20 Oct 2014

Transfer Fail: Legend blasts BR for wasting £120m on a 'crowd of mediocrity'. Harsh or fair?

Liverpool legend John Aldridge has slammed Brendan Rodgers' summer transfer activity, and singled out £20m signing Lazar Markovic for specific criticism.

In his column for Sunday World, Aldo slammed Rodgers' summer signings as a 'crowd of mediocrity', and assessing Markovic's individual contribution, he barked:

"Lazar Markovic must do a whole lot better. This kid came with a big reputation, but he has looked out of his depth at Liverpool so far this season. You can’t afford to be carrying players and Markovic is a passenger".

Well, today's performance at QPR did nothing to contradict Aldo's 'crowd of mediocrity' assessment. None of the club's new players performed with any kind of distinction against QPR (the Premier League's bottom club!), and that is a real cause for concern. Indeed, Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann summed it up with this tweet during the game:

"QPR have been excellent, and did all bar score. Dunne superb, can't believe he's not been playing. LFC terrible all round, lucky to still be in it".

Aldo stuck the knife in a little bit more by tweeting that the QPR performance is 'as poor as I've seen for a while', and I don't think many will disagree with that. LFC basically struggled to beat the Premier League's shipping boys, and had to rely on two own goals to win the game. Pretty embarrassing, really.

As for Markovic - he has made zero impact for Liverpool so far, and with a hefty price tag of £20m, the pressure is just going to mushroom until he starts contributing on a regular basis. The Serb can't do that, though, until Rodgers plays him, and he spends most of his time on the bench at the moment, including today for the QPR game.

Some may argue that Markovic is 'one for the future', and that he shouldn't be expected to hit the ground running, but when a club spends £20m, then it's perfectly fair for fans to have a legitimate expectation that the player cocerned is capable of going straight into the team and making a difference.

The manager creates that expectation by spending a massive amount of money, and in this case, it's down to Rodgers to ensure that any £20m players coming into the club are equipped to meet the inevitable expectation.

As such, irrespective of age, 'one for the future' is not an excuse that can credibly be used for any player signed for £20m+. That may sound harsh, but if the manager is spending that amount of cash on players who may or may not come good at some point in the distant future, then there's a serious problem with the transfer policy (IMO)

That said, in this case, a little perspective is needed. Markovic basically missed LFC's entire pre-season schedule with injury, so he's already behind the rest of the squad, but he can't get up to speed unless Rodgers plays him!

I retain hope that Markovic will come good at some point, but right now, the £20m splurged on the young attacker is looking like money well and truly wasted.

Author:


182 comments:

  1. Obviously we're not playing well at the moment but I don't like the fact that we're writing players off already. We're just not clicking at the moment and that may take time but, can't we at least give these players at least a season before we throw em on the scrap heap.

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  2. Totally agree never expected much from Markovic but how he cost 20 million pounds is beyond belief Balotelli was awful Lovren looks lost and only the 2 full backs look decent buys.,
    Rodgers really needs to turn around this side but a change in formation may help.

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  3. drop Balotelli and you will see a much better team cant believe we signed him. Joey Barton was spot on with his statement the biggest myth in football

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  4. Jamie how many league games has Markovic started? I know he's started in the champions league and against Middlesborough in the league cup but I can't remember him starting any league games. If he hasn't started any league games its a bit harsh to single him out for criticism, how is he supposed to impress if he isn't actually playing?

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  5. , if they play like that against Madrid we will be taken to the cleaners shocking display

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  6. John if liverpool was scoring I don't think this critic would come. BR and management just bought the wrong striker. We have to wait till Jan and see what changes are taking place. Balo should be send out on loan if not sold in Jan window. Midfielders are doing their work but Balo feet is too heavy and have no accuracy , he can't score, tackle or give a decent pass. He is worth only about 8 million and that also too much. Also big mistake by management in not buying a good striker knowing injury prone Sturridge. A wounded horse is no good for the owner no matter how fast he can run. And Borrini is another waste.

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  7. lets look at the waste off Money Allen Assadi Alberto Sakho Borini Balotelli Aspas Lovren Markovic Mignolet . That's 110mil of wasted money.
    Every Liverpool supporter loves Stevie Gerrard he has served us well and will go down as one of our greats . But watching him play now shadow of him self is sad.
    We haven't even come close to getting his long term replacement.
    Gerrard Lucas Johnson toure best days are behind them .
    Fsg have given Rodgers way to much support football has changed buying player loan cheap deals is over style football is different defence is everything.
    We have to spend the money on Pogba for gerrard Reus Isco Alaba Icardi
    The players we have for Future Sturridge Sterling Henderson Moreno Manquillo lallana that's it that's all we got Rodgers has failed as manager,
    Bring rafa back before real get him

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  8. Can't believe Markovic is the first player to get both barrels when he wasn't even playing against QPR. Balotelli has been out worst transfer bar none. He's doing worse than contributing nothing, he's actually detracting from our play and I fear he's disrupted the harmony in our group, although I have no evidence to back that up, just a feeling I get with some of the body language that passes between him and team mates. We've just not been able to deal with the loss of Sturridge. Our defending is a whole other story

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  9. and then rodgers said balotelli has worked like a lion in the past two weeks but he actually played like a sheep and in return people blame markovic

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  10. each and every player in our defense is nervous like hell as if they are playing with a bomb

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  11. What a absolute disgraceful performance that was against the bottom side.
    What has the money B.R was trusted with this season bought to LFC?
    In B.R we trusted and in B.R we are crumbling,scared to think what's going to happen against Madrid if LFC show up with that sought of performance again.

