27 Jul 2014

Possible LFC XI vs. Olympiacos: More disappointment for fans? £20m star on the bench?

Earlier this week, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers named a disappointing first XI for Liverpool's pre-season friendly against Roma, and after a turgid performance against the Italians - which yielded one pitiful shot on target in 90 minutes - Reds fans will be hoping that the manager puts out a more exciting team for this evening's game with Olympiacos.

In my view, Markovic, Lallana, and Sterling (at least) should've been on the bench for the Roma game, and I maintain that there is absolutely no fitness or medical reason why that couldn't have been the case.

Rodgers obviously played it safe, but with only three weeks until the new season kicks-off, it's imperative that the club's new signings build up a solid understanding by playing together as often as possible.

We're talking about elite, conditioned athletes here, not Sunday league players, and it's (arguably) utter nonsense to suggest that the likes of Markovic couldn't hack 10 minutes in a leisurely pre-season friendly.

Top teams all across Europe are playing their World Cup stars and new signings from the off in pre-season games, so why can't Liverpool do the same?

Man United, for example, started Rooney, Mata, Herrera, Shaw et al in their first two pre-season games, and these guys had the same amount of time off as Sturridge, Sterling and the rest of LFC's World Cup players.

According to some fans, though, Liverpool's England stars exist in some kind of netherworld, where they require more 'recovery time' than other elite players, despite the fact that the majority were dumped out the World Cup earlier than expected.

Additionally, in this strange alternate dimension, super-fit, 20-year old players - who've been 'recovering' for the entire summer - are not fit enough to play 10-15 minutes in a barely-competitive friendly.

The Roma game was a disappointment, but hopefully Rodgers will give Lazar Markovic his full debut tonight, and also play some of Liverpool's top players. If they get injured, then so be it! Injury is a risk every time a player steps out on the field, whether it's a competitive game, training, or a pre-match warm-up.

I hope to see the following line-up:

--------------- Mignolet/Reina

Flanagan ---- Skrtel --- Ilori (if fit) --- Enrique/Robinson

------------ Gerrard/Coady

------------- Hendo --- Can

------- Sterling -------- Markovic

--------------- Sturridge

I doubt Markovic will start, though; ditto Sturridge, and Gerrard. Rodgers will probably be ultra cautious again and name them on the bench, but you never know. Whatever happens, Markovic, Sterling et al should surely get at least 45 minutes of game time, with Rodgers switching things around and throwing Suso and Coutinho into the mix at some point.

What I personally don't want to see is Lucas/Allen starting again. There's nothing new to learn there; why not just give some of the squad's younger midfielder the chance to stake a claim?

Ultimately, Liverpool have only FOUR more pre-season games until the start of the season. Is that enough time to effectively integrate all the club's new players?

Author:


155 comments:

  1. Rodgers being ultra cautious in a friendly preseason match? Come on Jaimie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. anyone know where i can catch the game in stream? and about what time GMT it starts?

    ReplyDelete
  3. firstrowsports. Try in about 2-3 hours time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Not sure how you can second what team we will put out tonight but I am confident it will be a strong team. Don't think BR has done much wrong so far in the games there's no point rushing players back... It will have it's rewards long term.

    And JK Rossiter isn't in Amercia he played for the under 21s the other day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I personally think we need to get the regulars into the game more, if only to get them up to speed quicker. Sure, training is great and all, but there's really nothing like a game against an uncommon opponent to help replicate what we'll face in a few weeks.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I can't be the only one who doesn't care how the manager sees fit to use players in Meaningless preseason friendlies can I?

    ReplyDelete
  7. thanks mate, much apreciated=)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sportslemon if that doesn't work.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes, he is being ultra cautious, otherwise he would've played Sterling, Sturridge, Markovic etc against Roma. Rodgers' own comments about only training for a couple of days suggest as much.

    There is absolutely no reason why Markovic and Sterling couldn't have at least been on the bench. If Henderson can make it, so can they.

    Henderson may be fit, but he's not some kind of indestructible superman who's infinitely fitter than Sterling et al.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Right, so pre-season friendlies are now 'meaningless'. Why? Because it fits with your argument to take that view?

