After picking up a hamstring injury over the weekend, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard now faces six weeks on the sidelines, which means he'll miss crucial games against Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City over the Christmas period. With Sturridge and Enrique also out, the depth and quality of Liverpool's squad will definitely be tested. How will Liverpool's midfield line-up to cover Gerrard's absence?
According to Brendan Rodgers, Lucas and Joe Allen - combined cost £21m - will step into the breach for Gerrard. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Reds boss basically outlined his plan. He explained:
"Steven is an important player for us, but we have other players and they have to step up. Lucas has been excellent for us and has that quality and experience to step up and take the responsibility. Joe's movement, his body work and fluency on the ball [are also] what we need right now. We need that mobility and movement in midfield to knit the game together."
Mobility is not really a word I'd associate with Lucas, but is definitely more mobile that the Brazilian, and that's definitely needed in the middle of the field. However, is Lucas/Allen partnership strong enough to cope with Chelsea, Spurs and Man City? The stats are mixed for when Allen/Lucas play start together.
Allen/Lucas partnership for LFC
* West Brom: 0-3 (A)
* Southampton: 1-0 (H)
* West Ham: 3-2 (A)
* Aston Villa: 1-3 defeat (H)
* Mansfield Town: 2-1 (A)
* Man United: 1-2 (A)
* Zenit: 3-1 (H)
* Wigan: 4-0 (A)
* Everton: 3-3 (A)
* P9 W5 L3 D1 F19 A14
* Wins: 55%
* Failed to win 50% of away games.
* Conceded: 1.6 goals per game.
A mixed set of results, but more wins than defeats overall.
Based on Rodgers' comments, and the way he's used the duo in the past, it seems like that he'll line-up with Lucas and Allen as the core midfield partnership, and Jordan Henderson playing higher up the field. To be honest, though, I'd prefer to see Hendo playing alongside Lucas, with Allen pushed forward:
---------- Lucas -------- Henderson
----------------- Allen
----- Sterling ----------- Coutinho
---------------- Suarez
Central midfield playmaker is Henderson's natural position, and he offers more strength and physical presence than Allen, which will be vital against players like Yaya Toure. As evidenced by the West Ham victory at the weekend, Allen has the short-passing guile to make a difference in the final third, something that Henderson (arguably) lacks.
Ultimately, every player has to step-up over the Christmas period, not just Lucas/Allen, and despite the daunting games to come, I personally feel confident that the Reds can get at least 10-11 points out of the next five games.
There will inevitably be another defeat (or possibly two) over the Christmas period, but as long Liverpool are still in the top four on January 2nd, that's all that matters.
Author: Jaimie K
According to Brendan Rodgers, Lucas and Joe Allen - combined cost £21m - will step into the breach for Gerrard. Speaking to reporters yesterday, the Reds boss basically outlined his plan. He explained:
"Steven is an important player for us, but we have other players and they have to step up. Lucas has been excellent for us and has that quality and experience to step up and take the responsibility. Joe's movement, his body work and fluency on the ball [are also] what we need right now. We need that mobility and movement in midfield to knit the game together."
Mobility is not really a word I'd associate with Lucas, but is definitely more mobile that the Brazilian, and that's definitely needed in the middle of the field. However, is Lucas/Allen partnership strong enough to cope with Chelsea, Spurs and Man City? The stats are mixed for when Allen/Lucas play start together.
Allen/Lucas partnership for LFC
* West Brom: 0-3 (A)
* Southampton: 1-0 (H)
* West Ham: 3-2 (A)
* Aston Villa: 1-3 defeat (H)
* Mansfield Town: 2-1 (A)
* Man United: 1-2 (A)
* Zenit: 3-1 (H)
* Wigan: 4-0 (A)
* Everton: 3-3 (A)
* P9 W5 L3 D1 F19 A14
* Wins: 55%
* Failed to win 50% of away games.
* Conceded: 1.6 goals per game.
A mixed set of results, but more wins than defeats overall.
