Liverpool banter 2

26 Apr 2024 09:31:00
Hi eds,

Just a quick question regarding Slot: it seems he plays a 4-2-3-1, and so I was wondering how he may use some of our players?

For example, would you predict he uses Szob and Harvey behind the striker?

How does he use his widemen: wide as a traditional winger or more like midfielers besides the 10? I ask because I wonder about Salah and Diaz: if replaced, is it like-for-like, or more like creative midfielders beside the 10?

Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - I don't know sorry, I haven't seen enough of his team to have an idea.}

26 Apr 2024 11:10:38
OP - few videos on YouTube mate. Probably best to run a search and have a watch, they’re pretty good.

26 Apr 2024 16:07:07
OP - have looked at some Feyenoord games on YouTube over the past couple of days

They were highlights only though

I’d say the system is very fluid -at times the 3 behind are very wide and at other times they are a bit narrower

I don’t think I saw any of the 3 though crossing from wide (that tended to be the FB) so I’m guessing they will be tucked in a bit more centrally

That requires technically gifted players so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Gakpo one side and Szob the other.

26 Apr 2024 07:59:45
Slot's post match interview has got me thinking. Is it refreshing that he's being honest, or is it worrying that he should have perhaps deflected the questions and kept all this behind closed doors?

{Ed001's Note - or is he just worried that Feyenoord are resisting the advances of Liverpool and so trying to force their hand?}

26 Apr 2024 11:12:10
I like that he spoke to it. Who knows the ins and outs but in general it feels pretty rare to hear a manager talk openly like this.
IMO it came across level and fair.

26 Apr 2024 12:00:38
That is also true, Ed. Slot is letting Feyenoord know that he is out tha gaff hence, they should not try to make it any harder than it's going to be. Slot wants to come to us and has made up his mind. Also, Dutch people don't beat about the bush. They say what they want or don't want and that's it.

{Ed002's Note - It is very simple, Slot will move once Liverpool meet the demands of Feyenoord.}

26 Apr 2024 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Ork has posted a new article entitled, Options For Manchester United's Next Manager

25 Apr 2024 22:48:39
Obviously an interesting and anxiety filled time for fans.

Klopp was a real difference maker so I’m not making a direct comparison between Slot and Klopp. But my thinking is that before Klopp came in, the vast majority of fan opinion on the squad at that time would have been that they couldn’t win this or that or even be competitive.

Enter Klopp and a European final that first half season.

Again not a direct comparison but my encouragement to everyone is to see the potential in the players we have and how a new environment can help them to improve.

It may be u popular to say this, but we’re not a useless team. Anyone coming in has a fantastic squad to build upon.

26 Apr 2024 06:13:22
The ability is definitely there. It’s just been the lack of application this last month.

26 Apr 2024 07:47:19
I think it’s a bit more complicated than that. How many of them do you truly trust in the most important games? If you can’t up for a title run in against your biggest rivals then you clearly have problems. The first rule of football is win you duels, we look actually scared like young kids. Some of the clips of Sob, Jones and Trent trying to defend set pieces are cowardly. Lots of work to do.

26 Apr 2024 08:36:22
I've never had Szob, Jones and TAA down as defensively minded; especially on set pieces.
In fact, we over rely on VVD to deal with set pieces and Everton did their homework. They targetted him and we were in trouble.
More generally I believe that we have been more focused on attacking than defending this season. Our midfield leaves and we bring in Mac, Szob, Grav and Endo and only the latter is a defensively minded player and we all know he was a cheap option.
Not only that, but we also tell one of the defenders to drift into midfield and leave the right sided and inferior centre back covering a larger area.
It's not my thing and it's intended to get us on the front foot but how often have we conceded the first goal this season? It has the opposite effect, we end up chasing games and it was always going to catch up with us.

26 Apr 2024 09:18:05
You don’t need to be defensively minded to give one. Effort, desire, application. At least give 100%. You actually jump and put a challenge in, don’t cower down, it looked like they were praying the ball didn’t come near their area. I don’t see how you’re going to give certain players a set of balls.

26 Apr 2024 09:40:54
You do have to be defensively minded to defend. If your mind is not telling you to defend or sensing danger you're not going to do it as well as someone that is defensively minded. It's easy or lazy for a corner to come in and let VVD deal with it.
I agree though that every player should defend and put the effort in. Some are more natural than others though and Trent, Szob and Jones have never struck me as defensively minded types.
Trent has some brilliant attributes but they are usually going the other way.

26 Apr 2024 11:03:15
Trent is an amazing player I agree. But I fear if we don’t add a couple of leaders then these kind of defeats when it really matters will continue to happen. Mac, Jones, Sob will never ever be a good enough midfield to win the PL.

26 Apr 2024 11:21:33
The problem stems from a one formation for every game for me, it’s worked for klopp for sure but there’s always been teams who we couldn’t get past and who defended deep, usually he’d throw another 2 forward attackers on and we’d manage to get through it. However against Everton 2 nil down we put kostas and Gomez on…. that is giving up. (and both should be out the door now) Agree they need a rocket up their arses all of them. But why can’t we change formation 3-5-2 for instance, pack the midfield would have destroyed all Everton attacks and 2 front players closer together with crosses into box. Kloppo given up and rubbed off on players, should remember they are playing for the club and more importantly the fans not the manager.

26 Apr 2024 11:24:27
Mark - I don’t think this was a title worthy team to start with. And I think most reasonable fans would agree. But we’re building towards that. What has changed the narrative is Klopp announced his departure which turned this season into All or nothing. And contextually, we performed so well for much of the season so we’ve fallen from a winning position.

