Liverpool Banter Archive January 28 2015

28 Jan 2015 19:40:47
Reports that Suarez is unhappy at barca and arsenal will try to bring him back to England in the summer.
I'd cry if this happened.

Jc that would be nigh on unbearable. As in . really hard to take .

That could be what we bought mario for ! He could offer suarez his shoulder after winding him up and cost arsenal 65 million ;)

Just been watching Suarez for barca, it definately looks like threes a crowd with him, messi and naymar.they certainly seem to pass to each other and Suarez keeps making the runs and doesn't get the ball, seen it in a few matches now.i reckon he will be gone by end of next season

Once we have got some extra matchday revenue from the stadium expansion, we should eventually have the ability to make the odd £40m-plus player purchase, like Arsenal and Man U can- IF that is needed to improve the squad.

If we use the extra income to buy wisely in the next few years, AND we have a good manager getting results on the pitch, and we still have owners willing to invest, then there is a decent chance we can make the CL more regularly.

But for the moment the reality is that the owners have made a big effort to invest in the squad, just as the did with Kenny. And just as with Kenny, they have seen their money used unwisely in many cases.

Although there were good players brought in like Can and Lallana, there were some players we didn't really need, or we bought the wrong players like Balotelli, and and we neglected positions we desperately needed to strengthen, like the keeper.

Until this continuing misuse of funds and bad decision making is stopped and a smarter recruitment and youth development policy is set up, I don't see how we can progress to a regular top 4 place.

Is Rodgers the manager to take us forward? Can he learn from his mistakes or is he just too attached to ditch his disproven possession philosophy- and will he always be a poor judge of a good player?

{Ed002's Note - I think you are over-estimating match day revenue rather. Television income is far higher. The club has to start paying off some of their massive debts.

It is fair to say the Suarez at Barcelona has not worked out.}

I very much doubt this, selling one of their forwards, when they can't bring in a replacement

{Ed002's Note - They would be willing to sell Messi in the summer as I have explained. They need to raise cash and Suarez has not worked out.}

Did we have an option to buy back first Ed?

{Ed002's Note - No.}

29 Jan 2015 08:02:54
You know, it would almost be worth having Suarez at Arsenal to knock them off that moral highground they love

How do Liverpool bring in more tv income ed2? Is it a case of getting to the latter stages of the champs league consistently ? Any other ways!?
Thanks

{Ed002's Note - TV income is already the highest revenue stream and doing well in the CL brings more. The TV deals will also be renegotiated and bring further revenue.}

29 Jan 2015 12:56:30
Ed002, didn't you say Messi could only really have 3 likely destinations.Chelsea, city and Munich, and ruled at munich at the time given pep, maybe UTD might come in with Adidas being the sponsor from this summer?
Also any deal would be subject to adidas investing in the player purchase.
If Messi is indeed available this summer, would they sell Suarez too? That seems suicidal given they can't buy any one till 2016, leaving them with only Neymar upfront.

Just seems to me Barcelona are severely handicapping themselves if they sell any of their forwards, their defence is terrible. Selling during the transfer ban seems ludicrous to me.

{Ed002's Note - It is probable that no one will take up any deal for Messi this summer unless Manchester City opt for a major clear out. Barcelona have the players to keep them in the running for a year whilst they start to rebuild around Neymar - Suarez will be expendable - but the issue will be money. Interest in him will be very limited.}

Ed would you envisage any form of interest from Liverpool given the difficulties he brought?

Yes a magician for us in his final season but also caused various problems throughout his time at Liverpool

{Ed002's Note - No.}

28 Jan 2015 19:11:00
Tried using a day's work to take stock, but feel the same way I did last night:

1. Haven't seen the stats but Gerrard's pass completion rate must have been around 20%. Liability. Sad.

2. The referee going to shake Ivanovich's hand was nauseating. Very odd.

3. Ramires coming on hugely improved Chelsea.

4. Johnson coming on hugely improved Chelsea.

5. Rodgers' foot firmly in mouth. Again. Wrong attitude and mentality for this club.

28 Jan 2015 19:52:15
And what exactly did BR say to put put his foot firmly in his mouth

It must be me but what did rodgers actually say last night that was wrong? I sometimes wonder what planet some people are on.

Agree with BR comment. Rodgers doesn't understand the club full stop.

He sent a team out to be beat by Madrid. Nothing further needs to be said.

I haven't watched a press conference or interview since October!

{Ed007's Note - Telly on the blink?}

28 Jan 2015 17:52:28
:- Costa has been charged by the FA with violent conduct for stamping last night.

Costa has until 6pm on Thursday either to accept or contest the charge, and a final outcome will be reached before the weekend.

He will not be punished over a separate incident involving Martin Skrtel which was also reviewed by the match officials.

Source: Sky

Anyone else think Costa looks like John C Reilly?

