28 Sept 2014

LFC Regret: £18m star admits he made a 'bad choice' leaving Anfield after discovering he'd been axed for the Everton game

Prior to yesterday's game with Everton, Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho stormed out of Anfield after learning that he'd been dropped from the starting line-up. Given his burning desire to experience a Merseyside derby, Sakho's ire is understandable, but he's now realised that he acted rashly, and issued a public apology for his reaction.

After Liverpool's disappointing 1-1 draw, Sakho said:

"I really want to apologise to the club, the supporters and every person who felt offended when I left the stadium this afternoon.

"I'm aware that it was a bad choice from my part to go isolating (sic) to watch the game"


I'm not Sakho's biggest fan, but I personally don't see what all the fuss is about. He's being barracked buy some sections of the fanbase, but why is it such a big deal? So what if he 'stormed out'? It just shows that Sakho is passionate about the game, and has a real desire to make a difference for the club.

I find it hilarious when fans argue that such behaviour is selfish and/or is somehow a betrayal of his team-mates; these are the same fans who constantly turned a blind eye to Luis Suarez's biting and cheating, things that are are (IMO) far more detrimental and selfish.

Unfortunately for Sakho, I doubt Rodgers will take such a magnanimous view. LFC's boss constantly emphasises the team over the individual, and he'll probably take a dim view of Sakho's reaction.

When all is said and done, though, Rodgers arguably made the right decision. In terms of defensive balance, Skrtel/Lovren is the right partnership for the team, and for the sake of defensive continuity, those two should start most games for Liverpool.

To be clear: I'm not averse to seeing Sakho given a run of games, but not at the expense of unbalancing the defence. If Rodgers decides to go that way, then he should take Lovren out of the team, and play Sakho with Skrtel, though after spending £20m on the Croatian, that's not going to happen.

Sakho will just have to get used to being Lovren's understudy, but after experiencing third-choice syndrome at PSG, he will almost certainly be unhappy with that, which could lead to an early exit from Anfield.

The question is, will Liverpool get back £18m+ for Sakho...?

Author:


121 comments:

  1. If you are playing for a club of liverpool's stature, you have to fight for your place. His performance against West Ham was a disgrace. That's why Rodgers tried a new CB pairing. He should prove his worth when he gets his chance.

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  2. I hope we can reach far in C1 Cup UCL and Fa cup so that many of our players will get a chance

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  3. have you watched Sakho playing for LFC? he gets caught in possession, passes to the opposition, can't clear the ball, can't head the ball, can't play attackers off-side. He is very poor. He must have tremendous self-belief in his own ability to be shocked that he has been drooped by the team, and his reaction was childish, to say the least. He was just as bad last season on the few occasions that he played, so the fact that he was given a second chance shows that the manager thought that no-one could really be so bad and still get into the French national side. Any lingering doubts must surely be laid to rest, au revoir mon brave.

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  4. I hope he stormed all the way to Melwood and put in some extra hours on the training ground. If he wants to be in the starting XI, he needs to find his best form. Thankfully we now have options if players lose form.

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  5. And the answer is no we wont get £18m back - we were kippered, again. We will be lucky to get half that.

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  6. Half that sum is what we can hope and I mean HOPE to get back, he is terrible. Hopefully he'll be moved on in the next two transfer windows. We looked a lot more solid yesterday, given a run of games I'm hopeful Skertel, Lovren and the two Spanish lads will form a formidable defensive unit. I worry tho that BR will let G Johnson straight back into the starting 11, which would be a HUGE mistake.

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  7. Sakho has always been a strange signing, its clear that Rodgers does not trust him from last season. I see him leaving by the end of the season.

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  8. Who is available to take over? If no better person is available then replacing a manager for the sake of it is a bad decision

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  9. Replacing reina with a downgrade,rather pay 18 mil than using coartes

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  10. Headless chicken!!!

