3 Aug 2014

Shut Up: BR subtly warns 'excellent' £15m LFC star to stop moaning and start being 'professional'?

In the last year, Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has twice complained publicly about his lack of playing time at Anfield, and it seems that Reds boss Brendan Rodgers is finally tired of the Dane's regular veiled threats about abandoning LFC.

In October 2013, Agger told a Danish TV channel:

"If I don't play, and if the manager doesn't think I am good enough, that could make me leave Liverpool.

"I'm here to play football, nothing else. So if I don't play football, then I don't want to be here anymore."


Last month, Agger once again made it clear that being a bit-part player at Liverpool is not an option. He told reporters:

"It is no secret that I had problems last season and I am considering things. How things turned out last season is not acceptable for me"

When discussing Sebastian Coates pre-season performances this week, Rodgers seemed to take a subtle sideswipe at Agger over his unprofessional public griping. He noted:

"Seb has come back and done really well in pre-season. He's a real good guy as well, a humble man, never cries about not playing and accepts as a professional he won't play in every game"

Reading between the lines, and considering the emphatic nature of the language ('never cries about not playing'), this is (IMO) a clear broadside at Agger; he's basically saying that the Dane should be more professional; accept that he's not going to play every game, and stop moaning about his situation.

And he's right. Agger is the club's vice-captain, and he's not setting a very good example. His frustration is understandable, but after regressing defensively over the last year, he only has himself to blame for becoming a peripheral figure at the club.

Liverpool legends Mark Lawrenson and Jamie Carragher believe there's merit to Agger's contention that Rodgers doesn't think he's 'good enough'. In May, Lawro mused:

"Agger has not been an automatic first choice this season. Rodgers watches him in training on a regular basis and has clearly seen something he doesn’t like. If a manager doesn’t fancy a player, usually that’s that".

Soon after, Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports:

"I've mentioned before I don't think he [Rodgers] is the biggest fan of Daniel Agger and that's why he always seems to leave him out".

It's all rather moot now, anyway. The arrival of Dejan Lovren is arguably the final nail in Agger's Anfield coffin, and at this stage, an Anfield exit is almost certainly inevitable. Indeed, earlier this week, Spanish newspaper Sport claimed that Barcelona are considering a new £15m bid for Agger, and if a deal can be agreed, it will represent excellent business.

Author:


68 comments:

  1. He looks skinnier than four years ago and seems to get pushed around on corners. I think for his sake he ought to move on but I will always think of him well for his flattening of Torres upon his debut against us at Anfield. A thing of beauty by the "old" Agger..........

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  2. In my opinion the clock has been ticking for Agger's departure for some 14 to 15 months. It appears to be time to move on as he contributes to games less and less as time goes by. A parting of the ways seem the most logical solution as the rather hack phrase goes.

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  3. Sadly I think it's time Agger moved on for his sake if anything. His defending has left much to be desired of late. The first game of last season against Man Utd where he hand balled in the area off a set piece, put us in trouble after we had Man Utd where we wanted them. Mignolet saved us but I think that was the start of his troubles with BR last season. If LFC get 15m for him I'd take that.

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  4. Rodger's biggest error was playing sakho ahead of dagger at the end of last season. His tactics also leave opposition free to run at central defenders and when they are over exposed he gets the hump and blames danny for not being aggressive enough.

    Dan is a quality defender who deserves to be treated professionally by his manager. Rodgers has now spent well over 40m on central defenders so we would now hope the goals will stop leaking in, if not Rodger's tactics must be blamed.

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  5. There must be reasons why all of these once very good defenders are struggling for us now. As brought up in JKs previous article, Roy Evans said our full backs get caught too far up the field, which leads to our centre backs getting spread too far apart when the counter attack occurs and I agree with him. With all our attacking options do we really need over commit like this? We can't keep spending 20m on a new centre back every season. Perhaps if we tinker with our defensive set up, we will offer less encouragement to our opponents and realise that we have some surprisingly good centre backs at the club ( 7 of them I think!).
    Secondly, Stevie clearly now lacks a bit of pace as a defensive midfielder, but hopefully Can will help in this regard.

