Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014 - Mod Note in OP, 1/09

Underpaid Mike · 17-09-2014 07:15AM

Gbear wrote: »

Individually quite a few good performances.

Moreno seriously looks the business. An absolute steal if he keeps playing like this.

Manquillo lacks a bit of composure in the final third but there's the making of a great full back in there. Dunno what he was doing up front to win the penalty but that's some damn fine initiative.

Sakho and Lovren were pretty solid. They both made a couple of mistakes but were both let down by players supposed to be covering them as well.
We've conceded relatively few chances in the last 2 games so I'm not sure what else Rodgers can do. Your defence needs to be able to make mistakes without it almost guaranteeing a goal be the result of it. They're supposed to be a team and cover each other (there were also a few examples of that working very well).

Mistake by Mignolet. Disappointing. He failed virtually the only test he had all match.

Coutinho was trying things that maybe should've been there. But they weren't and he constantly gave the ball away. If we get better balance up front we might see the best out of him but for the moment I think he needs to be benched.

Lallana was pretty good. Lost the ball a few too many times though. He needs some more game time. The few times he's gotten close to the attack it's looked very promising. A bit more of that hopefully.

Sterling didn't do much wrong. Not hugely effective either though. His final ball is a long way from the finished article but he gives you so much solid possession in the final third that it just makes things happen around him. Wasn't his fault they mostly didn't.

Gerrard was ok. Just isn't involved a whole lot in our general play these days.
His set piece delivery was mostly pretty poor. Nice to have a virtually guaranteed penalty taker though.
I'm eager to see what our midfield looks like with someone more mobile. It's a bit sad seeing what was such an amazing player doing a menial task that pretty much any of our midfielders could do just as well.

Balotelli, I was pretty impressed with. Made a few stupid fouls but worked pretty hard the whole game. He needs a partner though. Nice little finish.
Borini seemed to work fairly well alongside him but losing Lallana and Coutinho from midfield and replacing them with Lucas was a blow.

Lucas isn't good enough further up the pitch. He was never great on the ball aside from being able to turn, shield and pass it. He can't run at people.

Our biggest problem is that Rodgers still hasn't quite figured out how to make this work with Mario.
Hopefully we see the diamond against WHam. It still didn't work brilliantly but he hamstrung our midfield at the same time as changing the system - having players like Markovic, Lallana and Allen should do the trick.

All in all I'm pretty pleased by the result. This is a problem that I think is down to Rodgers having to juggle too many things at the same time - we're trying to attack without both of last season's strikers as well as integrate 3 new attackers. We need to get a few results while Bren gets a firm grasp on the situation and to tide us over til Sturridge gets back.

Good god man were you watching the same game as me?
Lovern, Countinho, Lallana, Balotelli etc all had very poor games to my eyes
Sub par performance to say the least, got out of jail with a lucky peno

Oh come on Valdes and get fit, you will walk into this team!

Underpaid Mike · 17-09-2014 07:18AM

bur wrote: »

It's bizarre to me how overrated Henderson has become. I like him, he's decent and i love his attitude and workrate. But, i still don't see enough quality in much of anything he does with the ball.
Fantastic grafter but the way a lot of Liverpool fans go on about him you'd think he was prime Gerrard and Alonso rolled into one.

That is very very harsh, how many games have you actually seen him play?
He does two roles for the team which no other player we have can do as effectively. His passing stats are always around the 90% mark even though he loves to try the Gerrard type long balls to the wings. He is inventive, sees the difficult pass and gets his jollies from chasing down lost causes and tacking relentlessly. Superb player and if you ask me is underrated considering what he brings to the team

Agent Coulson · 17-09-2014 07:19AM

Charlie19 wrote: »

For some reason I thought he only got 7.

Edit. Yeah 7 in the league and 2 in the cups according to wiki.

The rest were own goals :eek::pac:

Charlie19 · 17-09-2014 07:25AM

Agent Coulson wrote: »

The rest were own goals :eek::pac:

Haha. That was a couple of hours too early for me.

noodler · 17-09-2014 07:33AM

Charlie19 wrote: »

I'm still not sold on Balotelli, I'm delighted he scored and I hope he pushes on from that but I don't agree with Stevie's interview as I dont see Balotelli putting in the work off the ball.

Balotelli looked far too casual at times tonight and on Saturday which makes me think he probably wont see out his contract.

Agreed.

Still not convinced at all at all.

kfallon · 17-09-2014 07:33AM

Btw was it just me or was the pitch made smaller last night?

cj maxx · 17-09-2014 07:34AM

5live wrote: »

Skrtel is a goal machine.

