What's your opinion of Brendan Rodgers?

[Horus]

Of course, no clubs have ever lost a star striker before. We've lost about ten in my lifetime, it happens. Unlike most occasions, we had a year's notice to scout replacements - and we ended up with a last ditch deal for the shite that is Balotelli.

 

Our squad didn't need bulking out more than it needed glaring holes filling, instead of a DM we bought Markovich to compete in pretty much the same role as Sterling, and Lallana to play in the same role as Coutunho (even though he rarely gets a game, even when he's played well.)

 

I'd like to see some more explanations of why we're shit this season that (a) don't involve other clubs, (b ) the inevitable moving on of a player that we had money - and time - to replace and the loss of a striker through injury who we had three - three strikers on the bench waiting to come on and replace him at the combined cost of 30 million pounds.

 

We're incompetent is the only truthful explanation, but it's also one you'll never hear. We were incompetent through Moores and Parry, who made some of the most disastrous decisions in the clubs on-field history, we were incompetent through H&G (and Parry), and we're just as bad now. No one gives a shit these days at the club, we're not much more than a fucking museum to most of the cunts involved.

[RazorBack]

Is Stu back today? If he is, it's the best news in ages.

[tex88]

I think we have been shit due to having a keeper in goal who isn't good enough and a defence in front of him that aren't confident in him or themselves (until recently)

 

The loss of Sturridge was massive as Lambert & Borini were 3rd & 4th choice at best and Balotelli has struggled playing on his own up top. We failed in the transfer window, we should of signed a £30m/£40m striker to fill the Suarez gap but we never.

[Major Tom]

Of course, no clubs have ever lost a star striker before. We've lost about ten in my lifetime, it happens. Unlike most occasions, we had a year's notice to scout replacements - and we ended up with a last ditch deal for the shite that is Balotelli.

 

Our squad didn't need bulking out more than it needed glaring holes filling, instead of a DM we bought Markovich to compete in pretty much the same role as Sterling, and Lallana to play in the same role as Coutunho (even though he rarely gets a game, even when he's played well.)

 

I'd like to see some more explanations of why we're shit this season that (a) don't involve other clubs, (b ) the inevitable moving on of a player that we had money - and time - to replace and the loss of a striker through injury who we had three - three strikers on the bench waiting to come on and replace him at the combined cost of 30 million pounds.

 

When we previously lost star strikers, we were either top of the financial tree  and were able to replace them with replace them like for like (Keegan/Dalglish), or we weren't competitive anyway so it didn't make a difference when we took a punt (Torres/Suarez). Though I obviously agree Balotelli has been a clusterfuck of a signing and screams incompetence.

 

I am happy to disagree about our squad needing bulking out. We had fuck all beyond our first eleven last season.

 

And how can you possibly not take our rivals into consideration when talking about us this season? We are competing with them. What they do impacts directly on us. If Utd spend £150m - while not losing their best players - how the fuck can we disregard that if we're competing in the same league? Of course discussing them is relevant.

[Stu Monty]

Genuine question, do people think we could win the league now with our 2009 side? I reckon it'd be touch and go between us and Chelsea. We'd tear the mancs a new arsehole that's for sure. It is possible to build good sides without being a billionaire's plaything.

 

Wenger managed, albeit briefly, to break the stranglehold of the mancs best ever side (in my opinion) with a side that included an AC Milan reserve, a cruciate injury victim and an unknown teenager.

 

Is it possible to keep it up? Possibly not, but what we've seen is systematic mismanagement on and off the pitch for years, and that - more than the financial positions of other clubs - is what's put us where we are.

 

They might do, if they got lucky and none of the key players got injured or had poor form. The question being posed is if that team could consistently challenge for the title, not if it could just do it on a one off basis. It might have a go for a season but then it would fall away. It would also see players leave and you'd have to then get into replacing them without fucking up - which all teams fail to do sometimes.

