Why Rodgers should buy Bertrand

To get sacked and go on holiday.  I have little doubt that buying the Chelsea left back for his estimated valuation of £7m would be on par with buying Aspas for £7.5m or Borini for £10.4m.  Here are last season's stats for Bertrand, who spent the majority on loan at Villa, our Jon Flanagan, and the guy we should sign on a free from Heracles of the Eredivisie, Australian Jason Davidson.

	Bertrand	Flanagan	Davidson
age	25*	21	22
app(subs)	17	23	30
mins	1449	1890	2669
goals	0	1	2
assist	0	1	3
chances	4	13	32
npgp90	0	0.05	0.06
gcp90	0	0.1	0.17
ccp90	0.25	0.62	1.08
pass%	76.4	83.7	76.5
bp%	38.4	42.6	31.4
sacc%	50	42.9	38.5
shot%	0	14.3	15.4
tp90	1.9	3.8	1.7
tack %	60.5	45.7	51.2
intp90	0.9	1.9	2.2
clrp90	2.1	3.6	5.2
dribpp90	0.4	1.9	0.9
bsp90	0.4	0.2	0.5
TTI90	10.2	9.2	7.6

Bertrand pales in comparison to Flanagan and Davidson, in fact, other than his tackle success percentage, he's quite unimpressive.  More damning is that before joining Villa they had 23 points from their first 20 matches, but in the 16 of the remaining 18 matches that Bertrand played, they garnered only 12 points and won the fixture against Chelsea which could not feature him. 

Just don't do it Rodgers.  I read somewhere that the argument was how Rodgers has 'righted' Sturridge and could do the same for Bertrand.  That's a bunch of crock, when Sturridge is allowed to play in his natural position up front, as he did on loan at Bolton, he's highly productive, it has little to do with Rodgers 'righting' anything.  BR should be getting Davidson's rep on the phone as soon as possible before he finalizes his deal with Fulham.  That Felix Magath, he's never won anything.

Liverpool 4, Bolton 0: player ratings

Before I get to my ratings for yesterday's match, I want to share a couple of more thoughts about and concerning it. First off, does everybody share Paul Tomkins latest sentiment that the media for the most part is not giving our side the proper credit by rubbishing our recent opponents? I'm not so sure and I don't really care. Let the media disinform future opponents on our quality, it'll only end up helping us in the end. Of course, I'm not one to care what the media has to say anyhow.

As for the match, the more I think about it, the more I feel we were predominantly a lethargic side, going through the motions a lot, but applying the right amount of energy when needed. In other words, when Bolton looked as if they might score, our defense took it up a notch, and when we sensed weakness while on the attack, we went for the kill. That kind of intuition says that team chemistry is building and the squad appears to be coming together more as a unit in reading our opponents and getting in touch with the ebb and flow of the match energy. The downfall is a better side than Bolton would probably have taken advantage of our defensive lapses, but then again, I'm sure our boys will be more intense against a more formidable opponent. Anyhow, here are my grades:

Pepe Reina 4
Made a couple of conspicuous errors, especially the Carragher fiasco. I honestly think he was just bored though and he did make at least one decent save that I can recall.

John Arne Riise 6
Definitely a return to better form for the Norwegian as his passing improved from recent outings and seemed to be back to his old self on attack. Was probably robbed of a penalty when a trademark rocket headed for the upper right corner of the goalmouth hit off a Bolton player's arm in the box, but might have been the reason Crouch got the call later in the match.

Sami Hyppiä 6.5
Another solid effort from the Finn and a goal to boot.

Jamie Carragher 5
Not the best match I've ever seen Carra play. He seemed out of sorts at times, not really on the same page as the rest of the squad, and basically uninvolved. The week off should do him some good.

Jack Hobbs 6
His first appearance where he appeared to have a clue. It's funny, the younger players seemed to be more confident in one another than the older do them. For instance, Hobbs passed to and received the most passes from Lucas, most likely due to them playing together on the Reserves, but Reina was a bit timid in handing the ball over to the 19-year-old.

Alvaro Arbeloa 7.5
Simply a brilliant performance by the Spaniard. His passing and tackling were both dead-on and he also made a goal-saving clearance. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it, Arbeloa could probably play up front if we needed him too, but in my opinion and as his performances have shown, he's best suited at right back.

Harry Kewell 6
Carried his great form from the end of the Porto match into this one and was unlucky not to have a goal to show for his effort. His decisions on the ball could improve, but for the most, he's known as a risk-taker.

Ryan Babel 7
Another superb display from our supersub. He probably should have had a brace, but you can't really hold it against him. He was a threat nearly every second on the pitch and gave the Bolton defenders fits to no end, but he still needs to learn that he does have teammates and he doesn't need to try and take on the whole opposition by himself.

Steven Gerrard 7.5 Man of the Match
What can you say? His recent form has been nothing short of golden and I have no problem stating he's the best player in the world right now. A world-class assist to Torres and an unstoppable penalty to go along with another assist (to Hyppiä) and five tackles.