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  11. Borini and Lambert are not Liverpool quality. Balo will come good. Suarez was not prolific when he came over

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  12. You forgot about Emre Can

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  13. Coates and Ilori are still with us

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  14. Someone pointed out how Lovren was always missing in games when he played in France

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  15. Jurgen Klopp is the man for Liverpoll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rodgers waste hundreds millions ! he is unforgivable. When a person waste so much money and still dont solve the problem, he must be responsible with his actions. Borini is his first buy and you see what happened, Wtf he plays Gerrard DM ? If hes not good enough at Midfield, drop him to the bench, buy a good DM to protect the defence, what he did is he played Lucas alongside Gerrard to protect him. He plays Borini when we really needed goals, the goals didnt arrive and came in Lambert the has been, Just tell the truth what is in your mind at that time??? Suso scores but he plays Borini the next game, Why he didnt use Agger or the boy that loaned out to French team as defensive midfield? forget the name of a spanish striker and midfield that he bought which is laughable and now gone to loan

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  16. Nicolas Chamberlain1:50 am, September 29, 2014

    Rodgers is way too hard on Sakho. He should have been selected.
    Its good to see that players are passionate about their profession but Sakho should have known better especially as a former captain.
    Rodgers needs to show some loyalty to the players he signed.
    A big part of football is trust and not every player is build to rise from the ashes.

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  17. I don't care how passionate you are, you do not abandoned your team mates. What if they needed him??

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  18. I think it speaks well of him that he was upset to not have been selected. While it might be seen as a childish reaction, it could in fact be an indication of his frustration after being labelled by some sections as being the primary culprit for the previous game. He'd probably have been really intent on disproving such criticism from the West Ham game, but reacted badly to his omission. Depending on how you look at it, he was either egotistical, or passionate. I'd lik to think it was the latter.

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  19. With all due respect to Carra, he's hardly giving a heavily revamped back four much of a chance is he? In Lovren we have a player who was excellent for Southampton last season, Sakho is one half of the preferred centreback pairing for France, Moreno and Manquillo are just getting into the squad and Mignolet may not be a natural leader through no fault of his own. Clearly the defence is finding its feet, and we weren't much better last season. O all people he ought to know that there are no quick fixes, particularly in defence where partnership, consistency and accountability are key, and can only be solidified by games, faith and patience.

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  20. How did we paid 18m when his contract was getting over in less than a year...Yet again Liverpool were robbed.

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  21. Rodgers is trying to get the general culture of the club to a very high standard and that's admirable. However I do agree, Sakho can be forgiven for showing a little emotion. He's a competitive footballer so it's good that he's upset with not being the squad. He got dumped in favour of Toure, that's pretty significant. If he made a habit of doing it then it might be an issue but it's barely even worth talking about.


    Seems like he's been given a deliberate kick up the arse from the manager which might work for him. I do wonder though if Rodgers has an odd relationship with his defenders because Agger said some things on the way out that didn't seem entirely OK. Rodgers seems to be great at man-managing his young attacking players but he's unquestionably not getting the best out of his defenders.

    For me the general Sakho-hate is nonsense. He's clearly got all the skills to be a quality defender but Liverpool are not a quality defensive unit. Selling him would be pointless and he shouldn't be too upset, he's had plenty of chances since he's come here. Just get back into the training ground and do the hard work. Rodgers needs leadership from his defenders right now, guys who will stand up and do what is best for the team. If the manager doesn't know how to coach defensive duties then take some initiative and work on it yourself. I expect Sakho to play plenty of games this year and I'm not even slightly worried by him as an individual. I like what he brings to the team.

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  22. so true dude...we are going a bit too harsh on sakho...but talking of Skrtel of last season, everyone will forget his own goals because of the goals he's scored namely vs city arsenal and Chelsea...very opposite to sakho my friend...

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  23. People are actually saying Carra was an average PL defender? Seriously? If Carra had postponed his retirement for a year, we would have definitely won the league last year. He is that good.

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  24. Well BR decided they didn't need him as he was not even on the bench. How can he help them from the stands?

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  25. Twista i did not say in the January window and will say this again i dont think we have big money to spend on anyone in January.

