21 Sept 2013

Post-Match Shock! - LFC star admits he 'shouldn't have played' vs. So'ton. Negligence...?

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has admitted that he should not have played in today's Premier League game with Southampton.

Speaking to Danish TV after the game, Agger conceded:

"I shouldn't have played. I made a mistake to say I was ready"

I argued this morning that Rodgers should rest Agger after his recent injury, but the Reds boss decided to play the Dane, who ended up being directly at fault for Southampton's winning goal.

Agger then went off injured yet again, which is a sad state of affairs, and could've been avoided altogether if Rodgers had just kept him on the bench.

Agger may have said he's okay to play, but where is the common sense from Rodgers?

* Agger recently got injured. Given his incessant injury problems, why risk him? Why not just rest him? Where is the sense in bringing him back into the team so quickly?

* Liverpool have a surplus of central defenders right now, so where was the pressing need to play Agger?! Why not just play Toure at centre-back, or even Sakho?! Why rip up the entire defence and make the ridiculous choice to start with four central defenders?

According to Rodgers:

"Agger had the problem with his side. We needed him to play, really. He hadn't trained all week & felt a bit of pain today"

Why did LFC 'need' Agger to play? Where's the fire? What is the freakin' point of bringing in THREE new central defenders if they're seemingly not good enough to cover Agger for ONE game?! Why play an injury prone defender who HASN'T TRAINED ALL WEEK?!

Agger has probably compounded whatever injury he picked up last week, which means he'll probably be out for even longer now.

What a fiasco. Utter negligence from Rodgers and LFC's managerial team (IMO)



NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)


108 comments:

  1. If a manager asks if a players okay to play then the player says yes then it's down to the player, Rodgers asked him, if he wasn't up to it he should of said. I don't mind anyway sahko looked good at CB. Just needs to get match fit.

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  2. The back four was the reason why we lost. No Skrtel in the next match please.

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  3. Skrtel is the obvious scapegoat, but he was not at fault for the goal. Agger lost his marker, then fell over at the crucial point. He is to blame, not Skrtel.

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  4. It's not down to the player. Rodgers admitted in his post match comments that Agger was still in pain going into the game AND that he hadn't trained all week. In such a situation, surely he has to make the right decision for the TEAM and not pay Agger? If we had no other central defenders it would be understandable, but Sakho and Toure were available to cover.

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  5. I totally agree. This is Rodgers mistake.

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  6. Why was Skrtel substituted for an attacking player? Toure and Agger should be our permanent CB pair.

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  7. Rodgers had to do something to get back into the game, and the usual course of action is to take off a defender for an attacker. Skrtel is always going to be the one to make way after his performance issues last season.

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  8. We payed the price for deploying four central defenders which Rodgers thought would be great but it back fired and he'll hopefully learn from it.

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  9. Skrtel is a liability.


    Playing 4 center backs is even more strange.

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  10. the back 4 today should have been kelly rb kt ms in the middle and jose lb....rogers is purely to blame ...im sick of reading after the fact that he is playing injured players ...las year it was Allen and Gerrard with there shoulders ....if you count wisdom and Kelly and the lad from Portugal whose name escapes me we have 6 cb fit to play so why does agger have to play ....

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  11. Why is Skrtel a liability *this season*? Could you provide some examples of what he's actually done wrong. He's been a liability in the past, but this season he's played extremely well so far. What did he do wrong today, for example?

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  12. Can he lead our defence?

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  13. agree jaimie i have slated skirtal this year but hes been sound in defence....i know you know we all know he panders to certain players

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  14. That is not an answer. The question is, why is Skrtel a liability this season, and what did he do wrong today to justify that label?

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  15. We should winmthese matches even with cocio the clown in defence. The problems go much wider than defence. Even though the earlker results were good the signs were there that the midfield is not good enough and the team play is brittle.

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  16. i think rodgers made a miskate.why did he play 4 CB?

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  17. He will not be a starter in the next match. There is your answer.

