Liverpool Banter Archive September 20 2016

Use our rumours form to send us liverpool transfer rumours.

20 Sep 2016 22:31:38
Coutinho is the most frustrating player to watch for me. He has all the talent in the world but still insists on repeatedly cutting in from wide areas and smashing the ball over the bar. His best attributes are his dribbling ability, passing, technique, link up play and creativity. Playing out wide and repeatedly shooting from range wastes these attributes and as we saw today when he plays through the centre (although he was drifting around) he makes things happen. Coutinho either needs to be banned from taking long shots or not played out wide left. The excuse that he has no-one to pass to doesn't wash anymore given the quality of our attacking options.

Believable9 Unbelievable9

21 Sep 2016 00:33:29
continho wants to be the very best, like no one ever was, to catch up to messi is his real test, he trains for the cause. He travelled across the land, searching far and wide, to understand the game and the power that's inside. Its him and liverpool. He knows its his destiny.

21 Sep 2016 00:57:14
Awful wiseryan, truly awful.

21 Sep 2016 01:06:34
It's no secret Coutinho wants to play in Barcelona or PSG and to secure that move, he has to score spectacular goals, not provide assists as assists dun male u centre of highlights, it's the goal scorer especially spectacular goals. Even if he assist what are hi chances of over hauling say Ozil as top assist maker? But spectacular goals every now and then gets the attention of Barcelona and PSG on media and for agent to compile.

21 Sep 2016 01:11:24
That doesn't excuse him smashing the ball over the bar 10 times a game when there are better options available to him and he has the ability to pick out these options. Do you see Messi cutting inside and smashing the ball over the bar 10 times a game? No, he's unselfish, much like the rest of Barca's frontline, which is partly why they're so successful, along with the fact that they're supremely talented and world class players.

21 Sep 2016 01:12:05
The dilemma is that sometimes he cuts inside and scores a long-range screamer or curls it top corner. I only have a problem with it if there are better options available but if he finds himself with plenty of space he has the ability to beat most keepers, so why not?

21 Sep 2016 01:14:11
lol that came out of nowhere wiseryan, but +1 for you.

21 Sep 2016 02:10:33
Coutinho can score screamers, but then so can Henderson for example. Doesn't mean every shot they take is going to be perfectly accurate. Given the ability of the rest of the team, I think you will see Coutinho shoot less long shots and have more close range, tidy finishes like today.

21 Sep 2016 02:16:46
Lee you do post some real nonsense sometimes.

21 Sep 2016 02:51:15
Coutinho is truly world class player and I cannot believe my eyes reading some awful remarks on the player. Excellent first touch and fantastic ball control. I don't give a toss of him trying his luck from distance. It was one his long ranger that pulled us back against Arsenal. Some people needs a head check immediately.

21 Sep 2016 07:39:01
Lee whatever, why do u think COutinho is destined to end up at Barcelona or PSG? Barcelona just paid a fortune for Andre Gomes and Denis Suarez who both prefer playing on the left. They simply will not have the money to blow a fortune on another left sided midfielder in the near future. And why would anyone go to PSG apart from the money? IF we get UCL football next season, Coutinho will stay.

21 Sep 2016 08:57:16
Coutinho doesn't have the consistency to be considered world class yet, but he is a very good player who has had world class games while at Liverpool. Notice I didn't criticize his ability Sweet Chin Music, I just stated that I didn't like his desire to cut inside and blast the ball over the bar 10 times a game, while he may score the odd screamer, far more times than not the shot gets blocked or goes flying over the bar.

{Ed001's Note - yet nobody complained when Gerrard used to hit 10 shots a game into row Z as he scored the odd screamer. Why is it now a crime when Couts does it?}

21 Sep 2016 12:35:57
I think the worse thing to happen to Coutinho is him scoring that screamer against Arsenal.

That only inspired to repeat the feat in every single game, which usually leads him to waste countless opportunities.

His accuracy is actually pretty terrible. I think he hits target 1 out of every 10 shots (that's only hitting target, not evens scoring) .