Based on Rodgers' comments, and the way he's used the duo in the past, it seems like that he'll line-up with Lucas and Allen as the core midfield partnership, and Jordan Henderson playing higher up the field. To be honest, though, I'd prefer to see Hendo playing alongside Lucas, with Allen pushed forward:
---------- Lucas -------- Henderson
----------------- Allen
----- Sterling ----------- Coutinho
---------------- Suarez
Central midfield playmaker is Henderson's natural position, and he offers more strength and physical presence than Allen, which will be vital against players like Yaya Toure. As evidenced by the West Ham victory at the weekend, Allen has the short-passing guile to make a difference in the final third, something that Henderson (arguably) lacks.
Ultimately, every player has to step-up over the Christmas period, not just Lucas/Allen, and despite the daunting games to come, I personally feel confident that the Reds can get at least 10-11 points out of the next five games.
There will inevitably be another defeat (or possibly two) over the Christmas period, but as long Liverpool are still in the top four on January 2nd, that's all that matters.
Author: Jaimie K
I feel so nervous about these games...
ReplyDeleteWhat about the 4-5m in wages he was earning?!
ReplyDeleteisn't Henderson injured?
ReplyDeleteSeeing as Sturridge is injured we should probably sell Suarez as well.
ReplyDeleteMake or break time!
ReplyDeleteThink so
ReplyDeleteAt the moment, but the Liverpool Echo reports:
ReplyDelete"Liverpool believe Henderson has only suffered bruising to his ankle and are hopeful he will recover in time to feature at White Hart Lane"
I don't think we need to lose against Citeh, Chelski and Spurs even without Gerrard. Just the chance of winning is virtually reduced to 0. On top of that, I'm also worried we'll drop more points against the likes of Cardiff. Against the "bigger" teams, we can take the smaller team approach and make it a slugging match but teams like Cardiff do exactly that against us and then we're required to unlock them. Something which is virtually impossible with that midfield.
ReplyDeleteI'd stick Suarez out wide and Aspas up front.
ReplyDeleteIf you come across anything else you think I should cover, just let me know :-)
ReplyDeleteI think were going to lose to Spurs, which will be the most annoying one since they will clime to 30 after referees gave them 8 points so far this season. Terrible. Than we will probably win at home, than lose to City, and against Chelsea we might, might, draw.
ReplyDeleteThe % that i'm wrong here is about 20%. 10% present that our midfield will over rise and won't be floppy - 10% that Rodgers will have a 'masterpiece' of games managing.
Both ideas are way better than Lucas, Allen, Hendo. Hope i'm wrong but how can you trust this midfield without Gerrard after what they've showed so far?
ReplyDeleteOh man Rodgers is gonna get hated again most chances.
i read somewhere that henderson also picked up a knock and may not be present for the spurs game. if that is the case then will we be seeing alberto make a start? and btw its not all doom and gloom on the injury front for lfc alone. vertonghen is out for 4 weeks for the spurs. plus after playing anzhi on thursday night i expect them to be on lower levels than usual for the sunday game. im leaning towards an lfc win. YNWA.
ReplyDeleteI actually prefer Alberto in and an u21's to get pushed in to the bench.
ReplyDeleteHow did you come up with 10-11 points out of these games? i gotta ask
What about 3 5 1 1 ?
ReplyDeleteToure, Skrtel, Sakho
Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Flanagan
Coutinho
Suarez
Pretty definsive but possibly not a bad thing, given our injuries.
or if Henderson is injured, 4 2 3 1 ?
Johnson, Skrtel, Sakho, Flanagan
Allen, Lucas
Sterling, Coutinho, Alberto / Aspas
Suarez
If we can take 10 or 11 points from our next 5 games. We should be aiming for the title not CL. I personally dont think we can take that much. 7 or 8 is respectible with our injuries. Spurs are just on the back of 2 wins against relegation fodder and seem a little over confident. Hopefully they'll still have their defensive injuries and Suarez can get a few. Cardiff are pretty woeful but seem to turn it on for the top half teams. And Marshall seems to have amazing saves in those games. But we should get through them. Chelsea will be pumped to play us I'm sure and I'd say line up in preparation for an onslaught and try and catch them with a suckerpunch in the last 5 minutes. City... well we'll deal with that when we come to it. And I fully expect a response against Hull.