11 goals scored last season...

Wasnt he the only player to score against each of the top 4 last year ? Inc ys

(

razorblunt · 17-09-2014 07:35AM

Have to say I'm not getting the writing off of Manquillo, he's not been bad at all, bar his crossing he seems to always play it behind those in the box. The one he put on Borini's head was a beaut.

Coutinho can not start on Saturday, that's two games in a row he's been absolutely pedestrian.

Also - Moreno loves a tackle, Josemi and Arbeloa set the tone before him he'll be a fan favourite in no time if he keeps that up.

Lovely Bloke · 17-09-2014 07:35AM

kfallon wrote: »

Btw was it just me or was the pitch made smaller last night?

if it was it will have to be the same size for all the CL games.

kfallon · 17-09-2014 07:42AM

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

if it was it will have to be the same size for all the CL games.

Yeah I was thinking it was something to do with that. Aren't the advertising hoardings bigger too which is why you often see the first row or two of the stands empty in stadiums?

whatawaster · 17-09-2014 07:43AM

Is anyone writing off Manquillo?

Think he has been very good, very decisive and confident. He has almost always made up for his mistakes with good saving tackles.

To be honest him and Moreno are the only ones of our signings to hit the ground running

noodler · 17-09-2014 07:45AM

whatawaster wrote: »

Is anyone writing off Manquillo?

Think he has been very good, very decisive and confident. He has almost always made up for his mistakes with good saving tackles.

To be honest him and Moreno are the only ones of our signings to hit the ground running

Been disappointed with Manquillo and Moreno defensively.

Been happy enough with both in an attacking sense.

Mr Alan · 17-09-2014 07:53AM

whatawaster wrote: »

Is anyone writing off Manquillo?

Think he has been very good, very decisive and confident. He has almost always made up for his mistakes with good saving tackles.

To be honest him and Moreno are the only ones of our signings to hit the ground running

Agree with this. Haven't seen anyone really slating this pair

You willing to admit you're wrong about Mignolet yet?

Dickerty · 17-09-2014 08:01AM

noodler wrote: »

Been disappointed with Manquillo and Moreno defensively.

Really? They have both been excellent in the tackle, very rare that a winger gets any joy so far. If anything, their issue is that they don't know what the CB inside is going to do...

whatawaster · 17-09-2014 08:08AM

Mr Alan wrote: »

Agree with this. Haven't seen anyone really slating this pair

Razorblunt has

Mr Alan wrote: »

You willing to admit you're wrong about Mignolet yet?

whatawaster wrote: »

I've defended him for ages but I've had just about enough of Mignolet

Dickerty · 17-09-2014 08:11AM

Mr Alan wrote: »

Agree with this. Haven't seen anyone really slating this pair

It's a huge upgrade on Johnson and Cissokho/Flanagan/Enrique... :eek:

Knex* · 17-09-2014 08:27AM

"Manquillo, he loves a tackle."

I find myself saying this at least once, every game he plays

17-09-2014 08:33AM

Just back home from the game. Talk about a mix of emotions in the last 12 or so mins of that match !

Firstly, we got the 3 points required. The performance was average at best and at times quite poor. We really lack a cutting edge in the final 3rd. Coutinhos form is hurting the team tbh. I'd drop him and try Lallana there or Sterling who imo is wasted out wide.

Mingolet : Doesn't inspire confidence whatsoever. Has he a voice box? Gerrard slated him and Sakho during the game.

Fullbacks were average, sloppy enough with the final ball in attack. Defending wise ok nothing more.

Lovren was steady enough most of the game but they cut through him and Sakho easy enough on a few occasions including goal iirc

Sakho : I always defend this guy but bloody hell he's making it hard. He has lapses in concentration at times and needs to sort that asap. Needs to communicate better

Gerrard : Balls of steel as usual for the penalty. Was quite average during the game though.

Henderson : Our best player. Popped up everywhere as usual. Should have bagged a goal too. No concerns with him really tbh.

Lallana : Poor. I'd play him more central or not at all.

Coutinho : Awful. Needs to be dropped.

Sterling : Looked our biggest threat on the ball. Needs to be involved more. Moving him more central earlier on in the game could have helped things

Ballotelli : Great goal but his work rate is shocking. Very static. Crowd didn't like this. When he gets the ball he looks threatening but I really don't know about him yet.

Atmosphere was great. Fantastic to be back in the CL

Hangballlouie · 17-09-2014 08:36AM

Knex. wrote: »

"Manquillo, he loves a tackle."

I find myself saying this at least once, every game he plays

To yourself?