    They are not meaningless at all. They're good for fitness; bedding in new players; getting the team used to playing together; trying out different formations; building up a rapport etc between players. But these things are obvious - for some reason, you choose to ignore them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. The players are training irrespective.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm dreading watching the game tonight because of two words.....Dean Saunders

    ReplyDelete
  13. you could argue that : "They're good for fitness; bedding in new players; getting the team used
    to playing together; trying out different formations; building up a
    rapport etc between players".


    so are training sessions, but there is greater risk of injury in actual game

    ReplyDelete
  14. Jeez, what do you mean you're 'not sure' how people can second-guess the manager? Are you deliberately being a hypocrite? That is precisely what fans do all the time, including you - we speculate about X, Y and ...except, of course, when fans disagree with a certain POV, and then, all of a sudden, the manager's word is law, and speculating is instantly forbidden.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stewart BangTidy Westland8:07 pm, July 27, 2014

    Wow, an article written 20 minutes ago, stating Lallana should be at least on the bench! Way to keep up with LFC news, he's injured!

    ReplyDelete
  16. i think BR would go with a more starting 11 team imo given how other teams like chelsea and co have started doing so

    ReplyDelete
  17. um he said for the roma game... reread

    ReplyDelete
  18. To be fair you've mis read that one pal.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Bravo for the utterly disingenuous comment :-) If they're so meaningless, why not just scrap pre-season friendlies altogether? In fact, why not just scrap the league, and just play 5-a side training games all season. That way, injuries will be massively reduced.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Haha I agree so much thankfully it's on sky not BT sport!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Friendly matches are not to be won or lost. There are no rewards for winning these matches.


    It is like playing a side of two eleven made up of our squad in a training session which happens anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  22. thank f*ck for that, the way he described suarez goal v Newcastle blew my mind.

    ReplyDelete
  23. What am I saying is if the key players start or don't start but come on and get 45 minutes I'm not really too bothered. The fitness guys and BR know what they are doing and I trust their judgement they have all the stats and figures from training etc. I also think missing 10-15 minutes at the end of the Roma game which lets be honest was pedestrian to say the least is hardly going to affect their fitness for the start of the season.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thank you for stating the blindingly obvious.

    ReplyDelete
  25. When will Liverpool lean never to buy Italians the are totally selfish and usually useless with it. a clockwork mouse - a one legged wonder and a non scoring goal scorer. their agent are the worlds worst - they never shut up.

    ReplyDelete
  26. training session cant replicate the intensity of real match, you just have to look at how rusty players who havent had game time are when they are suddenly ask to perform in match.


    same goes for tactic, you can train all you want but cant replicate all the random things that happen in real match.

    ReplyDelete
  27. FSI have the best streams of the lot ! K.O 11pm. GMT.

    ReplyDelete
  28. its not just about fitness its about match sharpness...when you play against unfamiliar players you react different than you would against your own team mates in practice..... we have paid big bucks and wages for these guys get them out there and lets see what they can do

    ReplyDelete
  29. try fabio borini

    ReplyDelete
  30. colonel cocknocker8:27 pm, July 27, 2014

    It's not at all. If you're on a marketing tour playing good european teams then I'm sorry but the result and the performance do matter. Not as much admittedly, but it's an opportunity to test yourself against other good teams and see where you're at, and an opportunity to give the fans something to brag about.
    i bet inter fans are pretty chuffed they did madrid, even if it was just kids. It's not just a run out, it's a competitive friendly, the extra effort of which is what's supposed to get you up to match fitness by pushing you a bit harder.
    So what if they get hurt. It's liverpool's leg.

    ReplyDelete
  31. dont mention that name reports claim we missed out on remy because borini didnt want to leave

    ReplyDelete
  32. something happened?

    ReplyDelete
  33. Dunkin' Donuts had Sterling and Henderson working behind the counter. That is the marketing they want. What happens in preseason in a match does not get remembered at the end of the season.

    ReplyDelete
  34. colonel cocknocker8:35 pm, July 27, 2014

    yeah to be fair the subway thing was brand magic! But would you not have felt a tiny bit more happy if we'd done roma 7-0? I would have. I get what ur saying it's not a real fixture. But EVERY game for liverpool is an opportunity to show everyone how rude we are.....friendly or not. That's my two cents anyway...

    ReplyDelete
  35. Done Roma 7-0? When last has a anyone pit that many past an Italian team?

