Lots of negativity

[Slinky Skills]

I know we're going through a bad patch and I can't see it improving but there's so much negativity and anger on the forum at the moment, especially with one another.

It's getting me down.

For what it's worth I think BR will be gone soon, the club I feel needs a new sense of direction even if I do feel we've not supported the club as much as we all should but again I appreciate why many are upset.

[Fosterbloke]

I love everyone here, it's Rodgers and the players that are getting me down.

What the **** is happening behind the scenes? There's something going on there and it's affecting our play and results in a serious way.

[Assassin]

I thought this was a thread about our playing style.....

[McDermotX]

I know we're going through a bad patch and I can't see it improving but there's so much negativity and anger on the forum at the moment, especially with one another.

It's getting me down.

For what it's worth I think BR will be gone soon, the club I feel needs a new sense of direction even if I do feel we've not supported the club as much as we all should but again I appreciate why many are upset.

I think it's ****ing fantastic.

**** you and everyone else !!

Not really.

[Pablo]

I know we're going through a bad patch and I can't see it improving but there's so much negativity and anger on the forum at the moment, especially with one another.

It's getting me down.

For what it's worth I think BR will be gone soon, the club I feel needs a new sense of direction even if I do feel we've not supported the club as much as we all should but again I appreciate why many are upset.

Don't let it get you down . It's a football forum. On the internet.

Try to keep things in perspective Slinks

[Lecter]

This post from the Liverpoolway will only add to your depression

I must admit reading the first few paragraphs and looking at our current squad there is a big question mark as to who that superstar is

Posted Today, 12:01 PM
We're very much in uncharted territory now. For the last 20 years we've had at least one talismanic match-winner in our squad - McManaman, Fowler, Owen, Gerrard, Torres, Suarez. These players could decide a game with an outstanding performance or even one moment of individual brilliance, but just as importantly their presence in the side could raise the performance of lesser players by giving them the belief that as long as they were on the pitch, the team had a chance. Suarez last season was possibly the most vivid example of this.

This had its downside at times, with spells when the other players shrugged their shoulders and left it all to the superstar to sort out, but in the main we as a club have benefited massively from having this calibre of the player in the side. They were also the kind of players who would help to attract other top signings to the club.

Now, for the first time since the Souness era, we have no-one of that ilk at the club. The closest would be Sturridge, but he is injured so often that he can't be relied upon any more. Sterling has the potential to develop into that level of player in a few years, but if we don't improve significantly and quickly it will be with another club.

The reality is that virtually no club in the Premier League era has put in a genuine title challenge, let alone established themselves as regular title contenders, without at least one player of that calibre in their squad. The only possible exception would be Villa in the PL's first season, but the league was far less competitive than it is now, or even than it would be just a few years later.

If we can't attract this standard of player we are never going to challenge for the title again. There will always be at least one of City, United and Chelsea who will hit form with world class players and a top manager. We were told that being back in the Champions League would be the answer to this for us, but it appears otherwise. None of the players we signed in the summer would have been unobtainable without CL football, ironically with the possible exception of Balotelli who has arguably been the worst signing of the lot. Right now getting back into the CL looks a tall order, and if things don't improve I doubt many people would end up being surprised if we repeated our five-year absence.

Arguments have been put forward about top players being more attracted to Man United even without European football, because players see them as a better long term bet for CL football than us despite last season. I think there is something in this. There is also the London factor, which I think is often overstated but sometimes applicable, and also the reluctance to sign for an unproven manager. If we had won the title last season that would have been different as Rodgers's reputation would have been sky high, but we didn't, and we don't look like challenging again for a while as things stand.

The one that keeps cropping up though is wages. If we're not prepared to pay top dollar for player wages, we'll at best be shopping in the second tier of players, and it will be extraordinarily difficult for us to assemble a side capable of regularly competing for the title before the best and most ambitious players get picked off by the top clubs. Moreover, if things don't work out with Rodgers, I don't see us attracting a proven quality manager who's prepared to work under wage restrictions that put us at a permanent disadvantage, so we'll end up taking a punt with the manager as well as the playing staff.

Being prepared to pay higher salaries for top quality players is the simplest thing that FSG can do to improve our chances of competing at the top level. Not far behind is being prepared to appoint an experienced and decorated manager without fear of their authority being challenged. I don't know if FSG are opposed to either of these policies, there are signs that they are including statements made by Henry and Werner, but it's impossible to say for sure. But we are now at the stage where we need them both. If FSG won't enact them, then however smart we might get with improving tactics and signing unproven gems, I don't see how we will ever be genuine contenders again under their tenure.

[SK]

i don't know we just might sign the next big thing in january, who that would be i don't know, but we always seem to do it despite the current circumstances

[Kenneth]

Joe Allen

[Lecter]

Joe Allen

[Kenneth]

Lots people people want to try and pretend that Sturridge is that sort of player, but it's not very convincing, as good as he's been.

[DannyMan2006]

Wages is the big one. At one point the pound was trouncing the Euro & I believe that helped us under Rafa.

I do not think we will ever attract a player of the highest calibre. Even if we were CL regulars we would struggle with that because of our wage restrictions. This has always been a club that makes stars in recent times as opposed to signing them.

We also need to do really well in the Europa, a competition that is rated highly away from England. Rodgers isn't exactly well known but winning that would underline his credentials as a top coach. Tbh, if Rodgers was in trouble, FSG would be best advised to bring back Rafa. His is a name that can attract top players. He ticks all the boxes tbh.

[Sarb]

He's just as likely to get injured before his comeback date as he is to come back and bang in 20 goals. Ridiculous whoever decided he could be relied on as our no.1 striker bearing in mind he had 10 odd injuries in his time here at that point

[DannyMan2006]

i don't know we just might sign the next big thing in january, who that would be i don't know, but we always seem to do it despite the current circumstances

Lacazette at Lyon looks like the next big thing. Whether we have a chance of signing him is unknown.

[Lecter]

Lots people people want to try and pretend that Sturridge is that sort of player, but it's not very convincing, as good as he's been.

[tanner]

Lots people people want to try and pretend that Sturridge is that sort of player, but it's not very convincing, as good as he's been.

Way too much expectancy on Sturridge at the moment

However, because of the awful transfer window it'll be interesting to see just what a difference it'll make having an actual real life striker on the pitch.