The Official Liverpool FC Thread [Vol 9]
Discussion
Tycho said:
My annoyance with Mario is that even coming on late with fresh legs he didn't look like he was making any kind of effort against tired opposition. If you are putting on a Liverpool shirt we all expect you to at least put 100% in even if you don't play particularly well. Failure to do so is unforgivable.
Absolutely agree, Borini and Lambert may not be scoring any goals either but at least they are getting a sweat up and giving 100%. Mario just seems to do the bare minimum and does not seem to give a monkeys.I am not too upset we lost because we played really well and have the nucleus of a really good side, just need a a decent striker playing in front of Raheem and Couthino (which hopefully is DS). A few times, Raheem had the pace and got past the last defenders but needed someone up with him.
Costa is facing a big ban and hope he gets it
Have to admit, I would have brought Lalana on instead of Mario.
But I can see where BR was coming from - we'd played the game without a recognised striker and not scored, so bringing Mario on potentially gave us a different threat (admittedly, the threat didn't amount to much!).
If he'd have brought Lalana on and we'd have lost, he would have been criticised for not trying something different.
We created more than enough chances across the 2 legs to win it comfortably, which at least bodes well for when (if) we do get a decent front man.
But I can see where BR was coming from - we'd played the game without a recognised striker and not scored, so bringing Mario on potentially gave us a different threat (admittedly, the threat didn't amount to much!).
If he'd have brought Lalana on and we'd have lost, he would have been criticised for not trying something different.
We created more than enough chances across the 2 legs to win it comfortably, which at least bodes well for when (if) we do get a decent front man.
revrange said:
RedTrident said:
Thats the point really DS. BR put on Mario so that if it had worked, he'd have looked a genius. It had nothing to do with what we needed on the pitch at the time.
As for the other stuff that BR will succeed given more time and more money. I clearly have a different opinion, I see a manager who when it matters the most, makes the wrong decision. At best this is through inexperience, at worst this is about his ego. I think of not just yesterday but the Chelsea game last season.
have to defend BR, the one difference between him and other managers we have had, is he does seem to learn. As for the other stuff that BR will succeed given more time and more money. I clearly have a different opinion, I see a manager who when it matters the most, makes the wrong decision. At best this is through inexperience, at worst this is about his ego. I think of not just yesterday but the Chelsea game last season.
It was a mistake to bring him on, everyone called it. Mario did what he's always done for us since he was signed. I don't see any learning last night by BR with bringing him on.
Chris Stott said:
Have to admit, I would have brought Lalana on instead of Mario.
But I can see where BR was coming from - we'd played the game without a recognised striker and not scored, so bringing Mario on potentially gave us a different threat (admittedly, the threat didn't amount to much!).
If he'd have brought Lalana on and we'd have lost, he would have been criticised for not trying something different.
We created more than enough chances across the 2 legs to win it comfortably, which at least bodes well for when (if) we do get a decent front man.
This. 100%But I can see where BR was coming from - we'd played the game without a recognised striker and not scored, so bringing Mario on potentially gave us a different threat (admittedly, the threat didn't amount to much!).
If he'd have brought Lalana on and we'd have lost, he would have been criticised for not trying something different.
We created more than enough chances across the 2 legs to win it comfortably, which at least bodes well for when (if) we do get a decent front man.
DSLiverpool said:
He didn't have to pick Mario which effectively dropped us to 10 men and game over, why doesn't this upset people like it upsets me. He picked the wrong subs despite knowing his best team inside out, it's as if Marios mum has put him on a promise. Marios one shot skyed over the stand was embarrassing in a high level game.
My personal opinion, I think he picked Mario as a confidence boost, not as a tactical switch. A lot of paper talk recently about Mario loaned out, being sold in January, him being a failure etc. Obviously not been good for his confidence. Rodgers hoped (I guess like us) that the platform was set for him to go out and become a hero, score the winner and hope that would have been the launchpad for Mario to go on and start firing in goals. Sometimes, a player like Mario just needs a ego boost, to be made to feel important. Scoring the winner would have done just that. Right now he is in a trough and just can't dig himself out of. I think by Rodgers bringing him on, he was trying to light the cracker to launch him out of it. I think as the season goes on, we will see less and less of Mario.
RedTrident said:
revrange said:
RedTrident said:
Thats the point really DS. BR put on Mario so that if it had worked, he'd have looked a genius. It had nothing to do with what we needed on the pitch at the time.
