Liverpool FC Forum

[Stu the Red]

Stu, do you think that we can play 5 Coutinho's in midfield and be relatively successful like qualify for CL?

I don't think so mate as there is only one Coutinho currently playing for Liverpool.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Rodgers threw away two valuable points at a crucial stage of the season there with his team selection.
If we would have started that game with Allen, Lucas and hendo in CM we would have won that game. Why are we bending over backwards, changing formations and changing a winning formula to accommodate a 33 year old?
This is Liverpool fc not Steven Gerrard fc

[metalhead]

f*cked up with his team selection today

If it's ain't broke then don't fix it.

Why did he have to change a formation that we've been playing well with. Arrogance

[sgs]

The constant changing of systems is driving me up the wall. I like BR but maybe we should petition to urge him to settle down on a system and not keep switching things around. Just when it appeared the MF was looking like settling in he throws a spanner in the works with switch of Gerrard's position.

Anyone can tell Cissokoh is barely an average fullback and not a wingback in a million years. Why keep going back to it...

[damjan193]

Well he certainly wasn't going to play Lucas and Gerrard in midfield against a fast moving Aston Villa was he? Playing those two together proved to be equal to suicide a lot of times because of their low mobility and it was logical to think that it was going to be a huge problem against a side like A.Villa.

But he got it wrong when he thought that Gerrard should play the holding midfield role by himself, which proved to be crucial for our defeat. It's time Rodgers grew some balls and dropped Gerrard instead of trying to accommodate him.

[Boocity]

With Allen back he had the opportunity to play the midfield that destroyed Spurs but unfortunately Gerrard is the first name on the teamsheet. Reminds me of when I was a kid and Callaghan kept on keeping his place even though he was well past it. I am not saying Gerrard doesnt have a part to play but we shouldn't be building a team around a 33 year old

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

With Allen back he had the opportunity to play the midfield that destroyed Spurs but unfortunately Gerrard is the first name on the teamsheet. Reminds me of when I was a kid and Callaghan kept on keeping his place even though he was well past it. I am not saying Gerrard doesnt have a part to play but we shouldn't be building a team around a 33 year old

Funny enough when bill shankly first arrived at anfield he had a similar dilemma to Rodgers, billy Liddell was nearing the end of his career but he was probably the greatest figure in this clubs history.
Shanks made the big decision and dropped the great man for a 17 year old local lad no one had ever heard of, it caused a huge stink at the time but shanks wanted to build a young, dynamic side.
Btw the 17 year old local lad was Ian Callaghan.
People have compared Rodgers to shankly, well......time to see if Brendan is really the second coming of the great man

[sgs]

Well he certainly wasn't going to play Lucas and Gerrard in midfield against a fast moving Aston Villa was he? Playing those two together proved to be equal to suicide a lot of times because of their low mobility and it was logical to think that it was going to be a huge problem against a side like A.Villa.

But he got it wrong when he thought that Gerrard should play the holding midfield role by himself, which proved to be crucial for our defeat. It's time Rodgers grew some balls and dropped Gerrard instead of trying to accommodate him.

Ironically the one sustained period of control we had in MF was when Lucas was on the field!

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

Well he certainly wasn't going to play Lucas and Gerrard in midfield against a fast moving Aston Villa was he? Playing those two together proved to be equal to suicide a lot of times because of their low mobility and it was logical to think that it was going to be a huge problem against a side like A.Villa.

But he got it wrong when he thought that Gerrard should play the holding midfield role by himself, which proved to be crucial for our defeat. It's time Rodgers grew some balls and dropped Gerrard instead of trying to accommodate him.

Ironically the one sustained period of control we had in MF was when Lucas was on the field!

It didn't look good when he went off either, he was clutching the knee that kept him out for a calendar year.
We desperately need to sign a genuine DM in the next couple of weeks and play him behind Allen and hendo, Brendan needs to stop talking about building a side around a 33 year old who isn't tactically aware enough or athletic enough to be the pivot in the side.
We are now 8 points behind arsenal and 7 behind city, there' s a definite gap opening up between the top 2 or 3 clubs and those fighting it out for 4th, we need to stop experimenting and trying to find ways to shoehorn gerrard into the starting line up because it is costing us points.

