mark1975

You are joking right? The three of them were poor but Lucas consistently gave possession away. For Ramsey's goal, view his positioning again. Their player came inside from the right flank, Lucas goes out to meet him, fails to put in a challenge and ends up stood in no mans land doing fuck all. Henderson was as guilty of being caught out of position, which is why Toure pushed out to close him down, but laying blame at Henderson's door is a bit lame, it was collective errors and a failure to close them down which was our undoing, that and a piece of brilliance from Ramsey. It was symptomatic of our problems, Lucas is the defensive midfielder who's job it is to protect the back line, and he was well out of position, if he read the game and held his position, he'd have blocked the run or cut out the ball, he just wandered aimlessly away from the play.

For the good of the team it's the right mentality to have, otherwise we're never going to get anywhere. Revert to 4 at the back, put Gerrard in behind the front two, with Coutinho in the floating role on the left, much the same as the role Gerrard played on the right, several years ago. Toure has looked a bit jaded in the last few games, so maybe it's time to give him a rest, though I do have concerns that Skrtel and Sakho are too similar in style, I'd give it a go for now: -----------------Mignolet------------------ Johnson--KT/MS----Sakho--Enrique- ------------LL/JA---Henderson---------- -----------------Gerrard------------------- ----Suarez---Sturridge---Coutinho---

I don't mean drop him, but his role at the very least needs questioning. I don't think addressing the issue warrants accusations of a lack of respect, he's been poor in that position for a long time. As for Lucas, maybe with the right partner we'll see the best of him. No one's saying drop Gerrard for Allen, but the money was invested in the lad so he deserves another chance, given our midfield is by no means pulling up trees. Henderson had a poor first season but a bit of indulgence did him the World of good. Personally I think we'll need to reinvest, but for the time being we can only use what we've got, and if it isn't working then it's time to relook and reassess. If we revert to 4 at the back, there's room for all of them, I certainly wouldn't be in a hurry to shoehorn Moses into the side.

Skrtel Sakho Flannagan for getting thrown in at the deep end and not looking too fazed.

Hey Neil, good to see you again, I didn't know you were on here! Hope you're well :)

I don't think it's knee-jerk to use it as a baromoter, they're the best in the league in midfield and we were found wanting. The problem is, we've been found wanting by Newcastle and Swansea's midfield too, so the alarm bells haven't just started. Teams waltzed through us last season, it wasn't addressed in the Summer and now we're seeing the trend continue. Gerrard and Lucas in their current form aren't good enough, I don't think the latter ever was good enough, Gerrard is either playing too deep (a position he's never really excelled in, for me) or his decline is startingly rapid and getting to the stage where we can realistically question his guaranteed inclusion. It's one of the biggest decisions that Rodgers will inevitably have to make, but he'll never become a great manager unless he addresses it in some way.

There were a few worrying aspects yesterday. First of all, for a side with no cup distractions, we look worryingly heavy legged, maybe that's due to a lack of football, we're unable to gather momentum because the games aren't coming thick and fast enough. Whatever, the work we put in preseason to get us up to speed, seems to have had zero effect. As for the game itself, I think reverting to 4 at the back showed that we're not in danger of caving in by doing so, and that should be something to think about in the longterm. Three at the back brings it's own issues, especially when the full backs aren't technically brilliant. For the record I thought Flanno did ok, given he was thrown in at the deep end. But the midfield has it's own issues, and putting two defensive minded players either side didn't help. Lucas was poor, and I don't think it's wide of the mark to question his place. I think he's got a reprieve and pretty much walks into side because of the lack of competition. That's gone on for far too long, as has his indifferent form. I think when a player has one full good season in six and continues to divide opinion so heavily, there has to be questions raised and criticism isn't undue. Henderson wasn't great either, but you know you get energy and tireless running with him. I'm just not sure if the combined output from him and Lucas is good enough. Perhaps it's time to give Joe Allen another go, and get Coutinho back in the side sharpish. What we do with our captain is a mystery. He's performed poorly for far too long. Overall though, we've done really well, so a defeat against top of the table shouldn't dent our ambitions, we just need to make sure we cancel out the result at our place. At the start of the season, our goal was Europe, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact we look more than capable of punching higher than that, we just need some fresh impitus in the side and we need to revert to four at the back and to do our best to find a better setup in the middle of the park, that should be the goal over the next two months and then perhaps we can look at things in the transfer window. One last thing, I wouldn't be breaking the bank for our two loanees, Cissokho doesn't offer enough going forward and I don't think I've seen a less inspired or motivated player than Moses. Thanks but no-thanks.

