Liverpool Banter Archive June 07 2016

07 Jun 2016 20:55:13
Anyone interested in joining in the Euro '16 correct score comp, the group game fixtures are now up on

Euro 16 Competition

simply log in as usual - scores have to be in by midnight thursday and the comp will be updated on 22nd June after the group games have finished leaving 2 days for you to put your next scores in.

Good luck everyone

07 Jun 2016 20:23:50
Hi Ed's/ Lads
I checked banter and also tried the serch function.
Read a couple of articles on the Web today regarding Sakho asking UEFA to ban him because they were unsure if the substance was banned or not. The general consensus seemed to be that he did this incase any issue could be brought further down the line had we won the cup and therfore it would have been tarnished.

Has anyone else heard anything. There seemed to be quotes from UEFA who also went on to say the matter should be resolved soon.

If this is the case fair play to Sakho he put the club over his own ambitions and goals and took the suspension on the chin.

Again could be a load of pony but just thought I'd ask people's opinions.

Cheers,

07 Jun 2016 19:56:15
Just a question lads. If Coutinho were to leave, who would you replace him with? I'd quite like Calhanoglu, really clever player, bags of skill and a little pace, great range of passing, plus he can't have strike a dead ball and is deadly from 30+ yard.

07 Jun 2016 20:40:52
Goetze.

07 Jun 2016 21:01:40
Bearing in mind Coutinho plays on the left for us, I'd replace him with an out and out wide forward. N'Koudou would be my pick as he has bags of pace, completely two footed which makes him unpredictable, and for such a young player his composure and final ball is very good.

Coutinho is great but he is ultimately an attacking midfielder filling in out wide due to a severe lack of proper wide players.

I wouldn't sign a number 10 type player though because in Firmino we have a player who can play as a second striker but drop into the hole as and when it is required.

I'd leave Firmino as a second striker alongside Sturridge, leave Hendo and Can as a two man midfield, and then sign a right and left sided midfielder/ forward.

N'Koudou and El Ghazi would give us goals from out wide. If we had some actual pace going forward and players to provide genuine width, I think we will carry a massive threat going forward. Then we have Milner and Lallana as experienced options for the wider areas as El Ghazi in particular probably isn't ready for 90 mins a week in a top league.

When the opposition has the ball Firmino can drop deeper to help the midfield though. So I'm not sure I'd target a like for like Coutinho replacement.

07 Jun 2016 23:29:34
Agree with all three if you in certain respects.
Calhanoglou would bring a much needed threat from set-pieces, and looks to me like someone who could fit our system, I believe he often plays on the left wing MK?
Götze is and has been the dream for three and a half years, I believe my very first posts on this site asked about Götze, Diakité and Mam Sakho!
Yeah, MK, we want someone who won't look out of place or awkward on the left wing- particularly if Lallana is set to play the right wing role, as he doesn't offer huge width, although I rate him highly all the same.
Haven't watched enough of Calhanoglou in flesh to see what he's like on the left, but anyway what about Andre Schürrle as a shout from the left-field? Great goal scoring record, can press hard and naturally a left winger, even if he cuts in a lot.

08 Jun 2016 00:17:06
Calhanoglu is quite a plate and is lethal from set pieces.

08 Jun 2016 06:36:30
i know we would like to win cups, bt i don't think fielding plates would be the best idea.

07 Jun 2016 15:59:03
I'm not sure why so many posters insist we need a striker. We already have Sturridge, an ever improving Origi and a (hopefully) fully fit Ings. Klopp seems to prefer 1 up front. It would be insanity to buy another striker unless we were hit with an injury crisis - that may happen - but until it does it would be needless and a waste of finances. I hope the club are prioritising more pressing area's of the team.

07 Jun 2016 16:10:36
i don't think we will buy a top striker (maybe someone for the future) . not unless Sturridge is sold. We also have Firmino who Klopp has used up top on his own quite a bit.

07 Jun 2016 16:21:04
What about if Sturridge does a big injured this my point for a st . They win u games and we what top 4 we need a 20 goal score.