Aspas is far too rusty to lead the attack plus Suarez is untouchable at the moment. The Spurs defence will not looking forward to this match.
ReplyDeleteI would actually would prefer Alex u21's to manage these games in a 4 something something etc. 3-5-1-1 will be devastating - it's not like we will be amazingly organized and would pass well, we will just panic.
ReplyDeleteTerrible period this will be, the last thing we ever needed, as much as I had hopes for top four now starting to lose it day by day, to miss enrique gerrard and sturridge will be just too much for us, we had a small squad anyway and add these now phew.. Should be the unluckiest club atm, I think allen and lucas will fail, even if they do well in defence but will they produce assists/goals? Clearly not, they say hendo as well will be out for some time, so who will produce goals now, just coutinho and suarez wont be enough for sure, dont wanna be negative before we play those three games away but we all know theres little hope we could beat them, only a miracle will do.
ReplyDeleteThe problem I have is that we, Liverpool supporters, always pride ourselves in our loyalty to whomever serves the club. When Hodgson arrived, there was little proof of that. First of all he arrived when the turmoil at boardroom level was worse than ever before. Second there were no funds what so ever at his disposal so he had to settle for buying cheap players and when you have to do that, it makes sense that you go for players who have done a job for you in the past like Poulsen and Konchesky. Third of all he came in to replace Benitez, much loved, when a lot of supporters wanted Dalglish, much loved. Those supporters behaved like spoiled kids who got a bike for christmas but cried because it was the wrong colour. I am one hundred percent positive that had Roy been given the cash that Kenny was given, we would have been much better off. But FSG needed to cut all ties with the old regime to win the trust of a share of the supporters, the ones who thought same old yanks, and the easy way to do it was at the expense of Hodgson.
ReplyDeleteSuarez can score from anywhere on the pitch. Just because he starts out wide doesn't mean he needs to be hugging the touchline for 90 minutes. My idea behind this is that if you stick Suarez up front, he is double marked and 90% of our goal threat is gone. If you stick him behind someone or coming from the wing, he will draw out defenders which will create openings.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, Rafa identified him so he had been known of for sometime ( 3 yrs) However, He had only just signed for Ajax in 07/08 and so there were reasons not to pursue him immediately
ReplyDeleteDalglish was involved in Football matters when he was bought back to the club with a role at the academy and given football related assignments like being asked to scout a target (Suarez) for Rafa, in 2009. This is when Rafa decided to step up his pursuit and to try and sign Suarez.
Suarez was a target from that point. He was not signed by Hodgson, he did not arrive on Hodgson's watch. Dalglish says very clearly in the quote in the guardian article that I linked too
"so when we were talking about players it was pushing at an open door regarding Suárez"
In that quote he is specifically talking about discussions around signings that happened when he returned as Manager in 2011. And the final decision to proceed with Suarez was taken. Yes Suarez was in the works and had been a target for some time but Comolli & Dalglish signed him.
So Rafa identified him, Kenny and Rafa made him a target, Comolli was bringing him in and Kenny had input because Suarez was signed on his watch as manager.
So you really need to correct your assumpion that Hodgson did much he didn't find Suarez, he didn't make him a target and he didn't in the end sign him. So really he's a bystander.
If you don't want to correct your completely baseless assertion that Hodgson deserves credit fine - but what exactly is it you think he did and what proof do you have of that?
"
Well. I guess getting Lukaku and Delufeo is better than Moses and Aspas isn't it? Ya you ca learn stuff from anyone. They obviously played better than us against Arsenal at the Emirates. . .
ReplyDeleteWest Ham parked the bus but they still could not stop Suarez. There is just no sense in removing Suarez from the central position especially when he carries 95% of our goals at the moment.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll see exactly what you're asking for - Henderson sitting a little deeper with Lucas while Allen gets forward. The question is absolutely on Henderson i.e. can he play the kind of passing game that will utilise Allen and Coutinho to best effect. Liverpool absolutely have the players to cover for Gerrard being out but it will be a new combination and that's where it will be tough, especially against a Spurs defence that had mostly been quite effective. If Hendo hasn't been training this week because of injury then I think we might struggle to be really fluid. I think we're going to have to depend on some moments of magic from Suarez and Coutinho to nick a goal and then just hope we stand up defensively. I'd take a draw against all the three bigger teams, we're just not yet a quality enough team to play consistently at that level.
