Liverpool Banter Archive January 02 2018

02 Jan 2018 22:26:39
What's peoples thoughts on Ings?

He's been so unlucky since joining hasn't he, do you think he can make it here or is that not possible now?

Will be interesting to hear peoples thoughts on this one because I really had high hopes for him, until his terrible injuries then things went downhill, which are no fault of his own, these things happen.

I think he as a man is so professional, you don't hear him moaning etc, he seems to be happy at Liverpool, will he ever get his chance? maybe too early to say.

I want him to of course but I think the best course of action will be him going out on loan to another PL club for the rest of the season then reevaluate. My heart is telling me he'll get his chance to shine, my mind is telling me no chance and he's off in the summer which will be a real shame.

Whilst we're here, another quick on, Sturridge, what do people want to see happen in regards to Sturridge? For me, the time has come, he must go. Injuries have buggered him right up and he won't be the same player he once was, enough's enough imo, how long are we meant to wait for him to get back to himself? must go in Jan/ summer for me and I'm gutted about that, I thought he'd be himself once again, he's proving me wrong.

02 Jan 2018 22:45:19
Both need to go mate. No point having them to be honest if we want to win a league title.

02 Jan 2018 22:45:56
It’s a similar tale to Sturridge in my opinion. Sturridge was a great player on his day but injuries have plagued him at every club. It’s a shame for these lads, luckily they will never have to work again unlike a lot of heroes from the past.

02 Jan 2018 22:50:27
Once he can get to full match fitness he deserves a chance.
I think klopp should be thinking about bringing him on when games are won or the last 15-20 mins to give a rest to some of the regular starters.
I hope it works out for him and next season he is a regular sub to start with then getting full games.

03 Jan 2018 00:07:20
Think Sturridge and Origi are off to be honest. Bobby, Solanke and Ings to be our 3 strikers. Would rather keep Ings than Studge at this moment to be honest as at least he know he works hard for the team. Let’s hope the injuries haven’t affected his game and pace to much. Was looking like a useful signing before his initial injury.

03 Jan 2018 00:08:59
Sturridge yes time to go. He does not fit Klopps style and. we all know it. Ins when healthy should get a run of games. When healthy he is a good striker and one who will. work his tail off. I can't see him being a bad 2nd or 3rd option. If couts leaves then we lose another offensive threat so having just firmino and Solanke as a striker seems rather worrisome.

03 Jan 2018 01:19:30
I think Firmino is no.1, but I’d like to see one other top striker come in to challenge him, with Solanke completing our three striking options.

I think Sturridge has to move on unfortunately, he just doesn’t suit our style of play anymore and looks a shadow of his 13/14 days. Ings can’t challenge Firmino and needs game time to get back to form and prove himself after such a long time out. I think a loan makes sense.

Look at City with Aguero and Jesus, or Utd with Lukaku, Ibra and Martial. Those are the benchmark and were not quite there with an out of form Sturridge, young Solanke and a recovering Ings.

The other alternative is we stick with Ings and Solanke, bring in another winger (like Lemar) and consider using Mane or Salah Can to backup Firmino if Ings or Solanke fail to step up. I think both are very capable of being dangerous upfront.

03 Jan 2018 03:35:41
I wonder if we sell Sturridge and “old friends” are Origi coming back off loan early and Kent. 6’4” in a red dress have a feeling it’s fellaini. holding mid, going to lose Can,

03 Jan 2018 04:00:06
Um we still have Origi out on loan don't we?

03 Jan 2018 06:51:20
As things stand don’t see Ings, Sturridge or Firminho for that matter hitting 20 goals in a season and if we don’t want someone to do that then let the first 2 go off the pay roll and invest in Brewster and Solanke.

03 Jan 2018 07:20:02
dont see Firmino hitting 20 goals a season? erm the lads already on 16 this season. And there's no H in Firmino.

03 Jan 2018 07:54:29
We get some right invertebrates on here at times 😂 Firmino scored 16 goals in the first half of the season, but won't score 4 in the second half?

Unbelievable. Some people just peddle the rubbish in the press.

03 Jan 2018 13:34:50
Sorry left out word consistently for some reason and the h seems to be my phone’s desire to change it every time I type. As I said if club doesn’t see that as criteria since got several who can hit double digits every year and style is based on a different approach then don’t really need players like Sturridge and Ings. Also be best for them to be playing regularly.

03 Jan 2018 13:36:27
Oh and 20 goals is league not everything. Primary aim is still I believe to win EPL.

02 Jan 2018 20:46:38
Im aware that this ain't directly Liverpool related, but I just read, that Juventus, is sending Pjaca on loan at Schalke until summer. Could that be to fill in for Goretzka at S04, and leave room for Can at Juventus?

Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - It is to get match fitness back.}

02 Jan 2018 21:32:09
Keep going smedegaard, I think you're on to something. Can > Juve, Pjaca > Schalke, Goretzka > Avengers, Hawkeye > Justice League, Batman > Teletubbies, Tinky Winky > Game of Thrones, Jon Snow > Liverpool.

Fingers crossed - what a January!

