Liverpool Banter Archive June 18 2017

18 Jun 2017 21:15:27
Hi Ed1,

There were reports in Portugal today that even though we're likely to sign Salah we're still interested in Martins. Do you see that as being likely? That would be 3 right wingers in the squad (I know Salah can play LW) who all cost at least £30m.

Also as an aside, do you think we would have sent a scouting team to the Euro u-21 tournament?

Thanks in advance mate.

{Ed001's Note - I very much doubt there is interest in signing both. Yes we have scouts at the Euro U21s.}

18 Jun 2017 21:37:05
Thanks for your reply Ed1. Out of interest, are there any specific players we looking at?

{Ed001's Note - off the top of my head I don't know. I would have to ask. I will try and find out for you. I was going to wait until after and ask who impressed to be honest, as that is probably more likely to matter long term.}

18 Jun 2017 21:44:51
OK cheers Ed1. I watched Spain yesterday and that lb Gaya looks quick but a bit Moreno-like with his tendency to get forward. (you mentioned him recently I believe) .

{Ed001's Note - yes, he is the one I would go for personally, he has a lot more quality to his play than Moreno.}

18 Jun 2017 22:27:35
Watched Portugal Serbia yesterday, Ruben neves was excellent. He's only 19 but his distribution and technical qualities are extremely impressive. One to keep an eye on for sure.

19 Jun 2017 00:03:27
Dahoud maybe? I feel we're still looking at a CM and Keita looking unlikely?

19 Jun 2017 01:03:12
Dahoud has joined Dortmund.

18 Jun 2017 19:53:33
Imagine if all reports are true.
We sign VVD, Salah, Aubameyang and Mendy.

(Please note, I'm in a very hot country, I'm quite bored and getting a little excited about the links to A. But my gut knows this is just BS)
But imagine if the rumours are true, in a fictional world, we get those players.
Say Utd/ Chelsea get Ronaldo also. (Clearly their going to split him in half)
City and Arsenal get their targets.

Who do you think would take the league¿
This is all theoretical of course.
Just a bit of banter.

18 Jun 2017 20:20:31
In your world, Huddersfield.

18 Jun 2017 20:32:50
The best team wins the league, not the one with the most expensive individuals.

18 Jun 2017 20:41:46
Whose saying anything about teams paying the most.
Take money out of it. I'm not bringing money into it.
Salah, VVD have prem experience.
Ronaldo also.
It's just for a bit of curiousity. 🙄.

18 Jun 2017 21:10:23
Well the best players cost a lot of money. The best teams are usually those with the best players. Chucking money at the situation guarantees nothing, but it does help.

18 Jun 2017 21:05:40
I know it's curiosity.
The difficulty for all these premier league teams is integrating new players into the team.
The more you buy, the trickier it becomes. It's impossible to predict though.
Personally, I think LFC with a better defence will be difficult to beat.

{Ed025's Note - i would not disagree with that ron..

18 Jun 2017 22:17:16
Thats what I think happened when Kenny was in charge.

That many players arriving and leaving takes time to develop into a unit.

9 players in and 15 out in a year.
Net spend 40million.

18 Jun 2017 22:27:06
Kind of agree, but look how we've struggled to break some teams down. I think more depth in attack is essential. Plenty of examples I'm sure, but the home game against Palace stands out in my mind. Changes necessary but Klopp looked bereft of ideas due to a lack in personnel. And next season we will, hopefully, have more games to play - and perhaps against more stubborn opposition.

I'm not suggesting an overhaul, but I think we're further away from a proper title challenge than just plugging up the leaky defence.

19 Jun 2017 00:05:15
The aim is to improve the quality of the squad as a whole and not bring in players that will change what is alrwady working.

Id be happy this summer if we only strengthed across the back 4, and Young Ward to give extra competition to the goalkeeping situation.

18 Jun 2017 19:22:46
I'm not calling anyone out, but if Aubameyang is available at £60m and wants to come here (as is being reported) I really couldn't care what positions we should prioritise. This is exactly like what happened with Wijnaldum and Van Dijk, ie a player we weren't trying to sign has become available to us; except it is a world class player supposedly involved this time!

