Newcastle v liverpool

[Dicko]

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/295345.html

This will probably come back to haunt him.

[TheHowieLama]

I'd be surprised if a top manager couldn't get this squad playing much better than we are doing. 

 

 

I think we are about a 7th place team either way tbh. There is not a manager around that would take us to 4th from here this season.

[stringvest]

And the reason there aren't better alternatives is that we refuse to buy anyone to realistically challenge his position. 

 

I'm not sure that we refuse to.  We just haven't.  It's like saying we refused to buy a top quality attacking player in the close season.  I'm not sure we did refuse to.  And neither is anyone else.

 

It goes without saying that we are all over the floor at the moment, and I refuse to believe that the primary issue is Gerrard.   

[dennis tooth]

Gerrard is not a DM and needs to PLAY WITH ONE. Not Allen, Hendo, Can or Lucas a real DM like Jsvier, the space in front of our back four and seeing us being sliced through the middle by every tom dick and harry for three years has begun to get rather tedious now.

[J-V]

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/295345.html

This will probably come back to haunt him.

 

Just like Johnson does every time the idiot picks the fucking piece of shit to play.

[clangers]

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/295345.html

This will probably come back to haunt him.

 

He's made a couple of comments about Spurs that clearly shows that he's bought into his own bullshit a little too much and the current period of transition we're now in was clearly not planned or expected by Rodgers.

[TheHowieLama]

TBF Spurs probably did not plan or expect it either.

 

United on the other hand...

[Dr. J]

A bit of pressure on Rodgers to get some fucking results is not such bad thing, is it? Look at Pardew. He man is positively hounded and publicly belittled at every turn. Did that help him win 4 on the trot against some decent teams? Maybe the players responded better, too.

 

We were shit today, as we've been most of the season. Rodgers may be feeling a bit too comfortable for his own, or the team's, good.

[ngogswilly]

He's made a couple of comments about Spurs that clearly shows that he's bought into his own bullshit a little too much and the current period of transition we're now in was clearly not planned or expected by Rodgers.

 

Thats the one I don't get with the people flat out refusing to acknowledge we've ballsed up the transfer this year. 

 

Less than 2 years ago almost the exact same thing played out to great glee and delight in front of our eyes. 

[Fi!]

If we finished 5th, say, a couple of points of 4th, I'd be surprised if they binned him off. But if we're 8th behind Southampton and Everton, for example, they will rightly get rid.

 

I think he's bought poorly, the whole strategy is destined not to work, but it's tactically where he really worries me. We look utterly clueless at the moment, we've played cohesively in one fucking game all season.

 

At this rate, everyone in the club needs to improve big time if we are still thinking to be 4th or close to 4th. If he does pull off such a huge improvement in the later part of the season then fair play to him to keep the job.

 

Like what everyone is worrying about is the way we have been playing. It is so shit at the moment that i doubt they even tried to play against our reserve team during training, or else he would definitely realise this shit tactic is not going to work, never.   

[Tony Moanero]

Tony, you're just being fucking tedious.

Ah don't be like that, Stringy. Have you got the hump because I said I find your posts on Benitez cringeworthy?

[Bobby Hundreds]

How can one club get it wrong so many times on transfers. It's totally insane how we spend huge sums of money on players that make zero impact. Every now and then we get a top player like torres or suarez but these are players with solid reputations as being top players and we paid top dollar. FSG need to get the team together who identify and sign players and fire them. Slap the shit out of them and fire them. Post there pictures on the official site and say these incompetent fucks are fired, look at them they are fucking shit.

[stringvest]

Ah don't be like that, Stringy. Have you got the hump because I said I find your posts on Benitez cringeworthy?

 

No mate.  I didn't know you've said that.  But now I do, I've got the right hump.

[Dr. J]

How can one club get it wrong so many times on transfers. It's totally insane how we spend huge sums of money on players that make zero impact. Every now and then we get a top player like torres or suarez but these are players with solid reputations as being top players and we paid top dollar. FSG need to get the team together who identify and sign players and fire them. Slap the shit out of them and fire them. Post there pictures on the official site and say these incompetent fucks are fired, look at them they are fucking shit.

 

How unfair, maybe the committee is in transition, too, and just need time...and heaps more money? And contract extensions.

 

People have no patience.

[Delmar]

Did you watch how Swanse played?  They parked the bus for 40 minutes.  We looked great, we had the ball in our own half.  We were masters of three fifths of the pitch.  Then Swansea decided to come out and play, and they walked through our CM at will.

 

i do agree that there's no urgency, no movement.  Dropping Gerrard isn't going to help much in the regard.  Even though he ran further and harder than any of the rest of our midfield today, I am aware that he is far from the force of nature that he once was accurately described.  However, even though there was precious little movement again today, he created opportunities through his distribution and his eye for a pass.  No-one else in red on that pitch is capable of doing that with any sort of regularity or consistency.  I really have no issue in dropping him if there are better alternatives.  There aren't at the moment.  

