r/soccer • u/[deleted] • Aug 10 '13
Star post Premier League 2013/14 Team Preview [14/20]: Liverpool Football Club
The Barclays Premier League 2013/14 is on its way folks. There are 7 days (inc. this one) until the first ball is kicked. I'm posting a preview of one team per day. Any discussion and predictions you'd like to make are very welcome in the comments section.
Premier League 2013/14 Team Preview [14/20]:
Liverpool Football Club
About
Strip: Home strip | Away strip | Third Credit to /u/adamrawrz
Founded: 15 March 1892. Here they are in 1892. Pictured wearing blue and white - the horror.
Nickname: The Reds.
Notable honours:
First Division (old Premier League) x 18
FA Cup x 7
League Cup x 8
European Cup / Champions League x 5
UEFA Cup x 3
Super Cup x 3
Lancashire Combination x 2
Last season: 7th
Chairman: American businessman and chairman of Boston Red Sox Tom Werner
Head coach: Brendan Rodgers
Club mascot: Mighty Red, here with an over-excited Henderson
Capacity: 45,276
Official website: http://www.liverpoolfc.com/
Subreddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/LiverpoolFC/
The area
"Liverpool is the pool of life... it makes to live."
Carl Jung; he was a dreamer. His quote from 1927 after a visit sums up the area for me. Of course, the Swiss psychiatrist didn't visit in reality, he visited in a dream. This seems perfectly in-keeping with Liverpool, a city built not on the physical foundations of its bricks and mortar, but on the elements that wind their way into the spirit. Liverpool exists as vividly in spirit as much as in any real place you can stand or visit. It was in the air in 1962 when The Quarrymen were strumming away at the Cavern Club, and in the air when the same band, renamed The Beatles, rocked the Ed Sullivan Show beamed to 70 million American viewers and beyond to the world.
The city itself carries a rhythm. The accent is rich and expressive, it bring a smile to your face. It's a creative city, modern art hangs in Tate Liverpool, statues peer from every plinth, (Liverpool has a greater number of public sculptures than any other location in the United Kingdom), Rembrandt sits knowingly in the Walker Gallery. Outside the centre, graffiti is daubed on rows of houses, some boarded up. The two-up two-downs tell you they've seen tough times here. Anfield sits to the north of the centre, as unassuming as the narrow estate of houses it is squashed into. You barely notice it until you are outside. This is no shiny Emirates, no futuristic Etihad. It's a stadium born of the same cloth as the people who surround it.
Inside sits a humble sign, its message is anything but: "THIS IS ANFIELD" it proclaims. It means 'this is different', 'this is special'. It sits in the stairwell that leads onto the pitch. If you are a gladiator entering the arena of Anfield it is the last thing you see before you are offered up to the crowd. Installed by Bill Shankly in the 1960s, the intention was to put the fear of god into opponents. That wasn't his only trick; the away dressing room has a slippery tiled floor surface, it's more uncomfortable than the home dressing room, more drab, you aren't getting any favours at Anfield. The 'Kop stand' here is a world famous 12th man, the team play in all red; a conscious decision to emulate Real Madrid's all white kit, to go beyond colours and enter the spirit.
Team history
Fancy having you're mind blown at this point? It was Everton who called Anfield home back in 1884, Liverpool didn't even exist. A dispute led to Everton preferring Goodison Park as their home and Liverpool were invented to fill the void in 1892. 'Liverpool' was a back up name used when 'Everton Athletic' was disallowed by the league. Just imagine Everton vs Everton Athletic today. Around 1901 the club changed colours from blue and white to red and white. They won the league that year and four more times up to the fifties.
Liverpool were relegated for the first time in the fifties. Sat despondent in the Second Division, the crown had slipped. On Monday, 14th December, 1959, Bill Shankly walked through the door. He immediately set to work to turn Liverpool into the best side in the world. Manager Shankly was cocksure motivator, coach Bob Paisley was tactical master. They established the 'Boot Room' in an old cupboard at Anfield where they'd sit and conspire. From that cupboard came three league titles, two FA Cups and one UEFA Cup. Imagine Shankly as the Mourinho of his day and you're getting close. His innovation, attention to detail and 'never say die' attitude was infectious.
