Despite scoring the winning goal against Udinese on Thursday, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has dropped Jordan Henderson to the bench for this afternoon's game with West Ham.
Rodgers has a counter-productive habit of dropping goalscorers, and in this case, Henderson should feel disappointed with not making the starting XI.
Seriously,what is the point in players trying really hard to improve if the manager doesn't reward that improvement?
I'm not Henderson's biggest fan but he scored in his last game, and his all round performance was good, wo why doesn't he deserve to start the game?
FULL TEAM: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Allen, Lucas, Gerrard;, Sterling, Shelvey, Downing.
SUBS: Cole, Henderson, Coates, Carra, Suso, Morgan, Jones
This is a fairly uninspiring team: Six defensive-minded players; A central midfielder up-front, and Stewart Downing.
On the plus side, it's good to see Adam Morgan on the bench, but why not just start him? If it didn't work out then Rodgers could just sub him off in the first half, just like he did with Suso a few weeks ago.
From the players in the squad above, I would've gone with the following team:
-------------------- Reina
Johnson --- Skrtel ---- Agger --- Downing
------------------ Lucas
-------- Henderson --- Gerrard
Sterling ------------------- Enrique
----------------- Morgan
Can't Joe Allen be rested every now and again...?
Jaimie Kanwar
Rodgers has a counter-productive habit of dropping goalscorers, and in this case, Henderson should feel disappointed with not making the starting XI.
Seriously,what is the point in players trying really hard to improve if the manager doesn't reward that improvement?
I'm not Henderson's biggest fan but he scored in his last game, and his all round performance was good, wo why doesn't he deserve to start the game?
FULL TEAM: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Allen, Lucas, Gerrard;, Sterling, Shelvey, Downing.
SUBS: Cole, Henderson, Coates, Carra, Suso, Morgan, Jones
This is a fairly uninspiring team: Six defensive-minded players; A central midfielder up-front, and Stewart Downing.
On the plus side, it's good to see Adam Morgan on the bench, but why not just start him? If it didn't work out then Rodgers could just sub him off in the first half, just like he did with Suso a few weeks ago.
From the players in the squad above, I would've gone with the following team:
-------------------- Reina
Johnson --- Skrtel ---- Agger --- Downing
------------------ Lucas
-------- Henderson --- Gerrard
Sterling ------------------- Enrique
----------------- Morgan
Can't Joe Allen be rested every now and again...?
Jaimie Kanwar
Jamie is the master. lol.. still wondering how you do it.
ReplyDeleteAssaidi not even on bench when even suarez is out, this is just sad for the boy, hes wasting his career here I hope he leaves in jan. Rodgers is clearly ruining his football life, such a terrible treatment, feel so sorry for him
ReplyDeleteHow the hell is Downing still getting a start?
ReplyDeleteallen starts again lol another no show ????
ReplyDeleteGet a Life man; Rodgers obviously has a plan to build the player. If you ran the team we'd have 12 and 13 year olds walking into the team. Surely the youth members have to work towards or earn their place in a Premier League starting 11!
ReplyDeleteit's beyond belief that he features in the first team
ReplyDeleteHe's 24, almost the same age as Suarez.
ReplyDeleteI would rather have henderson than allen at this stage unless allen scores today ...then i would have allen's baby (ps i am guy) and downing should be have been a menace like Bale by now...come on lads..!!
ReplyDeleteSeymore - please be civil to other posters or don't bother posting at all.
ReplyDelete----------------------Reina
ReplyDelete-------Johnson----Skertel--Agger---Downing
-------------Lucas---Allen--Gerrard---------
----Sterling--------Shelvey--------Enrique
Doubt that team can win
My team would have been
---------------Reina
Johnson Coates Skertel Agger
Gerrard Allen Lucas Enrique
Suso Shelvey
There should be NO ROOM for Downing or Henderson they've had 18 months and there no Lucas.
Why is Assaidi not getting in the team? Makes no sense whatsoever. And still Downing??? Why not put Assaidi upfront? His pace alone is sure to cause West Ham problems.
ReplyDeleteHe surely is on some handsome wages so no need to feel sorry for him at all. And I have no doubt at all the if he works his socks off in training he'll be picked for the match-day squad. Team selection should be based on performance, on merit, not on feeling sorry if someone has to be left out.
