Liverpool Banter Archive October 09 2017

09 Oct 2017 16:37:03
After watching Bedazzled again last nigh I decided it was time to give the central midfiled players a go. Three required for the Intergalatic world class squad. My offering are: Sergej Milinkovic Savic, Thiago Alcantara and one absolutely wildcard unknown kid (who isn't "world class" now but I am told by a lady who knows her stuff that he is headed for the top) Andre-Franck Zambo Anguissa. One to watch out for.

09 Oct 2017 17:15:03
I will say Verratti, Coutinho and De Bruyne.

I chose Kante, Vidal and Casemiro for my CDMs and feel these 6 would be good enough. Coutinho and De Bruyne would also cover the AMC role in which we only have one choice. 3 years ago it would've been hard to look past Xavi, Iniesta and Alonso. 3 absolute greats of the game.

09 Oct 2017 17:30:55
I'll go for Isco - who I think is the best CAM currently.
Second is Kevin De Bruyne, one hell of a player with the vision of an eagle.
Third is Coutinho. A really good player and when he has mobile forward players in front of him, is capable of picking out exquisite passes.

09 Oct 2017 18:01:40
Modric
Kroos
Thiago Alcantara.

09 Oct 2017 19:50:14
De bruyne, modric and veratti.

09 Oct 2017 19:59:37
Kevin De Bruyne for me is an absolute must to be in there, the lad is something special.

Kroos and Kante.

09 Oct 2017 20:08:18
Kevin De Bruyne, Andres Iniesta and Toni Kroos (although I did select him at CDM too! )

09 Oct 2017 21:25:25
Coutinho, Kroos and KDB.

09 Oct 2017 21:32:59
Modric
De Bruyne
Iniesta (nostalgia)

09 Oct 2017 21:46:11
This one is tough. So many options.
But I will choose:
Kroos,
Modric,
and Moussa Dembele.

09 Oct 2017 21:47:05
My picks are based on the assumptions that there will a new post for CAM.

09 Oct 2017 22:01:55
Modric, Kroos and Thiago Alcantara.

09 Oct 2017 22:26:28
Iniesta and modric and erm keita.

10 Oct 2017 00:00:03
Iniesta, Modric and Dembele.

Since Kante and Vidal were somehow chosen for the CDM position instead of the CM position, I've decided to go with three possession oriented players to complement the combativeness of Kante and Vidal.

Iniesta was a simple choice, yes he's past his very best, but he's still one of the top CMs in the world. Also, his fitness shouldn't be too much of an issue since this is a one-off match.

I've gone with Modric as well because he's one of the best all-round midfielders in the game. His technical attributes and his ability to dominate games in the middle is only half of his arsenal, as he has shown a tendency to get stuck in and has shown his defensive and physical capabilities. Also, his consistency is so much so that he has been one of the best CMs in the past decade or so.

My final choice was the most difficult. However, out of all the candidates, Dembele stood out because he adds something different to the CM options. He's a Rolls Royce of a player, and his technique is just as brilliant as he is a physical specimen. Although not ideal, he can also cover CDM position if necessary.

The players I have had to overlook were numerous. Kroos is a fantastic passer of the ball, but the defensive side of his game is pretty woeful. Thiago is a wonderful passer and dribbler but he has injury problems, and I make it a point not to pick players who might use up a substitute after 20 mins of play. Pogba is also a great player (yes, I know he plays for United) but is he really a leader? I don't feel like he has reached the consistency that Modric and Iniesta have reached, and he doesn't provide enough of an alternative that Dembele does. The most difficult decision was leaving out Verratti. He can dictate play from deep, and he's not afraid to get stuck in. He's one of the biggest reasons that PSG (sometimes) plays at an incredible level. However, I'm worried about his disciplinary issues as he does sometimes lose his head.

I'm sure there are plenty of other CMs I've missed out on considering, but for a world class squad, it'd be incredibly hard to top a trio of Iniesta, Modric and Dembele.

10 Oct 2017 00:39:57
De Bruyne
Toni Kroos
Naby Keita.

10 Oct 2017 00:58:33
I'll go for modric, de bruyne and veratti.

But in fear of no coutinho in the squad I'll go ahead and replace modric with the Lil wizard.

De bruyne- veratti- coutinho.