ReplyDeleteI like this line-up except for Lucas. He can't/won't track back after the ball is by him. I would put Hendo in for Lucas. I would bring Texeira to the bench and Ibe too and have them be ready for any of the front four that cant' handle the load.
ReplyDeleteMy team is based on Henderson possibly not playing on Sunday.
ReplyDeleteIf Henderson is fit then I would play him ahead of Lucas too.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a baseless assertion at all. You view is based mostly on stuff written by a journalist, a d a few comments from Dalglish. My view is based on comments from Hodgson, who confirms that he scouted Suarez. That carries more weight that what a journo says. Dalglish and Hodgson have their say, yet you attribute more weight to Dalglish. The reason is obvious: you lack objectivity, clearly dislike Hodgson and have great affection for Daglish.
ReplyDeleteThe facts are thus:
* Dalglish scouted Suarez on behalf of Benitez.
* Hodgson scouted Suarez personally.
* Dalglish was not involved in FIRST TEAM matters before taking over in 2011.
* Dalglish confirms that the Suarez deal was done before he took over in 2011.
* For the deal to actually be completed would need the input of senior figures at Anfield, including Hodgson.
Based on the available evidence, it is perfectly reasonable to conclude that Hodgson was involved with Suarez's purchase. He was the manager! He would've been heavily involved.
If you choose to ignore the probabilities because of dislike of Hodgson, that's your choice.
I feel it was big negligence on BR's part to let Stevie play 3 games in 7 days, this means he has no confidence in other players like Allen and Alberto and aspas!
ReplyDeleteI would like to see if we can use Johnson in the middle, we have a midfield crisis not a defensive one and he can be dangerous playing higher up the field just a thought how about something like this
ReplyDeleteMig
Kelly Toure/Tiago Skrtel Flanna
Tiago/Johnson Lucas Sakho Johnson/Sterling
Cotinho
Suarez
Or Mig
Tiago Toure/skrtel Agger Flanna
Johnson Lucas Sakho
Aspas/Cortinho Cortinho/Sterling
Suarez
I know it seems strange but the midfield has strength and there is enough creative footballers to cause problems just, an opinion.
I truly hate the doom and gloom most people have. I don't think spurs are very good, I think avb may be even more overrated than mourinho. I think we take the points. cardiff could be tricky but still think we take the points. Chelsea doesn't have forwards who can score, while there midfield is loaded I think we can stifle them, especially with how awful that defense is plus are boys always seem to step up against the plastics. city more than likely is going to slaughter us but that is to be expected at the eithad. I know a lot of people live to hate Allen but I think he is a good player, he really performed the first half of last season and stuck through some awful injuries but finally had to be sidelined because they really started hampering him. please stop sounding like arsenal twats when they lost pod, walcott and the ox to injuries and thought there season was done. so a little faith for once and optimism. stop bashing your players for the sake of bashing.
ReplyDeleteI think we need all 3 mids that are available for an away game at Spurs. This recovery time thing is a bit bloated, it's not as if Lucas has a tea break when the ball goes past him. Just because Allen and Henderson can run back faster after missing a tackle...so what? Lucas is a ball winner and we need him right now.
ReplyDeleteYes, but with Suarez up front alone we got thrashed...thoroughly outclassed...by HULL. Suarez couldn't get the ball and every time he did there were three guys on him. We can't win if there is no other scoring threat on the pitch. Yes we're second and I'm as happy about it as you are, but we won't stay there with LS alone and unafraid up front...do the math.
ReplyDeletewe have TEXIERA -he is the type to thrive on resposibility, its so obvious he is 21 this week, not a kid, ARE THEY AWAKE ! he would be great (he will delight the kop). he is miles better than Allen going forward, he is far more creative than henderson,if we play him in the next home game - Brendon will have to spend his next press coferrence taking about him. play him in front of Allen and play Kelly too.
