Every side can be improved. I'm not trying to infer that our squad as it stands cannot be improved. What I am saying is that our squad is far closer to the top 4 than it is being credit for. If you believe that the acid test for one of our players is his ability to "walk into" another sides first 11 then you totally miss the point of that players value to LFC. It appears that Rodgers is setting out to improve and not totally change the philosophies that have already been built up within our existing squad. He is not therefore going to buy players who's skill sets and attitudes are at variance with that. Some of the present squad may struggle to cope with the changes and Rodgers is drawing a line in the sand regarding that. Other players, I believe will be all the better this season for their experiences last season. I truly believe that Adam in particular will show us that he is not the shambles that he became by the end of the season. Downing will be starting fresh with a new manager and it is up to him to prove that he too can "up his game" - if not then the manager has already drawn the line in the sand. I was particularly disappointed to see your inclusion of Shelvey. here is a young player who is still developing his game and on last seasons showing deserves more time to develop further. Our present squad proved last season that it could hold its own with the top teams. Let's hope that Rodgers can show them how to deal more effectively with the 'lesser' teams.
We should have learned from Lucas that some players need that bit more time to learn and adjust, Shelvey may well turn out to be a good player in the future.
He certainly comes across very well does R Brendan and hopefully the players will think so too his ability to speak Spanish can't hurt either considering the players we have in the squad. What I'm most interested to see is how brave he will be with team selection early on. How many surprises will we see (if any) and which players will adapt quickest and which ones just won't be able to cope?
Can't see how it can be argued that all those players mentioned have to go/aren't good enough based on they wouldn't make the top 7 teams & yet laud BR for selecting a group of Swansea players that apparently CAN play his system yet would have even less chance of making those top 7 teams & by the way finished below our rubbish players. How about we let the expert at the system i.e. Rodgers train with our players, study them & then HE can decide if he can up their performances as both individuals & more importantly as a team. He appears to think he needs 3-4 players, he's said it a number of times which means some of the "crap" players mentioned on this thread must NOT be on his "crap" list. Good to see players training especially Lucas. http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/photos-brendan-leads-training
I agree frank, i think players can just have a bad season. That squad is better than an 8th placed finish! So bring in three or four players, and i can see us having a good season
Carroll, Henderson and Shelvey are definately ones with time on their side and should get better. I would certainly expect them to stay for at least a few more years as they have fantastic foundations to build up on. Players like Adam and Downing did show quality last season. Adam was very good alongside Lucas and did get goals and assists. It was only until the introduction of Gerrard did Adam really sufffer. Downing was brilliant at the start of the season (brief spell) where he played with confidence and without fear. Hopefully he can replicate similar form and prolong that spell. Whilst I don't believe that they are '1st team' quality, I wouldn't like to see them go as they will at least bring some experience and depth to our squad. This summer should be more about adding better quality to the team (ready for the 1st team) and getting rid of the older players (Kuyt, Maxi and possibly Bellamy?). I am a believer that you shouldn't buy players to fill gaps or as short term solutions. You should buy players who will improve your first team and are an upgrade on existing players. These players will replace existing first teamers who will then become squad players. Then it becomes a cycle where you replace players with better quality continiously (easier said that done).
Again I agree, but we (Liverpool FC) give people a chance, we give people time and we give them support. Downing as had a poor first season at every club he has been at followed by an excellent second year, why not wait and see what happens...? I am slightly different with Adam as I did not and still do not believe he is good enough, but, by the same token, if we are going to give one a chance then surely we have to give the other one a chance too? I wouldn't imagine Charlie Adam is on massive wages, nor would he fetch a high demand in terms of a transfer fee. Edit: plus we have to consider the home grown ruling that was brought in last year, Downing helps with this
Hi all, please be gentle this is my 1st post! Lots of good points on this thread. I think BR will look to give everyone as much of a chances as possible, so likes of Adam and Downing that everyone mentions I think will get at least until January transer window. Personally I actually quite rate Downing, he has shown some good glimpses, although definitely not enough, but I think the zero assists start is harsh basis to completely beat him with as I saw him create plenty of goal scoring chances for the team and he can't be blamed for others inability to convert chances he creates for them. I'm still not convinced about Adam, but but agree with GCorS that he should be given chance. I would love to see another strong CM though as Lucas needs some support/competition. Spearing has right attitude but not enough quality or Liverpool. I really like look of Shelvey and he is still very young, Henderson not quite as young but I think has bags of potential. I could go on for ages but lunch break coming to end lol!
A year until your first post! haha, welcome to the forum. Valid points - I'm perhaps overly harsh on the players but only because I think that whilst Downing etc have had "unlucky" season that ultimately they are a class below the standard we need for where we want to be. I think younger players have the benefits of youth and learning/future potential. At 27 Downing is at his peak and same could be said for other players like Adam. Whilst I don't think we should get rid of them I do think we need additions so that we are not reliant on players that let us down last season through one way or another. That way Downing and co will have less pressure on them to deliver results if they are used as subs/in Europa League and get a second chance to see if they are actually better than what we have seen - although IMHO I think they are their peak
IMO debating who is at the club is rather pointless. the success or failure of the club won't be determined by the players we now have, its the 3/4 players we get to bring in that will either improve us or not. the facts that we have only 2 senior forwards, or have poor wing options or a very unift captain will not change onless we bring in options.
Fair point. We currently have twenty-one players that are over 21 so would need to be registered as part of the 25 man squad but I'd expect Aquilani to certainly leave along with one or two others as well so we shouldn't need to move anyone on, espcially if we sign players under 21
