Liverpool Banter Archive January 16 2018

16 Jan 2018 22:16:22
Goalkeepers always need time to settle. De Gea was pilloried in his first year but that looks pretty silly now.
It helps if they have a solid defence in front of them. Virgil should bring that.
I've read the site for years but never registered to post before. But I was baffled by the abuse heaped on Karius.
He was an excellent keeper before he signed. You can't write him off after one game against the best team in the league.
He made some mistakes but can you imagine the pressure? Do you remember the cock ups you made on your first day at work as you tried to impress?
Anyway, he's probably the keeper for the rest of the season, so why not get off his back and let him try to settle?

16 Jan 2018 22:23:31
People will disagree but I do think given time he can be a top keeper.

16 Jan 2018 23:32:13
The abuse is unreal and it is why Klopp has tried to not play him much. To protect him. And probably why when he gets a chance he is shaky and makes us shaky too because he knows 1 mistake will make social media explode with insults and threats.
Good run of games is what he needs to eventually calm his nerves and get used to the persons who constantly give him crap.

17 Jan 2018 00:29:39
De Gea started really rough at the Mancs and is now regarded best in world. Perhaps with vvd in the defence a stable structure Karius could come good. He deserves a chance at least.

{Ed0333's Note - yes he does deserve a chance sparky

17 Jan 2018 01:05:59
Its not only the mistakes with Karius and I do understand keepers and players need time to settle but if you look carefully at his positioning and anticipation when the opposition shoot and narrowly miss you would see its minimal so he has no chance to save it unless his judgement of a shot going wide is that good which I doubt. For me he will be an average keeper at best. Its all we have and luckily for him Liverpool don't give oppositions many chances so we should get away with average for now. Just my opinion as a coach but could be wrong.

17 Jan 2018 05:52:27
I agree that Karius should deserves more gametime before we judge him. But something that i worry a lot about, are the fact that i have noticed him standing on his heels when shots are being fired. Its a basic, and crucial, knowledge that a keeper should be on his front foot when a shoot is released. I don't know the exact english word for it, but he should also do a little bias (? ) jump to charge the muscles so he react as fast as possible. Either he can't handle the pressure and shokes ore the goalkeeper trainer is not doing his job. Because the Karius we signed did not have this bad habbit.

{Ed001's Note - I think the word you are looking for is bounce. It must be said that we know that Achteberg has not impressed for a long time, as none of the keepers have improved under him sadly. Nice guy who is still learning but he needs someone to help him.}

17 Jan 2018 09:41:26
Cheers for the reply Ed, i appreciate the inside info on Achteberg, did not want to judge him without ever seen him in work. But his result everyone can see. I reckon Mignolet has gotten a bit better in air, maybe also a little better with his feets. But not good enough.
And thanks for helping me out with the language!
You are all doing a fantastic job. Keep it up!

{Ed001's Note - it is very difficult to criticise Achteberg too much as he is a nice guy and he is doing his best and working very hard on learning more about coaching goalkeepers. He did his A license (I think it was his A anyway) in the summer, for instance. He is not just saying he knows it all and refusing to look to improve on his work. Personally I feel the issue is that he should have been the junior coach to a senior gk coach who he could have worked with and learnt from. As it is, he has been thrown in at the deep end and is trying to learn on the job, with no one to learn off. Not easy for anyone. The club needs to give him more support.}

16 Jan 2018 21:48:38
What's up, reds and Ed's,

Great result and the momentum is on our side going forward hopefully. I just wanted to comment on one thing that stood out to me in our approach to the game. I sum it in one word: TRUST. Klopp has his core beliefs and we all know what that or those are and he will NEVER deviate from them. Klopp trusted his ethos as in playing on the front foot, press City in their own half, force mistakes, play with flair, energy and bravery and then punish them when the chances come cos THEY WILL. Klopp trusted that we will do this and trusted that our back line and CB's would hold up vs their front line and if we are going to get beat, it will be on our terms BUT we won't get beat. Why? Cos we are the EFFING BEST at what we do (Spurs and Arsenal tried it and got slaughtered) and City will have no answer for us IF they play the way we know they will as in, passing out the back at every turn.

Well as the game went on, we all saw the courage, belief, guile, work ethic and team spirit we played with which was breathe-taking at times (I'm looking at you, Robbo) . But what I saw defensively and we are not getting enough credit for it by many in the media.

Our full backs kept Sane and Sterling quiet virtually ALL game (bar the goal) and our CB's shut down Aguero. And to cap it all, I observed that Lovren often stepped out from CB to press DeBruyne or Gundogan in midfield to win the ball. That takes some B*LLS to do for Klopp to tell the his CB to step up in midfield and press them high. The fact is that we dictated the way the game would be played and they shrunk when the going got tough. There were mistakes all over the shop at City that even Ederson made arguably 3 times more mistakes that Karius did. Go figure.

All in all, we should be proud of our boys for the courage they showed in taking the game to City and punching the bully in the mouth to gain our respect as respect if not earned, MUST be taken. We took ours. Red Till I'm Dead!

{Ed025's Note - good read that brover..

16 Jan 2018 22:21:24
I agree with all you said mate. Good observations. The team player brilliantly and I struggle to fault any of them overall. The only thing I’d say though would be the game finished 4-3 and 9 times out of 10 we turn up to the big games. There are still issues with our defence, the game should have been seen out at 4-1. We also need to make sure the same intensity is there against the lesser sides.

16 Jan 2018 22:23:38
great post Bro, spot on, the team bought into Klopps game plan, and wow, we looked the better team and it brought the best out of most of the players, and the fans also made it a game to remember too,
I am still buzzing, and think that the Ox and Robbo really made a name for themselves, just to keep on improving, and stay in the top four .

16 Jan 2018 23:36:39
Great post although it wouldn't surprise me if Klopp didn’t actually tell Lovren to press out of defence, he probably just did it because the midfield (specially after Can went off) gave little protection against their movements lol
But obviously Klopp didn’t tell him to stop so what you said about trust is true.
I just loved watching Klopp shouting at them to press after our 2nd and 3rd goal right from the off and the team listened straight away and it worked :D.

17 Jan 2018 02:09:59
Well if Mr. boring relaxed a bit and stopped flying towards shadows maybe we'd have had a more settled fribal 15.

17 Jan 2018 06:03:17
I also agree Liverpool are absolute fantastic at pressing good teams to mistakes and then take advantage of the mistakes. In that perspective we won't miss Coutinho that much, we got others who are better at pressing play. Makes me believe we can beat any team in CL even without Coutinho.

But the fact still remains we struggle against teams that park the bus. We got away with wins a couple more times this campaign do to getting first goal from a corner (Can) and a couple of times by individual brilliant efforts (Coutinho) that forced opposition to get out of the bus.
In this area i think Klopp still have a big challenge to overcome. Especially without Coutinho.

17 Jan 2018 07:22:57
I agree with you mostly. But it has to be said that the defense was great for 85 mins and then switched off collectively a little bit.

