28 Sept 2014

Carra blasts: £47m trio have made Liverpool 'worse than last season'. Agree...?

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has slammed Brendan Rodgers' defensive signings, claiming that his old club is now 'worse' off than last season, despite spending a shedload of cash.

In his column for the Daily Mail this week, Carra:

* Dismissed the idea that players need a lots of time settle in, and claimed that it's possible to gauge success after only two months.

* Argued that players who struggle in their first year at Anfield rarely go on to be successful.

Carra then singled our three players for specific criticism:

"Lovren was brought in to add leadership at the back but Liverpool actually look worse defensively than they did last season. Sakho doesn’t fill you with confidence and nor does the goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet. They need to step it up urgently".

The criticism of Lovren is arguably a little harsh. It's not his fault that Rodgers moved him to the left to accommodate Sakho. The Croatian excels as a left-sided central defender, which is the position he's played for the bulk of his career, so why move him? If you spend £20m on a centre-half, surely it makes sense to play him in his preferred role?

I have no doubt that if Lovren had played in his preferred role from the start, Liverpool would've leaked fewer goals. In future, if Skrel gets injured, Kolo Toure should come in and replace him. The Ivorian is a right-sided central defender, and that will ensure continuity, and defensive balance.

I've regularly argued that Sakho is not a long-term solution. I advocated his signing last summer, but didn't anticipate that he'd struggle to this extent with the pace of the Premier League. Sakho's passing is good, but defensively, he is (IMO) unreliable, edgy, and he unsettles the defence.

As for Mignolet - that ship sailed long ago. He is not the answer, and the sooner he is replaced, the better.

Ultimately, though, the buck stops with Rodgers. Over the last year, he's spent £66m on LFC's defence, and as Carra suggests, the club appears to be regressing defensively.

Author:


154 comments:

  1. "The criticism of Lovren is arguably a little harsh. It's not his fault that Rodgers moved him to the left to accommodate Sakho. The Croatian excels as a left-sided central defender, which is the position he's played for the bulk of his career, so why move him? If you spend £20m on a centre-half, surely it makes sense to play him in his preferred role?"

    Slag of Rodgers for not making sense lol When this doesn't make any sense.

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  2. I think and hope the defence is settling in now. The full backs look good and Lovren had a good game yesterday too.I agree though Mig is the bigger worry though he did seem to be trying to move the ball more quickly and to organise those in front of him. Perhaps the spectre of Valdes will push Mig on or he could even replace him.

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  3. Yes Carra, how about your mate who rarely offers cover? You're good friend whom you protect which is admirable but not objective! Although we look vulnerable- set pieces, counter attack, my big worry is our creativity. Truth is teams aren't really turning us over, we're not creating enough. We all new that Saurez would be a big miss, but the whole idea of the mass recruitment was to improve creativity from midfield. Expected more from Pazar, Hendo isn't giving us enough attacking edge, over reliance on Sterling is an understatement. We need Origi & Sturridge so badly. Lallana is the only one showing some promise in the middle.

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  4. Same old story with LFC, we stumble across a genius now & again but generally get ripped off! Top 4 will be like winning the league this season!

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  5. Our biggest problems last season were Sakho and Mignolet. Regrettably, both are still at the club.


    A blind man with a stick would have known that Lovren was a much better and more proven CB in France two seasons ago than Sakho, who rarely played at CB for PSG (and was only their No.4 choice by the time we bought him for an incredible 18m). And now we sold Agger for a song and a dance.... When it comes to transfers, LFC management is about as competent as a group of blind chickens, who luck out every once in a while but get it wrong 3 out of 4 times.


    Markovic for 20m?? and let Suso leave on a free? We deserve exactly what we get, and it would take some miracle for a top 4 finish this time around.

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  6. Well, Carra said the side needed to step up defensively for the derby and they did. It was a good defensive performance, only cracked by a brilliant long range strike. He also admits that yes, it is early days. I think what he misses is how genuine it is for players to struggle to adapt to what Rodgers asks them to do. This isn't old school football the way Carra played and frankly Carra wasn't that impressive as a CB moving the ball forward under Rodgers anyway. Liverpool didn't score a lot of goals when Carra played and the season after he left we scored over 100. I think what he doesn't appreciate here is, since he left, how offensively set up Liverpool are and how exposed that back 4 are because of that. I find that surprising because Carra should be very tactically astute, I think he just chooses not to engage that part of his brain because it makes for a less interesting opinion piece. His article is nothing but vague rhetorical questions about what Liverpool might need to do which is probably OK for a casual commentator but I expect a bit more from someone so experienced.


    For me Carra is simply wrong about players "settling in" and he's using a selective memory and not much deep thinking or analysis. Back in the day poor Peter Crouch endured a horrible 6 months before he showed his goal scoring form. Henderson is the obvious current example of someone who took time to convince. Skrtel didn't set the world on fire when he first started for the club. Suarez had a terrible shot conversion ratio in his first 6 months. Allen looked a great player when he first started but has gone off the boil, so that one has gone backwards. There are also other examples from other teams of strikers having brilliant first seasons in the league only to be unable to keep up the pace in later years. What about Michu? Frankly, the idea that you can "just tell" that a player will do the business as soon as they hit the ground for a new team is nonsense. Some players will improve, some will fade away, some will be quite inconsistent. Carra himself was an average wing back before Rafa locked him in as a central defender so maybe a look in the mirror would be helpful.