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  12. I feel BR made a massive mistake in brought in new player which are cannot contribute for liv style of games. Look at chelsea hw the team are.. I feel tht the forward and new bck lines realy weak and even the passing of team also not perfect like before. I think BR is to blame for this poor performence for nvr brought in a good forwards..

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  13. Liverpool's ball retention hasn't been good this season.The possession game which gave us a decent platform to break teams down, has gone out the window.
    Some players are showing treadmill energy.A lot of jogging or walking around the same spot.There's no quick, direct running with the ball or quality movement apart from what Sterling provides.
    Without Daniel Sturridge, RS has most of the attacking weight of Liverpool Football Club on his young shoulders.
    Every unit in our team, defense, midfield and attack has problems.Thank God our rivals look like garbage too!
    It was good to see Coutinho make a big impact by getting on the scoresheet.Hopefully that gives him a confidence boost.

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  14. When I first watched Markovich's highlights I thought what the heck! So I watched them again thinking I had missed something. Then I scanned the deepest untouched regions of the internet trying to find this kid do something that justified £20million and couldn't find anything. Maybe this deal is all about shirt sales because I've seen nothing from his previous play to suggest it is about his football. He reminds me of Karel Paborsky, Jordi Cruyff, David Bellion, Bebe. If ever there was a kid who needed to play in a flat 4-4-2 and hug the touchline it is this kid. One dimensional I'm afraid.

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  15. At the moment Ballotelli reminds me of Sergei Rebrov, Jon Dahl Tommason (when he was at Newcastle) and Daniel amokachi i.e. a clear out and out second striker who is having the confidence sapped out him playing as a number 9. None of the three aforementioned ever cut the mustard playing as out and out strikers just as playing a ball playing center back in the holding role never works for England ( Carra, Southgate,)

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  16. Very well put. The passing/possession and the intensity of our game have receded to an almost unrecognizable state. Remember when BR took over? One of the criticisms proposed was that we actually had TOO much possession (and not doing enough with it) - now we can't string a few passes together. There are no triangles. No pass and moves. It's just static and passenger-esque. And that applies to a lot of the players that made Liverpool such a force last season. Now, is that BR's fault? I don't think so. Is it his job to fix it? Absolutely.

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  17. Liverpool fans need some sort of celestial intervention to help remove the wool from BR's eyes. Facts;
    1. Unless you've got an exceptional striker like Costa, please don't play one upfront, even Sturridge struggled against good teams before he got injured. Last season, we were winning by lone goals until Suarez came back into the team, primarily due to the presence of 2 payers running at and behind defences, Balotelli can not play as an out and out striker, he's got no speed, doesn't run behind strikers, a plan B from our normal counter attacking game,
    2. The only player we ever needed from Southampton is Schneiderlin, Lallana is a good guy, but he wasn't priority
    3. Gerrard cannot play 90 minutes of high octane football anymore, with Balotelli on the field, that's 9 against 11.
    4. Markovic - JK would probably delete my post if I start

    We need a new defensive coach, can't spend that much money on defenders and keep conceding silly goals.

    Unless you've got an exceptional striker like Costa, please don't play one upfront

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  18. This is what you get when you bring in managers who aren't experienced enough to handle big teams like LFC.B.R is still learning his trade and unfortunately LFC is the guinea pig.B.R has said the players he has brought in will take time,of course they will because most of what you brought in are squad players.And to think B.R said he wouldn't bring in squad players but players who would walk into the team.keep learning B.R you might get it right with a few more transfer windows.Fingers crossed.YNWA

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  19. that just about sums up everything Liverpool right now

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  20. Real Madrid next at home. Bale will be running circles around Johnson.
    A draw will be a big ask given the pathetic display yesterday.

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  21. Kumaran Narayanan5:17 am, October 20, 2014

    I don't know about Rafa but Rodgers has to go

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  22. I don't think BR should be given the power in transfer decisions anymore. He has just been wasteful. Balotelli looks like a 16m experimental failure. I'd rather we play Markovic instead of Balo till Sturridge returns. At least the kid can get some games under his belt and he does try to get into scoring positions. Just need more time to adapt to the EPL.

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  23. I won't repeat what's already been said re the performance, but we need to give Rodgers a message re his stubborn refusal to partner Mario with Borini(eveveyone knows he's better in a front 2 or wide in a 3) or play Lucas in a DM position...... BR decided pre season he wanted rid of the pIr of them and can't swallow his pride to pick them now , when they'd improve us. Brendan, you ain't that good and you've won nothing yet!

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  24. Aside from Markovic, the real travesty for me is that Rodgers has spent more than 60 Million NET on defenders and goalkeepers in the space of only one year, and it got us...... the worst defense in living memory.


    Great job, FSG, you have pretty much squandered the Suarez money for mostly average players, and you have replaced Agger, Reina, and Kelly, with worse players and at horrendous cost. Unbelievable, really.

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  25. JK we have spent 7mn on Ilori, 20mn Lovren, 18mn Sakho, 8mn Mignolet, 12mn Moreno, 6mn Manquillo, 1mn Cissoko loan, Toure.
    .
    BR have spent 70mn+ on defence since he has taken charge over Liverpool. Just before BR joined, Liverpool had third best defence in the league under KD and Clarke. Are our defenders really crap? or BR just have no idea about defence coaching? why don't we hire a specialized defensive coach?
    .
    We have sold Agger, loaned Coates and sold Reina. IMO should have kept all of them and avoided buying other defenders. We wasted money as defence is worse now. Its BR fault IMO

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  26. There is a reason behind him not starting any league game.

