slimbo

We'll need all the legs we can get on Tuesday to press when required. No way should any of our front three play, or back four for me. Kind of have our hands tied more for midfield.

Crucial 2 points dropped. Could have had a better than 3pt buffer against City with their game in hand and more than 6pts over Arsenal and United. Now put them right back in the mix. The signs were there right from the start that we were shaky at the back. Frustrating that teams lower on the table can go all 'Calamity Jane' on us. Just wait for it to go to our back four and pounce on the calamity. The decision to sit back with 30min to go is baffling given our dominance in the game. As others have said... given our defensive performances on the night it was inviting them back into the game and there was a feeling of inevitability about their goal. The telling thing is I think our players had that same feeling.

Totally agree. Almost moved out of the way at times to let opposition pass by.

Agree

Not far wrong there. You could argue for a fullback as well. A top shelf GK is a necessity. CB's - We have Skrtyl, Lovren, Sakho & Toure. One should go and a new top quality one bought. FB's - Maybe not urgent with Flanno coming back and Gomez to come back as well. Moreno and Clyne have youth in their favour but both still have a way to go. Both pretty ordinary in the final third. Midfield - Lucas, Allen, Henderson, Can, Coutinho, Milner, Lallana, plus some youth. Lucas towards the tail of his peak career, Can has horrible touch and turns the ball over a lot but he is young and personally think he is one for the future. Milner on the tail of his career, I still think we need a top midfielder brought into the squad to give us the dominance we need. Strikers - Sturridge, Benteke, Origi, Firmino, Ings. Only player I would look to offload is Benteke and not sure what to think with Firmino. I think Ings will be a valuable part of the squad. With Origi, and Sturridge another top striker would do nicely, Would like to see us show some real ambition and go after the right player.

Not to mention being skinned just before that and being forced to give away the corner to redeem himself. Defies any logic that he is given the preference he has. Ordinary defender. Have a feeling if Sakho leaves it will come back to bite Rodgers.

This. I've not been against him. Had hopes he'd do well. But publicly criticising players and putting a spin on our progress is tiring. It's his job to get the best out of what he has and he has far from done that bar a third of the season. The start and finish were diabolical. Players don't know what they're doing because BR doesn't. No way forward if we keep him.

Exactly. He may go or we may make him stay another year, which makes the story of him putting his house up for sale sounding like a paper trying to get clicks on a website. Or maybe he is stupid enough to buy a house in London and end up having to stay for another season in Liverpool colours.

I agree. Still struggling and maybe still carrying some niggling injury. Hopefully it will all come together for him sooner rather than later.

Curious as to where people see as Sterling's best position and how that should affect our formation? Striker? WInger? AM? I certainly don't see him as a striker. He hasn't shown the end product or instinctive finishing you have in a a Sturridge or a host of other strikers. I would only see him as a #10 in a formation where we play two of them. He doesn't have the passing range or vision yet of Coutinho. Probably as a winger in a front 3 for me at the moment.

Wouldn't be surprised if Sturridge is on the bench for this one and we go with the same front three as we did against City. Lots of intense pressing on their back four.

Not sure we're putting our eggs in the EL basket. Yes we have injuries but I think with an eye on Sunday's big match BR is happy to put out a solid side and see where the chips land. Confident of getting through but if we don't we move on to focus on the PL and FA Cup.

I think we'll perform well. We're creating chances every game so if things go our way as they did last weekend we could get a result. If not, it's not the end of the world. City still have to play United, Spurs and Southhampton so hopefully they'll do the business against them.

We do have a player in Mario. Holds the ball up well, distributes well, can finish, take set pieces and ..... ace penalty taker. Hoping he continues to flourish here.

IBE IS CUP TIED

That's a big 2 points dropped from Southhampton and puts us right in the race. Yernited have a tough fixture list ahead and I can see them dropping points or losing all five of these fixtures. Tottenham (h) Liverpool (a) Man City (h) Chelsea (a) Arsenal (h)

I think so. I would leave Sterling out and Coutinho on the bench. Sterling clearly carrying a knock and Coutinho looks jaded.

This

This. SG didn't have a bad game but defensively in that second half he was a training cone most of the time. Thought it was a bad move to take Hendo out of midfield and leave Gerrard and Lucas together there. The game was certainly calling for some more energetic pressing as the game went on. Lallana the obvious choice.

A lot of the criticism he got for poor performances was when he was along side Gerrard in a different formation. He was magnificent against Chelsea. Broke up so much of their play with instinctive, intelligent reading of play. There is no one near him currently at our club who can play that role as well as Lucas and in fact very few in the league. Madness to let him go.

Lucas Coutinho Sterling

Foolish play from Markovic but I think as soon as the ref blew the whistle he knew. Put his head in his hands straight away. Think there is a player in there though. Even when he's drifted out of the few games he's played for us I've been impressed with his vision and passing. Hope he gets more game time soon.

I think based on last season and the money we've spent fourth should be expected. But it's more than just where we finish. Other variables come into account sometimes like injuries and how other squads build so for me it's how Rogers handles what he's been given and what is in front of him every match. DazzaJ's quote is telling for me. Starting Enrique was a waste of a sub. It was a poor decision and not just in hindsight. We persisted with Gerrard in a DM role, and Balotelli up front on his own despite losing matches in an uninspiring fashion and moving down towards relegation fodder. Blind Freddy can see that Gerrard and Henderson aren't working together in our side at the moment yet they are regularly picked for big games. I'm not saying either shouldn't be picked, but at the moment they shouldn't be picked together. Roger's man management has been highly praised in the past but I am questioning how he is handling it this season. If players aren't performing you drop them. You give guys, some who you've paid a lot of money for a chance to prove their worth. It produces a hunger in the team to do better. If you're dropped you have to work hard. If you get a chance you work hard to keep your spot. That hasn't happened. The Real Madrid game was all bluff. Lucas was the only exception where a player played well and retained his spot but that had to happen didn't it. Johnson, Enrique, Henderson, Gerrard (as a DM), Lovren, Mignolet, Balotelli before being injured are all examples of the manager bottling it. We have no where near the urgency or pressing that is required and it has to change. He has bought the players so its' up to him to make it work. The club depends on it, the fans expect it and his job depends on it. Why has Borini not been given his chance when we have no strikers? Can plays a blinder and we don't see him again. What must that do for a players confidence? I actually think we have some good buys in Can, Llalana, Moreno and even Markovic. I just think there's a bit of blind loyalty for players at the moment for whatever reason that is doing us way more harm than good.

Mignolet Manquillo - Skrtel - Toure - Moreno Lucas - Can Sterling - Coutinho - Lallana / Marko Borini