    It's hazy, speculative rhetoric from Carra, lots of clichés and old school wisdom but very little actual substance. I wish he'd engage his football brain a bit more but that's probably not what his employers want him to do.

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  7. Rodgers out, he's a joke, not good enough for a big club like Liverpool.

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  8. absolutely true!

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  9. Yeah bring back kinny:-)

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  10. Carragher is a idiot for some of his comments.
    He was never quick, he was never technically gifted he was never considered world class, he was never two footed yet he's spouting off about Sakho & Lovern?
    All Carragher has was heart and determination and that is NOT enough at the end of the day you need ability... he never had it at the highest level.
    Now, to the fact that NO ONE yet again is pointing out that Markovic is truly a terrible player.
    He doesn't track back has no ability to beta a player doesn't offer work rate and clearly thinks that he's destined for better things.
    I'm jumping ahead a bit I know, but no one can justify him instead of Jordan Ibe.
    Why was Jordan Ibe given the same opportunity as Markovic?
    What about SUSO?
    Rogers is now doing what all Managers have done at Liverpool in recent years.
    Stick with there purchases to show to justify themselves.
    Dalglish persisted with Carroll it cost him his job.
    Rafa persisted with his pursuit of Aquilani


    Rogers, is not ruthless enough with some players yet is brutal with others.
    Should Agger have been kept instead of Sakho?
    If not why keep Toure who is truly terrible


    Rogers has spent a lot of money and yes he needs time but he must stop this playing players to justify his purchases.


    Balotelli, now this is odd.
    We know that there is a truly world class player in there, it's Rogers job to get that out of him on a consistent basis.
    If Baloteli doesn't want to run and harrass the opposition drop him for someone that DOES.
    Not Lambert he's just not mobile enough but at LEAST Borini WILL.


    I'm starting to get frustrated with Rogers and can see if this continues others becoming very frustrated as well.
    We should NOT have bought Lambert, rather we should have bought Remi as instead.


    RANT OVER

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  11. The facts are conceded 9 scored 8 and Mignolet is not a top 10 keeper. If you can't score at one end then don't concede at the other which is exactly what's happening

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  12. Well Carra should have taken a look at Moreno and Manquillo a definite improvement on last season Lovren and Sakho will be fine once they get settled.
    Mignolet i am not sure of a good shot stopper but just no presence or distribution skills.

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  13. I'm guessing BR tells Ayre who he wants and then he pays too much for the player so there are the problems BR and Iain Ayre. Rodgers buys are shocking bar Lallana ( potentially) and a fit Sturridge. Mignolet is laughable and wouldn't be in any of the top 10 or 12 teams. I'm hoping Emre Can will be Gerrard replacement soon

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  14. For me the the problem is with Mignolet. You can have the best defenders in the world but if they do not have faith in their keeper they will always play with nerves.

    I have said a few times that this would be a massive for Mignolet and I really hoped that he would step up and start to command his area but if anything he seems to have gotten worse.

    Whilst I am not Joe Harts biggest fan he is better then Mignolet.

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  15. Rogers has been a disaster in the transfer market thats for sure, and seems to have no concept of value or specific roll suitability....buying for buying sake as my old grandma used to say.Ive stated many times he has a scatter gun approach to buying players an approach that seldom if ever works

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  16. Rip into 'em Jamie.

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  17. carra was very over-rated as a defender i mean he was okay but nowhere near as good as say Hyypia was. blaming the center backs is really not wise why? because there is one common denominator that is Mignolet my Goodness he is bad, yesterday for instance Skrtel called him out to come catch a loose ball whiles he guarded the defender away but Mig just stay in his post and caused confusion there. I for one blame most of our defensive problems on mignolet he doesn't inspire confidence in the defence

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  18. Had the chance to buy another keeper but wont be told that Mignolet isn't up to it- Remember he had 1 good game against us for Sunderland hasn't had 1 since

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  19. fans view carra with an almost deluded view i remember absolutely shocking displays from him when younger and it was only in his late 20S he bloomed into a very average PREM PLAYER

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  20. There has been some good buys too but surely the scouting network has to be looked at over Markovic, i just dont see it with him the others can lay fair claim though we overpaid a bit for Lallana and Lovren.

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  21. The problem for me is buying players where there is no weakness..we paid 26m for lallana who i rate,but his best position is just behind the striker a role tino,sterling,gerrard.suso could all fill...yet we have kept mingo who is a low level keeper, i cold go on and on but its to depressing

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  22. Doesn't Brendan have a say in who gets signed? What will Sakho do next time he's told he's not playing?

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  23. Yeah well that was my qualm too not enough first 11 talent but you always get these people telling you how valuable bench players are.

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  24. whats annoyed me is that there where bargains out there even free transfers and loans for positions that we had obvious weakness yet we blew heaps of money on covered positions

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  25. Yes he does thats not a good question but they do have scouts and a committee too next time Sakhos not playing he will probably stay and watch the game what else?