ReplyDeleteThere is if it gives you another option to score goals. West Ham defenders are not Vinceny Kompany or Branislav Ivanovic.
ReplyDeleteThere's a mistake in your stats: we beat West Ham 3-2, we didn't lose. Goals were from Johnson, Joe Cole & an own goal. Which makes it W5 L3 D1
ReplyDeleteWe always seem to do well when the chips are down and expectation level down .I expect a fighting performance from Allen Lucas and Hendo. Tottenham, chelsea , Mcity .Kind of a stretch where we want to show our true Liverpool spirit.The spirit which made us champions against all odds by beating far superior Milan. Finally it's a matter of two or three moments of brilliance from our unbreakable talisman who is as strong as ever.Come on lads ,Let's do it..YNWA
ReplyDeleteHa Ha So much to learn.... oops, nearly said lol !
ReplyDeleteWe would have WON the league if we had signed Suarez to go with Torres as early as then.
ReplyDeleteMissed chance for glory.
But then you expect Aspas to rip up the likes of Kompany and Ivanovic? Bit of a contradiction?
ReplyDeleteGood spot. Thanks. I just got the numbers the wrong way round. Fixed.
ReplyDeleteGlad you ain't managing Liverpool mate :)
ReplyDeleteNot at all surprised at the thought that Benitez is credited with first spotting him. Don't care if Hodgson had a small or major part in signing him. He did precious little else of any use. Happy we've got him (Suarez) and happy we've got KD in a role that suits him and the club better.
ReplyDeleteKD took on the manager role very cold with no recent manager experience and did the best he could. Hats off to him for stepping up to the plate, but he's not the man to lead LFC now. That doesn't in any way detract from or reduce his legendary status.
Yes, maybe some fans treatment of Hodgson was unbecoming, but Woy never was, never will be and never could have been the man to manage LFC.
Quite a few on here were arguing with me that Allen does not fit in the team and adds nothing to the team either.
ReplyDeleteThey can bash all they like. I told every one of them that humble pie would be served and guess what, humble pie has been served :-)
I like the logic, its an interesting option and ine that makes alot of sense and would argubly work and if defenders dont go out wide to close Suarez down it leaves him space to run into and do what he does best!
ReplyDeleteWe need to ensure are defence is on point over the xmas period to be where we want to be in Jan. I agree the whole team needs to step up and show why they deserve to be & play for LFC. But if we are solid in the back 4 and they lead the line of attack via midfield it will give the likes of Allen/Lucas/Hendo more confidence and hopefully will produce the goods over the winter games. With Stevie & Sturidge out i would really like to see Alberto/Aspas get a few run of games. We need to use what we have and put faith/trust in the players we bought (not loaned) to build that confidence and get them assisting and scoring!!
ReplyDeletelets sell mignolet we still have jones!
ReplyDeletean ironic thought: Shelvey is just the type of player I would be looking at around the league which LFC would be evaluating. That is if he didn't just leave that is. Lets just pretend he had a different name and throw a wig on top of his head - whatever - flattop or curley mop or affro. And lets also change his name to Jones or Smith. We probably would all be talking about this player and his future potential ad nauseam. He's better than Allen was and that's a fact. And Allen went for 15. lol. My goodness . . . WTF is going on with our transfers. And we had him on a very low salary too. I'm sorry but this is another example of a blunder. I'm not saying LAlberto wont come good but its going to take a lot of minutes which are not coming too often. At this rate LA may get two full games of time by Christmas.
ReplyDeleteIMO they should have worked out a short term loan somewhere say half season. He needs to play and adapt to the physical aspects. Only way is to play. At this rate he'll be ready when he's 24 yrs old. Gonna have problems with his backside from ridding the pine this whole time.
The pile of money which Jerry Seinfeld sleeps upon can't be wrong!
ReplyDeleteReading how longstanding our interest was perhaps the most influential in our pursuit was Eduardo Macia, since he was a link between the Rafa era and the early days Hodgedom.
