27 Jan 2015

Confirmed line-up vs. CFC: £62m trio benched; Mourinho springs surprise by dropping Cahill

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has named a very strong side for tonight's much-anticipated League Cup semi-final with Chelsea.

FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno, Markovic, Gerrard, Coutinho, Sterling

SUBS: Ward, Johnson, Lovren, Lambert, Lallana, Allen, Balotelli

CHELSEA: Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry (c), Filipe Luis; Matic, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa.

SUBS: Cech, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ake, Ramires, Remy and Drogba.

* Skrtel and Gerrard return after being rested at the weekend.

* Emre Can starts his eighth game in a row, once again at the expense of £20m summer signing Dejan Lovren.

* It looks like Markovic will be playing on the right again, ostensibly as a wing-back. For me, he's wasted in that role; it requires far too much defending/running/tracking back, and Markovic should be spending most of his time attacking (IMO).

* Gary Cahill has (seemingly) paid the price for Chelsea's 4-2 drubbing at the weekend. The England man scored one of Chelsea's goals, but that wasn't enough to save him from the chop. It's a surprise considering the importance of the game, and Zouma's comparative inexperience.

I still can't see past Chelsea winning this game. My prediction: 3-1

Author:


171 comments:

  1. 3 times with luck ;-)

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  2. This trophy will be valuable because we beat Chelsea, FA is big by itself, with top4 finish, I am ok with the season....

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  3. Is there any away goal rule in case of 2-2 tie?

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  4. I think cahill has been dropped because he couldnt handle Sterling last week, I think there was was a peno for us there if he was playing.

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  5. Yes, away goals count at the end of 120 minutes.

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  6. Agree Mourinho claims that Sterling does not really worry him yet he puts in a more mobile defender

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  7. It is a funny one isn't it? Not a fan.

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  8. I could change my mind though if we draw 2-2

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  9. Away goals should not count, ever...

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  10. ha and probably put a bid in to buy him tomorrow

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  11. Why am I so hyped for this match? It's just the league cup. Something about it feels bigger and more important than that tho. It's not just that it's Chelsea either. There's something really at stake here.

    It's probably that so much is on the line in terms of the club's future -- if we can get a trophy this season it will be much easier to retain the players we need to retain, it will enforce the authority of the manager, it will make it easier to sell the club to prospective recruits. It's a big one!

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  12. I would rather have Markovic at RWB than Johnson.

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  13. I'd rather have me than Johnson :-)

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  14. Winning the Carling Cup did not save Dalglish his job...

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  15. I'd rather have me ma at right back than Johnson

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  16. Hello, I hope we win tonight ;-)

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  17. A stick would be better than Rodgers mate

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  18. I know, let it go- for the match at least? Enjoy it...

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  19. I just said I hope we win.

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  20. Did Coutinho just nutmeg Oscar? Love it! Spirited start from the Reds

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  21. Gerrard v Matic is a great battle. You can see what Rodgers is trying to do, disturbing the Chelsea engine room. Interesting!

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  22. Good on Sterling for that little bit of revenge on Costa.

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  23. One day, the universe itself will take revenge on Diego Costa.

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  24. A glorious day that shall be. I'm hoping it starts tonight with the Skrminator.

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  25. He is one of the dirtiest players I've ever seen. Which is surprising in itself because most elephants are quite cleanly creatures.

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  26. Ha ha ha. He's more junk than trunk.

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  27. His teeth would make fine ornaments- now what to do with those ears?

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  28. And yet I would swap any one of our players for him. Stick Costa up front for Liverpool and this tie would be long since won : (

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  29. Don't I know it :( Perhaps Balotelli can come off the bench and finish one of these chances.

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  30. Yep. Every time Gerrard is directly against him, he wins, oddly enough...

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  31. Sew them together, make a sleeping bag

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  32. Was any of those two a penalty?

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  33. I hope we can play like this in the Europa Cup, I think we'd stand a good chance of winning it if we do

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  34. Oh Sakho. Still giving the opposition a freebie once a game.

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  35. Diego Costa displaying a complete misinterpretation of the term philately.

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  36. I like your new picture thing. That's still what computers look like, in my mind.

