Sakho

[George Costanza]

IMO Sakho is a good defender.  So is Lovren.  Both are individually better than Skrtel & Toure.  What they need is coaching & drilling.  Defending is 1/4 ability 3/4 training and drilling.  An average defender can be made to loook very good in a good system, a good defender can be made to look shit in a bad system.  A good defender in a good system will be world class.

[KMD7]

IMO Sakho is a good defender.  So is Lovren.  Both are individually better than Skrtel & Toure.  What they need is coaching & drilling.  Defending is 1/4 ability 3/4 training and drilling.  An average defender can be made to loook very good in a good system, a good defender can be made to look shit in a bad system.  A good defender in a good system will be world class.

 

I was really impressed with Sakho when he first came in.  Pity that Rogers doesn't seem to fancy him though.  Hope Lovren and Skrtel improve because we're fucked if we don't as Sakho doesn't seem to be able to get a look in. 

[Iceman]

I think the worst thing about the situation is that it would be awful to think that the thing you love doing most and do most of in your day, that you're actually not very good at it, and the very people who you respect the most, and most want to impress don't actually rate you at all, so then deep down you worry they think you're actually a complete cunt. Not like my posts on here though, right lads?

[George Costanza]

Srktel is a very average defender who switched off and makes basic errors. His goals last season covered up a multitude of sins at the other end.  Call me old fashioned but I prefer my defenders to be able to defend first and foremost.

 

I will also add and qualify that I think our defenders have a tough job because they get next to no protection from those in front of them.  The team has an imbalance about it.  We all loved the attacking qualities last season and the freedom of play but that comes at a price.

[stringvest]

No. martin. And not Skrtel. Is it personal yet?

Haha! Obviously is. Marvellous.

[Iceman]

Srktel is a very average defender who switched off and makes basic errors. His goals last season covered up a multitude of sins at the other end.  Call me old fashioned but I prefer my defenders to be able to defend first and foremost.

 

I will also add and qualify that I think our defenders have a tough job because they get next to no protection from those in front of them.  The team has an imbalance about it.  We all loved the attacking qualities last season and the freedom of play but that comes at a price.

 

 

Nailed it.

[stringvest]

Im getting rather more suspicious of Rodgers, and i have less confidence in his abilities and his decision making. Im sure he will be mortified.

[Iceman]

Right now we seem to be stuck in an impasse. We have our ageing captain awesome who is being asked to provide cover for the defence that he just can't do to the level that we need. To criticize him is obviously not taken well. To drop him may cost the manager his job. We need a younger man in that role and we need Gerrard to enjoy the golden years of his career bagging some goals and being a driving force further up la cancha.

[Iceman]

Sign a DM and a quick striker in January and save Balo as plan B and for when Sturridge is injured. Then a hell of a lot of pressure comes off the defence and individuals aren't singled out as much.

[George Costanza]

Its a fanciful notion that many of our fanbase has swallowed that you don't need a proper DM to win a title.  It may just about work in La Liga where only 2 teams should win it yet another well drilled team hijacked the party.  Attackers win matches defences win titles

[J-V]

Irrespective of anything else, that is probably the central question for me. I find it impossible to believe Rodgers rates Sakho going on his selections, and if that is the case I find it harder still to believe he chose to buy him.

 

 

Rodgers has form though just look at the Borini signing.  To be fair to Borini though he was bang average before we signed him.

 

[Jairzinho]

We play with a controlling, balancing, regista though.

[stringvest]

We play with a controlling, balancing, regista though.

We havent got the cash for a regista

[Jairzinho]

Its a fanciful notion that many of our fanbase has swallowed that you don't need a proper DM to win a title.  It may just about work in La Liga where only 2 teams should win it yet another well drilled team hijacked the party.  Attackers win matches defences win titles

 

Only two teams will be winning the Premier League in the next few years as well.

[Jairzinho]

We havent got the cash for a regista

 

Could get a trequartista instead. They're only three quarters of the price, I've heard.

[Tony Moanero]

Im getting rather more suspicious of Rodgers, and i have less confidence in his abilities and his decision making. Im sure he will be mortified.