28 Jan 2015 18:48:31
Tell you what, a team with Costa and Suarez up front, Graeme Souness running midfield and Tommy Smith at the back would be a pretty fearsome thing.

Costa looks like John Merrick.

Dont forget Jimmy Case

The broadcast would be rated 'R'. It sounds like a violent horror film. People having chunks bitten out of them, clattered to the ground, then stomped on.

If we had Costa everyone would love him.

28 Jan 2015 17:15:26
Thought the reds were very good last night. Over the last year or so, when they have been on their game they have been superb to watch. Whilst I am one of BR's biggest critics I will give him the credit he deserves for getting us playing the way we do at times.

However, as I say I am one of his biggest critics and do think he misses things in his coaching of the team. The most obvious to me being the finishing of Sterling and Coutinho. If the pair of these can add that bit to their game, they truly will become world greats. But why can't BR see this and work on it constantly?

Do you think this is down to BR being (relatively) young and inexperienced, stubborn, plain stupid or what? Am I wrong - is this something that you just cannot teach?

Don't get me wrong I know there are other flaws in the team right now, but these I think are obvious and should be worked on.

Do we need better support in the coaching? (Aside from Achterberg who has never been up to it in my view). Would BR accept it?

Will BR be around come the end of the season?

A lot of puzzles to be solved.

Fingers crossed though, we carry on playing this way, with Sturridge coming back as well - hopefully we will give a team a right good hammering soon.

I know we are all hurting at the moment, but the glass is more than half full!

I think last nights perfromance was more to the credit of the players giving it all (mostly), rather than Brendan who's tactics and subs seemed to be the exact opposite of what was needed.
In fact a lot of his decisions these days seem to be.

Good observation, Mikey. We have strikers on the bench YET starts none of them in a game e needed to score at least one. Borini would have helped w/ his moveent to create space for Sterling and Couts to run into. But, I`d better not criticize BR lest I am labelled a BR hater for just stating my opinion on what we all saw.

28 Jan 2015 16:21:12
Hi reds,

Just wanted to ask next season i will be studying in l8verppol and therefore staying in liverpool

I was just wondering how to go about getting a season ticket
Can anyone help on this?
Thanks

28 Jan 2015 16:56:45
Join the list. Most people only wait about 130 years

Until the expansion is finished you have no chance of getting a season ticket.

I am a season ticket holder along with many mates. There are often times when due to work commitments of many of us, we have tickets spare. If the eds will allow it, ask them for my email address and I can keep you posted when this happens. Mid- week games are often available and we pass the tickets on to genuine fans at cost. Cannot guarantee anything as we have a usual standby list, but there is always a chance.

Join the queue?

Most optimistic post I have ever seen on here. Lol
I hope you get to a few games, ask around Uni and maybe someone's dad will have a ticket that's not always used.

Alright thanks for the help and yeah i guess i'll just have to ask around and keep an eye out for the spares

Ahha i just want to go the games 😂😂

28 Jan 2015 16:08:27
Not sure how some can be happy with a loss? Chelsea fans are probably wetting themselves laughing when they read 'we played well" "things are looking up" "we have turned the corner" etc.

The level at which the bar has been dropped this season by our fans is a complete and utter joke. The fact that Rodgers stuck with his inept style of football for half a season which saw us have one of our worst starts to a season in over a decade after spending £120m and with that failing to purchase a striker capable of scoring goals just sums up how bad this club is being managed and how many fans have lowered their expectations and will find reasons not to blame Rodgers for anything.

You just wonder what FSG are sitting and thinking what they got themselves into when they hired Rodgers without someone who was going to call the shots above him. Rodgers is not capable of managing a club as big as LFC. He might make a good coach but if he is still at the helm then you will have majority calling for his head before we have even reached half way of the season.

Sad but true.

28 Jan 2015 17:02:56
Worst start in a decade? Mate, worst start in nearly half a century!

Yeah my bad. Makes it even more comical how some fans can just excuse how absolutely rubbish we were in the first part of this season. Rodgers is not to blame, cough cough.

Some fans are optimistic and some are pessimistic.
Insulting or antagonizing either set of fan just because you belong to the other set is the real joke.

29 Jan 2015 08:07:28
Not sure how people are disagreeing with my post here. 16 games in we had made our worst start since 1964-65. Which is 50 years ago this season.

Hard to disagree with that hjikle.

28 Jan 2015 15:58:34
Is it just me, or can modern footballers no longer head a ball? Skirtl can only head if he hits the ball straight on. Noone appears able to direct the ball where they want it to go, with a subtle flick of the head, as we were taught as kids.
When i think of players like Keegan, who was only small, but he could direct the ball anywhere he wanted. Henderson would benefit, along with some others, at practicising heading a ball ala Sami Hyppia etc

Most great players can play with their feet and heads, and still put the ball where they want. c'mon BR get em practising !!

