attacking?

I would play Can holding with Henderson and Coutinho in the middle and a front three of Ibe, Sturridge and Sterling.

Any thoughts on what you think would work? Ed01 any thoughts?

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{Ed001's Note - we need Lucas back, he has to play. He makes a huge difference. When Flanno is fit he would stroll into either full back role, but give Can a go on the right until then and see how he gets on. Moreno might be better if he knows his role, right now he seems confused as to where to be. Just give him instructions to hold a bit longer than usual, so he doesn't just bomb forward the moment we get the ball, but waits for the right time. Otherwise he just restricts our passing options more often than he helps out.}

23 Mar 2015 12:42:56
Thanks Ed completely forgot about Lucas. Yeah Can at rb until flannon is fit. I still think Toure and Sakho would be a good pairing as both are leaders.
Hope all is well

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{Ed001's Note - I think we need Toure alongside Can to talk him through the game. Just please not Johnson or Manquillo. I know some people rate Manquillo, but he is no different from Johnson.}

23 Mar 2015 14:07:12
Toure and Sakho for me too in a flat back four. I'm still unsure on Moreno defensively and would play Flanagan there if he's fit. I remember the stick I got on here when I suggested Can be played in defence, but he's come in and done really well defensively.

Red Rum

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{Ed001's Note - I really wish Flanno was back, he is one of those lads that really deserves to succeed at the club. I agree on Moreno, but I am just as unsure on Can defensively. He simply couldn't handle Fellaini at all yesterday and has struggled the last few games. It doesn't help that he doesn't really know the role and Skrtel has absolutely no communication skills.}

23 Mar 2015 14:32:14
It just shows though doesn't it, how a 20 year old midfielder can come into the defence and make an experienced player like Skrtel look poor. Don't get me wrong I think Skrtel has been excellent in most games since he was put in the middle, but an experienced centre back like him should not need a player beside him to help him do his job.

Red Rum

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23 Mar 2015 16:44:31
On the money, Ed and Rum. If Skrtel needs others to babysit him thru games then may be it is him that needs to be dropped. Moreno needs to be coached on when to bomb forward and how to hold his water when we do/don`t have the ball. Can is not a CB and has done well when there BUT teams have figured him out which is why Fellaini was on him the whole first half. Toure should have come on much earlier for Allen and Can moved in midfield to handle him away from the defence. Lucas should play the next game vs Arsenal because we are going to need him for sure in that game if we want to have any chance of winning

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23 Mar 2015 12:07:31
Just a thought on sterling after yesterday's display. Not worth what his agent thinks he is. If we were offered upwards of 30mil I would pack his bags. Yesterday and even against besiktas he contributed absolutely nothing. these are the games your best should step up- not hide. If we got a good price we could invest in someone with more class and balls.

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{Ed001's Note - he is just a kid! It takes time for them to mature into top players. You have to accept inconsistency from them in the early days, experience is what teaches them how to step up even on a bad day. I would say he is being mismanaged if there is an issue, telling him he is tired and sending him on holidays, ridiculous things to do. No wonder the lad is struggling, he didn't need a break from the team, if players are tired then give them a day off training or take the whole squad on a mini break, but not one lad. It told him he was something special and will have caused rifts in the squad. I can't believe that anyone at the club thought a holiday midseason for Sterling was a good idea. It is about as stupid a decision as I can remember in football.}

23 Mar 2015 13:36:18
@ed001: As stupid as buying Balotelli for 16 million pounds? ;)

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{Ed001's Note - yes, that stupid!}

23 Mar 2015 13:49:20
He is just a kid, correct but he hasn't been upto the mark most of the season and his mind looks elsewhere. The issue is Rodgers stating he's the best young player in the world, the issue is he is going to be our highest earner at the age of 20. Unfortunately when you get paid the big bucks you are expected to deliver which he isn't at the moment.

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{Ed001's Note - but then he shouldn't be getting that kind of pressure heaped on his shoulders by his manager! The manager is meant to ease the pressure, not enhance it.}

23 Mar 2015 14:01:16
Its clearly bad management, the pressure he's put on Origi also before he's kicked a ball for us. Shocking.

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23 Mar 2015 16:48:09
Is it me or does BR just heap praise on himself and put pressure on the players so he won`t have to deal with the pressure on him when they struggle? RS is a kid like Origi, who are still learning the game and need to be given time to develop but if he is putting unnecessary presure on them in order to hide his own short-comings, that will only lead to more pressre on them and the shambles we have seen in the RS contract saga.

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23 Mar 2015 16:49:42
Agree with ed001 here, he's 20 and playing out of position at the moment. Get him up front with Studge, Phil just behind and we are good to go 😋

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23 Mar 2015 20:34:10
My point exactly, essex. With their movement and Couts ability to find a pass, defences will tremble.

