20 Sept 2014

Mega-Deal: After Balotelli, BR wants to sign 'world-class' £40m superstar. Pipe dream?

Despite allegedly rejecting a move to Anfield over the summer, Liverpool are reportedly set to reignite interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

According to reports in Spain this week:

* Liverpool are planning to make another bid for Benzema.

* Rodgers is willing to wait until next summer to pursue the deal.

Liverpool have pursued 26-year old Benzema a few times in the past.

JUL 2014: The Daily Mail reported: "Liverpool have an interest in Karim Benzema. He would cost £40million and wages of around £200,000 a week...but it is not a simple deal".

FEB 2014: Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that Rodgers sees Benzema as a 'realistic target' if the Reds qualify for the Champions League this season.

FEB 2014: One of Benzema's reps allegedly 'informed' Liverpool that the French international was open to leaving Madrid at the end of the season.

2013: Benzema linked with cash-plus-player, swap deal with Suarez.

2011: Real Madrid reportedly rejected an LFC bid for Benzema on transfer deadline day. Liverpool signed Andy Carroll instead, and, well - let's not go there (!)

I'm sure many LFC fans will be excited by the prospect of this deal, but I've never been impressed with Benzema. As Gerard Houllier recently noted, he sometimes appears to be 'unmotivated', but to be fair, last year, he had a great season for Madrid (36 goals/assists in 46 appearances).

The striker - recently hailed as a 'special player' by Hugo Lloris - also had a stellar World Cup for France, weighing in with a creditable 3 goals and 2 assists as the French made it through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Houllier also insists that Benzema is in a golden period of his career, and in a recent interview with Journal du Dimanche, the former Liverpool boss enthused:

"Benzema has always been a goalscorer, but he has improved [working] with his team-mates. He is not just a poacher. He is good at assisting and mentally he is very strong. He is now falling into the category of world-class players"

Benzema recently signed a deal with Real Madrid, but this season, the French star has been target of jeers by Madrid fans. This seemingly doesn't both him, though. He told reporters this week:

"I was jeered last season and it has happened to Iker Casillas. All the greats who have played for Real Madrid have been jeered; [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Zinedine] Zidane. It's not a problem for me. I don't let it get to me. I just concentrate on playing."

Great attitude, but to be honest, I can't see a deal happening. Brendan Rodgers just doesn't have the aura (yet) to attract the world's biggest players, and that's a reality Reds fans will have to face. Plus, Benzema is in the perfect place to mount a serious challenge for trophies every year, so it's unlikely he'll give that up to toil away at Liverpool, a team with significantly less chance of winning the league/Champions League.

Another top striker is a good idea, though. Daniel Sturridge's increasing susceptibility to injury remains a problem, and there's no guarantee that Balotelli is the long-term solution.



Author:


74 comments:

  1. There is a lack of quality in the Liverpool team. I am not sure that Benzema wants to leave Real Madrid. Liverpool should rather target Pedro and Marco Reus.

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  2. I've never really liked the guy. He seems to have a massive ego, but I don't think he's as great as he thinks he is; he's not even as great as I think he is, which isn't all that great. If we did sign him, the burning question is will he be able to get his massive, swollen head through the Paisley gates? It's doubtful. His stats last season were admittedly impressive, but I reckon you could stick my dear departed gran up front at Real and she'd probably bag a few goals with the service she would be getting (though I confess she usually prefers to play at left back). In all seriousness, I would rather see us pursue Isco, Pedro or even Reus (we can dream), and stick with the forwards we have until Origi joins us next season.

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  3. £100 mill later & we're still wondering where the quality is? Same old story with LFC!

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  4. No midfield enforcer, no back 4 protection! We now have the slowest midfield pairing in Gerrard & Leiva. We have failed to strengthen in the right areas. Why let Remy go? Why let Ibe go? We ignored the likes of Song, Wanyama, Diame??!!

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  5. Who cares about transfers rumors right now! are you kidding me? Today was the last nail on the coffin. BR is dead to me. The most disappointing season start in a very long time. BR doesnt have the "aura"? thats all the criticism we are gona get here? Look, I was so pissed off I totally snapped at my gf after the game. She slapped me and left, she will never come back. So please be man enough to face the music and admit that BR is a joke and the team is utter rubbish right now! And stop pissing me off with these silly rumors that NEVER EVER EVER materialise!!!

