4 Oct 2012

'It was disappointing!' - Brendan Rodgers blasts 'lazy' Liverpool...

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has criticised Liverpool's defensive display during tonight's 3-2 defeat to Udinese at Anfield.

Speaking to the Press after the game, Rodgers admitted that defensive problems have blighted Liverpool since the start of the season, but vowed to work hard on improving things at the back. He said:

"The problems we had in the first 15 minutes of the second half have been with us since the start of the season.

"I thought we were lazy in our play, loose and sloppy. We lost concentration and all of sudden we're 3-1 down.

"It was disappointing to give away such poor goals.

"We can't have to score 3, 4 or 5 goals to win game. We just concede goals too easily and that's something we need to work on".


When asked whether Giampiero Pinzi's rugby tackle on Stewart Downing merited a red card, Rodgers (thankfully) did not use it as an excuse:

"It's irrelevant really. If it's a bad tackle it's a bad tackle but it's not an excuse for not winning the game. I'm more concerned with our concentration".

A few observations from the game:

* Glen Johnson made yet another defensive error that led to a goal. That's 5 now this season and it's only October (!) How many goals is Johnson going to cost the club this year?

* Own goal aside, Coates had a good game overall, and he made an array of great interceptions/blocks throughout the game.

* Great to see Suarez grab another goal. His confidence will be growing, and hopefully he's on a goalscoring roll now.

* Pepe Reina was back on top form; a couple of great saves, and not really at fault for any of the goals.

Jaimie Kanwar


38 comments:

  1. Fair comments all round.

    Agree with you about \Johnson, its his concentration tha\t lets him down, and a bit more fitness wouldn't go amiss - he's often puffing and panting in the latter stagesof games, and also doesn't give everything on his shot blocking- another half hearted sideways turn leading to another goal. I like him as a player but he needs to man up! Too many sloppy passes and attempts to pass the ball through the opposition player.

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  2. Observations?

    Carragher needs to retire ASAP. A total liability in any game he plays in

    LFC lack penetration and class in the final third. Rodgers is correct to wrap Suarez up in cotton wool. Lack of quality depth up front is worrying

    THe balance between defense and attack simply isn't productive. Teams are scoring from almost every chance they have. Against us, the opposition's conversion rate must be immense.


    I'd look to buy a top center hald ASAO


    We'll get better in time under Rodgers. I expect inconsistent results as we lack class to punish team we dominate. This won't be last result like this. We need to stay patient and get behind his vision

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  3. Great performance overall. Skysports says 76% possession and a 91% pass success rate! Just hope the result doesn't affect the confidence gained from the Norwich game.

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  4. Blaming Johnson for the 1st goal is nonsense. Carragher's hopeless punt upfield surrendered possession. Johnson tried to win it back and bring the ball under control. He failed... they scored. If Carragher had played it simple to anyone in midfield we would have kept the ball. Johnson has been awesome this season. Small minded wannabe JK doesn't think so.

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  5. 74% possession. Incredible to lose, but let no one play the possession card. That was the italian gameplan. Feeble at the back we are.

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  6. He needs to blast himself for not having a back up plan when the opposition decide to play high pressure .which they obviously will do when faced with defenders that have no pace and poor passing ability( carra) I worked in professional football for over 30 years and have never known any coach or manager to not have a plan b the top ones have a plan a b c d ie Raffa .Reading is where this guy belongs he is a nice cheap option for John Henry .

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  7. good points, and spot on. think henderson is poor defending in midfield and allen needs more help, need a fit lucas asap.
    story of our season so far good possession and playing well but no points.
    micah richards would be an ideal replacement for johnson, who should be playing right wing or sold. (kelly not forgotten)
    borini lacks serious composure

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  8. that's hilarious. Coates actually nets an own goal but gets a pat on the back for a good performance. johnson loses possession that subsequently leads to a score and he's "costing the team". if you believe johnson is a bad defender then you're going to keep seeing those mistakes and he'll never be good enough for you. while you focus exclusively on a number of mistakes rather than (as you did with Coates) attempt to see the otherwise worthy efforts (he's wins a statistically significant number of defensive headers) you're never going to understand why he's of value to the team. I suppose your questions and outcries are mostly rhetorical but if you honestly want to try to understand why johnson starts every single game then you're going to need to change the things you look at.

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  9. Coates made one mistake. Big deal. His overall performance was good.

    Johnson has now made FIVE errors this season that have led to goals. He has a history of defensive mistakes, and this is the latest.