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  18. super negative tactics ...he spouts on about tika taka but the fundamentals of the system are having fullbacks who can get down the pitch and attack ....here we are with two of the fastest fullbacks in the prem on the bench ....im baffled i really am ...and then to pick an injured agger is the cherry on the cake

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  19. That is not an answer either :-) You've stated that Skrtel is a 'liability', so please explain why, with examples, this is the case. If you can't, then it's just an empty label.

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  20. I've said it before and I will say it again BR is David Brent in disguise. CLUELESS - 4 central defenders and Aspas in the number 10 role? Absolutely CLUELESS.

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  21. hes won a couple of games and thinks hes shanks when the reality is he has won jack

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  22. I could not believe when I saw the lineup.


    Toure is brilliant at CB but please for heaven sakes do not play him at RB. Enrique should have been at LB all day long ahead of Sakho.


    Our team suffered with a lack of width,

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  23. I will be proven right. If Skrtel is selected at CB in the next EPL match then we will have this discussion again.


    Skrtel was pants today. FULL STOP.

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  24. I will be proven right. If Skrtel is selected at CB in the next EPL match then we will have this discussion again.

    Skrtel was mediocre today. FULL STOP.

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  25. I also think that the sooner all this "fooling around" between goalie and defenders is knocked on the head the better. We spent a good 5 minutes of the game in total simply teetering on the edge of conceding a further goal!
    I could hardly believe my eyes when the last defender decides to try and dribble his way past the forward attacker - not just once but three times!
    A disgraceful performance all round.

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  26. Don't over exaggerated. Rodgers is nowhere near Shankly or Paisley.


    How many mangers are?

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  27. Its easy to blame BR for playing 4 CB's, he had no attacking fullbacks (Enrique is okay til he get 25yrd from oppositions goal, looks clueless in final third...willing runner though). Sakho can probably play left back, but not a attacking fullback, same applies to Wisdom as a RB. Our teams width comes from the fullback whether it a penetration run or a over lap. Think BR wanted a solid base today, and expected Aspas or Moses to provide a spark, as the fullback on the pitch are auxiliary and not specialist fullbacks. The only attacking full back we have fit at the minute in the mold of GJ, is Ryan Mclaughlin (wud actually give him a run midweek). Bench looked weak too in terms of a CF.

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  28. CAn anyone please tell me whats happened to tika taka style of play? Are only style at min involves us running around like headless chicken s pressing until we knacker ourselves out and give the opposition a couple of chances to break, were then they just run with the ball into the back of the net untouched or we stop running around like headless chickens and stop pressing and end up defending the rest of the game deep. To be fair, Suarez maybe an arse but you can bet he will run, jump and give quality for90 minutes!

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  29. The answer lies in our midfield. Without Allen we have no player who can keep or win possession as much as he did at the start of last season plus his passing is something that our midfield desires.

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  30. Honestly don't understand your logic. Skrtel was our best player in the last two games, our whole defence was a little abysmal today. Not their fault, imo, when you play mainly defensive CB in the RB and LB positions in a game where the wings was very important, it's bound to backfire.

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  31. It's not 'Full Stop'. You've provided no credible reasoning to back up your view that that Skrtel was 'mediocre' and a 'liability'. Sounds to me you're just jumping on the bandwagon. If you're going to label players like that then you should be able to back up what you say.

    Here are some factual stats that suggest Skrtel was *not* mediocre today:

    * 86% passing accuracy (average 90% this season)
    * Won 75% of headed-duels
    * 100% clearance success rate
    * 100% tackle completion

    How is this 'mediocre'?

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  32. who would you drop Gerrard or Lucas as hendo is currently our best midfielder ...sorry allen is not the answer not now not ever

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  33. ive seen it countless times over the years at numerous clubs...a manager wins a few games then has a brain fart and start to think they can play anyline up and win ....never it my wildest imagination did i think we would start with 4 centre backs to day

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  34. Molberto Stuarezdson Ibling7:50 pm, September 21, 2013

    It should be Toure and Agger when fit. Period.

