Not sure why Coentrao is being forced out but he's a top player IMO and we should definitely go for him. Disappointed about Sahin but I'm getting the impression that he isn't showing enough hunger and fight for his spot hence BR's reluctance to use him. As much as I rate Isco, there is little chance that we would be able to land him without CL football. He is one of the hottest properties in Europe and he will have a lot of clubs after him. Good shout on the midfield enforcer - I agree that we don't have that many tall, physically dominating players that can bully the opposition. Mascherano was an absolute beast at it and it's why I still rate higher him than Lucas (Note - I'm not saying Lucas is a bad player!!). Changes do need to be made but it won't happen overnight. I believe Rodgers is working on boosting the front 3 positions in January. He said he would be looking for a LB, DM and Number 10 in the summer ...
I think DM is one of the cheapest positions you can strengthen as well. You don't need to spend 15+ on a top DM. They are a dime a dozen out there, French league is full of them.
No, Jovetić is gone in the summer. He agreed to stay this year to help the team but the signing of Rossi is known to be a replacement for his eventual transfer. They've got Hamdaoui, Toni, Ljajic, Seferovic and Rossi to step up. He wants to stay in Italy but I think we could compete. Especially if we somehow get 4th. Coentrao wouldn't be more than 15 so if we're serious about defensive cover he would be good.
Agree with all the posts the OP made. My opinion on Sahin is that if he isn't useful enough to BR to play more often than he has then we should get rid providing we bring in a more useful replacement. The guy clearly has talent but I've reached a point where I trust BR's judgement, and if BR doesn't feel he's useful enough to play more often then there's no point keeping him. The reason why we're so inconsistant is because our squad simply isn't deep enough - Either our better players get too tired or the ones that fill in simply aren't good enough
I think Rodgers wanted to try Sahin as a number 10 but it didnt work out. Gerrard and Lucas are better players than him so they start in the other midfield roles. Sahin had a nose operation. I suspect that has meant he has not been able to play lately. If he was fit I think he would have got a couple of games over the Christmas period and yesterday.
I think Sahin was on the bench in our last PL game but not involved against Mansfield which I thought was strange. Or perhaps Rodgers didn't want to rush Sahin into a match played on a dodgy pitch? Who knows.
Very stupid experiment by BR if you ask me. Sahin has never played at the 10 role. He's not even a traditional midfielder. He's slow, and picks passes from the back. He's an offensive Lucas. Agreed that he would have been played had it not been for the nose.
