Liverpool Banter Archive May 17 2017

17 May 2017 21:37:33
Hi Eds, have Liverpool or any other Premier league team shown an interest in Huddersfield midfielder Philip Billings. He has looked a real prospect whenever I've seen him play. Cheers.

18 May 2017 02:45:22
In pole position.

Wagner and klopp! Yano blud bruvs.

17 May 2017 19:04:06
Hi ed001

Looking at the stats, Sturridge has been available for 26 out of 37 games this season. That's a fitness rate of 70%. 6 starts, 13 subs, 7 unused as a sub.

We talk about this need to sell Sturridge because he's injury prone, yet his fitness this season actually hasn't been that bad. 70% is a great improvement for him. His lack of appearances is a lot more due to Klopp preferring Firmino than injury troubles.

Don't you think that if had Klopp trusted him more, we perhaps would have had UCL wrapped up by now? Apart from Mane, Sturridge with his great movement is by far the most useful asset to have in unlocking those deep-defending smaller teams we struggle against. If he started against Saints he well could have scored a goal, and if he started against Watford, the victory could have been more comfortable.

Yes, Firmino provides movement, but not the kind of movement suited against deep defences. He doesn't run in behind, he runs the opposite way. Without Mane, it's hard to score against these teams without a metaphorical needle in our team constantly trying to pierce holes open like Sturridge does.

I've never really bought into the argument that he doesn't suit Klopp. I think he suits Klopp well enough. People go on about how he doesn't press enough, but seriously, how much pressing does Liverpool actually do when the opposition is parking the bus? None, because you can't press when you always have the ball!

{Ed001's Note - hard to tell, we might have conceded more with him in the side or anything. All ifs, buts and maybes. I would prefer him in the side when fit though.}

17 May 2017 20:27:16
Do you think he will leave ed?

{Ed001's Note - I don't think he will go, unless a last minute move, as no one will pay the money we would want.}

17 May 2017 20:40:20
Ye but how many of those sub appearances are when studge was 100% fit? I'd hazard most of those times he was just coming back from injury and clearly he is not 100% there physically or mentally. Its difficult to plan effectively with a player who has been injured like that.

17 May 2017 20:53:59
Earlier in the season the line on sturridge was: we create less chances when sturridge is in the team because of his lack of movement/ effort and although we score a higher % of those chances it's better to have him out and create more.

That was the line earlier this season when he played and we couldn't break teams down. I'm surprised he's now become the saviour against teams we can't break down.

17 May 2017 21:43:42
West Ham for Studge, London boy go back home and they will give him a decent wage and like a sicknote striker.

17 May 2017 21:44:20
but the best defence is a good offence. you invite trouble when the opponent aren't scared of our attack.

17 May 2017 22:01:22
If he played more games the percentage he was available would likely have dropped due to injuries incurred in matches.

17 May 2017 22:32:43
Somehow Studge even manages to get slated for being from London?

17 May 2017 22:48:35
It was nothing to do with sturrixge.

It was the change in systsm. Firminos movement was non existent when we played 433 with him.

No coincidence that like 13/ 14 sturrixge found himself in a diamond formation.

17 May 2017 22:49:17
If he doesn't move on ed that will mean we won't sign another striker? Luan for example. Ed002 has explained we continue to look at Strikers but if Studge stays I can't see how we can bring another one in?

17 May 2017 22:51:40
i think your just looking at stats but i think if you look at occasions when we hadnt the preferred guys there sturridge was missing also at times so he actually missed chances to play, like winter/ January when mane in africa coutinho just about come or just back he goes away for hot weather break and comes back with an illness another missed opportunity if you get my gist.

17 May 2017 23:23:17
He's from Birmingham, Mr Bobby J.

17 May 2017 23:56:50
Sturridge is from Birmingham I think, not London!

18 May 2017 00:59:55
Sturridge is from Birmingham.

And judging him on the game at the weekend is a bit hasty in my opinion as West Ham never turned up as they had nothing to play for.
I felt sorry for Slaven Billic who seems a xecent bloke but who has a chairman in Sullivan who thinks he knows more about buying players than hever does.