Aubameyang is literally in the top 3 central strikers in world football along side Suarez and Higuain. If we even think twice then our transfers are being ran by people even more stupid than we first realized.

World class players don't show up on your doorstep too often. In fact it probably hasn't happened to Liverpool since John Barnes was signed. Even the likes of Alonso, Torres and Suarez only joined us as simply good players.

Why is this even a discussion point? I'm not trying to be patronising with that question, I just cannot get my head around why anybody would be against signing a 40 goal a season player for just £60m. To put that into perspective, Lukaku scored 25 and will cost £100m or more!

Bonkers to pass up this opportunity if you ask me. Open to hear why others would rather sign Mendy or Pereira after one good season though? Let's not forget that United once won the league with a bang average team purely off the back of signing a 30 goal a season striker in Van Persie!

18 Jun 2017 19:46:35
Does he want to come Liverpool?

18 Jun 2017 19:53:01
I'll agree with you there MK, players like him aren't a dime a dozen. If there's any chance then he becomes a priority.

18 Jun 2017 20:00:58
Are you drunk MK?
Too much sun?
You are normally quite level headed in your posts but this smacks of lunacy.
If we can get him for 60m and he wants to come then great, but I can't see it buddy.

18 Jun 2017 20:21:56
Auba ain't coming and that is the reality of the matter cos Klopp has said he is not interested in any of the Dortmund players.

18 Jun 2017 20:39:26
Aubamyang wpuld. be nice, but where would that leave Bobby Firmino? Wouldn't want to be without his smartness in any game, vs big club or small. He hasn't really performed on a wing, can't see him as part of a midfield trio, not if Couts are playing.

18 Jun 2017 20:48:32
That is Adam's point. If he is willing to move to LFC then it is a no brainer. A top quality player who would score for fun. Does he want to come? No idea! If he does, sell Sturridge and get some money back. A NO BRAINER!

18 Jun 2017 20:56:21
If what ed001 said that he missed a CL game because he was out the night before with his friends in Milan, i don't want him anywhere near liverpool.

18 Jun 2017 21:08:23
The question has to be asked, how do you integrate him into the team?
Drop Firmino? Not so sure I'd be up for that and Aubamayang won't come without "guaranteed first team action".
We have to focus on improving our weaknesses and they are almost exclusively in defence and midfield.

18 Jun 2017 21:13:52
As Irish Rover pointed out, I said "if". I have no idea if it is true or not. But IF it is, in my opinion it is a no brainer.

You don't turn away world class players, and as said as it is that the money in football is like this, £60m is a bargain price.

No offence to Firmino but he is quite simply a very well paid employee who the club doesn't owe any loyalty to. Besides, he is better behind a striker anyway. You can't have your main striker scoring 10 goals a season in my opinion.

18 Jun 2017 22:02:21
BUT. he isn't coming dude.

18 Jun 2017 22:39:19
And the there is the problem to African Cup of Nations.

18 Jun 2017 22:40:46
A fit Sturridge is as good in my opinion.

{Ed025's Note - a fit sturridge and a preston guild have a lot in common der.. :)

18 Jun 2017 22:49:47
Ron, would I drop Bobby for Auba? In a word, yes.

18 Jun 2017 23:59:13
Very good Ed. Hopefully this is the 1 in 20.

19 Jun 2017 01:31:42
He would want a huge pay day as he is in his prime. Aubamayang will end up at somewhere like Chelsea or City and probably be on 300k a week. If we pay him those kind of wages the rest of the team start looking at their pay packets too.
GReat player but not a good fit for Liverpool fc.

19 Jun 2017 07:37:51
You're letting your heart rule your head here guys.

By your logic MK, if we buy auba this summer and then next summer higuain wants to come, we'd be mad to pass up on him tooo right?

We need defenders and a lw!

18 Jun 2017 09:52:00
One for the Ed's.

When we hear of agents and players meeting other teams to discuss transfers. Why is it sometimes they are held in hotels away from the city that they will be playing in?