[red till i die!!]

the only way he will drop gerrard is if he gets injured, he has way too much of a soft spot for stevie methinks.
defensively we are a shambles, we spent the best part of the summers budget on it and it looks worse than ever. we need to sign some quality players this window that improve the first 11 now and a top midfielder should be a priority.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

the only way he will drop gerrard is if he gets injured, he has way too much of a soft spot for stevie methinks.
defensively we are a shambles, we spent the best part of the summers budget on it and it looks worse than ever. we need to sign some quality players this window that improve the first 11 now and a top midfielder should be a priority.

We do need reinforcing but Brendan had the 3 midfielders who played when we smashed Tottenham (and gave a good account of ourselves at city) at his disposal today.
He chose to leave 2 of them on the bench.
We had the players available to win that game comfortably IMO, that's what's so frustrating about today. If we were decimated by injuries I'd say fair enough but we blew 2 valuable points because Rodgers is reluctant to drop Gerrard.
Our form over our last 5 games has been LLWWD, that ain't CL form, with 2 recent losses today wasn't the day to start experimenting.
If results go against us tomorrow and Monday we could find ourselves outside the top 4 after being top only 3 weeks ago.

[ConnO'var]

Seriously mate?

I cannot subscribe to the hypothesis that we lost points because of Gerrard in this match.
We dropped points because BR threw caution to the wind and played a 4-2-4 line up against a team that has a feared striker in the form of Bentecke.
How can we expect 2 men in the centre of the park to control the ebb and flow of the defensive side of the game and still create chances for the 4 men upfront?

We were over run plain and simple. When Lucas came on, we were better simply because we had another body in there. Certainly not due to any added quality that Lucas offered (and please don't get me wrong... I am not slating Lucas here). The reason we were better was simply due to the change in tactics, IMO.

BR got a little too arrogant here and honestly he should have known better with the state of our defense down the flanks. Cisshoko and whatshisname were awful. They afforded no cover to our centre halves and the midfield duo had their hands full with the opponents midfielders thereby affording them (our centre halves) even less protection.

That's how I see it.

If BR wants to play a 4-2-4, he needs to realize that we simply don't have the personnel to do it.... and certainly a 33 year old who has visibly slown down cannot be part of such a system. All in all a bad day from the gaffer.

My 2p worth at any rate.

[ycsatbjywtbiastkamb]

But even when we play gerrard in a midfield 3 we don't look great, our forwards have been carrying our midfield practically all season, the only time our midfield has looked half decent was when gerrard was injured.
IMO gerrard is like Carroll, a square peg for this system Rodgers wants to play.
Because the situation with our fullbacks has almost reached comedy proportions I'd be tempted to put Gerrard in at right back and move Johnson over to the left side where he seems to play a bit better.

[ConnO'var]

Agreed yakka...

We have not looked great in a 3 men midfield either but we have been winning.... The reasons for it we can discuss at length in a more appropriate thread. As like you, I am concerned about the state of our midfield.

My point being, in yesterday's case, pointing the finger at Gerrard for the poor showing yesterday is patently unfair. If it had been Lucas/Hendo or Hendo/Allen or Lucas/Allen in the centre of the park we would have still struggled. This time around I would put the responsibility squarely on BR's shoulders.

For what it's worth, putting Gerrard as a right back instead of Johnson would definitely be an improvement... agreed. On Johnson however, instead of on the left, I think better to have left him out.... of Anfield. The lad is lazy and disinterested and not earning even a fraction of his pay. And to make things worse, he is not too bright and that is putting it mildly. A combination of all 3 characteristics described makes him a complete and utter liability and right now, he is NOT doing justice to the shirt and badge he is wearing. That just screws everything else up on the field.

[sgs]

Apart from LB we have international defenders in every other position. How can the defence then be so poor as to constantly concede goals in almost every game?