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  26. He shoul have final say on who comes in not some 'committee' and Sack of stormed out yest cos he's told he's not playing and by the way we only conceded 1 without him which is an improvement

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  27. Last season was acceptable because we were scoring goals for fun and winning games despite the leaky defense.But so far we seem to be poor at both ends of the pitch .The movement /creativity from the attacking players has been poor overall and except for young Sterling we don't have the cutting edge to carve defenses open.

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  28. He Sakho apologized naughty naughty wont do that again and really how would Rodgers be able to personally assess say Markovic i do think there is faith put in the scouts at times.

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  29. This is why BR is getting some stick now- if scouting team says this player is great then Brendan needs to hop on a plane and go watch him play - last season we only played once a week so he had time to go and watch the players he signed for this season- he surely did that. Now his judgement is questioned cos the likes of Markovic and Sakho are under performing and overpriced- there is an underlying issue we need to resolve

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  30. I would leave balotelli out and play borini or lambert. Balotelli is the one who has changed the dynsmics of last season. Southampton play a similar style of football to liverpool and he was banging them in there, believe me balotelli is the weak link.....

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  31. balo has been okay for me while not great but he is light years ahead of lambert and borini who offer absolutely nothing ...lambert looks like a pub player and borini is just a headless chicken .

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  32. For Rodgers, balotelli will be the straw that broke the camels back.
    treat him like the rest, if Rodgers puts too much faith in him, the whole team will suffer. Drop him try someone else!!

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  33. at least sako is showing a bit of passion ....listen im not his biggest fan but skirtal and lovren have been no better in fact there distribution is a lot wosre

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  34. Sakho and Lovren have proved Internationally and domestically that they are good players. the manager needs to tactically set the team up in a better way and he does, when we press high and defend from the front. When we sit back we are nervous and quite frankly a shi* team. Any international CD who can't play either side in a pair should not be transferred for 20 million.

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  35. like who ? im not following your logic he was good against spurs scored in the Cl and hit the bar yesterday , it would help if rogers played a striker with him its as obvious as the nose on your face that balo is a bit like teddy sheringham in that he like to drift deep and play off a striker hes not a poacher and he is not a lone striker

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  36. So BR is going to get on a plane to look at players all over Europe we probably wont buy.
    His first and foremost task is to manage the team he has even though i will concede he still must shoulder a lot of the blame on the transfers.
    I wouldnt sack him for it though.

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  37. He was 3rd choice for PSG why would he be first choice for us- reminds me of Djimi Traore who had a great CL final but nothing else - would take that from Sako- he's not the best is he?

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  38. First choice for France not the worst is he?

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  39. they look shakey because without a legitimate Dm they get exposed to a lot of through balls and runners that should be cut out

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  40. 2-3 hrs to Portugal Hypia gave Emre Can to us on a plate 2 Spanish players -3 hrs away and Balo 2hrs away- if you take the job then you better know who and why you're signing

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  41. Exactly. and anyone who's read Carra's bio knows that he is a xenophobic moron, with the intelligence of an ant.

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  42. Got Varane beside him and a good keeper behind him both to cover up his mistakes- let's see if he's still first choice in their next game

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  43. After looking at Mangala yesterday, I think his spot is pretty safe.

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  44. Local lads get extra leeway. I heard someone calling for Spearing to come back and play the holding role for us....says it all really. Same reason why a 34 year old seemingly can't be criticised yet people seem to think scoring 1 goal changes everything.and black players are afforded less chances. Idiots placing Suarez over the brilliance of John Barnes sickens me

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  45. why not its his job the transfer window id short and a game of footballl ast 90 mins ....if i was an owner of a club i would be most alramed if my manger splashed out 20m of my money on a player he knew nothing about and hadnt watched or met ..id want a dossier about evey facet .religion,family habits friends . attitude, you name it but maybe rogers thinks thats beneath him

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  46. Most of the time you dont know they would definitely sign for you its never done till they are there. Maybe to alleviate that problem we could pick out players at the bottom of the list and offer unbelieveable money all round.

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  47. How many players a season are we linked with and how many times do we manage to get our number 1 targets he just wouldnt have time ala scouts.

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  48. Not the same keeper who mops up all Spurs mistakes.

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  49. Like us last season they got strikers to out score their mistakes

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  50. perhaps if rogers pushed the boat out on his original targets and met them and sold the club to them we wouldn't be left with paying 20m on crap like lazer

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  51. Doesn't have to be special to be better than Mignolet

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  52. its too soon to judge Lovren, and until we have a new keeper and Can is played at DM, we wont know what he's capable of.

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  53. I have to disagree with Carra here. The defense was not to blame for the draw yesterday. In fact, I thought yesterday was our best defensive performance. The entire defence shut Everton down and Mignolet made a few decent saves. The defence has become a scapegoat. The only problem with yesterday was the incompetence in the final third and sitting back for no reason.

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  54. Whats Mignolet got to do with it you are talking about Sakho so now its Mignolets fault you rate him.