For instance. Salah's agent was in London and supposedly talking over a deal with Liverpool. How comes these talks don't take place at Melwood or Anfield? Give the guys the home comfort feeling in negotiations.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool's offices are in London.}

18 Jun 2017 16:50:07
With amavi saying he is on the transfer list I hope we return and have a look good left back.

18 Jun 2017 18:17:57
Would represent better value for money than Mendy, but he isn't as good as Mendy. If you know what I mean?

The other thing about Amavi though, is he is settled in England, whilst Mendy has been chilling in Monaco and might find it difficult to adjust to Nothern England. For Amavi, he could move to Hull and it would be an improvement. I wouldn't wish Birmingham on my worst enemy!

18 Jun 2017 18:30:18
Amavi is a decent left back, he can defend competently and is no mug going forward, proven in the premier league until his injury and been Villa's best player in the Championship. I'll bet if it weren't for his wages he'd be staying.

18 Jun 2017 18:30:21
Is he not going Sampdoria?

18 Jun 2017 15:58:01
With the imminent signing of Salah some LFC fans are drooling over our forward line next season. Fair enough. But we have to address our leaky defence.

18 Jun 2017 16:28:06
Yes spot on, our defence has been awful for the last few seasons. It's time to significantly strengthen the left back and centre back positions. I would also buy a right back but with TAA coming through he needs games so no need to block his development.

18 Jun 2017 16:29:45
As long as that answer to the defence question isn't Michael Keane of Ben Gibson.

18 Jun 2017 17:52:33
Hansens Scar,
Please elaborate on why Ben Gibson wouldn't improve our starting lineup?

18 Jun 2017 17:54:55
And some of you did not what VVD who would helped to fixes it.

18 Jun 2017 18:14:10
HL9, A CB coming in will not fix our awful FB situation neither will it fix our issues out wide since Couts will be playing centrally for next season. We need to improve those positions first and then we can look at the CB situation. You also forget that we have 4 senior CB's and for one to come in, one has to leave.

Hansen, do elaborate on how Ben Gibson will not improve our defence even tho, I agree that Keane is not good enough?

18 Jun 2017 18:19:35
Lavije, he's poor in the tackle, not physically strong, not particularly quick (either in physical speed or speed of thought), poor in the air, not particularly good on the ball and he's not a good reader of the game. In summary.

18 Jun 2017 18:47:06
Don't forget his lack of positional sense Hansen.

Apart from all those few things he's the perfect defender 😄.

18 Jun 2017 18:56:30
Question is this, is he an upgrade on Lovren? No. Is he an upgrade on Matip? No. Is he an upgrade on Gomez? No. Is he an upgrade on Klavan? Marginally, but being marginally better than the fourth best centre back at the club isn't enough of a reason to lash out the best part of £30+ million on him. If we are bringing someone in, do it because they'll significantly improve the starting 11.

18 Jun 2017 19:51:28
Hansen, you just describe Chris smalling not Ben Gibson. Have you really watched him play because accusing him of being poor in the air just confuses me. The same player Southampton is interested in to replace VVD incase he leaves so we can go back next season to buy him for £90m.

18 Jun 2017 22:30:36
I have seen him play a number of occasions and I can assure you that among his faults, he is very poor in the air, even the stats confirm that. At best he is a very ordinary player, not a particularly decent footballer (on the ball he has no composure and his passing is best described as 'Djimi Traore' and he is a very mediocre defender. I seriously don't understand what people see in him as has done nothing to warrant any interest other than being under 25 and English, which isn't a particularly good criteria for signing players?!

18 Jun 2017 12:48:40
Puzzles me as to why people think we do not need an out and out goalscorer. Fact is we don't have one and need one badly. There aren't many out there but if we are willing to spend huge money on a CB (which would have been a great signing) then surely we should be willing to pay big money for a top striker. I would go all out for abamayang . The fee and wages being quoted are modest compared to some fees being quoted. Dier 50m 😂😂😂😂😂 the world has gone mad.

Eds have we shown any interest in strikers that u know of?

