Liverpool 2014-15: Now Is Time On Merseyside When We Dance
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Missed opportunities killed them, but the defense was 100x more solid than at any point this season, Spurs match aside. Lallana had a rough start but really grew into the game.
Took a ridiculous strike from Phil f'in Jagielka to get Everton the draw, so can't complain too much
Took a ridiculous strike from Phil f'in Jagielka to get Everton the draw, so can't complain too much
With all that free time in the middle of each week, you should be able to come up with something more clever than that.
I thought he played well. In fact I thought the whole team played well .. just lacked finishing. Probably deserved the win.bosox4283 said:
Still no Sturridge. Enrique and Coutinho come in for Moreno and Lallana.
The 2 games against Basel will likely determine who comes out of the group with Real, so this is a massive game.
Liverpool's XI: Mignolet, Manquillo, Enrique, Lovren, Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic, Balotelli.
Substitutes: Jones, Toure, Moreno, Lucas, Lallana, Lambert, Borini.
The 2 games against Basel will likely determine who comes out of the group with Real, so this is a massive game.
Liverpool's XI: Mignolet, Manquillo, Enrique, Lovren, Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson, Coutinho, Sterling, Markovic, Balotelli.
Substitutes: Jones, Toure, Moreno, Lucas, Lallana, Lambert, Borini.
When does the season start?
Mignolet needs to go. I've seen enough at this point. He's part of the issue with the backline. He doesn't seem to communicate enough to the backline and in turn, the backline has no idea what he's going to do on routine balls near the post.
Mignolet needs to go. I've seen enough at this point. He's part of the issue with the backline. He doesn't seem to communicate enough to the backline and in turn, the backline has no idea what he's going to do on routine balls near the post.
Was I the only one underwhelmed by Sterling's performance? I thought he was awful. They weren't exactly a machine on the attack, but it wasn't helping that seemingly every time Sterling touched the ball, it bounced 15 yards in front of him to the feet of a defender. It's certainly not a long term concern with Sterling, but with the defensive lapses that are part and parcel of this squad, it would be nice if a one-on-one with the opposing keeper didn't result in the ball rolling harmlessly into his hands because of yet another heavy-handed touch.
I also thought the referee was terrible, but maybe I just need to get used to Whack-a-Mario going mostly unpunished. It's a wonder to me he doesn't haul off and kill someone in the middle of a match. Dude takes a beating. (Yes, I do understand it's his own fault that tactic even exists.)
I also thought the referee was terrible, but maybe I just need to get used to Whack-a-Mario going mostly unpunished. It's a wonder to me he doesn't haul off and kill someone in the middle of a match. Dude takes a beating. (Yes, I do understand it's his own fault that tactic even exists.)
Yes, Sterling has really failed to close out some golden opportunities lately (both the mishit and the offside yesterday). He did have the lone bright spot against West Ham, but he really doesn't seem to have much chemistry with Balotelli, either.
To be fair to Sterling, Rodgers is running him into the ground. He is a 19-year-old kid with a career high of playing 2626 minutes in a season (which is not a lot). He just played 480 minutes in the last two weeks. Playing him for 120 minutes in the league cup in the middle of that stretch was ridiculous.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29483782
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has signed a new long-term contract with the Anfield club.
"I may have had some good games and scored some goals, but literally this is the beginning in terms of what I can show.
"We were so close to success last season and it was a bitter pill to take not winning the league, but that's just a taster of what the fans will get - but hopefully this time we'll have the trophies to show for it."
Good news for Liverpool fans. I like that he's saying he's gonna get better. Liverpool are in transiton http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29480813 but if they can build around Sterling and Sturridge and find that holiest of grails 'the midfield playmaker' they have a chance.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has signed a new long-term contract with the Anfield club.
"I may have had some good games and scored some goals, but literally this is the beginning in terms of what I can show.
"We were so close to success last season and it was a bitter pill to take not winning the league, but that's just a taster of what the fans will get - but hopefully this time we'll have the trophies to show for it."
Good news for Liverpool fans. I like that he's saying he's gonna get better. Liverpool are in transiton http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29480813 but if they can build around Sterling and Sturridge and find that holiest of grails 'the midfield playmaker' they have a chance.
I'm watching on DVR delay after Yom Kippur services. Balotelli isn't in the team. Has he already worn out his welcome?. That's got to be some kind of world record, right?
