Liverpool Banter Archive January 25 2018

 

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25 Jan 2018 19:15:22
I know I've rambled on the past couple of days about how much I love Firmino but I was just thinking, imagine him getting support from Keita next season? he's bagging in all the goals this season, I see next season him been even better, especially if we get another center mid incoming, a top one. Then we've got TAA to think about who could also play in that position. Them kinda players feeding the likes of Mane, Salah and most importantly Firmino? we'll be laughing.

I'm really excited about this season in general, I think top 4 is ours for the taking (even if we don't sign anybody else) I honestly believe we will improve our position from last season. Next season I'm more excited about, I think Keita is going to bring so much to the team, shame we can't get him this month but we have it to look forward to so I'm overall delighted and I can't wait to see him part of the team.

I saw a lot of Keita last season but not much this, has he calmed down a bit? I know at the beginning he was getting red cards left right and center.

Anyway just a random post, onwards and upwards, forget the Swansea game it's over and done with, overall we should be happy, I think we have a lot to look forward to.

Believable17 Unbelievable3

{Ed002's Note - No he has not calmed down. I have explained the problems there have been already.}

25 Jan 2018 19:31:43
Salah, the Swansea game wasn’t a game in isolation. It’s happened a number of times this season.


25 Jan 2018 19:33:48
So on the other hand, that's concerning. Let's hope Klopp can knock him into touch.


25 Jan 2018 19:36:32
Hopefully the change to a big club will help him mature on and off the field.


25 Jan 2018 19:38:47
Salah has 17 goals in the league
Firminho 10

So I don't know why you say Firminho is getting all the goals. He missed a sitter in the last minute v Swansea his only chance of the game.

He has had a good season so far but Salah has been better.


25 Jan 2018 19:52:28
Thats the 3rd comment i see here saying Salah has 17 league goals, he has 18!


25 Jan 2018 19:57:27
Mark I never said he was better then Salah did I? You obviously didn't understand my post.

Yeah alright he missed a sitter, he is human is he not? wasn't just him though was it, the whole team played bad that night. It happens.

Salah has without a doubt been the best player this season but I wasn't discussing him.


25 Jan 2018 20:43:19
Your post says

"hes bagging in all the goals this season". He is actually in the league a few goals down where he needs to be if we are going to challenge.

I take it that wasn't what you mean't to say.


25 Jan 2018 21:30:32
Yeah apologies Mark, wrong choice of words mate there lol.


25 Jan 2018 23:01:50
I am not so sure Keita is the player many believes he is, i watched him quite a bit last season, and i don't know if he is as good as people want him to be. he can run a lot and has decent power for his size, but to me it seems like he is lacking abit in his understanding of the game, sometimes running around like a headless chicken. But i said the same thing about Mane, id love to be wrong.


25 Jan 2018 23:10:04
Stoupid, each to their own opinion mate. I kind of understand what you are saying but overall I'd have to disagree, I think he's the real deal mate personally. Plus, I think with the team we have, he'd fit in like a jigsaw and I believe he'll hit the ground running, as long as he sorts his head out he can be a vital cog to our machine.

There was a few games I'd seen of him where he did literally bugger all and seemed a bit out of it, almost as if he couldn't be bothered? but the majority of the games I have seen he impressed me. At Liverpool he can't afford to have lazy days, he needs to step up and use his full potential every single day and I think he will, he wanted this move and is obviously wanting to be here asap, I hope once he gets the move he'll have the right state of mind and sort his head out.


25 Jan 2018 23:17:46
Stoupid, i actually agree and i was against signing Keita. His attitude really concerns me.

However, ability wise he excites me. It is very easy to forget (because of his price tag), that Keita is still only 22 years old, and nowhere near his peak.


26 Jan 2018 06:26:30
Chill out Mark.


26 Jan 2018 08:24:23
I don't agree with the constant Firminho Love in that is often on the same people's posts, that's all. Even Mk now agrees with me in certain games he should play in a different role. No point everyone having the same opinion and just saying yea yea isn't he great he gets loads of goals, assists wins us games and he is the glue etc. I have a different opinion.

Keita - Stoupid if you were not impressed with him last season then it is a good job you haven't watched him this season. For me it is like VVD who improves our defence. Keita will 100% improve our midfield and if the want £15m to bring him now, pay the money.


26 Jan 2018 09:34:46
Im not saying he isn't going to improve our midfield, its just that some people seems to think with Keita in the team we will no longer strugle to break down defensive teams, we will stop letting in easy goals etc etc. to me he looks like a good player, can do a litle bit of everything but not extremely good at anything. i was not trying to be negative towards Keita, its just that i can't se him running a midfield like say Hamsik does. And i have watched him this season also, don't see the big difference from last year to be honest, exept this year the media is highlighting the negative things, while last year they highlighted the positives. and im sorry for my bad English, im not very smart you know.


{Ed002's Note - There are a lot of negative things. On-field discipline, off-field issues, taunting the other players with new cars, the money he will be earning, refusing to train, etc., etc.. The club are absolutely sick of him.}

26 Jan 2018 10:22:16
Maybe this is the deal we have to get done. RBL might meet us half way on extra cash. Like £10m extra now and £10m if we qualify for the group stages of Champions league. Then all other targets can wait for the summer.


{Ed002's Note - Why would BD want to do that. Liverpool know what it would take and don't want to pay it. If that changes then fine.}

26 Jan 2018 16:12:08
If the club are sick of him, why wouldn't they want to offload him this window? Genuine question, not trying to pick holes in what Ed2 is saying.


{Ed002's Note - Because of their need for him to play in the latter half of the season as they push for the Champions League. They gave Liverpool a price at the start of the window - Liverpool did not want to pay it. Perhaps they realised they are already paying well over the odds and pushing the transfer fee towards €100M is stupid?}

25 Jan 2018 18:23:36
So I've decided that I would like Liverpool to sign someone please.

Don't really care who, we probably don't even need anyone but I just fancy a signing, the more obscure and pointless the better.

Rondon will do but how about Wesley Sniejder or Oscar!? Mitrovic maybe?

Go on Reds! Suprise us all!

Believable9 Unbelievable10

25 Jan 2018 18:54:42
Simao.


25 Jan 2018 18:54:51
I agree, and there's one position that I think that we should strengthen, and reflects what many of the posters on here have suggested over the months.

We need a striker, as our striker is not necessarily an out-and-out goal scorer, but then again he isn't necessarily provided with the ammunition from central midfield, so the centre mid position is a must to ensure we achieve that big "top four position. But what about the cover for the defence then? Forget that as we require a deep lying defensive midfielder to cover our back line, as we continue to conceed goals as the defence is poor. Then again, the defence is decent, so it's the keeper to blame. Yep, that's the problem, or maybe it's the centre midfield position? Substitutes? Have we got a Steve Walsh to blame like the blue noses? Forget me, I agree and would be happy if we signed some sort of player, maybe a marque one or a has-been, but any player will do.


25 Jan 2018 19:04:47
I think we should sign Francis Jeffers just for a giggle.


25 Jan 2018 19:04:54
We could always give a youngster a go BUT that just ludicrous, right?


25 Jan 2018 19:32:50
I’m not convinced our youngsters are as good as we think they are for the position that we’re lacking.


25 Jan 2018 20:10:59
Yarmalenko.


25 Jan 2018 21:23:23
konoplyanka.


25 Jan 2018 22:02:12
Bolt.
He is fast, should fit in no problems.


26 Jan 2018 06:47:37
Bolt would only fit with the right nut, what's Joey Barton up to these days?
Fancy a game Joey?


26 Jan 2018 09:45:06
Why is it so important that Firmino scores more goals, when attack is the part of the team that works best?


