Liverpool FC Forum

[Thommo's perm]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-only-1768485

not a good read.

Man city have spent gazillions and are probably the worst team in the league at the moment. A bigger gang of posing, passionless, useless overpaid ***** I have yet to see.
They got absolutely terrorised by everton yesterday so buying expensive players is not the answer

[Benny The Noon]

At the moment I'm not sure if BR has what it takes

I think he is a very good coach but not sure about his managerial abilities

[Benny The Noon]

No déjà vu for Liverpool, just failing to learn from mistakes
Posted by Kristian Walsh

As another half-hearted Liverpool attack finished how it started, eyes scanned the scoreboard at St Mary's. Five minutes it replied, but it felt like 50, 500, forever.

The question of how long remained was not preempting one final drive toward redemption but simply how long the marathon of misery in the 3-1 defeat would be prolonged for. How familiar it felt, even if it had been a while.

Déjà vu does not exist in football. It is simply an inability to learn from mistakes. The mistakes came often on this sorry afternoon, the biggest two coming before a ball had been kicked. There were two changes from the side that beat Spurs -- one enforced, one voluntary, but both ultimately detrimental to Liverpool's hope for a point, let alone three.

This is a story that has been told before and, most worryingly of all, will definitely be told again: defensive frailties, midfield imbalance, attacking ataxia -- all familiar foes that returned at the time when Liverpool needed to smother them most.

But before the post-mortem, take time to simply assess a result that leaves Liverpool's season motionless on a cold, hard slab of concrete. The season is quite not over with eight games remaining, but the epitaph has begun. In truth, the engraving could be completed already, for Liverpool's issues are clear for all and have been all season.

When Liverpool are good, they can be phenomenal; when Liverpool are bad, they are monstrous. Here, they were the latter in all its hideous grotesqueness, a distorted portrait to show exactly why they are struggling to qualify for Europe next season. It was 90 minutes of ineptitude and frustration from the away side with only the briefest respite given by Philippe Coutinho just before halftime.

After four consecutive victories and 15 goals scored, little needed to change for Liverpool to maintain this momentum. But with Jamie Carragher ruled out, Brendan Rodgers had little choice but to turn to Martin Skrtel, whose spell on the sideline did little to halt his downturn in form.

With one foot out of the Anfield exit door, it is little surprise Skrtel struggles to keep his balance in the centre of defence. He is a player who typifies this Liverpool side, as it is impossible to determine which incarnation will appear. More often than not this season, he has been the one who is bullied by centre forwards and finds himself taking positions as rash as his challenges. So it proved again within five minutes, a mistake from Glen Johnson followed by the Slovak's failure to track Morgan Schneiderlin's run. The following 85 minutes would bring little more.

Nothing could be done about Skrtel's inclusion, though an international centre back should not be such cause for panic. But something could have -- and should have -- been done about the baffling midfield choice. Of all the mistakes made this season, there has been far too much clamour to attribute them to Rodgers. There has been an unfair scramble from some to lay all travails at the small feet of the Northern Irishman.

But the decision to play a half-fit Joe Allen instead of a similarly afflicted Lucas Leiva or a fully fit Jordan Henderson has Rodgers' fingerprints all over it. Against a side of Southampton's setup, it was sheer criminality. It was recently revealed Allen awaits surgery on his shoulder after playing with the complaint since October, something that surprised few given his decline this season. Southampton are a side that press high up the pitch, giving the opposition little time on the ball. Since Mauricio Pochettino's arrival, they have also worked on moving both horizontally and vertically, closing down the angles for passing.

Allen at 100 percent may be able to cope with this, but with the Welshman lacking confidence -- even more so due to his injury -- it would prove a costly addition. To play just two in central midfield against Southampton's industrious five was chancy; to choose Allen ahead of the energy of Henderson or strength of Lucas, albeit strength hindered by a slight knock, was asinine. For Rodgers, the midfield selection was either arrogant or inept. Pick your poison.

That is not to blame Skrtel or Allen solely for the defeat. In such a defeat, blame is an obsolete concept. To scapegoat them would be grossly unfair, for this was a team unified in mediocrity and disharmony.