Jesus Wept · 17-09-2014 08:37AM

We is the bestest

NEDDURC · 17-09-2014 08:39AM

I was really disappointed with Gerrard last night. Numerous occasions the defence had spread wide and they were looking for a pass into Gerrard to get the play going but he was walking around and letting the Ludogrets player easily pick him up.
That put Lovren and Sakho under quite abit of pressure at times. Like near the end when Lovren ran it out on the right hand side. Gerrard was completly static so he had no option. Lugogrets took a quick throw in and nearly scored.
He is just not the player to control the game from deep. He likes getting the ball facing the goal to move it fast to the wings but can't come short and pick it up off defenders, turn and get the play going.
He also adds almost nothing defensively to the team.
We either need a defensive mid who'll throw his weight around (maybe Can) and break up the other teams attacks or a true quarterback who'll get the play moving quickly (maybe Allen). Currently Gerrard does neither.

Otherwise, my main point to note is that we have to go with two up front with a diamond behind in the next game. Everytime so far that we've switched to that it has worked so much better. Causes defences much more of a headache

Cartman78 · 17-09-2014 08:47AM

rarnes1 wrote: »

Atmosphere was great. Fantastic to be back in the CL

Kinda surprised to hear this, seemed very nervy,tense and quiet at times on the telly.....although I was watching it on TV3 which automatically sucks the life out of anything

SlickRic · 17-09-2014 08:47AM

no Sturridge is a far bigger deal than we perhaps all envisaged, though judging from Rodgers' comments when he came back from England injured, he knew.

Balotelli up top is not the same. he's great when he gets it - strong and looking to make something happen. but he doesn't have the movement of Sturridge.

why did we beat Spurs 3-0? because the movement of Sturridge and Sterling was sublime, puling defenders all over the place. Balotelli doesn't pull defenders around in the same way. it's the single biggest reason we're not creating the chances we were. we're having to change our style to suit what he offers.

i'm delighted with the win, but until Sturridge comes back, I'm afraid games might be a bit of a slog at times because our forwards aren't creating the space that was the team's hallmark last season.

rob316 · 17-09-2014 08:50AM

bur wrote: »

It's bizarre to me how overrated Henderson has become. I like him, he's decent and i love his attitude and workrate. But, i still don't see enough quality in much of anything he does with the ball.
Fantastic grafter but the way a lot of Liverpool fans go on about him you'd think he was prime Gerrard and Alonso rolled into one.

If anything he is underrated still.

He's the engine room to this team, when he got sent off against City last season, we had no one near his quality to replace. I'm not saying we would have won the title if we had him for the last few games but it could have been different.

17-09-2014 08:50AM

Cartman78 wrote: »

Kinda surprised to hear this, seemed very nervy,tense and quiet at times on the telly.....although I was watching it on TV3 which automatically sucks the life out of anything

I was at Annie Road end and it was quite noisy. There were indeed nervy times as is always the case. The cheer when Gerrard scored was deafening!

Boom_Bap · 17-09-2014 08:53AM

After Balotelli scored last night, he looked a different player. A different better player. He was dropping deep to pick up the ball, chasing back, he was back in our box a couple of times. And he got the confidence to start giving back a bit of agression to the defence who were aggresive with him all evening.
At one point he floored one of thier defenders as he played a ball up the pitch with what appeared to be a small nudge in the back.
One other positive, he celebrated with the team for both goals. His reaction to scoring his was life a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

17-09-2014 08:58AM

Boom_Bap wrote: »

After Balotelli scored last night, he looked a different player. A different better player. He was dropping deep to pick up the ball, chasing back, he was back in our box a couple of times. And he got the confidence to start giving back a bit of agression to the defence who were aggresive with him all evening.
At one point he floored one of thier defenders as he played a ball up the pitch with what appeared to be a small nudge in the back.
One other positive, he celebrated with the team for both goals. His reaction to scoring his was life a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Very true actually.

If he can get his ass in gear he'll be loved at Anfield.

5live · 17-09-2014 09:00AM

i heart chewy louie wrote: »

We is the bestest

We is betterer than the bestest

NabyLadistheman · 17-09-2014 09:00AM

I don't think Coutinho & Lallana should play together. It is either one or the other in the number 10 role.

Mignolet is terrible. Where he was off to for that goal I will never know. Once we've reached 10 points this performance will not matter. It was average, the team and management are fully aware of this.

Mr Alan · 17-09-2014 09:12AM

Agree that Coutinho is becoming an issue. He is playing awfully.

Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2014 - Mod Note in OP, 1/09

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