Liverpool's squad is riddled with mediocrity - who should stay and who should go?
09:00, 21 April 2015
Opinion
by HamishMackay
Brendan Rodgers will be hugely disappointed with how his side's season has gone and now faces another summer needing to make key changes in the transfer market
Clear out: Which Liverpool players need to be sold?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Liverpool's season has been little more than a drawn out succession of failures.
After a brilliant campaign in 2013/14, Brendan Rodgers' side appeared on a trajectory that would bring at least one trophy the following season.
Instead, they limped out of the Champions League at the group stages, fell short in the League Cup, were knocked out of the FA Cup by a team they were expected to beat comfortably and are almost certain to miss out on finishing in the Premier League's top four.
Liverpool's season has been, as Malcolm Tucker would say, an omnishambles.
In their defence, they faced huge upheaval in the squad last summer and some players are still struggling to adapt. That shouldn't, however, hide the fact that many currently wearing the famous Red shirt aren't good enough to do so.
So, who should stay and who should go?
Simon Mignolet
Few Liverpool players have been criticised this season as much Mignolet. Much of that criticism has been deserved - any keeper that loses his place in the side to Brad Jones clearly isn't playing well - but some of it hasn't been.
In 30 league matches this season, Mignolet has racked up 13 clean sheets, that's more than twice as many as Hugo Lloris managed in the exact same number of games. Nobody at Tottenham is clamouring for the Frenchman to leave.
There are many aspects of Mignolet's game that need to improve, but the Belgian takes a lot of flak for his defender's mistakes and has shown as many examples of brilliant saves as he has costly errors.
Verdict: Stay (one more season to prove himself)
Brad Jones
This is an open and shut case. Jones's contract expires this summer and he's certain to leave. Even if his deal wasn't coming to an end, he needs to go.
It's staggering he's lasted so long at Liverpool. He joined for £2.3million five years ago and has failed to impress at almost every turn.
Verdict: Go
Mamadou Sakho
At his best Sakho's an intensely physical, committed defender who can compete with any Premier League striker. At his worst he's a liability who lacks concentration and struggles to distribute the ball effectively.
On paper, Sakho has the attributes to make a great defender, but football isn't played on paper.
Verdict: Go
Martin Skrtel
His brainless stamp on David de Gea and subsequent suspension proved costly for Liverpool but other than that the Slovakia international has been the most reliable player in Liverpool's back line this season.
Rodgers recently described Skrtel as important for the team on and off the field - his recent absence proved that to be true.
Verdict: Stay
Dejan Lovren
At £20million, Lovren is Liverpool's most expensive ever defender. He's also perhaps their most disappointing. The former Southampton man has struggled throughout the season.
Midfielder Emre Can and 34-year-old Kolo Toure have both been preferred at the back to Lovren in 2015. That speaks volumes about how much Rodgers trusts him.
Verdict: Go
Kolo Toure
Toure is a defender with a huge amount of experience. He's won the league twice, the FA Cup three times and the Africa Cup of Nations. That experience is valuable in a squad as young as Liverpool's.
Ultimately, though, Toure is a shadow of the player he once was. He'll be 35 next year and his performances aren't going to get any better.
Verdict: Go
Jose Enrique
The former Newcastle man is firmly behind Alberto Moreno in the pecking order. He's not good enough to start for Liverpool. As a back-up option, though, Enrique is passable. But passable isn't what a club striving for silverware and a seat at Europe's top table should be happy with.
Verdict: Go
Alberto Moreno
Moreno's had a mixed season since joining from Sevilla. A definite improvement on Enrique, he's impressed going forward.
Some of his defending (in the defeat by Arsenal, for example) has been worrying but allowances have to be made for foreign defenders playing their first season in the Premier League. He will improve.
Verdict: Stay
Glen Johnson
Another whose contract is up at the end of the season, Johnson has been a good servant for Liverpool. He hasn't convinced everyone at Anfield but on his day he's a quality full-back with considerable experience.
His performances over the course of the last year, though, have been below par. Johnson has said he wants to stay but he seems to be lacking motivation. The change may serve both parties well.
Verdict: Go
Javier Manquillo
Due to return to Atletico Madrid when his loan finishes, the young Spaniard has done little to suggest he deserves to stay. Liverpool will almost certainly be in need of a right back come the summer but Manquillo isn't the answer.
Verdict: Go
Emre Can
One of the highlights of Liverpool's season, Can has excelled in defence. For a player so young to perform so well in a league and position that are new to him demonstrate that Can can be a star of the future.
Verdict: Stay
Jordan Henderson
This is a no-brainer. Henderson has developed at the same rate at which Steven Gerrard appears to have declined. The club must tie Henderson down to a new long-term deal. Rodgers is likely to build his team around the former Sunderland midfielder.
Verdict: Stay
Lucas
Liverpool look more balanced when Lucas plays at the base of the midfield. He plays with a consistency that is bereft from many of his teammates.
At 28-years-old Lucas is approaching his prime. His distribution may not be the best but Lucas is an important and dependable part of Rodgers' squad.
