HJK Helsinki no goals and Liverpool get two goals. They come late on in the game and Liverpool’s second half showing was better than the first. But there are more questions than answers from Neil Atkinson, Ben Johnson and Paul Johnson on a Saturday night in Liverpool city centre.’
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Good discussion.
I’m concerned about Stoke all of a sudden after this match. If we’re starting with these forwards a hard fought draw is as likely as losing after shipping one to a counter attack or set piece.
Dropping Benteke and Firmino in cold seems like the wrong approach too.
Hope I’ve missed something in Brendan’s thinking here.
We should be going there to win
Sod the forwards: there is only one man who can’t see the gulf between Lovren and Sakho…
100% agree with this. But saying that both players have a long way to go. Hopefully the new coaching ticket will help in selecting the right option when the season kicks off
Agree with every thing you say about Milner and Henderson but only when Lucas plays I thought at times they sat to deep they didn’t know when to press or when to sit there both excellent defensively when weve got the ball but poor when teams attack us There for Lucas is more important , Hes the key but will Rodgers see it
Perhaps I’m being cynical, but Lucas is Rafa’s man and those players seemed to exit rather quickly. I have no idea other than this for Rodgers’ seeming reluctance to play Lucas as a regular starter, and not when things are imploding and he calls for the cavalry. As for his confidence in Lovren… well words fail me.
…and of course Lallana, the £25m enigma.
Yesterday was a friendly. It means nothing.
But, I got a funny feeling watching it. Prior to the game I was full of confidence for the new season. I still am. Yesterday unlocked some emotions I’d forgotten about over the summer though. That feeling of here we go again. That Liverpool aren’t gonna score. That worry when Lambert, Ngog, Mellor, Aspas, Borini or Erik fuckin Meijer come on when you need a goal. Both Ings and Origi impressed me a little bit yesterday. They seemed better than I imagined (thinking more the movement for Ings 2 headers than much else). It’s gonna take a while before I get the feeling I would, if say, Hernandez was coming on for Utd, though and it’s up to them to change that. I’m just speaking on how I naturally felt here (as it surprised me a little) but even watching Lallana and Ibe I thought, I hope those 2 don’t start. Add Origi and Ings to that. Forget potential, age and everything else, I’m thinking about Stoke and that’s it. Then there was Lovren and today’s reports from Dom King that 10 of yesterday’s team will start v Stoke. I got a pang of fear when I read that. We don’t if there’s any truth in it but it’s left me with a ‘oh Brendan, why are you doing this’ feeling. I had it all last season. The feeling made me start daydreaming earlier today. It went from – actually, it can be quite frustrating watching Liverpool, we tend to huff and puff a lot then it all goes a bit flat. When Sakho got overlooked last season it felt more sinister than for the good of the team. I got a taste of it today. That reminded me of the reaction when Liverpool don’t win when the fans think Rodgers got it wrong. The vitriol. The relentless bombardment and obsession from the ‘I said from the start’ morons. My god, we need a good start or our own fans will be the cause of our undoing. Jesus Christ! I’ll be off my tits in Ibiza by this time tomorrow. I need to snap out of it.
It’s all gonna be great. Benteke’s gonna be that piece we didn’t have last season. Milner’s gonna take me to the top of TAW’s fantasy football because others thought he’d be a little too deep to score points. Clyne is definitely gonna improve that right side. Rodgers will have stronger voices around it. At 25-1 Liverpool are a brilliant bet. If I wasn’t going away I’d put everything I own on that. As I am, I’m gonna lay it at 30’s instead, see if I can cash in on the eternal optimists before I go.
Blaming of the fans has started early I see. More their fault than Rodgers’ then Robin? The fans to be our undoing and not Rodgers selecting Lovren over Sakho for example eh? Deary me.
Don’t back us at 25s or 30s – if you really want to back us for the title, wait 6 or 7 weeks and we’ll be 66s and 70s. Enjoy Ibiza.
Get ready for the ‘here we go again’ morons, because if the pre-season reliance upon Lovren is truly what we can look forward to, then ‘here we go again.’
