Liverpool Banter Archive May 22 2016

22 May 2016 23:15:34
Hey eds.

First of all, love the site and the job you guys are doing. It's top class!

I recall one of you saying that Coutinho had told some national team mates, that he would leave Liverpool in the summer, if Liverpool couldn't offer him Champions League football after the summer. Since that's the case, do you expect Coutinho to leave this summer if he has the option to play Champions League football elsewhere?

I've tried to search for the answer for my question, but couldn't find one.

Thanks in advance

ACfromDK.

{Ed091's Note - I think the interest from Barca has gone from what i remember. Wouldnt be a surprise neither, as since neymar opened his mouth, coutinho has been very poor for every 8 out of 10 games }

23 May 2016 01:28:53
Coutinho needs to reinvent his game about how he approaches situations outside the box. Other AM's would first look to provide a killer pass before taking an attempt, even the likes of Neymar, Messi etc with all their talent at striking a ball, they first look to play open the defence and work the ball into dangerous positions within the box. Then if you have dangerous and willing runners to stretch or keep defenders occupied within that area in front of their box, then the mixture become lethal.

23 May 2016 02:24:37
I think Ed002 said that Barcelona looked at Coutinho again (in the Villareal game) so there is at least some interest from them in him. I think Coutinho has improved at LFC every season, and this was his best season yet, but there is of course plenty of room to improve, and I think he has the ability to keep improving, and with Klopp in charge, I think he can go up a level, and be LFC's main man next season.

{Ed002's Note - Barcelona's interest will depend on one or two departures.}

23 May 2016 03:48:07
one of them possibly being neymar, although arda turan is already facing the exit door, and no I don't expect Liverpool to sign him.

{Ed002's Note - Specifically Arda and Halilovic.}

23 May 2016 11:38:24
ive read on here fans moaning about couthino not scoring enough goals, and now in an above post he is getting stick for shooting too much, he can't win at this club because if he passes the ball to the strikers instead of shooting and trying to score he will get stick for not trying to score and now its he should pass instead of shooting so which is it, and i don't believe that messi would pass it to a team mate in fact I've seen players for Barcelona in great scoring positions in the box with only the goalie to beat just for the player to pass the ball out to messi, let's get it straight the Barcelona players have to pass to messi that's why he has scored so many goals because he gets set up so much by other players and sont get me wrong i'm not saying its wrong for it to happen because messi is the worlds best player and scores for fun but to say he would pass the ball to a team mate instead of scoring himself is wrong.

23 May 2016 11:40:58
Coutinho has broken himself because we as a team are crap.

Remeber when he used to have a simpler game when we had sturridge and suarez, gerrard and sterling? He didn't have to be the star. His role was to be creative yet economical in his play and he was great. Now, he recognises he has ended up as the best player in the team, not because he has improved, but because our team has got worse. He has had to resort to trying too hard and shooting from range because he no longer has good players around him, he no longer fulfils his role.

22 May 2016 21:35:22
Would Zlatan come to Liverpool if approached? What do we reckon? He'd be on silly money I guess but you'd save on a transfer fee.

22 May 2016 22:14:04
Way too old now . Probably just after his final big pay packet.
Let Utd pay it.

22 May 2016 21:58:06
We want a team, not galacticos. To be honest i think he could do well at a club like arsenal who need a bit of arrogance and cantona like insanity, but we tried that with balotelli, so no thanks.

22 May 2016 22:41:33
Absolutely not.

Happy with Studge and Divock with Ings and Firmino as alternatives.

22 May 2016 22:57:26
Overrated, scores some wonderful goals but he's lazy and certainly not a player klopp would want up front, he couldn't press a pair of trousers.

23 May 2016 01:31:01
50 goals and 19 assists in 51 games, yes… Very over rated.

23 May 2016 02:26:39
He is a great player, but a move to the PL and certainly one to Liverpool would be the wrong one for him and the club. He doesn't suit our style of play either IMO.

23 May 2016 02:27:09
He is quality (albeit aging) but he is playing for a very good side in a very weak league (they were 20 points clear in Jan) . Combined with his wage demands and his attitude, I would prefer to steer clear. Plus I can't see how he would suit Klopps philosophy - you might argue he is better individually than some of our existing strikers but he would weaken the team overall since he doesn't suit it.

