No sack both Rodgers and committee as the gobshite should have walked if what you've said is in any way true
Who are his players? My faith in Rodgers is dwindling given his shocking tactical sense and team selections this year. It shows me that last season might well have been a fluke (well, Suarez and Sturridge happening to link up) and he's got nothing else. The players he wanted that I am 100% certain on are Sturridge, Allen, Borini, Coutinho, Moreno and possibly Lallana. The rest I have no clue on. Balotelli doesn't fit a single aspect of Rodgers' playstyle which would suggest the committee bought him - but then you have to ask what the **** is going on in a club when the manager doesn't get the final say on which players are joining his squad and which ones are. Why would a manager even stay at such a club? It's not like we're Real where anyone bought for the first team coach is going to cost 30m+ and be world class already.
I agree Balotelli was a committee signing, but what about the exciting young talent like Can and Markovic? Personally I feel it is to much work for a manager to also handle all recruitment. A manager just does not have the time to attend matches 9especially abroad), watch hours of video footage and do vast research on every target. Multiple targets for every position. Saying that Benitez did well, naming the players he wanted signed and giving his input on the fee that should be paid. But a lot of his signings were players he already knew from Spain and/or previous clubs (Alonso, Garcia, Sissoko, Aurelio, Torres, Reina, Pellegrino). Apart from that a lot were from other PL clubs and his record was hit an miss. The only truely impressive scouts were Kuyt and Mascherano who came from obscurer clubs (Masc view West Ham).
For me we see issues all over England Spurs.... Two managers sacked for not picking levys signings no improvement in league position at all Liverpool purslow decided he'd buy cole for example Ambrovich went through managers due to Torres and shevchenko The issue I see is not one of power but one if competence and long term thinking This is why a technical director and a coaching structure designed to build the squad and coaches is required. A coach should be a 3 year prospect chosen for technical style and suitability. If you sack all your senior coaching staff for a manager you are nuts IMO The pick of players to sign should be done by competent picking not by committee with vetos and childish compromises. The buck stops somewhere, it has to as player purchases and contracts are the single biggest costs a club can incur bar building a new stadium Put it this way you'd not design your stadium or your own home by committee with vetos nor would you spend 100mil on players OR buy a brand new super car by committee If you did that you'd end up with a pink rolls Royce from the thunderbirds or something... Or a balotelli ........ Seriously why do flunkies who run computer program's get a vote. I get to go to meetings at work, even make recommendations on strategy but f me I do not get a vote not am put in a room listening in or debating the decision Lfc are run stupidity and it must change, I expect that once feb one hits many changes will be announced
I think he's improved quite a bit over the last couple of games, but still feel we could of done significantly better, especially for the money we spent on him. We needed a finished product. He's far from it, he's till got to improve just about every aspect of his game. He relies on pace more than skill to get past players, his passing is inconsistent, shooting erratic. I just don't see anything special in him. Origi, he's got a bit of magic on him, Luis Alberto looks quality. Suso, Branaghan, Texiera exciting. Markovic not so much.
Agree he has to improve but don't agree with the rest. I'm sorry but Origi hasn't done anything worthwhile to get the hype some people are putting on him. He's a young striker that's done okay in the French league (hasn't even torn it up like some previous Newcastle imports). Alberto looked beyond useless last season (still young), Suso I agree looked good, but Brannagan and Teixiera? Haven't done anything noteworthy. They're youth. What sets Markovic apart is that he's already played at the top level since he was 17. Suso, Teixeira are 21, Alberto is 22. They haven't broken into any first team action yet. There will be a gulf in class in a few years because of this.
I would play Markovic ahead of Lallana on the left side of front 3. It's a massive waste playing him out on the right or as a LWB.
Ha I thought Lallana was very good tonight. I would like both he and Marko to rotate as I feel Sterling and Coutinho are the fixtures in the attack.
I suspect Marko and Lallana will be the two to be dropped more often than not once Sturridge returns.