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  35. Never did I think Crouch would be played as winger either! Rodgers made a huge mistake in defence today. Doubt we will see the same defence again.

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  36. tika taka is a myth along with the holy grail and king arthur it doesnt exist there is only football you can either play it or you cant

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  37. Does that mean there is no G-SPOT either?? all that extra work for nothing..

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  38. Our transfer business this summer was not very well thought out and we're feeling the effects with a unbalanced team and BR trying to accommodate our four main centre backs.
    We missed out on attacking targets.That can and does happen to every club but we use that money saved for a high profile attacker and buy two CB's.
    I hope this is a BR experiment gone wrong and he doesn't repeat the mistake.If we continue to persist with four centre backs expect rubbish football this season with results to match.

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  39. Allen is very underrated. He has a big part to play at Anflied

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  40. dont bank on it his ego is on a par with mourino...he has to play sako after forking out so much for him....kolo and agger you would assume will play so he has a real problem .....three of his biggest players who to drop ...history tells me he buckles when it comes to dropping the big names so he is in a real pickle..throw into the mix that gerrard doesnt warrant his place and all of a sudden the players he panders to are posing a problem .....

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  41. that may well be the case who would you drop and what formation would you play

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  42. Toure was woeful were u watching the same game ???? He couldn't make the team at man city so how can he be good enough for us take company out of city defence and they are rubbish and toure couldn't even make it. He's too old and gone past his sell by date. Skrtel is always the scapegoat for some reason I can't understand. We need to pick 2 centre backs preferably agger (when fit) and skrtel and give them games together and not chopping and changing every week please Rodgers. Why wasn't Kelly played right back ????

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  43. Sakho and toure would make an awesome CB pair.


    Rodgers did take of Agger in the 2nd half?

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  44. Agger should be replaced now, IMO, He will always get injured, which is not good for LFC's future in terms of building a steady defensive partnership. Just go with Sakho/Toure and use Agger sparingly. Sakho is the future; Agger is not, and Toure has the leadership/vocal qualities that Agger/Skrtel lack.

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  45. when suarez and tino are fit he will have a bigger problem ..the whole squad is imbalanced ....

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  46. Before I can answer that, please sign me a dominant center mid to cover for our defence and I mean a dominant one.

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  47. I would go with Toure and Sakho all day long.

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  48. because he was injured.....rogers has to nail his colors to the mast and play the two cb he wants regardless of who he upsets to me thats sako ( 18m ) and who ever ...id say agger but that means to left footers in the middle....if im honest if i was rogers id sell agger and play sako with either toure and skirtal the facts are wether pundits on this forum like it or not iswe are going to have to go with sako regardless so we may as well play him

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  49. thats just it though wew haven't got one and a midfield of lucas allen and gerrad ...will not work ...

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  50. Iv'e seen enough. Shape up Rodgers or walk home. We will give you this one for injuries and defenders overload 'issues'. No self-criticism on this guy. Nothing to show for.

    Agger switch should have been made after 10 minutes. Midfield was pathetic. Were there better options? I don't know. Maybe Allen. I said Alberto should have started for he can pass the ball. Sterling or Ibe would had done better then Aspas from start. Gerrard situation is ridiculous to be so protected of judgment. Bad transfer window for they neglected the need for top DM cover and top Playmaker to recruit.

    And he would smile and lie. Pulish everything with pre-interview writtens peeches.

    Jamie felt i was wrong for suggesting Sterling and Alberto to start and possibly Henderson for Gerrard. Was i?

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  51. It's ok asking the player if their fit, but any player would say they would be ok to play, because its what they love doing. Playing. Therefore, in my opinion, as we have adequate cover, we should've left Agger out on the bench today.
    Anyhow, we didn't play well today as a team. Not enough quality possession in their half. Not enough chances created. Poor touches. Second to every ball and clearance. These are the real reasons behind the defeat in my opinion

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  52. I think Brendan's taken the chant 'we all dream of a team of Carraghers' too literally & has tried to play a team of centre backs. I'm surprised Ilori wasn't up front & thank god Coates is injured or he'd have been in too.

