28 Jan 2015

'Get Him Out': Angry Whelan urges LFC to dump 'upsetting' €20m star. Fair?

As expected, Liverpool are out of the League Cup after a narrow defeat to Chelsea, and once again, Mario Balotelli is sure to be a predictable whipping-boy for fans, pundits, and ex-players, including Ronnie Whelan, who has called on the Reds to get rid of the €20m striker.

Minutes after the Chelsea game ended, Whelan blasted Liverpool as 'not good enough' and then laid into Balotelli. He tweeted:

"He [Baoltelli] shouldn't be at the club. He can't be rehabilitated and won't change. Get him out. Upsetting everything"

It's totally unfair to (indirectly) blame Balotelli for LFC's League Cup exit:

* Balotelli didn't play in the first game.
* He played only 50 minutes of the 120 available in the second game.
* The Chelsea goal is not really his fault (but that's another article)
* Prior to tonight's game, Balotelli hadn't started since the 8 November.
* Since 8 November, he's been injured, and played only 86 minutes of football.

I agree that Balotelli probably 'won't change', but how can he be 'upsetting everything' when he barely plays for the club? Additionally, why focus on Balotelli after the game when there are many more pressing issues (pertaining to the defeat) to consider. Examples:

* Rodgers' misplaced hubris and overconfidence. The manager is supposed to represent and channel the best values of the club, yet he often lacks humility, and he proved this again over the last week, when he repeatedly suggested that Liverpool would beat Chelsea. Now, he looks pretty foolish.

* The decision to leave £26m signing Adam Lallana on the bench. What is the point of spending that money if Lallana is not going to be utilised in Liverpool's most important games? bringing Lambert on instead of the England man is, IMO, an utter farce.

* Sakho showed once again what I've been arguing for a year: he unsettles the defence, and is prone to concentration lapses. On two separate occasions, he played Liverpool into trouble tonight, and could've cost the team a couple of goals. He also remains the king of the hospital pass (just ask Lucas!) That said, Sakho is, admittedly, more solid this season, and his mistakes are the exception, not the rule.

* Liverpool's abject finishing. 30+ shots on goal over the two legs, and only one goal to show for it. That speaks volumes.

Etc. Balotelli is the least of Liverpool's problems right now, and when Daniel Sturridge returns, he'll slip even further down the pecking order.

Overall, Liverpool played well in patches, and probably deserved something out of the game, but it ultimately means nothing. Nada. Zip. The Reds are out of the competition, and irrespective of the performance, there is zero glory in that.

Despite tonight's defeat, though, Liverpool are in the process of turning things around, and hopefully that will continue where it most matters: in the league.

Author:


324 comments:

  1. Chelsea supporters after the game were saying Bradford were worthier opponents than Liverpool. I tend to agree with them.

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  2. While I'm not necessarily a Balo fan, I agree with most of what you say Jaimie (for once). People are making him the scapegoat for LFC's woes, but in reality he hasn't had any impact whatsoever, neither positive nor negative. From what I understand, he hasn't really messed with the locker room atmosphere or general attitude, so I don't see any way Balo is to blame for anything other than not taking his chances.

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  3. Yeah, I don't agree with this idea that Mario is a problem that has to be somehow removed from the squad. He was fit and he offered something so he played. Maybe he didn't perform well but I don't see him starting the next match. I think everyone feels disappointed and a bit angry after a loss and sometimes it helps (how they feel, not the actual reality) to vent that anger at something or someone specific.


    Sakho's lapses I can agree with but I'm not sure what it means to say he "unsettles the defence". Any mistake is unsettling but all defenders are prone, certainly in this team, and the effect is obvious and consistent no matter who it is. I don't see anything particular about Sakho that upsets the defence above and beyond the individual mistakes that he makes, it seems like a superfluous statement with little substance. When he's not making mistakes (which is most of the time and relatively speaking as much as any other defender in the team) he's very solid and very capable. During those times he's not "unsettling" anything. Maybe it's the way it's worded, as if it's an over-arching and lasting effect he has rather than just a momentary thing. If all it means is that his mistakes cause problems then fine, but that also means that Skrtel unsettles the defence, as does Lovren, as does Toure, as does Can, Moreno, Manquillo .... you see where I'm going with this.

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  4. I blame Rodgers for playing him buying him he came on and strutted around the pitch
    Whelan is right get him out now bring back Aspas who will actually try to play. There is no excuse for that performance tonight it was disgraceful. Why we bought him ill never know and to think he replaced Makovich who did a super job in keeping Hazard quiet. And the only point I agree with you Jamie is why didn't Lalana come on as Gerard and Lucas were out on their feet after both doing well in the first half but needed new legs half way through the second and Baklotelli or Lambert were not going to do that job.
    Ballotelli not worth a sheep shite

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  5. I was rooting for Balo to show his talent, and his desire to play for the team rather than himself. I like Balo.
    Sadly he AGAIN failed to put the team first by putting his fott on the ball and attempting ridiculous dribbling feats from a standing start often whilst facing his own goal, tried a 1 in 50 type lob when there were 4 attackers waiting for the cross, and generally failed to join in the harrying and pressing which had upset Chelsea so much over the two matches
    No, he wasn't to blame for the overall loss. But is it too much to hope that at 6 ft 3, he should win at least SOME headed duels? Three times he played extravagant back flicks when we needed to keep pressure on; only 1 worked. He was one of 3 LFC defenders who stood motionless when they scored, but he WAS one of the three, and his performance elsewhere didn't mitigate that error.
    For someone with his talent, that shot was lazy, careless and inexcusable. I'd have been embarrassed if I'd done that and at least put in a real extra shift for the team
    We lost because we missed too many of our chances. I fthey'd put Chelsea under pressure by scoring, they'd have won.

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  6. Rubbish. Bradford would not have won a 2 legged tie
    They WOULD say that, they hate us, not Bradford- It's just a cheapshot jibe

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  7. I'm not saying he didn't play bad. I'm saying that his bad play has little to do with our falling out of the cup. Perhaps Lallana should've came in instead (and Borini as well, though he wasn't on the bench) but that's not his fault. That's BR's.


    In the end though, all this name calling is pointless. The fact is we were dumped out of the cup, and the only thing we can do is learn and improve. Despite the lackluster finishing and ill advised subs, many of the guys showed some heart despite the loss... give them some credit.