25 Jan 2018 18:16:29
I personally wouldn't mind Rondon. Think he's decent in a poor team. Would improve in a better team.
Would be decent back up, but would lower Solankes minutes.

Believable4 Unbelievable21

25 Jan 2018 19:05:47
I'd rather sign no one than signing Rondon.


25 Jan 2018 19:53:59
Give me strength.


25 Jan 2018 23:14:17
Rondon? Please tell me you are joking?


25 Jan 2018 18:09:06
Ed do you think we have the squad to compete to stay in the top4 for the remainder of the season, if with our nearest rivals strengthening?

Believable3 Unbelievable4

{Ed002's Note - Sure.}

25 Jan 2018 19:09:27
Of course, Kloppsred. It is up to us to show it. We went 18 unbeaten with the very same set of players so why should anything change? If we allow one loss in 19 to derail all the good we have done after the Spurs debacle then we have no one to blame BUT ourselves for allowing that to fester.


26 Jan 2018 16:47:11
BTW Mark, do you ever have anything good to say about LFC cos most of of your posts always seem to have a moan it them?


25 Jan 2018 16:46:40
Emre Can close to signing new 3 Year contract?

Believable3 Unbelievable14

25 Jan 2018 16:59:28
You should know Mo you share the dressing room with him ask him.


25 Jan 2018 17:28:02
Good point JC i didn't think of that mate.


25 Jan 2018 18:11:09
Hope that's wrong far better players out there.


25 Jan 2018 19:10:05
Mo, are you asking or do you know or are you using the force?


26 Jan 2018 03:48:29
He isn't up to lfc requirements so I hope he doesn't get given a new contract.


25 Jan 2018 16:13:28
With Zidane being under pressure at RM, if they do decide to part company with him, do you think they would try for Klopp? Or are there other options they would be more interested in.

Believable1 Unbelievable9

25 Jan 2018 16:45:13
Toni Kroos is pushing for that to happen.


25 Jan 2018 17:00:39
Don't see Klopp as the man to jump ship personally even if it is RM asking.


25 Jan 2018 17:36:24
Bale has said he wants it too. Can’t see Klopp going bitcit all depends on the offer.
He’ll get more patience at LFC, but Madrid is a huge job.


{Ed002's Note - What offer?}

25 Jan 2018 18:14:19
Why would Madrid offer a manager who hasn't won major trophies for years?


25 Jan 2018 19:11:51
The same way they offered a rookie like ZZ the job until he won something, Kopitef. It's not that complicated.


25 Jan 2018 19:51:33
If they were to approach ed, then I imagine the package they offer could determine the outcome.


{Ed002's Note - They are not going to approach him.}

25 Jan 2018 20:39:09
Great news, thanks Ed 😘.


25 Jan 2018 20:46:18
Fair point Brover.


25 Jan 2018 22:00:45
Hope it happen and we can have Unai Emery or Rafa back. These are real tactician. I mean seriously pressuring your opponent into mistake? Is that even football?


25 Jan 2018 22:04:18
Madrid already lined up a replacement and he is German. Wont be free until after the world cup though.


26 Jan 2018 02:18:31
wow leek. what is football then?


25 Jan 2018 14:55:06
Hi Ed’s and fellow reds, I’ve been reading reports that we are looking at Solomon Rondon from WBA, this surely isn’t true.
Cheers eds all the best.

Believable0 Unbelievable10

25 Jan 2018 16:30:58
We were looking at him when we got benteke we should have got rondon instead he actually works hard, not the answer now though.


25 Jan 2018 17:41:14
I think he's a good player. But not the player for us.


25 Jan 2018 13:53:43
Hi Eds and reds, hope your all well, something a bit different,
just a question about past players who were classed as world class in there day, for example George Best
, Graeme Souness ( other players were available ) do people think if they had been born in the premier league era that they would have been classed World class? Or has football changed that much that in recent times that these players could have struggled nowadays?
I'm just watching Robbie Fowler's 100 club on sky and I know he was in the premier league era but even now do people think could he have had the same success as he had all those years ago?
Cheers
Jamesy.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

25 Jan 2018 14:00:53
He'd have had more because modern medical science would've seen him stay fit for much longer than he did.


25 Jan 2018 14:08:52
Imagine him in our team now MK . My favourite player.


25 Jan 2018 14:52:30
Kenny, obviously. Play him as a 10.
Better than De Bruyne and scored a lot more goals.
£150 million plus player now, I reckon.


25 Jan 2018 15:31:08
I honestly think its impossible to compare players from back then to players today. Everything about football is changed. What the greats from this generation and previous ones have in common is that they were able to be great in the circumstances they played in, even if those circumstances may be different today. Sure souness may have been fitter for longer today, but if a footballer today led the lifestyle the players used to back then, they wouldn't last 5 minutes on the pitch. There are so many factors to consider.

From what i've seen of george best, his footballing brain was wired in a way that was completely different to every player before or since. The only player who has been similar in this manner is probably ronaldinhio, so unpredictable.


25 Jan 2018 15:54:32
I think the best players were probably at the same level then as the best players are now. The difference will be at the other end of the scale.

My suspicion is that the players who were being relegated from the PL 25 years ago would struggle to even get in Championship sides today.


25 Jan 2018 16:08:58
Kenny was better than Neymar so his modern day price would be closer to £300 million.


25 Jan 2018 16:26:12
It’s difficult to say how an oldie would play in the premier league now. But looking at it the other way, having seen old and current football styles how would the world class crop of today fair in the oldie era?
In my opinion most of the current world class wouldn’t make it because they are so delicate now. Someone like Suarez would do ok.

Brazilian Ronaldo would be world class in any era.


25 Jan 2018 18:23:46
The liverpool 88/ 89 team would win the league.


25 Jan 2018 19:09:54
It is a very different game to what it was 20 years ago. I mostly think defending was an art back then, and certainly far superior to what defending is nowadays. He didn’t overly rely on pace as so foward players do today, just positioning, reactions, reading the game and world class finishing. For these reasons I think Fowler would genuinely be one of the worlds top strikers even in modern football.


25 Jan 2018 19:38:48
Agreed Westwood .


25 Jan 2018 12:59:43
So Rondon and Van Dijk? Klopp must really be sick of our set piece frailties 😂.

Believable1 Unbelievable4

25 Jan 2018 13:42:17
Zero interest in Rondon MK.


25 Jan 2018 12:42:28
Guys, we just signed a young guy from a smallish club who is probably really excited about the move he's making. The last thing he needs is to jump on line to do some research on his fan base and see hundreds of people from his new club taking the piss. It's uncalled for at the best of times.

Welcome to LFC Tony and good luck, hopefully we see what you can do soon!

Believable20 Unbelievable2

25 Jan 2018 13:05:54
Yes, good luck to the lad!


25 Jan 2018 13:13:12
Twitter?
That place is vile!


25 Jan 2018 13:43:49
Vile would be an improvement I think.


25 Jan 2018 11:59:37
Just seen the birthday wishes and would like to thank everyone. Particularly hate birthdays since the 21st one. It's all down hill after that!
I'd just like to thank ed001 for the kind message, will always remember that Indian restaurant near Cheltenham when he told Rodgers was sacked before Rodgers even knew.
Would like to thank ed002 for his sheer commitment to the site despite many a DF trying their best to abuse as well as the backing for the charity game.
And finally I'd like the thank Phil the co creator of this site, as he is currently helping me make a website, from an idea that came to me. He truly is a top bloke and very talented.
Ed025, spose you're alright.
On the charity game. Everything is in place. Dermot Gallagher is dodging me, think he thinks he's big time on sly or something lol. Seeing his analyse it may be best to avoid him anyway!
I have an RA meeting tonight, which has a special guest championship Referee, so I'll put it to him if he's up for it. The just giving page is sat at £155, and once players match fees coming it we will definitely clear the £1000 mark for the two charities.
Cheers guys.

