No Lucas? Allen back in? Suso dropped again? Great...2-2 draw, Taarabt will tear through Allen like butter and we'll continually lose possession in the final third.
Lucas needs time. I think looking at the fixture list this was a game he was always going to be rested for. Allen's been dropped for a couple of games now and it's time to prove his worth and show the form he was producing at the start of the season. Can't really drop Downing after his performance against Fulham and Sterling get's a run out against his old club. No surprises there, and nothing to really pick at as far as I'm concerned.
Allen hasn't shown any worth yet...I would be putting more faith in Suso than Joe at the moment. Sahin had a broken nose but can't get a look in, we're missing something here or he slept with Ms Rodgers. A broken nose doesn't keep you out for this long. Downing's been playing well, I wouldn't drop him. I would have Lucas/Hendo, Gerrard, Suso - Downing, Suarez, Sterling. Or Lucas/Hendo, Gerrard, Sahin - Downing, Suarez, Sterling. Either way, Allen shouldn't be near that team today.
I agree with your sentiments on Sahin, I'm bewildered as to how a former Bundesliga player of the year, and current Real Madrid player can't get into our underperforming team. Although I do disagree with your opinion on Allen. He needs time, a lot of people forget that he's still young and adapting to life at a big club (no disrespect to Swansea). He's a hard worker and he was our stand out performer for the first few games, but his form dipped a little bit with the birth of his first child, which is quite natural I assume with the lack of sleep and general stress. Give him time, I think he'll absolutely come good.
See, I don't believe he was our standout performer. I didn't rate him early season too much. We don't need a player sitting 10yards infront of the CBs who passes the ball back to the CBs. We need a player sitting there who can spray the ball wide or forward and create space - which is what Gerrard or Alonso does/did. Allen doesn't have that range of passing and he can't defend anywhere near as good as Lucas or even Hendo (who is very under rated). He also hasn't got the creativity or composure of Suso when further up the pitch. In short, he offers nothing to the midfield that others can't do better, he gets outmuscled off the ball, sort of just knocks it around aimlessly but with high completetion rate (yay) - except of late, where he gives it away. Others deserve that starting role right now. He's just BR's favourite.
He was Standard Chartered Player of the Month for August and MOTM against a City midfield containing Yaya Touré. Not a bad start really, and he was clearly doing something right. I wouldn't be so dismissive of him personally, it's a bit naive and unfair to write off a relatively young player after 4/5 bad performances at a new club. He's a great passer of the ball, and an intelligent player who keeps play ticking over. He has been in a fairly unfamiliar position most of the time for us as he has had to fill in for Lucas. He played higher up the field for Swansea and linked their attacking play up. It'll take him a while to gel with some of our attacking players, I'm pretty sure Suarez doesn't ever know exactly what he's going to do so how any other player can work it out I don't know, but with time the understanding will come.
Q.P.R team to face Liverpool. Cesar; Onuoha, Nelsen, Hill, Traore; M'Bia, Diakite; Wright-Phillips, Taarabt, Mackie; Cisse. SUBS: Green, Derry, Ferdinand, Fabio, Granero, Faurlin & Hoilett. Liverpool Team To Face Q.P.R. Reina; Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique; Gerrard, Allen, Henderson; Sterling, Suarez, Downing. SUBS: Gulacsi, Carragher, Coates, Lucas, Shelvey, Assaidi & Suso.
Hopefully that means we will win. Usually when everyone thinks we are a shoe in we cock it up. I still think 2-1/3-1 to QPR. Especially Rodgers not being there to kick them up the arse before the match and at HT.
Judging how our season has gone, does Rodgers do that at all? I doubt it and think he says great work lads, good effort.
I think this is the least excited I've been for a match all season, hopefully the match itself will be exciting.. For us
How our seasons gone so far who can be confident. Expected to beat Villa and look how we ****ed that one up.
Here we go... Big game for both sides and neither set of fans are feeling confident of getting anything today!
I think people were clouded by the high completetion rate and 'best passer in europe' title from last season tbh. That said, I hope he comes good. Would love to not have to spend more money on midfield if he can develop that creative side or range of passing to calve open defenses...but it's lacking atm. He needs to do more than just pass it around a 20yard space without moving the ball upfield.
I really feel that we need 6 out of 6 from these next two matches. Even a couple of scrappy 1-0s will do. Then hopefully the transfer window will go some way to towards improving our squad
