Liverpool Banter Archive January 14 2018

14 Jan 2018 23:20:53
It's probably time to give Danny Ward a chance.

14 Jan 2018 23:42:54
after a half mistake from Karius? Do you guys now need to know why Klopp sticks with Migs? Its no wonder, get slated for his 2nd mistake all season like he cost us the game. we were up 4-1, Milner came on and Lovren couldn't jump for some reason for the 4th almost cost us. Nothing to do with Karius.

14 Jan 2018 23:52:17
Hear hear.

15 Jan 2018 00:00:13
No OP, IMO. Karius needs to get his chance now and he will either succeed or fail on his merits and I who is a Karius fan, can live with that. The Ward issue is a dead one, IMO. Klopp did not sign him and clearly does not rate him and will not quit on a guy he signed for a guy who frankly, has NO experience at this level. He should have been sold or loaned out and that is Klopp's fault.

Karius will now get his chance and if he does not fix up, then fine and even then, Ward won't still be the answer as he is in fact, would stmore inexperienced than Karius is at this level cos Karius has now PL and CL experience. Ward has Championship experience. It's his time now and we should support himn cos like it or not, he will make mistakes. I'm just happy that the Migs issue is now a dead one and NEVER to be revisited. Better late than never.

15 Jan 2018 00:19:03
Legendary, you're wasting your time. Fans will always moan about one half mistake by Karius (the other half belongs to Gomez and Matip) while forgetting that the "world class" goalie on City's side was bang awful all game, flapping at crosses and gave away two goals easily. Migs has had 4 seasons to prove he's crap. Time to give this kid a full go in the side so he can prove us right or wrong. Thatis only fair, IMO.

Karius is no. one now and nothing will change that so his detractors need to get over it. And if he fails, I'll be fine with it cos it would have depended all on him.

15 Jan 2018 00:24:45
Karius won’t be here next season. Klopp is not stupid and probably had a goalkeeper in mind who he will wait for to become available, just as he waited for Van Dijk.

I can’t believe how many on here still have faith in Karius and think a run of games will bring him on. No it won’t because he is the worst goalkeeper I have seen playing for us in over 50 years watching the reds.

In nearly every game he had played he has done something that has your heart in your mouth. Mignolet is not great but he is and always will be better than Karius. If Mignolet had let in a goal like Sane’s today, he would have been slaughtered. Open your eyes and watch Karius play, do you have a death wish?

15 Jan 2018 00:29:12
There’s not much between Karius and Mignolet in my opinion. Karius has the potential to improve but he won’t do it at our club.
We need an upgrade in the summer 🤝.

15 Jan 2018 01:12:09
Correct Ron. More important improvements have been signed all over the pitch. Keeper will be one of the next ones to happen.

15 Jan 2018 03:09:09
I think u guys r missing the point : our goalkeepers have severe technical faults which come from the coach as he's not paying attention or not good enough to pick them up. Take the goals conceded by Mignolet against Chelsea (jumping with his left hand for a right sided chip) and against Arsenal (again using his left hand instead of both) . If u analyze a whole season, most of the errors comes from technical errors from our keepers and I don't blame them for it as it's 100% the responsability of the GK coach.

I'm disgusted to see them everytime positionned with their hands down, WTF? It doesn't make sense as u r supposed to save low shots with your legs and high ones with your hands (today's error comes from this) .

I mean these r basic stuff so Im stunned analysts don't pick them up. We need a modern GK coach. I think I can teach Achterberg a good GK lesson, seriously.

Achterberg is just fooling everyone by being nice and everything. We have to do something abt it or we will be never able to fix the GK issue.

Ed1 isn't there a way to pass the message to the coaching staff : fans concerns abt the GK coach. We have enough footage to prove it.

{Ed001's Note - put together a video of the things you complain about and post it up on YouTube, it would come to the attention of the right people.}

15 Jan 2018 04:21:07
I think we should be giving Karius a real shot until the end of the season. Yes he made a mistake for the first but it wasn’t the only factor and overall we have done well with him in goal and we seem more confident at the back with him in than Migs (and this should get better with VVD) . Ederson had a far worse game yet no-one is shouting for him to be dropped?

There is absolutely no point playing Migs anymore as while Karius hasn’t proven he’s capable of being our no.1, Migs has definitely proven he isn’t.

In the summer we will then know exactly where we stand.

15 Jan 2018 04:52:22
I f shay given hadnt mentioned about the hands being down none of you experts would have mentioned it its like mottd fever he got beat at his near post shouldn't have happened but hey so did ter stegen tonight.

15 Jan 2018 05:12:03
He shouldn’t have gotten beat but it was a cracking strike and it’s one mistake. Ederson made far worse in the game.

15 Jan 2018 05:59:15
Giving these two goal keepers means top four will always remain our aim.

We desperately need a goal keeper who is a finished article. Time to once and for all spend big if you have to and get the right player.

I don't mind in next season if we don't sign a couthinio replacement and instead spend big on a GK and another decent CB.

