Prince is suing Sterling over his hair plus five things learnt from the Boro penaltipalooza

1. Where was Enrique before the 109th minute? Didn't he start? It was almost if Rodgers held him back to protect the undisciplined Sakho.  Maybe he was afraid Old Man Kolo would get infected with catchus outofpositionus, the virus that deludes our centre backs to go forward at the worst of times, the Ivorian may try to roll his wheelchair into the opponent's box.  It was not only the inclusion of Suso and the realized ability of our players that they are capable of shooting the thing called a ball, but once Enrique started getting involved, the Boro defence really started to open up.

2. Rickie Lambert needs to go 'Syd Barret' on us all. Seriously, he should show up at the next match with all his shaved off: beard, scalp, eyebrows, legs, chest, the whole kitten kaboodle.  Then he should act like a man possessed, cussing himself and using crazy antics to baffle the opposition defense.  In the very least it'll make him faster, right? Eh.

3. Adam Lallana is a fantastic Championship player. He reminds me a lot of a young Adam Johnson, dancing around the pitch, making moves and breaking ankles reminiscent of Allen Iverson back in the day.  Of course, he is only a year younger than Johnson and though he did show some flash on the dribble, he did little else.  Twenty six million pounds! Don't think about it, I can see Del Boy's eyes popping out of his head before he almost dies of laughter.

4. What happened to the side that played Tottenham? The first thought is that we had Sturridge, but was he really that much of a factor?  He didn't really do much, he had one key pass, that's it.  Was starting he and Balotelli the secret?  Maybe, but doubtful.  One thing that is apparent is Moreno was more involved on attack versus Spurs than he was at Villa and West Ham.  The left back held the ball 10.9% of the time at White Hart Lane compared to 6.4% versus the Villans and 6.1% at Boleyn Ground.  Maybe the left back position is the biggest catalyst when it comes to Rodgers' tactics, let's why not find out.  Another factor was time spent on the ball, we whizzed that thing around the pitch like it was wasp nest in Sir Alec Ferguson's head.  Whatever we did pre-match to make us look that fresh and quick, Rodgers needs to repeat every match.

5. Raheem Sterling needs to work on his killer instinct. Is it just me or is Sterling's hair getting more and more Prince like with each match?  Let's have a comparison:

It's getting there, lad, but if he comes out full Purple Rain one match, I may lose the plot.  Anyhow, he has to learn to be selfish and shoot the ball more, it's the only way he'll ever get any better.  Plus, he just seems such a nice kid, he really needs to find his inner demon and unleash it on the ball at the proper time, his penalty yesterday and some of his better recent opportunities for a goal have fallen flat.

Man City 3, Liverpool 1: No Jovetic of confidence

Well, that was disappointing though I can't say the result was unexpected.  We had our chances, as did they, but they were better in taking advantage and that's the difference between having a bottomless money bag and having to be fiscally sound.  Yes, we can buy great players, but not for asking price like City.  They bought Jovetic for £22m on talent alone.  Prior to today, the 24-year-old had 6 goals in 17 career matches for City, while £12m Daniel Sturridge has scored 36 in 50.  They should have never let the latter go.

The positive points were... not sure.  Honestly, I think we played well enough to lose 1-3.  It makes me question if we have the talent to compete for the league.  Players made mistakes and other than Glen Johnson, nobody was habitual in their error proneness, but we've been used to our right back's faults for a while now.  Though I don't think Manquillo starting would have made a huge difference, he would have at least gave us a chance.  Is Johnson playing amazing in training or something? I just don't understand why Rodgers started/played him today.

Moreno had a decent debut despite being blamed for the opening goal.  It was more Jovetic's superb little push-on then our new left back's inability to clear the ball which lead to the goal.  Not much could have been done there, Glen Johnson would have probably just went ahead and put it in the net for City.  The 22-year-old Spaniard debutant led the side with 4 tackles, had two take-ons, and completed 90.5% of his passes (38 of 42).

Statistically speaking, nobody truly stood out.  Mignolet lead the side with a 95% pass completion rate (19/20) including 6/7 long balls, but our Belgium keeper probably could have done a better job stopping shots.  Sturridge filled up the stat sheet with two shots on target, two chances created, three take-ons, a tackle and a clearance, but also posted a team-worst 70% passing rate. If I had to pick a player of the match for us, it would be Gerrard.  The ageless one had 2 key passes, 3 tackles, 2 clearances, an interception, an led all outfield starters with a 93% successful pass rate.