 

On your question of why we are so shit this season, where you want a reason that doesn't involve other aspects you mention - I'll let you know how shit we've been when I see where we finish. Currently I think we've we've been disappointing but then I also think that spending money on the likes of Can, Moreno, Manquillo and Markovic was a sensible thing to do and that they were always likely to take time to settle in (and will probably dip in form at some point this season again too).  I'm not losing my shit over the fact we didn't get another good forward in and may have bought poorly with Loveren. I'm not making out that signing a lad who did double figures in goals and assists last season for £4m was negligence or stupidity. I basically don't see "getting football right" as piss-easy.

 

The problem Liverpool have is that form them to win the league they have to have four other teams, in the same season under-perform more than Liverpool can over-perform. 

 

 

Is Stu back today? If he is, it's the best news in ages.

 

Cheers. Hard to disagree really. I've been back for a bit though. 

[magicrat]

We're incompetent is the only truthful explanation, but it's also one you'll never hear. We were incompetent through Moores and Parry, who made some of the most disastrous decisions in the clubs on-field history, we were incompetent through H&G (and Parry), and we're just as bad now. No one gives a shit these days at the club, we're not much more than a fucking museum to most of the cunts involved.

So to paraphrase its down to the ownership of the club. I would agree the buck stops there and the stewardship of the club has been in poor hands. In least in FSG case I would qualify that and say they are well intentioned but don't seem to have a credible game plan

[Stu Monty]

What a load of shit.

We dont play chelsea and man u every week we only need to be winning against shit teams consistently to challenge for the title.

If southampton can challenge for top 4 no reason we shouldnt challenge for the title.

Football hasnt changed since er last year.

Most the fail promoters are rodgers fanboys who dont want to admit rogder messed up our season and explain away failure.

Second is nowhere pussies go and have it out with shanks. Bill would kick brownie hard in his nuts if bill was still here and brownie had ever grown a pair that is.

 

It's January. We'll see if they can challenge for the top four. Then we'll see if they can do it again or if their performance levels off in line with their capacity to pay for good players to play for their football club, and to keep the ones they have.

 

I agree that if Southampton can challenge for the top four every season then we should be able to challenge for the title every season. 

 

But they won't. So it's not a valid point.

[Jairzinho]

 

Our squad didn't need bulking out more than it needed glaring holes filling, instead of a DM we bought Markovich to compete in pretty much the same role as Sterling, and Lallana to play in the same role as Coutunho (even though he rarely gets a game, even when he's played well.)

 

 

 

We've got about 35 players. It really is one of the most ridiculous excuses for our transfer dealings.

[Stu Monty]

We've got about 35 players. It really is one of the most ridiculous excuses for our transfer dealings.

 

Which of the players would you have kept then? What would have been your squad that you didn't feel needed much bulking up?

[Major Tom]

We've got about 35 players. It really is one of the most ridiculous excuses for our transfer dealings.

 

Did you happen to notice who was on our bench last season?

 

Even if all of your 35 players were on it, it still would have been 35 shades of shite.

[Moo]

I don't see why we can't pull off something similar to last season if we are starting from a better position of being regular champions league qualifiers with a few more quid in the bank and a manager with a few more years of development and experience under his belt.

Stu I'm sure someone's already made the point but I don't have time to read the whole thread...although "regular CL qualification = occasional title challenge " sounds okay in theory, qualifying for the CL is getting more difficult in practice. So in short, I don't think that can be a strategy for any club, you either need to go all in and aim to be top dogs, or accept being amongst the number of clubs hoping to snatch 4th once every few years. Arsenal will be used as the example to disprove this, but they've gone many years without genuine threats to the top 4, and in actual fact they haven't really challenged for the league in that time either, they've just sat there for the majority of time in their comfortable position not really being a threat or feeling threatened, but I think that's changing.

[Stu Monty]

Stu I'm sure someone's already made the point but I don't have time to read the whole thread...although "regular CL qualification = occasional title challenge " sounds okay in theory, qualifying for the CL is getting more difficult in practice. So in short, I don't think that can be a strategy for any club, you either need to go all in and aim to be top dogs, or accept being amongst the number of clubs hoping to snatch 4th once every few years. Arsenal will be used as the example to disprove this, but they've gone many years without genuine threats to the top 4, and in actual fact they haven't really challenged for the league in that time either, they've just sat there for the majority of time in their comfortable position not really being a threat or feeling threatened, but I think that's changing.

