Jordan Henderson

[marksared]

Not convinced of that

I'm not going to get into slagging Rodgers off or blaming him as I've been away from the site over the last few weeks and hes gotten good results during that time so to slag him off would be churlish

A midfield two that contains Allen would be my least favoured option and I think it leaves an already struggling midfield wide open

Southampton also pressed us high up the pitch very early on and its something we've struggled to cope with when other teams have done that this season

Football isnt about which team looks the best on paper, it involves other factors such as tactics, desire, aggression etc..

West Brom on the opening day springs to mind, one thing I admire about Whiskey nose is the edge be brings to his team, Rodgers comes across too soft at times and needs to work on firing the team up.

Its hard to say how you account for Johnsons Jackal and Hyde performances as a manager though.

[Red_Polo]

Its hard to say how you account for Johnsons Jackal and Hyde performances as a manager though.

Homage to Duncan Jenkins?

[saj]

I think we need 3 in the middle to counteract our soft centre, I think it'd be ideal if they were Lucas, Gerrard and Henderson.

I think Henderson chases and pressurises the opposition better than the rest of our midfield.

Fair enough but we have looked at our best this season when sturridge has played up front with Suarez in between the lines with Gerrard, Lucas, Downing and Coutinho in midfield.

[Mostar]

Well Coutinho has been playing well so who's place do you expect him to take? Yes on the weekend he could have played instead of Allen as Lucas was injured slightly but prior to that I'm not sure who's place he could have taken.

No place for him in the starting lineup atm.

[G]

We got over run in midfield last game and a large proportion of the spurs game until we went with 3 in the middle.

IMO we don't need 4 attacking players starting, would be harsh on Downing getting dropped but Coutinho offers more threat so I'd have him starting, Downing on the bench and 3 in midfield, Hendo Lucas and Stevie.

[saj]

We got over run in midfield last game and a large proportion of the spurs game until we went with 3 in the middle.

IMO we don't need 4 attacking players starting, would be harsh on Downing getting dropped but Coutinho offers more threat so I'd have him starting, Downing on the bench and 3 in midfield, Hendo Lucas and Stevie.

But Hendo is not a wide player though. Against Spurs, Suarez went wide to accomodate the extra midfielder. So having Hendo wide right doesn't ceate an extra man in midfield as midfield would still be Gerrard, Lucas and Suarez. On current form, Downing is one of our better players and playing Henderson there doesn't make sense

[G]

But Hendo is not a wide player though. Against Spurs, Suarez went wide to accomodate the extra midfielder. So having Hendo wide right doesn't ceate an extra man in midfield as midfield would still be Gerrard, Lucas and Suarez. On current form, Downing is one of our better players and playing Henderson there doesn't make sense

Who said anything about playing him wide right.

Luis and big Phil in behind sturridge, wide when they need to be, Hendo just in front of Gerrard and Lucas or swap Hendo and Gerrard but same shape.


That's how we reverted in the spurs game when Allen came on. Coutinho came off but his replacement Allen didn't go wide, he was an extra man in the middle where we need it . Suarez wasn't a wide midfielder, he was a wide forward.

[saj]

Who said anything about playing him wide right.

Luis and big Phil in behind sturridge, wide when they need to be, Hendo just in front of Gerrard and Lucas or swap Hendo and Gerrard but same shape.


That's how we reverted in the spurs game when Allen came on. Coutinho came off but his replacement Allen didn't go wide, he was an extra man in the middle where we need it . Suarez wasn't a wide midfielder, he was a wide forward.

I see what you mean.

Suarez was hugging the touchline though against Spurs and playing identically in terms of position to how Coutinho did until he was subbed off. And if you recall against Arsenal, he also as a played wide midfielder. I suppose you could say in both games he was played as a wide forward.

In any case I prefer Suarez when he plays in the numder 10 position or in the hole, close to the forward (Sturridge). If Suarez plays in the hole, then it kind of makes sense to play with 2 wingers (Downing and Coutinho) otherwise we would be without a winger if Henderson was to play.

[G]

I see what you mean.

Suarez was hugging the touchline though against Spurs and playing identically in terms of position to how Coutinho did until he was subbed off. And if you recall against Arsenal, he also as a played wide midfielder. I suppose you could say in both games he was played as a wide forward.

