Liverpool v Sunderland build up....

[Pablo]

Lots of lurking these past few months, but I have to ask three questions, because I cannot find legitimate answers.

1. On Tuesday, Rodgers yanked Manquillo off at half time.

It's unconventional. I'll give you that. Downright crude if we're honest. Messy? Definitely.

But at least we can confidently say Brendan is a hands on manager.

[Lecter]

I don't think we have the luxury to rest the trio Skrtel/Toure/Lucas & Lambert has been on a good run of form. Definitely think Can be start vs Sunderland though & Lallana needs games... I think Lallana should be a starter regardless though.

Lallana looks far more productive than Coutinho at the minute

[Lecter]

1. Watching the game we offered nothing offensively down both wings. If we were playing Real Madrid I reckon we'd have kept Manq on, but against Leicester we had to go for their throats and Manq wasn't able to. Johnson on the left was similar, i.e. not his best position for being dangerous offensively. So move Johnson to the right and get Moreno on, two birds, one stone. No problems with that against the day's opposition.

2. The pictures above answer that one. I reckon he'll be back and playing soon. Sakho has zero competition for places now (and I'm not really a fan of his).

3. Can should be seeing a lot more action, but that means taking Gerrard off. Over the last two games Gerrard has shown no reason (offensively) to do that. But I agree, it would be nice to blood him in while phasing Gerrard's influence out (can't rely on him forever, need to start planning now).

Seems bizarre that Rodgers makes an attacking substitution at fullback then once Leicester go down to 10 men seems content to sit back and try to defend

[BigChief]

Lallana brings with him what we desperately need. Goals. Wasn't that impressed with him against Leicester but he gave us what we crave the most. Coutinho on the other hand does provide a different problem to defenders (when he's not passing the ball straight to them) which Lallana can't at the moment. His dribbling is less predictable and puts players on their arses momentarily though we're not making the most of that yet.

In summary, we need to start games with Lallana but nearly always replace him on 60 minutes with Coutinho.

[BigChief]

Seems bizarre that Rodgers makes an attacking substitution at fullback then once Leicester go down to 10 men seems content to sit back and try to defend

Not really, by half time we were dropping two points to bottom of the league dross so had no choice but to attack. By the time Lovren came on we decided to keep what we had.

Not that I agreed with the second part but in this case it just about worked. I think Gerrard hinted at it in the interview, we're trying to get our confidence back as a unit and he implied defending was crucial for that to return (i.e. covering Mig, Skrtel and Lovren's arses as much as possible).

[danperkins]

Lallana looks far more productive than Coutinho at the minute

Definitely start him ahead of Coutinho at the minute. Works harder and has an end product.

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

After spending £214million during Rodgers tenure i'm amazed we haven't been able to sign at least 1 world class player and pay top wages even though we paid Suarez £200k

I agree but that is clearly something we don't do.

Suarez became world class whilst here and then earned his way to a top wage in order to keep him here.

I'd guess its something to do with the % of turnover the wages take up. I remember in terms of % ours being much worse than United's even with them paying £300k/w to Rooney.

[Sarb]

Gerrard rested tomorrow is the latest on twitter at the moment regards potential line-ups

[S-RED]

yeah that makes sense, BR will want him against basel; I expect lovren, cout, allen, even mayb markovic will play tomorrow also; with toure, lucas & sterling on the bench

[topscorer]

For me maximum 3 changes. We have to keep momentum in the league.

If we have to change central defense it might be better to rest Skittles rather than Toure and let Toure hold Lovrens hand for a few games.

Toure goes to the African Cup in a few weeks so I'd rather send him there knackered than send him nicely rested and get him back knackered.

Let's see if Toure can help turn Lovren and Skittles into a functioning unit before he heads off to Africa.

Rest Gerrard. Maybe same team as for the Stoke game except for Lovren replacing Skittles.

[Rigadon]

I'd prefer to see no more than two/three changes to the team. We need to keep our momentum and we can give them a good break after Man Utd. Lambert may need the rest but I think the others should cope until after United.

Unchanged back four from that which finished the last game.

For me maximum 3 changes. We have to keep momentum in the league.

Premier League and top four finish is a priority. Continuity, confidence, momentum.

[Vermilion]

After spending £214million during Rodgers tenure i'm amazed we haven't been able to sign at least 1 world class player and pay top wages even though we paid Suarez £200k

I for one believe we have tried, but as yet we haven't been able to tempt one.

We could bid 80mill and match PSG's rumoured bid for Isco, and we'd probably be joined by other clubs too, honestly, do you think we'd get him ?

We couldn't even beat Arsenal to Sanchez.

Nope, we; at the moment, have to go another route, and that route is more speculative.

[Bender]

I for one believe we have tried, but as yet we haven't been able to tempt one.

We could bid 80mill and match PSG's rumoured bid for Isco, and we'd probably be joined by other clubs too, honestly, do you think we'd get him ?

We couldn't even beat Arsenal to Sanchez.

Nope, we; at the moment, have to go another route, and that route is more speculative.

Then with the way you describe it LFC is a shambles of a club and City,if we can't sign just one top player,although i think it's more down to not having a big name manager....Utd are not in the European competition yet as a city are next to Liverpool but still managed to bring in Di Maria,Mata,Falcao albeit on big wages but am sure Van Gaal made a difference in attracting the players,yet we cannot even manage one on a budget of £200million +{Rodgers tenure} i think the whole Transfer set up is a mess at LFC

[Doc_Piptorious]

Then with the way you describe it LFC is a shambles of a club and City,if we can't sign just one top player,although i think it's more down to not having a big name manager....Utd are not in the European competition yet as a city are next to Liverpool but still managed to bring in Di Maria,Mata,Falcao albeit on big wages but am sure Van Gaal made a difference in attracting the players,yet we cannot even manage one on a budget of £200million +{Rodgers tenure} i think the whole Transfer set up is a mess at LFC

Yes but unlike us they have been involved at the business end of the CL more often than not for the past 15 years or not along with being involved in title races nearly every season for the past quarter of a century.


So to a big name player they are a club that is seen as constantly being in the hunt for biggest prizes along with being a club that can pay big wages.


As Liverpool supporters we might like to think that winning the CL in 2005 and coming second last season makes us stand out to big name players, but the reality is probably that big name players now are not too pushed about what we won over nine years ago and how we almost won a league since then.


If we want to attract established top name players then we need to be able to match other clubs in at least one of two things; massive wages and/or the chance to win silverware on a regular basis. Right now we are not a good bet for either when compared to the likes of Man City, Chelsea, and the other Mancs. So that puts us as going head to head with the likes of Arsenal and Spurs, and like it or not the lure of living in a world famous city like London then comes into play as many players, or more likely their wives or girlfriends, will be drawn towards the perceived status of living in a posh London address along with all the amenities that city has.

[ChrisDR1968]

If we want to attract established top name players then we need to be able to match other clubs in at least one of two things; massive wages and/or the chance to win silverware on a regular basis.

Liverpool did lose £50 million in each of the last 2 seasons did they not?

The thing the club should be trying to do is put a team on the field that should be strong enough to beat the teams in the Premier League that are below us in terms of spending power. That should be everyone except Chelsea, City, United and maybe Arsenal (although I think we're more or less on a par with the Gunners).

If we did that we should be getting between 24 and 27 league wins per season regardless of how we do against the teams already mentioned. That number of wins will almost certainly guarantee top 4 finishes that will improve the club's financial position going forward into the future.

A step-by-step approach that I think John Henry has in mind for the club