15 Jan 2018 06:18:48
Right SGred, we're all giving Sane (the actual scorer of the goal) far less credit than he deserves, it was a good powerful strike and he did well to dribble where he got to, Gomez and the CB he took on were also at fault so it's a team error not just Karius, obviously error after error does lead to a goal but after one game of Karius we need to buy a new GK? Come on stop with this nonsense.

15 Jan 2018 06:16:53
I agree with some of the posters on giving Karius his chance. Right now it is all opinions based on snapshots. Let's give him a chance to prove either the believers or doubters right, and if it is the doubters then we need to try and get a class goalie in next season.
While Mignolet is not a great goalkeeper, i think his reflexes are faster than Karius. That said, Karius is a much better sweeper keeper. Better at quickly releasing the ball with his hands and his feet to switch play from defence to attack. With Mignolet, we see to often he takes more time to pass to the defender, who by then is under some pressure from the opposition, and we lose the chance to break quickly.
IMHO - neither are world class goalkeepers, Mignolet is a better shot stopper but Karius is a better sweeper keeper, and creater. For that reason, having utmost confidence in our attacking line up, i would stick with karius for a while, give him his chance, and take the call 2-3 months out on whether he has what it takes.

14 Jan 2018 22:30:30
Gini. Superb. That’s all.

{Ed025's Note - done little for me but a good performance..

14 Jan 2018 22:38:23
I agree Mrplums. He may not have had a great season today but was fantastic today broke up so much of the play and just seemed to have been everywhere. If that had been Kante or Matic today the pundits would’ve been raved about the performance. Let’s hope he carries on now along with Can for as long as he remains with us.

14 Jan 2018 22:51:47
Would be nice to see him do that more often.

14 Jan 2018 22:53:41
I thought it was his best game in quite a while.

14 Jan 2018 22:54:19
Gini had a really good 15 minutes after we went 3-1 up. He was everywhere, riding tackles, playing good passes, making tackles etc. Then he made a terrible error when he delayed playing Mane in behind until it was way too late, and he seemed to lose all his confidence again.

15 minutes out of 90 is not really enough. Either side of that spell he was just ticking by, nothing bad, nothing special. It was telling that for the 15 minutes he turned it on, we destroyed them. He is a good player, but he is just so bloody inconsistent!

14 Jan 2018 22:54:23
Held us together, just as important as Salah today. My man of the match.

14 Jan 2018 23:01:27
Plums gini was superb I agree.

14 Jan 2018 23:03:03
I never get this but in my opinion you don't beat a top team like City without everyone putting a shift in. I think City would have taken us apart if we were carrying any passengers.

14 Jan 2018 23:09:38
He is bloody powderpuff in midfield. He is ridiculously weak, shurgged off by de bryune and fernandinho. Man city walked through our midfield today. Im not a negative person, wijnaldum is a decent player but way too weak in the challenge.

14 Jan 2018 23:15:32
I wouldn't go as far as saying he was superb but he certainly did impress like the rest of the team did. Each and every one of them was up for it today, and that to me is key, if we played like that every time we played we'd smash the league.

14 Jan 2018 23:37:00
I thought gini had a good game still a bit too ponderous on the ball but the guy who has impressed me most not just today but in last spin of games is robertson for me he put a great shift in and was my man of the match but everyone put a hard shift in and apparently can and salah where suffering from an illness.

14 Jan 2018 23:55:28
I would comment that taking Can off was the catalyst for City being able to run through our midfield, Milner was all over the place. Until that point Can, Oxlade and Wijnaldum had handles them reasonably well.

15 Jan 2018 00:02:37
Mk surely that is just your opinion lad? Everybody else seems to think he had a fine game mate, as it seems your posts are over powering sometimes telling people rather than giving your opinion on the subject.

15 Jan 2018 00:04:09
Disagree, Lfcfan. City have better players than we do and tho they did play out of our press several times which is normal, their midfield did not walk thru ours today. If that was the case, how did they create next to nothing from open play for 84 mins? Bar the goal, Karius had NOTHING to do all game till the 84th min? Could that be that our midfield out-fought, out-pressed and made life difficult for them? City were done cos the way they play played right into our hands and everyone and his dog knows Pep won't change.

15 Jan 2018 00:23:29
I thought Can was outstanding today- much more so than gini, when he went off we began to struggle to contain.

15 Jan 2018 00:36:12
Gini was absolutely fantastic today. Nothing short of brilliant.

15 Jan 2018 01:26:33
They didn't struggle to get through our midfield, maybe they didn't walk through us all game that was hyperbole from myself. My main point was wijnaldum is an absolute fairy who gets shrugged off the ball easily and is very weak in the challenge, especially when entering 50/ 50s on a loose ball in the air. He was easily overpowered by fernandinho and de bruyne today in physical duals, when looking at the three of them, he should be a match for them. Not just today but all games, if you are going to be in his particular midfield role, this klopps ideal of having two modfields trying to be energetic in attack and defense, then you need to be stronger. Can and Hendo are not particularly great, but at least they are both tall and strong and they do impose themselves. At risk of repeating myself, wijnaldum is a talented player who is being given too much defensive responsibility which he cannot live up to.

