BLAME ON!

Before we lynch Sterling, I believe he is only 18 years young..............still a kid.

Cant say the same for Moses tho'

This post has been edited by prophetjul: Dec 3 2013, 07:20 AM

Linda mana?

hope this statement doesn't bite you back

Sorry but what does this mean? Rafa came under repeated criticism for rotating his squad even when it was proven that Fergie does it just as frequently. Of course no one brought that up simply because in the end, it matters little if you get results. Rafa did keep his spine though and players like Reina, Carra, Stevie and Torres always kept their place. Don't get what you mean when you say he keeps his best 11.

Rodgers did himself no favours when he lamented the lack of depth in the squad. Individual players aside, he built a team that I feel has too many defenders. How many teams have 4 first choice centrebacks in Toure, Agger, Skrtel and Sakho competing for starting berths, and 3 young centrebacks in Kelly, Coates, and Ilori looking to break into the side? We were thin in this department last season and I was pleased we were linked to centrebacks before the season began but I didn't think we'd sign all of them!

When we sold Jonjo Shelvey I thought it was fairly obvious that we needed to sign a central player and then we were linked with Mkhitaryan and then Eriksen but signed neither. Red alert! This had indeed come back to haunt us as our midfield trio of Steven Gerrard, Lucas and Henderson have been steamrolled in the last two games (not the first time this season either). Now, it could be said that no one expected Gerrard and Lucas to play this poorly and that Alberto flattered to deceive and hasn't been performing in training to warrant a first team start. I don't know about Alberto but I certainly didn't expect Gerrard and Lucas to be this poor. I reckon Henderson will play much better when played with more attacking players because based on statistics alone, he is clearly doing better as a defensive player. I can understand why Gerrard doesn't track players as well but Lucas has been really poor at getting back and making challenges. You blow by him and he's gone for good. Henderson is the only midfielder who continues to hound opposition players even if he's beaten.

Anyway I don't see the point in playing the blame game. Reminds me of our political satire. I'd much rather focus on moving forward.

Brendan Rodgers may yet be a top boss but he's the boss we've got and I think it's more productive to get behind the boss. Some of you may be familiar with the term, "circle of control", which essentially talks about concerns that we can address. We are in no position to make any managerial or board decisions like firing the manager or buying players. We do however have the power to influence how we react to situations. How I chose to react is to take this defeat on the chin (yet again) and focus on how we can set up to avoid facing a similar results this Wednesday.

One thing I like about Rodgers is his steely determination and superb handling of the press. Aside from the occasional hiccup, his responses are usually laced with class and confidence. In terms of his managerial ability, I'm not so sure if our drab performances this year have been down to tactics, poor choice of signings or both? Our midfield has been a letdown but none of Gerrard, Lucas nor Henderson has been his signing. No excuses when it comes to Allen and I can't even comment on Alberto as I don't see him in training. It's fairly obvious though that this is the department that has been failing us this season, coupled by the fact that we don't have good support players for the forwards with the exception of Countinho. The question I ask myself is this - would we be doing better with the same tactics but with better players?

It's OK to rotate as long as the core players are maintained. I'm concerned though that central defence has seen a lot of changes this season. I would have preferred an Agger-Sakho partnership to be honest.

The problem with BR is he hasn't totally figured out what he can come up with if the opposing team plays a high pressing game. We've got no big men upfront, so hoofing the ball clear isn't going to help one bit. To me, the team lacks a composed holding midfielder. Composed as in he can receive the ball from defence, hold it (shackle off a challenge or two if needed), turn, and distribute it to the flanks even under pressure. And also strong enough to do the defensive work. Lucas can receive and distribute it but more often than not, his passes are sideways or backwards when under pressure and invites the opposing team to push up even further to put the back four in deep shit.

Which led me to make the point I made yesterday about Lucas' role being an underrated one. It's the reason why I was baying for us to sign another holding midfielder who ultimately controls the pace of the game and is often the first player to decide where we start our forays forward? Mascherano was somewhat limited in distribution as well but he had Xabi Alonso who could pass the ball to the moon. Henderson doesn't have the same range and it's up to Stevie alone which makes Lucas' role that much more important. When the holding midfielder has a poor game, the team will often suffer.

In terms of our central pairing, I reckon Sktrel and Agger have the best understanding having served together the longest and should therefore be deployed for big games. Agger and Sakho could form a good pairing as they complement one another well much like the Agger-Skrtel pairing.

Tend to agree with you guys....our engine room needs fixing. Its been broken for many years now since Monsta/ Xabi pairing.
Many have come in BUT.......its still a mess.
An aging Stevie with a limited Henderson is most probably not the way forward.

It need s MAJOR overhaul.

Maybe not an overhaul in midfield. Maybe, the system just needs tinkering especially against teams that deploy a high pressing game. Perhaps change where the players need to run to find space or having Coutinho to come slightly deeper to receive it or have a decoy runner to create space in midfield or something. Not sure but BR definitely needs to find a solution to this. Then again, all these things are easy to say, not so easy to implement.