Sturridge need to play 10 games on the trot to be fully assessed.

There's no doubting his ability but there is a huge question mark over his stamina.

Hopefully with no world cup or euros this year he can have a proper preseason and build it up slowly FOR LFC IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.

18 May 2017 03:48:58
Sturridge suits 2 upfront or when we're facing teams that sit back and defend and we need his skills to put away the half chances. What he's not so good at IMO is the high press against top opposition as Firmino is such an important trigger for us, but we seem to be playing that a little less often now as Klopp seems to have adapted his style more to a slightly more balanced approach.

If sturridge can stay fit I think the way we're playing now suits him better than our style 12 months ago, particularly if it's Coutinho in midfield who is more capable of playing in his runs in behind.

18 May 2017 06:26:57
Ed I'm not sure if Sturridge could cause Liverpool to concede more goals, not at least when the team needs to break teams down. We always have around 70% possession and the opportunities the opponents get are fast counter attacks that Sturridge very often could not do anything to stop.

In other games when the opposition comes out to play - particularly the better sides - I agree that playing Firmino up top is the best solution, and results validate that. His pressing up top helps unsettle the opposition with a two-fold effect, it helps us score and helps us defend.

But when it comes to playing the double-deckers, I reckon a front two of Sturridge and Firmino would be ideal, with Coutinho pulling the strings in midfield.

{Ed001's Note - he could, very easily, by not covering a passing lane or playing a pass which is intercepted etc. There is no way of telling exactly what would have happened. It is pointless to talk about where we would have been as you can't tell.}

18 May 2017 20:00:41
I was referring to the lifestyle he seems to purvey not the place of birth and the fact he's lived in london before. Plus still don't see he doing anything but leave. We cannot afford anymore time or money being wasted on a player who spends all his time in the sick bay.

17 May 2017 17:08:56
I was going to ask the Eds about Timo Werner, but I advised myself to use the search button first! Wow, the boys and girls unenthusiastic forum have been talking about Timo Werner since November 2013, and he's still only 21! Ridiculous!

17 May 2017 15:53:02
Hi Eds,

Its been long since I posted.
Quick one, just wanted to know what's the current situation with Lacazzete? Is Liverpool interested in the striker?

{Ed002's Note - Try the Search engine.}

17 May 2017 12:24:04
If any of the underwhelming transfer targets we've been linked with are true, I'd rather keep Sturridge.

17 May 2017 15:27:51
What do you expect, mate? Dybala, Greizmann etc are a bit out of reach for now.

I'm quite excited by some of the targets discussed. And I hope we keep Sturridge, regardless.

17 May 2017 15:52:04
I'm excited for Ings coming back! Poor guy hasn't even had the chance to start his career here really : (.

17 May 2017 16:18:06
Why keep Sturridge? He plays a 1/ 4 of games each season and we are just losing money on him sitting on a treatment bench.

We could bring someone in who is hopefully not as injury prone.

17 May 2017 16:49:43
I sort of see your point adamski, but can we actually bring in anyone as good? If not, keeping him is a reasonable gamble.
Also really hoping Ings comes good, he should be an ideal player for Klopp's style if he can regain fitness.

17 May 2017 16:51:56
We've been linked with Gareth Bale.

17 May 2017 18:46:11
I'd rather keep Sturridge to begin with.

17 May 2017 18:56:33
I tend to agree that our rumoured targets are very underwhelming, Keane, Maguire, Pickford, Oxlade Chamberlain, none of them are good enough to take us to the next level or are an improvement on those already at the club. TQ if you're genuinely excited by that list then you need professional help!

17 May 2017 19:10:45
I said some, not all. Brandt and Sessegnon excite me. Robertson does not, for example.

Either way, you're probably right about needing professional help ;)

17 May 2017 23:46:16
Ronald, stop teasing us about Lord Gareth, you bad man! id give my right arm to sign Bale, and considering I'm a supporter of the Wales national team I'll be devastated if he ends up with the Mancs. I think we would be the last team he would join unfortunately if he came back to the EPL.

