Line-up vs Southampton: Coutinho, Sturridge, Suarez remain up front for Liverpool March 16 2013. All in starting line up 2 others as subs.
Rodgers on systems, SAS and 'good start' Liverpool may be sitting at the summit of the Barclays Premier League this Sunday morning, but manager Brendan Rodgers believes there is a wealth of development for his team to achieve yet. A 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace yesterday, courtesy of goals from Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard, secured a fifth league triumph of the campaign and lifted the Reds up to top spot. Ever the perfectionist, however, Rodgers stressed after the final whistle that his players have not reached their maximum performance level during the opening few weeks of the 2013-14 season. The boss told the BBC's Match of the Day programme: "We wanted to make improvements on last season. From January onwards, our performance level has been good. "We finished seventh last year and our idea is to get into the top four. There is still a long way to go, it is seven games in. All we had in mind at this stage was to make a good start. "To have won five games out of seven has been very encouraging. I still believe there is a lot of development in this group and team. "We can play a lot better but we've got the mentality now that if we don't play as well as we want to, at least we can win games. That's something that's very important. "It's a great credit to the players - their mentality to improve has been excellent. In the opening seven games, we haven't hit anywhere near the level, performance-wise, that we would want to. "But what we've shown is that we can win games, even when we don't play at our best. Today in the first half, we got three goals and maybe could have had some more. "We need to be better with the ball - we put the ball at risk too much. That's part of the system and with the players that we've lost; we have five players out injured and some of those are key players for us. "It has meant a shift in the structure. Sometimes 3-5-2 is set up more for the counter-attack. Overall, we need to make improvements with the ball - it's very important for us. "It's not enough to just win games, for me, I'm very much someone who worries about playing well. We'll take the three points but we need to improve our level with the football. "But overall, I'm delighted with the response this season; we just go into each game looking to perform well and win, and that's what we've done." The Northern Irishman has adopted a 3-4-1-2 formation in recent weeks - a strategic switch to allow the strike partnership of Sturridge and Suarez plenty of freedom at the front end of the pitch. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/146490-rodgers-on-systems-sas-and-good-start
When we signed Studge, I said he was a good player for the time being but not someone who I thought would ever develop into a top quality player or help us push for top 4/ the title. please log in to view this image Absolutely immense player so far and keeps getting better. If he's not scoring, he's holding up the play brilliantly, laying it off to a team mate, linking up with Suarez up top or waltzing past players. How on earth could City and Chelsea not see his ability during training? If he stays fit and stays with the club (he will do, BR's shown a lot of faith in bringing him here and playing him up top) then he could well be creeping up the record sheets
Fair enough I wasnt overwhelmed with his signing but thats after having had a belly full of British players joining us and them not playing how i'd hoped (when it gets to a certain no of games and you cant honestly say to yourself they're going to get any better, Henderson excluded) Knew his attributes but still had doubts Fair play to BR, and fair play for playing them both up top and him setting us out this way. I just wished we looked more confident in defending and that includes midfielders. with the start we've made though I really didnt think we'd be sitting joint 1st after this many games Karma is finally paying us back from hitting the woodwork all those times because we've had some luck as well
I was happy with Sturridge signing purely because he was better than what we had. As Two girls, one Allen says, I didn't expect him to be a consistent, prolific goal scorer! £12m - what a great signing and further proof that there is value in the market today.
Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez share exactly the same objective when they step onto the football pitch, but their methods of succeeding in their ambitions are rather different according to the manager. Brendan Rodgers has moulded the attacking pair into an electrifying combination since the latter returned from suspension, with the duo firing five goals between them in the last three matches. The Northern Irishman has not hidden his admiration for the two forwards in recent weeks, and now he has revealed the specific attributes which are allowing the duo - nicknamed SAS - to thrive. "Their qualities are different. If you look at Luis, he's a great box player," Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com. "He's got wonderful feet in and around the box, he can make things happen out of nothing, he always has defenders on the back foot because of his trickery, and he can finish left foot or right foot. "So he will always ask defenders questions, especially in and around the box where they have maybe got to dive in a bit more. "Daniel is a different type altogether; he's got all-round great qualities. "He's got a great touch, is very strong on his left side and his right side, he's got super pace - once he's away, he's away, you're not catching him. "He's clever in his movement and his runs, he's a good footballer; he drops into spaces, picks up the ball, sets the game, spins. He's also got an eye for goal. "The area that he's looking to improve on is his heading, as he showed last week away at Sunderland. He's a boy who I still think there's a lot of improvement to make. "When he does, I think he can prove to be one of the top strikers in European football" The video you selected is only available to LFCTV Online members. You are now watching our Preview video, login or click here to sign up. Sturridge's form during 2013-14 to date - the No.15 has struck eight goals in all competitions so far - is all the more remarkable given that he missed the majority of pre-season with an ankle injury. The England international has pledged that he will improve even further when he reaches 100 per cent fitness, and the boss fully agreed with that analysis. Rodgers added: "He's right because he literally only joined in the last week or so of pre-season. "To have missed out on pre-season, just come back with 10 days to go and play how he has done so far without a lot of rest has been remarkable. "For him, it's just about maintaining that consistency - he knows that and that's from the training field. "He's working hard in training, working hard in the games and getting his reward. When he gets up to real fitness in a few games' time, he will become even better." http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/146541-boss-explains-how-sas-are-different
I'm with you totally and feel I need to share the pie Seriously I had my doubts about him being too selfish and having attitude problems but he's just the opposite. He just ****ing loves playing and scoring goals. Simple. As for the partnership...long may it continue They are great to watch and both look full of confidence right now.
I think personally the biggest question on sturridge is injuries. his form under avb for cheslea from rw was good and his loan at bolton was good too. so far england crocked him and he got injured last season after arriving too and he missed the last england games. thats the key in my mind. it is safe to say his form when playing has far exceeded expectation. I still feel however that while we are seeing assists form one player to the other. Well mostly sturridge so far that their interplay can greatly improve. By that i mean when a third party is going to deliver a pass they I think can learn more about where each other will run and so act to draw defenders/move towards their own favored area. Expample would be saurez loves a near to far post type run so sturrdige could do with making the near post his area of operation. Its just an opinion. thus far i ntwo games its been good but those two games lest we forget were v sunderland and palace. V utd it wasn't working so well so i hope they can improve as they go and the next top 10 side we play gets a nasty shock.... in deed apply that to our next top 6 opponent.
Daniel: Luis and co make life easy Daniel Sturridge has been rightly inundated with plaudits for his eight-goal haul so far this season, but the Liverpool No.15 is keen to stress the equal importance of the players around him, The 24-year-old forward has struck eight times in nine appearances during 2013-14, while his phenomenal statistics since arriving at Anfield in January show 19 goals in 25 matches. Luis Suarez's return from suspension has only increased the creativity in the Reds' attack and Sturridge believes the Uruguayan, among others, allows the goals to be spread around. "He's a nice guy and we have great chemistry on the field, and we get on well off it so it's good," he told Life and Times. "It's easier when you've got somebody like Luis, who can help you share the goals out, and we've also got the likes of Steven Gerrard and Victor Moses who can pitch in. "So there are goals throughout the team. Hopefully we can continue with the form we've got at the moment." While Sturridge pointed to Gerrard's contribution on the pitch, the England international also revealed the lengths to which the Liverpool skipper has been supportive in other aspects of life. Asked if he has any mentors, the striker commented: "I would say Gerrard's one player, because he's a great man on and off the field. "He's one of the people who gets on with everybody and he's an incredible man to be honest with you. "Since I've been here, he's taken care of me and helped me out a lot in terms of settling into the club, settling into the city and it's great to have him around. "He's been one of the world's best players for many years and I've got so much respect for him." http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/146827-daniel-luis-and-co-make-life-easy
Really warming to Daniel, will be interesting to see how he reacts to a poor run of form if and when it happens, that's the test of a great striker. Fortunately for us, with him and Suarez upfront we're always like to score, they'll always have a chance to put the ball away they're just that good, they give me reason to be optimistic! Seems to be getting back to match fitness now too, more game time with Suarez and with hopefully Coutinho back in the fold soon we'll see our attacking play come on even further.
Daniel Sturridge: I talk the talk, but with Wayne Rooney by my side I can walk the walk Liverpool striker is full of praise for rival Manchester United striker and says that he will make the most of the pair's England partnership Another Level http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/daniel-sturridge-talk-talk-wayne-2802969
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Does that help Liverpool??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@#$#$#$#$#$$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#$#%^^%^%^%^%^%^%^%^^%^%&**&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*()()()()()()()()()()(_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+_+!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