02 Jan 2018 21:57:20
Personally I don't think Jon Snow would be a good fit at Liverpool, he's had too many injuries.

02 Jan 2018 21:57:30
That took WAY too much work, Wellred.

02 Jan 2018 22:51:06
So its been over an hour and no "know nothing"-comments on the Jon Snow matter? What is this forum coming to?

02 Jan 2018 23:54:37
Jon snow has demanded a club sponsored by Tag her, Seiko or Rolex
He's doing it for the watch.

02 Jan 2018 20:22:36
Coutinho this, Coutinho that blah blah blah. I am sick of the circus that's coming with this clown and his entourage. He is still a Liverpool player until Liverpool announce otherwise weather it's this month or next Summer, Who knows! We should be discussing a certain Derby match this Friday and not this. Rant over!

02 Jan 2018 20:44:36
Fair play Ford.

02 Jan 2018 23:23:23
No not fair play. he's not a clown he's a quality quality player.

03 Jan 2018 00:26:15
Ben elf, he was a quality player when he was loyal to Liverpool. He is no longer loyal and his performances overall since the summer have proved this (although granted, the past month or so he was decent), forget about him, he's as good as gone.

03 Jan 2018 03:45:51
In any profession you want to work with and be the best that’s what coutinho wants. The club are going to make over £100 profit on him. Give the guy a break. If he wasn’t such a valuable asset and things not worked out the way they have you probably would have seen a lack of loyalty from the club towards him. Let him go I say preferably in the summer though.

02 Jan 2018 20:00:40
After seeing that spurs goal, I've got to agree with warnock and even arsene. Refereeing in the premier league is the poorest in the world. 1. Massive dive by son 2. Lorente not even close to being on side.
As a Referee moving up the ranks, it pains me to say, but the fa should be looking abroad and bringing the absolute best in the world into the English game.

02 Jan 2018 20:09:45
Refereeing looks like easy money.

In most jobs, when you underperform, someone else takes your places. In the world of a referee, make a mistake and you are a considered competent enough to climb up the ranks until you make the Premier League. In fact, the more mistakes you make, the more likely you are to referee the big games.

Sign me up, I am equally as inept and I'm also unclear about what is onside and what is offside. I would be a cert to referee big matches by the Premier League refereeing standards.

02 Jan 2018 20:20:59
I agree Benny, and more so this season, I know it's been going on a lot longer but this season is really notable to me I've been left gobsmacked by so many decisions and we're only half way through, not just decisions against Liverpool but plenty of other games in the premier league the refereeing has been abysmal it all needs a complete overhaul.

02 Jan 2018 20:24:08
Whilst I appreciate the sarcasm/ irony mango, I do believe it to be a serious problem that needs looking at.
Even ignoring the dive, the linesman is stationary as it's a set piece, so it's nice and easy to see! Yet how can he physically not see the clear offside. This is the pinnacle of the game and I just can't fathom how he has not seen it. Maybe there is corruption in our game, are we to ignorant to never believe that scenario? Happens all over the world like. Maybe some referees are scared to lose their job so they never declare deteriating eye sight. I know I haven't had one eye site test on my way up, just fitness tests. Just trying to think why simple simple decisions this season is costing every team.

02 Jan 2018 20:30:01
The real question is are referees getting worse or are we as supporters getting more tools to do the job then a referee themselves?
They have seconds to make a decision that can impact a game and a result. We need to find a way of helping them.
For instance, mike riley for the handball against arsenal from his perspective it’s hanball. It’s only when we look at from different angles we see he is wrong. I don’t envy them at all.

02 Jan 2018 21:07:48
Hindsight is 20/ 20 especially when you have 3 or 4 camera angles in slow motion showing us exactly what happened. When decisions need to be made in split seconds mistakes are going to be made. Authorities and fans need to decide whether they are going to accept mistakes or allow more technology into the game and slow it down like rugby or NFL.

02 Jan 2018 21:12:14
Ive said for a few seasonable the quality in the premier league is piddle poor. They receive too much support when they have a nightmare but equally receive very little praise when they are right. I’m not claiming to have any answers but I do think referees should be interviews after games abbf explain some of those at times baffling decisions.

02 Jan 2018 21:19:53
Boys, it's nothing to do with technology imo. Decisions, there will always be human errors on fouls/ decisions and that's fine. We don't need technology. What we need is for the black and white stuff to be called black and white. 100% visible things, like that offside that are being missed is just pure incompetence (and or match fixing :) )
If that linesman can't see that, replace them all together with "technology"

02 Jan 2018 21:23:50
The commentator and pundits are so poor that they never even mentioned Son blatantly throwing himself to the ground. Give him his due, Andy Gray may have been a chauvinist pig, but he never missed a trick and would have pointed that out.

True to form, if a player goes down, the referees give the free kick. They have absolutely no idea how to differentiate between a genuine tackle and a foul.

02 Jan 2018 21:34:27
The game moves too fast for the ref and linesmen to watch the game properly.

Video ref should come into play for major decisions as it does in most sports. The prizes at stake for dodgy decisions week in week out.

