Oldham post match

[Sarb]

I really want to have total faith in BR, because not being able to compete financially means we need a smarter manager than our wealthy rivals going forward.

I so hope he's that man.

Will never have total faith in any owner or manager after what has happened to us after the last few years. But I see signs of progress. If we change managers every year then we may as well accept being mid-table for a long time. Have to remember that our mid-table finishes started well before Rodgers

[Lecter]

Do you really think that Oldham are better than us? Can it not possibly be a case of us just not being at the races and Oldham taking advantage of the situation?

On paper our players are more talented than Oldhams but football isnt played on paper and it often involves more factors than just sheer skill and technique

You know Oldham cant compete with us technically, you know they will have to be physical and fight and scrap for everything

Yet we put out possibly two of our least aggressive midfielders

That doesnt sound good tactical nous to me

[Lecter]

We've always had them - Smith, Case, Souness, McMahon, Mascherano to name a few

Some tough nutter like Diame or Cattermole type player but who can play a bit - not sure about the signing of Coutinhio; where would he fit in & haven't we got enough small lightweight 'technical' players?!

I'm a great believer in Paisleys moto

"You have to fight to earn the right to play your football"

[Alex]

On paper our players are more talented than Oldhams but football isnt played on paper and it often involves more factors than just sheer skill and technique

You know Oldham cant compete with us technically, you know they will have to be physical and fight and scrap for everything

Yet we put out possibly two of our least aggressive midfielders

That doesnt sound good tactical nous to me

Ok then, that's fair enough. Especially the part about the two Midfielders.

But cards on the Table Lec. Do you think Rodgers will prove to be successful with us? I personally do, and think in 2-3 years time given the right signings and backing will have us regularly in the Top 4 competing on different fronts.

[Lecter]

Ok then, that's fair enough. Especially the part about the two Midfielders.

But cards on the Table Lec. Do you think Rodgers will prove to be successful with us? I personally do, and think in 2-3 years time given the right signings and backing will have us regularly in the Top 4 competing on different fronts.

I honestly dont know Alex

I have my doubts

I like some of his ideals but I think his focus is too much on technique / passing etc...

I prefer more rounded teams that have an ability to mix it and to combat teams on many levels

IMO an ultra passing game will not stop us being exploited by physical sides

As Paisleys moto says sometimes you have to get in the trenches and fight and scrap before you can play your nice pretty football and I just dont see that in our side nor the signings Rodgers has made

[Muddled]

I think Rodgers shouldn't have to shoulder the majority of the blame for yesterday's result. Yes, ultimately the buck (geddit!) stops with Rodgers, but the team he picked should have had more than enough to see Oldham off. He quite clearly wanted a mobile, industrious, fluid front line to get amongst a rigid Oldham defence to put the tie to bed early, then start resting our superstars.

As Dom has pointed out, the defence was a little inexperienced and it cost us. Combined with an early goal, buoyed by the atmosphere, the game fell away from us.

It's the players that have to take responsibility for some gutless displays, not berating the manager with the benefit of hindsight.

[tanner]

Balanced? Didn't you say in the match thread that if we lost then Rodgers had to go?

On the back of that he should.

[Alex]

I honestly dont know Alex

I have my doubts

I like some of his ideals but I think his focus is too much on technique / passing etc...

I prefer more rounded teams that have an ability to mix it and to combat teams on many levels

IMO an ultra passing game will not stop us being exploited by physical sides

As Paisleys moto says sometimes you have to get in the trenches and fight and scrap before you can play your nice pretty football and I just dont see that in our side nor the signings Rodgers has made

That is fair enough. But I was looking for a yes or no I know its **** to deal in absolutes though.

The point on him focusing on Technique and passing is the one I disagree on. I think if we can get that right we might turn into a pretty imposing team. Closing down, and never letting the opposition see much of the ball. We could knacker people out. But I dont see that happening at the moment with BR. We seem like a side stuck between 2 philosophies. Not committing to either.

[Shaggy]

Our supposed pressing game is non-existent most of the time.

[Alex]

Id love to see more of it. We can panic people into more mistakes then. Not let them have time to think. At times yesterday we were letting them knock it about and look for options.

[Dalglish]

Our supposed pressing game is non-existent most of the time.

Yeah I've yet to see any evidence of a pressing game by "the group" thus far

[Lecter]

That is fair enough. But I was looking for a yes or no I know its **** to deal in absolutes though.

The point on him focusing on Technique and passing is the one I disagree on. I think if we can get that right we might turn into a pretty imposing team. Closing down, and never letting the opposition see much of the ball. We could knacker people out. But I dont see that happening at the moment with BR. We seem like a side stuck between 2 philosophies. Not committing to either.

Sorry for not answering yes or no but I genuinely dont know which way it will go

We dont work anywhere near hard enough out of possession though and it would take a monumental shift in this for us to become anywhere near effective

I just dont see us as a cohesive unit in terms of pressing the ball and to me there has been little or no signs of improvement in this regards during the season

That is fundamental and I still think that even then we could be bullied out of things

I'm not saying his principles and ideals are not the way to go but imo they need tweaking or at the very least we need to buy not only techincal players but also ones with a bit of edge about them (in terms of aggression)

For all Barcelona's brilliance they have mentally strong players who have massive desire and a lot of aggression

I have seen little or no evidence of any of those qualities in the vast majority of Brendans signings so far

[chadrtc]

On the back of that he should.

And that opinion is a great example why a number of people around here are struggling to take you seriously.

[baitman]

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.

suarez was doing his usual moan cos he wants everyone to pass to him. but he was moaning while he was getting up off the floor as he was clattered by a defender from the back, so he wasnt even open for a pass.
i dont blame the lad for having a go. if it went in he'd have been a hero, but he went and sliced it

[The Birdman]

Footballer in telling another footballer to **** off shocker.
If anything Suarez is in the wrong, as captain and senior pro and best player he should have been encouraging Robinson for having the balls to shoot.

Robinson took on the responsibility, go back a few weeks and everyone on here slaughters Henderson for passing saying he bottled it.

Football fans hey, proving week in week out that most don't know very much.
And what they do know contridicts what they said the week before.