4-3 was an unfair reflection on us, we were much better. I totally agree that we should enjoy and celebrate the win but you need to be look at the negatives too and try to sort it out in future games.

3-3 at arsenal flattered them as well. The defense did not to justice with to our attack.

16 Jan 2018 21:42:29
Eds, Any chance at all of Pepe Reina making a glorious return to Anfield to show our mis-firing keepers how to put hands in their gloves?

He wants out of Napoli. Chairman insulted his lovely wife apparently.

I'd take him untill the summer.

{Ed002's Note - Let's hope so.}

16 Jan 2018 21:48:41
You'd take Reina over Karius xabi14? are you serious or are you having people on?

16 Jan 2018 22:07:40
Hes cup tied in the CL so we will need a good back.

Scott Carson or Peter Gulacsi would be perfect.

To hell with it, let's bring in both.

3 keepers out, 3 keepers in.

Achterburg may as well sling his hook too. That might stop our goalkeepers habit of scratching both their ankles when the opposition are shooting.

Mike Hooper would jump at a coaching offer. According to his Wiki he is a bouncer in Durham now and also does a bit of courier work.

Boom. keeper issues sorted.

16 Jan 2018 22:28:14
Reina was getting beat on his near post on his last season with us he was a great keeper for us and we have great memories of his time i would like to keep those memories untainted his distribution was brilliant though.

16 Jan 2018 22:38:45
xabi14, thank god it's not up to you then.

16 Jan 2018 22:39:02
Hi Spooked

Yes I am serious. I did forward it to one of the other eds.

You seem like a fine affable gent so I'm sorry if it caused a bit of chaos and looking back it made little sense i suppose to say anything, it was probably done to put the fans minds at ease that the club is trying very hard to sign top goalkeepers, you hear lots of criticism towards the club for selling Coutinho and people thinking the owners are trying not to reinvest, which right now is not the case.

I have never heard his name mentioned all over twitter so people are not aware of this Faroe Islands international who does not get itchy ankles, now i hope that helps, but again he will take a lot of persuading .

Cheers

Macca. Pacca. from the night garden.

16 Jan 2018 22:48:04
Reina was a tart who whinged his way out of the club.

16 Jan 2018 23:29:18
Macca Pacca 😂 oh hell naw! If i find out Macca is short for Macca Pacca, Ed001 in Iggle Piggle, Ed002 is Oopsy Daisy, and Ed333, Ed033 and Ed025 are the tomli boos! I swear to god i will board the ninky nonk to London, fly the pinky ponk to Dubai, and "wacca pacca icka acka ooh" the lot of you!

{Ed033's Note - Ah, but which one is tinky winky?

16 Jan 2018 23:51:28
Showing your age there Ed033. The Teletubbies have grown up and had kids 😂 no joke!

Someone really should contact social services though. They're diabolical parents. How does a Teletubby even conceive? Must be something to do with them antennae things?

{Ed033's Note - Could be by Immaculate Conception if the Teletubbies are free from original sin.

16 Jan 2018 21:06:22
Really cannot see why if actually Milan are in such financial worries and the young keeper donneruma wants to leave. Why Liverpool would not be all over it. Unless England and furthermore Liverpool are not on his preferred destinations? Just a suggestion eds 2.?

{Ed002's Note - One of the club’s spoken to are English but it is nothing to do with Liverpool.}

16 Jan 2018 22:41:52
Thanks Ed 2 for the reply. In my opinion this lad could be the best Goalie in the world in the next 2-3 years. Replacement for Chelsea or spurs me thinks.

17 Jan 2018 01:32:59
Ive never seen him play but for me i am always wary of bringing in defenders and goalkeepers from abroad, especially ones who are 18. Regardless of how young or talented he is perceived to be, i think anyone that old would struggle to adapt to england and everything that comes with it.

16 Jan 2018 20:50:20
Anybody see Mo Salah on channel 4 undateables last night 😂😂😂.

16 Jan 2018 20:57:18
lol I said exactly the same.

16 Jan 2018 19:45:18
Ed01 if your about mate,

To early really I know. But if Klopp works on Robertson's attacking and decision making in the final third and continues to improve this along with the defensive display we see against City. Could he be the left back "Steve Finnan" in your eyes?

Also, read that Bordoux manager say we are looking at Malcolm! Is he looking to simply drum up more interest in the player, or is there truth to it? Looks similar to what we have in Salah and Mane in my opinion.

Thanks in advance

Jon.

{Ed001's Note - I really hope Robertson can become the new Finnan, the potential is there, his crosses have a great shape to them, he just needs to aim them at someone.

We are just one of many that have taken a look at Malcom, maybe in the summer it is a possibility. Or if either of Salah and Mane were to leave.}

16 Jan 2018 20:14:40
The club will not be looking to any high profile outings anytime soon am told, apart from Emre if they can't keep him. I hope it's true because i'm getting fed up with the never ending transition tbh!

{Ed001's Note - they are defo not looking to sell either Salah or Mane but you can never be sure these days!}

16 Jan 2018 20:25:54
Ed001, can we not carry out some kind of blood sacrifice ritual to tie them to the club? I willingly offer Ed025. I'd suggest you yourself Ed001, but it has to be a virgin or a goat. Fortunately, Ed025 is both.

{Ed001's Note - a goat? Isn't that short for Greatest Of All Time? In which case there is no way Ed025 is a goat! As for a virgin, you would be surprised how many desperate women there are in the world....}

16 Jan 2018 20:29:10
Thanks Ed01 for the feedback. Very much appreciate your time.

{Ed001's Note - very welcome.}

16 Jan 2018 20:36:47
Ed001, an idea for feedback from your footballing wisdom. You often say that we need a full back who can defend first, and while it's early we can see Robbo can do that at LB. Is it not time for us to sign a top class left-footed player who starts in the midfield but can stretch the defensive teams on the left flank in a fluid system and put in crosses while allowing Robertson to hang back? (I think I'm prescribing Lemar lol) . Our RBs are good at going up and down the flank and putting in crosses anyway.

Thanks for this immaculate site btw!

{Ed001's Note - I take it you mean to sit in central midfield but with the ability to pull out wide when Mane cuts in? In which case, it would help to have a left pegger in there to do that at times. I do agree Lemar could well be the ideal player to do that. We have it on the right with the Ox etc, so it makes sense to provide balance alongside them.}

16 Jan 2018 21:15:44
Hopefully real will go after hazard and leave Salah alone, they seem to be the only big money club that haven't splashed the cash in a while so I would expect them to do it in the summer.

16 Jan 2018 21:44:50
Yes its World Cup year. Real do seem to like a bright star or two from the tournament. James and Navas last time wasn't it? Hopefully Salah has an average one and Hazard doesn't!

16 Jan 2018 21:57:16
I am a virgin! But a man! 😩.

16 Jan 2018 22:41:58
Thanks Ed001. Hopefully we get someone to put in the crosses because Robertson's crosses are a constant threat to the fans in the Kop.