23 May 2016 08:52:15
Not saying we should go for him but he is exactly the type of player attitude wise we need. Experienced and used to winning and won't buckle under a bit of pressure.

Hard to find those sort of players these days aside from suarez that is. And no i definately don't want him back.

23 May 2016 11:41:30
For sure he is on his last legs, but lazy? Can't find many players training harder than Zlatan. And he is not just about the goals, his mentality is an even more important contribution. Won the league with all his teams since forever, because he sets high standards for himself and his teammates.

That said he would not suit LFC under current manager. Zlatan can press, but is not quick enough, and has never been, to be a Klopp type striker.

23 May 2016 13:03:37
When was the last time Zlatan was under any pressure?

His team would walk the league if he decided to sit and have a cigar by the corner flag for 85minutes a game.

Last time there was really any pressure was Sweden v Portugal for in the World Cup playoffs. and he barely turned up.

Not what we need, would cost too much, thank God Klopp isn't quite that stupid.

22 May 2016 19:53:49
Ed1 Lloyd Jones, staying or going.

{Ed001's Note - yes......

Sorry couldn't resist! I think he is going, certainly was last I heard and I am not aware of anything changing.}

22 May 2016 20:27:25
u have to wonder how sad their life is to do it mate.

22 May 2016 20:40:22
So that means jones, wisdom, toure, skrtel ans ilori all going then. that's 5cbs. Leaves us with sakho (banned) lovren, matip and gomez who is unready atm. Looks like we need 2cbs. Tah and sule for me.

22 May 2016 21:13:57
Toure isn't leaving and Lucas is reliable there. Looks like we may be targeting Sule, but Tah links seem way wide of the mark.

22 May 2016 21:14:23
I wouldn't be so sure Toure is leaving, and we also have Lucas who can cover at CB. I think only 1 more CB is needed.

22 May 2016 21:58:20
I'm sorry but Lucas is ok at CB for cup games and the likes of Bournemouth but his lack of pace, height and constant fouling will soon have everyone turn on him. Personally I'd be happy to see him go, great professional but his legs have gone and he gives away to unecessary free kicks away.

22 May 2016 22:41:17
12 months ago nobody thought Toure was good enough. And just thought I'd point out that Lucas at 5ft11 is just 1 inch shorter than Toure.

Lucas is quite good in the air anyway.

22 May 2016 22:45:26
Sorry pegleg, you couldn't be more wrong.

Lucas is again showing his versatility as an alternate for defence as well as a dcm.

The guy started with us as an AM! Not many players have that versatility, not to mention loyalty.

Still got a couple more years at least in him, albeit probably as more of a squad player now, which, btw, he's happy with, an even further indication of the loyalty of the man.

He's the closest we currently have (alongside Cafu) of our Scouse heartbeat.

23 May 2016 00:14:05
You never know SG might return as a lothar Matheus lookee- likee sweeper!

23 May 2016 02:38:41
SG will never return as a defender. Lothar was always a brilliant defender (he was assigned to mark Maradona at the 86 World Cup from memory) so it was natural for him to drop deeper as he got older. So can't compare him to SG whose defensive skills (particularly his ability to read attacks) have never been anywhere near as good as his attacking skills.

22 May 2016 18:38:29
What is the current situation with Skrtel, are teams interested? And is Klopp looking to sell?

Thanks in advance Eds, love your constant hard work.

{Ed091's Note - he is open to being sold }

22 May 2016 19:21:33
Do you know of any teams that are interested?

{Ed001's Note - Besiktas have spoken to us, as confirmed by his agent. Galatasaray were interested and there were a couple of Chinese clubs sniffing round too.}

22 May 2016 19:31:28
His agent has said Besiktas want him.

22 May 2016 20:11:02
I know it means Nothing but found it quite funny that he liked an Instagram post saying he should be sold.