ReplyDeleteI'm wary that if we get a bad result against Tottenham, everyone will just lose it and fall apart over that key 5 game stretch. It is worse without Gerrard's maturity in the side too.
ReplyDeleteWho are you???
ReplyDeleteGames against Spurs and Cardiff will be the most important ones. Gooners at the same time will be playing City and Chelsea. If those games are gained with maximum points the pressure will be eased!!!
ReplyDeleteSeeing as how we are all looking at the next 4 games... what is everyone's opinion on the "acceptable" number of points we need to get?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure everyone is in agreement that 3 points from the Cardiff home game is a must...
But let's assume that the 3 away fixtures are not going to be all wins because it's probably not realistic.
Would you be ok with 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 points out of 9?
In my opinion, I think the Man City game is the toughest of three to win, so that's the loss right there for me.
I think we can beat Spurs and Chelsea if we play well.
I think if you offered me 4 points right now out of the 9, I'd probably take it.
What are others folks' thought's on this?
Jeez, dude, aren't you a big bag of Christmas cheer!?!?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that we have Suarez in the side means we're always going to be a threat going forward. Yes, he didn't really turn up against Hull but none of the team did. He was marked almost out of the game by Collins (WH) but still managed to wreak havoc on their defence.
I watched the U21s on Monday, Teixieria and Ibe looked good enough to warrant a place on the bench but this really is the time to bring Alberto into the fold. He scored more than Delofueo for Barca's U21s last term and we've all seen how good he has been for Everton. .
Buy left back, holding midfielder, left winger, right winger n goalkeeper.. Get rid of chissoko, allen, moses, aspas.. Montoya as rightback would be good too.. My suggestion, ryan bertrand, diame, tello, pedro n young gk.. And yes im dreaming..
ReplyDeleteYep, you're right :-) Kramer's reaction when he first sees the 'Pigman' at the hospital is priceless. Love that show.
ReplyDeletehonda just moved to ac milan :(
ReplyDeleteI don't know if Henderson will be fit for the next game against Spurs,however, Lucas,Allen and Alberto just don't have the mobility or legs against a mobile Spurs team,however if Fulham can pull it off with Sidwell,Karagounis and Parker i'm sure we would do well if we can emulate Fulham's tactic .Its a big game for this midfield trio considering this resurgent Spurs team.
ReplyDeleteNo, I expect Aspas to use the space Suarez and Coutinho create. Hence the "draw out defenders"
ReplyDeleteput him up against Walker and he will shred him. Walker lacks so much defensive positions so Suarez will have so much space to operate in.
ReplyDeleteno great loss imo,very unreliable.
ReplyDelete"Major statement of intent" I HATE that term!!
ReplyDeletemy prediction
ReplyDeletenext 5 games: 9 points.
home Cardiff 3 pts
home Hull Revenge 3 pts
other 3 away tot, chel, city say 3 ties = 3 pts
We could grab a win from one of the 3 away and drop the others.
This is going to be a really tuff time period considering all the injuries. We could really slip away a bit, but the only silver lining would be that may sanction more spending in the January transfer for a booster player or two.
The article is headed rumour mill - nothing to see here move along please
ReplyDeleteDid something good:? Even a blind dog hits a lamppost every now and again....
ReplyDeleteshaqiri is perfect for us hope they buy him coz he's fast skillfull & a goal scorer better than sturrige
ReplyDelete@nick1811 dude you sound like some weak sauce. everybody and even obama and his mamma have been asking for the capi's absense to test our teams resolve. I really do think that hendo allen and lucas can handle this load my only concern is that we have no more central mid cover, i hear alot of luis alberto but i believe he is winger/attacking mid and not box to box like the capi. Anyone got any ideas on who will be brought up from reserves. recall coady or something. YNWA LFC TIA
ReplyDeleteFurther, if we do fodder, IMO the best time to have a dip or a crisis is right before the transfer window.
ReplyDeleteExcatly. Totenham we can beat by waiting our chance and counting on them being nervous. Plus City has some hard matches and perfect record at home- maybe we can squeeze out a point...
