01 Aug 2018 06:26:02
I've been thinking about the comments made by Mou and various others that Klopp has to win something with this squad, but it's amazing how quickly people forget how much Chelsea, Man Utd and City spent building depth and strength before now compared to Liverpool. Klopp only now has something competitive In terms of quality and depth IMO. Here's how I see it
Man City - still the best squad in the league IMO. I think our front 3 is better than Sane, Jesus and Sterling, but then they can turn to Mahrez, Aguero off the bench while we have Shaqiri and Sturridge. Fernandinho, KDB, Silva just beats Fabinho, Hendo, Keita maybe, but then we have Lallana, Gini, Ox and Milner vs them having Gundogan, Delph, Bernardo Silva. Midfield is probably line ball with maybe KDB vs Keita being the determining factor this season. people argue about their defence being poor, but they have spent big on Ederson, Walker, Stones, Kompany and Mendy. we've got Allison, VVD and Lovren and have lucked out with TAA and Robertson. Not that different IMO.
Man Utd - for all his whinging, Mou still has a very strong squad. De Gea is still the best goalkeeper in the world. His fullbacks in Valencia and Young are arguably more experienced and very competitive to TAA and Robbo. His CBs are a mess but they've spent 30m plus each on Bailly, Lindelof, Jones and Shaw so not really for lack of trying. We have Keita, they have Pogba, we have Fabinho they have Matic, we have Hendo they have Fred, we have Lallana, they have Mata, we have Ox, they have Lingard. sorry what are they whining about exactly? Forwards they have Lukaku, Martial, Rashford and Sanchez, we have Mane, Firmino, Salah and Shaqiri. I'll take our squad any day, but does he really deserve to be saying Klopp has to win when he's got just as much talent at his disposal IMO?
Chelsea is just the same. Courtois vs Allison is close. Azpi, Cahill, Luiz, Alonso and Rudiger is a solid and experienced defence, apart from perhaps VVD who makes the difference at CB IMO. Fabinho vs Jorginho? Keita vs Kante? All very close to call. I'd take Hendo over the others any day, but Fabregas, Drinkwater, Ross Barkley, Bakayoko are all experienced campaigners. I like our front 3 slightly better too, but they still have Hazard, Morata, Willian and with Pedro and Giroud able to come off the bench.
Sorry for the long post, and I wouldn't swap our players for any other team out there, but man for man we are only just truly competitive vs. the other regular top sides who have been spending over many years. Klopp, Edwards and others deserve enormous credit to get us where we are, but anyone saying anything but winning the league is a failure is kidding themselves that this window makes us strong while others are weak.
Winning a title takes patience, consistency and a slice of luck and there are no guarantees for any side, even Man City. While we should all live in hope, I hope we are also patient enough to see the bigger picture so long as we play good football, remain competitive to the end and keep on improving.
This is going to be one heck of a season, I can't wait for it to kick off.
1.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 06:48:59
We need to win something regardless of expenditure ðŸ¤.
2.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 07:22:56
True we need to win something Ron, at the end of the day titles and success is what it’s about, my point is just that Mourinhos (and others) comments that we have to win it this year or Klopp is a failure is ignoring how competitive the other squads are and from how far back we’ve come.
We will win far more in the long run by focussing on Klopps approach to continuously improving rather than falling into the trap of viewing this season as win or bust (like Mourinho would like us to) .
3.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 07:30:58
Our squad's improved and we're, at least, competitive but we're doing a lot of underestimating of our opposition at the moment, in particular of City and Utd.
There's a legitimate argument that City are the best team in English football history. Some people are trying to say they're somehow lucky but that's nonsense, they're a superb side and we've got to hope they drop they're levels significantly to have any chance of taking them in.
As for Utd there's a definite negative vibe there but Mourinho delivered their best season since Ferguson last year and is a serial winger with a number of brilliant players. They won't be easy to beat.
We're also the strongest we've been in a while so we certainly can beat these teams but it won't be as easy as people are suggesting.
4.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 07:41:59
Good post that SGRed, and I agree with you. but don’t listen to anything that comes out of mourinhos mouth mate. its time for us to challenge because we are LFC and we now have a squad good enough, rather than just because Maureen says so.
5.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 08:23:02
I think you need to look at team spirit as well. Liverpool seem to have that in bucket loads. Other factors that come in to it are positivity, confidence and the biggest of all the manager and the relationship with players, the enjoyment of the job and training. How does he let the players play. with freedom etc. You also have fitness etc. A big factor for city is they have done it before so it takes the pressure off and allows that extra freedom to play which I have seen and experienced from both sides.
I do think we CAN do extremely well this year if new players gel, if Klipperty keeps the team together, if we are at it EVERY game and our forwards keep their form from last year.
City still edge it taking everything into account. apart from the fans. We need to get behind the team even if we lose, we need to be the extra man at home and away and most of all stop moaning.
Allez, Allez, Allez!
6.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 08:43:24
It’s just a poor attempt to deflect pressure away from Mourinho and what he probably feels is going to be a poor season compared to what they should achieve with their spend.
Klopp is too experienced to bite and it’s up to us supporters to ensure that the press don’t pick up on any discontent on the terraces and on forums if we lose one game! As showed with Karius this is difficult with today’s non fan keyboard warriors.