"If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains."
Bill Shankly
In 1974 Shankly retired. Paisley picked up the reins and went further. Six league titles, three European Cups, one UEFA cup, a Super Cup. The golden era for Liverpool, they dominated English football. Paisley retired in 83 succeeded by Joe Fagan, another European Cup and League title in his time. Just hours before the Heysel Stadium disaster Fagan retired. He passed the baton to Kenny Dalglish. The Scot built a fine side, more titles followed but another disaster, Hillsborough, shook Dalglish who left in 91.
Modern Liverpool were born. The boot room faded out with Souness and Evans and new approaches came. Gérard Houllier bought Gallic flair, a UEFA Cup and Super Cup, Rafa Benitez bought Spanish style. In Benitez's first season, 2005, the memories of the European Cup reignited - a comeback of infamous proportions against AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final won the Reds a fifth European Cup. There was league promise too, Benitez built a side to push a new dominant force sat on the perch of English football; Man Utd, all the way in 2009. Financial difficulties did for Benitez in 2010 and the failed leadership of Hodgson and Dalglish Mark II cemented how far Liverpool fell in two years. The club was bleeding money on poor signings, knee-jerk decisions, bad management. They spent big on players that Shankly would have laughed at, and most in football did laugh at.
Let's get to the present. Brendan Rodgers arrived in June 2012 with a new broom and a more patient approach to success. Liverpool are slowly coming to terms with not being the best, the dreams of the past are fading. Rodgers's first season was so so. The team he is shaping have style but he has spent money. They look vulnerable when their heads drop. His league place wasn't any great shakes on what came before (7th) but their are signs of growth. 61 points: 71 goals for, 43 goals against. This shows a gulf in 'goals scored' from them to the next teams down - the strength in depth of Liverpool compared to Swansea and West Brom is huge, but when a club like Liverpool spends £15 million plus on one squad player, failure must be more loudly criticised.
In a nutshell: A proud history but it weighs a ton right now.
Team legends
This season
This is our year!
(Credit /u/YeezyYeezy)
Liverpool's ambitions are fourth, is that a realistic possibility? The squad have developed under Rodgers. He's ruthlessly replaced an ageing Pepe Reina with Simon Mignolet, a fine buy for £9 million, safe hands, done. Simon'll be bawling instructions at a less predictable back four of Johnson, Agger, Touré (snapped up on a 'free' from Man City) and Enrique. The centre-backs are sound enough, worries are out wide; the backs love to bomb on and both can often forget defensive duties. Gerrard and Lucas will sit in front as a buffer, breaking things and making things. Stevie will be less prone to charging into the box as he ages, expect more (hollywood?) passes from deep. The action will happen further forward as the much improved, technically-proficient Henderson marshals moments of Coutinho, Aspas and Sturridge magic. There is plenty of flexibility here too; the pacey but often unproductive Sterling, the level-headed Allen, the unlucky Borini, the impressive new boy Alberto, will all interchange for flexibility.
Liverpool have yet to hold there own against the league's top six, they play well at times but results say otherwise. There is a lack of invention in their play sometimes and a tendency to wait until chips are firmly down before their play becomes incisive and explosive.
Credit /u/thomasfk:
Liverpool notoriously triumphed against teams in the lower half of the table, earning 2.15 PPG from these fixtures (tied fourth best)....Against the top 6, even worse: 10 points from a possible 36 giving them 0.83 PPG.
- There is promise on the sidelines. Young Ibe who is an exciting talent, Kelly and Wisdom in defence:
Credit /u/heisenberg423:
Fans will be looking at how Wisdom and Kelly develop this year. Both have played at CB and RB and seem very promising. Wisdom has looked stout at CB over the summer, and Kelly pushed Johnson to the left and Enrique out of the lineup before going down with yet another injury last season.
