The Liverpool FC Thread IX

Sturridge really helps us.



All about mentality I suppose. We need to stop letting our heads drop if we go behind/don't score early.

Just got back from the Swansea game. Looks like I made the right choice

I think what the game really shows is that Rodgers is able to set up the team to beat teams lower in the table, those who in the past we might have struggled against and who force draws.

The other key observation is that we seem to do really well if we score first and early. There will be occasion when we will drop points/concede after scoring early but generally we've had great results and a lot of high scoring games from our side.

Rodgers needs to work out how to stop the physical/big man up front tactics - Think Walters with Stoke, Benteke with Villa, Matt Smith with Oldham.
We need to continue our form against the bottom half of the table opposition (we play a lot of them away from home in the final third of the season)
And finally he needs to work out how to grind out wins against the top teams. We were great against Arsenal and City but didn't get points.

I'm actually optimistic for next season now, if we can continue this style of play and form as I think we can get a lot of wins against the bottom half (at least 50 points from 20 league games).

Massive shame about Borini having another big injury. This summer will be huge for him to try and get back into pre-season and get some form/fitness. I'd imagine than he can still do training and work with the ball, just not game time due to the injury?

Also..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21485187
Once again saying how much of a Liverpool fan he is and wants us to do well. His contract expires in summer 2014. I know he's 31 but with his style of play, I can see him going on till 35+ easily. We should get Alonso back and have him to rotate with Lucas in the DM spot.

So our midfield would be:
Lucas/Alonso - DM
Gerrard/Allen - CM
Suarez/Coutinho/Henderson/Shelvey - AM

Bet Alonso would take a pay-cut to come back to the club too. His return would massively boost Gerrard imo, so much bromance between them. Alonso's passing would also improve the midfield to no end, and players like Allen and Henderson could learn a thing or two from him too.

I think youre getting a bit ahead of yourself in regards to Alonso.

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I think youre getting a bit ahead of yourself in regards to Alonso.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I'm not too sure about that. Consider the age of alonso. I'd only see him go back to liverpool or to sociedad and madrid won't keep him after his contract expires if they can get modric into the team, although he might go america/australia for the money. But the first two are very likely destinations.

Rodgers needs to work out how to stop the physical/big man up front tactics - Think Walters with Stoke, Benteke with Villa, Matt Smith with Oldham.
We need to continue our form against the bottom half of the table opposition (we play a lot of them away from home in the final third of the season)
And finally he needs to work out how to grind out wins against the top teams. We were great against Arsenal and City but didn't get points.

I'm actually optimistic for next season now, if we can continue this style of play and form as I think we can get a lot of wins against the bottom half (at least 50 points from 20 league games).

Massive shame about Borini having another big injury. This summer will be huge for him to try and get back into pre-season and get some form/fitness. I'd imagine than he can still do training and work with the ball, just not game time due to the injury?

What do we need in the summer then?

I think the most important thing for this team is experience/mentality. After that, obviously replacements for Carra and Coates. In an ideal world we'd get rid of Skrtel and have a ready-made replacement but it seems a bit dodgy to go into the new season with only one settled senior CB so he'll stay for now and hopefully be sold to a Russian team for about £15mill in January.

Competition at left back for Enrique is something that some people would prefer, I can't see it happening tbh, Enrique is an incomplete player but has proved over the season that he fits our system well. He's an absolute beast and when Henderson or Coutinho cut in off that left flank he's proved capable of covering the whole flank. He's becoming better on the ball and with his right foot. Needs to become better defensively but will happen in time.

Ince is a luxury buy that might happen, we could just stick with Sterling (hope he gets his early season mentality back) and rotated him with Downing and Coutinho on the wings.

Then we got centre mid, at various times we've proved incapable of holding the game together there, so I suggest a Diame type player. Equally good would be Lucas returning to his past form but that'll take time.



Carlton Cole for West Ham as well. I think what's required is a strongman in midfield and a Kyrgiakos type defender. Guys like Lukaku, Adebayour and Benteke are gonna trouble even the best of defenders, but a Kyrgiakos would take care of Matt Smith, Walters, Kenwyne Jones, Peter Crouch etc. Just as a fourth CB. Coates is incapable of that role.

A large part of it will be determined by how we finish off the season - 11 league games is still a long way to go.

We need to replace Carragher and we need a 2nd LB. Too often this season, we've had to move Johnson to cover. Other than that, I'm still open to seeing how we finish the season and working out where we're deficient. I don't think it's that obvious at the moment, we're just inconsistent.

I agree that the defence definitely needs strengthening. Considering the form of both Agger and Skrtel, I'm tempted to go as far as saying we need two new centre-backs but I feel that might be a bit naive from me, considering for a long time I felt Agger was one of the best CB's in the world, and Skrtel was rock-solid last season. I hope they can both come through this bad patch in which case one new CB will do, and if Coates is sold then we have wisdom/kelly as cover too.

I would also say we could do with another winger. Downing has improved of late but I don't feel he will ever be of the standard we hope for, and the likes of Sterling and suso are young and don't perform consistently enough to catapult us into the top four. Also Suso and Coutinho aren't really wingers at all and would be better off playing through the middle.

Then again, if we get a new left-back, Enrique could play as a left winger.. I've liked him when he's played there as he has an eagerness to get into the box and get on the end of moves

Get Benedikt Howedes from Schalke. His contract is up in a year and he will not cost a bomb yet has plenty of experience.

That's actually a great shout.

His contract is till summer 2014, Schalke are down to 8th in the league so probably no CL football next year. He might want CL football elsewhere but we can offer the project/prospect of CL football + a nice pay packet.

He's captain at Schalke at 24 (turns 25 in a couple of weeks) so should be an influential character.

I'd be happy regularly rotating Agger/Skrtel/3rd CB..

A large part of it will be determined by how we finish off the season - 11 league games is still a long way to go.

We need to replace Carragher and we need a 2nd LB. Too often this season, we've had to move Johnson to cover. Other than that, I'm still open to seeing how we finish the season and working out where we're deficient. I don't think it's that obvious at the moment, we're just inconsistent.