5 Aug 2014

Amateur Hour: How 'mentally weak' £18m star cost LFC two goals vs. Man Utd. Unreliable?

In the grand scheme of things, Liverpool's 3-1 defeat to Man United is pretty meaningless. It's a pre-season game, with match-fitness the priority, and defeat is no indicator whatsoever of how the team will perform in the upcoming season. However, the with less than two weeks until LFC's first Premier League game against Southampton, the team is still being sabotaged by defensive frailty, and once again, Mamadou Sakho is, in my view, the weak defensive link.

One of the key weaknesses in Sakho's game is his tendency to stand-off attackers, and this led directly to Liverpool conceding two goals against Man United.

GOAL 1: WAYNE ROONEY

Sakho stood-off Hernandez on the right. He didn't get tight enough, or attempt to make a tackle, which allowed the Mexican plenty of time to look up, take a couple of touches, and deliver a pinpoint cross onto Wayne Rooney's foot.

Sakho should've gotten closer to Hernandez and closed him down. At the bare minimum, he should've made it more difficult for him to get the cross in. Skrtel and Mignolet should've done better, and Johnson - as usual - was in no-man's land, but if the cross doesn't come in, there's no goal.



GOAL 2: JUAN MATA

When the ball comes into Mata on the edge of area, there's a massive gap between the Spaniard and Sakho, who proceeds to back away instead of going towards the ball. This gaved Mata all the time in the world to look up, pick his spot, and bury the ball in the back of the net. Sakho should've tried to close down the space, and make it difficult for Mata to hit the target. Instead, he stood-off, left plenty of space, and basically invited the shot.



This is an ongoing issue with Sakho. In May, for example, LFC legend Jamie Carragher labelled Sakho 'mentally weak' for his constant 'dropping-off- during Liverpool's capitulation against Norwich. He told the Liverpool Echo:

"We saw them at Norwich dropping back into the box. Sakho and Skrtel don't communicate enough and they're not pushing out. You can't keep dropping back against these teams, inviting pressure and think you'll get away with it".

The stats from last season categorically prove that Liverpool concede MORE, win LESS, and achieve FEWER clean sheets with Sakho in the team, and it's no coincidence that the first time he starts a game on the tour, the team concedes three goals. Rodgers seemed to respond to this by yanking Sakho off in the 74th minute, which suggests he wasn't happy with his performance.

The Sakho-apologists can and will spin the situation (by blaming Skrtel, Johnson etc), but it is crystal clear that he is a weak-link in Liverpool's defence. He did some good defensive work during the game, too, but when it comes to the crunch, Sakho is just not effective enough, and the standing-off issue will cost the Reds goals next season.

Simon Mignolet has also, unfortunately, picked up where he left off last season. Since he came back into the team, he's conceded 5 goals in 3 games, and his failure to stop Rooney's feeble shot for the first goal is a concern.

As noted above, though, I'm not really fussed about the result. It arguably means nothing, and there are still some positives to take from the game (Coutinho, Sterling etc). In fact, the defeat may be a blessing in disguise - Rodgers may finally see that Sakho is not defensively solid enough, and resolve to keep him on the bench for much of the season.

Sakho has a role to play as a squad player, but he's not reliable enough to be a regular starter. For me, Liverpool's first-choice central defensive partnership has to be Skrtel-Lovren.

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107 comments:

  1. Jaimie K doesn't understand the club's motto, 'You'll Never Walk Alone"

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  2. Keep Agger sell Sakho.

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  3. agree agger should stay and sakho to go! . sakho is not flop but it takes him to much time to adopt here and thats not a good sign... COATES should have started

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  4. first goal Rooney is like 5 yards away from skrtel and he just stand there looking rooney shoot.
    second goal sakho is actually marking hernandez... so is he responsible for not marking him in the first and for marking him for the second ? one of our midfielder should have been there to protect our back line and stop mata, sakho trying to cover for a midfielder s absence made him a scapegoat... he should have done like skrtel and hide...

