Book a Land Rover Experience This Christmas
NEIL ATKINSON was joined by Sean Rogers, John Gibbons and Sunderland Podcasts Wise Men Say’s Stephen Goldsmith for this weeks CityTalk podcast.
Book a Land Rover Experience This Christmas
PODCAST: FUNDERLAND?
Good show guys. It’s all about the wins right now, grind ’em out, and the wins are down, as you suggested, to the old/new spine: Touré, Lucas and Lambert. They’ve added leadership and know-how to a previously rudderless vessel. The gains thus far are marginal, in terms of performance, but wins are wins are wins are wins.
Thought Gibbo’s assessment of Lambert was a bit harsh, yes he is limited when compared with Suarez but he’s proving remarkably influential. Raheem’s form has picked up because he knows where his striker is likely to be and what he’s likely to do with the ball? The midfield runners had given up on Mario and Sterling was visibly frustrated with his lack of awareness/selfishness. Lambert’s a better player than is credited, a pivot as much as a target man, he does the simple things well and his passing and awareness makes up for his lack of mobility. He’s no Suarez, but who is? Once the other players, particularly Coutinho, work out Lambert’s strengths we’ll pose a goal threat for the first time since Sturridge’s injury.
Well that’s wasn’t great. Creativity sacrificed for solidity. Not necessarily criticizing that, but I see a few more low-scoring draws on the horizon with teams such as the one that started this game.
I’m disappointed with Henderson. I really, really rate him and did when he was at Sunderland, but he should be dominating games now, or at least at the forefront of everything we’re doing well. His shot near the end sums it up. I think there’s a top, top, midfielder in there somewhere, we just have to try to find it. He’s always going to run and work, but you need more that to be the heartbeat of a top four club. Cattermole runs and works. And non-one can say he’s doing Gerrard’s running for him now either (and I think his performances in the game Gerrard’s been benched shows what a crock that was to being with anyway).
But Spurs drawing, Arsenal losing. It’s a funny old season. If we’re within striking distance when Sturridge returns, it’s still all to play for. It’s increasing looking like the Mancs + 1 other for the remaining top four places. I still expect Southampton, West Ham and Newcastle to fall away, so it’s about finishing ahead of the north London clubs and we’ll meet out season target.
And get hatrick hero Aspas back in January (joking). But I hear Bojan was great for Stoke again today…
Agreed Brownie! Thought Gerrard and Markovic made a difference, Lallana’s substitution was perplexing. He looked far more likely than Coutinho today: actually has some end product (to be fair to Coutinho he’s much better with runners in the side).
But we are at least harder to beat…and we’re even defending set-pieces better. This business of leaving three up when defending corners…it’s obviously a deliberate ploy to de-clutter the penalty area and give Mignolet a clearer sight at things. Seems to work (sort of).
I think Rodgers is going for ‘a hang in there’ approach until Sturridge returns and the Jan window opens. Nothing is lost yet this season. Win against Basel and it’s been a good couple of weeks.
I wouldn’t get over excited, the recent results are again bottom dwellers. Let’s see how the results are after playing some high flying mid-table sides.
Just like the lads, I can’t be arsed writing about the performance. It’s too depressing.
At home to a bad side who just ran the legs of themselves against the best two teams in the league in consecutive games, come to us legless and take a cosy 0-0 from us like it was taking candy from a baby. Is Lovren dropped + Stevie not at DM = clean sheet still a positive? Suppose so. Hurrah!
Only thing I will say is it is now a habit for Rodgers to talk about something post match to take away attention from himself after a bad result. Im not talking about calling us “outstanding” when we draw 0-0 at home to Hull or 2-2 away to some Bulgarians. Or sounding like Hodgson when discussing making subs to counteract the oppositions full back. No.
Today it was Balotelli again. It’s fucking shameful behaviour. The best managers bring focus on themselves after a bad run. Jose and Fergie would deliberately say something controversial/moronic to get people talking about them and take pressure off their players and their performance. But not Brendan. Oh no.
Mario is nowhere near the team and yet he finds the time to talk about a “calculated risk” but “we can’t regret it now.” Then he’s asked about the “mysterious groin injury” and doesn’t correct the journo. I mean, what the fuck is mysterious about it? Is it implied he is faking it? Why would Rodgers allow that comment to slide? His excuse was it was “late on in the window” – well why the fuck leave it so late? MANAGE that situation better. He said “it would have been unfair to have a 32 year old as our only striker” – I mean, where the fuck do you start with that statement? That he wanted Lambert? That he bought Borini? That he knew Sturridge was a sicknote?
Why is Rodgers so content with all the talk being about Balotelli, even when he’s injured and has been for weeks? Why can Rodgers not talk about his own shortcomings, his own signings and how little they’ve brought to the table? Why can he not tell us how much he wanted Lovren and how he has performed so far? Why can he not tell us that he has had 30 months to coach a half decent defense and has failed miserably? When we were winning last season he wouldn’t allow the talk to be about Suarez. Remember “the team is the star” – well how about now? Now we’re losing, it is all about one player? Now we’re losing, he can’t wait to talk about Balotelli? Fuck right off.
