Looking around the net quite a few papers ( english,spanish and italian) are saying that liverpool have had talks with Benitez about possible return.
We missed out on the likes of Costa, Willian etc because we were a ah*t team back then, no CL and with an unknown manager. It's not surprising that we didn't get them but it showed us that the committee identified quality players before they become world class. The committee did a good job getting quality youngsters in - Balotelli is a miss, but then we gave Rodgers the power to sign the ready made players i.e. Lovren and Lallana. If only we showed the same ambition we did (when we targeted Costa etc) then I don't think we'd be in this mess.
Robbie Savage pretty much nails it here... Liverpool signings by Brendan Rodgers - hits or misses? In his regular BBC Sport column, Robbie Savage rates every one of Brendan Rodgers' 24 signings for Liverpool since July 2012 as a hit or a miss, and explains what he thinks the Reds boss should do in the January transfer window. I am a fan of Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers and rate him highly as a coach, but he has spent £206.5m since taking over at Anfield and does not have much to show for it. Play media Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers' signings - the key stats Rodgers signs a lot of young players and keeps talking about improving them for the future. He has done that since he took charge in 2012 and he deserves credit for having that approach. Unfortunately for him, with Liverpool struggling for form, the bottom line is that he needs players for today, not tomorrow. Rodgers is under pressure but I think he should keep his job. He deserves the chance to put things right in January and the club should back him again in the transfer market. But this could be his last opportunity to spend big, and he has got to get it right this time. Young players yet to make the breakthrough “ I have looked at all of his signings and, out of the 24, there are only four who can be seen as a success ” Fabio Borini was Rodgers' first signing, for £10.5m in July 2012. The average age of his 24 buys is 23, and the player who was the oldest when he signed him was 32-year-old Rickie Lambert. Lambert and Kolo Toure are the only players over 30 that Rodgers has signed, and Adam Lallana is the only other player over 25. Rodgers' problem is that the last two players he signed that improved his team straight away were Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho in January 2013. And not enough of them have ended up making any sort of impact at all. Only eight of those 24 players have made five or more Premier League starts this season, which is a real worry. Sturridge would be among them if not for his injury, but even some of Rodgers' buys who have been playing regularly have not been playing well. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers Rodgers was appointed Liverpool manager on 1 June 2012 So far this season, Rodgers has been saying almost exactly what he was saying this time last year, before his side went on the amazing run that almost saw them win the title. His signings in the summer of 2013 also struggled but back then he said they were young players, signed for the future, and they would improve. As you can see below, that has not happened yet. I have looked at all of his signings and, out of the 24, there are only four who can be seen as a success. Divock Origi is yet to join from Lille so I have not rated him yet. But the other 19 have all failed to have the expected impact, or featured at all. Forget about the future, I am judging these players on the here and now and what they have contributed so far in a Liverpool shirt. Some of them have great potential and could turn out to be excellent players in 12 months' time - but that will not help Rodgers if he has lost his job by then. Summer 2012 - the first wave Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, Oussama Assaidi, Samed Yesil and Nuri Sahin Rodgers signed five players in the summer of 2012, for a total of £28.5m Fabio Borini, £10.5m from Roma Age when signed: 21 PL starts in 2014-15: 1 He has never looked convincing in a Liverpool shirt. Not good enough, and definitely not worth what they paid for him. VERDICT: MISS Did you know? Borini has scored one goal in 18 Premier League appearances for Liverpool - against Newcastle in April 2013. Joe Allen, £15m from Swansea Age when signed: 22 PL starts in 2014-15: 7 He has played 62 league games for Liverpool and scored only one goal. Joe is a tidy little player but providing assists is his job, and he has not managed one of those. VERDICT: MISS Oussama Assaidi, £3m from Heerenveen Age when signed: 24 On loan at Stoke Rodgers tried to sell him to Stoke in the summer but they did not meet the asking price and took him on loan instead. Has no future at Anfield. VERDICT: MISS Samed Yesil, £1m from Bayer Leverkusen Age when