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24 Mar 2015 05:02:02
Right wing back is clearly not the best position for Sterling to be played in either - he is often to disconnected from Sturridge and Coutinho and as a result is left isolated with the only option being trying to skill his way through 2 opposition players. Rodgers is using him badly on the pitch - off the pitch it is just farcical.

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23 Mar 2015 10:56:37
Last year we beat city and looked nailed on for the title city had I think 5 point cap to claw back which they did now it's r turn to get back in the top 4 to do this we really need a win at arsenal c"mon you reds.Y.N.W.A 96.

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23 Mar 2015 12:16:28
City had 2 games in hand in which to make up those 5. We don't.

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23 Mar 2015 13:16:59
Swishcleaner I know that but imo utd r no big shacks a long the line I think they will drop more points than us but will it be enough only God knows.

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23 Mar 2015 13:39:47
I must admit they are a shocking side this year and I'm embarrassed that they managed to beat us twice because of basic tactics. They are the worst team I've seen in the top 10 and it baffles me how they've picked up points. We didn't change tactics or adapt to theirs and it cost us. Annoying as we saw this against Blackburn and Swansea- LVG just had to follow that blue print with better players to beat us. Hopefully you're right Tommy and arsenal, city and chelsea will give them the spanking they've been crying out for all season.

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23 Mar 2015 15:35:21
swishcleaner - this is the funniest post I've seen since joining this site.

utter clueless my friend, love the fact your so bitter at getting turned over, outplayed, out thinked and outclassed in every department.

and you must not know the top 10 to be making a comment like that

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23 Mar 2015 16:59:13
Hey rag, didn`t see you post your drivel on here all last year and till 2 games ago when you were the butt of all the jokes in the footballing world. Now you have got a mouth on you. If you said nothing then, say nothing now. Worse, even your clueless manager had to come to the press and defend his long ball dross and looked like a complete wreckjob and lunatic while doing it. You have been aweful since Moyes all the way to the Spurs game and because you won a game where you played decent and we made tactical mistakes, you now think you are a genius. Memo to all rags: You have won the battle BUT not the war. We have a chance at silverware and at top4 while you will defo finish potless this year. There are 24 points to play for and if you get top 4, kudos to you. You are still aweful to watch and all you did was hoof it to Fellaini and see what happens. We shall see who will be laughing last. Till then, save your trash talking until season`s end.

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23 Mar 2015 21:04:28
Spb, United have had 2 good games all season. Most teams in the top 10 have mustered more than that. Being outplayed, out classed and out thought is slightly easier to do when you know how we're going to play and we're down to 10 men. All that being out played still only yielded 6 efforts on goal in total against 10 men for 45 mins. We were bad but that doesn't make man utd good.

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23 Mar 2015 10:54:53
Stirling through the middle. Probably fastest PL player would hurt any defence. I'm totally bemused. It was united's day, game over, time to move on and look at our mistakes, positives etc.
Will definitely need a commanding center half to rule the long ball.

Fellaini? come on, guys. He is all huff and puff and foul.

p.s. come back Lucas

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23 Mar 2015 13:35:18
Phil
Jagielka is the fastest in prem

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23 Mar 2015 10:54:41
hi eds
i want to ask if you think appointing rafa benitez with a DOF will be a good move
for me i think he is way better than what we have now
keep up the good work

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{Ed001's Note - no.}

23 Mar 2015 20:37:18
That question has been asked several times and the answer has always been in the negative and long may that response continue.

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23 Mar 2015 10:30:30
Morning Eds and readers. Question for ED001 if possible?

Much has been said this last couple of weeks about Rodgers tactical inefficiencies and his seeming inability to adapt/learn. My question is thus: of the available coaches in europe who may be interested can you suggest anyone better?

I am not a fan of Rafa but he is tactically astute (just don't give him control of finances), would you take him back?

Nevada

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{Ed001's Note - no, he is not doing well with Napoli, he ruined Inter, he is just not as good as the 2005 final made us all hope.}

23 Mar 2015 11:21:52
Is there anyone available who you would take ed?

Obviously there are dream appointments (I assume yours would be Bielsa, Myself I like Conte having watched his teams and met him too.) but dream appointment aren't going to happen.

Or would you persevere with Rogers?

Nevada

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{Ed001's Note - I am still not sure. I really think it comes down to getting the right DoF and working from there.}

23 Mar 2015 11:42:39
I would choose De Boer as coach out of all the realistic options. Seems a solid coach, and works well with youngsters. It's the d.o.f position that worries me most. I don't see any out there that are suitable.
What's eds opinions on the dof? I know you've mentioned Cruyff, but that was in the same breathe as never going to happen.

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{Ed001's Note - I would go all out for Monchi I think now. He has been let down by Barca so should be attainable.}

23 Mar 2015 13:41:56
Didn't Ed002 say something about how our chances of getting Monchi was very low due to the screwing around during the signing of Moreno?

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{Ed001's Note - yes, but that was before Barca messed him around, now he is looking for a way to move on and we might be able to convince him.}

23 Mar 2015 20:39:40
If he is the guy then have the owners need to go get him. His success with Sevilla is clear for all to see. If the owners want Bruce Arena and/or Klinsman "the Dictator" then we are in trouble.

