15 Feb 2013

'Disappointing' - Suarez, Enrique, Evans, & Hamann on pitiful Zenit loss

Same sh*t. Different day. Abject defensive mistakes continue to sabotage Liverpool's season, and the Reds 2-0 defeat to Zenit St. Petersburg in the Europa League last night underlined again the urgent need for major defensive changes this summer.

Once again, the usual suspects were at fault. For the first goal, Hulk had way too much space in midfield. Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard didn't get near him; Martin Skrtel backed off instead of pressing, gifting the Brazilian the time and space to bang it into the top corner.

The second goal was a comedy of errors: Allen and Jose Enrique didn't press him Alexander Aniyukov, who had masses of space to run into and deliver the cross. Skrtel failed to clear, and a gargantuan loss of concentration from the ball-watching Glen Johnson allowed Semak to ghost in at the far post and score.

For all Rodgers rhetoric about high intensity and heavy pressing, his players don't seem to be getting the message. What makes the defeat even worse is that Zenit hadn't played a competitive match for over TWO MONTHS. Analysing the game for LFC.com, disappointed ex-LFC manager Roy Evans observed:

"It’s a real kick in the teeth. Individual mistakes are costing us again. We defended quite poorly and gave away two soft goals again. We didn’t close Hulk down for his goal, and again for the second goal, there were two or three at the back, and we fell asleep. You can’t get away with that game after game. These mistakes have cost us five or six points in the league so far, and I hope they won't cost us this competition too"

Five or six points? I think Evans is being charitable here. I estimate that defensive errors have cost Liverpool between 10 and 15 points in the league this season, and basically blown any chance of qualifying for the Champions League. After the game, Jose Enrique tweeted:

"On the plane ready for travel back to Liverpool. Very disappointed result we deserve More. Still the game in Anfield"

Luis Suarez added:

"We'll give it all in Anfield! Together we can!"

Anfield legend Phil Thompson observed:

"When you feel you have the game under control your concentration has to rise not diminish"

Didi Hamann noted:

"Another disappointing night for LFC. The team is getting beat far too easily these days. No point having a go at certain players but some of them have to understand who they play for and what responsibility that brings with it.

Liverpool's record over the last seven games is pitiful:

P7 | W1 | D2 | L4 | Goals conceded: 13

I can't see that changing against Swansea this Sunday.



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56 comments:

  1. De ja vu. This time last year we had a bottom 3 form too. I just don't see us finishing above 8 this season, I doubt 8 even. 

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  2. It's always the other team doing the intercepting and being the first to loose balls. Maybe our players are dyslexic and thought the notes meant they should be the first to lose balls. We seem to get the ball by tackles, fouls and luck, but almost never interceptions from moving into the right spaces.

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  3. Liverpool are at least five players and a manager short of being a decent side. They need a good goalkeeper, a commanding centre-back, two decent midfielders to replace the dross they have and a winger who can beat defenders consistently. At present they are very, very poor, as results like losing at home to Villa and West Brom and away to Stoke demonstrate. As for losing at Oldham, it was a result which didn't surprise me in the least. The manager is simply embarrassing and his idiotic praise after each loss shows that he has the lowest opinion possible of the intelligence of the fans.

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  4. I hope BR is doing his job and kicking the players in the rear, at least behind closed doors. Tired of hearing him giving them praise. These days, every other team looks better than us.

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  5. BR has installed a mentality and some players seem too have lost their bite, were no longer physical and if the pressing game fails we have no plan b and it's obvious,One.Look at the facts, we have not beaten a top 10 team all season!!!!. I like BR style of play and feel it's only a matter of time before the right combination of players are bought. I just worry BR is not the man too attract them..... Dembele,Dempsey,Sigionson,Gaston Rameriz and now Holbty... Players who would hve made a difference but ended else were...???? Ashley Williams?? Average players who have not got the winning mentality we want someone like "Matt Hummels" ffs send out a signle of intent or otherwise supporters see the club as lacking ambition and settling for mediocrcy.. ???? Rant over!!!!!  But still pissed off.com Too many average players being praised for giving a good performance even when losing too west brom ffs get a grip losing patience big time ahhhhhhhhhh

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  6. This "we deserved more" stuff really irks me. Players and manager really need to stop that rubbish. You can't lose as many games as we do in a season and keep claiming that you deserved more. Obviously there is a trend here, obviously we don't deserve more. You get what you deserve. The same goes for "the players need to understand who they play for". If they don't understand when they sign, they won't ever understand. Any player, no matter how big of a hotshot he was at his old club, needs to feel nothing but utter humility and honour at having the chance to play for us and should be willing to give their right arm and leg for the club without being told. If one good thing comes from this I hope that at least Rodgers was paying attention to Malafeev enough to replace Reina with in the summer.