Rodgers says it's because Balotelli has played a lot and Lambert has looked good in practice. With all of the competitions, you don't want to wear Balo out. And he's about to come on.JayMags71 said:
EDIT: And the English media loves to speculate.
By the way, is the vagueness and secrecy about Sturridge's "thigh injury" standard? Is it a quad, a hamstring pull, a stab wound?
Secrecy about injuries is SOP in the EPL, and the English media wouldn't want to be rude enough to pry about something soccer-related.
The match at Man U has been moved from December 13th to the 14th.
Arsenal's visit to Anfield has been moved from December 20th to the 21st.
And the match against Swansea City at Anfield has been moved from December 28th to the 29th. And they play again against Leicester City on the 1st of January. That's an insane stretch of four BPL matches in 11 days.
Arsenal's visit to Anfield has been moved from December 20th to the 21st.
And the match against Swansea City at Anfield has been moved from December 28th to the 29th. And they play again against Leicester City on the 1st of January. That's an insane stretch of four BPL matches in 11 days.
I believe nearly all the teams will play the same amount of matches during the Christmas period. Its funny how every other league takes a winter break. The Premier league? Fuck it, make 'em play double.
Yeah, the holiday fixtures are always brutal. It was really fun last year when Liverpool got to play away at Man City then away at Chelsea 3 days later during that stretch.
I'm not well-versed in the intricacies of the governing of the EPL, so I have no idea if this is even remotely true, but would it have anything to do with the start of the transfer window? If not, it's a pretty massive coincidence that they'd cram so many fixtures before it opens up.
Not really sure what the point of that would be (maybe to lessen the impact of players moving within the league?), but I've always felt that to be the case.
Not really sure what the point of that would be (maybe to lessen the impact of players moving within the league?), but I've always felt that to be the case.
Bosoxen said:
I'm pretty sure its all about the TV deal and $$$$$$. The fixture congestion comes from taking the regular weekend schedule and then adding specially scheduled matches on Boxing Day and New Year's Day, which both are holidays and get big ratings.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Football (and sport generally) on Boxing Day in England is a tradition that long predates the Premier League and the importance of TV money.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/23/sports/soccer/in-england-day-after-christmas-boxing-day-means-soccer-games.html?_r=0
coremiller said:
Yeah I'm aware of that. But they don't really need to play other fixtures that are 2-3 days beforehand or later or have clubs play three matches in six days (which Arsenal will do this year). I don't think its all that controversial to suggest that the scheduling is significantly driven by ratings and financial concerns.
Other leagues like Bundesliga get a winter break because of adverse weather. The climate in the islands is relatively mild compared to what you would expect from the geographical latitude, so weather isn't an issue. Moreover, I am surprised other leagues aren't doing the same thing. Sports is entertainment, there's no better day to get entertained than christmas and new year's; I mean, I know that in most countries there's very little to do and everything is dead; so why not a soccer game? Or basketball game for that matter as the NBA is also taking advantage of the holiday.
Nick Kaufman said:
They basically take January off. The January weather in most of Germany is comparable to December and February, so that reasoning doesn't really hold up. Until 2009, they did have a true "winter" break of 2+ months, but it has shortened, and will probably eventually disappear.
WayBackVazquez said:
I didn't know about the change in 2009. I suspect commercial reasons played a part, but also the fact that Germany has upgraded its stadium infrastructure a ton the past few years, which I guess makes it easier to play in the winter. But although I never read it explicitly, it always seemed to me that winter is the reason they took the break. The fact it changed doesn't mean it wasn't/isn't a part of their reasoning.
And to take it the start of the thread, I doubt anyone cared about the health of the players in order to give them a break in December. In fact the opposite is true, with more matches being played per season than 20 years ago.
Germany, Italy, and Spain are also much larger geographically than England, so I wonder if winter travel concerns (for both players and fans) may have been an issue traditionally. Obviously not so much of an issue now, but there's a lot of inertia/path dependency with these things.
Divock Origi had a goal and an assist last night for Belgium against Andorra. Combined with his performances for Lille, it's hard to say he hasn't been Liverpool's best striker so far this season.
So, radio silence out of Anfield on Lovren's injury. He may be out for months.
If Sakho's injury is real, we're looking at starting Toure with Ronaldo looming in the Champions League.
If Sakho's injury is real, we're looking at starting Toure with Ronaldo looming in the Champions League.