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  37. Gerrard' legs have gone get Lallana on

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  38. the ref shook ivanovics hand before he booked him I think the ref knew something :)

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  39. Typical Lucas foul....grrr

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  40. we had to score anyway...... game on

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  41. ONE - NIL CHELSEA - ALL GLEN JOHNSONS FAULT - AND BR WANTS TO KEEP HIM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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  42. I think moving Henderson wide, even though I understand why it's happened, is a mistake. Gerrard does not offer enough in there to justify reducing Henderson's influence. Would prefer to see Sterling out there now that Balotelli's on, with Lallana for Gerrard.

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  43. It's always GJ's fault - even when he's not playing.

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  44. REALITY CHECK ONCE AGAIN = No striker = no bloody chance

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  45. If glen johnson is earmarked to pick up Ivanovic then its the fault of karma

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  46. Rodgers and his inexperience ruined it once again

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  47. Wwe wont score = FULL STOP ===== ALL OVER

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  48. Its not over or his fault

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  49. Not yet it isn't

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  50. we have to score anyway......

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  51. SKIRTEL - BREAK COSTAS NOSE PLEASE

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  52. so was Suarez.. its what champions are made of

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  53. At least we can focus on the europa league

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  54. Fucking Johnson. If we can get a pound of sausages out of him it is great business.

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  55. The fat lady is not clearing her throat yet .....

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  56. why hasn't Gerrard been subtituted. Playing one man short

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  57. Desperation last throw of dice Rickeeeeeeeeeeee

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  58. I think the idea is freekick in the D

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  59. That's why we have not been playing with a striker.

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  60. gerrards legs went 3years back but BR can't see that

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  61. ramires is as Brazilian as Lucas

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  62. lambert wide chipping it in....... what the

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  63. Lost the plot as soon as Johnson came on :-(

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  64. Lambert shot on 120 minutes tells you all

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  65. I thought we were excellent just needed that wee bit of luck- now excuse me I'm going home with Glen Johnson

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  66. Lambert tries to score with his foot...did i just see that

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  67. Not enough quality

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  68. Vostro genio? Stupid prick!!!

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  69. they lulled us in during the first leg at home. Mourinho ALWAYS all out defends in the first leg away. We were shell shocked today we expected domination not realising that Chelsea in the 1st leg were somewhat playing to instruction.

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  70. Shit Balotelli, Shit Henderson - Captain in waiting !!!...what a joke??Has he ever scored from that distance..
    BR you've time and again proved you're an average manager

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  71. It was always going to be tough after not getting the win at Anfield ...
    and we needed to score . Just have to win the FA Cup and Europa now !

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  72. Rodgers took the pace of our game step by step..glen jhonson then balo and lambert..y he brought ibe back then..and lallana..playing gerrard till end..he failed this test

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  73. was that what it was. seemed like a lot of 9 irons out there today

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  74. BR sucks big time...what was the need of bringing a sucker (Balotelli)

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  75. No that's the main problem , We start without a decent striker relying on Raheem to score goals .

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  76. BUT Migno stepped up tonight

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  77. I bet Henderson will fail to head a ball into an open post.
    Captain my foot !!!

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  78. do you call that an improvement...I bet the result could have different hadn't he come to play

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  79. Poor substitutions from BR as always

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  80. Don't know what planet he's on but it aint this one !

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  81. If you check out RAY's optimism levels all through the game I think you'll find its sarcasm

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  82. For me we lost this game after the 3 golden chances missed in the first half (Sterling, Moreno, Coutinho). We have a serious problem with decision making in the final third, the players seem to get all excited. It reminds you how young the team is.

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  83. that's not optimism...it's called delusion

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  84. i meant lack of

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  85. John Henry please order B R to sell - sell - sell sell and buy one quality striker

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  86. So hard to try and keep any faith in Balotelli

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  87. but why bring balotelli and GJ at such a crucial stage...it was a complete mockery of the first leg..why not Lallana

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  88. Borini anyone?

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  89. what a fool BR is to bring Balotelli and GJ at the crucial stage of the game

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  90. Yes I've given him the benefit of doubt but he is too lackadaisical and then tries to beat the entire opposition and fails

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  91. I agree. Lallana should have started. Gerrards 2 goals against Bournemouth showed his level. Fool me once............

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  92. Henderson header?

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  93. (Borini)one more member from the league of ghosts that BR has created...

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  94. Borini , Ballotelli , Lambert .... not an average striker amongst them

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  95. Can this guy ever score?

