We won't see Firmino or Benteke in Sweden.

[gkmacca]

BR Interview : notice his comments on the defence. I wonder if that was the main reason for the coaching changes this Summer ?

http://www.lfctour.com/news/latest-news/rodgers-on-helsinki-squad-strength-and-benteke

He certainly was convinced there was no need for coaching changes (except for more time for the usual coaching) last season:

“It’s not a case of needing to bring in another coach, a defensive coach or anything like that,” Rodgers said.
“I wouldn’t go down that route. The bottom line is our team is based on balance and at times it’s been poor. There is a collective responsibility to defend better and that’s what we have to do.

“Our problem and the issue we have which we need to find the solution for is our lack of coaching time. Take this week, we played Wednesday night, the players physically recover on Thursday, and that leaves us with only a short period of time on the training field before we’ve got the game on Saturday.

 

[hamstrung_pigeon]

Benteke was in Portugal with the Villa team for the pre-season, but Sherwood didn't play him in both the games there. Maybe his pre-season conditioning regime is at a different or slower pace - could be how Villa does it, or could be because it's tailored for him taking into consideration the injury that had cost him a World Cup place and a large part of last season. Who knows. I'd take delaying his introduction by a week or two if it means he's in a better condition to play more for the season - Fabian Delph might actually agree with that. 😉

 

[Buddha]

Allan Rodrigues also traveled to Finland.

 

[Frogfish]

Allan Rodrigues also traveled to Finland.

Really ? I thought they only took 14 players and he wasn't on the list I saw.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Maybe he just travelled with the squad for the experience?

I seem to remember sterling having similar trips when he wasn't part of the squad, assume it's to help them acclimatise to what is expected of them in that senior environment away from the training ground.

 

[Buddha]

TalkLiverpoolFC retweeted The Anfield Talk ‏@TheAnfieldTalk 3h3 hours ago

New signing Allan Rodrigues has travelled with the squad to Helsinki.

 

[EmreCan Idol]

Picking Lovren instead of Sakho is just head shakingly stupid.
Starting the season with Lovren when he hasnt impressed so far this season just smells of stubborness from Rodgers.

Hopefully it's nothing more than simply giving Lovren some games in defence, building his confidence. We'll need him in Europe and the cup games this season.

I don't understand Rodgers selection policy with Sakho. He was rotating the centre halves and fullbacks are the start of last season and it backfired massively.

Commit to a back four, give it time.

 

[Red Bird]

Really ? I thought they only took 14 players and he wasn't on the list I saw.

16 players travelled.

 

[aquaman4]

Allan new signing number 60 on the bench today

 

[mark1975]

Hopefully it's nothing more than simply giving Lovren some games in defence, building his confidence. We'll need him in Europe and the cup games this season.

I don't understand Rodgers selection policy with Sakho. He was rotating the centre halves and fullbacks are the start of last season and it backfired massively.

Commit to a back four, give it time.

I think he is doing, to be fair, it's just arguably the wrong back four. That said, I still think we need a centre back. Neither Sakho nor Lovren fill me with any confidence.

 

[EmreCan Idol]

Lovren and Skrtel are both cover defenders and often back off, whereas Sakho is proactive which suits our counter attacking.

If we're starting with the first two then a holding mid is probably essential but i'd prefer to see Sakho on the left. He's also quicker than Lovren and more capable of covering the left back.