I really don't want to have anything negative to say after the game, I am definitely one of the most overly positive deluded liverpool optimists but I was just compelled to reply to this comment thay gini was superb. Please forgive me.

We will win the champions league, it is written in the stars. Ynwa.

15 Jan 2018 06:20:46
I think Gini had a good game. He is not the strongest, but hey, he was never a box to box midfielder - he has spent his career being an attacking midfielder, and is only now looking to develop the defensive side of his game.
I also thought Can had a good game and put in a good shift (for all the abuse he gets on here regarding his contract situation) .
A shout out also to firmino, who pressed like a man possessed last night - he was all over the park, i remember this one ocassion in the first half when he tracked the play back to our defensive third and won the ball through sheer commitment.

15 Jan 2018 00:02:37
Mk surely that is just your opinion lad? Everybody else seems to think he had a fine game mate, as it seems your posts are over powering sometimes telling people rather than giving your opinion on the subject.

15 Jan 2018 00:04:09
Disagree, Lfcfan. City have better players than we do and tho they did play out of our press several times which is normal, their midfield did not walk thru ours today. If that was the case, how did they create next to nothing from open play for 84 mins? Bar the goal, Karius had NOTHING to do all game till the 84th min? Could that be that our midfield out-fought, out-pressed and made life difficult for them? City were done cos the way they play played right into our hands and everyone and his dog knows Pep won't change.

14 Jan 2018 22:27:24
Refreshing to see so many positive posts today. Also nice to see a few that are eating a bit of humble pie about a few players. Much more of the same. All out for 2nd place. We must finish above the mancs.

14 Jan 2018 21:54:23
A few weeks ago I came on here and said Robertson was nowhere near good enough, Think it was just after the West Brom or arsenal game, but how I’m ready to eat humble pie. The lad was immense today and has been very good for weeks now, by no means the finished article but definitely pushing in the right direction.

Don’t think I’ve been happier for a player scoring than when the ox bagged today, love him in a Liverpool shirt he opitimises what we’re all about in my opinion

Wish we could’ve seen the game out at 4-1 to make it embarrassing for City but that wouldn’t be the Liverpool way now would it, cracking result!

14 Jan 2018 22:08:53
You need to share that pie out amongst a few others mate.

14 Jan 2018 22:19:59
Save me a slice.

14 Jan 2018 22:32:05
I really like him. All the great Liverpool sides have had a mad Scot in them.

{Ed025's Note - marked sterling out of the game, very effective..

14 Jan 2018 22:34:37
Mmm pie!

14 Jan 2018 22:56:37
I've liked Robertson since he came in. However save me some Humble Pie for the Ox. Now that lad is proving me wrong big time.

14 Jan 2018 23:26:03
Ox plays his heart out and talks like a proper player no BS in his jterviewsbtaljs from the heart that fella was a wise bug and personally I think he’ll only get better! No Coutinho? No VVD? No problem! Now imagine when the fella comes back!

15 Jan 2018 00:06:14
Robbo looked like a man possessed today. Credit to him.

15 Jan 2018 00:22:48
That mad press/ run upfield was half mental, half amazing. Since when do you get one left back pressing the other? Haha.

15 Jan 2018 01:22:17
i guess i have to eat some og that pie, played a really good game today, and looks better and better for every match.

15 Jan 2018 01:59:51
I've always rated Robbo, but Ox today really stepped up. Looked a different player tbf! All round a solid performance, except some lapses by which i had to turn off for the last few minutes. I thought though we defended decently for the majority of the game. Just the usual pool way i suppose! Hopefully next time we are 4-1 up we can finish the game off neatly ;)

15 Jan 2018 04:15:16
Yep, I'm ready for my Oxlaide-Chamberlain humble pie, has proven me completely wrong.

15 Jan 2018 06:23:05
I always thought Robertson was a great signing. To be honest though, he has positively surprised me with his defensive skills, and negatively with his attacking prowess of late.
With the Ox - i think he is coming on in leaps and bounds. One quality i never knew he possessed was delivering a good set piece in the box (e. g. corners) which we have been lacking for a couple of years now.
I think the Ox had a good game, but he was still the worst of our midfield trio behind Gini and Can (no discredit to him, but thought the other two did a lot better defensively)

14 Jan 2018 21:33:50
Hi eds,

There has been some talk of trying to tie Firmino down on a new deal, do you know if its true and if the club will make an offer to him soon?
Deserves all the plaudits and would hope that he's happy enough at the club to stay long term. What a player.

{Ed002's Note - I don’t know to be honest.}

14 Jan 2018 20:49:31
Just on the goal keeper topic i also think we really need to go and get a new number 1 in the summer and ship out at least 2 of our current 4 but who is the keeper we need to go and buy that is going to provide what we need?

Alisson - I haven't seen much of him myself personally but i have heard and read very good things about him but there is much interest in him from elsewhere which may stop us from getting him.