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  6. Statistics sometimes lie, but Liverpool rarely keep a clean sheet when Agger does not play. Last season he played about 15 games, eight clean sheets. Without Agger, maybe two clean sheets in over twenty games. sakho is one for the future in my opinion, but plays too deep (see Palace goals)

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  7. Well Jaime our agreement of yesterday was short lived. I'm pretty sure Rodgers saying he never cried about not playing is simply because he never plays and clearly isn't badgering Rodgers about it in training. To say Rodgers was trying to send a subtle message to Agger... Well it's very subtle and a fairly tenuous link to put the 2 issues together.
    That said I think Agger's time has come to a close along with pretty much all the rest of the Benitez era players

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  8. This is the difference between Skrtel and Agger. Last season, Skrtel was in a worse position and it was 99.9 % certain that he would be sold. But, he did not moan and fought for his place when the opportunity presented itself. If Agger cannot do that, i am afraid, despite all the good memories, he has to go. Brendan Rodgers is not a fool. If Agger is not up to the mark in training, he is not going to be picked. Simple as that. As for leaky defence, this is all dpwn to team balance or lack of it in LFC's case plus the ineptitude of Glen Johnson.

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  9. They do lie. 3 of those clean sheets were in the first 3 games where I remember we were hugely under the pump and Mignolet saved us countless number of times. Also, the opposition must be considered. Sakho played against Chelsea, Arsenal, Man City when they were in good form.

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  10. I am surprised to see so much negativity for Sakho - he starts for France regularly, because the Manager likes him, that was the same case when the previous Manager started him regularly before turning 21 until he got seriously injured, he led the France almost all age level teams all through because that time he was a PSG player, he led PSG at 17 & a regular starter by the age of 19, because he was a local boy & grown up in the club from childhood, he starts for LFC, because the Manager justifying the high price for him. Only truth is, he was dropped by Ancellotti in favor of Fred, so must be ordinary & over paid. Fellow LFC fans, Lilliam Thuram started regularly for France at 26 & this guy is only 24 - give him some time & he 'll be as good as Company, if not better. There are not many left footed CBs & this guy with Lovren can form one of the best defense in Club football.


    Regarding Agger, he himself didn't help his cause either; apart from injury record, he was never a defensive leader & that's why Charaghar was called into the starting team at fading age. I am surprised to know that still clubs are willing to pay close to 15mn for him, must be in desperate situation & we should be laughing towards the bank.

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  11. I agree about Sakho. I like him and he is a player that really puts fear into opponents as he looks scary. The problem wth Liverpool's style is that they pass too much in their own half. Once or twice is okay to build a link but playing 20 passes across that channel is asking for trouble and thats where Sakho is susceptible because he does not have a right foot. He also had language problems last season and I believe he will overcome them this season. Agree about everything else but Carragher came in instead of Skrtel and not Agger 2 seasons ago.

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  12. Sorry. I disagree. He started against Roma and hasn't been back...don't think the team misses him.

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  13. Again, the high back line is creating problem not because our CBs are not good ball players, it's mainly because we don't have a quality DM, someone who 'll do the chasing/snatching work & organize the central triangle (CB, CB, DM). SG is never organized enough to be a DM while other (even Lucas) are at best CM. I wished so much that had Maschareno been with us still. I am desperately looking for Can to deliver the purpose he is bought for.


    Language 'll always be a problem for top clubs - for us, how many languages are/'ll be spoken in defensive half? Sakho - French, Migo - Belgian (May be French as well), Lovren - Serb (& French probably), Moreno - Spanish, Agger - Danish, Skartel - Slovak, Leiva - Portuguese, Can - German/Turkish; thank God that rest are English based. But this is probably same most where - we 'll have to work with it.

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  14. "Sakho is susceptible because he does not have a right foot."


    This is incorrect. Sakho played right centre back at PSG. He can pass with both feet and does so extremely well.

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  15. Agree the high back line is creating a problem, but I would argue the DM isn't the cause as much as the FBs not being mobile enough or 'concerned' enough to realize the danger and track back faster.

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  16. Mignolet, Lovren and Sakho all speak French.


    ----Mignolet-----
    Lovren---Sakho


    Communication will not be a problem there.

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  17. I would hope they'd all be learning scouse

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  18. Hearing Dirk Kuyt trying out the accent was the funniest thing ever.

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  19. They were good in Benitez system when he played 2 holding midfielders and were much more cautious than we are now

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  20. I think our defence will be much better this season. We needed a voice in our back four last season and hopefully with Lovren that issue will be resolved.

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  21. Agger is good enough for a bit part role in this Liverpool team. He still has plenty to offer. We didn't finish 2nd place without him. And besides get your facts straight. The game you are talking about was against Sunderland.