Believable12 Unbelievable0

{Ed001's Note - nice one mate, you must have hated the last 30 bdays then....}

25 Jan 2018 11:38:31
Who do you dislike the most?

Thumbs up - Gary Neville.
Thumbs down - Phil Neville.
Comment - "Mike Ashley".

I have to go with Mike Ashley, for so many reasons.

At least the other two are just kids in teenage boys' bodies.

Believable7 Unbelievable5

{Ed001's Note - Ashley by a long way.}

25 Jan 2018 13:07:27
Ashley. Because I profoundly dislike the Neville's for footballing reasons. I also dislike Ashley for footballing reasons, but mostly for abusing the law to keep tens of thousands of workers in poverty. His actions, especially around his abuse of zero hour contracts, have not only affected his own staff but given a bad name to hundreds of responsible organisations and a harder life for hundreds of thousands of people by not only breaking the law, but instead of admitting it when it was clearly shown throwing money at it to tie proceedings up in pointless legal maneuverings that served no purpose than to make everyone else look as bad as he is. A genuinely awful human being.


25 Jan 2018 13:09:21
Lol no brainer, definitely Ashley.


25 Jan 2018 13:14:46
Careful, you'll upset the 0.000001% who argue for zero hours contracts.


25 Jan 2018 16:29:22
Ashley.


25 Jan 2018 19:31:10
Ashley the parasite.


25 Jan 2018 22:19:51
Thanks for the feedback all.
Just thank your lucky stars he's nothing to do with our club.


25 Jan 2018 22:46:02
Ashley.


25 Jan 2018 12:18:26
This new left back I hear he is dubbed “the Scottish Marcelo” is this true?

I’m assuming this means one of Robertson or Moreno are leaving now he is coming in?

Believable0 Unbelievable8

25 Jan 2018 12:32:25
He is a kid, a one for the future fingers crossed.


25 Jan 2018 13:38:44
I wasn’t being serious, I was fishing for a reaction lol.


25 Jan 2018 10:53:22
I have a friend inside the club at Falkirk. Hearing today we are going to be signing Tony Gallagher. Have you seen anything of him eds? I know he was linked with Barcelona recently enough.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

{Ed007's Note - Sorry but I've never actually seen the kid play but I've heard from a couple of people that he's a cracking player for his age and has plenty of potential. And for £200k you might have got a proper bargain there.}

25 Jan 2018 11:46:36
Ah, but didn't you read below, we shouldn't buy youth prospects some people are saying, as it'll apparently stall their careers cause we're such a bad club for youth prospects allegedly, or it'll block someone else's path to the first team like Juanma who was released by Barca, so it was okay to take him.

Oh my, this coming from Liverpool "fans" too by the way lol.
Zero ambition!

He's well worth a punt from what I've been hearing/ reading, but let's not buy anyone in case we ruin them and they end up never making it with us, cause that never happens at other clubs now does it?! :)

At other clubs, all youth prospects go to 1st team heaven :)


25 Jan 2018 12:28:06
Well said oirish.


25 Jan 2018 12:45:06
No orlish, we shouldn't be 'not signing youth players'. No one is saying that. They are saying that IF we sign youth players, we should have a plan on how we will help them develop into senior players and actually give them a chance to play every once in a while!

Top marks for reading what you want and completely ignoring everyone's point though, takes a lot of skill to do it so consistently.


25 Jan 2018 13:17:25
Haha!

It was a tongue in cheek joke hjikle, well done for missing the point :)


25 Jan 2018 13:56:22
This is for Ed007,
Do you remember this Celtic song, I think it is one of the best ever songs,

Goal keeper Richie nervous and twitchy when Lennox gets hold of the ball, hoping he will fall.
John Greg the captain finds him self trapped in a spot on the penalty box by Lennox the fox.
Oh the lonely people where do they all come from, Ah look at all the lonely people they who said they were the people where do they all belong.

Even big Proven can't stop the roving of Lennox the bow legged Bomb where did he come from.
Holy St Patrick Bobbies great hat trick will go down in the annuals fame he played a great game, oh the lonely people where do they all come from.

Thanks to the Beatles for there fab song. ( Eleanor Rigby) .
Red Tag.


{Ed007's Note - I haven't heard that before mate, probably a bit before my time. I've put it up on the Celtic site to see if any the old Bhoys remember it.}

25 Jan 2018 10:10:25
So we're not buying Ezri Konsa too this window as his £5m price is too steep for Jurgen Klopp according to the Echo.

Let Southampton buy him then and next season we can have him for a bargain price of £100m.

If £5m is too much for us to take a slight chance on a 20 year old player who could get in our squad right now, then I honestly have no idea what this club is doing.

Believable7 Unbelievable8

25 Jan 2018 10:41:33
Never heard of the lad a week ago, but we're stupid for not spending 5m on him when he could definitely get in our squad now.

He's 20, and a CB. The chances of him being ready to play CB in the PL is tiny at this point in time, it very rarely happens. Meanwhile we just bought VVD for 75m whose a guarenteed starter, Gomez is looking likely to be his future partner, we still have Matip, Lovren and Klavan and promising young players like Juanma of a similar age coming through the academy. But sure, spend another 5m to block this guys career path. Why not, we're LFC and we buy whoeever we want regardless of whether or not there is room in the squad for them!


25 Jan 2018 10:58:28
He's under 21, he's English (HG), he's got first team games under his belt for his club in a very competitive league and is very highly rated by many ITK.

He could be loaned back to Charlton for a half season to 18 months or so, then brought into the squad when Lovren/ Klavan or both are moved on.
He can also play at RB, Clyne is likely to go in the summer, he can also cover there if Gomez is moved to CB, look at the bigger picture man.

How will buying him now for a decent fee ruin his career?

I'm sorry mate, have you seen Juanma play at CB many times, I have and he ain't that good let me tell ya, certainly not as good as this kid from Charlton.

Juanma is an ok player, he will not make it at LFC sadly.
Whereas this kid actually could play for us now or in a few months if they want to loan him back first - it's just a case of having a development plan for him and hope he makes it, if not, then we lose only a small fee.


25 Jan 2018 11:22:32
I agree Kev, similar issue with Alli and we weren’t prepared to pay up. Gomez’s success should surely bean exams of a risk worth taking.


25 Jan 2018 11:58:39
This will be another Dele Alli moment in my opinion. Konsa could easily be going to the top of English football with someone and if that could be us, we should be making sure it is. £5m? That would just about pay Alexis Sanchez for 2 months. It's pocket change in modern football. If Sanchez sneezes he probably wipes his nose on a £50 note because it's not worth his time to look for a tissue.


25 Jan 2018 11:59:25
Exactly!

If we follow the ideas laid out by hjikle, we'll never find a bargain youth player again - I mean did he ever think, that maybe, just maybe we should look to beyond just this season and that Lovren/ Klavan might be moving on - what better replacement to have than a player who is English (I'm not even British by the way) and who understands the game here and that obviously there's a chance that we don't have that type of player in our youths already.

There's talk of Masterson being decent and he has looked pretty good the 4 times or so I have seen him, but we took a chance on him didn't we and uprooted him from Ireland, so why not try Konsa, he may have agreed to move elsewhere possibly of course but not according to this report in the Echo?!

£5m is nothing in today's game and it's not even our money is it?


25 Jan 2018 12:12:52
The important thing is we have a plan and we're not just stockpiling players on the off chance they come good.

In this instance the plan should be that there is a space for a young CB to challenge for the first team. If we bring this lad in he is in direct competition with Gomez for that spot in the squad. Both Gomez and Konsa are then told in black on white what their position in the team is and what the long term plan is.


