12 Feb 2014

Confirmed LFC XI vs. Fulham: £7m star axed; surprise on the bench; Injured star returns

As expected, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has named the same team for the 4th consecutive game, and with Chelsea slipping-up last night, and Arsenal facing Man United this evening, the opportunity is there for the Reds to gain serious ground on the top three.

FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Flanagan, Toure, Skrtel, Cissokho, Gerrard, Hendo, Coutinho, Suarez, Sterling, Sturridge

SUBS: Jones, Agger, Kelly, Allen, Moses, Teixeira, Aspas

FULHAM: Stekelenburg, Riether, Heitinga, Burn, Riise, Tunnicliffe, Sidwell, Kvist, Richardson, Holtby, Bent

---------------- Mignolet

Flanagan ---- Toure --- Skrtel ---- Cissokho

----------- Gerrard -- Hendo

-------------- Coutinho

Suarez --------------------- Sterling

-------------- Sturridge

Daniel Agger is surprisingly on the bench, which, based on Rodgers' recent comments, seems ahead of schedule, but it's a boost for the squad that the Dane is apparently fit again.

The real surprise is Joao Carol Teixeira on the bench, though Rodgers did hint at a promotion earlier this week, when he told the Liverpool Echo:

"Joao has been one of the outstanding performers for the reserves. It has been difficult for him, but I've seen a big difference in him; his intensity, the speed of his game - he has undoubted quality and he has showed up very well".

Luis Alberto is vanquished from the squad to make way for Teixeira, which is definitely a low point for the Spaniard. Rodgers has barely played him this season, and now, Alberto is jettisoned in favour of an untested youngster.

I doubt that will do much for his confidence.

Author:


166 comments:

  1. Let's hope the team have learned from their mistakes and don't have an attack of the 'West Broms'. Fingers crossed for a draw at the Emirates, and that Newcastle beat Spurs. Not too much to ask is it?

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  2. Tough one this, are we good enough to get higher than 4th and therefore want the scum to beat Arsenal or try and cement 4th and hope the mancs get beat? A draw is sitting on the fence, I say, come on Arsenal and if we are good enough for 3rd it won't make any difference.

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  3. You call luis alberto a star? How come he became a star cant see! You guys in Britain do that all the time, I remember the media used to call poulsen a star as well, need to cut that out. Very pleased for Joao, cant see him getting some mins though, unfortunately, BR is well stubborn. Aspas should of made way for alberto.

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  4. Perhaps it's a bit "short-sighted" on my part, but from Luis Alberto's point of view, is there really a difference at this point to being put on the bench vs. not being put on the bench at all?


    He doesn't play when he's on the bench, so what's the point of putting him there?

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  5. Wtf games being postponed now one after another, due to weather, ours can get pp too soon!! Dont know whats the weather in London right now..

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  6. Good point, and you're probably right. It has to sting a bit, though. I'm sure he wants to play, and to be dumped from the squad in favour of someone who's never played can't be good for confidence. If it was me, I'd feel aggrieved. Plus, it just underlines once again the abject waste of £7m last summer.

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  7. I never want the scum to beat anyone. I'll go for the draw in that one :)

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  8. Maybe he just ain't doing enough in training?

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  9. Texeira in Ibe out, thats a surprise, but I think Texeira's contract expires in June, ( not 100% positive), so give him a glimpse at the 1st team, help to keep him.
    Expected line up though, fingers crossed for any win.

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  10. There's no evidence for that. Plus Rodgers has stated in the past that Alberto works hard. If he's a poor trainer, LFC's scouts should've picked that up before the club splurged £7m. That's part of their job.

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  11. Me neither, though it would be great arseanal to lose as many points as possible now, but just cant support the scum.. NEVER!

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  12. Seems the games up north only, London seems better, I hope.
    Anyway will give them fixture pile-ups.

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  13. That is why I said MAYBE?

    We do not know what the real reasons are for Alberto not getting playing time.

    And by the way, £7m = peanuts in todays transfer market.

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  14. Hoping, almost anticipating a win.

    Subs starting to look stronger, which is a positive sign. Like JK, confused re Alberto.

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  15. Let's go out with the same attitude as we did vs Arsenal and finish this game off again in the first 20 minutes. Come on you REDS!

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  16. For 4 million more, Chelsea bought Saleh. Mourinho confirmed figure this week..

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  17. Salah is going to rot on Chelsea's bench. No loss to us.

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  18. Newcastle mtch still on so hopefully they can stuff Spurs again for us

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  19. If you save up all those peanuts though, you can buy a delicious Brazil nut, like Willian or Coutinho.