07 Jun 2016 18:01:40
If we sign a striker we have to play to up top, origi and Sturridge are too good to sit out.

07 Jun 2016 18:34:47
@kopdogs - yeah totally right forgot about Firmino but he is also more than capable of filling in up front as well.

@Redmen Reus - we cannot sign players based on 'what if' scenario's involving injury, it just isn't viable. Sturridge might get injured. But he might also have a relatively injury-free season - if we sign a "proven" striker then someone is going to be unhappy. We don't even have Europe to contend with next season - signing a striker would be insane in my opinion.

07 Jun 2016 19:32:03
Another striker will only come in if Sturridge is sold JK favours the lone striker so won't bring anyone in

Sturridge, Origi, Ings, Firmino is enough
Benteke is out I'm sure you'll agree.

07 Jun 2016 16:54:53
If Dan gets injured we have Origi, who will be pushing for a starting role for one of the favourites for the Euros, and Firmino and Ings. IF (and I really hope he doesn't) Dan picks up any sort of serious injury at the Euros or before the transfer window shuts then I would not be surprised if Klopp cut his losses.
If that were to happen though i'm not sure we could find anyone available near the quality that Sturrige is when fit.

07 Jun 2016 16:55:46
I've no confidence in Sturridge going throughout a full season un injured.

07 Jun 2016 22:50:04
With three good options up front; 38 league games and minimum 2 cup games; with Klopp managing Sturridge's fitness by resting him some times then we should be fine!

07 Jun 2016 14:58:37
hi eds and reds

i was just thinking about the team and how many top players it would need to take a step up, i think 3 more quality players, not young ones with potential, imo it would be a LB a winger and a striker, as i say i'm talking about quality players, but its only my opinion, what do other fans think and the eds think it would be interesting because we all have different opinions, our most important signing though would be a quality striker who will score 20 goals a season, the one thing that made leicester champs is they had goal scorers for all different positions, like we used to have and the same went with chelski who had goals all through the team when they were winning it, also the same went for man utd, over the last few years that's one thing we have never had, all our goals have come mostly from the strikers and attacking midfielders, but hardly any from anywhere else on the pitch, last season we had a lot of set pieces but never made the most of them and also even though we had a lot of corners we never scored that many goals from them i weas hoping Sakho would score a few goals from corners,

it would be interesting to hear other peoples opinions on this.

07 Jun 2016 15:23:20
What is the point of buying a striker when the manager only plays one at the top. Higuain or any Big name player wouldn't come to liverpool to sit on the bench and wait for their chance. What about Origi and Ings? This is plain stupid to demand more and more Strikers every 6 months.
Leicester had a top class back line and one of the best midfield pair who wouldn't let an ant pass by. I agree with LB and A top class Midfielder. Rest should be on the basis of any outgoings from the first eleven.

07 Jun 2016 15:42:16
The thing is, its good to have options. Injuries unfortunately happen every season so we need to consider this. So many times we have suffered from injuries and not having the quality players to step in.
If benteke was to leave.
Higuain (for example), Sturridge, Ings, Origi would be okay.
Even then we could do with another forward to have because you just can't tell with injuries and also ings and origi are quite versatile so can be played in wider positions.
I don't consider Firmino as a striker even though he is quality and can score he is best suited attacking midfield.

07 Jun 2016 17:32:58
To be fair higuain is a class above anything we have.

Origi and ings would learn a lot from him.

Would fire us to the top 4 np problem.

07 Jun 2016 17:48:18
We have seen from 2013/ 14 that it would only take 1 top class player to make us into challengers.
Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get one. Our recruitment is garbage these days. Scouts are hostage in Southampton and we seem to negotiate the price upwards.

07 Jun 2016 18:10:10
I disagree in some parts about the options it can muddy the water a bit too much. Have a clear first 11 that you want to play every week where possible - especially when you've not got Europe to contend with.

Having young improving players as the back up to those 11 pushing for a place is where I'd like our squad to be next season. Not the bloated whale that it is now.