{Ed001's Note - Sakho's heading scares me.}

28 Jan 2015 16:58:22
Not sure about Sakho's heading, but it annoys me how people slate his passing. Yes there was some dodgy ones last night, but I read last week that from all the players who this season have over 500 passes completed in the league, Which he had the best accuracy of them all.

28 Jan 2015 17:04:13
Footballers? Just you, they can. LFC footballers? They certainly make it look difficult

No, most of the team cannot head a ball with any accuracy, they can barely hit a 12 yard goal! then it's usually straight at the keeper, i wonder what Paisley would do with this lot? shooting practice? heading practice? we would have to get them off Twitter first, no easy feat. as you can tell i am disillusioned with modern footballers, and as hard as he works one player who can't shoot or head a ball is being touted as our next captain. mind boggles

28 Jan 2015 17:31:10
It is his hairstyle that scares me.

Modern footballers can't do a lot of things like put in a half decent cross. The overall quality of the game has definitely gone down compared to even 5 to 10 years ago

I don't think as many teams like to cross the ball these days, instead trying to play shorter passes like arsenal and us.
Could be that the game is changing rather than the quality.

The game is changing, to some extent. But modern managers seem to have a problem with versatility. Sometimes you need players who can cross. Sometimes you need to knock a longer ball over the top.

Modern football is getting VERY predictable in my opinion, and it'd be good to be a more complete team. At the end of the day, LFC play in England. The big clubs can change their style all they want to become more continental; but we don't play them every week.
I've seen Arsenal struggle for years with teams like Stoke etc. because Arsenal want to play short passing "beautiful" football, and complain when their opponents don't do the same and take the 3 points.
Fact is: When playing "lesser" teams, we need to be able to adapt to the style of match being played, then we can dictate the speed of the game.
I'm sick of the stubbornness being shown by us and other bigger clubs. And at the end of the day, it costs us BIG time!
To win the league, we have to beat EVERY side. For this, a team needs to either have a squad like Chelsea or Manc City, which I don't want; or have a bit of adaptability about their squad and tactics. Which I do want. I'd like to see us WIN the league, not buy it.

The end.

28 Jan 2015 15:35:08
Can someone explain to me why we have never looked at Luiz Adriano from Shaktar as he seems to know where the goal is, unlike most of our current strikers (barring Sturridge and Sterling is a winger not a striker)

28 Jan 2015 16:48:39
I think he would be a good signing, but tbf need to clear out at least 2 strikers before considering even getting one on a pre-contract in the summer (would have 5 strikers + academy players).

Plus remember correctly Juventus are interested and imagine he'd prefer that. But dunno if we get two strikers out and he is available would be a great free signing

28 Jan 2015 11:42:22
Not too disheartened after last night, would have been nice to win it, but they gave their all! Just a little disappointed lallana didn't come on, midfield were knackered, and the fresh legs would have helped get the ball forward. Coutinho, sterling, gerrard, hendo, lucas and moreno all played 120, and they were our means of getting it forward from deep. Probably could have put lallana centre midfield and let him run at chelsea from deep.

28 Jan 2015 10:55:58
Why has borini been dropped again after scoring? ? ?
Lambert also like come on against Bolton Mario coming on last night someone help me

28 Jan 2015 11:24:56
should have played against bolton (think we should have rested most of our players before the chelsea game) think he should have played with mario or lambert.

Tbf players playing well then being dropped isn't too uncommon a thing this season

28 Jan 2015 10:32:00
We might be out of the cup, but with the exception of Mario, we've a football team back again.
Rejoice Folks

Why bash mario? without his goal we won't be in that cup

Well that's a complete fabrication AK, it would have meant penalties, but it wouldn't have meant automatic knock out. People can bash him a smuch as they want, he wasted posession, was lazy, made completely baffling runs, we looked a lot worse once he came on for lazar

28 Jan 2015 12:37:41
His runs were very strange and although tried more then normal wasn't as much as is needed.

But he hardly wasted passion (made 1 bad pass but lucas' foul was rash) he actually was one of the few players who could control the ball, create space and slip a pass to someone.

Stevie wasted possession constantly but trying to hit long range passes instead of playing it through, lucas missed a lot of passes as well - he was fair from good mario but wasn't entirely his fault. Can's penalty in the first leg was daft and skrtel's foul in the first half should have been another daft penalty to give away.

Costa should have seen red, but so should have henderson and lucas for multiple fouls worthy of yellows. Added to that other players missed an open headers or didn't put away good chances to score.

Roland-dinho totally agree with your comment.
Mario seems to be in an abusive relationship with the fans. He only cost 16m, and yes he's been rubbish at times, unlucky at times, and mismanaged at times. But let's agree to blame him for now.
He's only 16m, not 65m. So he plays bad, sits on the bench to rot and we move on.
Why all the abuse, even when he's not playing it's an attack mario day.
We've had many 10-20m flops in our team, why is Marino getting it so bad? Cause the 16m guy couldn't replace the 60+m guy!!