18 May 2017 18:32:29
I do not see where the Ed's (the only ones I listen to regarding interest in transfers) have said we are interested in the slowest CB in the PL Maguire (who wouldn't even make the stands in our team), Keane (who is off to Utd), Oickford (who won't be here), the Ox (less said, the better) and Robertson (still under consideration but definitely not first/ second nor third choice per Ed01). I would wait until the summer before passing any judgement on the targets as bar Brandt, Perreira, and Sessegnon, no one really knows who we are after.

17 May 2017 10:44:39
Ive just been reading that Saints have said they could quite easily turn down a 60m bid for VVD this summer. This surely prices us out ed Despite you saying we have 4 CB's already. Do you think they are just trying to drum up interest in him?

{Ed002's Note - They don't need to drum up interest in him - it has been said following a discussion with another club. If Liverpool were to sell Gomez then they will look for another centre back as I have explained.}

17 May 2017 11:13:20
Is selling Gomez a possibility? Hope not.

{Ed002's Note - Yes it is. And if all these nailed on marquee signings everyone keeps telling me about are arriving, the club needs to make space.}

17 May 2017 12:12:59
Nailed on marquee signings? 🤔. Not what's needed imo. 2-3 players in certain posistions.

17 May 2017 11:46:03
Robertson and Maguire marquee?

{Ed002's Note - I am not aware of any approach by Liverpool for Maguire.}

17 May 2017 11:57:17
I think Klavan is more likely to be offloaded than Gomez personally if a CB was to be brought in. Gomez has been talked up by the club since he arrived as having huge potential. Would be strange to see him leave rather than a plus 30 defender who has shown he is average at best.

{Ed002's Note - No. Gomez.}

17 May 2017 12:09:31
Why is Gomez the only option to make space ed.? couldn't Klavan also be an option to make way.?

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool has made no efforts to sell Klaven, the player is not looking for more than his lot right now and there is no other club looking at him. Everyone here tells me that van Dijk has already agreed to join Liverpool, and as I have wasted my time explaining over and over about the actual situation - I can at least point out that space needs to be made. There is interest in Gomez, Klopp does not seem keen on him and his career is effectively on hold since recovering from injury.}

17 May 2017 13:24:35
No worries ed thanks for that mate. i think james pearce among others constantly telling us he is a priority is swaying peoples opinions. me included actually, when normally i usually keep my ideas on these things reserved to you and ed1s insight. I would find it strange for Klopp to allow Gomez to move on as he has said 2 or 3 times this season that he is a long term player for us and has a big future with us. And cos of his age and long stint injured he needs time to build that fitness base, consistency and confidence etc.

{Ed002's Note - So he should play him.}

17 May 2017 14:15:54
VVD is Chelsea bound imo.

17 May 2017 15:03:39
With Matip and Lovren likely to miss some games due to their constant niggles, a 3rd and 4th choice centre back is a necessity. Selling Gomez is not a vaible option, the boy is coming back from a serious injury and I didn't expect much game time for him this season.

But next season things might changed, he might get his chance. His fitness would have improved then probably. And as it has been mentioned before, Liverpool is not looking to add any CBs. A loan rather than a sale would make sense at this time. There are no quality CBs available currently, VVD for the famous quoted 60 million is also not going to happen.

In an ideal world we would have Matip, Lovren, Gomez and Sakho as our CBs but Klopp didn't handle this department very well. Ed002, do you see Gomez moving since you mentioned that there is interest in him?

17 May 2017 15:10:49
Absolutely sick of hearing about VVD, to be honest.

I'll be very annoyed if Gomez leaves - really liked the look of him pre-injury - but if Klopp isn't going to give him a chance then there's little point in keeping him at the club. The lad needs first team football somewhere. If he does go, I think the club will live to regret it.

17 May 2017 16:58:43
At the very least a decision to sell is better than fannying around. If Klopp doesn't want him, better he moves to Bournemouth for a profit. Personally I hope he gets a chance with us.