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  26. Really enjoyed that article Jaimie. There was no part of it a disagreed with so this comment is short and sweet

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  27. Was he not chosen to the squad or kolo picked cause sakho left? I think the answer is clear.

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  28. How patient do we have to be ........................?
    We are already playing catchup and CL next season will be out of sight unless we sort things NOW !

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  29. Sakho is a waste of money. If he gets plenty of games this season then with his obvious lack of defensive skills we will lose plenty of those games. Don't like Toure but prefer him to Sack Of

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  30. rodgers is an average manager.....not made for liverpool.
    runners-up last season thanks to suarez.......nothing to do with rodgers.

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  31. Hmmm yes. Did he leave becaue he was only on thebench foring BR to change the bench or did BR leave him out altogether causing him to storm off. We might never know fot sure but I agrree if he was on the bench he should have stayed.

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  32. What I don't understand is how can you not hope for such an uotcome as I know couple of Chelsea fans that are very nervous about this part of the season, and you being a supporter of LIVERPOOL. And even if you don't think what I wrote is likely to happen, why don't you just write -hope you are right-, where is that need to mock those who believe coming from?

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  33. He cant possibly regret it as much as I regret us signing him in the first place

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  34. AT 18 million, and less than a year in his contract, I think Brendan payed what Sakho should be worth. At say 10 mill, he wouldn't be a problem as we can sell for at least 8 or 9. But 'problems' begun with Skrtel's form last season(I think BR was ready to sell him). Than Rodgers made it even worse by bying a player that can only play instead of Sakho- never with him which leaves us with 20 unhappy million either way you flip it. Skrtel is actually our only guaranteed starter in that department so bringing 40 mill worth 2 players is a mistake. He should have believed in Sakho ability to adjust and kept Agger and one of the youngsters in reserves. I think Lovren was a mistake even though he is better player than Sakho...

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  35. Our transfer policy is a joke who decided Sack Of was wort 18 m. He's not the only over priced disaster either

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  36. I think it was an unfortunate coincidence. We started last season with Kolo and Agger as our defenders with Skrtel destined to go leaving us with only two senior centre backs. Then Kolo got injured meaning Skrtel had to step in. Brendan thought that since Skrtel was bound to go that we only had Agger. So he bought a settled promising centre back in Sakho and potential in Tiago. But we all know what happened. Then, Agger wants to leave so we need another one and that is where we buy Dejan. Unfortunate but could have been avoided with better planning.

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  37. That's what I am saying. But with FFP closing in on us a settled promissing cb, in form Skrtel, Agger or a youngster and experienced Kolo, it was enough..

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  38. Lallana is starting to show why he will be worth even more TO US, Balloteli is just someone you had to buy at that price despite his non scoring streak and Lazar is just a kid who will get better, much better.

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  39. But then we all saw our defense last season and so many people were demanding a new CB. Rodgers was almost forced to buy Dejan.

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  40. I may be missing something most fans took out of the West Ham game but the fact you alluded to about fans making him the primary reason for losing 3-1 yet he came on when the side had shipped 2 goals already.


    I am with you that he probably desperately wanted to prove he was worthy of game time. It cant sit well with some of the players that our captain leaves us exposed by playing in a role he is ill suited for yet its everyone else around him who gets omitted from the team.


    Only Gerrard and Mignolet have been ever present in that backline that continues to leak goals yet the manager does not see the connection.. The centre backs will keep getting rotated but we will still have the same problem.


    IN the derby we were more solid because Henderson had to tuck in alongside Gerrard to offer more protection but the bigger cost was losing mobility, the best part of Henderson's game since he could not be very mobile and be by Gerrard's side when needed.


    Since Gerrard seems to be immune to being dropped on poor form and many fans like him in the team for his leadership and distribution, would it not serve the team better to push him further forward and leave the defending to those who can defend well.


    I feel for the likes of Lucas and Allen who had to lose their defensive midfield role because the team did well during Gerrard's injury in December so the manager decided not to unsettle the attacking midfield roles that Coutinho and Sterling were covering superbly.