07 Jun 2016 18:49:06
I agree with the fact that was have plenty of strikers already. but still would be buzzing if we got either lacazette or higuain haha.

07 Jun 2016 19:30:03
Sturridge is better than Lacazette.

Sturridge, Firmino, Origi and Ings is plenty of strikers for a team not playing in Europe.

07 Jun 2016 19:58:06
Ron
Appreciate your sentiments, But the club just cannot keep on adding players without making room. We need to sell both Benteke and Sturridge for any incoming striker which is as risky as it get. Unfortunately our previous managers from Daglish regime bought tons of players without any real clue. The club needs to trim the squad which is the first priority.

07 Jun 2016 21:09:10
I think Studge on his day is as good as anyone, and i think we are fine for strikes origi is improving and ings will be good for us. But Higuain i really rate but it would be money wasted i think unless studge went which i don't think should happen.

07 Jun 2016 11:52:08
I don't want to rake over old ground or annoy the eds but I do think it's strange we've not heard about Sakho's judgement yet.
Eds did you expect to hear something by now?
Cheers.

{Ed002's Note - Now, it is not strange. UEFA take their time to try and ensure the correct decisions are made. It was always going to be June and I would expect them to publish the findings fairly soon.}

07 Jun 2016 13:44:14
Interesting that he didn't make the French squad after all the talk last week that he could be included.

{Ed002's Note - He was never going to be in the French squad after failing the drug test.}

07 Jun 2016 19:52:44
UEFA took their time to choose the, Europa final this season.

07 Jun 2016 10:28:42
I know a lot of people love the idea of signing Higuain but he will be 29 in December and with Sturridge returning to fitness, I think it would just be a change for changes sake. Firmino wouldn't lose his place as he is a hard worker who creates just as many goals as he scores. People forget how young he is and he really could be as good as Suarez one day.

Sturridge on the other hand may create a few goals but he is mainly a goal scorer. Higuain is exactly the same though so they wouldn't be a very good partnership in my opinion. They are both greedy and take up similar positions. That's from an observational point of view. From a statistical point of view they also only got 5 assists combined last season (3 for Higs and 2 for Danny) .

So the question is, will Higuain score more goals in English football than Sturridge does?

Sturridge scored 13 goals last season in just 1700 minutes of football despite being in and out of the team due to his injury and recovery. Let's not forget that Danny is 2 years younger as well.

It such a close call on who is better that I don't think it is worth rocking the boat. Selling Sturridge and signing Higuain would definitely cost us at least a net sum of £30m. Is Higuain £30m better than Sturridge off the back of one exceptional season in a shocking Italian league? There is no doubt that he will score goals. He is a 20+ goals a season striker. But I strongly believe that Sturridge can be too. And with Origi and Ings both looking really raring to go and put pressure on our first choice strikers in Firmino and Sturridge, I think we have enough firepower for next season. Despite them all having injury issues last season, those 4 players combined scored 37 goals. Not is not bad at all considering Sturridge (13) missed half the season. Ings (3) missed pretty much the whole season, and Origi (10) and Firmino (11) are young players who have only been in England for less than a year.

07 Jun 2016 10:42:07
I would agree with you MKS. It's a part of the team that doesn't necessarily need for any tinkering. I would keep the faith with Sturridge and trust Origi and Ings enough to back him up sufficiently with Firmino waiting in the wings, when needed.

07 Jun 2016 10:42:37
Don't get me wrong, Higuain is a fantastic striker. I've no doubts he'd be successful in any league and that he'd certainly do very well for LFC.

However, I'd be very disappointed if we were to make such a big signing when we have such exciting options up front.

I'm a huge fan of Sturridge and - if we can keep him fit - there's absolutely no one better to lead the line for us. Origi is proving to be an absolutely brilliant signing and will only get better, so I expect him to play a lot of games next season. Then we have Ings, who I think will see a lot of game-time next season too - I think he'll do very, very well under Klopp.