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  20. Coutinho also cost peanuts but Willian an arm and leg :-)

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  21. If most deals are done in peanuts and Willian was sold for an arm and a leg, does that make Shakhtar a bunch of cannibals?

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  22. You're making an assumption that he's be dropped based on no evidence - maybe he's picked up an injury

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  23. Agreed, but BR might wait till half time. Cannot forgive toure for his 2nd own goal in matter of weeks. Needs to be dropped to the bench.

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  24. We are looking clueless at the moment.

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  25. We need another player in midfield. Fulham are having such an easy time on the ball. No urgency from us whatsoever.

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  26. Did I not call Kolo scoring??/ Must be telepathetic!

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  27. YeaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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  28. What a genius pass by Gerrard. Absolutely amazing.

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  29. We need to do some more shite like Flanno was doing just before half-time to trick them into coming forward and then play a super hoof up to Sturridge/Sterling.

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  30. Cripes. First 35: bad. Last 10: better. It's gonna be a real scrap this one.

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  31. Defence shaky again Toure's confidence shot - is he getting bungs ? Bring on Agger and lets go for it second half . Spurs 1 up

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  32. Here we come... Just as we thought, this is painful to watch, legend toure again, br better put agger on, or we gonna concede three more like this, seeing this very frustrating, suarez nowhere wtf happened to him, very sceptical about a win now, just tragic to watch, AND WE ARE IN THE TITLE RACE YES!

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  33. Gotta win this looks like Spurs are going to get 3 points !

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  34. Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

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  35. Coutinho, you little beauty

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  36. can we take skrtel and Toure off now. They're still in cloud cuckoo land after Arsenal

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  37. Poor by Coutinho.
    Clearly his team-mates in defence have bet big money on Spurs getting 4th and he's trying to wreck that for them.

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  38. come on reds .....toure needs to take a tour of the reserves hes been off for a while

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  39. Well, Toure has made it easy for BR with Agger and Sakho coming back into fitness. Sakho is the big miss from our defence though, not Agger - who also has a propensity for contributing to comedy goals like Fulham's second.
    For all those who question why Rodgers likes stockpiling centre halves, until he finds a decent one can you blame him!!

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  40. Texeira on. Secret weapon?

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  41. geeetttttttt innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

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  42. aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

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  43. YES!!! GET IN!!!!!

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  44. i need to lie down......

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  45. These days I can't watch a Liverpool game without plying myself with drink. Like a Victorian amputation.

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  46. Thank you Mr Sturridge.

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  47. Best result of the season.

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  48. WHAT A WIIIIIIIIIN!!!! COMOOOOOOON!!!!

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  49. Resilience & class- we won ugly!

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  50. Well done - great win.. JUST.. but GREAT win

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  51. I think the amputation would be easier mate!

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  52. No way we would have won this game last year.. so defo improvement..

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  53. That win actually does more for me than a 5-1 home victory. Real steel.

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  54. These are the results that title winners get, win when you play poorly, doesn't matter how, just get it done and we've delivered, if we are to win the league (though still outsiders) a win like this will be hugely significant.

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  55. these are what dreams are made off LIVERPOOL LIVERPOOL LIIVERPOOL my gosh the amount off times i wanted to turn off my tv glad i stuck through till the end....... kolo out

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  56. Doesn't it feel great when you play shit and still snatch a win? This win could mean so much!

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  57. This is exactly the type of shit Man Utd used to do.

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  58. If Liverpool are in the title race, aren't Tottenham in it too?

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  59. We played better 2nd half..

    Shocking defence/keeper

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  60. fullham defended full 90 and played long ball football both goals came from an aimless long ball imo

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  61. He's our fourth choice centre-back, and considering that he's a damn good one to be a 4th choice. His experience will be crucial in the weeks ahead....but it's nice to know you kick a man when he's down, you're a fan, not a supporter.

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  62. hope they get relegated hate that kind of football

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  63. I agree. It was as good as Real Steel. I don't say that lightly, it is one of Hugh Jackman's greatest performances.

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  64. Nowhere near our best though.

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  65. I thought we played well enough, just shite in defence as usual.
    Not our best performance by any means, but not awful.

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  66. I don't think we are, but I think the main difference (besides 3 points, which in this league is a lot) is that we play Chelsea are Man City, so we can have a big say.

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  67. Haven't seen it said yet, but thank goodness Sturridge was the one being tackled there.


    More often than not, that's Suarez in that position... and I find it hard to believe he would have been given the same call.


    Glad to see this time fight back over and over again. We were knocking on the door repeatedly for the last 55 minutes of the game.


    Happy to see Gerrard give Richardson a taste of his own medicine at the end with the celebration.

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  68. The pen was such a stonewall-er that I think even Suarez would have gotten it.