22 May 2016 14:50:11
Anyone showing any interest in Moreno?

22 May 2016 17:37:58
Sevilla.

22 May 2016 17:58:12
Circus.

22 May 2016 18:51:44
Jamie Carragher.

22 May 2016 19:13:51
You've been framed.

22 May 2016 19:17:11
Comolli.

22 May 2016 18:20:14
We're looking for a left back for our pub team, but I meant one, that can play and NOT LEFT BACK IN CHANGING ROOM .

23 May 2016 00:46:55
Most right sided players.

23 May 2016 04:44:03
The casting agents for Kung Fu panda 4?

22 May 2016 16:02:37
So with Jose supposedly getting the United job any chance he would be looking for Benteke? Didn't he want him at Chelsea and he would suit how Jose plays.

I know we wouldn't like to do business with them, but if we can get good money for him I'd be happy to we could offer Balotelli as a sweeter lol.

{Ed002's Note - Chelsea never wanted Benteke.}

22 May 2016 16:20:38
Why get rid of lukaku if you wanted a benteke like player?

{Ed002's Note - The decision to move Lukaku on was for his behaviour.}

22 May 2016 17:16:39
He probably wants Lukaku at Man Utd though.

22 May 2016 17:00:42
fair enough Ed.

22 May 2016 12:18:31
Ed001, do you know the reasons for Samed Yesil never making it at Liverpool? Was it simply lack of chance, lack of quality or poor attitude? Always found it strange given how highly rated he was when we first got him.

{Ed001's Note - injuries. He was always picking up injuries.}

22 May 2016 18:54:13
Broke his leg twice or both legs one at a time, took him around two full seasons to get towards reserve fitness. Too late at that point, although I'm sure he scored a good ratio to game time, not on loan though as I'm sure his loans have been poor.

22 May 2016 11:39:53
Honestly think we'll win the league next season.

22 May 2016 11:47:47
Nice one mate

We'll definitely challenge, we'll definitely win something 😎.

22 May 2016 11:56:36
ST, completely agree that we will be top 3 as a minimum
Got a good feeling about next season, and I will definitely have a wager on Liverpool in the cups too, as that is all we have to play for.

22 May 2016 12:03:35
I don't think we will be far away at all.

22 May 2016 12:14:29
I think the number of new players trying to gel means we'll be a bit inconsistent up till xmas, but hopefully come on strong and have a good finish.
Top four is possible as long as the new boys all gel together fairly quickly.

22 May 2016 12:42:59
We all thought we would beat Sevilla 😂😂.

22 May 2016 12:45:52
SQuare Tomato, had Joe mentioned anything about the left back situation? Any idea if Klopp has firmly put the idea of him playing at left back to bed or is it an option as it was under BR?

22 May 2016 13:42:36
im feeling optimistic a full pre season with Klopp and the other staff etc strong players coming in, it just feels good to me I'm pretty confident. to "hopeful" Joe can play along the back four but he wants to be CB Klopp sees him as that but it's all about getting back playing games after a long injury.

22 May 2016 13:53:04
as long as your mate sturridge stops dancing after scoring the match's first goal, we're fine.

22 May 2016 14:06:59
Is he fully recover like ings now tomato? Great info BTW, we're all behind him.

22 May 2016 14:31:43
Loving your optimism ST. I don't yet share your positivity, but that's mainly because of getting used to mediocrity over most of the last 25 years. However, I can honestly say I believe we have the very best manager possible, and with the hoped-for arrival of 3-4 top players to improve the starting 11, we should do much better in the league next season, particularly without having to play extra games in the CL or EL.

22 May 2016 14:48:02
It will be tough, because there is so much extra competition with Spurs, Southampton and West Ham all pushing on, not to mention Leicester. Chelsea will come back stronger. The main questions are can we field a solid defence, and can we keep our strikers fit, because going forward we look so good with Sturridge and / or Origi, also expect big things from danny Ings.
Ja Kurtz - we should have beaten Seville - we couldn't land the KO blow in the first and heads went in the 2nd half.

22 May 2016 15:49:17
What is this optimism based on? No doubt the fact we don't play in Europe will help us focus on the league. And going forward we look good with many options (especially if Gotze arrives) .