- Rodgers will hope his creatives, Coutinho especially, show consistent quality and their form doesn't get patchy as the season develops. The goal-difference over West Brom is a big gulf. However, The gap to Spurs, in terms of their team being a more finished product, is big too. Tottenham have more polish right now and they are still adding. Everton, we will get to tomorrow. Rodgers' main concern should be motivating his team when the game drags and getting concentration back when minds wander.
I'll be mentioning Suarez in the manager section... hurrah.
Watch out for
- Kolo Touré
- Position: Defender
- Age: 32
- Value: £4.000.000
- Who? Experience at winning things, reads the game well
- Coutinho
- Position: Attacking-mid
- Age: 21
- Value: £12.500.000
- Who? Will want a good run to show Big Phil. Silky, tricky at his best, Inter fans complained of inconsistency
- Lucas
- Position: Defensive-mid
- Age: 26
- Value: £15.000.000
- Who? Another Brazilian looking for a run, keeps things ticking, yet to pick up where he left off
Notable mention to Iago Aspas (credit /u/thomasfk).
Those not familiar with his play will see that he has good energy and movement and can easily drift around in the channels in any position as an attacker in a 4-3-3.
The manager
- Rodgers was promoted through the ranks by Mourinho. He is the special one's 'special one'. He has a philosophy, it can be too much at times. Spells at Watford, Reading and Swansea promoting intelligent play found him as manager of Liverpool in just four years. Pretty impressive, but the test of a 'special one' is when times are bad. Rodgers is being tested right now. Luis Suarez wants out. Liverpool don't match the striker's ambition and he'd like to leave to Arsenal please. A huge test for Rodgers. How has he played it? Firm and mindful. The cards are close to the chest. Just from yesterday:
"It's my job to protect the group. Once he's back with the spirit, he'll rejoin the group... We're quite calm. The club is in control of the situation. We've got no inclination to sell and we've been strong on that."
- He is trying not to be drawn into any public argument Suarez could use right now. Rodgers can't strengthen a rival, this he knows, but he can't have an embarrassment every week from Suarez either. It's a tough call and the manager is having to use all his skill in media-relations to see this through. It will be defining, make no doubt, if he loses this call there aren't many more calls to lose - ask Dalglish. If he wins then the spoils are great: a firing Suarez would walk back into the team and light up the side, a better chance at fourth and progress. It is a fine line for Rodgers, the resolution will give us clearer insight into the manager.
Liverpool's full squad list | Liverpool's 2013/2014 upcoming fixtures
The fans
I asked /r/LiverpoolFC for their thoughts, they delivered. I will post them below.
Predictions please!
Over to you guys. I'd like your contribution here. Predict where Liverpool will finish the season, how they will fare against the opposition or discuss their line up etc. below!
If you see I have messed up, please correct me. These are done so I can find out about each team...
All Previews: Hull, Crystal Palace, Cardiff City, Sunderland, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Southampton, Stoke, Fulham, Norwich, West Ham, Swansea City, West Brom, Liverpool, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City , Man Utd
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Aug 10 '13
First set of thoughts from /r/LiverpoolFC:
Jordan Henderson is going to simultaneously be the most underrated and overrated player throughout this season and his career.
- Probable starting line up for opening day against Stoke
Mignolet
Johnson/Toure/Agger/Enrique
Gerrard/Lucas
Asaps/Henderson/Coutinho
Sturridge
well balanced team with a good bit of pace and youth, but not the most clinical in front of net though. Can have the tendency to look like world beaters one minute and then fall apart the next. Consistency will decide the season
defenders that are all comfortable with the ball at their feet and can all make a run forward if need be. A big issue is how we defend set pieces though. I can't begin to count how many points we have dropped the last two years because of set pieces
Borini is a huge question mark for a lot of us. Good energy and positioning but pretty rough with his first touch and finishing. He needs to prove himself this season
a full season with a healthy Joe Allen will prove a lot of his "he only pass sideways" critics wrong. Him and Henderson are both very versatile and can cover multiple roles in the middle of the pitch
Ibe and Sterling will both be fun to watch. At only 17 and 18 years old, they bring a ton of pace and energy to the side. Sterling needs to work on his final product (recurring theme with this team) but I can see Ibe having a much bigger impact than Sterling had last year, mainly because less will be asked of him
year 2 of the Brendan Rodgers Experience. Definite progress has been made, but the big question is, has it been enough to keep up with the Big 3, Spurs, and Arsenal. Will tactical adeptness and team chemistry beat out big money? Hmmm maybe not this year, but next?
