Liverpool Banter

23 Apr 2024 15:02:40
Im calling it now, Arsenal loose tonight, we win tomorrow and City suffer a shock late defeat to Brighton Thursday. Title back in our hands.

23 Apr 2024 13:44:20
Jota injured again for 2weeks, how we juggling this one for the derby?

23 Apr 2024 14:05:32
We should be looking for a buyer for Jota. His injury record is unacceptable for a top club.
One of the things I really hope leaves with Klopp is our APPALLING injury record and inability to improve it. Beyond the impact on our performances, it’s just irritating that “professional” players can’t stay fit. p.

23 Apr 2024 14:07:54
Jota puts his body on the line gives every last drip but pays for it by getting injured frequently.

23 Apr 2024 14:38:52
Fantastic goalscorer but the bloke is made of quavers. So frustrating.

23 Apr 2024 14:43:44
Getting silly now, always injured and a waste of wages if you ask me. I like the lad, when fit he knows where the goal is but come on, he can't keep at a club like Liverpool constantly (or almost) injured, it's stupid. I agree with you Lowe, it is irritating.

23 Apr 2024 14:50:10
Blimey, it's two weeks!
We've Salah, Nunez, Diaz, Gakpo and Danns. Everton will be without Beto, surely and DCL, probably 😂 so let's not get too despondent about the Derby.
I was relieved to see Beto give the thumbs up on Sunday because it was very worrying at one point.

{Ed025's Note - im glad Beto is ok as well Rigsby, but it would be more worrying for me if he played mate...i think hes terrible..

23 Apr 2024 15:10:12
Where's all the money coming from to replace all these players people want shot of? if they are injury prone then we'll not get a big transfer fee for them. So far it's Matip and Thiago, added to those is Tsimi, Jota, Grav, Salah, Nunez, today Jones as he's injury prone and Diaz coz his father is always mouthing off. Gako is being given a stay of execution after having a couple of good games so his head is currently not on the block.
Considering one of the Ed's today said that we might not be willing to pay Amorim and his staffs release clauses it's looking like money is tight again so hard to see how we afford to replace the above.

23 Apr 2024 10:24:00
It feels a bit like there are no really obvious candidates for a new manager. Not just from a Liverpool perspective, but if any other big club was looking for a new manager.

Even Alonso - despite his sensational season in Germany - is very early in his managerial career with limited experience.

Big names of a few years ago like Pochettino and Tuchel seem to have suffered damage to their reputations. Mourinho is yesterday's man. The wave of English players ending their playing careers and moving into management has slowed down (and none of them have had success) .

I know it's very data and analytics driven these days and that's different to the traditional approach of getting the biggest name with the best track record but there just doesn't seem to be so many all-time-great/ legend type of managers out there anymore. Maybe Ancelloti is the last of that generation still standing.

Zidane is out there. His track record is incredible because of those consecutive European Cup wins but I feel like it's hard to really judge him.

Klopp and Guardiola are the big silver-back gorillas of the last decade. Obviously neither is an option.

Who else is out there? I still rate Tuchel actually. There was a time when I saw him as a possible Klopp successor.

23 Apr 2024 10:59:56
Zidane only had success because he had the best squad and the most money. His teams played like a BTEC Simeone team, and if that’s the way we want to go, we might as well get Simeone as at least he can speak English and isn’t a personality vacuum, unlike Zidane.

As for Tuchel, he’s a serial failure, has failed in every job he’s ever had. Somehow manages to upset his players, tactically negative and one dimensional and he simply isn’t good enough or charismatic enough for the job. He’d be sacked in 18 months and be as popular as Hodgson.

I’m not hopeful that we’re going to employ anyone remotely competent given that names like Fonseca and Kovac are seriously in contention for the job.

23 Apr 2024 11:06:16
The more I think about it, the more I appreciate Emery as an outstanding manager. I very much doubt he'll leave villa this season, but his record of success is underappreciated I think.