ReplyDelete'there no Lucas'? I can clearly see him play for us today.
ReplyDeleteReading some of the comments above, Assaidi must be nearly as good as Messi. Unfortunately most times I have seen him play for us he wasn't.
ReplyDeletehes defo top quality when he plays hes done really well especially in europe but he needs to get a good run in the prem to adjust to the pace he is better than downing without a doubt
ReplyDelete@Anteater71 ...I'll try again 'Henderson and Downing are no Lucas' as in they are not as good as him..
ReplyDeleteNice try though
So Enrique goes off and he's got a 7 subs.
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS THE BEST OPTION ?
A) Bring on Coates and move Agger to Left Back ?
B) Bring on Suso and drop Downing to Left back
C) Bring on Jones to replace Enrique
or D) Bring on Joe Cole a player whose form is terrible offers no attacking threat.
Tell you what Rogers should Bring on Carragher & Henderson and be done with it.
Terrible substitution and he doesn't appear to be learning nearly quickly enough.
Top class goal early on, passing well, a class above this long ball dross, too easy really so enter self destruct mode, a penalty, an own goal, a red card coming up next!....
ReplyDeletethey're English lessons done
ReplyDeleteFor people like me, who are not native speakers, it might at times be difficult to get the message in situations like this. Didn't intend to give a lesson, simply understood what was written there.
ReplyDeleteapologies thought you were being sarcastic
ReplyDeleteJamie good article if you put enrique back to left back. Told you you`d be a better manager but if you are supporting him then stop moaning or just like me admit he aint good enough. Believe or not believe mate. I don`t believe in the muppet.
ReplyDeleteWhile he has shown quite some nice skills he seemed to still be a bit too soft for the Prem. He managed to shine in the Europa League at times, but in the League he didn't set the world alight.
ReplyDeleteliverpool 1 nil up cole on 2 -1 down.....losing faith in rodgers....henderson MOM so use cole....no asadi......no wisdom....no yesil or morgan...
ReplyDeleteyou mean jones the goalkeeper??
ReplyDeleteThis is the most positive message I've ever read coming from you. Kudos! Keep up the positive thinking :-)
ReplyDeletePS Gerrard needs to be taken out of the team for a while hes playing terrible
ReplyDeleteGerrard should retire if he really likes Liverpool FC
ReplyDeleteAssaidi produced more threat than Downing
Shelvey as striker? LMAO. Where is YESIL?!
Sahin should replace Gerrard
liverpool is getting worst match by match....but we couldn't expect mid table teams win against west ham......the way the dominate with diame......
ReplyDeletegerrad as usual...own goal and played horrible....but still in field....and of all people,,,,joe cole came in as subsitute...wtf
whoops i meant Carragher
ReplyDeleteSo what your saying is Downing deserves his place because his performances lately (or ever come to think of it) merit it?
ReplyDeleteYeah, why did Rodgers tell Gerrard to head into his own net.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for Henderson to come on in place of someone useful.
ReplyDeleteI think Rogers may start to lose the fans an supporters NOT because they are fed up with him but his INSISTENCE on selecting players who have shown no justification in there place in the side.
What actually happens if we finish 10th this season?
Has anyone considered the implications?
If the benchmark is to finish higher than last season and Rogers doesn't , how much time will he get from FSG ?
Brendan started out so well selecting young hungry players but increasingly he's reverting to players who have not shown any fight or skill.
I'm not surprised anymore expect to see Henderson come on soon ...so last years failures are being selected over the supposed young hungry players in suso,morgan etc.
ReplyDeleteWhat the hell does Brendan see in Cole and Downing they must be doing something in training that they don't produce in games, it's getting ridiculous.
Morgans on the bench
ReplyDeletebeen saying this for a while, but it wont happen
ReplyDeleteYesil hasn't really looked the part when he played. He may need a few more years to be ready for first team action.
ReplyDeleteNice goal for much maligned Joe Cole after a terrific through-ball by Sterling.
ReplyDeleteIf we lose, I hope BR mans up and takes the blame, this is the worst team selection I've seen all season. And Joe Cole for Enrique?! Why not bring in Wisdom and send Johnson to LB?! BR is too blame if we lose today
ReplyDeletehenderson has just been inroduced, and no striker till the end
ReplyDeletewell it just happened Lucas is off and henderson is there to introduce proper quality, downing and henderson on the pitch 2 usless sh1tes
ReplyDeleteShelvey never touched it lol
ReplyDeleteGet in there. Equally much maligned Henderson gives assist as Liverpool take the lead.