17 May 2017 18:54:29
If klopp sells Gomez I'll be livid.

18 May 2017 18:34:05
Spot on, TQ. VVD is overrated and simply not good enough for the system we play in especially with his lapses of concentration, pathetic positioning (always needing someone else to cover his arse like Fonte did for him and Lovren at Saints) . Though his has all the ability in the world, he's nothing than an expensive, overpriced Skrtel. As for Gomez, I would not be happy if Klopp sold him and kept Klavan. If any CB needs to be sold, it should be Klavan and not Gomez.

17 May 2017 10:21:53
Although it is not a given, if we do get top 4 I would like to ask everyone here (incl the Eds if they are up for it) how would you prioritise the positions we need to upgrade in the summer?

For me the priority would be in the following order - LB, RB, CB, LW, GK, DLP (deep lying playmaker if it was too cryptic), ST and then an AM (attacking mid) .

The rationale? Well, when I look at our team I see fullbacks that are not good enough in the final third, centre-backs that make too many individual errors, us lacking a midfielder (apart from a fit and firing Hendo) that can dictate tempo as well as execute a long pass (more than 5 yards), lacking options available for left side of attack and finally a natural goalscorer up front (apart from a rarely fit Sturridge) .

Obviously we can't solve all of these as that would make Ed002's eyeballs roll into the back of her head :) but I would be disappointed (again) if we didn't focus on the first few priorities.

17 May 2017 10:34:40
I reckon we will sign a LB and Milner will be RB next season.

17 May 2017 10:47:36
Jesus you want the whole team changing then lol. That's a team that looks like it'll get fourth and is the joint second highest scoring in the league.

For me, its just about strengthening. I would of course like to see Clyne moved on and a new left back in as well. We need another pacey winger who can beat a man. That's obvious. And possibly a new striker. The new striker is down to whether Klopp feels he can't relay in Studge. Even though last game he was the difference for me compared to the last few games.

Understandable us looking at another CM which would of course be because of Lucas looking like leaving.

17 May 2017 10:48:17
Lb
Cb
Str.

17 May 2017 10:52:22
It's obviously complicated as we don't know which players will definitely be leaving : Can? Lucas? Sakho? Coutinho? Gomez? Bogdan?
The squad needs beefing up for champions league. Beefing up means having players in the squad who the manager feels he can use to rotate the team. At the moment we have loads of players who don't seem to get a run of games. So any departures need replacing.
To upgrade as you put it, I would try and look at 3 positions maximum. Our 3 biggest weaknesses, if you exclude GK, are left back, centre back and DLP (as you put it)
A DLP would require a change in formation though.

17 May 2017 11:03:16
I did make it clear that we couldn't upgrade ALL of the positions. I just prioritised it as I saw it. That's all. :)

Of course if we just took care of the fullback and centre back positions and added a left sided wide player then I would be fairly happy.

The only reason I mention the other positions is that we have a group of senior players that are are struggling with injury across multiple seasons - ie Sturridge, Henderson and Emre/ Lallana to some extent. As we have seen with Arsenal, this can make or break your seasons.

17 May 2017 11:08:27
@Ron, would a DLP force a change of formation? Didn't Henderson play there brilliantly for the first half of the season?

17 May 2017 11:15:52
Full backs is a must. We need attacking full backs that can pick someone out and score the odd goal themselves (Not from the penalty spot before everyone says how many Milner has scored) . A top centre back would be great but not absolutely essential and a pacey left winger to allow Couts to play more central and deeper (if he stays) . That would be it for me depending on other outgoings.

17 May 2017 11:20:39
i would be satisfied if we could solve the fullbacks. the way we play, i think we mostly struggle because of those two positions, the rest i'm fine with.

17 May 2017 11:38:58
Essential would be a LB - that would allow us to sell Clyne, move Milner to RB with TAA. If we sell Moreno we could also bring in someone young to develop.

LW is also a priority - allows Coutinho to drop into midfield and then we can move Can deeper to cover Hendo and we don't need anyone else in midfield.