I like look of Amorim, Slot, Will Still, the Porto guy who's name I can't spell, Terzic, Rose, Farioli and Hoenes as young, up and coming managers.

And Ten Hag.

{Ed001's Note - Emery is brilliant with no pressure, the minute there is pressure on him, then his teams' struggle. Perfect for a team like Villa, for now at least, but not ideal for a team which expects to challenge for trophies.}

23 Apr 2024 12:33:15
I think Marco Rose is someone who would be a safe option and hasn't been mentioned much yet. He has never stunk the place out at any of his jobs. He played under Klopp at Mainz, did good jobs at Salzburg and Gladbach, was unlucky to be sacked at Dortmund (they were 2nd) and has done fine at Leipzig (including winning the DFB Pokal) . I think the Dortmund and Leipzig jobs are harder than people realise as you're losing your best players every single year. He has a proven track-record developing young players and he plays pressing, energetic football.

{Ed002's Note - Marco Rose is not joining Liverpool.}

23 Apr 2024 12:56:36
Viktor: I wouldn't argue that Tuchel is a serial winner or the best manager around or anything like that, and I don't have a strong feeling that I would want him at Liverpool, but I don't think "serial failure" is an accurate representation, depending on how you measure success and failure.

Since 2016 he has won domestic cups in France and Germany, league titles in France and Germany, and the European Cup, European Super Cup and Club World Cup with Chelsea. The argument against that would be that any manager can win in France with PSG and with Bayern in Germany (he did also win the cup in Germany with Dortmund) but when we won the European Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup in the same year under Klopp we hailed it as greatness. Tuchel did exactly the same.

23 Apr 2024 13:04:46
And that, Babbity is what makes Klopp so special. He broke that stranglehold that Bayern have. Which is why Alonso, Anorim and Slot stand out, because they’ve taken clubs who hadn’t won for a period of time, built them up, developed a style, won a title and in Slot and Amorim’s maintained them at the top. Slot was unlucky that C.V. hit as AZ were competing to win the title against Ajax and were level pegging when it was cancelled. There is a reason they’re the best candidates.

23 Apr 2024 13:30:17
RR, I would say that Tuchel is a serial failure. Sacked by Chelsea, sacked by PSG and Bayern have said thanks but no thanks, at all those clubs he had almost unlimited resources but they were all absolutely terrible to watch. His “achievement” at Chelsea was meaningless as Klopp could have done the same with that squad and those resources, but Tuchel with our resources couldn’t because he has to have unlimited funds to be remotely effective, this has been shown repeatedly, how many league titles at Dortmund?

The league titles he won were one horse races. Even Nico Kovac won a league title in Germany with Bayern and he’s absolutely hopeless too. If Tuchel was as good as you think he is RR, he’d have won the title at a cantor this year. He’s second rate at best, nothing but a journeyman failure.

Quite frankly that man has no business at Anfield and isn’t welcome.

23 Apr 2024 14:06:10
@VV - you don’t speak for everybody within the club or those that support the club. Your last sentence speaks volumes about you.

23 Apr 2024 14:47:52
Tuchel is toxic as heck, man. And the footie he plays is or can be a bit dire to watch. Us getting him would smack of absolute desperation, IMO so I hope we stay well away from him.

As for who is out there, there aren't any very good to great options out there so at the end of the day, we will prolly get the best of a pretty lean bunch.

23 Apr 2024 15:05:22
Please no Simeone for LFC. we can have anyone else. it doesn't matter

his teams are the worst lot ever. esp AM and their style of play.

23 Apr 2024 15:09:44
Some of us have higher standards than others, WDW, I expect you’d be happy if we employed Roy Hodgson or Brendan Rodgers again.

Tuchel is not of the required standard, definitely not of the required character and the fact he’s an ex Chelsea manager alone should remove him from list as he doesn’t fit the ethos of the club. Same goes for Mourinho.