Oblak - A real top notch keeper but i don't feel he is a realistic option for us and would have many other suitors.

Butland - I personally don't think he's the answer nor is he much an improvement on what we have already. I think he falls under the English hyped up player category.

They are 3 we have been linked with one way or another but thinking about it who else is out there that would be a viable option for us actually improve us and provide what we need i can't really think of that many?

{Ed002's Note - Alisson is looking very good but has attracted the attention of others - but a perhaps come maybe. Oblak is not likely to be a viable option. Butland might be an option for the summer. But there are plenty of other goalkeepers out there if Klopp decides a change is necessary.}

14 Jan 2018 21:32:18
Karius didn’t do much wrong.

14 Jan 2018 21:08:18
Thanks Ed002, just out of curiosity who would you suggest if Mr Klopp did decide on a change? Any other options that the 3 i have suggested?

{Ed002's Note - Bernt Leno is the up-and-coming German goalkeeper. Vlachodimos has a stupid enough haircut for Liverpool and is well liked as is Gudino. Mattia Perrin and Samir Handanovic are decent. Patrik Carlgren is tucked away and doing just fine. The pick for me and perhaps achievable for Liverpool would be Timo Horn.}

14 Jan 2018 21:42:40
Other than letting in a shot straight at him at his near post. I can only imagine how mignolet would be getting hammered now if it was him. Give him till the end of season n decide from there!

14 Jan 2018 21:46:28
No he didn't really but a keeper shouldn't be beaten at his front post like that.

I just think we need to have a top keeper if we are going to challenge for honours.

14 Jan 2018 21:47:48
I rate Butland and think he would be a big upgrade on what we have although his injury record worries me.

14 Jan 2018 21:49:12
John Achterberg- After retiring from playing/ coaching in 2009 with Tranmere Rovers, Achterberg joined Liverpool FC in June 2009 as a goalkeeping coach of the reserve and academy goalkeepers before being promoted to first-team goalkeeping coach in summer 2011.

Maybe replace him first?

14 Jan 2018 21:53:57
I call that a half mistake. He should do better, but if that was Salah we'd be saying it was great skill and the shot was too hot to handle.

The other two goals were a combination of Milner and Lovren making weak challenges and getting flustered by players running at them.

14 Jan 2018 22:06:38
Thanks for your input ED002 much appreciated as always!

I do also think replacing Achterberg would be a good option but he must be liked as he has been here a while now.

MK although i do sort of agree about Sane's shot its still poor goal keeping.

14 Jan 2018 22:09:41
Yes. Let's be fair, he needs a run of games before we fully judge him. This was not a good game for him. He made a fair few mistakes aside from that goal though. I remember a cross in the second half in from the right flank that he hesitated to come to. Had the city player on the far post been one step closer, it would have been a goal. He needs a continuous run, and should be given the chance without fear of being dropped - as Migs was - but he needs to step up soon.

14 Jan 2018 22:17:29
ML, stop making excuses for Karius. His goalkeeping technique is woeful and he will never make it here. Charles Itanje was a better keeper than him.

14 Jan 2018 22:27:31
Should read MK not ML.

14 Jan 2018 22:48:55
He has the same frailties as Migs. Easy to score against.

14 Jan 2018 22:49:59
I'm not defending him. I said he should do better. But so should Gomez. So should Matip. It wasn't a goal were the only culprit was the keeper.

Sane hit it with serious venom and when you catch it that sweetly in the box, it has to be a great save to stop it. Regardless of how close it is to the keeper.

We need a keeper who is capable of making those great saves. That doesn't make Karius a bad keeper. Aside from not pulling off a great save, i don't think he's done a lot wrong. He is decent and does a job. That doesn't mean he should not be upgraded on, just that he doesn't deserve to be hammered after we just crashed City's party.

14 Jan 2018 23:31:40
Karius didn’t do much wrong gomez I thinks a world beater but was taken out of the game by sanes first touch, Gomez is young and will learn, most keeper wouldn’t save that shot. It was a game of good goals. Karius is our best keeper and some fans are too idiotic to appreciate that. We won today yet so much negativity on here! Karius didn’t play bad st all today, wasn’t an amazing performance but nothing to blame him for.

14 Jan 2018 23:42:04
Just to continue living in the fantasy of today, and to cause some laughter (aimed at me probably) on here, i’m going to say the top top French internation player Macca referred to is . Lloris xD.

15 Jan 2018 00:30:08
I was watching Horn play earlier beforehand our game and he made a few good stops and was quick off his line. Seems like a decent player every time I've seen Cologne.

15 Jan 2018 03:11:38
Horn may be a really good option especially as koln are on the verge of relegation. A lot of fans may already be on his back though as they will have their sights already set on a championship winning manager. We need to start focusing on the positives and not shoot down our own players after 1 small mistake. 3 points is all I ask for and that is what we got today.

14 Jan 2018 20:40:32
News alert
has anyone seen sterling?
He was last seen in the pocket of Robertson 😀


Well played lad let’s hope it’s going to continue.

