Pre Season build up Thread

[Bender]

Luis Suarez and Sebastian Coates return to Melwood on Monday to team up with new manager Brendan Rodgers for the first time.


The pair will begin their preparations for the 2012-13 domestic season after Uruguay's Olympic football dream ended in the group stages.

Their return to Merseyside means Rodgers now has all his players at Melwood other than Craig Bellamy, whose Olympic journey with Team GB went on until this weekend.

The boss will assess the fitness of Suarez and Coates before deciding when they will return to the side.

Liverpool face Gomel in the second leg of their Europa League qualification tie on Thursday before Bayer Leverkusen visit Anfield for a friendly on August 12.

The Barclays Premier League season then kicks off on August 18, with the Reds travelling to the Midlands to face Steve Clarke's West Bromwich Albion on the opening day.

[SB]

This makes me think that BR will start Suarez this Thursday so the boys can get to know each other.

Brendan Rodgers says he is genuinely excited at the prospect of pairing Fabio Borini with Luis Suarez in Liverpool's new look attack.
Borini gave a decent account of himself as he made his full Reds debut in last week's 1-0 win over FC Gomel, in the Europa League third qualifying round first-leg tie.

The Italian striker, who joined the club from Roma this summer for £10.4m, worked hard in the game albeit for little reward as the team continue their preparations for a Premier League opener at West Brom.

Rodgers' front-line is this week boosted by the return of Suarez to training at Melwood after his involvement at the Olympics with Uruguay, and the Ulsterman is quietly confident that Borini will be the perfect foil for the fans favourite.

The 21-year-old played as Liverpool's central striker on Thursday, in the contest settled by Stewart Downing's strike, but it's thought the former Swansea manager sees his new man operating on the left in the long-term in a three pronged attack.

Rodgers is convinced the former Chelsea youngster will get better with each passing game and was more than satisfied with his contribution in Belarus.

He said: "It was important for him to play the full 90 minutes. We have to remember he is just coming back from the European Championships and, once we get Luis back, he will give us greater penetration from the left and improve the team.

"He will get goals, so, it was a satisfactory beginning for him and the most important thing was his fitness."

[Pablo]

Poor Andy Carroll, the forgotten man already, just as he was finding his feet.

[SB]

Poor Andy Carroll, the forgotten man already, just as he was finding his feet.

Who?

[yamiedo]

He can play Thursday then he's got 9 days " off" though. It's important he gets to know Borini IMO.

Fair point.

[SB]

Fair point.

It's either the Europa match that they both play or the friendly. The Europa makes more sense. They must play together before WBA surely!

[SB]

Charlie Adam has been named in the Scotland squad for next week's international friendly with Australia.

The Liverpool midfielder is one of 24 players selected by coach Craig Levein for the match which will be played at Easter Road on August 15.

[BigChief]

Lucas (exceptional positioning vision), Allen (clinical pass), Borini (goals) and Suarez (magic) are all probably some of the best pressers of a game in the premier league but with the added quality required at this level (in brackets). These four players will free the likes of Gerrard and maybe even Adam to carry out their business without the need to contribute to pressing so much - while having sufficient quality to work off.

[yamiedo]

If we get Allen then I think we may see the best of Gerrard this season. Last season he hardly set the world alight but on the occasions he did was when he had the license to push forward. Allen and Lucas will make Gerrard the equivalent of what Sigurdsson played in the Swansea system and we all know what a threat he is playing behind the strikers. Really looking forward to seeing Gerrard back to his influential best.

[Bender]

................

[Lee]

Can't remember the last time I saw Reina do this.

[Pablo]

Brilliant picture that!

[saj]

Can't remember the last time I saw Reina do this.

The quote in your signature sounds so familiar. It's a great quote. I think it was from the final episode of Prison Break

[Lee]

The quote in your signature sounds so familiar. It's a great quote. I think it was from the final episode of Prison Break

It certainly is from that.

[saj]

It certainly is from that.

Nice one! Dexter is a great show with loads of fantastic quotes similar to that one, well similar as in being good and memorable