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  53. Who cares about Agger today. He actually even saved a goal ones. He managed to pass the ball. He's fine. Sorry, but that was the list of our problems. We couldn't keep the ball or create any good-looking attack. They took over our part of the pitch tactically. Why not shoot the ball far for Christ sake? Even Barcelona does it when they are being pressed this hard.
    I can't understand weather Rodgers is just blank stupid or what. And he lies. And he is not honest. I'm afraid of where were coming to time to wake up, but really. Wake up.

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  54. Speechless...
    Players are always going to want to play, especially when there is so much competition for their place. Its the managers job to protect the integrity of the team, and the fitness of the player. This can be seen no other way than a collosal f**k up on Rodgers part.
    How this kind of error is made at this level frightens me.
    Very disappointed.

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  55. I'm sorry but i feel articles like this soften a harsh fall. Don't put this one on the Agger thing please. Wing backs ya. Midfield ya. Attack ya. Put it on Rodgers, FSG, Ayre. Put it on them now or they will full us again. How come we play so bad at home vs saints? what an embarrassment. I just can't take this management anymore it's depressing weak after weak.

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  56. The day we not only surrendered our unbeaten run but saw common sense go out the window. No need for scapegoats (Skrtel etc ) s this one down to useless management whose crazy game plan today is symbolic of an increasingly defensive approach. Coutinho's absence was supposed to offer opportunity for players including Alberto, Ibe etc instead we got 4 central defenders (1 injured ) and some BR garbage about " if we'd had Suarez !"

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  57. I'm not putting the entire defeat on the fact Agger played. We werent good all over the park.
    But the defeat aside, had we won 6-0 my point would have been thw same. An injured player was allowed to comptete. He didnt hide his injury, Rodgers was aware as from his statement above. Options were there to allow him to rest but were not used. This is basic managemnt of a squad, if the risk is there to compound a problem you DO NOT TAKE THE RISK.
    The resulr, we conceded a goal and further aggrevated an injury. This has absolutely nothing to do with FSG, AYRE, or any other scapegoat that wants to be thrown in. This is squarely on the managers shoulders, he picks the team, and he made a collosal error.
    One I cant see any other manager at this level making.

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  58. Rather optimistic given that he's never learned anything - and never won anything - in his career. What a nonentity the man is.

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  59. Absolutely correct.

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  60. skirtel maybe the scape goat but sakho wasnt a bundle of laughs either. Kolo was outstanding and he should be the centre half along with agger or if not fit either skirtel or sakho.



    I felt before that sakho could replace as a dm and gerrard sit behind gerrard. BR shouldnt have played aspas in the centre - our whole selection and structure left a lot to be desired today. Southampton played the way we should have played - i think they will soon become our bogie team instead of sunderland!



    BR perhaps overstrengthened the defence and forgot cover for the creative midfield. Aspas and alberto dont look like their going to do anything special - so far this season they have been anonymous.



    The return of suarez cant be sooner.

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  61. can someone explain our current fad of defending deep? what the heck has happened. Rafa and Houllier as well as some terrible perfomances by Barca against munich and Spain against Brazil demonstrate that possessive expansive football must be played with a high defensive line. I don't understand the tactical change at all. We have all of a sudden started to worry about the opposition when our main weapon last season was we let the opposition worry about us. We need to be brave again.

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  62. Its quite easy to blame agger or skrtel,but for me I blame the coach for all this mess..even on our bench we had no sub who could make an impact for us.he loaned out suso who would have stepped in for coutinho with ease thens spends 8m on alberto and says he if for the future????
    If you buy a cb for 18m play him in his preferred position.it would have made more sense to play agger at lb
    Rodgers needs to keep his ego in check,he keeps talking about our squad depth now coutinho is injured we looked like a team playing our under 18 today.
    Our back 5 should be mignolet(the only reason they didn't score more than 1goal today)wisdom/kelly sakho toure and enrique

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  63. We would not be in this situation if we hadn't loaned suso..for me its absolute madness to loan suso out and pay 7m for alberto,when he isn't close to being a starter
    Our starting cbs should be kolo and sakho no contest.gerrard needs rest and where is allen???