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  27. thanks to SUAREZ, Rodgers got stardom status.
    but in reality he is bull-shit.

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  28. too stubborn and egoistic...not a bad coach though, certainly not BS

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  29. Markovic is an unknown quantity in truth and the fact is nobody knows how he is going to turn out. We do not and neither does Rodgers. You cannot spend 20mil on a player like this. We should have gone for Shaqiri or someone with more proven quality. This guy cannot hit the ground running because he needs time to adapt. We unfortunately do nat have time. He might still come good but we need it now.

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  30. I have never seen so much hate for a new signing like what Balo is getting now, you can see the boy is really trying hard too hard at times rodgers needs to tell him it's not all about scoring that he should look to assist but he goes public and say he needs to score more, this ofcourse will make him want to shoot at every opportunity. I for one believe in Balo and ofcourse he has to improve but he needs support not bashing from so called liverpool fans. I pretty sure you were like those fans who said suarez was not an out and out striker when he joined and now look where he is.

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  31. Theese are the players i think will come good:
    lovren,can,lallana,moreno,markovic,origi
    just gut instinct but thats 97m of 120m we spent


    the waste were
    baloteeli 16m lambert 4m


    also the laon deal for manquillo looks genius because the guy aint worth a cent

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  32. i think lovren has the potential to be better the dfence need games together so far :
    johnson injured flanagan injured moreno injured skrtel injured
    sakho injured


    we have not liek chelsea and man city had the luxuary to play the same defence every week we have the worst injury record in teh league some perspective needed

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  33. the critisizm of defense is not fair we unlike chelsea,man city,southampton, and west ham had teh luxuary of playing same defenders every game


    ..............johnson............skrtel...........lovren...............moreno


    this should be our back 4

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  34. sturridge ..... moreno
    lallana ........ skrtel
    markovic ........sakho
    coutinho
    allen
    can
    johnson
    falnagan
    we have not had the best of injuries this year city and chelsea and southapton and west ahm teh teams above us have had
    especially chelsea who have only one injury the whole year

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  35. manquillo and flano over johnson all the day

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  36. Hate?!? What the hell are you talking about? He got a song on his first match. He got a banner after two. He went off the pitch without even a look towards the fans, twice! Yet nobody is booing him, but we are a bit discontent with him, not for shooting, but for the fact that our attack is over whenever he gets the ball. For not showing he is sorry after shooting like a 12 year old and had 2 free players to pass, not showing he is upset he missed a sitter. The only time he speaks with his teammates on the pitch is to say(or just show) that it was a poor ball towards him.
    List goes on and on for a player who has enough to be world class feared player that is underperforming for Brighton standards.

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  37. Did BR say anything about Origi January speculations?

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  38. We would have needed the depth with Suarez too...

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  39. I agree, but my friend told me he read BR said he will get him in Jan... Yes with DS Mario would look bettter I think, but I am affraid he will burn out till glassman returns..

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  40. but he goes public and say he needs to score more, this ofcourse will make him want to shoot at every opportunity.


    Don`t defend him like this, you are making it sound like he is retarded..

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  41. but he goes public and say he needs to score more, this ofcourse will make him want to shoot at every opportunity.


    Don`t defend him like this, you are making it sound like his iq is 81

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  42. He wont be brought back in Jan, that is just paper speculation.

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  43. I have to disagree respectfully with your comment here John.
    To say that those players were a waste of money is extremely short sighted IMO.
    Lets go through the ones you listed…

    Allen is coming up to be a great player, the last couple of
    games he’s played for us he has really made a difference, putting in a really hard shift, never shying away, never hiding, always keeping the ball moving. Assaidi, fair enough, but we’ll make our money back from him when we sell (or thereabouts) and his wages are being paid, so not really a waste. Luis Alberto is still extremely young and hasn’t been given any kind of decent run, but even if we do get rid of him, we should get a few million for him. Sakho is still young and has the poor luck of being in a terrible back line. I think if Skrtel werent at the club and Sakho&Lovren were our 1st choice, getting consistent game time, our backline would be 10x more functional, but it can’t
    happen at the moment. Borini, tough one, but it looks like we’ll make our money back on him so no waste. Balo is a player
    who is extremely low on confidence. If you’ve ever seen him when he is on a good run (Italy and AC) he is a beast, but what we are seeing now is him without goals, getting targeted by every CB so they can rile him up, getting piss poor support from his teammates who are trying to play the ball to him like they do for Sturridge, which will never work. No excusing his performance against QPR mind you, I’m not blinkered in that respect. Aspas is rubbish, fair enough. Markovic needs
    to get games and be given time, just look at Henderson. Mignolet, he saved us countless times against QPR and got us into second place last season didn’t he?

    I’m not saying let’s all be rosy cheeked and smiley all
    season because it’s all sunshine and lollipops, but don’t let’s write off the team, players and manager this early. Everyone keeps saying we need to spend the money on Pogba, Reus, Isco, these kinds of guys, but the truth is that you don’t know that BR hasn’t targeted them and they simply don’t want to play for us. We are a team that hasn’t had a champions league for years, we haven’t won a league title since before PL days and we have just had a great season with one competition, but now face the league, FA cup, League Cup and Champs League.
    Not that attractive for a top player, when he is presented with the chance to go with one of the ‘premier league era’ big clubs like Chelski, Citeh, Arsenal or the shite.