 

Yeah, you may be right about the Swansea first half.  But we went on to grind it out, unlike today.  Then we go and park the bus today in the first half at Newcastle, just to keep a clean sheet, however we have lots of forwards on the pitch, with most of them unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.

 

Our problem is the same as Mourinho had last season, we have 4 "number 10s" and can efficiently play only one at a time.  Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana, Gerrard.   Mourinho got rid of one, as should we.  Then got rid of the club icon, quite ruthlessly, just to show who is the boss.  Then adapted one of the "10s" to another position, as we're trying to do with Sterling.   

 

I still think we should drop Gerrard for now, play Coutinho, after a bit of a rest play Gerrard as "10".  Sterling/Lallana/Coutinho on the sides of the diamond, Can or Lucas as DM.  Any two forwards are fine, start Lambert with Borini, it cannot get worse.

[J-V]

How can one club get it wrong so many times on transfers. It's totally insane how we spend huge sums of money on players that make zero impact. Every now and then we get a top player like torres or suarez but these are players with solid reputations as being top players and we paid top dollar. FSG need to get the team together who identify and sign players and fire them. Slap the shit out of them and fire them. Post there pictures on the official site and say these incompetent fucks are fired, look at them they are fucking shit.

 

Does that include Rodgers then as he probably has the biggest hand in our transfer dealings.  He probably actually needs a good slap to wake him out of the shitfest he keeps serving up every week.

[Faustus]

This current Liverpool team is a disgrace.

 

Right now, we must be the easiest team in the league to play against. This season and last, we were the epitome of our strikers leading the line. We've gone from the most hard working side, the most switched on and sharp, the most tenacious to looking lazy and completely disinterested. We're allowing games to pass us by and we're refusing to take the initiative. The team's movement is nothing short of atrocious and we're struggling to even carve out decent chances, let alone score goals. Everything is so fucking slow; there's always an extra needless touch. I've lost count of the number of times this season when I've done my nut in watching us play a ball that was on ten minutes ago that's easily intercepted. Even routine balls to a man a couple of yards from another are played without conviction. It's fucking disgusting stuff.

 

I don't mean to single out Balotelli but, fucking hell, the lad is a waste of space. I've never been a fan of his- the only game I've ever thought 'fucking hell, there could be a player there' was that game for Italy at the Euros where he bullied Germany- but I was willing to give him a chance, even if I did have reservations. Christ, how they're coming true. He seems to be a symptom of the youtube generation- someone who looks good banging in the occasional worldy, but is so lacking in the basics of centre forward play it's not even funny. His movement in the box, getting across his man, finding space is non-existent. If I was a centre half, I'd love to play against him because he spends most of the time picking his arse and looking up to the sky watching planes fly by. Even the praise he receives for doing something so elementary as chasing down a centre half in possession of the ball I find baffling. It's like praising a four year old for not shitting themselves. It's fucking basic and stuff that should have been nailed years ago.

 

The defence- fucking hell, an absolute abortion of a unit. Skrtel is a fucking fanny, Johnson is just an abortion but, Christ, Lovren is stealing a living. Caught flat footed so many times, allowing his man to drift past him, diving in when there's no need- who the fuck coached him? As for Moreno, how you can be a professional footballer and be completely unwilling to use your weaker foot- as if you should have a weaker foot if you're paid silly money to kick a ball- is beyond me.

 

Jordan Henderson, I'm expecting a lot more from him. Yes, he's energetic, but he's fucking stunk recently. I think it was Section who described as the good looking lad at school who never shagged. It's fucking true. He's vice captain now, in a position of real responsibility, yet there are times when he's playing like a timid kid. Sideward pass, sideward pass, run, point- it's fucking bollocks. I want to see some fucking drive- when was the last time we had a player who actually got the ball in the midfield and broke in the way Sissoko did today? I love the lad's attitude, but it was always a big season for him, in my eyes- one to really kick on and build on a promising one last year- but he hasn't stepped up.

 

The amount of people willing to wave goodbye to Steven Gerrard is just bizarre. Granted, he hasn't been at his best this season and has been downright poor for a fair few games, but at least he's someone who looks to force something. At least he accepts responsibility, unless so many of limp fuckers in the squad. At the minute, we're a squad lacking in character and leadership and what Gerrard brings can't be quantified by statistics. That stuff can't be easily replaced.