I was talking solely in terms of talent and their potential. Not what they've achieved in their career so far. The players i mentioned -of what i've seen- have that something special, to really get excited about. Origi, is very skillful, got a great shot on him,power and pace. Alberto,Suso, Tex, Branaghan are all technically gifted players. But whether they go on to be top class players, is a different matter all together. I Just don't find anything really exciting about Markovic. He could dribble a straight line at pace, but mostly ends up running into a defender. His technique is underwhelming to say the least for a 20mil potential. We obviously paid over the odds , less than 10mil, that would've been worth a gamble. Origi or Alberto could turn out to be top class performers or shipped out without a loss. More importantly less pressure on them. 20mil for potential, should mean we've got an extra ordinary young player in our hands, I really don't feel that's the case.
Oh and on Alberto mate, He was criminally underused last season. He was hardly given the opportunity. 9 games all season, just one start in a cup game, where he was the our best player but taken off at HT. He's a top talent no doubt, watch some of his games and you'll see he's a terrific talent. He;s not the finished product yet. His scenario a bit similar to Isco, a late bloomer himself. left Valencia on the cheap, a consistent run and top teams were chasing him. Their playing style looks remarkably similar aswell. The whole talk of young players thriving under Rodgers is a bit of a red herring i feel. Time and again he's proven he prefers the more experienced heads to the younger players. Hence you still see the likes of Gerrard, Johnson and even Toure featuring prominently. Oh and did i mention 'young Illori' didn't make a single ****ing appearance all of last season! Sterling and Flanaghan being the only 2 exception. But the desperation at that time forced his hand. Sterling was the only winger at that stage, and all the wingbacks were injured and flanno thrown right into the deep end against the gooners. A consistent run and we saw the best of them.
Wasn't Ilori out on loan last season? I agree though that Rodgers' commitment and preference to youth is misplaced as he's yet to integrate anyone new from the youth into the side. That said, he has improved some of our current crop of young first teamers.
Tony Evans from The Times said last year that Rodgers didn't want Sturridge and it was a committee signing. I thought this was strange at first because Rodgers loves English talent and he had worked with Sturridge at Chelsea. But then you also have to look at the fact that the committee had all seen Sturridge from their time at Man City and it becomes plausible. I don't think Moreno was a Rodgers choice because it was widely reported by local journalists that he wanted the likes of Bertrand and Ben Davies. Lallana, Lovren and Lambert are definitely Rodgers's signings - the committee were offered Lovren for £8m before he joined Soton. There is no way they would change their mind after one season.
Watch Markovic at Partizan and Benfica and you'll see the hype around him. We have signed some young talents with great potential I.e Moreno and Can. But Markovic is considered an elite talent with world class potential . His fee is quite high but this is driven by third party ownership which is often inflated and difficult to negotiate. But if you look at the other elite talents that transferred - Isco (£25m), Gotze (£32m) and Aguero to Atletico was around (£20m). Given the inflation since, £20m isn't that bad for a player of Markovic's ability and potential. I do agree we need to see more but he has shown signs of what he can do, mainly from an unfamiliar LWB position. Combined with the fact he's only 19/20, new country and in a struggling team.
I think Markovic IS a fantastic talent, his vision and passing is brilliant at times. He's a really intelligent player. If he learns how to use his pace more effectively, start taking on players and getting into goalscoring positions then he'll be a really good player for us.
Markovic no doubt has potential. He's not even been given a run of games in his proper position yet. To be a player no one really wanted in the team (despite hi being in a new country for 6 months, prob not speaking English and still being under 21) to suddenly play 3 or 4 games at LWB and play very well is commendable. Give the guy this season to bed in and let him play further up the pitch and I think we'll have a cracking little player. At the moment, 20m is overpending but you have to remember that when buying 20 year olds, you're buying and hoping to get 10 year worth out of them. You're paying 50% for their true value and 50% for their potential.