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  55. he took balo off for lambert which meant we had no pace down the middle which meant that evertons cb could go high, they did and scored.Quite simple tactics which rogers failed to understand

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  56. I don't rate either of them

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  57. Yeah that was also a big contributor. People criticise Balo for no reason but he played very well yesterday. Showed passion and agression. He has impeccable hold up play just like Sturridge and I think they can have a great partnership.

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  58. i agree i think balo and danny will work well together with sterling

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  59. Look he would still have seen video footage and dossiers on them but at some point others are responsible too.

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  60. The question is, are our central defenders individually much worse than those on other teams? I don't think so. I still think lack of defensive organisation is a bigger problem, and that is rectified on the training ground, Indeed, our defenders have been committing too many individual mistakes, but they do need time to develop an understanding. The idea that just because a player costs £20M, he does not need a period of adjustment, is a nonsense. And as Liverpool supporters, we know this, just look at Henderson.

    My greatest concerns are the lack of an effective defensive midfielder to protect the back four. One of these would take our performances up several notches. Also, the purchase of Mignolet for £9M was always going to be viewed with scepticism. His confidence is low right now, but technically, he is also deficient. Peter Schmiechel once said that to make it to the top as a goalkeeper you have to be very arrogant. Not sure Mignolet possesses that. Brining in a quality goalkeeper will make a huge difference to our defence. How can you defend with confidence if you don't have confidence in the man between the sticks?

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  61. Alas, Sakho is AWFUL & Mignolet just not good enough. I think there's enough evidence though to indicate Lovren will come good & Moreno is fantastic. (Well pleased with him.) New forward signings are also a concern: Ricky Lambert has choked both in pre & season, & Balotelli has been disappointing. Lallana is looking better all the time though, so a mixed bag. Was hoping we'd get 3rd spot, 4th at least, with anything better than that a bonus. There's still time, but it's not looking too clever at the moment.....

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  62. when i splash out on a car i like a test drive

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  63. So does the missus ill bet.

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  64. Even though Gerrard scored yesterday and I know your feelings about him, he should be used sporadically and should not be shunted out. Our team has potential to be great.


    Mignolet
    Manquillo-Lovren-Skrtel-Moreno
    Hendo-Allen-Lallana
    Sterling
    Balo-Sturridge


    With Coutinho, Suso, Markovic ( when ready) and a fit and energetic Gerrard to come off the bench. Hopefully, Rodgers realises this.

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  65. Players get dropped for making mistakes managers get sacked that's what happens-

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  66. i like Gerrard but hes not a Dm or deep midfielder im not averse to him playing off the Cf where his cavalier attitude to passing can pay off

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  67. Meaning what? you would sack Rodgers for whom and why?

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  68. allen or can Dm then hendo then Sg just behind the sriker

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  69. Gerrard functions best as a player behind the striker and he could play that role as a substitute. I would hope for a pacy, young striker on loan or promote one from the academy as a back up.

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  70. Got enough players who can do that already well apparently.

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  71. i know gerrard scored yesterday but its him and the midfield that don't provide enough cover for the defense. Gerrard just isn't mobile enough for the high pressing game rodgers wants to play .if you don't close down as a team it doesn't work and more often than not its the player dropping into the space infront of the defense causing all are problems. i'd like to see can and allen providing the cover when fit and gerrard coming of the bench has a impact player, but too many fans think stevie is untouchable but what is the saying no player his bigger than the club

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  72. i just think that if we had a player like makale or masherano in there pomp in front of the back 4 the defence would grow in confidence ,at the moment they get bombarded with runners and through balls whi they shouldn't have to deal with

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  73. Liverpool vs Stoke, Aston Villa, Man Utd, Southampton, Everton were some games where he was great. He is not the best of keepers but he is honestly not that bad. Otherwise, we would have lost by 3 yesterday. He needs faith and confidence.

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  74. like ive posted earlier rogers has splashed out on a position thats covered and left a sunday league pub player between the sticks

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  75. If we don't make top 4 and CL is a disaster then yes- after all these are the players he signed and if not good enough the buck stops with him- he keeps talking about strength and depth but I don't see it- please Brendan prove me wrong and I will happily choke on my words

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  76. Well never was a fan of Lazar but i dont think that would be enough to get the likes of Reus and certainly not Alexis.

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  77. So in other words you have no problems with him yet.

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  78. its funny i wasnt familiar with the true tactics of 433 til rogers came but now most fans understand it and rogers doest it must be the reflection of his veneers in the mirror sending him mad

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  79. He needs to be a no2 keeper

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  80. On a side note, Origi seems to be doing well for Lille and has taken them to the top. Let's just pay whatever money it takes and get him back.

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  81. i agree completely with you on Mignolet but for Goodness sake cut sahko some slack, why is everyone using him as a scape goat .last season Skrtel committed more more errors leading to goals than Sahko so if any center back needs blaming which i don't think so it should be Skrtel.

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  82. let them have lambert

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  83. So what did that have to do with my statement?

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  84. hes not the best of keepers hahaha thats an understatement sid

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  85. You mean apart from his choice of signings

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  86. Well that still may take a bit of time too in certain respects although the lack of covering the cdm a new keeper and Lazar have me myself hopping.

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  87. If we are still half way down the table by X- mas can't see any 'top' players wanting to sign for us

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  88. 32 matches left, 96 points to play for.