We clearly missed Agger and Enrique in the game against Hull. Both can be outlets for Lucas since both are comfortable bringing the ball forward compared to the other defenders in the squad. Look at when Skrtel or Toure receives the ball, they're so hesitant to bring it up 10 yards. Add a struggling Johnson and a rather inexperienced Flanagan, we were basically struggling to get the ball out of our own half, which was painful to watch.

man utd doesnt have a better DM when we came second in the league but they have a better attacking players..for me, a good wide attacking player is a priority than a DM..to won the league u must beat smaller teams...to beat them u must attack from the first minute coz they will play ultra defensive like what Hull did...Moses and Sterling didnt give us the quality that we need to break them down

Who was playing in that position for them then? Fletcher? Carrick? Both have better passing range than Mascherano who like I mentioned, was well supported by Xabi Alonso who at one point, led the league in interceptions made indicating that he was doing his fair share defensively. Mascherano on his own is a pretty limited player. He's been playing centreback for Barca meaning he's pretty much limited to just performing defensive duties.

Against teams that park the bus, movement off the ball is to me, more important that movement with the ball because you have so little space. The onus is therefore on players to make runs across the opposition goal in an attempt to pull defenders out of position and then for the best passers on your team to look for gaps. The problem we had is that our most creative player i.e. Countinho was no on the pitch and with the exception of Suarez, none of the other players are as good as say Dirk Kuyt in movement off the ball. Sterling needs to ball at his feet and Moses just isn't that good a player. He doesn't score that many for an attacking player and when he does, he does so in patches. We are often very static when faced with compact defences.

a good wide attacking player doesnt guarantee we can score. We dont have a poacher inside the box while Man Utd have RVP, Hernandez which are good at that.

what we need more is the team to provide a bit more of creativity. Players who run to create a space for other player to pass.

Did anyone saw Suarez pass anything to Coutinho on the game against Hull? When Coutinho has the ball Suarez was not finding any space to run so that he could pass to him. What I saw is that Suarez is just walking towards defender and doenst seem to be interested at all. I really hope there is nothing between the two.

Roy Hodgson tries to disguise any notion that he may still be bitter. Had a go at the fans as well didn't he?

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/44...him-past-injury

Brendan Rodgers did indicate that we lack squad depth which is his own doing but he did not shirk all responsibility for our poor showing

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...rs-8978789.html



Respect for owning up.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Dec 3 2013, 12:09 PM

but still at that time we have the best midfield in the league..usually we dominate the possession, but at the end of the season we came second coz we juz cant killed off smaller teams...often getting a draw




there u say it..our attacking player aka Coutinho not starting is the reason we cant killed off these park the bus teams

Duke @ Agreed. What i'm trying to shall that Rafa Keep the Spine in team well.
Reina > Carra > Agger /Hyypia > Finnan/Arbeloa > Alonso/Mascherano > Kuyt > Gerrard > Torres
He does rotates mainly in wings area.

Pennock in running to become new academy director
Swansea City's former academy chief Tony Pennock is in the running to become Liverpool's new academy director. Shortly after Frank McParland and Rodolfo Borrell were sacked by Liverpool, Pennock stood down at Swansea sparking speculation that he's been approached by Reds' boss Brendan Rodgers. On leaving Swansea, Pennock said: "After nearly six years at the club I feel the time is right for change and a new challenge."At this time there is no official news from Liverpool with regards any new appointments but that could be about to change if Pennock has been handed the role.

This is What the Fan's Said....Left comment
@ Ajoy
commiting hara-kiri has become some sort of a norm at Liverpool. Replace world class academy directors with a boy. God forgive them, they dont know what they are doing.
@ Markhead
When you hear stuff like this you have to ask where rodgers and these owners are taking our club. A top draw internationally respected coach getting the boot to make way for another one of Brendan's buddies. Our current league position is giving everybody a distorted view of our progress (or rather lack of progress), the only decent sides we've played have all been better than us. Outclassed by Arsenal, outplayed on our own pitch by Southampton, second best for the most part against Everton, second best and lucky to cling on at home to the mancs. Today's result and performance is an indication that reality has kicked in with the surrounding pack now moving in for the kill. Come the end of January I expect us to be around 6th and by the end of the season 7th or 8th. These owners are continually looking to offload the big earners and trying to get average players to over achieve. In the pre season we were linked with every player going and rodgers said "that there are only a few players out there that are good enough to fit the model (whatever the f***ing model is suppossed to be)". Well what did we get? Moses and cissokho on loan ffs! Sorry to be negative, maybe I'm reacting to a bad day at the office but in all honesty I think I'm just being realistic.

Dammm.
Chris.