signed: 18 PL starts in 2014-15: 0 Who? He has been unlucky with injuries but is nowhere near the first team. VERDICT: MISS Nuri Sahin, loan from Real Madrid Age when signed: 23 Now at Borussia Dortmund I expected big things from him when he arrived from Real but he did not deliver. VERDICT: MISS Did you know? Sahin became the youngest player to play in the Bundesliga when he made his debut for Borussia Dortmund aged 16 years and 334 days in August 2005. He is now back with his first club. January 2013 - A couple of instant hits Liverpool duo Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho Rodgers signed Sturridge and Coutinho in January 2013 for a combined total of £20.5m Daniel Sturridge, £12m from Chelsea Age when signed: 23 PL starts in 2014-15: 3 A massive hit and Rodgers' best signing so far. Since Suarez was sold he has been Liverpool's key player. They are missing him now more than ever. VERDICT: HIT Did you know? Liverpool have won 60.9% of their Premier League games with Sturridge and 50% of those he has missed since joining in January 2013. Philippe Coutinho, £8.5m from Inter Milan Age when signed: 20 PL starts in 2014-15: 10 Another big success. I am just surprised he has not played more in key games for Liverpool this season. VERDICT: HIT Summer 2013 - Building for the future? Liverpool signed eight players in the summer of 2013 for a total of £48.5m Liverpool signed eight players in the summer of 2013 for a total of £48.5m Mamadou Sakho, £18m from PSG Age when signed: 23 PL starts in 2014-15: 2 At the time he joined he was the most expensive defender in Liverpool's history and was talked up as being the man to take their defence by the scruff of the neck and turn them into a proper unit. It turns out they do better without him than when he is in the team. VERDICT: MISS Simon Mignolet, £9m from Sunderland Age when signed: 25 PL starts in 2014-15: 15 Has made costly mistakes and lost his place. If you are being left out for Brad Jones, then you are in trouble, because I don't think Jones is good enough either. VERDICT: MISS Did you know? Mignolet has made six errors leading to goals in the Premier League since the start of last season, more than any other player. Iago Aspas, £7.7m from Celta Vigo Age when signed: 25 On loan at Sevilla Took one of the worst corners I can remember when he came on against Chelsea at the end of the season. Another striker signing who is just not good enough. VERDICT: MISS Luis Alberto, £6.8m from Sevilla Age when signed: 20 On loan at Malaga Made only nine substitute appearances in the Premier League last season, totalling 135 minutes. Rodgers clearly still doesn't think he is ready. VERDICT: MISS Tiago Ilori, £7m from Sporting Lisbon Age when signed: 20 On loan at Bordeaux Even with Liverpool's problems at centre-back, he was not given a chance before being loaned out. VERDICT: MISS Kolo Toure, free from Man City Age when signed: 32 PL starts in 2014-15: 3 Struggled badly last season but in recent weeks he has been one of Liverpool's best players. Out of all the players Rodgers has signed, expecting them to develop, it is the oldest player in his squad who has improved the most. VERDICT: HIT Aly Cissokho, loan from Valencia Age when signed: 25 Now at Aston Villa Erratic displays meant he was not signed permanently VERDICT: MISS Victor Moses, loan from Chelsea Age when signed: 22 Now at Stoke Did not play enough to impress VERDICT: MISS Summer 2014 - Suarez funds a spending spree Rodgers received £75m from Barcelona for Luis Suarez and spent £119m on nine players Rodgers received £75m from Barcelona for Luis Suarez and spent £119m on nine players Adam Lallana, £25m from Southampton Age when signed: 26 PL starts in 2014-15: 9 Injuries have held him back a bit and I think he will be a hit, but I am judging him on what he has done so far and not as the player I think he will be. He has not had the expected impact after how well he played for Southampton last season, and he has not been a £25m player. VERDICT: MISS Did you know? Lallana has scored two goals and made one assist for Liverpool so far this season. He scored nine goals and provided six assists for Southampton in 2013-14. Lazar Markovic, £20m from Benfica Age when signed: 20 PL starts in 2014-15: 2 He has been decent in the last couple of games and has just started to play well. A miss if you judge him up until the start of December, but showing signs of starting to justify his fee. VERDICT: MISS Dejan Lovren, £20m from Southampton Age when signed: 25 PL starts in 2014-15: 13 At Southampton he had three players protecting him in Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Steve Davis. Now, without protection, he does not look good at all. VERDICT: MISS Mario Balotelli, £16m from AC Milan Age when signed: 24 PL starts in 2014-15: 8 Rodgers gambled when he signed him and it has not paid off. I would sell him in January to raise some funds and try to buy two more