Crystal Palace away Build up.

[captainfog]

Surely he's going to play two up top if Sturridge is fit?

I think we have to accept that he's going to keep playing Johnson and Lovren and he's going to keep playing Gerrard in the DM role. That's what he likes and he's sticking to it. But please play Sterling behind Sturridge and Balotelli. Head in the hands time if he doesn't.

I'd also like to see Can and Lallana replace Henderson and Allen.

[Carras_Shin_Pads]

I can't see him starting Kolo for some odd reason - played a cracker against one of the best teams in the world and kept arguably one of the best players in the world in his pocket then benched for the Chelsea game. Kolo had a cracker on international duty - even got himself on the score sheet, of course he's gonna be benched.

I'm a big fan of Rodgers but i think he's stubbornness sometimes gets in the way of his team selections.

[DannyMan2006]

I can't see him starting Kolo for some odd reason - played a cracker against one of the best teams in the world and kept arguably one of the best players in the world in his pocket then benched for the Chelsea game. Kolo had a cracker on international duty - even got himself on the score sheet, of course he's gonna be benched.

I'm a big fan of Rodgers but i think he's stubbornness sometimes gets in the way of his team selections.

We've spent £38m on CB's in less than two years. If you think both will be on the bench to accommodate Kolo & Strtel, you're nuts. Also a fresh Kolo is still class, play him every week like we doing so at one point last year & he runs out of steam. Like it or not, he's the past & we have to look to the present.

[Carras_Shin_Pads]

We've spent £38m on CB's in less than two years. If you think both will be on the bench to accommodate Kolo & Strtel, you're nuts. Also a fresh Kolo is still class, play him every week like we doing so at one point last year & he runs out of steam. Like it or not, he's the past & we have to look to the present.

Fair point - but when do you put your hands up and say '****, i've made a mistake'. Do you give him a whole season of dodgy defending? Or try some different combinations, i get you need stability but he's had a fair old run (Lovren).

[vonk]

Mignolet
Johnson Kolo Lovren Moreno
Gerrard
Can Lallana
Sterling
Ballotelli Sturridge

[Doc_Piptorious]

Mignolet
Johnson Kolo Lovren Moreno
Gerrard
Can Lallana
Sterling
Ballotelli Sturridge

Would not have Johnson anywhere near a starting berth. Guy has been muck more often than not for quite some time now.


Would have Manquillo in his place, and if Sakho is fit I would have him in place of one of the CBs.


Rest of your team I would stick with, and would also use the same diamond formation. Although I would almost be tempted to try a Gerrard-less midfield against Palace so that there would be three mobile players in there but Henderson's form is nothing to write home about.

[Daniel 7]

Dropping Gerrard for who? Can? Lucas?

Lucas isn't any more mobile, Can hasn't really been played at the base of a diamond.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Dropping Gerrard for who? Can? Lucas?

Lucas isn't any more mobile, Can hasn't really been played at the base of a diamond.

If Henderson had been playing to a standard that was even close to what he was doing last season, then I would have suggested a trio of Can, Henderson, and Lallana. I would only stay with the diamond when Gerrard is a starter ( based on our current midfield options of course) and if the three I suggested were to start then it would be a more flexible CM set up as all three would be mobile and all three capable of pressing when we did not have the ball.

Palace have players that like to harry in the centre, so us having three mobile players in and around the centre ( plus Sterling dropping back as he does when we do not have the ball) would in theory allow us to squeeze the centre of the pitch and put pressure on them instead of sitting deep and waiting for their CMs to do it to us.


But as Henderson has not been in the best of form this season, I would probably stick with the diamond and Gerrard in the team with Can and Lallana ahead of him to be his runners. I just dislike the idea of having to use players to compensate for another player's lack of mobility unless the less mobile player is producing something of real worth game after game as a result of that cover.

[The_weatherman]

Lucas is more agile though, Gerrard doesn't stand a chance against runners with a bit of technique. Gerrard also takes too long on the ball which invites pressure. If were Warnock I'd instruct my players to harass Gerrard and our cb's. We tend to pass it from Mignolet to Gerrard to Skrtel to Gerrard to Lovren to Skrtel back to Mignolet to Gerrard, rinse and repeat.

[Doc_Piptorious]

Lucas is more agile though, Gerrard doesn't stand a chance against runners with a bit of technique. Gerrard also takes too long on the ball which invites pressure. If were Warnock I'd instruct my players to harass Gerrard and our cb's. We tend to pass it from Mignolet to Gerrard to Skrtel to Gerrard to Lovren to Skrtel back to Mignolet to Gerrard, rinse and repeat.

Lucas would be more agile alright, although by how much is open to debate, and more likely to play the simple short pass to feet than Gerrard. Had forgotten about Lucas actually.

Gerrard when on form, and with a team on form around him, is very effective in a diamond formation. But when he is not on form and the team around him is off form, then his style of play does not add an awful lot, whereas a player who plays the simple ball to feet more often than not may be of more worth simply because he allows for ball retention and also allows the two other CMs to play their game rather than having to drop back to cover the third CM.


Gerrard's legacy with the club is assured, but at this point he is a 34 year old player who is nothing like the player he once was. If I were Rodgers then I would be using Gerrard for the final 30 minutes after younger legs have fought the battles for the first hour of games. Yes he would start some games, but I think the era of him being a certain starter regardless of form should be over and I certainly think we need to be looking at bringing in a quality midfielder this january, although I suspect we will not, so that player has half a season to bed in whilst we still have Gerrard as an option.

[The_weatherman]

Lucas would be more agile alright, although by how much is open to debate, and more likely to play the simple short pass to feet than Gerrard. Had forgotten about Lucas actually.

Gerrard when on form, and with a team on form around him, is very effective in a diamond formation. But when he is not on form and the team around him is off form, then his style of play does not add an awful lot, whereas a player who plays the simple ball to feet more often than not may be of more worth simply because he allows for ball retention and also allows the two other CMs to play their game rather than having to drop back to cover the third CM.


Gerrard's legacy with the club is assured, but at this point he is a 34 year old player who is nothing like the player he once was. If I were Rodgers then I would be using Gerrard for the final 30 minutes after younger legs have fought the battles for the first hour of games. Yes he would start some games, but I think the era of him being a certain starter regardless of form should be over and I certainly think we need to be looking at bringing in a quality midfielder this january, although I suspect we will not, so that player has half a season to bed in whilst we still have Gerrard as an option.

I agree, I do think Lucas would be better at relieving the pressure when the other team start pressuring our DM and CB's, Lucas can find space and get the ball going which is difficult for Gerrard to do, and to be fair to him he has played for 15 years going forward with a thrust.

[dww]

I think part of the problem for us is that other players seem to expect Gerrard to solve their problems for them. He's less and less able to do that. I also think he suffers from having an ill defined role in the way we are playing this season. Last year by having Suarez and/or Sturridge occupying defenders we had many more out balls and he could look to be setting attacks in motion straight away - now all to often he has to make decisions about whether to counter or conserve possession.

Given he's had international week off I think Gerrard is a nailed on starter. Not sure he should be but no one else has demanded the spot (although I do think Lucas has done enough to enter consideration).

[Fosterbloke]

I actually don't care right now and I hate that.

[baitman]

mig
manq - toure - lovren - moreno
lucas
hendo - can - lallana
sterling
lambert

maybe bring sturridge on for the last 30 if fit. maybe gerrard too.

[Chazza]

[ame]https://twitter.com/JamesPearceEcho/status/534837336325230593[/ame]