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  6. Have a cold shower

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  7. I have been saying this for months and getting shot down we all bar 2 or 3 the shopping was awful and mis directed hopefully they spend up on a cdm next season and a cm .

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  8. Anyone missing Luis Suarez?

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  9. Everyone goes on about the diamond but it didn't do much, that's why Borini played. I thought Coutinho, Lallana and Markovic should have started. Our line up was too conservative as if we were worried about West Ham, we should just focus on our own game.


    We need Allen back to partner Henderson and Gerrard to see some minutes from the sidelines. Would also like to see Suso involved to add some excitement.


    Sterling through the middle and Borini and Balotelli up front who are quite boring individuals, Lucas and Gerrard behind them. Where is the flair, the intent? Rodgers has dropped the ball three or four times already this season. Started exactly like Rafa's last year.

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  10. After this season, no one will be really interested in joining LFC.

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  11. If we are going to persist with Lucas and Stevie G then please make Lucas play deeper and Stevie G alongside Henderson. Lucas cannot play anywhere else other then that deeper role due to his lack of pace.

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  12. Rodgers realised his mistake of starting with Lucas and Gerrard but should have taken Lucas off in the first half already. 2nd mistake was again changing the back four.



    Vs Spurs we dominated with Gerrard, Henderson and Allen in our midfield 3. Lallana should have started instead of Lucas. Lovren and Sakho had some shaky moments in the 1st half but as the minutes went by the were flawless.


    If Rodgers will just stop mucking about and go with what is best then we would not be seeing such poor performances.


    You cannot tell me his too blind to see that Gerrard and Lucas in the same team will lose us matches? Well, lets see with what team he responds with vs Everton. Not too bothered about the Carling cup. Top 4 should be priority.

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  13. We just need hope! I'm praying for a big performance against Everton which then propels us forward. But that performance last night was absolutely criminal.

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  14. After what we did against Spurs, I just refuse to believe that we've supposedly regressed so much. I just refuse to believe it. The problem at the moment is missing Allen and Rodgers trying to be too clever. IMO, picking Gerrard with Lucas screams of managerial hubris.

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  15. He experiments because of two reasons. 1) Injuries to key players (not his fault). 2) He realizes that the players he signed are not good enough (Lallana, Markovic) and on top of that Coutinho is out of form. If we are going to have a successful season, these new players need to prove their worth and honestly we have wasted 45mn on Markovic and Lallana. I just don't they are good enough.

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  16. You're always a massive pessimist when things are going bad though. I remember you saying mid-way through last season that we wouldn't make the top 4.

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  17. Game vs West Ham was torture to watch. Yet again, acres of space in midfield and young Manquillo today couldn't find his man with help from MI 5!

    Consider this:

    LFC. Manc U.
    Balotelli. Falcao
    Lallana. Herrera
    Markovic. DiMaria
    Manquillo. Dojo
    Can. Blind


    Honestly, who has done more to improve? I am all for getting younger and faster but apart from Sterling, there wasn't a real play maker out there today. Balotelli did come back to defend but on offense he is skilled but nearly stationary. What are we missing most about Suarez? How about work rate, desire, fast and determined feet and real creativity in the final third. At the moment no

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  18. Come on. Lallana and Markovic not good enough after a couple of performances?


    Coutinho played alongside Henderson in the diamond last season on occasion and he did fine. Lallana can play there too.


    His experiments are costing us points and the sooner he stops messing about, the sooner we will see the team perform better.

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  19. Yes and who thought we would make it top 4 let alone fight for a title? Last year we performed above expectations. Don't tell me you all thought we were going to fight for a title.

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  20. I thought we were going to make the top 4 at least, and I'm confident that's how most other people felt as well. In fact, Jaimie called it very early on.

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  21. Lets see, I will be happy if I am proved wrong. I never rated Lallana and Markovic highly but that's just my opinion. If they were good enough, BR should have started with at least one of them.

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  22. But this isn't about hoping for the title, it's about hoping for the top 4.