    The only alternative was to justify Gerrard in a defensive role and Lucas who admittedly has not been at his best since his recent serious injuries had to make way. The kicker though is Lucas is a better defensively than Gerrard thogh in terms of mobility they are similar and Gerrard is better initiating attacks even though he is more wasteful in terms of pass accuracy.


    That said, I hope Rodgers tries Can in the defensive midfield role but wont predict who will make way for Gerrard elsewhere.
    Reting him more is not a bad option given Chelsea did the same with Lampard who did well whenever he was called on to help the team.. Even City are using Lampard sparingly but they are benefitting from his goals when he comes on. Gerrard probably needs to play 2 games a month to maintain optimum fitness but if he is to play more then his form must justify this.


    Sakho could also have seen how terrible Markovic was adjusting to the rigours of the English game against Boro but he was still picked and lasted an hour in an even more intense game when the likes of Suso who had given a better account of himself in the short time he was on against the same opposition being ignored. when Markovic was on it was like we were down to 10 men and the introduction of Coutinho brought a noticable difference.


    Markovic has the necessary skills to be successful long term but how smart was it of Rodgers to pick him in a game he would have even less space than against Boro when we had player better equipped for the derby.

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  41. Well subtract goals conceeded from individual mistakes of our best defender who stayed at the club, from our captain and Lukas, our new keeper, from leaking on the flanks and you will see we were not that bad. Flanks are now great, we should have believed in Sakho, if nothing because of FFP..

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  42. Brendan Rodgers will most likely buy another centre back in the 15-20m region.3 consecutive summers of big money spent on defenders... I would like to see a top defensive midfielder and keeper signed.Instead of persisting with Simon Mignolet and Gerrard.
    If we still have defensive problems with good midfield protection and a commanding keeper.Then maybe a new centre back is needed.
    However what concerns me is how many times have we seen Sakho try to head the ball in his defensive partners zone.He recently headbutted Dejan Lovren and he needed to stitched up.Sakho needs to improve.

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  43. I do not know why but I am feeling optimistic about our chances against Basel. I also think Sturridge will be back.

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  44. Keep going Sakho,he needs to look down at his feet to differentiate left from right,then choose which one he uses to strike the ball.Something akin to a golfer eyeing his bag before selecting a club.The £35 million gained from the sale of both him and Markovic could be used to go for a decent defensive midfielder and an injury free attacker.Once again the buys have been mediocre.

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  45. We've got pretty much an entire new defence, its going to take them a little bit of time to gel.

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  46. Daylight robbery!! He needs to leave and take the keeper with him.

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  47. Sorry,forgot about him.You're spot on.

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  48. Of course. Brad Jones is a more than able back up. You get where I am going with this dont you??

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  49. Obviously not the way of attaining a new keeper.

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  50. Markovic has scored 7 goals in 49 games for Benfica. Considering EPL as a much tougher league, it is hard to see why we actually bought him?

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  51. Because he is young and likely to develop. He looked OK to me against Everton. Only ok but to step up to that level and look ok is really pretty good. With luck he and the team will gain in confidence and kick on

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  52. It's not something to make a fuss about, but players get dropped all the time. If you tolerated one of them seeing his arse and leaving the ground, you'd have to tolerate them all doing that - and as a manager you just can't let that happen.

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  53. I have said it before, and I will say it again:


    Sakho was the No.4 choice CB at PSG, behind even Alex (a former Chelsea back-up player) and Marquinhos (a teenager). Sakho is nowhere near good and consistent enough to play for a top 4 EPL club. He is also the weirdest looking player in the league, and in an entertainment industry looks have got to count for something, right?


    So, on humanitarian grounds, we should donate him to Van Gaal and the scum. It would mess up their defense for years to come.


    And whoever decided to buy Sakho for 18m and then sell Agger for 3m should get publicly flogged, and then sent to Syria for a round of fighting with the ISIL gang.

