Brendan Rodgers

[Pablo]

Lose on Sunday - which feels inevitable - and I will be done with him. And I can't believe I'm saying that.

Wow. I'm not there yet, but I admit I'm really waning in my support. Too many baffling decisions and repeated mistakes.

It genuinely does feel like the only thing that can drag him out of the mire is a fully fit Sturridge. It should never have come to that.

[Phoenix07]

There are a lot of games to be played, and as I said earlier, if this was 2010, and Dalglish/Benitez were available, I think there'd be more calling for his head.

He isn't reacting well to the pressure. When he first arrived, Rodgers was making positive changes despite some iffy form, and saying the right things. Now I find myself scratching my head at a lot of things.

I don't want him sacked, because I think we need to see where we are come January, and there's no alternatives unless Dalglish is asked to serve on an interim basis perhaps. It's the deterioration and the lack of quality performances which have been alarming. If we had good performances, then there'd be an understanding, but there just hasn't been. The regression of players from last season is shocking too.

[red g]

repeated mistakes is my concern....the last 50 pages probably mirror the first 150 on here.....with 1 and a half seasons of joy inbetween.

I am almost with Shaggy though, If he feels that much under pressure that he has to put that midfield he did against Basle there is almost no hope.

[Shaggy]

Wow. I'm not there yet, but I admit I'm really waning in my support. Too many baffling decisions and repeated mistakes.

It genuinely does feel like the only thing that can drag him out of the mire is a fully fit Sturridge. It should never have come to that.

It definitely shouldn't have come to that.

I just can't see the sense in sticking by him when there are still so few signs of improvement. He's made such a monumental balls of this season it's hard to have any hope - and last season looks to be the anomaly, which is depressing. I think we'll lose our next two league games - there can't be any way back for him after that, surely. I can't believe I'm typing this ****.

[Rich]

If Slinks is still standing by Rodgers, then so am I.

[ronanm]

I've just has an epiphany today. Honestly, as a set of fans, we're too nice. The season so far has been absolutely shocking. I've had my mates round for about 10 games and we've not won one. I thought we would give it a go against Basel at least but it turned out to be one of our worst performances yet.

I'm sorry guys, but he's got to go asap. He's stinking the place out now. Just take a look at our results this season to get a sense of how bad it is. I'm sorry, but we're doing even worse than Manure under Moysie. That's the reality of it. A slump in form is temporary but Rodger's inability to learn from his mistakes is permanent.

You were saying a few days ago he'd proved himself to you over the prior 3 games?

[Slinky Skills]

I agree with Lec in that I also think Rodgers has lost his nerve/bottle.
Last season even if one of Sturridge or Suarez was out we'd have gone into a game against this Man U side and gone we'll tear them apart.

We'd have gone to Old Trafford with an arrogance and a belief, that starts with the manager and flows into the players.

The players are playing with no confidence and no belief because Rodgers has lost his.

I'd be ****ing delighted is he went into the Utd game with a combination of Sterling, Lallana, Markovic, Henderson, Gerrard and Coutinho playing as our front 5 (in whatever formation) and just said you're **** at the back, we're going to get at you.
Moreno and Manquillo as full backs telling them to bomb on all game.

He won't, it'll be 4-2-3-1 with Lambert upfront, no-one within 20 yards of him and try and nick a draw or a win from a set piece or counter.

Utd will smell our fear and batter us, honest to god I'd rather we went to Utd and got beat having had some bollocks to attack them and take them on at home instead of being paralysed by fear

We have to go for it especially against those ****s.

As negative as I'm feeling I have an odd feeling that we will win Sunday.

If Slinks is still standing by Rodgers, then so am I.

[Maxiedge]

You were saying a few days ago he'd proved himself to you over the prior 3 games?

Yeah I thought someone might pick that out (and fair play to you) but I still standby with what I said.

What has really frightened me this week is the fact that when I wrote that, I thought we'd found a nice balance between defence and attack in our last 3 games and Brendan would take that, work with it and progress it. What he did on Tuesday is inexplicable and a massive kick in the teeth for someone like me, who was defending him couple of days before.
I just don't get why he changed a formula which saw us improving. It just doesn't sit well with me. It's basically saying Basel are the stronger side. It was weak and not LFC material.

[DannyMan2006]

I was perfectly fine until we didn't have a go against Basle. We made a poor side look like a good one. We played Basle like we would play against Madrid in the Bernabeu, get away with a small defeat or draw and have a go at home.

Not sure he can blame the transfer policy on us not even averaging a goal a game at home either. I used some annual leave at work to see the Basle game, I'll not be doing that this weekend when we play the Mancs. Hopefully ill actually want to watch the game on catch up.

Sadly, this rubbish we are seeing has finally led me to the point where if he was sacked I wouldn't be bothered. But I'd stick with him for now. We're nearly in January, if by the end of that month things haven't picked up,I'd be in the Sarb camp of sack him as soon as please.

[DannyMan2006]

Yeah I thought someone might pick that out (and fair play to you) but I still standby with what I said.

What has really frightened me this week is the fact that when I wrote that, I thought we'd found a nice balance between defence and attack in our last 3 games and Brendan would take that, work with it and progress it. What he did on Tuesday is inexplicable and a massive kick in the teeth for someone like me, who was defending him couple of days before.
I just don't get why he changed a formula which saw us improving. It just doesn't sit well with me. It's basically saying Basel are the stronger side. It was weak and not LFC material.

I can just about take see us grinding out wins against lesser league sides and a Bulgarian team since it was away from home. I could even gloss over Sunderland at home & go on about how they held Chelsea. But sitting back against Basle, hoping for a set piece goal or something instead of going for the jugular - sackable offence alone in my book.

