Liverpool Banter Archive May 05 2017

05 May 2017 20:42:19
According to the list of players we have looked at, is Porto the new Southampton?

06 May 2017 02:14:33
I'm a bit nervy about Southampton.

Especially about the early kickoff

I'd much prefer playing all our games with evening kickoffs.

06 May 2017 10:05:41
I doubt we will buy a single player from Porto. They would demand ridiculous transfer fee for their players which will put us off.

06 May 2017 18:39:24
We are interested in Porto's Ricardo Perreira (RB on loan at Nice) and they are willing to seel for about 22m so that's not too expensive.

05 May 2017 17:45:59
Ed do you think the future of the kop maybe rail seating like at celtic. Make it general admission so that kids can stand with their mates and the atmosphere will come back.

{Ed001's Note - no idea mate. However the atmosphere will not come back because of standing. It is not going to come back while 90% of the crowd are too busy playing games, taking photos or recording vids on their phones. Every club is struggling to get a proper atmosphere.}

05 May 2017 18:06:14
Ed am I right in saying its law in the England that all top flight games have to be all seating, and it would have to change before any standing could be introduced?

{Ed001's Note - I don't know off the top of my head. Sorry.}

05 May 2017 18:47:13
Genuine question why does anybody feel the need to stand for 90 minutes to watch football.
Much more comfortable to be sitting not being knocked in to etc.
If the fa or whoever is in charge of allowing this did allow standing to happen I think it would be a disaster.
It would be like being in a mosh pit more bad behaviour and sorry to say it end up in sceens similar to West ham utd early in the season.

05 May 2017 19:06:36
Amazing that Liverpool fans of all fans would even consider it!

No thank you. My local side had a standing section when I was younger (Rushden and Diamonds), but it was almost always empty by the time they got rid of it. It was just unsafe, uncomfortable and full of knuckle draggers.

05 May 2017 19:08:04
Agree with Walter.
I don't know why anyone with any knowledge of Hillsbrough would even "go there" with this subject.
Some of the best atmospheres I've experienced have been in all-seaters. You don't need to stand to create an atmosphere.

I think it would require a change in the law and I think that is very reassuring.

05 May 2017 19:24:39
Thanks Ron you put over my point much better than I did. What you said is so true good on you sir.

05 May 2017 19:45:42
I think the modern football fan is different as well, more reserved and less likely to shout or sing in public, all the last generation who did shout and sing are usually half asleep these days due to old age 😉.

05 May 2017 21:02:43
Obviously a different sport but my local rugby team has a standing section. It's always dead whereas the seated part it packed. I don't see how it would add anything to be honest, it's uncomfortable to stand that long and not terribly convenient. Wouldn't necessarily increase the capacity either.

05 May 2017 23:50:34
All the loudest away fans stand at the match.

I would compare it to an ale house, whereas you sit with yer bird for a quiet one, and you stand up at the bar with the boys for a rowdy one.

Seating should be for lazy gets, arl ones, day trippers, people with packed lunch boxes and the corporate weak clapping lot.

06 May 2017 10:04:03
I'm sorry but i completely agree with the original post and believe it is the very first thing we need to sort out.

The reason so many so called 'modern football fans' are rife at the games is because they are forced to sit down. It makes you drowsy, depressed when its not going well and kills the atmosphere completely.

If you had at least half of the seats being standing, the camera toting boo boys would definately think twice about whether they wanted to go. To hell with comfort and leaving before half time to get a pizza, it isn't theatre, a tourist attraction, its a football club. People seem to have totally forgotten what that means. You should be going to a football match and having a great time win, lose or draw, and it is an OBLIGATION to make noise for 90 minutes and support your team, not a choice.

I came to this realisation about standing up when i was at a gig some time ago. 75% of the people there were standing up, making lots of noise, having a great time, in a safe, controlled environment. The other 25% were in the upper tier, sat down, looking fairly glum and passive but still appreciating the music. I remember looking at this and thinking if we just applied that idea to anfield how much better the games would be, bringing in the younger fans who want to create an atmosphere and have a good time, while not completely alienating those who are not capable of or do not want to stand for 90 minutes.