10 Oct 2017 06:02:17
Modric- Simply the best in his position and has been for a while. effortless, exquisite and mobile.

Coutinho- he can score from 30 yards out if it presents himself. he can score free kicks, he can dictate play, he can go past players, he can play through balls, he can play sweet one / twos. i wanted to go with de bruyne but i think coutinho will just beat him terms of long range shooting. i feel in current gen coutinho is best with long range goal magic.

Ramsey: just when we need someone famous to die, our galacticos pass to him and force him to score, galacticos got to control the world.

10 Oct 2017 08:37:12
Someone has to satisfy Ed001, so. "can we have three Gary Medel's? "

Just kidding.

De Bruyne, Kroos and Coutinho!

10 Oct 2017 10:04:19
De Bruyne, Keita and Coutinho.

10 Oct 2017 10:15:24
Modric, Modric and Modric.

Every time I see the guy play he just glides around the pitch making the opposition look like non-league players and his team mates look like world beaters. He is the ultimate CM in this formation.

If I have to pick another 2 besides him it would be De Bruyne and Pogba (don't kill me. for what he did at Juve, not United, and I still think he could be incredible if it clicks for him)

09 Oct 2017 20:25:08
Ed002 after this one how many positions are left? I lost count.

{Ed002's Note - CF and coach.}

10 Oct 2017 11:19:16
Don't think we've done AM either, ed002?

{Ed002's Note - You are right, that will be later today. Thanks.}

10 Oct 2017 12:04:43
Thank you Ed002.

10 Oct 2017 12:44:02
For me it has to be Modric, Kroos and Coutinho.

10 Oct 2017 13:51:21
I did not expect to see Ramsey! Mad choice? Funnily enough, he is one of my favourite non liverpool players. I really rate him (not sure about top three in the world) and I think if he played for madrid he would become world class or there abouts with the class around him.

I play the guitar and if you are jamming regularly with musicians who are better than yourself then you get better yourself. I think this would happen with Ramsey and sadly coutinio too.

10 Oct 2017 22:16:49
I chose 3 CAMs cos I thought these were for CAMs.

Seeing as they're just CMs, then I choose Kroos, Modric and KDB.

11 Oct 2017 10:16:23
So our three are De Bruyne, Modric and Kroos. Next up will be the central attacking midfield. Just the one required. There will be a new post shortly.

09 Oct 2017 14:46:00
Hi ed01 I am intrigued as to what you think might happen in January. Will the club allow can to leave for free in summer or will they try and cash in. If so will they replace him or wait for keita. Lots of variables I know and I know the fan base are very fickle but there still seems like a lot of elements in the team not functioning. Keeper still a problem. Cb issues getting worse hendo even though your a fan seems to have 2 good games followed by 3 mediocre ones. Gini playing poorly. Sturridge has been written off ahain after 1 poor game but for me the biggezt prob with our fans is when you here them crying out for the return of clyne because the 2 kids we have replacing him are a little up and down. can't think of a mistake either has made that is any worse than the experienced players. Return of Clyne dear or dear how quickly we forget. I do think the team is a few players short of really competing consistently in every game. Would love a couple of nastys in the dressing room.

{Ed001's Note - I don't expect much to happen in January unless we can get VVD. I really do not expect us to let Can go.}

09 Oct 2017 16:22:53
The next two windows (the summer especially) are crucial for us.
We have about 5 problem positions, we can't fix them all in one or maybe even two windows but we can certainly fix 2 or 3 positions at least.

2 new CBs and a Striker are vital now for me in the summer, if Coutinho/ Can leave (which I believe they will), we'll have to look at that also and as usual, it won't be the end of the world regardless of what some will tell you.

Every single player is replaceable, we've lost better players than Coutinho before, we'll lose better in the future too.

There's always another superstar around the corner, maybe they're already at the club and they just haven't shined at their brightest yet (Woodburn/ TAA or an other perhaps) .

I'm not at all bothered, because I support Liverpool FC, not individual players.

09 Oct 2017 18:08:39
The CB position may not be that easy to fix as some may think.

Firstly, we could end up paying £90m or whatever it is Southampton will request and end up with another Lovren.

Not even City, with all the cash to burn were able to bring in any new CB's so maybe Klopp also decided that the options available at the prices being touted elsewhere could have created even more problems when bringing in defenders, paying an arm and leg and not improving on what we already had.

If Guardiola failed in his pursuit to sign new CB's then maybe Klopp had the same thinking as him. Stick with what you have or make things even worse than they are.

