FoxyLeon

When we lose, we get completely battered and we look naive. When we win, we're marginally better than opponents, or nick tight games. When I look at what Potter manages to get out of his Brighton side, and I look at the level of player we have here, I can't help but think he would offer us so much more. Or how Lage got a 2nd half performance out of Wolves last week, in his first game in charge, that was better than a half I can remember from us for a long long time. It's worrying me, how technically inferior our players look to everyone we play. It's as if the slow, pedestrian pace we play at, is exactly how we train, and our players touches/passing is declining too.

Rodgers reminds me of Barcelona..... The side that lost 7-0 on aggregate to Bayern Munich when having Xavi/Iniesta/Messi/Villa etc still in their squad. And the side which got destroyed 8-2 last year, also to Bayern Munich. Slow possession, going absolutely nowhere, and as soon as the ball is turned over, it looks like you're going to concede.

So if we have a squad that should finish 5th, but we finish 8th, he's done a satisfactory job? The FA Cup last season, whilst of course great, only masks what was once again, a failure to finish in the top 4, where this side should have been, for the past 2 seasons. He needs a cup or top 4 for me. The fact Liverpool/Chelsea/Man United are all stronger this year, is irrelevant too. We were stronger than two of those last season.....And Rodgers failed to finish above them then.

Why can't Kelechi play on his own? What you mean is, when Kelechi plays on his own, our midfield is just as lacking movement/ideas/innovation like tonight? Praet/Maddison as the widest midfielders, but playing narrow, would be a better option for me right now. We have absolutely no movement in midfield, and I'm fed up of Ndidi looking worse and worse defensively, because Rodgers wants Tielemans to hold his hand. The narrow midfield, Praet/Tielemans/KDH/Maddison, it will be there job to be constantly moving between the lines, Bertrand/Pereira holding the width. If we line up 4-2-3-1 again, we will play the same boring predictable crap, but with Albrighton instead of Perez, or Daka/Iheanacho instead of Vardy. Farke already knows how we're gonna play next week. It's ineffective, and predictable.

Now, let's be clear, I know it's very easy to have a knee-jerk reaction after one game.... But the reality is, for me, it's not just 'one game'. Tonights/last night game is a regular occurrence for us. Pretty much every defeat we have, looks exactly the same. Slow ponderous possession, doing us more harm than it benefits us, passing the ball straight to the opposition, goal. When I go back, and look over our results from last season, so many of our bad results were exactly the same. Everton at home - All the possession, but unable to cope with the counter and physical threat of DCL + Richarlison. West Ham Home + Away - Absolutely battered at home and schooled tactially away. Leeds Home - Again, being purely down to the opposition having more energy whilst we were too lethargic. Southampton Away - Couldn't even look threatening against 10 men! Look at how West ham dominated us in comparison. I even look at positive results. 2-1 win at Brighton.....Slow, ponderous, saved by a mistake allowing Amartey to nick it. 3-1 win at home to Liverpool....Battered for 70 minutes, fortunate free kick and Allison+Kabak mix up gets us points. 2-1 win at Man Utd.... Struggled against a reserve side! Again, slow and lethargic. 1-0 win last week at home to Wolves....Terrible 2nd half, barely deserved a point let alone 3. Now I get we're here to win trophies, and an FA Cup is better than 4th, from a fans perspective. But even in the final, Schmeichel was realistically our Man of the Match, in a game where we created nothing. It's so frustrating. We all know what his line up will be before a game, so do our opponents! Predictable, naive and every single defeat/bad result....Even good results! Look the same.

Shows how far sentiment goes in football when people would genuinely rather get rid of this guy than Albrighton. Cmon now, this guy is a far better player than Albrighton ffs. Start him in a narrow midfield at Norwich with Praet/Youri/KDH|/Madders with Iheanacho in front and ndidi holding.

We're playing Norwich. I don't want to see Tielemans holding the best DM in the leagues hand for 90 minutes and getting in his way. If Rodgers isn't going to let Ndidi anchor the midfield on his own, against Norwich, he might as well drop him altogether. ..................................Kasper Ricardo.......Soyuncu.............Vestegaard.....Bertrand ...................................Ndidi Praet..Tielemans...............KDH..Maddison ................................Iheanacho KDH has to start 100%, lad showed so much desire pre-season, he has to make the 11 after the West Ham shambles. Midfield needs a big shake up, and I want to see some actual movement off the ball. Dropped Barnes, as it's too predictable with him in the 11 right now.

If you think i'm questioning his ability and importance, you've completely misinterpreted my point. He's indispensable to this team. But Rodgers is making us defensively weaker, by moving him out of his area of most effectiveness.

Our defensive frailties are due to Ndidi not being used to just shield the back 4. Our collapse, when he was out injured, showed that too. As well as our performances when he gets moved to CB.

It's like he doesn't want to admit he was wrong. Wouldnt surprise me if this was his and Congerton's first big recruitment decision here.

If that is true, why is Ndidi less trusted to play out the back than before? He's the most important player in our team, but our defending is becoming less effective the more Tielemans takes up his room defensively. No coincidence to me our defensive record is getting worse, the more Ndidi is no longer being used as a single holding midfielder.

Rodgers keeps picking him. He's the guy to blame, not Perez.

Let down by Soyuncu massively. Showed some character second half, with his drive out of defence. Never lets us down.

If Rodgers goes there and tries to play a pretty possession game, I'm seriously questioning his future here. Turn it into a game of you attack, we attack, and we win comfortably. High press, high energy.

The red card is irrelevant. Rodgers lost the game with his selection/tactics. It's like he watched our last 2 games against them, saw the possession stat as a 'win', and asked for "The same again lads".

It isn't about just today. It's the fact it's progressively becoming a problem. Rodgers has got the current equivalent of Makelele in his side, and he's constantly getting caught ahead of Tielemans. I fully understand having a better player on the ball drop deeper...Man City do it all the time. But I never see Rodri/Fernandinho constantly being ahead of the ball than De Bruyne/Gundogan etc.

We do have to remember, that for as 'good' as he was at Luton, Norwich, who would consider themselves to have better midfielders, have been destroyed in midfield by Man City/Liverpool. Perspective is needed about his ability. I hate to say it, but with the level they've both played at, Soumare needs to be looked at first, as he was a regular at a side which won a domestic league, which is a fair bit stronger than the Championship.

Am I the only one perplexed, at how Rodgers is trying to 'adapt' his game? So often now, he's getting caught the wrong side of opponents, and not being in the right place to defend cut back crosses, because Rodgers seems to be playing him further forwards. It started the season before last, and now it's getting more and more frequent. I was screaming at the TV tonight 'He's doing it again!'.....As once more Ndidi was pushing ahead of Tielemans into midfield. The man should be our deepest midfielder at all times. I get that we all want him to be a bit more 'progressive' with the ball, but his defensive work is suffering now, because he's too often ahead of Tielemans. He's one of the best in this league, at protecting the back 4. Tonight, as with other games during Rodger's reign, he's being made to look far worse than he is, because he's getting caught out defensively, trying to get too far forward. Ndidi's defensive stats show, he's our 'Makelele'..... Makelele would not have been asked to get ahead of Tielemans like Ndidi is being asked too, not by a good manager, anyway.