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  64. We lost the game because of a poor midfield. Agger was at fault for the goal but he cannot be excused for the failure of the whole team to score more than one goal at Anfield. The whole team was poor today.

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  65. I would also say it might have been a peno if they had not scored, Agger pulled the scorer down.

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  66. Agger also gave the ball away on the edge of the box, which almost led to another goal (but for Mignolet's save)

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  67. Rodgers is to blame for Agger playing, Toure or Sakho should have started in middle with Skrtel and two proper full backs, looks like he's trying to keep them all happy. Rodgers said Kelly was'nt match fit, so why name him on bench? our biggest problem is the midfield, worst i can remember, Gerrard plays too deep, so has minimal influence, Lucas, nice guy but not good enough in the position he plays and what does Rodgers see in Aspas? Looks like the luck of the Irishman has finally run out, if he keeps setting his stall out like that, then we'll drop down the league like a lead balloon. Never liked Rodgers from the off, tried to, but when i see things like 4 center backs when we have two full backs on the bench, just confirms my doubts about him.

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  68. I agree there. Were very weak midfield nothin on the bench to come on either which is a problem. Gerard just isn't able for 90 minutes every week anymore. We should have kept johnjo for back up and suso scored a nice goal for Almeira tonight. Should have gone eriksen. Well at least it will be back to the drawing board now after today.

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  69. Absolute negligence! Disgraceful. Shambolic. Irrisponsible. Disband the entire regime! Or we could stop getting carried away. It is typical of this website to hammer any failure. I understand the point of disregarding blind faith and approaching the subject of supporting a football team as a piece of logical consideration. Fact of the matter is, Liverpool lost and none of us are happy about it. I just wish this site didn't appear to love the fact so much. You chase controversy to pathe your way LiverpoolKop. It's tabloid. Ultimately it's pointless. Like Liverpool's game today.

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  70. Skrtel has played well every game this season. 100% with you there Jaimie

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  71. He let a simple pass go out for the throw in which led to another mix up between him and the others for the corner for their goal. He looked nervous and unsure in possession whenever Southampton pressed. He deserved to start, after playing well for 2 games, but he was pretty poor ( as were a lot of others, including SG)

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  72. With ALL THE CENTRAL DEFENDERS WE GOT, WHY O WHY PLAY HIM!!!!!!!!

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  73. And a little less angrily! I think it's at times like these Rodgers shows his inexperience. That's only to be expected I suppose. Even tho it hurts.
    But he is DEFINATELY the man for this Job.
    YNWA

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  74. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:31 am, September 22, 2013

    Agree with you Jaime. BR made a blunder! For gods sake, we are at home, and it's strange that BR did not see that we were uncomfortable throughout. No cohesion in our passing, and the high pressing Soto didn't help. I would like to stress again, Lucas is. Redundant in the team. Compare him to Wanyama, you can see who boss the midfield. Toure must go back to CB. No matter what.

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  75. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:34 am, September 22, 2013

    Skrtel did well. Toure should partner him, Kelly n enrique full backs, and Sakho replace Lucas. He looks lethargic and was easily bullied off the ball...

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  76. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:36 am, September 22, 2013

    Yup. At the end, Sakho and Toure partnership look promising.

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  77. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa3:41 am, September 22, 2013

    yes pls drop Lucas. Gerrard takes our set piece, and we could have scored with 2 free kicks today.