{Ed001's Note - why do people say we don't have a goalscorer when there is Sturridge there?}

18 Jun 2017 13:04:33
Because Sturridge isn't 'there' a lot?

{Ed001's Note - nor are a number of players. I would expect him to play a lot more next season, whether with us or not, as he will be a lot closer to full fitness.}

18 Jun 2017 13:13:45
Studge fit and firing is a match for any striker. Ings, Firmino, Origi and midfielders scoring as well. Get the defence tighter and we will be OK. Our record against the top six is very good. That's without a supposed top striker. 👍.

18 Jun 2017 13:17:08
Ed001 - we have goal scorer on the payroll but not on the pitch; if only there was a way to keep Sturridge fit. that might happen this year however not many will bet on that happening.

{Ed001's Note - we scored more than enough goals, I still do not see why people are whinging about the need to go and spunk 70m or so on a goalscorer, as that is the only way we will get one good enough for the Prem. It is our defence that was the weak link, quite obviously to anyone who actually watched us play.}

18 Jun 2017 13:17:28
Sturridge when fit is pure class, works hard as first line of defence and is clinical in front of goal. He needs to be our first choice striker. We have back ups in Ings, Solanke, origi as well as firmino, couts, mane and possibly Salah who can score goals.

Baz.

18 Jun 2017 13:46:26
With how much confidence do you say that Ed? He was meant to be much closer to full fitness last season wasn't he?!

{Ed001's Note - no, he was meant to be recovering last season, which is what happened. I still fail to see the relevance to the insanity of wanting us to buy the one thing we do not actually need urgently.}

18 Jun 2017 13:47:34
I'd rather spunk 70m on a RB and LB. that would probably contribute to us scoring more goals than adding a striker if they can put in a decent delivery.

{Ed001's Note - agreed.}

18 Jun 2017 13:54:40
Agreed Jackored. Sadly I do not see us spending adequately on RB an LB to get the best out there for those positions. Periera looks to be off to Spurs, Mendy might be too expensive and Robertson now might be a genuine option. That's no improvement on last seasons options at fullback. I say just spend what it takes on Mendy and Periera and start the season with what we already have.

18 Jun 2017 13:57:02
I agree we don't need a striker urgently.

Though recovering from what exactly? A hip problem? Because he's had many problems.

{Ed001's Note - it is not one injury that is the problem. It is recovering back from the serious one he suffered on England duty, which led to niggles. It takes years to recover from those kind of injuries, but it is usually a gradual return to their best, such as Studger was showing at the end of the season.}

18 Jun 2017 14:13:41
Mendy should be made into our priority now. I really don't think Robertson is the right fit for us. I agree that pereira looks off elsewhere. Would be a nice bonus if we got him. But I don't want us just to go out and sign any old RB for the sake of it. Hopefully TAA will push on this season and even if he isn't first choice he might force clyne to up his game if that's possible.

18 Jun 2017 15:04:24
Sturridge was sensational at the back end of last season.

We're really not far off doing great things IMO. Salah, touch wood, seems to be all set to go now. The pace and skill that Liverpool will have in their attacking arsenal now will be great. Coutinho pulling the strings in midfield for two lightning fast (and very skilled) wingers roaring down the flanks with Studge or Firmino up front. Liverpool's attack will be great.

18 Jun 2017 15:07:05
I agree Jackored. Do we overspend for Mendy, or buy Robertson with the loose shrapnel we found at the bottom of our pockets, and eventually bemoan his signing further down the track during the season? Until Liverpool find a very competent but cheaper alternative, I'm all for signing Mendy.

18 Jun 2017 15:38:40
Honestly we have plenty of strikers and firmino is (my) first choice. With Salah our attack is complete but I still Ox would fit nicely in the same way Gini did this last season (if we sell on Markovic and Stewart or Can unfortunately moves this would be a good option though ideally it would be Keita if Can goes) . All that sais I would be ecstatic if we didn't add to the attack and brought in a new cb and left back. I would be OK with current defense if we brought in a naturally talented left fullback like Mendy.

18 Jun 2017 16:08:46
Sturridge and Firmino are both very good strikers - Firmino is perhaps more of a link type striker but the rest of the side scores more with him playing around him so just as effective, particularly if we have the likes of Mane, Coutinho and Salah around him. Add in Origi who's a very good backup and Ings and Solanke hopefully challenging a new striker is the last thing we need.