His efforts post match are as bad, if not worse, than his performances pre match and in match. The scapegoating makes me sick. It’s not even that subtle, as it was in October/November. But it’s the scapegoat he picks that takes the piss.
The one he knows the papers will jump on for sales and click-bait. The one that needed supporting more than most. The one that should never have been hung out to dry. The one he made sure never performed to any level by constantly, stubbornly, selecting him up front on his own when it was clear to everyone that’s not how he should be used.
Im not even a Balotelli fan, but his treatment at Anfield by his boss has been nothing short of vile. Speaking of vile, I’ll just leave this here……oh how we laughed at Moysie. A football genius eh?
David Moyes’ Manchester Utd 2013/14
League – Played 19 Won 10 Lost 5 Drew 4 Points 34 Goal Difference +12
Champions League – Played 6 Won 4 Lost 0 Drew 2 Goal Difference +9
League Cup – Reached Semi Final
Brendan Rodgers Liverpool 2014/15
League – Played 15 Won 6 Lost 6 Drew 3 Points 21 Goal Difference 0
Champions League – Played 5 Won 1 Lost 3 Drew 1 Goal Difference -4
League Cup – Reached Quarter Final (still to come)
PS: The only chance we have midweek is if Basel shit themselves. Even that might not be enough. And they’re as average as average gets, possibly worse.
I think that “Moyes is a football genius” banner is going to come back to haunt us next week at Old Trafford.
poor performance against a side that spent the last 30 mins in a blind panic hoofing it anywhere. We are a team devoid of ideas, devoid of movement, relying as we did last year, on an individual to turn on the class to get us the win.
It was these sorts of results that had people calling Benitez all sorts and bemoaning the Hodge for his outdated tictacs.
Tricky isn’t it? I can see merit in just about everyone’s posts at the moment. I guess the big question is: was last season a glorious one-off, a result of one remarkable player lifting the whole group or is this season the one-off, as the team regroups and recovers from the loss of our two star players? Our football has been dire this season and the manager clueless (the fans seem to see things ahead of him, which is a worry), the signings have yet to show.
More worrying still, a couple of players seem to have gone backwards, Coutinho (who has no end product) and Henderson in particular. What’s happened to the great one-touch passing, our ability to play ourselves out of tight positions? That wasn’t all down to Suarez but to good work at Melwood. I can only assume it’s down to confidence and the lack of movement up top.
Still, call me Panglossian, but I’ll cling to the positives for now. This was my immediate reaction the game yesterday:
Focus on the positives…focus on the positives….focus on the positives….:another clean sheet, solid showings from Kolo and Lucas and no howlers from Moreno or Mignolet. Markovic looked lively for the first time in a long time and the skipper made a difference when he came on. Sunderland were well organised and arguably the better team in a tepid first half.
No complaints with the lineup today but the tactics and substitutions were once again perplexing. We have a striker with aerial prowess yet didn’t seem to want to cross the ball to him until the 80th minute. Odd, giving that he’s scored he’s posed a goal scoring threat these last two or three games. And Lallana looked far more likely to make something happen than Coutinho who increasingly looks like has he no end product. He misses Sturridge’s runs as much as anyone. He’s struggling work out how to play to Rickie’s strengths, which is disappointing. Henderson was very average today, would like to have seen Allen or Can get a run out in the second half.
Still, one more point than Chelsea today. It’s on!!!!
It’s December, it should not take this long to make this team play football (or even have a fucking shot on target) , I have been trying to cling to the positives but if that means cheering not conceding at home to Sunderland then we have hit rock bottom.
I lost the will to live in that first half. The second was marginally better, but still not worth the entrance money. Is this really what we have been reduced to? And then BR says he “couldn’t have asked more from his players”!
Who in God’s name is he trying to kid? BR is taking the piss out of the club and the fans now, and that’s beyond unacceptable. Hodgson aside, I’ve never been in a position where virtually every fan I know has more of a balanced view of the team than our manager. In any relationship, when you lose respect, it’s the end – and that is how it’s starting to feel with BR.
What else can he say? The players are patently lacking confidence, not sure the manager criticising them publicly is going to help. Not something Ferguson did too often.
He can shut his mouth for once, but alas, the salesman in him means he can’t. Rodgers has that dead-man walking vibe. It starting to look like last year was a fluke, his massive dossier isn’t helping, and he doesn’t seem to see the problems staring him in the face week in week out (ok, he’s opened his eyes a little recently against very weak opposition).
If in doubt, forget ye not he was fired from Reading after a rubbish spell, and that’s without having around £220,000,000 spent on his own players. FSG must be scouting for a replacement by now.