    ReplyDelete
  36. vipboxeu dot co, is usually the best quality, especially if you use Chrome with adblock, stops all the pop-ups.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I don't think it was of Borni, Remy has got an hole in is heart and Liverpool didn't want to take the risk. This is why his price tag is very low for a striker of his class. After having their fingers burnt with Andy Carroll im glad that Liverpool are being more cautious in who they sign.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Money, clubs make a lot of money by going on tours of countries and playing these games.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I totally agree with Jamie on this, was it not the point to get these tranfers done asap, so that they had more time together to gel in these pre-season games? each player should be fit enough to play at anytime imo, unless they have a bit of a strain or injury, otherwise their`s no excuses whatsoever. After the last game against Roma which was a very boring affair i think, so like most LFC supporters i want to see basically the team that BR is going to start against Southampton, in our first premier league game of 2014, we could all most probably pick the top say 16 players, who will be either starting or on the bench, obviously thats not including any of the unknown players who may be coming in between now and the end of this transfer window.

    ReplyDelete
  40. colonel cocknocker8:44 pm, July 27, 2014

    (sips his glass of milk).....exactly! x

    ReplyDelete
  41. More like I do not know.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I just personally think that's an impatient way of looking at things. Of course we all want to see the new players and our best team playing and winning these games but you have to take a more long term view which unfortunately it seems many fans can't comprehend.

    ReplyDelete
  43. colonel cocknocker8:50 pm, July 27, 2014

    If we'd have done them 7-0 everyone would be saying - "whoah that was awesome, Liverpool look razor sharp maybe they'll win the title next year." Ergo it's not meaningless, there are benefits to be had.
    olimpiakos beat ac 3-0. Who is more of a threat to us? The result of a meaningless friendly kind of skews your perception doesn't it?
    Sorry for saying ergo.

    ReplyDelete
  44. i understand that point but i need someone to blame for this shortcoming and since the usual scape goat ayre can't be blamed... curse u no. 29

    ReplyDelete
  45. I remember asking that very question about the Brazilians just before the semis.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Danke! thank you all

    ReplyDelete
  47. "Elite conditioned athletes"? I thought they were "overpaid pampered ladyboys" :-)


    I don't think you cannot be too careful about injuries in pre-season though. I have heard of players being injured beyond repair merely completing a medical..

    ReplyDelete
  48. firefox with adblock, but i got chrome too

    ReplyDelete
  49. I thought Hawy Revcrap looked a bit coy when asked about the Remy transfer, don`t you? bloody arfer daily, he think`s us Liverpudlians are idiots.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I think Fabio could come good for us. Remember Henderson turned down a move to fulham 2 seasons ago to fight for his place and look what happened to him.

    ReplyDelete
  51. um idk i've watched him over the pre season and apart from that first game i think it was yeovil he has not looked good at all imo we should've taken the money and run to sevilla

    ReplyDelete
  52. oh whoa... wonderfull.... ill just stop replying to anything you write JK cause your ansvers usually are either, hostile, patronising or outright ....

    you are the only one allowed an oppinnion, and god forbid those that dont match yours to be presented here.

    ReplyDelete
  53. hardly winning the fans abroad. really disappointing all round from liverpool, from transfers to pre season. sorry to sound negative but after last season, i cant really see us being a better team of 11, despite the arrival of lovren shortly announced.were going to be short on fire power and our defence still woeful all the time it has agger skrtel and johnson are in the starting 11. i trust rodgers 100% dont get me wrong

    ReplyDelete
  54. I like to see him here for one more season I think he could be one of the players that could benefit from suraez not being at the club

    ReplyDelete
  55. i'm hoping he does he has the passion and i love that in a lfc player imo it should be mandatory but if according to remy'y agents the deal fell through due to borini's unwillingness to get sold hm idk how i really feel about that

    ReplyDelete
  56. The only way Borini`s going to benefit is, sorry to say but going to Sunderland he`s never going to be good enough mate, sorry to burst your bubble.

    ReplyDelete
  57. colonel cocknocker9:15 pm, July 27, 2014

    13 mins gone ac 0 city 2.......so olimpiakos ARE more of a threat then. Fair enough

    ReplyDelete
  58. I disagreed with Jamie's earlier one but honestly now I totally agree , we should start playing our starting 11 to know where the holes needs to be sealed , that's exactly what Van gal is doing and I think is good it's great then we can get a guide to who and what to bring in.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Its nearly 10 years since we won the champions league and if you back on our journey to winning it you think of the players who played their part. Bišćan, Traoré, Mellor and Sinama-Pongolle. Don't write him off yet and come on, we all want him to do well so that we can copy his goal celebration right.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Ladyboys?


    well atleast they won't shy away from a 'tackle', that you can be sure of..