Lucas 6.5
Another inspiring effort from the young Brazilian, so much so that I'm beginning to think that it was what we should come to expect from him. In other words, imagine an above average performance. That's just scary. The amazing thing about Lucas, among other things of course, is his ball distribution. Where a lot of players are more comfortable passing the ball a certain direction or to certain players, Lucas appears to lack any discrimination in that regard and the ball usually finds its destination.

Yossi Benayoun 6
A relatively quiet outing from the Israeli, not that he didn't contribute to the effort. For the most part, as long as he steps up when others appear to be faltering, like the Wigan match for instance, I have no problems with such displays. He was far from a detriment to the side and it was probably best he didn't try and assert himself on the attack every time, sometimes a little space for the other players is what is needed.

Peter Crouch 5.5
A decent show from the lanky one, I think I only yelled at him once... maybe twice. He didn't exactly utilize his strengths, but our plan of attack didn't appear to include that this time.

Fernando Torres 6.5
His goal was class and he definitely improved from the Port match, but still, at moments he shows some glimpses of prowess that make me believe we haven't seen anything yet. I have little problem calling him 'World Class' and would love for someone to show me a striker in the world in better form.

Dirk Kuyt N/A
Though his effort was, as usual, tireless, I just don't feel he got the proper time on the pitch to get comfortable.

Liverpool 4, Bolton 0: effortless domination

This was the side that beat Man U last weekend? Well, not really. They had Kevin Nolan and our own Danny Guthrie, two crucial pieces to the defensive stalwart that puzzled and trumped the Rooney and Ronaldo-less side, but still, Nani and Anderson alone were probably bought for more than the entire Bolton squad. Also it was at the Reebok, but before I get carried away making excuses for the Mancs, I'll get to the subject-at-hand, today's annihilation of the Wanderers.

If there has ever been a match make me look like a genius, today was it. Arbeloa started on the right, as I have pointed out in the past, played with more confidence than when he's on the left and was simply brilliant overall. He made no noticeable mistakes, completed all 29 pass attempts, and made a goal-saving clearance. Ryan Babel played the supersub role to perfection and probably could have netted a hat trick, but scored nonetheless, and Hyypiä was masterly on defense, breaking the scoreboard with a cleverly-placed header from a Gerrard free-kick.

Speaking of Gerrard, our skipper continued his current run of ingenious form by assisting on two goals and grabbing a Kaká special for good measure. That's eight goals in nine games. His assist to Torres was no less than world class revealing glimpses of cunning seen only from the likes of Xabi or Fabregas. Overall his effort was colossal, but when it's all said and done, will probably be get lost in a sea of better performances.

The funny thing is, Bolton actually looked the better side at the outset, probably feeding off their energy of the Man U win. Once Hyppiä put the ball past Jaaskelainen in the 17th minute though, all fears of an upset were put to rest. Then just before the halftime whistle, Gerrard and Torres made their mark on the match when our skipper fed the Spaniard with that brilliant through pass which Torres beat out a defender to gather and then deftly loop it past the Finnish keeper.

If the result of the match was still in question when the second half began, a penalty awarded to Crouch and converted by Gerrard 11 minutes in, provided all the answers needed to know that the three points were safely in our grasp. Some may question the call, but we were probably cheated out of at least one legitimate penalty when twice shots hit off the arms of Wanderer players in the box. Babel then came on in the 67th minute to provide some late match entertainment.

The only negative appeared to be Carragher having to be taken off for an apparent rib injury caused by a comical collision with Reina in which Anelka should have scored on an empty net in the first half. The French striker uncharacteristically placed it well wide, much to the delight of the crowd. Carra tried to continue, even coming out for the second half, but Jack Hobbs had to come on six minutes later for the Bootle icon. The good news is that the injury does not appear to be serious and Carra should be available next weekend when we face Reading, also Hobbs probably put in his best effort and was more than adequate as a sub.

Overall, we played well and rightly deserved the win, far from perfect, but more than just good enough. Bolton had a couple of prime opportunities to score, but it just wasn't in the books. It wouldn't have mattered anyhow, Liverpool were clearly the classier side. I'll be back tomorrow with player ratings. Godspeed.

Liverpool vs Bolton: Crouch, Lucas, & Kewell start

Here's the line-up:
Reina
Riise
Carragher
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Lucas
Gerrard
Benayoun
Torres
Crouch

Bench:
Itandje
Mascherano
Babel
Kuyt
Hobbs

No Momo, again...

Today's Banter: The kids crush Bolton, Carson gone, God may need surgery, & Agger almost back

It's a match day so I'm not going to indulge as much as usual. First off, the Academy hailed brimstone and fire on the young Wanderers of Bolton to secure a 5-2 victory. Nathan Eccleston and David Amoo notched a brace apiece with Marvin Pourie adding the fifth. You know, I've heard of the latter two kids, but this Eccleston seems to be the business. Hopefully he'll continue to develop and progress so if he ever gets to the first team, we can stick it to the Mancs about stealing one of their own right out from under them. They can have their Cofie and biscuits and shove them you know where. Anyhow, youth coach Hugh McAuley was pleased with the scoring output, but disappointed that the clean sheet wasn't kept.