    Why don'[t you explain his alleged value to the team. Give me specific, measurable examples of how he actually improves the team. You seem to be such an expert on Johnson's qualities, so instead of just making generalisations, explain why he's so integral.

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  10. GLEN JOHNSON is a very attack minded defender.When he gets forward it's not only his responsibility to get back when play breaks down but it should be more of a collective approach to cover the position.
    ENGLAND has a good balance that allows him to attack but doesn't require him to be USAIN BOLT to recover because JAMES MILNER is intelligent enough to fill the gap.
    He's integral because he supports attacks has good technical ability and is always productive.I'm not saying he's a solid defender but he makes the team because managers see him as a extra creative outlet.

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  11. Carra played good enough. Stop taking a piss. He is only a liability if the other center is slow or the other backs are giving it away in foolish positions.

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  12. I don't think Carra's passing ability was an issue and his pace didn't cost us the 3 goals. Pretty sure Barcelona under Guardiola didn't play with a plan b or c, the reason being that massively changing tactics is just admitting you got it wrong. Its more important to employ the tactics right and not fall apart at the back. If you can't see why Rodgers deserves to be manager then I question what you spent those 30 years in professional football doing!

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  13. It was a good game to watch and i felt Downing played much better than before and was worth a mention. I actually felt that Coates could have done more and had an average game but it was good to see him trying to push up towards the end of the game.

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  14. unfortunately, possession and high pass success rate is worth nothing if liverppol can't score and opponents can put the ball in the net at every chance they get. udinese isn't the first team beating liverpool easily. the scoring part probably can't be solved till Jan , the sooner rodgers work on the defense the better.

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  15. 71% possession and we still lose. Wow

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  16. Well, tiki-taka or total football demands a lot from a full-back. When to defend and when to attack is a choice that a modern full-back has to make every second of the match. The fact that johnson fancies himself going forward, it makes him look for passes that a limited defender wouldn't. Johnson hasn't been too bad defending wise, but has contributed to a fair share of goals by losing possession or being caught out of position due to his attacking play. In spite of all the (fair?) criticism that Carra gets, you see a no-nonsense approach when it comes to defending. I think brendan should ask johnson to become a bit more conservative in attacking play. He need not bomb forward all the way to the box. How often do you find him at the edge of the box trying to find a way through and failing? Kelly seems to have stuck a proper balance. Stays defensively aware and still contributes to the attacking.

    Johnson isn't too bad defensively as it looks but he is definitely not great in attacking as he might think.

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  17. Apart from those 15 mins in second half IMO it was a very good game. Adjusting to the new style we will keep conceding. But I think the defence will b sorted out. I think Henderson should b gone ASAP. I can't c what he brings to the team every time he plays.

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  18. First-half possession of 77.9% tells its own story, we passed the ball 691 times compared to 173 times from Udinese. We just went to sleep for 20mins in the second-half, yet again it cost us at home. I thought we were superb overall and created plenty of chances, It was a great game to be at!!!!!..............................Borini neeeds a rest as he looks a little low on confidence!!!!

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  19. Liverpool have now scored 15 goals in 5 games an average of 3 per game and Suarez has 7 in total already!!!

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  20. Disagree totally on Carra, he was good!!!!

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  21. Agree with you Jaimie here.

    Anyone watched the game would have known Coates had a much better game than Johnson. It was unfortunate that he scored an own goal.
    More worrying thing is, Johnson's mistakes are not result of his inability but his laziness. I see him jogging back from other half while opposition is on attack. Any other defender would run for life.
    2 goals scored by opposition were built from right hand side. Young Robinson did so well compared to Johnson in his defensive work that it was hard to penetrate Liverpool defence from that side.
    Another thing, I notice Borini was given no service at all. He was running around for ball himself. If he is played as a striker, other players have to support him.

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  22. The manager and the players are held responsible for their unacceptable reaction in the second half of last night’s game against Udinese which led to an embarrassing European defeat for this historic club. Last night the manager and the players were lacking of winning and determination spirit. The players were looking unmotivated and were giving the impression that they were not representing in the peach the most successful team of UK in Europe but a team which has never won titles and participated in European competitions before. Additionally, it was also obvious last night that LFC is short of quality-winner players who can get in the peach and make the difference – to lift the team up when needs it. We are all trying to think positive about the ownership and coaching team of LFC from the beginning of the season but unfortunately the performances and results up to now do not justify their decisions and choices. The brute reality is that since this historic club fell into the hands of American ownerships things go from bad to worse. Both American ownerships have been ignorant of how European football is functioning and because of that fact their poor decisions they have been making assisted to the decline of this historic club. This should be a very serious issue of concern for the current ownership of LFC as its past, current, and future decisions will reflect on the future of this club for many years to come; and for sure all LFC’s pure fans in all over the world will not accept any further fall for their beloved team!