We all miss suarez.

Balo was set up to fail and the media did nothing but pollute the atmosphere. He can`t do anything right and even when he does well (like in the Utd game), he still gets abused. To know that his manager has trashed him in the media at every stop and washed his hands off him YET oversaw his signing (even tho there were other strikers proposed including Remy and Bony but BR dismissed them all according to Ed01), is just a disgrace because afterall, he is an LFC player. I don`t trash Balo because he did not sign himself. I blame the man who passed on Bony, Remy and God knows who else to sign him w/o a plan as to how to use him.

16 million is not peanuts.

28 Jan 2015 10:25:30
edo1 like your thoughts please first great team performance over the 2 legs. I've seen you saybout sterling going onn his own more because he has been told to score more over the last ten games he and coutino are the same they have a much better pass on to score as a team but yet they tyake it to far and lose it or shoot from silly angles sterling last night easy square ball to gerrard and he scores same as coutino three players all lined up n the box shoots and gets corner this really starting to pee me off because it happened in both legs and there greediness cost us its been the same in the league to this has to change or will get no were cheers

{Ed001's Note - they are young players who are learning. They will improve on that part of their game with good coaches and analysts sitting down and showing them where they went wrong. The important thing is they got in position to mess up. That is the first step. Most players don't get that far.}

Perhaps why we needed a striker upfront who they can pass to finish. one don't become a striker overnight, the hardest skill is to hit the ball into the back of the net .

Your always tought easy ball and an assist is just as good as the goal itself and always the team result better then being greddy and not getting the results for me everything gone to raheems head he is far from the finished article and needs to realise this at the moment with this contact talk big teams interested I get the feeling he is to big for his boots and some one needs to sit him down and tell him other wise

Mike, I just think Sterling is trying too hard because we have no strikers to put our faith in.
He feels if he does not score then who will.
I don't think he is greedy just under pressure to score due to our lack of goals.

28 Jan 2015 09:26:24
i wonder if opposition managers will start targeting sahko, obviously the defenders have been told to play the ball out of defence but sahko, s pass selection is poor and if put under pressure he panics and is prone to howlers, btw he has been doing it all season

{Ed001's Note - if he did panic, he would hoof the ball out of play and there would be no issue, other than people moaning about him hoofing it out of play. The issue is a lack of options in front of him. There is not enough movement when the back 3 are put under pressure. The set up of 3 at the back is meant to leave one of them free to receive the ball and relieve any pressure when passing around at the back. The problem comes when they are all under pressure, there is no out ball so defenders are in trouble. When they played it back to Mignolet, he messed up his kick, as always, and the ball ended up being gifted back to the opposition, so that option is a last resort. The reason Sakho is suffering the most is because both Coutinho and Moreno are blocking space in front of him, bringing more defenders over that side closing off passing avenues. When Can gets it, Markovic is usually running into space in front of him as Gerrard was staying central, creating a gap in front of Can to move forward, or to play the ball into. It is a problem with the set up, if Coutinho drifts out wide Moreno has to move inside when Sakho receives the ball. There has to be movement, instead of players stood still in front of him, creating space and options.}

Great answer and explanation Ed. Just spot on

{Ed001's Note - thank you.}

Skertel is very weak on the ball imagine having Agger there instead agger can sakho not so bad

Beautifully put ed01, i by far feel sakho is our safest defender . he shields the ball well too.

It's been one of our biggest problems all year. No movement.

Whether in the midfield, or the final third, movement is at a minimum. especially against lower placed opposition. I'll put it down to lack of experience/time at club; but it's time there was more effort, and intelligence shown in finding space.

Sahko is our best defender, period! He has had one bad game in 7 games YET he is rubbish because he had an average game. PATHETIC!

Thats your opinion redohio, it is not evrybody else's opinion so no not period and do you have to use insults PATHETIC! Remember what this page is about, who are you to tell everybody that they are wrong and you are right, are you right about everything? if yes then why are you posting on here and not in the dugout at Anfield?

28 Jan 2015 09:07:10
So we had no luck at all in the two games with decisions but our performance over the two legs was very very good. But know we have to turn last night's disappointment into a positive for the rest of the season. We can still make this into a very good season and have a lot to play for. Top four is still very much on and two trophies to play for.

Not sure about no luck? Having both Henderson and Lucas still on the pitch and Mignolet suddenly becoming great was luck itself. We had enough chances last night, Coutinho, Sterling both had one perfect chance each and Henersons header spring to mind.

Skertles tackle on costa was a stone wall pen aswell

To be top 4 we have to hope either each of southhampton, manchester united, tottenham, westham have extensive bad run or we win 12 of our next 16 our games. don't see either happening.

Yes big decisions either way but the first was Costa stamp on Can, they would have had ten men for 60/70 mins and he wouldn't have been on the pitch to get the pen. The way we played 11 v 11 i think we would have been favourites 10 v 11.