 

Moo, obviously you are aiming to be top dogs if you can but given that I don't have a magic wand or want loads of cash thrown at the club it hasn't generated itself then that aim to be the best is going to be tempered by the realistic objective of trying to get to a base camp and then go from there.

[Neil G]

Yeah the only reason we aren't locked out at the moment is because of the manager who has got his club to finish in the top 4 every season for the last 20 years.

 

It's the complete opposite way around.  As soon as Wenger leaves the door will open.  Bring whoever you want in, they aren't financially competing with Chelsea, City and to a lesser extent Utd.  Wenger has basically built that club into what it is today and the fans fucking hate him.  It's fucking disgusting.  If Chelsea and City hadn't been financially doped then he would be sitting there with a lot more trophies and I reckon maybe even a European Cup or two.

 

These "managers" who "know" how to win stuff is hysterical.  Just look at that cunt at Utd.  Everyone is up Van Gaal's arse until he actually comes here and makes a fucking show of himself.  The Premier League is the acid test for managers just like it is for players,  Managing Barcelona or Bayern to a league title just doesn't compare.

That's all Wenger has done though, kept Arsenal in the top four. He hasn't moved them out of our reach at all, they are easily the most vulnerable side in the big four for us to overhaul. They've put in two title challenges in the last ten years, and both of those petered out in April and saw them finish in 3rd and 4th. With the resources they have, I would expect a top manager like Ancelotti, Simeone or Klopp would have them challenging for the title regularly.

 

That said, if you want to claim that I'm doing Wenger a disservice and that Arsenal are stronger than I give him credit for, be my guest. It simply strengthens my argument that we need to spend more to break back into the top four.

 

Don't know why you're running Van Gaal down as if he's failed at United already. He's only been there half a season, and he didn't even have a full transfer window to work with in the summer because of the World Cup. Yes he spent a lot of money, but he didn't have time to assess the needs of the squad properly and to target and sign players accordingly. He will be able to do that going forward though, and United will be regular title contenders from next season with him in charge.

[Nightcat]

If Rodgers wants to salvage his Liverpool career, he needs to stop bleeching Jose Mourinho's and Ian Ayre's assholes with his tongue, stand up to the board of morons and demand a top striker, a top midfielder and a top goalkeeper.

[skend04]

If Rodgers wants to salvage his Liverpool career, he needs to stop bleeching Jose Mourinho's and Ian Ayre's assholes with his tongue, stand up to the board of morons and demand a top striker, a top midfielder and a top goalkeeper.

Only problem is that he thinks Allen and Mignolet are top players.

[El Rojo]

Credit where it's due, he's turned around what was an abysmal season by eventually learning from his mistakes and setting us up in a formation that better suits the players at his disposal.

 

Sign of a decent manager, that.

[Grinch]

The rest of the season will show whether that's too little too late or not.

 

 

[eeyore]

Fair fucks to him he has turned it around.

 

Should have bombed balotelli after the villa home game though.

[El Rojo]

The rest of the season will show whether that's too little too late or not.

The second halves of his first two seasons were an improvement on the first. He'll need that again. With Sturridge back, it's well achieveable.

[stringvest]

well, we just got a draw at home against an excellent team, so let's see what we're doing at the end of the season.

[Paco]

Did courtois handle the ball outside the box?

[Frankenhooker]

Did courtois handle the ball outside the box?

Yep, by about a yard.

[markcd]

Diego Costa really is a proper Chelsea player.

 

By that I mean cunt.

[Captain]

Did courtois handle the ball outside the box?

 

Irrelevant imo, he should have had a free-kick for the way Sterling went in stamping on his arms.

[Paco]

Irrelevant imo, he should have had a free-kick for the way Sterling went in stamping on his arms.

Really? Very honest of you.

 

what about luis garcias goal? You disappointed that stood? You'd have to change your avatar.