21 Sep 2016 13:35:51
Couthino is getting very predictable, I can't remember the last time he truly played as a winger instead of a number 10 who found himself on the left of the pitch. Can't remember him beating his man along the wings and placing a cross in. He needs to go in thru the middle and have the option of going left or right.
P. S. Lee, you make it so easy to get on the bandwagon and criticise you,

21 Sep 2016 17:52:41
I doubt that those slating Coutinho have ever watched him closely when he plays because he is not the one they are describing. Yes, he scores goals and hits screamers. So did SG as Ed said and SG put a fair few into the stadium parking lot but that didn`t stop him from being a club legend. Couts is a gifted footballer with the work ethic, desire and determination to succeed that many will NEVER possess for a playerof his skill and talent? he shotts a lot. Well guess what, Studge does it too so again, what`s the problem? He will be fine and will only get better with age as grows older. And no, he`s not destined for Barca, PSG or wherever. That is just senseless. He will be here as long as we are able to match his ambition, period.

21 Sep 2016 20:02:06
Ed but you mentioned going for glory instead of playing in a teammate as one of the things that held Gerrard back from hitting even greater heights, it isn't a crime but when he elects to take 10+ shots from ridiculous distances instead of playing someone in he inevitably prevents the team from creating more chances. It wouldn't be a problem if they were testing the keeper like Firmino does with the majority of his long shots but Coutinho's mostly go high and wide which gives possession of the ball back to the opposition.

{Ed001's Note - but how often is there better placed team mates when he shoots? It is not often he takes the shot on when there are better options. When he is shooting a lot it is because of a lack of movement.}

21 Sep 2016 21:35:58
Ed I would agree with you that that does occur at times and he doesn't selfishly ignore his teammates, but then how come no other player in the team ends up taking just as many long shots? If the pass isn't on he should pass backwards and start the move again or use his dribbling ability and creativity to open up the defence instead of ballooning it over the bar, that's what someone like Firmino would do if put in a similar position, I believe this to be due to him having more game intelligence. He is trying to force goals and for the one time it does work there are many more times it is unsuccessful. Like most managers would say, if the player pulls off the trick or ridiculous long shot there isn't a problem it's when it doesn't come off that there's a problem and Coutinho's long shot accuracy rate is very poor.

{Ed001's Note - I don't really see a problem with it, it usually means there is a lack of movement, so going backwards is not going to help. Going back would just mean he would end up in the exact same situation again in a couple more minutes.}

20 Sep 2016 22:16:59
Any word on Hendo? Watching live updates on the LFC App at work and it said he went off with an injury.

Believable0 Unbelievable2

20 Sep 2016 22:24:37
He looked fine when he came off mate, might of just been a precaution.

20 Sep 2016 23:14:25
He's ok mate.

20 Sep 2016 23:32:19
He didn't seem to have an injury. I assumed he'd been subbed because we were 2 up at the time and Can could use the game time.

20 Sep 2016 22:14:58
It might be the side effects of watching Mignolet play but Karius looks top quality. Pepe Reins was the last keeper we had who was excellent with the ball at his feet and it's days but Karius looks to be in that mould.

Believable8 Unbelievable9

20 Sep 2016 23:02:26
Seriously? Look I'm all for praising are players, Karius was just above average he swept up well misplaced a couple kicks just like mignolet does flopped at a couple crosses like mignolet karius has a longer kick which helps massively I will be holding off on judging him till he gets a run of 10 games to get his groove the mings bashing for no bloody reason needs to stop.

20 Sep 2016 23:59:19
He misplaced a few kicks but his passing at the back was a lot more crisp and he looked far more comfortable than Mignolet. That tackle he made when he rushed out of his goal to stop Bent, I think it was, is a tackle we'd never have seen Mignolet making in a million years.

21 Sep 2016 07:24:19
Let's give him time but I agree about crosses, he looked Mignolet-esque on crosses flapping about like my brother in law when he sees a wasp. 😂.

21 Sep 2016 08:26:13
What that one cross, that's the trouble with some people they've just got to find something to dig at,
He dropped one cross, nobodies perfect, clear upgrade on Migs.

21 Sep 2016 08:52:39
Wasps can be deadly.

21 Sep 2016 08:52:47
I think Karius' strongest part of his game is his confidence, he put us in a few risky situations around the box with his short passing at times, but overall i like the look of him, i agree you wouldn't of seen Mings come out for that slide tackle he did.

21 Sep 2016 09:20:34
I've seen a lot of Karius relatively. He has never been good on crosses. If he is going to succeed at LFC this is the area of his game which needs the most work.

