7 Dec 2014

Sack BR? 'Incredible' legend one of the shock favourites to be the next LFC manager

Rafa Benitez and Jurgen Klopp remain the two favourites to replace Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers, but a surprising new candidate is now in the mix for the top job at Anfield.

According to British bookmakers, Steven Gerrard is now the 12-1 fourth-favourite to become the next Liverpool manager (!)

Current list of favourites:

* Rafa Benitez: 5-1
* Jurgen Klopp: 6-1
* Jamie Carragher: 10-1
* Laurent Blanc: 10-1
* Frank De Boer: 10-1
* Steven Gerrard: 12-1

Gerrard as manager is a romantic idea, just like with Jamie Carragher, there's no way (IMO) he should even be considered for the Liverpool job.

As we've seen with Kenny Dalglish, there's always a risk when legends return to the club. Gerrard currently has an amazing legacy at Anfield, and I'd hate to see that tarnished with an unsuccessful spell in the Liverpool hot-seat.

Additionally, like Carra, Gerrard is not ready for such a huge job; he doesn't yet have the relevant UEFA coaching qualifications, and there are clearly better, more experienced candidates out there.

That said, if Rodgers gets the bullet before the end of the season, either Gerrard or Carragher are obvious contenders for a temporary caretaker role until the summer, and in that circumstance, I don't see too many downsides.

Additionally, the player-manager model worked amazingly well for Kenny Dalglish in the 1980s, but to be fair, football was (comparatively) much simpler back then, and the player-manager approach is extremely rare these days.

One advantage Gerrard has over Carragher, however, is international status/fame - LFC's captain is revered across Europe, and that could be advantageous when it comes to attracting top-class players.

Gerrard for manager?

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66 comments:

  1. Yep, Gerrard as a manager would be really shocking but the more surprising gossip to me is AVB being lined for replacing BR.

    I have the feeling that Daniel Levy is in charge of LFC's transfer operations. It's time for the people advising FSG that in Europe professional teams can drop to lower divisions. Not like in America where pro teams stay "UP" forever.


    I really don't understand what FSG are trying to really do...

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  2. So one poor start to the year and that suddenly cancels out everything else he's achieved?

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  3. Dude, with respect, you need to realise how dangerously far from the top 4 we can quickly become if Utd beat Southampton. If they beat Southampton, it will be 7 points while they are only getting better. Are we getting better? Hardly. Why is that we have not had a worthy measure of progression from the game against Spurs? We either struggle to defend, or struggle to score goals, with the latter now being more common place. Don't blame fans like us for panicking because we can not see where the improvement will suddenly come if we've failed to make hardly any since August, while Utd obviously have. Making the top 4 was absolutely imperative to build on last season, but it's now looking more likely that we have to start at square 1 in the Summer...AGAIN.

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  4. Mate, please, not only has it taken Pardew about 2 seasons lift Newcastle out of absolute mediocrity, but he'll also probably fall back into a big slump again. Ditto Big Sam. That's the story with mid-table managers.

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  5. Arsenal fans have put up with 10 years of rubbish. They've had enough.

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  6. You need to realize we didn't just lose Saurez. We have also lost Sturridge. He was one of the best strikers in the league last year. We lost two of the best attacking talents. Rodgers or FSG could never account for Sturridge being out this long. It used to be the odd niggles for small amounts of time.

    Plus no one is really paying up to snuff, he can't control people's output.

    He has plenty of time to get us securely up in the top 4, and he'll keep his job. Were not even halfway through the season. People need to calm down.

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  7. Please elaborate. How are the fans, both in and out of the stadium, dictating Liverpool signings, tactics, wages, and other elements of the FC's operations?

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  8. I don't know, he could have been joking. He's one of the L-Kop jesters

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  9. There was a lot more that went into the sacking of Boston coach than you realize. That coach was not very liked and as the owners found out later, it was the players that were the problem not the coach.

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  10. I understand what you're saying but sacking the manager now is going to achieve what? And replace him with who?
    The loss of Sturridge has been catastrophic for our season and while mistakes have no doubt been made in the striking department, is it Rodgers fault? He tried to sign Remy after all.
    I accept there has to be some changes made but completely scrapping everything we've done under BR and starting again from scratch with somebody new is just knee-jerk reactionism

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  11. Yes it was a flippant comment reflecting my frustration at all the blame flying around cos things are not going as well as they might.


    But there is a serious point behind it. I think the ridiculous expectations of the fans demanding instant results creates a pressure on the club which is counter productive

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  12. Armin Van Buuren?

