Where are we all now with Brendan?

[G Richards]

I just wrote this on another thread (getting tricky to know where to comment on the manager!) 

 

 

I thought Rodgers should have gone in the summer (I was late coming round to that view).

 

But since he was given the green light to carry on, and was backed in the transfer market, and also allowed to refresh the backroom team, I'm happy enough for him to get a bit more time than the four games so far this season.

 

Mind you, the signs are starting to look ominous for him. As ever, results are the key. If we can stay close to 2 points a game for, say, the first 10 games, he will carry on. But if we have too many more games like the West Ham one, then it will be goodbye, and justifiably so.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

I've been on the fence for a long time on this one. Mainly because I think sacking the manager is normally not a magic solution and, more important maybe, as long as we don't know the alternatives it's a difficult choice. Also I really liked the style of football Rodgers at least stated he would bring in.

The figures in the article below however, which is no surprise by any means, shows really how far off we are after three years with Rodgers. I guess we've all seen the madness in some of our transfers, players brought in which either doesn't fit the system we want(ed?) to play or is simply not of the right quality. Or both.
I maintain my long lasting opinion that our lack of pace, movement and creativity in attack is our MAIN problem. Others are lack of physical presence and general midfield quality. As well as defensive issues, a chapter of it's own. But the lack of attacking power, the ability to steamroll teams, remains for me the main problem. When was the last time we really outplayed someone? No matter how weak the opposition, in Europe or in domestic cups, we never seem to be able to really outplay them. For me a clear sign that we're on a road to nowhere with our attacking play.

 

The simple fact is that we're massively underachieving compared to our financial capacity. It's good that the mancs are even worse at the moment, but it really doesn't change much.

So, for me time is up now. Still I realize that it would look extremely stupid on the owners to sack him a few weeks into the new season, so I fully expect it to be a couple of more months. In the mean time I hope Rodgers and the team proves me wrong, but I've stopped believing they will.

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3222185/Manchester-United-costliest-squad-Europe-rivals-Manchester-City-Real-Madrid-clubs-make-20.html
 

[TheHowieLama]

Tinkerman?

 

Yep, I would buy him too.

[Section_31]

If you had unlimited funds why would you keep anyone? Coutinho is not one of the top 10 players in the world

Correct. It's an everage squad at best. Problem is, if you gave Rodgers unlimited funds he'd spend it all on Carl Cort and play him in goal.

[ritchie]

Even city showed last year that 442 is asking for trouble against 5 man midfields. Not just in the champions league either. They were in shocking form as pelkegrino persisted with playing dzeko. Which made the signing of bony even more baffling. They finished the season with one up front and hit some good form which has continued into this season.

 

Dont get me wrong, I want to ser that diamond back with sturridge and benteke banging in goals together but I think a formation will have to evolve if and when those 2 hit it off. Took a while to find the best formation for suarez sturridge sterling and coutinho.

 

moreno just looks like a good counter attacker these days.

 

Problem is, 4-4-2 diamond is the only thing we've really got the players for due to awful transfer strategy and a manager who hasn't got the capacity to plan anything but dodgy dossiers to fool gullible Americans. We could play 4-2-3-1 and still be asking for trouble because the front four (Coutinho, Firmino, Benteke and Lallana/Ibe) aren't going to offer much protection to Henderson and Milner who are not sitting midfielders anyway. And if you want Sturridge in the team then you have to play 2 up top with him and Benteke. 

 

A 4-4-2 diamond can also lead to more of a midfield 3 if you have Can or Lucas deepest with Milner and Henderson at the side and Coutinho at the tip. That's the only way we can get a midfield that works. Problem then is Firmino, Benteke or Sturridge will have to sit it out when all fit.

[TheHowieLama]

when all fit.

