Not sure about the midfield but I'd be happier seeing him play in goal or at centre back rather than Ming and Sakho It's like going back in time to the days of Westerveld and Traore watching the two of them blunder about.
agree billy, hope he proves me wrong but i am starting to lose confidence in migs, not sure what he was thinking about for their goal, something he didn't need to do. Sakho isnt the beast i was led to believe he was either, he looks clumbsy. hope he gets better. not a fan of allen and don't think he is the answer either.
without, we just need to stop ****ing about with our formations, that's probably the main issue for me.
That's like asking does a side with ten look better if they have 11 or if a side in tenth would look better in 7th Lfc were 2nd we wil not be within an asses roar of that this year that is just reality and so adding joe Allen is a plaster not a cure, it's not improving to where we wanted to be Right now lallana looks to be 15 mil over priced and also average and coutinho wants a hard look at as his passing is atrociuos that doesn't mean Allen will make us world beaters
Joe Allen is an important member for me - such an underrated player. However, I think the central midfield isn't the problem. It's the lack of movement from the front men and the current formation we've adopted. Whether Rodgers doesn't believe that we have the personnel to continue with the diamond or he just fancies a change - I'm not so sure. But playing Lallana and Sterling on the wings isn't the answer as both are better centrally. Going back to my point about the lack of movement up top - this is seriously hampering Coutinho's ability. Granted, he has been poor regardless - sloppy passing and failed tricks but to get the best out of Coutinho, you need to have space, movement from the front men. He's getting very little of that. It's not until Sterling moves centrally do we see Coutinho light up a bit (this was evident against Villa in the latter stages and against Ludogorets). Looking at the defence - I find it laughable how some can criticise Sakho but not Lovren. IMO - Sakho is our best centre back. That's not to say he's perfect or that he doesn't make any mistakes but he is by far the most commanding centre back we have in terms of his physical presence and positioning. For Ludogorets, Lovren's positioning was completely wrong and he shouted that it was his ball. This meant that Migs stayed on his line but once the danger became apparent, he sprinted out. But I'm losing a lot of faith in Mignolet - he's so indecisive and it causes panic. For the goal against Villa, he was the one who shouted to Sakho that it was Migs's ball. It wasn't until Migs realised that the ball wouldn't reach him did Sakho have to deal with it (Sakho himself should have dealt with it a lot better). All in all - I think this is the defence we should persist with because all of them are on the same wavelength - they're front foot defenders and will naturally push up the field. The problem we have are individual errors. Both Lovren and Sakho are youngish so I do see a potential partnership. Both full backs have been a god send for me.
Lose confidence in Migs? If you're going to say it after that game they its nothing to do with losing confidence! He had a good game and caught every cross. Fair enough, the commentator said he should have stayed on his line for their goal. However, I'm pretty sure had he stayed on his line and they scored then the commentators would have said the opposite too! If Migs had had a poor game then fine, criticise all you like. But don't use that game as a turning point in confidence!
Midfield looked rosy without Allen last year. Allen's only quality is he doesn't lose the ball, that's it.
I've lost confidence about halfway into last year and not merely using last night's game to base my judgement. He started being more proactive against Soton - playing higher in the box and coming for crosses. Then he regressed. Imagine being a CB and not knowing exactly what Migs is going for. It's inconsistent and causes panic. Very good shot stopper but has no command of his box and poor in possession and passing.
Lovren isn't without criticism for last night but Sakho is plain awful at the moment. Being big doesn't make him commanding, being good would make him commanding. As for being our best centre back I disagree but even if I'm wrong then that would be even more worrying surely. If Sakho's our best centre back we're truly ****ed The trouble with the Prem and CL is you can't have defenders with "potential" partnerships you need them to have a genuine partnership. Watching those two last night made me appreciate Skrtel even more (and Agger too). Ming's never looked decisive. He's caused panic since day 1, either him or Sakho should have dealt with the one against Villa and either him or Lovren should have dealt with the one last night. He got one of the biggest cheers last night in fairness but there was a real trace of irony in it, only goalies who drop everything get such a big cheer for merely catching a cross. Totally agree about the movement up front (although it isn't our biggest problem) it makes things way too easy for opposition defenders. Watching Baloteskey last night had us all yearning for Suarez even more than before. It's no use playing Balo without someone up closer to him as he just doesn't move the centre backs around anywhere near enough. It's essential for the likes of Sterling, Lallana or whoever else plays in a 3 to have gaps to run through and that requires the central player to be dragging defenders out of position. Much work to do still
I think everyone needs a stern talking to based on last nights performance, but I also cannot see why people are bashing Sakho. He was by no means good, but wasn't the worst player on the pitch. The only 'mistake' I can remember from him is getting megged for their chance where they hit the post. Lovren and Mig were at fault for the goal and Lovren was at fault for the goal on the weekend.
Ahh we'll have to agree to disagree! And yes - we need an established partnership but I question Rodgers for spending £20m on a defender who makes a lot of mistakes (and did so last season with Soton). For that amount of money, I expect a better class of player. But he has the scope to the improve in his defence. Looking at the attack - Suarez is a unique player. It's very rare to find a player who works just has hard and has the quality to match. Is this a reality check in that we have to make do with quality players without the work ethic (i.e. Balotello) and adapt/change our style slightly?
Id have Allen in my starting line up ahead of Gerrard or Coutinho on current form. Keeps the ball a lot more than Cout and offers more mobility and better pressing than Gerrard. Also Hendo seems to be released and take on more responsibility with Gerrard out. Sakho had a decent game yesterday as did Lovren. Mig one made 1 error coming out but as Gerrez said, prob would have been criticised for not coming out by those saying he never leaves his line as well. Poor guy can't win with some of you. Their goal came from us losing the ball with 4 players ahead of it and Gerrard and Hendo being too square and being cut out by one simple pass
Actually I agree on the Lovren price, I do think he'll be a good player for us but I can't help feeling we could have got someone at least as good but with a lot more top level experience for that sort of cash. However, exactly the same thing can be said of Sakho surely. He makes awful mistakes (that have cost us a lot already) and he wasn't cheap either. For that amount of money I also expect a better class of player I think we can defo agree that they both have a lot of scope to improve and if they do then that's fine but in the meantime we'll continue to concede daft goals especially as Ming isn't helping either of them much. I'm not sure it's a reality check as such as we all knew Suarez would be impossible to replace straight away but yeah it certainly needs a change of style especially with Studge injured (again). If we are going to play that system again with those players then Balo needs to protect the ball a whole lot better so Sterling and Lallana (or whoever plays) can go beyond him and the full backs can get up higher.
Stelring lost it and did the thing I hate most; turned his back on play. Partly in disgust but also moaning at the referee. I was always taught two basic things in that situation; play to the whistle and attempt win the ball back! I love Raheem but he best stop doing that fairly quickly!! Coutinho was poor last night and I thought he was poor against Villa too. Both times he was trying too hard to do things himself. Constantly trying to beat a player or take on the impossible shot. Coutinho's at his best when ina nd around the box, his short bursts of acceleration and ability to not only pass to a teammate in small spaces but also receive the ball in those small spaces. Rodgers needs to grab him and point out that goals are goals and it doesn't matter who scores them. Ford needs to get whatever goal total he's been set out of his head!