Still at the moment we are very far from challanging in my view. A key feature of teams winning the league in recent year has been their defensive toughness and by this I don't mean only the defenders but also the midfield. In my view, other than Mings, our main problem in recent years was how easy it was for teams to get to our box. We have to change to whole nature of how we play in midfield and bring the players that can do this work. I don't think we have defensive quality in the team to challange for the title at the moment.

And we have to change the mentality as well. At the moment we have mentality of midtable team. We have to change the 'one good game one poor game' mentality (or players) to mentality of every game is a cup final (which we need to win! ) .

It is crucial we keep all the players we want to keep. without Couts or Sturridge we have no chance to get anywhere. and the competition will be very tough next year. The current top 5 will only be stronger next year.

So long long way to go and awful lot of work. We have a great manager, we have some continuity and we should have a good pre season. Anything can happen. We can win the leage or finish 8 again. But a lot has to happen in this ssummer for us to challange for the title.

22 May 2016 15:58:50
Lol Andy I watched the game mate I know what happened.

Shoulda woulda coulda but didn't.

22 May 2016 16:38:19
In your armchair as Per usual Kurtz?

22 May 2016 17:08:27
Thanks mate.

22 May 2016 17:20:29
How would you know what I do mighty? But running a business and a family doesn't allow me to travel miles every weekend to watch a football match. As much as I love the club there are far more important things in my life now a days.

I suppose your paper round doesn't clash with game times?

22 May 2016 13:10:57
Kurtz, your theory then is because of the lost to Sevilla we are not going to have a good season next, good luck with the that theory lol.

22 May 2016 17:27:09
I knew I was right yet again.

22 May 2016 16:49:32
How would you know what I do mighty? But most of the time yeah the arm chair. Trying to run a business and a family doesn't allow for 600 mile round trip to watch a football match every week.

I suppose it's easy to arrange around your paper round?

22 May 2016 17:36:32
Yes your right again. What an achiever you are.

22 May 2016 18:25:18
Can't see why not . i mean BR got us to 2nd without euro football so klopp has a big job to do . its all about who he can get in . i think ings will be fine but midfield needs some quality in it and the back 5 needs a shake up . New keeper with migs 2nd and defo new left back.

22 May 2016 10:19:50
Thanks ed001, I like that you got confidence Klopp is going to take us to another level, obviously now I got the extra bit with them saying we now got a champion manager in mourhino to put up with all summer.

{Ed001's Note - Jose has a big job on his hands there.}

22 May 2016 11:18:45
Hi Ed001, what exactly happened at Chelsea this season that led to Mou's departure? I still think he's a brilliant tactician that gets his players playing for him, but it just seemed like he completely lost it this season.

{Ed001's Note - he lost the players.}

22 May 2016 11:50:19
Jose is past it IMO. We all know his M. O. :

Park the bus, hit on break with 2 speed merchants and have a violent thug as a striker diving around in the box.

22 May 2016 12:02:01
mourinho is a good manager, no doubt, but he uses the same formula wherever he goes. he buys the best players available at any given time, then tries to mould them into a team. Eds right, he has a huge job on his hands, but there are a number of factors not in his favour. One is that the current breed of top players are a different breed to the ones in his heyday. some of them on huge wages don't appear to have the same incentive to play as a team, eg current Chelsea squad that he built or players like Balotelli etc. Klopps plan is more about getting some top players, but primarily those who really want to play forr their wages eg Suarez type.
United are a great club but it could be a long road back for them, especially with the abrasive attitude of Mourinho at times. Some modern players don't like to told what to do, as Van Gaal found out with some of his buys. We shall see.

22 May 2016 12:10:16
Thanks Ed for the reply, was it anything like his last season at Real? That was a proper mess.

{Ed001's Note - no not as bad as that, that was down to problems within Madrid anyway.}

22 May 2016 12:18:42
I don't like him as a manager or a person and think he is a vain self obssessed moron. What happened at chelsea was his vanity catching up with him, he angered too many people with his antics and lost the players as result, worse than i have ever seen from any team actually.

22 May 2016 13:58:29
Could be a renaissance for Fellaini then Ron!

22 May 2016 14:43:18
Don't bold back AW say what you really feel haha! Totally agree, I also think Man Utd have been totally lacking in class the way they have treated Van Gaal, so it would seem that Utd and Jose are a perfect fit. Just waiting for the drama to unfold at the Theatre.

