03 Dec 2017 10:00:04
Good morning Ed001

Whats your take of Coutinho at the minute in regards to his application and desire? I had expected Klopp to perhaps use him less and play Mane or Ox instead of him but it seems he is very much in Klopps plans and looks to be doing ok on the field. There doesn't appear to be an agreement with Barcelona either so looks like he may well stay until the summer?

{Ed001's Note - difficult one, what he does he mostly does well but he is not doing enough for the team for me. He is not working off the ball and trying to do too much. Great when it comes off, but it is bloody annoying when a quick pass could open up a defence and he takes on another two men instead. Then the next time he gets it he picks a great pass. So I don't know. He was not bad yesterday but it was a lot of show with little substance at times, like the runs Milner makes. Mixed is how I see it. Some good some bad. The problem for me is that Mane is better in the left wing role, so he is not doing enough to hold that place down. In midfield his lack of tracking back at the moment means he can become a liability. Still it is good to have the option.}

1.) 03 Dec 2017
03 Dec 2017 11:22:53
Ed 01 what would you say in your opinion is our strongest current 11. I appreciate the side changes for the opposition. But say we had 1 game to win the league and we just went with the best player for every position.

{Ed001's Note - that is a tough one, the front 3 pick themselves Salah, Mane and Firmino. It is after that it gets difficult! While I am not a fan of the back 3, playing it does mean we can get away with the midfielders we have a bit better. Stops us being caught quite so short when opponents break, so I would go with a back 3 of Gomez, Matip and Lovren, with Moreno and Alexander-Arnold at wing back. Though, thinking about it, that leaves us even weaker in midfield and leaves Coutinho on the bench. Still I would go with it and play Can and Henderson in the centre. There is no perfect formation for our team but I think that best protects the weakness while still allowing the strongest bits to play.}

2.) 03 Dec 2017
03 Dec 2017 11:44:34
Cheers Ed. Interesting thought process there. Who would you have in goal? For me it would be Ward with back 4 of TAA, Gomez, Matip, Moreno, Can, Lallana, Coutinho, Mane, Firminho, Salah. That team would create loads of goals but would also concede loads still probably.

{Ed001's Note - I would go with Ward, sorry forgot to even mention goalkeeper. The worrying thing is that we have so much strength in depth yet both of us are stuck with picking Matip!}

3.) 03 Dec 2017
03 Dec 2017 13:05:18
I would go:
Karius (barely seen ward)
TAA gomez lovren Moreno
Can hendo
Lallana
Salah firmino mane

I like Robertson but Moreno hasn’t done too much wrong. Give lallana a chance in coutinho’s spot.

4.) 03 Dec 2017
03 Dec 2017 13:29:16
I'd definately play that formation for now but drop henderson for coutinho and let can play deep, take him out of the firing line for now. Then rotate in grujic, oxlade, solanke, robertson and woodburn every other game to keep the side fresh. Also not saying matip is the best defender in the world but id like to see how he would do in a defence not surrounded by total numpties.

5.) 04 Dec 2017
04 Dec 2017 09:11:08
Agree 100% Ed - he's not tracking back enough to play a midfield three (esp with someone like Milner who doesn’t sit back to protect either), but on other hand neither is he as effective on the wing as Mane / Salah.

He's a fantastic player and I was keen on the idea of him dropping deeper but think it needs more of a 4-2-1-3 and Hendo/ Can or Hendo/ Gini setup where has two to give him a bit more cover if we lose the ball.