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  44. Im still hopeful that Markovic will come good and will start to show why we brought him to the club. As mentioned in the article his injuries have not helped him and also with the rest of the team struggling with form its never easy for a new player to come in.


    He has been getting in good positions when he has played but seemed to lack to the confidence to shoot when in a good position and looks to play it to a team mate, this is a stark contrast from what i saw of him at Benfica where he would go for goal so i think its a confidence thing with the lad at the moment.

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  45. You can't blame them. It's Manu's fault surely :-)

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  46. How quickly the fickle fan will turn, at least give him time to adapt without his two main strikers from last year. The lost of DS is hurting the team massively as it has ruined the balance of the side.

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  47. I don't think we're evergonnacrackthelossofsuarez

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  48. The main question to ask is how many of these guys actually watched us play last season. We have lost our two most influential players and others due to injuries. We have brought in an entirely new defence and new attackers. It is going to take time but the fact that we are playing so bad and yet in fifth shows all hope is not lost. I highly doubt Kenny would have got us to this position from the performances shown. We need to have faith.

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  49. The way we defending set pieces at the moment playing Lucas in the DM role would be footballing suicide, Lucas gives away alot of free kicks close to the edge of the box, we cant afford to give teams many set pieces as we have forgotten how to head the ball.

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  50. This kind of comments about waisting transfer money and pointing to Rodgers are clearly not fair. I've mentioned many times that politics of FSG is to buy young and develop. Rodgers has nothing to do with this. That means all buys except Lallana and Lovren belong to that way of thinking. All of new players are young and for the future. And Markovič is one of them. Rodgers told us after transfer window that this is the base of the team and not many signings will happen in the next 2-3 years.

    then talking about impact is also unfair. If you want player to make an immediate impact who is proven in these days you need to pay 40M+. And what did we pay? 20M for each or less. Look at MU. What they payed for di Maria? If you pay that money then you have immediate impact. Paying that amount is clearly not a FSG way. We must all understand and accept that.

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  51. Oh and Real aren’t going to get Rafa. I’ll say this now, and you can note it down, I will personally mail you a carton of beer if he does. And we don’t want Rafa back, Brendan is doing great with what he has, all of his signings, at the time of signing, seem like good buys. Lallana came off a great season, Markovic was touted as the best young talent by some renowned scouts, Moreno had a boss season, Manquillo looked promising, Balo had just scored a boatload for AC and was cheap, Lovren had a great season with Soto, same with Lambert. None of them were bad signings, some may not have performed up to par so far but how was BR supposed to know that? Sometimes people have to take
    themselves out of the FIFA Career mode, where all signings work out according to a player rating, because the real world isn’t like that. People always seem surprised when players take a season or 18 months to gel with a team, but for some reason our supporters simply can’t do that. Look at Hendo & Allen, two of our mids who are around the starting XI, when they were bought, after about 2 games people wanted their heads on a platter to be raffled off to the highest bidder, starting at 99p. Now, Hendo is almost undroppable and Allen is certainly looking to be heading that way. Lallana was the same at S’hampton. He was very average in his first season, then went on to be a talisman, with a
    very similar rise to that being enjoyed by our own Jordan Henderson. Sturridge was thought to be well average before he went on loan to Bolton then came to us, just a forward who had to play on the wing to get game time, and look at him now!

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  52. I think the Markovic issue is minor compared to our overall team. Unfortunately I think Rogers has been found out. Every manager has now realised that all you need to do is press us. All our summer signings bar Llanna look awful with maybe the exception of Moreno too. Our defence is a shambles and we have zero creatvity going forward. I really thought that Suarez albeit a genius would not have such a dramatic effect on our team. Rogers can't organise a defence and his philosophy is plan A and no B. I really believed in him but I'm starting to see major cracks in his armour. I really want him to succeed soo much but the clock is ticking big time and with Madrid on the way its not looking great. Rogers needs to sort this out and show us just how good he thinks he is. My honest opinion is, we won't get top 4 and Rogers could well be looking for a new job by the end of the season. Also, just one more thing, I think his love affair with Steven Gerard will also see him continue to struggle.

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  53. Markovic didn't play so nit sure why he would be discussed. He was one else of those coming back from injury but perhaps judged not to be fit. I think Mario and Lovren (no matter what side he plays on) deserve far more criticism.

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  54. Pressing us is what led to us winning. Welbeck or even Eto would have been better signings than Mario and teams would have a harder time with that tactic.

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  55. It's the loss of the TWO top scorers of last season.

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  56. Haha brilliant

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  57. I am gonna change my name and upvote you again! Hahahahahhhahahahaha

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  58. innocent ogbonnaya9:14 am, October 20, 2014

    Mario is not n will never be lfc standard.i blame rogers n Ayre both of who knew suarez would leave n never went for martinez of porto.calejon of napoli.even without them,lukaku n bonny are proven in the league yet we neglected them n went for out of style lazy Mario n ineffective lazar!pity!

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  59. The power is debatable. No one really knows but there is a fella on the afield index who believes he has a good idea due to contacts with journalists, ex city coaches and people who have connection to the club.

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  60. Kelly wasn't replaced with a worse player.

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  61. That is not true out third best defence. On what grounds was it third best?

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  62. What? Manquillo has been one of the better signings. He has some parts that need improving but many wrote Flanno off too.

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  63. Maybe mate but Its the games where he'll be judged. I'm not saying I've been impressed with him all I'm saying is that maybe he hasn't been given a fair crack of the whip.