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  5. Sakho is a disaster waiting to happen; aided by the fact that he can't do squat when put under pressure. I'll never forgive him for passing the ball to Stevie against Chelsea. Even without the slip Demba Ba was too close to Gerrard to attempt that pass. All one has to do is watch the 4 games where he screwed us, Liverpool vs Chelsea and City (home and away). Hope Monaco comes and gets him for some lump sum.

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  6. I'm a little disturbed at the thought of Rodgers 'yanking Sakho off in the 74th minute'. Certainly not appropriate behaviour on a football pitch.

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  7. Gerrard alone was responsible for the Chelsea goal, go watch it again, nothing to do with Sakho. SG took his eye off the ball, where you come up with that lame excuse I fail to see.

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  8. Come on man, that is way too harsh. Gerrard was to blame for the Ba goal no matter how much we hate to admit it and I do not see how Sakho cost us in the other three games.

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  9. You havent even got my pairing! I would love to see Lovren with either Illori or Kelly.

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  10. I think that it is difficult to single out just one player for the goals. We were in cruise control in that match and just one cross and we lose the plot. It is a collective mistake. First off, Johnson is nowhere to be seen, so Sakho has to cover for him and leaves the penalty area open. The, when he gets there, he is unable to block the cross. Skrtel is caught napping and fails to mark Rooney and Kelly is also nowhere to be seen.

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  11. Sahko's is a work in progress, his passing is excellent, he is strong in the challenge. However, scope to improve in most other areas. In particular he is VERY left footed, at times, he almost falls over trying to get the ball onto his left foot.

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  12. There's very little wrong with Sakho-Agger-Skrtel-Enrique. Johnson is definitely questionable. However, the problem is the midfield. Allen is questionable, Gerard is past it, Henderson does have problems positioning his legs, and Lucas for all his worth scores very rarely. We didn't feel this midfield shortcomings when Suarez was around.


    Suarez was wonderfully gifted - not only as a player himself, but for hiding the shortcomings of others. He got the best out of the rest of the squad, especially the midefield. Without Suarez, or relatively equal cover, it's going to be a very, very, very long season.


    I've been watching LFC's friendies here in the US on the tele. Last night's match against Man Utd was pretty daft. Lambert seems to be another Erik Meier. And Rodgers was out-thought and out-strategised in the crucial 2nd half.

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  13. Phhhh! Perhaps I have just seen different goals. Perhaps those rating Sakho on tia did too. No mentioned the last ditch challenge either on Hanandez.
    Truth is Sakho is not a full back and he had to cover over there as the full back and miss had not done so. For Mata's he us in the centre of the box expecting the cross. There are plenty of players closer to Mata. This is click producing or agenda driven.

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  14. Nail on the head, Skrtel losing Ruiny was the fault, only one player to mark and he failed. Where was GJ from his LB position, ??

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  15. Liverpool need to sack their defensive coach. Can't keep making the same mistakes over and over again. Johnson and Sakho should not start and should warm the bench. In fact, sell Johnson and buy Dani Alves.

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  16. Yes, I would rather Johnson do it. It's time for him to start earning his wages somehow.

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  17. Add Pepe Reina to that and you have the shrewd deal that we have all been calling for.

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  18. The Reina problem may have already been sorted -- if there is any truth to the £2m deal with Bayern Munich. I guess we'll see in the next week or so.

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  19. Knowing us we will probably drag it to deadline day, sell him for free and then sign Artur Boruc for 20 mil.

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  20. Could be a revolutionary and highly effective motivational technique.

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  21. to be fair to Sakho he is improving all the time and in time will be a very good player

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  22. At Stamford Bridge he tackled the ball straight to an oncoming Hazard, Glen Johnson was to blame heavily, and let the cross come in for Eto's goal, Mignolet gets the greater blame. At Etihad his misjudgement (Following Negredo and then leaving him) led to City's winning goal, again Mignolet takes the greater blame. Sakho's mistakes are always covered by a team-mate making an even alarming blunder. I saw those matches all in a row and saw that Sakho was involved in all these mistakes. Gerrard is blatantly responsible for the infamous goal but Sakho was also to blame for that.