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{Ed001's Note - good thing is Klinsmann is not interested in leaving California.}

24 Mar 2015 02:36:34
Phew! That was close, Ed.

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{Ed001's Note - Villa made him an offer, he made it very clear that he did not want to return to England so it was a big relief. I was worried he would have a stormer with them and get the job with us in the summer!}

23 Mar 2015 10:26:33
I've just read a few reviews on t'internet of the game, especially focussing on player ratings.

Sad to see that Stevie, in his final game against United, has probably scored his lowest ever game rating.

The various reports I read (including nationals, broadsheet and taboid, and football websites) had him at (respectively) 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 2

Average of

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23 Mar 2015 13:33:22
tbh
I'd be well chuffed if I scored a rating of 2 after less than a minute.

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23 Mar 2015 13:43:09
2? what did he do to deserve that?

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23 Mar 2015 20:04:33
I'd give him an 8 just for that thumping tackle before he stamped on Herrera.

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23 Mar 2015 20:40:35
Wht is the number that is less than 0?

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23 Mar 2015 10:19:42
How about a bit of a tactical discussion?

I noticed a few times we tried to press utd players in our right midfield but they played out of the press very well, or played the ball straight out to the opposite flank very quickly- in fact I think one of their goals came that route.
For a team that specialises in pressing, it was disappointing that our pressing was quite easily neutralised by their quick passing.
And on the other hand, we really struggled at our game as we lost the ball repeatedly under their pressing.
That was a very disappointing aspect of the performance for me, as well as many players just looking as hungry as utd did in the first half.
Ed001, did you think we were outplayed in terms of pressing?

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{Ed001's Note - very much so, we didn't press with any conviction, it was half-hearted, lazy even and made it too easy for United to just pop the ball away.}

23 Mar 2015 20:48:40
Did we press at all because I defo did not see it. Why BR let the team drop off knowing that Utd are a hoofball team is beyond me. That is not a mistake. It is uunforgiveable at this level. Carrick was the guy we needed to press because he is the launch pad and regulator of all they do. We seemed to drop off and when we had the ball, they pressed us so much that Lallana, Sterling Coutinho spent more time defending to the point that we did not even smell their penalty area until the Lallana chance which would hav changed the game had he scored. We pressed the hell out of City and we then dropped off and allowed Utd to dictate the game with 67% possession which is what you get if the other team drops off. BR allowed himself to be schooled again the cueless LVG like he did in the first game at OT instead of just sticking to what works at least most of the time. anothe "BR is not learning" moment, IMO.

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23 Mar 2015 21:35:54
We did what I call a non press that looks like a press so you don't get subbed off kind of press.

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24 Mar 2015 02:37:34
That is worse than not pressing at all.

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23 Mar 2015 10:18:35
Did anyone else think how apt it was to have Pele watching yesterday, given how impotent our performance was?

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23 Mar 2015 15:09:23
Take more than a blue pill to sort out yesterday's lack of thrust and firmness. And as for staying power.

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23 Mar 2015 10:03:15
Ok. My take on yesterdays game.

Bitterly disappointing. That 1st half was embarrassing - completely outplayed. It was painful to watch. It was one of those games where I thought "We've been found out". It's been happening for a few weeks but yesterday highlighted it massively that teams have tweaked onto this system, something has to change.

The long ball to Felliani was expected, it should have been addressed earlier but the most disappointing thing for me was the fact that a few simple movements allowed them to retain the ball time and time again. It reminded me of us in Europe, tactically naive and a little all over the place.

The next game is massive. Make or break really for the season. I'll be interested to see what Rodgers does. He takes the blame for yesterday IMO, tactically outdone, but in fairness, we've ammassed a huge number of points prior to yesterday so I'm not surprised we didn't change.

Very disappointing. International break too. urggh.

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23 Mar 2015 09:39:35
Well, it was men against boys at Anfield yesterday.

I thought Utd were excellent - but.

. this is the second game in a row now in which the team looked tired, flat on their feet and last to the ball in the first half.

I'm not even sure it's fatigue as we came out in both second halves looking a little bit hungrier.

Maybe it's complacency but that is down to the Captain to give them a kick up the cheeks.

Anyway, what yesterday showed to me is that in the very big important games, we lack just a tad of the experience that drives a team to a win. This will all come in the end, of course, but when it does matter (and it certainly does against Utd), we fell that little bit short. Allen looked very intimidated by the occasion and it reflected in his performance.

Why was we pulling out of every challenge?

I'll never defend a stamp, but I'll defend Stevie when he has to endure that performance in the first half, so, in his defence, you can appreciate how frustrated he must have been.

Re-group and let's just get on with it.