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  64. Not saying we wouldn't have but a top quality striker and defensive mid would have made a huge difference.
    My point being if the so called depth is not performing then can you call it depth.

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  65. Just Sharath changing names your literacy errors give you away every time haha.
    Look theres over 100 million worth of talent out there if they cant over run the bottom side the only perspective needed maybe yours.

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  66. he has been given a fair crack of the whip, but people calling him a flop after missing our preseason being a new KID here, playing with players that are new here themselves, most of them tired from the summer, some of the best out of form and injured, with Balotelli in front of him are smoking something. And he played 300 minutes for christ sake...

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  67. I think we have massively overspent on average players yet again, last time Rodgers spent we got Borini, Allen, Aspas, Alberto, Illori (who i don't think will ever play for us) and Sissokho and Moses on loan, none of these are the class required at Anfield. Amazed at the money FSG gave Rodgers this time around and what have we to show for it? Look at Manure, they have spent too but got Di Maria, Blind, Falcoa etc...Always said Suarez was keeping Rodgers in a job. Yanks won't like it.

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  68. We saw BR pushing Stevie further forward and he bought Can. He bought Balotelli and Origi. Think he was on the same page as you, but it is still not working out.
    It is mainly his fault, but have in mind where we were when he took over, and that he has 5 YEARS PLAN...
    Not saying he is beyond critics, or that you are lunatic screaming sack Rogers =, just making a point

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  69. I agree, don't know about Rafa though. Rodgers is woeful and was lucky to have Suarez last term. The money we have wasted we could have had the calibre of players you mention.

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  70. No protction from a very poor midfield.

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  71. We tried to go for Sanchez and Falcao, got a better lb...

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  72. Yes we did, did not get them though, why? Shelled out £120 million for 9 crap players when these TWO would have been better.

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  73. Goals conceded/Clean sheets. Skrtel and Agger were doing so good that Carra remained on the bench for later part of the season. We had problems scoring goals but our defence was top notch.

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  74. the problem is gerrard he keeps exposing our defence he is way too slor ronaldo bale will be rubbing their hands if they see gerrard in the line bring him on for the last 20 mins his legs are gone when rodgers see's that we will do better but he doesnt have the balls to drop gerrard the best we can pray he gets injured for a few weeks

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  75. AndWithSuchSimplicity10:57 am, October 20, 2014

    Think Glen Johnson should get some credit for the first goal yesterday. He was the one who told Sterling to play it quick. Everyone on the telly seemed oblivious to this.

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  76. if you think he is working hard than you are watching a match in different dimension of this universe..my problem is not that he isnt scoring..its just that he is too involved in himself,he ignores the team and apart from this he is slowing us down..never makes a run behind defenders as if he is saving stamina to f**k some bi****s at home...THATS MY PROBLEM

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  77. That is experience thing we might need vs Real. Would you line up him or Manquillo? Or Flanno if he was available, and on same level as last year?

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  78. it looks like BR wont ever drop gerrard..sadness..but wishing an injury to our legend is shame.

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  79. Finished 7th, join second best with 14 clean sheets, fifth lowest goals conceded, 4th best attack and fifth best goal difference.

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  80. If we could lead from the front things would be different. We need to bin Balotelli as he doesn`t do much other than huff n puff gives silly fouls away and if all round pretty infective. We need to make teams worry about is and as for yesterday unlucky Rangers. I also fear the worst against Real in midweek. Another strikers required in January.

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  81. Just don`t understand some people...

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  82. AndWithSuchSimplicity11:31 am, October 20, 2014

    I'd use Johnno. Experience should always count in these kind of games. I would, however, use Moreno over Enrique - mainly because Enrique looked slow mentally (no pun intended) yesterday, and also Moreno is a bit more dynamic.
    I actually like Johnno, although I know he's not everyone's cup of tea. He certainly calmed things down against West Brom the other week when he came on, and also poses more attacking threat than Manquillo.

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  83. AndWithSuchSimplicity11:33 am, October 20, 2014

    Real Madrid is EXACTLY the kind of game we need after the dross yesterday.
    We are Liverpool, and we rarely get battered by anybody. I fancy us to rip up the formbook........

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  84. We agree on full backs, though I have much more praise for Moreno.
    fULL BACKS? I would go with Skrtel and Toure, believe it or not. As someone said Kolo is disaster waiting to happen, but you can hope it won`t happen, unlike Lovren who is(so far) disaster all the way...

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  85. AndWithSuchSimplicity11:42 am, October 20, 2014

    Do you think Gerrard could ever play CB?? Just for the experience?? It may extend his career....

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  86. Johnson should play against Madrid for his experience but definitely does not deserve a starting spot. He has not done enough to warrant it. The question one needs to ask is who would we prefer up against Ronaldo. Manquillo or Johnson. Maybe Johnson might have a resurgence. The question on my mind is who should be striker. The hope is Balo might deliver in the big game but Lambert will be more willing to work.

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  87. Enemyofeverydisbeliever11:52 am, October 20, 2014

    We always knew it will be more or less just like this. Must do something in jan. A truly world class Cb and a striker is badly needed here.

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  88. If the QPR game was any of the other 'top teams' It would be "This is what a good team does when playing badly. Get the win."
    But when it's Liverpool it always seems to be doom and gloom.
    Yes, it wasn't a good performance, but they happen every now and then. They got 3 points and are 3 points from 3rd. It's not as bad as everyone makes out.

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  89. Lambert. Mario off the bench. They both score.