09 Oct 2017 18:47:17
Spot on, max. Ed01 has said the same thing on numerous occasions. What Pep decided to do was just focus his resources on the attack and make them hard to defend against and has pretty much abandoned the defensive side. So if Pep with all the money on the planet was going for Johnny Evans at CB then, those slating Klopp for not getting a stop gap at Cb instead of his offered choice, need to give their heads a wobble.

09 Oct 2017 18:48:46
Calling fans fickle for being negative about the team whilst then being negative about the team himself 🤦🏻‍♂.

09 Oct 2017 19:07:56
Pepe signed a new keeper and defenders in the window though. The outcome of that is 2 goals conceded in 7 league games and 0 goals conceded in 2 CL games. Whichever way you sugar coat it compared to ours it's far superior so far this season.

09 Oct 2017 19:58:58
City's CB's are as crap as ours Jayden.

The point is that Guardiola was in full force to upgrade his CB situation. Even he was after VVD and could not get a deal done.

If you cannot look into that point then that is your prerogative.

{Ed025's Note - citys CB,s are miles better than what liverpool have max, dont get me wrong they are not world beaters...but they are not a total embarrassment either mate..

09 Oct 2017 20:15:28
Ed025, Liverpool conceded 3 more (EPL) compared to City last season.

It is not like Guardiola has gone on to sign a world class DM. He is hardly deploying one this season either!

Guardiola is all about attack at this point. If he did not have the attack he did at City, his defence would have been his downfall i. e. last season.

Guardiola could have gone and paid WBA whatever they wanted for Evans. Would it have improved his options at CB? Ha ha.

{Ed025's Note - i would say no max, but you cant seriously tell me that stones an otamendi are not head and shoulders above anything liverpool have at CB mate..

09 Oct 2017 20:30:16
Stones? Put him into our starting eleven and let him play the high defensive line.

Bloodbath. The less said about Otamendi regarding a high defenisve line, the better.

{Ed025's Note - forget high lines, low lines or train lines for that matter max, do you think stones and otamendi would be an upgrade on matip and lovren?..

09 Oct 2017 20:40:05
Absolutely not. John Stones will not improve our defence. End of the story. It is about improving our defence, not taking somoneone who is not going to compliment it!

Otamendi? I would rather have Flanno at CB. That is not me saying Flanno is bad, but Otamendi?

{Ed025's Note - bloody hell max your having a giraffe mate, ashley williams is better than flanno and probably the three stooges who are currently your back line to be honest and hes absolutely crap, take off the red glasses and read some books on football mate then get back to me..

09 Oct 2017 20:41:52
Max I was replying to Bingo who said Pepe has just focused on attack and abandoned the defence. I just clearly stated the obvious. They bought a keeper and defenders and you only have to look at goals conceded to realise something is obviously going right there compared to us. Doesn't matter what prerogative you look at it's the truth.

{Ed025's Note - i think max may be having a senile moment jayden..

09 Oct 2017 21:03:48
Williams is no better than we have, he can dream of making the starting eleven at Liverpool for the rest of his career. Not going to happen. So if push comes to the shove, Flanno will not be worse than Williams if Liverpool had to play him at CB. Sad but true.

Stones and Otamendi are nowhere near head and shoulders above the CB's Liverpool currently have. I do not know where this is coming from LOL.

It is about getting CB's who fit in with Klopp's style of play. Stones and Otamendi will not fit, they will fail along with not making it in to any other top team in the world either.

Liverpool cannot just go and sign any CB just for the sake of it. We need CB's who fit, can live up to the demands. So let Klopp just go spend a f*** load on whoever he wants and problem solved. Ha ha.

It just ain't that simple, not in the market of today otherwise Guardiola would have signed a TOP class CB and paying whatever he needs to get it done.

The fact that Evans was Guardiola's last resort pretty much paints the picture in the past summer window.

09 Oct 2017 21:16:29
Jayden, Guardiola bought attacking fullbacks. Is Kyle Walker an accomplished defender? Ha ha, this is getting laughable.

Guardiola has done nothing to fix the poor options he has at CB. He could blasted as much money he wanted to on any CB he wanted. It did not happen.

I shall leave that with you :-)

09 Oct 2017 21:38:27
I'm with max on this one, our defence is poor we all know this but Otamendi and Stones wouldn't improve it one bit not in the slightest.