It is also a team with a spine that shatters under minimal pressure. For full proof, see the expected second-half charge that never threatened to materialise. Southampton's third goal typified the surrender, Jay Rodriguez running from the halfway line unchallenged, for to define the attempts by Lucas and Skrtel as challenges stretches its very definition.

Liverpool do not have a team that can achieve anything if every outfield player fails to. Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez failed to combine bar a fleeting 10-minute spell in the first half; Stewart Downing and Coutinho worked hard, but every action was one of futility. Steven Gerrard struggled, Daniel Agger flailed his limbs in wild panic, and Johnson produced a 90 minutes that has recently become commonplace, playing as if his feet were turned backward. That Brad Jones was Liverpool's best performer says more than anything else.

But above all the problems on and off the pitch, the biggest one is that they are yet to fully learn from them. Until they do, success will be a far-flung notion. They cannot keep making mistakes, particularly at times when all seemed to be falling into place and momentum started to build once more. Though Rodgers brought on Lucas at halftime, it was 45 minutes too late. Most knew it as the game kicked off, including the midfield milquetoast Allen, who nervously fumbled with his shorts as the game began, searching for anything but the ball.

Perhaps he was searching for the answer to one of the biggest questions of Rodgers' reign: the remarginalisation of Henderson, particularly in games suited to him. Imagine finding a completed Rubik's Cube and smashing it to smithereens. After two excellent performances away to Manchester City and Arsenal, he has inexplicably played just 116 minutes. At a time when he should be given more responsibility, all semblance of it has been snatched from him.

And so the story goes on. The pages keep turning as they have for the past few years. It is not always a pleasant read for Liverpool, as great performances and a good run of form are abruptly ended at any given moment. The mental barrier is yet to be broken down. With Arsenal and Everton both winning, it is yet another must-win moment that evaporated in such ignominy with another three goals against them. Liverpool have conceded two or more goals in over half their league games but also have kept 12 clean sheets. This is the dichotomy of Liverpool; this is their inconsistency.

This inconsistency is not limited to Rodgers' time, but some decisions will hardly change that. He has had good moments since his arrival, but this was not one of them. He must learn, as must his squad. When, how and if that will happen remain unanswered. Any sign of it happening usually serves only to make the fall back to earth that little bit more bruising.

Déjà vu does not exist in football. It is simply an inability to learn from mistakes. They must learn from them both on and off the pitch or risk this maddening, topsy-turvy existence for a while longer.

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/liverpool/id/767?cc=5739

[Benny The Noon]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-only-1768485

not a good read.

Man city have spent gazillions and are probably the worst team in the league at the moment. A bigger gang of posing, passionless, useless overpaid ***** I have yet to see.
They got absolutely terrorised by everton yesterday so buying expensive players is not the answer

Buying quality players is the answer.

Just because they are expensive doesnt mean they are quality

But to get the right quality needed you need to spend a bit of money.

If our budget is £20mil that will get us one quality player with a bit of change - it's not enough and it will be bargain basement shopping again.

Exactly what life was like for under Moores

As an example - Eriksson will cost around £20mil

So will someone like De Vrij .

£20mil is a budget for a mid table team.

[friendlyguy33]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-only-1768485

not a good read.

Man city have spent gazillions and are probably the worst team in the league at the moment. A bigger gang of posing, passionless, useless overpaid ***** I have yet to see.
They got absolutely terrorised by everton yesterday so buying expensive players is not the answer

Buying quality players is the answer.

Just because they are expensive doesnt mean they are quality

But to get the right quality needed you need to spend a bit of money.

If our budget is £20mil that will get us one quality player with a bit of change - it's not enough and it will be bargain basement shopping again.

Exactly what life was like for under Moores

As an example - Eriksson will cost around £20mil

So will someone like De Vrij .

£20mil is a budget for a mid table team.

I'm not sure it's about bringing in 'quality'. Johnson is an international full back but has been too inconsistent this season. Enrique doesn't always deliver. Last season the defence was too deep as they were under Hodgson this season they've been too high like against Zenit at home for their goal.

Tactically I would question how the team has been set up for each game particularly after a win. They just have the look of a mid-table side that perform well in some games but cannot adjust to different games against different teams or styles. Kenny's team didn't score many goals last season but they were set up better through the team and more likely to grind out a result.