25 Jan 2018 12:35:34
Another Deli Ali? Really?
This is the guy that was a world beater last year but this year most comments on here suggest he was a one season wonder, a dirty player and not bad at diving too? Best make up your mind and in any event why is it a another Ali moment anyway!
Simply Klopp doesn't rate him whereas he did Gomez.
This isn't a sweet shop. We cannot buy everything that is in the shop window.


25 Jan 2018 12:47:22
Sure Putney, but he can't expect to just waltz into the team regulalry either, so telling him his starting role is a bad idea.

He should be told what is expected of him, what he needs to do to improve and what he needs to do to get games with the first team now and again or he'll be put into the under 23's or loaned out.

Klavan is 31 or 32, Lovren is disliked by many fans and is likely to be hounded out soon. VVD is 27 in the summer, Gomez is untested at CB as well and Matip is Matip :)

So nothing wrong trying this kid out, unless we have bigger plans - we don't stockpile youth players as much as Chelsea, they then loan them to Vitesse Arnhem and these kids rarely if ever break through, how is that right by comparison to what we do?


25 Jan 2018 12:53:02
Use your head. If we're looking at this guy as someone ready to join the first team, challenge for a spot and make an impact, would we be saying £5m is too much? No of course not, what decent player not on a free goes for £5m anymore?

If that's what's blocking us, clearly that's not how he's being viewed. If a fee that small is the problem then automatically you know that this guy is being viewed as a development project with no immediate plans for game time. That is basic, elementary logic. And as Putney says, just stockpiling players in the hope that they come good is ridiculous and yes Orlish, however much you might argue against it, it clearly blocks their opportunities to develop and lowers their chances of ever making a decent career for themselves. So as we already have plenty of options in that position, are over-stocked in the senior players for that position and Klopp obviously doesn't consider them ready to be playing a part in our season in anything but an emergency if these reports are true, then buying him is a pointless waste of money that yes, could very well block his career from going to a point where he could actually be useful.


25 Jan 2018 13:22:19
hjikle,

What prospects are you referring to at youth level in the CB role for us?
Juanma is likely to be one you're thinking of, Masterson maybe and who else exactly?
Young Jones isn't good enough and has a record now in any case.
Please enlighten us.


25 Jan 2018 13:24:13
Klopp will be gone by then too so new manager would probably move him on so he can spend another 5 years putting his stamp on the side.


25 Jan 2018 14:46:31
the manaager of Charlton, is a scouser, who was manager of MK Dons, a mate of Stevie G, and who put Deli Ali on a plate for us, now he is doing the same with this young centre back,
I did make a couple of calls, a few texts, and everyone gave the same answer, buy him, he is even more highly rated than Gomez , tho to be fair, Gomez was only 18 yrs when we got him .


25 Jan 2018 17:12:56
Thanks for the info Happy!
Same stuff I'm hearing/ reading about opinions on him from people within the sport.
Only seen him play a few times, never a full match but I liked what I saw and he plays way beyond his years.
Cheers again!


25 Jan 2018 08:27:34
Morning all, I've read today we are interested in rondon! That's the funniest one yet 😂😂😂.

Believable0 Unbelievable1

{Ed001's Note - we did have interest in him at one time, a fair few years ago now.}

25 Jan 2018 08:33:53
Morning Ed1, thanks for a very quick reply. I’m guessing it’s just poor paper rumours ahead of our game against wba! Have a great day.


25 Jan 2018 11:29:59
I recall hodgson wanting Rondon when he had us playing like Brazil.


25 Jan 2018 12:03:59
Now, when you said like Brazil, I managed to recall who Rondon reminds me of - Ronaldo#9! :D :D.


25 Jan 2018 15:47:58
Maybe to unsettle him don’t we play West Brom day?


25 Jan 2018 08:11:59
Morning Ed1, hope you're well?

Just wondering if you think we'll have any more signings this month?
I'm guessing Klopp is sticking to his main targets which means January may be a no-go but whilst I don't like the idea of knee-jerk reactions I'm worried to see other teams strengthening.

Thanks in advance.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

{Ed001's Note - I think we are out of luck as we wasted too much time trying to get the big name in. Unless that situation changes, I think we are done, sadly.}

25 Jan 2018 08:19:43
Just as I feared. Waste time chasing griezmann was never going to happen. Appreciate your outlook ed01.


25 Jan 2018 08:44:11
Wasting time on griezmann? Now I've heard it all.


25 Jan 2018 08:57:45
It it a waste of time chasing him, he's never going to join us.


25 Jan 2018 09:21:20
I think ed is refering to Lemar?


25 Jan 2018 09:29:47
Robson will be the new number 10 😂.


25 Jan 2018 10:12:23
Who said we were chasing Griezmann?


25 Jan 2018 10:12:39
I heard Ken Aguero is still in the running to replace Coutinho. 🤣.


25 Jan 2018 08:02:19
Let’s get something straight here “we need a couts replacement to breakdown defensive teams”

Couts was here for 5 years and I seem to remember us faltering against these types of teams on a regular basis with him in the side.

We need to replace him because he was quality but buying someone in won’t change these frustrating results alone, we need a new approach to these games and for more players with bravery to take it to these teams.

Believable28 Unbelievable2

{Ed001's Note - finally someone who gets it!}

25 Jan 2018 08:47:49
Well said 87red. I said the minute we lose or drew a game. Sly sports etc would be straight away saying oh it's cause they sold Coutinho! Absolutely tripe! as you say it's been our weakness for a few years. That was with coutinho in the team, with him taking 9 shots from 35 yards in those types of games, without him scoring. Funny they said can't say we didn't miss him based on 1 game v league best team. Yet they have a feel day based on 1 lose in a game we easily could have scored 3,4 and our gk stood and watched the whole game and had nothing to do!


25 Jan 2018 08:47:55
I fully agree with using the word 'bravery'. Salah spent the last game making those short diagonal bursts of runs through the centre halves but for most of the game the midfielders weren't brave enough to try and find him. They have the ability to do it and have to try, maybe they will step up now, hopefully.


25 Jan 2018 08:51:04
We don't have the midfield capable of doing what you are suggesting. If they run around a bit more it doesn't change the fact that they lack ability.

At 0-0 in games agains't a defensive set up 8 times out of 10 our midfield will offer zero going forward.

Couts far from did it all the time but he will bring more to the table this season (in 5 months) in goals and assists than all the other midfield put together in a whole season.

In 17 starts and 2 subs in the league and Champ league he has

12 goals
8 assists.


{Ed001's Note - they do have the ability and have shown they do, they have all shown they are capable of far more in big games.}

25 Jan 2018 09:08:36
I agree with Mark to be honest, not a fan of Phil anymore after the way he left (I'm also not going to slag him) but my god did he play well for 4 or 5 months this season after his dummy throwing.

In my opinion, his form hugely contributed to our unbeaten run, not saying we'd have beaten Swansea if he played, just saying he brings more to the table offensively than Can/ Wijnaldum/ Oxlade Chamberlain who all were pretty poor on Monday, so he could have brought more chances or possibly even goals.

He does need replacing, not necessarily like for like but we do need another attack minded player coming from midfield.


25 Jan 2018 09:17:02
yes agreed they have some ability or they wouldn't be playing premier league football. The big games are totally different styles of matches, we try to cancel them instead of the other way round (it is easier to do) . Some of our midfield are mentally weak, some just are not bright enough to understand what needs to change in a game.

Many of the defensive teams match us for work rate in midfield, we then don't have the extra quality to beak them down. Our midfield is not significantly better to make any difference.

This is just my opinion but in these matches we need a change of system if we can't get the required player in. I also favour Lovren with VVD and hope we will concede a lot less goals.


25 Jan 2018 09:19:28
It's funny mark, because this season we have had a large number of high scoring results against very defensive teams without Coutinho.