Though this match does matter in some degree, we must move on and realize that it doesn't make much difference in the title race.  Not showing up against a lower table side would concern me much more.  We didn't play all that bad, but we didn't take advantage of the opportunities afforded us, which is worrisome.  Suarez would have made no difference by the way, as he rarely showed up in matches against top competition.

The Transfer Rubbish Bin: Moreno likely? Di Maria Possible? Agger gone?

Sevilla club president Juan Castro has proclaimed that Liverpool have not yet met his club's evaluation for Alberto Moreno.  They want closer to £20m for the 22-year-old left back and LFC apparently have offer £14-16m plus bonuses.  The Mirror is reporting that the deal will be done after Sevilla play Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup match tomorrow.  Not sure why that matters because unless they sign another left back by the then, they won't have a true one to replace Moreno if he's sold.  Navarro and possibly Vitolo can 'cover' there, but neither are 'true' left backs.

Recovered from World Cup injury, Angel Di Maria has reported to Real Madrid despite grumblings that he desires to leave.  If he plays tomorrow in the UEFA Super Cup, it'll raise a few eyebrows.  Paris St. Germain would be the likeliest destination, but unless they rid themselves of a couple of 'A' list players, Lavezzi and Cavani in particular, they can't buy the 26-year-old winger due to their settlement agreement with the CFCB of UEFA.  That's a scintillating read, by the way.  Apparently Man United are the current favorites and are preparing a £55m bid for the Argentine. That is way too much, even for a player of Di Maria's class.  Is he part English? His market value according to transfermarkt.co.uk is £44m. Other than dinero, I can't see him walking into a starting spot for us like he would at United.  Would you sit Sterling or Coutinho for him? Not I, though we could play him in the hole which would take time away from Henderson and make Lallana's transfer even more irrelevant.  Considering he wants out of Real Madrid because the additions of James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos will severely cut into his pitch time, United would be better for him.  One can dream though.

Daniel Agger is apparently broken and bent.  So much so that he has gone 'tearfully begging' to Rodgers for a transfer.  It's a nice story and may hold some truth, but doubtful.  Sure, the 29-year-old centre back has been utilized considerably less the last couple of seasons, but he is still quality and we will need him as insurance, in case of injury to others. Their are also a ton of fixtures to be played next 'year' and the more coverage, the better off we'll be.  I hope we do whatever is necessary to hold on to our Vice Captain.  Good news is Rodgers has claimed that there have not been any approaches for the Dagger.

There is also word in the cyberspace that a 'huge' signing is coming.  Hopefully it isn't Cavani or Lavezzi or god help me, Mauro Icardi.  None of those players will be very helpful to us and considering Rodger's distaste for Andy Carroll, Cavani's style of play is quite similar though somewhat superior.  The Uruguyuan will problem come at an exorbitant price as well.  I also don't think Moreno can be considered a 'big deal' either, he is quality and may one day be considered 'world class', but he is years from that now.  Then who could be? Cuadrado? Reus? Fred? I just puked.

Jose Enrique deserves the right to win his spot back

Whether we bring in another left back or not (hopefully not Moreno though), Jose Enrique has the right to win his place back.  If he can return from knee injury and produce as he did the season prior, he should be our first choice with Flanagan being the 'defensive'/cup option.

year	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
club	Newcastle	Liverpool	Liverpool	Liverpool
age	24	25	26	27
app(subs)	36	33(2)	25(4)	6(2)
mins	3123	2994	2257	604
p90	34.7	33.3	25.1	6.7
goals	0	0	2	0
assist	1	2	4	2
chances	30	36	26	8
npgp90	0	0	0.08	0
gcp90	0.03	0.06	0.24	0.3
ccp90	0.87	1.08	1.04	1.19
ap90	0.03	0.06	0.16	0.3
ccv	3.4	5.6	15.4	25.2
pass%	77	80.6	76.7	80.4
bp%	-	-	37	40.8
sacc%	21.1	23.1	36.4	50
shot%	0	0	9.1	0
TTI90	14	13.3	15.6	11.2
gap90	1	1.05	0.92	0.6
gsp90	1.04	1.2	1.91	1.64
gop90	0.04	0.15	0.99	1.04
tgop	-0.03	0.13	0.74	1.32
tp90	1.73	2.07	2.87	1.64
tack %	-	-	75.3	53.3
intp90	1.67	0.93	1.39	1.34
clrp90	1.76	1.41	1.95	2.99
dribpp90	0.26	0.36	0.36	0.3
bsp90	0.35	0.15	0.12	0.15

Even in the short time he saw the pitch last year, he impressed.  His 25.2 chance created value was ridiculously good and even 15.2 from the season before is solid.  His tackle success rate of  75.3% from his second year at LFC is phenomenal as well, basically he succeeded on three out of four tackles attempted.