{Ed001's Note - I am sure he will improve at that, once he relaxes and plays with a bit more freedom. He is still trying too hard to impress at the moment when he gets into the final third.}

16 Jan 2018 18:37:13
Genuine question here, does anyone else think we have peaked during the man City match?
I have a sneaky feeling that other teams will be picking up points and adding to their respective teams which in turn could cost us a top 4 place.
I am very pleased with how we are currently playing and our position in the league and the vvd addition should help us loads.

16 Jan 2018 19:22:37
No, quite the opposite. I think we will have a much better second half to the season than the first.

The first Man City game derailed us a bit - lost a bit of confidence, lost Mane who was in the form of his life, and just generally lost our way a bit.

It seems to have taken us to just about pre Christmas I would say to get back to where we were mentality wise. Now we seem to believe in ourselves again. I actually believe we will get second this season.

{Ed025's Note - so do i nick..

16 Jan 2018 19:42:17
Good post Nick, I also think second place is ours for the taking.

16 Jan 2018 19:52:56
Nick, interesting point of view. Obviously I hope you are correct. Let's wait and see what the season has is store for us.
We have many lower teams coming up and history will show we can struggle against the so called lesser teams let's hope we pick up a good portion of the points on offer.

16 Jan 2018 19:58:48
Good old negativewalter always looking for the positives!

16 Jan 2018 21:44:32
Its all in the lights lads, believe in the red and green and yellow and blue and orange etc well you get the picture. 😊.

16 Jan 2018 23:33:15
I thought this season we'd put the struggling to beat lesser clubs to bed for a while, and we now couldn't beat top teams, oh wait that was last week, give me strength.

16 Jan 2018 17:37:25
Evening Eds. are we still actively looking to bring in new faces this window or is it the likelihood will make do with what we have and make things happen in the summer.?

Also is any RBs on our radar as i see that as one of the problem positions for us still. the young lad gomez has been unreal at times and he's playing out of position and you can see the centre half in him the way he gets caught at times with the man on the back post and TAA still has a lot to learn and i don't feel it's the right time to have to completely depend on him as our first choice.

{Ed025's Note - i cant see liverpool doing much if anything in this window jimmy..

16 Jan 2018 18:11:15
I don't think we'll sign anybody and to be honest I aren't really bothered if we don't. Id rather wait until the summer before panic buying a player this month. There's a few positions which need addressing in the summer but right now I'm happy overall with the squad we have, I'd love Keita to be here now but that's not happening.

16 Jan 2018 18:28:36
We desperatly need another body in the middle. Hendo always injured and Emre is off.

16 Jan 2018 16:40:27
Ed or MKS, is Grujic still playing the holding role for the U-23 team. I think I read here by MK that he was being used in that position maybe with the possibility of moving in there next season?
Thanks guys.

16 Jan 2018 17:27:25
They switched up the system last team out, to a 4-2-3-1.

Kane and Alves were sat in midfield, with Wilson, Dhanda and Adekanye. Bit of a midfield shake up with Ejaria, Virtue and Grujic not there.

The team has had to change a bit of late and a lot if the u18's have been moved up. Millar and Jones most notably. Ejaria i believe is training with the first team, so he might get some game time in the FA cup this month, and Grujic is injured again i think, and probably joining Virtue and Woodburn out on loan when he finally gets fit.

I think Grujic is done at Liverpool to be honest mate. I suspect his loan will have an option to buy. The experiment did not work out despite showing initial promise. It's best if we let him go now, rather than stall his career further. In hindsight, the move was too early for him. Aside from Ed002 though (who called this from day one), people can't see the future!

16 Jan 2018 17:42:22
I had high hopes for Grujic but sadly it looks like it won't happen for him at Lfc.

16 Jan 2018 18:34:53
Can we wait till he is actually done at LFC before we write his LFC obituary?

16 Jan 2018 19:53:45
Literally couldn't agree more BRover.
Not a day seems to pass without someone knocking someone at the club. Grujic is a kid who potentially has a good future who Klopp took a punt on, no more, no less, but seemingly some like to write him off.
Same happened with AOC, now loads love him.
Same with Karius, Lovren, Mane has recently been criticised.
What has happened to being simply a supporter of your club and it's players until they tarnish the badge or leave in controversial circumstances?!

16 Jan 2018 16:45:43
Hi Eds, seen a statistic about firmino earlier "Since, 2013, no player in Europe has been booked for overzealous celebration as many times as Roberto Firmino"

i was wondering, do you know why players get booked for taking their shirts off? it was my understanding that it was it caused delays as they used to take a while to get back on? but that's no longer the case, is it to do with provoking the fans. might be BS though. as long has it doesn't lead to sending offs and suspensions i don't have an issue with bobby doing it.

dont understand why players get booked for celebrating with fans either. both sterling and costa have has a second booking recently and ended up getting sent off for it! (their owmn silly fault) but the idea of this being abookable offence is not something. do you know the reasoning behind this?

thought this might make a nice change from the repetitive questions! thanks for everything you guys do! especially Ed001, 002 and 025 even if he is a bitter!

{Ed002's Note - It has caused trouble when in front of opposition fans. A firm shake of the hand should be enough.}

16 Jan 2018 17:00:18
Players act out of instinct. Why do they need to get booked for removing their shirts?

Players who go down rolling ten times over for play acting do not get booked? It is ridiculous.

16 Jan 2018 17:06:08
It’s his celebration, back in Germany he scored an important goal and took his top of and got booked, normally when he scores he pretends to take his top of as a joke. Clearly tho when he scores great goals or important ones he will go wild and take it off.

16 Jan 2018 17:15:24
Me bird was banned from our local ale house after taking her top off in front a load of rowdy young men.

I told her it was wrong and disrespectful and that she could have taken someone's eye out or tripped over, explaining further that the landlord has rules.

The landlord agreed and banned her without even considering a yellow card.

A bit harsh but maybe a similar thing should happen to players who do the same, especially Rooney.

16 Jan 2018 17:21:47
I find it strange when he takes off his red shirt to reveal a longer red shirt.

16 Jan 2018 17:30:55
In Bobbys case i think he just loses his mind when he or the team scores. Im sure we have all seen his flying karate kick celebration at the weekend lol.

16 Jan 2018 17:50:36
I was under the impression that it was related to health and safety. don't ask me why but I seem to remember that being given as the official reason.

{Ed001's Note - no it was because shirts had more than one layer for a while and players were taking ages to get them back on. It should be changed now as it no longer makes any sense.}

16 Jan 2018 18:04:08
Haha agree Firmane - I thought that myself - he seemed to have more red shirt on when he took his shirt off - and still got a yellow.

Wonder what would happen if you had a long sleeve proper shirt on underneath (name number and all) a short sleeved one. Would you still get a yellow?

16 Jan 2018 18:36:38
His celebrations don't bother me in the least bit.

16 Jan 2018 19:48:11
If you watch the celebration closely after Mane's goal you'll see Firmino give Salah a big nudge that nearly sent him over, all done with a huge smile on his face 😂

Love the fella.