Suspicious?

[Pureblood]

Suspicious?

 

Rodgers is breaching stringvest protocol.  The recent recall of Lucas to the match day 18 and Sakho being axed have sent his hormones into a spin.  Basically, it's that time of the month. 

[Kevin D]

No. martin. And not Skrtel. Is it personal yet?

Come on, man.

 

We're all adults, here.

 

There is Facebook, twitter, private messages, emails, the MF and your phones to carry on your fascination with each other; really no need to keep at it on the FF. It's been at least 4 years, now.

 

Unless you're going to meet to fight. Then I want every single detail.

[eeyore]

Im getting rather more suspicious of Rodgers, and i have less confidence in his abilities and his decision making. Im sure he will be mortified.

Made some howlers so far this season.

 

Other than the spurs game, he's selected the wrong lineup and tactics in every game so far.

 

No matter how you rate Sakho the decision to bomb him from the squad yesterday was ridiculous.

 

The owners will be fucking livid about that as hae effectively written off any decent sell on value he has.

[DanDanShaw]

Rodgers has had some shockers so far this season.  His team selection for the Villa and West Ham games being the stand out two.

 

When are we going to stop blaming our defenders and start to blame the tactics/coaches?  Rodgers bought Sakho for £18m, who at PSG and for France was/is one of the better centre backs in world football - yet for us, he looks like he's never kicked a ball.

 

He then goes out and buys a player, who plays in the exact same position as Sakho for £20m, who again last season was getting critical acclaim for his performances - but again looks like he's never played in defence in his life before. 

 

Skrtel has always been partial to the odd brain fart but he was never really a bad defender and Agger was an unbelievable defender (age and injuries can be counted for his downfall).  There's no way you can go through 4 top quality centre backs and still blame the personal.

[Guest Numero Veinticinco]

Rodgers is breaching stringvest protocol. The recent recall of Lucas to the match day 18 and Sakho being axed have sent his hormones into a spin. Basically, it's that time of the month.

Lucas is back because he is brilliant. Nothing to do with Allen and Can being injured. Nope.

[stringvest]

Made some howlers so far this season.

 

Other than the spurs game, he's selected the wrong lineup and tactics in every game so far.

 

No matter how you rate Sakho the decision to bomb him from the squad yesterday was ridiculous.

 

The owners will be fucking livid about that as hae effectively written off any decent sell on value he has.

 

Removing Sakho from the squad was just bizarre.  As TK says, picking Lucas for anything is always going to get my spider senses tingling, even when we are without two of the other players who would get in ahead of him in CM.  There's no need ever to pick him.  Experimenting with the back four every game, constantly changing the shape of the team to no good effect, and largely abandoning the excellent principle of picking players in form which was effective last year, and has the additional benefit of motivating every young player at the club, is as frustrating as it is puzzling.  

 

I'm just concerned that his wheels might be falling off.  Let's hope he's going to Halfords this week.  

[kalasoma]

We havent got the cash for a regista

 

Reluctantly repped because it's probably true.

[ZonkoVille77]

I think Lovren is a BR purchase, Sahko a committee buy.

We'd get decent cash for him selling him back to france so I can't see it being a big failure. For what it's worth I think he's a decent player.

[Russ Atmosphere]

“There is absolutely no way a player will come in here if I don’t want him,” Rodgers said.

 

“I will always be the first person it comes to. That’s not being arrogant, that’s how we operate here and how it works in this country.

 

“Abroad it works differently where you have a coach and the club will bring in the players. The coach then works with the players he’s given.

 

“A lot has been made of it but the fact is the process that happens here is no different to what happens at other English clubs.

 

“We have a number of people, scouting staff and analysts, who will look for targets who fit the profile of the players that we want.

 

“Then I will sit down with those guys, look at those targets and make a shortlist from that.

 

“All that work that goes on is of great help to me. We identify players, gather all the information we possibly can and then if they’re right for what we need it comes down to whether they are affordable and available.

 

“I know the club will go and do the best it can to get the players we want. But it’s very clear that anyone we sign will be because I want him here.”