I also think its a total embarrassment that everton, despite having far less income than us, provide more affordable tickets and actual deals and incentives to get young fans into the ground, and we cannot. I really do believe all of this is the very first thing we need to sort out if we are truly change the fortunes and attitude of our club for the better. You want people to stop moaning and being pessimistic? Maybe if they were allowed to have a great time at matches no matter the result, that would be achievable.

06 May 2017 10:06:18
Yes MK Scouser, it truly is amazing that a fair few Liverpool fans would actually prefer to be objective about this and recognise that safe standing in 2017 is indeed safe! It grinds my gears when 'super fans' like you try to shame other LFC fans out of even talking about the idea just because of one tragically mismanaged day in a completely different time almost 30 years ago. It's like refusing to ride in a 2017 BMW car because in 1989 your friends were killed when their old Ford Pinto's brakes failed.

I bet you're one of those LFC fans who shouts down any talk about safe standing while drooling about how good BvB's Yellow Wall is.

06 May 2017 10:08:50
Of course safe standing would improve atmosphere.

- Groups of mates can stand together instead being allocated into seats in various parts of the ground. Everyone knows it's easier to create an atmosphere when you've got the camaraderie of mates sitting together.

- Nobody sings when they're sitting down.

Atmospheres are only good in big games because *everyone* in the Kop naturally stands up for them. The problem is against small teams when everyone is sitting down and you have to be that brave bastard to stand up amongst a sea of silent people sitting down and, sadly these days, risk being told to shut up by a local, which is what my mate saw when he went to the Stoke and City matches.

Yes, smartphones have been a nuisance, but they're not going to go away, so we need ideas that mitigate their negative effects on the atmosphere because we can't just ban phones. If people are all standing up and getting bouncy, then don't you think they're more likely to forget about playing games on their phone?

There will be an argument that all-seating used to work at Anfield, but only until phone technology got better and clusters of mates sitting together reduced. Seriously, it's not hard to figure out why away fans produce much better atmosphere: they're all standing up, and there is more camaraderie. That's it.

People who want to censor discussion about safe standing because of Hillsborough can go screw themselves.

06 May 2017 10:09:26
I'd be more inclined to just put large signal blockers around the stadiums so phones just don't work, well at least get signal or connect to the net.
Or just flat out ban phones in stadiums or make a Douchy area beside the smoking area for phone users!

06 May 2017 12:06:28
I'm 20 years old and a student, and I've got a load of Liverpool fan mates despite being from about 70 miles away from Liverpool. Me and my mates would love to go to a game together and I guarantee we would be chanting for the full 90, the problem is it's practically impossible to get tickets, and even if we did get tickets they wouldn't be together.

{Ed001's Note - it is really not that difficult to get tickets, nor to get them together. Have you tried joining your local supporters club and speaking to them? Most official supporters clubs get an allocation of tickets, they can often have a batch that get returned unsold, which are the ones you usually find being sold on the day on the website.}

06 May 2017 17:09:15
T-Diggity, you hear scousers bleat on about tourists supposedly ruining the atmosphere when in actual fact, many tourists actually want to sing. But how the hell is a tourist expected to start songs when not even the locals will do it? Locals that, by a considerable quantity, take their weekly visits to Anfield way too much for granted.

My mate was sitting in the main stand against Stoke, and a tourist nearby tried to get a chant going. A scouser sitting near him yelled at him to shut up. Tourists like you aren't the problem, you're the excited ones who want their rare experience to be actually as awesome as possible.

06 May 2017 18:20:35
Thanks Ed, I hadnt thought of that so I'll have a look in to it, the times I've tried on the website I've just never been successful unfortunately. And I think you're right Robin, you should never be told to shut up for supporting your team. I wouldn't say I'm a tourist as such though, I used to go fairly regularly when I lived in Merseyside and my step dad had a season ticket but I wish I could go more. One thing I've noticed at football games in general is that the season ticket holders will chant for a bit of the game but then spend the majority of the time bitching about the team, what use is that?

