mcjackson

2nd half of extra time and our biggest goal threat is Dejan fucking Lovren

The players don't seem bothered. The manager can't select a team or adjust to a game. we don't have great lone strikers yet always isolate whoever is playing up top. this team has never been good at breaking thru a team that parks the bus, largely because the attacking players don't seem to understand what to do...the opposite of what we had last year with the SAS chemistry. I wish rodgers looked like he had a plan b.

3 years in and we don't know who makes up the first 11.

The thought of changing managers in the middle of a rebuilding project scares me, but I don't think Rodgers can manage for the situation he's in. Give him a loaded team with a few solid defenders and world class attacking players and he'd win title after title. But we're a team with shaky defenders, a thin midfield, and no quality strikers who can stay healthy. He refuses to play balanced football...his formations and squad selections are various types of overload strategies. When one catches on we do alright for a stretch, other managers see through it eventually and we're fucked again for another few months of experimentation. BR is one dimensional. a few of his decisions went brilliantly, but most have not. he has not shown an ability to adapt his long term strategies and his in game management is a joy for our opponents to watch. ffs this is not a team for new or young players to adapt to, and we need that badly at this point. If you are a rodgers supporter that's fine but I genuinely would like to know where you would draw the line. 5 years of the same shit? 10?

Agreed. My issue with BR is this consistent lack of an identity. Maybe it's bad luck with some key injuries and maybe it's bad transfers......but I don't understand what he's trying to build here. And I don't think the players know either. Half the squad is being frozen out inexplicably (Why Borini hasn't gotten a run is beyond me) and several key players are playing out of position. This is not good for the long term. Also....BR must be one of the worst in game managers I've ever seen, especially when the team is losing.

Right now I'd rather see Skrtel as captain next year. Henderson's great when he's on, but a captain can't disappear on the pitch in difficult games (and it wasn't just today that it's happened). Say what you want about Skrtel, he's not the world's greatest defender but I've never seen him back down from anything. Even today - yes he stamped on De Gea - but he was pressing forward trying to scrape a point back for us. I didn't see anyone else on the pitch pushing as hard as he was towards the end especially.

the consistent feature of almost every loss this season has been the inability to handle a bigger, stronger, more physical side. Gerrard overreacted and deserved the red, but he's our only midfielder with some mettle. in games like this I'd like to see Can brought into a more natural position....really disappointing Henderson consistently disappears in these matches instead of making the space his. not exactly great captain material tbh

I thought the subs were going to be useless - so happy to be wrong!

I hope Lovren sorts himself out if only so we can see Can playing his natural position....fantastic player

BALOTELLI! I ALWAYS KNEW IT! hhaha

Balotelli and Lovren on for Sturridge and Gerrard.........what in the world....

As great as Can has been, I think he'll be even better playing in midfield. If Flanagan could make the transition from rb/lb when he's back...

I'd never want to support a team managed by Mourinho - he takes the richest, most talented teams in the world and plays dirty negative football to eke out 1 goal wins. What's the point really? Never understood the tactical genius involved in playing dirty. But you're spot on about what we lost when Suarez left. Sanchez would have been a decent replacement, but even a player with half Suarez's talent and the same work rate would have totally changed our season. Opposing defenses know they have nothing to worry about because our attacking players don't press like Suarez would, and they can all be taken out of physical games with a few hard tackles. Balotelli isn't all there mentally, Lambert is too slow, and the rest of them are too small and light to do anything. Why else do they disappear in games against sides from League Two? All that complaining aside, I thought Skrtel was brilliant tonight. Every time that dirty cunt Costa tried to stir it up, Skrtel fed it right back down his throat. He was the first one to pull Costa off of Stevie and then wiped him out at the end of the game.

I think it's more than that - aside from the one brilliant dribble when he split the defenders, Balotelli has a negative affect on the flow of the move. And since he receives the ball significantly outside of the box each time, it lets their defenders get back and then he almost always makes the wrong decision with the ball and loses it. Suarez got away with the ludicrous attempts because he consistently buried them. If Mario had even a hint of coming close to a goal, nobody would complain.

Start of the season: everything is wrong, we don't know our first 11, no idea who should play where etc Entering January transfer window: much clearer first 11, improved defense, improved gk, improved midfield........glaring fucking need at striker. 1 week left in the window: "Milner might be coming on a free next summer!". ffs We would have won today had we played with a real striker up top. How we didn't go into the window with a clear target and wrap him up in the first few days....it's beyond me.