25 Jan 2018 09:34:35
But we won games with him.

No one is saying we won't win games now and we are not saying the fowards aren't decent. But we were a far better team with Courts in the team. Barcelona didn't pay £140m for Milner, Gini or Ox.

No one would take our 6 remaining midfield for £140m.

Hjikle it is about doing well in the Champs league and finishing in the top 4. It is undeniable that we would of had a much better chance with him. But his head was up his arse so he had to be sold. But now we on the ropes and need a top signing.

You should never ever sell your best or one of your very best players without a replacement.


25 Jan 2018 09:47:45
You make perfect sense to me Mark, couldn't really agree more!


25 Jan 2018 10:26:37
Spot on, 87red. I think it is the people spending their time reading media nonsense that come up with these one sided statements of Cou being the secret sauce for low block teams whereas he has been in the team countless times when we had dreadful results against them. And saying we don't have the ability to break down teams where as we have done a WAY better job of doing that this season, is also patently false as the numbers bear that out. We won, drew and lost games of this manner, with and w/ o Cou in the team and our boys have the ability to deliver in both these games and in big games under Klopp and one loss in 19 (w/ and w/ o) does NOT change any of that.

Mark, so we are on the ropes after one los in 19 games. Knee jerk much? You need to stop panicking really cos it is not good for your health. Also, you saying we are a better team with Cou in it this season is your opinion and is highly debatable and cos the numbers don't bear that out. Vs Burnley, WBA, Newcastle, Spurs, Cou was in those teams and he was poor and so was the whole team and was a liability in both the Spurs and Burnley games. Yes, we were good in other games where we played well w/ him and in others where we played VERY well (Arse and City) where he did NOT play at all.

Also, you seem to forget that Cou would not have even played the City or Swansea games cos he was injured and would have refused to play anyway if his threats came to pass. Pls, enough of the Cou fixation as it is a non issue and a non argument. We need a signing, yes IF we can get one and like it or not, Klopp will NOT buy a stop gap so you might as well get over it.


25 Jan 2018 10:47:16
Well considering that pretty much every single top signing would be cup tied for the CL, no matter who we signed it would probably not affect our CL performance. And considering he was refusing to play for us again, keeping him probably wouldn't have affected either. And our squad has proven several times that yes he's a quality player, but we are capable of matching anyone without him. So what's your point? Are you complaining because we haven't magically come up with a non-cup tied world class midfielder who is willing to force his way out of his club? Or because the club decided that there was nothing to gain by refusing to collect a ridiculous transfer fee to be used as appropriate on a player who was disrupting the squad and didn't want to play for us anymore? Or both? Cause although LFC as an organisation pulls a lot of I genuinely can't see how the events of this window are really anyones fault but the one person that I've never seen you blame - Coutinho for going on strike for the second time this year.


25 Jan 2018 11:08:07
BRover, he's not being fixated on Coutinho mate, he's referring to us being short of creativity from a Coutinho type of player in midfield if I'm not mistaken.

Look, Messi isn't at the races every game either is he and Barcelona have lost silly games too with him in the team, but the point is that players with Coutinho's type of ability give you a better chance, that's all, no more, no less.


25 Jan 2018 11:25:11
hjikle - Coutinho would have left last Summer if we'd been able to bring in VVD and Keita / Lemar. None of these happened at the time and one may never.
Kllopp wanted them, FSG's men failed to deliver.
It's poor planning and the squad has been left short - again!

They've given Klopp back a disgruntled player and hoped he'd do a Suarez for his final year (without the bite) . I applaud them that they stood up to Barcelona but ultimately money talks.
Editors say VVD was't dependant on Coutinho's sale.
There may be no ritual exchange of bags of silver, but Liverpool's financial year ends May 31 and, unless a new signing does miraculously appear in the next week, the accounts are going to look healthier than the first team squad come then.
Draw your own conclusions at that.


25 Jan 2018 11:45:33
My exact point the other day about us needing a plan b, well said 87. We are never going to replace Coutinho for the things he does. We need too add quality not replace Coutinho. And as I said the other day it’s the same talking point every time we play teams that sit back and it has been for a few seasons now. Different approach and bigger thoughts is another thing we need instead of going into every game with the opposition knowing 95% of how we are going to play.


25 Jan 2018 11:51:25
Lallana, Wijnaldum, Henderson and Chamberlain have all scored over 5 goals in a single season in recent years, and they've all assisted about 30 goals EACH over the last 3 years of their careers. These aren't players without the ability to hurt opposition teams. These are players who too often, are forced into playing without the freedom to hurt opposition teams, and seem to lack confidence because of it.

Our problem stems entirely from the fact that we don't have anybody to cover the mass loss of form and injuries we're seeing (Hendo, Lallana and Gini), thus killing the balance to our midfield that was so good just 12 months ago. This could be resolved simply by signing a defensive midfielder mind you, because then we could change up the system to cover injury. The problem is, Klopp won't change as he believes in having a midfield 3 as fluid as his front 3. For that you need 3 very mobile, intelligent players who can attack, defend, have a good reading of the game, but most importantly you need players who move the ball quickly and then move to receive a pass.

As soon as you bring Can or Milner into our midfield, it hurts us purely because they don't suit our style of play. To be honest, even Lallana, Hendo and Wijnaldum on top form are still too lackadaisical to really get Klopp's philosophy going at full tilt and challenge for top honours. Ultimately though, this is why Can looks so inconsistent despite being a great midfielder, and why Milner looks absolutely awful, despite (once upon a time) being an okay central midfielder. They are both too slow and too rigid to play in a fluid midfield, and our options who do suit the system are all suffering from poor form or injury.

Milner and Can simply do not suit the way Klopp wants to play and to be fair, Keita will replace one of them most likely in the summer. The question is, who replaces the other, and why (seemingly) isn't it a priority this January?

Long term, the only midfielders on our books who i have confidence in are Ox and Keita, so i think it is far more important we correct that before we try and sign a back up left forward to replace Coutinho. Lemar is an excellent option for the left side of our midfield 3, and i pray that the rumours circulating are true. He can even play left wing too so he can actually replace Coutinho and Milner. Then we'd just need Keita in for Can in the summer and our midfield problems would be effectively resolved.


25 Jan 2018 12:29:59
Still think we need one more in midfield MK, a physical player - tall and athletic.


25 Jan 2018 12:46:11
Keita and Ox are very physical, wouldn't you say? I'm not massively bothered by height. As long as they are aggressive and add a bit of steel, height doesn't really matter to me. They will usually be competing for headers with attacking midfielders who are going to be about 5ft5-5ft10. Kante isn't tall and he's a monster.

I do get your point, but Keita is actually not that bad with his head anyway. With how high we play, our centre backs are the only players likely to need to win headers.


25 Jan 2018 12:57:02
Juicer - now you're just making stuff up. There is no indication at any point that Coutinho wouldn't have left when he did had we signed other people. And frankly you can blame FSG as much as you want, but Klopp is the reason that we didn't sign VVD in the summer - no one else, FSG have actually rescued that one for us.


25 Jan 2018 13:15:09
No mate, it was the numpty that prematurely put VVD's signing up on the Liverpool website that loused that up.


25 Jan 2018 13:34:37
Hey MK,

I just prefer height myself for set pieces etc, read a stat somewhere recently that if you have 3 players over 6 foot, you are 40 - 50% less likely to concede from a set piece.

Many teams play with 3 CBs now, we don't, I personally have always liked that set up.

I just don't want to go back to conceding at every second corner/ free kick.

Keita might well be good at heading, but if he's up against Matic/ Pogba for example, he won't even get up high enough to win it.


25 Jan 2018 15:45:45
You could tell we weren’t going to score against Swansea after about 15 minutes because we were failing to keep hold of the ball in their half an build any pressure. It was one pass forwards, 3 passes back. To win whose sort of games against a ultra defensive team you have to build pressure in their half, which we were incapable of doing.