7.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 08:50:06
Nobodies suggesting it's easy but many Liverpool fans complained for years because they felt the manager wasn't being supported financially by owners. Klopp has changed almost the entire first 11 since arriving, it's time to start winning trophies and fans should stop making excuses, he said he'd win the league, he's been backed massively from a financial perspective, so let's go win.
8.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 09:12:33
It’s unimportant what other teams have done or are doing. It’s got nothing to do with Chelsea or Mourinho or anyone else.
Klopp has spent a lot of money, the owners want trophies.
Klopp has to finish the season with something or, rightly, questions will be asked.
9.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 09:36:49
I've been saying this all summer. This is klopps first big spending spree. Yet it's not as much as city's and United's AND they didn't have to lose a key player to make it happen. So we spent 220 mil on vvds, keita, fabinho and Alison. we lost coutinho.
He has spent to compete with them. Absolutely no gap has been made. If Chelsea keep hazard and coutois the arguably I'd say they have the better first 11. Premier league champions and champions league winners, world cup winners some of the best players in the world in there position.
What is interesting. Is klopp has always completed even when he has had a lesser team. Well now look at the team he has, what kind of damage could he do.
10.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 10:35:24
"I've been thinking about the comments made by Mou and various others that Klopp has to win something with this squad, but it's amazing how quickly people forget how much Chelsea, Man Utd and City spent building depth and strength before now compared to Liverpool"
You are aware though that in the last 10 seasons they have been spending like this they have won a bunch of trophies between them.
Chelsea – 3 PL / 4 FA / 1 EFL / 1 CL
Utd – 3 PL / 1 FA / 3 EFL / 0 CL
City – 3 PL / 1 FA / 3 EFL / 0 CL
Even Arsenal have won 3 FA Cups, in a decade Liverpool have won 1 League Cup. For a team this good to go another season without a trophy and falling at the last hurdle when playing some of the most exciting football of any team is going to have implications because the owners, the fans and even the players deserve more than 2nd place. The responsibility falls on Klopp to make it happen, he has certainly been given the tools to work with.
11.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 11:09:58
Fair point, Noshbag.
I think the differentiator for us this season will be the team spirit.
There doesn't seem to be any primadonnas in the squad, and Leicester showed how far team spirit can take you!
Add in some of the top, top talent we have like the front 3, Keita, VVD and Alisson and we have to have a real good shot this season and hopefully for a few seasons to come.
Klopp legacy? I certainly hope so and am starting to believe so too.
12.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 11:21:08
Noshbag, that’s exactly my point - you have to look at success over at least a 2-3 year period, not in a single year. Even Man City and Man Utd with all their strength and depth have only won 7 trophies in 10 years. less than one trophy a year.
We deserve to win something now Klopp finally has the team he needs to compete, in fact we have to win something, but saying it has to be the PL title now, this year, or he’s failed is a very narrow measure of success. I’m convinced if we give him 2-3 years with this squad we can build a proper long term dynasty, especially if Pep gets bored and moves on.
Hopefully this all becomes a moot point and we win something this year!
13.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 11:38:04
I think there is going to be an anger in our team that any manager will find hard to compete with.
Lovren, Henderson, Salah even players like Alison where all on the wrong side of big big games last year and hopefully won't want that feeling again. That extra 10% could see us do very nicely indeed.
14.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 11:57:45
Great post SGRed, always enjoy reading your posts.
Does SG stand for Singapore?
15.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 12:46:34
Bill Shankly 7 years for first trophy Alex Ferguson 7 years for first trophy Klopp 3 years 3 finals no trophy but on the right track patience is needed here if we don’t win a trophy then so be it as long as we build a team not for one trophy but for many years of winning trophies must be our priority as a football club.
16.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 13:39:35
Cheers Heroin, appreciated. Yes am based in Singapore now but originally from Zimbabwe (fell in love with Liveroool thanks to Grobs, he was a legend to almost every football fan in the country when I grew up) . You?
17.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 14:52:54
Quiet news day when we’re discussing 2nd and 3rd choice keepers :)
18.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 15:34:39
2nd and 3rd goalkeepers are people too.
19.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 16:30:33
That was a classical Mourinho performance of deflecting from his inadequacies and manipulating the media, nothing more. He has been a big spender his entire coaching career and now that questions are being raised about why he still hasn't won the league at ManU (despite continuing to spend) he's setting the table for the "when will Liverpool win the title after spending so much money? " questions to come up. Which they have, with both the media and the fans.
20.) 01 Aug 2018
01 Aug 2018 17:16:50
The point about other clubs investing heavily over a longer period is the best one, SG. But not only that, they have retained their best players as well. We have had to find replacements for our best players which have been continually leaving us over the last few years. Aside from Hendo, there aren't really any others who have been with us long term who are first 11 players (Firmino maybe) .
We have an amazing team now, built over the last 3 years really. Not long in top team terms. We are in the best shape to win things now that I can remember for at least ten years and although we should be expecting to challenge, there is no real pressure other than that exerted by the people who have financed the operation. The fans will stay onside as long as the team are giving it a good go, so unless the owners have told Klopp he must win something, the only pressure is to compete to win things, not to win or else.
Mourinho is just stirring the pot. He doesn't give a monkey's about Man Utd anyway, he's just waiting for his January bonus (and P45).
21.) 02 Aug 2018
02 Aug 2018 11:57:30
Yes, I’m from Singapore too. Glad to meet you here.
And Grobs is a legend anywhere, period ;)