Crystal Palace away Build up.

[Daniel 7]

wat

[BigChief]

Hendo's been injured most of the season. Doesn't fully excuse his **** form but does explain his lack of mobility we've been seeing.

[frank the tank]

if he is carrying a knock then the team should be changed and Lucas, Lallana or Coutinho should not have been sitting on the bench while a broken Henderson is out on the pitch. That is the point of spending all that money on squad players - so that you have a much better chance of putting out a fit team week in week out....

[Pablo]

I still think Balotelli needs benching. Last season we had a small squad but it still felt like there was an element of meritocracy to how the team was picked. If you played well you stayed in the team, if not you were out.

This season players are playing poorly and staying in the team week in, week out. That’s demotivating to a squad player like Borini, for example. When you have de-motivation in a squad it spreads. We need to go back to a system where your name and reputation doesn't matter. You play if your form merits it and no other factors come into it.

It’s depressing how many of our principles that made us successful last season seem to have gone by the wayside.

[captainfog]

We're going to lose.

[captainfog]

I still think Balotelli needs benching. Last season we had a small squad but it still felt like there was an element of meritocracy to how the team was picked. If you played well you stayed in the team, if not you were out.

This season players are playing poorly and staying in the team week in, week out. That’s demotivating to a squad player like Borini, for example. When you have de-motivation in a squad it spreads. We need to go back to a system where your name and reputation doesn't matter. You play if your form merits it and no other factors come into it.

It’s depressing how many of our principles that made us successful last season seem to have gone by the wayside.

That's on Rodgers.

[Doc_Piptorious]

The more I think about it, the more I would put out a team with almost as many changes to it from the previous game as we did for the Real Madrid team.


Put in some of the squad/fringe players and genuinely give them a shot where a good performance gets them a start in the following game.


A lot of our big names have been sub par quite a bit this season. Johnson, Henderson, Gerrard, Balotelli, Lovern, Skrtel etc.


So after a few days to mull over selections, along with the news about Sturridge, I think I would go with the below starting XI if all are fit come Sunday.



..........................Mignolet
Manquillo......Toure........Sakho.......Moreno
.........................Lucas
.............Can...................Lallana
.......................Sterling
..............Lambert........Borini




Two up front is a must for me. Makes us that bit more difficult to mark out of the game at that end. Borini would not be static and as a result defenders would get moved out of position following his runs. Lambert brings a mix of brute force, and genuine game intelligence so he would benefit from having a mobile strike partner like Borini not to mention having the likes of Sterling and especially Lallana to link up with.

Can is mobile, covers ground, tracks back and attacks, is a physical presence, and for such a young player is not shy when it comes to calling a play.

Lallana is a very good player in my eyes, and should be starting week in week out. The guy offers a workrate that at the very least gives us what Henderson offers on that front. He works his socks off when we do not have the ball, and he is pretty damn good on the ball.

Lucas I would give a run out because he keeps things simple, pass well when it comes to the short game, and whilst he is prone to giving away a free or two, he does keep play ticking over smoothly. Allen would be another option if we wanted someone to keep play ticking over without actually playing a proper DM.


Manquillo in for Johnson is a no brainer for me. One looks utter muck when he plays and offers sweet FA, the other makes a few mistakes due to a lack of experience but works his arse off and puts in a decent performance more often than not when played.

Toure and Sakho I would start because they should be a balanced pairing (on paper anyway). Langauage would not be an issue, and Toure at Arsenal, City and us has always looks good when paired with a naturally left footed centre back.


If the above team started and got a win, then they start the next game. If they continued to work well as a unit then they would continue to play and if any of the big names had their noses out of joint over players being picked based on performances, well they know have to hand in a transfer request.

[captainfog]

Isn't sakho still injured?

[Doc_Piptorious]

Isn't sakho still injured?

Not sure. Thought he was listed as returning this weekend.

[Daniel 7]

As much as I like your thinking, I can't see Gerrard being dropped. I really would like to see him coming on as a sub further forward, or even better on the right hand side - but it won't happen.