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  96. what a fool BR is to bring Balotelli and GJ at the crucial stage of the game

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  97. i think its a miracle we only conceded one with a center mid, right back and Martin Skrtel playing central midfield. BR is a genius to get this result with that back three

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  98. We played well and created chances just struggled without a proper striker. I am disappointed but the team is playing well again

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  99. Seriously, where are you when we win?

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  100. One decent thing were he beat a couple of men. That is all he did right. The list of wrong is much longer.

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  101. And he's being asked to play too much back to goal, he's much more effective running at people from deeper

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  102. agreed. Hardly anyone beats an up for it Chelsea at home with a clinical finisher

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  103. Anyone know who that lad between the sticks was today? Where was that for the better part of 2 seasons?

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  104. Couts a real standout performer for me. Sparkling for most of the game.

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  105. Ray has set a bear trap that has caught at least 5 :D

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  106. Did Chelsea had a striker(i mean he was non existent)....Midfielder made the difference...Apart from Coutinho was there a midfielder who had the balls to cut through the defence and actually create any opportunity...
    Our whole midfield and defense was made to sweat by the trickery and pace of Hazard & Willian..
    Alas, what we have are not called midfielders in a footballing sense..

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  107. Because we have no real striker. We didn't buy one in the summer. NOT A REAL ONE.

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  108. Ok first things first can ANYONE explain the ref shaking Ivanovic's hand before he booked him? :D

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  109. talk to me when BRs side beats any top5 side

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  110. sell the bunch of crap

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  111. I was even more surprised when they swapped shirts at the end

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  112. REF: "see you in the bath son"

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  113. Haha me to, have you seen the game console thing they've done, think it comes pre-loaded with loads of the old games

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  114. You can't sell poor supporters there plenty of supply and no demand for them.

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  115. miracle? I thought it was good defending by the three of them in both legs keeping two or three of the best goal scorers and creaters in europe from scoring, costa and hazard and oscar have been scoring for fun, credit where credits due, of course they made mistakes but all defences do, chelski made thier mistakes as well, we had three or four real chances and didnt take them, so another way of looking at it is we maybe should have won it 3 or four 1 tonight, and who would you blame for the unmarked goal scorere tonight.

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  116. Rodgers is such a genius, subbing Marcovic with Balottelli... couldn't figure out a better way to help Chelsea.

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  117. Courtois kept them in it in both legs - It takes a class striker to beat him and unfortunately we don't have one . Looking forward to Studge coming back against WH and glad Migno seems to have found some form ... will be tested against Downing and Carrol

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  118. he's subbing never make a sense to me...
    out of the world and utterly poor

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  119. What Oliver and Ivanovic ??

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  120. We got torn to shreds at the back I thought. Ramires burst through twice as did MATIC and Hazard and Costa was blowing us out down the sides. Tactically they were spot on. We were resolute but the back three minus Sakho should get blown away.

    In answer to your question I think If Ivanovic goes forward (one of the biggest and most powerful players in the league) then one of Gerrard, Skrtel, Can or Henderson have to take him surely. I know they had Zouma and Terry on the pitch but the names I mentioned should have been picking up the danger men from set pieces.

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  121. And p@nts.....

    Bizarrely, this one doesn't appear to make it past the word filter.

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  122. We are actually doing o.k with no strikers this season (ones that suit the style of play of the team), can't wait for Sturridge to come back (worried how long he'll stay fit though). Sterling isn't a striker, Chelsea defence looked like they had him in their pocket all night. He's almost always looking to pass responsibility in the box onto someone else, which is a good quality if you are an assist type player but not so good if your a striker. We'll see where we are with him if he's gonna sign a new deal, be a shame if he goes. Him, Coutinho and Lallana together will worry most PL defences, bit lightweight when we come up against the cream though.

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  123. yeah he is one of the worst substituters I have ever seen. Alongside Houllier

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  124. It's almost cringe worthy to watch. He looks fitter, I'll give him that, but he still doesn't look like he knows exactly where he should be on the pitch.

    Somewhere, someone has got a set of LFC striker voodoo dolls (that's the only explanation I can think of), I just hope their Sturridge one is finally broken

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  125. you hit several nails on the head there

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  126. I think he had to play him, the first team squad looked tired in the second half. they put a lot in last week in the first leg and against bolton. the first 11 can't keep playing 2-3 high tempo matches a week, the players have to be used in rotation. the bench isn't performing well at the moment, which i guess is why they are on the bench.