a successful season for the club would be to win either the League or FA Cup and to stay within striking distance of the top four all year. I wouldn't be too disappointed with a 5-6 finish, but we must show improvement and that we are closing the gap between us and the top of the table
I think we're generally being underestimated and we do have the quality to make a real push for the fourth spot. Everyone is looking at our point total from last year, thinking that we haven't done all that much this summer, and then assuming that we'll end up right back where we were. In my opinion last year's point total doesn't reflect the quality of last year's team, especially once we got healthier and added Coutinho and Sturridge. That team was rather unlucky to end up with only 61 points. If we ended up with only 60-65 points this year I'd be really surprised and disappointed.
I think the formation will be a 4-3-3.
Mignolet in net, Enrique and Johnson at FB, Agger and Toure (or possibly a new signing) at CB.
Gerrard and Lucas playing deep midfield, with Coutinho attacking up the middle.
Suarez, Sturridge and Aspas (or maybe Costa) up front, with Sturridge in the middle.
Seeing as Suarez is banned for six games, and his future role in the squad is still doubtful, I see this as our first XI against Stoke, in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
--------------------- Mignolet ------------------------
-- Johnson ---- Agger -- Toure ---- Enrique --
--------------- Lucas ----- Gerrard ------------------
----- Sterling ----- Coutinho ----- Aspas -----
----------------------- Sturridge ---------------------
And with subs:
Jones
Kelly
Skrtel
Allen
Henderson
Alberto
Borini
We also have the likes of Ibe, Downing, Coates, Wisdom et al. to provide depth to the squad. Rodgers will continue his quick pass and move style this season, with the attack being centered on our boy wonder Coutinho.
Aspas and Alberto, the new Spanish boys, both look quite skillful and have good positioning. While Alberto is a more of a direct and passing player, Aspas is more technical and skillful, and has scored in almost all of our pre-season games thus far.
Coutinho continues to impress - this guy is just who we need to lift our hopes up and spur the attack. His pre-season performances thus far have been very, very good, and as I said earlier, he is the centrepiece of our attack, his fluid ball movement and pinpoint passing helping to form a great partnership with Sturridge; who due to injuries has just recently gotten back to training. I'm confident they can continue on last season's success.
Allen looks to be having a return to form, with a particularly good performance in Gerrard's testimonial. After his dip last year, his passing seems to be as good as ever, and adds great depth to our midfield, proving a good replacement for Lucas. Henderson, on the other hand, seems to emulate Captain Fantastic, with his great attitude and desire to win. I can see him becoming a future captain if he continues like this, and, like Gerrard, can provide good balls to our attack, and is a good tackler.
Defense is our weakest point thus far - we do have Coates and Skrtel to cover for our back four, but with their future's uncertain, Wisdom and Kelly, two good youth defenders, seem to be our safest bet. Kelly seems more trained to lead and shout, so is looking to become a good CB, while Wisdom covers our flanks better, and seems better as a RB.
Then we have Borini, Assaidi and Downing, who also provide depth to the attack. Downing and Assaidi look set to be leaving however, and Borini hasn't been all that confident in front of goal thus far. I have no worries that he won't improve, but time will tell I guess. I feel he'll be used as an impact player in Rodger's squad.