In reality we are about where I think we should be.

So, now it depends on what you believe we have to build on. Sounds like you’re in the camp that believes this squad is full of useless and unreliable players o we need to clean house. Or thereabouts, yea? I’m of the kind that we have more than enough to build on and we should do just that. A major clean out would set us back years imo.

26 Apr 2024 11:49:30
So City on 76 points are a title worthy team and arsenal on 77 points are a title worthy team but us on 74 points aren't quite a title worthy team.

2 weeks ago when we were top with the title in our hands not 1 sinlge LFC fan said we aren't ready for the title or top 4 is the aim.

There's nothing wrong with aiming for the moon and coming up short. But let's not just make excuses and pretend like we knew all along that we weren't going to win the title.

There's actually still a chance we might still win it but just not a very good one.

26 Apr 2024 12:08:26
JK - to re-phrase, my pre-season prediction after the midfield overhaul was a top 4 finish and anything else a bonus. I agree, it's not over and if you follow my responses you'll know I am one of the more pragmatic and optimistic on here.

I think you will find plenty of posters on here who made predictions that we would fall in the title challenge because our performances were starting to fade. That wasn't my position, but it's not correct to say that not 1 single LFC fan said we aren't ready because there were plenty and they were on here.

My point is that this team is being unfairly criticized against the standard of a title contender team. yes, we have been chasing the title but my view of it is that we have been over-achieving
relative to the development phase of the current group of players.

I'd like to think that people would appreciate where this team is actually at and see that there is a fantastic foundation for the new manager to build upon.

26 Apr 2024 13:02:55
Faith sorry mate. My reply wasn’t all aimed at you and I do enjoy reading your posts.

I seem a part of your post and thought it would be a good discussion point and jumped in and then went off on my own tangent.

I’m certainly one of the fans who believed we could win it all but that was because of results over performances.

So much so I’ve paid over the odds for my Wolves tickets and was researching flights and hotels in Dublin the morning of our Atalanta hammering.

26 Apr 2024 13:51:08
I am not in the camp of a full clear out and I am not in the same camp as you Faith. Somewhere in between the 2 and feel we need min 5 additions. We lack in all areas. We concede too many, we don’t score enough and the midfield can’t control a game and we lack leaders. So some work to do in each department.

25 Apr 2024 22:13:21
We thank Klopp for 9 years of excellent service. Many trophies. Unsure of Arne Slot if he becomes Manager. Not sure if he is good enough. Are we settling for Champions League qualification and the odd cup. I hope not.

26 Apr 2024 00:56:49
Settling? Settling for this over what alternative? Dying to know.

26 Apr 2024 07:00:55
The Premier League title.

26 Apr 2024 08:16:17
There's only one PL title winner each season. If it's not us, do we change the players, manager and owners every season until we do?
I've said this before but had we not won it in 2020 City would be going for seven in a row. That is staggering. We are the side that prevented that and have challenged them the most often.
City are on another level but we have still managed to take the title and give them a run for all their money.

25 Apr 2024 21:55:58
Edd001 will you be doing a match review for the Derby?

{Ed001's Note - yes.}

26 Apr 2024 07:42:25
If u have to watch that game again ed1 its not a review u will be doing its a weeks therapy somewhere!

{Ed001's Note - the issue is calming down enough to write it without it just being a string of swear words!}

26 Apr 2024 09:08:28
Looking forward to that Ed1. Assuming you’ll be majoring on persistence in poor tactics (inverted nonsense/ no width) and a general malaise building in the squad? Just my opinion, but the team have either become a reflection of Klopp’s loss of energy (stepping down announcement), or have just checked out after the FA cup loss and are now waiting for the next man at the helm?

{Ed001's Note - it will mostly be majoring on trying not to swear!}

26 Apr 2024 09:31:57
Don’t envy you Ed. Reliving nightmares is not fun.

25 Apr 2024
New image uploaded to the
Liverpool Player Sightings page entitled, Mo Salah stats, Klopps a legend but so is this guy, one of the best players we've had in the Premier League Error.

Click picture for larger image

25 Apr 2024 22:30:55
Not many matches missed there.
He turns up and he scores and creates goals year after year.
It's no wonder he's knackered 😂.
Wonderful servant to the club, as is Klopp, and nothing that happens this season will tarnish that.

25 Apr 2024 22:47:42
He is a legend but unfortunately time waits for no man, replacing him will be near impossible but when he weren't there this season we were better more of a team, no one likes change but we are going to see more players leave than expected.

26 Apr 2024 07:07:49
Who is going to unexpectedly leave, hailstones?
Salah is still contracted for next season, isn't he?

26 Apr 2024 10:05:02
Even in the season that he’s clearly showing signs of decline he’s still likely to finish the season with 20 goals. He’s one of the greatest wingers to grace the game in this country and the best winger ever to play in the premier league, without question. Absolutely a club legend and deserves to be discussed in the same breathe as Dalglish, Keegan, Rush, Barnes, Hunt, Liddell etc.

26 Apr 2024 11:28:26
Even though when I seen him play for Basel I knew he would be special. I did not expect the goal scoring machine he became. My dream then was that he would play for Liverpool one day, well he only went and did that and exceeded all expectations. It is sad when players lose their mojo his decline reminds me of Torres. Thanks for everything Mo you have been class. Now could you please leave and get us some money in the coughers so we can buy a player that has not forgotten how to play football.