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  8. I'm not name calling.
    I thought we matched Chelsea right up to the closing stages, but after they scored we were less of a threat than at any time in the tie.
    If we had just ONE world class finisher, they would be out instead of us. After the Hendo header, I knew the game was up...
    The game came a week or so too early.

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  9. He doesn't seem to have the maturity or the patience to realise that little things like a good pass to another attacking player, a run in behind to draw the defence or the simple act of pressing without actually winning the ball are all important to the team. It's like he can't fathom that middle ground where he hasn't personally scored a wonder goal, made a magic dribble past a defender or set up a goal, but has has still done something useful. He has to learn that football is not all about wonder strikes from 40 yards, sometimes it's about hard work and doing things that don't get you the glory or the statistic. Rodgers is desperately trying to teach him that but maybe it's a lost cause.

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  10. Sakho is admittedly more solid thats weak JK he is our best defender and it is no contest you really dont like Sakho do you.

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  11. It was a long time ago i cant remember word for word but it went something like this when suarez would do something wrong jamie said "sell suarez and use the money to build a team and the glory days will come back " were gona be waiting a very long time i can tell you that, and balotelli isnt anywere near good enough to play for lfc on and offffff the pitch! But lets be soft on him jamie because he is from ghana.

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  12. When we win, so and so played great, when we lose Rodgers is at fault, Typical hysteria from this forum, even Jaimie has bought into it. (he even reckons Lovren is better than Sakho, enough said).
    We performed admirably IMO over two legs against one of the top 5 teams IN WORLD CLUB FOOTBALL.
    Chelsea have 31 players out on loan at the moment, worth £100s of millions, that says it all, We have only this season started to develope an in depth squad. Get off the Managers back, and support LFC, we are what we are, and I for one like what i'm seeing recently.

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  13. Yes, Aspas can take all the corners, and we can blame the Manager on it.

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  14. Shows what you know about football, Sir.

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  15. I believe it would be fair to argue that both Balotelli's attitudinal and historical issues would have a negative psychosocial effect on the dressing room inhabitants that wouldn't be obvious to those outside it. I agree with Whelan.

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  16. I presume you are outside it, so why comment.

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  17. Balotelli is not a player. He has great skill but NO application, and he drastically weakened the reds when he came on last night! He WAS responsible for Chelsea's goal as he lined up to mark Ivanovic then failed to challenge him for the ball. He makes basic errors on positioning and decision making and is blatantly not a team player. Lallana on the other hand has more goals in him than Sterling, Couthino or Gerrard and blatantly makes us a better team when played, but is continually left out. I predict that if Ballo starts more games Liverpool's challenge for the top four will peter out! When Sturridge returns to the lineup we should play Sterling, Couthino and Lallana behind him and revert to two centre backs in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Although our improvement coincided with our 3-4-2-1 lineup, it also coincided with Lucas coming in to the team and Ballo going out!

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  18. If Ballo had prevented the goal, would it have affected the result, ???

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  19. Because I'm not in the dressing room, I'm careful not to speak with an air of certainty about what goes on in such environments - unlike Jamie K and others. Instead, I said that 'I believe it would be fair to argue' as a means to flexing our minds rather than apply rigid theories etc.

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  20. Because I'm not in the dressing room, I'm careful not to speak with an air of certainty about what goes on in such environments - unlike Jamie K and others. Instead, I said that 'I believe it would be fair to argue' as a means to flexing our minds rather than apply rigid theories etc

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  21. Go read your comment again,

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  22. Moreover, I can't be certain on what's going on in the dressing room anywhere near as much as I can in my agreeance with Whelan that Balotelli can not be rehabilitated... at least to play with the discipline required by Rodgers and teammates, alike...

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  23. You STATE Ballo has an Attitude based on whom or what, ?
    you also STATE that what goes on ( to the inhabitants of the dressing room, which includes Tea-Ladies, security, LFC media, et al,) would not be obvious to people like yourself and myself, who are outside it. So why comment on something you clearly STATE you are outside of. ??

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  24. Balotelli,Borini and Lambert all players are bought by BR and his Commitee..No Player mentioned above is in the starting 11...Tht Sums up BR transfer History...

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  25. I think Balotelli's attitude has been covered well enough by now, including past managers' comments on his lack of discipline. I repeat that I don't know for certain what goes on in the dressing room but I can see his attitude and disciplinary issues unfolding on the pitch... slowing the tempo and link-up play by indulging in 'clever' flicks and dribble attempts etc.

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  26. Thats a maybe, be sure if he does'nt measure up, he will be dropped, thats the Managers call.

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  27. Jaimie you are very negative...Just by the way you introduce your article shows it all.

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  28. Since BR take charge hes been buying average crap, from goalkeeper to strker how many of them are worthy world class? The players quality is for all to see but decision to buying them is all BR, get RAFA BACK.

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  29. Yes I was glad to see Rafa's back.

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  30. Real Madrid just bought a young guy, I think his name is Odegaarde, he probably wont play for 2/3 years, he is on 100k a week, perspective.

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  31. He can't even lure bench warmer like shaqiri to liverpool let alone those who decided to join other clubs, no world class players wanna play for average manager, our players are better compared to southhamton yet they've been winning games with world class manager.

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  32. Why blame balo when sterling been playing full game as the main striker who missed chances game after game and hes worth more than balo, i would put the blame on BR.

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  33. One more point - if Suarez does not buck up he will be out of work soon as well BUT HONESTLY -Lets cash in on Sterling TODAY and get £37 million rather than £12 million this time next year.

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  34. Good article Mate - B R needs to Sell - Sell - Sell - Get Mario out PLUS STERLING - He is going the same way as Michael Owen showing NO LOYALTY to the Club - he has had more than enough time to sign a new contract - show metal L F C and sell him TODAY -HONESTLY - Best thing we can do and regroup for next year with players who deserve to be at Anfield and the list does not include Lambert Borini Johnson Enrique - SELL SELL SELL

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  35. Balotelli scapegoat! Issues are there to see, we played Sterling up front, who is no way an accomplished striker. Inadequate transfers has led to us over relying on a young boy which has accentuated his importance. He may be holding out for more money who knows. With BR'S transfer record, guaranteed there's more mediocrity to come, so if Real are knocking what incentive is there to stay?
    In reality we were toothless up front really all huff & puff, that's BR'S fault blaming Balotelli for Ivanovic's goal isn't fair. I think GJ was more at fault.