So how does his season before compare to Flanagan and Moreno from last season?

	Enrique	Flanagan	Moreno
npgp90	0.08	0.05	0.11
gcp90	0.24	0.1	0.11
ccp90	1.04	0.62	0.71
ap90	0.16	0.05	0
ccv	15.4	8.1	0
pass%	76.7	83.7	78.9
bp%	37	42.6	36.5
sacc%	36.4	42.9	17
shot%	9.1	14.3	13
TTI90	15.6	9.2	8.5
gap90	0.92	1.81	1.6
gsp90	1.91	3	1.98
gop90	0.99	1.19	0.38
tgop	0.74	1.32	0.45
tp90	2.87	3.8	1.94
tack %	75.3	45.7	39.6
intp90	1.39	1.9	2.72
clrp90	1.95	3.6	1.64
dribpp90	0.36	1.9	0.82
bsp90	0.12	0.2	0.3

Enrique is the only one above who had a goals on pitch average higher than his team and his chance created value is unparalleled.  The damning stat is Enrique's TTI90, 15.7 is dreadful, but in the handful of matches he participated in last season, he had a TTI90 of 11.2.  That's not good, but hopefully it's at least a sign of progress.  Other than that, neither Flanagan nor Moreno offer more than Enrique other than potential and years left of service and that doesn't make the latter worth £20m.

And then there's Marcelo...

I've been through nearly every left back out there that has been linked with Liverpool except Real Madrid's Marcelo.  I'm not sure how much they would want for him, but I would assume they wouldn't take less than £22m.  Personally, I think he's overrated, let's see if I'm right:

	Marcelo	Moreno	Rodriguez	Shaw
age	26	22*	21	19
app(subs)	24(4)	27(2)	34	35
mins	2177	2414	3060	2990
goals	1	3	5	0
assist	6	0	9	1
chances	44	19	78	33
npgp90	0.04	0.11	0.09	0
gcp90	0.29	0.11	0.41	0.03
ccp90	1.8	0.71	2.3	0.99
pass%	85.1	78.9	80.5	79
bp%	41.6	36.5	44.6	41.6
sacc%	25	17	55.3	41.7
shot%	4	13	13.2	0
tp90	2.9	1.9	3.1	2.2
tack %	57.9	39.6	57.7	58.7
intp90	1.4	2.7	1.9	1.1
clrp90	1.7	1.6	2.8	3.7
dribpp90	0.6	0.8	0.8	0.7
bsp90	0.08	0.3	0.4	0.1
adwp90	0.7	1	3.1	1.8
adwon%	41	50	56.2	56.5
TTI90	10.2	8.5	11.1	11.6

The Brazilian ties for last in overall ranking with Luke Shaw at 2.75, second is Moreno at 2.63, and coming out on top with a score of 1.75 is Ricardo Rodriguez.  Clearly we will have to over pay for Marcelo if his contribution is as equal to Shaw and the latter is 7 years his junior.

The only thing Marcelo does really well is pass the ball and he's a decent tackler, but he was either last or second to last in all other defensive categories.  He is especially poor when it comes to aerial duels, not only did he have the lowest per 90, but also the lowest success percentage.

Once again Rodriguez shows how he is the business, I will be shocked if he starts next season in a Wolfsburg shirt.  The only way Rodgers should even consider bringing in Marcelo is at discount of say £10m, but I doubt that'll happen.

Forget Moreno & Blind, Jason Davidson is who we should sign

You're probably asking yourself, "Who the %&*$ is Jason Davidson?" Well, he's a left back who plays for Australia and Heracles Almelo in the Eredivisie, and he might be the wisest solution for our left back dillema. He just turned 22 and would provide great competition for Flanagan and Enrique.  Here is his output from last season along with Daley Blind, who plays in the same league, Flanagan, and Moreno.

	Davidson	Blind	Flanagan	Moreno
age	22	24	21	22*
app(subs)	30	29	23	27(2)
mins	2669	2503	1890	2414
goals	2	1	1	3
assist	3	1	1	0
chances	32	37	13	19
npgp90	0.06	0.04	0.05	0.11
gcp90	0.17	0.07	0.1	0.11
ccp90	1.08	1.33	0.62	0.71
pass%	76.5	88.1	83.7	78.9
bp%	31.4	38.7	42.6	36.5
sacc%	38.5	28.6	42.9	17
shot%	15.4	3.6	14.3	13
tp90	1.7	2.8	3.8	1.9
tack %	51.2	50.4	45.7	39.6
intp90	2.2	2.7	1.9	2.7
clrp90	5.2	2.1	3.6	1.6
dribpp90	0.9	1.4	1.9	0.8
bsp90	0.5	0.3	0.2	0.3
adwp90	1.7	1.6	1.4	1
adwon%	58.6	65.7	46.8	50
TTI90	7.6	10.9	9.2	8.5

(*Moreno turns 22 in 11 days.)