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  23. Jaimie said Liverpool will surprise few people, he never mentioned about qualifying for top 4. We all were little bit surprised to see us in ECL. I don't think we have top 4 squad in the league at the moment.

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  24. But as I said, he is experimenting. Most probably BR is seeing what works and what doesn't work now instead of having to do it later on in the season. My advise to him is to quit the experiments and to go with what he knows best.

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  25. I predicted 5th place, not 4th.

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  26. He experimented a lot last season as well and successfully. The fact is that we don't have good enough players right now and BR knows that too. An injury to any one of Sterling, Henderson or Sturridge is not something we can afford. We added depth in numbers but not quality.

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  27. Brendan made many mistakes from the beginning itself. First, he brought on Skrtel which again upset the balance of the defence and then he brought on Lucas for no reason. Then, when we need to change to a diamond, he brings on Sakho and plays three at a back. Makes no sense to me..

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  28. No dude, I'm not talking about pre-season, I'm talking about maybe January or February? He said that we would make the top 4 with about 15 games to go. You came out and said we wouldn't make it around that time, probably after the West Brom draw. By that stage, most people had a feeling we would make it.

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  29. No this is when you called it mid-season

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  30. 'barring any disastrous collapse, Liverpool will make the top 4'.

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  31. Jaimie later also said we will win the league because we were playing so good and we should kiss the past goodbye. This season we are gonna struggle.

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  32. Ha, there was only about 4 games left when he said that. And I think he was alone in being so confident about it, even with about 4 games left. But by the time it was around February, there was a big feeling that Liverpool were going to make the top 4.

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  33. Man Utd are reaping rewards of being the most successful EPL club of past decade or two. They have money, reputation, fan base and coach who can improve squad quickly. Liverpool are very much work in progress but I agree to you in terms of buying quality players and not just young potentials if we want to consistently compete on all fronts.

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  34. Sadly, spot on my friend. See my post above and compare our additions vs Man U!,,,,,

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  35. But last season he was experimenting because he didn't even know what was best for us. We now know what is best for us, and yet he's still doing it. Not all of his experiments last season worked either.

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  36. Rodgers focus last season was always on pressing and making it difficult for the opposition to play football. Even the matches we lost last season still saw us getting in the faces of the opposition.


    The only match this season which has mirrored a performances from last season was vs Spurs. All the other matches we have played deep, let the opposition come at us. This is not the team I know and not sure what has possessed Rodgers to try and change things so drastically. I can understand he has signed many new players but that does not mean you have to change the system.

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  37. Yes but now no one cares about who said what? People have different way of looking at things. Although you think I am pessimist, I think I am a realist. We have not done enough progress to stake our claim as the returning European giants. I also remember BR said that after this transfer window, Liverpool will have quiet transfer window for couple of years. This is stupid because our net spend was not really that big and we will recover that through ECL money anyway. FSG played well again but I am sure they will soon realize that they will have to invest more in coming years, consistently.

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  38. We changed to a back three when Manquillo went off so not sure what you are trying to get at with your comment about a midfield 5?


    UTD had a good result against QPR who are bound to be relegated. Comparing their signings to our defeats the object. Di Maria cost combined what Markovic, Balotelli and Lallana did.


    The pressure on UTD to finish top 4 is massive and they have thrown money at the problem which could come back to bit them.

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  39. I thought you were talking about this season.

    And note, I said 'barring any disastrous collapse' - I'd call Gerrard's slip (leading to Chelsea defeat) and the Palace draw = disastrous collapse.

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  40. But we don't even know if Rodgers will stick by his word? He probably made that comment based on the assumption that our signings would be a general success. There hasn't been enough time yet to make a good judgement of that- therefore I don't think making harsh conclusions based off a couple of games is 'realist' in the slightest. A realist would give more time to see how things pan out before making a judgement.


    My original point was that your 'realism' is just an excuse for your pessimism. Proclaiming that we wouldn't make the top 4 right in the middle of a good run around the halfway mark of the season demonstrates that. I brought up Jamie's comment to illustrate how the common consensus was that we would make top 4.

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  41. Well, yeah, but I'm talking about your prediction that we would make the top 4 'barring any disastrous collapse'. This isn't about your prediction that we'd win the title barring another disastrous collapse. The Gerrard slip and Crystal Palace game happened after a top 3 spot was already officially sewn up.