I remember Ashley young diving every weekend a few years ago when united and city where fighting it out for the league, in the papers showing a blatant dive yet he kept getting the decision. So yeah I also believe the game is dodgy.

02 Jan 2018 21:39:01
Whilst on the spurs game, not a clue why Sanchez has not got a second yellow. If that's not a reckless tackle, which means yellow card, I don't know what it. Poor state of affairs atm.

02 Jan 2018 21:48:11
This may sound daft but for offsides do we needs 4 linesman, two of each half of the pitch? Would give them far more opportunity to stay in line with the action, let’s be honest the game has evolved and some players, salah for instance, linesman would struggle to keep up. (Obviously this would need a lot of funding)

As for diving/ going down easy it is almost impossible to judge. If a player goes down easy but there is contact by the letter of the law the referee can award a pen. Especially for a ref that has seconds to decide.

Don't get me wrong, wrong decisions infuriate me, but we either increase the number of officials or just accept there will be mistakes.

I can imagine a ref makes 100’s of decisions a game so by the laws of probability he is going to get at least one wrong it’s just part of the game we all love.

02 Jan 2018 22:05:24
I wanted to be a ref but unfortunately I’ve got 20/ 20 vision. jokes aside, it’s a tough job and they literally have a split second to get it right. It’s only on very exceptional occasions that a decision is horrendously bad. So they have to be given the benefit of the doubt.

02 Jan 2018 22:09:14
IMO, refs have a hard and frankly, a thankless job and they make mistakes cos they only have one look at a situation and make a judgement call. The problem esp. in the PL, is that there is NO standards and no accountability for refs anymore. It seems the PL is just fine with having consistently incompetent refs and they seem to like the drama this causes in the public forum so they don't bother to do a darn thing about trying to either get better training and higher standards for refereeing.

I can name 4/ 5 referees in the PL who are consistently poor in the PL near every time I see them that it is nauseating. Kevin Friend, Lee Mason, Neil Swarbrick, Mike Jones and Craig Paulson are consistently bad that it is becoming a running joke and the pundits add fuel to the fire with their pathetically skewed rhetoric. Until better standards and better training and accountability are demanded from refs/ assistants, the crap show we are being subjected to will continue.

02 Jan 2018 22:33:54
Seriously if you think EPL refs are poor go watch some league 1 and league 2 matches get regularly ruined by rubbish officials. The standard there is way lower.

02 Jan 2018 23:59:25
Sorry gents but I can’t see how the focus on officials is valid. What about the bang ordinary players, managers and coaches that earn a fortune out of the game? Match officials get paid peanuts in comparison to manage the games and take abuse from everyone for the privilege.
Where do you expect to get these robots to call every split second decision from? Attack of the clones?
Seriously fellas who else is going to put themselves up for the job? Pundits. no, Ex-players. no, people who think it’s sport to abuse officials. no, best call for
Hong Kong Pheuy
There are a lot more immoral and corrupt things in football than honest mistakes by the men in black. Sexism, homophobia, racism, jobs for the boys, gangster billionaire owners.
Rant over.

03 Jan 2018 06:21:57
Sonofklopp

The poor decisions that refs make can cost players winners medals or even chances to play in the world cup (rep Ireland) .

The game is too fast for the refs and they need help.

If video ref was in it might encourage more people to go into referring as a lot of the pressure will be lifted as all major decisions can go to the video ref and it's the correct call with no arguing.

03 Jan 2018 12:13:03
I get that LAVERS and players, managers and chairman make mistakes that cost their clubs also.
VAR will be interesting to see how it helps or hinders however in cricket and rugby they still get decisions wrong using it as not everything seen by tv cameras is conclusive either, example the “catch” that dismissed Stuart Broad in the 4th test was impossible to call and possibly even the player himself didn’t know whether he caught it cleanly or not.
Depends how we use it, in cricket I think they get it wrong with “umpires call” so even if the ball is glancing the stumps according to Hawkeye on an LBW referral, if the on field decision was not out then not out stands, how can that be correct if the technology says the ball would hit the stumps?
I’ll reserve judgement until we see it in action for football.

02 Jan 2018 19:22:53
Hey eds and reds
With silly season up and running again and us getting linked to different players every day .
I think the club is in a healthy place at the minute with or without phil it's never great losing one of your best players but it's happened before and it will happen again

Any player that dons the red shirt has my support and yours too hopefully . As fans we should support and not critique every move the club makes .

Cmon the redmen.

02 Jan 2018 17:23:23
Meant to add to that with reference to sparkywonderdog something about an old friend coming back is it xabi.

{Ed002's Note - Pipco was the old friend. You need to read the whole of the #WonderDogSparky saga - start at the beginning, and read all of the way through.}

02 Jan 2018 18:37:35
Smooth hands, people. Smooth "Hands".

02 Jan 2018 18:41:13
I thought he was hinting at the return of Kirakou.

02 Jan 2018 19:24:37
Ha ha ha 😆.

02 Jan 2018 20:50:52
Mascherano?

02 Jan 2018 16:51:57
Flannagan pleaded guilty to assault on his girlfriend, think this would be the final nail in his Liverpool career, always liked the lad and wanted him to succeed but some things are just not acceptable.