14 Jan 2018 19:34:55
Coutinho who? Who is this Coutinho guy you keep on talking about.

14 Jan 2018 19:41:38
From what I’ve seen of his keepy up ability, he lacks the physical strength for the PL, is stear well clear, he’d never cut it in our side.

14 Jan 2018 19:49:01
Whotinho.

14 Jan 2018 19:50:55
Far to small anyway😉.

14 Jan 2018 19:56:39
I hate posts like this even if jokingly. Coutinho was a fantastic player for us and will always be remembered by the none spiteful fans for how truly gifted he was.

14 Jan 2018 19:59:29
I think that new lad Aleix Oxladinho is even better anyway. That goal and the pass for his fellow Brazilian Firmino were moments of world class skill.

*muffled discussions*
*he's English? But Harry said English players don't have any technical ability or vision? *
*more muffled talking*

Sorry lads, apparently it's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and he's not Brazilian!

14 Jan 2018 20:05:48
Oxlade Chamberlinho?

14 Jan 2018 20:09:49
OG get over it mate it's only a bit of banter. Of course mosr of us bloody miss him and wish he was still here.

14 Jan 2018 20:10:52
Love it MK 😂.

14 Jan 2018 20:30:02
I know Barry but there is quite a lot on here who actually mean it an sometimes it’s hard to tell between the banter and the spite lol.

14 Jan 2018 20:39:01
Oxlade does lack the subtlety and speed of thought of Coutinho, but he doesn’t lack hard work and determination and he’s a far better footballer than I gave him credit for.

14 Jan 2018 21:02:56
I doubt there’s a Liverpool fan in the world who doesn’t wish we still had Coutinho. He’s pure class there’s no doubt about it, hence my tongue in cheek response. I’d like to think that Klopp is right and Phil was jumping up and down when the goals were flying in and hiding behind a cushion when they got the 2 late goals, in fact I’m sure he was.

14 Jan 2018 21:21:19
I'm sure of it LFC.

14 Jan 2018 18:56:28
Well said WY.

14 Jan 2018 18:42:09
Thanks for the reply ed. Is there any truth in the rumours of interest in Butland? Would love to see him at Liverpool.

Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - Not right now. We will see in the summer.}

14 Jan 2018 20:39:07
Does that mean there is interest from liverpool in him?

{Ed002's Note - What?}

14 Jan 2018 20:49:56
too injury prone for my liking, we need a world class keeper purchased in the summer, the confidence it would give our defenders will be immesurable.

14 Jan 2018 18:26:34
what a thrilling game of football that was, cannot wait to read the match review, im off now for a lie down! well done to all the lads for a massive 3pts.

14 Jan 2018 15:17:36
Well according to Klopp on the LFC website it looks like the goalkeeping jersey is Karius to lose from now on, its time he nailed his colours to the mast on the goalkeeping front instead of all this switching.
Hopefully itll pay off.
Heres to a cracking game and a convincing win!

14 Jan 2018 15:32:15
God I hope he plays well.

14 Jan 2018 15:37:02
I bet you will still be nervous every time the ball goes near Goldenballs.

14 Jan 2018 16:53:45
Karius’s to Lose? Think he’s just lost it in less than half a game. Trying to punch a ball around for a corner - his technique is woeful.

14 Jan 2018 16:57:55
Back to the drawing board then coz karius is crap. We need a new keeper hope it doesn't take klopp as long as it took him to get a centre half.

14 Jan 2018 17:00:49
Give the jersey to Ward! How many chances do these muppets get? Ward or buy someone.

14 Jan 2018 17:36:41
You lot speak to soon a game consists of 90 mins not 90 seconds grow up boys we have ripped city apart.

14 Jan 2018 18:57:51
Yes great that we won, but when you improve a team, which every team needs to unless your team is the best in the world (which ours certainly isn’t) you identify areas of improvement and how easy/ expensive it would be to improve those areas. Well my priority area of improvement is GK as I don’t believe you would have to spend to much money to get better than Migs or Karius. I’d give Ward a go.

15 Jan 2018 00:10:15
Ward is MORE inexperienced than Karius so bringing him in makes no sense as there is no proof that he is ready for this level.

15 Jan 2018 06:55:22
Understand the logic Brover but not sure it always applies. VVD is less experienced than Lovren, Matip and Klaven?! Ward maybe awful as well but we don’t know because he’s never got a chance. I hope Karius or Ward get chances in the rest of the year. Maybe Karius can show why he was I. The Bundesliga team of the year a few years back or Ward can prove his quality.

14 Jan 2018 15:15:07
So were do we go from here fellow reds?

Keita not coming until the Summer. Lemar not happening as deemed to expensive. (A sign of clubs not wanting to part with there best players in January with no replacement lined up) . No interest in Mahrez. Meyer, Ed said forget about him for now. We have been offered Ceballos and Rakitic but it seems not interested. With 2 weeks left of the window it really is starting to look like we have our lot.

I think we are really messing up here. Non of our current CM's offer any creativity at all.