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  54. Don't stress it dude I get posts deleted all the time

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  55. Sakho simply has no defensive instincts- his awareness of danger is poor, he consistently loses markers, he cannot track runs.


    I hear he started out his career as a striker, and it shows.

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  56. He's not even match sharp yet. We've got to give him a chance, as you say,

    He hasn't looked great so far though, no arguments. I was very impressed with him when I saw him for Benfica last season. I thought him and Rodrigo seemed like two players on the cusp of going up to that next level.

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  57. It's unforgivable to go isolating for a match like this. You have to start togethering for this kind of fixture. You need to consider the team spiritation and stop selfishing. I know he was probably feeling ensaddened, but sometimes you've got maturise and viewify the massive picture.

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  58. Sakho has had chances, and he has not performed. Every single game he has played this season has been strewn with individual errors.


    Its either Sakho and Mignolet out, or It Rodgers out.

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  59. Come on, of course he was on the bench before he decided to leave. The manager would have to be crazy to name kolo to the bench if he's not forced to.

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  60. A bit harsh on Markovic- he was awful vs Everton, but he's not fully fit yet.
    Give him till Christmas at least.

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  61. totally agree with you mate

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  62. I cannot believe whats the stupid article. in one point of the game it was a danger that Skrtel is injured and Toure was about to come in. do you thing that if Sakho would be available it would be Toure who had to change injured Skrtel? That is what exactly happened he let the manager and teamates down

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  63. it really is a key stone cops transfer strategy in defence ,he can only play with him on that side he cant play with him....utter joke considering the 3 cb are worth 50m ( well thats what we paid ) in reality the 3 are woth 20m tops

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  64. you could aim than comment at most of the team there isn't a natural defender in the entire squad

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  65. they all do sako isnt great but neither are lovren and skiral im watching the latter two and as hard as i try i cant see anything that special in terms of skill and leadership

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  66. No need for sarcasamism

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  67. At least he didn't waste much effort on it

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  68. So we bought an undeveloped player who manages to look ok for 20mn? I don't mind that if we had the resources of PSG and City. 20mn is too much for a potential.

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  69. I am apology. It was uncorrect of me to be flippanting.

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  70. Nevergonnacrackthecode6:33 pm, September 29, 2014

    BR shopping list:


    Joe Hart - a good keeper pl experience with a massive team good distribution and won pl title , pellegrini likes willy more though


    Morgan Schniderlin- a top dm has everything can sit press score goals make tackles a real marquee signing


    Xherdan Shaqiri - Markovic is not convincing at present lfc have only one winger sterling a good replacement when sturridge is injured

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  71. Schneiderlin would be a good signing, but he would cost £30m at this point. No way Southampton would let him go without bloodying our nose considerably.

    Joe Hart would be an upgrade on Mignolet but I can't see City selling him to us. You can't blame Pellegrini for being excited by Willy though. He's clearly on the rise.

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  72. Defensive continuity when Skrtel/Lovren have conceded 7 goals as a CB pair in 4 EPL matches? What defensive continuity?

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  73. Hart an upgrade on Mignolet with our defence? Ha ha.

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  74. We could stick a prime Daniel Passarella or Beckenbauer back their i don't think it would make much difference.I think the problem is more deep-rooted.Units need protection and assistance.
    Strikers can't score regularly without decent service from midfield.And defenders need to be protected by the players in front of them.Every linking unit needs help from others.
    Sometimes we can be quick to blame defenders but if they're constantly getting punched by the opposition they will get knocked out.I'm not giving our centre backs a complete pass though because poor individual errors can't be put on the shoulders of others.
    A good keeper and DM hopefully will sort out the problem.Or another centre back needs to come in.If they still look like garbage there needs to be a system tweak!