I can't really add much more to what you've said max because you've hit the nail on the head when you talk about us needing players to fit Klopps style of play. Stones and Otamendi certainly wouldn't, we'd be WORSE off if anything.

Just my opinion :)

{Ed025's Note - have you been appointed klopp,s defensive coach corleone?.. :)

09 Oct 2017 21:53:15
lol how did you guess ed0025 mate :)

{Ed025's Note - your agreeing with max gave it away mate.. :)

09 Oct 2017 22:00:06
Max where have I said Walker is an accomplished defender. When someone doesn't have the same point of view as you, you start moving the goal posts and waffle arguments no one is even having. I said Pepe bought a keeper and defenders (last time I checked full backs are defenders) in the summer and it appears to have worked so far with them only conceding 2 goals. The way you shift an argument to make out you're right in your own head is the only thing that is laughable.

09 Oct 2017 22:14:56
Jayden, Guardiola has not been about defending this season, in no shape or form. He cannot rely on his team to defend otherwise he will suffer the same fate as last season.

Conte's system is slowly but surely being found out too.

Attacking fullbacks as we know in the game of today are not accomplished at defending.

Guardiola broke the record for Walker knowing he is not accomplished but would make his team more potent going forward.

Guardiola also does not seem to have the notion of having a defensive midfielder on the pitch. He wants his team to pin the opposition back and my word, that is exactly what he is getting right this season. Ask his team to sit back and defend and it will be a case of him having another season like last. It is just not the way he has set up City to play and it is not like his new GK has had much to do either, nor has his defence. Lucky for him.

09 Oct 2017 22:44:19
Like I said it doesn't matter how you sugar coat it we have conceded 12 goals City have conceded 2. You can preach until the cows come home but it doesn't change the stat that counts and that is points on the board. And the reason we don't have enough points on the board is because our defence and keeper can't keep the goals out and our attack haven't been able to finish of late. But yeah City's CB's are crap, their full backs can't defend, their keeper wasn't heard of last season and Pepe wouldn't ask his team to sit back and defend. Because those points you made really have a reflection on the league standings 🤦🏻‍♂.

{Ed025's Note - im with you jayden..

09 Oct 2017 23:00:43
The 5 goals we conceded vs City is skewing our GD.

It is not like we suffer 5 goal defeats to often, do we Jayden? That and being 10 men down against a potent attacking force. It is not like we had to be up against Stoke with 10 men down hoping and praying that Crouch wouldn't totally destroy us. Holy sh*t, that defeat we suffered under Rodgers vs Stoke still sends shivers down my spine.

Being 10 men down vs City, Guardiola throwing 10 men forward, Sane at wing back and all, yes any team could have suffered the defeat we did.

That is a fact.

City minus Aguero that day, Guardiola having to change his game plan, us still having Mane on the pitch who was making mince meat out of the City defence. I would have loved to know what the score would have been then. Salah was having his fun with the City defence too.

{Ed025's Note - you do make me laugh max..

09 Oct 2017 23:07:48
Not as much as the Bluenoses Ed025 ;-)

{Ed025's Note - thats a fair point max, but only you could make a 5-0 drubbing seem like you played city off the park!!...kudos though mate..

09 Oct 2017 23:10:49
J23 and Ed25.you are wasting your time arguing with those 3 clowns, matip, Lovren and Klavan plus Moreno and Migs. Q. E. D.

{Ed025's Note - its all good that we can have different opinions SOK, even if we know we are the ones that are right mate.. :)

09 Oct 2017 23:17:35
I was watching that game max and your right, we made them look average until Mane got sent off, we played fantastic football up until then, it'd of been a different result should he have been kept on. We may of still lost but we'd of given them a good go.

The money they've spent, the team they've got, if they can't beat a team by a large margin against 10 men then there's an issue, especially when they throw everybody forward.

We'll never know but just for the record, I do believe we'd of beat them if Mane hadn't been red carded, we folded after that.

09 Oct 2017 23:16:40
Again Max you prove my point about shifting the goal posts to suit your argument. Being down to 10 men in 1 game doesn't excuse the goals conceded and dropped points in the other games. You will be bringing up defeats in the Souness era next just to suit your argument 🤦🏻‍♂.

10 Oct 2017 00:01:28
Jayden when it's against Man city it does excuse the goals we conceded, we lose arguably one of the best players we have and have them attacking us like there's no tomorrow, of course such a result is possible, they'd probably do that to anybody in the league should the other team be down to 10 men.