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  36. My neighbor just had his house flooded, he is looking for BR's address, so him and his brother-in-law can sue him for the flood and a car crash his brother -in-law had 8 years ago, any help welcomed.

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  37. What are you on about, ???
    we needed to score to stay in the tie, even if they had not scored.

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  38. His "clever flicks" almost came off & he did contribute. I agree that he's not good enough for lfc. I guess he shouldn't have held the transfer committee hostage & force a transfer through! By the way it's Balotelli's fault for the hole in the ozone layer caused by his attitude, I blame him for the Paris bombing too, traffic jams, economic downturn & the fact that I don't earn a 100K a week!

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  39. You've lost me! What's your point?

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  40. Point is their goal was irrelevant if we did'nt score, we lost.

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  41. I realise that, my post was about the scapegoating of Balotelli which in my opinion wasn't fair. So I don't get your point

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  42. With you, wrong call.

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  43. So you think it's Balotelli's fault?

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  44. Absolutely not.

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  45. That's my main point.

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  46. Agreed, but blaming BR IMO is not the answer, players have to justify their insane salaries, and stardom.

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  47. So Rodgers is the only manager in charge in recent times for longer than two years to not have won a trophy as yet and he has spent well over £200m in his time here.

    Sign of things to come. At least I do not have my head buried in the sand.

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  48. Sakho is LFCs best defender and has more than proved that since he came back into the team...clearly you have a problem with him JK..

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  49. Yes, but just what responsibility he holds we dont know, with all this transfer committee chit.
    He has a lot to learn yet, but he is our Manager, and as such I will support him until it's obvious he cant handle it. But surely the Millionaire players have to take some responsibility, If a singer gets onstage and makes a balls of it, do we blame his/her Manager. ?

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  50. There lies the problem. Woefully inadequate transfers!

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  51. It's unfair to put the blame on balo, I'm not a fans of him but it just it, imagine even without chealsea goals did we still go through? My opinion that we lose because our attackers just not good enough, a match can be won only by goals not only by chances, both sterling and coutinho have a clear chances but yet fail to score, never start the game with sterling as striker please............

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  52. OK, now we're getting somewhere! Is BR not at least partly responsible for the transfers?

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  53. Sakho is our most adept and best defender. Fully agreed!

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  54. Rodgers is part of the transfer committee and anyone who wants to deny that are delusional. The failure to sign the correct players is a big part of the problem. We raided Southampton instead of signing a prolific striker.

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  55. How long did Fergie take, ??
    If you had your way, Ian Rush would have never played for us, it took him a full 10 months to score a goal.

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  56. BR is going out in summer..His days are numbered

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  57. one simple question: has BR justified 200 millions he received?

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  58. People say rodgers is not to be blamed for loss but I ask that can he justify any of his subs.
    once jhonson came on pitch it became horrible.when you have cb in lovren why would you choose jhonson.i know lovren has been terrible but so is jhonson for 3 years.mourinho saw that as weakness and hazard and oscar were asked to target him . His positioning sometimes was awful.

    Every one can see now that lucas is effective only in dm role but again rodgers puts gerrard there later on and asks lucas to play further up.

    Balo I mean u make those statements about him in media and throw him tk rescue team.

    and last lambert..I never understood why bring him on in second half extra time..for pace?
    You really need someone who could take advantage of tired legs and lallana would have combined well with couts and sterling.
    if you wanted striking ability of lambert then you shoukd have used him in second half of normal time fir him to get more chances to finish.

    and his decisions again came back to haunt him as lambert and balo were totally ineffective and jhonson is jhonson

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  59. it is not his fault - he is average manager with no visibility in europe.
    I can't attract a Bayern bench warmer..forget about the rest

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  60. I fail to understand Sir Rodgers line of reasoning every time he subs

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  61. What does it matter how long Ferguson took. This has got nothing to do with what UTD did. Rodgers has spent over £200m in three seasons. More than what Houllier and Rafa had available to them and we might not even make top 4 this season.


    FSG will not accept that.

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  62. Your first sentence says "As expected". I don't think this is fair to say unless you want to express strictly your opinion. I'm the one who was sure Liverpool will progress. And I'm sure many fans expected the same. And it was not expected at all. I was still confident until last minute Liverpool will score. Unfortunately it wasn't to be. But saying "it was expected" is harsh and a point of view of some people and for sure not of all.

    On the other hand Liverpool played well and was unlucky to score. It was the same as in a first game which we should win and score three goals. In this game was the same. Liverpool was dangerous and just didn't score. which was not down to Chelsea but us.

    Again you are stating "Rodgers' misplaced hubris and overconfidence". You shouldn't say that because this is simply your view and not the majority of the fans view. Me, and I'm sure many fans also, thinks different. This is simply not an issue but quality and winning mentality.

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  63. Being a "Millionaire" footballer is totally irrelevant because it's not a prerequisite for success. If the poor quality "Millionaire" players are signed you still get poor results!
    Borini, Lambert & Balotelli all substandard, all signed with Rodgers blessing. All consider to be behind an inexperienced boy like Sterling, which is embarrassing!

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  64. What? The 'genio' who was moving in attack only if he got the ball- look at the first two minutes he came on. The guy who was too tired to play the ball forward and played it back to Leiva for the -that- foul. The guy who was than tracking Ivanovic, oh wait he was not!!! And when he had a perfect ball to cross it tried to score from the dead angle even though he can't score from 5 yards! And so on and so forth..
    Jaimie, you are Balotelli apologist.

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  65. And Sakho showed once, not once again.

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  66. Not many poor quality players are millionaires.

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  67. One of the few times I actually agree with you. We had enough chances to win but did not take them Henderson's being the most obvious, but Gerrard, Sterling and Coutinho wasted opportunities. There keeper was the difference. We played well but did not finish

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  68. Over 2 ties, with a Top 5 in the World Clubs, we were great.

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  69. We weren't toothless. we had Sterling. Over the entire 90 minutes, he as a striker will get in a few chances, as he did in both games. BR counted on that, but the problem is sterling acted a bit brainless, not toothless.

