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The Liverpool FC Thread XII

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Gerrard won't play tomorrow. He didn't train yesterday, so I'd assume Sterling would play up top, with Markovic in the Gerrard role and Manquillo on the right.
Original post by Zerforax
Think Rodgers just needs to make Lucas feel special and then he'll stay. I can't think of a better choice to be vice-captain (assuming Henderson is given captaincy).

Nah I don't want Song. He has too much of an attitude problem. He doesn't really want to play DM either. He wants to be an CM/AM so he can get goals and glory etc. We saw that in his latter days at Arsenal. And I can't forget that video where Puyol is giving a trophy to Abidal and Song thinks for some ridiculous reason it would be being given to him. Idiot.


exactly - give him games and show him he's a vital part of the squad.
one thing that needs to stay the same in any formation we have is a decent DM; lucas right now is that guy.
we can't afford to lose him until we already have a quality replacement.

that's a good point; there would be nothing worse than a DM trying to bomb forward.
that's what i love about lucas - he never wants personal glory, he just does his job and his glory comes from the team winning games.
quality, loyal player who has been very under-appreciated in his career.

Original post by Mackay
Gerrard won't play tomorrow. He didn't train yesterday, so I'd assume Sterling would play up top, with Markovic in the Gerrard role and Manquillo on the right.


i think that's the right call.
markovic is high on confidence and using wing backs will stretch the villa defence and makes it easier for markovic to make good runs and coutinho to thread it through.
Original post by Lúcio
exactly - give him games and show him he's a vital part of the squad.
one thing that needs to stay the same in any formation we have is a decent DM; lucas right now is that guy.
we can't afford to lose him until we already have a quality replacement.

that's a good point; there would be nothing worse than a DM trying to bomb forward.
that's what i love about lucas - he never wants personal glory, he just does his job and his glory comes from the team winning games.
quality, loyal player who has been very under-appreciated in his career.


i think that's the right call.
markovic is high on confidence and using wing backs will stretch the villa defence and makes it easier for markovic to make good runs and coutinho to thread it through.


Personally I don't think we need a replacement for Lucas. We should keep him for another 2-3 years and in that time Can can aim to develop playing a few different roles and then back-up to Lucas before potentially replacing.

Maybe we could do with Borini upfront, Sterling on the flank and keep Markovic at RWB? Aston Villa are on pretty poor form and struggling to score so better to blow them away with a goal or two at the start? The longer it stays 0-0, the more likely they are to nick a goal.
Original post by Zerforax
Personally I don't think we need a replacement for Lucas. We should keep him for another 2-3 years and in that time Can can aim to develop playing a few different roles and then back-up to Lucas before potentially replacing.

Maybe we could do with Borini upfront, Sterling on the flank and keep Markovic at RWB? Aston Villa are on pretty poor form and struggling to score so better to blow them away with a goal or two at the start? The longer it stays 0-0, the more likely they are to nick a goal.


i feel like lucas is good enough to play our DM role.
as long as we sort out the defence with proper coaching, we could actually become solid.
sadly i don't ever see us having a formidible defence under rodgers.

no offence but i would never put borini up front.
he simply isn't good enough - he tries hard but he's not at the level we need.

precisely; early goals to kill their spirit is essential.
they know they struggle scoring, so if they're 2-0 down at HT, they're gonna see it as an impossible task.
however lets not forget that our own problem right now is chance conversion - we simply can't dominate the game like against sunderland and still only get 1 goal.
Original post by Lúcio
i feel like lucas is good enough to play our DM role.
as long as we sort out the defence with proper coaching, we could actually become solid.
sadly i don't ever see us having a formidible defence under rodgers.

no offence but i would never put borini up front.
he simply isn't good enough - he tries hard but he's not at the level we need.

precisely; early goals to kill their spirit is essential.
they know they struggle scoring, so if they're 2-0 down at HT, they're gonna see it as an impossible task.
however lets not forget that our own problem right now is chance conversion - we simply can't dominate the game like against sunderland and still only get 1 goal.


Well Borini puts himself about up front to put some pressure so I'd pick him or Sterling over Lambert/Balotelli. I just think Sterling is better when he has space which Villa won't give him.

Saying that if Villa defend deep then maybe Lambert/Balotelli are best?
Original post by Zerforax
Well Borini puts himself about up front to put some pressure so I'd pick him or Sterling over Lambert/Balotelli. I just think Sterling is better when he has space which Villa won't give him.