Mou would have parked he bus and for 120 mins hoping to win on away goals.

28 Jan 2015 08:11:43
Not a Balotelli fan and never will be but man alive he gets some overly harsh stick!

Ignoring the obvious that he's a striker and shouldn't be anywhere near their biggest goal threats at set plays, Balotelli actually did the right thing for the free kick (and in doing so, proved why it only works in a very stable team with 11 people who can defend in the air well and make good decisions). It's Johnson and Skrtel who screwed up.

In zonal defending, you start from the back of your zone and mark what's in front of you (because you can see everything in your zone). Johnson starts with Ivanovic in his zone and just wanders off into completely dead space with no Chelsea players in it, in the middle of his zone, for no reason. So he never gives the shout that Ivanovic is moving towards Skrtel's zone. Then Skrtel sees Ivanovic late but rather than move to meet the challenge and at least try and put him off as he should, he decides to stay at the back edge anyway to watch things happen. It's Skrtel not following the instructions and Johnson drifting that gives him the free header, not Balotelli who does the exact right thing by getting tight on the player in his zone (Costa). Which no doubt the punditry team would have been quick to point out last night had Balotelli and Skrtel switched where they were standing

28 Jan 2015 08:18:00
Balotelli gave the ball away in the first place that lead to the freekick in a dangerous position and didn't pick up his man. It is that simple really.

28 Jan 2015 09:59:21
The real AG yeah its that simple to find excuses to blame Balotelli for no reason.
Johnson was at fault for the goal as usual. Poor defending. The moment Sakho went out our defense was poor.

28 Jan 2015 12:15:57
Come on AG. He did badly to give the ball away. That didn't mean that Lucas has to give away the foul. Or that neither Johnson nor Skrtel can do their job at the set play. I'm not saying he's a great player or did well. But when he starts getting criticised for actually following the orders from training, it's too far

28 Jan 2015 06:54:05
We are in exactly the same position as Chelsea were in this time last year.
We need a striker.
We have a brilliant one returning from injury.
Why not go and buy another to be sure that we get what we need.
Sell Lambert, Sell Balotelli and sell Borini.
Does it matter how much we get for them if they are not what we want?
Do it now because it's getting boring watching us batter teams and getting beat.

No we're not jonnie, they had a world class gk, a fantastic defense, wonderful DM and midfielders who regularly scored and great subs.
Though I do agree that we should sell all three as BR seems to hate playing them and buy one who he would play.

28 Jan 2015 07:45:45
Because without selling them for what we want we cannot afford to buy a new one. Nor are many for sale. Not to mention it's a bit harsh on them to complain that we batter teams and get beat so we need to sell them and buy someone else - they barely ever get to play

Hijckle, your opinion, my opinion and been the Eds opinions don't matter, we have three strikers fit and our manager still plays a winger up front instead of them therefore he has no faith in them. So why keep them? It doesn't matter who else thinks they're good or being hard dine by BR doesn't trust them to start.
So sell them and buy 1 player who he does trust, then he can stop bit ching about Balotelli and stop having to ignore Boring even after he scores.
Why waste places on the bench with guys he really doesn't want to play and worst he won't even try one or two of the youth players just to see if they could step up. The guy is really starting to irk me

28 Jan 2015 17:09:40
Mcgoveb. Liverpools accounts are publically posted. Read them. We have no money. We cannot just give away assets, because we have no money to replacement. This is no-ones opinion. If you think it is incorrect, you are wrong. Just go read through them. In an ideal world, we'd sell them all for more or less what we bought them for and buy one or two we actually have real use for. But until we are offered money for them we can't just offload them.

I agree about the keeper Mcgoveb but in my opinion that can be dealt with in the summer.
My point is that we know what we need in order to have a good end to the season.
We have 3 days to do it.
If we don't add a striker who we trust to add to Sturridge coming back then we only have ourselves to blame.
Loan all 3 of them. I don't really care but act on what is staring us in the face.
We need a player to stick the ball in the onion bag.
Yes Sturridge will do that but if he goes down between now and the end of the season then we are back to what we watched last night.
Even Chelsea fans are telling me that if we had a striker we would be right up there with the best in the league.
Stop dithering and do something about it.

Hjickle. They have all had ample chances fela. That's just an excuse to mask over the fact they can't score.

Who signed these strikers, BTW?

Ha ha redohio.I am not immune to criticizing the committee:) I meant Rodgers.

28 Jan 2015 05:45:10
Couldn't watch the game last night as I live in Taiwan thus it was 4 in the morning and I'm working today (right now as it happens) - wanted to know the story with the Costa stamps: how deliberate were they and did the ref simply miss them or did he bottle what would have been a big decision (red card)? Was a little sad to wake, check the result, and see we failed to score (even though that was a prerequisite of us going through before kick-off) seems like our lack of goals is hurting us time and again this season.