25 Jan 2018 15:51:07
To break teams down who park the bus we need a top class winger there is no one in the team that can dribble past a player we just try to pass it round them or through them.


25 Jan 2018 07:17:54
I may be way off here but please bare with me on the bellow:

I made, what I think was a fair assessment of the mentality in English football on here yesterday; from the supporters, right the way up to the top of the game within clubs in England - that English/ British/ Irish players are not looked at (generally) as being as good as a foreign player (possibly of similar level realistically) .

I, as someone who is not British myself have seen this time and time again, so can say it without any bias.
(Been watching English Football and following LFC for 30 years. )

If Lallana was French/ Brazilian for example, people would in my opinion be demanding him to play in almost every match, but because he's English, they'll not be bothered if he's just a sub or out of the squad altogether - not everybody within the game, but quite a majority I would suggest.

My over all point on this is; if players also feel the same, not buying someone like Lemar in this window might be an absolute error of the highest order in terms of getting opposition defenders worrying about players from Midfield for us (would they be as likely to double up on Oxlade Chamberlain, Lallana, Henderson, Milner coming from midfield allowing space for other attackers to find space? In my opinion - No is the answer, because of this inferior English player mentality) .

This leads me to believe that we absolutely have to get someone or more than one in who will strike fear into or give sleepless night to opposition defenses and midfield to overcrowd the wrong areas and then that allows Salah, Mane, Firmino and whoever else who plays up top to continue to do their thing in extra spaces.

Please feel free to agree or disagree, but please give reasons why the above assessment is wrong if so - if you can't give reasons, then there's no point in conversing.

Thanks.

Believable3 Unbelievable2

25 Jan 2018 08:09:06
Heya kev, to be honest I disagree. I think English players are vastly overrated but that’s just natural with whatever country your from- you and I think Coleman is the best defender in the premier league, or in wales Ramsey is a rock in the middle. In Scotland Robertson is the answer to our left back problem for the next decade etc. Personally I think Lallana is a player with fantastic ability who just makes bad decisions (slow to get the ball moving, runs instead of passing) I think however if he were Brazilian or whatever there would be a lot more criticism for the lad. I think the way football develops in countries certainly influences the type of player you sign and most of us dream of a South American starlet coming to us with flair to beat the banner but I think we’ve already instilled fear into our opponents with what we have and I think if the right deal comes we should go for it regardless of nationality but I don’t think we should spend just for the sake of it. I also don’t think our failings lie solely in tactics and substitutions- I think it lies in the mentality of our players being unable to raise their game against lower level opposition.


25 Jan 2018 08:12:35
It could be that there's reason for the inferior English mentality thing. Going by the national team's record in World Cup/ European Championships, there's clearly some sort of inferiority. Whether that would be down to composure under pressure at the highest level, lack of desire or skill or just inferior team ethic is difficult to say.


25 Jan 2018 08:27:41
Thanks aoe and Flash,
aoe, I see your point too for sure in many things that you've said and I wouldn't buy just for the sake of buying, that leads to many issues of course that we don't want.
Not a fan of Ramsey at all personally, I'd actually prefer Lallana, he annoys me at times, but on his day, he is unplayable at times.

I don't think English players are overrated, just built up too much by the press and some unrealistic fans who then turn on them at the first opportunity, I noticed this first stem from England actually but now has gone far more global.

Lemar was only an example of who we might buy, being honest, I'd rather Fekir - I honestly think with the right move, he could be a world beater.


25 Jan 2018 08:34:22
Flash, Sorry tried to reply to you but my PC crashed and I lost the details but, let's just take Oxlade Chamberlain as an example.
He was slagged by many on here straight after his transfer.
Would that have happened if he was Brazilian?
I think not personally!
Thanks.


25 Jan 2018 10:01:35
I get the point but I think it swings both ways. English players get hyped as legends in the making as soon as they play a decent game in their first season or two (look at how supposedly sought after players like Berahino was, or how much we played for Carroll after a decent is unspectacular first half of the season) . Then when they fail to live up to that hype, the backlash factors into how people perceive their ability i. e. no-one is willing to admit that they massively jumped the gun on rating their player so they prefer to decide that the player is all sorts of issues (lazy, selfish, stupid, reckless etc) to protect their own 'expert' views, which makes the player seem much worse than they actually are. It's all a case of expectation management I think, and whilst we tend to manage our expectations regarding players from elsewhere quite well, we have a massive boom/ bust cycle for local talent.


25 Jan 2018 10:31:26
Hi hjikle,

Made a point about that yesterday too.
English players never move abroad and are basically spoilt brats in my opinion in many cases, not all.
They get arrogant, complacent and think they've made it after one contract if not given the correct guidance or removed from a toxic environment near home, i. e. friends or family on drugs etc.

You're right, many English players never hit their potential, but what about foreigners like Markovic, Sean Dundee, Torben Piknik, Djimi Traore ("the new Desailly") and so on, just to name a few who have failed at LFC? The list is endless there too.

The reason the English players prices are so much higher is because they're Home Grown which is gold and probably less chance of failure due to such issues as integration issues, home sickness or the likes, it's definitely not because they think Andy Carroll is a better player than Didier Drogba for example.

There are many other factors too, we've only touched on a few such players.

Andy Carroll would never have cost the reported £35m by the way if Torres hadn't just gone for £50m - this is the same knock on as what happened with Neymar and Coutinho, both are were good players but never worth that money I'm sorry.

Never been a fan of Berahino personally, so no idea what that was all about, people probably looked at his name and thought he was Brazilian :) when in fact he's Congolese (? ) or English now more recently if I'm not mistaken.


25 Jan 2018 10:41:07
Spot on, AOE. Kev, it is not an error not to buy someone who you think is either too expensive or if the club is not willing to sell to you. That is also another English attitude that is very dishonest, IMO. People keep saying just sign x or y player while conveniently forgetting that signing a player does not just depend on one party or one factor. A whole lot is involved, many of which we have NO control over. This is where the media in England is a pariah, IMO as they feed this beast to turn fans on their players, clubs and owners and managers. This is the problem.

If we don't sign a player this window, you have to trust that Klopp did not find anyone suitable. If you don't then you will be open to all types of trash coming from the media slating us and Klopp. It is your choice who you choose to believe or trust. I will trust Klopp over any other rag or pathetic opinion coming from a biased, ex LFC player or not. pundit.


25 Jan 2018 11:17:09
BRover,

I have been and will remain one of Klopp's biggest supporters believe me.

I agree with you wholeheartedly in regards to media stirring - they've been doing this for many years with football.

Just look at the tosh at Arsenal as a prime example - the media in my opinion turned the fans on him (yes, some bad results too of course), their terrible fan tv site (media) has wrecked his legacy.
Some will disagree with that opinion of mine of course and that's fine as this is all about opinions at the end of the day - Bruce Rioch is all I'll say back to them, I remember when Wenger took over from him and where he took Arsenal from at that low point.

Sorry, went slightly off-topic, I'm certainly aware of it taking two to tango in regards to buys/ sells.
We sold Coutinho, surely we had a plan to use this money or a backup plan if the first plan fails - if we lose at the weekend and fall out of the top 4 over the next few days, then we'll see you and everybody else on here berating Klopp for not buying in January (an attack minded player) . I guarantee it, maybe you won't personally, but upward of 90% of posters on here will I predict.


25 Jan 2018 15:09:20
Orlish - definite agree about English youth players never challenging themselves in different cultures and gaining international profile, it's a massive issue that the FA needs to structurally address. 100% right that the 'hangers on' for English footballers are absolutely toxic, the culture in this country does not champion excellence it sponges off it.

