Hope you had a good time last night. I was wasted. Last thing I remember was this cute chick from another table coming over with a bottle of whisky in her hand going "3 seconds!". The pain...

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 1 2014, 06:30 PM

Starting lineup is out.

Mignolet, Johnson, Cissokho, Skrtel, Agger, Hendo, Lucas, Coutinho, Sterling, Aspas, Suarez.

A quietly effective performance in the end. The ref had a poor first half if you ask me. Failed to punish offenders for some really heavy handed treatment dished out on Suarez. We really should have scored more. Sterling, Henderson and especially Coutinho missed some guilt edged opportunities. The Brazilian in particular was woeful in front of goal despite a good performance over all.

Credit to Henderson for playing the last 2 games whilst nursing an injury. Passed the ball around magnificently.

Nice to see Suarez and Rodgers exchange smiles near the end though I'm curious to know what it was about ?

On the issue of Cissokho it isn't as though Rodgers doesn't realise he's not up to par. I mean to bring Flanagan back and play him out of position for the first time in his Premiership career speaks volumes of how Rodgers views the situation at left back. I reckon we may see Kelly at right back with Johnson moving over to left back for our next game. I could have sworn however that I saw posters questioning the exclusion of Cissokho is our loss to City or Chelsea because he had one good game prior. Status quo has been restored.

Let's not forget than Henderson has been playing with an injury.

Flanagan is miles better than Cissokho at the moment and I'm really impressed by how much he's improved his offensive game as he never really had one. Great attitude shown by the lad to fight his way back into the first team. Not often you get a second bite at the cherry.

I won't be too harsh with Cissokho because he isn't our first choice left back. Can't expect our reserves to be world class.

On the issue of Wisdom I don't actually rate him that highly. I do however think he has potential being as young as he is but I'd not want him in the first team week in, week out. Flanagan is a prime example of how potential can be cultivated and shaped. He still has some ways to go but he's still got time on his side and I don't think he has plateaued yet.

Wtf is wrong with you? What a letdown

On the issue of transfers, Rodgers is just as successful as any other of our previous managers. To make things harder, he's had to work under constraints previous managers didn't in that he is instructed to sign young talent and investing In potential is always a risk. Also, we have scouts who fill up report cards. It isn't all down to Rodgers. The gaffer tells the scouts what he's looking for and they return with candidates. Else what are scouts for?

Does Rodgers travel the globe to watch players? Nope, scouts do. What he does is sign off on players that he picks from those presented to him. Else, what do scouts do? That's right, they scout players.

We've signed a few duds no doubt however I'd like to make 2 points.

1) Our net spend is less than even Cardiff.
http://hereisthecity.com/en-gb/2013/11/17/...er-rodgers-hol/
Rodgers fault for not spending enough or FSG for not providing the funds? We're in the business of investing in potential whether or no we like it. Suffice to say, this means there is a higher margin if error than if we were to buy established players. This isn't an excuse, this is fact. Prior to the games against the only two clubs with better home records than us, we were sitting pretty at the top of the league, at it was genius that we were in that position given how little we spent overall. This despite a "low" hit percentage on quality players.

2) I don't see how Rodgers has signed more duds than Rafa or Houllier? The percentage of hits in terms of squad and star players is acceptable from my recollection of previous percentages at our club or any other especially if you consider point 1). How many youngsters have failed to make the grade in the past? Leto? Paletta? Roque? Gonzalez? Barragan? Idrizaj? Ayala?

What Rodgers has done really well is to get the team to function as a unit and to play fluid football albeit not consistently, yet. He's also coached players to play above expectations. Henderson has been a revelation. Sterling and Flanagan have battled back to force their way into the first team. Suarez and Sturridge are both scoring for fun. Countinho dances his way past defenders with ease despite being frozen out at Inter. In spite of injuries and having a "thin" squad, we aren't doing too bad. Overall I applaud Rodgers for his handling of players. Also, if he makes a mistake in the transfer market, he isn't afraid to drop his own signings or to ship them out. Not like he hasn't tried to sign the likes of Mkhitaryan.

He's signed players in hope of playing tiki taka but when they've failed to do so, he's changed our style of play to a more direct brand of football and it isn't mere coincidence that the players in general have raised their game and are playing better than they were last season. Rodgers is still young for a gaffer but the next time anyone criticises him for being tactically naive, do take the time to look at the other side of the coin and notice the things he has done right such as changing the way we play to suit the players we have. I was gutted when Kenny left but I'm behind Rodgers now just as I am any manager who shows healthy respect for the club. Instead of focusing on what he's done wrong, I reckon we should look at what he's done right. Everyone did the same with Rafa, no?

Like anyone else though, I'd like recruits this Jan.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 3 2014, 10:31 AM

When comparing the transfer value of player signed today against yesterday, it is important to note how fast prices have inflated in such a short time. £10 million quid may not seem like a lot in today's transfer market but as hfi has pointed out, Djibril Cisse was once our record signing and we have since paid more for a host of players.