02 Jan 2018 17:02:41
Have to admit, it doesn’t look good for him.

02 Jan 2018 17:16:09
The respect I had for him has gone, assaulting women as a man is the lowest of the low, he needs to find himself a new club imo. One thing I can't stand is bullying, hitting a woman is exactly that. I once had really high hopes for him but it all went south and now it's got worse, not welcome at Liverpool.

02 Jan 2018 17:40:33
I think it is up to the court to determine his punishment. Im sure he is well aware he has made a big mistake. What he doesn't need are other people saying if he is welcome or not! That would be up to the club and Klopp. It would seem that some people are "above" making mistakes in their personal life and are only too happy to cast judgement on others.

02 Jan 2018 17:57:21
Hitting your spouse isn't a 'mistake' Irish Rover, you don't just accidentally assault your partner several times as well as kick her - there is no excuse, for him or any other person, for behaving in that manner and to try and defend it is embarrassing.

Oh and Flanagan was drunk at the time as well - if he had any sort of drive to try and fight for his place, or to salvage his rapidly deteriorating career, then he wouldn't be out on the lash would he? Sorry but his time at our club should be over.

02 Jan 2018 18:14:01
Sean
I remember Gerrard doing pretty much the same thing to a DJ on a night out on the lash. No doubt if in went thru your posts I'm pretty sure you would be singing his footballing praises before and after the incident. He played for many years after.

I'm not having a pop at you but I think that the club are the right people to take whatever action without everyone else giving him abuse.

{Ed025's Note - deserves everything he gets for me irish, what sort of low life scumbag repeatedly attacks and kicks his girlfriend?, i hope liverpool kick him out and show other players that this sort of thing will not be tolerated, i want him to go to prison and be paired with a massive guy called bubba who will befriend him in a loving sort of way...if you get my drift..

02 Jan 2018 18:15:05
When Stan Collymore done this I remember the out rage he was front of the papers etc
I cannot condone what John has done and although we all make mistakes there are some that are just unforgivable especially when your in the eyeline of kids and people who look up to you
Sorry but imo he should not get another contract out of Liverpool and hopefully now he will leave on a free when it expires.

{Ed025's Note - dead right john..

02 Jan 2018 18:22:14
Exactly Seano, you said exactly my thoughts mate. 'mistake' my backside irish.

We have all made mistakes, every single person in the world makes mistakes but that's another level, trying to defend him, come off it, he's a damn right bully and doesn't deserve to be even associated with a club like Liverpool, or any professional club for that matter.

{Ed025's Note - spot on salah mate..

02 Jan 2018 18:33:56
Scumbag, with a face like his he’s lucky to have a girlfriend. We’ve had enough players drag LFC through the mud, tired of it now.

02 Jan 2018 18:43:32
Lmfao Ed25 I love it ' i want him to go to prison and be paired with a massive guy called bubba' hahaha! about right mate, see how he likes been man handled! He's no man, he's scum doing things like that and I do agree, he should be kicked out mate, without a doubt.

{Ed025's Note - footballers are seen as role models by young people salah and they have a moral duty to behave themselves imo, the likes of him and joey barton et al bring the game and their respective clubs into disrepute and should be made an example of mate..

02 Jan 2018 18:58:07
Absolutely my thoughts Ed25 mate.

02 Jan 2018 19:06:23
Good riddance, I see absolutely no footballing talent in Flanagan. I know he plays with a lot of passion and blah blah but that cannot make up for the lack of footballing abilities. I think we have good talented young lads in TAA and gomes so he would have never made it into the playing 11 anyways. I hope we can sell him asap.

02 Jan 2018 19:08:55
Irish - getting into a scrap on a night out with the lads is a million miles from battering a girl. It’s just about as low as you can go - short of paedophilia. Sorry to say it, but he should be sacked.

02 Jan 2018 19:22:51
Never mind not getting another contract. he needs sacking. Immediately.

02 Jan 2018 19:49:20
Can the club sack him based on this? Bringing the club into disrepute or something like that? I should certainly hope they can and do. How disappointing that someone we hoped so much for can do something so utterly horrid.

02 Jan 2018 20:28:45
I would suggest being convicted of violet crime constitutes “gross misconduct” which is a potentially sackable offence.

02 Jan 2018 23:59:17
Things like this always make me think. what if it was a higher profile player? Would people be so quick to kick them out?
Say big Virgil and the misses where out celebrating the move to the best team in the world. and it happened. would people call for his head? I would say not.

Food for thought I guess.

I mean Suarez was for eating a whole man just to get his way. still seen as a legend by many and would be welcomed back with open arms by a lot of people too.

03 Jan 2018 03:32:56
@ man on the moon - any player violently assaulting their partner should be kicked out of the club immediately regardless of their skill set, it is simply unacceptable and I would hope our club sets an example with regards to the behaviour they expect of the players, regardless of their profile within the club.

02 Jan 2018 15:17:19
Pep has left his coaching position at LFC. ed01 do you think there will be promotions within the club or a direct replacement from outside.? Good luck Pep xx.