As for the other stuff that BR will succeed given more time and more money. I clearly have a different opinion, I see a manager who when it matters the most, makes the wrong decision. At best this is through inexperience, at worst this is about his ego. I think of not just yesterday but the Chelsea game last season.
have to defend BR, the one difference between him and other managers we have had, is he does seem to learn. As for the other stuff that BR will succeed given more time and more money. I clearly have a different opinion, I see a manager who when it matters the most, makes the wrong decision. At best this is through inexperience, at worst this is about his ego. I think of not just yesterday but the Chelsea game last season.
It was a mistake to bring him on, everyone called it. Mario did what he's always done for us since he was signed. I don't see any learning last night by BR with bringing him on.
I meant as learning in that he has over last three years tried things, if they don't work he seems to change them. Yeah maybe not as quickly as all the championship managers on chat forums would like, but he clearly tries different things. Gerrard in deep role, moved out of it when its clearly not working, Laser as a wing back, moving Can to centre back etc
He no way a perfect manager, but reality is we have a young coach who makes mistakes and is learning very much on the job.
type-r said:
Mourinho is clearly scared that Costa will face a ban. I suppose the grabbing around the face was accidental too. I played footy for a few years - never once did anyone grab my face or did I grab anyone else's. Reminds me of the streetfighter mentality Suarez had.type-r said:
I think the first one was deliberate; the second one, I'm not so sure about.Though there had been plenty of needle between Costa and Skrtel during the game, Costa was airbound at the time and landed on Skrtel who was also moving after slide tackling Costa. It's difficult once you are in the air to change the spot you would be landing in. I'm not a fan of Costa's antics but I'd happily give him the benefit of the doubt on the second one.
type-r said:
it could be argued that one was accidental (which it obviously wasn't), but two accidental stamps in the same game - don't think soGloverMart said:
I think the first one was deliberate; the second one, I'm not so sure about.
Though there had been plenty of needle between Costa and Skrtel during the game, Costa was airbound at the time and landed on Skrtel who was also moving after slide tackling Costa. It's difficult once you are in the air to change the spot you would be landing in. I'm not a fan of Costa's antics but I'd happily give him the benefit of the doubt on the second one.
Dunno, on the replay I remember thinking if he'd wanted to get his foot out of the way, it looked like he could have. Either way, he should have been off the pitch already.Though there had been plenty of needle between Costa and Skrtel during the game, Costa was airbound at the time and landed on Skrtel who was also moving after slide tackling Costa. It's difficult once you are in the air to change the spot you would be landing in. I'm not a fan of Costa's antics but I'd happily give him the benefit of the doubt on the second one.
Can't remember feeling this positive after a loss for quite some time. Strange feeling. I hope we can keep up these levels - the speed of passing last night was wonderful at times.
GloverMart said:
I think the first one was deliberate; the second one, I'm not so sure about.
Though there had been plenty of needle between Costa and Skrtel during the game, Costa was airbound at the time and landed on Skrtel who was also moving after slide tackling Costa. It's difficult once you are in the air to change the spot you would be landing in. I'm not a fan of Costa's antics but I'd happily give him the benefit of the doubt on the second one.
The thing is, the human body has a very very good inate ability to avoid things like this. You don't even have to think about it, so I think it would be safe to say that Costa made a conscious decision to put his feet where he did. Unless he has some basic motor control problems, which is unlikely given he is a highly trained professional sportsman.Though there had been plenty of needle between Costa and Skrtel during the game, Costa was airbound at the time and landed on Skrtel who was also moving after slide tackling Costa. It's difficult once you are in the air to change the spot you would be landing in. I'm not a fan of Costa's antics but I'd happily give him the benefit of the doubt on the second one.
There are 100,000's similar tackles through the season yet everyone else manages to avoid standing on people?
Flip Martian said:
Dunno, on the replay I remember thinking if he'd wanted to get his foot out of the way, it looked like he could have. Either way, he should have been off the pitch already.
On the replay it looks like he put the foot down slightly early, however that's in slow motion and a lot harder to get right in "real time". I'm not sure about it, it could go either way. However there should be a ban with the first one/ potential second.RedTrident said:
I'm not sure why anyone in their right mind would bring on Balotelli in a game like this. Particularly a Balotelli that has hardly kicked a ball in months. Yet again I'm forced to think that our manager made a decision that if had gone right he would have enjoyed the attention. If not for Balotelli we matched them throughout the 2 games.