Suffice to say we are in the market of buying the "next Messi" rather than the actual one which I'm not adverse to. Arsenal have been doing it for years and have consistently finished in the top four, and are the healthiest financially of all the top clubs. It isn't that we didn't try to sign up and coming stars like Mkhitaryan and Costa in the summer but with no Champions League football and our preference to issue performance based contracts are deterrents.

This is hilarious.

Keep your pants on boys.

http://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/liver...medical-rumours?

We should dispatch Oldham tomorrow without too much fuss. Father and son reunion of sorts with Anton Rodgers playing for the Lactics.

The lack of depth in the middle has resulted in the likes of Jordan Henderson having to play virtually every minute of every game this season and he covers a lot of ground. Doesn't help the starters that the bench has not been performing. The likes of Aspas and Moses were brought in to challenge for a first team spot, enabling us to rotate our players but they've dissapointed so far. I reckon we'll field a fairly strong side given this and injuries of course. Not so long ago one would have been laughed at right in the face to suggest that we need Hendo in the side but the fact he's been playing despite carrying an injury shows just how vital he has become.

I agree with this. What happens when we play a team with a Jewish player in it? Will he be disciplined for unsportmanlike behaviour if he refuses to shake hands? Not so long ago religious groups were up in arms over Chelsea visiting Malaysia because they had a Jewish manager in Avram Grant and player in Talal Ben-Haim. It's also been said that the reason Liverpool have never visited Malaysia all these years until recently is because they were once disallowed entry because of Ronnie Rosenthal. I just think everyone should put their religious beliefs aside and keep things in the context of football. The people that started the war are not the same people on the pitch. Many of them don't even live in Israel anymore. It's like hating every Japanese today for the atrocities of World War 2.

On a side note,I think those of us not involved in the war should propogate peace and not hatred regardless of who you think is right.

Facts? Didnt Israel have to defend themselves against multiple countries who vastly outnumbered them? If you want to have a further conversation on this conflict, do so in the Real World Issues forum. I suggest you look a little further back in history since you're insinuating I don't read.

Why? Because there should be no place for this in a sport that has united the world. I'm guessing you never cheered for Yossi whenever he scored for us then? See again my analogy on Japan and World War 2. If you need me to spell it out plainly, I will.

Which is what I'm suggesting.

A lot of the time hate is manufactured. The younger generation is taught to hate without actually knowing why. I mean ask younger mancs why they hate us and what the origin of our rivalry is? Many I bet will have no idea. Hating the our fans isn't the same as hating the club mind you. In the case of Israel, I think many only look at one side of the coin calling them bullies but they fail to also note that Israel once had to defend themselves against a few Arab nations so should I call them all bullies as well? Also they boycott things when it's convenient. Like some of u have pointed out, Jews have made significant contributions and have won more Nobel prizes than any other race. They reaction towards Palestine may be extreme but the latter has also launched several terrorists attacks and have claimed innocent lives as well. Neither party is faultless. If you want to boycott either party, boycott all their contributions as well. Movies, technology etc. Both nations are currently negotiating peace talks and propagating hate blindly isn't helping

Back to football. Gutted there isn't any live screening. Sigh... watching West Ham getting annihilated by Forest now. 5-0 now. Don't like Big Sam but I have a soft spot for the hammers.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 5 2014, 09:49 PM

Mmm not good.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1912117...pool-and-oldham?

He's been doing so the past few games especially when Stevie was sidelined. Kudos to the lad for proving his early doubters wrong, me included. In my opinion he's earned his first team spot and I'd have him play as often as possible. He's got such a big engine and like Suarez, can seemingly play every game. In fact, he has.

I wonder how much ground he covers on average. Does anyone have that stat?

I frankly don't give a crap about the mancs at this point.

To summarise my thoughts in their collapse (and any wandering manc is welcomed to dispute my opinion), I think it has to do with Moyes trying to get them to play more direct instead of the passing game Fergie preferred. The mancs were a menace when they pinged passes about and players zipped around the park. They were so quick, defenders couldn't keep up. Now, they have become more one-dimensional but direct football is what got Everton to where they were last season and the reason Moyes rose to prominence. His problem is he doesn't have the personnel for this brand of football which is why he bought Fellaini who is struggling because the rest of his mates are coming to terms with Moyes' style of play. Well the mancs picked Moyes knowing what they'd get to perhaps it's just a period of transition and they need to give him time to rebuild the squad with players that suit him.

I'm sure fans welcomed him with open arms but some fail to note that when you sign a manager, it means that the whole team will have to change and adapt to his approach to the game. Most just look at the manager's name and go, "oh goodie, he's done well at Everton" without realising that he plays a completely different type of football from Fergie and that it will take time for the team to change and adapt. It wasn't as though he was going to come in and take over from where Fergie left off. Look how we struggled last season with Rodgers and look how much the team has improved since. Hardly nuclear physics.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Jan 7 2014, 10:43 AM