Liverpool Banter Archive October 26 2014

26 Oct 2014 21:13:57
what managers would we get to replace rodgers? Rafa?
Would the owners even consider the sacking because they like to give the manager time.

{Ed002's Note - The owners want success. The manager is a transient employee who can help facilitate that or move on - look at the Red Sox model.}

Which manager, out of Hodgson and Kenny was given time?

26 Oct 2014 23:29:35
Rafa? I can't imagine a worse decision to be honest.

I like to think that since the owners have come in they have made a few mistakes but they have made sure they've learnt from them.

I personally think the owners have done exactly what they said they would so far, the have financially backed the club, team and manager. I know there are some conspiracy theorists out there, but I can't comment on that myself as I have no opinion on them.

We need BR to be more flexible in his tactics or go, enough of his stubborn ways, be adaptable. It is still a team effort and he needs to listen to others more - and not that Pascoe muppet. Sorry!

26 Oct 2014 19:46:08
When is sturridge back I think when him and ballotelli get a run together a lot of people will have to apologise for their poor support I am seeing signs he will come good.

Said this other day look at the only other game they played together spurs and yesterday when lamberet came on balo will come good remember how may games crouch went with out scoring and then the flood gates opened

I agree Tommy when Studge is back he and Mario will form a good partnership. They looked good first time out against Spurs and they are more than good enough to fire us into the top 4 again. My main worry is Mignolet who just seems to have gone backwards. Priority in Jan must be to buy another keeper to compete.

Agreed, is why I cannot for the life of me understand why BR decides to play Mario up top on his own, he isn't that kind of forward, his best performance and best team performance this season was against Spurs, with 2 strikers. The midfielders get frustrated because they can't play the quick through balls to the front man, and Mario gets frustrated so he comes deeper to get the ball and with no runners off him we fall flat. I think when Sturridge is back, the quick balls over the defence again. People give Suarez allot of credit for the SAS, but i think Sturridge was even more important to making that partnership work, and the one game you saw of Mario and Daniel there were flickers of a potential partnership. I wished BR played 2 up top while Sturridge was injured, why not play Borini, he wants to stay and fight for his place, he is also one of BR's own buys so surely he wants him succeed? I hope after Hull he sees how much better we play with 2 up top in the diamond, I hope he has learned because I am a big fan of BR, just don't become too cocky and arrogant like Rafa did and lose the dressing room. Hopefully Sturridge can return quicker than originally thought. Then all the critics of us will soon fade as they always do

Agree with all of you. As for Kevlaw, you sir, have posted the MOST sensible comment about our issues w/ BR, Balo, Rafa etc to the point that I have nothing more to add. We need more people like you and the other posters on this thread on this forum who post with clear objectivity and thoughtfulness. Bravo, Messieurs!

26 Oct 2014 16:32:37
Ed . Been reading today on here that if BR doesn't get top 4 he will get the boot .why leave it that late ? Is one but poll of day question who could Liverpoolfc get in if BR was to go?

{Ed002's Note - This has been done to death KL74.}

Why don't we just change manager every time we lose 3 games? What does it matter if he has just given us the most exciting season in recent memory, why should that buy him any time? Fickle or what.

And where did you read that? NOBODY knows what FSG is thinking right now so I wouldn`t believe anything I read. BUT he needs to sort it out an quickly.

26 Oct 2014 15:14:56
E too and Remy or lambert and balotelli? ?

26 Oct 2014 15:28:10
Eto'o got totally slaughtered on this page. Mario will come good as long as he gets support. One thing is half the fans on here are not willing to give any.

26 Oct 2014 15:33:21
Can I say none? because I only rate Lambert out of the four

Views on bony?