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23 Mar 2015 13:38:25
I completely agree and after Swansea game where we were unbelievably lucky after first half I stated to mates we looked dead on our feet.
The justification for having multiple buys in the summer was to rotate players and keep them fresh - you can play a high pressing game when people aren't up to 100% fitness and you end up pressing half a yard too slow and get played around
it was also highlighted by Carragher and Neville that in Swansea game changing to a diamond suited as it allowed the gaps between our back 3 and midfield to be closed off - yesterday time and again Mata and Rooney drifted off out back three into the hole and picked up possession - Hendo and Allen looks to close the ball and have little regard for what's around them - you can get away with it against lesser opposition hut good teams will pick you off.

For me Ref did nothing wrong - we didn't perform - end of.

Weak characters look to blame others.

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23 Mar 2015 09:36:42
Sometimes it's not the fact you lose it's the way you lose and we were beaten by a poor team yesterday. One directional football and we couldn't deal with it, Sakho and Coutinho were the only players to show intent and Steven Gerrard showed more in 45 seconds than Hendo or Allen did all game. Felt for Coutinho massively, would do really well to creat space but taking a player only for Sterling to lose it by messing up a easy ball. Also, there were so many times where Coutinho had no runners ahead of him, Sterling at Sturridge should be busting a gut to join in the attack which yet again they rarely did leaving Coutinho with nobody to feed. We shouldn't have to rely and Stevie to change the game, other players simply didn't step up to the plate. One of the things I noticed was the lack of leadership on the pitch, lots of young faces but nobody shouting the orders and organising the team which I fully expected Hendo to do. Another thing which baffled me, why we looked as if we had the weight of the world on our shoulders? They looked petrified and it was men against boys in the end. Like I say, I didn't rate United either yesterday and the style of football was crap but we were worse which says a great deal, kind of reminded me of the first half against Swansea. I can't sit here and wholeheartedly blame the referee like some others are, not into that to be honest, the man who I point the finger at is Rodgers and he should be the one apologising after the game not Steven Gerrard. I give Rodgers credit when things are going right but ultimately he has to accept the criticism when things go wrong.

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23 Mar 2015 12:28:25
Agree with that, couthino was really bright early on ( the only one) he looked up for it but there was hardly a good outlet for the ball, when there was one it was wasted time and again with a lame rushed pass.

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23 Mar 2015 13:24:18
Agree 100% AA. Sakho for me was excellent on the ball. He was calm and assured and opted to move the ball forward through tricky situations rather than the easy option back to Migs. Steven Gerrard did more to lift morale in one tackle than the rest did in the first half. Sadly the second tackle ended his game. He must have been gutted watching such an inept performance. Ed001 said earlier that we are missing Lucas. In my opinion Lucas should have his contract extended and be made captain after Stevie G departs.

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23 Mar 2015 09:14:08
Question for Ed01, would like to know your thoughts over a tactical situation
We start our play from back from GK to CB, what i don't understand is y none of our midfielders come close to CB in possession and help him get the ball out quick, like a triangle formation, so that quick 1-2's and you move your ball ahead, i rarely see henderson doing that or allen, lucas use to do a little bit or Gerrard. Now our midfielders hate to take the ball from defenders n take it forward which results in either our defenders get pressed by opposition player or they play a aimless long ball in that case we end up loosing our possesion and lastly ed, where is our quick 1-2's between our forward players i see none now a days. What happened to us yesterday in the Manu game, same thing happened to us last game against Swansea, where we got lucky, because they were not as clinical as Manu, but with bigger games to come like Arsenal, Chelsea, it will result into a disaster, would like your opinion on this situation.

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{Ed001's Note - our midfield seem to go to sleep when the defenders have the ball lately, maybe they are just expecting it to get passed along the backline for the next ten min so no point in making an angle?

As for the forwards, well everyone is so deep that a forward gets it and has to wait for support, there is no one to play a quick one two with. We have usually lost the ball or played it backwards by the time support has arrived.}

23 Mar 2015 11:24:54
So ed what u suggest to rectify such tactical error and honestly hendo and allen in the middle of the park is not working at all and i totally agree with u regarding the forwards failing to make a quick play as they are playing so deep, so wouldn't u agree that even this is down to poor midfield play ed, and finally what would u say if we play toure/lovern at RCB and Can& lucas in the mid

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{Ed001's Note - first off we need to go back to four at the back. Then we need to drop Allen, he is not mobile, clever, or good enough for the role he is being asked to fulfil. Having Lucas in will make us more solid and he offers the angles to receive the pass. The defenders need to then be instructed to only pass around at the back when there is no other option, it should not be the default pass, it should be the last resort pass. If you want to play keep ball, do it in midfield, where you have cover behind and it is far enough forward to threaten the opponent and force their players to move to try and get at the ball, which may create gaps. For me I would like to see Toure given a chance alongside Sakho, he has experience, decent on the ball and has more pace than Lovren.}

23 Mar 2015 12:01:35
Ed001, do you think Skrtel is a main reason for our midfielders dropping deep because of his poor passing ability?
If teams are more inclined to press Sakho but especially Can with their passing range, Skrtel has a lot of time on the ball in which really, he does nothing with. Thus our midfielders drop deep to try and make a simple outball. Yesterday, they were guilty of not providing good angles like you said - a part of an all-round lethargic performance - but if Moreno is too far up the pitch when he plays as he often is, then our options for moving up the pitch become quickly limited.
Is this close to part of our problems Ed, or is my naivety showing?

