http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-fc-brendan-rodgers-insists-6497243
Good man management. Rodgers continues to impress. I just hope he gets money to spend.
Cissoko has been alright so far as well. Had a few good, some ok games but I cant say he has had many awful games.
Not sure I would sign him based on potential but one does wonder why Rodgers have chosen to play agger ahead of him at times. Flanagan got to play due to higher pace and hard tackling in the derby and he did so well he warranted retaining his place in the squad. His passing and technical ability needs a lot of work but he has done so well he kept cissoko out of the team and ended up having his best game vs spurs before he got injured at Cardiff.
I do not agree with James Pearce in this article. Where I think he gets it wrong is how these players were used. Cissoko have not been great enough to nail down a place. Moses was good when he started out but has not had a run of games and has fallen behind sterling in the pecking order. I think Rodgers wants to see more application, effort and desire from Moses when he does come on. Especially defensively. He is starting to get some of that from both sterling and coutinho over time and that has impressed me because it did not used to be part of their game.
If he can get that from Moses as well in terms of the work rate when the team loses possession and get him to improve his pressing play I think he has more potential than both Henderson and Allen in that attacking midfielder position due to his technial ability, strength pace and power.
Unlocking potential is crucial with these young players if they are going to force their way into the team and if LFC is going to continue to push for a top 4 finish. Sterling is starting to show development in his movement, runs but most of all in his defensive work (both positioning and the way he defends with less rash challenges, less mouthing off to the ref, and silly yellow cards for example) but he still has some work to do on his finishing. His improvement defensively is part of maturing as a player. But he only got a lot better once Rodgers gave him a run of games. Who's to say that wouldn't happen with Moses as well. That he has not seen a run of games could be partly due to his own efforts when he has had sub appearances but also partly due to others doing well when they've been given a chance.
Joe Allen has looked better and better and Jordan Henderson has had a great last 6 games at least since he was moved deeper into his preferred central midfield position.
I still think there could have been more rotating of the players we have in the Xmas period and we could have potentially avoided some injuries. Kelly, Moses, apas and toure all could have got more of a game me thinks but then again it is easy to say in hindsight when results vs city and Chelsea did not go our way. Moses couldnt play against Chelsea for obvious reasons for example. One could argue things should have been changed vs. City but we deserved a draw there or maybe even a win. Sterling had an excellent game for example and had he finished his one large chance or been given that big offside decision everyone who watched the game will remember things could have been very different.
In the end despite both losses these were close games where we showed we could compete with the two best teams in the league in my opinion. Against Chelsea I thought we looked tired and with a larger squad we maybe could have rotated more. Having said that, I thought in defence we there were other fresh options available to is. In central mid with Gerrard out we may have been had more trouble getting in some fresh legs since Allen, Henderson and Lucas had played a lot already.
I would still argue that Rodgers could be creative and try Danny agger in the defensive mid position. He is fantastic on the ball, has a bit of defensive discipline and can tackle. I think he would fit there and could do a job similar to what Luiz does for Chelsea but others may argue he does not have the tactical awareness, anticipation, pace or physical power to play that position. It is hard to to know until you have tried him there. I guess there is a chance of him concededing dangerous freekicks outside the box but that happens from time to time with Lucas as well. If you compare the two I think agger is better on the ball but Lucas is probably s better tackler due to his anticipation and his reading of the game.
In the end sturridge and Gerrard is back now and our squad should be stronger despite others going off with injuries (agger, Joe allen, Flanagan etc.)
Lets hope they can all recover quickly to continue our push for top 4.
Here is my guess for our starting 11 tomorrow:
Stian Andersen (@sga555) tweeted at 6:27 PM on Fri, Jan 10, 2014:
@LFCTS 4231 SM- GJ, KT, MS, AC- JH, LL, - RS, SG, Coutinho- Suarez - Subs at 65min JA for SG and Sturridge for coutinho/Suarez
(https://twitter.com/sga555/status/421815501115760640)
Fingers crossed for a win.
YNWA,
Stian
Sent from my HTC
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