Liverpool Football Club Thread

[Istanbul]

1st game of the season (away to Stoke) now live on Sky Sports.

Going to be some painful and all to recent memories in the build up for that.

If we don't get anything in that game, considering the last result...I feel it will crush us mentally; it's perhaps the most important 1st game of the season we'll have had in a good while.

[bradigor]

Last time Liverpool played Stoke on the opening weekend they finished second.

[Gabe]

Thats somewhat of an overreaction there, Istanbul. Even if we lost, its one game at the start of the season. At worst it'll be sign as Stoke having a little bit of a this g over us, it's not going to define or destroy the rest of the campaign.

[SMD]

It's just 3 points

*repeat ad infinitum*

[Istanbul]

It will continue a downward spiral that began last season. When you look at our opening away fixtures it is easy to see us losing all of first seven. Fan confidence in Rodgers is already low, and based on the way we finished last season, player confidence is fragile too. Another defeat to Stoke will certainly have a bigger impact than it simply being one more. It IS very important that we lay those ghosts to rest early on, because if we don't, we could be looking at our worst start in decades. A win, however, will have the opposite affect and galvanise the team for the games to come. Let's hope it is the latter.

[Oh Danny Boy]

the Echo have been reporting a couple of new players for the academy: Brooks Lennon from Real Salt Lake City and Bobby Adekanye from Barca, no news on the fees involved or if they are actually confirmed as I'm yet to see anything about them on the beeb. Well if they are on their way here lets hope they are a success and will one day feature for the first team.

[JamesTW]

Man Utd game is Saturday evening KO, probably not the best idea ever

Also a few matches on a Monday night when we generally play badly, I'll probably put a big compo bet on Arsenal, if there's a game were are going to lose its that

[Sng]

When you look at our opening away fixtures it is easy to see us losing all of first seven.

That's the spirit!

[Adrock]

He isn't far wrong though, it's an exceedingly difficult start but I'd prefer to get it all over with early.

I hope the owners back their decision to stick with Rodgers and don't panic if the season gets off to a poor start.

[Istanbul]

Yep, I think that is the best way to look at it.

6 of those are probably, traditionally, our hardest away games each season.

If we manage to get something from them then that is a huge bonus and mental advantage going on from there.

Hopefully, we can then gain a bit more momentum from that point, knowing our toughest away games have already played out.

[Commander Jameson]

I'd be a bit worried because we are traditionally slow starters and then we pick up over the second half of the season (last season's mental collapse not withstanding).

[Stig]

None Liverpool fans coming in and neg stalking Istanbul. Pretty sad.

*edit* haha got negged by the sados.

[Stig]

Sean O'Driscoll appointed as assistant team coach. He was usless at Bristol City. Took them into League 1, nearly into league 2 and went of a 3 month no win streak.

[SMD]

Good job he's not managing, then.

[kiroquai]

Interesting move. When he was in the police my Dad, as part of his job, helped set up events where kids who didn't have a great family life or got into trouble a lot were spoken to by some people they'd hopefully look up to. O'Driscoll was at Bournemouth at the time. Apparently he was the only person to ever just not turn up to one of the events when booked. Did it a few times.

Still, hopefully he can do a decent job. Not convinced given his managerial/coaching career to date, though.

[Istanbul]

None Liverpool fans coming in and neg stalking Istanbul. Pretty sad.

*edit* haha got negged by the sados.

Don't worry about it mate, just trolls who want to attack me for daring to challenge the status quo in this section of the forum. Glad to see the -4 has gone now to -1, you don't deserve it for stating facts.

Milner is LFC gear for the first time:

[dizogg]

Istanbul you are a weird bastard. It's not a conspiracy it's the sports section of a games forum. Yes it's full of wind up merchant bellends but you sound mental!

[Istanbul]

New faces in training today...

O'driscoll, Gomez, Origi and Clyne...

Big Mama flying in...

[JamesTW]

No 7 for Milner eh? Keegan, Dalglish, Suarez, McManaman, Beardsley and er Robbie Keane, no pressure

[Chewylegs]

Sean O'Driscoll appointed as assistant team coach. He was usless at Bristol City. Took them into League 1, nearly into league 2 and went of a 3 month no win streak.

Fair play to him, that shit team belong as low as possible!

[ukdazs]

I know they'd never go for it but I prefer the training top to the real one.

[Istanbul]

Sterling (and more so his scumbag agent) showing his class again.

I appreciate he wants to leave the club, totally understand that and his reasons. That's not an issue.

But, until an acceptable offer comes in, you are expected to act with a certain level professionalism and respect. Something the Sterling camp just isn't doing.

Hopefully it will be sorted out, because as good as he is (and can be), we don't need this kind of negativity around the club going into a new season. The situation is just too far gone now for him to get any support from the fans in the future, so as much as I'd like to see him rot in the reserves for two years...a £50m fee is just too good to turn down.

[Guest]

I seem to recall getting some flack for suggesting sticking him in the reserves.

To be honest not playing him all year, thus destroying him as a player and meaning he looses a year of his football life and development, would be worth it.

Harsh? No, because if he is refusing to go on tour he is refusing to do his job.