21 Sep 2016 09:21:11
This is one of those cases where you're seeing what you want to see. Karius was generally fine last night but if Mignolet had put in that performance a certain crowd would be using it as evidence of why he should be replaced. It was only his first match though and it's no surprise there was jitters. What will be really interesting is to see if he keeps his place on Saturday or if Migs is brought back in.

21 Sep 2016 17:57:13
I am ready to give Karius time to adapt and show what he can do so don`t really care that he flapped at a cross because guess what? So did Mingo when he made his debut vs Stoke in the PL in 2013. Mingo has shown that he`s hopeless after three years of being here. I would like that Karius be given the same amount of time to prove us wrong or right.

20 Sep 2016 22:09:03
A solid win tonight and an all round good performance, it's nice to be able to breeze past lower league sides rather than struggling against them as what happened quite abit under Rodgers. Also decent performance from Grujic on his debut the lad looked good!
Have a good night everyone.

Believable4 Unbelievable2

20 Sep 2016 22:03:24
Interesting viewing the stream on firstrow sports (thanks Lvrpllad93) which basically had the 'raw' interview footage after the game with Klopp doing interview after interview, with no editing in between. When the Sky reporter came in Klopp immediately asked 'why didn't you show the game? ' (simpering reply- we didn't know you'd be that good) . Klass from Klopp :)

Believable5 Unbelievable2

20 Sep 2016 22:31:01
Haha. I saw the same footage mate. Classic fairplay.

20 Sep 2016 21:47:59
A great professional performance tonight, well done boys.

Believable2 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 21:32:16
When is going to be the draw for the next round for the cup?

Believable2 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 22:03:31
I'd expect tomorrow when all the ties are finished.

20 Sep 2016 21:27:31
Looking good again tonight for all those that couldn't watch the match. Karuis hasn't had much to do, he did make a great tackle outside the box though and beat his man to the ball. 3 nil up and looking very comfortable.

Believable3 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 19:23:28
Solid line up tonight with a few changes that won't weaken us at all. Really looking forward to seeing Karius and Grujic in the side. It was hard to tell much about Karius in the pre season, but Grujic looked the part. Nailed on to ghost in with a goal tonight, that boy! Come on red men!

Believable6 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 19:19:47
Guys can anybody please recommend a site to watch the game Pls?

Believable0 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 19:58:04
Wiziwig.

20 Sep 2016 18:51:15
Is so good to see a team mixed up and looking strong still.

Can't wait to see karius and grujic.

Believable4 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 19:33:15
Same. Especially grujic . Great potential.

20 Sep 2016 18:28:25
Anywhere I can watch the match?

Believable0 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 18:43:42
Online.

20 Sep 2016 18:55:34
as my mum says, on the line.

20 Sep 2016 18:09:32
Evening reds

Looking forward to game. i'm hoping its the walk in the park everyine is expecting. No nasty cup upset 👊.

Believable2 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 17:44:59
United fan in peace. I visit regularly and post from time to time as some may notice.

So anyway, I was wondering what's people thought now on where United and yourselves will finish this season. Appreciate its early days, but the reason I ask is, after a couple of games when we played fairly well and recorded 3 straight wins, and you had just been beaten at Burnley, there was a lot of posters on here saying United would push city, and that yourselves would be lucky to finish 6th. 2 games later and I see a lot of people believing you will be champions. Funny how much can change in a week isn't it?

I personally think you will challenge, and without the disruption of a management change this summer, plus no midweek European football, I think you really should be challenging at the very least. However I still feel city have a superior squad and will win the league comfortably. How many team can be missing aguero and still bang in 4 goals in consecutive games?

As for United, I think we have a good squad, in fact the best squad we've had in a long time. But with yet another managerial change, new players, etc I think it will be after Christmas before we see a good solid side, and that's why I don't believe we're in the title race. We have imo, the best keeper in the world, very good fullbacks, Bailly looks a great prospect, but we need a partner for him, plenty of potential in Pogba, Mikhatarian, Hererra, Rashford, Martial, Ibra etc, I feel with so much quality it's a question of when not if it clicks. Rooney has held us back for 2/ 3 years now and it's time to move on from him.

If I was picking a side from both squads I'd probably have fairly even numbers in the 11 I imagine.