17 Jan 2018 10:02:00
Thanks eds!

16 Jan 2018 14:51:41
Hey Eds, now that Bobby's scoring goals I assume we no longer looking at 'big name' strikers but I am concerned about who we have as back up. Studge looks like he's missed his last chance, Ings doesn't look like he's going to get a look, Origi's likely played his last game for the club and Solanke is too raw to be relied upon.

Are we actively looking at any strikers who could be Bobby's understudy?

{Ed002's Note - The club has more than enough options to see the season out.}

16 Jan 2018 15:23:56
Putney, forget the notion of a "striker". Our front 3 is fluid. At any one time the 3 players can be in completely different places to where you'd expect them to be.

With that in mind, we have Firmino, Salah, Mane, Solanke, Sturridge, Chamberlain, Lallana and Ings. 8 players to cover 3 positions, should be more than enough. Also, if we don't give Solanke chances, he'll never reach his massive potential. We have the opportunity to mould him into the exact type of player we want to. He works hard, he has good vision, he is strong, relatively quick, good in the air, and he's proven he can score goals at every level he's been thrown into so far. His vast array of skills make him one of the few up and coming talents who could potentially succeed Firmino long term (maybe in 4 years when Bobby is 30 odd and Solanke will be 23 and coming into his prime) . He may even develop sooner and be an excellent foil for Firmino in a partnership.

There is no rush. If we were struggling for goals, it would be unfair to put the pressure on him. But we're outscoring nearly everyone though. It will click for him, but he's not going to get any better if he's 3rd choice behind another big money signing. Patience is key with Solanke.

16 Jan 2018 15:37:04
That front three won't be the same without Bobby. If he suffers an injury then we rely on Solanke.

{Ed002's Note - Or Sturbridge, or Ings, or Mane - or one of the youngsters.}

16 Jan 2018 15:59:06
You can't sign 6 world class attackers just in case 1 gets injured.

If Firmino got injured, we'd have Mane and Salah either side of Solanke. If Salah got injured, we've got Ox to play out wide right. If Mane gets injured, we've got Lallana to play wide left. Then we have Sturridge and Ings as further depth. What are the odds of all 3 being injured at once? And should we really have £150m of talent on the bench just in case that happens?

Sure; Lallana, Solanke, Ox is much weaker than our first choice front 3. But it's still a front 3 of full England internationals that cost £80m combined. How much do you want to spend on the reserves?

I think we could do with shifting Ings and Sturridge and signing a more versatile AM/ forward to replace Coutinho, such as Lemar or Brandt. But we have more than enough goals and quality to see out the season so we can get our preferred players in the summer.

Have you actually looked at who Barcelona have after there first 3? After Messi, Suarez and Dembele, Barcelona have Munir, Dennis and Turan. After Sterling, Aguero and Sane, Man City have Zinchenko, Jesus and Bernardo. Don't lie to me and say you think Zinchenko is as good as Sane.

Not even the best teams in the world can make 3 changes to their attack without weakening it significantly. Get over it.

16 Jan 2018 16:03:14
Sorry, I'm behind the times. Barcelona actually have Dennis Suarez to cover Lionel Messi, Paco Alacer to cover Luis Suarez, and Gerard Delofeu to cover Ousmane Dembele.

I'm not being funny but Lallana-Solanke-Ox is just as good as Dennis-Alacer-Delofeu!

{Ed025's Note - really?, i think your red tinted specs may need a bit of a clean there MK, i do like your bias though mate.. :)

16 Jan 2018 16:12:24
PutneyRed, I reckon we are fortunate we do not have to rely on a natural striker to score our goals.

As it is, we are scoring goals for fun so why the need for to sign a striker?

If Klopp can make more signings like Salah, Mane and Firmino who can play anywhere across the front three then there is no need for strikers.

Solanke is an understudy, why do we need to sign another one?

16 Jan 2018 16:16:36
delefeou is pants tbf but the other two have a future in La Liga.

No surprise that delefeou is being moved on again.

I wouldn't argue against MKs post that those 3 are on par with the Barcelona 3.

The Ox has really surprised me since his introduction to the side JK has got him playing excellent.

16 Jan 2018 16:22:28
Ed025, Ox or Walcott :-O

I bet you are really excited about him signing.

{Ed025's Note - i thought the two of them were of similar ability myself max, i just hope im right because ox has done well mate..

16 Jan 2018 16:27:33
C'mon ed. Delefoeu is utter crap. Alacer is decent but out of his depth at Barcelona and same said about Dennis Suarez. lallana is class ox is the new coutinho and solanke is the next Harry Kane. think I'd rather our 3 any day.

{Ed025's Note - wow liverpool supporters never cease to amaze me ben, comparing solanke and ox to couts and kane is like comparing a 2 up 2 down in granby st to downton abbey mate.. :)

16 Jan 2018 16:19:21
Sorry ed, wasn't thinking of a short term problem, more a longer term plan, if Studge and Ings left we would be light up top.

{Ed002's Note - In the longer term all of the players will leave and be replaced.}

16 Jan 2018 16:35:45
Ed025, you do know who Dennis, Alacer and Delofeu are don't you 😂 Lallana is better than them 3 combined, on his own. As is Ox who we had to fight off Chelsea to sign. Solanke isn't better, but he is about 5 years younger and was voted in the top 25 young players in Europe for the golden boy award.

Barcelona couldn't even give some of their squad players away, and yet they're running away with La Liga because their first team is good enough.

Even over at City, Zinchenko is nowhere near as good as Lallana, Bernardo and Ox are pretty well matched, but to be fair Jesus is better than Solanke. So their back ups aren't exactly streets ahead of ours either. So i make that 1 to us, a draw and 1 to City.

I don't get this obsession with people thinking you need 22 world class players. You only need about 5 and then you need a group of hard working players around them with enough quality not to hold them back. People are just greedy. Some teams can only dream of having 1 player as good as Mane, Firmino or Salah. We'll we've got all 3 and people still want more!

Forwards are not our problem and I'm still staggered i have to even say that!

{Ed025's Note - i do know them 3 MK, unfortunately i know your 3 as well and i know its personal choice but give me the first trio any day mate..

16 Jan 2018 16:52:54
Kind of insane there. Love solanke but Kane is the best English striker in decades and top 5 in the world.

16 Jan 2018 16:54:21
If the right player becomes available at the right price, of course we'd bring him in if all parties are satisfied.

Solanke could well be a great player down the road, but the club come first, so if an upgrade is available, make no mistake, moves would be made.

16 Jan 2018 17:09:37
I am just happy none of Barcelona's rejects were included in the Coutinho deal.

16 Jan 2018 16:45:03
Walcott is a walking injury Ed025. Ox 'touch wood' is actually staying fit for a change.

Walcott is past his best. I think you guys have signed another Aaron Lennon unfortunately.

{Ed025's Note - time will tell i suppose max but to be honest he cant be any worse than we have at the moment mate..

16 Jan 2018 17:18:13
Ed025, just hope and pray for your part that fat Sam does not ask him to get involved in parking the bus.

{Ed025's Note - im sure our supporters would agree with you max..