Verdict: Stay
Joe Allen
Like Lucas, he's a valuable cog in the system. One goal from 33 appearances this season suggest he won't often (or ever) be the match winner, but he deserves his place in this squad.
Verdict: Stay
Adam Lallana
The former Southampton captain admitted he has not lived up to his price tag. Four league goals and three assists is a disappointing return for a midfielder who cost £25m.
Unlike many in the squad, though, Lallana has the talent to play for Liverpool, he just needs to find the form.
Verdict: Stay
Philippe Coutinho
Nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, Coutinho has been the spark in a Liverpool team so often strewn with errors. The more adjusted he gets to the Premier League, the better he'll get.
Verdict: Stay
Jordon Ibe
He may not have progressed at the rate many expected he would over the last two seasons but Ibe is clearly a star of the future. There's no doubt that Liverpool should, and will, hang on to the young midfielder.
Verdict: Stay
Lazar Markovic
Signed with a burgeoning reputation after a sparkling season with Benfica, the £25million Serbian hasn't shown anything like his best at Anfield. Has looked lightweight and, more often than not, somewhat lost in the Premier League.
However, in all-too-fleeting glimpses, he has shown that there is something there. Must do better.
Verdict: Stay
Raheem Sterling
His contract situation has caused quite the furore but along with Coutinho, Sterling has been the leading light in Liverpool's season. Has added further facets to his game and that versatility, allied to his speed and ability to create something from nothing, means he must stay this summer - whether or not a new deal can be agreed.
Verdict: Stay
Fabio Borini
Quite simply, the Italian remains at Anfield because he refuses to leave - while few clubs are hammering at the door to take a chance on the ex-Chelsea youngster. A move that simply hasn't worked.
Verdict: Go
Mario Balotelli
The enigma's enigma. The 24-year-old has all the tools to be among the world's leading strikers, but the penny refuses to drop. One league goal is a lamentable total and Balotelli has again frustrated. His agent declared Liverpool his last chance at a major club: Chance not taken.
Verdict: Go
Daniel Sturridge
The England striker shone in tandem with Luis Suarez in 2013-14, scoring 21 league goals, but his 2014-15 campaign has been injury-hit and he's barely got going. Remains the club's best striker, but can he be relied upon to stay fit for an entire season? 2015-16 is a massive season for his career.
Verdict: Stay
Rickie Lambert
Returning to his boyhood club after a goal-laden period at Southampton, the target-man has found the move to Anfield a leap to far. Arrived to offer a Plan B, but has been an ill fit.
Verdict: Go
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-squad-riddled-mediocrity---5554050
Sakho to go? Otherwise pretty much agree.
09:00, 21 April 2015
Opinion
by HamishMackay
Brendan Rodgers will be hugely disappointed with how his side's season has gone and now faces another summer needing to make key changes in the transfer market
Clear out: Which Liverpool players need to be sold?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Liverpool's season has been little more than a drawn out succession of failures.
After a brilliant campaign in 2013/14, Brendan Rodgers' side appeared on a trajectory that would bring at least one trophy the following season.
Instead, they limped out of the Champions League at the group stages, fell short in the League Cup, were knocked out of the FA Cup by a team they were expected to beat comfortably and are almost certain to miss out on finishing in the Premier League's top four.
Liverpool's season has been, as Malcolm Tucker would say, an omnishambles.
In their defence, they faced huge upheaval in the squad last summer and some players are still struggling to adapt. That shouldn't, however, hide the fact that many currently wearing the famous Red shirt aren't good enough to do so.
So, who should stay and who should go?
Simon Mignolet
Few Liverpool players have been criticised this season as much Mignolet. Much of that criticism has been deserved - any keeper that loses his place in the side to Brad Jones clearly isn't playing well - but some of it hasn't been.
In 30 league matches this season, Mignolet has racked up 13 clean sheets, that's more than twice as many as Hugo Lloris managed in the exact same number of games. Nobody at Tottenham is clamouring for the Frenchman to leave.
There are many aspects of Mignolet's game that need to improve, but the Belgian takes a lot of flak for his defender's mistakes and has shown as many examples of brilliant saves as he has costly errors.
Verdict: Stay (one more season to prove himself)
Brad Jones
This is an open and shut case. Jones's contract expires this summer and he's certain to leave. Even if his deal wasn't coming to an end, he needs to go.
It's staggering he's lasted so long at Liverpool. He joined for £2.3million five years ago and has failed to impress at almost every turn.
Verdict: Go
Mamadou Sakho
At his best Sakho's an intensely physical, committed defender who can compete with any Premier League striker. At his worst he's a liability who lacks concentration and struggles to distribute the ball effectively.
On paper, Sakho has the attributes to make a great defender, but football isn't played on paper.
Verdict: Go
Martin Skrtel
His brainless stamp on David de Gea and subsequent suspension proved costly for Liverpool but other than that the Slovakia international has been the most reliable player in Liverpool's back line this season.
Rodgers recently described Skrtel as important for the team on and off the field - his recent absence proved that to be true.
Verdict: Stay
Dejan Lovren
At £20million, Lovren is Liverpool's most expensive ever defender. He's also perhaps their most disappointing. The former Southampton man has struggled throughout the season.