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  7. I've supported liverpool for 35 years , seen all the success of the 80s and was a supporter when being the best was just taken for granted ,every club in world football used to fear us . I'm starting to feel now that our time has gone , if we are being honest with ourselves , is winning the league possible ?, are we at champions league level any more ?
    The game against West Brom on Monday was the worst I've felt as a fan for a long time , I turned the game on with massive expectations ( based on the mini run we had gone on ) and turned it off realising that realistically we are now pretty much a top 8 ,Uefa cup team. Ill support Liverpool till the day I die , I'll never forget the raw emotion I felt the night we won the Champions League it compares with any life experience I've had ( I have 3 kids) but are we now a Villa or a Wigan or a Fulham , just in the league but never going to win it or get into the top 4

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  8. I think Reina still has it in him to be a great GK, he just doesn't seem to want to be here anymore, and isn't playing anywhere near his abilities. That may be because of the new leadership, it might be because Jones did better than expected while he was injured. But Reina could be great, he just isn't right now.
    But yes, we need 4 new players (at least) playing back. A midfielder like you mentioned, but I'd add that needs to be bigger and stronger so they aren't getting knocked around all match, and a winger. Then they need to get more of those, so there is talent on the bench for when these guys get a game off.

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  9. I used to be ok with the praise. You never call out your guys in the press, you do it behind closed doors, to be professional. But every now and then, you have to do it. And when you do, you can't just blame the young players. This should have been one of those times. It wasn't. Now the praise is getting annoying, and making us look like a joke.

    I'm revising my statement from the other thread about BR and the coaching vacancy. If he keeps that up, and the losses keep building up, it's time to give him the Hodgeson at the end of the season.

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  10. We'll finish 12, I think. But I don't see top 8 either. And I hate to say this, but if we keep laying like this, Swansea is going to crush us.

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  11. Someone mention about why MU is so great even though they buy decent players. The power of MU is not about individual skill but work as a team. Moreover the mentality of never give up. When they are down with 2 nil. The players boost up not to equal it but also score more to win. While from what I saw from some LFC players. When they are down 2 nil they just think to equal it and try to better in the next game. This is not good enough. If you don't put your heart in this game whole you are going to put your best when the next game come and repeat it. That why it's hardly LFC can get back up from 2 nil because they lack of the spirit in some player. I hope BR can do something to instill this kind of mentality to the players. A players spirit and mentality is always above skills and tactics.

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  12. This team lack balls. Simple as. Would be worth getting Carroll back just to man them up a bit in training.

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  13. It is all right to blame defensive errors for our defeats, but for both the WBA and yesterdays match I am equally worried about our errors at the other end of the pitch. These cost us at least as much. If our attacking players would make less errors like wayward shooting, trying to play for the gallery or being unable to put the ball away from 12 yards, we possibly wouldn't have to worry about two 0-2 defeats right now.

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  14. It's simply down to LFC, we buy substandard players, our scouting network is so poor it's unbelievable. The rot has been there since Souness's era which involves paying over the odds for players offering minimal return. Spurs have been so diligent in the transfer market, that season on season they ensure steady progress. Mank Pukited & Arsenal have had to deal with big big players moving on but there shrewdness in the market must be admired. Take Valencia ex Wigan player, can you see that he's made the loss of Ronaldo far less devastating. What a beast of a player! As long as we buy the likes of Carroll, Downing, Allen expensive flops, it's like spending £100,000 on a rusty brown Cortina & expecting it to do 0 to 60 in 10 secs.
    Fact is we need more atheistic, physically imposing players (not Carroll's, he's a big girls blouse) at the back, midfield & up front until then we ought to be known as the Spice Boys!

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  15. Anfield revisited........

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  16. liverpool broke my heart on valentines day... I think i need an organ transplant!

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  17. if i had come on hear and posted were we would be now after the fa cup final jaimie kanwar would have called the police and have had me sanctioned for my own safety ,allen is clueless if hes a lfc player i am grabbing my boots and getting myself down to melwood i must be worth at least 8million in rodgers eyes

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  18. Its nothing to do with missing 5 gilt edge chances and 2 sloppy defencive mistakes is it!?

     Agree with the Souness shout BUT KD left him dads army in the shape of a side and too much needed doing at once!