16 Jan 2018 17:30:43
You could have done with a manager like Paul Lambert Ed025.

How long do you see Allardyce staying on? It was a bit of a surprise that he was appointed.

Not that I feel sorry for you guys but it is the worst appointment you could have made. Would have been better to take back Moyes.

{Ed025's Note - moyes, lambert and sam are all peas in a pod for me max, decent enough managers if you dont want to actually win something, i think we are hoping sam is a temporary appointment to get us safe before we hopefully move on to better things mate..

16 Jan 2018 18:45:58
Putney, Bobbie has been scoring goals for a while now in all comps. and maybe the Ed's can help me here BUT I do not recall us being in the market for any "Big name strikers" so again, I don't know he purpose of your OP. We are a well oiled machine up top as our front 3 are top 3 in Europe with The Bobbie Dazzler as the glue who holds EVERYTHING together so why bring in a "striker" who will come and screw all that up, IMO as he will not be able to do what Bobbie can?

Now regarding back ups, you can't buy a shed load of players just cos you are scared one will get hurt, Nobody does that as that is illogical. The coaching staff have all this under control. If all else fails, you play Salah or Mane as the front man if Bobbie can't go and even then, Solanke can step in as well. Chill out, mate. It's all good.

16 Jan 2018 19:03:07
I think you have at least another year of him which will be worrying because that means he gets the summer transfer funds to buy Titus bramble and djimi traore.

16 Jan 2018 12:55:42
Ed001 if you have time can you let us know what sort of keeper Allison is? What is he good at?

I don't know anything about him other than he is a big guy around 6 foot 4.

Thanks.

{Ed001's Note - off the top of my head I couldn't, as I was not watching him as such when I was watching Roma, I was watching the midfield, he just stood out like a sore thumb as their best player. I would need to sit and watch him closely to refresh my memory of what was good about him as I was not giving it any thought to be honest. I was concentrating on other players and I wouldn't want to give out a false impression. Goalkeepers are such a specialised position that you really do need to sit and just watch them to get a real feel for what makes them stand out. It was the same with Pickford when I wrote a profile on him, I had to watch a bunch of games just watching him to see why it was he unsettled me as a keeper when everyone else was raving about him.}

16 Jan 2018 15:07:13
Ed01 watching Roma’s midfiled 😎😎😎. Now that’s interesting!

16 Jan 2018 15:08:14
I'll have a go if you want mark. I've seen him play a few times.

First off, I've not seen him play loads because although I've been following Roma for a few years now, he's only just been made 1st choice this season.

He is a big bloke, but it doesn't hinder his agility like it does with keepers like Forster. He is still very agile but he is exactly the type of keeper i like. If a long range shot is hit, most keepers tend to set themselves on the spot ready to launch into a ridiculously over exaggerated dive. Alisson is very light on his feet though and will just shuffle across to make saves look easy, rather than pose for the cameras. If he has to let fly though, he is more than capable of clawing a pile driver out of the top corner at full stretch.

This speed and agility is what Alisson' game centres around. He is very good at sweeping up behind a high line because of it, but the speed at which he can readjust, and move along his line as earned him a reputation for making some unbelievable saves. There are times where the ball has ricocheted around in the box and when the shot finally comes in Alisson is already on the move to be in the right position. His reflexes are very impressive. He's a bit like De Gea in this respect because of his tendency to save shots from such close proximity and make everyone say "wow". The only difference is that Alisson tends to spread himself differently. De Gea is the master of stopping a shot with his feet, but I've not seen that skillset from Alisson so far. He smothers shots from what I've seen, rather than getting a strong foot to them to fire them away from danger.

The big one of course, is crosses. Alisson is very quick to make up his mind and that speed and agility i keep banging on about, usually sees him get to the ball first. His height helps too of course! He is very comfortable on crosses, thank God.

One of my slight concerns is his distribution. There is plenty of distance to his kicking, but considering he has some big players to aim at in that Roma side, a lot of his kicks give away possession. He is plenty comfortable with the ball at his feet, it is just the accuracy of his kicks that needs work.

Lastly, i think vocally he needs to improve. However keep in mind he is young for a keeper and very new to the first team XI at Roma. Therefore he may just need a bit more confidence to fully open up and be vocally dominant. I highly doubt he speaks a word of English though so this is an area which will need to be prioritised if he were to join.

Overall, he is a very good goal keeper, and destined to be one of the top 10 in the world one day in my opinion. I highly doubt we'd need to revisit the position for years to come. Not yet the finished article, but he is very close to it, and he makes saves he is not entitled to make which should keep the ex-Liverpool player witch hunters happy. Like all keepers, he makes the odd mistake, but as long as he saves us more points than he costs us, that's all that matters really!

16 Jan 2018 15:07:13
Ed01 watching Roma’s midfiled 😎😎😎. Now that’s interesting!

16 Jan 2018 15:12:47
Thanks for the response.

Were you watching Nainggolan? I was told he was their best player and I was really surprised the other day when I read he might go to China.

{Ed001's Note - I was and he is but he is also a troublemaker with a dreadful attitude.}

16 Jan 2018 15:45:10
Ed001 next time you watch Roma, keep an eye out for Florenzi. He is the closest thing to Zanetti in the modern era mate.

He can play Right back, left back, right wing, left wing, defensive midfield, or centre midfield. Though he is predominantly an attacking right wing back.

He's had a torrid time the last couple of years, but he's fought back strong and if he can string a couple of seasons together, I'd rate him as the best right back in world football. He's one hell of a player, and we're after a right back in the summer! So get Edwards on the phone mate, and start dropping hints! Seriously, this Florenzi guy is special!

{Ed001's Note - I have seen him play but he never really shone.}

16 Jan 2018 16:52:43
He had a really bad knee injury Ed. Prior to it, he was bordering on world class. This is his first full season back and I've git my fingers crossed he has recovered fully. I am slightly biased though as he's been one of my favourite players at Roma along with Totti and De Rossi!

{Ed001's Note - I know mate, which is why I would not consider him as any player who has had a serious knee injury should not be an option. It is always a risk afterwards.}

16 Jan 2018 18:57:36
Good shout there, MK on Alisson as I have never seen him play consistently other than a couple of games with Brazil. I did see a mashup of his saves on youtube (I know) and I agree with you that he is lightning quick off his line and and had good reflexes on the saves I saw for both his Brazilian club and Roma. Either way, he will still need to adapt to the PL and there will definitely be growing pains.

I for one, don't care if a new GK in the PL, makes a mistake cos that is part of life. What I hate is for our fans to keep projecting their false narratives on a GK and always comparing him to DDG, Courtois and all that and if he is not that way from the off, then he's crap and needs to go. Meanwhile, they forget that it took time, belief, patience and good coaching and surroundings for these GK's to where they are today.

16 Jan 2018 21:17:09
Thanks MK for the profile on Allison. (I can't understand the 4 thumbs down for that) . I had read that as well about him only recently getting a chance to play as first choice in the league games.

It worries me about him not being a vocal presence, that would be very high on my list if I was choosing a keeper. Then again a keeper who is first class at his own job will do just fine.