22 May 2016 14:58:50
Anonymous - He's defo vain and self obsessed, but he isn't a moron, and Utd will win things under him in the 2-4 years he stays, which will keep the mega sponsors off the owner's backs for a while. I hope I am dead wrong on this! I will be (pleasantly) surprised if they are not top 4 next season. What is unlikley is that he will build or leave a legacy, whereas I expect Klopp to improve our position sustainably, in much the same way as he did with Dortmund.

22 May 2016 18:19:42
Yes except mourinho already has great teams in place for him when he joins, he just improves them with the vast resources he receives. United have more money than just about anybody but transfers are becoming harder, in part due to the overhyping of the clueless media of players and the clubs not knowing how to handle them when they sign them and struggle.

United have a bad team on the decline, virtually none of the foundation fergie left is there. Martial was a good purchase but at what cost? can't go blowing 60 million a piece for half decent players. They quite literally have martial, and de gea, who will leave eventually. Smalling is okay. Rooney is vastly on the decline but is almost unshiftable and the media just won't have it that he be dropped. United are in a right mess, and you can kiss the chance of those youngsters kicking on goodbye if mourinho takes over.

23 May 2016 04:00:51
will they even fit his ego into the stadium? the best thing about this for me is that deep down all the utd fans wanted pep, who will have unlimited funds to work with and of course champions league, where as the ego will have unlimited funds and the Europa league, I hope utds club doctor is made of stern stuff.

22 May 2016 09:58:18
Morning, just wanted to flag something up to all on this site and hopefully beyond, listened to a recording on talksport 2 of Andy goldstein's show after we lost to sevilla, now it was the normally bating of gullible people who they wanted to ring in and rant, making comments like "are you genuinely worried about were klopp is going to take your side next season"etc etc, and lots of other nonsense and reds were ringing in and giving them fuel for there show.

Now if your familiar with there nonsensical claptrap then the above won't bother you, but they then spoke to a daily mirror journalist and that's were it turned a little sinister for me, they were goading the journalist about the crowd trouble ( which I'm not condoning by the way. )

The journalist was saying about uefa's poor organisation and segregation, not as an excuse but to give the full picture on what went on, and he and Jason candy were really having a go with the usual "it's a disgrace" etc etc but there was a undercurrent to how vehemently angry they were becoming and continually talking over the journalist and constantly asking "are you going to report this", the undercurrent being "you won't because of the Hillsborough vindication of us", now they didn't say it but that's what they were subtly suggesting.

Now I will no longer listen to there show, ( I was an infrequent listener anyway) but I would urge all Liverpool supporters to boycott this show, don't ring in don't give there show any fuel, I'd urge you all to let friends and family know and ask them to boycott ringing there show, if I had Facebook or Twitter I'd drive this myself, but if at all possible I'd be grateful if some of you could let as many people know as possible. #BOYCOTT GOLDSTEIN AND CUNDY. Thanks.

{Ed091's Note - I've listen to them once, never again after. Also spoke to collymore live on air once, an the man is a complete buffoon. its only could for when a game is on. }

22 May 2016 10:20:24
I could hear them in my head shouting "it's a disgrace" on the crackly AM radio as I read this.
I don't listen to TalkS**te anyway, but hopefully the readers can get behind this.

22 May 2016 11:02:26
Cundy seems to have a very short memory. It was not too long ago Chelsea fans were being banned for life from football grounds for pushing a black guy off the underground metro in Paris and singing racists chants, which I would rather not repeat.

He clearly has a problem with us, more so when there is nothing for him to shout about his own team at the moment.

22 May 2016 11:19:07
It makes no sense.

We have Ings who is in the same bracket, always running behind with serious pace and a workhorse. I'd take him over Long anyday.

22 May 2016 11:26:39
Used to listen regularly but I got annoyed to Adrian Durham and Darren Gough one evening on the way home from work for just talking crap.

Haven't listened since but after this post, I'll definitely never listen again.

22 May 2016 14:09:50
Most journos are poo stirring scum. Anything to get a name for themselves. That's why I'm so grateful we have this site.