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  13. Over £200 million pound spend on mediocre players & languishing in mid table obscurity! Failure to use the money to strengthen in the right areas. How about the David Brent style outbursts & a dossier that should be sponsored by Andrex!

    Do you believe that Markovic & co can bring title challenging football?

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  14. I think you'll find the correct spelling is slideitin

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  15. Then you have never watched Joe five-yard Allen.

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  16. Terry Francona won two World Series and was instrumental in raising Boston's p. profile and value. ,from about 450 million when bought to 1.5 billion ,this was price mooted around when rumors that fsg were selling.firstly you say fsg back the manager/ coaches ,then you say he was sacked due to player unrest ? .its all about results. John Henry and terry Francona are still close he lost his job similar to dalglish . Fsg know that success leads to commercial gain eventually ,there is a board of directors at fsg ,works both side of pond

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  17. Dunno but I do know that whingeing has never improved anything.

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  18. I sincerely doubt he follows the Bundesliga and knows anything about Klopp. Good ol' Wikipedia.

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  19. You might be on your own there

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  20. You're all about Sakho and Joe Allen.


    Illori barely gets games on loan but somehow he is going to return and take everyone by storm. Yup. And, Sakho is injured, but blame Rodgers for that one too. Complete dichotomy of you last season. All of the problems this season were present last season, but the only difference is the results and bit of luck.

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  21. Is that not the same as Rodgers? I doubt that many here actually tune in to the Bundesliga frequently, yet they act as if Klopp is a descendent from the heavens waiting to take over the Liverpool hot seat.


    And I'm not even defending Rodgers at this point. There is just no realism in any of this speculation.

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  22. It was the players that were the problem. Not the coach, FSG found that out after, nor they could have known, but I'm sure they'll be more careful in the future.

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  23. Rafa spent a fortune and for every Alonso there was an Aqualani.

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  24. No, I second that

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  25. Couldn't agree more

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  26. If it was flippant how does it feel to be the only one laughing? - Maybe you don't understand that LFC is founded on the principle of progressive improvement. Rodgers is a bad football manager who refused to give Andy Carroll an opportunity to prove himself; sold the best player in the league for a song; brought in a host of players of unknown quality for inflated transfer fees (spending over £212m since he arrived) and what have we got? We've got the same team on the the pitch with his imports spending most of their time on the bench and there they will be for the next 3 or 4 years! He's a tipsy tapsy football philosopher who wants his team to play most of his football between the half-way line and his 18yard line and is surprised when we concede silly goals. If he remains he'll do more harm to our club than Hicks & Gillette. This is no time for flippancy. Get him out quickly!

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  27. Yes I've wanted rid of him, since the day he arrived, looks like he's finally gonna go .. £212M later

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  28. Hey now you and me against the world now.

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  29. Piffle. I work for a bookies

    12-1 means it's never going to happen but they'll happily take people's money

    In 2012 we took over €10k on the world ending that year...... Think about that 😄

    People will back anything that a price is offered on

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  30. No, definitely not as competitive as the EPL but improving all of the time.

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  31. grass is always greener on the other side mate ...

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  32. You may fluke a win or 2 you do not fluke a season do you remember the season before Rodgers took over we were dire.
    As soon as it gets bad sack everyone attitude will only stop this club from winning the league we need stability over all else.
    No manager is going to come come in and wave a magic wand.
    As far as Ferguson goes trophies had nothing to do with it sometimes you have to ride over rough times together.

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  33. It's not the same as Rodgers mate. Rodgers has won zilch. He has spend one solitary in the top 2 of his league. Klopp has done more than that.

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  34. We haven't been great in the transfer market but it seems to be a running theme for Liverpool. Every manager has seemed to suffer from the same curse of making a few dud signings and the team struggling for form because of it. For me it comes down to the difficulty of the task. It seems easy enough in hindsight to say what went well and what didn't but as fans we're really no better than the manager. The only reason we get away with our mistakes when we advocate for signings is that no one remembers our predictions and most of the time our suggestions go unheeded anyway. In my view it's simply a very very tough job to get signings right and there is no magic formula. Perhaps what the club needs to do is change the strategy and Rodgers, with the owners and the rest of his team, must find a way to spend more sensibly. So long as they learn from their mistakes and move in a positive direction I can accept that. Other fans won't. That's up to each of us.


    But sacking the manager? No, I don't think that's the answer. I first of all don't see a suitable replacement. Klopp has a team in a relegation battle, Benitez has his known faults and was let go for almost exactly the kind of mistakes Rodgers has suffered in the past 6 months. Another young manager is not the answer and another experienced manager will expect time, at least 2 years, to put a strategy into place. No matter what happens you simply have to wipe the slate clean and fans then can't expect any actual real success for at least another season.