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  90. Any of the other top teams would've been 3-0 up at half time and game over

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  91. Imagine what Lambert scoring his first goal against Madrid would do to his confidence. Could be a game changer.

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  92. People on here make me laugh!! Call yourself a fan when you wish Stevie G an injury. Get a life mate the man has been the backbone of this club for ever. Better still get another club to support!!!!!

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  93. Are you honestly wishing injury on Steven Gerrard? I am utterly disgusted with that

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  94. The difference is we aint playing a top team. We would have aligned differently and probably with more passion. These 'What If's" and parallel universes analogies should stop.

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  95. Who are you talking about mate??

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  96. Am responding to first line of Will's comment

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  97. Am in no way standing up for him but think what he's trying to say is the only way BR will drop StevieG is if he's injured- at least I hope that's what he means

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  98. 12 clean sheets in the league. Joint third goals conceded by one goal. Ninth best attack scoring less goals than Fulham and Blackburn and seventh best goal difference, two goals better off than Newcastle who finished three places ahead of us. We won as many games as Fulham and lost as many as them and Aston Villa. We had 16 clean sheets the following year conceding four more goals but losing 5 less games. No one says that defence was anything to write home about.

    So can we put the myth to bed that 2011/12 defence was good please?

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  99. Phil MooreBabbthanThompson12:12 pm, October 20, 2014

    Gerrard has and always has been asked to do the jobs of more than 1 player. Yes, he is not the player he was and yes he has been caught out of position (yesterdays corner goal conceded) but he is still one of our better players and there isn't anyone better at the club currently. Balotelli's head is gone, Can was okay, Hendo covers ground but how many missed tackles were there yesterday by the whole team? It's just not working for us and we need to work out a solution quickly. Blaming Stevie is an easy way out. Our centre backs are shaky, our full backs (yesterday) were crap, our keeper is here and there. The issues of last year remain but we dont have one of the worlds best strikers anymore (which I hasten to add, BR developed him into). We've lost confidence since Luis went and Stevie is doing his best to bring the team together but it isnt gelling. When Kenny first bought Luis, we were similar, lots of possession, no penetration, then last year we clicked. Balotelli is not the answer but I heard he was a money ball buy by the directors which is blowing up in our face horrendously. Teams have learnt to play against us and have even adopted our style of pressing and breaking. They sit on Stevie now, but we should have another ball playing option as an alterntative (come back Xabi Alonso). Sterling plays everywhere he's asked to and does it well (more often than not) and Phillippe Countinho looked good yesterday and played an identical pass to the one he laid on for Neymar in Japan in the Brazil friendly. Maybe we should rotate our midfield and not leave Stevie as the holding/ball pplaying midfielder and have him alternating with Allen. I'm no master of the game but our style of play has been found out, we've lost one of the best strikers in the world and the new players need time to settle and gel. Rogers developed Suarez, Sterling,Sturridge, Countinho, Allen (at Swansea) and re-invented Stevie. His track record with the defenders is non-existent which is where my worry is, but hopefully we can bring in a defensive coach to sort this out, but this year is a development year sadly.

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  100. Not to mention the fact that he's only 20!

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  101. I wouldn't worry too much about the cranks who crawl out ofter a bad performance. They soon just disappear in a good run.

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  102. I think yesterday's game was probably one of the worse game's I've seen to date. But every club has their off day. One of the biggest issues I see is Baloteli. He doesn't even look interested in playing for us. When you have the fire power of Suarez and sturridge up front the team play with confidence and that proved that last season. BR needs to find a top quality striker pronto to put some confidence back in the team. Get rid of Baloteli he's another Andy Carroll useless!!

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  103. I understand the suggestion that that much money on a player "for the future" is a bit much to swallow. But it's more acceptable to me than the suggestion, after mere weeks into the season, that he's potentially a "waste of money". Those are black and white views, a rather pointless attempt to make clear judgements when none can be made. Reality is always just a bit more boring, a bit more grey. In this instance everyone is just going to have to wait and see. Boring, yes, I know, but it's far more sensible than trying to make conclusions about summer spending in October.

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  104. That is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is how much he cost us. And that Tadic is doing well for Southempton... Arghahhhhh

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  105. Trying too hard? Are you living in the real world? He mopes around as if the team owe him a favour.He's sulky,moody,disinterested and couldn't hit a hangar door from two yards.

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  106. And I said surely clean sheets have to be a factor in calling it a good defence. You are the one that mentioned other stats and I just pointed out how massively wrong they were.

    I think the best partner for Skrtel was Agger but like I say that defence clearly didn't do that well. Joint seventh for clean sheets. We conceded in 26 games. The next season we only conceded four more goals over the course of the season but conceded in 22 games. Now I am not saying that was a good defence but ipso facto neither was the previous years.

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  107. The team will take time to gel and br teams normally do better the longer the season goes on. Its lucky everyone else is doing poor. To be fair, I remember hendo getting raped for his price tag and now he is the number 1 candidate to succeed gerrard. Give team support YNWA is a motto for when times are not going so good not when your 4 nil up.

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  108. Why would you drop a man who has carried the club on his shoulders for so long? I'm sorry he meant what he said and I don't think abs is a true fan

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  109. Yea, because the other teams have never lost a game to a struggling team...

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  110. If we get a pen against Madrid he will be grateful Stevie G isn't njured- which is likely if he plays Sterling up front with another striker

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  111. Did you really just say you hope our captain gets injured? Unbelievable.