Previously hidden flaws in Brendan Rodgers’ design exposed by Hull by Richar Jolly "MUST READ"

Few clubs cherish their history quite like Liverpool. For 90 minutes on Sunday, they revisited their past. Not, however, the trophy-laden era of the 1970s and 1980s as much as the darker days of last season.

The Lost
The 3-1 loss at Hull City was all-too-reminiscent of defeats to Southampton, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, when as much as the endearing underdogs merited their triumphs, Liverpool appeared utterly unprepared and looked neither as committed nor coherent as the victors.

Liverpool Best Central Defender
It incorporated a strange selection which, in itself, felt like a throwback to the first few months of manager Brendan Rodgers’ reign. The Northern Irishman benched his best central defender, Daniel Agger, and rather than use the logical alternative, Mamadou Sakho, recalled Kolo Toure. The rationale, he explained, was that Hull are set-piece specialists.

Score From Set-Piece
Instead, the side to score from a dead-ball situation was Liverpool, courtesy of Steven Gerrard’s free kick. A previously goal-shy Hull team struck three times in open play.

Rodgers’ admission
Stranger still was Rodgers’ admission that Liverpool’s squad lacks the depth and ability to cope with injuries to Daniel Sturridge, out for up to eight weeks with an ankle injury, and Philippe Coutinho. After Hull had highlighted his side’s shortcomings, in particular the reliance on Sturridge and an uncharacteristically ineffective Luis Suarez, Rodgers flagged up his own failures.

Lacking Quality
Because, if Liverpool are lacking in both quality and quantity, he is among the prime culprits. For much of an encouraging 2013, his two great successes in the transfer market, Sturridge and Coutinho, have camouflaged the underachievement of others.

Trasnfers "Rodgers Era"
Simon Mignolet has proved an upgrade on the error-prone Pepe Reina in goal this season and the ebullient Toure, who arrived without a fee, has been an astute piece of business. Yet they are a quartet and Rodgers made 13 major signings since his arrival at Anfield last year. Five of them were among the replacements at Hull who, instead of providing proof of strength in depth, formed the basis of his complaints.

While it is laudable that he is not showing any favouritism toward his own buys, it was notable that the most expensive centre-back in Liverpool’s history, the £16 million (Dh96.5m) Sakho, was an unused replacement at the KC Stadium. So was the £15m midfielder Joe Allen. The £10.5m forward Fabio Borini is on loan at Sunderland.

In particular, there is the issue of Rodgers’s summer dealings. Seemingly the fourth-choice right-back, Jon Flanagan has been reinvented as the starting left-back because Aly Cissokho, borrowed from Valencia, looks a liability.

Some £22m was spent on Iago Aspas, Luis Alberto and Tiago Ilori. Only Aspas has started a league game and he looked far too lightweight to cope with the physicality of the Premier League. Alas, he is already 26.

Alberto is five years younger, but there is some scepticism around Anfield about how much talent the perennial substitute actually possesses. Ilori has been utterly anonymous.

While there may yet be long-term benefits to their signings, the reality is that this season has assumed colossal proportions for Liverpool.

Arsenal’s summer offers for Suarez were rebuffed in part because of the short-term goal of returning to the Champions League. The imperative in the transfer market was to find another match-winner and while Rodgers cannot be criticised for his ambitious attempts to sign Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Diego Costa and Willian, the supposed superstars turned them down and Liverpool paid a commensurate sum for three men who have made a negligible contribution.

Because results had largely been positive, because Suarez and Sturridge were so prolific and because Rodgers’s coaching prowess has improved some of his players, it had scarcely mattered. Now it does.

Liverpool are a progressive club again, but to advance in the way they want, they require a better return from their investments, both past and, with the January transfer window beckoning, future. It is also legitimate to question the effect of one outgoing coach’s impact – assistant manager Steve Clarke’s move to take over at West Bromwich Albion in 2012 – on their defensive solidity. Because Liverpool were poor at the back at Hull.

It was a game when each of the major problems of Rodgers’s reign, from poor recruitment to defensive mishaps and the occasional shocking display, coalesced. This was history repeating itself, an unwanted blast from the recent past.

Source @ Sports@thenational.ae

Chris Freaking Agreed with JOLLY!

Ayeee...........

It was the Southampton game all over again.
If Midfielders were more comfy with ball at feet, it would help.

Rafa's been known to play defensively or sets the team so, begins from the back. See where it got him. red carded by many liverpool purist, and got the boot from the management.

Roy Hougson...ok pass

Dalglish is known to be opposite. Favours the pass & move, Lfc scored a lot of goals, created lots of chances, a lot hit the tiang too. Defence..what's defence? He too got the boot too when we didn't clinch top 4.



Brendan Rodgers. "Tiki tala" in first season, worked but didn't quite work in first year. 2nd season, has anyone seen or mentioned that we still adopt this? Looks like it was rested, locked & stored in the boot room. (it seems)

"We are amongst the top on the standings (and league doesn't lie) so he must be doing something right then" < the verdict assessment of BR's assembled Liverpool.