I mentioned Carra to underline the lack in depth. I dont think he can cut it anymore at the top level. His like your guys Giggs, can only be used sparingly, yet i find he is used too often.

I certainly hope the fans and the board will be patient with Rodgers, he seems like he knows what he is doing and now just needs things to change things on the field.

A couple of signings wont go a miss, and you never know on the big names unless you try. Make the bid for Llorente or whichever other name you want and if it comes through, its comes through, sometimes you just never know.

Zim FYI Carra had 19 starts last season just saying.
Legend for us but we all know too old playing cm nowadays but for bit roles due to injuries but that's the thing I agree with Afro he and we should not be in this position.
He deserves to come on for a bit role when the game is won mid late second half and enjoy the accolade !
Agree we haven't built up the back end and importantly the pointy end - You can't cry over spilt milk but Kenny sure did f up with the $$$$$$ spent on the local buys, there's a glimpse here and there from them but no consistency at all to be satisfied their worth !
This is Rodgers burden now to handle and as I have mentioned before we all have faith in him and hopefully the fans give him the time and the board, there's going to be pain now and then till he can offload and purchase suitable recruits.

Edited by m.l.: 23/8/2012 08:17:08 PM

Did anyone watch the Hearts game? How bad did we play, really? Only 1-0 far out.

borini seems unable to finish, may go wide if he keeps. this up and may give Carroll a chance to get back in. Sterling played really well, worried McGowan all game. most of the lineup was second string players so wouldn't conclude much from it. Downing came on in a sort of lb/lwb role, can't tackle bit not too bad positioning, was an interesting dynamic with Downing able to put crosses in and Sterling able to cut onto his right. Allen came on late and was a lot better on the ball than sprearing + shelvey. Adam Morgan also came on for the final minute, would have been nice if he came on earlier but I thought Eccleston would be above him and should be tried. will be interesting if Rodgers will continue with youth if Liverpool is in the Europa league proper and out of your youth what is happening with Coady and Suso



Edited by moofa: 24/8/2012 10:57:12 AM

Opta Sports ‏@OptaJoe
100 - Joe Allen has now made 100 passes for Liverpool (in 112 minutes of play), completing 96 of them. Accurate

We weren't that bad tbh. Carra never looked comfortable but the rest of the backline was good (Robinson in particular was impressive)

Reina did very well when called upon and deserved his CS.

Adam and Spearing were not the best, Spearing in particular. Adam was good going forward but not good at the back.

Hendo did quite well, kept it ticking, set up Borini for an excellent chance.

Shelvey had a typical game... a few good moments but he takes a lot of risks.

Sterling was MOTM, absolutely brilliant, tormented them all game. Big, big potential.

Borini worked tirelessly but butchered a few chances... he was 1v1 on two occassions and INCORRECTLY called offside so I feel sorry for him... with better players behind him, his fantastic movement will be rewarded more often.

When Allen came on he was absolutely brilliant. He'll be a fixture in our team for years to come. Class, class player.

Downing actually did good at LB :lol: And BR said he thinks he can do a job there in the next few years. Cool.

We had moments of good play but moments of complacency too. In the end, 1-0 is a good result to take back to Anfield.

yeah those offsides were disappointing, that lindsman had a bad game, had no idea about one of the throw ins as well and just guessed. slotting one of those chances could have done heaps for borini's chances but his timing on crosses were horrible, missed some (including the goal) completely

What on Earth do you mean we haven't addressed any of the problems from last year.. We have brought in Borini who gets in great scoring positions and has a good goal scoring record. Oussama if i am not mistaken is versatile player who can play on both wings and through the middle something we have being crying out for. And Allen is exactly what our midfield needs to succeed.

We also have too many CB's as it is and Allen is for me obviously seen as cover for Lucas should he get injured..

There's a presser in an hour, usual pre-game stuff but hopefully some Sahin news too.

Just watched, Brendan said the paperwork is being done and he'll be confirmed in the next 24 hours.

:)

So is this a loan or are Liverpool swooping in for the full transfers

i believe its a loan deal

whether or not there is an option to buy at the end of it is a different matter

super excited if we get him tho!!!!

Now we are talking - Sahin =d>

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/reds-agree-sahin-deal

Just confirmed on official LFC site

THese are the signings we want!!!!