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  23. So Sakho is to blame here is he? Hernandes puts in a perfect cross because he actually goes away from Sakho and still is able to wrap his foot around the ball....but it's not a good cross but Sakho's fault. If anything, Sakho does the right thing and doesn't dive into the challenge as he's clearly isolated out there. If he dives and Hernandes skips past him then he'll be even more vilanized! He's not metaly weak, he knows that any cross into the area should be dealt by Skrtel. It wasn't because that cross was perfect and Skrtel had no chance. What I do question is Mig's positioning. I've never played keeper or can claim to understand the finer part of it, but from that angle, it just looks like he didn't cover his angles knowing rooney could only get one shot off. The second goal, dont make me laugh Jamie! Mata is Gerrard's man and you can clearly see him ball watching as Mata takes the shot. If anything, Sakho is trying his best to get from his position into a position to cut the angle and make the block. If it didn't deflect off Sakho, migs would have had it. Are you going to take a dig at Gerrard for not doing his defensive job? You constantly take swipes at Sakho at being our defensive weakness when he was a monster last night for the most part. Great interception early on to save what would have been a sure goal and bullied united's forwards any time the ball was in the air. Made ONE bad pass all game; and if we're looking at that we need to call out Kelly, Glen, Allen, and PC as well for giving the ball back to UTD. Behind Skrtel and Sterling I think he was one of our better players. I'm tired of people using him as a skapegoat because of his unoathodox play. Sakho didn't lose us the game; poor finishing, lack of midfield control from Allen and Gerrard, Shocking Full Back play all night...that's what ultimately cost us. The scoreline flattered them a little but they took their chances and we just didn't

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  24. I was frustrated more with Glen Johnson! That guy just does not care anymore, at least not for LFC.

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  25. In no way were either of those goals Sakhos fault! You say he stands of the man. That is what a good CB should do to create uncertainty in a players mind whether he am turn. But neither of these two goals were even that situation. It was good play by united to work the ball and poor RB and LB playing providing cover. Also a DM should plug that hope that mata scored in and Skrtel shouldn't lose Rooney in that situation. Learn how to play football yourself at any descent level before you yourself pass judgement on what a player should or shouldn't be doing! Please for the sake of Football Tactics!

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  26. I have to respectfully disagree. At the Bridge, Oscar was going to play a through ball to Eto'o and Sakho blocked it. Unfortunately, it ricocheted to Hazard and he scored a really good goal. At the Etihad, where was Skrtel, Johnson,cissokho during that break. They were nowhere to be seen and Negredo took a mishit shot because of Sakho closing in on him. Sakho has had his rough moments and he is definitely not a nailed on starter but he cannot be blamed for any of those goals.

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  27. Youir words: "In the grand scheme of things this game was pretty meaningless"

    So why such a unbelievably negative and unnecessary article to kick off the new season?

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  28. "Shape up or ship out yank Sakho!"
    Has a ring to it.

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  29. Jaimie is the proud owner of a new pub. This is an ingenious marketing technique aimed at getting us depressed enough to go drown our sorrows there. Next round's on you.

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  30. Exactly. He has a job as a squad player? And 18 million pound squad player? PSG bought three CB's for a total sum of nearly 70 million pounds because they didn't rate Sakho and we go and pay 18 million for him. It's the most criminal waste of transfer money since Carrol and I'm 100% certain that had we signed either one of Mkytharian, Costa or Willian last summer that we would not have signed him. We just signed him because we needed a marquis signing last year. How anyone considered Sakho for that is beyond me though.

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  31. Sakho just struck me as someone not very fit yet, he was taking in huge gulps of air from early in the second half, it's our own full backs killed us last night, they just can't do what Rodgers wants imo, Johnson had his usual lapses, he doesn't know himself if he's an attacking fullback or a defensive one and ends up doing both badly, Kelly unfortunately will never be more than a squad player, we need that Moreno kid to come in and play, and the Atletico kid to put pressure on Johnson and hopefully oust him!