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  112. Your calling for Rodgers head after 8 games? Even though we had a great season last season nearly winning the league? Even though we are nowhere near our best but still sit joint fourth. To be saying Rodgers has to go is nothing short of ridiculous. All these people calling for Rafa to come back need to get over it, that ship has sailed.

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  113. He was pretty terrible against QPR though. 0% pass completion, didn't even create a chance, no shots on goal. Terrible game!

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  114. last year our best game was against spurs guess wat gerrard didnt play i now he is a legend but rodgers is too scared to drop him and once he is out the team watch the team perform for gods sake he's 34..... bale and ronaldo are going to do what messi done with arsenal a few years ago allen henderson lucas/can are muchmore mobile than gerrard he slows our play down and everybody knows it we need to do what ferguson done with giggs at least carragher was brave enough to admit his legs are not the same anymore

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  115. I hope you get a finger injury so you can't type any more comments.

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  116. You need to go support someone else. Anybody who wishes an injury on one of our own players is a disgrace.

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  117. He is already typing with his knuckles

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  118. Oh god. Its worse than I could ever imagine! There will be no stopping him.

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  119. there are no world class centre backs available you can just go out and buy man utd are finding that out after losing vidic and ferdinand. hard work, games, communication and partnerships create good centre backs. what disappoints me most is after the chelsea defeat last year BR said anyone can set up a team to defend, well lets try it then eh? learn to walk before we run. trying to do what we did last year without earning the right on the pitch, last years reputation is nothing.

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  120. Even my pet sheep Baaa-rney could have scored from that chance Mario missed

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  121. Huh? Am just saying if we'd been up against ski or city with the quality of their strikers we would've been 3-0 down at half time- that's all

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  122. but how can u wish an injury to the greatest midfielder of liverpool..player who is captain from a long long time..he showed what loyalty actually means..hard to find now a days...player who has given so many moments to us to cheer about..feel proud about.


    and i know he is not the player he used to be in his young days but it happens to every player so it requires effective management..this is where BR is at fault..starting him in every game and playing him for full 90 mins ..not a single substitution..are you kidding me??there was no need to play him against QPR but who can tell it to genius rodgers..and he will be played aginst RM too..tired legs will be punished..every other player of his age (giggs , scholes , lampard etc.) were used in an effective way..every one understands this but BR and i doubt he ever will

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  123. I was talking about other teams playing QPR.
    People seem to think that we are doomed because we only just beat QPR. But the reality is, is that it's one game. And we are currently 3 points from 3rd. Its hardly world ending stuff.
    Top teams struggle against lower teams sometimes. That's football.

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  124. loyalty??? have you guys forgotten he handed a transfer request and wanted a move to chelsea in 2005 he only stayed after receiving death threats

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  125. Why would you not want immediate impact the year after almost winning the title, in order to consolidate our position? YOu buy one stud at 40M (a Reus type player) and then do the potential thing. We all know about 2009, can't beleive the club is walking into that situation again.

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  126. Brad Smith has been recalled from his loan spell in Swindon. The only reason that would happen would be if there is some problem with Moreno. This does not look good.

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  127. and the hits just keep on coming... if it's any consolation bale wont be playing tomorrow.

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  128. I totally agree with Aldo, Fsg and Bodger have been largely useless

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  129. do you wanna tell me that we have not a defensive coach?if so no wonder we are running around like headless chickens. i suppose i should not asked whether we have a goalkeeper couch?

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  130. ballo cant perform as a lone striker, we all see it, he said it.why cant br see it?

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  131. Yeah I wouldn't want Baloteli taking one

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  132. How can you blame FSG for being useless?


    They bought the club which helped save it from administration.


    They've invested in buying players spending over 100m on two separate seasons (including this past summer alone).


    They've gotten progress with the renovation of Anfield (most importantly keeping Anfield and not building a brand new place).


    I can understand why there's a hostility towards Rodgers with what he's done with the money.


    But how can anyone complain about what FSG has done since they bought the team. Even when they fired Kenny (their most controversial move), it was because we had the 3rd worst league record in the second half of the season.

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  133. I agree with you we can't play the football we did last season our team has changed to much. Let's park the bus and counter attack . Having so many new players in BR needs to rethink his tatics

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  134. You do understand that ManU is going to end up paying roughly 40m for one year of Falcao. That's just not good business.

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  135. Sanchez did not want to come here. And I stated the Falcao reasoning above. Nothing to hold against LFC there.

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  136. hallelujah. amen brother. you nailed it. are you reading brendon

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  137. Rodgers needs man man up and stop trying to play a system which does not work. QPR were making us look like relegation candidates in the 1st half yesterday.

    It is quite simple really, if our defence does not improve which looks unlikely then we are going to have to score loads of goals and fact of the matter is that we ain't going to score goals by playing one uprfront.

    As soon as Rodgers changed the formation in the first half from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3, Stevie as the deepest midfielder and two CM's playing ahead of him we finally started causing QPR problems but my f****** word, how absolutely rubbish is our defence? Skrtel and Lovren as a CB pair are fit for a non league side. Between them they have conceded 12 EPL goals in 8 matches with no clean sheets. Atrocious. If Rodgers does not make changes and plays the same back four vs Madrid then we will get more than just a footballing lesson.

    Watch Rodgers go one upfront vs Madrid. He is cutting his nose off to spite his face. It is not the players who are the problem, it is the dire system he his forcing this team to play i.e. Hodgson style. We do not even know what to do with the ball and that is a major problem and will see us finish outside the top 4 if we continue with the tripe that is being served up right now.