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{Ed001's Note - it is one part of the problem defo. Can can play out from the back, Sakho can play out from the back, Skrtel just can't. He has shown signs of being able to in fits and spurts, so clearly it is his mentality stopping him, same as it is that which makes him constantly drop too deep as soon as we lose the ball. For me, he is mentally weak, he looks hard, he pulls and pushes and fouls (and now stamps) but he is not tough. He doesn't have the strength of character to get over his natural instincts and change his game and it has meant we have had to keep changing the whole shape of the team to suit him. While you have to do that to a degree with any player to get the best out of them, you shouldn't need to change everything to shoehorn him in, especially as he is simply not that good in the first place to be worth shoehorning in.}

23 Mar 2015 12:09:25
Ed, do you get the feeling that Brendan has stumbled on a formation that suits our players and is basically wringing the life out of it until he finds another.

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{Ed001's Note - no, he has tinkered with a back 3 a number of times. He just wants to flood the midfield and so tried it again when things were going bad. I just hope he has the sense to realise it is not a permanent solution.}

23 Mar 2015 12:20:28
What role would you see Can play if we back to a back four? Bench see if he can play with we either hendo or lucas, or if needed all 3 in the midfield?

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{Ed001's Note - right now he would have to be right back, as the only available options seem to be Johnson (please God no!!!), Manquillo (Johnson-lite) or Sterling. So Can suddenly becomes the best option for there, with that allowing us the flexibility to go to a 3 at the back when we want to during games. Hendo, Couts and Lucas would be the midfield 3 for me. It would have to be 3 because Couts is wasted out wide and we don't have anyone to play alongside Sturridge anyway.}

23 Mar 2015 07:55:46
It is tradition for me to do 2 things after a Liverpool defeat.
1. Dust off the champ manager.
2. Moan about the ref.

That ref was shabbite.
He did not cost us the game, definitely not.
But it won't stop me from slating him.
He books Allen for nothing in that first half and then warns Fellaini after his 4th foul.
He then went on to commit another 6 fouls. 6 Fouls?
Jones was not booked for nearly decapitating Lallana and his booking later on Hendo would have seen him depart.
I just don't get how you can book a player for his first foul and then warn the opposition player after his 4th foul???
What is that all about.
Can someone explain the consistency in that officiating.
That is my ref rant over.
I know he did not cost us the game but why break the habit of a lifetime.
As for Champ manager. I have the 2010 version when Hicks and Gillette where there. You get about 20 packets of crisps and double decker for your transfer kitty.
Did anyone have that version.
Hard.
Gerrard is still good though. sobs.

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23 Mar 2015 08:23:58
Sorry Jonnybarnes, you can moan about the referee all you like but Brendan was simply out managed and out thought by a far more experienced and astute manager again. That's why we lost yesterday and its been coming for a while. Teams have worked out how to play against us now and Brendan is too dumb and ignorant to see it.

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23 Mar 2015 08:26:19
The standard of officiating in PL has been nothing short of shocking for a while and it is astounding how it got worse this year again.

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23 Mar 2015 08:31:51
Think it was pretty even as skyrtel never got red, and we never got a pen when mingolet clearly pushes Herrera over at a corner.

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{Ed001's Note - I would agree with that, I didn't think the ref did too badly personally, he just wasn't perfect, but he is human.}

23 Mar 2015 08:47:09
It was tongue in cheek Brisbane.
I am not seriously blaming the ref.
Just having a laugh.

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23 Mar 2015 08:49:57
As for being out thought by a more experienced manager.
That is the first time it has happened in 14 games.
Pellegrini, Pochettino, Pardew and Koeman have been out thought by Rodgers recently so I don't see your point.
As long as he learns from it then we will be ok.

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23 Mar 2015 09:05:52
Totally Agree AG.
I was going to post the same this morning after the dust had settled.
The standard across the premiere league this year has been very poor.
Do any of yous think video ref would of improved the decisions made yesterday?
There where bad decisions against both sides.

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23 Mar 2015 09:21:30
You need to get the new football manager mate. I won the league with Liverpool. It's so unrealistic

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23 Mar 2015 09:28:11
Will be interesting to see if Brendan changes the system again after it's obvious he's been found out with this one, or wil he stick with it until the team Is in a shambles again.
I fear the latter as Brendan is far too slow as a manager to change tactics, however I hope he has learnt his lesson and changes to the diamond or something.
He needs to get Lucas back into the team and get Can out of defence as he's been found out now.

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23 Mar 2015 09:44:54
BrisbaneLfc, you're wrong there.

