The OFFICIAL Liverpool FC thread - #DankeJürgen

[Bingo]

Jerome Sinclair aged 16 years and 6 days on the bench tonight according to his twitter account

BC1 4 hours faster !

Not the first time I bate a Blayney man to the ball!

He only had the scoop he was in squad, I was only updating it further 

You'd have no bother beating me to the ball and I know pace wasn't your strenght!

[el_cuervo_fc]

Liverpool FC ‏@LFC
Confirmed #LFC team: Jones, Robinson, Coates, Carragher, Wisdom, Henderson, Sahin, Downing, Pacheco, Assaidi, Yesil.

Liverpool FC ‏@LFC
Subs: Gulacsi, Sama, Suso, Sterling, Wilson, Coady, Sinclair.

[laoislad]

Played very well tonight and it was great to get the win.
Liverpool v Swansea in the next round.

[stew]

That youngster got about ten minutes, good for him.

United won again by the narrowest of margins and Arsenal scored 6.

[brokencrossbar1]

Empire of the Kop‏@empireofthekop

Interesting stat : Jamie Carragher made his #LFC debut when @jeromeNo9 was 4 months old

Mental stuff altogether!  I had 3 years unde my belt at senior before this lad was even considered(if he was  at the time )

Good win and nice to see the young cubs getting game time.  Sahin will be a fine player as he gets fitter and Osama will be dynamite when he gets a run in the team.

[stew]

Empire of the Kop‏@empireofthekop

Interesting stat : Jamie Carragher made his #LFC debut when @jeromeNo9 was 4 months old

Mental stuff altogether!  I had 3 years unde my belt at senior before this lad was even considered(if he was  at the time )

Good win and nice to see the young cubs getting game time.  Sahin will be a fine player as he gets fitter and Osama will be dynamite when he gets a run in the team.

Crossbar, I have to ask, what is that death duck thingy from?

[GalwayBayBoy]

Played very well tonight and it was great to get the win.
Liverpool v Swansea in the next round.

Lots of good youngsters coming through at the moment. Certainly more than I can remember for a long time. I guess we are seeing more of them given that the first team squad is so thin and we have a few injuries.

[laoislad]

Played very well tonight and it was great to get the win.
Liverpool v Swansea in the next round.

Lots of good youngsters coming through at the moment. Certainly more than I can remember for a long time. I guess we are seeing more of them given that the first team squad is so thin and we have a few injuries.

Suso looks the real deal. Great work for him for the second goal.
Assaidi also looks a decent player.
Sahin was class tonight.

[brokencrossbar1]

Empire of the Kop‏@empireofthekop

Interesting stat : Jamie Carragher made his #LFC debut when @jeromeNo9 was 4 months old

Mental stuff altogether!  I had 3 years unde my belt at senior before this lad was even considered(if he was  at the time )

Good win and nice to see the young cubs getting game time.  Sahin will be a fine player as he gets fitter and Osama will be dynamite when he gets a run in the team.

Crossbar, I have to ask, what is that death duck thingy from?

A quote from a man you consider either a lyrical genius or a raging drunk!

[Mentalman]

Good performance tonight, thought Carra & Coates anchored the team well. Carra was a rock, especially as I feared even for his role in helping bring through the younger players after last week's performance in Bern. Far more of a cohesive team performance overall than that game, with each of the younger players looking composed and assured in what they were doing by and large. Even though he went off it was good to see Pacheco give a good account of himself, another I feared for after last week. Of course Suso coming on and almost immediately inspiring the winner won't have helped his cause, but great to see. Assaidi did well, at least, unlike Downing, he tries to get past his man, though he is extremely right footed, have my doubts he'd ever make it as a regular first teamer, but would like to be proven wrong. As for Sahin, really showed flashes of his class, another couple of games to get fully fit and Rogers will have a real dilemma in the middle of the park as far as picking his playmaker, although giving Shelvey's suspension we could see Nuri back in there sooner rather than later. Over all reasons to be hopeful in the medium to long term. Rogers said after the match there are only 12 fit senior players at the moment, so we'll be seeing some of these lads over the next few weeks. Given that I expect Liverpool won't have things all their own way, kids being kids, but I wouldn't be as concerned as I was previously about making it to the next transfer window still with a chance of finishing in the European spots this season - realistically that's what we're looking at in year 1, IMHO.

[GalwayBayBoy]

Played very well tonight and it was great to get the win.
Liverpool v Swansea in the next round.

Lots of good youngsters coming through at the moment. Certainly more than I can remember for a long time. I guess we are seeing more of them given that the first team squad is so thin and we have a few injuries.

Suso looks the real deal. Great work for him for the second goal.
Assaidi also looks a decent player.
Sahin was class tonight.

Fair amount of credit has to go to Benitez I think because when he was at the club he felt the academy wasn't producing enough (if any) players. He completely revamped the set-up from what I remember. Was always going to take a few years to get any benefit from it but worth it in the long run.

[Capt Pat]

How did Yesil get on?

[Mentalman]

How did Yesil get on?

Decent, header wide, shot on goal, both of which he could have done better with, linked up well, small of stature though, easily pushed off the ball, but that strength will come with time.