Davidson has the highest overall ranking among the four, topping 8 categories and coming in second in 5 more.  His only achilles heel is his lack of successful tackles, but he is still comparable to Moreno and does have the highest tackle success rate.  His passing rate is not impressive, which is odd considering his low TTI90, but his low back pass rate is phenomenal.

The biggest buying point is his cost.  He is only valued at £352,000 according to transfermarkt, but there's no way they'll let him go for that cheap.  If we could get him for £2.5-3m, it may still be a steal.  I'd much rather spend that much and have him not work out then spend a ridiculous amount on Moreno or Blind.  It's true Davidson is not a 'dynamic' nor 'sexy' player, but neither is his price tag.

Ricardo Rodriguez would be a brilliant addition

We are obviously shopping for a left back with reports that we have bid for Alberto Moreno and are also looking at Marcos Rojo & Daley Blind, but Ricardo Rodriguez of VfL Wolfsburg & Switzerland may be the best value.  I'm not big on adding World Cup phenoms, but Rodriguez has also shown his worth at the club level. Here are his stats from the Bundesliga last season:

app(subs)	34
mins	3060
goals	5
assist	9
chances	78
gcp90	0.41
ccp90	2.3
pass%	80.5
bp%	44.6
sacc%	55.3
shot%	13.2
tack pm	3.1
tack %	57.7
int pm	1.9
off won pm	0.4
clear pm	2.8
dribb past pm	0.8
bs pm	0.4
adwon pm	3.1
adwon%	56.2
own goals	0
TTI90	11.1

If we are going to splash major cash for a player, Rodriguez would be the one.  He is arguably the best left back in the world right now.  His chances created per match, pass %, shot selection, tackling success, and aerial duels won are phenomenal.  Paying £30m for him is very reasonable as he remarkably will turn just 22 this August.

His TTI90 does worry me, but he more than makes up for it with his ccp90.  Imagine him feeding Sturridge and Suarez.  We could even play him in front of Flanagan or Enrique on the wing and allow him to utilize his creative abilities and worry less about his defensive responsibilities.

Alberto Moreno isn't worth £16m

Sure, he's 21, but will he develop into the all-round left back we need? Let's compare him to Jon Flanagan and Jose Enrique over the last two seasons.

	Moreno		Flanagan		Enrique
20	12-13	13-14	10-12	13-14	12-13	13-14
app(subs)	12(3)	27(2)	12	23	25(4)	6(2)
mins	1083	2414	1004	1890	2257	604
goals	0	3	0	1	2	0
assist	1	0	0	1	4	2
chances	8	19	5	13	26	8
gcp90	0.8	0.11	0	0.1	0.24	0
ccp90	0.67	0.71	0.45	0.62	1.04	1.2
pass%	78.1	78.9	79.4	83.7	80.4	80.4
bp%	45	36.5	-	42.6	37	40.8
sacc%	20	17	0	42.9	36.4	33.3
shot%	0	13	0	14.3	9.1	0
tack pm	1.9	1.8	1.7	3.4	2.5	1.3
tack %	37.8	39.6	-	45.7	75.3	53.3
int pm	3.1	2.5	1.8	1.7	1.2	1.1
off won pm	0.3	0	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.1
clear pm	2.8	1.5	1.5	3.3	2.5	2.5
dribb past pm	1.1	0.8	0.8	1.7	0.3	0.3
bs pm	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.1
adwon pm	0.7	0.9	0.5	1.3	0.4	0.3
adwon%	47.8	50	52.6	46.8	38.2	22.2
own goals	0	0	0	0	0	0
TTI90	10.4	8.5	6	9.2	15.6	11.3

*Note: Jon Flanagan's '1st season' are his stats from league appearances from 2010-12.*

At a glance, Moreno is not much of an upgrade from Flanagan and no where near as good as a healthy Enrique.  All he really brings to the table is a better interception and blocked shot rate, which is admirable, but not worth £16m.

Enrique does turnover the ball significantly more than the other two, but his back pass rate tells me that it is probably primarily in the opposition third and his chances created per 90 somewhat makes up for his risk-taking.

We definitely need more coverage at left back, but I don't think Alberto Moreno is the answer.  He would probably be a solid addition to the squad, but if you are going to spend £16m, you should be buying a Sakho and not an Aspas.