Brendan stuck to a tactic that had worked.

It wasn't his tactics that failed him, it was the performance of the players in the first half.

It's like the old saying, don't change a winning team etc.

You can throw in the old horses for causes thing, but the manager did try and change things when it wasn't working.

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23 Mar 2015 10:03:31
Im with you jonny

I thought when a ref points out you've made 4 or 5 dodgy tackles, that he is meant to book you.

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23 Mar 2015 13:06:41
"Found out" "Found out" "found out" claptrap.

What do you mean "Found out"?

We've looked jaded last few games. We were lucky Monday.

You cannot keep playing the same way against different opposition.

Different teams require different tactics.

NO ONE has been "Found out"

Not Rodger's, Not Can, Not Henderson, Not no one!!!

We have just had a fantastic run of games, We lose one and you all come on here and bleat like school kids.

vrcomp
Y.N.W.A.

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23 Mar 2015 07:48:47
Think yesterday showed we lack top quality in midfield we need a top class midfielder and striker

Also I think the PL's quality has gotten quite embarrassing regardless of the players as when players arrive they get worse from been at top class sides coaches need to take the blame for this

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23 Mar 2015 08:03:02
Not sure about players getting worse as some improved a lot since joining (Hazard for example) but said the same yesterday after watching El Classico. Fair enough there is a lot of acting in it but the overall quality difference is clear as day!

Thing main reason english teams appeared to not be able to defend in Europe this season is down to ball retention. Look yesterday how many chances United were gifted by people losing possession with a poor touch or sloppy pass. It's shocking! The top European teams would demolish the top english sides as has happened all season, worse was even though bayern loses the game the outplayed city for an hour with 10 men on the pitch!

Don't get me wrong love the BPL but would like to see an improvement in technical ability as it is seriously lacking and think this spreads to the national team

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23 Mar 2015 09:37:12
If we won utd fans on these type of forums would be calling for his head and Rodgers the new up and coming coach going to do big things, it was 1 game everyone needs to take a look at the results we have had since the new year and ask yourself did we expect to get near top 4 we r not out of it yet no way.

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23 Mar 2015 07:37:39
Anyone else think sterling won't sign unless we get CL football and who could blame him its a valid reason

Also first half we were bad yesterday but with 11 men we easily could have won in the 2nd half plain and simple it was Gerrard fault as may teams play bad in the 1st half and won the game in the 2nd no point in lying over analysing it as a bad 1st half and a stupid Gerrard cost us the game

Now as fans all we can do is hope we beat arsenal and hope United slip up soon bang back to 1 piont difference

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{Ed001's Note - come on, you can't blame Gerrard for that, we weren't winning and his sending off cost us 3 points! He came on to rescue us and didn't succeed, but he is not at fault for our defeat. Quite simply we should not have been in the position to need rescuing in the first place. Gerrard was merely a contributing factor which has allowed Rodgers to once again escape the blame he rightly deserves for shambolic management yesterday. He was outthought by a dinosaur! Embarrassing.}

23 Mar 2015 08:21:35
Ed. Gerrard did cost us the chance to win the game after halftime.
He can't be blamed for that 1st half and Rodgers for me takes 90% of the blame but Gerrard has to take his 5% share of it.
Imagine if that was Balotelli or Sterling who got sent off.
Or Glen Johnson??
On the subject of Glen. I know he is not the best but surely he is a better option than Sterling or Lallana at wing back, and he can head a ball well??
I think that would have been a good option for dealing with Fellaini from the start.

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{Ed001's Note - yes he messed up, but that doesn't mean the loss is his fault. He should never have been brought on. Rodgers had still not made any move to counter the ball to Fellaini, so things were not going to change with Gerrard on.}

23 Mar 2015 09:28:31
Gerrards sending off was a factor in the terms that it made it more difficult to rescue something from the game, but the Ed's correct in saying that you can't blame him for the defeat. Break the halves up 0-1 1st 1-1 2nd. We have been sussed on how to play against us. The Swansea game should have given BR the warning, Gary Neville told everyone on Monday night that Gary Monk had showed teams how to play against us. Brendan needs to tweek it again. It's pointless playing with wing backs if your back 3 are deep and trying to pass their way out. Utd worked harder than we did and deserved the win.

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23 Mar 2015 09:54:33
I agree with Ed001.

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23 Mar 2015 10:04:54
if we could get 50mil for sterling then I would take the money and run.

sterling is all about speed, ibe for me has the greater potential of the 2.

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23 Mar 2015 10:21:10
Sertainly gerrard didn't loose us the game, because he was not playing, but he did cost us any change of putting up a fight. Also the way Balo played it was like 9 players on the pitch.

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23 Mar 2015 10:40:14
spot on ed001.