26 Oct 2014 14:50:37
You have a problem when you keep doing the same thing expecting different results. This is my issue with BR, he needs to change something and he doesn't! It's not just the results it's the performances. I don't want him replaced, but if he ever wants to be great he needs to able to switch things up, and if he wants the fans support he needs to show us he can do that

26 Oct 2014 12:35:26
To all those moaning about our recent performances and especially wanting BR removed!!
Were you saying this near the end of last season?
BR was ultimately responsible for us producing some of the most exciting football we have witnessed in the Premier League era. We scored over 100 goals last season.
Yes we have not started this season as we would all of hoped but I think we need to show a little more patience and support
Not all transfers work out to be successful, this is the same for every club no matter what their budget. Transfers are always a risk, some come off spectacularly well and others fail miserably.
We have a very young squad that will improve.
If we qualify for the top 4, get at least through the CL group and a good run in the cups this will be satisfactory. Not a great season but not bad enough to justify sacking our manager.
I believe this squad will be much better the second part of the season and the following seasons to come.
After less than 10 league games some here are panicking and just want immediate success. ( this may be relevant to their age as kids these days want everything yesterday)
Fortunately for us others in the league are also struggling a little at this point in the season.
There is a long way to go this season and support is required not bitching and moaning at every dropped point.
Ps clean sheet yesterday was a positive, if we have more of these the goals at the other end will hopefully start flowing in soon.

You can't survive these days, as a Liverpool manager, based on a second place finish.
If he fails to get in the top 4, like Kenny, he will lose his job.

26 Oct 2014 12:56:03
If we don't get cl he'll go. That is something none of us can dispute. Such are the times. Atm it would be too early to take severe steps. No top manager I doubt would be available.
And mate please avoid ageism

A clean sheet isn't positive when you don't score goals. In fact, it is highly ineffective.

At the current rate we will be happy to pick up 60 points over the course of this season which will probably help us to a solid 7th or 8th place finish if we're lucky.

I haven't seen anyone suggest he be replaced if we finish top 4, make it through the CL group, and have a decent cup run. I think most would be quite pleased with that as a result.

If he doesn't get top 4 then Rodgers deserves to go.

You can't spend 100 million and finish outside the top 4. If that happens he has to go. He's so stubborn to change his tactics. He finally did it yesterday but not until the 65th minute. 2 up front, best for Liverpool and best for Mario.

26 Oct 2014 11:36:00
I don't believe that we are far away from producing a fine run together. Mario had a good game yesterday. We still are only three points behind last year champions. Fans are acting like spoilt brats and chucking there toys out already. I have never heard of so many whingers in all my life. let's support the club.

Next 2 months we play Madrid, Man Utd, Chelsea and Arsenal.

I think we're a long way off a good run.

Fine run? let's start with one good game. One. You know what let's start with a goal, we are now 180 minutes without a goal. In three months we produced only one decent game against Spurs and maybe half decent agains Everton, that's it. If the fans are the spoilt brats chucking their toys then what are the players who are paid millions and cannot score goals for the life of them and then in half time after been 3:0 down they (or at least one of them) are more interested in half time about taking souvenirs in the form of shirt swapping then doing anything about it. Surely there has to come a time when you say this is not working anymore. I wouldn't complain if, like say Arsenal - we had one good game and then one bad one. But since Spurs I don't remember a whole half in which I could say that was fun to watch. Yes we want to support the club but give us something to cheer about, at least occasionaly.

26 Oct 2014 13:27:34
Ken

Agreed with you, So does the match vs Hull, Villa, Everton becomes so crucial.

26 Oct 2014 09:57:31
hey lfc fans.bit of a dull game yesterday.

i don't wanna make this post super negative i'm just gona say this the one time

i do agree with the POSTER OZONE.

lallana and markovic.45m were not needed. we got ibe an peterson. free. lfc could have bought 15m max worth of 2 extra wingers to increase the squad

can. better than shelvey? nope. not for me. that's 10 m. gone

and balotelli. was a panick buy. its not his fault. but 16m on a player that they should know he wouldn't fit the style of play and is never in the box

so before i get to the defence. that's 71m.that rodgers has wasted. and i agree with alllllllllllll the posters who said. buy quality. already established. and not so many players at once.

moreno. everyone knew he was more of an attacking defender. lfc needed a solid left back first.

so i believe rodgers is a good manager but i don't think he can take liverpool any further.he doesn't make the right signings. lucky to inherit suarez. and sturridge turned out well.

but that's it.so. i think lfc need a more experienced manager and someone who can identify quality established players out there. and not be so STUBBORN to change things. and make liverpool more solid defensively.

i match rodgers to wenger. very stubborn and set in their ways who both refuse to accept help or the need to change it up

I wish Rodgers was half as good as Wenger.
Wenger has won 3 league titles and has hardly spent a bean (net) in a decade.

26 Oct 2014 10:21:11
Can is a hell of a lot better than Shelvey; you need to read what Ballack has said about Can and his ability and potential. It was there for all to see yesterday.

