Liverpool 2-3 Udinese: In game and Post Match Grimace

Like that one pretty good FL...3 at the back scares the sh*te out of me as we leak goals with 4 now...but still I do like the look of that.

3 in the back worries me a bit too, but with Lucas, Allen and Gerrard in there I think there would be sufficient cover.

Shear nonsense! Liverpool boss defends Joe Allen after Shearer's criticism

Brendan Rodgers has warned the critics who suggest he overpaid for Joe Allen: “You’ll be calling him the bargain of the season in a few months”.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer has been one of the loudest voices in questioning the role of the Wales midfielder at Liverpool, accusing him of not doing enough on the ball going forward.
Reds manager Rodgers - who brought Allen with him from former club Swansea in a £15million deal and admitted he would have paid "many more millions" than that if required - is staggered by that view.
In response, he has branded Shearer a ‘so-called pundit’ who doesn’t understand the importance of keeping possession in the modern game.
Rodgers believes Allen - who was crowned the Wales' Player of the Year this week - will become the new Paul Scholes as he carves out a long career at the pinnacle of the game.
“I saw something the other day criticising Joe Allen for not playing risk passes. Unbelievable - so-called pundits who don’t know the dynamics of a team and how it functions,” Rodgers insisted.
“Joe’s role is to keep the ball. And that, in Britain, is a special talent. It is why Paul Scholes is still playing to his age. It is such a rare talent for a midfielder to rarely give the ball away
“People have talked about him and his fee, but in time he will be an absolute bargain.”
Rodgers isn’t the only one at Anfield to see the special ability Allen possesses for retaining the ball and using it intelligently, even under intense pressure.
He was voted player of the month for August by the Liverpool fans after barely a couple of weeks in a red shirt.
And he has been the one player immune from criticism during the club’s disappointing run of form, which saw them briefly slump into the bottom three.
Against Stoke last weekend, there were evident gasps of anticipation around Anfield when he was on the ball.
Rodgers believes that is merely a hint of even more to come once the player settles into life on Merseyside.
“He will have a long career here. He’s a wonderful talent and over time people will see what facets he’s got in his game,” Rodgers explained.
“Where we have been really pleased with Joe is with his tactical discipline. Maybe he’s never going to score as many as Steven Gerrard, but he’s certainly got quality going forward.
“Offensively, he has far more than what a lot of people have seen, just because he’s having to play a more sitting role at the moment.
“I have played him in there because he knows how to control the game. He is courageous and will go and get the ball in any area.
“It is his his tactical discipline to stay and keep the shape of the team, and offer the passing line, which has been really good though, and because of that we haven’t seen everything he can do going forward, but we will.”
Rodgers believes that when Lucas Leiva returns to the team after injury - which the club hope will happen by the end of this month - Allen will have more freedom to get forward and play the kind of passes around the opposition penalty box that Liverpool have been missing this season.
And he sees the pair complementing each other to create the possession stats he wants to base the club’s future on.
“Lucas is more controlling," said Rodgers. "He and Joe can both play that position. Or you could flip your triangle around and Lucas could hold, with Joe playing in an advanced role. Lucas is more defensive, and that will help Joe.
“My intention was just to have five or six midfielders who could fight. My job then was to get the balance, because you can’t have three all doing the same.
“When Lucas is back, you’ll see more aspects of Joe’s game."
Referring to how Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard impacts on Allen's play, Rodgers added: "We have one of the most creative players in the history of the Premier League he’s playing beside - he’s got to let Steven go and do his work and when he does, there’s no better player.
"But Joe can open things up, too.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-brendan-rodgers-hits-back-1369434

The thing with three at the back is teams with wingers can exploit it's weaknesses big time.  Very few teams play wide men in Italy, unlike England, where the majority do.

Most sides in Italy now play a 3-5 at the back system.

Shear nonsense! Liverpool boss defends Joe Allen after Shearer's criticism

Brendan Rodgers has warned the critics who suggest he overpaid for Joe Allen: “You’ll be calling him the bargain of the season in a few months”.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer has been one of the loudest voices in questioning the role of the Wales midfielder at Liverpool, accusing him of not doing enough on the ball going forward.
Reds manager Rodgers - who brought Allen with him from former club Swansea in a £15million deal and admitted he would have paid "many more millions" than that if required - is staggered by that view.
In response, he has branded Shearer a ‘so-called pundit’ who doesn’t understand the importance of keeping possession in the modern game.
Rodgers believes Allen - who was crowned the Wales' Player of the Year this week - will become the new Paul Scholes as he carves out a long career at the pinnacle of the game.
“I saw something the other day criticising Joe Allen for not playing risk passes. Unbelievable - so-called pundits who don’t know the dynamics of a team and how it functions,” Rodgers insisted.
“Joe’s role is to keep the ball. And that, in Britain, is a special talent. It is why Paul Scholes is still playing to his age. It is such a rare talent for a midfielder to rarely give the ball away
“People have talked about him and his fee, but in time he will be an absolute bargain.”
Rodgers isn’t the only one at Anfield to see the special ability Allen possesses for retaining the ball and using it intelligently, even under intense pressure.
He was voted player of the month for August by the Liverpool fans after barely a couple of weeks in a red shirt.
And he has been the one player immune from criticism during the club’s disappointing run of form, which saw them briefly slump into the bottom three.
Against Stoke last weekend, there were evident gasps of anticipation around Anfield when he was on the ball.
Rodgers believes that is merely a hint of even more to come once the player settles into life on Merseyside.
“He will have a long career here. He’s a wonderful talent and over time people will see what facets he’s got in his game,” Rodgers explained.
“Where we have been really pleased with Joe is with his tactical discipline. Maybe he’s never going to score as many as Steven Gerrard, but he’s certainly got quality going forward.
“Offensively, he has far more than what a lot of people have seen, just because he’s having to play a more sitting role at the moment.
“I have played him in there because he knows how to control the game. He is courageous and will go and get the ball in any area.
“It is his his tactical discipline to stay and keep the shape of the team, and offer the passing line, which has been really good though, and because of that we haven’t seen everything he can do going forward, but we will.”
Rodgers believes that when Lucas Leiva returns to the team after injury - which the club hope will happen by the end of this month - Allen will have more freedom to get forward and play the kind of passes around the opposition penalty box that Liverpool have been missing this season.
And he sees the pair complementing each other to create the possession stats he wants to base the club’s future on.
“Lucas is more controlling," said Rodgers. "He and Joe can both play that position. Or you could flip your triangle around and Lucas could hold, with Joe playing in an advanced role. Lucas is more defensive, and that will help Joe.
“My intention was just to have five or six midfielders who could fight. My job then was to get the balance, because you can’t have three all doing the same.
“When Lucas is back, you’ll see more aspects of Joe’s game."
Referring to how Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard impacts on Allen's play, Rodgers added: "We have one of the most creative players in the history of the Premier League he’s playing beside - he’s got to let Steven go and do his work and when he does, there’s no better player.
"But Joe can open things up, too.”

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/liverpool-brendan-rodgers-hits-back-1369434

Question: How come that's in the Udinese match thread?

Where did that come from?? 

Oi you bollox, we're not being tight, just UPC came with hi-speed broadband whereas Sky didn't!

Strong team out. Good to see that we're not taking the opposition, or the competition lightly.

I have just seen this now and, quite frankly, I didn't expect any better from you. Disguisting behaviour.

Question: How come that's in the Udinese match thread?

There was a debate about our central midfield just ABOVE