{Ed001's Note - bit of both, a promotion, probably for Gerrard by the looks of it, and then someone or two coaches brought in lower down the chain.}

02 Jan 2018 15:56:29
In my opinion it would be a massive insult to Neil Critchley if he has earned his stripes, only to be blanked for a promotion in favour of Gerrard assuming it's purely because he is a Liverpool legend on the pitch.

I hope they just genuinely prefer Gerrard for the role. Pepjin Lijnders role was to be the transition for academy players into the first team. In theory (having done it himself) Gerrard should be good at managing players going through this stage of their careers. Plus players breaking through might take advice more seriously if it comes from a player who has been there and done it.

Though I'd still feel bad for Critchley even if this is the case, as Critchley is a superb coach. I think it may even have been yourself Ed001, but I've read somewhere before that the best coaches should work with the younger players as they are at an age where coaching is more important. So keeping Critchley in the academy might genuinely be the best thing for Liverpool FC?

{Ed001's Note - exactly mate, it might be the right choice to leave Critchley working with the kids while Gerrard takes a sideways step in effect.}

02 Jan 2018 16:16:36
To early for Gerrard to be promoted.

02 Jan 2018 17:13:44
Gazza - why do you say that mate? just wondering why you think it's too early for him? - Personally if I had to choose one to take the position it'd be Critchley but at the same time I have no problem if it's Gerrard, he's done well since coming in, I think he'd be fine for the position.

02 Jan 2018 17:20:16
Just think he needs to cut his teeth still bud.
He hasn’t been in the job long enough to do enough I get that. Learn his trade with what he’s doing and maybe the next opportunity he can step up.
I’m not saying he’s not good at what he’s doing.

Salah, what would be your thoughts in Jamie Carragher coming into Liverpool as a youth team coach like gerrard?

02 Jan 2018 17:37:13
He might want to coach a team all the way to earn a trophy too. There's plenty of time for him to get promoted yet.

02 Jan 2018 17:42:12
I imagine Gerrard being one of those coaches who always joins in and doesn't actually coach ahah.

02 Jan 2018 17:46:13
Fair enough Gazza each to their own mate.

To be honest, regarding carra, I know he has his credentials and all that but he choose a different path to the one many thought he'd go down (coaching) personally I think he should keep to what he's doing and stay away now. He doesn't seem passionate enough to be a coach, if I remember rightly at one point he'd stated he wasn't fussed about the coaching career anymore, I love Carra, he's a legend as a player for us but that's as far as it goes for me.

02 Jan 2018 18:45:20
Thanks everyone for replies. When Michael Beale returned a position was found for him so we have some good experienced backroom staff.

02 Jan 2018 23:19:08
I know Pep has a great reputation which must be well deserved but I do think his think about “always attacking” even when we don’t have the ball is a bit naive. That’s part of our problem, we are always looking to attack.

What we need is more game intelligence. There are times to attack and times to absorb pressure and make it difficult for opponents.
For years we have been far to open to being attacked, we aren’t smart enough to snuff out the opponents.

02 Jan 2018 14:25:18
Hi Ed's.

Do you think Couthino will feature against Everton on Friday?

Cheers
Nick.

{Ed002's Note - Not with the injury reported by Klopp.}

02 Jan 2018 15:25:07
It will either be February or never again I would have thought.

02 Jan 2018 15:37:30
Ok cheers,

02 Jan 2018 15:07:03
Transferwindowitis again ed?

02 Jan 2018 17:43:19
Or fitenoughtoplayinternationalfriendliesbutnotpremierleague syndrome?

02 Jan 2018 13:10:40
Coutinho has said he does not want to play for Liverpool ever again. Again 🙄.

02 Jan 2018 13:39:12
I highly doubt this, to be honest.

I think this is just the media trying to approach the Coutinho situation at a whole other angle. They are just creating stories to sell papers or to boost viewing figures. The best way to continue talking about a story is to bring in new 'information' little by little, despite there being no validity to such reports. They can quote 'sources close to the player' and bull like that in an attempt to bring validity to their statement. In the end, it is just more bull.

My two cents, don't believe anything you hear unless it comes from official sources. Then, and only then, will the truth be revealed.

02 Jan 2018 13:59:14
Didn't he apparently say that in the previous window, too? 😂.

02 Jan 2018 14:18:00
I have no doubt that Coutinho wants to leave but I highly doubt he has the balls to actually go up and say to Klopp and FSG, "If you don't agree Barcelona's next offer then I am never playing for you again. "

He is, most likely, faking the injury so that it sends a message to FSG that he wants to leave. But, I doubt Coutinho is brave enough to do anything himself directly. He would rather send his agent to do the dirty work, because the man is clearly a coward.

Just my two cents though, I could of course be wrong.

{Ed002's Note - He handed in a transfer request - they know he wants to leave. The injury has only been mentioned by one person - Klopp.}

02 Jan 2018 16:11:22
I don't believe that, OP. Just the media kicking up dust even tho we all know he wants to go to Barca, at all costs.

02 Jan 2018 17:44:10
It was a bit tongue in cheek as he has already supposedly said it!

02 Jan 2018 17:40:49
More tea Ethel? I love the cross stitch you did last week Rita and these cupcakes are to die for! How's your boy Phillipe doing Margaret?