10 Oct 2017 05:47:14
Corleone hence why I said it doesn't excuse the goals and points dropped in other games. The initial debate was me saying Pepe did buy defenders and a new keeper ( I never commented on how good I thought those players were) and how that has resulted in them being top of the league and only conceded 2 goals to our 12. The arguments I have received back are on how good City's attack are, how Pepe can't sit back and defend, his fullbacks are not defensive, he's abondoned the defence, no one heard of the keeper before this season, Conte and Chelsea are being found out and to top it all off Rodgers LFC being beaten by stoke 6-1. Can you see when I say the goal posts are being moved to suit people's arguments. No matter what way you look at it and who you think has the best individual defenders the bottom line is City's are currently better than us as a defensive unit. Hence the 2 goals conceded and then sat top of the league. Our defensive unit could come good but we have been waiting for that to happen for about 7 years.

{Ed001's Note - they were in a similar position at this stage last season before they bought the new defenders and keeper in the summer though. It is far too early to make judgements.}

10 Oct 2017 06:21:28
Ed 01 I totally agree with you. I can only comment on what I have seen so far.

{Ed001's Note - I know mate, I was just pointing it out. People are getting too carried away with making judgements based on the last game or the first few and it makes no sense to me. People are writing off Chelsea again and awarding the title to Citeh. It is ridiculous, the season is a long, hard slog and injuries will make a huge difference to the title this season. Last time out Chelsea managed to avoid having any of note, this time out they have already suffered more. Citeh only lost their way when they picked up a few injuries, that has yet to really happen to them this time around, other than Mendy. Not counting Kompany as him being fit is a bonus rather than expectation! Delph can be counted on to get injured at some point, then they will have only Danilo to play left back. It doesn't matter that they got away with the tactical switch against Chelsea, Pep will change things for the next game and his tweaks fail as often as they work. So he will end up causing his own problems by making changes for changes' sake.}

10 Oct 2017 06:44:07
Klopp has had time to address the defence.
Klavan and Matip are his purchases.

10 Oct 2017 06:44:19
Totally agree Ed 01 mate. There is a long way to go yet to start awarding the title or writing off anyone. We have not hit top gear yet and in all honestly we have not been in top gear consistently since before last Christmas. Defensively we are a worry to me as we have struggled now for a number of seasons and this is not just a phase. A win against Utd could be the kick start our season needs. A defeat will cause all kinds of questions and debate again.

{Ed001's Note - I dread coming on the site if we lose.}

09 Oct 2017 23:15:59
If Everton were ten men down vs City that day, it would probably have been 10-0.

You guys cannot even hit a barn yard door at the moment. Mane on the other hand, if he had stayed on the pitch, my money would have been on him to score at least one goal.

City defence was crying everytime he caught them napping before he was sent off.

Go watch the start of the Liverpool match against City Ed025, I dare you. City were running around like headless chickens.

{Ed025's Note - this was not about everton max so stop being so bitter we actually drew 1-1 but thats a different story, the debate was about who had the best CB pairing city or liverpool?, facts say city but you are so blinded by your liverpool bias that you cant admit it im afraid mate..

10 Oct 2017 09:25:28
We can't lose the utd game, my life wouldn't be worth living, I know too many utd fans. We need a win, get some of our confidence back, we haven't done too bad but need to do better and I think we will, we just need to beat them as a starting point. Very nervous about it though I must admit, said it the other day but I'd take a draw.

Ed001 you are so right there mate in regards to people awarding city the title already, it is up for grabs for any team and that's the truth to it. Agree or disagree but Pep I really don't rate, I think he will fail there, I really do and that's not me been bitter I just don't rate him. Conte is the best out of the two (in my opinion) . Some people think Pep is the closest thing to god and he isn't, he never was. He's spent money like there's no tomorrow because he can, this doesn't mean a great deal. Spend as much as you want, you have to make it work, can he do that? I don't think he can, it'll come to a sticky end THIS season for them I think, yes they've had a good start, it means nothing, what matters is the position your in at the end of the season. If they go ahead and win the league then I'll hold my hands up, but I can't see it, to me they aren't good enough to go that far, the season is long.