    Rodgers mistakes are done. To me they are in the past. That doesn't absolve him of anything but the reality is that harping on about transfer market failings is pointless. It achieves nothing. It's over. We have the players we have and frankly it's not a bad team. It's not a bad team by any stretch. We have experienced quality international defenders. We have talented attackers. We have youth and experience and overall it's a deep squad that can handle injuries. It's a team that will get better over time. So what the club needs to focus on is the best way to move forward and improve. Sacking Rodgers won't do that, not in the short term. Focusing on his mistakes in the transfer pool also won't do that. What will make the team better is to stick with the plan and work hard, keep some consistency in the training and give the players the confidence to play the kind of football we know they can.


    Many were disappointed with the Sunderland result but in the second 45 minutes I really enjoyed the football Liverpool played. That spark was back, the pace and the directness, the clever passing and the ball finally got it's way into the box with players in genuinely threatening positions. To see defenders have to make that many blocks was finally encouraging and I think the team is on the right track. THAT is the kind of football that Liverpool can play under Rodgers and that's what I think they should aim for. If they can produce that every week then it's not a problem for me, it's exactly what I would ask and hope for. Seeing signs of that football again has me mostly convinced that Rodgers does know what he's doing and that his aims and goals are what the club needs to fight for. Fast, attacking football with skilful players ... it's what we loved so much last year and in my view the club can (and will) get that back on a regular basis.

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  35. It's the same logic nick - a poor start to the season cancels out whatever the manager might have achieved. Sure, it's "only a top 2 finish" but it's also more goals than a Liverpool team has EVER scored in a season. We were signing his praises, calling him manager of the year. If a poor start to the season is not a blight on Klopp then why is it different for Rodgers?

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  36. Yes well said Adam i couldnt agree more.

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  37. ....Because Klopp has, overall, achieved a lot more than Rodgers has! Silverware buys you time! I'm not saying there's no blight on Klopp at all, but it's not as big as Rodgers', that's for sure. I don't know why it's so hard to understand! The more silverware you have won, the more proven you are, so to suggest that one poor start to the season for Klopp tarnishes just as much of Klopp's legacy as Rodgers' is outrageous. If Klopp had won BVB nothing, then their fans wouldn't be still singing his name during this current plight of theirs.

    Don't act like I was discounting the achievement of finishing in the top 2. I implied that it's a great achievement, but Rodgers has only done it once. Klopp has done it at least 3 or 4 times, with 2 league wins to boot, as well as a UCL runners-up medal.

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  38. I wasn't talking about sacking the manager, I was merely arguing that it is panic stations.

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  39. I don't think the defence of either manager is about how much credit they have in the bank. It's simply that it makes no sense to sack a manager based on 3 months of poor form. What they've done in the past is an indication that they are good at what they do. Klopp is obviously more successful overall but Rodgers is no mug. If we're talking about an entire season of poor form then I think it's on a different scale and maybe Klopp would survive a mid-low table finish where as Rodgers won't. Perhaps I phrased it incorrectly in the beginning. I think neither manager deserves to be sacked at this point and there is no logic in discounting what they are capable of just because of what the teams are going through at the moment. That applies to Klopp and, for now, it equally applies to Rodgers, despite that he has fewer notable achievements to his name. He has enough. For now.

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  40. Last year Suarez was god, people just realised that this year, after such inept coaching from BR.

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  41. Last year, with Lucas injured, BR wanted...a winger.
    TC, Ayre and owners have a lot to be blamed, but clearly BR dunno where his head is.

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  42. I'm not really convinced by any of them. I like them and they've had some great moments as Liverpool players but they also have their flaws. Not that a player has to be perfect but if Liverpool can do better then I think they should try. The fact that Johnson is still playing so often means that if he left there would be a gap in the team. We also got Manquillo on a two year loan so he's no certainty. Flanno has been good at times but there were more than a few occasions last season when his positioning left the team horribly exposed at the back. Maybe that was a tactical thing, maybe not. Plus any player in that position playing in a Rodgers style system has to be very good in an attacking sense, very good on the pass and dribbling at players. I just think we should aim higher. Not sure if Clyne is the answer.

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  43. I think the club will be in the market for a right back, either in January or in the summer. I can't see them spending that much on Clyne, it's absurd. Needs to be at least 10 million less. Southampton don't need to sell and they are higher up the league so I don't see it happening.