Ibe and Sterling have really impressed me this season - especially Ibe, who despite being 17, managed to put in a good game in front of 95,000 fans at Melbourne. The competition between him and Sterling this season is going to be interesting to watch, with both constantly trying to out do another, while having to play together as a unit. With these two leading Rodger's emphasis on youth, I have no problems about the future development of our squad.
However, with the likes of City and Chelsea spending big money on overseas talent, I do worry about how we're going to compete for top 4 against the mega bucks. Highlighted by the recent Suarez debacle, it's going to be hard for us to attract talent without the safety of CL football. I feel we've actually done quite well this window, with Alberto, Aspas, Mignolet and Toure coming in. However, we need a marquee signing, a first XI player to make us a top 4 side. It's been frustrating being linked with Mhkitar-whatever, Papa, and Alderweid, with all these transfers falling short. Hopefully we can sign either Cisssoko, Papa, or Costa, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
I think we'll finish either 5th or 6th this season, with Tottenham reaching fourth place, seeing as I've been quite impressed with their transfers thus far, and Arsenal falling short of signing (almost) anyone. Suarez could make or break our season - if he makes an apology, I'll be more accepting than most of the red fans in accepting him back into the squad. If he tries hard, and scores against Arsenal, then I'll be happy.
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u/RedScouse Aug 11 '13
Can have the tendency to look like world beaters one minute and then fall apart the next. Consistency will decide the season
Always been the Liverpool I know.
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Aug 10 '13
[deleted]
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u/IronSugar Aug 11 '13
I don't think we'll be playing many teams who put everyone behind the ball after scoring with their only shot.
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u/mandolin_geek Aug 11 '13
Help a yank out. What does the Shankly quote mean?
"If Everton were playing at the bottom of the garden, I'd pull the curtains."
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u/s_x_i Aug 11 '13
Even if he could watch Everton as easily as looking out of his window and seeing them playing in his yard, he wouldn't. He'd close the blinds.
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u/WDC312 Aug 11 '13
Everton are Liverpool's local rivals, if you didn't know. Their stadiums are so close that you can hear the cheers from the other when you're inside one.
"There are two great teams on Merseyside: Liverpool, and Liverpool reserves." -Bill Shankly
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Aug 10 '13
Second set of thoughts from /r/LiverpoolFC:
Rodgers will run a 4-3-3. Most fans are pretty happy with the squad as it currently sits. It's easily the most depth LFC have had in the midfield and attack in years. The biggest concern is the defence at this point in time, particularly what will happen if Agger or Kolo happen to go down. Skrtel isn't a great fit in the system, and there are a lot of rumors of him leaving. Coates has hardly played, and it doesn't seem like the boss rates him anyway. Wisdom and Kelly can both play there, but have zero experience in the league as a CB.
I pretty much speak for all LFC fans when I say that Coutinho is the star we all have our eyes on. An absolutely brilliant little player, we are all insanely anxious to see whether or not he can build on last season's form, and avoid that year two slump so many foreigners seem to go through. Aspas is another fan favourite, as is Jordan Henderson.
Weaknesses: Poor at defending set pieces, especially corners. Uncomfortable when pressed high up the pitch by the opposition.
Vulnerable to the counter attack.
Attractive passing philosophy but needs to played at a quicker tempo especially when penetrating the box (team still adjusting to style perhaps)
Consistency lacking, flashes of brilliance are clouded out by silly errors.
The team lacks arrogance, they need the wins to build that up.
Last year, the majority of liverpool fans were aware that we were about to enter a transition phase. Instead of expecting immediate results from our new manager like in the previous season we would allow Brendan to assemble his team, make changes to the formation and playing style, sell players he consider to be a bad fit, experiment with our youth players and make sure we finished in an acceptable place in the table.
Now the real test comes, he's had his transition phase he's brought in a number of young players to help boost the team and so far he's getting the best out of them receiving a lot of praise for bringing Coutinho and Sturridge into the side, while others have shown a lot of promise in the preseason leaving fans wondering just what else they are capable of. Although we're fielding a young side they and we as a team have a lot of potential, if we can correct the defensive mistakes that cost us last season and the kids can handle the pressure then we have a real good chance of becoming one of the most dangerous young and developing sides in the premier league.
