fuzion6

Think people need to realise Balotelli in style is much more like Zlatan than he is Suarez....question should be can the team adjust to a more "target man" type striker.

Carroll when Dirk ducked under the cross from Enrique.

As maligned as Andy was...he did have a flair for the dramatic. His double vs Man City, winner against Blackburn, goal at Goodison, winner vs Everton in Cup Semi Final, goal in Cup final....good memories and hope he kicks on from here. Shame he was never given a chance by BR

Ben Arfa while talented is very very injury prone. I would stay away...

Couldn't believe that. Thought spurs' fullbacks were their weakest link

Great result...felt a bit for spurs, thought they deserved to win to be fair. Downing was superb for lfc, as were Lucas and Gerrard who were tireless. Never seen a team play as crazy a high line as spurs do - was disappointed we didn't use sturiddge's pace in behind them more. You do feel its a bit of a watershed victory for this team...though it does still give me the feel of a Roy Evans mid 90s team!

Two years running now where the club has had a low Ebitda figure (it was 10mn last yr and a quick look from this years shows it at 7mn). This is the true comparable financial figure we can use as it ignores any player contract amortisation and transfer spend. To compare with Utd, they have and Ebitda of 100mn which shows just how big the gap is. We should finally see a significant improvement next yr with the new shirt and commercial deals kicking in but the big worry/surprise is just how much money FSG have put in the club via loans. They have been very clear that they want the club to be self sustaining which it clearly currently is not. At some stage FSG will lose interest and either properly change the cost base of the club to reflect a mid table club or sell up...I see no scenario where they continue pumping money in they way they have been. The stadium expansion will need to be financed and say an expansion costs 150mn, even if bak financing is used for this expansion, there will be an equity requirement of at least 20mnn which FSG will have to stump up anyway.

Think it's been more apparent in the last few seasons...probably as the atmosphere at Anfield has been getting gradually worse

Quick note on Woodward and Man U, I have known Ed for a number of years and he will do a fine job (he a boyhood red too). He is nothing like Purslow (another ex investment banker) and the big difference with utd is that every football decision is made by Alex F. Woodward has led all the commercial and sponsorship growth at the club and has managed the debt down. As we all know, the real turning point for utd will be what happens when they need to replace the current manager....

Love these scallys who have suddenly appeared in the away scene. Started last season (the crowd at Blackburn away when Carroll scored the last minute winner was insane). I was stood with the youths in the league cup final and poor Downing was getting the abuse of his life from them. The flares are great - presume they aren't allowed in the grounds and are being sneaked in?

The clause is only for non Premiership clubs who have qualified for the Champs Leauge. No idea what the min fee clause is mind...

Thought he was great tonight....really looks threatening wide and cutting in.

Over the two legs I thought Hulk and Axel Witsel were superb. Witsel in particular is a special player...that Belgium national team (dare I say it) very much have a golden generation on their hands.

Simple question - has there been a young inexperienced manager who has been a success at a top club without some type of Director of Football or experienced board in place? Thinking through some of the more successful young managers - Kenny had Paisley as a mentor and Peter Robinson as a v experienced secretary / chairman. AVB at Porto had Antero Henrqiue as DoF and I assume Mourinho had on there as well (also was Arnesen not around at Chelsea in Mourinho's time?). Guardiola and Rikjaard both operated under strong General Manager figures and a structure that had been developed and overseen by Cruyff, Bayern Munich's board has a load of ex players, De Boer has Overmaars as DoF and prior to that Van Gaal / Cryuff were on the scene... I am beginning to think simply handing full control to Rodgers was an incredibly stupid and desperate decision by FSG.

Graham Carr's title is scout but essentially he is the Director of Football (perhaps as part of a committee with Lambias and Ashley!). If you go abroad then other success stories with a DoF include Palermo, Atletico Madrid, Genoa, Udinese - I'm sure a role at LFC would be attractive to the incumbents there.

Van Gaal? Txkiki? The latter perhaps was never interested but Van Gaal would have been a decent bet. Fear most had with him was that he would want too much control and eventually try and take the manager role. Point is there were and are people out there. Richard Garlick / Dan Ashworth at West Brom for example, Graham Carr at Newcastle.

Sunday will be interesting - if three is one team Rodgers should be fully prepared for and know inside out it is Swansea. Appreciate Laudrup has bought in a number of players, but Sunday is still an ideal opportunity for Rodgers to do a "Steve Clarke" and get a moral boosting victory on the board. A defeat on Sunday and the pressure is going to really start to mount.

Last season after we lost to Arsenal and Champs League qualification was unlikely, the players basically gave up in the league and only performed in the FA Cup games. The worry is that they just give up again this season...

Ben Arfa a great talent but he is very very injury prone. Don't see how he fits given we have the likes of coutinho, sterling etc waiting in the wings. Would make more sense if we had him down as a potential replacement if Suarez was to go in the future...

The team had just worked out how to play with him...and vice versa....when Brendan arrived and had no interest in a a target man. Still convinced he will be a valuable asset to a top team - his athleticism alone makes him a nightmare match up for defenders. I think we bought him 3yrs too early but I imagine he will go back to Newcastle and play up to a 15-20mn valued player. I do miss having a big hard b@stard up front

Bumped into Dion Fanning on the tube in the summer (only knew it was him as he had his Olympics media badge on). Very nice guy and had some interesting views on LFC...don't think he has a particular agenda at all, he just has a view which is rare in journalism these days unless journalists are jumping on some band wagon. You may not agree with Dion's view however...

At least with Charlie Adam and Carroll, they would never shirk their responsibility and keep at it (no matter how poor) and generally not hide. In Adam's case this was often a detriment as he could be playing like utter sh@t but still keep going like he was trying to be Zidane. That mentality is lacking in the team at the moment...too many willing to hide away.

Not ideal that sturridge and Suarez played 90min on a heavy pitch few days before this game...

Rodgers blaming the youngsters for the performance is fine...till you realise the team included every one of the signings he has made for a value of circa 40mn....

Indeed. The rate on arsenal debt is circa 5.5% and they pay the debt down according to a pre agreed schedule. The bond matures in about 10yrs time so roughly 10mn a year of that and then the interest payments on top(which reduce each yr as debt is paid down)