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  70. Hubris? Saying we were going there to win? Overstatement there I feel. Tring very hard to link articles there it seems.

    Balotelli is a problem as he is not and never was the player we should have bought. He is overated by some but doesn't actually offer enough.

    Sakho had a Lovren game. One in his career at Liverpool. He may be good for one mistake a game and in that one je made.a few. Still no worse than Lovren.

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  71. Still a very good game apart from those two mistakes. And it is not a coincedence those mistakes didn't lead to goals. It is like with Suarez- he was lucky that ball bounced back to him. Yes, but there is a reason that happens to Suarez(and Sakho) and not to Aspas and Sisokho..

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  72. You must be kidding, the low end premiership player is on at least 20k per week which is just over a million a year. There are far more low end players in the league than there are top players.

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  73. How serious is Sakho injury?

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  74. He is already at his Keyboard.

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  75. Sterling's fault for not passing to Gerrard. For missing the goal times and times again.
    Brendan's fault for not subbing on Lovren instead of Johnson. For not bringing Lallana instead of Balotelli.
    Many other players at fault, which does not, does not mean Balotelli isn't to blame for at least 6 things he did wrong in the little minutes he played.

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  76. good. Jaimie will have his scapegoat...

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  77. I think you need to be a complete ignoramus not to, to be honest...

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  78. Be proud we were immense over the 2 games. We have played without a striker for the 2 games and came so close to winning it bar Chelseas amazing goalkeeper. Balotelli won't cut it at Liverpool. He pays a totally different game to our style. we need 2 new strikers. Let him and Lambert go. Gerard, Lucas, Coutinhou , Hendo were fantastic last night. As for Sterling, he really needs to take a check of himself. His decision making is awful, hes fast and tricky but a poor finisher. I'll get perlters for this but if we get a massive bid in the summer we should sell him. He has zero loyalty to the club and will do a Suarez when he gets the chance

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  79. Glad someone agree's

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  80. I did'nt hear yet, but he went to the bench, and not the tunnel, which is usually a dead leg or something like that.
    Otherwise he would have went for treatment.

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  81. 30 mill would do the trick for me. Lacazzete or some other really good attacker will be available for that sum..

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  82. Is not having a positive impact a negative impact? Is him choosing the wrong decision almost everytime he is on the ball not a negative?

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  83. That's unfair, now Sterling is the scapegoat? The fact that he's our go to man at such a young age is a credit to him as well as a poor reflection of our transfer policy.

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  84. Nope, not the scapegoat. Just arguing with the toothless part. We would have scored if he passed the ball to the player who was in front the open goal. Not toothless that...

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  85. Anyone calling a Liverpool player names is a fool. Talking about why a players has been poor is fair.

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  86. Disagree,
    We need to keep the talented kids, they are our future dominance.
    Look at the team and their ages, we are in a better position, than any other big team in the BPL, just add a superstar every year, (I hope) and we will be back were we belong.

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  87. Sakho has made the defence look more confident and competent. I think some people try to repeat something until it becomes true.

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  88. There you go again JK, 'misplaced hubris and overconfidence', it's stuck on repeat mate, give it a knock so we can hear something else. Let's isolate these 2 legs of the chelsea tie. Game 1, you go in as massive underdogs, expected to get rolled, you dont have a decent striker, your back line is only starting to resemble a 'unit' and you're up against the best team in your league. You draw against them, completely outplaying them, your youngins do well, your experienced players lead the way and the only reason you drew was a penalty, albeit a fair one.
    Wouldn't you be confident, feeling pretty good about your chances? I think you have this perfect model that BR should be, and because he isnt living up to it, you tend to just repeat the same criticisms. Dont get me wrong, I think he can be daft as anyone, take playing GJ and Balo for example, bonkers. Anyway, just saying I disagree is all. Peace, YNWA

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  89. Lallana and Lambert. You need just as much pace, Lallana, Sterling and Couts would do the trick with a finisher ahead.

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  90. Probably not but two draws feels better.

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  91. I agree we did have chances in truth I think we lacked quality across the front line. Sterling was very much part of most things we did well though! He put that chance on the plate for Hendo & worked tirelessly. Still LFC's player of the season so far!

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  92. Rather than the ones who were bought and started the game?

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  93. Agree. Doesn't matter how you obtain top talent, their existence in the club is the only relevant factor. I would take doing a new 'class of 92' over doing a Chelsea/City every day of the week. If you convince all of your up and coming stars to stay put, and together create a world class team nucleus, then your team is destined for big things in the future

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  94. That would not be good business. Sterling is still very very young and is one of the best players on the prem.

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  95. Lallana played 38 epl matches last season. Than WC. New club, than injury. Can't expect the best he can juct yet, but those couple of matches he played well were much better that Sterling's best...

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  96. These comparisons with managers 10 or 15 years ago are meaningless because the money in football then was peanuts compared to now. English football was also much richer than anywhere else in Europe, especially with the more favourable exchange rates before the 2007 crash. It's pointless trying to draw a comparison, really.

    And you leave too much out of your assessment, to the extent that it looks prejudicial, that is, you have your conclusion before you have your data.

    You overlook net spend as a criteria...

    You overlook the spending of the clubs Liverpool are competing with in the league...



    You overlook the quality of the players Rodgers and his team have brought in...


    I don't know enough about FSG to predict what they will do, though I expect you're right and that they will want continual progress. But I think writing off the Rodgers regime for the reasons given is somewhat weak. He has brought the squad through an incredibly difficult phase to perform at a competitive level, with a squad very short on proper goalscoring options. Anyone who hasn't already made their mind up to oppose the guy can see that this is a significant achievement that deserves respect.

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  97. Over the two legs Sterling scored more than Costa.

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  98. You know that means nothing, though it sounds good...

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  99. Why cant fickle fans see that Brenden Rodgers is starting to get the best out of this Liverpool side, and some of his terrible signings are starting to improve and will come good, the second half of the season will say a lot i believe even if we dont make the top four,sacking Rodgers would be a huge mistake. Next season we will not need to sign as many players as the squad is much better two players for each position ship out the deadwood and buy three top quality players goalkeeper, center midfielder and a forward and we will have a team that will be able to achieve a top four finish sacking Rodgers will only put us back again

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  100. Sterling played over two legs whereas Costa stamped on them

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  101. Disagree! Sterling has had a greater influence on our season! The winning goal against Burnley comes to mind. I'm sure he's our top scorer.

