Agree with all of that mate. Particularly the points you make about Sakho, Moreno and Lallana. With regards to Moreno the question is would you trust him at full back in a flat back four? And the question is an absolute no for me. He would actually probably offer more going forward in a four as he would have someone in front of him and more space to run into BUT I don't see the defensive instincts and he has too many mistakes in him for me. That's not to say he can't be a good player but he has pace to burn, he is tenacious and he is a strong lad. The season may have come too late for him. But should we revert to four at the back at any time I would suggest that Flanagan is the best option IF (and it's a big if) he can get himself back into match shape.
I also agree on Lallana, he shows flashes of brilliance but they are few and far between. He shows just enough to stop you giving up on him but it's simply not been enough.
Sakho (as you say) has turned into an excellent defender and has come on in leaps and bounds. The biggest differences for me from last season are that he is staying on his feet (he was reckless at times) and he has got so much better in the air to the point of being dominant. I would argue that it is he (and not Lovren) who has the future Captain look about him wouldn't you agree or has the tail been well and truly pinned on the donkey!?
No I think Lovren will become an excellent player for us mate. Good players (and he is obviously a good player, he shows it for 90% of every game he plays) eventually show it on a consistent basis, I've no worries on that score. Sakho I've liked from day one, and he is belatedly showing that he can become a top player. He too has a bit of a way to go, but he was absolutely outstanding against the Mancs on Sunday.
On a separate note, a few people have bemoaned the "fact" that "Brendan got it wrong" on sunday, and in a couple of respects he did (although almost without exception not for the reasons they are beating him up for). Principal mistake was IMHO not playing Glen Johnson at right wing back, this turned out to be a double whammy error. Firstly we lost Sterlings verve up top and had to exchange it for Lallana's somewhat more effeminate influence. Secondly we ended up with Raheem actually being asked to compete with Felleini in the air, and eventually having our back three and eventually our whole team pulled out of shape as we searched for someone to compete with him. Johnson is one of the best headers of the ball in the team and as strong as an ox, it was an obvious ploy by them which we had a fairly obvious answer to in our locker IMHO, and it was a mistake not to use it.
The second error was more forgivable simply because there was no way Brendan could have known precisely how things were going to pan out. With the benefit of hindsight and with our powder puff first half fresh in the mind, Gerrard should obviously have started. I know many of the mouth foamers on here won't like to read that, but it remains a fact nonetheless. The thing is though Brendan had no way of knowing in advance that Jordan Henderson was going to turn in a performance quite as meek and as poor as he did. Allen is more predictable in that he is very much the sidecar rider and follows the leader in midfield, but Henderson's ineptness in terms of imposing himself on the game was as shocking as it was surprising given his previous form.
Balotelli was a mistake from day one but it would be rich for me to criticise as I was one of the people who was all for his signing. His lack of energy when he came on must surely have been the final dagger into the barely breathing corpse of his Liverpool career, but even at that stage I think Brendan would have been better off going for Sterlings energy and pace, shoring up the defence with someone else, anyone else.
The other big mistake was that we played far too deep and with far too much fear. Ours is a game of football chicken when we are playing well. we commit players forward with abandon, press high in big numbers to induce errors, play the game at an impossibly fast pace. Here we collectively retreated into our shell, allowed our 3-4-3 to become a 5-4-big space-1 and it was never destined to work. Even though we defend better these days, our game changers are up top, and we barely ruffled their feather so determined were we not to allow them around the sides. A braver Liverpool team would have kept men up on the press and took a risk, hit them hard and high when we robbed them. unfortunately we were a shadow of what we are at our best, and much of the problem was mental. It is mostly the managers and captains fault, and partly the other players who showed no leadership.
We aren't out of things though, not by a long chalk. Defeat against Arsenal would however leave us needing to win six out of our last seven IMHO, with probably a point in the other. Not impossible, but very tricky.