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23 Mar 2015 07:24:15
Morning eds and reds.
I was chatting to a mate of mine before the game and the word I used was "swarm"
I wanted us to swarm all over them, not give them any space or time on the ball.
I wanted to suffocate the life out of them.
So it was clear from the first 10 mins that we were going to be losing this game.
The intensity just was not there in any way.
I am upset that Fellaini was a battering ram last week and we obviously did not watch the video.
So basic that tactic. but we could not deal with it.
I think we have a real problem with this system with our full backs.
Moreno did not cover himself in glory yesterday and we keep putting square pegs in round holes on the other side in Sterling, Lallana and Markovic.
I think this experiment with Sterling has to end at full back.
The reason he was playing there was to accommodate Lallana but he is not up to the job at the moment.
Sterling is far more of a threat than Lallana at the moment.
Gerrard. Feel for you but utter stupidity.
I don't want to remember him like that so I won't.
Where does this leave the top 4 chances.
In tatters?
Sort of, I think we need to win at Arsenal.
It is that simple.
A 3 pts return from Utd and Arsenal still keeps us in the hunt as far as I am concerned.
My disappointment comes from the fcat that United are not that good but they have beaten us twice this year.
I put the first loss down to bad finishing and confidence.
The second loss is down to the manager and the captain.
Still let's not throw the baby out with the bath water, it is a hard one to take but that is our first defeat in 14 games.
It is how we respond now that matters.
Good teams respond to defeats like this by going on another run.
That is what we need to do.

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23 Mar 2015 07:10:45
It was always going to be difficult to remain unbeaten for the year. We played poorly and deserved to lose. Let's enjoy the break and I trust that Arsenal will have lotsa injuries this week so we SHOULD beat them.

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22 Mar 2015 20:43:38
Ed001, I've heard u and couple of others say that Rodgers is not a good manager but actually a good coach
And I have also heard that Rodgers is not capable of changing tactics on an as-needed basis, for instance, today with fellaini causing problems and also our own problems attack-wise
Um not sure i understand the nuances but can u brief me on what Rodgers would be doing, his responsibilities, in case he was just the head coach with a dof above him
Aren't tactical changes during games his responsibility and not the dof's
If that's the case, is he really a good coach?

My opinion is that he's capable of getting players play his way, getting the best out of players and also building good team spirit. I found our team playing better after half time on many occasions, which leads me to think he's capable of identifying and correcting the way we play
But honestly, i don't even know if he's good for Liverpool or not, but I will back him till he's here

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{Ed001's Note - I understand what you mean, but by good coach, I mean good coach, not good head coach. I mean he is good at improving players' technical ability on the ball, not that he is a tactical expert, which he clearly is not.

There is a real problem with him waiting too long to make changes, but I am hoping he will learn to change that, given the chance. I mean at one time he would never change the tactics until he made subs, so he has already moved up to making the changes at half time.

Unfortunately he is entirely reactive in all his tactics. There is never any pro-active changes. Like yesterday, it had been clear for weeks that the back 3 system had been worked out and needed to be changed. He stuck with it and stuck with it, kept picking up results but it was clear that changes were needed if we were to continue to do so, yet he failed to make those changes.

It is counterintuitive to change a winning team, but the great managers do that. Paisley used to tweak his tactics for every game. Every game. People labour under this belief that he used to set up the team the same each week and let the opposition worry about us. It is simply not true.

Rodgers has set out the team exactly the same each game and eventually, no matter what system you use, people work out how to get the better of it. You have to be ready to tweak it as soon as you see an issue. When De Gea has hit the first ball to Fellaini to win easily against Can, he should have begun to think how he could tweak it to stop that happening.

By the second time he should have had an idea in his head, by the 3rd time it should have been communicated to the players and the tweaks made. Instead it waits until half time and that is too late. You can't win a league only playing 45 minutes out of every 90.}

23 Mar 2015 07:07:58
Great shout that Ed.
He has moved Skertl before from inside to out to deal with a more physical threat in a previous game.
Don't know why he did not yesterday.

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{Ed001's Note - I was shocked, it looked so obvious. When you play a back 3 you have a spare man, why not use that spare man to man mark Fellaini if need be? It is not ideal, but sometimes you have to do these things to get a result when you don't have the physical attributes to cope.}

23 Mar 2015 07:28:39
Basic is the word I would use.
Either sit a man in front and behind him or like you say man mark him with Skertl.
I have seen Sunday league teams cope with that tactic better than we did.
Listen I still like the manager but he deserves criticism for yesterday without doubt.

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{Ed001's Note - I agree, it was hard to take because it was so basic it should have been one of the first lessons learnt in management. You can't tell me he didn't get teams doing that in the Championship.}

23 Mar 2015 07:47:34
Agree with that.
Van Gaal really is old school.
Allardyce was right. Long Ball.
But you can't criticize. The tactic works and it completely nullified us in that first half.