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  138. That's absolute nonsense. You should be embarrassed

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  139. The amount of long balls we were playing up top was shocking. And when Balotelli has no support, and he doesn't hold up play to let the support get there, it's an awful strategy.


    Not playing to the strengths of the players.

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  140. I disagree with the idea that Rodgers will be sent packing if we don't get Top 4 this year. I think he'd be given at least through next season (pending those results).


    But I do think Balotelli gets an extremely harsh criticism. He didn't play well yesterday, but this idea that he wasn't trying was a tad harsh. i believe he looked more frustrated than disinterested. The announcers covering the game for the American broadcast were actually looking for reasons to criticize him.


    Peoples' dislike of Balotelli is affecting their judgments of his play thus far when he's been continually hung out to dry by our style of play.

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  141. Phil MooreBabbthanThompson5:02 pm, October 20, 2014

    Obvioulsy we have a defensive coach, but assuming he's the same one we had last term, shouldn't his position be questioned before the new players? He's taken one of the best centre backs in the league and turned him into Djimi Traore.

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  142. We have been struggling the whole season though.

    "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein

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  143. Rodgers would not have been given all this money without some guarantee that we will finish top 4. It will be very financially damaging if we do not and FSG have shown how ruthless they are.

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  144. im 4000 posts and counting jay jay so dont bank on it haha

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  145. Terry McDermotts perm5:41 pm, October 20, 2014

    As a whole performances under Kenny were way better than this.

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  146. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/163617-rodgers-signs-new-long-term-lfc-deal


    He's not going anywhere unless we get relegated.

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  147. i nearly turned off yesterday due to us lumping the ball up in the air that is dunn and caulkers forte ........what funnier though is when we kept it on the ground they scored for us , i mean come on whats that telling us

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  148. what i cant work out is where this route one lump it up to a loan striker has come from it makes no sense ....about 3 times yesterday balo had the ball on the wing and was furthest man forward just what is the point of that

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  149. Jordan Ibe scored at the weekend.I want his Derby loan cut short.He isn't polished, but Ibe brings direct running.
    We only really see that from Raheem Sterling.It would be good to have another option.

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  150. BR wants to win lottery, buy twenty players hoping to get a gem. People Wow. what a great manager. Look at the sum spent and judge over his three transfer window . show lack of tactical acumen.

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  151. Look, I am not calling for his head but FSG will be watching very closely. I really do not think they will take the news well if we had to finish outside the top 4 considering how well we did last season and FSG have not dished out more than £160m over the last two seasons to see us finish outside the top 4 this season. I think it is safe to say that heads will roll.

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  152. In fact the game of Real Madrid we need Gerard. But please defense should be our target. Let me tell you something. Please BR. Use sterling behind two holding striker and you will see the result. Do not waist the speed of this young man as winger .

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  153. Don't be surprised if you see him in goal then

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  154. I agree with you. But I don't think Brendan's head would be the first to roll.

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  155. Which is exactly why he shouldn't be playing as the lone striker up top.

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  156. Why mention race then? Why not just say he's lazy we get the point. From another black man :)

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  157. We signed Hendo for 20m and ppl were moaning about his performance. Look at him now

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  158. A little perspective here. He said he feels Gerard should be rested but Rodgers would not be bold enough to do so. So he feels a little injury will force the situation and give him an enforced rest.

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  159. The problem is BR is rotating the squad to much. The team not getting the
    Right chance to gel together. Last season BR didn't have the depth to be able to
    make many changes now he does he is doing a Rafa stunt.....He needs to pick his best 11 and stick with them only make changes if there is injuries....

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  160. I understand your point. This situation will maybe happen in the future when LFC squad is big enough and you need to add just 1-2 players per season. then buying expensive makes sense.


    This summer plan was to make squad bigger an create depth. That's why 9 players were bought. This squad will become good later this year and in the next season. That's why expectations this year are no more then top 4. Suarez is simply irreplacable and without Sturridge we are without 50+ goals per season. No club can handle this without large investment.

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  161. finally somebody gets it!!!

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  162. I know what he said, the best we can pray he gets injured for a few weeks. Like I said previously he's a disgrace wishing an injury on our captain and best ever player just because he thinks he knows better than Rodgers, which he clearly doesn't.

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  163. We all wish the new signings would hit the ground running. But the reality is that some players need time to adapt to a completely different league. Some have had injuries so this complicates it. I remember Hendo not looking at all like a player for us when he came in, and that was a move from another Premier team. Now he's one of our best players.

    Give them a chance and give the management a chance to sort it out. It's frustrating after such an amazing 13-14 season, but Suarez made the team tick. Is going to take a while to change the team dynamics and get the balance right. At the moment it's a mess.

    However, i really wish Rodgers had done what we all knew was needed and brought in an experienced out and out front man. He's now paying for that with Sturridge injured, as we all knew would happen. Lambert is not the one and Borini should have been shipped out.

    Btw. Can people stop talking about Gerrard like they are. The issue is not Gerrard, it's how Rodgers utilises him. He will learn, but it's not easy given Gerrard's standing at the club. There'd be a change of tone if he scored the winner against Real..... dreaming I know.

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  164. It's far different situation. At that time many good players were sold and worse were brought in. Now only Suarez was sold. Many young and talented players were brought in. Maybe this ear will not be successful as last but only real optimists would believe we will be winning the league this year. Not without Suarez and now also without Sturridge. Without those two players we lack 50+ goals per season.

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