02 Jan 2018 13:03:49
A fascinating Year of football, Does anyone think city not having Silva, Jesus and KDB may contribute to a slight slump.

Might get my money on us beating them for the first time this seaosn any takers :)

02 Jan 2018 13:38:38
I remember when we ended Arsenals Invincibles run. Neil Mellor I think scored. I wouldn’t put it past us.

02 Jan 2018 13:39:24
i hope we beat them need to keep the pressure on Chelsea and the man unt if that's possible, not winning the next game would undo the work we have done to catch them.

02 Jan 2018 14:18:34
No Silva, KDB or Jesus is a big miss for them. But then we might not have Salah or Coutinho so it’s swings and roundabouts?

02 Jan 2018 14:54:38
Not to be a proverbial parade-pisser-onner, Nick, but pretty sure United beat them a week or two before us.

02 Jan 2018 15:14:45
Van horse face penalty was it.

02 Jan 2018 16:13:47
Nick, it was Utd who ended Arsenal's unbeaten run 2-0 where Rooney disgracefully dived to get a penalty but I get your point.

As for City, we shall see if they struggle w/ o those key players and like some, I believe if anyone can beat them now (Palace should have), it will be us PROVIDED we are on our game 100%.

02 Jan 2018 17:05:12
I must be going mental. Would have bet my house it was Neil Mellor. Scored from far on the right hand side at the Kop end. Either am thinking about another goal or I have lost my marbles completely.

02 Jan 2018 21:56:32
That was just after United beat them.

02 Jan 2018 23:37:36
We will beat only if Mangala plays in their defence.

02 Jan 2018 23:38:37
City are not unbeatable as the likes of CP and Huddersfield has revealed. Even with the said players on the pitch for them, we can beat them anyday bro. I can put my money on that!

02 Jan 2018 11:44:16
Hi eds happy new year to everyone involved on the site (one of my resolutions is to get more involved in the discussions on here as I've been a regular visitor for years now, just very very rarely post)

Was just wondering if anyone could shed some light on how Woodburn is being seen to be progressing this year. I'm hoping the reason he isn't playing much is just because the first team are playing well and we have much more depth this year going forward. Thank you greatly!

{Ed001's Note - you have answered your own question. The strength in depth has increased which is why he is not featuring as much, though he did make the bench yesterday.}

02 Jan 2018 12:28:52
Ed 01 are they still looking at the option of loaning him out this window.

{Ed001's Note - if the right team is an option for him then yes.}

02 Jan 2018 12:30:52
Thanks for the swift reply. I’d figured as much just wondered if the reason could have been that he wasn’t progressing as much as hoped.

{Ed001's Note - no mate, he is still doing well, which is why he was the one on the bench, rather than someone else.}

02 Jan 2018 12:49:30
Got a bright future that lad, can't wait to see more of him. Speaking of youngsters, does anybody know how Ojo is getting on?

02 Jan 2018 13:17:31
That's the reason I asked Salah. Hopefully having a few more first team options now will be good though and will mean there is less pressure on him personally when he does play. Hopefully people don't expect him to play like Zidane as soon as he breaks into the team.

02 Jan 2018 11:09:03
Ok so having put as little thought into this as possible here are my top 5 contenders to replace some of coutinho's magic.

1. Julian Brandt, he has vision, can dribble and can score a goal or two. By no means the finished article but has lots of potential to become an excellent player.

2. Gelson Martins, execellent dribbler with tricks up the ying yang. He can score and can assist. He is my fav but maybe to early in his career for lfc but would love him none the less. Price will be a factor as his club has put a very high price tag on him.

3. Christian Pulisic, as ed333 has eloquently said he has a very high ceiling and can be as good as his dedication permits. He brings pace, dribbling and goals to the table but is not as creative as the other two. Would still be an excellent elixir to soothe the coutinho hole.

4. Thomas Lemar, has an excellent assist rate, shot and is a dead ball specialist. He can also play all along the left side as ed01 has pointed out. He would not be my choice as i think he is limited in some respects and won't get much better than he already is.

5. Dani Cellabos, he is more of a cenral mid with attacking inclinations. He has got good skills and tricks and vision but lacks pace for me. I do however like his defensive capabilities and he would be a good foil to keita, plus he is still very young and can get even better.

All bring something different to the table but none quiet fully filling that coutinho hole excuse the pun. Personally i would go all out to convince brandt that his future lies here (legally) but would be equally stoked if we blew out coutinho.

02 Jan 2018 11:28:03
I’d take Brandt. For me he’s the closest to Phill with regards to dribbling ability and where he can play. He is similar to couts in terms of pace not the quickest but has good acceleration when needed. For me he’s the one I’d go for. Imagine a midfield of Brandt Keita and Goretzka? I mean it’s possible. A man can dream.

02 Jan 2018 11:32:42
Is Brandt an option still? Thought it all cooled down once he decided against us in the summer over playing time.