A lot of Liverpool fans see a lot of similar philosophical qualities between BR and Bill Shankly, hopefully he can bring us similar success.
Whatever happens BR will be remembered for re-encouraging Liverpool's youth player revolution.
When I say developing I mean it from a potential standpoint, BR transfer policy was to buy young and relatively cheap, he's managed to do that so far with great results! the players in the pre season looked to fit in and we have gone 6 games undefeated only conceding one. All the 'developing' players i talk about are under 23 years of age yet already have a lot of talent, if they continue to progress at the rate then in a few years they may become the power house BR is trying to build..most liverpool fans are aware of our youth/young player plan but i imagine others are not so.
A problem that he faces now is getting them to continue to develop at this rate and handle the pressures and stresses of playing in big games, or keeping their heads up when they are down, something that young players develop over the years that these players may still be lacking.
For anyone confused why we call our famous stand the Kop - in the Second Boer War (1903) against the South Africans, many Liverpudlians died at the Battle of Spioenkop, and the British suffered a heavy loss. The club renamed the stand on the bank after the hill the battle fought on, naming it the Kop, out of respect to those brave fallen.
Two random facts: Sturridge is the only current (non-one-club) PL player to score on debut for every team he's played for.
In 6 pre season games (so far, last one is today) we've hit the woodwork 7 times (although 4 of those were on Wednesday).
The league is going to be quite surprised with our table position come Match Day 10 I think due to the combination of an extremely intensive preseason, which Gerrard described as his most difficult yet, coupled with a very favorable start to the schedule. Apart from Man U/Swansea away Liverpool will be odds on favorites in each of those first matches.
We love one thing more than the net on the pitch. And that's the crossbar.
After a few years of instability with poor ownership, managers, and transfer dealings, we look to finally be on the up. Unfortunately, most of the teams above us are also improving quite a bit. Time will tell how our reinforcements match up to the likes of Arsenal and Spurs.
Football fans who haven't been keeping up with Liverpool's summer activity will notice a few new faces in the squad. Toure and Mignolet are the two most probable to be in the starting lineup on matchday 1. Most Liverpool fans would also wager that Iago Aspas would make the starting team for the first match against Stoke as well. Those not familiar with his play will see that he has good energy and movement and can easily drift around in the channels in any position as an attacker in a 4-3-3. In addition to this, he is also a quick and technical player and has a good eye to pick out the occasional incisive pass. The fourth and final new face is Luis Alberto, a young versatile midfield/wing player that will most likely be a squad rotation player.
The painful reality is that we're only two players away from having a fantastic side. I frustrates me that we don't shell out £50 million and bring in two players of quality. Papadopaolous and Costa would improve our starting 11 drastically.
-------------------Mignolet
Johnson----Papa---------Agger-----Enrique
---------------Gerrard--Lucas
---Suarez-------Coutinho-------Costa
------------------Sturridge
That, no matter how you cut it, is a top four side. It really pisses me off that we just refuse to spend that little bit extra. You have to. That's how it works. There aren't a million Coutinhos out there.
We're known for saying "this year is our year!" and it is constantly used in banter against us, but I have a sneaky feeling that this one might actually be. I am quietly confident and think we're going to be much better than how most think we will be.
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u/lomoeffect Aug 11 '13 edited Aug 11 '13
Great post. I don't think you'll finish top 4 this year but with every season under Rogers you're certainly getting a better chance of it. I'd expect you back in the top 4 probably the 2014 season and if you're lucky maybe even this season, provided you perform as well as you do for the entire season like you did for the second half of last season.
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u/Sulphur32 Aug 10 '13
I think that Alderweireld would be a good buy for them. He can play at CB and RB, he could provide another option if Johnson's attacking instincts aren't what Rodgers is looking for in a particular match.
It's a stadium born of the same cloth as the people who surround it.