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  42. Our pressing game was ever present last season. That is what he knew was best for us.


    This season it has been 'how to get the starting eleven right in one match and mess it up in all the others'.

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  43. It reminds me of someone who wins a lot of money in a poker machine but then decides to f*** around by betting all the money he won into another game, and then completely messing it up, all because he was unnecessarily looking for more.

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  44. With your Nan's versatility I am concerned that as far as I am aware BR has not signed her on a long contract and she might be snapped up by another European giant for free.


    Our need for her in defence is much greater than Real's need for her as an attacking force imo

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  45. I cannot believe all the dull predictions being made right now. If we were to beat Everton next week, suddenly, everyone will say Brendan is the best. We were horrible and there is no doubting it but it is way too early to make any predictions. If City and Utd lose today, we would be one point ahead of Utd and a point behind City. I have trust in Brendan. He did it once and he will do it again.

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  46. I still don't think vast majority of LFC fans thought we would make it in top 4 before the start of last season. Secondly, the reason I look pessimist is I didn't consider Lallana and Markovic signing as a good business by Liverpool and after their performances, or lack thereof, I am quite sure they are not at a level we expect them to be. I will be happy if I am proved wrong but I think they will never be worth 45mn. I am hopeful regarding the defenders we signed along with Can and Balotelli but the aforementioned guys are just not good enough.

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  47. Nah, I think most LFC fans were *hopeful* of a top 4 finish before last season, while 'realistic' expectations were 5th at best. I'm talking about when most LFC fans were actually pretty confident that they would get the job done.

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  48. I agree no flair or intent why it seems even worse that the side conceded 3 goals.
    Its time to play in defensive mode its ok to play attacking football when you can pull it off.
    This side must go back to basics learn to defend properly and then worry about attacking there is plenty of creative talent goals will come just not bucket loads.
    Maybe a bit of the old Juventus grind out 1 0 results if you are a good side you can adjust.

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  49. NO SUAREZ, no quality, no hope of winning Trophies, not a contender for the champions league, Title hope over on just 5 games, top 4 dreams in danger of collapse, financial fair play restricting Liverpool spending abilities to just more and more over-rated average tripe, cant attract world class players, Gerrard is simply not good enough nor a big enough player to ever win a league title. More gloom for Liverpool to come and another mid table finish set in stone this season and 3-5 years in the wilderness awaits with no European football. don't worry do, you always have this one season to enjoy the return to midtable for Liverpool and a CL group stage run whiles challenging for nothing and constantly being hypocrites by going on that Manchester United are not on CL for this one season. Don't worry, when United wins the league this year with our world class squad we wont mock your absolute failure and return to 7th or worse. Darkness looms for Liverpool, don't forget your Rodgers out banners HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, maybe you can burn more Gerrard shirts aswell. Gerrard the bottler who cost you the title a year ago and blew his chance of ever winning a league title.

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  50. Oh wise one- Please give me a peak into your crystal ball because I have some important things coming up...

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  51. BR seems to be dragging his feet. Her wage demands of one packet of past their use by date hob-nobs and a handful of werthers originals is clearly an obstacle in the way of any potential long term deal.

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  52. When I saw the midfield line Kayate, Noble, Song all midfield powerhouses, quick & strong vs our Madame Tussaud wax statues. The writing was on the wall. The alarming thing is that mid to lower table teams are simply applying the same formula that Man City, Chelsea apply, which is press high using powerhouses in midfield.
    Posters like twistatee, myself & many others have continuously implored BR to replace Leiva. Leiva should be in Italy, playing for Napoli.
    Also don't blame Balllo we ALL knew he's not the chasing down hassling type, he's more racehorse as opposed to terrier. Yet we expected him to play like Saurez???!! Which is why Remy would have been perfect, this guy defends from the front & is generally a better lone striker. People arrogantly said Remy wasn't good enough?!! Then there's Lambert who will need game time to get fitter & more effective. The odd 15mins here or there is the worst you can do, he'll just pick injuries like Andy Carroll.

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  53. Everton is a must win game. BR will be a under lot of pressure if he didn't manage to get three points next week.