{Ed001's Note - Brendan was collecting the Costa stamps for a free coffee.}

28 Jan 2015 07:54:41
The second stamp looked entirely accidental and wouldn't really have been picked up if it wasn't for the first stamp.

If the first stamp doesn't result in a retrospective ban, I have no idea how the FA run their disciplinary committee.

28 Jan 2015 08:08:30
The one on Emre Can was definitely deliberate and the referee had his view blocked. The second one is difficult to judge but I am sure Costa could have opted not to use Skrtel's leg as a landing pad on that occasion to. You might be tempted to give Costa the benefit of doubt but then you see his dirty side again, this time against Gerrard, trying to wind him up and you realize the one on Skrtel was just as deliberate as the one on Emre Can.

You just meet fire with fire, now I know the game has calmed down from years ago but you just take it and dish it back twice as hard, I am ashamed to listen to the whingers on about the stamps, it's a man's game .

28 Jan 2015 05:09:22
Tiago Ilori, would suite our team so well. Tall, skillful and speed. I've got a feeling he could be very good for us next year.

Would release Can to play next to Leiva or Henderson.

28 Jan 2015 02:48:49
Hello to the EDS and fellow REDS

Let's hope the Eds publish this:

Great show by the boys, well done, very unlucky. Mignolet you were excellent tonight. What do the fans know. Get Sterling to sign new contract. We are on the up. I know we lost but we gave Chelsea a run for their money and our finishing let us down.
But there are too many positives to think about. Well done BR, you certainly know more than some of jokers that post on here, me included.

One more chance to Balo and that's it. The guy is in his own world. Buck up or adieu.

Well done the boys. Mourinho, BR is the MAN!

Sturridge back, good times to follow.

YNWA

{Ed001's Note - we lose and that means the manager is a genius? Really? So not having a finisher, due to the manger who rejected all the available options ending up in us buying Balo, is now unlucky, rather than just bad management? You really have bizarre ideas.}

We started a must win game without a striker upfront.
we have to play emre can at RB for no reason we have 3 RB at the club.
coutinho and sterling both have the same problem - they cannot finish off the chances they so often create, yet the manager eludes to the fact that they both cpould do with a striker to support them.
we take out the crossing and creating chances from our game, nor do we have any target man for the set pieces.
and we are still susceptible to all set pieces.
its a fact that we have a team that can outplay anybody but our team has three glaring niggles
1) no finishers ( more to not playing any striker)
2) set-piece defense mayhem
3) glen johnson

i mean once again how can BR even think about a starting lineup without a striker in a must win game. they had zouma and terry at CB, the only weakish link chelsea have and we had no striker to give them any trouble at all for 70 mins.
and then he spouts out rubbish in the post game interview, we were brilliant and all that. no we werent, we lost to a very cheaply conceded goal.
this was probably the only cup we could have managed this season and now chelsea will have a double this season. this was in all way a tragedy for me, this result

Rogers also said he didn't want balo himself

Hi ed001, can of worms I guess but did BR reject any strikers other than Remy last summer?

{Ed001's Note - there were a number of options presented to him which were rejected, no other got anything like as far as agreeing a deal though, unlike Remy. But yes, he could have had other strikers, or at least there could have been an attempt made to sign them which never happened because of him. Bony would be the obvious standout name.}

"Ed01{Ed001's Note - we lose and that means the manager is a genius? Really? So not having a finisher, due to the manger who rejected all the available options ending up in us buying Balo, is now unlucky, rather than just bad management? You really have bizarre ideas.}"

Ed001, I did use the search function but couldn't find a clear answer. The "available options" you mentioned, could you remind us which players these were? Thanks.

What was your take on the performance last night, do you think BR is learning 'anything' from his mistakes?

{Ed001's Note - Bony was very much an option, Swansea were willing to sell, the money was there, he was given to Rodgers as an option but rejected.

If Rodgers was learning, why did he put Hendo out to the right? Why was Johnson on the bench? Why did he then shift Lucas to the right as soon as it became obvious his legs were gone? There are so many things he needs to learn, I have given up hope of it happening.}

28 Jan 2015 10:16:19
Bony would have cost double the money of Balotelli and frankly I don't think he would have been a good choice for our style of play. He is just a little better finisher than the 3 we have, let's see him in City(he will have a lot of help there).
There was no option in the summer that would have made the difference other than Sanchez and we all know it wasn't Rodgers fault for missing that player.
You have a vendetta against Rodgers, you are forgetting many things: a) Last year we were playing the best football I've seen us play the last 20 years. We overachieved. b) In his first years we were poor in the 1st half, one of the best teams in PL the 2nd half(in fact 2nd in points tally). That was quick for a team in transition. c) This year we lost Suarez, one of the 3 best players in the world and Strurridge our second best player. Our options in the transfer market were very limited as we also wanted depth to cope for CL so we couldn't buy a world class player and leave other positions aside. In the 1st half of the season due to the above and many other reasons(Rodgers also at fault) we were very very poor, unwatchable. But he turned it around rather quickly with actually NO striker. The team is again joy to watch in most of the last 10+ matches but we are playing catch up to poor start of the season. You also can't be seriously blaming him for losing to Chelsea in the cup.
It is obvious you have a desire to coach Liverpool and you think you are better than him, but a guy who believes Johnson should have started can't be seriously considering such things.