Don’t worry mate, I won’t be backing us at any stage. Looking at the top 4 last season I’d be pleased if we got in it.
My point there is, let’s say we draw at Stoke and Bournemouth and then lose at Arsenal. It’d be a disaster admittedly but not the end of the world. There’d be time to regroup. My worry is the pressure from the fans will put the manager and players under unnecessary pressure to the detriment of the team. I think it happened last season to a degree. It causes a spiral of doom that escalates or perpetuates. Don’t get me wrong, no one came out with much credit but I feel the fans lost the plot too early.
Regarding my other points, I thought Firmino and Benteke looked ok today. Although Markovic didn’t make the most of some opportunities I thought he looked good. Got in the positions, showed fight. I’d elevate all those above Lallana, Ibe, and Origi / Ings (obviously). I’d elevate Can to first sub, i.e. comes on before Lallana, Allen etc. I feel confident again. I just hope we don’t see Lovren over Sakho. I’ve felt from day 1 Rodgers see’s Lovren as the long term option. If he does then he deserves all he gets.
Yeah, will do mate. Thanks, appreciate that.
Agree entirely with your second paragraph
This maniacal obsession with Lovren is getting ridiculous. And I don’t mean Rodgers – I mean most of you lot. I’m not saying he’s the next Beckenbauer, but to listen to the pod and some of the comments on here you’d think he was Titus Bramble.
The lad was okay. There’s was very little for him or Skrtel to do, but most of what was done was perfectly fine. Strikes me there’s a narrative here and unless Lovren is clearing a couple off the line and/or heading one in from a corner, he’s going to get pelters come what may.
Also, when others co-opt the opinion of our “fans”, they should be clear which fans they are talking about. I know just as many of our fans who think Sakho is an accident waiting to happen as think Lovren is not up to scratch (although maybe not on this particular blog which takes its lead from the hosts who are responsible for this Lovren groupthink). Personally, I think both sets of fans are wrong and in the long run I don’t think it matters a whole lot whether it’s Sakho or Lovren who plays alongside Skrtel. Skrtel is the mainstay of that defence and it’s more important he is there than either of Sakho or Lovren. You can flip a coin so far as the other two are concerned. But the talking down of Lovren for pretty much no reason at all is absurd.
This is true. Sakho isn’t really all that good either. Lovrens problem is the way he started, kinda looked like he lost all his composure/confidence. All our defenders are similar quality wise, they all have an error in them.
Sorry lads, if you can’t see the clear class differential between Sakho and Lovren Imnot sure what to tell you.
Tell me this – how many other managers would start Lovren over Sakho in a straight contest? The answer is a vast majority, or a majority at the absolute worst. Maybe theres a reason for this?
And no David, funny enough I don’t take my lead from TAW where my opinions on players are concerned. I do have the ability to see Lovren is shite for myself. Like 95% of the fan base.
Passing wise, sure, Sakho is head and shoulders above the other two. He tends to make his errors in not so dangerous areas but he does make errors. Lovrens first six months were a disaster, but I do believe he wasn’t all that bad towards the end. I can’t really recall any of our defenders ever having a dominant defensive display, ever. I honestly feel they can all do better.
Padraig,
I have no idea how many managers would start Lovren over Sakho. And guess what? Neither do you. It’s a game of opinions and all that, but “95%” is a number you’ve pulled out of your arse, as you know.
My point about the groupthink on here is that this narrative that Sakho is unequivocally an upgrade on Lovren is not reflected on other fan sites (at least not to the same degree) and it certainly isn’t as clear cut in the conversations I have with other fans (did you listen to the pod and the reference to the comment from a fan who called Sakho a “modern day Traore”?). To be clear, I’m not criticizing the lads or any of the commenters for their views, just to say that the idea that Sakho is universally viewed as superior is pure fantasy. In fact, I’d say the most popular response right now where Sakho and Lovren is concerned is “none of the above”. I think that’s unfair on both. Being a centre-half for Liverpool in season 2014-15 is not a position you’d want to be in and I strongly suspect both players will play significantly better in a team that does not have its worst start to a league campaign in 22 years.
Is ridiculous worse than maniacal?