16 Jan 2018 21:49:03
Did Romas Pelligrini stand out to you Ed001?

{Ed001's Note - I have only seen him play once, but he did look very good yes.}

16 Jan 2018 13:28:04
With Hendos injuries seemingly making it difficult to play a full season, and Can potentially leaving, we look very short at no.6. Milners subbing into that role over the weekend was hardly a comforting move and clearly impacted our defensive shape

1) Do you think keita can play there effectively and would he potentially cover the no. 6 role next season if Hendo gets injured? (and has he ever done so before? It feels like he could do so IMO given his strength in the tackle but not so sure on his defensive read of the game)

2) If not, then if Can leaves us would that potentially change our midfield targets for the summer to go for a more specialist no.6 as a backup, or is Klopp happy with allrounders covering the position?

Feels like we're relying heavily on Hendos fitness record and him playing an awful lot of games if Can leaves and Keita can't play in that position.

Thoughts?

16 Jan 2018 13:44:08
My opinion, we don't have a specialist DM in the team. if we can get someone who is good in reading the ball and can protect the back 4, then we can unleash Hendo and Kieta in the more advance role. team will not know what hit them. They will constantly pressure the opponent and win the ball back in good position. So i think a specialist DM is a must, but again don't know what Klopp wants.

16 Jan 2018 13:38:35
Keita can play there, but he is very attack minded so can be caught out of position if there is a rapid turnover and he can't get back in time.

I wouldn't worry too much if we had Ox, Keita and Lemar as they're all willing to put in a shift defensively. Keita and Lenar won't happen this month though from the looks of it, but we have Can, Henderson, Gini and Lallana to see us through the rest of the season anyway.

16 Jan 2018 13:40:31
It is likely that in the summer, if Klopp doesn't want to start utilizing Grujic in that area pretty much full time or become confident that Hendo is fully over his injury issues, we will see a deeper lying play-maker type player sought.

16 Jan 2018 13:40:46
I totally agree SGRed, that's why im hoping we are going to bring someone in over the next 2weeks.

16 Jan 2018 13:42:37
I have seen Keita play as a holding midfielder and as a box to box player. If Can goes, Klopp will buy someone else as well. IMO Keita is being brought to be an all action midfielder with end product.

16 Jan 2018 13:56:13
Lucas wasn’t replaced. I know he was past his best and needed to move on, but we were generally better at managing the game when he was in the team, with his calmness on the ball and simple accurate passing. We don’t seem to be able to do that with the players we have now. What I wouldn’t give to see a younger Lucas coming off the bench when leading.

16 Jan 2018 13:47:32
Well Keita could play a number of roles. He isn’t a traditional DM. But very good in breaking up of play. He is a top class tackler in the middle. His biggest strength however is going forward. He can skip past players for fun. I wouldn’t play him deep! It’s a waste of his talent.
If Can does leave then I expect Klopp to buy a midfielder. I don’t know who ( we could just speculate ) but it has to be another all action all rounder and certainly not a specialist!

I simply don’t see a future for both Hendo and Lallana beyond this summer ( AOC is giving both of them a real fight for their spot ) while we would also bring in a creative playmaker to replace Coutinho in the summer.
Klopp will certainly feel he could go on for the title next season if he could get a few players!

Thanks.

16 Jan 2018 13:18:59
Disappointed in Mignolet, I'll be honest.

He's been first choice for years, and never really improved. The same guy who took so long over a GK last season (or season before) we thought he was going to get a red card, the same guy who took a striker out to stop him scoring with the game at 1-0 at 40 mins, Which could easily have cost us the points, could go on and on, but if you work hard, I'm willing to forgive mistakes.

What disappoints me, is that he's now on about leaving because he isn't first choice.
He's done nothing to command the number 1 shirt, and as soon as its time to hard work, as soon as its time to try and earn the shirt, he wants to run. Talking about playing at the WC is laughable, he's not playing ahead of Courtios whatever club he joins.
I'm happy for him to join another club, I'd just like to see more fight and less run from our players,
Maybe there's a point I'm missing,

16 Jan 2018 13:42:02
The only thing you're missing is the old saying about gift horses and where not to look.

16 Jan 2018 13:44:10
To be fair I think he knows his time is up in the summer anyway, he’s fought for the no.1 spot for ages and I think he’s just recognised it may be the end of the road.

16 Jan 2018 13:46:25
im happy if he's leaving.

16 Jan 2018 12:30:13
Lots of posters hoping we can sign Goretzka on a free, but looking like he's off to Bayern, so how about Max Meyer who is also able to sign a pre-contract?
Apparently he's now playing a deeper holding midfield role for Schalke and doing it well, therefore he could be more adaptable than Goretzka by covering two midfield positions for us.

16 Jan 2018 12:34:14
May I do the honours Editor #2? - RTFP!

{Ed002's Note - Right now Schalke are offering him around and talking to one side - but they want a new contract. None of it involces Liverpool right now.}

16 Jan 2018 12:58:43
Spooked, I fail to see why RTFP has to do with my original posts which was gauging opinion from posters/ Ed’s on the fact that Max Meyer has seemingly adapted to a new role for his club, a player Liverpool were apparently keen on in the past and if his ability to play a couple of positions in midfield would see him as a good option for our midfield should Can move on.

16 Jan 2018 13:43:40
Bandit - if you had searched for Meyer you would have seen he's been discussed very recently and would have answered your question. that's why RTFP is relevant.

16 Jan 2018 11:45:55
We have lost 3 games in total this season, only one player in our main squad was not involved in any of those 3 defeats.

Karius

He must be our lucky charm if nothing else haha

We will not be signing a new keeper in January so those bashing him careful what you wish for, he is a step up on Mignolet but needs a run of games to get going.
The way I see it he has between now and the end of the season to make the jersey his and I for one hope he takes it, our job is to support him until then.

Yes he should of saved Sane's shot but it was hardly a huge error, the bigger error came from Gomez which has pretty much gone unmentioned.
Sane's shot was a rocket! Similar to a goal I remember Van Persie scoring against Reina but I don't remember Reina getting torn apart for it.

16 Jan 2018 12:06:04
I think Karius has only ever lost one game playing for us?

{Ed025's Note - 1 game...and a lot of credibility.. :)

16 Jan 2018 12:17:27
Wrong. Bogdan and Clyne weren't involved either! 😂.

16 Jan 2018 12:17:48
Karius and Editor #1's Christmas lights are our good luck charms this season.

16 Jan 2018 12:30:39
He's kind of right, but Jordan Pickford is absolute dross.

16 Jan 2018 12:46:58
He may not of been involved in the losses but still doubts over him have come up every game he has played, I look forward to seeing him play these last few months of the season and we can see what he is made of.

16 Jan 2018 13:05:32
Good post, Carra!
Also does playing Karius make us more threatening going forward with the high line? Some of our most potent displays this season were with him in the side.

Speaking of lucky charms, VVD is another. 100% record since we signed him.
It’s clear ed1’s chrimbo lights are doing all the heavy lifting though!