[Doc_Piptorious]

As much as I like your thinking, I can't see Gerrard being dropped. I really would like to see him coming on as a sub further forward, or even better on the right hand side - but it won't happen.

I don't think it will happen myself. I think that Gerrard, Skrtel, Henderson and a few others are more or less immune to being dropped when they show sub par form over a run of games.

A team can carry one big name player when that player is off form, but trying to carry three four, five and sometimes six that are off form is a folly.


The obvious solution is to drop those playing poorly and see if any of the back up brigade is ready to bust a gut to show that they deserve the starting berth. Then game after game start the players that are performing best, or least worst.

I get that the manager may be trying to let some players play themselves back into form, but that sort of action should be done over two or three games. If a player is still not showing signs of improvement or is getting worse after that period then he should be on the bench at best.


We spent a lot of money during the summer to have squad depth. Now that we have that bit of depth Brendan seems slow to take advantage of it. Tis just a tad frustrating.

[The_weatherman]

Previous to current league season points differential based on...

Same number of games: -9
Counterpart fixtures: -6

Next up: Crystal Palace (A) - Sunday 23rd November, 1:30pm Live on Sky Sports 1 & SS1 HD
Last season: Matchday - Drew vs Everton (A). Counterpart fixture - Drew 3-3.

This is Red Polo's sig, assuming it's correct, IF we manage three points this weekend, we'll be 7 and 5 points worse off. It's poor but not end of the world poor, I would just feel better if I Brendan got his act together, but with back to back wins our situation would drastically change IMO.

[dww]

I don't think it will happen myself. I think that Gerrard, Skrtel, Henderson and a few others are more or less immune to being dropped when they show sub par form over a run of games.

A team can carry one big name player when that player is off form, but trying to carry three four, five and sometimes six that are off form is a folly.


The obvious solution is to drop those playing poorly and see if any of the back up brigade is ready to bust a gut to show that they deserve the starting berth. Then game after game start the players that are performing best, or least worst.

I get that the manager may be trying to let some players play themselves back into form, but that sort of action should be done over two or three games. If a player is still not showing signs of improvement or is getting worse after that period then he should be on the bench at best.


We spent a lot of money during the summer to have squad depth. Now that we have that bit of depth Brendan seems slow to take advantage of it. Tis just a tad frustrating.

I'm not sure that dropping the entire team is an 'obvious solution'. It is really easy from outside to point at individuals but we have no idea what Rodgers is trying to achieve in the bigger picture. Sometimes you have to persevere when things aren't working in order to perfect your plan.

I can see a good argument that the best way to integrate new players is into a team which is working. It seems quite likely (to me at least) that Rodgers feels that having the majority of players in the team being those who have taken his instruction well before would be a good way to build a new team. Something does need to change or progress but I'm not sure change for the sake of change which seems to be what people are advocating is a good plan (long term especially).

[BigChief]

This is Red Polo's sig, assuming it's correct, IF we manage three points this weekend, we'll be 7 and 5 points worse off. It's poor but not end of the world poor, I would just feel better if I Brendan got his act together, but with back to back wins our situation would drastically change IMO.

Coupled with others also being in the red form wise helps us further. But by God I've never got through so many nails and underwear by November.

The only encouraging thing I can offer is our '2nd leg' performance against Madrid and then Chelsea were quite positive and if we can achieve those levels we should be able to put those mythical back to back wins together. Only have to hope we don't revert to the Hull/Newcastle form.

[dww]

If someone (anyone) starts banging in a few goals I think we'll get a better idea of where the team actually is. Without a cutting edge I think all of Rodgers plans seem less useful. Which makes the way we went about the summer signings pretty odd.

For me we needed a Fergusson-esque approach where we ignored the defense until we had the firepower we wanted. Ballotelli was clearly a third/fourth choice move for us in what is possible the most important position in the 'philosophy' that Rodgers espouses.