{Ed001's Note - actually he wouldn't have cost double and his wages and signing fee were much lower. It would have been a similar financial outlay for the club, except Bony is a far better player. Plus, he is absolutely suited for our style, I don't understand why you would say otherwise? He is big, quick, strong and likes to put opposition defenders under pressure. All the things we need.

I have no vendetta against anyone, I am just not blinded by a second place, just like I wasn't when Rafa and Ged got us second. You are too childish to see it as anything other than a vendetta, as you haven't the maturity to see things without emotion. Set that aside and then you will see my points are correct and you are, again, just like in your ignorant lack of analysis of Bony, wrong.

A) We did not over achieve at all. We reached the place we deserved due to the way we played. So why did we not stick to playing like that? I would suggest, though you obviously can't remove the blinkers and see it, that it would be the manager that is at fault for that.

B) How is that quick? Have you been too ignorant to watch Southampton this season as well as not bothering to watch Bony? Total crap. That is all that point is. There is absolutely no reason for it to take half a season.

C) They were not limited, Rodgers got the players he wanted, that is not limited, bar one, Sanchez. He chose not to target any other top players, instead to go for quantity. His choice, so he has to take the blame if it is not working out.

We have strikers, lots of them, but Rodgers won't play them, we ended the game with two on the pitch. So that is just a lie. Try and keep up and maybe you will be able to make points with sense instead of this mess.

Yes I can blame him for losing to Chelsea, he is in charge, it is his can to carry. He chose the players, he chose to buy those players, he picked the tactics etc etc. His fault if we are not able to capitalise on the chances we create.

Sorry but what kind of idiot thinks I want Johnson to start? Did I say that? I asked why he was on the bench, never asked why he was not in the team did I? As for a desire to coach Liverpool, of course I want to, what kind of idiotic comment is that? Is that meant to be an insult? If so you really need to rethink what you have to say. As for better than Rodgers, in some areas of the game I am. Analysis for instance, but coaching? No he is a better coach than me, without doubt. Management though, he is simply not good enough for us, and much as I would love to think I am, I doubt I would be either, but I am not being paid huge sums of money to do the job, so it is irrelevant whether I can manage better or not.}

28 Jan 2015 11:25:59
Hi Eds

.........................abuse about players deleted..............

28 Jan 2015 11:39:25
Thanks for the reply Ed001, forgot about Bony, and I still find the situation with regards Remi strange. He was goingti sign and then the last minute, BR throw's a spanner. I know there was something to do with a heart condition?, but he done alright playing elsewhere.

Btw, on another subject, with regards the full review taking place at LFC currently, does the review look at comments on established sites like this one to get a feel for what the fans think and feel? ( I know there are others, but this one is by far the best as its the most organised and has knowledgeable people, like yourself and Ed002 at the helm).

{Ed002's Note - There was no "heart condition" it was simply that BR decided he did not want him.}

28 Jan 2015 13:57:59
hi eds
shall reput it then:

balotelli awful - gave away free kick for free kick and then didn't mark his man for goal. i think borini isn't much kop but would have been better than mario but personally i don't understand why llalana didn't come on, if he wanted to play lambert and sterling surely llalana's energy,pace,trickery would have been a far better substitution to bring on.

28 Jan 2015 15:10:32
I watched Bony on several occasions and frankly I don't think he is quick. Also I don't think he would have given us more than 15 goals a season in the PL, any season. He is just a strong striker who has some eye for goal but nowhere near the top player we needed. Do you also believe Benteke would have suited us? Balotelli was a wrong choice also but as I said there were not many options for strikers out there that suited our pockets.
Also no it is not the managers fault that we needed depth. We needed most of the players we got par Manquillo and it was the right move to get those players and this is more obvious day by day. We were not in a position to buy just two top class players as Chelsea because we didn't have depth. Next year the right move will be to buy just two top class players.
As far as Southampton goes every now and then a team makes the headlines do you really think Koeman has what it takes to keep them there for years? I doubt it. Also they didn't lost a Suarez or Sturridge, they lost a Lallana and a Lambert and some kids.
Also about the 2nd place last year, whose style of play brought us there that you so say we played really well? Rodgers'! We came 2nd only because of the game with Chelsea. One mistake from an inexperienced manager, yet he gets no gratitude for taking you from the dumpster and bringing you back to your glories. Am I ignorant? No I think you are one of those spoiled glory hunter fans after all, who think the manager should be taking the title every year to remain at Liverpool.
About losing the Chelsea game, your comment is ridiculous. One team wins and it is about two giants. You can't blame a coach for losing to Chelsea. So by your thinking Mourinho would have been a crap manager if he lost yesterday. Losing our chances? Ask Chelsea about losing their chances. Is Mourinho at fault about that also?