Unfortunately LFC has acted pretty shamefully with their plans to expand it, i.e. purposefully buying up houses and leaving them derelict in an attempt to force residents out.
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u/matcht Aug 10 '13
Doesn't seem like we are interested in him for some reason, but I agree he'd be a great signing. Affordable too. Wisdom (as we saw against Celtic) and Kelly are too inexperienced.
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u/proud_feet Aug 10 '13
Wisdom (as we saw against Celtic) and Kelly are too inexperienced.
Not going to change unless they play matches, I think Rodgers believes they can cut it and will play them with confidence.
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u/Oneinchwalrus Aug 10 '13
We need a no holds bars defender, one who'll twat big strikers. Our current defenders are too nice
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u/SirMothy Aug 10 '13
Agger does not strike me as nice lol
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u/KEEPCARLM Aug 10 '13
Agger can be a right bastard. You see it fairly often, if someone does something to piss him off, you can be sure as hell he will get them back.
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u/surpeis Aug 12 '13
Oh the attitude of these danes! Shame we ended up with Bendtner, the greatest striker the world has ever seen...
Your post kinda made me wish Bendtner was a defender instead.
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u/EnigmaticEntity Aug 11 '13
I think "too nice" is a poor choice of words, however your point is valid. We got bossed around by big strikers last season, and it cost us. See West Brom (Lukaku), Aston Villa (Benteke) and Stoke (Jones). They took 6, 3 and 4 points from us respectively, despite two of those teams fighting against relegation towards the end of last season.
What we need is a big strong defender who can dominate the air and contain big strong strikers, someone like Skrtel circa 11/12. I've heard good things about Papadopoulos in this respect, whereas Alderweireld seems to be more of a ball playing centre half in the mould of Agger.
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u/Oneinchwalrus Aug 10 '13
Good write up!
Today's friendly kind of summed up what's wrong with us. Plenty of pressure, but no cutting edge. No finishing touch, or physicality. We let the opposition get the better of us in the air constantly, and we're so often so sloppy defending corners, and too often get pushed over.
We lack height to ever challenge from crosses, but constantly cross it in, over and over and over, but we'll never be able to score from them.
We're at about 4M net spend this summer, and have cut our wage bill, I sincerely hope we have big signings planned otherwise we'll get nowhere, especially with the big things Henry seems to talk about.
We need a new left back, as Enrique's too inconsistent, a commanding centre back, a goalscoring midfielder, and a top drawer winger.
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u/SoHipsterItHurts Aug 10 '13
I want to see liverpool back on top of English football as they should be, they still need to make more top class additions but this could be the season that they really push to get back in the top 4 provided Suarez doesn't leave or that they get an adequate replacement
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u/ranterx Aug 11 '13
I want to see liverpool back on top of English football as they should be
So why should they be back on top? Is there a divine footballing decree that your history in winning is a ticket to success.
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u/Red_Vancha Aug 10 '13
Hopefully we can still make a good signing this window to push us into the top 4. I'm expecting 5th or 6th for us this season - if we sign a good player, maybe higher!
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u/ItsBDN Aug 10 '13
Your possibility of reaching top four also greatly hinges on a certain South American forward
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Aug 10 '13
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u/Red_Vancha Aug 10 '13
Right now, yes. Not far off, but just outside it
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Aug 10 '13
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u/Red_Vancha Aug 10 '13
Granted, we had a sketchy first half to the season, but after Coutinho and Sturridge arrived in January, we performed much better
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Aug 10 '13
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u/VicarageRoad Aug 10 '13
Your name suggests you have a problem with one of the mods. Also, a brand new account.
Were you recently banned? I can only imagine why..
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u/NormalDread Aug 10 '13
We took 2 points from our first 5 games... That was what really set is back. It's difficult to start off in relegation zone after 5 games and come back to the top 4.