Ultimately; Higuain is a great player, who I'd love to see at Anfield - but, not at the price Napoli would demand and definitely not at the expense of Origi, Ings and Sturridge.

07 Jun 2016 10:43:49
Don't see us signing him and hope we just keep Sturridge. But if we lost Sturridge as well as potentially coutinho then he'd be who I hoped we sign.

Always liked him as a player and has a fantastic goal record through out his career. Also game is based on intelligence and technique so imagine he still has at least 4 seasons at the highest level.

07 Jun 2016 10:50:06
Wasn't finished but it stopped letting me type!

All I was going to add was, do we really have £70m to spend on a striker when that is probably our strongest position in the whole squad? And a striker soon to be 29 who has never played in England at that!

I just think we should keep Sturridge and invest that cash in areas we are weak such as left back and wide players.

07 Jun 2016 10:54:29
Can we relay on Sturridge not geting injured and we don't if Ings we score us the goals we need . Higuain scores goals for fun . So if we have forward players leaving this signing would put fear into other clubs and we could see .

07 Jun 2016 11:10:55
I agree with most of that MK my only concern is that if higuian plays 3/ 4's of a season and Dan continues on his average of playing about 1/ 5 of a season then higuian is worth the net value of 30 mil. ( assuming he actually scores when he playing) definitely a tough one and no doubt we should be prioritising other positions before even considering another striker.

07 Jun 2016 11:13:21
I agree, higuain could turn out to be another soldado, not sure he could handle the physicality of the premiership. ans at 29 I would rather we went for someone younger and with more pace if we are spending that sort of money. the Basel guy looks good, also Williams from Bilbao looks a great prospect.

07 Jun 2016 11:19:24
I don't know where you got those sort of figures from but I can assure you he would cost that amount. You say a net spent of £30m and suggest higuain would cost £70m meaning, you think we could get up to £40m for Sturridge? I think people should lay off the numbers until official figures come into play.

As for bringing higuain in, well he's a world class player, and world class players is certainly what we need. I just think striker isn't such a priority right now. Sturridge is still a bit of enigma for me. He spent so long injured before klopp came in, and then klopp came out and said those things about him and then he seemed to have a change of mentality and stayed fit. I still feel he is quite unreliable, he has yet to prove me wrong on that, but injuries aren't really his fault so I'm not blaming him. I would like our efforts to go into a left back and a centre midfielder especially as I think these are more priority positions. But if we where to sell several strikers (Sturridge included) then higuain would be my pick up front.

07 Jun 2016 11:20:07
Some good replies. Rolandinho in that unlikely scenario that Sturridge forces his way out then yes we need a top striker. But there are far better options than Higuaín for us. Maybe not in terms of ability, but in terms of risk and cost. For example if we have £70m to play with and Sturridge leaves, I would much rather pay a signing on fee to tempt Aubameyang, Greizeman or Lacazette to the club. They are a lot more suited to English football, much more value for money, younger, and still capable of scoring 20+ goals a season.

I just don't think we should force Sturridge out with a major signing though.

In Firmino and Ings we have two very selfless strikers who will put a hell of a shift in, win the ball back high up the pitch, and create goals for their team mates. Ings tends to do that with very unselfish runs, whilst Firmino creates goals more directly. Then in Origi and Sturridge we have two players who offer excellent pace in behind and good hold up play. Sturridge via skill and technique and Origi via strength and aerial ability. Origi is probably the most versatile as he is also capable of playing out wide as well.

That gives us an excellent balance in our striking options with lots of potentially good partnerships. None of those players are exactly the same and any combination would work in my opinion.

Higuaín is very similar to Sturridge though. He is probably more two footed, but doesn't have as much pace. Aside from that they are very similar strikers though. So Higuaín would definitely be a Sturridge replacement. Unless we force him to, I really don't think Sturridge will go anywhere.

I have a gut feeling that with his new found fitness under Klopp, Sturridge will score well over 20 goals next season, unless he suffers another relapse. In that event though, I have enough faith in either Origi and Ings to deputise alongside Firmino.