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  19. Sick of all the excuses, BR needs to get a grip we're so behind the other average teams in the PL. I can't see any improvement anytime soon here's to another mid table finish.

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  20. Brendan quoted as saying these are "growing pains" from where I am sitting this looks more like an abortion. Brendan came into this club with a hatchet in one hand and a 600 page theses on "how to kick a ball" in the other, he chopped the arms and legs off by getting rid of everyone he spotted, he then publicly criticised Enriq, Hendy and Downer, then did the same to the youth still not happy he publicly criticised the experienced players and with that he ripped the guts out of the team, we now see Gerrard ambling around half heartedly challenging, Skrtle and Johnson looking destroyed, Allen with a chance to show he would fight for his position did the exact opposite, (thank heavens there was no South Easter blowing last night Allen and Sterling would have spent the entire game on all fours) Downing and Henderson are playing a lot better but once again we see everyone sitting back waiting for Saurez to score, and talking about Saurez I believe Zenit are going to erect a 50 foot statue at their stadium as thanks for his performance yesterday, Reina played a bit better but I suspect that only because he has his hopes set on a move away. Its now Aggers turn to be in the dog box......so what are we witnessing? one can expect players to have "off days" but when the whole team goes off the boil I suspect its more serious, I think BR has ripped the soul out of these players and quite honestly they just don't give a s...t anymore, in fact I would not be at all surprised if he has lost the dressing room.  
    BR has spent about 50 million pounds on six or more players, Assaidi abducted by aliens, Sahin bust up with BR (surprise surprise) Allen looks fresh out of school football, Borini rubbish, Sturridge....I know a lot of us are hoping he is a star but I worry that he has bones made of glass and its only a matter of time that his attitude rubs the Hatchet Man up the wrong way, Coutinho well its still to early but it looks like he might also have a problem with the South Easter. 
    Some fans believe BR should be given another season, I personally would do an evaluation at the end of this season and if the "progress" is anything like it is so far I would dump him and his 600 page theses.
    I am dreading the game against Swansea.    

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  21. If we dont win on the weekend, then I do officially give up caring this season, and will just wait for next season to start.
    Last night was a spineless performance.

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  22. I feel we have to cut our losses and axe the manager I know we are liverpool and we don't do that but if a builder was building an extension on your home and it was leaning surely any sane person would sack the builder as it can't be the fault of every single brick

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  23. sorry m8 but you have got the wrong end of the stick,rodgers is trying to bring something new to anfield,hes trying to show the players to pass the ball and move also now know as tika taka,last nights performance was near perfect,do you not listen to rodgers after match interviews,he has said he is going to add some experience in the summer(the new tea lady is going to be 55)and how can you critisieze his signings we fought of every top club in europe to sign them.honestly some fans just do not get it,its a project it will take time and if that means 5or6 years without european football so be it,but we must give rodgers(the messiah)time,or would you rather just sack him and get someone in who knows what there doing,and maybe have some progress next season ;-)

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  24. BR thinks we are all stupid and we will accept mediocre , this i blame FSG Henry & Warner & company for employing an average manager who is out of his depth to coach our big club like LFC , if we do not make top four end of season ,BR should do the honorable thing and quit or FSG must replace him, I herewith request our fanbase in Anfield to start objecting mediocre and protest , if FSG cannot spend than they must sell club to a billionaire ( not American )

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  25. I remember when Liverpool were like that, they never looked beaten, and you couldnt call it a loss until the game was acutally over, because they had so much fight.
    That seems to have dissapeared now. We concede 1 goal and look beaten. Its almost like there is a mentality installed that is like "If we play good passing football, and keep posseion, then we deserve to win" and when that doesnt happen, the players look around as if to say "why arent we winning, we've had 60% possesion..."

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  26. I am of the opinion that Money brings success , Man City & Chelsea has proven that , hence FSG should go all out and buy top players , i do realise they spend a lot of money during KD & now BR , but we were misled by our scouts and we ended up buying duds , get Jurgen Klopp from Borussia Dortmund and give him the support in the transfer market so that that he can bring us to where we belong in the top 4. 

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  27. Paul i think with the clubs financial resources they will get there but it could take some years i wish i knew my self really.

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  28. Liverpool do not need to spend big like Chelsea and City look at Arsenal if only they could keep their players and spend a bit they would be awesome.

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  29. I don't normally agree with you, Jason but you're bang on this time (about Allen, not your £8m value!).