Well, it's looking more and more like a done deal that our keeper/super-model extraordinairre, Scott Carson, may be making his loan to Aston Villa permanent. Apparently we've agreed to terms with Martin O'Neill's side. I have mixed feelings about this as I think Carson is as good if not better than Reina, but the Spaniard is always going to get the nod with Rafa calling the shots. Hopefully we're getting a respectable chunk of change for him and can use that money to sign Masche permanently. In any case, I'm gonna dread when we have to face the Villans from now on, just another keeper with more cause to shut us down.

Word out of Cardiff is that Robbie Fowler is having hip issues. So much so that he may need surgery to fix the problem. Details are far and few between, but God is traveling to Germany sometime next week to see a specialist. He's the same guy that treated Michael Owen and Ronaldo, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Hopefully it's not as bad as thought and he'll be back to fitness in no time.

Speaking of getting back to fitness, the return of Danny Agger after the international break looks highly likely. The Dane has returned to training and as soon as he gets to fine fettle, he'll be back on the pitch for us. Maybe he'll feature for the Reserves on Tuesday, who knows, but we need him back ASAP. Cheers.

Danny Guthrie's goal (video)

Well, It's finally surfaced. Here's video of Danny's first goal for Bolton versus Fulham in their Carling Cup match from earlier this week. Unfortunately, the quality's not that great and there's no replay, but from what you can see, it's quite the stunner. It's the first goal on the video. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Ref change for Wigan, Crouch wants answers, & Gerrard 'almost fit'

- Due to protest from Wigan manager Chris Hutchings, the referee for our match on Saturday has been switched from Steve Bennett to Mark Clattenburg. Hutchings' ground for protest was Bennett's sending off of Kilbane for apparently no reason whatsoever in the Lactics tie at Newcastle on the first of this month. Though he has yet to receive any punishment for what has been deemed an 'incorrect decision', it was thought best that Bennett not be in charge of this upcoming fixture. Fine by me, the guy has handed out four red cards in six Premiership matches so far this season which would have probably meant a sending off for Mascherano at the JJB. Clattenburg has yet to hand out a red so far this year. Knock on wood.

- Peter Crouch would like to know FIFA's response to Graham Poll's accusations that the refs during last year's World Cup were asked to single the forward out. It's pretty obvious that he was. While he had the stage, Crouch also warned Torres that performance is not the main factor in Rafa's selection process and therefore he may not even be on the bench at Wigan. Crouchy may either be trying to force Rafa to start him Saturday or he may just be laying the foundation for a request for a transfer come January. If Torres is selected, look for the lanky striker's whining to increase.

- Gerrard has proclaimed that his best form is just around the corner as pain in his toe has subsided. I really don't understand why he was playing with pain for England or our club otherwise. In fact, it's pretty obvious he should have left the limping Three Lions to the wolves since he got no credit for his solid performances against Israel and Russia. Then again, we're talking about the English press who are more superficial than Victoria Beckham.

- By the way, if you didn't know, Danny Guthrie scored a goal for Bolton yesterday. It was the first strike for the 20-year-old midfielder with the club in which he is on loan and proved crucial as the Wanderers beat Fulham, 2-1, in League Cup action. As soon as I can find a video of it, I'll either link or show. Cheers.

Danny Guthrie has scored for Bolton!

I'm not able to watch this match and quite frankly watching Barcelona-Zaragoza seemed like a better idea and probably was since three great goals, two by Messi have been scored, but anyhow our out-on-loan midfielder, Danny Guthrie, has scored his first goal for Bolton. His side is at Fulham for their third round Carling Cup tie. More on this and hopefully the video later. Cheers.

Now that Mourinho is gone, get ready for Rafa vs Big Sam

I guess I spoke too soon. You may recall earlier in the week when Big Sam Allardyce put in his two cents regarding Rafa's rotation policy, particularly his decision not to start Gerrard and Torres against Portsmouth last Saturday. That was of course before his Newcastle side went into Pride Park Stadium and lost relegation candidates Derby County, 1-0.

The Magpies boss felt he had the right to blast Rafa for not caring about the Premiership as much as he does Europe. Big Sam added: "Rafa would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadn't got to two Champions League finals, because they have had some very, very poor finishes in the Premier League." Third place is a poor finish? Interesting. I won't bother looking to see where his Bolton sides finished over the last three years, but I don't ever remember them even making the Champions League.

He also gave us this gem: "Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second." The last time an English manager won the league was 1992 when Howard Wilkinson won it with Leeds. That was before it was called the Premiership, by the way.

Anyhow, Rafa has responded by reiterating my initial reaction to Allardyce's rant, saying "I think he should be more worried about his own business because he must have more problems than to waste time talking about other managers."

Then he goes on to hint that Big Sam must not have a very good memory and reminds the Newcastle manager that we've won the Super Cup, FA Cup and Champions League as well as reachied another Champions League final, a Carling Cup final and twice finishing third in the Premier League during the Spaniard's reign. My question is, where's your silverware, Big Sam?