23 Apr 2024 15:25:24
I'm with VV on this. Tuchel would be bad choice as manager. Has shown to be extremely average and his team always plays dire football. It's no wonder that Bayern wants rid of him as well. He should definitely be doing better with them given the resources they have but being second by a long way just shows how limited he is. He did win trophies at Chelsea though but the football was terrible under him. Also has shown to be combative and not a pleasant person to work with. We'll just be setting ourselves back if we appoint him.

23 Apr 2024 07:55:31
Ed001, with a new manager coming in, it could be an interesting summer regarding transfers. What positions would you strengthen and who would you move on?

My outgoings:
Matip - contract expired
Thiago - contract expired
Gravenberch - I know he’s only been here since the summer but he’s simply not good enough or doesn’t try hard enough.
Salah - I think now is the perfect time to move him on.
Diaz - sick to death of his fathers comments about him and his son dreaming of Barcelona or Madrid. Diaz has very fast feet but his end product is very inconsistent.
Tsimikas - I just don’t think he’s good enough.

Incomings:
CB - with matip leaving and Konate’s fitness issues, I think we definitely need a CB
Attacker - with salah almost certainly leaving and maybe Diaz, a versatile attacker who can play across the front 3 will be needed.
LB - Robertson isn’t getting any younger and Tsimikas isn’t good enough. Not sure if any of the kids such as Beck are ready to step up but if not, I think we definitely need another LB.

{Ed001's Note - Matip and Thiago have to go, can't stay fit so it would be crazy to give them a new deal.
I would take a good offer for Salah, but I wouldn't be pushing him out of the door.
Diaz, on the other hand, I too am sick to death of his dad's statements. I am more fed up of his lack of end product, people moan about Nunez, but Diaz is far worse for messing up opportunities.
Tsimikas I would probably keep because my worry is Robbo is ageing and I would want him to cover so Beck can get a run, then assess the left-back again next summer. I do believe Beck is the answer in that position though.
The other one who I would be considering selling is Jones. I like him a lot, on his game he is excellent, but he is always injured, so I would want to look at that and see what is the cause and maybe have to move him on.

Priority for me is a left-sided centre-back. Rotation option for Virgil and long-term replacement.
After that it would come down to who is available for the right price. I think Danns has the ability to push on and be an option in the centre forward position, so not sure we need one of those. Right-side though, that I do think we need to look for. We have options there, but no one has nailed down the place as an alternative to Salah.}

23 Apr 2024 08:44:53
Interesting read that, ed001.

And who would you bring in? Including manager?

Keen to hear your opinion.

{Ed001's Note - manager I have no idea. There was only Alonso out there.

As for the defender, the ideal choice would be Bastoni but other than that it really depends on how the new man wants to play. I would probably look at Pavlovic though to be honest.

Kubo is the obvious choice on the right side of the attack, as he offers flexibility as well being able to play all over the front line.}

23 Apr 2024 09:08:43
Thanks for the reply Ed001, I do agree aswell regarding Jones. He finally looked like he was nailing down his place in midfield earlier in the season but yet another injury has completely derailed his season and he has come back very rusty, back in his old habit of taking far too long on the ball and getting caught.

{Ed001's Note - it is a shame, I really want him to succeed but he has to stay fit.}

23 Apr 2024 09:42:47
Ed, what are your thoughts on Thomas Frank?
My assessment of him is quite shallow but he’s done well wherever he’s gone and has plenty of wins to his name against top level opposition.
What would be the drawbacks here? If it’s not Alonso or Inzaghi, I’m picking Frank over every other name mentioned.

{Ed001's Note - he gets results by shithousery. His football is horrible and he has the team diving, playacting, niggly fouls, timewasting, that's his methodology. Not for me would I even consider him. That is not a tactical plan that can step up to top level as the players want to play football. He would be down with Allardyce for me.}

23 Apr 2024 10:21:13
Tell you what Ed1, I can see your love for frank, it's shining through mate, almost like rons love for Nunez. Haha thanks for writing this mate, I don't have the time to read right now but will later on today.

