Brendan Rodgers

[kev776]

I think the Sahin problem was more down to Brendan than the player.

To this day it's the only thing I think that in the long run Brendan has got wrong.

Besides that he's top top draw.

Brendan really is not to blame for Sahin. I did warn people about him before he came, I watched him many times at Dortmund before he went to Spain, he was the same, often subbed because of his lazy ways. He can be sublime but often he goes missing for long periods and appears to not give a ****. Dortmund fans loved and hated him and are not to impressed with his efforts since he returned.

[Fierce]

Here we are then. Overall I'm very pleased with Rodgers but I'm not convinced by this committee. I don't know how much input he has or the scouts for that matter but I get the feeling this committee is just a way for other personel to get to participate in the transfer acticity.

I think we're making too much of this 'committee' - ALL CLUBS will have a number of people involved in transfers. Just because ours have been named it doesn't mean we're any different to other clubs. I very much doubt that of the names provided, each one has to absolutely approve the transfer or it won't go through

Signings like Ilori don't make sense to me now, Alberto looks like he'll make it but I do question why he was bought now. I think we are at that stage where we have to concentrate on improving the eighteen players we have for the match squad.

Because he's a young, gifted player that we didn't want to miss out on? BR has already stated that the €7m figure is nonsense, so assuming it's markedly less than that, what's the difference between this and signing a 15yr old kid for £750k? Both bought for the future, only difference is this guy is a little older and costs more. Let's hope that there's a good reason for that! I personally can't see anything wrong with this

The money that went on Ilori and Alberto could have secured a top left back for example. I'm also not sure that there will be much difference in Ilori and players like Wisdom, Kelly, Flanagan and Robinson who come through the academy.

Could it though? Who was available? If BR wanted one, I'm sure we had a look and made enquiries. Perhaps we felt the cost too prohibitive? Assuming we had funds available (bids for Mkhitaryan etc would suggest we do) then it doesn't strike me that we blew left back money on the players you mentioned.





We as fans tend to get all horny about tiny little details that we hear largely from the press. Even when our own deny them, they still stick

[The_weatherman]

I think we're making too much of this 'committee' - ALL CLUBS will have a number of people involved in transfers. Just because ours have been named it doesn't mean we're any different to other clubs. I very much doubt that of the names provided, each one has to absolutely approve the transfer or it won't go through

I guess we can't know for sure. But there murmurings about Assaidi being bought by the committee and not Rodgers. I don't think there is a similar process at all clubs though. If you are going to judge a manager you need to do it based on his purchases and judgement, responsibilities need to be clear.

Because he's a young, gifted player that we didn't want to miss out on? BR has already stated that the €7m figure is nonsense, so assuming it's markedly less than that, what's the difference between this and signing a 15yr old kid for £750k? Both bought for the future, only difference is this guy is a little older and costs more. Let's hope that there's a good reason for that! I personally can't see anything wrong with this

Fair enough if the 7 million figure is nonsense, that does alter the picture somewhat. But I still stand by my opinion that our first priority now, at this stage, should be spending our funds on players we can use now. If he cost 750 k. ok, but my guess is closer to 3-4 million like original reports indicated.

Could it though? Who was available? If BR wanted one, I'm sure we had a look and made enquiries. Perhaps we felt the cost too prohibitive? Assuming we had funds available (bids for Mkhitaryan etc would suggest we do) then it doesn't strike me that we blew left back money on the players you mentioned.

We as fans tend to get all horny about tiny little details that we hear largely from the press. Even when our own deny them, they still stick

We though Siqueira was expensive but he was the first choice and given that the purchase of a left back was the last one I can well imagine not much was left in terms of funds. Our summer spending lacked strategy and direction IMO. Rodgers is doing a marvellous job and learns from his mistakes but I do think this is something he can improve on - or the committee.

[Catrin]

That was down to Sahin's attitude wasn't it? He refused to adapt his game or something?

Sahin wasn't a good fit for us. His best position was just in front of the back four but he couldn't really defend, at least not well enough to play in that position for us. If we had a very effective defensive midfielder to play alongside then we could have accommodated him but then his passing wasn't exactly Alonso/Pirlo level. He wasn't worth making allowances for.

[Fosterbloke]

We though Siqueira was expensive but he was the first choice

How's he doing at the moment?

[RedReet]

How's Atsu (spelt correct?) doing, does anybody know?