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  22. Off course, I didn't mention FB because honestly speaking, we didn't have a FB. Johnson can be anything, but he isn't a defender, & then we played RBs at LB, Cs at RB/LB. Correcting the WB is not a problem to solve, it's fundamental. Mignolet isn't helping either - he is a great shot stopper, but compared to Neuer or Lloris, no where near a modern GK who works as a sweeper. Moreno & Flanaghan/the new Spanish kid 'll just fill up the necessity, a top quality DM 'll organize 4 men back line along with the keeper.

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  23. It was Stoke actually but let you off because they both have stripes

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  24. It would be easier for a DM to organize a back four where two of the back four didn't need as much organizing was my point. It's easy to organize organized people.

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  25. we really do need to start shifting some of the deadwood on

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  26. Wow, is this for real, ur headline ? "Shut Up" ??? loool again Jamie K sensationalizes an article to get views. If you watch that interview again without being the eternal pessimist that is Jamie K, u'de actually realise that BR was commending Agger on never complaining despite the lack of game time. Agger is the Dannish international captain and was wanted by clubs like Man C and Barcelona not too long ago. Seeing his game time diminish has to be a serious drawback to any player. But as usual this author decides to make a meal of a minor comment and turn it into the headline you see above. And, as is the norm, the author will ban anyone that says anything negative about his articles or questions the validity of his opinions. Jamie, bro, if ur not open to criticism for the articles you write then pls save humanity the horror of having to read this tosh, and just stop writing. And loooool, I fully expect this comment to be deleted asap.

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  27. Wow, is this for real, ur headline ? "Shut Up" ??? loool again Jamie K
    sensationalizes an article to get views. If you watch that interview
    again without being the eternal pessimist that is Jamie K, u'de actually
    realise that BR was commending Agger on never complaining despite the
    lack of game time. Agger is the Dannish international captain and was
    wanted by clubs like Man C and Barcelona not too long ago. Seeing his
    game time diminish has to be a serious drawback to any player. But as
    usual this author decides to make a meal of a minor comment and turn it
    into the headline you see above. And, as is the norm, the author will
    ban anyone that says anything negative about his articles or questions
    the validity of his opinions. Jamie, bro, if ur not open to criticism
    for the articles you write then pls save humanity the horror of having
    to read this tosh, and just stop writing. And loooool, I fully expect
    this comment to be deleted asap

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  28. mingo has zero distribution abilty and is poor on crosses i have kittens when the ball is passed back to him i always expect him to miss kick it

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  29. thats as long as the dim wits listen

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  30. ur a sad sad man Jamie looool, how did it go with that raper dude, I hope he finds u someday so that I never have to accidentally click one of ur articles on newsnow and read this shiite

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  31. Problem is Agger always bricks it when Drogba, Lakaku et al comes anywhere near him! Otherwise he's a good defender! Sahko is not so easily bullied.

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  32. I really hope Agger stays as he is a quality defender, although I personally see Lovren and Sakho as our main 2 central defenders. Agger and Coates who has apparently been playing really well pre season would be back up. I would like to see Ilori but maybe another year away.


    Skertle is aggressive but positional sense is poor, and prone to poor tackles, Toure may be a good character in the dressing room, but again too many errors, so for me both of those would be sold on.


    If Rodgers continues to throw his full backs forward, and they don't have the good sense to know when to go forward then the answer may be 3 central defenders and a holding midfielder, the full backs are still on the pitch but play a little higher when possible. This would reduce the risk of teams getting straight at the heart of our defence.

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  33. im not sure 3 cb is the way forward for us as we lose something up the pitch...Rogers needs to put his cards on the table in regards to skirtal and co and move them on if they are not req ..

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  34. Potentially, but if you have your 3 central defenders, then Johnson defensive right, Gerrard, defensive central, then Moreno? defensive left. Flexibilty for the 2 wide players to get forward, still leaving us 4 further back.


    That then gives for example, Sterling attack right, Henderson attack central and Lallana left attack, with Sturridge as striker.


    Still gives us 6 attacking players with movement within the system, and any of those players can be interchanged with the likes of Coutinho, Can, Markovic.


    Wouldn't play it all the time, but in some instances could be a useful option.

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  35. The voice of reason.10:10 pm, August 03, 2014

    To be honest i think Brendan Rodgers has been a bit off with Dagger for a while now, maybe its Aggers Injury problems that have caused Rodgers to abandon him since he Rodgers came to LFC, as much has i love Agger I think it`s time for him to either leave, or stop complaining and prove to Rodgers that he`s still, good enough to stake a place within the team for the coming season, by training hard and showing his desire to fight for a permanent place, that i know most supporters want to see. It`s a shame this brilliant once world class center back, is so prone to injury, i hope this saga will come to an end sooner than later.