I think there is also a fan issue of accessibility, more recently anyway. When you jump on youtube to look at a player you see their best moments and think 'wow' when they are from another country. When they are from England, you've probably seen them in a few full games and plenty of time on match of the day etc, you have a bit more of an idea of their average performance which tapers excitement. You could probably at this point make a highlight reel that makes Gary Cahill look like Maldini, but it wouldn't fool us because we know Cahill. If you made a video of Jonathan Tah that made him look brilliant however, how many of us would really know that it wasnt a fair reflection if the guy making the video said it was? Exposure can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to expectations.


{Ed002's Note - It is nothing to do with the FA but at least a couple of clubs have sent players on loan to mainland European sides. One has since stopped. It was not always easy.}

25 Jan 2018 06:57:15
I should be getting some last minute wedding stuff done but one question keeps reverberating around and around in my head. Which out of the following players would I want to us to sign tommorow? Lemar? Pulusic? Fekir or Allison? Its a super tough choice but my heart says Fekir, he's got that wow factor Couts had and I feel we need to replace Couts with someone Cout-seque. Who would you guys and girls choose from the aforementioned list and why?

Believable4 Unbelievable0

25 Jan 2018 07:06:19
I'm least familiar with Fekir so I'm going to say Pulisic, I think this guy is going to have a huge career.


25 Jan 2018 07:08:32
I agree, Fekir. Even Mahrez, someone with some flair and bit of genius in his boots. Mahrez proven in the Prem as well.


25 Jan 2018 07:20:55
I don't care who comes in. As long as they are quality and fit in. But i think pulusic is the fastest out of the list so i go with him as speed kills!


25 Jan 2018 07:22:08
Couldn't agree more - he looks insane and it amazes me how no big club has moved for him, looks like and absolute monster of a player.
Power and technique, what more could you ask for.
Best wishes for your big day and hope you have a long, happy life together!


25 Jan 2018 07:25:32
If only one it would be Alisson. If two then Fekir and Alisson. If three I would include Pulisic.


25 Jan 2018 07:49:18
in order for me ed it would be
Alisson (i actually think he is better than Oblak. Oblak plays behind a strong defence and hasn't as much to do as Alisson who has really impressed me)

Pulisisc (not sure he goes straight into first eleven but i really rate him and personally i would start him)

Fekir (good set peices creative but we have seen french players struggle this season in the prem coming from ligue 1 ie bakayoko who looked a beast last season)

Lemar (havent watch as much of him as the others and he is good but not at the price being demended like most wingers can float in and out of games)

but if you gave me cart blanche to buy one player it would be Rabiot from psg love the guy and i think now and next season when keita comes he's what we need and will need. Max Meyer would be my next choice.


25 Jan 2018 07:53:21
Speed isn’t an issue in the team speed couldn’t help us past Swansea we needed a big of magic creativity.


25 Jan 2018 08:10:15
We should buy Kante.


25 Jan 2018 08:14:55
Im sorry guys, we can dream all we want but non will be arriving.


25 Jan 2018 09:01:04
I want to say Pulisic because he's incredible but we have to think about what the team NEEDS, therefore I'd have to choose Allison.


25 Jan 2018 11:40:43
I would pick Pulisic who is already a star at a young age and who can play anywhere in attack BUT Fekir is a beast of a player as well. Mahrez can stay exactly where he is and there is a reason why NO ONE has moved for him bar Roma since last summer.


25 Jan 2018 13:01:10
Everything i've seen of Fekir is so flashy and that concerns me slightly. Has anyone actually watched a decent amount of him? Is he able to dig in and do the hard/ dirty work when things are getting rough? Curiosity, I really don't know I hate watching the French League beyond a couple of top-of the table clashes.

Out of that lot I'd take Alisson, I trust our attack to get a goal or two in almost every game as it is. I don't trust our defense not to leak a goal or two.


{Ed001's Note - I like him mate. A lot. My worry is that he has suffered with injuries in the past, I am told. Injuries have a habit of causing more injuries.}

25 Jan 2018 06:37:07
good morning ladies and gents. regarding the Swansea game, the biggest thing for me was, we moved the ball far to slowly with a "patient" mentality but the patience turned into laxydaziness and we didn't have a "Coutinho" esc player that could skip the phases and created chances onn goal. We skipped phases to try and get the ball to Salah / Bobby or mane, but VVD was the only player to execute. Can was terrible in the midfield so too was Gini and i don't blame VVD for trying to skip the phases. Im not saying go out and panic buy, but either buy someone that can grow into the Coutinho role (Lemar) or make sure someone at your dispossal can (Ox or Lallana) . I also noticed that only Bobby Firmino is interested in any second ball, all over the pitch the lads don't go for the second ball and we constantly conceed goals like that from the corners. We bought VVd to bring Leadershhip stability and to win headers (may i add he has done all 3) but won the header against Swansea (bar it wasnt the greatest header in history, but he won it none the less), why isn't anybody even trying to win the second ball until Mawson is lining up one of the easiest goals he'll ever score. that's training ground mentality . Have to bring on TAA to add some width, i like Gomez but his mistake lead to cities equaliser and he made a very similar mistakee against Swansea that almost cost us. Salah better not leave us for Madrid after the Egyptian president said it would be great for Egypt, you know he loves his home country.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

25 Jan 2018 07:23:08
Is that you Phil Neville?


25 Jan 2018 08:59:53
I could have sworn we created 3-4 clear cut chances against Swansea. Poor performance but I really don’t think Coutinho would have made a difference. With Swansea having their whole team behind the ball couts would have been blasting his usual shots into bodies as he did on in second half against newcastle and in many other frustrating game this season. We need our players to move with the ball, commit players and play quickly from side to side against teams that sit deep.

It was one of those days in which we easily could have won 3 1. Personally I’ll not get too annoyed if we do t sign someone for the sake of it. We should have enough to see us through. Lallana will get fitter and give us the variety we are lacking in the middle until Keita arrives in the summer.


25 Jan 2018 09:17:04
Will you still feel the same way if we don't win the next two matches though Redroon, or will you be one calling for a last minute buy?
I understand what you mean about Coutinho wasting possession with ridiculous long range shots in tight matches by the way - it used to drive me insane.


25 Jan 2018 12:58:58
Cou would not have played this game either way cos he was injured or would have followed thru on his threat to refusing to play for us again if we did not let him go to Barca. The Cou talking point is a non issue, IMO. The issues we have are clear for all to see.


Review Of The Day 25th January 2018

25 Jan 2018 05:39:30
{Ed's Note - we have posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 25th January 2018

Believable2 Unbelievable0

25 Jan 2018 09:14:06
These daily reviews are great, they aren't all about transfers and we get the news all in one! bugger newspapers lol Thanks Ed1. Will you be continuing to write these after the transfer window?


{Ed001's Note - cheers mate and yes they are intended to be a long term thing for the site.}

25 Jan 2018 09:23:48
all the best to mccarthy hope he recovers back to 100%.

im not sure if there is such a thing as responsible gambling anyways.


25 Jan 2018 09:47:39
That'll be brill Ed, was also wondering when the next legend player profile will be please?


{Ed001's Note - I am hoping to get onto that next week. Just taken longer than expected to do the article I am currently working on as every single piece online, bar about 3, are just literally cut and paste wiki. Makes it hard to find anything to do differently! I would just put it aside but then I will end up never doing it, so I am perservering.}

25 Jan 2018 10:29:59
No rush Ed1 mate in your own time of course, that's why I love your articles, they are unique, unlike the majority which as you say are copied and pasted from wiki with the odd word getting changed. Whenever it may be, I look forward to it :)


{Ed001's Note - cheers mate, I never understand why people can live with themselves copying and pasting. I would be too ashamed to show my face if I did that. Plus me ma would give me a slap if she caught me doing that!