Assuming Salah is done, then a proper LB, a CB to challenge Lovren, and move Milner to RB and I'm a happy lad thanks.

18 Jun 2017 16:19:39
He was ok not sensational, its his head not his body, are we really going to rely on a rarely fit striker, one who hasn't kicked a ball in two seasons and Origi who splits opinion, I fully agree with ED01 we need defenders but we definitely need a world class striker as when we play the little sides that sit back half a chance is often enough, the trouble is if that chance falls to one of our attacking midfielders then against those sides we don't score that many. We all know a fit Sturridge with his head on is a great striker but relying on that is not a good plan for the season in my opinion.

18 Jun 2017 17:58:55
The beauty is that we finally got a lot of players able to get into double figures instead of relying on one or two players to get our goals as we used to do. We certainly have no need to get that ONE goalscorer. If Sturridge is fit he'll get plenty and if not, we got Firmino and he'll get enough with Mane, Coutinho, Origi, Wiji, Lallana and possible Salah getting their fair share of goals too. I am pretty confident we will see Firmino scoring on a more regular basis next year - unless he looses his place to Sturridge. I would argue that we would have to fit him in no matter what though as he is such a nice player for us.

What we need is clearly to improve our defense. How anybody can argue against that is beyond me.

18 Jun 2017 18:20:20
This idea that we need to sign a player (a goalscorer) in a position or dept. we are not lacking in, is doing my head in. Studge or no Studge, we were scoring goals for fun last season so why we need to address this area, is just pointless and insane. If Studge stays, great as it means we have another lethal forward we can count on the books.

I think people just harp on this non-issue cos they see other teams like Spurs, Utd and who have goalscorers in their teams while at the same time, forgetting that we have goalscorers all over our squad even down to the CB's Matip and Lovren. Stop with this bleating on and on about signing a goalscorer as it ain't going to happen. We need improvements at the FB positions and that needs to be addressed ASAP.

18 Jun 2017 19:40:46
Ok so we don't "need" a striker. but I don't think anyone would complain if Aubemayang cost us a new record. even though we know the defense is Meh at best. Our best shot at the title was a 100 goal season so why not outscore everyone again!

18 Jun 2017 20:48:19
Because we failed to win the title Amerigo - primarily because we wasn't good enough defensively.

18 Jun 2017 21:09:45
For me a fit Studge is the perfect player to break down stubborn defences as he's always looking to play little one twos which always cause problems. Just hope he can close to his best this season cause if he does we'll be challenging for the title despite a leaky defence.

19 Jun 2017 01:56:49
Amerigo, that experiment already failed royally, under BR in the 2014 season so sorry, we won't be doing that again and by the way, we had the 5th best defence in the PL last season. Not too bad but improvement is needed as we will score goals for sure.

18 Jun 2017 12:11:00
Whats everyones thoughts on the Ox? A good squad addition imo but can't see him coming to be on the bench, who do we leave out to get him in?

Ed do you think he would be a good addition or know improvement on what we already have?

{Ed001's Note - not good enough for me.}

18 Jun 2017 12:30:28
Not good enough for the price being quoted. He doesn't seem to know his best position and he's always injured.

18 Jun 2017 12:47:15
Not needed for me, regardless of whether he is good enough or not. I'd much rather we get a more defensive minded midfielder to add variety and solidity to our game (I'm going to stay away from the words "holding midfielder" because that will cause an uproar about how Klopp does not use them) .

18 Jun 2017 12:52:03
Awful player, a jack of all trades and master of none. He's part of that Arsenal trio along with Walcott and Gibbs who have been stagnating at Arsenal (just like their manager) for the past 5 years. What people see in him, I will never, ever know.

18 Jun 2017 12:53:55
Could be a wijnaldum type signing?

18 Jun 2017 13:10:54
No where near good enough. He hasn't progressed at all ability wise.

18 Jun 2017 13:21:41
Wiji is actually a very good player with good quality, everything Ox is not so why would he be a Wiji-type signing, exactly?