    Last season after 6 matches we had 13 points. This season we have 7.


    The average for teams finishing 4th over the last 5 seasons is +- 72 points but 2 points per game should guarantee your spot. That gives you 76 points.


    This leaves us with another 69 points to get but the problem we have is that we are averaging 1.17 points per game. It is still early days but the way we are playing does not make me feel confident at all. We do not play to win, we wait for the opposition to score and unfortunately we will not finish top 4 if we continue like this. Cannot actually understand how our football from last season has gone from absolutely sublime to mediocre 90% of the time this season.

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  89. We wont be signing any big names in January i doubt the money is there its gone i think and it will be a big sell to buy next summer window.

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  90. The bar was raised last season and anything less will be seen as failure esp after the money spent. Time unfortunately is not on our side as we are slipping further behind with each game-can this team with Sturridge win CL?

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  91. With Messi and Ronaldo i still doubt that they could win it.

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  92. Jaimie have you deleted my post if so for what reason? thanks

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  93. OK Jaimie I get the hint I'll take my posts elsewhere ...

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  94. Been a pleasure with most of you on here ...onwards and upwards for the rest of the season!

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  95. I've said in past comments that B.R has ??? Marks all over him.He said last season he wasn't after purchasing squad players,but that is exactly what he's done.He said he will improve the defence so as not to let in as many goals,but they still do.He must of known Suarez was trying to get out of LFC as soon as he could,yet didn't start pushing to get in a proper replacement,and the midfield is still not settled.To make things worse Man U picked up some really good players in Di maria,and Falcoa.what a difference they would have made to the LFC squad.YNWA

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  96. We might end up at Championship..

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  97. I am too young to remember Barnes but from what I saw he is better than Ronaldo and Suarez. Gerrard had a great game vs Everton, and will have another vs Real, it's those Villas and Westbroms that are a problem for him.

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  98. In next 4 Chelsea have manu and Arsenal. We have West brom, Hull, QPR and Newcastle. And we play against them the 5th match. Crucial month that will restore the faith. We will be champions this season, by the way.

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  99. We're mid table now so it's clear if we carry on as we are now we will miss out on the top 4. But we won't......... and therefore we won't

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  100. no more southcoast geeezers12:58 pm, September 28, 2014

    defence and atak not jus defence we sold one of the best cf in world football an nvrr had any idea who we wanted to cme in now thtd bad team manigment we panic buy

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  101. no more southcoast geeezers1:00 pm, September 28, 2014

    mario was a panic buy he dus not fit the way we play and I dont think he wil change his styl or adapt and I dnt think brendon shud chsnge the way lfc play to acommerdate mario

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  102. In the three EPL appearances Sakho has made with two of those alongside Lovren him and vs West Ham on as a sub, Liverpool have kept 1 clean sheet and conceded 2 goals.


    With Skrtel and Lovren as our CB pair and the back three vs west Ham in 4 EPL matches there have been no clean sheets and we have conceded 8 goals.


    Which sore thumb sticks out the most?

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  103. You would have banned me last year for me staunch defence of both Sakho and Mignolet, but alas, I can admitt to being wrong... so sad, Thought Sakho would bring his PSG/France game with him and this year step it up a notch... oh well! Mignolet.... should have gane for Begovic instead.

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  104. I unfortunately am not convinced.

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  105. Maybe, but will we see an improvement as the season wears on? who knows, but at the moment, confidence is low. And will that improvement come too late.

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  106. What made me want to have a fit yesterday was when we were sitting back and protecting a one goal lead. For the life of me i cannot get over the dross that is being served up at the moment.


    Wake up Brendan, please...

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  107. Of course it is all Sakho's fault.



    We will continue to concede goals without Sakho in the team :-)

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  108. Pretty much agree with all that.
    I think Lovren is a very good player if he has the right partner alongside him. That's not Sakho imo. Wouldn't be surprised to see us move for a right sided centre half in jan

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  109. Long live the keng

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  110. Will Joe Hart or any other goalkeeper perform at their best in front of a defence where there is zero communication?

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  111. That's simply not true

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  112. Why not liverpool to using with 3 centreback players ? Lovren + Skrtel + Sakho and Kolo Toure in the bench.Manquillo and Moreno used for wingback players.SG 8 for sweeper or CDM. Comon B.Rodgers please more creative and become brave.

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  113. Totally agree, Rodgers is a Swansea type of manager, not Liverpool FC manager.

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  114. When you spend 20mill on a centre half you would expect him to be able to play both left and right cb it shouldn't affect his game that much ,if it does why pay 20mill...

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  115. Rodgers has spent over £100 million in the summer, plus the wasted millions (Borini. Allen,Aspas alberto etc..) last term. Now his answer to replacing Suarez...Balotelli...no good creating chances only to see them go begging, top four appears a long way off. Should have splashed out on a proper DM and Striker, what he has bought in is no better than we had last term, i just can't see how they've improved the first team at all. Sneaky feeling it will all go all go tits up for Rodgers, look what happened to Kenny, and he took us to two cup finals!

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  116. well manquillo has took a handful of games to break jamies 700 game scoring record.