[dww]

I think we're making too much of this 'committee' - ALL CLUBS will have a number of people involved in transfers. Just because ours have been named it doesn't mean we're any different to other clubs. I very much doubt that of the names provided, each one has to absolutely approve the transfer or it won't go through



Because he's a young, gifted player that we didn't want to miss out on? BR has already stated that the €7m figure is nonsense, so assuming it's markedly less than that, what's the difference between this and signing a 15yr old kid for £750k? Both bought for the future, only difference is this guy is a little older and costs more. Let's hope that there's a good reason for that! I personally can't see anything wrong with this



Could it though? Who was available? If BR wanted one, I'm sure we had a look and made enquiries. Perhaps we felt the cost too prohibitive? Assuming we had funds available (bids for Mkhitaryan etc would suggest we do) then it doesn't strike me that we blew left back money on the players you mentioned.





We as fans tend to get all horny about tiny little details that we hear largely from the press. Even when our own deny them, they still stick

Having thought about it I think this window was a difficult one to judge. We had a lot going on which didn't translate into transfers like the Suarez situation and we have no idea how the balance between wages and transfer fee factored into any of these deals.

I think we did less well than we could have - I think not properly addressing issues in midfield and fullback was a real problem and that we took at least 3 punts in our transfers (Aspas, Illori, Alberto and arguably Cissokho). However, under the circumstances they may have been the best deal available and may pay off in future. I think it is worth looking at how people thought Newcastle had wasted a lot of money last January but now those deals look to be paying off.

A lot of those deals could come good but the best bit of business we did was tying Suarez down.

[PTP]

Seen a few rumbles at Rodgers wasting money in the transfer market. So with that in mind I thought I would have a think about his hits and misses

Hits
Sturridge - Clear success. Looking to be one of the best forwards in the league until he got injured
Coutinho - Same as Sturridge. Made an instant impact and looked great until the injury has set him back
Mignolet - Better shot stopper than Reina and a clear upgrade. Looked shaky from time to time but thats to be expected
Toure - Great bit of business getting him on a free. While he might not put the best performances in. He is a winner and thats what we lacked.
Sakho - Absolute beast. May still be taking time to adjust to the league. But its obvious he is a good player and looks like he might even be a bit of a bargain

Yup agree abar dat la

Misses
Assaidi - Never played, didnt look like Rodgers fancied him. Found his level at Stoke I think.
Sahin - LOL
Moses - See Sahin. Doesnt look like he can be bothered. But that might be down to him not being our player

Aspas - Miss - ****, looked completley out of his depth from day one and bizarre signing. At 26 he's done **** all in his career, apart from one season (last) where he scored 12. Big concern for me is that when he was signed we were told to expect a bit of livewire, will run round, hassle defences with his presence and i was kinda of expecting someone around the level of Milan Baros, not a world beater but a job doer. He looks so far out of his depth it's untrue.

Undecided
Allen - Start of his LFC career was great. Our best passer. But really dipped off after 10 games and only now is starting to regain something of his form. Dont know if he will be around for any length of time though

Borini - Was brought to make an impact IMO and didnt. After a brilliant season with Roma he stuttered. Injury obviously did a number on his devolopemt. Hopefully this season at Sunderland can see him turn into a useful squad member for us going forward. i'll add, he's only just for me not been placed in the misses section....and the only reason in his favour is age. Similar issues to Aspas in that when he was signed we were told by rodgers that we were getting someone with strength and other attributes i can't remember but haven not been shown. I've left him undecided though because he's still at 22 got room for improvement


Alberto - Young and still learning. Shows flashes of brilliance. But not often enough at the moment

Ilori - I know nothing about him other than he is fast and sounds more cockney than most Londoners.
Yesil - Ruptured ACL. Young.
Cissoko - Thought he was terrible at first when he came back from that injury. Looks useful but not much else at the moment.



So in summery we have a lot of players who suffer injuries and stutter in the start of their careers with us. But other than that Rodgers seems to be doing OK, but not brilliant.

Thoughts?

few comments i've added in bold and put Aspas as miss. other than that agree

[Yozza]

Transfer latest from Brendan Rodgers

Although the manager could not provide news of imminent transfer dealings on Thursday, Brendan Rodgers insisted that 'a lot of good work' is ongoing to strengthen the options available at Liverpool.

The current transfer window has been remarkably quiet since opening at the beginning of January for a month-long period, with a lack of activity throughout the Barclays Premier League to date.

Rodgers has yet to conclude any pieces of business, but the Northern Irishman reassured supporters today that he and his recruitment team are assessing any potential opportunities for the club.

"There are no real developments yet," the boss told reporters at his pre-Aston Villa press conference.

"You see across the markets, clubs are just looking and seeing where they can improve. It's similar to ourselves.

"We've been working over a number of months on possibilities that could strengthen the team. We just need to wait and see how that goes in the next couple of weeks.

"The owners have been great in terms of if there's something there to be done that will help us and improve us, I'm sure they'll support that. It's one where it could be a difficult market to improve in.

"But it certainly won't be for the want of trying. There's a lot of good work going on; we're assessing a whole raft of players. It's just whether they are going to be available for us to bring in now."