That's why I've gone from support to ambiance in the space of 90 minutes. Grinding out wins is fine if you're actually winning. Otherwise it's depressing.

[ronanm]

Yeah I thought someone might pick that out (and fair play to you) but I still standby with what I said.

What has really frightened me this week is the fact that when I wrote that, I thought we'd found a nice balance between defence and attack in our last 3 games and Brendan would take that, work with it and progress it. What he did on Tuesday is inexplicable and a massive kick in the teeth for someone like me, who was defending him couple of days before.
I just don't get why he changed a formula which saw us improving. It just doesn't sit well with me. It's basically saying Basel are the stronger side. It was weak and not LFC material.

No worries - I think I questioned you at the time Guess we all want Liverpool to win is all

[Rigadon]

November 2014
Sat - 29 Stoke City H 15:00 W

December 2014
Tue - 2 Leicester A 19:45 W

Sat - 6 Sunderland H 15:00 D

Sun - 14 Manchester United A 13:30

Sun - 21 Arsenal H 16:00

Fri - 26 Burnley A 15:00

Mon - 29 Swansea H 20:00

Seven games to save his Liverpool career.

He still has my support (although he's not immune from criticism). I expect at least 7 points from our next four games.

[Yozza]

Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers' selections mystify Mark Lawrenson

By Chris Bevan

BBC Sport

Liverpool are "rudderless" and "going backwards just as fast as they went forwards last season", according to former player Mark Lawrenson.

Lawrenson says he is baffled by some of the team selections and accuses manager Brendan Rodgers of changing his side "like he does his socks".

The BBC Sport pundit also says Daniel Sturridge will not prove to be the "saviour" of the Anfield club.

Yet he feels the Reds can still qualify for next season's Champions League.

Liverpool went out of the Champions League at the group stage following Tuesday's 1-1 home draw with Basel and lie ninth in the Premier League ahead of Sunday's visit to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Lawrenson believes the club have regressed since the fixture between the sides last March, when Steven Gerrard scored two penalties and missed a third in a 3-0 victory over the then Premier League champions, and worries that Rodgers seems unsure of how to set up his team tactically.

"It is eight months since Liverpool blew Manchester United away to win 3-0 at Old Trafford but it seems an awful lot longer than that," he said.

"To be frank, Liverpool are all over the place at the moment. They are rudderless, low on confidence and do not seem to have a definitive way of playing."

The former Liverpool and Republic of Ireland defender was particularly scathing about Rodgers' team selection for the must-win match against Basel at Anfield, feeling that England international Adam Lallana, 26, should have started in midfield and questioning the inclusion of Jose Enrique at left-back.

"I do not understand some of Brendan Rodgers' selections - leaving Lallana out against Basel mystified me, as did the inclusion of Enrique, who looked overweight," he said.

Liverpool finished runners-up to Manchester City in the Premier League last season, in large part thanks to Luis Suarez's 31 goals in 33 matches, and Lawrenson feels that Rodgers has failed to adequately replace the Uruguay international, who joined Barcelona in July in a £75m deal.

"Some of Liverpool's key players have lost form but what has happened this season shows how much they relied on Suarez and Sturridge - those lads were clearly more than just 50% of the goals, they were 50% of the whole team," he continued.

"That's the only conclusion you can draw from what has happened without them."
Sturridge has not featured in the first team since the start of September after suffering thigh and calf injuries and Lawrenson warns that the England striker may take time to match the form he showed last term in partnership with Suarez.

"Sturridge is getting built up as Liverpool's saviour because they have struggled in his absence. But he won't be. We don't even know when he will be back," he said.

Rodgers spent £116m in the summer on Lallana, Lazar Markovic, Dejan Lovren, Mario Balotelli, Alberto Moreno, Emre Can, Javier Manquillo, Divock Origi, who was immediately loaned back to Lille, and Rickie Lambert, but Lawrenson feels the new signings have yet to hit top form and worries that any new additions in the January transfer window will also struggle to make an impact at Anfield.

"Everyone is saying that Brendan Rodgers has got to buy players in January to turn things round but it is not that easy," he said.

"For starters it is difficult to buy anybody of quality in January, but also, they need to improve in pretty much every department because nobody is playing well."

Mark Lawrenson on how Liverpool will approach the Europa League

"The Europa League is a nuisance for Liverpool. But at least now it is knock-out and as a manager Rodgers can decide on a round-by-round basis on what he wants to do, and view the Europa League two days before he plays each tie.

"There is a Champions League place at the end of it. That is not a factor now but that changes the further you go in the Europa League and also if the top four becomes less likely in the Premier League."

Lawrenson says that Liverpool can still qualify for the Champions League next season, by either taking the spot reserved for the Europa League winners or focusing on the "all day long priority" of securing a top-four finish but warns that Rodgers faces a tough task if he is to reverse the slump.

"Last year Liverpool built up such momentum that it felt like he could just send the players out and they would sort it." he said.

"Now you look at it and it seems like the same scenario in reverse - they are going backwards just as fast as they went forwards last season.

"It is down to Rodgers to stop it and change the direction of their season around but boy is it a steep learning curve for him."

[ChrisDR1968]

He still has my support (although he's not immune from criticism). I expect at least 7 points from our next four games.

Actually I don't think we'll lose at home to Arsenal. They're struggling in the league this season as well so I think it'll be a 1-1 draw

[Sarb]

Damning from Lawro. Enrique overweight and Rodgers picks him v Basel