02 Jan 2018 12:14:35
I highly doubt Ceballos is linked to any of this. He is a young central midfielder. I'm not even sure you could count him as an attacking midfielder like you could Goretzka. He's more of a midfield playmaker than a goal threat.

Coutinho will be replaced by a player who can score goals. Ceballos is more of an assist/ key pass player than a goal threat. Far more likely Ceballos and Keita are seen as the replacements for the likes Can, Grujic and Milner.

Coutinho will be replaced by a goal scorer. If it's a midfielder, it will be a player In the mould of Goretzka whose main asset is scoring from midfield. When we lose Coutinho, we lose at least 15 goals a season. Not even Liverpool are stupid enough to replace our third main goal threat so far this season, with an inexperienced play maker. Isn't it telling that since Meyer dropped into a deeper role, we've dropped all interest in him as a Coutinho replacement? Coutinho will be replaced by a forward.

If we sign Ceballos, it would purely be an opportunistic signing because his representatives have approached us. Not as an alternative to Brandt/ Lemar. Totally different types of players. Ceballos has nothing to do with Coutinho in my opinion. Sometimes when good players are available and approach you, you just take the opportunity. That shouldn't impact your other plans though. If you allow it to, that's just poor management and irresponsible.

02 Jan 2018 12:34:50
Pulisic by a distance. He's destined to be world class if fit and healthy.

02 Jan 2018 12:50:44
I agree Big Al, Pulisic any day over the rest, all great players but he's on another level.

02 Jan 2018 13:04:58
I'd love to know what people disagree with? Ceballos has 9 career goals in 120 odd appearances. Coutinho has 12 goals in the last 3 months.

If anybody seriously thinks he's a suitable replacement for Coutinho, i worry for them. Klopp has clearly identified left sided attackers who can also play in mdfield. Lemar, Brandt, Draxler, Laxalt and Meyer were the players we were interested in. Draxler and Meyer have since dropped into deeper midfielder roles, and Laxalt is terrible. That leaves Lemar and Brandt for me.

Goretzka was only ever seen as an alternative to Keita but this season he's been playing in a more attacking midfield role and scoring goals. He has also played as a wide midfielder previously but he was moved centrally because he can't cross for toffee and always cut inside anyway. Goretzka could indirectly replace Coutinho as he'd add goals to our team albeit from a different position, but he can't cover in the front 3 unlike Brandt and Lemar.

Now that Can is definitely not signing his new contract, it makes sense that we would go for a replacement in Ceballos. Klopp wanted Keita and Can. Hence why he signed Keita and still offered Can a contract. Therefore if Can leaves, he needs to be replaced. Maybe I'm wrong but this all seems like simple logic to me. Unlike Goretzka, Ceballos is not a genuine goal threat so it seems ridiculous that he's being mooted as any form of replacement for Coutinho. Ceballos might get 3-5 goals a season, but Coutinho gets that every couple of months. They're not even comparable players. I'll be disappointed in LFC if they replace a goal scoring attacker with a midfielder who doesn't score.

02 Jan 2018 13:15:54
Pulisic lacks end product, his shooting from distance is poor, his crossing isn’t great and he doesn’t have the vision in his passing, he can dribble well but that isn’t enough to break the bank for. It’s also well worth remembering that he’s only 19 years old and is far too early in his development to join and expect him to replace Coutinho as it would be harmful for him. Think how we signed Markovic before he was ready? That’s not even considering the fact he’s a Man United fan who has said he would only consider playing for United if he came to the premier league, surely that’s not worth pursuing. Personslly I think we should go for someone more ready to go straight away, Forsberg, Insigne and Lemar for example. Forsberg is a superb footballer, he’s got pace, skill and end product (his shooting, passing and crossing ability are one of the reasons for RBL success) he can play wide midfield or number ten, Insigne reminds me of Zola and that’s a very high compliment, only difficulty is that Napoli are hard to negotiate with. Lemar has a great range of passing, has good dead ball delivery and long range passes and can play number 10, number 8 and on the wing as well as full back, any of those would be adequate ready to go replacements.

02 Jan 2018 14:01:47
Whilst this isn't the main consideration, if everything else is even we should get Pulisic for the commercial aspect.

He's set to be the first US mega star and if Liverpool became the Yank's favourite team it would go a long way to financially closing the gap to our rivals.

02 Jan 2018 16:20:59
Mr Dennis, have you seen Pulisic play. The kid is quality and having watched him in the CL this season, he may be a bit rough around the edges BUT his quality is unquestionable and at 19, he is way ahead of many his age and even older. The kid has everything and can play anywhere in the attacking third. He would be my pick and if he is not available (which he is not), I would take Brandt w/ o hesitation as he like Pulisic (tho Forsberg is a good shout), can play in a front 3 or the no. 10 role where he currently plays now at Leverkusen.

Not sure about this Ceballos kid as he seems to young and unproven tho he has talent as real beat out some good teams to get him. he is no no. 10 and not a wide forward so don't know what he will be doing here, in that regard.

02 Jan 2018 10:48:14
Shane Duffy.

6ft4?

First name sounds like Shea?

Thunderbird 2 was animated by Kristian Duffy in 2014?