Cant wait to see this lad put on a LFC shirt :)

Watching how Lucas and Allen work as a pairing, you'd have to say Gerrard & Sahin are playing for the 3rd CM spot. Sahin is naturally a more advanced CM, similar to Gerrard too.

Thomas Ince has 4 goals in 3 for Blackpool now... :o He could go down as a massive bargain from when they bought him if this continues.

Borini's scoring record is average serie A form. And he's had one season of that where he was marginalised in the Roma squad. He hasn't shown himself to be a proven performer and there's a strong correlation between Serie A players joining English clubs and failing to live up to their billing.

I thought Sahin might bring about a change of formation to fit those 4 in the midfield together. Rogers did say he's trying to replicate Spain after all...

Will Sahin play tonight?

He hasn't had a lot of pre-season so I doubt his match fitness will be up to shape. Will be on the bench if anything.

Fair enough. Should be a good signing for you lot.

Sahin wont be playing. Paperwork wasn't done in time.

Edited by imnofreak: 26/8/2012 10:08:31 PM

Borini at 21 is already scoring at a similar rate to Steven Fletcher who just went to Sunderland for what 14m? Assuming he improves over the period of his contract he has a very good chance of being a 20-25 goals a year player. Yes you could argue that we need a player who can score this amount now, but who are we going to bring in for 10m that will without a doubt score 20 goals? I can't think of anyone.

The next step up as far as young strikers in Serie A go is probably somebody like Pato, he would obviously please a lot of people simply because he would be considered a 'big' signing, but i can't see him going for anything less than 25m and he only scored a few more goals than Borini if i recall.

Sounds like Sterling is starting tonight. Hectic.

Sterling indeed starting.

Surprised you're all not singing Sterling's praises in here. He had a cracking game.

Typical of the fans on this forum - had we lost there'd be a whole page of doom and gloom on here :P

Sterling isn't the only one who deserves praise - First of all Brendan deserves serious kudos for having the balls to throw him in the deep end, and Sterling definitely paid back the faith. Excellent game, even with the ref forgetting his glasses at home and giving him no help whatsoever he had Kolo shitting his pants every time he got on the ball. Wouldn't be surprised to see him start again next week, would put him up against Jenkinson.. nice :P

From the back... Reina was very good, came out and swept up well many times, looked very comfortable, but probably should've done better with the first goal. Looks a lot better this season though.

Kelly did well, much better than last week, nothing special but did well.

Coates was great, struggled in the first 15-20 but once he settled was immense... dives in a little bit too much, but he's still only 21, he'll turn into a great defender.

Skrtel... from hero to villain. Excellent goal and was quality all day and then, well, the backpass was a nightmare. Oh well, these things happen.

Johnson was stand out again, can't wait to see him doing that on the right once Enrique is back.

Allen... the only conclusion I can come to is that he's a robot. Honestly. He is just brilliant. Always available for the pass, always on the move, always keeps it ticking over and strikes the ball superbly well. Absolutely brilliant player, big, big fan.

Shelvey did very well when he came on, still needs to calm down a bit but has that confidence and swagger about him which I love.

Gerrard had a blinder, stepped up today very well. Quality performance.

Borini was very good.. so close to scoring that volley at the start, but his pressing off the ball caused at least 4-5 turnovers that almost led to a goal. Not very creative on the ball in regards to going past players but has a good turn of pace and is a very passionate player. Will become a crowd fav.

Suarez scored that excellent free kick and threatened to do a lot more but just didn't quite happen for him today. Still made Kompany look like a mug more than once.


On the whole, as a team, very happy with the performance. Shame we dropped the points, but very happy. The football we played was beautiful, everybody working for each other, one touch, pressing.. I'm very pleased. Hopefully we can get the win next week.

Where is the 'tiki-taki' interplay? Or should it be expected next season?
Does Rodgers have a different spin on it?
Alot of passes were miss-hit

I'm sure Imno will have a stat for that :p

Our passing completion was 81. There's was 84.

As a comparison, Arsenal was 81% this weekend too, Spurs 85% and Chelsea 86%.

Rodgers never said we're going to play tiki-taka. That was all drummed up by the media. He just said we're going to play good, possession football, the Liverpool way. Which is what I'm seeing.

Edited by imnofreak: 27/8/2012 01:06:10 PM

Where? ;)