18 Jun 2017 13:33:05
Can't see him getting in ahead of any of our players and he certainly isn't an impact sub. It would make zero sense, unless he wants to try his hand at left or right back. That's the only position I'd be ok with him in as an expensive experiment.

18 Jun 2017 13:50:29
Ox would be a good signing. He's a good player and can play in different positions.

18 Jun 2017 14:57:52
Will the Ox bring something to the squad that we currently lack?

I think definitely would add to the strength and depth of the squad but he is maybe one of among 4or five that the club is looking at.

18 Jun 2017 18:22:52
And will be a master of none of those positions, Jackored.

19 Jun 2017 00:08:46
Like Milner?

19 Jun 2017 01:58:50
Milner is a better player in all the positions he plays than Ox in all the positions he plays. Another false comparison but Thanks for playing.

19 Jun 2017 09:30:19
Milner has more experience but whether he is better is a matter of opinion.

Please explain Brussels how its a false comparison?

They both currently play out wide for their respective clubs in one posistion or another, while both are on record as preferring to play Stevie Gees posistion.

Its unlikely that ox will happen but I still think he ticks all the boxes that Klopp looks for.

18 Jun 2017 07:31:42
To change things up from VVD, Salah etc.

I routed a game of lfc top trumps from 2009 yesterday. The players we used to have really cracked me up. There were some quality ones with gerrard (in his pomp), Torres, alonso, Reina, hyypia, carra. But there were also the following 😳

Damien plessis, jay spearing, Charles intanje, Diego cavlieri, David ngog, emiliano insua, Philip degen, Andrea dossena, Ryan babel.

And people on here think our squad depth is bad now!

18 Jun 2017 07:47:16
Rafa knew what he was doing. The Spine of his team was incredible. He just never got given the money to add the fair players in the other positions such as Alves, Silva, Jovetic, Villa etc.

18 Jun 2017 08:52:03
I rated Insua personally and didn't think he got a fair crack at Anfield. He had an okay career after leaving too.

18 Jun 2017 09:23:59
Rafa used to set his teams up not to lose. Which resulted in quite a few boring draws or 1-0 victories. Klopp sets his teams up to win. Which has resulted in a few losses to the teams who park the bus. We can't press teams and break when they sit back and give us 80% possession.

18 Jun 2017 09:29:33
Under Rafa, we had a fantastic first 11 rivaling the best in Europe. It was the lack of quality in depth that let us down in the league from time to time. N'gog, Voronin, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos, Itandje, Babel, Riera etc were simply not Liverpool quality and the team's consistency floundered as a result. Instead of these average players, we could have had ourselves David Villa, Silva, Alves etc. Unfortunately, the lack of funds and total ineptitude of H&G stopped Rafa from building a formidable squad that could challenge on all fronts.

18 Jun 2017 10:59:50
agreed IB, top post that mate, when you think of what we could have had, it makes you want to cry.

18 Jun 2017 11:15:07
I honestly don't get that people still say Rafa wasn't backed by the club he spent shed loads on players. Bought far too many average or poor players. That was his fault no one else's. And when you work out how many poor players he bought is it not any wonder the club became cautious with his targets.

18 Jun 2017 12:51:09
Insua could of been good. I'm sure 1 of the eds once said he ate to many big Macs and didn't eat/ train good enough.

{Ed001's Note - yes he had problems with his eating. He was very unhappy in England and tended to binge eat a bit.}

18 Jun 2017 13:16:54
Spot on, P1. People prolly think the rest of us have short memories and can't remember the Rafa years. MK, the guy brought in 70 players into the club during his tenure. Where those players free or did they not cost a shed load of cash? I don't wanna hear that nonsense that he was not backed by the club. He was especially in the beginning when H/ G arrived. Now were the owners great? NO. Were they a cancer? Yes. But to say, he was not backed is patently false.

The guy had NO clue what he was doing as his transfer dealings were just like BR's as in, peeing in the wind or throwing money at the problem and see what sticks. With that strategy, of course you'll find some good players which he did. Give Klopp that kind of money and see what he will do with it cos he actually knows what he is doing in the TW. Rafa did not.