Anyway, I was just wondering what people's views on where we both finish this season and if you think you will win the league?

Eds feel free to air your opinions

Thanks.

Believable5 Unbelievable8

20 Sep 2016 18:36:53
Your squad doesn't look balanced, doesn't look like a team at all, just a load of individuals thrown together, good ones yes but they are not playing anywhere near to thier potential. mourinho needs to get them playing as a unit to get the most of them or he will be lucky to get top 4 in my opinion. He also needs to drop Rooney until he can get fit again or sell him, he's taking up a space.

We might not have the world class individuals like you but we seem to be playing as a team, almost the opposite to yourselves.

Still too early to judge, United have the players to win the league if you can sort out your issues quickly, Liverpool need to show consistency, can't really tell if we have yet or not, if we do manage to beat the lower half teams more regulary then we could challenge as well.
I wouldn't be gifting man city the league yet either.

20 Sep 2016 18:45:30
You have Mourinho. You won't play pretty football that's for sure but you will grind out those vital wins. Imo United will prob come 3rd or 4th.

20 Sep 2016 18:48:20
I expect us to challenge if karius is an improvement over mignolet and james milner is fit for the majority of the season. He's turned into a much needed solid left back. It really depends on injuries to much needed and key players. Henderson especially as I've mentioneda numerous times his importance to midfield defensively.
On united I expect mourinho to get the results. Zlatlan was a great buy. If he drops rooney and gets them playing decently they have the players to do damage. De gea imo guarentees top 4 so its how united perform consistanly and keeping ztlatlan fit as to were they finish.
I think city will win it. Top defenders there and some magnificent players going forward.
Liverpool in my mind to finish 3rd. Weaknesses will get exposed too often. Heart says we will win it.

20 Sep 2016 18:50:46
Forgot to add. If Mourinho was allowed to put out the team he wanted, then you would probably challenge. Unfortunately he has to play politics and not upset the team ethos considering Rooney is a big influence. If he can find a way to drop Rooney asap then you could challenge, but it might be a bit to late if he is still shoehorning Rooney into the side post-christmas.

20 Sep 2016 18:53:04
You lot will be lucky to finish top half after the meltdown.

20 Sep 2016 19:25:43
I agree with mikey, you need a settled team playing as a unit. Brilliant almost embarrassingly good squad of individuals to pick from, but with that comes it's own problems. Rest assured you will be challenging, but for top 4 I think, not the title this year. Liverpool will be too 4. 😉.

20 Sep 2016 19:26:32
IMO mouriniho will not get the best out of this team and will not last at United. And I said this before the season started. Even before Fergie United play fast fluid football with wingers and like to entertain. JM will never entertain and seems to have lost his charm that made him so likeable to media, fans and his players. Maybe it's just old now. But he will never be loved like he was at Chelsea that first spell. I think u may well scrape 4th just because Everton, Chelsea and Spurs are going to have off spells and you guys still grind out results better than most. I think if we start to kill teams off starting at hull we won't challenge because city will be outta sight but we'll get 3rd. Gunners 2nd.

20 Sep 2016 19:33:38
realistically i believe liverpool will finnish 2nd or 3rd and united 3,4 or 5th.

20 Sep 2016 19:42:36
Hard to say really, much as I don't want you to think 2nd or third. Alternatively mourinho could have a melt down and go mid table.

Have some great individual players but as another poster said a very unbalanced squad. Top keeper but Bailey looks to be your only good CB, fullbacks are good compared to the rest of the league, pogba is a great midfielder and zlatan is a proven scorer. Just need mourinho to find a way to make it work. Also depends on Rooney, as think he needs to be dropped.

Personally think mkhitaryan rashford and martial should play behind zlatan to try speed up play with pogba and schnerderlin in midfield.

20 Sep 2016 22:44:37
Cheers for the replies. Seems we're almost all in agreeance we have a good squad. But needs tweaking to say the least.

Well done Mattaldinho. There always one village idiot with a crap response to genuine posts. Why not out your money where your mouth is. I'll bet you ten grand we finish top half?

21 Sep 2016 02:12:59
I agree with most of the above - United have a good squad of players but understandably lack cohesion with a new manager. I said before the start of season liverpool will benefit from having had Klopp on ground for extra 6 months while Utd, City (wrong there! ), Chelsea etc. may struggle at first, so I still think top 4 will be City, Liverpool then a scrap between Arsenal, Utd an Chelsea.