Having said that I think we missed a trick not signing Song. He could make a real difference.

26 Oct 2014 10:33:22
Wenger and Jose had a successful base under their belt before they took over Chelsea and Arsenal.
A season at Reading and Swansea. that's it with BR.

I agree with you aguero about wenger he is a good manager and has bought well in his career and for good prices, i just mean the mentalities. are the same, the stubborness and not accepting help or suggestions

You are a disgrace.what exactly does moaning and bitching 3months into the season solve.Stop acting like you have a clue how to manage a football team
There are several players i never wanted liverpool to sign this season and I still hoped the deal will fall through at the last moment, but since that didn't happen I have supported the players ever since.
I would like to know what you gain from constantly moaning and bashing the players every chance you get

I agree money has been wasted, but not all of it.
Sakho and lovren are brilliant defenders and where worth the money we paid, it's not the money that was wasted there it's the talent, sakho is wasted on the bench and lovren is wasted playing next to skrtle and with Gerrard dropping deep. Play them together in a conventional system and they will start to shine.
I said all along I wouldn't have bought markovic, he's obviously got huge potential but he wasn't really needed, especially at that price. So yeah I will give you that one.
Lallana is also a brilliant player, he's just not settled and I don't think he's 100% match fit. But we are starting to see glimpses of his talent so I disagree with you on him.
Moreno is a huge improvement on what we already had so I can't agree with you on that, most modern left backs are attack minded, if the defence was settled and we had a mobile DM then we would also get our money's worth.
Lambert is a huge waste on the bench.
Can is a very promising young player, he's also not really fit and has had little chance to show his worth so that's unfair on him. He has the potential to be one of our most important players once Gerrard finally gets dropped/rested.
Ballotelli, I said at the start I didn't want him but that I would support him.
I think Brendan's tactics are not really helping him at all, he's a good player and he's receiving a lot of unfair criticism. But he's always going to get that. I think he could help himself by running about a bit more and I think the whole shirt swapping thing was a storm in a teacup.
So basically what I am saying is Brendan didn't really waste all the money, he's wasting the talent at his disposal.
The formations are wrong for what we have, the tactics are wrong for what we have, the players choices are wrong.
You can't build a team completely around SAS, that completely depends on them scoring goals. Only to lose Suarez (he's known about losing him for years) only to replace him with a completely different type of striker. Sturridge is off sick. So why are we sticking with the same formation and similar tactics? You need to adapt to the here and now and stop looking into the past. Settle the defence and midfield and go back to a 442 and give the players a bit of a chance.

Anthony Mahone (nice),

Why don't you tell us about Wenger's "successful base" compared to Brendan when they each took over.
Then we'll talk about Wenger taking Arsenal to the double in his first full season.
Under Rioch Arsenal were not much better than us under Kenny.

26 Oct 2014 13:29:47
Mikey

Both Sakho and Lovern are naturally LCB, How is the money being wisely spend there??

26 Oct 2014 07:51:46
LFC's starting to stink of SCFC. The transfers are pitiyful, I honestly believe if it wasn't for Sturridge Rodgers would be gone. Borini, Aspas, Sahin, Illori, Yesil just a joke. Did we need Lallana/ Markovic? What's wrong with Ibe/ Peterson? In fact Ibe would have served better purpose yesterday running the channels rather than congesting the middle coming inside. Can? Is he really any better than Shelvey? I think the biggest crime of all however, is selling Suarez to Barca and not taking Alex Song on loan. Song would've provided better protection for the centre halfs against what we have existing and allowed us to hold a higher line. Replace Gerrard with Song, Lallana for Ibe and I would speculate we would've had more success yesterday. Gerrard could've been utilised later on as a sub in the final third if needed.

I got hoodwinked into thinking Rodgers was a good man manager. Why? I couldn't tell you, I just got overwhelmed with the position we found ourselves in last season and the spirit of team clearly mudded the picture; with hindsight it was clearly Suarez desire to win that created that spirit. He's now gone and Teds been to the sweet shop; besides Sterling, this is now wholly his squad. We have the sprinklings of a decent team if employed correctly, however this isn't happening. Rodgers is a chancer. He's shifty, we all know that and he blows with the wind. There's no logic to how he sets us out, he just runs with perceived 'in form' players consistent with his 'chancer' character. It's a shambles.