If Borini, Lambert and Mario never played for us again we wouldn't be any worse off.
As a positive I thought Mignolet had the best game he's had for us in a long time.
As someone who is generally supporting Rodgers I would have to agree about the Mario sub, and said so during the game. The only sub that might have strengthened our team would have been Lallana, and he would have been a good sub since he tends to be able to find the net more than a lot of the midfielders. Balo was a stupid sub.If Borini, Lambert and Mario never played for us again we wouldn't be any worse off.
As a positive I thought Mignolet had the best game he's had for us in a long time.
mr sagman said:
If Balo had scored the winner BR would have been a hero.. And so say all of us.. Such a fine line between hero or failure.. Over the two legs Rogers has restored a lot of faith in a very short time.. He has never lost the dressing room thats for sure even at his darkest time.. Keep the faith and I believe he will deliver.
However this is also true - we were playing so much better than a number of months ago.Agree with the comments re the Ballotelli sub and Lallana! Such a strange decision when you look back at how Lallana had started to play before his small injury.
Still in the FA Cup and with the Europa League and Top 4 to aim at this could still be a good season for us. Must win game coming up on Saturday!
Still in the FA Cup and with the Europa League and Top 4 to aim at this could still be a good season for us. Must win game coming up on Saturday!
SydneyBridge said:
type-r said:
it could be argued that one was accidental (which it obviously wasn't), but two accidental stamps in the same game - don't think soIf I laid on the floor and you trod on my leg as you walked past it certainly wouldn't cause me to react like I had been stamped on.
Yes he was naughty for the first incident but the reaction was equally ridiculous. Still these are the times we live in.
It's all part of the game, i wouldn't mind a pound for every time a centre half stood on my toes.
Skittle or whatever his name is prods, pulls, tugs & holds centre forwards in every game, that is his game, but this Costa chappie is not the kind that gets bullied.
Man the f
k up skittle.
Skittle or whatever his name is prods, pulls, tugs & holds centre forwards in every game, that is his game, but this Costa chappie is not the kind that gets bullied.
Man the f
k up skittle.Skittle 
This stat alone amazes me that people would still want rid of BR -
"The gap between the two sides may be at 17 points, but since the 3-4-2-1 formation was implemented by the Reds boss, the gap is just two"
He made BIG mistakes early in the season but its obvious to see he has learned from them.... Thoroughly enjoyed the game last night, missing 5 very good chances against a good Chelsea team will always hurt us. Hopefully get Studge back till end of season now then buy new striker in summer - no point looking in Jan very few avail.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/foot...
This stat alone amazes me that people would still want rid of BR -
"The gap between the two sides may be at 17 points, but since the 3-4-2-1 formation was implemented by the Reds boss, the gap is just two"
He made BIG mistakes early in the season but its obvious to see he has learned from them.... Thoroughly enjoyed the game last night, missing 5 very good chances against a good Chelsea team will always hurt us. Hopefully get Studge back till end of season now then buy new striker in summer - no point looking in Jan very few avail.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/foot...
type-r said:
Jose is a tt at times, But you're fella really does come out with some old waffle,m3sye said:
Skittle
This stat alone amazes me that people would still want rid of BR -
"The gap between the two sides may be at 17 points, but since the 3-4-2-1 formation was implemented by the Reds boss, the gap is just two"
He made BIG mistakes early in the season but its obvious to see he has learned from them.... Thoroughly enjoyed the game last night, missing 5 very good chances against a good Chelsea team will always hurt us. Hopefully get Studge back till end of season now then buy new striker in summer - no point looking in Jan very few avail.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/foot...
I didn't know how to spell his name & i didn't want the spelling police telling me off.This stat alone amazes me that people would still want rid of BR -
"The gap between the two sides may be at 17 points, but since the 3-4-2-1 formation was implemented by the Reds boss, the gap is just two"
He made BIG mistakes early in the season but its obvious to see he has learned from them.... Thoroughly enjoyed the game last night, missing 5 very good chances against a good Chelsea team will always hurt us. Hopefully get Studge back till end of season now then buy new striker in summer - no point looking in Jan very few avail.
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/foot...
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