Oldham post match

[Imy]

Robinson telling Suarez to **** off after he ****ed up with a stupid miscued shot - idiot - he's not ready yet contrary to what he thinks of himself.

I hope Rodgers prioritises a left back signing.

[Lecter]

I can see the existential dependency on the two of you now.

Yeah we have a simbiotic relationship

[BigChief]

Robinson telling Suarez to **** off after he ****ed up with a stupid miscued shot - idiot - he's not ready yet contrary to what he thinks of himself.

I hope Rodgers prioritises a left back signing.

He played the whole game like it was his last. And after that performance I don't see Rodgers ever picking him again. Brendan was well annoyed from the sidelines when he miscued.

[Norbs]

he's supposed to be the link player who looks to pick up the second halls and work both ways but he looks unsuited to the final third.

Long term I think he will be ok. Interestingly I saw Leon Brittan play against Chelsea and he looked very calm and composed as the holder. Maybe he made Joe look a better player.

Brittan holds the record for being the most accurate passer in the world over an entire season. Something like a 92% pass rate. On the odd occasion I've seen him he appears far more direct than Allen too and better on the ball.

[spud_gun]

The only saving grace is that i work with a lot of Celtic fans so i don't think any of us will be wanting to discuss this weekends football.

[Vermilion]

Totall **** up from ALL involved, players and manager.

[Shaggy]

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/news/latest-news/rodgers-it-wasn-t-good-enough

Brendan Rodgers pulled no punches in his assessment of Liverpool's shock 3-2 FA Cup defeat against Oldham Athletic, conceding his side's performance was not good enough.

The boss admitted he was disappointed with the manner of his side's performance as two goals from Matt Smith and a header from Reece Wabara eliminated the Reds from the competition at Boundary Park.

Luis Suarez and Joe Allen were on target for the visitors and substitute Steven Gerrard rattled the crossbar at the death, but it wasn't enough and afterwards Rodgers accepted his team had not matched the standards he expects.

He told journalists: "We're bitterly disappointed. We started the first half really poorly, and we started the second half poorly too and got punished.

"The result is very disappointing. We picked a team to come here and win the game - we know we've got a big week of games - but our mentality in that opening period was poor and ended up costing us.

"I was disappointed with the young players today. We're trying to give them experience and let them see what it's like to play for Liverpool. It's not just about playing for Liverpool, you've got to be able to be competitive and be a part of a group that is going to challenge for trophies.

"I thought how we reacted to that and how they performed, knowing that that's what we're looking for, was disappointing.

"It's not enough to play for Liverpool and get up for the Arsenal and Manchester City games. If you're going to win trophies and go far in competitions, you need to be able to come to places like this and win. We weren't good enough for that.

"Steven Gerrard came on and it [became] a different game with Stewart Downing. For 35 minutes we were terrific, but it was too late then as we were 3-1 down.

"At 3-2 we had some chances, but it wasn't good enough."

Rodgers acknowledged Liverpool did not stand up strongly enough to Oldham's frenetic start to the contest, but insisted it was not a case of complacency from his charges against the League One side.

The manager continued: "The big guy Smith up front did well, but it's not as if we haven't played against that type [of striker] before. We were on the back foot too much early on. You've really got to be aggressive as these are different games to the Premier League.

"The Premier League is nice - teams will stroke the ball, pass and give you time to get your shape. This is a different type of football - you've got to come and roll your sleeves up, be strong and aggressive. Unfortunately for us, there were too many that weren't.

"It wasn't complacency. I've got a good bunch here, they're good lads. It's just about strength in depth and we haven't got enough depth. I've always said we're trying to build a squad that can compete and that means putting teams out like today's and winning games. That's about mentality and unfortunately we didn't have that today."

Rodgers added: "They [young players] will never get comfortable. You can't get comfortable at Liverpool and they'll never be allowed to.

"They've come up against a different type of football and you've got to stand up and be counted. They did that against Mansfield, but today we were just slow out of blocks, got punished and it wasn't until the final 40 minutes that we played at the tempo and intensity I'd expect.

"It's a bitterly disappointing result. It's a trophy we really put our focus onto and hopefully go far in - but it's a competition we're now out of so we're all disappointed."

After Suarez had cancelled out Smith's opener, the Oldham striker capitalised on some poor defending to send the hosts in 2-1 ahead at the break.

Wabara's looping header extended the Latics' advantage moments after the re-start, leading Rodgers to summon Gerrard - along with Stewart Downing - from the bench.

The arrival of the captain visibly lifted Liverpool, but Rodgers defended his decision to start with the No.8 on the bench.

He explained: "I can't rely on Steven for 70 games. He's been absolutely incredible. He shouldn't be expected to have to come and win games on his own every single game.

"He came on and gave real impetus to the team. His quality was there to be seen, he hit the crossbar and gave us that real drive.

"We've got three tough games this week - starting today - and we put out a team and a group of players we felt could get a result. It wasn't complacency - it was just really disappointing play and we got punished."

Journalists asked Rodgers if he felt his defenders were most culpable for the result.

He replied: "I think it was across the team. We never pressed well enough from the front. You've got to stop the ball at the source. The ball went into Smith, but you've got opportunities to stop it before it does.

"For the second goal, we never tracked the runner, the full-back goes forward and gets the cross in. We spoke about that at half-time but then five or six minutes into the second half, the same full-back goes forward, scores a header and we don't track him or be strong enough.

"It's great to put young players in, but you've got to have personality and today our young players disappointed me."

Despite his disappointment, Rodgers was keen to congratulate Oldham on their progress into round five, where they'll meet Everton at Boundary Park.