Also. it was his pathetic tactics that cost us the PL in 2009 with his always setting us up to not lose instead of going for the win or pulling Torres off in games we are winning (in readiness for a CL game) and then we ended up drawing (the Wigan game comes to mind) . We had 11 draws that season and had we gone for the win in all those games, we would have won prolly half of them.

18 Jun 2017 13:37:16
Spot on, P1. Many on here seem to think that the rest of us have short memories hence, they can just rewrite history. Rafa was a good manager and won us games, trophies and made us competitive. However, that is where is all ends. He was awful in the TM and the notion that he was not backed by the owners, is patently false.

Rafa bought 70 odd players during his tenure here. Where those players all freebies where we paid nothing for them? NO. They cost a tonne of cash and majority of them were average or worse. Who gave him the backing for signing those players? That would be the owners H/ G cos Rafa did not use his money. His scatter gun approach to the TW is what led us into a more than bloated squad filled with poor quality. And his parting gift was a perennially woeful Aquilani who he'd never seen player and signed him while being injured. Brilliant. The guy is a genius, right? WRONG!

It was also his pathetic tactical setup that cost us the PL in 2009 with his always playing not to lose instead of going for the win. Had he gone for the win in the 11 games we drew, we would have turned half those draws into wins and won the PL.

Bottom line is that Rafa was a very good manager and did us proud but the rewriting of history needs to stop cos he became along with the owners, a cancer and I am glad to have seen the back of both he and the owners.

18 Jun 2017 13:45:55
Can't believe the numpties slagging Rafa. And judging by the comments they obviously have not one clue about Rafa's tenure at the club.
Rafa didn't have a clue about Alonso, Mascherano, Torres to name but a few?
Seriously?

18 Jun 2017 18:33:00
Yeah, Flash. He got 10 signings out of 70 odd correct. What a genius! The Alonso you speak of, would that be the same Alonso he ran out of town to be replaced by the hapless Barry and/ or the lazy and hopeless Aquilani? You just made my point for me, bro. Good job. The guy was woeful in the TW just like BR was with the normal scatter gun/ pee in the wind approach to transfers so of course he'll get 10 signings out of 70 correct. Anyone with a brain cell can do that. Give Klopp the amount that Rafa used to get those 70 odd players and see what he can do based on the transfers he made last season that improved us massively and if Salah signs, he will improve us this season. You know why? Cos unlike Rafa, Klopp knows what he is doing and Rafa never did.

18 Jun 2017 03:18:33
Hi Eds.
I was just on the web looking for all things LFC and wondering How Klopps LFC is viewed or rated in other countries .?

Are we viewed as a team on the up with a ever inproving squad or are we still the best of the rest livung on padt glories.

{Ed001's Note - no idea how that can be answered as it would depend on who you spoke to and which country you are in.}

18 Jun 2017 07:16:02
In my country/ city, Klopp's reputation is well respected. I have observed that ever since he was in charge, there has been a marked worry in other fans whenever their teams play against us. United fans spare no opportunity to mock us whenever we do something stupid but we frequently indulge in serious discussions. Coutinho, Firmino, Mane and Wijnaldum are rated well, Studge whenever he plays. Though when cornered, we blurt out our past records and glory but currently Liverpool are definitely seen as a ever growing threat under the guidelight of Klopp.

18 Jun 2017 13:55:21
The English game is followed globally, and obviously there's a direct link between titles and popularity and perception. While we were winning titles in the 70's and 80's there's no doubt we were the kings of the game. Much like the AC Milan, Bayern, Real, Ajax and Dynamos of the past. But others moved up (while we stagnated) and then our trajectory has been up and down in fits and starts. Jurgen Klopp has given supporters hope that we can regain some of the lost stature.

It's also a question of generations. The older generations know about the past (many having lived through those moments) . The younger ones have only read or youtubed about the past, and it's not the same thing. Their loyalties go to the recent and current winners. People see us as an important team that's always top of mind (if you're a football fan) but not necessarily at the peak of our game. That's how I see it.