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  36. They should all learn to speak English

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  37. Ifeanyi ''Nigerian Red'' Peter10:37 pm, August 03, 2014

    Who says Rogers wants to sign Balotelli. Thats just media crap my friend. The rumour came from a little independent spanish outlet. The original story isn't even in english. Rogers is not losing the plot. He's as focused as can be. He knows what he is doing. Vice captain or not, if Agger spends more time with Dr Iqbal, then he won't be played...

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  38. I don't get all the Sakho hate. Everyone says they have their heart in their mouth when he has the ball, but I don't get why they say it. Just because he has a gangly style, it doesn't mean he's crap on the ball. You don't play in France's national team if you're s*** on the ball. The only time he has been badly dispossessed was against Norwich when he was boxed in by Norwich players after he received a pass that wasn't straight to his feet.

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  39. I took the comments as related to Coates, not at all about Agger. Coates hasn't played very often and it sounds like he's never made a fuss over it. It's a comment that could apply to Agger but I wouldn't assume this is how Rodgers handle's his players, by making underhanded remarks in a press conference.

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  40. That's why I think BR & Ayre are short in transfer business (FSG are tools). After what Spurs did to us in last few years, this was a perfect year for us to pay something back. We are in CL, Spurs are not; we have money, lots of it; Spurs have already blown most of theirs; we have a settled Manager, Spurs has 4 in about 2 years; we have a happy & assured team, Spurs has a confused team - why don't put £20mn & £100K/week to one of the 2 best modern GKs now days. Surely, at 27, Lloris would love to play for a growing team like us & for that money we can get the best GK for next 10 years.

    They want squad depth & I am afraid Ayre must be setting appointment for Bony or J Rodriguez talks.

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  41. Joel Matt Murdock Hwa4:25 am, August 04, 2014

    Sell Agger. Lovren,Sakho first choice pairing. Backup Skrtel, Coates and Kolo.

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  42. But, regardless of that, whenever I see Sakho,he looks so composed on his left foot but when under pressure and forced to switch to his right foot, he either gives the ball away or kicks it out.

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  43. Because he is new in EPL, which is much faster than Liege 1 & lot many quality strikers play here. Sakho hasn't coped up with the pace of EPL yet hence often feels unsecured against charging forwards when ball is on his weaker foot. The coaches are definitely working on the weaker side of his game & once he settles with EPL pace; you 'll see forwards like Lukaku dropping like shot ducks running at him.

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  44. Gives the ball away or kicks it out? I beg to differ.


    His pass completion rate was one of the highest out of all the defenders in Europe last season plus he can read the game well too otherwise his pass completion would not be that high and if he really gave the ball away his pass completion would be lower too.

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  45. Yes, that is because he is rarely put on his right foot. He is the best passer in our team on his left foot. It is not as if he is always put on his right foot but when the rare occasion comes where he has to use his right foot, he gets under pressure. I do not know how he was like in France but last year in the PL, that was the case. My two cases would be one where against CPFC at Anfield, Sakho had to clear with his right foot, shanked it and almost went into the net and the other, more prominent one are his dispossessions against Norwich and Man City away. He often looks comfortable and even Xavi-esque but there are times when he does look shaky on the right foot.

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  46. Well then we are watching a different player I am afraid.


    All defenders have shaky moments.

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  47. That's true and that's why I said that I like him a lot. I fully believe that he will overcome his problems and become the beast he is. Two seasons ago, I fondly remember how we were bullied and even toyed with by strikers such as Lukaku and Benteke. Lat season, that changed a lot. When there is Sakho around, strikers are often scared. He is IMO, the best tackler in the team and is an aerial presence as well. He seems to be enjoying his time at Anfield and under BR, I have full faith he will become the leader for years and years to come.

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  48. So Balotelli has been ruled out by Rodgers and now Hans-Joachim Watzke from Dortmund has said the following about Reus

    “We have said many times this summer that Reus will not leave,” he told Kicker. “Marco will play with us next season.

    “There is no possibility that he will play elsewhere. We will try to tie him to our club for longer and we are proceeding with peace of mind that he will renew his deal.”



    Done and dusted. Lets move on.