    ReplyDelete
  61. The pis5 taking thing is if you count own goals too, Skrtel scored more than Borini last season.... and with out penalties

    ReplyDelete
  62. So why are you complaining?? And it ses you don't know the actual line up. Assumptions is the mother of all F**** ups!

    ReplyDelete
  63. our no. 29 who doesn't want to leave lfc sigh if borini stays and does not come good then him and downing shall be mentioned in the same breath

    ReplyDelete
  64. Or that they have no cups to win. And I have always felt this way. My statement was my argument.

    ReplyDelete
  65. No you're not

    ReplyDelete
  66. Some players get up to speed faster tactically. Some players are known for getting injured (Gérard, Starring). If the manager wants to leave these players our who are We to disagree. We will see them when the season starts. Let's keep our heads.

    ReplyDelete
  67. Rodgers knows his squad. Van Goal doesn't.

    ReplyDelete
  68. 'Who are we to disagree'? This is a prime example of fan hypocrisy in action. You'll advocate blind faith in the manager's decisions when it's something you agree with but, but you're happy to disagree with other decisions made by BR/the club. Why does the mantra 'Who are we to disagree' not apply when you're questioning something?

    ReplyDelete
  69. Won't be remembered by us, by the fans we're trying to win in America. That's why we go there.

    Doesn't really bother me, but I think JK and the like have fair cause to criticise the way the friendlies have been handled.

    ReplyDelete
  70. I would have been happy has larry to see Borini become a success for us, but lets be honest has much as he tries he just isn`t good enough, and to be honest in a way i`m glad he never scored too many lol because i hate that bloody stupid celebration of his, sorry again.

    ReplyDelete
  71. The excuses just keep on coming. So Rodgers knows Can, Markovic, and Lambert, players he's never managed before? He knows how they'll play/integrate with the rest of the squad?

    To support your argument, you and others will come up with any justification, no matter how lacking in credibility.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Line up just announced. Egg on your face huh? Perhaps you should wait before complaining in future.

    ReplyDelete
  73. Spot on. Plus you are neglecting the fact that a lot uniteds better players weren't even at the World Cup so they have been able to play closer to full strength.

    ReplyDelete
  74. apart from scafu, illori and migns/reina u got it right JK

    ReplyDelete
  75. Pretty much our strongest available 11 with the exception of Toure. Wish we would get rid of him otherwise strong 11. Got that one wrong again Jaimie.

    ReplyDelete
  76. hes garbage hendo was being played out of position thats why he struggled

    ReplyDelete
  77. You even subvert the truth just to try and justify this non-credible point. Rooney, Welbeck, Mata, Shaw, Jones, Valencia, Kagawa, Nani etc were all at the world cup.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Starting lineup rocks!!

    ReplyDelete
  79. Yes those players all were with the exception of Mata. But most of those players only started last night and we are playing today so the point is irrelevant really.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Man U did Roma 7-1 in the champions league in 2008 I think it was

    ReplyDelete
  81. good team line up

    ReplyDelete
  82. No, that is not true. Shaw, Rooney, Mata, Welbeck, Herrera, Valencia, and Jones all started the LA Galaxy game.

    ReplyDelete
  83. Now I think about it we only really have Coates and Kelly who could replace him so guess there wasn't much choice. Agger and Ilori have both been sent back to Liverpool.

    ReplyDelete
  84. maybe, all will be reveled soon.

    ReplyDelete
  85. Well Mata and Herrera weren't at the WC but indeed I am wrong there. However, as previously mentioned Rodgers know his squad a lot better than Van Gaal so there is less of a rush to get the WC players back. Markovic and Can starting tonight so happy with that.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Belgium took to the World Cup so I must have something to merit LFC's purchase.

    ReplyDelete
  87. Juan Mata *was* at the World Cup!

    And I included Herrera because he's like Markovic: a new player, not at the World Cup, who came in and started the first pre-season game.

    ReplyDelete
  88. oh its official lovren is an lfc player

    ReplyDelete
  89. Suso isn't even on the bench, I have the feeling Rodgers doesn't really like him. And no Reina either, I think it's safe to say he won't play in a Red shirt again.

    ReplyDelete
  90. Agger has left the tour as well with an apparent 'injury' I think he's on his way out.

