This. After starting a lot of games at start of season, he seemed to think he had 'made it'. I hope his attitude changes, but I think he's too thick to see it.
I am inclined to agree, the only thing that stops me completely agreeing is his age, he is still only twenty years old (turns twenty-one in ten days)
Agreed. With Sturridge's injury vs WBA and Borini probably taking a little extra time to settle due to injuries it is clear that we could do with another option up front. But is it worth spending big on? We have Yesil (also season injury?), N'goo and Morgan who are probably not ready to step up yet.
I don't think Morgan will make it, N'goo maybe depends on how his loan spell goes. Yesil not seen enough of.
I thought he had a very good game today, really grew into it. Obviously it was a game that suited him and not Swanseas strongest team. Great start though from the lad and showed more game intelligence than a few other youngsters this season. Ps...I thought Downing had a decent game today.
I agree Pacheco won't make it but thought he was worth a mention as much as Yesil, Morgan, etc, he is an option despite us not going to use him I believe (although could be wrong) Suso can play upfront too. However, I think he is one of the players that BR was referring to regarding mentalities. I learnt my lesson with Pacheco two or three seasons ago and I will reserve hope / expectation until they actually get to a point where we can consider them to have made it.
Agreed but only to the right sort of club. Since we are more like a sixth to eight placed team nowadays, there aren't too many teams in the league that are lower than us and plays the right style of football where he would benefit. Swansea would be brilliant in terms of style but they will have aspirations of getting above us (in a general sense, not the current league table) so why take one of reserves? I would have said Norwich but they've gone to pot lately. I'd say there are only really three options in WBA, Fulham and Southampton, they would obviously need to be interested too
Wigan could be a good shout for Suso Was really impressed with Coutinho today - he did the simple things very well, and probably should have scored in the first half. His ball control was brilliant and game intelligence looked sharp, but I remember him playing a peach of a ball to Sturridge. This kind of incisive pass has been missing from our play for a few years IMO and hopefully he can do it in the future
I thought of saying Wigan but then, I don't think a relegation battle would do a lot for his confidence. I did say Southampton though
no i'd loan suso back into spain whwere his technical ability can flourish. I'd not put the kid into a relegation dog fight to be put on a bench. on downing.. he plays cos rodgers rewards diggers and mouth pieces. and nobody else is much good are they? sterling is raw and played a lot without delivering end product but thats ok.. downing is 28 and needs to be sold to get anyhting back on him..... for me we did play 442 with coutinho starting left and downing right. I'd hope hendo was rested not dropped today.. we'll see soon enough. I think our first 11 should pick itself right now... its is entirely obvious... the only actual question is continue with carra reina johnson skertl agger enrique gerrard lucas henderson countinho sturridge suarez wisdom, kelly, sterling, suso and allen are the onylreserves worth bothering with.. borini just doesn't look a goal scorer, allen is 22 so can't be villified totally as he's a trier. Shevely, downing and the rest.... sell sell sell. take a look at that 11 and improve it to top 4 level..... its obvious that we'd need a vincent kompany, a Felliani and a hernandez type added to improve us. It's amazing how seasons can be transformed by one or two signings. in 1998/1999 we finished SEVENTH... were crap in the cups as well.... just look back at it. we tried and failed with the dual manager experiment and ended up having houlliers first year i ncharge. our team was James Heggem Babb staunton Carra Mcmanaman ince redknapp berger Owen fowler. just take a look at that... bar staunton playing CB we had a team on paper there that was pretty impressive yeah? I think personally we don't need a total transformation like houllier tried. we just need the key players like hyppia, hamann and henchoz.... they got 4th after losing mcmanaman and ince and redknapp to name but a few. and gerrard came in of course. Lets be honest, if we look hard at our team now its got quality but a neutral would probably look funny at us if we said player like agger who regulalry has just let guys score are world class... the other thing houllier brought was defensive discipline and i think sides who are hard to scroe against finish far higher in this league..
I find that a bit harsh on Borini or lenient on Allen. With the former, you effectively say he is not good enough but with the latter, you obviously don't think he is good enough at present either but are willing to give him the benefit because he 'is a trier'. Surely if you are going to take this stance with one you have to do it with the other? Borini most certainly isn't lazy, in fact he got injured today tracking back and trying to win a ball back that he really didn't need to get! If there are stand out characteristic for Fabio they are heart, desire and energy IMO!
Coutinho looked good, Suarez looked great, Sturridge looked great. I'd like to see Coutinho on the side to see how he does, where Downing was today. Speaking of Downing, it's strange to see how quickly everyone jumps to defend him. He's been average. Not bad, not good. A passenger. If he needs to make a quick one two, he won't pass, he'll try to cut in and shoot. If he needs to hold the ball up, he'll try a quick one-two. If you noticed, Johnson has been running up more because of it. The players don't really trust him with the ball anymore, they shy away from his side. He doesn't make great chances, or incisive passes. He's just... there. Which is alright if you're facing a Swansea B side, but against Manchester United or Chelsea, a passenger becomes a liability. In essence, we play with 10 men when he's on the pitch, unless he has to make one or two passes. That being said, he's been better than he was, yes. But that's only because what he was before was ****. If he had just joined us this season, I don't think people would be happy with his constant selection. If he's just there and the players are reluctant to use him, why not give Borini or Assaidi or Suso a start? Why didn't we give Pacheco a few before instead of him? It's time to move on, and I'm baffled as to why Rodgers persists with him. I'd rather a 21 year old come good than a 28 year old. I'm not trying to be harsh on him, as he hasn't been terrible. Today he was even a bit better than ok. But he doesn't provide us with a 3rd option, or improve us. There are better alternatives in the squad that should be developed. Suarez, Sturridge, Coutinho, Borini, Sterling, Assaidi. Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Suso, Shelvey, Allen. All these players should be given a shout before Downing gets his 80th shout for us.
Or, BR is trying to encourage the team to get him one on one with his defender knowing that Downing has the ability to beat his man, cross it or cut inside and pop a shot off. Not saying I rate him at any of those things or as a player, just playing devils advocate
I think this is extremely harsh on a player who has actually been one of our better and most consistent performers this season. Certainly better than Shelvey, Allen, Sterling and Assaidi. Downing does actually link play up well and keeps things ticking over, he's very capable in control on the ball and regularly floats in some belting crosses which are never converted because we have an appalling conversion rate. Sterling is absolutely nowhere near ready for this team, neither is Shelvey. They both really lack game intelligence and have little to no awareness when on the ball. Both are still young so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt but there is no way you could claim either deserve a position ahead of Downing who offers us more than you'd care to realise. Feel sorry for the guy, we win 5-0 and we still have to find a scapegoat. He's doing his best and putting in solid performances, give the guy a break? EDIT: Also, Coutinho looked extremely comfortable today. Would love to think we've just signed our own little David Silva in the making. Looking like a bargain
