Pre Match: Liverpool v Norwich - Wed 4th Dec at 7:45

am I missing something?  why are so many people suggesting alberto gets to be a starting XI?  He hasnt played much this year I agree but the times he has, he has been super lacklustre at best...  His work ethic and off the ball movement is horrid.... also he is really weak on the ball and gets bossed easily.  Aspas on the other hand, while he struggled to put the ball into the back of the net, he is a little work horse and has shown his desire to succeed. IF he is healthy, I would put Aspas in to play with Suarez and hopefully begin an AaS strike force 

my starting XI would be

Mig, Skrtel, sakho, Agger, Flanagan, Gerrard, Henderson, Lucas, Coutinho, Aspas, Suarez

and yes, I also think our midfields need an overhaul but as sad as reality is.... Gerrard, henderson and lucas imo are still the best we have.

Great idea stick with the same insipid midfield which has been outplayed and over run all season that makes perfect sense.

am I missing something?  why are so many people suggesting alberto gets to be a starting XI?  He hasnt played much this year I agree but the times he has, he has been super lacklustre at best...  His work ethic and off the ball movement is horrid....

Couldn't disagree more.

Alberto's off the ball movement is better than many of the players who get into the side ahead of him.

Great idea stick with the same insipid midfield which has been outplayed and over run all season that makes perfect sense.

you must be a bit daft.... I already said how bad our midfield is... so who do we put in?  Allen in this current setup is a step down from these three... at least these three has a chance to do something right.  why do you think BR has consistently played henderson... even a super fan of his can tell you that he might not be the most gifted player in our squad.  but why does he play ahead of allen?  very simple... his work rate is there to help compensate for Gerrard and Lucas' lack of speed up/down the field.  To make allen work, we need a full overhaul of the midfield... we need a much more fluid midfield (like arsenal)... and then we will get the best of allen

Couldn't disagree more.

Alberto's off the ball movement is better than many of the players who get into the side ahead of him.

Watching yesterdays game, there were so many instances where he was late to a ball, or didnt get into an open position... or playing the simple easy easy passes.... i think he is a good player but currently as is, he needs to up his on field intelligence to assist his teammates more.

We need to get back to winning ways and who better than Norwich for Suarez to take out his frustration on.

                             Mignolet

Johnson           Toure           Sakho          Flanagan

           Gerrard        Lucas     Allen

 Henderson                                  Coutinho

                        Suarez

Keeping faith with a few players (others there are really no alternatives for) and hoping for a good response.

Thank God Coutinho's fit!!

you must be a bit daft.... I already said how bad our midfield is... so who do we put in?  Allen in this current setup is a step down from these three... at least these three has a chance to do something right.  why do you think BR has consistently played henderson... even a super fan of his can tell you that he might not be the most gifted player in our squad.  but why does he play ahead of allen?  very simple... his work rate is there to help compensate for Gerrard and Lucas' lack of speed up/down the field.  To make allen work, we need a full overhaul of the midfield... we need a much more fluid midfield (like arsenal)... and then we will get the best of allen

Yup I must be daft for questioning you on why pick the same team who got embarrassed by Hull.
There is a lot of questions I would like to ask Brendan but unlikely to get a chance, but mate henderson is a mystery a bit like Brendan's tactics and team selections at times.

                                 Suarez

                Coutinho                   Alberto

                 Allen     Lucas      Gerrard

           Agger       Sakho       Skrtel      Johnson

                                Mignolet


Hendo was totally anonymous against Hull, and is the one who should be dropped for Allen to come in.
(Lucas actually played ok - see the official site's opta chalkboard for the massive difference in the 2's contribution for example.)

I though Sakho n Skrtel looked a decent combo and don't know why Brendan changed that, so they would be re-united. Agger has been poor this season, but we could do with a left footer at left back and it would give him a bit more freedom to play himself back into form.
Don't know about Alberto, but our other options for that position are all struggling, so lets give him a chance.

Key messages would be: fullbacks push up, everybody get some fire in your bellies, close them down in their own half - oh, and actually f***in MOVE for each other!

How I would see the formation I posted earlier would look if we played it midweek


windows 7 screenshot

Mignolet; Kelly, Skrtel, Sakho, Flanagan; Allen, Gerrard; Coutinho, Ibe; Aspas, Suarez.

Hope we actually drop our sh*te players for a change. With Sturridge out, we need to see what Aspas can actually offer (and if we need a striker in January) and the next two games give us that chance.

I'm not sure I'd want to risk another three points by moving Gerrard or Allen to a holding midfield role but I'd definately like to see Ibe on the bench and getting some more game time. He looks to be everything Sterling is not.

We need to win this game or we'll probably go into freefall.

Just get the win and three more points to keep us 4th at least.

Lets move on and get this game underway asap.

Sakho     Agger     Skrtel   


Looks good.

I'd switch to three at the back for this.

http://bit.ly/1g0Rz1a

Yup I must be daft for questioning you on why pick the same team who got embarrassed by Hull.
There is a lot of questions I would like to ask Brendan but unlikely to get a chance, but mate henderson is a mystery a bit like Brendan's tactics and team selections at times.

heh.. cant argue with you there regarding henderson.  i really want to like the kid, i think he has a good head on his shoulders but a true soccer talent he is not.  however i still think we dont have an upgrade on him with our current roster.  Allen cannot play what BR needs henderson for so imo that's why Allen sits. 

problem imo with our midfield is that they can get super embarrassed by a team like hull but at the same time can somehow gel together and play well in other games.  I would hate it as a manager as you never know which line shows up.   If we had only landed one of our true midfield targets this past summer i think we would be in a whole different mindset.

Also, as food for thought, yes our defense could play a bit better but imo, they are actually decently solid.  when you dont have your midfield support and suddenly you are defending against both opposition fwds and midfields at the same time, you end up with those quality quality chances against us.  think how many highlight saves mig had to do in the past few games.  that said.. johnson still needs to up his defensive game

Whatever the team, never put Hendo in no.10 role then I will agree.

The fail reporting a ''heated exchange of words'' between Toure and Sakho on training at Melwood today.





Anybody know anything or is this the usual sh*t?

Does not look heated to me so probably just bull. Typical from that trashy paper.

Mignolet; Touré, Skrtel, Sakho; Henderson, Allen, Gerrard, Alberto, Johnson; Coutinho; Suarez

I don't think Lucas has been that bad but it would be nice to see something a bit different... I'm dying to see more of Alberto and Allen needs games. If it's too much of a change though, then keep Alberto for the 2nd half, start with Lucas and Allen in the middle with Gerrard closer to the attack.

Mig, Flan, Sakho, Agger, Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Gerrard, Coutinho, Aspas, Suarez.
Alberto to come on around 50-60 mins for Stevie.

Mig, Flan, Sakho, Agger, Johnson, Lucas, Allen, Gerrard, Coutinho, Aspas, Suarez.
Alberto to come on around 50-60 mins for Stevie.

Seeing as though it's Norwich drop Lucas and why not start with Alberto.

                         Mig
Johnson   Skrtel    Sakho     Flannagan

                       Lucas
       Gerrard    Alberto   Coutinho

             Aspas       Suarez

We cant defend set pieces, we will concede. We should just go for it and try to score as many as possible. Gerrard/Alberto/Coutinho should be able to pick a pass through the bus between them.

          Mignolet
Jonno  Skyrtel Agger Flanno
          SG Allen
Moses Hendo Coutinho
           Suarez

BR needs to buy an 11-pack of rockets and a box of matches ... cause we really could do with a) a performance and b) a win.

Sick that I won't be able to watch the game, hoping for everyone's sakes we get the 3 points.............