The articles will be a bit slower in coming in future anyway, as I have now got to do research for each one as I go. Initially I had been preparing the ground by putting together notes in advance before I started. I had intended to just release the articles bit by bit, say once a week, to give me time to get more ready in advance. Plans are often made but they always seem to get forgotten!}

25 Jan 2018 11:01:55
Hahaha join the club, making plans half the time never seems to work for me either lol - I know what you mean, the majority of websites these days will write god knows how many, let's say 5+ articles a day, no thoughts go into them, no effort. Anybody can do that. Problem is it seems are so many of the websites are only interested in gaining traffic rather then writing something different and unique. So its a relief when you do release your articles. Thanks again ed.


{Ed001's Note - it is very much about getting traffic and people keep telling me I have it wrong the way I do it as I would earn a lot more money just copying and pasting. Says a lot about this world that people care more about earning money than they do about having pride in what they do!}

25 Jan 2018 11:38:43
And that is the problem with the internet today mate, to me it is anyway. Its got beyond a joke now, im thankful you put the effort in you do because i've never seen that before. there's far too many people writing articles with little to no knowledge about what they're even writing about. Its a sad state of affairs when all people are bothered about is money instead of providing good, unique content. You know yourself ed you could probably make an absolite fortune out of it if you went down that route, im grateful you haven't.


{Ed001's Note - it has been tempting at times, but selling your soul is just not my way.}

24 Jan 2018 22:19:39
Hi Ed001,

What are your thoughts about giving a few players a run out against West Brom? Not changing the whole lineup, but mixing in our strongest lineup with a few differences, such as giving Woodburn and Ings a start?

Thanks.

Believable0 Unbelievable2

{Ed001's Note - I don't get why you would want to do that? I was brought up on 'the next game is the most important one' so you always play the strongest team you have. The changes I would make would be to midfield, neither Woodburn or Ings are central midfielders at this moment in time.}

25 Jan 2018 05:33:06
Which changes would you make to the midfield? Who can give us that spark of creativity?


{Ed001's Note - it is not creativity we are lacking, it is intensity. We need to drop Wijnaldum, he takes too many touches while moving nowhere. I would swap him for Lallana, who takes too many touches but at least he is moving with the ball usually and so moving the defence around ahead of him.}

25 Jan 2018 06:07:12
I would give Gomez a game at CB with VVD and bring in TAA for RB. Lallana runs into everyone else's space too often for me. I coach an under 12 's side and it frustrates me when they do it. So when Lallana does it, it blows my mind that a professional player still makes the same mistakes an 11 year old kid does! I feel sorry for my kids that they don't get paid astronomical amounts of money to do it.


25 Jan 2018 07:28:52
He's possibly in a free role though Preso. We don't know his exact instructions.
Kids will be kids :)

If you ever have time some day or today if possible, would you be able to send in an impression of your own of youth coaching levels and what mistakes are made by coaches to knock young players back, as well as what the positives are and how coaches can improve youths without over-coaching them please?

It's no problem if you can't, I'd just be interested in someone else's perspective on this subject.

Thanks.


25 Jan 2018 07:44:46
Lallana isn’t the answer, least not till he’s fit. Too many touches, I’d try against the teams that park the bus putting solanke or Ings up front and give firmino a free role. Bit risky but we don’t need as high intensity press against teams that sit in.


25 Jan 2018 08:51:45
Always thought Lallana was extremely effective at times when he wasn’t taking as many touches and looking to move the ball on as quick as possible. It’s when he dithers on the ball that his effectiveness drops off.


25 Jan 2018 00:35:29
Evening all. A little over half way through the season and I'm taking stock of where we are and where we want to be and the team as a whole. Be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Manager - I like Klopp. I really do. His passion fits with our club and he has us playing some fantastic attacking footy at times. I do think he is a little naive at times though, and relies more on passion than tactical nous to get through games. I. e. IMO the Swansea game was a game crying out for an on the shoulder striker like Ings/ Solanke rather than Bobby as a false 9 type foward. Also TAA a RB rather than Gomez would offer more going foward. Don't get me wrong I think we are lucky to have JK however.

GK - Do I need to go into this? Migs is done. Bogdan never going to play. Karius looks shot of confidence, and just concedes loads. I know it's not all his fault but he always seems to let in goals. He's better than Migs but unless he steps it up before summer I can see him leaving or being replaced as No.1 in the summer. Feel very sorry for Ward not getting a look in as I can't believe he can be/ perform any worse than these two.

Defence - Better to see VVD in a red shirt, but still issues here, mainly around Lovren and Matip being unreliable. Feel sorry for Klavan being replaced in the team as he was looking solid, unfortunately VVD plays LCB so he won't get a look in there and CVd has looked shaky at RCB. I can see Lovren leaving this summer and dependant on someone else leaving and Gomez moving centrally maybe another CB coming in, DV maybe? I'm happy with the fullback options, however I think a new RB will be needed to replace Clyne who I think is done with us, as is Flanno, Mainly as Gomez should move into the centre and TAA more of an midfielder than FB.

Midfield - Our weak point currently in my opinion. Lots of good players, solid technicians as BR would say, however a lack of goals, creativity and spark from our central workhorses is a major weak point. Now Couts is gone that spark and magic from midfield has gone with him. Hopefully Lallana can fill this creative gap for the rest of the season but I he's injured I fear for us against teams that sit deep. Keita will alleviate some more of next year though but I think a real pass master like Alonso/ Kroos is needed (not suggesting we can get Kroos bye) Would like to see more of Grujic but not happening. Can see Milner and Can leaving this summer. Some would like Can to stay and whilst I do rate him and think he would be great in Italian and Spanish club teams, I don't think he is particularly suited to our team. I'm short, a proper CDM and creativity/ goals needed here from the midfield here. Gutted we are not going for Mahrez, Lemar of Fekir this window.

Forwards - Strongest part of the team obviously! My one issue is the use of Bobby as a false 9. I think the team would be far more effective with another central foward playing alongside him or just in front of Bobby. Glad to see Ings back, but Solanke really needs a goal in one of these appearances. I think Studge is done.

Overall - I genuinely think we are in the best position we have been in about 10 years. We are not overly reliant on any one player however we will need to replace the creative spark we have lost in Couts. Normally this would be such an issue as we have AL but with him returning from injury if he gets injured again I worry we lack any magic. We have a good mix of players but the spine needs improving and the consistency needs to improve. GK, CB, CM and potentially a striker to move Bobby deeper and I reckon we can cause some serious problems next year.

That's about it!

Believable5 Unbelievable1

{Ed0333's Note - Excellent read mate I don’t concur with some of it but thankyou for taking the time and expressing your thoughts with great aplomb and articulation.

25 Jan 2018 01:02:37
Very good post mate and I like your opinion. I am with Ed333, I don't agree with everything you have said per se but I do appreciate your post.


25 Jan 2018 03:11:09
I’ve just posted about Klopp saying if he’s here after 3 Years then we’ve win the league, I take him as a man of his word and although you can’t guarantee winning the league I think he’s planned small smart improvements and next year he’s going to go go for it. No excuses next season he’s had enough time to mould the team in his image and it’s time to produce. Now I’m not saying we’ll win the league but I do believe we will see the best and most fluent team from back to front under Klopps reign.


25 Jan 2018 06:47:30
Fair points Westwood, also don't agree with it 100% but in the main yes.
Thanks.


24 Jan 2018 23:36:45
To anyone who regualrly watches lemar - is he a wide player who can play attacking mid or vice versa? Where is it thought his best position will be in the future?

Believable0 Unbelievable0

25 Jan 2018 00:31:20
Left Winger who loves to drift inside, position for the future will definitely be in the hole behind the striker.


 
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