    He looked lost last night. His passing appeared to be nervy, hence his amount of backwards & sideways balls he got rid  of. He looked like he was scared to go forward or run with the ball and I saw a host of bad decisions.

    Suarez had an off day, the more he missed, the more he missed by. Sturridge has been sorely missed for the last two games and that's bad having to say that as he's only been with the club for 8 or  9 weeks.

    Tom Ince, IMHO, is a must buy this summer. He's flying right now and has the amount of self belief that he'll cause defences all sorts of problems, something that Downing is failing to do, despite all his best efforts. 

    The pitch was poor last night, too, but both teams had to deal with that and Zenit had hardly played any football lately due to the extended winter break, so their players would have been fresher, fitness wise. 

    Overall, it was a poor night at the office and we'll have to dig deep to get something out of the second leg next week.

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  30. Season is quickly going downhill..... the team looked so jaded yesterday, it was sad.

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  31. First things first, in today's age with professional groundsmen, technology which heals and repairs grass faster and the fact that the opposing team hasn't played for a while why then are we playing on a pitch that looks like a ploughed field?? I'm not making excuses for our players but that pitch was terrible and shouldn't of been played on. So onto the game, after a shaky start I actually thought we got on top and controlled the game for the next fifty minutes but same as Monday night we couldn't score. Suarez missed a chance after a Sterling cross which I think he did well to miss the target from that close in. In fact I think he had at least 4 good chances and failed to hit the target with any of them. Not good enough at that level. Finally, defensively. It seems to me that if we don't get the goal when we are on top that our defence loses concentration, Agger lost his place because he switched off for the last ten minutes on Monday and he cost us two goals. The first goal was a great strike but could of been avoided, the second was a disaster. After a couple of errors the ball eventually found its way into the box where Johnson just didn't react, why. This is an experienced international defender and he never moved. If Rodgers makes it to the summer, and I think he's only a couple more defeats away from not making that then, he needs a keeper, two dominant centre backs and a left back who releases the ball a lot earlier. So disappointed.

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  32. Suarez missed three golden chances trying to score with style and then scew up everything, but overall rodgers is very poor on cup competitions thats the fact, he can barely move into a next round and that is because he has no experience there, hope fsg realizing this, I knew this would happen, how can rodgers win a cup when he never even witnessed a game there? He might be a bright young manager but not what lfc need, we need a man of trophies of big occasions man of finals etc and players as well.

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  33. allen just looks like a rabbit caught in the headlights,if ridgers as any chance of improving results he cannot play again if lucas needs a rest play agger or anybody there just not allen not 1 tackle all night disgrace full,complete lack of effort

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  34. I think another problem is that bar Saurez (not including Sturridge) the rest of the team need to start chipping in with a few goals as well. Also we seem to concede from corners but we do not seem to score many as we should from corners

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  35. come on bob they missed chances as well and there defence gifted us chances,at some point you have to hold up your hands and admit were not good enough ,and rodgers saying we could have won in the nterview after the match dose not help one bit,prefered kennys interviews when he used to come out ant state that the performance was not good enough for lfc

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  36. don,t get a new heart of a lfc fan where all broken hearted

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  37. we all know the game is about scoring goals, they took their chances we didn't, its what Saurez is paid to do, BR has picked him so is that a fault? He also picked Allen and Henderson playing together (which is his fault) which just doesn't work, that is a fault.

    I have kept quiet about Sterling but for the life of me i can not see what he offers to the team, lightweight couldnt beat an egg never mind a player and runs up blind alleys............ but that is just my opinion

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  38. Yeah blame FSG and bring back H&G.................clueless

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  39. Blaming the loss of 10-15 pts on defensive errors is wishful thinking in my opinion, Those 15 pts would leave us in 3rd, a position that at the moment we're nowhere near good enough for. There are many other weaknesses in this team besides the defence

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  40. I don't know why most fans refuse to criticize suarez when he plays bad but are quick to jump on Downing and Henderson's back. He is the striker and his job is to put the ball in the net and yesterday he failed miserably. He was more concerned about doing fancy tricks and scoring the perfect goal. Suarez wasted five good chance including the one which he literally stole from downing feet, right when Downing was about to pull the triger. I'm not downing's biggest fan but please let him have a go. Absolute terrible performance.  Now excuse me while i go punch something.