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  49. Imo that leaves us short upfront for the season , sturidge lambert and sterling are the only 3 players we have who can play Cf with any real quality but heres the crux sturidge isl liable to miss a lot of games ive now got doubts that lambert can fit into a high tempo passing game and as much as sterling as improved can he really lead the line

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  50. i would have sooner rogers spent big on just a few players that would be a marked improvement on the positions.

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  51. So we have 3 decent CBs and our FBs cannot defend well. Sounds to me like we should play 3 at the back! It won't happen obviously, but it would be interesting to see the dynamics of a 3-4-3 or even a 3-5-2.

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  52. the only time i have seen liverpool play this system right is under roy evans,Rogers whole football philosophy is built around 433 tika taka barcelona style what ever its called football ,so for me its what he has to go with its what he preaches, so for him to abandon this system would not instill me or id assume his players that it works or they should buy into it , We are terrible under pressure as it is Imo and to have 3 cb messsing about with the ball at the back would send me to the casualty ward ...lovren sako and skirtal all passing it about ill give that one a miss thanks haha

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  53. Its a myth that Liverpool play tika taka barca style.

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  54. There's little correlation between giving the ball away and pass completion. You've just made that tenuous link because you're obsessed with defending Sakho.

    His pass completion may be high, but defenders generally have higher pass completion because most of the passes they make are easy: sideways, 10-feet forward; laying it off to the centre-mid etc.

    This is true of LFC's central defenders. Sakho, Skrtel, Toure and Agger ALL have a higher pass completion rate than Steven Gerrard, yet those four probably give the ball away more than Gerrard.

    Sakho's pass completion is utterly irrelevant when it comes to assessing his defensive ability. Passing is not defending. Similarly, a striker's tackle-rate is irrelevant to the question of whether he's a good goalscorer.

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  55. BR is coming along nicely....

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  56. but as a priciple its what rogers bases his football on a quasi tika tak pressing game

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  57. More click bait.
    You should be commended for this website. It's one of the best out there but at some stage you are going to have to develop a narrative and stick to it. Otherwise, it's just click bait and then your website dies.

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  58. Slow news day? Seems to me you have turned a compliment about one player into a veiled swipe at a different player. I feel there is a difference between reading between the lines, and reaching for something that just isn't there. In my opinion, Rodgers seems to be the type of manager that prefers positive reinforcement in his approach to his players, so this story seems unlikely to me.

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  59. no idea why i'm getting moderated. so much for having an opinion.

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  60. I read your posts and they scream Year 1 of law school. Don't move the goalposts. If someone wants to discuss the pass completion rate of a defender, compare that to other pass completion rates of defenders. Don't bring in tackle rates of forwards. Terrible year 1 law school fare.

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  61. Agger is such an incompetent defender, I always cringe every time hes selected to play. 11-22 months , more like 4-5 seasons ago he should have been sold.

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  62. His defensive stats are also good. Tackles, one on one situations etc. Perhaps needs some improvement but certainly not bad. He also makes a lot of forward passing. I have posted links on this in the past.

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  63. He has ruled out a move for him. Don't believe everything the rags churn out.

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  64. I like some of your comments. I remember Liverpool from 70's & 80's who were playing so called Barcelona Tika taka back then but it was simply called keep ball.


    With Swansea and his first year with Liverpool I think Rodgers did try to emulate Barcelona, however last year he added a lot more pace into the build up, and also changed his stance to accommodate Sturridge and Suarez which is where his diamond 4 in the middle came in.


    Again, it would fill me with dread if the 3 defenders just passed between themselves but with the tremendous hard work and movement that our forward players possess I don't think finding them would be an issue.


    Also Rodgers does like to keep moving forward as a coach so as long as his team press high up the field and show good movement off the ball I don't think the formation is a big problem. Moreno and Johnson are also more attackers than defenders so gives them cover.


    Who's be a manager?

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  65. I was going to say relax mate and your facts where wrong it was against Stoke. Goes to show its about sharing views on here (which I have been doing for a long time now) not taking some sort of moral high road.

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  66. Spot on. Skrtel was on his way last season, as I could only see Agger playing the BR way. Martin has improved unbelievably under Rodgers, and really upped his game with his distribution skills moving up by several points.

    I love Dagger, but can only see a right partnership with Lovren/Sakho and Skrtel now. We also still have Llori to come back, but I hope as a DM as he can play the ball very well.

    Sad to see him go, and Que Pasa on Lark Lane will close for a while. :(

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  67. 4-3-3 is easily 3-4-3 and that is how they have been playing for a while.

    Two full backs been bombing up, and Gerrard retreat to back line and cover. Works well for me.

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