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  54. I actually dont think BR likes buying defensive midfielders, its been obvious for a while that we need one and for now I'm hoping Allen or Emre can fill that position. Gerrard is too slow and is making more mistakes of late, however BR will not drop him. To be honest, a team without Sturridge n Suarez will always struggle, however with a strong defensive u would expect us to be atleast winning games by the odd goal or draw. I'm hoping this has been a big wake up call for the team and no better place to put things right but a win against Everton.

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  55. I honestly can't recall so maybe I have, maybe I haven't. I hope this isn't another attempt to just prove yourself right about everything. If they are in the same team I'd certainly prefer Lucas to play his regular role and Gerrard to play much higher, or simply not play at all. The problem is Gerrard. He is seemingly worshiped by Rodgers and shoe-horned into the team, which displaces everybody else. I guess it can be confirmed that it just won't work with these two anymore, but why just excuse Gerrard and pinpoint Lucas? Why does everyone look over Gerrard's lack of defensive capabilities in terms of tracking, marking, positioning etc, why?


    The diamond IMO was only effective last season because the two best strikers in the league were playing for us. It doesn't look like it's going to work without Sturridge. 4-3-3 is the better pressing formation because you can put pacey wingers against opposition fullbacks. You also get more out of Henderson in a 4-3-3. Likewise Allen.


    IMO Lallana, Markovic and Coutinho should have started against West Ham, but instead, Rodgers was caught by the pressure of playing two up front. It didn't do much for us. You yap on about pressing, I like pressing too, but there are greater issues at hand. When only two individuals press the opposition (Allen and Hendo) and Gerrard guides the rest on how to ball watch, and the team defends worse than six year old players I have coached, you have a big problem.

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  56. Last season you used Spurs away to talk up the 4-3-3 now you use Spurs away this season to talk up the diamond. Clearly, the two fixtures are some sort of out-liar. You can't use one game to tactically define the rest of the season.


    One possibility is that some of the new boys aren't up to the standard of pressing (yet). If you look at Markovic and Balo, they didn't exhibit what SASAS and Coutinho have done in the past. In my reply below I mentioned that Rodgers fell into the trap of playing the diamond because of this. Maybe that's why 4-3-3 has been overlooked. But I just can't understand the benching of Lallana, Markovic and Coutinho not even being in the squad. Makes no sense.


    The only reason I can suggest Lucas started is that Rodgers feared West Ham. Lucas and Gerrard, you know what you are going to get. But, please address why you have a go at the decision as a pair, and just excuse Gerrard for his faults. I agree, Lucas and Gerrard won't work, but we didn't lose the game solely because of Lucas. Arguably, Gerrard by himself no longer works. Tired of the glorified half back role with no defensive mindset, it's time for Allen or someone else to have a go there.

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  57. villa are a different team when they are away from home.

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  58. love your optimism.

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  59. isco, pedro or even rues would be more than welcome additions to the team. but when are we going to buy a boss midfielder like yaya or vidal ?

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  60. Ah werther's originals. That reminds me, it's ages since I visited my favourite specialist caramel sweet makers let alone my second and third favourite ones.

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  61. Good comment, Pete. Very good. Spot on. I agree with just about everything.


    Small thought on the starters against West Ham - Borini was very lively in the Champions League when he came on, so Rodgers probably thought he deserved a chance from the start, which is fair, I think.


    Gerrard continues to disappoint me. He remains our legendary, inspirational captain and retains that steely-eyed aura of 'boss' that many of his team-mates lack, but he simply is not doing enough in his 'quarterback' role to justify an automatic start. As you say it mucks with the balance of the team and indeed the pattern of play.


    Terrible that Lucas gets all the blame. Lucas was only in there yesterday to pick up Gerrard's share of the defensive work. If I remember Hammers' second goal properly, Stevie fumbles in possession twice before the ball gets to Balotelli who loses it and they score. Lucas does some crucial mopping up work in between all this, but he's only one man. Yet the post-mortem concludes that a key reason for us losing was that Lucas was in the team. Huh?


    Sure, Lucas has not hit the heights of his pre-injury days, but he's still way more disciplined and defensively astute than Gerrard in the defensive-midfield position. We're wearing long-ball-tinted spectacles at the moment.