I also agree Mou should play Carrick or Schneiderlin at DM with Pogba and Mkhitaryan in the middle. A front line of Ibra, Martial and Rashford with maybe Antonio. Still looks like you miss true wingers though and should have bought someone like Mane. No way Fellaini should be near a Utd squad and Rooney is not good enough for midfield IMO and not a wide player either. We had same problem with Gerard coming to end of his career, but time to move on.

P. s. One risk I do also see is if Mou implodes again. He's a great coach but clearly when things are tough he doesn't handle it well and blames everyone else making things toxic. I thought Chelsea was a once-off, and I also think Utd has stronger characters in the dressing room, but not so sure after recent headlines. Needs to turn things around quickly after recent losses or Utd could miss top 4.

21 Sep 2016 08:23:38
I always think we'll win the league so no point in elaborating there 🙂.

As for Man Utd. You do have some good players, I'm not convinced you know how to integrate them all in to a cohesive team. It won't be this season. I think you'll finish 5th behind ourselves, City, Arsenal and Spurs. Chelsea - 6th.
You have a great keeper, a decent midfield and some exciting pacey strikers, the problem is in defence and as I said integrating these players into a team.
Jose will probably survive 1 bad season but he'll need to get it right next season.

21 Sep 2016 08:47:43
A lot depends on how Mourinho deals with things this season, tactically he should be good enough to ensure top 4 but football is constantly changing and I think the biggest challenge now is to see if he can adapt his man-management to motivate the team. The public slating of players and blaming everyone else when things go wrong is something I think is turning off players against him and causing disharmony in general. It will be interesting to see how he deals with a poor run of form, and is he willing to make the big calls like dropping Rooney if it is for the good of the team. For me, he just doesn't seem to fit the club in his style of play or management.

For ourselves I honestly think we will be top 4, the biggest challenge is can we grind out the wins against the so-called smaller teams, if we can then I can honestly see us winning the league though Man City will be favourites, if we don't I still think with our attacking talent that we will be top 4 especially if our main focus is the league and not the cups. Much will also depend on how we are defensively. It will definitely help that Klopp has more time to work with the squad with no europe it should help.

Head says Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Utd. Then again I prefer listening to the heart, which says we are guaranteed to romp it with a record number of goals :)

20 Sep 2016 17:31:11
Has anybody seen the side for tonight? Intrigued to see it.

Believable1 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 17:16:39
Just wondered if anyone agreed with my recent thinking. After the disappointment of not making the CL last season has faded, I now feel like its actually a good thing on a number of fronts. The obvious extra time / training between PL games is there to see but to go deeper into that, Klopp now has a full season with the team he is building with more time to implement his ideas and get the squad fully in tune. If we do go on to get top 4 or better this season, playing the way he have been we will be in far better shape to compete in the CL the following season with the lads high confidence and Klopps ideas firmly engrained in the team. Not only that but you have to think the really top players will be falling over themselves to join us, the new stadium, Klopp, all that. If we had scraped into the CL this season, I doubt we would have attracted top top players as easily as we surely will next time around. The team will benefit hugely from this situation this season, one or two world class additions in required areas before next years campaign and i think we are on the verge of a new era for this club. YNWA.

Believable7 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 18:38:28
It's not a good thing despite you trying to sugar coat it.
However if we end up winning the league I don't think anyone will miss it.

20 Sep 2016 19:26:40
Im not trying to sugar coat it mikey, just thought about it a bit lately, if we had made it, maybe we would have got a couple of "world class" players, but, with the tight schedule and lack of depth that the Real's Barca's City's etc we would have been stretched and may have struggled in the league and CL, making it look like a faliure. Who knows we might have gone on to win one but what i'm saying is, now that we don't have that scenario, it is a great opportunity for us to build on Klopp's methods, train how he wants us to and rest players who may need it more than others. Come the end of the season if he has got all the lads bought in to his ideas and playing consistent attacking stylish football, battering teams left right and center, we will be a very attractive proposition for both up and coming talents and established "worldies" plus our players and fans will be brimming with confidence rather than thinking what might have been, again. Football goes in cycles and I am just really hoping this is our turn to hit top gear. i'd much rather we did it this way with a guy like Klopp building a team and an idea than some Billionaire coming in buying a team and some arse like Mourinho. Doing it the Liverpool way, know what I mean.

