Liverpool FC - what has happened?

[moomba]

'Comfortably' not in the top 4 with him in the side? Haha win our game in hand against Hull and we're only a game outside (with 5 to go) without him!

4 points and 20 odd goal difference. Effectively 2 wins out still if you do win you're game in hand.

Not out of it quite.

 

[Thistle]

We're probably the fifth richest side in the league and therefore the fifth best. We'll probably finish where we should.

Last year was great but never sustainable no matter how much we liked to believe it was. Top managers like Klopp and Simeone have shown it can be sustained for 2-3 years but generally the bigger (i.e. richer) sides will kill them off eventually.

Bit depressing but that's just the way football is these days.

You spent the second most in the league over the summer transfer window and more than any of the top 4. It was definitely sustainable.

 

[elhadjihenry]

I don't think I'm missing it.. I answered it in my previous post by saying that those teams have quality options in reserve to at least partly make up for those players being out, we don't. That was our utensil up last summer and one we need to rectify in the off season.

Sturridge has missed pretty much the entire season, he hasn't just missed a few weeks here and there. Our backup options up front have been woeful and as a result even when we've been playing well in the 2nd half of the season we've been fairly impotent in the final third (I'm pretty sure we have the lowest goal tally of any of the top 6?).

We also need a top quality replacement for Gerrard in midfield and 1 or 2 quality defenders but given the strong correlation between goals scored and league finishing position, for me this is by far the biggest issue we have to fix in the summer and the change that will generate the biggest improvement in league position.

So then your issue is not the injury to Sturridge, its a lack of depth. If your season can be completely derailed by one players injury, your squad isn't top 4 material.

 

[Magma]

going suarez to mario when 99% of people on earth predicted it would be an absolute disaster has been the highlight

 

[Sozabarus]

You spent the second most in the league over the summer transfer window and more than any of the top 4. It was definitely sustainable.

Which came off the back of selling our best player for 75mil and spending that on average players/players with potential because we don't have the money to folk out massive wages on a lot of players. With a top manager we maybe could have challenged for one or two more years but that's about it because we don't have the financial power to compete with the richer sides in the league.

It's just not sustainable for us to be able to compete with Chelsea/City for any length of time. Just like it wasn't sustainable for Dortmund to compete with Bayern and it won't be sustainable for Atletico to compete with Madrid/Barca for too much longer. I don't know how anyone can even argue that.

 

[moomba]

I said at the start of the year that Liverpool making top 4 would be as good an achievement as finishing second last season.

Much tougher this season. No Suarez, rivals all much more competitive (that hasn't really happened), Europe and possibly more domestic cup games (as it turned out) to fit into the schedule. So 5th so far hasn't been too bad IMO. 4th obviously would make it a great season.

So I'm surprised there's so much anti Rodgers sentiment after yesterday. He's done a decent job this season IMO. Of course he is a massive bellend but we've all known that for years so losing a cup semi final shouldn't change too many peoples opinions.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Rather than buying Lallana, Origi and Balo they could have bought Sanchez and paid him around £300,000 per week.

If you can buy 1 star or 3 ok players, always buy the star player.

 

[PendlePie]

Sanchez didn't want to go to Liverpool. They don't have the drawing power they once did.

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Sanchez didn't want to go to Liverpool. They don't have the drawing power they once did.

U understand what i mean. Sanchez is just an example. Some say he wanted to live in London and some say Arsenal offered him more ££££

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

I'd pick arsenal over Liverpool any day of the week, Sanchez made the right move.

 

[Shoei]

I said at the start of the year that Liverpool making top 4 would be as good an achievement as finishing second last season.

Much tougher this season. No Suarez, rivals all much more competitive (that hasn't really happened), Europe and possibly more domestic cup games (as it turned out) to fit into the schedule. So 5th so far hasn't been too bad IMO. 4th obviously would make it a great season.

So I'm surprised there's so much anti Rodgers sentiment after yesterday. He's done a decent job this season IMO. Of course he is a massive bellend but we've all known that for years so losing a cup semi final shouldn't change too many peoples opinions.

The problem is that Rogers was built up as some kind of tactical/Managerial genius by the Liverpool faithful last season. I distinctly remember posters saying he was equal to Wenger and co. and he wasn't just riding the amazing season Suarez was having.

Now fast forward a year,

He has failed once again in the transfer market for the second season, he has tried and failed tactically this season in the biggest games.

He hasn't been terrible by any stretch but the way he was built up as being the second coming of Bill Shankley.

