Liverpool vs. Besiktas

1 thing i want to say is how cool as ice is balo these days though, he hardly gives anything away.

Please ma, anything he cops for this is his own doing, not that it needs to go any further. He should be taking the peno's if stevies out, but still not in that fashion.

Also yeah Henderson was pretty average tonight. Led the team in touches, passes (from non-defenders), passes leading to shots, shots, crosses and tackles. Up your game Hendo you ****ing lazy wanker.

Not even taking in to account his pressing, how close he was on his free kick, and how if our players in the box were a bit better we could have had goals off two of his corners.

"I wanted the penalty, Mario felt confident and he has taken big penalties before. Everyone wants to take them. I felt confident in Mario, he has taken big penalties before and he got the nod."

Bravo on Hendo though for the way he handled it.

Actually watching the whole thing again I blame Sturridge and Gerrard completely for this stupidity. Balotelli walked up and patted Henderson after taking the ball, and Hendo seemed completely fine with it until Sturridge came over and seemed to initiate the "confrontation".

I take back my comment from earlier about Balo. He wasn't doing anything wrong it seemed as Henderson didn't really seem to have a problem with him taking it at all.

Yeah his pat on the back and immediate run away without looking at balo after he scores sure shows he didn't care aye.

mr-r34 wrote:Yeah his pat on the back and immediate run away without looking at balo after he scores sure shows he didn't care aye.

He patted him on the arm and then went to walk away and Balo grabbed him back for a hug and they both were smiling. I'm sure Hendo felt a little annoyed because Sturridge started a confrontation that wasn't there and as a result he felt he was a bit undermined by Balo, but I don't think Balotelli was at fault.

I would have probably been happier if Hendo took it, but ultimately it all turned out well and I think that the only person that really bothers me in this whole situation is Sturridge.

i watched the whole thing again, and I understand that henderson was captain and balo shouldn't disrespect the armband. I know he would not have stepped up if Gerrard was there. But Balo stepped up and there wasn't an argument, it was sturridge that blew it up. Balo's hug towards henderson showed his respect. And considering all this, Balo is a very good penalty taker, and i believe he really wanted to show his commitment to liverpool, and believe that it was right that he took the penalty.

Balo forced the hug, hendo didnt even make eye contact let alone give a smile back.

Oh who gives a *bleep*. He scored, the end.

Why does everyone have to make a big deal out of this? Balotelli is arguably the best penalty taker in the world, the guy hardly misses them. We needed to score to win, and he did that.

Sturridge/Hendo need to relax. We got a crucial goal and kept a clean sheet, so why are they angry/acting like princesses?

Anywho, motm is easily Ibe.

For the whole Hendo performance discussion, he was okay. He wasn't good but he wasn't bad. Somewhere in the middle. Tried a little too hard, but he clearly needed a bit more composure out there as he just attempted to do too much on his own.

Hello guys, what's up!!!!!!!!!!

So here's some questions for you (I couldn't watch the game)

#1. How did Lallana & Balotelli play!!!
#2. How was Emre in midfield???
#3. How did Lovern do...

some link for highlights would be nice too

BR is trying to reintroduce both Balotelli and Lovren into the squad, Its still not working with Lovren.

Can was poor in both areas, Didnt have a good day. Lallana was just about above average 7/10, Horrible miss though.

Balotelli put in a great shift.

Lovren is meh. Doing no better than Can, who's way younger, less inexperienced, and playing in a role that he's still adjusting / not accustomed too.

Lallana's miss aside, he was okay. Nothing special, really. It's not his fault Liverpool's management spent 25m on him so all in all, he was solid I guess.

Balotelli is goat. Probably our best player after Ibe in his little stint. What's it take for him to get a start? Or is this whole penalty debacle where everyone is PMSing going to relegate him back to the reserves?

I just dont give a f*** about what happened on the pitch. But I am really pissed at Gerrard. I know just because he is legend people are scared to talk about him but what he did was even more wrong than what Balo did. There was absolutely no need to throw Balo under the bus, there was no need to comment, he could said thousands of other things.

I am sure Rodgers will sort that out about Balo, hendo and Sturridge and this whole panalty taking job.

Yeah why the *bleep* was Gerrard allowed to do punditry when he is still a player for the club. Its too risky and it has backfired, Rather than protecting Balotelli, He's thrown him under the bus with his comments.

Hendo wasn't good yet led the team in non-defender passes, 'key passes', crosses, long balls, shots,  and of course...tackles. He was trying to force things in the second half because we needed to score and nobody else was creating anything. He was trying to step up and in truth he did create a number of good opportunities, runs and chances from set pieces.

I don't really understand what kind of standard Henderson is being held to here considering he is primarily a pressing, ball-winning midfielder. Yes, he makes a lot of good forward actions that he doesn't capitalize on but that's not his primary role.

Yet Balotelli was amazing because he won a couple free kicks and took a penalty someone else earned.

No we Defo need to start getting balo in, him and sterling behind sturridge.

I like Balotelli in this off the bench role. if I remember correctly, he was best for City coming off the bench as well. He's suited to coming on and providing something different to a game as opposed huffing and puffing for 90 minutes against fresh defenders.

Rodgers clears it up

“Steven and Mario are the top two penalty takers, but obviously neither of them were on the pitch at the start so you have to nominate someone,” said Rodgers. “Jordan was nominated, but when we had a penalty Mario had come onto the field.

“So Jordan, being someone with responsibility and trust, gave the penalty to Mario so there was no issue. There was a little bit of a kerfuffle around it because he wanted to make sure Mario was happy to take it, but that was it really.

“I always assign responsibility every single game and I think in my time here that was been the first time this has ever reared its head. We have a whole raft of penalty takers here who are outstanding. Rickie Lambert has hardly missed a penalty in his career, so there is another taker if he is on the pitch.

“If you are the vice captain and the captain is on the bench and then he comes on, then it is the etiquette to give him the armband. It is a similar thing with the penalty.

“If Steven is on the field there is no drama. He is the first choice penalty taker. After that if Mario is on the field he takes the penalty. His history shows he scored nearly 30 penalties in big games and he is an outstanding penalty taker.

“But at the start none of them were on, so Jordan was the nominated penalty taker. Jordan was happy enough to take it, but he gave it to Mario. It is his goal there is no drama.”

Good call on Brendan Rodgers for clearing it up. everyone can be mad all they want, but at the end, Balo was the best man for the job, and it was crucial that he did take the penalty. Henderson can be mad all he wants too, but he knows too that Balo was the right man.