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  69. Did SG get a yellow for taking his shirt off..?

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  70. Next match we need a banner of Sascha Riether's face on the Kop.

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  71. Also the kid was half decent when he came on..

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  72. I am lying down and still feel like I need a lie down. I might do a head stand see if that calms me.

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  73. I think at this point, we're on first name terms.
    I basically consider him my best friend.

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  74. He runs like a complete pansy though. I think he is a more central player, but it's good to see yet another debut.

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  75. I need to lie down on top of a woman to recreate the feeling I had when that pen went in.

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  76. Esp coming back from 2 silly mistakes we gifted them

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  77. True. Hugh Jackman made mistakes with his son in Real Steel too.

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  78. For me it was BR had faith in him when the game was still up in the air..

    He ain't done that with Alberto..

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  79. Good point.
    I reckon Luis Alberto must have pulled a Zaha and shtupped Rodgers' daughter.

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  80. I don't think you can expect more than one miracle an evening ;-)

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  81. I'd like to believe you're right... but the pessimistic side of me overruled!

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  82. Are you talking about me finding a woman or just getting an erection?
    Either way, I agree.

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  83. sure i skipped work today to watch the game um yh think i'm a supporter anyway this is the second time he almost cost us a game if u don't like my opinion thats on u

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  84. I agree! This result had the same, if not greater, significance than the win on Saturday.

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  85. by the way..we are 11 points clear of Manu

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  86. could possibly mean curtains for alberto though hmmm

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  87. I'm going to have to appeal that decision, your Honour.

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  88. If I was a nail biter I think I would have bled to death before the final whistle!

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  89. Well, if so, that would be a shame, and a waster of £7m

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  90. Haha, someone needs to tell Kolo he needs to be scoringon the other end of the pitch, I think him and Skrtel are competing for "who will score the most own goals for LFC" title. We won anyway, niice.

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  91. Jokes aside, I thought the same thing myself.
    The good thing about having English blokes. Always get a pen. Even if it is a dive (Owen, Welbeck, Young, Gerrard).

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  92. This is not funny :-)

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  93. You're still smiling though, which means it made you happy!

    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)
    :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

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  94. Skipped work and then you "wanted to turn off your tv"....thats not support. And Kolo is a great person to have around (I wasn't sure about him coming in at the start but he's definitely won me over and he's a good presence to have around the club) Show some support to the man if it's not beyond you....

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  95. so true could've gone to salah lol

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  96. Alberto will be out on loan next season and from then who knows what will happen. He has made zero impact, even if his chances were limited. Funnily enough, they are pretty similar players.


    IMO it's a shame Ibe wasn't on the bench today instead of Moses. We have players coming through and it's good to see. Also if Borini stays at the club it would totally eliminate the opportunity for Rodgers to go out and buy that Alberto/Aspas medium priced type of player.

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  97. Brendan Rogers = logical progression well done sir!

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  98. I'm worried about Spurs now. They're flying under the radar yet they were almost level on points with us!

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  99. Mad weather means more time on MOTD but I'm not sure it's a good thing. Don't know if I can go through that again. Sometimes I wonder if our defencive coaches are the chuckle brothers.

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  100. That's what happens when you can defend. Play as shit as you like, but still win a bunch of games.
    Hopefully we'll bum them at Anfield and they'll just lose all momentum.

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  101. It's one of those that makes you hurt the more you smile :-)

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  102. i said i wanted to not i did anyway this makes no sense going and do other things with my liife

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  103. I know. A Swansea mate of mine was visiting and he seemed to agree that they don't seem a threat but points wise they should be. It's almost as if Sherwood is a an invisible manager that means they are not as noticeable whilst he is in charge. Whatever it is it'd definitely witch craft.

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  104. Give the guy a break. WE WIN TOGETHER! Kolo is part of the Red family & we won today! Kolo is a winner!

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  105. They've now got no chance for 4th. It will take LFC, Spurs and the Blues to completely lose it and for them to go on a big winning streak - which ain't gonna happen.

    So my fear is that they'll give up on the EPL, and put all their eggs in the CL and aim to win it, and knock out the 4th place EPL. This is a nuclear time bomb scenario..

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  106. We will beat them at home, then we wont need to worry about them again. Top 4 (and maybe title) is ours

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  107. they will be, until they come to Anfield

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  108. Remember Carra's comments abt Adebayor? I knew Carra comments was stupid. Adebayor is class!

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  109. Rem, effectively we are 4 points ahead of them due to our superior goal difference..

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  110. again just making an opinion again second time he made a costly mistake we were lucky to come back from behind last couple of games has he not looked like a spent force.. wow ya'll guys coming out of the woodwork wonder where ya'll were when all of the cissokho haters was about

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  111. Wait and see next season. Adebewho you will be asking.