{Ed001's Note - I think you have a point mate, Pep likes to tinker and his teams have always faded in the second half of the season.}

10 Oct 2017 08:24:04
Ed25, I never for once mentioned the City game nor our fab attack in my post. You did in your response. I made a general appraisal of City's defence and how Pep has chosen to play. so not too sure how this has anything to do with the City game or our fab attack or anything like that.

{Ed025's Note - its just discussion anyway bingo so the rights and wrongs are immaterial mate..

10 Oct 2017 08:25:40
Oops, sorry Ed25. I did refer to the game in my post. My bad!

{Ed025's Note - not a problem bingo mate..

10 Oct 2017 14:57:47
com on Max, even the best of fans would agree that Stones and Otamendi are better, atleast they can defend lol.

09 Oct 2017 05:28:48
{Ed's Note - we have posted a new player profile about, Danny Ward

09 Oct 2017 07:30:00
Nice one Ed001!

{Ed001's Note - took a while sorry but trying to catch up on the player profiles list.}

09 Oct 2017 07:46:34
In your own time mate. Was just going to request a player profile on Salah but realised you've already done it lol must of missed that :)

{Ed001's Note - I think that was the last one I did? I lose track as I am doing so many things at once these days. Can get so much more done with no Prem games though, as I don't have to do match previews, so things will slow down over the next few days.}

09 Oct 2017 07:58:31
Of course mate, I look forward to the match previews. Thanks for your hard work, always enjoy reading your stuff.

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate, glad you enjoy them. Makes it worth the hard work when people enjoy reading them. Splitting up to do them day by day has helped me a lot as well, though it does mean they won't get linked on here all the time when it is a day Liverpool are not playing. I have been meaning to ask for a while if the Liverpool fans wanted to read them when LFC is not included or not? Is it worth me asking Ed033 to set up a tick box to add the Liverpool site on for the previews even when we are not previewed?}

09 Oct 2017 08:13:04
The Player Profile for Salah is already done. Check it out, Corleone.

09 Oct 2017 08:34:00
To be honest Ed001, I personally like reading all the teams previews mate with or without Liverpool it's always good to keep clued up with all the games and saves me buying a newspaper or reading nonsense on some of them daft media websites.

Thanks Bingo, I realised he had done one on Salah, thank you mate :)

{Ed001's Note - ok mate, I will get Ed033 to give me a tick box or something to post them up on here too.}

09 Oct 2017 08:38:39
That'd be brilliant mate, thanks again, have a good day!

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate. I was thinking I would have to do something anyway, as I am starting a series on legends of the game, with an article and player profile about them but realised the likes of Higuita and Yashin would just not generate any links as the auto links only send out to teams mentioned in the article or profile. So it just made up my mind to ask him now.}

09 Oct 2017 08:55:12
That'd be fantastic! - sounds like you have a lot on your plate with all of this and harry's requests haha! it's very much appreciated mate and I'm sure I speak for most people when I say that.

I like the idea of legends of the game, there's so much to cover on the subject its never ending so I will wish you good luck with that lol I look forward to it :)

{Ed001's Note - thank you mate, I am enjoying doing the research on the legends so far, starting with Rene Higuita, which should all be ready to go in the next few days, fingers crossed, as the profile is done now. Just need to do the article on his life and then I will post both up together, hopefully with links to the other one on each to make them easy to find. That is if I can figure out how to do it!}

09 Oct 2017 09:09:08
Yeah it'd be a good start doing one on Higuita, I don't think we'll ever see anybody like him again, no wonder he was known as the madman. I can't think of one goalkeeper who gets involved with set pieces like he did, incredible at free kicks, and to say he scored was it 50 goals or so? I may be wrong there but I think it was around that mark is truly incredible for any goalkeeper. I look forward to reading that mate.

{Ed001's Note - Chilavert would argue about that, he was also a goalscoring keeper. Though he would happily acknowledge (as would a whole host of other keepers) that Higuita was his inspiration. People just think of the scorpion kick, but he changed the game.}

09 Oct 2017 09:27:43
Totally forgot about Chilavert to be honest mate, he actually scored more then Higuita and whilst we're on the subject we can't forget Rogerio Ceni another one. I have copied and pasted some of his stats below, quite admirable.

He scored 132 goals in his career (69 penalties and 61 free kicks) and 1 goal with the match going on. There are some info and records he holds:.