 

 

[dennis tooth]

Mignolet

Gomez

Clyne

Sakho

Moreno

Henderson

Milner

Can

Coutinho

Firmino

Benteke

Ings

Origi

Markovic

Ibe

To be clear, I'd very much consider selling Sturridge, Allen, Lovren, Enrique, Lallana, Lucas, Skrtel.

Sturridge's injuries have been catastrophic, as have Allen's. No point, at all, in keeping players around who are that prone to absence.

But, on the whole, we have a really good set of players to base a squad around. The development of the youngsters though is critical to our future success. The likes of Rossiter, Brannagan, Chirivella, Canos, Williams, Jones, Ward, Ojo, Sinclair, Dunn, Kent, Wilson, Phillips, Alexander-Arnold , these players could be £10m players, which is a fairly standard player by modern-day prices, but it all adds up. Why can't we develop our own Leon Britton's, or Delph's, or Terry's? They aren't worldies, they're just solid top-level pro's.

What planet are you on? The only top player here is coutinho sturridge when fit which he hasnt been for over a season now.

[G Richards]

The notion of unlimited funds doesn't make sense. If that were truly the case, we should just make up a best world eleven (plus half a dozen or more squad men) and then acquire it. 

 

Let's say we want Messi in the team. 

 

Would Barcelona sell him for 100M? No! Probably not even for 200M. But for a billion they would. 

And why would Messi want to come here? But if we said we would pay him 10M a week he probably would. But if he wasn't in it for the money and he just wanted sporting success, we could assure him of that by signing anyone and everyone who was good enough to come. 

 

Messi, Bale and Suarez would be my front three for starters. 

 

There wouldn't be any current Liverpool players in or near the team, or the squad for that matter. If we were assembling the best squad money could buy, that is. 

[G Richards]

Meanwhile, our issue is whether or not we can get the best out of the players already at the club. If we can, then we should finish top four. And if we do that, we should be able to add, say, two very good players to improve the first eleven next summer, much as Chelsea did when they bought Fabregas and Costa. We should stop signing seven or eight every summer and try to build it incrementally from a CL platform to hopefully stay there and start to challenge for the title regularly. 

 

This would all require a top manager, which is the issue of the day. 

[dennis tooth]

Its like all the deludeds saying raheem wouldnt get in cities team haha henderson and the rest of the shit squad a captain who cant even get near our best team along with ings origi these are all newcastle players.

[thompsonsnose]

Even city showed last year that 442 is asking for trouble against 5 man midfields. Not just in the champions league either. They were in shocking form as pelkegrino persisted with playing dzeko. Which made the signing of bony even more baffling. They finished the season with one up front and hit some good form which has continued into this season.

 

Dont get me wrong, I want to ser that diamond back with sturridge and benteke banging in goals together but I think a formation will have to evolve if and when those 2 hit it off. Took a while to find the best formation for suarez sturridge sterling and coutinho.

 

moreno just looks like a good counter attacker these days.

4132

No need for diamonds or 442.

Didn't buy the right player to be the "1" though.

But that's no surprise.

[TheHowieLama]

4312 - got the right player for the 1 already. Actually a couple.

[dennis tooth]

All the deludeds borini balotelli will come good, fucking mignolet his fanny is gaping and moised.

I kant beleaf in this i feel numb watching lovren getting skinned every week the club of alan bastard hansen and that overcooked meatloaf benteke up front you couldnt throw a shitter squad together for more money if you tried it makes risdale look like doug ellis just kill the lot of the, and bury them under the new stand shankly would have played the tealady and a couple of schoolkids before this lot of shithouses a man in charge whos won nothing and needs to get back to scs to sell sofas to husbands under pressure cos theyve had affairs behind their wives backs i say backs becuase theyll normally have at least two if you look close enough the fat wenches.

[dennis tooth]

4312 - got the right player for the 1 already. Actually a couple.