I thought bringing in Ballotelli could've been our 'Cantona' moment. How wrong I was again there. Nonetheless I still feel he's getting unjust stick as the system being played without natural wingers doesn't supplement a lone striker. Utilising width when playing a lone striker or Ballo in a 2 man strike force with Sturridge and I think we'll see a better player.

What I have been spot on with from day one however is the damaging transfer policy imposed by the owners and executed by Rodgers and the committe. I remember the early days of Teds tenure when the bulk of posters on here were jumping down people's throats if they dared to criticise transfers, ' give them a chance', ' they need time to bed in, ' he's been bought for future potential, still young' were the crys from the shadows. It would be interesting to hear the thoughts on this now we've witnessed the first outcome of the resale concept in the Suarez revenue supplementing a squad compilation of partly gilt edged '7-12 mill' punts, together with a couple of £20 mill punts covered by sales transfers.

I hope you all realise Sterling will likely be the next resale victim, used to finance the ground expansion. From the owners perspective, there's only really City and Chelsea who stand out so top 4 is still up for grabs. If we manage to stay I top 4, sell Sterling, complete the ground expansion, I would speculate the owners would have realised expectations and at that point cash in on their investment.

26 Oct 2014 09:14:27
I did respond to this but for some reason its been put on other pool posts.
But I agree with ozone as it goes.

{Ed001's Note - you added it as a new post and I didn't know where the original was that you were replying to.}

26 Oct 2014 09:18:01
A bit of an unnecessary swipe at SCFC and the owners, but for once I tend to agree with a lot of what you're saying.

Post of the month ozone, take a bow lad

26 Oct 2014 09:36:46
Ozone
Excellent, spot on summary. The 100+ page dossier BR produced to smooth talk FSG into the job is slowly [or should I say quickly following LS sale] unravelling.

First of all Gerrard, Henderson, Skrtel, Johnson and Enrique are all not Rodgers buys.

Secondly, I don't think the young players are anywhere near as good as you think but it is open for debate. We shall see where they end up in the future and how well they do.

Thirdly, it has been well documented by now that Rodgers n
did not choose all the players purchased. There are more culprits than him.

My last point, which I find the most amazing. You do realise that Rodgers took over Liverpool in 7th place? To even suggest that he will still get top 4 even tho you think he is a chancer is quite bewildering. We were nowhere near CL football before he came in. Excuses can be made that Utd are not the team they used to be, or Arsenal have gone backwards or the £100 million Spurs spent ruined them. They are, as I said excuses. Liverpool would not be able to use them, nor should any other club.

I think your theory on Sterling is nonsense. Not that he might go because that would be his choice but that his money will be used to finance the new stadium. Why didn't they just keep the Suarez money and the other £50 million they spent this summer? Makes no sense to me!

You have no reason to have ago at the owners mate, they have backed the manager 100%. I disagree that you are having a pop at players who have hardly had the time to make an impact due to injuries.
I have never been a fan of Rodgers style of Management, or is self publicity. We didn't need all the signings we bought in the Summer, but I think Brendan wants rid of all things not Brendan, and if you cross him your out. buying players before you offload players is not a good strategy.
The one thing I do though, is support the players who are wearing the liverbird. I might not think the likes of Lambert is good enough, but he's a true Reds fan living his dream. And I desperately want him to succeed.
You being negative of all thing Lfc doesn't wash with me I smell a rat.Come on you reds

I don't see what is the problem with the owners. BR got a lot of money to spend this summer and we all thought at the end of the summer that it was a good transfer winodw. I didn't hear anyone here complaine about the owners at the end of the summer. If anything, for me I wouldn't mind if they were less patient with BR and already think of candidates to replace him with (as Roman Abrmovich would surely do by now). For me it is all BR's fault and the hope that he can change it after 3 months of no improvment is naive. You cannpt drive on a flat tire and hope if you keep on driving it will get fixed. You have to stop and change the tire. And for me the tire is BR. I have to say though I cannot blame him or anyone for letting Suarez go. Even Ferguson couldn't hold to Ronaldo when he wanted to go or Arsenal to RVP. And would Alex Song be our saviour and solve all our problems? not so sure. He didn't do it in Arsenal.