What? A fat pensioner with a wart? I see the analogy right there.

Aye, it's whether he's match fit though, going there a yard off the pace with cunts like Ferdinand kicking shit out of him for the pleasure of the prawn sandwich brigade wouldn't be much cop either.

He's a great player and despite his inconsistency infront of goal, he's a real creative spark and we've missed having him at his best this season. That said, he's not done himself any favours at times. I know he's passionate and if you take that from him he'd be half the player, but he needs to learn how to channel it and to cut out the sheer stupidity, because ultimately it costs not just him, but us as a team.

This. Kuyt might be getting over the hill, but his experience and ability to pop up with a match winner is vital in these sort of games. As for Suarez, whereas Evra bottled it at Anfield, I'd expect Suarez to thrive on the atmosphere. He got a good half hour out of his system last night, and while he was clearly chomping at the bit and over eager (see his kung-fu on Parker!), he'll be ready come Saturday. That said, I rightfully expect him to start on the bench with the same attack as last night. I think Hendo should probably come back in, we need his legs in midfield. Spearing did himself no harm last night though, I thought it was another understated display by the wee guy.

What's the general consensus on here then regarding Downing? He came on leaps and bounds last season and looked effective on both sides of the pitch, it's taken until his peak age though to really come to the fore and attract interest from the big sides. I'm for it, I think he'll improve us and give us balance, goals and assists, certainly better than what we have in Maxi and Cole, £20m is too much though.

This is the first year in a long time I've actually considered relegation a real possibility for them. If it wasn't for Moyes (who has done a good job given the financial restraints) I think it'd be almost a cert they'd be caught up in a relegation battle.

Their Season Tickets are dirt cheap and they advertise midweek on Radio City due to poor sales. The Peoples Club. Arf!

I hadn't heard... Kenny Dalglish today revealed he expects both Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina to be fit for the start of the new season. Both players were absent from the Liverpool travelling party which landed in China earlier today as they recover from summer operations, but the boss is confident his key duo will have recovered in time for the opening day clash with Sunderland. Speaking in Guangzhou at a pre-match press conference in the team's hotel, Dalglish said: "Steven is injured at the moment and that's why he's not here with us. He has made fantastic recovery from his operation towards the end of last season. "He just needs to get the final couple of niggles out of the way and then he will be fit for the start of the season against Sunderland. "I know people are disappointed he isn't here with us but the disappointment would be far greater if he couldn't play the first game. That is why he has stayed at home, to rest and to have the best chance of being fit for the start of the season. "The same situation applies to Pepe - he had a double hernia operation in June. He isn't fit and so had to stay at home. He should be ready for the start of the season." While understanding the disappointment felt by some fans at the absence of some of the club's star players, Dalglish was quick to point out there will be plenty of talent on show over the course of the two games in China and Malaysia. "We have some fantastic players here, all of whom have been looking really sharp in training at Melwood. They've looked fit and looked hungry. Everybody here with us will be given the opportunity of getting some match minutes under their belts. "Everybody who is here deserves to be here. Nobody who is here will let us down. We are without a few people because of the Copa America and injuries but the most important people for us are the ones who are here now. "If we were playing a game at home we would be going with exactly the same group of players. We just have to accept that injuries are part and parcel of football." Dalglish was also quizzed by journalists about his plans before the transfer window closes next month - but as ever the boss was giving little away. "We are happy with the business we have done so far," he said. "Hopefully we will do some more business before the window closes but I'm not going to sit here and give you names because that's disrespectful. "We are looking to bring other players in and that could mean we expect some to leave. That's football. But we have a while to go yet and we'll see what we can do."