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  75. How can Man United finish 4th and spend £145M, and only bring in 25M on sales, whilst B Rodgers was promised £60-£70M for making Champions league. Then you sell £83M worth of talent = £83 + 60 =£143 or £83 + £70M = £153M


    Yet B Rodgers spent £112M on players, so his net spend this summer was £40m


    B Rodgers should still have £33-£43M still in the coffers to spend , whilst whatever he can bring in on the sales of G Johnson(29) , B Jones(32), L Leiva(27) and F Borini(23).

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  76. That's about right. It's lot to pay but we'll have to wait and see if it's a good decision or not.

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  77. Are you suggesting that Hart is only considered good because of his defence or that Mignolet is only considered bad because of ours?

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  78. Well prove to me that Hart will be an upgrade playing behind our defence.

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  79. I can't. I also can't prove to you that Courtois would be an upgrade behind our defence. What's your point

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  80. If our defence does not start learning how to defend then it does not matter who we have as our goalkeeper.

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  81. It still matters. If the goalkeeper makes basic errors. If he doesn't command. If he doesn't show authority.

    Mignolet managed to avoid a clanger at the weekend, but there was a moment where Skrtel was screaming for him to collect an easy ball and he didn't. When Skrtel managed to shepherd it out of play, Mignolet just looked sheepish.

    A good 'keeper wouldn't solve the issues with the defence but the addition of confident, vocal leadership would help.

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  82. Well let's look at the facts.

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  83. Exactly my point. What has hart done to suggest he would be an upgrade behind our defence.


    We are not talking about City's defence who will concede less and keep more clean sheets that the defence of LFC this season. Fact.

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  84. My supposition is that Hart is a better goalkeeper than Mignolet. I think most people would agree with me on that. The upshot of my supposition is that having a better goalkeeper will make the team better.

    How will this happen? If you have a better goalkeeper you will likely concede less goals.

    Why? You will likely concede less goals because a better goalkeeper will save more shots and perform more consistently and specifically in the case of Joe Hart, will be a more vocal organising presence on the pitch. He more frequently comes and claims crosses. His players generally know what he is going to do. Mignolet does not offer that.

    Having a poor defence does not mean that upgrading the goalkeeper would be futile. The goalkeeper is a part of the defensive unit, especially in set-piece situations, where Mignolet and the whole team has struggled. Mignolet played in a very defensively poor Sunderland side before he came to Liverpool. He is a common factor. Does that mean it is his fault? No, probably not. Does that mean he is a factor? Possibly. Did he perform better for Sunderland than he has for Liverpool this season? Yes.

    Regardless of how good our defence is, Mignolet has not been up to scratch. Do we just let our defence get away without criticism because we lack a proper defensive midfield player? No, they're making basic errors. Do we let the midfield off with their lack of creativity because without Sturridge we lack a direct goal threat? No.

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  85. We do not know how to defend. It is that simple. Not at set pieces, no communication and we are sitting back defending one goal leads.


    Please try and convince me again that the goalkeeper is the biggest issue.

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  86. I never said that the goalkeeper was the biggest issue, I never even hinted that,

    I merely acknowledge that the goalkeeper is an issue, which you apparently do not ("it does not matter who have as our goalkeeper").

    When highlighting what you think the main issue is, ignoring all other issues is necessary. It is possible for their to be numerous issues of different sizes. If you want to be a top team, you should try and deal with all your issues, not just the main one at any given time.

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  87. We are playing WBA next in the EPL and let me tell you that if we turn up like we have vs Southampton, Villa, West Ham or Everton then we are going to be whipped again.

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  88. Down to 14th tonight ;-( We have to get some momentum going with a result against Basel or confidence will be shot for WBA on Saturday

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  89. I don't dispute that any goalkeeper would suffer being behind our defence, I dispute that every goalkeeper would be unable to do better than in Mignolet as a part of and behind said crappy defence.


    I didn't see the stats you posted before (they only loaded up for me later) so I'll comment on them now.