20 Sep 2016
The real time live chat page is open for today's Liverpool match at the below link for you to talk to each other during the match
Liverpool Live Chat page

Believable0 Unbelievable0

20 Sep 2016 16:56:37
who is going to get sacked first between moyes, hughes or billic? moyes basically told his supporters to expect a relegation battle the day he arrived, hughes has made stoke a easy team to play against and i'm sure Sullivan and gold's masterplan with the new stadium did not include a relegation battle, early days for all 3 clubs I grant you, but just as winning breeds confidence, losing and losing heavily saps all confidence away, with the riches the premier league now offers which chairman will have the nerve to back his man before getting to the stage where they feel they have no choice but to make a change. I know its not Liverpool related but i just wandered who the fellow posters think will struggle and end up with a p45, what about you ed001 who do you think will get the chop first?

Believable0 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 17:08:15
Bilic will be gone very soon at this rate.

20 Sep 2016 17:12:35
Moyes, Sunderland have flirted with relegation too often recently and he may not ger the chance to try and turn it around.

20 Sep 2016 17:46:50
Hughes will be sacked first. Moyes will get the time he deserves while Bilic is the reason they are playing in Europe.

{Ed001's Note - Hughes is an arrogant prick, most of his ex-players at previous clubs have nothing good to say about him, I expect him to go soon. Bilic has been poor this season, is at loggerheads with a lot of people within the club, so he won't have long left. Moyes, on the other hand, is exactly where they expected to be really, so I can see him getting a bit longer than the other two.}

20 Sep 2016 18:34:09
Cant remember if you have told us before about hughes being a dick, was there something about not allowing coaches to speak with players.

{Ed001's Note - he makes the coaching staff travel separately from the playing staff. So when it goes wrong, as it has now, and he talks about them all being in it together, they don't feel they are all together.}

20 Sep 2016 13:31:58
A long time reader but first time to post. One thing I have not seen to much comment of is the team's ability to control the game once they achieve a winning position. I suppose the encouragement from last Friday at Stamford Bridge was that the team held out. I recall one of the great strengths of title winning Reds sides was their ability to shut down a game and stifle the opposition. As the season progresses I hope we can see more of this quality as it will surely be needed.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 15:20:48
Totally agree game management has to be better and to be fair think it is overall
Up the pool.

20 Sep 2016 15:43:12
Must admit Kaka, the nerves from previous seasons still haunt me. That Palace game may take some time to dispel from memory.
I also agree that we are better at controlling the momentum of the game now. Will still take a while to build genuine confidence in that side of our game though.

Will back us for a 3-0 win tonight.

20 Sep 2016 16:26:46
That should be the next level we should be trying to get to. And I think we are getting there too. Vs Leicester at 3-1, Klopp brought on Stewart at DM to shot up shop at around the 80th minute. Vs Chelsea, he brought on both Stewart and Lucas to kill the game in the last 10 mins. That is what we must learn to do going forward. if we can do that and keep clean sheets (another concern, no doubt) then we will be fine as we all know that creating chances and scoring goals has never been an issue for us.

20 Sep 2016 17:34:42
I reckon its Kamikazee football until May - going to be fun lads 😎.

20 Sep 2016 17:47:54
Second halves of every game makes the great season. The art of grinding out results makes you the team to beat.

21 Sep 2016 10:52:58
Of course when you're winning in games some of the impetus fall on the losing team to attack so that's to be expected . You can control the game without having the ball, Arsenal wasn't a good example of this but the other games have been. Spurs never really looked like troubling
Us other than the goal and neither did Chelsea. Looks like we're really progressing in this respect.

20 Sep 2016 13:01:23
Question for ed002. I used to always assume that athletes got some of the money from jersey sales with their names on it. In the USA, colleges can't print jerseys with names on them and I assumed it was because the players aren't allowed to make money doing it yet. I see Tim Tebow is top of the pack for jersey sales this week and he will likely never step foot on an MLB field.