- A soccer/ football player that took part in more matches for the same team (1238 times), surpassing Pelé from Santos.
-He's the player that acted more times (starting player/ first-choice player) without interruption in football history: 132 matches consecutively
-The player that acted more time as a first-choice: 1224 times.
-The player that acted more time as captain in one team: 888 matches
-He was a São Paulo player since 1990 until 2015 (25 years)
-The player that won more matches for the same club in soccer/ football history: 601 victories (São Paulo) against 589 of Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
-A player that acted more time as a captain in soccer/ football history (980 matches)
-The 2005 season was when he scored more in his career: 21 goals.
-He was the best player of 2005 Libertadores da America (very unusual for a goalkeeper) .
-Rogério Ceni first goal was in February, 1997 against União São João.
-Rogério Ceni inspiration to score free kicks was Chilavert (goalkeeper from Paraguay with 62 goals)
-Rogério Ceni was the first and only goalkeeper to score a goal in FIFA Club World Cup against Al-Ittihad (2005)
-He became the São Paulo's top scorer in Libertadores da América championship history (continental championship) with 11 goals
-He's the player that won more championships in São Paulo's history
-He's the second player to won more championship in only one team (the first is Vitor Baía from Porto)
-He's the 7th top scorer in São Paulo's history
-He's the 3rd São Paulo's top scorer in Brazilian national championship history.
-He won 2 times the continental championship (Libertadores da América) : 1993 (as second string/ reserve player) and 2005 as a captain. He also won the Sul-Americana Cup in 2012.
-He won 3 times the Brazilian national Championship: 2006, 2007, 2008
-He won 2 times the championship for a Club World Cup: 1993 (Intercontinental Cup) against Barcelona and 2005 (FIFA Club World Cup) against Al-Ittihad and Liverpool

** Libertadores da América is equivalent to Champions League in South-Central-North America (Mexico team also participates in this championship) . Sul-Americana Cup is equivalent to Europa League

-For Brazil National's team he won World Cup in 2002 and 1997 Confederations Cup (both as a reserve player) .

{Ed001's Note - I had completely forgotten about him as well! He is another legend, but he would never have been able to do all that without Higuita. Which is why I started with him.}

09 Oct 2017 09:55:15
My mate actually met him on an FA coaching course last month and said he’s a very nice fella. I didn’t have any joy in persuading him to be our 7-a-side goalie though.

{Ed001's Note - who?}

09 Oct 2017 09:57:28
Very true mate Higuita started it all off. He set a trend been the player he was, others followed suit.

{Ed001's Note - I was trying to think of the players who did that and there are very few I can name off the top of my head. How many players revolutionise a position and how it is played? Makalele, sort of, though Argentina had played with a 'number 5', as it was known, who did a similar function of just sitting in front of the defence, breaking up play and giving it to someone else for a long time before Makalele was even thought of.}

09 Oct 2017 10:20:02
Now that's a tough one, there's not many mate but I too can't think of many at this moment. Will we ever see it again? such players seem to be just part of history, the players we've discussed, there is more but not many, my minds gone blank. Today things are different, players don't want to think outside the box and do more or that is how I look at it anyway. Lazy is a word what comes to mind, sort of, it depends on the player.

I really look forward to the Legends of the game your going to be doing, I have always found stuff like this interesting because things are so different these days and not many people have studied it enough to know exactly what is different when it comes down to playing styles and what not. I mean we could go into comparisons, for example Migs compared to Higuita lol I know it's daft but you know what I mean the difference is incredible.

I just want to say sorry if my English is bad, sometimes it might not come across as what I mean. Still learning :)

{Ed001's Note - I have to admit I never even realised you were not English!

There are huge differences between Higuita and Mignolet you are correct. A huge gulf between their styles.}

09 Oct 2017 10:32:47
Rogerio Ceni.

{Ed001's Note - ah ok sorry. Difficult to follow when there are 4 keepers discussed it could have been about, though I don't remember Chilavert ever being described as a nice guy!}

09 Oct 2017 10:41:24
Thank you for the compliment Ed001 mate I appreciate it. Good to talk and look forward to your future articles/ series. Thanks again.

{Ed001's Note - where are you from, if you don't mind me asking? And what is your first language? Just wondered out of interest, I am fascinated by languages, despite being barely fluent in the only one I can speak!