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  78. I agree with JK's sentiments entirely however our problem is just in front of the back 4. Lucas's lack of mobility/stamina + strength in the tackle + indeed lack of technical ability = HE's JUST NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! With the quality we now have in defence SG shouldn't need to hold his hand.
    Ultimately SG's quality is diluted which places a strain on his game and at his age he can do with out. At home where we were over run in CM with all due respect to SOUTHAMPTON!! I am constantly baffled why people rave over Lucas also a good Kopite friend of mine Stato Innelli once hit the nail on the head when he said when you look at his stats the part of his game he does more and better than any other CM player is give needless free kicks away in dangerous positions, other than this he brings nothing of worth to the party. He has improved since his early days however his weaknesses/flaws remain the same. CM was where we desperately needed options this Summer and it will defo bite us on the arse this season - BIG TIME !!!!!!!!!
    Serious questions also need to be asked why physically we can't see out the 90 mins since game 1 in the league???

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  79. i really dont see how we could have won really the team never scored and apart from a good free kick from Stevie that was well saved never created much at all.
    The early part of the match there was a few opportunities but it dwindled and why the heck are our second halves so ordinary.

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  80. Sakho and Toure can play as fullbacks, but as it would appear from the failed experiment, perhaps not attacking ones, although Toure did have a few good runs down the right and Sakho is still finding his feet after being thrown into the deep end (yes mixed metaphors!) For me the midfield has been suspect for a while, not linking up closely with the lone striker Sturridge, who seemed to be playing on the right to compensate for Toure's lack of attacking threat, nor possessing the engine and energy to snap into tackles, and read play to stop the opposition's attack from threatening our defence. Yes we do seem to have a defensive injury crisis, but were there no better youth options? Sakho and Toure while potentially excellent centrebacks did little to complement the attack and were at times caught out of position, which with our midfield lacking physical dominance and central defence not being the most organised almost gifted the hardly spectacular Saints with more goals than they deserved.

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  81. and what about the rest of the team? even lower than mediocre....... many full stops....

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  82. can u ans the question coz if u are a real supporter not just a vocal fan u would have noticed his performance has been good so far.

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  83. Boy u were right abt cbs but for gerrard did u saw the game stupid rodgers fielded four cbs and they were unable to sparay the ball in midfield and wholle Southampton players were hovering like a hungry tigers thats why Gerrard had to push himself more and more deep such a ridiculus gameplan by rodger and he should apologise for it cos luis alberto was there for as a creative midfielder and if kelly was not fit then show some courage field john flanagan over there...

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  84. Henderson at Right back looks pretty alright

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  85. Southampton were the better team, showed us how to play tiki taka and a high pressing game something that BR was advocating. LFC had no reply to the So'ton tactics. The better team won.
    Lovren, Lallana, Shneiderlin, Osvaldo showed that non CL teams can still attract players that play good football.
    It also showed the possible difference had LFC got Eriksen or Wayama.

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  86. Playing him was an error. No two ways about it. We conceded one goal, big deal.


    My worry is how toothless we looked going forward. We should be hitting at least two past a team like Saints. After we conceded there was no urgency, even in the closing minutes. No one seemed bothered that we were losing. Stevie G was awful again and Mignolet's 'distribution' is some of the worst I've seen - if you can call 'hit & hope' distribution.


    Fair play to the lads for grinding out those 1-0 results at the start of the season, but the LFC of the past few seasons was bound to reemerge sooner or later and now the confidence has gone, expect another up and down season. Injuries haven't helped, but they're to be expected if we're playing all these games behind closed doors to keep Suarez fit.

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  87. The lack of fitness and mobility in our central midfielders means we can't control the space there, which leads our central defenders to drop back to compensate -- if we can't control the space in midfield, then there's more vulnerability in behind, which is what the defenders are concerned about.

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  88. Stop exaggerating, it was a run of the mill league game against competent opposition, not a cup final or crucial six-pointer at the business end of the season. Look at the league table. How many teams are unbeaten?



    You have to ,man up and take defeat without screaming for the club to rip itself apart in agony every time something doesn't work or the players don't perform.


    Criticising the manager at this stage of the season given our position and the unquestionable advances we've made in the last 12 months seems little short of weak-minded.

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  89. Do you understand why they do that? If you don't, modern football must be a bit confusing for you to be honest.