Midfielder Emre Can and 34-year-old Kolo Toure have both been preferred at the back to Lovren in 2015. That speaks volumes about how much Rodgers trusts him.
Verdict: Go
Kolo Toure
Toure is a defender with a huge amount of experience. He's won the league twice, the FA Cup three times and the Africa Cup of Nations. That experience is valuable in a squad as young as Liverpool's.
Ultimately, though, Toure is a shadow of the player he once was. He'll be 35 next year and his performances aren't going to get any better.
Verdict: Go
Jose Enrique
The former Newcastle man is firmly behind Alberto Moreno in the pecking order. He's not good enough to start for Liverpool. As a back-up option, though, Enrique is passable. But passable isn't what a club striving for silverware and a seat at Europe's top table should be happy with.
Verdict: Go
Alberto Moreno
Moreno's had a mixed season since joining from Sevilla. A definite improvement on Enrique, he's impressed going forward.
Some of his defending (in the defeat by Arsenal, for example) has been worrying but allowances have to be made for foreign defenders playing their first season in the Premier League. He will improve.
Verdict: Stay
Glen Johnson
Another whose contract is up at the end of the season, Johnson has been a good servant for Liverpool. He hasn't convinced everyone at Anfield but on his day he's a quality full-back with considerable experience.
His performances over the course of the last year, though, have been below par. Johnson has said he wants to stay but he seems to be lacking motivation. The change may serve both parties well.
Verdict: Go
Javier Manquillo
Due to return to Atletico Madrid when his loan finishes, the young Spaniard has done little to suggest he deserves to stay. Liverpool will almost certainly be in need of a right back come the summer but Manquillo isn't the answer.
Verdict: Go
Emre Can
One of the highlights of Liverpool's season, Can has excelled in defence. For a player so young to perform so well in a league and position that are new to him demonstrate that Can can be a star of the future.
Verdict: Stay
Jordan Henderson
This is a no-brainer. Henderson has developed at the same rate at which Steven Gerrard appears to have declined. The club must tie Henderson down to a new long-term deal. Rodgers is likely to build his team around the former Sunderland midfielder.
Verdict: Stay
Lucas
Liverpool look more balanced when Lucas plays at the base of the midfield. He plays with a consistency that is bereft from many of his teammates.
At 28-years-old Lucas is approaching his prime. His distribution may not be the best but Lucas is an important and dependable part of Rodgers' squad.
Verdict: Stay
Joe Allen
Like Lucas, he's a valuable cog in the system. One goal from 33 appearances this season suggest he won't often (or ever) be the match winner, but he deserves his place in this squad.
Verdict: Stay
Adam Lallana
The former Southampton captain admitted he has not lived up to his price tag. Four league goals and three assists is a disappointing return for a midfielder who cost £25m.
Unlike many in the squad, though, Lallana has the talent to play for Liverpool, he just needs to find the form.
Verdict: Stay
Philippe Coutinho
Nominated for the PFA Player of the Year award, Coutinho has been the spark in a Liverpool team so often strewn with errors. The more adjusted he gets to the Premier League, the better he'll get.
Verdict: Stay
Jordon Ibe
He may not have progressed at the rate many expected he would over the last two seasons but Ibe is clearly a star of the future. There's no doubt that Liverpool should, and will, hang on to the young midfielder.
Verdict: Stay
Lazar Markovic
Signed with a burgeoning reputation after a sparkling season with Benfica, the £25million Serbian hasn't shown anything like his best at Anfield. Has looked lightweight and, more often than not, somewhat lost in the Premier League.
However, in all-too-fleeting glimpses, he has shown that there is something there. Must do better.
Verdict: Stay
Raheem Sterling
His contract situation has caused quite the furore but along with Coutinho, Sterling has been the leading light in Liverpool's season. Has added further facets to his game and that versatility, allied to his speed and ability to create something from nothing, means he must stay this summer - whether or not a new deal can be agreed.
Verdict: Stay
Fabio Borini
Quite simply, the Italian remains at Anfield because he refuses to leave - while few clubs are hammering at the door to take a chance on the ex-Chelsea youngster. A move that simply hasn't worked.
Verdict: Go
Mario Balotelli
The enigma's enigma. The 24-year-old has all the tools to be among the world's leading strikers, but the penny refuses to drop. One league goal is a lamentable total and Balotelli has again frustrated. His agent declared Liverpool his last chance at a major club: Chance not taken.
Verdict: Go
Daniel Sturridge
The England striker shone in tandem with Luis Suarez in 2013-14, scoring 21 league goals, but his 2014-15 campaign has been injury-hit and he's barely got going. Remains the club's best striker, but can he be relied upon to stay fit for an entire season? 2015-16 is a massive season for his career.
Verdict: Stay
Rickie Lambert
Returning to his boyhood club after a goal-laden period at Southampton, the target-man has found the move to Anfield a leap to far. Arrived to offer a Plan B, but has been an ill fit.
Verdict: Go
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpools-squad-riddled-mediocrity---5554050
Sakho to go? Otherwise pretty much agree.
