Basel FC 1, Liverpool 0: 'We didn't get going quickly'? Rubbish.

I have plenty to say about today's match and will wait to be more objective, but for Rodgers to come out and say 'We didn't get going quickly' is complete ox arse.  At least Gerrard admitted, 'We were not good enough tonight.'  Damn right you weren't.  In fact there was no 'we' to begin with, our boys had as much cohesiveness as a half-drunk Sunday side in the park who had never played together before and quite frankly, it was embarrassing.

We were tired, quite obviously.  Yes, our squad has been decimated with injuries, but that doesn't excuse the dreadful passing display.  I honestly think Sterling should have been given the day off and Suso given his spot.  A win would have been nice, but a draw more ideal.  We got neither though.

I can say their goal was 'luck', but unlike Everton last Saturday, Basel created many more legitimate chances.  They deserved that goal and it's hard to argue against it.  We deserved to score as well, but didn't.  Sterling wasted many a chance and the rest of the side didn't do much better.

We were dispossessed entirely too easily and it was mainly because of our indecisiveness on the ball.  We were predictable and clearly lacked the intuitiveness needed to anticipate fellow players' moves. I don't want to blame one player in particular for our 'self-stifling' attack, but I will say this, Loic Remy, bad heart and all, or Samuel Eto'o, wheelchair and all, would have been better acquisitions.

This was a rare occasion.  Maybe it was because of the foreign atmosphere, but Hendo and Sterling did not play well.  Despite travel time in the England squad, they appeared quite uncomfortable in the unfamiliar confines of Saint Jakob-Park.  They are the heart of the side now with Gerrard playing third fiddle.  Had Sir Gerrard crumbled, we would have been in huge trouble.

On the other end of the spectrum, Coutinho was fantastic, at least in the first half.  Some of the passes he made were spot on, especially to his diminutive English counterpart.  In fact, he might be the poster child to being a more efficient side and player as Sterling clearly needs some time off.  Hendo's performance was surprising though, since he's yet to show any affects from fatigue.

I'm getting really tired of the Markovic criticism though.  Once again, he's 20-years-old, and showed much improvement today.  Sure he made a few mindless passes, mostly due to misinterpreting his clubmates' moves, but he was much better on the ball.  He's going to be a great buy, but needs time, much like Sterling and Coutinho did.

I don't know how much I want to write about Balotelli.  Until he and the club realize he is not the player they are trying to utilize him as, it's a waste of every one's time.  He will not beat one yet two defenders on the dribble, he will not make many brilliant passes, and he will not get as many calls as he should.  I don't necessarily believe he needs a 'partner' striker, but he does need solid service and with Sterling, Coutinho, Gerrard, Can, and Henderson, that should be the issue.  The issue relies in his positioning and communicating between he and his potential assisters.

In the end, I think I agree with our Captain, we aren't good enough.  Fortunately for us, I think we have the ability to get much better, so I don't think bringing in another player is necessary.   We look like a bunch of individuals out there masquerading as a team.  That has to stop, we have to gel, or we are looking at a long and down-winding road.

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.

Jay Rodriguez for £19m?! I must be taking crazy pills.

Jay Rodriguez isn't worth £1.9m, yet alone 19! That is absurd.  There just can't be any truth to Rodgers being interested in him.  If so, somebody needs to set his head right, because that's certifiable. Are these stats worthy of a £19m attacking midfielder/winger/forward?

Southampton 2013-14

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.53	0.63	0.7	0.11	14.3
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
76.6	49	31.7	14.9	12.9
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
1.37	1.51	0.14	0.21	-0.07

Southampton 2012-13

npgp90	gcp90	ccp90	ap90	ccv
0.25	0.45	0.74	0.21	27.8
pass%	bp%	sacc%	shot%	TTI90
73.8	-	36	6.7	14.4
gap90	gsp90	gop90	tgop	gopd90
1.61	1.2	-0.41	-0.29	0.12

I'll save you the trouble and say 'Hell no!' Rodriguez is not good enough to wear the Liverpool shirt.  It's bad enough we grossly overpaid for his former teammate, but he shouldn't even be in the picture.  Whomever says we should buy him, should be committed, immediately.

Not a single stat above could be deemed 'outstanding'.  He does have great chances created value numbers, but that's mainly due to lack of created chances more than anything.  He had a total of 38 for the past two seasons combined.  For perspective, Glen Johnson had 74 over the same span.

Rodriguez is clearly poor on the ball.  His turnover rate and passing percentages are dismal.  He did see slight improvement from one season to the next, but he'll be 25 by the end of the month.  His performance curve can't go too much higher.

Seriously, Rodgers, Rodriguez? I'm hoping he was mis-heard and really said Ricardo Rodriguez.  If not, we need to find where the real Rodgers is being held and get rid of his reptilian humanoid doppelganger sent by Malcolm Glazer from his invisible spaceship.  This hyperreality is making me lose my mind.