    I think you've made two mistakes with the stats you've selected. First of all, you've selected several stats that I'd say aren't key stats. The fact that Mignolet passes the ball more and better than Hart is good, but in part thanks to the difference in styles between us and City. Also, whilst I don't think Mignolet is brilliant with the ball at his feet, I don't consider it a major problem either. The problems are the ones I've already mentioned (implicitly or explicitly): communication, command of his area, composure, decision making. If you look at their overall performance scores, Hart's is worse than Mignolet's, because Mignolet does much better with the ball. When you look purely at defence though, which is Liverpool's main concern right now and the main issue in this conversation, Mignolet's defence score (per 90 mins) is -0.27 whereas Hart's is 5.42.



    Secondly, you've selected totals for the stats, rather than averages. As Mignolet has played one more game than Hart, it skews a couple of the stats. It is fairer to look at the averages from their games so far.


    Your stats show that Mignolet has caught the ball more than Hart, but per 90 minutes, Hart catches the ball 2.80 times to Mignolet's 2.67. He also punches the ball 1.20 time per game whereas Mignolet does it only 0.33. The fact that Hart catches the ball than Mignolet and punches the ball nearly 4 times as much, suggests that Hart is more proactive and commanding. With our defence being so inadequate (as it undoubtedly is), Mignolet should have more chance to influence the game in this way, since our defence isn't 'doing the business' so to speak.


    Further evidence of our defence's failure is apparent in the fact that Mignolet makes 2 saves per game to Hart's 1.4 per game. You could argue Mignolet makes more saves because he is better, but I think the fact that Hart makes more saves per goal (1.75 to Mignolet's 1.33) shows that Mignolet makes more saves because he is being tested more often due to our lax defence whereas Hart makes more decisive saves per goal.


    You've included that Mignolet has 0 errors leading to goals whereas Hart has one, but they have the same number of defensive mistakes this season (1), but only Hart's was punished by the opposition. Mignolet does win on the defensive errors per game stat though (0.17 per game to Hart's 0.2). Also, you've got to consider the limits of statistics. Anyone would admit that Mignolet was at fault (along with the defence) for Aguero's goal against City. He rushed forward into a poor position, couldn't move his legs well and was beaten with ease, compounding the first error with some basic goalkeeping negligence. This error does not appear statistically, but everyone can see he was at fault. Again, before you say anything, I acknowledge the defence allowed for that situation to happen, but once it did, Mignolet handled it very poorly and made a bad situation worse. He made the exact same error (worse even since we had more defensive cover) against Ludogorets soon after (though these stats only cover the league).

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  90. We could play Sakho in the DM role, this way it takes the pressure of Gerrard who could then play further up the pitch or maybe sit on the bench. Sakho is big, powerful, fast and could be a Yaya Toure type player if given the opportunity.

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  91. He's still just

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  92. I think you're underestimating how technically talented Yaya Toure is. Also, despite his good passing stats, I think Sakho lacks the on the ball comfort and technique to play in midfield.

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  93. Just looking for a solution to beef up the protection in front of the back four, Gerrard doesn't look like the answer this season. I am assuming the LFC scouts must have seen something in Sakho to pay £18 million for him. Sakho and Henderson together would bring so much energy and strength to our midfield.

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  94. Could work for all I know, but I don't see it. If we're going to put a square peg in a round hole, I'd rather put Allen in there and have Lallana and Hendo in front of him.

    I think when everyone is fully fit and Gerrard doesn't have to play every game, his form will pick up. We've just had a bit of bad luck with injuries during an already tough adjustment period, There may be deeper lying issues, but there are certainly extenuating factors.

    Lucas looked decent against Middlesbrough. I'd persevere with rotating him and Gerrard until Can is fit and then hopefully he can make an impact.

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  95. The defense is still porous but our midfield is the point of dispointment especially for a ball winning defensive mid. Either pick Can or Henderson in that role and get on with it. I would play Suso instead of Markovic who did look genuinely lost out there. Maybe Markovic can learn fast the way Manquillo did; two games ago he couldn't mark a box of rocks (west ham) but came back and played much better. If not, bench Marko and play him only in no league games giving him time and reps to develop. On offense, We need Coutinho to grow a pair, get in better condition, hit the gym and take over the number 10 with Sterling and Suso on his wings. Still not keen on Lallana although he ran himself ragged, the thing is, He was sent flying so many times vs Everton, I thought we brought back Aspas for the game!
    Maybe Miggy isn't the best keep but another person here hit it right; the midfield quality , ball winning and beating his man, is missing on this team except with Sterling and that hurts the attack AND defense......