The biggest crime for me is as soon as Barca expressed interest in Suarez, purportedly January, we should have said "Sanchez plus £30m or no deal". We should have tapped him up for a move right then. Instead we waited until it was too late and Wenger had beat us to the punch.
Sanchez is a very very similar player to Suarez in style. Slight in stature but a committed tough battler who will run all day for the team. They both have pace but also move the ball quickly. The are skilful and tricky making them difficult to mark. In short, Sachez would have meant we could have kept the same style and same tactics as last season with a similar but slightly reduced threat. Mario is the opposite: uninterested, static, big, lumbering, slow on the ball, holding play up. He has many qualities, but his style means a complete change in tactics.
Everyone knew the story of Spurs and the Bale money yet we fell into EXACTLY the same trap. We bought quantity not quality. Following the Spurs mistakes is the biggest disappointment for me and the main reason I wouldn't lose any sleep if Brendan did go before 2015.

I do not think there was much we could do about Suarez wanting to leave. He forced his way out with incidents like biting and leaving the club no option but to sell him. Fact of the matter is that If we had kept Suarez then we would have no sponsors left.

If you look at our squad, there should be no reason why we are struggling like we are. The most laughable things is that West Ham this season are playing the football we did last season yet Rodgers has decided to take a different approach. For what reason I am still trying to figure that out but he is not using this squad to it's strengths and is forcing the squad to play football that has no positive outcome.

Balotelli is not Suarez, Rodgers needs to get that out of his head straight away and play to his strengths. The other thing the team is crying out for is pace up top. Markovic has loads of pace. Stick him up there with Balotelli and then play Sterling at no 10. Try something different?? instead Rodgers will let Balotelli run around aimlessly. It is actually quite disturbing how a manager can let a player suffer like that. Balotelli is just doing what he is aksed so find it funny how fans want to point the finger at the player when it is the manager giving the instructions!

Our other problem is at the back, Skrtel and Lovren. We can be lucky Hull did not come to win otherwise it would have been another Madrid result. Not sure what Rodgers sees in Skrtel who is and accident waiting to happen. Not sure why Rodgers felt the need to send Ilori on loan, could have been because the deal for Toure fell through. Lovren also has not covered himself in glory but you would expect Skrtel to take charge of the situation being with the club the longest, has plenty experience but he just is not capable of doing so. We need to get rid of Skrtel and sign a dominant CB. I would have rather have kept Agger as Lovren has not shown to be any better, sold Skrtel and signed a mean machine right CB. It is still early days for Lovren but damn he has been well below average and for £20m we clearly could have got better.

FSG will be sitting back and watching closely. One can only assume that making that much money available they were given assurances that we will finish top 4 and unfortunately we will not make top 4 by playing the way we currently are.

Either Rodgers needs to go back to the way we played last season or he might find himself without a job come the end of the season and the transfer committee most probably will go with him too.

That is the way the cookie crumbles. Shape up or ship out.

Just also to make it clear also. Shelvey was a cart horse for Liverpool. The slowest midfielder ever. A close contest between him and Charlie Adam, but i think Charlie would have him. Peterson will end up at some mediocre club while Morkovich has already played at Benfica and would have played in the Europa cup final and a regular international. Another season at Benfica and Chelsea might have had an interest. How is Ibe doing at Birmingham? Pulling up any trees? I sometimes think that playing at the top of the PL is a traing ground for bleeding youngsters. Like i said, let's see where all these so many great kids we have will end up! The majority nowhere in the Premier League would be my guess

For that to work Ken Sanchez would have to agree to it. I don't think he had interest in anywhere except London.

Irish Rover your posts are just ridiculous and add insult injury. Skrtle no he's not a Rodgers buy, but Sakho and Ilori are. Hendo no he's not a Rodgers buy but he was hawked round for sale in the early days, an early illustration of his 'chancing character'. Enriques a squad player so that arguments nil and void. By the way Ibes at Derby lad, and he is pulling up the trees. Did you see much of Peterson? Well let's wait and see on that one as I rated the lad, he has just as much in his locker as Lallana. So has Can been brought in for his speed at 6" 1', 13. Stone?

Everyone is a know it all when the team isn't doing well as usual

Ilori was not Rodgers choice. Again well documented. Do you want a shovel Ozone?

Jessie, it is not about being a know it all. There are some serious issues with the football we are playing and anyone who wants to ignore that are being naive.