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  41. Come on people; get some perspective; the world hasn't ended. I don't think anyone could have been serious about what we were trying to do with Rodgers. Sigh

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  42. Agree with everything you have said, apart from players feeling humble for playing for us. I would prefer that they felt proud and showed it in their play. If you have three-four clear cut chances and you fail too turn them in, it is 100% your fault. I would expect that from 10 shots, 8 would be on target, 4-5 would be saved by the goaler and 2-3 would be scored. It's how Man.UTD win games and titles and how we lose them. What irks me is that we blame the opposition for our short-comings, eg. goaler had a good day. (against WBA). HAD A GOOD GAME? How about we had a shocker in front of goal?! No matter how many top class saves a goaler makes in a game, he is bound to concede at a point or another.

    I've been supporting Rodgers since his he came, but as of late, I think he needs a reality check as well. He's starting to become like Dalglish --> Blames the opposition on how good they were and laments our luck. 

    Top teams only have 1 horrific game per season and they make sure not to repeat that performance again. Unlike those teams, we constantly repeat those mistakes time and time again.

    Einstein once said that the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It's exactly what the Liverpool players and Brendan Rodgers are doing. They're playing stupid.

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  43. It has been gone for quite some time actually, apart from bits under Rafa. Now, we actually seem to celebrate it under BR.

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  44. At least Carroll did show willingness in his play whenever he played, although I doubt he is our long term answer given how our team ideologically should be playing.

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  45. I'm one of those who felt Allen did well at the start of the season and he does have some class. Unfortunately, it looks like now he does not have the mentality to succeed at a big club when the pressure starts to tell. Does not take away from him being a good player, just not great enough for us. Sometimes we do not need the most talented players - we need winners throughout the team and we have maybe just one or two. It's unfortunate I have to say this but just look at the ones at manure, for e.g.

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  46. Yea I agree, the last time I saw that kind of fight was under Rafa. Like the games against Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League, and obviously the final.

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  47. I think it's time that FSG take a look at themselves as to whether they can honestly keep going with this club. They know nothing about football. Brendan bless him maybe a nice bloke but this club is too big for him. Perhaps it's too big for FSG as well. We need owners who know all about football & a manager who can guide the team to success. At the moment the we're going down & fast. The rot has to stop.
    The policy of building a team slowly from the bottom to the top went out with the Dinosaurs! That time has long gone.
    If we're to compete at top level then we must look at Chelski & Man Shity & do it there way i'm afraid. Otherwise we'll go down & fast. Sorry but that's my opinion. :(

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  48. sell agger jaimie? didn't you want him to be captain?

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  49. Yes, if he stays. I made that comment after he'd signed a new deal, and if he does end up staying, I wouldn't mind him becoming captain. However, I've argued many times in the past that Agger is not as good as everyone makes out, and that LFC should cash-in.

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  50. Either way, every start to a new season now-a-days is like going back to square one. New manager, new players, and a false dawn. I believe in Rodgers' vision, but if I was offered Ancelotti or LVG, no way would i refuse. There would be instant authority in the dressing room, certainly no post match hog-wash like rodgers, and lastly, EXPERIENCE, which in fact our past three managers have lacked as bosses of top clubs like Liverpool (Kenny was out of it for 20 plus years, and a lot changed in that time).

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  51. The results haven`t been good enough all season really. I will not judge BR to much until the end of the season, but if by then things haven`t turned around, as much as I like the style of football, something big will need to change, starting with the Manager.

    My big wory is this though, FSG, if they sack BR, wont get in a good manager, or rather the right one. They have made this mistake before, twice now, although in Kennys case, us fans forced them into it. 

    Its a bit like signings, if we got lots of money for pepe, or even Suarez, I don`t feel at all happy, not cause say pepe shouldn`t go, but because I know the money will be wasted on signing lesser players. Same goes for if BR gets sacked, I just can`t see from evidence so far, that FSG know what they are doing when it comes to the on the pitch side of things. Money wise, and commercially they seem very switched on, but in terms of staffing they don`t.

    If BR does get sacked, I have a feeling, we will get in another manager not up to scratch.

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  52. For me, it will depend on what happens manager wise in the summer. Agger werent to bad under our old systems. He was injured a lot, but when he played, he played very well most of the time. So if we keep BR, then I would say selling Agger would make sense, as clearly he aint working to good under this new system, but if we sack BR, I would keep Agger, and let the new manager decide if he is good enough.

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  53. in sterlings defence he should be a bit part player still learning the finer arts instead hes been chucked in at the deep end

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  54. hope we can recoup some off our outlay on him

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  55. spot on baxter, but it seems you have more patience than me,
    i gave up on him and his 600pages, too small personality for
    such a big club unfortunately

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  56. Br hasnt got that mentality so he would rather play pretty ans lose

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