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  32. Jaimie K, I wonder why are you so against Agger. I'm glad you noticed Sakho is another major flow in BR's resume, but Agger is definitely a world class defender, and I would give him the chance to double with Lovren. Apparently, Mr. Rogers is in full control and can reason based on his favors which come to haunt Liverpool. Anybody noticed how a great coach like Louis Van Gaal can turn things around as he is already doing for Man Utd. It is time Liverpool fans realize that a great coach makes the difference like Anchelotti at RM. No doubt BR achieved great result last season but that's as far we can go. However, we want to lift Cups and that can only be achieved with an experienced manager who has already won a few cups. Equally, FSG policy to buy young inexperienced players is only going to make things worse. Anyone wonders why Barca spent big on Suarez, Real Madrid on Rodriguez, PSG on DeMaria? Are they Stupid????? The answer is NO. They are actually very smart. Unfortunately, that is the only way to lift cups. Having 3-4 world class players in your team is the only way to hope for titles. Liverpool is going to have serious problems this upcoming season in regard to goalscoring. It is time for Liverpool to step up in their spending and buy ASAP at least 2 players/goalmachines in order to hope for a title this upcoming season. I appreciate Glen Johnson's services at Liverpool but it is time for him. He makes so many mistakes that you wonder what has happened to him. I wish him well though. I use to like him a lot but I am extremely disappointed by his latest performances including the World Cup. Finally, let's hope for a miracle and see Liverpool lift both cups, PL and CHL.

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  33. Kanewar chatting shit again I see, so boring mate, you are clueless

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  34. Fully agree with you mate

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  35. Sahko did have a part in both goals granted... but he did try and the fact that Glen Johnson can't defend / FORGETS he is a fullback and not a striker does not help...

    If we do get Moreno I would start Flannogan over GJ on RB as honestly hes such a liability.

    Yes he bombs up and creates chances.. most of which are crosses or shots that lead to nothing anyway.. I would rather have a rb who defends first and attacks after.

    Rant over. I don't think GJ cares about Liverpool any more, if he did he wouldn't be holding out for such a massive wage package. If we had to sell him today I can tell you where he would end up.. given his demands and level - QPR.



    PS I don't know much about Moreno except he is quick, small and technically good... But part of me gets the feeling given his size, that he will struggle especially against bigger teams like Stoke. Maybe we should take that 16 and add a little extra for Ricardo Rodriguez - who was the best LB in Germany last year... He looks like the next Ashley Cole minus the Money Hunting.

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  36. so...you're calling for Rodgers to be sacked?

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  37. I agree 100%... would have been nice to have Sturridge up top in the first half, too... Lambert didn't offer too much.


    I really hope to see a Lovren/Sakho pairing... but we need two new fullbacks and ideally, a DM..

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  38. Tony BarrettVerified @TonyBarretTimes

    Liverpool have accepted an offer from Bayern Munich for Pepe Reina.

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  39. To begin with we need a top keeper and mignonette should be his understudy-if he gets injured we have brad jones-oh no!

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  40. Why not sell both?


    Obviously sentiments aside Agger is finished EPL, he's too slow now and he's too much of p*ssy (think if Agger played against D Costa he'd go home crying covered in Costa's spit). I think Sakho should be given one more season to see if he's upto it or not (one thing I like- he doesn't get bullied). Plus Agger is 30yrs, if you can't get 12+M, take it (as next year he'll likely lose 5-6M on his price tag).

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  41. Coates Ilori for me would be the best partnership

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  42. Distribution should improve - but it wont.

    Flapping should be cut out - but it wont.

    I'd expect a world-class keeper to have learnt and improved (if someone is telling him how to improve).

    Based on last night - don't see any chance of improvement. POOR POOR POOR.

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  43. Spot on.

    Fact is Reina (if he regains his form) is such a keeper. If only the manager had some faith and is good at man management as he claims to be.

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  44. Use lube for Sahko... if he get angry he'll break your wrist. (like GYM equipment)


    When Luis Alberto got yank'd off he hit the booze and went for a drive (bottled the pain up). Had a silent cry... don't think Sahko will
    'come' quietly

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  45. In general agree.

    HOWEVER, goal 1 was the fault of the keeper who kicked out when under no pressure, and due to his poor distribution ALL game, kick led to opposition scoring goal.

    Goals 2 + 3 were due to defence not getting touch tight.

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  46. Wholeheartedly agree.