ReplyDeleteDude, I understand where you're coming from, but is losing all these players, whilst upon entering a period of 3 incredibly tough away games, the most ideal time to test our resolve? We're desperate to make the top 4, and any dropped points in this incredibly tight and compact competition are going to hurt us. We haven't won at Spurs for a while; Chelsea have a much improved squad, and perform generally well at home with Mourinho, and City have the best midfield in the league, and the best home form in the league. They tear teams to shreds at the Etihad.
ReplyDeleteYes, it will be a massive test for resolve, but just remember that's it's not the right time or year for that, because top 4 is an absolute must.
At the moment, we don't need these games to prove that we are worthy title winners or top 4 contenders. Who gives a shit about how we make the top 4. I'd be happy to make it even because every game we win from now on is a fluke, because of bad refereeing, or beach balls. The only thing that matters is that 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th spot. That will turn top class players' heads, not how we got there.
ReplyDeleteCan I have a link to where Hodgson claimed to scout Suarez?
ReplyDeleteI have provided support for what I've asserted. I'm asking you do the same and then I will accept you have provided some basis.
Also Dalglish never said the deal was done before he arrived. As it wasn't so he simply could not say that. You have taken the fact that Dalglish says Suarez was already a target and being monitored and added 2 and 2 to get 9. Kenny is simply giving credit to Rafa's role, as Kenny didn't identify him he was already well on the radar. But Suarez wasn't signed until late in the window that is a well known fact. The deal was not done.
As I have told you 3 times now and you still have not replied to this point or been able to refute it, Kenny discussed players with Comolli when he came in, in 2011, they talked about Suarez, he was already a known target for the club, already known to Kenny, already a work in progress. Comolli signed him and Dalglish as the manager had final say, That's how transfers worked according to countless reports from the club.
So let's review
Rafa identified Suarez
Kenny scouted Suarez at Rafa's request
Suarez was made a target by Rafa & monitored
Kenny and Comolli discussed players and signings in the January 2011 window
Comolli signed Suarez
So in the story of how Suarez came to be at LFC and who played what part. You have that maybe Roy watched Ajax at some point. Gee whiz let's be sure to give him huge credit.
You know you have me wrong, you assume that I am pro Kenny and maybe that's because you're not. However, in this instance I have replied simply because you haven't told the true story, you haven't in what you wrote acknowledged Rafa anywhere near as much as he deserves, and although I dislike Comolli - you haven't acknowledged that he was quite significant in this. That's not bias, far from it, but it is true. Rafa, Comolli & even Dalglish who isn't seeking any credit for himself, played a greater role than Hodgson but you have twisted one comment from Dalglish & tried to give substantial credit to Hodgson. It simply isn't his.
While I agree that the treatment for Hodgson was a disgrace, IMO we would be in such a worse position now if we hadn't got rid of him, as a coach I believe he is too defensive (I remember us drawing with MU and being a man up and he brought on a defensive sub that was the game when I thought he should go).
ReplyDeleteRodgers did just as bad as Hodgson in his first 5 months, and he didn't have anywhere near the hassle Hodgson had to deal with (Ownership situation; Benitez exit; general turmoil etc). Should he have been sacked too?
ReplyDeleteComolli probably had Suarez' contract and fee prepared for whoever hired him before he ended up with us. You hire Comolli, you get Suarez. Probably made his job interview pretty easy.
ReplyDeleteMost of your post is your own personal speculation. I'm just interested in the facts.
ReplyDeleteAs for the link about Hodgson scouting Suarez. it's in the article, as is his comment on the subject.
I agree we needed more in the now. But I am not against buying players for the future I just don't think one should influence the other. They should be done in tandem. I thought it was more like 13m but perhaps I am being pedantic.
ReplyDeleteWhile this may be true, it's because of his style of play and negative tactics that made me dislike Hodgson
ReplyDeleteBecause he is a pseudo fan....simples....genuine fans attracted here like lemmings by the name of the site. ..kanlad is a total phoney
ReplyDeleteTo warn genuine fans that this is a phoney LFC Site....simples
ReplyDeleteyep we nailed it! have faith. YNWA
ReplyDelete