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  96. I agree almost entirely. I do think though that Lukaku could have caused us problems out wide but he was well shackled.

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  97. Well if placing yourself so badly that you allow the opponent to score isn't an error leading to a goal than I don't believe those stats...(City game, Aguerro goal.)

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  98. I don't know what you are talking about, against West Ham he sort of changed the game dynamic around, if anything Lovren should be dropped his performance was a disgrace

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  99. Sakho was £18m, Lovren was £20m and Skrtel was £6.5m which is under £45m

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  100. Doesn't matter if he deserved to play or was included in the squad or not, BR is the boss and he should have respected the decision. I would leave him off the team for a couple of games.

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  101. Markovic looks like a late boomer - after a season or two, sterling and Marko would tear any defense

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  102. Still obsessed over Suarez I see Jaimie

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  103. I'm hearing that Sakho isn't travelling with the squad to Basel. Is it true? Punishment from BR?

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  104. sturridge out from the basel game too..

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  105. Average per game last season.

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  106. Sakho apparently our for 3 weeks. I would have actually really been happy to see more of Ilori. Hopefully he will get a chance next season.

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  107. I think it would be a better idea to see Stirridge recover till after the 9th of October otherwise Hodgson will have another chance of shafting us.

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  108. Last season isn't this season. Mignolet has been worse this season than Hart and himself last season. Last season I thought Mignolet was decent. Had a couple of excellent games and had a couple of poor ones. A reasonable first season. This season he has been considerably worse.


    I think you're seeing this argument as Hart vs Mignolet whereas I'm just using Hart as an example (I didn't originally bring him up). I'm trying to talk about Mignolet vs a commanding goalkeeper. In that regard, I consider Hart better. You evidently disagree. We can both contort stats however we like (Hart still beats Mignolet on punches, defensive errors, aerial duels and defence score) but you clearly prefer Mignolet.


    My main bone of contention is that you consider Mignolet beyond reproach and that looking for a better 'keeper would be pointless. You completely disregard his role as a part of the defensive unit.


    Since Joe Hart became Man City no.1, they've been in the top 2 (lowest) for goals conceded, I obviously realise that during the period Hart became no.1, Mancini took over and the quality of players greatly increased, but he has proven to consistently be a part of strong defensive units. For example, when he was Birmingham no.1, a newly promoted Birmingham side had the 8th best defence in the league,


    Mignolet hasn't proven that. He's never been a part of a strong defensive unit. I looked at his time at Sunderland and I think he was only part of a top 8 defence once. This is a very shallow analysis but it just compounds my mistrust of Mignolet from watching him (including having watched him live). If he'd proven himself a great commanding 'keeper in the past (as Hart has, by the way) I'd be more willing to back him to regain form, but even at his best at Sunderland he was known for being an outstanding shot-stopper, which isn't enough for Champions League level goalkeepers. You need to have that all-round game.

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  109. Wouldn't be surprised if Roy called him up as a power play, like when he famously tested 'his resolve'.

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  110. Bordeaux are doing well, which is good. I'd have preferred him to get used to the physicality of the Prem though. If not the Prem, the Bundesliga would've been a good alternative.

    Lots of powerful African players and centre-forwards in Ligue 1 though.

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  111. i heard he scored a goal already for them. just hope he get more game time than last year at granada.

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  112. Carra was terrible for us when he first came into the side be it in central midfield or center back. He luckily got shoved out to left back because of injuries and it grew on him before he was switched permanently to center back by Rafa. He's lucky he was given more time because of his never say die attitude and his place of birth. Maybe HE needs to remember his own past before condemning others because I originally thought he had no chance.

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