{Ed001's Note - a friend of mine used to get his tickets through knowing the head of one of the supporter's clubs. He would only get offered the unsold ones before they were returned, but he used to manage to get to 10+ games a season that way.}

06 May 2017 19:17:05
I'm definitely going to have to check that out then, thanks Ed.

{Ed001's Note - hope it helps.}

07 May 2017 10:10:35
Yeah I know you're not a tourist per se, but you know what I mean. a Liverpool fan on a visit to Anfield rather than a weekly routine. That's part of the problem, some locals take it for granted and treat it like some any old routine.

05 May 2017 16:35:21
Hey
Does anyone else agree with me that should Chelsea cash in on Willian we should be at the front of the que for his signature. Versatile attacking player scores goals etc I personally think he would fit in nicely an he is a proven premier league player.

05 May 2017 16:45:13
Has a good workrate but not good enough from open play. Excellent at set pieces but pretty average at everything else.

05 May 2017 16:55:34
Plus he already turned us down when he picked Chelsea over us in the 1st place.

05 May 2017 17:01:58
Mickmullin, what actually happened if my memory serves is that we didn't meet the requested fee, Tottenham did, and then Chelsea stepped in while he was undergoing a medical with them.

05 May 2017 17:12:26
I think he'd be a very good player for us. Definitely wouldn't have any complaints if we signed him, but I think it's very, very unlikely.

05 May 2017 19:14:19
Would be a very good option for us if Coutinho left in my opinion. He is a proper left forward who scores goals, and would solve our set piece issues.
He probably has less open play on the ball ability than Coutinho, but he is much better off the ball. He makes unselfish runs and presses excellently.

Wouldn't knock signing him at all. Even if he only scores 10 goals a season and they are 80% from free kicks, so what? How many free kicks do we score at the moment? I think Coutinho has 2 and that's it. 3 games left and we have 2 goals direct from free kicks. When we fail to break down these compact bus parking teams, William can step up and bury one of the 15 free kicks they give us around their box. Or put one of our 10 corners in a decent area for Matip or Lovren to score.

I think he'd be a great signing. Maybe not the best player, but in my opinion the right player for what we are missing.

05 May 2017 19:56:40
Agree with MK here.

05 May 2017 20:34:15
I wouldn't want him, TQ. He has a good work rate but very little quality compared to mane and Couts. He can run all day but then, so can Mane and Couts who have better end product and quality than him.

He was ahead of Couts in the Brazilian setup but now, he can't even get a game and is not fit to lace Couts' boots. We can do better than him at a cheaper price.

05 May 2017 21:06:08
I honestly think he would be a decent signing for us. Can play either side aswell. And yes would sooner have coutinho playing but he is another option an maybe it would give coutinho chance to play a little more central to start splitting defences open with some pin point passes into the channels for the pace of willian an mane too run into.

05 May 2017 23:52:27
Best player by a mile for Chelsea last season when all the other lot had a cob on and bottled it.

A very good player.

05 May 2017 13:07:21
Is there interest in .................
Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - Wrong page - this is the Liverpool page.}

05 May 2017 10:25:18
Who would you lads say our most improved player this season is then? The eds can feel free to give their opinion too.
It's between Migs and lallana for me. Lallana probably edging it because we have still shipped a lot of goals and he's added goals and assists to his game and as well as being very effective in the middle, whereas we were basically playing with 10 men at times last season when he was out wide.
Credit where it's due though Mignolet hasn't had a clanger in a long while and I don't believe he's at fault for the large number of goals we've conceded. They mainly come from lapses in concentration ahead of him. Although I suppose you could say if he was more vocal organising his defence that wouldn't happen, so that's where he can improve next season for me.

05 May 2017 11:00:38
I'd go for Lallana, though he is still showing signs of inconsistency. Shout-out for Mignolet, and Hendo has excelled in the deeper role.