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  47. Disappointing news :-(

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  48. Luke Shaw clearly showed the disparity of skill, effort and initiative between what a full back could/should perform like compared to LFC's bunch of has-been full backs.

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  49. So Brad Jones will still be number 2? That's hardly going to get MIg
    to earn his starting stop.... he's be number 1 be default

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  50. I still have hope for Sakho as he's young for a centre half but I do not enjoy watching him one bit. Skrtel/Lovren for me

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  51. Lambert was a JOKE

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  52. But will Reina go there to sit on the bench?

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  53. Luke Shaw is likea expensive Ben Davies... he needs to do one-two's to beat a player (more often than not). Moreno has better feet in the final third and is more of a front foot fullback

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  54. Yeah exactly but he also came at a price for United.. You have to have that hunger...


    But look at Bayern taking a chance on David Alaba and how well he turned out.


    We need someone like that. I really hope Moreno is that gem but my logic is still screaming at Ricardo Rodriguez especially considering his immense World Cup and season with Wolfsburg. Pair him up with Shaquiri, both very strong, fast, and hard working..

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  55. Good points - esp Allen.

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  56. mingo was shocking again ....sako did well in the air but JK makes valid points about him standing off he did when he played last year. the best partnership although untried will be lovren and skirtal

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  57. You have not seen Lovren yet for LFC, how can you make a call like that, WITHOUT SEEING A PLAYER, ?

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  58. law of averages says he has to be better than what we have at present....

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  59. Only comparing Shaw to LFC's current batch of full-backs.

    All it takes is the simple overlap from an attacking fullback. Hark back to McManaman and McAteer, or dare I say Beckham and Neville.

    Not hard, but very effective. WHY CANT LFC FULLBACKs DO THAT?

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  60. Reina unfortunately wrote his future the day he posted his good bye letter when he left for Napoli. His heart wasn't at Liverpool any more.


    Brad Jones just is NOT good enough for Liverpool.
    We acted late on the keeper front - someone like Keylor Navas or Bravo would prove to be great competition. Willy Cabelero is so under rated.


    Maybe Diego Lopez is up for grabs but don't see us going for him because of age and the fact Monaco are sniffing around him.


    Kevin Trapp maybe? Young hotshot German.

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  61. what sako is
    on the floor agger is in the air

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  62. If you watch his last season with Sunderland and compare the stats, his save % has DECREASED and errors from distribution have INCREASED since coming to Liverpool...


    Maybe he just doesn't have the right coach or competition pushing him but we definitely need to change something as he has the POTENTIAL to be much better than he is now.


    Coaching, especially for keepers play a massive role. With Reina seeing a dip when his keeping coach left with Rafa.

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  63. I have not seen Lovren play for us yet, so I will reserve my judgement until I do. I suggest the rest of you do the same, and dont jump to conclusions.

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  64. We don't really play with wingers.. so the overlap is very rare for us. We have auxiliary strikers off the focal point, unless we tweak the tactics, we don't really see overlapes.


    Man U if the play 3 CB, won't have many over-laps either, as like our system the full back covers the length of the pitch.

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  65. i havnt seen messi play for liverpool either but i know hes better than lambert

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  66. Sakho this preseason has been very good, very aggressive aerially, whilst also making some great tackles like the one to intercept Shaws pullback in the box last night. Personally I think Skrtel should have been a bit tighter on Rooney, and Mignolets positioning could have been slightly better, but it was a great cross and a great finish and I wouldn't pin the blame on any defenders for the first goal - bar Johnson for being nowhere to be seen, but every goal is usually his fault ;).

    Second goal Sakho could have been a bit tighter, but I'd agree with you in saying he was Gerrards responsibility to mark, and it was in my opinion more unlucky than anything else in conceding that goal. I reckon once we have the full back positions sorted, hopefully Flanagan and Moreno if we sign him, then we will have a very stable defence with Lovren and (my preference) Sakho in the middle.

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  67. Good points. Still no reason for BR to persist with Migs.

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  68. do we have a defensive coach to sack

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  69. But, we have seen that law broken before. We sold Downing and got Aspas. We loaned Suso and got Alberto.