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  44. The defence of all the money still sitting on the bench has been mentioned a few times. I suppose in the end you either buy it or you don't. History has shown that in order for a team to play Rodgers' brand of football time is needed for the tactics to settle in and everyone to get to the very high level required. One or two new players can unsettle that progress. 5 or 6 new players can totally throw it off. What we're seeing at the moment are players who have been at the club for longer. It's why Johnson continues to start most games. It's why Toure is a better option than Lovren but Skrtel hasn't been dropped. It's why Lucas is leading the latest revival and Sterling is close to undroppable. Rodgers is clearly finding it too challenging to get the new players to settle in to the system and do what is required.


    So you either accept that or you don't. I can see why many wouldn't. Football does at time seem to be a very simple game and the way Liverpool played last year it seemed almost effortless. That's the trick though, it obviously isn't effortless, and the reality is that in order to get that level a mountain of work had to be done on the training ground and consistency week in and week out was vital. Without that platform it's proving much harder. For me it's a forgivable struggle because what Rodgers is trying to do is so ambitious in the first place. When it works it is truly glorious and we've all seen that. The problem is that when it doesn't work it just seems to fall apart. I personally have plenty of patience and a willingness to wait for the team to find their feet again and reach those high standards. Others obviously don't and they believe a change in manager is the only way.

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  45. Yes getting a proven manager and right scouting staff should be the utmost priority.
    These two things if taken care can certainly do wonders. Southampton is the most recent example !

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  46. Adam you assume me , because every time you come out with a well scripted reason to defend Mr. Rodgers.
    BR is clearly an utterly inexperienced manager who is not good enough for a club with title aspirations. I don't need to write a critical post to point to his abject failures in every department of the game because every thing he's been doing sheds light to his lack of experience and vision.
    I reckon this is going to be his last season with LFC.
    Some times I wonder if you're Sir Brendon in disguise ..

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  47. High standards ??
    Are you kidding?
    Have you seen our defense from last 3 seasons. Do you think Rodgers can mend it. He has failed to do so in 3 seasons.
    95% of his signings have failed . It's not a failure , it is a FIASCO !
    Week in and week out he benches 100 million worth of talent. If a manager doesn't have a trust in his own signings, it's safe to term him as CLUELESS.
    He's constantly patting and praising jokers like Allen, Henderson,Johnson etc. He clearly doesn't have an eye to look for talent because he doesn't know what a talent is.
    No wonder club will linger on in the mid-table and star players will never head to Anfield until and unless FSG shows him the door

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  48. You make it sound strange that there are people who are understanding of his situation and willing to accept his faults and defend him. Why? He's not an imbecile, he's just doing a very tough job that very few people in the world can actually succeed in. If it was so easy for a Liverpool manager to be better than this then why hasn't there been a title in over 20 years?

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  49. In my view, as a Liverpool fan who has actively watched the team for a couple of decades, the football that Liverpool played at the tail end of last season was the most enjoyable and exciting attacking football I've ever seen from the club. That's the high standard I refer to. You seem to have forgotten that already in your mad panic to paint a picture of some kind of catastrophic failure. Calm down. It's not that bad.

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  50. Because our managers haven't been good enough !!
    I would certainly rate Benitez because we tasted European glory during his reign. We crushed giants like Barca and R.Madrid during his time and this is certainly not an easy feat. BR can't do it even in a 100 years !
    haha...have we won anything under Sir Rodgers ?

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  51. OK. Enjoy the rest of your life as a football fan who is perennially miserable and complains whenever the club is not crushing the elite of Europe. I'll just enjoy the game.

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  52. Playing an entertaining brand of football won't guarantee any title mate !
    I adore Mourinho because he knows it so well.

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  53. Well you're more than welcome to buy yourself a shiny new blue shirt and support Chelsea if you like. It would certainly brighten up this place.

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  54. We were no where competing with Madrid mate and this saddens me more than anything(under Mr. Rodgers).

    That was a surrender and utter shame.

    BR should learn something from minnows like Ludogorets

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  55. I am more than happy with red !!
    But I wouldn't mind Mou managing our club anyday

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  56. Yeah, sorry, I don't get depressed when my football team goes through some poor form and isn't beating the best football club in the world.


    Enjoying this double-ended conversation by the way.

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  57. I support people who show character and this BR guy doesn't have any. Period.

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  58. The thing is B Rodgers transfers have been shocking to say least and it seems that L Suarez(27) and D Sturridge(25) made the manager look top class.