07 Jun 2016 11:38:09
Van persie, berbatov, cantona, wright? Sometimes forget the age and think what if he comes in and scores 20 a season over the next 2 years and fires us to top 4? We will have money to target the next one or maybe origi will learn so much off him. he will be ready to take the mantle?

07 Jun 2016 11:47:18
You cannot buy players to put fear on other clubs. we have three stikers excluding Benteke and Firimino. There is absolutely no need to add another one ( expensive one ) . Given you sell sturridge we should look for a young striker who fits your pass and move high pressing system. Coutinho departure has nothing to do with stiking position.

07 Jun 2016 12:52:50
Haven't been on here in a while! I agree with MK, no point spending for spendings sake. On the other hand, you say Sturridge has more pace, but am I the only one who seems to think he has lost quite a bit of his pace? I think it was the Sevilla game (may be wrong) and looked like he was running in water!

07 Jun 2016 13:21:01
Kman92, If you read it properly you'd see that I said "at least a net sum of £30m".

When you factor in that Sturridge might not go for any more than £25m, Napoli's asking price is £70m, and then consider agent fees as well, £30m was a pretty conservative cost! It would likely be much higher than that unless Napoli could be knocked down significantly. Higuaín is indeed world class. But if you would rather sign him than say Aubameyang and Lacazette then in my opinion you are crazy! Perhaps Higuaín is the best option who would actually be willing to sign for us, but if that is the case, I'd rather keep Sturridge and stop breaking FFP rules every season.

I am not saying Higuaín wouldn't get me excited. That would be a lie. But I'm just not sure it's a very financially sensible decision! If he flops and can't cope with the English game, there is no chance we'd recoup the fee we paid and we can't afford a £70m mistake. It is a massive gamble. If it paid off though, there is no doubt he could make a difference and if he fired in 35 goals in the premier league it goes without saying we would compete for the title.

07 Jun 2016 13:20:10
The? Is can we go into the new season as Sturridge as your 1st choice st knowing if he gets injured it could hurt are season . Ings and Origi are still young and not proven they could score 20 goals .

07 Jun 2016 14:29:13
If sturridge leaves then I would hope for higuain, we aren't getting aubemyang (far too many teams ahead of that que) and don't imagine we could get lacazette either. He'd be massively expensive as well and again think we'd face competition from teams he'd prefer to go to.

Plus if we got lacazette still thing he'd be a bigger risk on adapting the the BPL, struggled last season and his played his whole career for 1 club. Higuain has moved from Argentina to Spain to Italy and is a more experienced player who I don't think would struggle to adapt at all.

The only doubt I might about higuain would be whether he could do the high pressing. Whilst it is a risk spending what I'd imagine to be £50m-ish on higuain it is a bigger risk to miss out on CL football next season and we will struggle to get that if we don't have a 20 goal a season striker, which I hope will be sturridge but if he goes - go Gonzalo.

07 Jun 2016 14:48:10
I disagree, Redmen Reus. I think that Origi has actually proven a lot over the second half of this season. If Sturridge were injured, I'd feel pretty confident with Origi up front. Obviously, there's no guarantees he'll score 20-25 goals in a season, but - barring injury - I think he'll do us proud.

I also just don't think that Klopp will look to change for the sake of it. I think he'll be looking at that first-team squad and realise just how much was achieved last season. We've got to remember; we made two finals, with a team that he hadn't assembled, no pre-season, with a ton of injuries and many of that squad showed a significant improvement over the last few months.

I highly doubt there'll be many coming in over the summer. We've got a few already (and they certainly look as if they'll improve the squad), but we really need to sell before we do anything more.

It's not about not having the cash to spend on the likes of Higuain (although, at approximately 50-70M, that would be a huge gamble), it's more about letting go those that offer little to the system.

A LB is a must, but we know there are players that the club are looking at, but I don't think we need to improve in many other areas.