Whatever we pay him to sit at home and not play, at all, would be a perfect marker for all young players at the club to see.

You do not refuse to do the thing you're paid for. You do not turn against the club that honed your raw talent and made you a real talent.

Imagine in any other line of work if you said "Nah I'm not going to do that". What would happen? You'd be reprimanded or have the good stuff taken off you.

Certainly whatever he's paid now would be a more useful spend than having someone like Joe Cole on the pitch. Hey it was a couple of years ago - still. Louvren, Balotelli, etc?

Imagine the signal it sends. You make him play or he doesn't even get to train. And then he can leave next year on a free. When he's had a year out during some of the most crucial time of his development. It might destroy him? Good - kill the chicken to teach the monkey and stop players doing this. He is just one guy, he doesn't matter.

Sacrifice him for the club...in reality he's only done it to himself.

[PaB]

I seem to recall getting some flack for suggesting sticking him in the reserves.

To be honest not playing him all year, thus destroying him as a player and meaning he looses a year of his football life and development, would be worth it.

Harsh? No, because if he is refusing to go on tour he is refusing to do his job.

Whatever we pay him to sit at home and not play, at all, would be a perfect marker for all young players at the club to see.

You do not refuse to do the thing you're paid for. You do not turn against the club that honed your raw talent and made you a real talent.

Imagine in any other line of work if you said "Nah I'm not going to do that". What would happen? You'd be reprimanded or have the good stuff taken off you.

Certainly whatever he's paid now would be a more useful spend than having someone like Joe Cole on the pitch. Hey it was a couple of years ago - still. Louvren, Balotelli, etc?

Imagine the signal it sends. You make him play or he doesn't even get to train. And then he can leave next year on a free. When he's had a year out during some of the most crucial time of his development. It might destroy him? Good - kill the chicken to teach the monkey and stop players doing this. He is just one guy, he doesn't matter.

Sacrifice him for the club...in reality he's only done it to himself.

That's properly mental.

[JohnnyNolan]

It is mental.

The player and the agent don't give a fuck about the club. They also won't give a fuck about the next club. All they care about is the player and he obviously sees his playing days elsewhere. Personally I'd like to see this sorted quickly, get rid of the distraction. Put him in the reserves! That'll teach him. Yes, we taught you young lad. We could have got £40 million, but you had a year out and now we got £5 million. Hahahahaha that's you told!

This is modern football. Do you honestly think Firmino always wanted to play for Liverpool, or Milner? Did you call Lallana a classless cunt for treating Southampton the exact same way Sterling is treating us? The Liverpool first eleven will probably not include a single player that grew up supporting the club. If you think a single one of them wouldn't jump ship if a better offer came along you're deluded.

You want to see a Liverpool team full of players with the love of the fans for the club. Well there's Jon Flanagan and well you better go out around Stanley Park and look for some lads playing with Gerrard tops on to fill the rest of the squad.

[DeNeo]

Sterling is currently paid £35k a week with 2 years left on his contract. That equates to £3.64m. At the end of his contract, we'd still be owed a fee at a tribunal (which would be a lot more than the £8m we'll probably end up paying for Ings). So we'd make a profit vs what we'd paid on his wages.

I don't think we'd drop him into the Reserves, but we'd at least point out to him that unless we receive a stupidly large fee, there's absolutely no value in us selling him, especially as we'd be strengthening a rival. It's currently more worthwhile to keep him, even if he refuses to play for 2 years.

Of course what will happen is either City pay an amount we're happy with, or he'll sign a new contract with a very large release fee.

[ryodi]

Don't forget QPR are due a 20% sell on fee when he leaves, which is probably why Liverpool are trying to get every last penny out of City.

[JamesTW]

40-45m would of been accepted I reckon if it wasn't for that thing for QPR, it's a good offer for a player like Sterling but I think they want 40m nett

I said ages ago I wouldn't want him going on pre season tour looking pissed off so I hope he doesn't go, one way or the other just sell him or stick him in the youth team, don't involve him with the first team squad, what's a pissed off player on 30k a week going to play like?

[Istanbul]

40-45m would of been accepted I reckon if it wasn't for that thing for QPR, it's a good offer for a player like Sterling but I think they want 40m nett

I said ages ago I wouldn't want him going on pre season tour looking pissed off so I hope he doesn't go, one way or the other just sell him or stick him in the youth team, don't involve him with the first team squad, what's a pissed off player on 30k a week going to play like?

He'll play very badly given how he performed towards the end of last season, and given his perceived personality and attitude. No doubt he'll be told to do so by his wayward agent too. We'd probably end up not playing him, even if we had the intention of doing so initially.

It's not like with Suarez, who despite wanting to leave, you knew he just couldn't 'down tools' - it just isn't in his genetic make up to do so. Sterling however is the complete opposite. He will down tools. He will throw a fit. He will let us down.

Suarez:

[The Fox]

Suarez didn't "down tools", this is true. But then conversely, Sterling hasn't racially abused anyone, given a paper interview saying Liverpool were being unfair by not letting him join Arsenal, or bitten people in an effort to make his position untenable.

That bloke dragged your club's name through the mud. Piling in on Sterling while still holding a candle for Suarez seems incredibly hypocritical to me.