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  117. Absolutely right, you are.

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  118. Arsenal, United, Liverpool fighting for 3rd and 4th spot. Our squad has less quality than those two teams.

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  119. Get borini in or lambert. Give them game time too. I think borini would flourish if he got games..

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  120. Ha ha. A penalty conceded, a yellow card and a sensational own goal. Not bad for 90 mins work.

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  121. and ill be prime minister and give everyone mondays off work

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  122. The Problems we have are blatantly obvious:
    S Gerrard(34) is no DM, S Gerrard(34) should be used a sub after 65-70mins he should no longer be an automatic starter. He is now playing on his name, S Gerrard(34) can pass the life out of teams if he is given time and space, something young mobile centre midfielders in the premiership do not get enough of in premiership.
    Apart from S Gerrards set pieces, he is a non existant passenger in the centre of the park. Amazing class loyal quality S Gerrard(34) needs to be dropped to the bench when J Allen(24) and E Can(21) are back fully fit.
    The problems in squad is:
    1:We lack good commanding , aggressive GK who will compete with S Mignolet(26) and keep him out of side.
    2: We lack a class mobile quality tough tackling enforcer or two in whole squad: S Gerrard(34) and L Leiva(27) both do not have the energy, legs, mobility, pace or speed to dictate or dominate games from centre of park.
    3: We lack class, creativity, mobility, pace and speed in behind sides if one or both Sterling(19) and D Sturridge(25) are out of first 11.
    4: We do not have enough goals from our midfield players
    5: We are heavily reliant on R Sterling(19) and D Sturridge(25)
    J Carragher and B Rodgers need to admit S Gerrard(34) has had an amazing career and has been great amazing loyal servant but his days as first team starter should be over. As he just doesn't dictate or dominate games anymore and he should be used wisely from Bench.
    B Rodgers needs to start playing a midfield trio of either :
    Coutinho(22) / Lallana(26) AM
    Allen (24) / Henderson(24) CM Can(21) CM
    And B Rodgers needs to give L Markovic(20) more game time so he can eventually settle, but so far he has been waste of £20m and like I said for months on here numerous times. B Rodgers should have added £7-12M and brought in experienced world class talent: Either : Pedro(27) Of Barcelona or M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund to club instead of L Markovic(20).
    But B Rodgers and I Ayre don't want to pay the wages world class top performers would command.
    But Pedro(27) and Reus(25) would consistently Guarantee you 15-25 goals a season no matter what league they played in.
    In January:
    B Rodgers needs to ship out these players:
    RB: G Johnson (29) DM: L Leiva(27) FD: F Borini(23) and bring in £20-£25M on Sales
    And then B Rodgers needs to spend £82M on these 4 players :
    1: DM: L Bender(25) Of B Leverkusen for £15-£20M
    2: RW / RWF: M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund for £20-£26M
    3: LW: Y Konoplyanka(25) Of Dnipro for £10-£14M
    4: FD: C Benteke(23) Of A Villa for £16-£22M
    If we get in top 4 by January these 4 players may help us win a few trophies and would bring better class, quality to squad than the money that was spent in the summer on potential.

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  123. That's harsh.

    This kind of comment shows a lack of respect for someone who was one of the best centre backs in rathole on his prime....even Henry praised him (and we all know what he did to Carra)

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  124. Barnes was a fantastic player. One of the most skilful players England and Liverpool have ever had but he had wonderful players like Rush, Beardsley, Molby, Whelan etc...

    Suarez is relentless and carried the team to 2nd in the league

    His influence on the game was Maradona-esque

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  125. we where never going to replace Suarez this year and it was doubtful that danny would repeat last years form and fitness and so our priority should have been shoring up the defense with a worldclass goalie .Dm and a ch WHO CAN ACTUALLY PLAY ON EITHER SIDE .Rogers HAS NOT ADDRESSED ANY OF THESE SO WE WILLL LEAK goals

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  126. Liverpool need defensive midfielder.Our midfielder are creative enough but no striker make the run through the channel unlike Luiz Suarez who always on the move making space for himself and making thing happen , and make players like Phillips look good.

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  127. Septimus - you are overreacting. You called Carra an 'idiot' in your post; that's an insult, which meant your post was held by the word filter. It's standard practice. If you don't insult players, your post won't get held back.

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  128. Not only his name but his age as well as you point out.

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  129. L Markovic(20) is not crap, he is a class quality player but he is potential. Like I said for months B Rodgers should have used an extra £7-£12M and brought in M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund or Pedro(27) Of Barcelona to club instead.
    As both them two have class, creativity, experience, goals, mobility, pace and speed to burn and both love running in behind defenders. Both players also offer their club 15-25 goals created or scored a season every season no matter where they play or who they play for as they are world class players.
    But B Rodgers and I Ayre do not want to pay the salary of the going rate of top world class players week in week out. They prefer to bring in potential and pay them lower wages. And the expectancy is lower, when they should have just brought in a world class goal scoring winger.

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  130. Indeed. I don't think its the players fault.