ReplyDeleteOh My!!!! Joe Cole just levelled?! Am speechless, well at this point am desperate for a win. Downing or Allen better score the winner before I forgive BR for almost ruining my week
ReplyDeletewow a goal from cole and shelvey, didn't expect that wtf???!! are we being flukey??!!
ReplyDeleteTrue, but who cares?
ReplyDeleteIts good to see him get his first assist in 18 months lol
ReplyDeleteYou would blame the manager of a football club for ruining your week? Get a life, for your own sake. It's not half bad.
ReplyDeleteJust pointing it out before everyone starts saying what a world beater he is...
ReplyDeleteDidn't watch him train, so I cannot judge, sorry. While 'shop-window' springs to mind, and I am not a fan of Downing at all, he works harder defensively than Assaidi does. And he doesn't look too lightweight for the Prem. Still hope Assaidi does well for us.
ReplyDeleteNo, I might only be a bit thick at times. :-)
ReplyDeleteLol. A loss won't ruin my week but I'll feel much better going to the pub knowing that liverpool isn't in the bottom half of the table. Henderson, Cole and Downing are putting in good shifts, BR has won himself a selection headache IMO. I like this kind of headache :)
ReplyDeleteNot sure about this one. He's not Downing, is he.
ReplyDeleteIts sarcasm mate, good for him to get a goal and assist in a week, hope it makes him believe he is good enough, though i seriously doubt he is.
ReplyDeleteAll right, didn't get the sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteWell then, don't drink and drive :-)
ReplyDeleteI thought we were extremely fortunate Diame went off injured.
ReplyDeleteUp till his injury he was a beast for them in midfield and we didn't look like scoring.
No coincidence we scored 2 goals shortly after he went off.
Really happy for that 3 points though.
Great start, but very concerning how we lost our way when Enrique went off (mind you, they were 2 duff goals). Terrified when Joe Cole came on, with all his flicks and lack of retention, but fair play he scored a really clever goal - watch the way he dummies so the defender slides, and then clips it over him. And Henderson made a great contribution again.
ReplyDeleteCertainly over the last month or so, players like Enrique, Johnson and Henderson have put in some good shifts.
Very pleased. A bit relieved. Should have had a pen at the end. Time for a bev.
Oh, and expression on Sam Allardyce's face... priceless!! LOL.
ReplyDeleteIf he cant dislodge Downing it must crush his moral
ReplyDeleteWow Henderson finally comes on and changes the game. At last common sense prevails....
ReplyDeleteDon't know, really. Just imagine we had a centre forward last season instead of a six foot something donkey. Downing may have been credited with quite a few assists.
ReplyDeletePossibly but unlikely, Downing seems to have no self belief at all, i personally think he is out of his depth at liverpool and knows it
ReplyDeletehats of to BR and the boys today we were amazing i could not believe my eyes when we went on to win this game it shows u how far we've come under BR always believed in him four points away from 4th and 7 points away from 3rd come on boys get in there
ReplyDeleteI bet the boo boys were waiting for LFC to lose this match so that they can make there negative energy known.
ReplyDeleteWhere are all of you negative posters now? Can you never post anything when win LFC wins?
Lol, Joe Cole scores. Not so stupid now huh?
ReplyDeleteI don't understand all the negativity here. Rodgers made a team selection that won the game. Team selection is far more complex than who scored in the last game. Players have to understand that and the good professionals do. The bad professionals, well we don't really want to pander to them.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing, downing admittedly has not bagged loads of goals, or set the world alight, but he is not the reason we have only 5 wins out of 16. He made a few very good crosses yesterday. Credit where it is due. It seems people make immoveable judgements on players. We shouldn't be afraid to praise people for good work just because it means contradicting an earlier judgement.
And next 4 matches are 'probable' wins...still get annoyed with plastic fans that expect everything after just a few months.
ReplyDeletetrue liverpool is still in the development phases but we are developing pretty nicely and with a new striker or two a right winger and a left back we might just be in there for a champions league spot
ReplyDelete