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  102. Agree, greater influence.
    ...than injury. Can't expect the best he can just yet... Just saying Lallana's best is better than Sterling's.

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  103. Sounds nice but if we don't get top 4 then he's in trouble! You don't spend over £200 million to be in the top 8!

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  104. I think we need to wait for Lallana to be more consistent ie getting a run of games & being injury free!

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  105. Skrtel might argue with that one, and so would I, but I think Sakho on the left is almost perfect, and look on the brightside, we have Lovren on the bench, wink wink.

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  106. Sorry but what has been spent/the outlay this season compared to where we are should not be acceptable in any shape or form when the only team who has spent more than us was UTD.


    If a prolific striker was signed and money not wasted on players that were never needed then maybe we would not be in this situation. Add to that Rodgers love with his patient boring style of football which he was persisting with for the first half of this season then that will explain why our season has been a disaster.


    If you believe he needs more time then so be it. I doubt FSG are planning on giving him more time. I argued that no money was going to be made available before this window opened and it seems like I am right and I also said that Rodgers might be gone by January and if not now then by the end of the window.


    Each to their own but IMO Rodgers will be gone once the season has ended. We can return to this very post of mine when that time arrives ;-)

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  107. But is where we are this season worthy of the financial outlay i.e almost £120m? Really?


    It just shows how low the bar has been dropped. Your prerogative if you are happy with mediocrity.

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  108. Skrtel? I guess we differ in opinions.

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  109. Chelsea have nearly £200m in 31 players
    "JUST ON LOAN" THIS SEASON.


    Inflation sorts out the Rafa/ Houlier comparisons partially.


    Dont leave yourself open to having to change your online identity.
    EG:
    If we were to win the Europa League, thus qualifying for the CL.


    liverpool football CLUB is exactly that a CLUB, I will never play for the team, they are the main attraction, but the club is bigger than any of the team,
    Singular, or Collective

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  110. The problem is B Rodgers subs did not have impact on game, if anything they were negative to side. G Johnson(30) has been a terrible full back for us for last two years, so for him to come on and play centre back ahead of Lovren(25) is comical and shocking to say the least.


    S Gerrard(34) is class and quality but his lack of energy, legs, mobility. pace and speed shows if he plays more than 50 minutes a game. And after 50 minutes he should have been replaced by Lallana(26).


    And both Balotelli(24) and R Lambert(32) are simply not good enough for the club and F Headless Chicken Borini(23) is not good enough for our club. F Borini(23) and M Balotelli(24) should both be sold this month and replaced. By Two top class Goal Scoring mobile quick strikers:


    No Cavani(27) who would cost £40-£50M and want over £200,000 a week


    No Higuain (27) who would cost £30-£40M and want over £160,000 a week


    No Benzema(27) who criticised the club in the summer and would cost £40-50M and want over £200,000 a week


    But class quality strikers who could and would score goals at premiership, champions league level and in the cup games for us and take the pressure of D Sturridge(25).


    L Vietto(21) Of Villareal , class quality young mobile fast quick and good finisher should be brought to club now for £10-£15M


    L Adriano(27) Of Shakhtar Donesk top class quality striker with mobility pace speed and is very good finisher, also has the record with Messi(27) of Scoring 4 goals against side in Champions League. Should be brought to club now for £3-£5M


    C Benteke(24) Of A Villa should be brought for £15-£20M in the summer. Those three strikers above plus D Sturridge(25) at the club would Guarantee the club goals week in week out in every competition we play in.


    B Rodgers needs to take a hard look at the players we have and what they offer side and club and then he needs to ship out the dead wood average/mediocre players ( Including his Love Child J Allen(24) )


    And they should be shipped out: In the next three to four days:


    GK: B Jones(32) On £35,000-£40,000 a week
    CM: J Allen(24) On £35-£45,000 a week
    RB: G Johnson(30) On 90-£105,000 a week
    LB: J Enrique(28) On £30-£40,000 a week
    FD: F Borini(23) On £45-£60,000 a week
    FD: M Balotelli(24) On £90-£110,000 a week



    Players who should be brought in to club the next few days :


    GK: Marc - Andre Ter Stegen(22) Of Barcelona for £10-£14M or on Loan with option to buy to compete with S Mignolet(26)


    DM: L Bender(25) Of Bayer Leverkusen Or G Imbula(22) Of Marseille for £12-£21M to compete with L Leiva(27)


    CM: J Claise(22) Of Feyenoord for £10-£14M to compete with J Henderson(24) and E Can(21)


    FD: L Vietto(21) Of Villareal for £10-£14M to compete with D Sturridge(25)


    FD: L Adriano(27) Of Shakhtar Donesk for £3-£5M now or to be signed on pre contract for Summer to compete with D Sturridge(25) and R Lambert(32)




    Players to be shipped out in summer 2015:


    CB: K Toure(33)
    CB: S Coates(24)
    AM: L Alberto(22)
    FD: I Aspas(27)
    FD: R Lambert(32)

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  111. I have replied but the comment has gone for moderation.

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  112. Yesterday's poor performance goes to Johnson & Gerrard plus poor game from Lucas which was to be expected when you play against the pace of Willian ( MoTM for me), Oscar and Hazard. Lallana should have come in for Gerrard and Lucas should have been taken off later on as well. Poor substitutions. Once again the finishing touches eluded LFC. Mario was responsible for the 1st goal as he gave a poor shot back to Lucas which was intercepted plus not marking Ivanovic when the cross came back. Also, he always seems to blast the shot wayyyyy off target when he gets the chance. Moreno always passes the ball backwards which has to stop, he has got to take on defenders with his pace.
    I was happy to see both Mario and Lambert in but the long balls never came for their service, it was still tiki taka style which failed.My 2 cents.Not happy camper with the results.

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  113. Good article Ronnie more or less spot on. It's refreshing to hear a former Liverpool star saying what many supporters feel. Regarding the manager...yes he is embarrassing with his comments and clueless in his team selections, not too mention his transfer dealings. I really do want him out, the very sight of him makes me sick.