He said: "I thought they did well. If they fight like that, they shouldn't be down where they are in the league.

"Congratulations to Oldham - you cannot take it away from them, as bitterly disappointed as we are. It's a club that has been going through a tough time and a result like that could give them the lift to push on."

[BootRoom]

Gareth Roberts @robbohuyton
Rodgers says he was disappointed with some of the younger players today. Questioned whether they were up for it.

"The FA Cup was a competition we wanted to have a go at and there is no excuse," Rodgers told ITV Sport.

"We put out a strong team capable of winning the game but we didn't. There is no excuse.

"You have to take it on the chin, but there has been plenty of warnings throughout the weekend - if your application is not right you can get found out."

Blaming the younger players sounds suspiciously like Bodge after the Northampton game.

[danperkins]

So disappointing, the result obviously but more so with the way we lost. They out fought us from the kick off. How many times does it happen each season where a big name, goes to a lower league club in the cup and they get more than they bargained for! I've been harping on about it all season about us not having any fight or guts.... yes the word wimp has been thrown around, but it's so true.

On the positive side of things i thought Gerrard even though he should have scored... was superb when he came on. I was criticising him this season but he has come back so strong in the last month.. those crunching tackles, driving runs, cross field balls and thunderous shots are such a welcome relief. Also i thought Skrtel was fantastic today, spent the game covering for Coates,Robinson & Wisdom.

As for the bad stuff... Allen to be blunt IMO has been a very bad buy. Don't know what he offers? Lightweight, pedestrian & his so called passing game goes out the window when he plays against any team thats put our midfield under the slightest pressure.. panicker.

Coates and Borini haven't seen much game time that's fair enough. I just don't see it with Borini though.. runs around like a lunatic, absolutely no composure & his technique is embarrassing. He like Kuyt but nowhere near as good..whatsoever...in the slightest. Given he is young,new,injured etc but personally i just don't see it with him. As for Coates well.... even though he hasn't featured much it's clear to see why Rogers wants to offload.

Henderson was anonymous today, Allen beside Henderson is a weird choice IMO anyways... and sure we got carved open the whole game. Sterling needs to be rested for awhile... even though he is young.. he looks burned out. He is talented but still raw and a bit headless. Even though his game time has been reduced recently, i'd hate to see him over used like we did Owen and knacker his legs. Robinson had a nightmare... not ready & i don't rate Wisdom. Doesn't close down attacking crosses, positional sense is horrible and is awful on the ball. Still young and not a RB but can't see him ever making it at LFC.

Sturridge was poor & Suarez tried as usual. Would have loved to see us make a run in the cup. Turns out.... a cold January evening, away to a lower division team was just too much for some players. The very least any player can do IMO is work hard and get stuck in... even if he is having a bad game. We didn't do that and they wanted it more.

Well done to Oldham.. they deserved it.

EDIT: I forgot Stuart Dowing, **** me.. how many times did he give the ball away?? Shocker and if i see him bottle one more tackle i might have to kick my flat screen!!

[Chris]

Blaming the younger players sounds suspiciously like Bodge after the Northampton game.

Hardly. Most of the team was young!

[Le Chef]

Blaming the younger players sounds suspiciously like Bodge after the Northampton game.

Rings bells

[ronanm]

Should have won in fairness. Pity we wont get a chance to stuff everton

[peekay]

Stoke and Oldham have provided a template on how to handle us. Hope Brendan has the answers for such tactics.

I often wondered why Robinson did not get more chances after his impressive performance against Arsenal. It is harsh to judge a youngster in his first 10 games but I think today's game showed why. He is atleast two years away from a first team place. Needs to go out on loan ASAP.

We need an organizer in the defense. If our scouts cannot identify such a player then we may wanna consider extending Carra's contract for an extra year.

Brendan will need to take tough decisions with respect to our midfield. We have too many players who are not good at defending. That is ok if they contribute in an attacking sense. However the balance is just not there.

[ufc43]

Its not a Shock result. Liverpool are terrible. Out of every domestic competition for another season and still yet to beat a team in the top half of the table.
Todays team:
Jones. Probably the worst keeper we have ever had.
Robinson. Poison today.
Wisdom. Was doing better than Robinson and Coates but hauled off.
Coates. Terrible today and always a liability
Skertel. Average today but not at fault for goals
Allen. Terrible player and shocking again today
Suarez. Good goal but poor performance by his standards
Sterling. Has only had one good game all season. Refuses to run at a player and take them on.
Downing. 3 passes in 15 seconds to the opposition sums him up,
Henderson. Headless chicken. Outplayed and outclassed by Oldham midfield
Sturridge. Not great today but a good signing
Borini. No comment required
Gerard. Made a difference
Shelvey. Way better option than Downing and Henderson
Rogers. Clock ticking unless top quality players come in

[Gibbo]

Its not a Shock result. Liverpool are terrible. Out of everything for another season and still yet to beat a team in the top half of the table.
Todays team:
Jones. Probably the worst keeper we have ever had.
Robinson. Poison today.
Wilson. Was doing better than Robinson and Coates but hauled off.
Coates. Terrible today and always a liability
Skertel. Average today but not at fault for goals
Allen. Terrible player and shocking again today
Suarez. Good goal but poor performance by his standards
Sterling. Has only had one good game all season. Refuses to run at a player and take them on.
Downing. 3 passes in 15 seconds to the opposition sums him up,
Henderson. Headless chicken. Outplayed and outclassed by Oldham midfield
Sturridge. Not great today but a good signing
Borini. No comment required
Gerard. Made a difference

Poor Wilson, still getting hauled off even when he isn't here.