22 May 2016 09:39:27
with no euro games next season, and other clubs having new managers we have the upper hand because we will be more settled than most of the other teams, also the players klopp is signing are young so if not this new season coming it will be the season after that our title challange will go into overdrive but i don't know why it can't be this coming season that we have a go at winning the prem, with less games to be played let's hope we have less injuries because the players will get more rest, klopp has bought a couple of players and we are linked with a few others but i think the owners as well as the fans will want proven quality players and the owners will back klopp on this so with one or two proven quality players added to the rest of the players we have got plus add the fact we are out of wurope and have less games then i really think we can have a great shot at the prem title no matter way you look at it though there's exciting times ahead.

22 May 2016 09:16:25
Interesting reading the ed01 and 02s opinions on klopp. ed01.seems much more confident in his ability.02 seems rather more critical.

22 May 2016 10:21:33
Long term readers of the site will remember ed002s opinions on Commoli being spot on from day 1.
Also his opinions on Rodgers where also spot on from day 1.

22 May 2016 11:09:56
I have to agree, ed01 is a Liverpool fan and as Liverpool fans we can see the potential we can have under klopp, it just depends on some very important variables throughout the summer. Having said that it could go completely the opposite way and not work out for klopp at Liverpool and eventually people will want change again. Not saying that's ed02 opinion but I find a lot of his opinions about people within football to be quite accurate. I also have agreed with most of the things he's had to say about klopp.

22 May 2016 11:54:42
Football is all about opinions - both Eds are very knowledgeable and well worth listening to.

22 May 2016 14:01:11
They were easier to get correct though - ed001 was skeptical about Comolli and Rodgers too, as were most people I think. Comolli has never really been a big success anywhere, and Rodgers was a relative rookie with absolutely no experience for the job. With the greatest respect to ed002, ed001's views on Klopp are IMO more comprehensive. Ed002 was blaming the EL loss on 'gegenpress being found out'. when we didn't even use gegenpress!

{Ed002's Note - Would you like to point to the post where I said that Nick?}

22 May 2016 18:31:36
Ed02 stain NO such thing. He/ she just said that the gegenpress which Ed01 has repeatedly said that Klopp has stopped doing and that we no longer do, was found out in Germany hence the reason, he had a bad run in the end of his tenure in BVB, an opinion ED01 has repeatedly disagreed with.

22 May 2016 08:47:21
Hi eds thank you for your previous responses to my questions I love having your insight. May I ask you for a bit of your knowledge please, I'm now going to have man utd fans in my ear of how they have done better than us this season (cup and European football) and klopp is a flopp and blah blah blah, what would your response be. Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - just tell them well done, and leave it because you will be able to remind them how stupid they look when Klopp takes us up a whole new level. In the future you will be able to bring that up every time they try and talk footie.}

22 May 2016 11:15:36
Just take it, they got one over on us. They had a better season than us even though we both had rubbish seasons. We would do the same if we had won the Europa and they lost the FA cup, I just feel like there banter is a bit more venomous.

22 May 2016 18:40:05
We both failed to make it to the CL so don't see what the issue is.

22 May 2016 08:10:41
If anyone is interested in Liverpool, the club and its history I recommend reading a biography of Joe Fagan called Joe Fagan. Brilliant read and a great insight into what made the club into what it is now. How the boot room started and the man who was there with Shankly and Paisley, through those days of struggle and then onto glory. Joe, an honest and very well respected man who became our manager and who Never changed. Fantastic read.

22 May 2016 05:42:43
Yo ed001. How difficult will it be to make top 4 next season you reckon?

I love the hysteria that 'all spots are already taken' because United got Mournho (probably) and Chelsea got Conte. They both have rebuilding jobs to do. without UCL, just like us!

{Ed001's Note - I am not convinced by Conte, he is a firefighter, someone to get a team going, but he is tactically weak in the long term and limited. He is, in my opinion, little more than an Italian Allardyce. Fine for getting team spirit up and halting a slide, but he has a level, he was found out massively in Europe.