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  114. I prefer to smoke a least a full joint. especially on match days.

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  115. The sight of you might make me sick, OOPS you have chosen to be sightless, no photo, so who knows.

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  116. I did'nt even read past the "see more"
    welcome back. Whatever your name is.

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  117. No 1 target Europa League,
    A Trophy and CL qualification in one.
    Top 4 in the Euro League, then take it from there.

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  118. By the way stroke of genius by Mourinho to nullify Sterling's pace by replacing Cahill with Zouma. I'm afraid tactically BR is nowhere close! That's the real issue, Markovic gave Chelsea more problems with his running & meant Hendo was free to make more runs forward instead of covering the right back. Which is what he had to do when Ballotelli came on. I was scream for Lucas or Gerrard to come on for Lallana, these are the tactical decisions that cost you. I'm all for BR learning from his mistakes but a witch hunt on Ballotelli is unnecessary.

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  119. Aside from all the why's and wherefore's and we should have wons, it's all been said so I'm not going to add anything; but seriously, how good was Couts yesterday? Dazzling in long periods, dancing through Chelsea's midfield to the edge of the box like he was playing against a team of ghosts. Brilliant to behold. How he must be longing for the return of Sturridge, but then, we all are.

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  120. Agree agree agree and agree!!!!!!!!!

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  121. You're really on fire today! How many coffees have you had?

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  122. Balotelli was a horrible transfer but that's not his fault. That's the fault of the people who brought him in in the first place and they should all be sacked. Only an idiot would sign Balotelli.Him being at the club also has nothing to do with the fact that we lost yesterday. Sure, our problem is that we don't score enough goals but that's hardly just down to Balotelli. None of our fit strikers have scored much. We're like Chelsea last year. At least we're creating chances and I can't say we were exactly the lesser team against them home or away. And they are the league leaders. That goal could have gone in on the other side just as well. When defenders decide a game it is hardly a sign of dominance. That said, we lost 31 league goals with Suarez and we didn't replace those. The responsibility for that lies with those who set our priorities in the summer and like I've said before, they should be ousted asap. If it's a committee they all need to go. If the manager is part of that committee, him too.

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  123. B R - MUST - STAY - Football will get more and more exciting if we stick with him - Rafa played mega borring football

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  124. Absolutely agree.

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  125. Of course but yes it does sound good. One of the best defenses in the league concede to the profligate Sterling. Ours don't concede to the second best striker in the league. I am willing to take some significance from that.

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  126. Lfc will be better off without balotelli its a fact hes finished he has no football brain he has skill but thats it cant make simple passes and has misses sitters(against tottenham and everton and theres prob more. He can talk the talk on twitter but cant back himself on the pitch,useless finished done. You dont get time to prove yourself in modern football and hes is running out time.to be fair hes not the only one who needs to go but a player who has a cv like balotelli you expect more.

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  127. Everytime I see that I think do I have to?

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  128. If we have Daniel in the 36th round, we can serve the revenge fully. Will hope Man City doesn't drop points just a bit less than I hope for us...

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  129. Yeah BR's "misplaced hubris" is a far more pressing matter than Balotelli's inability to mark someone. Give me a break

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  130. Stuart, like true Liverpool fans. I want the best for the club i have supported since i was 5 years of age. And it aches, pains that over last 6 seasons we just keep doing same thing in transfer window.


    Selling our best and top players, Clearing some of the dead wood average mediocre players, but bringing in more younger mediocre players with maybe 1 class player being brought in out of every 7 players. That in itself is shocking


    Why is there still a transfer commitee after all the numerous failings in the transfer window, how does I Ayre still have a job? Do are scouts actually even watch our first team play? As some of the players brought in over last 6 seasons to club most fans and true football fans could see they were not good enough for club.


    We cannot pay the ridiculous wages of world class players until we get back challenging for the league year in year out and a regular champions league team.


    But we could have brought in so much top class quality talent for relatively cheap over last two to four years if club had of pushed the boat to get bring them to club:



    J Navas(29) Of Man City
    Michu(28) Of Swansea( On Loan at Napoli)
    C Eriksen(22) Of Tottenham
    T Alderwierld(25) Of A Madrid
    M Sissoko(25) Of Newcastle
    Bojan(24) Of Stoke
    J Montero(25) Of Swansea
    L Remy(27) Of Chelsea
    W Bony(25) Of Man City


    But instead over the years we have been bringing MEDIOCRE PLAYERS the likes of:


    A Carroll(26)
    C Adams(29)
    S Downing(30)
    V Moses(23)
    S Coates(24)
    F Borini(23)
    J Allen(24)
    A Cissokho(27)
    L Alberto(21)
    I Aspas(27)
    R Lambert(32)


    And prior to them there were times we had to deal with the clown brigade of:


    Josemi(35) RB
    D Traore(34) LB
    I Biscan (36) CM / DM
    B Cheyrou(36) CM / AM
    M Jovanovic(33) LWF / RWF
    A Voronin(35) FD
    D Ngog(25) FD
    F Morientes(38) FD
    H Kewell(36) LW


    So the pattern of bringing in dead wood average mediocre players has been an ever present problem at club. Which for some stupid reason hasn't be eradicated 6 seasons on

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  131. What sort of question is that when we spent almost £120m, I repeat almost £120m and we failed to sign a prolific striker?


    If we had used the cash more intelligently rather than spending £50m on three players from Southampton then we might be in a much better position.


    So who should take the blame for players which have been signed? Anyone but Rodgers right?

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  132. Totally agree mate

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  133. Zouma made a mistake mis-judging his jump to let Sterling in, Can played a questionable ball across the back line. Defenders make mistakes but overall Sakho has helped steady the defence. Lets hope he is not at for long.

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  134. I see credit, not blame -bar strikers. hence the question which striker

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  135. Skrtel has been emense in his new role. But in a two has has many problems.

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  136. We ended up with Balotelli? I guess he was our only option?


    Oh wait, we called the Remy deal off who cost less or should the excuse be that we were unable to try for any other striker's signature with the amount of cash that was made available?


    Money pissed down the drain surely is the only inference that can be made here.

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  137. Poor game from Lucas? Not the game I was watching.

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  138. Don't you know if something is repeated enough times it comes true. Like candyman.