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  62. Another rant - this one about Sakho's first LFC game, which was against `Swansea. Sakho gets heavily criticised for stepping forward from the defensive line to close down Shelvey, but Sakho needed to do that because Gerrard had neglected to track Shelvey's run through the midfield. This is happening time and again. Our defence is on the back foot so often; it's asking for trouble.


    I'm looking at the flavour of the month in terms of defensive midfielders at the moment: William Carvalho. His positional discipline, appetite for hard yards, courageous physicality, clever use of possession to work his team's way out of sticky situations and unselfish movement off the ball for the same purpose is everything you want from the person at the base of your midfield. That's what a single pivot does: quell danger and simply get the team started in the right direction again. Stevie just doesn't offer the same consistently enough and we are suffering for it. Sigh.


    Maybe he's now best suited to shorter bursts off the bench. I don't know. But he's too inconsistent to be our defensive shield.

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  63. Also - and I apologise for selecting your comment as my victim - why are we not interrogating Hendo's role in all of this? I love the guy and adore the fact that he busts a gut for the team every time he plays. His attitude deserves a place in the team every week, plus he's improved technically since Rodgers has come in.


    But between Gerrard and Henderson, there is too little creative magic. Traditional two-pivot midfields - here I'm thinking Vidal/Pirlo, Schweinsteiger/Khedira, Toure/Fernando - have the one dedicated defensive shield and the other box-to-box, who is a healthy combination of energy, physicality and guile. I just don't see that balance from Gerrard/Hendo.


    It's clear that Henderson is in the team to do Gerrard's running for him, but that whole concept makes little sense for me. If anything, Hendo should be given licence to express his creativity better without having a Gerrard to defer to. We might see an improvement in his creative output.


    I would really like to see a Can/Hendo/Allen combo in the near future.


    Okay, that's all from me.

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  64. We have played 4-3-3 this season to no great effect and we have played 4-2-3-1 and looked like a team managed by Roy Hodgson.


    The diamond formation is IMO the best solution. You still have a midfield three and 'a front three" but the number 10 links the midfield with attack which Sterling did brilliantly and had Balotelli and Sturridge ahead of him causing problems up front. We killed Spurs. Our defence and midfield dominated too.


    Point out another performance using a different formation this season which has allowed us to press and work as a cohesive unit. Be my guest.


    The problem is not Gerrard, it is playing both Lucas and Gerrard in the same team. It has to be either Lucas or Gerrard not both.

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  65. I fortunately have a very good memory...

    -----------------------------------------------------------
    Pete Loganlfc • 7 months ago

    Why am I wrong? Is it because I'm not indoctrinated? That is, I don't just uncritically accept whatever Rodgers does? How do I make things up?

    I already highlighted my point of concern, it doesn't matter who is in front of Gerrard. Lucas and Gerrard can play together.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------

    You can find your comment in the link below. jamie will just need to make the link public as it will go for moderation. The article was from 7 months ago which was called * 'Absolutely unplayable' Redknapp, Owen, Folwer, Hendo etc hail 'brilliant' So'ton win.

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  66. many have seen and agree that both Lucas and Gerrard in the same team is a accident waiting to happen. vs Spurs we were rubbish and the 1st half vs West ham we were even more rubbish.Lucas was taken off and we actually managed to get forward.


    Vs Spurs Gerrard was not an issue. our defence was not an issue either. Even Mignolet looked at ease. The diamond formation is IMO what we should go with.


    All the other formations Rodgers has tried have seen us put in laboured and poor performances.

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  67. I heard this rumor about signing Benzema too. It makes sense to me because I believe that Brendan Rodgers would finally be admitting that he didn't actually replace Luis Suarez and his goals in signing two strikers in Lambert and Ballotelli this last summer. If any thing they Lambert and Balotelli are basically the same type of player with Balotelli simply a better form of Lambert. None of them are clearly similar to the player they are trying to replace Suarez. None of them are going to ever give you a lot of goals none of them are really known for their superior creativity and technique. These two are not going to pull a rabbit from a hat for your team during that crunch period in big games on a regular basis like Luis Suarez which is why the Uruguayan will always be special to Liverpool.