16 Jan 2018 13:23:08
Agree Carra well said. It was well struck shot. Perhaps if he was in a different position it may have hit him but unlikely to be able to react to save it. I'm behind him 100% why would we want any player to fail?

16 Jan 2018 12:26:35
ed01 you better not take out the lights!

{Ed001's Note - they stay up all year round, decision has been made don't worry!}

16 Jan 2018 15:37:18
If VVD has a decient run of games how will this impact on the whole of the defence plus the the GP, what I saw of him v Everton he had a very calming influance on everybody.

16 Jan 2018 16:40:29
I agree with this post - Gomez was massively at fault for completely misjudging the cross field pass and then, when making his way back to defend, failing to get anything on Sane's shot (though Matip was equally guilty) . The worry is he has had similar brain farts to these before were he simply loses concentration or allows a man in. I'm not saying we should all jump on his back, absolutely not, he is young and deserves the time to make mistakes and grow as a player, but it simply highlights how different players receive vastly different treatment from fans. Karius made an error, no doubt, but he wasn't the only one and by an large did ok - the lad needs support, and the space to make mistakes without being absolutely crucified, to see if he can turn out good enough. At worst he'll still be an upgrade on Mignolet moving into the second half of the season.

16 Jan 2018 10:21:25
Ed001

what do you make of Karius' shot stopping compared to Mignolet's?

{Ed001's Note - too soon to say with Karius.}

16 Jan 2018 10:29:13
See I agree that he hasn't had much to do. Mignolet by comparison has if you take out any sample of 22 games that he has played. Is Karius' general shot-stopping inactivity a sign of instilling more confidence into the defence?

16 Jan 2018 10:37:07
I personally think Karius seems more decisive when the ball is crossed into the box or played in behind our defence, but not clear he’s any better than Migs otherwise. The proof will be in the next few months but frankly if he can help instill a bit of certainty and confidence in our defensive shape and decision making that’s better than what we have now.

16 Jan 2018 11:01:42
We concede relatively few shots anyway, Stable. I don't think either of them has made the defence more confident than the other. The only difference really, that I've seen between them, is that Karius is quicker to release the ball and start attacks. That suits us. Time will tell and if he does play to the end of the season, it may be a pretty good barometer to see if a new number 1 is required. I suspect somebody will still be purchased.

I love nothing more than to see an underdog succeed, however. It would be lovely if he were to make the position his own over the next few months.

16 Jan 2018 11:01:47
Mignolet being a good shot stopper is the biggest myth in the football. He is a dreadful shot stopper, most shots he faces go in and im sure he currently has the lowest percentage of any goalkeeper in the premier league.

16 Jan 2018 11:12:36
Spot on LesDennis.

16 Jan 2018 12:50:23
I think more needs to be looked at how they are being trained, having their hands in questionable positions when a threat on goal is coming needs looking at, both keepers take similar stances and they look unorthodox, no point having low hands at that angle of Sane's goal, it was mid height, anything low and he has more chance of stopping it with his feet, very questionable training methods.

16 Jan 2018 13:45:41
Pets are trained players are coached. as for his hand position every young goalkeeper is thought the classic set position, it's a template most gk develop there own slight variation on it over the years to suit themselves. do people honestly think he has not been trained or of his set position is so bad why has it not been noticed before.

The kid made a mistake we don't know he might have thought it was coming in low and set himself for that.

It's called decision making its how young players learn the game and he is young for a goalkeeper in one of the biggest clubs in the world.
At least give him the rest of the season to pass judgement maybe the confidence of being no 1 choice a run of games and the support of the fans will bring him on.

16 Jan 2018 13:46:26
I think so far karius is a lot better with his feet and distribution. I think he comes out better and is better at one on ones. Not sure how good he is with crosses though our only goalie that can claim dangerous crosses is Ward and he can't get a game.

16 Jan 2018 16:34:33
Its been pointed out before that Mignolet and Karius have similar set positions, coincidence or a way of coaching? Its certainly a lot easier to get your feet moving for a low shot than trying to get your hands and body down to a low shot, I see many keepers crouching to much too, giving the opposition player encouragement to smash it into the roof of the net, when having a taller stance would enable keepers to get hands to the ball, also it can be called a training session or a coaching session, either way not exactly important how its described.

16 Jan 2018 10:00:31
question for ed001. Which goalkeeper would you like to see liverpool go in for?

{Ed001's Note - Alisson.}

16 Jan 2018 10:51:53
Oblak is probably totally unrealistic, but he'd be my pick 😂

If not, i like Alisson or Meret.

16 Jan 2018 11:20:41
It’s only my opinion but whatever keeper we might get has to be accompanied by a new gk coach. Not saying acteberg has had mercs to work with but they’ve all finished as fiestas.

16 Jan 2018 11:06:56
Is that because Donnarumma is unattainable ed?

{Ed001's Note - no, I think Alisson would be a better choice.}

16 Jan 2018 12:45:27
Do you think we'll go after him Ed?

{Ed002's Note - It depends what happens elsewhere as to whether Liverpool would be considered as an option by him.}

16 Jan 2018 13:04:04
Oblak, Alisson Becker or Casteels.

16 Jan 2018 12:51:36
Ed I haven't seen enough of either Alisson or Oblak play. What makes you prefer Alisson?

{Ed001's Note - Oblak gets much better protection, so it is difficult to judge him in comparison to be fair to him. However Alisson stands out whenever I have seen him play, though it is not as much as I would like to truly judge him, it has been enough to see a player on the level of de Gea in the games I have seen. Maybe even better. Obviously I have not seen every game he has played recently, so might just be lucky to see his best performances, but he looks a class apart.}

16 Jan 2018 14:35:22
I saw a suggestion that while Oblak does get great protection, that great protection can be partly attributed to his organisation skills.

16 Jan 2018 15:42:53
Good to know ed. I can now stick a photo of Alisson over Mr January. 😀.

16 Jan 2018 16:25:49
{Ed002's Note - It depends what happens elsewhere as to whether Liverpool would be considered as an option by him. }

Please do you mind listing the other options that he may want to consider ahead of us? Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - It is possible, depending on what happens elsewhere, that Real Madrid could look at him but I suspect they will want someone experienced.}

16 Jan 2018 02:00:51
Hey eds! is emre can still looking to leave the club or is he looking more likely to sign a new contract now?

{Ed002's Note - I don't know what he is looking to do.}

16 Jan 2018 10:13:24
I still think he's going to juve and the talk of his proposed contract there makes me think it's not about money (85k) I would think we would pay him more. I think he just sees juve as a club that challenges for their league and the champions league year in year out although I hope we are building towards that now he might see things differently. If he wants the move that's his prerogative having seen out his contract and I would wish him all the best.

16 Jan 2018 08:58:40
I think Jurgen's extreme rotation policy in December has really paid off.

We got 10 points from 12 games in the festive period and the team does not look as fatigued at the moment.

Not being in the league cup has also helped. Chelsea and Arsenal players look really tired and this could be to our advantage.