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  70. I though Lambert had a decent game, he linked up with other players well and held the ball up well. People are bashing Lambert because he has failed to score in fairly meaningless preseason matches (just ask Aspas and Voronin) doesn't mean he will be a bad player for us.

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  71. A typical English No 9, back to the sixties.

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  72. Hmmn would disagree. When both Ibe and Sterling were on, they both have a tendency to cut into the centre leave a gap/whole for the full back to exploit.

    Whether this is a whole or referred to an overlap, it should result in the full back being open to receive the ball and ACCURATELY CROSSING the ball to an LFC player in the box.

    This just doesn't happen. Why?

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  73. I have figured it out. Ian Ayre has been working double duty as the defensive coach of LFC and that is why he struggles with sealing deals . A jack of all trades and a master of none indeed.

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  74. I would go for Lopez. Experienced and reliable and can push Mignolet.

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  75. honestly if lovren isn't any better than the array of talent we have at the back ill be amazed he literally only needs to be able to head a ball and stand next to his marker to be more effective than what we have at present

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  76. I don't see how Mignolet could have done much more. First goal maybe but it was a very good finish from Rooney putting it in the only place in the goal that wouldn't have been saved. The second one was just unlucky he was completely wrong footed by the deflection, I have no idea how he can be blamed for that. Maybe he can be blamed for the 3rd goal as well as he didn't dive perfectly into the corner?

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  77. Migs needs to work out how to kick the ball.. and how not to flap at crosses.

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  78. Lovren is a really good defender but injury prone. What happens when he gets injured?

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  79. The problem is deeper than his not scoring yet. I think the issue is he tends to lose possession and seems incapable of link-up play with Coutinho and Sterling. It's as though the game is moving too fast for him.
    I'm sure he will improve the more and more he trains with the team.

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  80. my worry is he will never be able to do that , hes a shot stopper and thats it if we are to move forward we need a keeper who can act as a sweeper and kick start the attack mingo couldn't kick start a honda 50

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  81. In the first half our defence was far more composed than the opposition who were truly awful. So the real question is what changed after half time.

    Utd put on a sub who seemed half decent and we stopped pressing high up. In return, our keeper first and then defence allowed three relatively soft goals.

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  82. he joins the collection of other crock defenders we have amassed

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  83. no thanks you should never go back reina cooked his goose with me with that pathetic letter he wrote ....mr ego thought barca where after him until they cottoned on that hes past it and has been for 3 seasons

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  84. But that then means we have a choice of Migs or Jones.. not looking too great, esp as I dont see us buying a top class keeper any time soon?

    Since if we have any money left, it will be used to buy a striker, given Lambert's woeful show,

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  85. I don't think he does lose it all that often at least not from what I've noticed, and I think he's linking up OK though I do agree with the pace being a bit too fast for him as he has seemed to go missing quite a lot.

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  86. like i say we have a scatter gun transfer plan which has meant we have bought several players without any real idea of role or suitability a top class striker left that should have been our first priority second should have been the goalie and 3rd the full backs ,,,,can and lazer and llama may well not get into the team thats 60m ...we have cb granted they are crap but is skirtal and sako that bad

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  87. It's not necessary to see Lovren play for LFC to have an opinion on his ability. I'm sure many have seen him play for Southampton, Lille, and Croatia, and that is enough to form an opinion on whether he's a good defender or not.

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  88. So before Luis was sold I was calling out for an attacking mid, CB and LB = total cost approx £50m which would have been our normal transfer budget.

    Having sold or decided to sell Luis, our transfer policy has distinctly lacked imagination. We should have been in for Fabregas a few mil more than Llanana (some will say he turned down LFC but I dont buy that). Hummels also seems to be available but we've gone for Lovren.

    So I have no idea what will happen when Sturridge's goals dry up?

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  89. im not saying we shouldn't of bought the players we have they may turn out to be great buys but we seem to be working back to front ...if tino is that good why spend so much on player llana who occupies his position surley that money should have gone on a weaker position

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  90. Sure you were tuned into the same game I watched ??????? Lambert DIDN'T HOLD UP PLAY, wasted possession, didn't track and was LOST.

    And that's all before NOT scoring.