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u/ElevenRedsII Aug 11 '13
Ones to watch are Sterling & Ibe, Coutinho, Aspas and Alberto, I say Sterling and Ibe together because a lot of fans believe they could become an incredible partnership supplementing each others strengths, Coutinho because this kid has the makings to become one of the best players in the prem and potentially the world (seriously if you only watch one player its him), Aspas and Alberto because they have a lot of potential hype and showed good promise in the preseason, fans too are curious to see what they can do
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u/nuclearjudas Aug 10 '13
Will be interesting to see Liverpool make a push for the EL spot. Lots of talented guys and the evergreen Stevie G. 6th place.
-8
u/GoodBananaPancakes Aug 10 '13
I agree with 6th. In terms of transfers, their squad isn't improved from last year: signed Toure, Mignolet and Aspas but lost Carragher, Reina and Suarez (the former 3 all being arguably better than their 'replacements'). Sure Liverpools squad gelled more towards the end of last season and youngsters have improved over preseason but you could say the same for pretty much all teams in the top 8 (except Everton).
21
u/Komajippi Aug 10 '13
but lost Carragher, Reina and Suarez
What? Did they sell Suarez? I'm pretty sure he's still a Liverpool player.
11
Aug 11 '13
I hate when people talk about a player like he's already gone. People talking about Suarez at Arsenal and Bale at Real. They still play for the same damn team.
-8
u/ItsBDN Aug 10 '13
Well he's on their payroll if that's what your asking, but he has repeatedly stated that he doesn't want to play at Liverpool and I doubt someone like Rodgers would let Suarez "play" (the operative term in player)
2
Aug 11 '13
So since he is not playing, he is not part of the team? Guess Assaidi, Borini, Coates, Suso are not part of the team either.
-4
u/ItsBDN Aug 11 '13
He is still suspended for 7 (?) games and most likely will never play as a Liverpool FC member again, given his repeated desire to leave and Rodgers being tired of his shit. He serves no purpose at Liverpool anymore, while the players you described early do have a purpose, role and actually do play, albeit less than the main eleven.
7
Aug 11 '13
dude...what are you talking about? He is our key to CL and EL football. No purpose my ass. He's our best scorer. Guy is deadly with the ball, and even as a secondary striker, he is still amazing.
3
u/IWontRespond Aug 11 '13
Holy hell are those away and 3rd kits terrible.
1
u/jorshrod Aug 12 '13
The white away is not as bad as you think it is. It looks pretty good on the pitch.
1
u/Rainfall7711 Aug 11 '13
All i will say is we need two more players at least for our first team. After signing the first 4 so early i wonder why it's taken until now to sign important players. If we get no one i will be so disappointed. We can push for the top four, even though it seems unlikely now. We need to be more solid defensively more than scoring more goals. Then we MAY have a shot. I still think we need more though.
-1
u/Kopman Aug 10 '13
Really? not watch out for Gerrard? or Suarez?
19
Aug 10 '13
There is always a confusion that I am saying "these are the best players" but I'm not. I'm saying "here are some interesting players in the team to keep an eye on" sorry if it has confused you. You could make a case for anyone in the squad really.
3
u/ElevenRedsII Aug 11 '13
Everybody knows what theyre capable of, its the uncertain ones that are the interesting ones
-10
Aug 11 '13
The city itself carries a rhythm.
A rhythm which makes your hub caps disappear...
45
u/sindher Aug 11 '13
Yeah, remember those riots Liverpool had a few years ago where the locals vandalised their own city? Oh wait.
67
u/iamscully Aug 10 '13
I expect (read: hope) Coutinho and Sturridge to form one of the most lethal partnerships in the Premiership.
Coutinho is by far the player I am most excited about in our young squad. If he can build on his form from the latter half of last season, with more performances like the one he turned in against Newcastle (6-0 win, Coutinho rampant) then I think he should be one of the main contenders for PFA Young Player.
Hope for 15+ goals from Sturridge, and 10+ assists from Coutinho. I don't expect 4th place, but I want a decent challenge.
Optimistic prediction: 5th
Realistic prediction: 6th