Well then I guess my 35 years of playing, 18 years of coaching education (including 3 summers with LFC staff) and 15 years of watching Liverpool and specifically #8 have failed me miserably….

Apparently.

Do you think Jonjo or Adam or Hendo or Spearing is any better than Poulsen? Obviously they play different roles but I’m talking quality and ability to contribute at this level.

Well Poulsen literally offered nothing, so yes, but that’s not an endorsement of those names. Spearing has zero place at the club, Adam doesn’t fit into Rodgers’s system at all. Henderson and Shelvey both have massive amounts of potential, but in terms of passing ability they offer more than Poulsen ever could.

YNWA….unless you are in Green Day….

Anyways, here’s hoping RVP’s hamstring is about to explode like a bratwurst.

I’m saying if you break down Gerrard’s games by position over the course of his career, the overwhelming majority are in a 2-man central midfield.

Yes I get that, and I’m saying you’re wrong. That’s just one pairing.

But again, before Mascherano came in the holding two were Xabi and Momo, before that Didi and Alonso. Under Houllier he played centrally a bit more, but after Benitez came in his days as part of a central pairing were few and far between. This really isn’t factually that debatable at all.

I’m saying if you break down Gerrard’s games by position over the course of his career, the overwhelming majority are in a 2-man central midfield. And he seems to have done fine for himself there, and his skillset is still more suted to being behind the ball then with his back to goal ahead of the ball.

well aware of the rotation policy which is another reason in addition to injuries and suspensions that that trio played a small percentage of overall games together.

so they were all together in the same team only 21 times in 2.5 years? Even worse. Gotta be well below 20% of all games in that period.

That 21 number is absolutely not right, no idea where you’re getting that from. But the combination of those three all playing and with Alonso/Masche as the holding pair with Gerrard attacking was still the most frequent combination. Not sure if you’re familiar with the fact that Benitez was always killed by people for rotating too much. But that was the first choice lineup.

Skrtel is solid in a stagnant lifeless system like Hodgson or Dalglish play. In a system that is likely to give up mainly counter attacking threats, his cumbersomeness shows through (see this weekend for an example).

Coates just needs time and games, luckily we’ve got the EL this year for that.

Borini is a hard worker and poacher, he fits in the system but he’s going to give the ball away a bit. He’s basically meant to be a younger Kuyt but on the other side. I’m more excited by the Moroccan winger.

Loved didi….hoped we would get schweinsteiger for our central mid….I just feel better when there is a big german in the middle….

I’ve always thought skrtl was solid, esp w his durability, but he’s fading fast….Coates just hasn’t stepped up yet, but honestly he may be a better dm than cb (but not good enough to play dm in England in my opinion).

thoughts on Borini? Was disappointed with him (well, most of the team) when I saw them in Baltimore a few weeks ago and haven’t seen much since (though that 1 goal was decent)….

Now whether he’s the best answer to the position is another issue, but it’s definitely the roll he’s been in for the most successful and long stretches of his career.

Biggest on-field problems at LFC for my money is lack of depth in the back (esp centrally) and downing. Does Johnson ever play well when he moves to the left?

Agree with this. Skrtel is horrible, Downing is horrible, and when Johnson has to cover for Enrique he loses the ability to use his natural footing. Really only a good move when he’s playing against a right sided player who is naturally left footed.

They need two more players for the front line, but they’re not going to buy more defenders sadly.

SG, XA, JM were at Liverpool together for only a season in a half from JM arrival in Feb 2007 to XA departure in the summer of 09. The 21 games they all started together were probably less than half (possibly a third) of all their games that year.

Two and a half seasons.

Two and a half season with Alonso and Mascherano in the holding roles.

The year before? Alonso and Momo. (The year he played out right, which he bitched about)

The year before? Alonso and Didi.

he provides more solutions and options deep than he does up high even at this stage of his career

In a system that emphasizes holding on to the ball, no, no he does not. Joe Allen is one of the best controlling midfielders in the game, there’s a reason on Xavi has a better pass completion rate.