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  127. Like there will be a few balls on Carrolls head come Saturday ;-)

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  128. Balo had eyes all over Ivanovic right up to the moment the ball was kicked. Caught ball watching, but then I suppose that's a strikers natural instinct, pity he can't apply that at the other end of the pitch.
    I think your right that someone else should have been picking him up.

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  129. I had to look that up. Your highbrow humor is not welcome here.

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  130. So much nonsense. We OUTPLAYED Chelsea first leg. To indicate "it was all part of the plan" is ridiculous. We were better than Chelsea again today in the first half. We were not shellshocked by any stretch of the imagination.

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  131. Great game! Showed some real belief. I am completely perplexed by bring Balo in because he did nothing. Lallana would have been much better bet. Johnson for Sakho was a bit strange as well. I just assume Sakho was gassed because if he wasn't then that was an error in my mind as well......now that we are out, I hope we bring that energy to the coming weeks and get some strikers and some more wins!,,

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  132. You're so blatantly anti-rodgers it hurts my eyes.

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  133. Knew you were going to jump on that post.....I actually was expecting more weird actually.....

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  134. Sterling was too isolated & played with his back to goal. I thought Balo did ok coming on but after Hendo's miss I knew it was over. We really need a quality striker in addition to Sturridge.

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  135. Agreed, great game, sterling is not a striker, but he's better than what we have (fit) if we don't sign a striker this window, it's no cl next season, and it will be tough even with a prolific striker, here's hoping.

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  136. Not enough quality up front really, especially in the first leg. Our set plays as per usual leave a lot to be desired. The corners was awful today. On the whole we did all we could.

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  137. Just a thought:


    Suarez bites someone and gets a 4 month ban


    Costa tackles one player, and stomps on two other occasions, all in the same game.


    Which player's actions are more dangerous?

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  138. What does it matter if Liverpool played better? The team lost; the club is out of the competition, so it means nothing.

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  139. Hahaha you made me laugh!!!

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  140. well I'm sure matters that we're playing better than we did a few games ago, improving, and I know we lost to the best team in the league but a few weeks ago I would never have said we would put the wind up chelsea in the semi final of the cup, in my opinion it does mean something that we are getting better, altough I am far from happy we are out of the competition and no where near where we want Liverpool to be

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  141. Why we did not start with two up top is a complete mystery. Oh well yet another disappointment to a disastrous season. Heads are going to roll at the end of the season and rightly so.

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  142. poor are the supporters who choose to stay in a dreamy state where i doubt they win championships too...
    no wonder there is no shortage of delusional people like you. And ironically a club with a majority of such supporters is nothing but doomed to lurk around the mid table , without achieving any thing worthwhile.

    Talk to me when this bunch wins a trophy. Because that is not going to happen under this very average breed of players and a clueless manager.
    I want the team to deliver. No one remembers the great play (a great fight). It's fine if that happens once in a while. But this is how average managers like BR work and come out with silly reasons-team played well, we deserved to win, bla bla...That's a bunch of crap they sell to fans like you.The fact is they are not good enough !!.Hope you know what matters in the end is a result !(no matter how you get it)..Something that separates a pro from an amateur.. .
    Mou has beaten him every time.
    I can give you 100 reasons why the current set up is not good enough to achieve anything worthwhile.
    No one can deny the fact that trophies and cups do the talking.

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  143. Totally agree with you..
    I think majority of fans buy the idea that Mr. Rodgers sells them every time.
    We played well, we deserved to win, we needed that stroke of luck ..bla bla...This is nothing but a pure piece of shite.

    I think it's obvious that FSG know by now that this guy can't deliver. Simply because may be he is not good enough. Time and again he has proven that with his poor tactics and hapless transfer activities.
    I am sure FSG will replace him in the summer. Because no one gives you 3 years and 200 million to get kicked out of every competition and every race !!

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  144. Why on earth that BR replace injured sakho with jhonson? full back for center back position? Did anyone know the reason? We have lovren on bench.......did you know why Jaimie?

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  145. Sorry pal, we are going home.........

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  146. Johnson is one of BR's best mates. That is why.

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  147. totally wrong question! it should be highlighted that Can cried in agony after being stamped! he shouldve been booked, im sure there will be an article about it soon, Shame on Can

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  148. Jordon Ibe should have played not Balottelli.

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  149. Did I say the team didn't lose!? I was addressing the points that were made in the above comment, im not sure why you're jumping down my throat. Or maybe you think we were shellshocked? No, didnt think so.

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