[brokencrossbar1]

Brendan Rodgers has questioned whether Stewart Downing has the necessary "fight" for a Liverpool team that he believes can qualify for the Champions League.

The England international has been a major disappointment at Anfield since his £20m arrival from Aston Villa 14 months ago and his fortunes have deteriorated since Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as manager. Downing has seen 17-year-old Raheem Sterling and summer signing Fabio Borini preferred ahead of him this season, and Rodgers has suggested the 28-year-old may have to reinvent himself as a left-back to enhance his prospects at Liverpool.

Rodgers did not disguise his frustration with Downing during the Europa League game against Young Boys in Berne last week. Now, after the winger again failed to impress in the Capital One Cup win over West Bromwich Albion in midweek, the Liverpool manager has suggested he may consider offers for Downing in January unless the player's commitment improves.

"Stewart is a good guy and a good lad who came here for an awful lot of money," said Rodgers, who is likely to be without Borini at Norwich Cityon Saturday due to an ankle injury. "It hasn't quite worked out for him as he would want it. The big challenge for him now is that commitment to the cause to fight, because he has the qualities. He has a wonderful left foot but what is important is that it is more than talent. Talent alone is not enough. You have to work hard, you have to fight for the shirt. We have seen that in a number of the young players and if you don't do that then longer-term you won't be here. It is as simple as that really."

The Liverpool manager's threat also applies to José Enrique, who made an encouraging start to his Anfield career after a £6m move from Newcastle United but has struggled since the turn of the year.

Rodgers added: "What is important is that you have good communication. I don't waste my time waiting until January to tell both players what I know now. So they know in relation to the demands of what we want and certainly what it is going to take for us to succeed and for them to fit into the dynamics of the group.

"We are coaches, not magicians. For me football players are no different to plumbers, joiners or bricklayers. They are self-employed and us as medics, coaches and managers are the tools that help them to be better. We will give them everything to help them to be better, but if they don't want to show that self-motivation, and if you haven't got that desire and hunger to succeed, then it can be very difficult for you. The communication I will keep private between Stewart and I, but he is under no illusions that he has to fight."

Liverpool have yet to win in the Premier League under Rodgers but, after a testing run of fixtures, the Northern Irishman denies the trip to Carrow Road represents a fresh start for his side. He also claimed that a top four finish is not beyond Liverpool providing they keep in touch with the leading pack until the transfer window reopens in January.

Rodgers said: "My job started the day I walked into the club. There is no doubt it was a difficult batch of fixtures to start with and our three home games were always going to be difficult. But there are 99 points to play for. I believe that 70-plus points will allow you to arrive in the top four. So that gives us 68 points that we need over the remaining games. We can maybe have 10 games with problems.

"There's absolutely no doubt it's going to be a monumental achievement for that [Champions League qualification] to happen but in my working life my mentality – and I'm selling that to the players– is that it is what we have to work towards. You aim to win the league and if you can't do that then you aim to finish as high as you possibly can. Get through to January and we will get better over the second half of the season as well."

Rodgers, who may have Daniel Agger available at Norwich despite the defender being carried off with a knee injury against Manchester United on Sunday, has confirmed Liverpool are looking to extend Suso's contract. The Spanish midfielder is the final year of his deal

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/sep/28/stewart-downing-brendan-rodgers

I see BR is having a cut off Enrique and Downing, proper f**king order too.  Pair of them will be gone by the summer.  Enrique had a good start to his Liverpool career but seems to have regressed, also rumours there was a row at training recently.  Downing has been shite, simple as that and looks like a big dung bag of yellowness.  Given how the likes of Wisdom, Suso, Razza(i know, I know ), Robinson and even young Sinclair seem to have gone ahead of them in the managers eyes it is clear where the future, and not necessarily the distant future either, lies.  Todays team is expected to be

Reina
Wisdom,Skertl, Agger, Johnson

Gerard, Allen, Sahin

Razza, Saurez, Suso

Huge confidence booster in the cubs if this is the case.

[Mentalman]

Have to say I'm delighted. Downing may well be a lovely guy, but as a professional footballer he's been a major disappointment. What makes him worse than others in my eyes is he obviously has the talent, but the lack of application and heart is the bare minimum expected a Anfield. Far more limited players have held in higher esteem, or at least respected for their effort.

I don't waste my time waiting until January to tell both players what I know now. So they know in relation to the demands of what we want and certainly what it is going to take for us to succeed and for them to fit into the dynamics of the group.

Thought this was the killer line, and what sets him apart from a lot of managers. Most would look at the squad situation and try to jolly along senior players until the transfer window, but not BR! He seems to leave players in no doubt of what he thinks and expects. It's refreshing. I imagine he would have gladly got rid of Downing earlier, and all the shi-ite abou playing left back was designed to get his agent moving. Of course at this point no one would pay his wages, as I'm sure Rodgers is not overly concerned about recouping that much of a fee - wasn't his signing after all. One thing though, is it my imagination or has he systematically rid himself of most of Kenny's signings? While I see what he's doing, and wouldn't disagree necessarily, I wonder is it possible to change his mind? For instance does Jordan Henderson have any chance, or should he just look for a new club?