CB is a priority too - I'd like to see someone to compete with Lovren and Matip and I'd be Ok to see Klavan sold. Think he's decent but would rather keep Gomez and he struggles with the system we play which exposes him for lack of pace. Alternatively keep both and sell Moreno as Gomez can help cover LB if desperate.

Rest are luxuries, possibly a new Striker if Sturridge leaves - or if we don't get a LW. Possibly a GK but arguably Migs has made that redundant.

I'd be happy with just three additions to the squad.

17 May 2017 11:48:02
LB, CB and LW for me.

3 proven top level players for each position then see where that gets us.

17 May 2017 12:16:49
Actually don't mind the Milner replacing Clyne at RB idea.

17 May 2017 12:21:10
Lb lw and st.

Done move on.

Coutinho can provise all the creativity we need from the middle.

Sessegnon****/ gaya***/ tierney**/ mendy*
Brandt***/ forsberg**/ lemar*/ mertens****

The starz indicate which players together.

Mendy nd lemar becausw they already play together

Forsberg and tierney

Sessegnon and mertens because of age one 30 the other 17

Gaya and brandt. Gayas electric pace overlapping brandt.

Luan/ germain/ dolsberg

Any of the above wouls be welcome 😊.

17 May 2017 13:42:27
Think we all agree a LB is needed. Milner to cover both sides and complete with TAA at RB. Striker next for me, if he can play wide also then great, but we don't have a 20+ goal machine anymore (Not one that can stay fit anyway) . As much as I like Firmino and think he had done ok up top, I would prefer him to be playing behind a striker. I personally think we should be looking for a holding midfielder who will protect the CBs, someone more defensive minded than Henderson.
I would be happy with these 3 positions arriving, not sure we need a left winger as we have loads of attacking players who can play there, and if you have a new player on the left, Mane on the right firmino and Coutino plus a striker then you are only left with room for one CM if we keep to a back 4.

17 May 2017 14:44:37
A pacey wide forward would be my first priority. Followed by a lb then as all the kids seem to be calling them these days a DLP. Not much else depending on out goings.

17 May 2017 15:31:58
We do desperately need some left feet! It's agonising watching Milner run thank flank at times.

Ojo is left footed (I think) - I wonder what the plans are for him? He's clearly talented but it's not obvious whether he has desire required to step up right into first team football. There were some quotes about him trying to improve his aggression and intensity which is a good sign but also worrying if it doesn't materialise. Ed001 would know better there I am sure.

{Ed001's Note - I fear Ojo is a long way away from being a first team player for us.}

17 May 2017 18:45:19
It all depends on what the club plans to do with certain players as Ron has said, there could be some surprise and unexpected departures that would change everyone's opinions, there could also be some player nailed on to leave ending up staying. With that being said, it's clear we need to improve the first team, there is no point buying a bunch of potential squad players like we have done in the past. We either improve to first 11 or forget it. Those players that get replaced that are currently in the first 11 become the 'depth'.

If the first 11 generally stays the same then my priorities would be: LB, CB, CM (defensive or box to box mid), forward (ideally a player that can play as both a striker and outwide) . Probable positions are GK and RB depending on if mignolet and clyne end up leaving. For me they are not priorities and I would be content with mignolet and karius as our goalkeepers and Milner playing right back or TAA eventually replacing Clyne as our first choice right back. I would prefer more money being spent on the priority areas. We have to work within our means and replacing our whole team and selling players like lovren, Milner, mignolet, Lallana etc as people want to do after a bad performance is not working within our means and will set us back.

18 May 2017 18:35:58
Spot on, Kman. We have to be very smart in the way we target playwers cos we need those who not only fit the way we play, but can improve us quality wise and bring the type of desire and experience this young squad needs to get to the next level, mentally.

For me, the FB positions need a severe upgrade, first off. Then a wide player or two for either side, and then a midfielder depending on who is staying and who is leaving. A CB will only come in if one leaves as we still have Grujic to come in there.

Striker? Not sure as it would depend on Studge's status. The GK's are set, IMO if no one leaves.

Klopp has already said he will not make wholesale changes as that will only stifle other players from developing. We shall see.