[Thommo's perm]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-only-1768485

not a good read.

Man city have spent gazillions and are probably the worst team in the league at the moment. A bigger gang of posing, passionless, useless overpaid ***** I have yet to see.
They got absolutely terrorised by everton yesterday so buying expensive players is not the answer

Buying quality players is the answer.

Just because they are expensive doesnt mean they are quality

But to get the right quality needed you need to spend a bit of money.

If our budget is £20mil that will get us one quality player with a bit of change - it's not enough and it will be bargain basement shopping again.

Exactly what life was like for under Moores

As an example - Eriksson will cost around £20mil

So will someone like De Vrij .

£20mil is a budget for a mid table team.

Where did you get the £20 million figure from?

[red till i die!!]

have to say i agree with benny.
quality costs at least 20 mil and more if its proven and thats what we need if we are going to challenge. we dont need to sign 7 or 8 players at 20+ but we definately need at least 3.
this notion of unearthing gems for little and growing them has its flaws. we need players that can turn it on and pull it out of the bag when we are lacking in games like that and they cost decent money. we have loads of potential but not the time to wait for the chance it might show up. if he has 20 then say another 20 from player sales then id rather see him spend it on 2 players that will really make a difference next season. we wont have europe so we can afford to hold on till january and add more then.
allen should have never being near that starting lineup if there was any doubt in rodgers mind that he wasnt fit enough to give 100%. this talk of shoulder injurys since october is just spin to compensate for how bad he has actually been.
rodgers has been chopping and changing loads over the season, he virtually overplayed sterling and then dropped like a block, similar story with shelvey and suso. those players played well for us over the start of the season and while they arent starters im disapointed that they are not been given more game time.
also considering rodgers was willing to let henderson leave on a free its no wonder allen got the nod to start and probably always will.

[Benny The Noon]

Thommo - £20mil is the figure being mentioned in the media

[Thommo's perm]

Thommo - £20mil is the figure being mentioned in the media

Oh, bullsh'it then. Thought it was official

[Benny The Noon]

Yep it must be *****.

[damjan193]

With the sale of Skrtel and Carroll we should have at least 40 mil. I think we could bring 2 or 3 quality players with those money.

And Eriksen or De Vrij would not cost that much Benny. Players from the Dutch league rarely cost that much.

[Kenny Kan]

With the sale of Skrtel and Carroll we should have at least 40 mil. I think we could bring 2 or 3 quality players with those money.

And Eriksen or De Vrij would not cost that much Benny. Players from the Dutch league rarely cost that much.

We'll be lucky to get half that.

[Benny The Noon]

With the sale of Skrtel and Carroll we should have at least 40 mil. I think we could bring 2 or 3 quality players with those money.

And Eriksen or De Vrij would not cost that much Benny. Players from the Dutch league rarely cost that much.

How much did Suarez cost ?

Both Eriksen and De Vrij are two of the brightest talents in football - they won't be cheap

[damjan193]

With the sale of Skrtel and Carroll we should have at least 40 mil. I think we could bring 2 or 3 quality players with those money.

And Eriksen or De Vrij would not cost that much Benny. Players from the Dutch league rarely cost that much.

How much did Suarez cost ?

Both Eriksen and De Vrij are two of the brightest talents in football - they won't be cheap

Mate, Suarez is a striker (strikers always tend to cost more) who had more goals in one season than he had appearances (not to mention that he also had a lot assists). He wasn't one of the best in the league, he was The best.

Eriksen might cost 20mil at most. De Vrij wouldn't cost more than 10.

[Green Environment]

TBH I have always and still held to the belief that appointing BR was a huge gamble and even if he does come out good in the end, he has got the Liverpool job too early at this stage of his career. He is FSG's man in that he fits their criteria of wanting a young manager with new ideas and I know he is a good manager and definitely good enough to manage any mid table club but the question is, will he ever be good enough to help Liverpool win the League again one day? Our results have been erratic since the turn of the year, playing very Barcelona like football and winning 3 games in a row and then suddenly, crash and blown up to pieces in the next game. To date, I am not impressed by BR, he has to do better than that IMO.