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  23. The manager and the players are held responsible for their unacceptable reaction in the second half of last night’s game against Udinese which led to an embarrassing European defeat for this historic club. Last night the manager and the players were lacking of winning and determination spirit. The players were looking unmotivated and were giving the impression that they were not representing in the peach the most successful team of UK in Europe but a team which has never won titles and participated in European competitions before. Additionally, it was also obvious last night that LFC is short of quality-winner players who can get in the peach and make the difference – to lift the team up when needs it. We are all trying to think positive about the ownership and coaching team of LFC from the beginning of the season but unfortunately the performances and results up to now do not justify their decisions and choices. The brute reality is that since this historic club fell into the hands of American ownerships things go from bad to worse. Both American ownerships have been ignorant of how European football is functioning and because of that fact their poor decisions they have been making assisted to the decline of this historic club. This should be a very serious issue of concern for the current ownership of LFC as its past, current, and future decisions will reflect on the future of this club for many years to come; and for sure all LFC’s pure fans in all over the world will not accept any further fall for their beloved team!

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  24. So the header winners isn't specific enough for you? He wins more defensive headers than most other wing backs in the league, go look it up. it's one stat and trust me, I'm no expert, but just by watching him play I know enough to see what he does well, it's not hard. I'm just pointing out that you're fixated on every mistake that he makes and unable to see what he does well. the main reason I think there is more to it is that he's started almost every game this season. Rodgers is either an idiot or he see some quality in the player. Just like Dalglish before him, and Hodgson, and Rafa. Every manager Johnson has ever had has played him as a regular starter so you work it out ... are they all idiots or is it maybe you who isn't seeing the whole picture?

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  25. I have noticed that we struggle to keep possession safely at the back. Under Dalglish we conceded a lot of goals like this and under Rodgers, this still has not been addressed, costing us most of our losses in the league or the draw vs. Man.City.

    In our style of play, patience is a virtue. However, forcing our players to be too patient may lead to taming too much that attacking instinct and we end up too timid both in front of goal and at the back. Our defenders lack the attacking mentality and this has allowed opposing players too much time on the ball. Against Udinese, Di Natale gave us plenty of opportunity to close in on him when he started juggling the ball, yet only 1 defender was close to him because our other players were lazily observing his tricks, allowing the goal-scoring Udinese player all the time he required to place it as he pleased.

    In front of goal we have improved, but at the back, we are too soft. Against Stoke, it's a MUST that we address this. If we are conceding two goals (honestly, unfortunately should have been more) against a below-par Norwich, three against Udinese and concede the only shot on target against Sunderland, our defence really needs to tighten up and be more aggressive. Stoke are known for the aggressive play and if we don't use our aggression WISELY, we are in for a though time. Own-goal aside, Coates was very solid at the back and stopped most of Di Natale's play because he was wisely aggressive with him and closed him down well. However, he was on his own. Against Stoke, a player like Coates could be really handy, especially against the towering Peter Crouch who is currently on-form.

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  26. Rodgers is another mistake,probably you all dont understand we need rafa to bring back glory to LFC,we are average in PL and funny team in europe.

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  27. He still only has a coversion rate of like 7% in the premiership! Makes a whole lot of chnaces for only a few goals!

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  28. Yeah cos Rodgers is Guardiola, and he has the same standard of quality and experince in his team! I think not! Of course a manager should have a plan b. If you think a manager should only have one single minded plan, and compare liverpool to barca you clearly dont have a scooby doo!

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  29. Going to sleep for 20 minutes isn't part of being 'superb' or a 'great game' for us. That is horrendous football. That is one big chunk of the game. Make it sound like nothing you do. Got to be on it from start to finish.

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  30. Well put. Its one thing using plan A with the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol, Pique, its another thing doing plan A with our lot. But oh I forget, Johnson is good as Alves, Allen is good as Xavi, Suarez is good as Villa, Agger is good as Pique, Skrtel is good as Puyol, its just that we have been very unlucky in recent years, are victims of bad officiating and its all Sith Lord Ferguson's fault(!)