I think next season is actually our best chance. United and City lack quality throughout the team. Leicester will have the pressure of Champions League football. Arsenal have the uncertainty of Wenger's future hanging over them. Spurs are still Spurs, as they showed at the end of the season, when they did a Spurs and folded under pressure. This is the time to really get in there.}

22 May 2016 06:12:07
The only certainty I can see to make top 4 is City, because they have Guardiola and UCL. You're right, Arsenal could finally drop out with that uncertainty hanging over them. Do you expect United to make any particularly big, hyped signings?

{Ed001's Note - I expect a complete overhaul over the next couple of seasons there.}

22 May 2016 06:26:05
Hi Ed001,i am really up lifted by your optimism. Will be looking fwd to pre season games and new signings. Heard Xhaka joining arsenal, they seem building quite a squad there. Xhaka is one that got away as we need steel mid-field.

22 May 2016 07:21:52
Wish I could share that optimism I think we will either finish 4th or 5th. It all depends on recruitment I think most the other teams will get better players in. The players we are targeting at the moment don't seem like the players that will push us to the next level.

22 May 2016 07:32:13
Good signings that take you to the next level don't need to be hollywood signings.

22 May 2016 09:43:15
IMO we are in a better position than city, Chelsea and united.

All the above teams are getting new managers so they need a settling in period and time to asses the squad.

Conte I know nothing about but take eds word on him.

Guadiola I'm not convinced by personally, city need to rebuild and I don't recall him actually doing that.

Mourinho lost the plot last season so who knows.

Klopp has had his settling in period and knows exactly what is needed for next season. No European football also puts us at an advantage by having far less games.

Leicester with there squad size and also spurs in a sense will struggle with the extra amount of games to be played.

Arsenal I believe will stay in the top 4 going against what people think, as they have the settled squad and look set to add. Xhaka as well.

22 May 2016 09:44:59
Everyone talks about big signings being critical to winning but reality is a lot of these fail and often it takes a while for these to settle anyway.

Having said that from a Liverpool perspective, Matip is a big signing IMO - one of the best CBs in the Bundesleague. Karius would be another as improves our GK problem. We already recently signed Firmino and now going into second season having shown flashes of brilliance, and Can who's matured nicely and ready for a big one.

In short, I agree with Ed this could be our best chance with Chelsea, Man Utd (probably), Man City all with new coaches and Arsenal in discomfort at how long Wenger has been around.

By contrast we have Klopp with a few months under his belt and ready for his first full season, players mostly settled, no Europe so a weeks break/ training between games.

I truly believe next year is a fantastic opportunity but I don't think us winning is about signings at all (with the sole exception of GK and LB) . We have the coach and most of the players, we just need the coaching, hunger, teamwork and steel.

22 May 2016 11:28:59
I never said the signings need to be big name players, all big name players aren't necessarily good players anyway. I'm talking about quality players that will improve our first team. Grujic? No. Zielinski? No. Matip? Yes (only because of the sahko ban karius? Maybe. Target the right players and the first team will improve ten folds but when you target young potential or average players playing well at lower table clubs then you generally get the same result as you do the other 10 times we have done so. Grujic and zielinski shout Rogers to me, even matip does as well. And I've made sure I've watched them all since serious interest was confirmed or when we actually signed them.

23 May 2016 04:11:21
the only place we should be aiming for is 1st place, 27 years and counting and quite frankly for a club of our size its a disgrace, that's one of the things I don't like about the top 4 qualifying for Europe, fans get quite blasé about not being champions, it should be our top priority for next season, nothing else should matter.

22 May 2016 00:04:33
It's a shocker. Amazing. And I don't understand what's wrong. The season is over and there has not been one single rumour or banter about Arda Turan joining us this summer. LOL.

22 May 2016 00:15:10
Just read a report on another site that were in for him. Only been at Barcelona 10 months I think. Terrible journalism.

22 May 2016 00:32:13
Jonesred - Really? I wasn't aware. Well, it's good news anyway. Things are actually quite normal, then . LOL.

22 May 2016 00:57:06
Just wait for the transfer window to open, he'll be the first signing sighted at the John Lennon airport with Huntelaar Lol.

22 May 2016 12:47:50
I'm still waiting for him and dani alves to be en route during fernando torres' medical while david villa does the rounds in john lennon airport.