For a guy that has achieved a career win rate of 45% - 40% W/R at Watford, 26% at Reading, 40% at Swansea and 53% at Liverpool he's doing exactly what his history suggests he would do.[/QUOTE]

 

[moomba]

He's cultivated that from day 1, and he's got the ideal fanbase because they lap that sort of s**t up without a second thought.

Quick to take the credit for all the good things, and quick to shift the blame onto the players when it goes wrong. Sooner or later players start to resent that.

 

[chef]

He's cultivated that from day 1, and he's got the ideal fanbase because they lap that sort of s**t up without a second thought.

Quick to take the credit for all the good things, and quick to shift the blame onto the players when it goes wrong. Sooner or later players start to resent that.

He loves the Liverpool chiches as well.

 

[SM]

'Comfortably' not in the top 4 with him in the side? Haha win our game in hand against Hull and we're only a game outside (with 5 to go) without him!

Remind me how the game at the KC went last season?

 

[moomba]

He loves the Liverpool chiches as well.

Absolutely. I remember when he first went there and there was a story about a player turning up late to training. He came out with a "we don't accept that at a club like Liverpool" line, he used it on quite a few occasions in his first year.

I was like "does any club accept that?" "Would you have accepted that at Swansea?".

 

[Buckleys Jocks]

Overachieved last season for what they had and their best player left. Since then they have signed no one of note. Pretty simple

There was also a huge touch of fortune that it peaked for them while United had their worst ever EPL season, Chelsea under performed big time and Arsenal were fairly average, arguably even City weren't that impressive as champs either.

Since then they've lost an irreplaceable star man, his back up is made of glass, and their rivals have all improved significantly. I can't see next season being any better for Liverpool tbh, United, City and Arsenal have much, much less work to do to improve and all three are in a better position to strengthen.

 

[jd2010]

It's only funny because of what Rodgers said about us and then went on and did the exact same thing!

 

[Pykie]

His biggest issue is he didn't learn from his predecessors.

They've now ****ed up two of the biggest sale profits in recent football history, certainly in the EPL, that would of gone a long way to returning them to what they once were.

Splurging the majority of the Suarez transfer in one window was always going to be a disaster, the best bet would of been try and replace him with 1 player, then bank it for 12 months after the dust settles a bit. Invariably when one of these big transfers happen, it's a long way down the line and most of the other available players have already been snapped up and you get bent over looking desperate for whats left of the scraps


Look at the sort of talent on offer in the upcoming window; Depay, Hummels, Gundogan, Dybala, Benteke, Kurzawa, Varane, Howedes, Darmain. With 70m in the kitty they could of had a crack at 3 of them.

Instead the blew it on Lovren, Balotelli and Lallana. Hilarious really.

Will they make the same mistake with the money they get from Sterling?

 

[typeclub]

Big mistakes by rodgers this season. Failed in many areas and did not improve in any way. Would not be hired by anyone above relegation battlers atm

 

[typeclub]

Remind me how the game at the KC went last season?

Treating you like a win in hand. Absolute disgrace

 

[SM]

Treating you like a win in hand. Absolute disgrace

Suarez is still recovering from being in Alex Bruce's pocket all day, he had to flee the country.

 

[strauchanie59]

I've backed Rodgers since he has been in, but I think it is time for him to move on.

 

[typeclub]

Suarez is still recovering from being in Alex Bruce's pocket all day, he had to flee the country.

Now he lives in Pepe's pocket

 

[jd2010]

People really calling for the beaver's head?

Bet it's only because they want Klopp. Based of their 4-5 Dortmund games they watch a year

 

[Peter Sidorkiewicz]

His biggest issue is he didn't learn from his predecessors.

They've now stuffed up two of the biggest sale profits in recent football history, certainly in the EPL, that would of gone a long way to returning them to what they once were.

Splurging the majority of the Suarez transfer in one window was always going to be a disaster, the best bet would of been try and replace him with 1 player, then bank it for 12 months after the dust settles a bit. Invariably when one of these big transfers happen, it's a long way down the line and most of the other available players have already been snapped up and you get bent over looking desperate for whats left of the scraps


Look at the sort of talent on offer in the upcoming window; Depay, Hummels, Gundogan, Dybala, Benteke, Kurzawa, Varane, Howedes, Darmain. With 70m in the kitty they could of had a crack at 3 of them.

Instead the blew it on Lovren, Balotelli and Lallana. Hilarious really.

Will they make the same mistake with the money they get from Sterling?

The funny thing is Spurs did exactly the same with Bale money and bought far too many mediocre players for big money.

Yet it seems Liverpool didn't learn from observing what Spurs did.

Mind you, Bale and Suarez are special players. You can't really replace them.