    Moving on Liverpool needs a proven goal scorer to partner with another proven goals scorer (Sturridge) in other to terrorize defenses like we did last season. Getting Benzema would seem like a good idea he is a direct player (by that I mean he runs at defenses, has dribbling skills, and has a bit of pace unlike Balotelli and Lambert) which is the type of player who should partner regularly up front with Sturridge. Unfortunately I do not believe that Liverpool can pull of deal to sign Benzema and here are the reasons why:

    (1) Signing a big Marquee talent:

    It is obvious that Brendan Rodgers has had real trouble signing big name talent. Top class big name talent have not been kind to Liverpool in the past. Balotelli was desperate to leave Milan and he really wasn't wanted by a lot of other clubs so he doesn't count and Adam Lallana is really not in the same class as Suarez and Benzema and I do not consider him a marque signing. Brendan Rodgers is yet to sign a big name in demand marquee talent and that usually takes a lot of cold hard cash and that is one area that Liverpool doesn't do well in. The club doesn't compete well with other big boys for top class talent. There has never been a cheaper club.

    (2) Benzema has no reason to leave

    The second reason that Benzema will never appear in a Liverpool shirt is that he has no reason to leave. Liverpool would be a step down in class. Benzema is Madrids preferred striker and he gets to play with the world's most expensive squad. He already has champion's league football. No reason for him to leave.

    So there you have it Rodgers wasted £117,000,000 and still needs to replace Luis Saurez and Benzema will never come to Liverpool.

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  68. Isn't Benzama a bit like Ballotelli? I see Ronaldo and Bale running and making chances (Suerez) but I do not see that as Benzama's strong point. Seems Reus makes more sense.

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  69. Just because we don't concede a goal because of it doesn't mean it's not an issue. Go ahead and watch the match again, you will see Eriksen, Chadli and Lamela ghosting past Gerrard and Gerrard acting as if he's a striker and there are 9 outfield players defending behind him. He does not know how to play the role. It's first and foremost a defensive role, which is just constantly overlooked. However, more and more fans are beginning to see it and there has even been public talk of Gerrard being dropped, which is a good thing IMO.


    It's not a problem for you because you refuse to see it.

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  70. If their roles were reversed, there would possibly be a better outcome. Lucas is just thrown under the bus because Gerrard is so precious, so special, protected with bubble wrap and worshiped by Rodgers that he can only play one position, where he is picked because of former ability and current status and not on merit. If you can't see the defensive issues with Gerrard in the deep midfield role I'd suggest that you are watching the Springbok and not the Reds.


    In the post I clearly stated it doesn't matter who else is in the midfield if Gerrard is there, because the problem is Gerrard. That means I've highlighted the issue for a minimum of seven months. I think you conveniently overlooked that point. I have also defended perceived poor performances from Allen, Henderson and Lucas in the past because of Gerrard.


    I have also said in the past that Allen and Lucas could possibly line up in a 4-2-3-1 for cup fixtures. Up to you if you'd like to dig that one up. No longer looks a possibility though.


    I think it's funny that you absolve Gerrard of any blame and basically pin it on Lucas. The pair no longer work together, everyone agrees, but Gerrard alone is a big problem. His legs are gone and he has no defensive mindset, he defends like a witches hat or training cone, so static. It's clearly a target for the opposition, even big Sam figured it out.


    The longer you choose to uncritically accept the situation, the longer the team will suffer.

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  71. Re last paragraph, that's why I said Rodgers may have been pressured into playing the diamond to get 2 up top, but it makes absolutely no sense at all to leave Lallana, Markovic and Coutinho out. They all should have started IMO.


    I maintain that the diamond will only be effective for some games, just like 4-3-3 will be for others. Rodgers explained the diamond against Spurs, stating that Spurs play 4-2-3-1 but the 3 are very narrow. He offered no such explanation for using it against West Ham, probably because it didn't work.


    You wont see any pressing philosophy coupled with a narrow midfield diamond. It was used to get our to best players in their best positions last season, but now we need to look elsewhere. 4-3-3 should be used and we need to expect more from Balo, Borini, Markovic et al.

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  72. How about we sign a decent goalkeeper and a DM first?

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