    ReplyDelete
  91. ECAs can also be OPLs. The two are not mutually exclusive :-)

    ReplyDelete
  92. no shock there carragher didn't say that he thinks BR doesn't fancy him

    ReplyDelete
  93. The starting line-up is exciting. Just needed to be a bit patient ;)

    ReplyDelete
  94. i think james pearce said something about it agger and borini were supposed to be off the tour due to injuries and illori is still gettting treatment

    ReplyDelete
  95. If you go in the Liverpool page on skysports and scroll down to videos should be on there... Liverpool pull out of Remy deal

    ReplyDelete
  96. I have to say this is one of your poorest articles JK, almost nothing of merit and even less of sense I'm afraid. How can you moan about an eighteen year old not having an affinity with out club when he was born in a different country and wasn't even a twinkle in his daddy's eye when we last won the top league prize in England. We are talking about buying a piece of art not an object of definable worth. A painting can be listed at auction as being worth £100,000 but if three rich men all like it and try to outbid each other it could sell for millions. This is definitely a market driven economy and when we bought Sturridge there were no other top clubs in for him. When we bought Coutinho most people said 'Who?' But with Origi we had to battle with Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and probably other clubs too. That is why we paid a bit more for him. As for having done nothing in the game, he is a teenager but he went to the World Cup Finals, played better than most of the England team and kept Eden Hazard out of the team twice!

    We have got a bargain here and loaning him out for another year of playing to get experience makes him an exciting prospect for the 2015 season. So good to see our manager planning ahead. Isn't that what you so often praise Benitez for having done when he was our manager?!

    ReplyDelete
  97. Btw does anyone know where Flanagan is? Hasn't been in the squad for the last 2 games

    ReplyDelete
  98. Oh grow up will ya. Both Can and Lambert have played the last two games, so the only one of your trio that was left out was Markovic, whose barely had a week of training. Jesus, any excuse for an ill-informed moan

    ReplyDelete
  99. Gracias.


    Sent from Samsung Mobile

    ReplyDelete
  100. Chris Rossington10:43 pm, July 27, 2014

    My point would be that I think it's a good thing it took the lad 3 weeks to decide, it shows this lad cares about his future and what was best for him, it may also show Brendan in good light as he outlined his plans, the lads had a think and thought yeah i like the sound of that Brendan and he signs!

    Unlike others such assaidi and luis Alberto and aspas who have gone out onloan this lad from the limited action I saw of him at the World Cup looked like he has great potential, now the only problem I have with that is I thought the same after I watched Diouf against France all those years ago!! :/

    ReplyDelete
  101. I'm pretty sure he has played Can and Lambert.

    ReplyDelete
  102. Biscan that takes me back

    ReplyDelete
  103. Be as sarcastic as you like Jamie, but fact is BR stated categorically that the players had only started training on the Monday before Wednesday;s match, and that Hendo was only included as he is a fitness anomaly.

    To ignore that and go on about that match in the knowledge that BR had explained himself in a way that contradicted your assumptionsis strange, BR knows for certain their fitness levels and it appears that the medical team and he felt only Hendo was a good idea at that point. Dead horse flogging simply to reiterate a point you previously raised. Do it by all means, but that's how it clearly comes across to me.

    ReplyDelete
  104. I think Lukaku was first choice but he had a poor first couple of games and so was dropped. It gave him the necessary kick up the backside because he then had an impact off the bench the next time he came on. Reasons behind it are all speculation

    ReplyDelete
  105. He must have read your post because his starting eleven was the same as yours in the midfield and attacking areas. You doubted Gerrard, Markovic and Sturridge would start because of Rodgers's 'caution'.... but they all did!

    ReplyDelete
  106. Matthew Jamison1:04 am, July 28, 2014

    Good reply to the lads article Chris. But lets face it. We couldn't get much worse than diouf. Ha. Joking aside. I haven't seen much of him myself but if all these other top clubs are courting him. He must have great potential. Moreover most signings of players under 20 is a bit of gamble on his possible future stardom. So £10 million.

    ReplyDelete
  107. might you explain which comment policy i broke?

    ReplyDelete
  108. Was hoping to see pre - injury Lucas form.

    Unfortunately its was same as always booked after 10mins, gave away free kicks , got caught in possession, and did nothing creatively
    Sorry Lucas, but your time is up...

    ReplyDelete
  109. what i learned from this friendly. Javier Saviola is a cool bloke. managed to get a booking for simulating in friendly. and If Glen Johnsson never plays for us again, its too soon

    ReplyDelete
  110. Seconded on Johnson. Not injured now. Still useless.