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  139. I decided from reading the name didn't get anywhere near the see more option.

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  140. We did try, they said no. Remy didn't pass the medical. don't tell me you know better than doctors in Melwood or that BR was the doctor for that medical...

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  141. The season is not over. So how can anyone say with certainty? Making your mind up before you have the information doesn't make sense.

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  142. This game, he was extremely knackered second half onwards (for me) with the pace of Chelsea and he had good first half. He should have been replaced when we were trying to force a result....

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  143. Jaimie you make a massive fuss about the most pointless things sometimes ;)

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  144. Well Chelsea di not have an issue did they. Clearly the risk paying double for Balotelli has come to bite as back in the arse.


    Net excuse please.

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  145. Where we are ***currently*** this season worthy of the financial outlay at the start of the season?


    Better for you?

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  146. Chelsea do not have to worry about Remy who will play 240 minutes altogether.. Excuse? All right, good bye...

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  147. What would hapend if he pass the ball to Gerrard in our first chance? I think Stevem is the only player who could finish with Cpurtois on the goal. I just imagine Suarez reaction if Sterling did not pass the ball in similar position,

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  148. Logan your repetitive nonsense is really getting quite pathetic. You speak as if spending 120 million guarantees success which of course is a fantasy.
    You want to blame Rodgers for every single thing wrong with LFC despite the fact he is simply a cog in a bigger machine - one which none of us has any idea how it actually works.
    We don't know how much influence Rodgers has on transfers so to constantly repeat that he's spent 120 million as justification for one of your daily ramblings is just silly. Has he had a say in transfers? Of course. Is he solely responsible? No.
    Is it really impossible for you to give any credit where it's due? Fair enough criticise when it's deserved, ie bringing on Johnson and Balotelli last night, but you just want to criticise constantly about what you (and pretty much you alone) perceive to be his shortcomings but if he does something right he was lucky.
    You were saying that we've all got our heads stuck in the sand but you're the one that is totally close minded and I think we're all pretty bored of reading the same crap from you in every article

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  149. Yes excuse cause Remy is fit and would have been suited to our play and would have cost less whereas Balotelli cost double and is not even making the bench at times.


    Money pissed down the drain.

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  150. So do not read my comments if they bother you.


    Those who bilieve FSG are happy with the current situation are in denial.



    We will chat again at the end of the season when Rodgers is told to get on his bike.

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  151. Did you not watch that game? Him walking around the pitch. The unbelievably stupid pass to lucas that cost the free kick they scored from.his marking on ivanovic for the goal!his 2% passing accuracy! Did you not watch every other time he's played for us . But the most unforgivable thing is his laziness and refusal to press defenders.how annoying must it be for other players who work so hard to see him walking round the pitch. This guy is indefensible and needs to go asap!!!!!

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  152. Yes, I repeat the same criticism, and I will continue to do so. Liverpool's good form this season is the exception, not the rule. If it was the other way round, I'd be feeling good about the club's chances.

    Rodgers never learns. As soon as Liverpool string a couple of results together, he's boasting and gloating about the club, the players, and how LFC will beat everyone etc. He lacks humility, and for me, that is a problem.

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  153. Yes, I'm an apologist who repeatedly states that I have no problem with Balotelli being sold in January. Get a grip.

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  154. and how LFC will beat everyone etc

    Not true. 'Will' and 'are able to' is not the same, right?

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  155. repeatedly saying nothing is his fault. Yes apologist...

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  156. Thank you for confirming that an article in which I state my opinion does, in fact, contain my opinion.

    Of course it's my opinion; do I need to put IN MY OPINION in 30 point font after stating every view? No.

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  157. Don't twist my words. I don't 'repeatedly' state that nothing is Balotelli's fault. What I *do* repeatedly state is that Liverpool made a mistake signing Balotelli, and that I have no problem with him being sold.

    Find examples of me 'repeatedly' arguing that nothing is Balotelli's fault. You don't be able to because these examples do not exist.

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  158. Do I have to agree with you jaimie to get a comment posted on here?

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  159. I read you posting that it isn't down to him enough times to think that it is your opinion quite often, Plus yesterday performance was so disasterous that only apologist could say it was more important misused hubris than totaly wrong pass to the most tired player on the pitch after 100 minutes coupled with not bothering to mark the most dangerous player after the resulting free kick. I apologise for twisting your words and putting words in your mouth with that - repeatedly- part, but just with this article you are Mario's apologist.


    PS: Untravelled paths?

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  160. unfortunately Ballotelli has a mindset that managers or any coach for that matter just cant breakthrough, you can improve a footballer technically but when it comes to the mind there isnt a great deal you can do.

    I was all for him coming to liverpool because he has the ability to match any other player the problem is he is his own worst enemy.

    There seems to be a barrier that Mario gets to and he just wont push himself any further than that, hes not the kind of player that will put everything he has into a football match and for that reason i feel that is the reason he wont make it at liverpool.

    On a side note, set piece undone us again, and again it was Ivanovic who scored against us, he seems to be one of our biggest threats whenever we play chelsea.

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  161. Mod how come I got banned without such warning?

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  162. You could write in the first person. Such as "As I expected". Just a suggestion.

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  163. Agreed with everything you said. As for Ivanovic we should be learning how to stop him by now. Balo and Johnson (whoever fault it was) are not the men who should be marking him.

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  164. Yes, I could do that, but I don't want to. I try to minimise the number of times I refer to myself, as the articles are not about me.

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  165. You realise how this forum thing works yes? You state an opinion and it ill be agreed with or disagreed with. If you do not like this then that is your problem, OK?



    As for purchases I am looking at the players rather than where we are "currently" and I am quite happy with the majority of summer signings. It is a much the fault (if not more) of players who were purchased before the summer or even before Rodgers took over as to why we have been bad this season. That and the decisions Rodgers has made. To try and create more faults to attribute to Rodgers as it suits what you want to say seems a backwards way of doing things.

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  166. You said sniping. Who had I attacked? What horrible things had been said?

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  167. Nothing coming in during January transfer tells me that BR has to qualify top4 or else he is out come summer time.

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  168. Fair enough, apologies.

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  169. I just hope Sakho is not too badly injured. That means GJ is coming back and now we have our most crucial round of fixtures. It will not bode too well for us with GJ there.