    The thing is B Rodgers has wasted: £31,550.000 on three average Centre midfielders: J Allen(24) , L Alberto(21) and E Can(20), None of them have the class or quality to replace S Gerrard(34)


    B Rodgers has wasted £64M on defensive players and we still concede goals for fun and have loaned one out for last two seasons:
    ( Mignolet(26), Sakho(24), Lovren(25) and Moreno(22) )




    B Rodgers has wasted: £86M on average attackers: Who struggle to create and score regularly and in which some of them look way out of their depth playing for the club whether here now or before or player out on loan: ( Borini(23), Assaidi(25), I Aspas(26), A Lallana(26), R Lambert(32) and M Balotelli(24) )


    Whilst B Rodgers has also wasted millions on poor loan players: say £5-7M on A Cissokho(27), V Moses(23) and Nuri Sahin(25).


    How can any manager who has done so poorly over last three seasons with transfer signings who this season has worst record than Hodgson still be at the helm?


    The thing is B Rodgers doesn't even have the balls to drop the oldies who have been making the most mistakes in side over last few seasons ( Johnson(30), S Gerrard(34 and M Skrtel(29))


    And for a manager to have spent so much money on player over last three seasons and to have a worse record than Hodgson this season is shocking.


    All summer there was top class quality players out there we needed more than the players brought in:


    We spent £65M on A Lallana(26), E Can(20), L Markovic(20), M Balotelli(24) and R Lambert(32).


    That money should have been spent on these players instead:

    Bojan(24) should have been brought instead of A Lallana(26) for £2M instead of us spending £23M more for A Lallana(26)


    Y Cabaye(29) should have been brought to club for £15-£18M instead of E Can(20) as we need class creativity and goals from the centre of park now not in 3 - 4 years time.


    J Montero(23) should have been brought to club for £4-£5M instead of us wasting £14.8M more on L Markovic(20)


    B Rodgers should of signed L Remy(27) and W Bony(25) for a combined total of £29M instead of wasting £20M on Balotelli(24) and Lambert(32)


    The thing Remy(27) and Bony(25) would have guaranteed club is both would have brought more mobility, pace and speed to attack than Balotelli(24) and Lambert(32) and both strikers would guarantee club combined total of 30-40 goals a season. Something Lambert(32) and Balotelli(24) cannot guarantee side


    B Rodgers should be given one more transfer window to rectify his 95% shockers and i hope and pray he clears out the dead wood players first and then brings in real class quality players better than what we have to be first team players not bench warmers

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  59. Haha that's a ballsy comment

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  60. I agree with everything except that BR should be given another chance.He is at the core of this failure and club's recent form. He needs to go now followed by the non-performers - Henderson,Allen,Johnson, et al

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  61. If B Rodgers is given last chance, he needs to be brave and bold and ruthless.


    He needs the owners to give him £60-£70M plus whatever he can make selling these dead wood players in January:


    GK: B Jones RB: G Johnson(30) DM: L Leiva(27)


    AM: Suso(20) with buy back clause inserted
    FD: F Borini(23)


    B Rodgers needs to bring in these 6 players to get him top 4 and save his job as even if he is given money in January, i think he is gone without top 4.


    And if we can't score to save our lives and concede goals for fun down the other end, that in itself is recipe for disaster.


    B Rodgers needs to spend £34M on these two CLASS Quality Defensive players:


    GK: Upgrade on B Jones(32) and S Mignolet(26): A Begovic(27) Of Stoke for £10-12M


    DM: L Bender(25) Of Bayer Leverkusen for £17-£22M


    B Rodgers will then to drop S Mignolet(26) and S Gerrard(34), G Johnson(30) and M Skrtel(29)



    And play Manquillo RB Lovren RCB Sakho LCB Moreno LB and let them play together at back for 12-15 games consistantly no matter what so they can GEL


    B Rodgers should then spend £45M on these 4 attacking players:


    1: Y Cabaye(29) Of PSG for £15-£20M due to age to displace Allen(24) Or Henderson(24) as CM in starting line up


    2: K Bellarabi(25) Of B Leverkusen for £10-£16M to compete with R Sterling(20) RW / RWF


    3: A Ayew(23) Of Marseille for £3M or for free in the summer to compete with L Markovic(20) LW / LWF


    4: L Adriano(27) Of Shakhtar Donesk for £6M in January or for Free in the summer FD


    Those 4 players will bring more class, creativity, goals, mobility, pace and speed to attack that will help bring the best out of Coutinho(22) as last season he had the mobility, pace and speed of Sterling(20), Sturridge(25) and Suarez(27) to supply into spaces.


    Now he looks up and he has laboured R Lambert(34), Mobile Lallana(26) and R Sterling(20) but he can't just look for Sterling(20) all the time.


    More class, mobility and pace in front of Balotelli(24) and Coutinho(22) and they will shine for sure.

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  62. More of that "next year will be our year (or season), deja vu?!

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