    ReplyDelete
  111. I agree with you...in that we'll need more players chipping in with goals, but I think it'll be a mixture of formations that we'll play, and 2 up top is going to be one those. Of course, those 2 could be Sturridge and Lambert, but my big concern is that Sturridge can barely string 5 games together before some knock or other has him out for a few games, and when he isn't 100% fit his level of performance drops off markedly. We need to make sure we have someone to play the Sturridge role when he isn't available, and play alongside him when needed.

    In actual fact, Origi , judging from his World Cup performances could be that player but he won't be available this season. I really think we need to invest in at least one more quality finisher and goal scorer...ideally two.

    Also, I fear relying on attacking midfielders to get a significant number of goals is somewhat risky....accepted, Sterling, Lallana and Markovic will hopefully all be capable of contributing 5+ goals each this season so that should help but it won't be enough in itself.

    ReplyDelete
  112. Agree with you regarding the need to sign another striker. Remy seemed to be the perfect fit but it'll be interesting to see who we move for now.
    I think Rodgers will be expecting 10+ goals from Lallana, sterling, markovic. 5 from hendo is maybe the expected amount

    ReplyDelete
  113. What improvement can LFC make defensively if Glen Johnson continues to be the starting RB? Is Flanno injured or something? Flanno should be the starting RB before someone new comes in to take up that position.

    Loic Remy could have been a real good signing for the club. Is it confirmed that the deal is off? Looking at the present squad and I realized we only have one real good striker in DS. If the "glass man" is injured again, who else can play that striker role effectively, Fabio Borini?

    I was checking out the squads of Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal. Seriously if anyone out there thinks we can rank above any of these 3 teams this season, he/she gotta be seriously optimistic about LFC. The more likely situation is that we will be fighting for fourth place with Man Utd and that's going to be real tough task as well.

    LFC is running out of time to sign a striker and full backs. Please, act now and make it quick.

    ReplyDelete
  114. Not a great game but some encouraging signs. It will take more time for the players to get back in sync and produce the same football we saw at the end of last year. The same components are there and Coutinho looks like he's got a new purpose in the team now that Suarez is gone. Defence is still a train wreck waiting to happen.

    ReplyDelete
  115. Rodgers has a bookmark on his phone for liverpool-kop.com so he can see if there something different he can do to annoy JK just before kick-off.

    ReplyDelete
  116. That's a real shame if it's collapsed. Oh well, still just over a month left to sort out more signings. I will be surprised to see BR bring in a big name, but that's what we need, someone with proven quality. This is a massive season for Rodgers, make or break after Suarez leaving and having CL to contend with. We need a deep squad of quality, but with a few big game players to drag out results.

    ReplyDelete
  117. thexcuriousxwanderer2:35 am, July 28, 2014

    With respect to our club, why should we still expect that people "should be thankful ... privilege ..." I think that mentality should be thrown out of the window. When I go for an interview, it's not just for the company to assess me, it's for me to assess them as well, to see if I like them. Why should football be any different? We are courting his signature, he's not trying to convince us to sign him - he sells himself on the pitch, we try to court him off it.

    I think that "thankful" mentality is outdated, and it won't bring us far.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Honestly I feel as if these "failing medicals" are just a cop out for some other reason not to sign a player. Remy has been playing consistently since his 2010 medical in Monaco without any problems. If a player fails a medical then how should they be able to play the sport???


    I remember Cissokho failing his medical at AC Milan because of his teeth. If that isn't a convenient way to save face and not sign a player I don't know what is.

    ReplyDelete
  119. 3 games in a row now

    ReplyDelete
  120. You do realize new players need to get a few training sessions with the team before playing right?
    You're becoming more and more clueless day by day.

    ReplyDelete
  121. yes i would like you to make a list....in numeric order stating the players age, name ,club, nationality availability and fee now get on with it

    ReplyDelete
  122. i want all our players to do well ....but borini is out of his depth at this level..no pace ,no real skill set, average in the air , no presence i could go on and on