    Southampton play direct football with a disciplined, energetic, but predictable high press.

    If you can wear them out by getting them to chase down your defenders in deep possession, and making your own transitions effectively to get them to make as many 50 yard runs back to their defensive shape as possible, you make it more likely that you can open them up later in the game.

    This is quite an interesting article on Southampton:

    http://eplindex.com/37849/marcelo-bielsas-tactical-influence-mauricio-pochettino-tactics.html

    Rodgers picked a team making imaginative use of the resources at his disposal, and asking, characteristically, for adaptability and tactical intelligence from his players in response to his demands. The selection was intended to counter Southampton's tactics, and if it had been more successfully implemented we might have been having a very different discussion today.

    It wasn't, chiefly because of the poor fitness of our midfielders. I am glad to see fans now asking for Lucas or Gerrard to be replaced. If Rodgers had failed to start with either player today or in any of our recent matches, the fans would scapegoat their replacement in the event of even a draw, which would potentially badly hurt the team. Allen was undermined last season, Aspas is suffering this. The fans are impatient and, in my opinion, increasingly unsupportive, and increasingly unintelligent about the game. At Liverpool. It makes me sick.

    So Rodgers has to wait to solve the team's, and the squad's, problems. Hopefully we'll see more of Alberto and Allen soon, but you have to recognise that we are contributing to produce an environment in which it is very difficult to introduce new players.

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  90. Are you a Liverpool supporter? You don't sound like one.

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  91. No he doesn't "spout on about Tika Taka". Link me two articles or interviews where he even mentions it.

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  92. You're missing my point. Its exactly because of the progress made, and the great start we have had that this kind of mistake is so frustrating.
    This is our easiest run of games we will have all season, so they were important points that we should have picked up, but instead we handicapped ourselves with a bizarre team selection. Come november we will Have Arsenal/Everton/Tottenham/City/Chelsea all away, before xmas. How many points do you see there?
    I take your point that its early in the season. But our games are only getting harder and now is the yime we should be putting points on, because we will be dropping from Nov on.
    This defeat could have been avoided IMO, and thats whats frustrating. I i dont think its exagerating to say the blsme is on Rodgers shoulders.

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  93. Obviously it's not just about today, about this game, for the manager especially, but for the next sequence of games. The manager needs his players match-fit, and the only way to get that is game-time.



    That's why Sakho had to play, because we couldn't let him stagnate. He needs to get comfortable. But Agger coming back from injury, and Toure, also need game time. The only selection that seems unnecessary from a squad management point of view is that of Skrtl, but as he's been our best defender consistently this season it would be harsh to drop him -- having at least one fit man in there is probably a good idea, too!

    Things have been malfunctioning in the team since the Notts County game. There are issues throughout the squad. We've a manager able to think long-term, so hopefully we'll see him turn things around. People are really underestimating Southampton, too. Particularly away from home, they are going to trouble a lot of the stronger teams this season.

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  94. Oh and its a little weak minded to give a free pass to a glaringly obvious tactical mistake simply because we played well previously. How long is the grace period exactly? Two games? Four?

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  95. With bringing in Toure, Sakho & Ilori I'd have liked us to have cashed in on Agger this summer as he's too injury prone. But BR's made him vice captain instead so it looks as if he'll always be the first choice CB (when fit).

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  96. Sorry, Slipperie, didn't mean to send any insult in your direction, appreciate your posts. I agree the defeat could have been avoided. Especially if the referee had given a penalty and Gerrard and Lucas still had legs.

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  97. So he gave away a throw in? Big deal! How many times does that happen to multiple players every game? Why should Skrtel be excoriated for that? Toure is the one who gave away the corner, from which the goal arose, and Agger's defensive mistake allowed the free header.

    As for being 'nervous and unsure' in possession. it may look that way, but if Skrtel doesn't give the ball away, who cares? He had 86% passing accuracy, which is second only to Lucas on the day.