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  112. While I agree with this and believe over criticism is bad news I can't help but think that there are many players who would be getting much more stick for his current form. Skrtel being one of them.

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  113. Because we won the game we can look back and admit that was an epic own goal by Kolo.


    Skrtel/Flano could of done better with the 2nd goal but for me Mignolet needs to come and collect that.


    Anyway on to the next game.

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  114. Yes we Brits do have a tendency to overhype things.....ahem!

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  115. I personally rate him, but any way it's all abt the Reds so who cares!

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  116. Yeah I didn't want to crticise Mignolet as I thought the defenders would probably be getting it down the banks but that should be his all day and it's a bit of a worry going forward. The gaps in his game could maybe be improved over time but......hmmmmm........

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  117. This goes back to Reina, and despite all his faults, he was a more commanding keeper in the box. Migs is a great shot stopper, but he needs to develop his all round game..

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  118. That is why I am not so worried. We would need to drop points in 2 games for them to pass us.

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  119. BTW Reina and Rafa had a great result with Napoli.. through to the final..

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  120. We still have to play them too.

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  121. Personally I've not given Cissoko any stick because he does a job & he's fairly solid! That's one bandwagon I've not jumped on!

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  122. Mignolet can improve his command in the box, gathering crosses and his distribution on the training pitch - He better hurry though. He is a great reflex goalkeeper, a real shot stopper. Reina was beaten at his near post almost every game, he honestly became unreliable and I give credit to Rodgers for making such a big change because Reina was our undisputed number and could of stayed at the club for as long as he wanted.

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  123. I don't mind the change.. it's just that Migs needs to step up now.. and as you say.. that's for the training ground..

    Was watching Reina play for Napoli, and his distrubution (kicks and throws) was excellent.

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  124. Ah, Chinese Smile Torture.

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  125. What about the rest of his game? I have been asking now and again but no answers and I haven't bothered watching Napoli myself.

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  126. quite fair i respect that cissokho just needed time to adjust not the best attacking fullback but solid in defence was a wall against arsenal however i'm just saying kolo needs to turn it down or make way for agger

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  127. Oh Dae-Su's smile in oldboy.

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  128. Reasonably solid. I think the change has done Reina a lot of good.. new challenge and all..

    Not sure if it is enough to bring him back though.. strong believer in moving on, and not going back....

    Even for Rafa :-)

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  129. Greater then Van Helsing?

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  130. If he has gotten back to old Reina I would welcome him back with open arms but like you say it seems unlikely. Could champo mean that having two quality keepers is important? Ah well I hope he gets on well and never comes back to haunt us. Always liked him.

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  131. I think he's got a defo place at Barca next year..

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  132. Last thought for the night.. if we hadn't dropped points against Villa and WBA, we'd be top tonight ;-)

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  133. That has to be both the most frustrating and satisfying win of the campaign. I credit Fulham though, they are unrecognisable from a few weeks ago.
    Feel like Neo on top of that rooftop at the moment..
    He's beginning to believe..

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  134. BR makes mistakes in transfer windows, during the game with no subs, or late ones, but winning thesse kind of games is the crucial change.

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  135. damn... How can you be Liverpool suporter and give up at half time...

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  136. To be fair, although poulsen was terrible for Liverpool, he was a very good player earlier in his career. Played for some huge clubs and has god only knows how many international caps. Not a like for like comparison with a fledgling Luis alberto

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  137. Their first goal was well worked

    I hope they stay up

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  138. Finally Gerrad is man of the match!

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  139. Gifting goals to opposition almost every game

    Come back soon Agger!!!

    Texeira looked very composed, understudy for Coutinho

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  140. Man no way. I had the same analogy yesterday but didn't write it. It was in the subway station when he was going to get off but had a scrap with agent smith instead.

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  141. No subs? So he didn't bring on Teixeira for his debut then? I must have dreamt it

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  142. Gerrard is brilliant in this new role

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  143. keep Pepe for insurance it's noddyville to sell him.

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  144. Not that great, but what is?
    Beating Real 4-0.

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  145. Everyone knows the remake is far superior.

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  146. Dont forget the Hull game also, 3 games our boys didnt just fully show up.

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  147. And by the way we will.... :)

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  148. He is among the top 3 RB in EPl, IMO.

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  149. Suarez gets enough penalty. Please.

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  150. Gerrard should get the penalty just by asking. He is the King.

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  151. I thought we played very well against the bus. We never gave up and kept trying.

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  152. He is playing because everyone else is injured.

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  153. A win of champions...

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  154. While without having to resort to 81 crosses ;)

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  155. They also are yet to play Arsenal, and Chelsea away.

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