    ReplyDelete
  123. This one doesn't add up. He's fine to play for Newcastle Marseille and QPR and of course France at the world cup, but not ok for us. If his medical was that bad why would any other team look at him?? I think we have made a whopper mistake here and if we sign Rodriguez its even more worrying. Our Scouts will have really earned their pay by looking down the road at St Marys for our new recruits! I know we will not replace Suarez like for like but come on, we should be able to get a Vidal/Reus or Di Maria type of player in. We do have CL football now to offer. Its worrying and unfortunately for Rogers it could be a nail in his coffin as we just acnnot afford to drop out of the top 4 this year or any year thereafter. UTD are going to spend big, but they understand that this is a necessity to get back to the top. Theres something in the DNA at Liverpool that needs routing out. We shop at Tesco while the others shop at Waitrose, always looking for the bargain, the one that might come good. Its a very poor way of thinking. And with Ian the maestro Ayre at the helm, we are truly average

    ReplyDelete
  124. Absolutely spot on!
    Remy was selected for the WC doesn't make any sense! From Remy to Rodriguez is leaving a bitter taste in my mouth!

    ReplyDelete
  125. Don't think we should get Jay Rodriguez otherwise we may as well change our name to Liverhampton, possibly the following would be good to get in instead

    Alexandre
    Lacazette 23 Lyon FWD #10

    Marco Reus 25
    Borussia Dortmund MID #11

    Carlos Vela 25
    Real Sociedad FWD #11

    Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 25 Borussia Dortmund FWD
    #17

    Edinson
    Cavani 27 PSG FWD #9

    Jackson Martinez 27
    Porto FWD #9

    Radamel Falcao 28
    Monaco FWD #9


    I've listed them in yougest to oldest as we want younger talent, also Reus is in there even though technically he's a midfielder but a lot of these talents can play varying positions up front.

    ReplyDelete
  126. but a great goal celebration, I desperately wanted Stewart Downing to be a cult hero so that the kop could sing the kool and the gang track "get down on it".
    I see Borini as a potential poacher, I don't think that our system is designed for a poacher but you have to admit he show big game mentality in some of those key Sunderland matches like the last minute winning goal in the derby so having him as a option to come off the bench would be handy.

    ReplyDelete
  127. i feel he was a comfort signing for rogers like allen was...big step for rogers going to liverpool and he wanted some friendly faces,to his credit rogers does seem to learn from his mistakes unlike previous Liverpool managers and i think he now realizes that to cut it this level players need to have a lot of tools in there locker and not just a pretend knife in there mouth

    ReplyDelete
  128. He was definitely a comfort signing but I dont think he has had the run of games (due to injury) for Liverpool for me to say that he is not good enough as a squad forward but of course if we can make a profit on him then that's a nice piece of business.
    Now that Remy is not coming who else is coming in? if we are going for a forward at that price range I would rather keep Borini because Remy seems to be at a lower price because of this medical issue. Personally I would go for Bony because he is coming to his peak years and should make an immediate impact on the team.
    Plus the kop can sing some Boney M songs like "Daddy Cool".

    ReplyDelete
  129. The heart issue would have been an insurance issue, different clubs use different insurers for players and have different policies. Same as some insurers will allow young drivers and some wont, all to do with the risk assessment.

    ReplyDelete
  130. Its an insurance issue, not to do with 'if they can play ok for that club' etc.

    ReplyDelete
  131. Are we going to do a Spurs? Jay Rodriguez, Ryan Bertrand and a Spanish kid .. unimpressed would be a MASSIVE understatement ..

    ReplyDelete
  132. We've seen this before...it's called, Spurs spending the Bale money to no avail...Wake-up Rodgers, short of signing Ronaldo, Falcao, Messi or Costa, you just can't replace Suarez.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Is Falcao still injured? As all the major European teams don't seem interested in him at the moment I would love to see Liverpool try to sign him. He needs to be back in a prominent shop window and Liverpool can provide that. If he did as well as Suarez, then maybe he gets his move to Real Madrid and we pocket a profit. Then we can phase in Origi to take over from Falcao. In the meantime we sign a striker who can really strike fear into any opposition side in Europe and bang the goals in. C'mon Brendan Rodgers, get it done :-).

    ReplyDelete
  134. Yes it is a sensible use of the money imo. It's a gamble but even if he doesn't make it we would probably be able to make most if not all the money back.


    We just managed to get a £14m offer for Fabio Borini (who we paid £12m for, which might have seemed steep at the time) and he hasn't made an impact for us.


    Origi is 19, he had an impressive world cup in which he kept Lukaku out of the team, and if he realises his potential he could go on to make a huge impact for the first team and be worth several times what we've paid.


    If not, he will still be young in a couple of years time, and attacking players on average cost more than any other area of the pitch. Teams are generally willing to take a gamble on this kind of player as goals come at a premium and he'd still be at an age where you could expect significant improvement.