In 2009 Duffy made played for Ireland against Italy. Who played for Italy? Giuseppe Mascara.

It's a long shot, but i think we're signing Shane Duffy lads!

02 Jan 2018 11:20:00
Hit the nail on the head mk. Would he come to us though? He's got a few bigger options on the table.

02 Jan 2018 12:18:57
Am I being stupid?

Thunderbird 2 is piloted by Virgil. VVD is 6'4"
WonderDogSparky showed us the Thunderbird car delivered by Macca's garage when Macca announced the apparent signing of VVD before the season started. Sparky even shared a Virgil picture) . I can't speak for van Dijk's nightclub habits mind, but Ed002 clearly knows that scene well?

is there a subtlety I am missing?

02 Jan 2018 13:49:53
ProfG, isn't it obvious that everyone is just having a laugh? I mean come on mate. Sparky can be cryptic, but Duffy playing against Giuseppe Mascara 9 years ago? You didn't really think i was being serious did you 😂 it's obviously VVD, but let people have some fun! Sparky even smoked a Dutch roll up to drop us a hint!

02 Jan 2018 14:34:07
oops. embarrassing.

02 Jan 2018 09:54:58
Am just wondering Ed02 if Sparky could be convinced to decipher his tweets after Pipco gets on his Barcelona kit. I'm assuming of the 2 new house guests one can only take up his room in the Summer?

{Ed002's Note - It is perfectly clear.}

02 Jan 2018 13:26:42
Will Sparky be putting anymore clues up ed?

{Ed002's Note - I suspect you may not understand Sparky well, nor know your Thunderbirds well.}

02 Jan 2018 14:17:01
I don't mate tbh. that's why I am struggling to make any sense of it lol. I am trying hard though. I do no its nothing to do with VVD or Meyer or Lemar though with what has been said.

02 Jan 2018 09:49:13
Ed1, there seem to be a lot of people picking up on Mane's body language since Salah arrived, suggesting that he is not happy at the club?

Do you know if this is correct or have you heard anything about any changes in his attitude. Maybe it's just hearsay?

{Ed001's Note - it is impossible to tell with Mane, he can be a bit of a sulky bugger at the best of times. There is nothing definite coming out, but Mane is Mane and he does this, he struggles with his motivation.}

02 Jan 2018 10:03:01
Maybe he's a bit jealous of Salah? I don't know but sooner he starts firing them goals in often again the better, great goal from him yesterday! was chuft to see him get one after a rough patch, hopefully he can start been the Mane we all want him to be, imagine him on form with myself? we'd be laughing. Not to mention Firmino, who has been absolutely out of this world this season.

02 Jan 2018 11:00:00
Let's not forget on Sat he had an assist and 2 goals disallowed. He's not hitting last years heights but it's hardly like he is our weak link.

02 Jan 2018 11:40:21
I'm not suggesting he's a weak link but last year we were all over him because I think he was our bright new thing and this year it's like Salah has displaced him slightly.

02 Jan 2018 09:29:29
Question for ED001 please of he's around. It's Maxi Rodriguez 37th birthday today. I've always had good memories of his time with Liverpool (although short lived), probably due to some decent goals he scored such as screamer away to Fulham. Interested to hear what you thought of him as a player? Vaguely remember him being good at Athletico also, plus screamer vs Mexico in 2006 World Cup.

{Ed001's Note - he was a good player in a short, quick passing team, with a great ability to pop up with a goal when needed. However he was not really in the right team to get the best out of him for most of his time with us.}

02 Jan 2018 09:48:07
It's weird because I watched a Maxi Rodrigues Liverpool compilation, there was that time where he couldn't stop scoring hat tricks, and also when he scored the same goal against Chelsea twice in two games.

02 Jan 2018 10:26:22
Thanks ED001, and Happy New Year (hopefully a happy and prosperous one for Liverpool! )

{Ed001's Note - happy new year to you too and defo agree with the last bit!}

02 Jan 2018 01:50:38
Hey ed002. A 6ft4 goal keeper with smooth hands.? Can you ask wonderdogsparky if im i getting warmer please.?

02 Jan 2018 09:46:41
Can't be Butland then because he's 6'5.

02 Jan 2018 10:26:43
It's VVD, 6ft4, long hair.

02 Jan 2018 08:26:15
Pep Ljinders has left LFC. Good luck to him and hope he returns to LFC one day.

02 Jan 2018 08:48:24
Sad to see him go, but if in a decades time he is a top manager, hopefully he won't forget us!

Very important we replace him adequately. I would not be surprised to see Neil Critchley get the job though. He is also an excellent coach. Possibly even Michael Beale who is also back at the club i believe?

02 Jan 2018 02:43:31
ED1 if u have time, will it be possible to review some of the top coaches around? I'm thinking of :

Klopp, Guardiola, Pochetino, Conte, Rafa, Mourinho, Wenger, Simeone, Ancelotti, Heynckes, Low, Jardim.

And may be some 1st team assistants if it fits your agenda.

Many thanks in advance.

{Ed001's Note - added it to my to do list mate. Will be getting back to normal after today, once I have caught up on some sleep.}