I guess, do athletes receive compensation for jerseys sold with their names on them? Interested in all sports not just football.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - Professional footballers get a very small amount of money from shirt sales made by the club itself. Very small. Amateur athletes get no income along those lines.}

20 Sep 2016 16:28:14
In the U. S, pro athletes get a small percentage on shirt sales. Not sure how much as it varies from sport to sport but I am sure that it`s in the single digits, percentage-wise.

20 Sep 2016 17:08:50
Thank you Ed!

{Ed002's Note - You are welcome.}

20 Sep 2016 12:52:13
Karius to start tonight, firminio is back available no sakho in the squad.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

20 Sep 2016 12:22:51
Be great to see Grujic and karius start.

Believable9 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 12:22:38
Nice to see our improvement been reflected in the title odds. We started the season around 6th favourites but currently were second behind City ( who are odds on ) that's across the board at all the major companies and is quite impressive. However 5 to 1 is still a big price, so there not that confident yet that we capable.

Believable1 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 12:35:10
Will catchup with citehis when we beat manU.

20 Sep 2016 12:47:34
Don't worry about betting odds, they're meanless.

20 Sep 2016 12:50:50
I really wouldn't concern myself with the bookies. Wish I could bet in the states though. We are going to win the league, I believe.

20 Sep 2016 16:29:12
Please, let us concern ourselves with the next game and nothing more.

20 Sep 2016 09:10:32
Morning Ed1,

How would you approach tonight's game with regards to team selection? How much importance do you feel we should place on the league cup?

Believable2 Unbelievable1

{Ed001's Note - the next game is always the most important. The only change I would make would be bringing in Karius.}

20 Sep 2016 12:30:31
Ed would you play Origi.

{Ed001's Note - depends on how Sturridge is feeling.}

20 Sep 2016 13:57:15
would like to see Grujic get a run out, or do you think he'll start off the bench?

20 Sep 2016 16:31:34
Thanks for the reply Ed. How do you think Sturridge has done so far this season?

{Ed001's Note - he is getting back to his best, not quite there yet, but there are signs. He is still fearing to sprint.}

20 Sep 2016 06:03:39
mourinho's decision to sell kevin de bruyne is right up there with decca's not to sign the beatles! also i'm pleased to learn ojo will soon be fit again as I feel he could provide competition for mane.

Believable6 Unbelievable3

20 Sep 2016 08:25:19
I'd love to see Ojo and Mane on opposing wings at the same time.

20 Sep 2016 09:38:42
What's brilliant about now is that we've genuinely got around 18 players that deserve game time. Not having a first 11 that picks itself can only be a good thing.

20 Sep 2016 16:30:40
Agree with you on that, Muscat. That can only breed-competition for places and we will all be the better for it.

20 Sep 2016 17:35:40
Funny thing is y no premier league club wants KDB and he has to go wolfsburg?

20 Sep 2016 04:23:20
After a poor start to the season, the U23s have now certainly found their feet. They lost their first two matches of the season by 4-1 margins against Southampton and Chelsea, but won their next 3: 3-1 against Arsenal, 4-0 against Leicester and 6-2 against Spurs yesterday.

I don't want to hype the kid up, but Ben Woodburn has had an excellent start to the season with 4 goals and 4 assists in 5 games while Harry Wilson has 3 goals and 3 assists. Woodburn starts left and Wilson right wing in a very similar formation to the senior team with Toni Gomes up top (Ings started couple of games too though for fitness reasons) .

Players like Ilori, Stewart, Williams, Brannagan and even Ings have been getting plenty of game time here though Ings has missed the last two matches and will likely start from the bench against Derby. Ejaria is back from injury as is Chirivella and young Grabara, Virtue, Toni Gomes, Brewitt and Whelan have all stepped up to the U23 level permanently by the looks of it.

Believable12 Unbelievable1

20 Sep 2016 07:55:41
seems like they have done quite well, thanks AG for the update.

20 Sep 2016 09:14:25
Cheers for the update AG, all good news!

20 Sep 2016 10:45:58
Im hoping Klopp can accommodate both Ings and Origi in the starting 11 tonight.
Great to see the U23's doing well.

20 Sep 2016 11:11:22
It will serve them well soon.

20 Sep 2016 11:28:14
Tbh . Chelsea have a good u23s team. I'm looking forward to seeing Harry Wilson play for the main team hope he makes it.

20 Sep 2016 16:32:25
Thanks, AG. We have talent in the reserves and hopefully, they will make the grade gradually.