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  91. each summer after pre-season I get depressed. No different this year :-)

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  92. i hope im wrong but i look at the transfers and i cant make a logical strategy out of them ..it wont happen but i would love rogers to come out and explain why he has bought who he bought and the role and position they will play

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  93. One more thing. Add Herrera to the long list of players I INSTANTLY dislike. Should have got a two YELLOWS for persistent fouls.

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  94. The thing is Lambert(32) is struggling, D Origi(21) we had to loan back to lille. A Lallana(26) and Markovic(20) are both injured.


    Can(21) is class, quality player but is he upgrade on any of the central midfielders we have?


    Lovren(24) will be the most influential signing we have made this summer, but a Mobile quick tough tackling DM( B Matuidi 27) and two class quality full backs could help sort out the 50 goals we conceded last season.


    But is Lambert(32), Can(21), Markovic(20) and Lallana(26) going to fill the attacking class , creativity and 31 goals of last season?

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  95. 2mil quid is the quoted price. Highway robbery but getting his 2 year 100k contract out of the way is 10.4mil freed to spend on a player or help make a tempting contract

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  96. Knowing Lovren will start I think we'll be in a pretty good situation with either Sakho or Skrtel partnering him. (don't mind Skrtel, but dont understand the constant criticism of Sakho). Then there's also the 3 in defence we can imploy with three very good CBs which gives us a lot more flexibility. Agree on the wingbacks, but I have a sneaky feeling Can will be our answer to that true DM position, but it's obviously too early to tell

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  97. Terry McDermotts perm10:19 pm, August 05, 2014

    Do we have a defence ?

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  98. Because I've seen what we have at our disposal and it couldn't get much worse. Therefore I vote we give our new 20 million pound defender a chance alongside our most consistent defender from last year. Don't think that's so outrageous

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  99. Possibly the worst synopsis of a player offered by this site - Sakho was an 8/10 for this game (which is supported by all the media ratings I've seen) - none of the goals were his fault, & as has been descried by others here, the fault, if any, lies with other players. Sakho was immense & has been whenever playing these preseason games. To castigate him for the two goals is your opinion, but shared by very few - not something you're bothered about I know, but its a strange opinion from someone who's meant to know about football to offer such an inaccurate argument.

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  100. No it sounds like you were watching a different game, when he got the ball he did well with it, the only problem I saw is that he wasn't involved enough in the build up. Is it imperative that someone scores for you to think they had a good game?

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  101. Unfortunately yes. I have nothing against him. I just don't think we will reach the title under him. However, I would give him another season. Remember Alex Ferguson, what a blessing he was for Man U. We need results NOW. We can't wait for another 5 years to see these youngsters become champions if they will??? Liverpool has the capability now to buy top scorers. Why aren't they. How long we'll wait to see Liverpool lift the PL Cup. It is nonsense to spend on Lallana 25 mil to see him injured. And I don't think he will ever be good for LFC anyway. Whoever does the scouting is doing really a bad job. Why don't they trust that to former Liverpool legends. Who else can do a better job than Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Robie Fowler etc? To close I think the FSG is not the right owner for LFC. Maybe I am a little overly upset we didn't win last season but this is reality.

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  102. Gerrard was a spectator on the Mata goal along with sakho............

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  103. Agreed, but to be fair, Gerrard was behind Mata, so couldn't make a challenge without risking giving away a penalty. Plus, he probably expected Sakho to advance and block the shot. No one comes out of it with any glory, though.

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  104. The right back was nowhere to be found on the Rooney goal AND Hernandez was given all stinkin' day to make the pass; which was however excellent it should have been pressured or perhaps deflected........both Right and left backs were weak although Kelly was a little better ..................

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  105. Yes and Lambert, god bless him, is just slower than a snail..... One play I loved though was Emre Can running a Manu U player down from behind. Much faster than I thought he was............

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  106. The officials who failed to see Sterling was onside lost us the game at City. And at Chelsea, Eto'o shouldn't have been on the pitch by the time he scored the winner. So if the laws of the game had been applied properly we would have been much more likely to win or at least draw both those games. Palace was bizarre but it was lost at home to Chelsea truth be told...

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