Thank you for the feedback, it is good to know what kind of things interest people so I know what type of things to write about.}

09 Oct 2017 10:53:47
I read all the match previews ed001, not just lfc's, so i really do appreciate it.

helps me get up to date with other teams as well, as i don't believe i have the time to do so. its short, simple and straight to the point, i get a lot from everything you've written for match previews.

its at a good spot right now.

{Ed001's Note - cheers mate, I really appreciate that.}

09 Oct 2017 11:08:24
I am originally from Florence, Italy :) but I was basically brought up in the UK, I came here when I was 7 because of my dads work. Although it may sound weird, I know the Italian language well but not as well as I'd like to lol it's not my number one language, id say English is (but I know sometimes it may be difficult to understand) . I was still learning back then and then came over here and now. 33 years on, still learning the English language plus Chinese, I too am fascinated by different languages, but they can be so difficult, especially the English language it is probably the most difficult out of all :)

You are welcome, I could read your stuff all day :)

{Ed001's Note - Chinese? I used to be able to get by in Cantonese, speaking, can't read or write it, but nowadays I can just about recognise it. There are so many languages you hear round here that it is really interesting learning the differences between them.

And thank you very much.}

09 Oct 2017 11:40:45
Ed001, a legends page would be great. I watched the Bobby Charlton documentary last night. I never realised what a great player he was, hell of a shot on him too. It led to ask if you would ever consider doing a player profile on the greatest legends of the game as personally, I feel like players that were not part of my era do not get the respect and credit they probably deserve.

{Ed001's Note - very true, people do forget just how good they were back then. If anything they were better as they could control a ball and shot on a pitch that looked like a farmer had just finished ploughing it!

I will certainly be doing profiles on both Charlton brothers.}

09 Oct 2017 11:47:58
Good stuff, cheers Ed.

{Ed001's Note - welcome mate, they are fascinating characters.}

09 Oct 2017 11:52:59
Was Chilavert not linked to us after the World Cup? We always choose so wisely after a World Cup haha.

{Ed001's Note - he was linked to everyone at one point or other in his career.}

09 Oct 2017 12:52:29
Very good review on Ward Ed. He must wake up every morning wondering how is he only 3rd choice.

{Ed001's Note - it is bizarre.}

09 Oct 2017 13:07:10
Am I right in thinking you currently live in Dubai Ed001? Yeah the only reason I have been learning it is due to my other half been originally from Hong Kong and the language really interested me so got started with it :)

Some say it's the most difficult language to learn, I think English is more difficult personally but both equally as hard. I think it's impossible to master such languages so when I'm confident with them both (maybe English I will never be lol) then I may try another language, always been interested in learning German I think it'd be a bit easier lol

Sorry for going off subject a little, it's nice to know somebody had mutual interests!

{Ed001's Note - yes mate I do. I was trying to learn Vietnamese, but have to learn Tagalog and Bisayan now.}

09 Oct 2017 13:11:46
Good stuff ed01. I guess going out of the league cup was really bad news for Ward. Where else is he going to get games?

{Ed001's Note - nowhere until January unless Klopp sees sense and dumps Migs.}

09 Oct 2017 14:18:46
Trying to think of a player who invented a position, very hard Beckenbauer?

{Ed001's Note - not a bad shout.}

09 Oct 2017 14:52:10
Maybe Hidegkuti? Think it might have been Sebes who invented that position as a withdrawn striker for him though.

09 Oct 2017 23:41:44
Rene Higuita, what an absolute showman!
He was nuts when you consider all the issues with the Colombian drug lords and betting going on around the team.

Thinking of Escobar scoring his og vs USA in 1994 i think it was, then assassinated a few weeks later with links back to some lost bets of the outcome of that game/ tournament.

His Scorpian kick vs England in the mid 90's, his over all World Cup '90 eccentrics, especially the goal Roger Milla scored against him after robbing the ball from him outside the box will always remain in my mind - he was absolutely mental lol!
Loved watching him - imagine being a Colombian supporter :)

10 Oct 2017 10:54:56
Agree on the Kaiser. Good shout.

08 Oct 2017 23:48:02
Played in Henley today, right by the Thames in the county cup. There was a half marathon going on, an i asked some runners if they were ed002, one person looked extremely sheepish. So, what time did you clock 002?

{Ed002's Note - Henley is real close to where I live and I often pop in to use the bakery. But I usually take the car rather than run.}

09 Oct 2017 07:11:14
I used to live in Henley. Beautiful place. Was a good pitch and set up in the early 2000s.