Hope Chelsea's replay goes into extra time and so does the second leg of the league cup semi. haha.

16 Jan 2018 09:12:46
Shocking isn't it? Keeping players fresher than our opponants did helped us even though it gave us one bad game against West Brom (Everton wasnt a bad game, just unlucky) . Who would have thought.

16 Jan 2018 09:23:05
Yeah funny how media frenzy on sky sports about klopps rotation stopped and hasn't been mentioned! A draw against West brom and you would have thought the we were in crisis and rotation to blame. Yet not one bit of praise for his rotation in the last month or so!

16 Jan 2018 09:54:01
10 points of 36? What? ? Confused :S.

16 Jan 2018 13:21:44
I think he meant 10 out of 12 points in the festive period.

16 Jan 2018 08:35:29
I'm a massive fan of Joe Gomez, but it's a bit worrying to see a lot of bad habits and mistakes in his game that have led to us conceding goals.

16 Jan 2018 08:52:22
Young player, out of position, performing at the level he does. There is no reason to worry there at all, literally none.

16 Jan 2018 08:55:22
He is a young defender who will make the odd mistake, it is important that he learns from them over time and playing at the top level will help him. Being dropped for one mistake would destroy the poor lad.

16 Jan 2018 08:56:26
I'm not seeing "a lot" of bad habits.

I see one major flaw to his game, and that is that he misjudges the flight of balls over his head. That is something that can be learned though. Aside from that, what other bad habits has he got? 🤔 he's a 20 year old centre back who just contributed massively to a vital victory over one of the best attacks in Europe. I'm not concerned about him one bit. In fact, i reckon in 18 months time he'll be first choice centre back for Liverpool and England. Hold me to it!

16 Jan 2018 09:00:46
What do you define as Bad habits. I see him covering a lot of space due to the lack of pace from the central defence. I thought he was unlucky with mis judging the ball in the air due to the wind. I am a huge Joe fan he excites me and he is so young. I actually think he is better on the ball than stones.

16 Jan 2018 09:01:11
There could be a chance of a new RB coming in the summer which must be the case as Gomez is a CB and needs to play there!

16 Jan 2018 09:17:00
He’s missed three key crosses to the back post or over his head so far as I’m aware, something he needs to work on but hardly a crisis.

His overall defending has been outstanding and I’m sure its at least partly because he’s learning at FB. At CB he doesn’t have to worry about that wide ball into acres of space, and it’s rare that he’d have to worry about someone sneaking in back post without someone behind him to give him a shout.

He’ll learn and until then I’ll happily accept him as one of our best defenders that makes the odd mistake while he matures.

16 Jan 2018 09:21:27
id be more concerned if we don't have anyone in the training grounds pointing out his mistakes for him to learn from.

i have no answer to it, but i just feel abit more confident that our coaching staff are doing it, as i have seen improvements in our players, i mean apart from mignolet.

16 Jan 2018 09:54:58
Altho you'd hope any pro learns in the same aeason, or the next game. In reality it takes longer especially for younger players. Guys like milnet who still at hiss age go diving 100mph to press only to get beaten by a slight turn of the hips, just grates me to pieces!

16 Jan 2018 10:01:06
MK not aware of where the player he is making is. They drift off him too easily.

16 Jan 2018 12:39:30
Future liverpool and England captain. I said this to all my mates last year and got slaughtered. still believe he will. World class potential.

16 Jan 2018 13:26:54
Gomez has a tendency to misjudge the flight of balls and go ball-watching or get caught under it. He really needs to improve his reading of the ball.

Other than that, he's been pretty solid and reliable in defence.

16 Jan 2018 07:29:00
Hi Ed's, second time poster love you long time reader.

So, there was a photo on Instagram with Can and Lovren In, I believe and the other Liverpool players comments were suggesting that someone in the photo had come into a some money, maybe a new bumper contract. Does anyone know for sure what the players were referring to? I thought there would of been more made of this because reading between the lines it would suggest that Can has signed a new contract with us. Especially since everyone really rates Can since he decided he might leave.

{Ed001's Note - it could be anything mate, no point worrying about those kind of things as you can read a billion things into them.}

16 Jan 2018 07:57:02
Could just be the fact that they're millionaire footballers who have more money than a normal human can spend? They don't need a new contract to be rich 😂

Seriously though, Can and Lovren probably earn what, £140k a week including wages, sponsorships, endorsements etc? Knock £40k off in tax (as they probably have some clever git doing their taxes) .

How in gods name can anyone spend £100k a week! If there is a Premier League footballer at a top 6 club, older than 23 who doesn't have at least £10m sat in their bank account, they must live a proper playboy life! I went shopping the other year when my wardrobe needed some major TLC and spent a good 3 hours and it came to £300. Even at that ridiculous rate i could only spend £2400 in 24 hours, assuming i don't sleep.

Can probably just found a wad of £50 notes that he had dropped in between the seats in his Bentley Continental last month, and forgotten about!

In all seriousness, i hope he does re-sign. His desire looked like it had cone flooding back against Man City, so reading between the lines, maybe he has decided to stay?

Can, Keita and Ox is a brutally powerful midfield. They can all play football too though!

16 Jan 2018 09:03:45
Can and Kieta in the middle would be mouth watering. Kieta can act as a proper Matic when Can drives forward! He is amich better player positionally than Hendo or Wijnaldum!

16 Jan 2018 08:54:45
I just took those IG comments to be a reference to City's stupid money not winning it for them. Just beaten the richest club in england, posting cash emoji's. seemed to fit.

16 Jan 2018 09:16:17
Getting Fined for taking photo is dressing room.

16 Jan 2018 09:20:20
The money sign was because they get fined for taking Selfies inside the changing rooms.

16 Jan 2018 09:59:50
Yes MK, when news for keita broke my first thought was that Can and Keita could be our midfield engine for years. I do hope that remains the case. Can has everything in his locker, just needs to keep building and deveeloping.

16 Jan 2018 10:51:01
Or it might of been the fact there was a massive bonus in it for beating them? Or a points target over a certain amount of games.

15 Jan 2018 21:34:35
Dear Eds,

Thoughts about the use of social media by footballers? If possible it would be great to here a pro and con about it.

{Ed001's Note - I honestly can't think of any pros to it. But then I do not like social media, it is not social and just brings out the worst in people.}

16 Jan 2018 07:27:09
If you are a player, social media should be nowhere near your way of life, IMO.

16 Jan 2018 07:43:58
Isn't this a form of social media Ed? I am only a Digital Consultant, but it does look and feel like it 😉.

{Ed001's Note - good point, I should have said unfettered social media.}

16 Jan 2018 09:57:10
I think social media gives fans an insight to their idols life's.
As silly as it seems. a lot of younger kids use this as motivation.
They can achieve that. I want to.
dont get me wrong I don't think it's a good thing personally. but I can see it's merits.

16 Jan 2018 13:16:45
Given how Footballers tend to be a little bit dense, why do they not have people run their twitter for them? I know some do, but what I mean is why don't the club enforce this kind of thing?