Saying that if Villa defend deep then maybe Lambert/Balotelli are best?


the issue with borini is that although he runs around (which is great), you don't want a chance to fall to him, and that's pretty hilarious when he's your "striker".

maybe a bigger presence would be better - if we're gonna be using the wings a fair amount, having a bigger player in the box would maybe work quite well.
it's a tough one because villa will definitely sit back, defend deep and look to counter so like you said we won't have space running in behind - we need to use the wings.
Original post by Zerforax
Well Borini puts himself about up front to put some pressure so I'd pick him or Sterling over Lambert/Balotelli. I just think Sterling is better when he has space which Villa won't give him.

Saying that if Villa defend deep then maybe Lambert/Balotelli are best?


I think the wide areas will be more crucial tomorrow, as opposed to who starts up top.

Villa will be a tough side to break down, so we can't afford to play the game at their pace. We are better when we are intensely pressing, harassing opponents and forcing mistakes, which Sterling/Borini offer us over Lambert and Balotelli.

That makes the overlaps of the wing-backs vital. We'll need width in the opposition third to try and get behind Villa, because they'll be disciplined and look to frustrate us.
Original post by Lúcio
the issue with borini is that although he runs around (which is great), you don't want a chance to fall to him, and that's pretty hilarious when he's your "striker".

maybe a bigger presence would be better - if we're gonna be using the wings a fair amount, having a bigger player in the box would maybe work quite well.
it's a tough one because villa will definitely sit back, defend deep and look to counter so like you said we won't have space running in behind - we need to use the wings.


He'll knock one in eventually :colondollar:

The problem then is if we're knocking it in to the target man then it's easier to clear the ball?

Original post by Mackay
I think the wide areas will be more crucial tomorrow, as opposed to who starts up top.

Villa will be a tough side to break down, so we can't afford to play the game at their pace. We are better when we are intensely pressing, harassing opponents and forcing mistakes, which Sterling/Borini offer us over Lambert and Balotelli.

That makes the overlaps of the wing-backs vital. We'll need width in the opposition third to try and get behind Villa, because they'll be disciplined and look to frustrate us.


In that case wouldn't you want Sterling on the flank where he'll get the most of the ball? Don't think we'll see much of him if he's upfront. Markovic to play RWB to overload too?
Original post by Zerforax
He'll knock one in eventually :colondollar:

The problem then is if we're knocking it in to the target man then it's easier to clear the ball?


what if instead of playing the long ball to the target man, we put in crosses for him to get on the end of?
playing the long ball against villa would be playing right in to their hands, and then play too deep to play somebody through behind them.
the only real option is to use the wings and cross the ball.
We don't need to always cross the ball, if we can beat their fullbacks then we can cut into the box from the wings and pick out the striker or we drag the ball back to the edge of the box for a forward or midfielder to blast it into the goal (idea is that the defence will be dragged to the side making more space for a forward to have a shot from the edge or in the box.).
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by Zerforax
He'll knock one in eventually :colondollar:

The problem then is if we're knocking it in to the target man then it's easier to clear the ball?



In that case wouldn't you want Sterling on the flank where he'll get the most of the ball? Don't think we'll see much of him if he's upfront. Markovic to play RWB to overload too?


I'd go with this personally:

Mignolet
Can, Skrtel, Sakho
Manquillo, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno
Coutinho, Markovic,
Sterling
Original post by samir12
We don't need to always cross the ball, if we can beat their fullbacks then we can cut into the box from the wings and pick out the striker or we drag the ball back to the edge of the box for a forward or midfielder to blast it into the goal (idea is that the defence will be dragged to the side making more space for a forward to have a shot from the edge or in the box.).

did i not mention that?

sorry, i meant to put on the end that sometimes we'd cut inside - great for late runners in to the box
but yes, the main focus is the wings - if manquillo can get his crosses right and markovic has another good game, it could be really simple for us.

with arsenal up against city, this is an amazing opportunity
i'll be working so all i'm gonna do is pray :frown:
Original post by Mackay
I'd go with this personally:

Mignolet
Can, Skrtel, Sakho
Manquillo, Lucas, Henderson, Moreno
Coutinho, Markovic,
Sterling


same here; keep the 3-4-3 because it's working well.

maybe bring on gerrard, lallana and balotelli later on if we need something new.
villa are pretty "safe" - they seem to be content with defending well and trying to nick a goal; if not, they still get a draw
but their defence isn't impenetrable; we WILL get through it, but we need to convert because we won't get too many chances.
Original post by Lúcio
what if instead of playing the long ball to the target man, we put in crosses for him to get on the end of?
playing the long ball against villa would be playing right in to their hands, and then play too deep to play somebody through behind them.
the only real option is to use the wings and cross the ball.


Who puts in a decent cross? Crossing is too much of a numbers game instead of quality + lack of retention of the ball for me. Only 3% of corners lead to a goal.

Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Markovic, Henderson, Lucas, Moreno, Coutinho, Sterling, Borini is rumoured to be the line-up.
Original post by Zerforax
Who puts in a decent cross? Crossing is too much of a numbers game instead of quality + lack of retention of the ball for me. Only 3% of corners lead to a goal.

Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Markovic, Henderson, Lucas, Moreno, Coutinho, Sterling, Borini is rumoured to be the line-up.


manquillo can if he's on his game.
moreno normally tries to get past his man on the wing and do a low pull-back.

sometimes we have too much of the ball though; not really doing much with it at all and it motivates the opponent to go ham in the rare occasions where they have the ball.

that line-up isn't bad, hopefully borini actually does something useful :tongue:
at least markovic is on, even if he would be playing RWB.
does rodgers not trust manquillo or can he not find another player to drop to allow markovic further forward?
Original post by Lúcio
manquillo can if he's on his game.
moreno normally tries to get past his man on the wing and do a low pull-back.

sometimes we have too much of the ball though; not really doing much with it at all and it motivates the opponent to go ham in the rare occasions where they have the ball.

that line-up isn't bad, hopefully borini actually does something useful :tongue:
at least markovic is on, even if he would be playing RWB.
does rodgers not trust manquillo or can he not find another player to drop to allow markovic further forward?


I just don't think Rodgers rates Manquillo in an attacking sense. You'd think with Flanagan and Johnson having been out for so long he would have more than 10 league games.
Original post by Zerforax
I just don't think Rodgers rates Manquillo in an attacking sense. You'd think with Flanagan and Johnson having been out for so long he would have more than 10 league games.


yeah that's a good point.
i rate the kid tbh; i'd always prefer him over johnson.
i understand he has a lot to learn but compared to some of our other defenders he has been solid.
i would say that he makes the least mistakes out of our entire defenders, but maybe he's more susceptible in general play.
moreno is good but makes silly errors, sakho panics on the ball, lovren is lol-worthy, etc...
Original post by Lúcio
yeah that's a good point.
i rate the kid tbh; i'd always prefer him over johnson.
i understand he has a lot to learn but compared to some of our other defenders he has been solid.
i would say that he makes the least mistakes out of our entire defenders, but maybe he's more susceptible in general play.
moreno is good but makes silly errors, sakho panics on the ball, lovren is lol-worthy, etc...


I'd still pick Johnson over Manquillo, Flanagan and Wisdom.

Wonder what Rodgers will do about RB in the summer. I imagine Johnson will leave on a free but that still leaves us with 3 young options. Do we send Wisdom out on loan again? Think Flanagan's contract runs out in the summer too.
Original post by Zerforax
I'd still pick Johnson over Manquillo, Flanagan and Wisdom.

Wonder what Rodgers will do about RB in the summer. I imagine Johnson will leave on a free but that still leaves us with 3 young options. Do we send Wisdom out on loan again? Think Flanagan's contract runs out in the summer too.


you're a johnson fanboy though :wink:
just like i have my bias towards lambert i suppose - in my defence he's barely had a chance compared to balotelli.

with johnson gone we'd need to bring in somebody experienced and keep a young one.
the issue is that manquillo, wisdom and flanagan are all really good prospects.
wisdom has been great on loan, flanagan was basically first team last year and manquillo is a promising spanish fullback.
i don't think there's a future at the club for all three - there simply isn't space.
Original post by Lúcio
you're a johnson fanboy though :wink:
just like i have my bias towards lambert i suppose - in my defence he's barely had a chance compared to balotelli.

with johnson gone we'd need to bring in somebody experienced and keep a young one.
the issue is that manquillo, wisdom and flanagan are all really good prospects.
wisdom has been great on loan, flanagan was basically first team last year and manquillo is a promising spanish fullback.
i don't think there's a future at the club for all three - there simply isn't space.


I think I'm just a little more realistic. A lot of people confuse potential with current ability so players like Flanagan (though perfectly solid) are hyped up to be the next Cafu. The youngsters may or may not get to that peak but in the mean time you have to accept that they have certain limitations.

If Flanagan was 27, no one would be saying he was good enough to be playing for Liverpool. It's because he's still young and could become better.

Well we've got to see if either Johnson or Flanagan sign an extension. Someone needs to decide if Wisdom is going to be a fullback or a CB in the future. He might be better off going on loan to a Championship side and getting 30-40 games as a CB if that is the future? No doubt a mid-table side would take him on loan again as a a fullback after his time at WBA where he's been decent.

Manquillo is only on loan with us for one more year. Guess we can exercise our option to buy but then he could refuse to sign a contract with us anyway and go back to Atletico? Makes you wonder how much we should develop him on that basis.

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