I guess we have Lallana or Woodburn to come in though.

14 Jan 2018 15:32:08
I think you should avoid taking articles as gospel and you should survive.

14 Jan 2018 15:34:18
Sounds to me we’re doing the exact opposite of what we used to. We don’t need last minute replacements. We need to ensure the right players come in albeit in the summer. As Macca said there is also one other we’re working on.

14 Jan 2018 15:35:16
Central midfield's a real problem area for us atm.

Can's leaving and his performances have been up and down anyway, Milner tries hard but his lack of genuine nous and experience in that position gets shown up. Wijnaldum's a flake who only seems to turn up when he feels like it. Henderson's our best option by far and he's having injury problems, and our second best option, and Lallana, our second best option is recovering from injury and may not be able to turn in two strong performances back to back until March.

Even with Keita coming in the summer, it's an area we could stand to invest in.

14 Jan 2018 15:39:41
Turning down Rakitic is a good thing. He’s long past it. Legs have gone and be lacks the brains and all round game to make up for it.

14 Jan 2018 15:53:07
Mmmm mixed vibes I see. Swishcleaner do you really think we have any chance of bringing AG in the next few weeks mate? Not happening. Im not reading Articals shane, its all fact mate and Rbl have firmed up there stance on Keita today. Anyway we have a game today, im going to at least try and be more positive.

14 Jan 2018 15:07:20
LFC starting 11: Karius, Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Robertson, Can, Wijnaldum, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane, Salah, Firmino Subs: Mignolet, Klavan, Alexander-Arnold, Milner, Lallana, Solanke, Ings Three changes to the XI. Lovren is captain.

14 Jan 2018 15:25:15
One match vvd needs a rest.

14 Jan 2018 15:29:01
He's carrying a slight injury. tight hamstring.

14 Jan 2018 14:27:22
"{Ed002's Note - RBL can ask what they want AW - he is their player. }"

Interesting. I've always been curious how (selling) clubs arrive at an asking price.
If a club demands an X amount, why couldn't they have demanded XX amount instead?
If Southampton asked £50m for Mane, why couldn't have they just said £60m? I mean, it's their player and so they can charge whatever they want.

Do they just pluck the prices out of thin air?
Or is there a rational way they determine their player's value?
Am sure a player's value would comprise both the objective (contract length, insurance, legal and intermediary fees etc) and subjective variables/ factors ("he's a top, top, top player. A terrific regista/ trequartista", marketability etc) .

How are these weighed? Really what guides the "asking price" determination?
Why, for a random instance, did Juventus not charge Man Utd £10m more for Pogba?
Could Atletico slap a 200m euro fee to any suitors of Griezmann next summer? If no, why couldn't they?

In a nutshell Ed, am just trying to understand this aspect of football. We can exclude exceptional cases like Neymar, Mbappe and Coutinho. In the normal scheme of things, how does aspect of football work?

{Ed002's Note - It is a very good question but there is sadly not a very good answer to go with it. Typically if they want to sell a player they will ask just above what they really want. If it is an English team asking Lyon about a player, they have a different price for the English side compared to say Lille asking. This is likely more widespread as the mainland European sides know the PL sides are awash with money. If a club don't want to sell they will not put a price on a player at all. This then leads to the various "clauses" and the problems (and confusion) they cause. To use your terminology of a "top, top, top player" - a real tentafere if you like, then unrealistic prices might be given. So there are no defined criteria for identifying a price. An indication of a player being over-priced is the lack of interest from elsewhere at the price being asked.}

14 Jan 2018 14:46:38
Be interesting if a players value was determined by an independent panel rather than the buying/ selling clubs.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool would have saved a lot of money on Keita and Tinkerbell then.

Anecdotally, if there were an exchange of players values are determined by an independent panel.}

14 Jan 2018 15:17:02
Superb question and a superb response ed 👍🏻.

14 Jan 2018 15:48:05
Thank you Ed. That'll do for me.
I guess there'll never be a set criteria given the multiple factors involved. Am each team will attach it's own significance on each.
I sometimes think it a miracle that transfers happen largely with the ease they do at all.

The role of agents seems to have become crucial for the working of this machine.
I see them occupying an exceedingly important space moving forwards.
You only have to look at likes of Mendez, who's more than just a mere agent.

They usually come in for unfair criticism imo.
They perform the nitty gritties and running around that clubs would rather not detain themselves with.
It's not their fault there's lots of money in the game now and them wanting a slice of the cake for themselves and their clients.

Gonna be interesting seeing the "evolution" of the agent in the next 10,20 years, particularly in light of the mooted Pan European League and what their influence/ role will be.

Thanks again Ed02 for your views.

{Ed002's Note - Agents/represntatives vary considerably. There are those who are genuinely good guys who work hard, there are those who are in a position to deal with brokering moves for players at the very high-end and indeed broker the sale of clubs. There are those who see a quick buck and sadly there are some who look to exploit players and sometimes their poor families.}

14 Jan 2018 13:55:47
Shame that Van Dijk is injured today, expect Matip and Lovren to play as they are the fastest.

I actually think the most important thing is that our midfield defend well today, regardless of who we have in defense, we have no chance if we don't close down in midfield well.

