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

That Gerrard freekick masked an awful lot of his deficiencies. He was totally anonymous in the first-half and not much better after that.

Fescue wrote: »

I think we saw glimpses today that it can work. Certainly Sterling, Lallana and Coutinho could form a great attack behind Sturridge.

It's obvious that we were never going to score as many as last season.

But how about 80? With that attack? No. Not a hope.
Maybe you'd get 65, but even then you're looking for 40+ goals from just Sterling and Sturridge. It's not impossible, but you're hugely reliant on their fitness and form.

And that would be fine if we had the best defence in the division to back that up, but that won't happen so long as Mignolet and Gerrard are on the pitch, never mind our CBs.

Fescue wrote: »

In an ideal world you would have a player like Mascherano that could play the role in front of the back four but Gerrard just can't do that. You have to put someone in there beside him.

I wonder if Can might be the guy to do it.

But that's the whole problem. We have 2 people doing 1 person's job.

Gerrard's current role in the team seems to be to be to make up for causing us to have no fluidity in attack and solidity in defence by causing a danger from set pieces.

Now given the fitness issues, today would've been difficult to line up with anyone else if we're playing the 4-5-1/4-2-3-1. But Borini wasn't even on the bench. We had no ability to change the game. The only option was throwing Lambert up front alongside Balotelli if we still needed a goal late in the game.

Fescue wrote: »

I don't know how reliable it is but rumour has it Sakho stormed out of Anfield when he found out he'd been dropped.

Isn't it amazing that a picture of him leaving is put out an hour after the game when he would be leaving the ground anyway.

Can't wait for Sturridge to get back. We have no movement up front without him. Lambert can't move full stop while Ballotelli is very good at some things but making runs is not one of them.

I genuinely think having so many players in the England squad hasn't helped us, half our first team playing in South American world cup, they look tired, no pace or urgency in attack and picking up knocks (Sturridge with England).

Surely there is a better balance to the corporate side than playing pre season tournaments in America aswell.

All this combined with the extra games this season is going to lead to a frustrating season. I do think we will have a better second half to the season that will get us to fourth.

A midfield of Henderson, Allen & Lallana with Sterling, Sturridge & Balotelli ahead of them is what I would like to see.

Then keeping them all fit for league games getting top 4 has to take priority this season even over the Champions League.

Slattsy wrote: »

Just unlucky today lads.
What a goal. If it was Messi there'd be jizz everywhere.

henderson was awful. As was sterling and Marcovic. Very sloppy.
Mario was great apart from that sitter.
Lallana was main man for me. He's getting there.

All in all we were just unlucky.

You obviously missed the first half

Lallana has been our best signing of the summer so far. Looks really impressive in the few games he's played.

Henderson played deeper today. And as a result was less effective. The same 'less-effectiveness' that Gerrard gets aimed at him for being that far back in a midfield.

Taking Henderson from higher up the pitch rendered us short in the high intensity, higher up the pitch, department. Lallana did well though, im looking forward to seeing him when he is fully fit.

Ultimately, a fair bit of our make up needed to change from last year. We were never going to get a new Suarez so we needed to shore up a bit. That included buying a starting def mid to play with Gerrard so we didnt have to do stuff like pull Henderson out of his better position.

Banging on about it i know over the last while but it really is an awful mistake in my eyes. A team/club with ambitions, ambitions we should have had this season, wouldnt have let this happen.

The above plus Sturridge out has left us a bit impotent in too many areas. The domino effect of which is, coupled with too many new players, we look ponderous and we dont have that intensity that the team thrived on last year.

Can't remember many selfless runs off the ball again today. They all seem to want to just stand still and receive the ball.