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  98. i just dont understand y r u guys blaming the back 4.... i dont see much mistake on back 4....they were solid until rodger pull off agger n skartel out....our prob is our midfielders who cant engineer the game....gerrard makes so many mistake's...n no 1 to question him...if i'm the manager will have took off gerrard n bring allen in..his 33, dont forget that...he wont be top of all match...n for most....i dont look sterling was good at all.....such a soft boy....ibe will be good to bring in.....sturidge wasted the chance as well by curling the ball for no reason(greedy i called that).....our main prob is our midfielders....they cant control the game....u dont expect defend to control the game....u can pass 1000 times but if u dont engineer the pass to goal scoring, its just a waste...stop blaming the back 4...if our midfielder our good the game will not be like it....we hv no creative midfielder ...thats all i can see liverpool....

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  99. i just dont understand y r u guys blaming the back 4.... i dont see much mistake on back 4....they were solid until rodger pull off agger n skartel out....our prob is our midfielders who cant engineer the game....gerrard makes so many mistake's...n no 1 to question him...if i'm the manager will have took off gerrard n bring allen in..his 33, dont forget that...he wont be top of all match...n for most....i dont look sterling was good at all.....such a soft boy....ibe will be good to bring in.....sturidge wasted the chance as well by curling the ball for no reason(greed i called that).....our main prob is our midfielders....they cant control the game....u dont expect defend to control the game....u can pass 1000 times but if u dont engineer the pass to goal scoring, its just a waste...stop blaming the back 4...if our midfielder our good the game will not be like it....we hv no creative midfielder ...thats all i can see liverpool....

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  100. No insult taken at all. We all have our opinions, and i respect all of em even if i dont agree. There's nobody on here that doesnt want to see LFC at the top of the table come end of may.
    Most of the points on here are vakid in some shape or form. Its goid to debate with fans who actually know what theyre talking about.
    Now im off to Powers to put a tenner on Soldado, 9/2 :)

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  101. The reason we lost the match was clear, we had no full backs. The system we play needs full backs to provide the width, and because Sakho and toure were so reluctant to get forward, the only options we had was to go backwards. The main concern now should be to get glen Johnson fit because he is such a huge player for us and always seem to miss him hugely. I'd be interested to see our win % with and without him if anyone could find it,

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  102. The back 4 were to blame! The midfielders had no options out wide all game due to the full backs inability to get forward, they therefore had no options ahead of them so had to keep playing the ball back

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  103. well, everyone has witnessed how bad we are without Lucas, Kenny found that out the hard way. SO the problem must be............................................

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  104. We have enough central defenders to fall back on.Why the need to use Agger. I wold have rested Agger and use him for the Man U match next week.Why risk the player ?

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  105. Chill out it's only a broken rib. It's not like it's an injury in his legs which could turn chronic. They took a risk and no, he wasn't ready but I can't see it extending his recovery period. I think you're being a bit harsh. He needed agger to play because Johnson is injured, Toure still isn't 100%, Enrique is evidently not match-fit with a knee injury as otherwise he would have started and when he came on it was clear he was off the pace, kelly is still recovering, sakho is still settling in and ilori is not ready yet. So I agree with him, if he said he was fit we did NEED him.

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  106. Cant really disagree. Although its easy to slate the manager in hindsight. If agger had scored the winner we would be raving about Rogers being tuned in and how we couldn't be without Agger.
    Lets hope we go on another long unbeaten run. We aren't contenders yet and maybe this was the reality check we needed.
    Still . . .YNWA!

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  107. Not so much that the back 4 were bad defensively, but the way we play football the full backs are actually more important in attack. Without those guys wide on the outlet we have so fewer options and both Sakho and Toure were not so great going forward. That's fair enough, they are not attacking full backs, but without players like Johnson in the team we have issues and that makes it much harder for our midfield to function effectively. When Johnson is in the team I think you'll find Gerrard passes directly to him a significant number of times per match, so when he's out it's like Gerrard has fewer options to work with. There is only so much a midfield player can do if he has no one to pass to.

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