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  131. He's an easy target for some. It's quite obvious to me that his fitness and in turn his work rate are improving. the people criticising him haven't seen him play and so expect Suarez mark II. They are also the same ones that say Sturridge is arrogant and Sterling is father to all the worlds children. Ignorant people who have another agenda.

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  132. Cool Story man. You cans say what you want about Gerrard but that man can take a free kick like no other and so with penalties. That is what separates him from the rest and why he is in the team. I agree that he needs to be an impact sub do deliver dangerous set pieces.

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  133. How about sell Markovic and bring in Shaqiri and Bender then sell Aspas Alberto Coates Wisdom Robinson Assaidi Lucas for a start the days of spending like you suggest may be over.

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  134. cos u can play with cramp in a final. and put your life on the line for lfc

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  135. Got to agree with most of what Carra has said. After all he is more of an expert on our club than most of us here having had first hand experience and privy to inside information …..
    BR & Co. knew we had to strengthen the squad for the challenge of CL and had the time and money to do it. Priorities were #1Striker to replace Luis and partner/ cover for Sturridge #2 Defenders to shore up leaky defence #3 Keeper . Also type of players who could maintain our attacking / pressing style of play etc.
    He has brought in 9 new players specifically selected for this purpose , though presumably thought it was adequate to stick with Mignolet . He has had enough time pre season to work on sorting our dismal record of defending set pieces . He went with Ballo which seemed at the time to be as a last resort after stating ‘ categorically ‘ that he would never be a LFC player and Lambert !
    When asked recently about Valdes coming in to challenge Migno he commented that it was the first he had heard of it ! When will it be the second …….. ?
    These players , if of the required quality , should be able to hit the ground running as that is what they were selected to do and to fit in with Brendan’s strategy . Compare Southampton’s new signings + manager . Also Diego Costa , Di Maria and even dear old Frankie at MC !
    We have , this afternoon , dropped to 13th place in the EPL. I agree with Carra that ‘ we need to step it up urgently ‘ or soon it will be too late! Anfield must become a fortress once again !
    It’s all very well saying that this season is about ‘consolidation ‘ and we have young players who have to jell …….. how long will that take before even 4th spot and CL next season will be lost . When the Jan. window comes around it could well be too late …..
    We will have regressed and with the increased strength of other teams - who knows when we will have the chance let alone the money to do it again ?

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  136. BR you are hereby given a sack warning

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  137. The thing is B Rodgers shipped out : P Reina, D Agger, C Coady and L Suarez and brought in £82M sales.


    B Rodgers was promised £60-£70M for making Champions league without making any sales.


    Yet B Rodgers spent £112M = 112-82M = £40M Net spend on sales.


    who is going to offer us £16-£20M for Markovic(20)? No one anytime soon.


    Most of the players you have mentioned can only be sold in the summer as they are out on loan for season:


    So B Rodgers should ship out: G Johnson (29) RB
    L Leiva(27) DM F Borini(23) FD and bring in £22-£26M


    And then the 4 class quality players i mentioned would bring more class and quality than the 8-9 players we brought to club in summer.


    1: DM: L Bender(25) Of Bayern Leverkusen for £16-£20M to replace L Leiva(27) and displace S Gerrard(34) from the starting 11.


    2: RW: M Reus(25) Of B Dortmund for £20-£26M to compete with R Sterling(19)


    3: LW: Y Konoplyanka(25) Of Dnipro for £11-£14M to compete with L Markovic(20)


    4: FD: P Aubamayeng(25) Of B Dortmund £17-£22M to compete with Sturridge(25)

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  138. No Story fact, Did you read what i said?


    S Gerrard(34) and M Arteta(32) are probably the two best passers in league if they are given time and space but Us and Arsenal get exposed all the time as both players are not given time and will not being given time.


    S Gerrard(34) was man marked comfortably by S Downing(30) when we played West Ham. And Downing is 30, so the central and attacking midfielders in the premiership who are 19-28 with mobility, pace and speed run circles around the likes of Arteta(32) and Gerrard(34).


    Gerrard(34) is awesome set piece taker, but that should not be only reason he is on pitch at all.

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  139. Full-backs look sound, which is more than we could say last
    season. I think Flanno is decent, nothing more, and last season he
    looked our least erroneous defender. So we've improved a little in that
    regard.

    I think Mignolet needs to be replaced. Fortunately there
    are lots of good 'keepers out there. I think we should take advantage of
    Serie A's slightly diminished prestige and get Mattia Perin for a
    decent price. Him and Valdés would be a much better pair than Mignolet
    and Jones.


    I think Lovren has been the poorest of our defenders so far. Hopefully now Skrtel is back, he'll settle in. I still think Skrtel is a problem, but playing Sakho or Kolo doesn't seem like a good way to solve that problem. Really hope Illori gets some good experience under his belt and bulks up.

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  140. Agree with you generally, but I'd have to say that Skrtel settled very quickly when he joined. I think, perhaps barring Kenny's season in charge, his first 6 months were the best football he's played for us.