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  31. I agree. Maybe if he didn't spend so much energy going forward to be the hero he'd have more energy for defense. But if that's BR's plan for his backs then GJ clearly isn't up to the task.

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  32. very tricky to decipher what parts this bloke intends to be sarcastic with and what parts he means to be truthful with.

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  33. BRENDAN RODGERS did have a plan b yesterday it was to play more direct.That doesn't mean launching it up field STOKE style like typical ENGLISH fans view a plan b.We looked more urgent after the introduction GERRARD and SUAREZ every pass was forward that changed our style visibly.
    We are trying to adopt the BARCELONA passing method but no one is directly comparing our players with the likes of MESSI, INIESTA, XAVI and co so sarcastic put downs by others towards our team is not needed.
    I agree RODGERS deserves to be manager and with him in charge our performances will improve.

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  34. Bless. Easy I thought, considering the '(!)' but I guess it varies from person to person. It is from 'But oh I forget....' to the end, which is all sarcastic. '(!)' is often used at the end of sentence to imply it is a sarcastic one. There was no full stop between 'But' and '(!)', ergo, that whole bit is sarcastic.

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  35. 'typical ENGLISH fans view' - Absolute pathetic, when people resort to stupid, offensive and sensational-istic generalization about a group of people. Learn to get your point across without offending a group of people. Pathetic, absolutely pathetic, the way people like you trot this generalization mindlessly. Kinda like the archaic logic that Kelvin Mackenzie used for Hillsborough, mindlessly, offensively and lazily stereotyping football fans as hooligans and animals but in a different and lower scale. Trash. Can't stand people like you, who generalize so offensively, mindlessly and pathetically.

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  36. DOUBLE STANDARDS!
    What a ridiculous over reaction.What is a ENGLISH persons view of a plan b since what I said is so wrong?
    Can't stand people like me because I make one statement you don't agree with.The award for most sensitive fan goes to.......... GAJ.
    The same thing you're mad at is exactly what you're doing making a judgement.Very clever give yourself a pat on the back.Putting what I said anywhere near what KELVIN MACKENZIE put our football family through is the most pathetic and out of order thing a LFC fan say.If you don't regret typing that comparison you need help.You say learn how to get my point across without being offensive (read what you type) clearly you should take your own advice.

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  37. I don't regret saying that at all, as I clearly said 'lower scale'. You do the same mindless, pathetic and lazy tarring of the same brush/generalization of a group of people, based on hollow, childish and rubbish stereotyping. Which is true. Mackenzie automatically assumed footballs fans were scum, hooligans and animals. You automatically assume English fans automatically think plan B is like Stoke-style. Similarities are there, on a LOWER SCALE, I repeat LOWER SCALE, in ENGLISH. You need help, if you can't understand the disclaimer of 'lower scale' and the lower scale similarities between you two. 'The same thing....judgment', er what? Did you just write that for the sake of writing it, even though it makes no sense as its not the same thing, as I am not offending a group of people (just you). I am criticizing your pathetic generalization of a group of people, shouting out double standards when you don't eve know what it is, as it just makes yourself look even more silly. Funny attempt at a riposte, your post but I guess mindless people do come up with pointless ripostes, when they find someone that criticizes them as they just have to fire back, even if it is just crap. No, I said learn to get your point across without offending a GROUP OF PEOPLE, I have merely offended YOU, that isn't the same as offending a group of people. So I do take my own advice, I am not offending a group of people. Bloody hell, it is bemusing and funny that I have to point such things to you, even though it is there in plain English. READ. I am English, I don't think plan B is the stupid, pathetic, lazy generalization you make. Bye, bye, as this is getting rather easy picking holes in your post

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  38. This is my last response on the matter be childish if you want and get the last word in but i have better things to do.Like your comparisons it doesn't matter on what scale this is getting pathetic.Saying LOWER SCALE doesn't make it any less of a comparison.Why are you confused at the word judgement that's what we have both made.That's what you do when you generalise or when you say stuff like "people like you" off one sentence i made.You need to go back to school.
    When ANDY CARROLL was rumoured to be going to WEST HAM a lot of fans came on here saying we should keep him for a plan b.Did they say that because he has good football skills or scores bags of goals?
    NO it was for his heading ability and strength if the football wasn't going to plan.When ENGLAND play the words you hear most regarding players of big stature is he gives you another option.You don't need to EINSTEIN to know what their talking about.UNDERSTAND NOW!
    You're actually right I probably made a sweeping generalisation by insulting some peoples intelligence I should have directed at you.This conversation or type tennis is over goodbye!

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