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{Ed001's Note - you can't criticise Van Gaal for it, but you can Rodgers for not dealing with it. It is not like it came out of nowhere, we should have known this was going to happen, Allardyce pointed it out weeks ago. If Allardyce can see it, then anybody should be able to!}

23 Mar 2015 07:59:08
Never mind Allardyce. If I can see it then everyone can see it.
On another note if you type Allardyce and then try and change the word in the options section (right click) the only other option is Mallard.
Allardyce is a duck. made me laugh.

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{Ed001's Note - is that duck with an F?}

23 Mar 2015 09:11:53
The commentator even mentioned that after the second time, suggested we switch skrtl to have more aggression going in against Fellianii. Another thing which annoyed me was the set plays, most went straight to Felliaini. Firstly you would have thought we would have worked on some in training and secondl at the very least we should be doing is ensuring it beats him on the near post.

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{Ed001's Note - why on earth is Hendo always marking the biggest man anyway? What is that idiocy? Put your best header against him, not Henderson!}

23 Mar 2015 13:07:37
There is never an excuse for Sakho not to make the biggest man - he will outfight him and get to the ball first. It might go to an utterly random direction, but the big man won't get it

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23 Mar 2015 01:10:53
Sturridge is struggling, he needs a partner. He doesn't press enough as a lone striker, similar to balotelli in that sense.
Poor performance all round today. He's no right wing back and he's no striker.

Moreno was awful, to blame for both goals. Mata can't handle a physical battle so that should of been the tactic.

Taking recent form in mind, looks like we might just slip further away from top 4 in coming games.

If we don't make top 4, Brendan Rodgers should be sacked immediately giving the new guy time with squad. I'm sick of forwards and midfielders playing in defence. Next he'll want mignolet up front and Allen in goal.

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23 Mar 2015 00:57:11
Coming away from the game thinking Absolutely terrible performance but tbh I seen this coming. Even though the sports (expert) pundits all backed us throughout the week, After watching the Blackburn and Swansea games we was always going to be rolled over in this fixture vs United on the back of the Spurs win. No top 4 for me, too little too late IMO. Reality check for this team and Brendan! Sturridge needs benching might aswel have had a season off, Lallana has been shocking since day one and doesn't have the 'young' excuse, the wingbacks we're awful again expecially Moreno he can't pass to save his life lost count how many times he have it away in the first 15, Henderson Coutinho Allen our 'in form' players were dreadful. Jordan Ibe is our best makeshift wingback,, Sterling is wasted out wide in a back 5! Another massive cock up from Gerrard again it's becoming a regular thing since even before the slip. Arsenal away next? Not worth the travel Can only see a loss. Momentum went 3/4 weeks ago vs Burnley when we changed it and went with Sturridge upfront

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23 Mar 2015 01:25:57
I've been saying for weeks, sturridge has walked back into the team. Not playing very well, playing like balotelli to be honest, but BR just keeps picking him.
Sturridge and sterling both need to be played as impact players, they've been terrible for a while now. Brendan, enjoy your last few games. Your fired

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23 Mar 2015 01:30:04
Unbeaten from December to march isn't terrible. lallana was one of the better ones he tried his hardest, just nothing came off. International break, clear our heads, and do the best we can to put pressure on the top 4. 11 games hopefully left, if we don't reach the fa cup final, rodgers should go before the seasons up in the my opinion, give the manager a few games to settle before next season of possible.

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23 Mar 2015 08:58:43
Can't agree on Lallana.
Did he do enough to justify shunting Sterling out of the top 3?
Not for me.
With Sterling in the top 3 he automatically worries the defense with his pace.
That gives Coutinho and Sturridge more room to operate.
I hope Lallana comes good but for 20 odd million he is starting to look like an average player for that money.
Look at his miss.
My Ma could have scored that.

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22 Mar 2015 23:32:11
i can see the frustration after today's result. but may i make some points, it's not sterling fault for not signing a contract or his wages etc. nor lucas' absence or gerrard's mindlessness and such like. we weren't good enough today, from the off. united deserved to win today, perhaps by a bigger margin. there are big games left for both teams. fingers crossed we pick up.

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22 Mar 2015 23:47:19
Just noticed something

Today we swapped roles with ManU, they played like us and we played like how they've been playing.

Too many unforced errors on everyone's part.

P.S. Well done, Mignolet, your critics should be eating the proverbial now.

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23 Mar 2015 04:07:59
Well done Mignolet? What has he proved that we didn't already know about him? Poor distribution, poor decision making, nervy, good shot stopper. Nothing new there.

Red Rum

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22 Mar 2015 23:33:58
Very disappointed of a few things:

Last time we had so many chances against ManU was with Stirling using his pace into the them from the cetre and not the wing.
Why didn't the management see this? I am sure they did and thought otherwise, and I'm sure they know better, but still.
Stevie G !!!? Man, you've already said all about it.

We made Fellaini look good and that's the first time we have done that.
Sturridge on his own does not work. Sterling with him up front?!

Season's not over by a long shot!
Keep the faith. YNWA

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23 Mar 2015 01:32:01
Think he should have played lovren, to challenge Felaini more, maybe can cm. Allen was bullied

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