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  170. This is obviously an opinion site (predominantly). I shouldn't need to make it explicitly clear with countless uses of IMO, 'in my view' etc. I only include those things because people constantly misinterpret things.

    Constantly referring to 'IMO' or making references to myself is not an effective way to write. If people can't distinguish between statements of fact, and clear statements of opinion, then that's tough luck.

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  171. Who cares where we are currently? The season does end now, we are not out of every competition. Currenlty is just a part of a longer journey. Unless you mean our current form as in last dozen games in all comps? If that is what you mean then yes I do. Especially after not having last season's two top scorers and best players.

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  172. I've never heard of pundits going out of their way to criticize a player in any sport, yet they do it with Balotelli.


    If Mario doesn't sprint one time, they mention it. If Mario doesn't make one good pass, they mention it. If Mario is remotely near the goalscorer, they mention it, even though he wasn't covering him.


    The player is far from perfect and he's certainly not contributed, but the vitriol and criticism leveled at him is beyond excessive.

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  173. We've discussed the issue for which you received a ban several times in the past. I don't just ban people without warning, unless it's an obvious troll.

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  174. Just as much as some people want to believe that we can finish top 4 does not mean I have to believe the same. If you do not like it then that is your problem, ok?

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  175. Rogers in game management is still very poor. Leaving lallana on the bench when sterling was doing nothing was a waste he should have got at least the extra time. Lovren should have replaced sakho who we really missed he mite be clumsy but he's affective. We really need Sturridge back sterling isn't the answer he won't score enough. Can't really see why balo and Lambert were signed but at least coutihno is, playing really well. Two huge games com in up if we want cl we need six points.

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  176. Well I get sick of being told 'repetitive nonsense'.


    So much for opinion eh? Like I said, if you do not like it then tough luck.

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  177. But they are your opinions, so it is about you or at least what you think. It's not a critical analysis it's an opinion piece. How often have you said " Yes it is my opinion" etc etc Surely the odd I or I think is just as much effort.

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  178. So be it Jaimie dont say I didn' try and reason with you

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  179. Again you show your lack of contrition regarding Sakho and again I'm going to point out that the MAJORITY do not agree with you Jaimie.
    You created a poll asking who should play in defence and 96% wanted SAKHO over your beloved Lovren.
    You the compound you intransigence by saying 'Sakho unsettles the defence'.
    WHILE ignoring the carnage that Lovern caused when he played.
    You have no ability to change your opinion even despite the indefatigable evidence as well as in the FACTS and PERFORMANCE.


    I've YET on this board see you admit when you're wrong which is not the sign of someone who's NOT confident in their ability of persuasion.

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  180. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

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  181. You realise voting yourself up is very sad? But that aside your right about him looking very tired but I wouldn't look much in to potential yellows as the reffing was poor all round. The subs were wrong. We should have been able to take Lucas off at some point but Rodgers boloxed that up.

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  182. Not attacking you but have you considered not repeating yourself so much or getting the nonsense quotient down? Nah just messing but discussion without it leading to a Rodgers out statement would be better debate.

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  183. I hope you don't go hiding at the end of the season, which you will (or completely change your tune - remember boldly stating Lovren would be our most important signing ?).

    The one thing you conveniently ignore is that we brought it 9 players, they took time to settle and now that they have, the team is playing much better and on the up. Things can only get better. Rodgers teams have an habit of performing much better in the second part of the season and that's what is happening again.

    You can't just look at the current position, you have to look at the momentum and at this very moment we're in a good one and there's still plenty to play for.

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  184. When Balotelli came on he actually started well with some good movement and a couple of intelligent flicks but it wasn't long before he lost focus and started thinking the game was about him.
    I was against signing Balotelli because for me you don't change a man at nearly 25, it's already too late. He's been this way everywhere he's played and it wasn't going to change now.
    We probably don't realise it but the way Rodgers wants his teams to play is extremely demanding and Balotelli's game simply doesn't match and never will.

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  185. Lovren was a strange one, he was excellent last season, lead the Southampton defence with ease but how things have turned out clearly shows that we significantly overpaid for Lovren and Lallana too.


    Rodgers will not change. His inept style of football he brought with him in the first half of his debut season failed miserably and it failed in the first half of this season too. You can only make so many excuses for the man. He picks the team, chooses the tactics, makes the subs and if you want to prove me wrong that our disastrous first half of the season was down to anything but his fault then be my guest oh and the fact that money was wasted on players that were never needed.


    Go ahead.

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  186. Sorry are you repeating yourself? Well good for you.

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  187. Was that to me? If so what are you talking about?

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  188. I assume that was your attempt at sarcasm. Needs Work.

    Benitez won nothing for 3-4 years despite having genuine world class players like Masch and Alonso and a Torres and SG at their peak. RB didn't come as close as BR's team to winning the PL when we did come 2nd. And didn't qualify every year for the CL either.

    2005 will make us forever grateful to RB. But let's not rose tint our glasses with misty eyed wishes for the good old days cos they weren't that much better in recent history when you exclude 2005-7

    By the way, last season was the most exciting we had played since Evans imo

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  189. For me the tie turned as soon as Glen Johnson came on for Sakho. Johnson is a liability in any position on the pitch and it drives me mad how he ever gets any game time. The idea he will be given a new contract is just baffling in every sense.
    I don't blame Rodgers for bringing Balotelli on, we needed a goal, he had to try something, he is a striker after all.
    Chelsea won the tie from two set pieces, one penalty, one free kick. I thought Liverpool played very well over the 210 minutes of football.
    However this season has so far been determined by a failure in the summer to replace a world class striker with another one.

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  190. Johnson is Rodgers lovechild. How he believes Johnson is deserving of a new contract just shows what direction we are heading in. The road to mediocrity.

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  191. Agreed- this oft- stated 'hubris' has less effect on the team than suggested imo
    Red herring.

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  192. Oh like some on hear parrot fashion wrapping Rodgers up in a furry blanket etc.


    The blind leading the blind.

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  193. So either you can't see the difference between what I said and what you said or you choose not to. Which is it?

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  194. The reason so many people have a problem with this is that you also didn't credit BR when we did really well last season as well as this last dozen or so games.
    You want it both ways

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