07 Jun 2016 15:13:22
stuie boy,

i agree with you on sturridges pace, maybe he has been told to play that way i don't know but he does not use it has much as he used to do maybe he's been told his sprinting are causing the injuries, but he has defo lost a step or 2, so that makes the both of the on par, has both are top strikers and will score 20 goals a season if studge stays fit, but because of all his injuries can he be relied on to give us a full season, i'm not doubting his ability on the pitch but he does get injured a lot and does miss a lot of games, i would love to see him play all season because his goals would help us a lot which means we would have a chance of winning most of our games, but its all down to his reliability, he does not get injured on purpose but when it comes down to it liverpool fc need a stiker who will play all season.

07 Jun 2016 18:10:37
We really have no need to sign a striker. Sturridge, Firmino, Origi, Ings, Benteke, Balotelli. Even if we're to sell 3 (Balotelli and Benteke included), we still wouldn't need another - in my opinion.
A proper left back, and a right back (if we can sell Clyne - he's good, but not that good to me) . But otherwise, just a left back and Mario Gotze or any other player that can play across the front line.
I think the club should be more interested in seriously trimming the squad. Having loads of players means one way or the other trying to satisfy them.

07 Jun 2016 19:32:52
@MK 100% agree mate. It is our strongest position in the whole squad too, you're right.

07 Jun 2016 08:41:50
With us being linked to everyone with two legs and a pulse it got me thinking about the lack of creativity of journos, none of them come close to the rumours we used to get in this site. if they must make things up make it worthwhile.

The best one I remember is someone bumped into Kenny Dalglish at asda and he said we were signing aguero.

Thanks to all the eds for being so patient with us and giving up their free time to give us some honest information for once. Appreciate it.

07 Jun 2016 09:42:38
He bumped into dalglish at "the" asda mate, not asda.
(Little scouse humour there)

07 Jun 2016 12:21:00
Never forget that if no one reads a journo's story then they're pretty much out of a job. They're under immense pressure to attract attention and that leads to exaggerated or simply made up stories. View everything they write through that prism and it's easier to ignore the page filler stories.

07 Jun 2016 13:44:57
Mike have you noticed it only works with shops that begin with a vowel, sainsbury doesn't work.

07 Jun 2016 05:17:21
Seeing another round of Higuain will sign in today's press.
True or not, would he be good enough for the EPL? Fantastic record last season and no doubt a great player, but is he quick enough? Strong enough? Does he have a good mentally (winter Tuesday night away game etc) . Would he fit with Origi, Ings and Sturridge?

Just haven't seen many, if any league games with him so don't know. Great record in Italy which is a different pace with some sides being really poor, so does that flatter him? Is he anything like other Argentina strikers to compare with?

Thanks for any info.

07 Jun 2016 05:55:45
He certainly will be "good enough" for Liverpool if he were to hypothetically sign for us. He is a goal scorer, and has scored regularly throughout his career, seems injury free largely and is an intelligent player. Quick enough or strong enough are besides the point if the lad is clever enough, like Suarez was.

However with the likes of PSG trying to get him in for their rebuild, I see no chance of us signing him. I also think if someone as high profile as Higuain comes in, someone like Sturridge will be leaving.

07 Jun 2016 07:58:03
I'd love to see him at Liverpool but I agree AG, I just can't see it happening.

07 Jun 2016 08:14:04
I doubt we'll get him but he's easily good enough. Scored goals everywhere he's been. He's not exceptionally fast or strong but has everything in his locker to a high level. Good poacher too.

07 Jun 2016 08:21:43
If Coutinho leaves for PSG, we will easily be able to afford Higuain. I doubt Klopp was in the stands watching him play just because someone gave him a free ticket.

07 Jun 2016 08:30:01
Is he good enough? I suppose your one of these of the opinion ibe and stewart should start every week, easily good enough for anyone wanting to win things and a clear step up on what we have right now.

07 Jun 2016 06:17:59
He is 29 and his price value would put off majority of the clubs. He is not what we desperately want in the first place unless you offload Sturridge. Napoli are notorious for selling their players at huge prices and we wouldn't meet the asking price at all.