05 May 2017 11:03:15
Emre Can has improved through the season - plays so much better when Hendo is not in the team. Migs has surprised with his recent improved perfromances. got to give him credit, must have been a kick in the balls to be dropped to no.2 at start of season for him then to come in and play with some confidence.

05 May 2017 11:23:24
Roberto Firmino.

05 May 2017 12:49:11
TAA and woodburn, with brewster coming in third. For the first team has to be migs.

05 May 2017 12:51:03
Lallana for me. I wouldn't have been upset if we'd sold him last summer. He was so frustrating, clear ability but always slowing down play and ruining attacks doing numerous cruyff turns. Now since being put in the middle he's become instrumental to our style of play. Running his socks off every game. Using his tricks and ability at the right times to keep possession and also moving the ball on quickly when necessary most of the time. On top of that he has chipped in with some goals. It's great to see him still improving and long may it continue.

05 May 2017 18:14:16
Lallana? He improved for about 4 months and has now gone 5 months without a goal or assist.

Not for me. For me it is Mignolet. He's gone from being an undeniable liability in every aspect of his game to now making saves he should be making that used to go through his rubber wrists, and also being confident and decisive on crosses and set pieces. Kicking is still wayward and he is far from top class, but last season he was League 1 or League 2 quality, and now he doesn't look out of place in the Prem.

05 May 2017 19:50:21
Going to be controversial and say Milner, he's been pretty solid at left back, not spectacular, but you said most improved, don't think he had ever had a good or solid game for us until this season. I would still replace him though.
To be honest a lot of players have improved dramatically this season, Lallana stands out, as does coutinho and Can.

05 May 2017 19:57:55
Roberto Firmino, by a mile compared to last season.

06 May 2017 06:41:16
Llalana or Firmino - both have stepped it up to be real talismans this season. Firmino I feel still has another step up to go.

{Ed025's Note - i would say another 2 or 3 zimbo..

05 May 2017 09:25:48
hey eds with Clyne is it that he gets a start instead of TAA because he is a bit better defensively or is it just that JK wants to wait until next year with TAA and also hope Sturridge starts on Sunday.

{Ed001's Note - TAA is just being slowly bled into the team ready for next season.}

05 May 2017 09:55:17
Klopp has ready said TAA needs to work of the defence Side of the game.

05 May 2017 10:17:58
Likely that TAA might be our starting RB next season ed?

{Ed001's Note - rotation more than starting every week.}

05 May 2017 10:49:33
If clyne leaves and we get a left back in, can you see TAA and Milner being rotated at rb or will someone be brought in to replace clyne?

{Ed001's Note - the plan is to buy a right back. I am going to get rsi repeating myself like this.}

05 May 2017 10:55:15
One on one I think Clyne is a better defender, but in terms of tracking a player and covering at the far post I've seen more from TAA than Clyne in the few games he's played.

We'll see more of TAA next season and with more games his confidence will increase and I say by the end of the season he'll be our no1 RB.

05 May 2017 11:28:14
Periera is seen as Clyne's replacement. So Periera as first choice RB while TAA will be his understudy. Milner will rotate on the opposite side with the new LB we sign. Hope that helps clear up stuff for posters repeating the same questions for Ed001.

05 May 2017 12:04:53
The plan is ..........

{Ed002's Note - You are getting to the point you are wasting everyone's time again - please cut it out.}

05 May 2017 12:52:04
fair enough mate. Sorry.

{Ed002's Note - No problem.}

05 May 2017 19:58:01
Scarface, Perreira is miles better than Clyne and I hope we get him. And no, Clyne is by no means, a good one on one defender. He is slow to react, doesn't close down crosses, a perennial ball watcher and often caught out of position. Non e of these issues suggest that he is a good defender at all.

05 May 2017 06:59:49
{Ed's Note - We have posted a new article entitled, Weekend Premier League Preview

05 May 2017 12:49:42
Cheers ed! Always have a look at these before placing a wee bet.

{Ed001's Note - welcome mate, I hope it helps.}

05 May 2017 14:57:10
Really good read Ed, thanks!

{Ed001's Note - cheers FN.}