Earlier in his briefing at Melwood, Rodgers had delivered a positive update on the fitness of his squad ahead of a return to action this Saturday, with more players coming back from injury.

That prompted speculation from the journalists in attendance on the future of a pair of aspiring first-team squad members - and whether wide-man Jordon Ibe and summer signing Tiago Ilori could leave on loan.

He explained: "It's something that we'll look to do, certainly with young Tiago. He has come in and he now knows what Liverpool is about and the standards.

"It has been difficult for him in terms of game time because he hasn't played. But he has come in and shown the profile of player we thought he would be.

"It's the case that we'll probably look to get him a loan period now, where he can get some games. As a defender, he needs to be playing. He'd certainly be someone that we'd look to get on loan."

On Ibe, the manager added: "Young Jordon Ibe is a boy that's in and around the squad at the moment. We're just balancing him. He has been outstanding in training.

"He was out for a few weeks with an injury but he's a young player that's learning all the time - he's in no rush to go out.

"At some point we will have to get him regular game time in order for him to push on. At this moment in time, he's on the bench and has got possibilities to play.

"He has shown every day in training that he's at a really good level. But there will come a point where, if he's not playing here regularly, he'll need to get some game time because I think he can be a great player for us for the future."

[el matador]

I think there's still some work to do here. In my eyes, BR knows that we need champions league this season so he;s just put all his eggs in one basket and we're pushing forward like crazy tools. two up top and its all about goals and winning matches. completely at odds with the ideology he came here with.

its working but we're conceding a crazy amount of chances / goals for a side that wants to finish top 4. I understand what he's doing and i love watching us play (i cant ever remember saying that under houllier or rafa) but even if we get CL, there will come a point in time where BR goes back to his style of 'death by football'.

you simply cant have your gameplan as 'just outscore the opposition' because at the highest level we will get outscored by better teams.

So once we get back into the CL, it will be back to boring old 2 nils.

[MrMichael]

I'm not sure that we're exactly "pushing forward like crazy tools". We have one of the very best attacking players on the planet and are definitely playing with intent to score goals, but personally I'd say our issue at the back has been as much about constantly changing personnel there than it is some deliberate tactic that is leading us to concede so many. Its not like free scoring City, who put 6 past Arsenal, had a field day against us, and neither did Chelsea. With a really settled backline over the season I'd think we would definitely have conceded a few less, which would not look anywhere near as bad.

To put in in perspective, we've let in 3 more goals than (likely title winners) City, and 2 more than Utd, 1 more than Spurs (2 of our biggest rivals for 4th). We're certainly not solid at the back, but we're not playing in real kamikaze style imo, and we do after all have the second best goal difference in the league.

[RichC]

Good sensible post MrM, stop it !!

[Mattshark]

I'm not sure that we're exactly "pushing forward like crazy tools". We have one of the very best attacking players on the planet and are definitely playing with intent to score goals, but personally I'd say our issue at the back has been as much about constantly changing personnel there than it is some deliberate tactic that is leading us to concede so many. Its not like free scoring City, who put 6 past Arsenal, had a field day against us, and neither did Chelsea. With a really settled backline over the season I'd think we would definitely have conceded a few less, which would not look anywhere near as bad.

To put in in perspective, we've let in 3 more goals than (likely title winners) City, and 2 more than Utd, 1 more than Spurs (2 of our biggest rivals for 4th). We're certainly not solid at the back, but we're not playing in real kamikaze style imo, and we do after all have the second best goal difference in the league.

Even with our defence changing so much, we have concede only 8 more than Arsenal who have the best defence in the league (for all those who went on about how **** Mertesacker was) which is really not that bad.

[MrMichael]

Notably, Arsenal have had a pretty settled back line, Sagna - Kosc - Mert - Gibbs have played the vast majority of their games. Southampton's defence was great while it was settled, a few injuries & changes later their record becomes more average.

I really think Enrique being out long term, GJ turning ****, and the constant injuries and changes at CB really do account for a few extra goals at the wrong end. Just 3 or 4 less and there really would be nothing to criticise.

[Mattshark]

Notably, Arsenal have had a pretty settled back line, Sagna - Kosc - Mert - Gibbs have played the vast majority of their games. Southampton's defence was great while it was settled, a few injuries & changes later their record becomes more average.

I really think Enrique being out long term, GJ turning ****, and the constant injuries and changes at CB really do account for a few extra goals at the wrong end. Just 3 or 4 less and there really would be nothing to criticise.

They do, which why they had such a good defence last season too (I just wanted to point out that I was right regarding Mertesacker to all those who spouted bollocks at me over it).
I think the lower quality of Southamptons side has caught up with them a bit personally.

Exactly, even if we'd just kept a clean sheet v Stoke it would a lot better.