In any case I prefer Suarez when he plays in the numder 10 position or in the hole, close to the forward (Sturridge). If Suarez plays in the hole, then it kind of makes sense to play with 2 wingers (Downing and Coutinho) otherwise we would be without a winger if Henderson was to play.

Yeah it does make sense but as we've seen recently if the 2 in the middle are Allen plus 1 it doesn't work. Not sure it works regardless who the two are, we aren't dominant enough In that area, we don't have the players for it. Your right though, ideal world Suarez central is preferable, I just don't like the idea of 2 in midfield when your wingers aren't very good at the defensive side of things.

For me we need 3 central,it's 4-2-3-1 when we don't have the ball and 4-3-3 when we do

[saj]

Yeah it does make sense but as we've seen recently if the 2 in the middle are Allen plus 1 it doesn't work. Not sure it works regardless who the two are, we aren't dominant enough In that area, we don't have the players for it. Your right though, ideal world Suarez central is preferable, I just don't like the idea of 2 in midfield when your wingers aren't very good at the defensive side of things.

For me we need 3 central,it's 4-2-3-1 when we don't have the ball and 4-3-3 when we do

People have bee praising (and rightly so) Downing's work in terms of defending. And Coutinho puts a shift in too - he is IMO our best player at pressing (watch how he presses the next he plays). But I agree with having 3 in the middle. To thave 3 in the middle means playing with one forward and two wingers. Playing Suarez out wide is not the solution.

[kalesh]

For some reason – whether he’s been asked by the board, I don’t know – Rodgers seems obsessed with playing attacking football. Now far be it for me to criticise, because I’ve enjoyed watching us play more this year than for probably five years, however Rodgers has got to realise that ‘attacking football’ doesn’t just imply overloading the forward line.

We’ve come unstuck against Southampton, Oldham and very nearly against Tottenham because we’ve played four forwards and only two central midfield players. It was only the introduction of Allen against Tottenham that allowed us to wrestle control of the game. Sacrificing one of these attackers for a midfield player isn’t necessarily a regressive move because it allows you to control the game and impose your style of play. There’s no point having Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge and Downing on the pitch if you can’t get the ball to them. Get rid of one of them (not Suarez!) to solidify the centre.

At the moment, Rodgers seems to have a very simplistic and binary view of attacking football – whereas it’s actually a lot more complex and often a ‘defensive’ substitution or tactical decision can help you gain the attacking initiative.

[Tee]

For some reason – whether he’s been asked by the board, I don’t know – Rodgers seems obsessed with playing attacking football. Now far be it for me to criticise, because I’ve enjoyed watching us play more this year than for probably five years, however Rodgers has got to realise that ‘attacking football’ doesn’t just imply overloading the forward line.

We’ve come unstuck against Southampton, Oldham and very nearly against Tottenham because we’ve played four forwards and only two central midfield players. It was only the introduction of Allen against Tottenham that allowed us to wrestle control of the game. Sacrificing one of these attackers for a midfield player isn’t necessarily a regressive move because it allows you to control the game and impose your style of play. There’s no point having Coutinho, Suarez, Sturridge and Downing on the pitch if you can’t get the ball to them. Get rid of one of them (not Suarez!) to solidify the centre.

At the moment, Rodgers seems to have a very simplistic and binary view of attacking football – whereas it’s actually a lot more complex and often a ‘defensive’ substitution or tactical decision can help you gain the attacking initiative.

Good post mate. I would however say better players would also help us gain the attacking initiative. It is that simple IMO, we have too many average players.

[kalesh]

Good post mate. I would however say better players would also help us gain the attacking initiative. It is that simple IMO, we have too many average players.

I agree. If the two in the middle were Masch and Xabi, we wouldn't have the worry.

The question is, is Rodgers playing two in the middle because he doesn't recognise the weakness or is he persisting with it because he's going to replace them with better players in the Summer and wants to get the forward line right?

[Tee]

I agree. If the two in the middle were Masch and Xabi, we wouldn't have the worry.

The question is, is Rodgers playing two in the middle because he doesn't recognise the weakness or is he persisting with it because he's going to replace them with better players in the Summer and wants to get the forward line right?

I think it is a bit of both because he has not been scared to change it in the middle when things ar enot going well.

We say it every year, but this summer really is a critical window for us and I just hope BR has learned his lesson from last summer and sets his sights a lot higher (and receives the backing from FSG to get those players).

[Mostar]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsoEYMm_sXg"]Jordan Henderson vs Aston Villa - YouTube[/ame]