If we were actually showing signs of improvement then there would be less questions being asked but to go from playing the best football I have ever seen from last season to football which is uninspiring then how can one ignore that there is something seriously wrong and IMO blame does not lie with the players. The manager is in La la land at the moment.

Our best performance this season was vs Spurs. We have not been convincing in any other match this season and the quality of football has been really poor. Will Rodgers wake up and smell the coffee before it is too late. Let's see.

No mention of Gerrard and Johnson Ozone? Squad players maybe? that's 5 players you left out to try and make a point! Pretty poor stuff really. Can might be 6' 1' and 13 stone but he could still run faster than Shelvey. In fact i could run faster than Shelvey! Anyway i shall leave it there.

Irish, we should have tapped Alexis in January, not waiting until the World Cup when Wenger had already done the deal.
We missed a trick. Once Alexis knew Arsenal were in the running he had a choice.
If he's not interested, then Suarez doesn't go to Barca. Simple as that. You have to play hardball with these players and clubs. We roll over and let them tickle our belly.

Max, in one paragraph you talk about playing to Mario's strengths, then in another you want Rodgers to go back to playing the same way as last season.

You can't have both I'm afraid. Mario's strengths do not fit in with last seasons tactics.

THE IRISH ROVER, you say the youth kids are not as good as we think, well how would you know if you don't give them a chance, I frequently go to the academy and langtree park to watch them and there are some good lads there, they just need a chance.also you say LFC were no- where near the CL when RODGERS came in and you are correct there but having finished 2nd when your moment arrives you've got to take it with both hands, that's how MANU got to were they are, when they were buying ROY KEANE we were buying PAUL STEWART enough said.

Irish Rover, please tell me about Borini, Alberto, Sahin, Yesil, Illori, Sakho, Markovic. Tell me how Can, Manquilla and Lallana have improved the TEAM?

Read the initial post Irish a Rover I said the damaging transfer policy implemented by the owners and executed by Rodgers and The Committee. So don't attempt to split hairs over Ilori. The whole arrangements damaging and we can all see that with the money waisted. As Wembley 78 says, how do you know the kids are poor if you haven't seen them. It just goes to show how much you follow our youngsters, you thought Jordan Ibe was at BCFC. Any idea where Wisdom is? If you do would you say Manquillas any better. In fact is Manquilla any better than Kelly? Same type of player in my eyes.

{Ed001's Note - Manquillo is lazy, makes no effort to work back when the ball is 5 yards away from him even! McLaughlin, Wisdom and Kelly were all better bets for that position.}

I don't have much problem with what's been said, but selling Sterling to finance the expansion? That makes no sense at all and when have the owners ever not spent everything plus some that the club has made on outgoings?

I agree entirely Ed001.

Ozone
Coady, Pachecho, Sama, Peterson (your favourite), Ayala, Morgan, Roddan, Adorjan, Robinson. All at one stage touted as having a future at Lfc. Saving us plenty of moneyy in the mean time. Where are they? Top pf the premier League any of them? Or playing in mediocre teams in different leagues?

Manquillo i have already expressed he was a pointless buy when we had Wisdom now playing regularly at WBA. A good understudy. We also all know how unlucky Kelly has been.

I don't agree with all of the carp about the owners. I think they have been extremely supportive. I could go into details, but you wouldn't agree with me.

I agree on the signings however, BR, the Transfer Committee have made a right old mess of some serious dough that was available.

I agree with Ken on Sanchez. This is where I cannot understand how incompetent the "Transfer Committee" and BR has been. BR said they were sure Suarez was NOT going to leave when every man and his dog had the sense to understand that he would definitely leave. Even if Suarez were not to leave, surely, there should have been contingency plans in place to bring a player who is similar so that teams' style doesn't have to be altered? This is where the utterly incompetent Transfer Committee have been found out.

ED001 i completely disagree there, I've been at the games and been watching on tv and can tell you manquillo does work hard to get back and defend. It's sterling that doesn't like to do that dirty work atm, when he's on the right.