 

Right now, I really feel for Raheem Sterling because he's being asked to be a leader and a talisman when, as talented as he is, he's plainly not ready for that. He should just be allowed to play his football without such a weight of expectation on his shoulders. It's what Arsenal have been like for years when a complete absence of big characters have meant players like Walcott and Wilshere have been forced to fill the void when they're kids themselves. What's happening with Sterling is fucking scandalous really, because at least when Gerrard was coming through, we had leaders and big personalities like Hamann, Hyypia and McAllister to bring him on and, in turn, the lad responded. Simply, we need someone like Gerrard, because we're a squad of potential, never-beens and square pegs. We're completely lacking in identity and it fucking shows on the pitch.

 

What's worrying is how we've spent so much money and not signed one player who undoubtedly improves the starting XI. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we could have signed Fabregas and Costa, but it would have been too easy to take a leaf out of Chelsea's book and sign three, maybe four players at a push to slot in to the side seamlessly, wouldn't it? No, that's not how we do things. We instead do an impression of that blert who won the Lottery and decided to smash up Ferraris and Aston Martins in his back garden simply because he could and then wonder where the fuck it all went when we're back on benefits. It's fucking scandalous how it's been allowed to happen, and it's compounded by the fact that Rodgers doesn't seem to know his best team and is persevering with a system which does us no favours at all.

 

Christ, I am fucking fuming. You could probably tell by the length of this fucking post.

[Redder Lurtz]

We're utter wank. Fuck last season, there's no point whatsoever comparing a team with the combative energy of Suarez with the fucking clowns turning out for us this season. Last season is history. This season isn't just shit; it's a fucking long, long way off any expectations of any liverpool team. Unforgivable, almost to a man and I include Rodgers in that. Sort it out you shower of millionaire wankers.

[TheHowieLama]

or put a call in to Rory Delap

[xerxes]

A 1-0 away defeat to a side that just beat Man City at the Ethiad is no disgrace, yet things don't look right do they?

 

Talk of Brendan being binned is nonsense. He bought the players, he should make them perform.

 

The worry is that he has spent a lot of money strengthening a squad which now seems weaker. Competing in the CL, spending £100m + ,fighting to consolidate a top four position, and challenging in the latter stages of the League Cup is a step up for him, but not for LFC. Whether he is up to it remains to be seen.

 

I don't think that failing to qualify for the CL would be a firing sin. But failing to acquit himself well in the remainder of the CL campaign, particularly in the home game with Basle, and a sixth or worse finish, will cause FSG to question whether they should risk transfer funds with him again.

[stringvest]

Yeah, you may be right about the Swansea first half.  But we went on to grind it out, unlike today.  Then we go and park the bus today in the first half at Newcastle, just to keep a clean sheet, however we have lots of forwards on the pitch, with most of them unsure of what they were supposed to be doing.

 

Our problem is the same as Mourinho had last season, we have 4 "number 10s" and can efficiently play only one at a time.  Coutinho, Sterling, Lallana, Gerrard.   Mourinho got rid of one, as should we.  Then got rid of the club icon, quite ruthlessly, just to show who is the boss.  Then adapted one of the "10s" to another position, as we're trying to do with Sterling.   

 

I still think we should drop Gerrard for now, play Coutinho, after a bit of a rest play Gerrard as "10".  Sterling/Lallana/Coutinho on the sides of the diamond, Can or Lucas as DM.  Any two forwards are fine, start Lambert with Borini, it cannot get worse.

 

 

I agree with most of that, though the situation is slightly worse - we've got Suso as well! 

[Jairzinho]

Not for much longer.

[mcjackson]

We play like we're in a slumber, slow, nobody bothered, no passion. 

 

This is what bothers me the most, I can't believe how soft we've become. Sissoko almost breaks Allen's leg, and none of our players stand up for him. Janmaat wipes out Balotelli, nothing. Then when the other team has possession, none of our players actually commit to a challenge, or when they do it's an incredibly apologetic, hesitant flap.  

[Josef Svejk]

A 1-0 away defeat to a side that just beat Man City at the Ethiad is no disgrace, yet things don't look right do they?

 

Talk of Brendan being binned is nonsense. He bought the players, he should make them perform.

 

The worry is that he has spent a lot of money strengthening a squad which now seems weaker. Competing in the CL, spending £100m + ,fighting to consolidate a top four position, and challenging in the latter stages of the League Cup is a step up for him, but not for LFC. Whether he is up to it remains to be seen.

 

I don't think that failing to qualify for the CL would be a firing sin. But failing to acquit himself well in the remainder of the CL campaign, particularly in the home game with Basle, and a sixth or worse finish, will cause FSG to question whether they should risk transfer funds with him again.

 

He's spent £200 million. And signed Daniel Sturridge. Eventually. That should cause FSG to question whether they should risk transfer funds with him again.

[xerxes]

I'd be surprised if a top manager couldn't get this squad playing much better than we are doing....It sounds like I want him binned, I don't.

A good post in full, and sums up how I feel too.

 

We could still have a very good campaign...or we could crash and burn.

 

I'm also nervous about Sturridge's protracted absence and Sterling's Spanish lessons.