Yeah, I've been waiting for updates on both Lovren and Sakho. The thought of a Skrtel/Toure pairing with someone off the reserves as backup is frightening.
He's got to get us into the Champions League another dozen times in a row before we start doing that.soxfan121 said:
You guys been following the rift between Hodgson and Rodgers over Sterling needing a rest and feeling tired. A lot of pundits are miffed that he might be tired and it's only October, but he's still young, played in the World Cup (which is a key factor) and Is still growing physically. It reminds me of when Gerrard broke into the team, he was a bit fragile too and had to be rested a bit more than some might have liked or thought appropriate.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29596723
Rio defended him. Which is the best bit of defending Rio's done all season to be fair.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/29596723
Rio defended him. Which is the best bit of defending Rio's done all season to be fair.
It struck me as a bit silly on everyone's part (except Sterling's himself). Rodgers has been overplaying him because he hasn't figured out how he wants to rotate the squad. Hodgson needlessly turned it into a story by complaining about it when he could have said, "Lad's got a bit of a dead leg. The physio said to rest him." And the English media fulfilled their role of being ridiculous at all times by pretending that a 19-YO could and maybe should play 90 minutes 50 times in a year. I could see ripping Rodgers for overplaying Sterling, I could see ripping Hodgson for whining, and if someone were stupid, I could see them ripping Sterling for asking out of an international match. But it seems like all three are getting it, which is just dumb.
Yea i agree. Hodgson when he was at liverpool at similar quibbles with the England 'management' over Gerrard (i think it was him) - Hodg wanted him just to play one half of an international match, but instead he limped off after 75 or so minutes and the then Liverpool manager was mighty pissed...you'd think he can see it from both sides...he's not an idiot.
I kind of feel for Rodgers cos last year he did have a fairly small pickable squad and once Sterling had proved himself, he was always gonna be one of the first names on the team sheet, as I'm sure he is for England now.
FWIW, Martinez is already making overtures to the England set up about Barkley, now that he's nearly good and mended.
I kind of feel for Rodgers cos last year he did have a fairly small pickable squad and once Sterling had proved himself, he was always gonna be one of the first names on the team sheet, as I'm sure he is for England now.
FWIW, Martinez is already making overtures to the England set up about Barkley, now that he's nearly good and mended.
Yeah, I've been following it, hoping the managers would take the high road and keep their opinions to themselves. Without being overly familiar with the English media, I get the sense they take any slight comment and run with it, serving their own interests by creating a conflict. Hodgson is normally careful with his words, but probably couldn't resist taking a dig at Rodgers after what he'd said about Sturridge previously. So it's kind of a petty, unseemly situation all around.
Does this happen in Germany, or Italy? The issues must be the same, but I get the sense that the national team gets a bit more leeway.
I read a quote from Lineker where he advocated for some of England's young stars to be allowed to play in the U21 finals, arguing that major tournament experience will help the senior national squad over time. I tend to agree with that, but Martinez and Wenger each suggested it would be pointless to their players' development.
Scrapping games, such as the Carling Cup, or enforcing a winter break, would probably help give English players enough rest and put them on a level with their international peers, but there clearly is too much money to be made to persuade club managers and owners of this.
Does this happen in Germany, or Italy? The issues must be the same, but I get the sense that the national team gets a bit more leeway.
I read a quote from Lineker where he advocated for some of England's young stars to be allowed to play in the U21 finals, arguing that major tournament experience will help the senior national squad over time. I tend to agree with that, but Martinez and Wenger each suggested it would be pointless to their players' development.
Scrapping games, such as the Carling Cup, or enforcing a winter break, would probably help give English players enough rest and put them on a level with their international peers, but there clearly is too much money to be made to persuade club managers and owners of this.
They may just hold Sturridge back to use him against Real. Notwithstanding the fact that Real is unlikely to let them see any of the ball.
More bad news, I'm afraid. Reports emerging that Sturridge injured a calf in training today and is out for another month.JayMags71 said:
Jayzus. More Sterling burnout.
I'd like to see Markovic on the left if Balotelli will be starting. Give him a chance to attack the sloooooooow QPR back line and cut in to use his right foot. And Emre Can, please. Feel free to save Gerrard for Real.
I'd like to see Markovic on the left if Balotelli will be starting. Give him a chance to attack the sloooooooow QPR back line and cut in to use his right foot. And Emre Can, please. Feel free to save Gerrard for Real.
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