{Ed001's Note - if you can't even see Bony is quick, how can you expect to be taken seriously? Bony is nothing like Benteke, Bony can play a number of different roles, Benteke is a target man only. Why are you even comparing them? Try watching them and actually seeing what they do.

We needed very few of the players we bought, they were bought for the future. Why did we need to buy them for the future when we needed players for now? You will have to explain that bizarre thinking, why we needed attacking midfielders when we had about 9 at the club already and ended up loaning out 2 to make space. Did we really need another centre back?

What has that ridiculous comment about Koeman's ability to keep Saints at the top for years got to do with it? You made the nonsense claim that it takes months to get a team playing, which clearly it does not as he got them up and running from the start. We didn't lose Studge, he got an injury, they lost their best striker for the whole season, so they can be compared as we bought their second best striker, their best attacking midfielder. They also lost their best left back and their main cover for right back/centre back, but didn't rake in over 80m to replace them.

Spoiled glory hunter? Are you really that stupid? You mean because I am not happy with coming second and then letting it all slide the following season, that makes me a spoiled glory hunter? Or could it be just that I expect my team to compete each season, as they should do when they spend 100m in the summer. Even the manager you are so intent on brown nosing said that, but he is unable to do so. By his own standards he is an utter failure this season and deserves the sack. I would have been happy to see us compete, I never expected the title this year but I am certainly not some sheep happy to accept miserable failure because the manager once failed a bit less miserably the season before. By the way, that crap about losing it because of the Chelsea game is just that, crap. We lost because our manager that you adore so much, was unable to stop himself reverting to the crappy pass pass pass across the backline football he started this season with. If he had started the season with a more attacking style we would have picked up more points in the first half of the season. We were almost completely out of the title race by the time he decided to go for it. That is why we failed, because of the manager that everyone is worshipping for almost rectifying his own failing.

Did I say he was crap for losing? Or did I say he has to accept the blame? Are you just making lies up in your head to try and make yourself feel better?}

28 Jan 2015 15:39:06
Wow Ed002, no 'heart condition' that is interesting! Looks like the Press creating something out of nothing and everyone (almost everyone) believes it.

28 Jan 2015 19:49:59
Bony fast? We have different meaning to the word fast it seems. Fast: Sterling, Sturridge, Suarez etc etc. Bony is not fast.
Again you are completely failing to see the point. We were a club in transition after almost going bankrupt. The years before Rodgers we were unwatchable, even if we went to two cup finals. Our team was mostly unworthy of even comparing to the top teams. Then we had to compete more than 3 teams.
Enter Rodgers who made us play beautiful football yet you bash him like he is the worst of the kind. In his first season he made bad signings and I will say it once more. At the time we needed only two top class players instead of the crap he bought on the summer. We bought them in the January and he got us kicking. You expect to win the PL when you have against you 5 big teams that spend much more than you(NET) and they had readymade teams?? We were on a building face and withing a year he got us challenging. And you bash him??? And you demand from him to win it after 2, 3, 4 or even 5 years?? Yes you are a spoiled glory hunter.
Liverpool had the best chanced last year, we overachieved because we didn't play CL. It was Rodgers that made us overachieve.
What I blame Rodgers is his pathetic first half of this season and some his failed signings. I don't blame him for buying Lallana, Markovic or even Balotelli. Obviously Alberto and Aspas were nowhere near good enough for Liverpool so we needed to replace them. I don't care about losing Suso because we have better players there.
And as far as yesterday's game we both had from one half. If it hadn't been for Sakho's injury I don't believe we were going to lose so I don't see why Rodgers is to be blamed for losing to Chelsea 1-0 in extra time in Stamford Bridge. Because it is ridiculous to blame a coach for doing that. In fact he gets my applause for having the team play better than Chelsea overall, even if we lost at the end due to circumstances.

Ed001, you said, "If Rodgers was learning, why did he put Hendo out to the right? Why was Johnson on the bench? Why did he then shift Lucas to the right as soon as it became obvious his legs were gone? There are so many things he needs to learn, I have given up hope of it happening"

I hope that whoever is part of conducting the review has taken full notes of the fact he is not learn't from any mistakes he's made whatsoever. I know some people that still believe Brendan is the best thing Liverpool FC have since sliced bread, despite everything that has happened, and some feel that the summer purchases were all excellent.

{Ed001's Note - I would hope it was obvious how the same mistakes are being repeated again and again but judging by the support he enjoys here, it doesn't seem to be.}