Fingers crossed our midfield and our offense are up for the challenge today.

We can still dominate without Van Dijk if weddefend as a team well.

Goooo sports team!

14 Jan 2018 14:08:55
We’re relying on Mignolet not making a basic error, Matip not being lazy, Lovren not having a brain fart, our midfield being able to stop DeBruyne and Silva as well as create chances for our front three. I think this is probably a bridge too far for alll if these things happening. Whereas I think we might score, I can’t see us being able to stop them scoring,

14 Jan 2018 14:07:34
Hello all. Is the van dyke injury confirmed?

{Ed002's Note - https://twitter.com/WonderDogSparky/status/952518512739782657 }

14 Jan 2018 14:22:29
just got my text from someone in the know, Migs is not playing, Karius is in, that's okay, but I want my Keeper not to be rotated too much .

14 Jan 2018 14:37:29
I'm not a Twitterer but I'll take that as a yes. Thx.

{Ed002's Note - Neither am I, but seemingly a credible source.}

14 Jan 2018 15:01:46
Fair play happy you called it.

14 Jan 2018 13:23:08
2-2 today. We'll score two then gift them 2 to let them back into it.

{Ed025's Note - Have faith in your team mate..

14 Jan 2018 13:40:53
Faith is fairly worthless when the cold hard facts are that we have dodgy keepers, dodgy centre backs, the softest weakest midfield in the top six and literally zero creativity in midfield. Our only hope is that Salah, Mane and Firmino bring their ‘A game’.

14 Jan 2018 13:55:16
Mr Dennis - remind me not to send you an invite to my next party!

I think you’ll find we have the best defensive record in the entire league at home. Please remind me, where are we playing today?

Fans support.

14 Jan 2018 14:05:27
They’re the best attacking team in the premier league and they have a far superior defensive record than us, they’ve only dropped points away from home once, even then they didn’t concede. If we somehow scrape a draw that will be a result, but certainly there’s no reason to have any confidence that our midfield, defence and keepers will keep them out.

14 Jan 2018 14:18:14
Pretty sure we are unbeaten in 17 games, have the best defensive record in the league at home, have the Anfield crowd behind us and one of the best front three in European football.

I’ll watch and support from start to finish. If we don’t perform then that’s one thing but I’m pretty sure the game hasn’t even kicked off as yet 😎

If Liverpool win I’ll be looking for your post saying how great we are afterwards 👍 If we get hammered and everything you said was right then I’ll still be on here supporting.

14 Jan 2018 14:29:47
Well said. No point in watching if your going to write us off before the off.

14 Jan 2018 14:46:17
Mr D it's being so cheerful that keeps you going you really need to cheer up a bit mate.

14 Jan 2018 14:47:33
Jesus if there is no faith passion and hope in life we may aswell end it all now. Surprises happen, we’re a good side too in good form let’s just stay positive hopefully a good game, no injuries and a positive result.

14 Jan 2018 12:02:30
Eds are there any updates at all please from the last few days as regards to departures/ arrivals? Seems to have gone a little quite.

{Ed002's Note - Don't start with posts like this please.}

14 Jan 2018 12:46:57
It’s quiet cos there are no updates.

14 Jan 2018 13:01:38
Swish just about nailed it.

14 Jan 2018 13:09:52
Been anything but quiet. What do you want, a signing a day?

14 Jan 2018 13:18:07
WelshRed. What I want and what we need is a replacement for Coutinho. With Keita and Lemar not happening can you not see how our midd offer no creativity. You think we have enough at the minute to compete and stay in top4? No need for sarcasm. What I want is us to be competative and replace our best player who we have just sold half way through the season!

14 Jan 2018 13:27:03
Coutinho has not been our best player this season in no way shape or form, Salah and Firmino are our 2 best players so far this season with Saido Mane being our best player last season. Salah takes Coutinho's place in the team and Chamberlain is there to provide cover. Why is that so hard to see?

14 Jan 2018 13:33:18
This is not the kind of site that tries to sell papers or generate clicks by digging up old rumors or making up dodgy new ones. If you want daily transfer guff there are plenty of tabloid sites you can visit. If you want facts, this is the place. The fact is nothing has happened in the last few days or it would be all over these pages. We We have a huge game today so let's focus on the players we've got and not any that may or may not arrive or depart, they can't help us vs Man City.

14 Jan 2018 13:50:41
Its f##king boring, that's what it is. Same old crappy question day after day!

14 Jan 2018 13:56:22
I think those slagging off Coutinho’s contribution this season need to consider his comparison with someone like DeBruyne, DeBruyne has played 22 games compared to Coutinho’s 13, DeBruyne has assisted 9 and scored 6. Coutinho scored 7 and assisted 6 in 9 less games. That’s what we’re missing in midfield. None of Henderson, Can, Milner, Oxlade, Lallana or Wijnaldum come close to that quality.