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  141. I think despite having a few things we disagree on.We're singing from the same hymn sheet as your first paragraph indicates.The difference is your more tolerant.For me finishing second gave Liverpool a good opportunity to bag some top players.You have to strike while the irons hot.
    We had to make the squad stronger as you said but £120m was more than enough to enhance the squad and bring in a couple stars.
    Markovic has a somewhat impressive CV but we both know football is played on a pitch not paper.League title winners medals are important for some in grading players but not me.Djimi Traore has a Champions League medal that doesn't make him any better than other defenders.
    I think we'll see the garbage truck pick up Markovic within the next two seasons.I'd love to be proved wrong but i think he's trash and we could've done better.
    Your right VermHat.FSG will want young players with potential to grow and that have good resale value.That would probably rule out Arturo Vidal.The players left on the list fit their policy and would flourish in our team structure.
    Lucas Moura: Paris Saint Germain is a club that revolves around Ibrahimovic.The players around Zlatan are played to get the best out of him.A bit like how Liverpool was built around Fernando Torres.Lucas is better than he's allowed to be.Brendan Rodgers could turn him very quickly into a Superstar.
    Paul Pogba: Hysel didn't stop Juventus taking Alberto Aquilani on loan.Pogba would be a great signing.Any club with ambition could get him and i don't think they have to Champions of their league.
    Xherdan Shaqiri: Maybe if we made our intentions clear Shaqiri and his representatives would've looked to divorce Bayern Munich's bench and force a move.His set pieces are atrocious.Everything else is quality.Arjen Robben and Ribery are coming towards the twilight of their careers but doubt they'll hang up their boots at the same time.I think Mario Gotze will be the next player in line.
    Antonine Greizmann: Atletico Madrid winning La Liga wasn't enough to keep Diego Costa going to Chelsea a PL team that finished 3rd.So him picking Liverpool over them wouldn't have been a big shock.
    Julian Draxler: The production comparison with Markovic isn't fair.What he did in his homeland in a very weak league should be taken with a pinch of salt.What he done at Benfica was good but he only showed glimpses of the required standard.When we signed him SSN showed a graphic of his dribble success rate compared to our current players.Raheem Sterling, Suarez and Daniel Sturridge were far superior.The worrying thing for me was Aspas and Moses' were higher too.Draxler contributes with top performances.His goal scoring record which is something i clashed with another poster about this summer (i took your view) will improve.
    FSG have a policy which should be kept but not set in stone.We should break it every now and then, when elite level players become available and high wages need to be forked out.Or Liverpool will challenge for the title maybe twice a decade.

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  142. We have a legacy of throwing relatively large amounts at middle of the road players. KK redemption was Luis Suarez. BR probably has Sturridge.

    However both managers wasted a lot of money on players which were not going to add to our team as a whole. Downing was bought after Ashley young went to UTD and for some bizarre reason we had not been able to add a couple of million extra for Mata.

    If we cut out wastage and just concentrate on the few high quality players of course we can compete on wages.

    The reality is that we allow the media to link us with the top notch players and then we sign middle of the road potential players. Markovic is 20 million of potential - when if it was potential we wanted jorden ibe was there! Lovren had one good season and we forked out 20 million for him too. Sakho another who we wasted 16 million on. We have apparently got some ex man city scouts who pluck these players out - goodness knows what they are doing when Fat Sam can bring in better players for less. What was criminal that when a player like Song comes on the market we dont go in for him.

    It is this mentality that will give itchy feet to the likes of Suarez. Had we shown to him that we want to compete with the likes of Barca maybe we would have had more chance of him staying or even Torres in the past.

    UTD had one bad season and they spend what KK and BR have spent over 4 seasons in one summer transfer window! The difference is not the money but whom it was spent on. Yes Di Maria was expensive, yes Falcao was expensive but if we are now placing bets on top 4 UTD look favourites ahead of us.

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  143. Well I don't think we're going to agree on this, which is perfectly fine.


    I understand where you are coming from. If we want to challenge City and Chelsea in the short-term, we have to buy a better, more established class of player.


    I just don't think we can beat them by playing them at their own game.

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  144. Amazes me that the general consensus on here is that the money spent on Markovic has been "wasted." Seems ridiculous to me, at such an early stage, to jump to such a conclusion on the basis of a few games played in an under-performing team as he settles into a new country. I'd be more inclined to give him the chance to justify his price tag, but each to their own I suppose.

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  145. I think Reus has his own ideas of where he wants to play and his rejection of a new contract is about keeping control over his own situation. That's fair enough, I think players too often get tossed around with very little say in their own playing future. Madrid looks a likely option but only Marco himself knows exactly what he wants. I don't see that Liverpool can offer him much more than Dortmund, except perhaps the chance to play in England. If England is a career goal for him then so long as we remain a CL club we should have a good shot. He might also just be waiting to see how Dortmund progress as a club having lost a couple of stars to Bayern in recent times. If the current form continues then I predict he'll be out the door with little regret, maybe even in January.


    So it's all about what Reus wants. If he likes Liverpool then we have a chance, otherwise he'll pick and choose from any number of high profile clubs around Europe. There is very little we can do to control the situation except let his management know that we're interested. It might pay off to be persistent and maybe that will happen, but at some point it becomes counter-productive to constantly remind them that we want him here. Rodgers needs players who have some ambition and drive, who really want to come here and put in the hard work to play Liverpool football.

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  146. I wish we didn't bother...

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