centre-forwards. VERDICT: MISS Did you know? Balotelli has had 42 shots in the Premier League this season, the most of any player yet to score. Alberto Moreno, £12m from Sevilla Age when signed: 22 PL starts in 2014-15: 11 He has made a couple of costly defensive mistakes but I like him and he is more of a wing-back because he gets forward so well. VERDICT: HIT Divock Origi, £12m from Lille Age when signed: 19 On loan at Lille Started the season well for Lille, but has not scored in his last 10 games. I think he will be a hit, but I can't judge him until he moves to Anfield. VERDICT: UNDECIDED Emre Can, £10m from Bayer Leverkusen Age when signed: 20 PL starts in 2014-15: 3 There are plenty of opportunities to get into Liverpool's midfield but Can is one of several to fail to take them. I think Steven Gerrard is still their best midfielder. VERDICT: MISS Rickie Lambert, £4m from Southampton Age when signed: 32 PL starts in 2014-15: 5 In the absence of Sturridge, and with Balotelli out of sorts, he had the chance to win a regular place but instead he has been left out so a winger, Raheem Sterling, can lead the line. VERDICT: MISS Javier Manquillo, loan from Atletico Madrid Age when signed: 20 PL starts in 2014-15: 9 Started the season in the team but did not convince and has lost his place to Glen Johnson, despite the England international remaining vulnerable defensively. VERDICT: MISS Joe Allen hasn't provided one assist in his entire time at the club! Hate how Balotelli is described as 'out of sorts'... that's his ****ing factory setting FFS
Didn't read all of that but noticed some bits which renders the rest of the article as a b*llshit. Apparently we play better without Sakho. Markovic is a miss after only playing a handful of games. He still thinks Gerrard is out best midfielder. Manquillo has not impressed. The man is buffoon. Rodgers has some quality players at his disposal but he's a)not using them at all or b) using them incorrectly.
My favourite part about the Savage article was suggesting we buy Williams or Vlaar, mainly cause they've played in the Prem. Didn't we try that with Lallana, Lambert, Lovren, Moses, Mignolet, Allen also Balotelli and to an extent Borini (Playing in the UK), all of whom Savage has rated as flops. Seem to remember Vlaar being an absolute joke until this summer when he played in a 5 man defence for the Dutch, suddenly he's the answer to ours and Man U's defensive problems. Sorry but no, Aston Villa are so defensive these days its going to be hard to score more than 1 or 2 against them with 11 men stood on the line and thats the only reason Vlaar looks more than average. Williams solid perhaps but nothing more. Both players have leadership qualities but neither have the real quality, I would hope to do better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZDTW1-lOc4 Although it is slightly comical, the points are still there, what do you make of it?
Echo saying that Rodgers will select Sakho for Arsenal + rumours of Can-Gerrard in the middle... Wonder if he's beginning to change his approach. The last month or so has seen him consciously try to take the summer signings out of the spotlight... Are they now being reintroduced? And properly!
It could be but with January looming large sales could come to mind too Lucas played far better than Gerrard in my mind, Gerrard was given acres by Bournemouth to play in but when they had it all he did was ball watch Sahko in is for lovern injury We don't know what formation he will play either but the systems and our full backs have been made so inconsistent by constant chopping and changing do who knows at all!!! For me anyway with no striker we free up a slot by moving sterling so that is allowing coutinho and lallana to start Markovic as Lwb is madness if it is done on Sunday but reality says moreno is the worst actual defender I've seen since traore. He is shockingly bad at the basics. Therefore I don't know what we will do Can playing seems nuts given no game time so maybe two are injured I dunno. His press conference was really short
Just because you disagree on a couple of players (justifiably) doesn't render the rest of the article bullshit. Nobody gets any article 100% right or that everyone can agree on, but he's made a lot of fair points about the rest of your squad.
Yeh Can would make sense but would go against any logic in guessing the side. Criminal if we get rid of Lucas in January if we don't replace him with real quality. It'll be a four of Hendo, Gerrard, Lucas, Moreno I think. Lallana and Coutinho ahead with Sterling up top.
There is a difference between a difference in opinion, and being paid to spout complete and utter nonsense from someone who is supposedly a pundit/expert in the game.
Allen is injured so Can could make a start. Chances are - Rodgers will keep Gerrard in the middle and play Lucas alongside him because everyone knows Lucas/Gerrard partnership is world class.