Ask anyone what our best formation is with evryone fit and its hard to find in the same universe two people who will agree on an answer

[TheHowieLama]

Ask anyone what our best formation is with evryone fit and its hard to find in the same universe two people who will agree on an answer

 

Yep - alot of splitting hairs when talking of formations though. We need to get four attacking players on the pitch though as much as we can. I think to do that and not be torn open too often it means a base of a three man midfield with Coutinho as one of them.

[Dave D]

If you had unlimited funds why would you keep anyone? Coutinho is not one of the top 10 players in the world

 

Maybe "unlimited funds" was the wrong way of putting it.

 

That said, if such funds existed I'd still keep Coutinho.

 

I also wouldn't buy the world's 10 best players as that may include 7 forwards.

[ritchie]

Yep - alot of splitting hairs when talking of formations though. We need to get four attacking players on the pitch though as much as we can. I think to do that and not be torn open too often it means a base of a three man midfield with Coutinho as one of them.

 

The key components for now are what we do with Milner and Henderson, what we do with Coutinho and Firmino and what we do with Benteke.

 

Rodgers seems to have the uncanny knack of stunting them all by playing Milner and Henderson as a midfield two (Milner is not a CM, Henderson is not a sitting midfielder); Coutinho and Firmino in ill-suited rules and then not knowing how to get the best out of Benteke. 

 

Henderson, Milner and Coutinho would work in a diamond with Can. Henderson and Milner can press higher up the pitch in wider positions (what they're actually good at doing) and Coutinho can play at the tip of it and link the midfield to the attack. The formation isn't really the issue, it's what you're asking players to do on and off the ball. 

[Tony Moanero]

Does anyone seriously think Klopp will be our next manager?

.

[Evelyn Tentions]

All the deludeds borini balotelli will come good, fucking mignolet his fanny is gaping and moised.

I kant beleaf in this i feel numb watching lovren getting skinned every week the club of alan bastard hansen and that overcooked meatloaf benteke up front you couldnt throw a shitter squad together for more money if you tried it makes risdale look like doug ellis just kill the lot of the, and bury them under the new stand shankly would have played the tealady and a couple of schoolkids before this lot of shithouses a man in charge whos won nothing and needs to get back to scs to sell sofas to husbands under pressure cos theyve had affairs behind their wives backs i say backs becuase theyll normally have at least two if you look close enough the fat wenches.

If you ever want to change your username Dennis, may I suggest e e cummings.

I agree on the general shitness of this squad though. Any signs of talent are buried by inept tactics and positional play by a fucktard whose team selection has more to do with politics/power than football.

[Bjornebye]

Rafa asking Klopp or Carlo who bought his house on the Wirral in a secret bid.

 

 

 

So thats 3 paellas and 3 glasses of what?

[Section_31]

So thats 3 paellas and 3 glasses of what?

Ho! Some respect. You're talking about a man who's current real Madrid manager and champions league winner while we try and figure out how to win matches while fielding a side composed entirely of wing backs.

[dennis tooth]

Yep - alot of splitting hairs when talking of formations though. We need to get four attacking players on the pitch though as much as we can. I think to do that and not be torn open too often it means a base of a three man midfield with Coutinho as one of them.

Maybe if we could form a human chain and all pass coutinho along over our heads we can somehow shoehorn some magic plan from a pile of shit like in the a team and then rodgers will pull off the mask of the coach mike marsh to reveal it was old caretaker willy who sabotaged the club. End credits.

[Babb'sBurstNad]

Rafa asking Klopp or Carlo who bought his house on the Wirral in a secret bid.

 

 

 

 

RB - "Look fellas, we're going as The A Team, I've already bought the costumes, so one of you will have to go the whole hog and be Mr T"

[VladimirIlyich]

Rafa asking Klopp or Carlo who bought his house on the Wirral in a secret bid.

 

 

 

'Yes Jurgen,Carlo,Brendan fuckin Rodgers!'

[Tyler Durden]

Which hand is Rafa using to rub finger and thumb? I can't make out.