    This means we could expect to make the money back unless he is completely awful and I have enough trust in our scouting team to doubt that will happen (highly unlikely a top club in this day and age would sign a player based entirely on a world cup performance).


    I think this is an approach we are actively taking- Tiago Illori could be an example as he apparently cost ~£8m and was loaned straight out. He was according to most reports pretty impressive at Granada last season. Another decent season on loan and he could potentially be sold for a profit even he never makes an appearance for Liverpool. Clearly this strategy won't always work but we'd hope the money men and scouting team do a good enough job to make a pretty healthy profit long-term.


    Chelsea pretty much employ this policy- Courtois (loaned out multiple seasons, comes back as one of the consensus best 'keepers in the world). Also De Bruyne (Bought for £7m, loaned out, came back very briefly and sold for £18m, without ever "making it" at Chelsea.


    Basically, players don't have to do well for us on the pitch to be valuable. Currently, especially with FFP coming into force, they are also commodities that can be used to turn a profit.

    ReplyDelete
  135. not agreeing with jk

    ReplyDelete
  136. Harry Redknapp is trashing the failed medical as the reason for the Remy deal falling through as they had given him one and France had given him one prior to the WC. He says there must be another reason. Maybe we decided to use that 8M to try to sign someone else. Maybe BR likes the idea of Sterling as the other striker.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Maybe because they'd assume that other professional football clubs might do a professional job with their medicals and not pass him if he had a condition with a decent likelihood of causing serious problems down the line?

    ReplyDelete
  138. thought coates looked really good.

    ReplyDelete
  139. There is a fantastic article in the Telegraph backing this exact point up. I agree 100%.

    ReplyDelete
  140. When talking about transfers / transfer committee for example?

    ReplyDelete
  141. I agree with Harry I can't see there being any medical issues there must be something else. This is one of the very few times we get value for money & we let him go! If he has a blinding season then questions need to be asked!

    ReplyDelete
  142. I hope we go for Radamel Falcao. Try to persuade him to replace Suarez, even if only for a season to put himself back in the shop window. Replacing Suarez would give him the profile that he craves and if he can do well in the Premier League and Champions League for us that would be perfect. If we could get him for £50M get him to score 30+ goals in partnership with Sturridge, Real Madrid will come in for him next season and pay us £75M for him. Good bit of business all round and then we get a more mature Origi to come in the following season to partner the ever improving Sturridge. Get it done Brendan Rodgers!

    ReplyDelete
  143. ACM offered him to Arsenal for 7.9 plus Joel Campbell...whose estimated market value after the WC is about 7m. That's how I get about 15M.

    ReplyDelete
  144. The problem is that you're lumping every pro athlete into the same category. Remember when Brazilian Ronaldo was fat? He was still an elite athlete, but his fitness wasn't the same as his peers. Players fitness levels differ, you just can't see it on all of them like you could with Ronaldo. And when your fitness isn't great you have to be more careful, you can even get injured in training easily at that stage, ditto Carrick and Lallana. You've mentioned Man Utd, who have a huge sense of urgency after last season and a manager who needs to learn about his players quickly since he just met them and doesn't have a second to lose, but what about Man City? Where has David Silva and a bunch of the others been all preseason? Luke Shaw is so unfit he's training separately and his manager talked about it publicly, he only played the other night because someone else got injured...clearly not all World Cup players are at the same fitness level. I think the fact that they didn't play in a meaningless game 2 days after they joined the squad, and most of them started in the game that was part of this preseason tournament, tells us everything we need to know. Rodgers saw no point in playing them though sure, they physically could have played, and figured the safest course was to give them a few more days because their was absolutely nothing at stake and they'd only had 2 days of work. I'd call that cautious, appropriately so, not ultra-cautious. If every time we had a win in the bag last season he'd subbed out Suarez for fear of injury, now that's ultra-cautious...but not playing players who've only had 2 days of training after a 4 week break? C'mon...


    Rather than an article pointing out the perceived failings of Rodgers for not playing superstars, I'd personally enjoy reading an article discussing the young players and fringe players who have impressed so far in preseason. Would make for a nice change of pace.

    ReplyDelete
  145. Until such point in time you decide the managers word is "LAW".

    ReplyDelete
  146. Goal post. Shifted.

    ReplyDelete
  147. Goal post------------------->new location

    ReplyDelete