{Ed001's Note - just because you have been at the games doesn't mean you know what you are talking about. Against Hull there was one particularly pertinent episode where the ball was lost on the edge of Hull's box, less than 3 yards away from him. What does this oh so hard working Manquillo do? Does he race back, considering he is miles out of position and should really be thinking about at least heading back, to close down the man and try and give the rest of the team time to cover him? Or does he slowly jog back and attempt to put no pressure on the man whatsoever? Oh yes, that's right, he jogs slowly back and does nothing to help the team. You clearly aren't watching him at all.}

Ed I remember the instance you talk about, he just sprint 70 yards to get there! I'm not saying going to the games means you know what you're talking about, but it definitely gives you a better perspective of what people are doing off the ball!
as I say look closer to Raheem if you want to blame any one, he's almost completely dropped any defensive duty.
Manquillo got up and down that pitch fine on most occassions, he did a lot of raheems work considering raheem kept wanting to go play centrally. I would suggest looking at what Manquillo does more, and what Raheem does.

{Ed001's Note - I would blame Rodgers for telling him he is tired and letting him get away with it, not Sterling. While Manquillo was always lazy, even in Spain, but to suggest he shouldn't have worked back because he had just run 70 yards (wow, surprised a professional athlete could manage to run that far without needing a week off huh?) is ludicrous. He should be able to run miles at any moment in the game. The lad is lazy, he was known to be lazy, at defending. He was a stupid purchase and is just another Glenn Johnson, plenty of talent but no application. As for suggesting I watch more, I watch what players do off the ball more than I do the ball. I am quite sure you don't, no matter how high and mighty you are about being lucky enough to go to the games. I have been to thousands of games at all levels and the fans see nothing more than they do at home, they usually see less. That is why clubs need to employ scouts to watch what players actually do, rather than just asking you or the other people in the crowd.}

I also suppose you're going to neglect giving him any credit the amount of running he did in the second half covering everytime raheem gave the ball away, or we put in a terrible cross, and pushed the 2 centrebacks up.The lad put in a shift!

{Ed001's Note - he is a fullback, he is meant to cover the winger, that is his job. You know defending. Which he doesn't do a lot of, as he is too busy bombing forward too early. Though I do believe that is as much the fault of the manager as him.}

If you think having sprinted 70 yards, he's going to catch Diame (I think that's who it was) running back, then good luck with that. He did run back however, but diame was already half way down the pitch. (If this is the same play I'm thinking of) Oh how I wish every player had ashley coles ability to run, sadly they don't This is why you have 2 central defenders to sit. and SG in the DM to pick up these areas. I don't think I saw Manquillo being slow and lethargic all game he always strived to get back for me.
I would personally blame Sterling at points for not helping out defensively enough.He has completely forgotten that side of the job at the moment.If you're going to say manquillo has to cover and defend as it's his job, sterling has to attack, it's his job, sadly he kept holding the play up till manquillo was next to him, asking manquillo essentially to do his job. I guess We will just have to disagree on what manquillo offered in that match.
I do agree that I can't see why we got him ahead of wisdom/ kelly etc.

26 Oct 2014 07:00:07
Wow that was a boring first hour! And we were lucky not to have any broken ankles with the aggression hull were showing and tbh I wish Liverpool would show a little bit of that.

I think that two up front solves our defensive problems as well as our goal drought!

At the moment when we can't pass out from the back there is usually only 1 if even up top so the ball is turned over and the Same thing happens except we end up going a little bit deeper! This has to stop leaving 2 men up and hopefully winning some balls not only brings us forward but suddenly it's the opposition that is forced to drop deeper and well yeah i think everyone on here can see the benefits tbh.

On a side note was anyone watching via a stream with English commentary?

THe commentator made me more angry than the result. he made a point saying balotelli should have been sent off. fair enough even if I don't agree with it. two minutes later he decides he hopes diame doesn't get book and says even though there has been many fowls he didn't deserve it and then started laughing!

He also wanted coutinho brought on as he is the one man who can whip in a cross in his words. although I've never seen coutinho really doing this

And there were hundreds of examples he did also have to clarify at one point that he wasn't on a anti balotelli show because of the stick he was giving him some very unjust!

Went off on a complete tandom there but it was very frustrating!

finally play Lambert and balotelli from the off against Swansea give markovic Henderson rossiter and Lucas midfield and just hopefully try and get some confidence for the first three names there on a night when the pressure will be a little lower!

Some of the commentators re just right old dinosaurs. They still think the game is being played like it was in the 70's and then makes soo many errors as a commentator, I wonder why they have a job.