14 Jan 2018 14:10:32
Coutinho broke our hearts by leaving but saying he was not our best or one of our best is just kidding yourself. Barcelona didn't break the bank to sign a average player.

{Ed025's Note - they got a cracker jayden and we may see today how much he will be missed mate..

14 Jan 2018 14:27:07
most transfers are done in the last few days, and I am very sure that we will sign someone, more than likely for midfield .

14 Jan 2018 14:45:34
Ed25 I agree mate. We looked quite laboured with little creativity against Everton in the cup last week. I'm hoping that was just a derby thing though.

{Ed025's Note - i suspect it was jayden mate..

14 Jan 2018 15:10:33
Completely agree Dennis and Jayden. We have, however, got a much better win rate without Coutinho in the team this season. What that means I do not know but I don't think it should mean doom and gloom. We need more grit today than finesse i think anyway and grit is definitely not something Coutinho has been giving in spades this season. We're perfectly capable of doing a number on them today. Come on the Redmen!

14 Jan 2018 11:40:46
Rumenigge (Bayern boss) has told Sky DE that Goretzka will join Bayern. Kind of gutted because it looked like we had a real chance at one stage.

14 Jan 2018 11:56:17
He also said that nothing is signed or done until contract has been signed and medical done and he has heard goretzka will make his decision in the next few days and hopes he will choose Bayern.

Not saying that he won’t end up at Bayern he prob will but twitter is bad for just showing snippets of interviews haha.

14 Jan 2018 12:03:44
My bad, I read that Rumenigge said that Goretzka will have his medical with Bayern.

14 Jan 2018 12:24:12
"He will announce his decision in a few days, it would be good if he opted for FC Bayern"

He wouldn't say that if he wasn't 99% sure Goretzka was signing for his club. Rumenigge is German, it wouldn't be sensible to expose himself to egg on his face.

14 Jan 2018 13:10:06
What's to be gutted about, exactly? Goretzka is off to Bayern. This is not news to anyone following this story since the end of last season esp. after the ConFed Cup where he was brilliant.

14 Jan 2018 11:16:58
The thought of Mane, Greizmann and salah infront of Firmino and Keita makes me moist.

14 Jan 2018 11:47:49
If you were Smurfett I'd get that statement.

14 Jan 2018 13:11:11
Ok first off, that was gross. On a more serious level, Greizmann won't be signing here.

14 Jan 2018 11:12:45
VVD ruled out of City 👎🏻.

14 Jan 2018 11:18:24
Where have you seen this mate?

14 Jan 2018 11:44:15
It's true.

14 Jan 2018 12:43:36
I'll hold your hair back😝.

14 Jan 2018 13:11:56
It's in the Daily Mail, mate.

14 Jan 2018 10:21:44
Two years ago we had Caulker up to against arsenal. How times change.

14 Jan 2018 10:42:54
Playing up front!

14 Jan 2018 08:00:56
Morning Ed’s and Reds happy keita day! Let’s see if all those rumours were correct.

Just wanted to say I hope people don’t believe this Sanchez nonsense, IMO it is just the papers trying to include as many teams as possible to turn it into a saga. We all know he is going to city and the only question is if it’s now or the summer when he can join with a hefty pay day.

14 Jan 2018 09:29:50
Is this what it has come to. Happy Keita day? It is Liverpool v Man City today and some people are more bothered about individual footballers who think it is okay to force their way out of their club. Come on the reds!

14 Jan 2018 09:36:40
I guess my sarcastic tone didn’t come through in writing.

14 Jan 2018 10:02:26
I got your sarcasm mate😁.

14 Jan 2018 10:04:47
Sorry. Missed the sarcastic tone. Just want Anfield buzzing with atmosphere and support for the players in the squad. We need the extra man today. Come on you reds!

14 Jan 2018 10:32:43
He just left the airport got in a taxi must be on his way to klopp.

14 Jan 2018 10:58:18
Ahh now don't be silly negative he's on his way to Melwood😉.

14 Jan 2018 11:12:51
Correct me if I'm wrong but why would a sarcastic post on here even effect the atmosphere in Anfield today.

14 Jan 2018 01:47:27
Hi Ed’s with Can leaving and coutinho gone, we have brought in Keita for next season (unless we pull it off and get him in January) . I have read we are pursuing Goretzka but most likely will sign for Bayern Munich. I was wondering if we had any interest in Fred? He has been linked with Man City and does look a neat player. If anybody at Liverpool F. C. reads this forum please please report back to klopp to check this guy out!

{Ed002's Note - No Ricky, there is no interest from Liverpool.}

14 Jan 2018 09:30:29
Any kind of win for me. It's the makings of a cracker but I'd take a 1-0 deflection. Be interesting to see how City react after getting beat. 3 points are all that counts today especially with spurs winning yesterday.

14 Jan 2018 01:32:11
Guys a win tomorrow will put us level on points with United and Chelsea.

{Ed0333's Note - Please don’t I won’t sleep tonite