Brendan Rodgers

[Kenneth]

Of course its too early to write him off, but I have anyway, he's **** and will be a failure.

And if he isn't, this will be the post that search master Shaggy will quote to rub my nose in it.

[Shaggy]

[Rich]

Unfortunately, I agree with Kenny. I'd prefer John Malkovich ahead of Lazar.

[Buzzo]

Cant see Lovren improving enough myself

Can, Moreno, Lallana and maybe Manquillo will be decent buys imo

Markovic I dont know, hes shown some improvement but lets see

I am also gonna reserve judgement on Balotelli until we see how he does in a system he is use to

If Lovren had worked out perhaps it is a different discussion. £20m is a lot for a CB, and he looks a liability. I'm think we may lack 2 commanding CB's.

Markovic may become a good player, but £20m on potential is a lot of money...

I agree on Mario, his best game was perhaps his debut when he played up front with Sturrdge.

[tanner]

The problem (well one of them) Rodgers faces. with our transfer windows is he needs to perform miracles, we are shopping at a different level but looking for top end results. We need Can to play like Fabregas and Balotelli to play like Costa. We are operating in a different financial level to the clubs that are winning the big trophies. Without spending massive cash I don't see how this can change. Last season was a massive opportunity missed as we took massive momentum from not playing cup football added to a miracle season from Sturridge and Suarez.

In reality it should be no surprise we are mis-firing right now. The thing that is worrying is that there are no signs that things will change any time soon.

We need Sturridge to get shot of his injury problems and we need to strengthen in a few areas with quality. But do elite level players want to sign for us? And do we have the money to compete for them? I suspect the answer to these questions may not be one we want to hear. That said, City have shown if you have the money and are prepared to pay the wages - you can get the players. I see no sign of FFP affecting them or the other elite clubs.

A team spending £100m+ should be challenging for the title.

[RichC]

I don't think its quite that simple tbh but you'd have hoped we'd be doing better than we've shown so far this season.

[tanner]

I don't think its quite that simple tbh but you'd have hoped we'd be doing better than we've shown so far this season.

I'm just quoting Rodgers, not my personal opinion.

[RichC]

Well done.

It's not that simple though is it the squad needed serious work but we should certainly be performing better than we have

[ChrisDR1968]

I'm just quoting Rodgers, not my personal opinion.

I wonder how he'd react if a journalist quoted that remark about Spurs last season back at him in a press conference

[marcus50bucks]

Liverpool FC must try harder to land marquee signings says Brendan Rodgers

Nov 10, 2014 07:39 By David Prentice

LFC targeted Diego Costa in his early days at Atletico Madrid

Brendan Rodgers was left to reflect on the three Chelsea stars who got away on Saturday afternoon – plus Alexis Sanchez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Yevhen Konoplyanka – and concede that Liverpool FC need to work “harder and smarter” to convince the world’s marquee players to end up at Anfield.

Rodgers missed out on Chile’s World Cup star Sanchez this summer, Borussia Dortumund’s playmaking midfielder previously and the Ukrainian left-sided star last January.

But it was the failure to land the trio of talents who ended up at Stamford Bridge which hurt most.

Mo Salah the Reds can probably live without, but Willian was the man who rubbed salt into the gaping wound opened up by Demba Ba in April, then there is Diego Costa.

Liverpool targeted the man on course to replace Luis Suarez as the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner when he was a 10-goal a season marksman at Atletico.

But they missed out.

“I had the chance to leave,” he told Mundo Deportivo last summer. “I was about to do so. Liverpool are a great team but, after so much fighting and overcoming many difficulties to earn my place at Atletico, how was I going to leave? I thought that it was very important for me to continue growing in this club and to play here for many years.”

When he did decide to leave, it was for Chelsea.

And after Suarez’s exit this summer he is the man Rodgers could most have done with on Saturday.

“We need to be better in the final third with that creativity and the ability to score goals important for us,” he said. “We have signed talented young players and I’m sure over the time – whether that’s with me here or not – they will show that they are very good players.

“We know what targets we wanted and what was out there, but for one reason or another they are not here and gone elsewhere. We work with what we’ve got and look to improve what we’ve got and get back to somewhere near the level we’ve shown over the last 18 months.”

Agonisingly runners-up to Manchester City last season, Rodgers had a golden opportunity this summer to build on a staggeringly exciting squad.

But with Sanchez electing to join Arsenal and Suarez exiting to Barcelona an opportunity has been missed.

Rodgers believes that is not the fault of anyone at Anfield.

“We were in a great position at the end of last season, with Champions League football and a way of working, but we just have to work harder and smarter to convince these players to come,” he said.

“As I said the club has done everything it could over the course of the summer to get the players who are going to improve us.

“But players look for more than just football terms. They look at where they want to live, they look at all these social factors and that’s something we can’t control. If someone gets offered say more money to come here but they want to go elsewhere, they want to go to London, there’s not much you can do.

“I think the club have shown their hand in terms of they will be prepared to pay the wages of top players, but whether they want to come here is a different matter.

“I think it’s where we’re at.

“We need to work harder and smarter again.

“We have brought in a raft of players who can hopefully develop and mould into a way of working and be better in the future.”

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-must-try-harder-8079456

First time I've read the echo article as I was at work. I must say I find the article quite disturbing. Think he's playing a dangerous game playing this out in the media. I doubt the owners/players will like some of the comments he's made. He's hardly making it easy to motivate the players he signed by banging his mouth off to the press about missing out on big name signings. It's not the first time he's done this either. He said similar about Balotelli - last resort signing or whatever ****e he came out with. I see a pattern arising. He needs to stop making friggin excuses and concentrate on getting the best out of the players he's got. ;handshake:

[baitman]

we need to stop sending ian ayre to do the negotiating.

gets ready for the flak

[RichC]

Interesting comments from BR but I'd rather this sort of stuff wasn't played out in the press got the feel of looking for excuses as to our poor form they may even be justified but it does him or the club no favours tbh.

His last sentence is the important one and should be aimed at him at the players "work harder and smarter"

[Shaggy]

Interesting comments from BR but I'd rather this sort of stuff wasn't played out in the press got the feel of looking for excuses as to our poor form they may even be justified but it does him or the club no favours tbh.

His last sentence is the important one and should be aimed at him at the players "work harder and smarter"

Agreed, don't think it holds him in a very good light. He's usually good at this stuff but he's clearly feeling the pressure. Needs to do better. No good whinging about "missing top targets" when you've spent £100m, as you say it at least sounds like he's making excuses, when he's making some very odd decisions himself.

[RichC]

Agreed, don't think it holds him in a very good light. He's usually good at this stuff but he's clearly feeling the pressure. Needs to do better. No good whinging about "missing top targets" when you've spent £100m, as you say it at least sounds like he's making excuses, when he's making some very odd decisions himself.

As I've said I can see why he's perserving with some of thee decisions but he has to start getting it right otherwise he will just look stubborn which is a trait of many a manager

[Kenneth]

Is he talking to us, or the owners?