{Ed001's Note - I actually quite like Frank, he seems a nice guy, but I wouldn't want to watch his football every week.}

23 Apr 2024 10:25:51
Would love Eze for us.
Interesting times manager wise.

Looks like it’s going to be a Brendan Rodgers’s type of appointment unless someone with experience comes out of nowhere.

23 Apr 2024 10:36:47
Kubo or Eze are great shouts.

23 Apr 2024 10:38:04
What happen to Bakayoko Ed1? I remember how highly rated he is last season. But this season, it seems like his stock has fallen.

{Ed001's Note - I guess you mean Johan? There are a lot of Bakayokos! He is just 20, they go through peaks and troughs usually at that age.}

23 Apr 2024 11:20:09
Ed1. I also don’t get why Diaz’s dad is talking. And when I say talking, I mean constantly talking. He is not even an agent in any capacity. If I was in Diaz’s shoes, I would be telling my father to zip it as it’s embarrassing all around.

On the managerial front, I have 3 questions:

1. As far as you’re aware is Amorim, who was just behind Alonso as my 2nd choice, now completely off?
2. Richard Hughes is apparently a big fan of De Zerbi. Do you now see him being appointed?
3. I have long resigned to the fact Alonso is not coming after his announcement. Do you think he could do a U turn or has that ship completely sailed.

I have a feeling we are going to appoint De Zerbi, who I’ll be honest is not my favoured choice at all. Not for the way his team plays, because his brand of football prior to this season was breath taking and quite possibly the best in Europe. But more so for his very combative personality, which could go one of two ways.

{Ed002's Note - 1. He cannot be completely ruled out. Ruben Amorim (C) Manchester United may still offer an option - another option will be Liverpool, but he knows he was not first choice - but I think they will still try for him with Alonso not interested and I think he would be a good choice and a good fit, but persuading him to leave Sporting may be difficult.

I understand that there was no clear understanding between the club and his agent regarding the scope of his responsibilities and Liverpool will need to be flexible – critically over the squad – another with an issue that targets are still Fallows, Hunter and Klopp derived and a whole new structure being put in place. Do not rule out Barcelona but Deco has a preferred option whilst the board want to persuade Xavi to stay or to move quicky for Amorim.

If needs force the situation and given the likely link between the club and Sporting, Chelsea may start pushing having spoken with Amorim before. West Ham spoke with his agent and Sporting to allow them to talk directly to Amorim, but it would seem an unlikely move for me and probably not one he would be keen on but they will offer him control over targets and will offer him much more than Moyes gets in salary.

They have a project to sell but, for me, will likely need to revert to the other potential replacements for Moyes that they have identified. Newcastle may offer a wildcard option and will pay the termination clause and the cost of terminating his staff but they again will not be an attractive option. Bayern Munich may also see Amorin as an option as they too struggle but he is not currently top-of-the-list for them as they are likely to revise their approach now.

2. Roberto de Zerbi (C) Brighton would fight to keep him but another who will certainly be discussed by Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester United with Jim Ratcliffe having a very serious interest in him. A minor issue exists in the €15M cost of Brighton releasing him.

Additionally, there are termination clauses for all of his staff. Deco has de Zerbi as his preferred option for Barcelona which he has shared with Yuste and Laporte but it will not be Deco's decision and they can perhaps be excluded. Not top of Chelsea's list, but on the list. Likely first choice for Bayern Munich now but if they cannot sign him they have a Plan B.

An interesting option might be Manchester City when the job becomes available. He has said he is not interested in the Liverpool job but they could look to trying to persuade him to make the move as they struggle to bring in preferred options. Brighton are actively looking for a replacement and fear he will depart.

3. Xabi Alonso (C) A popular choice for clubs and having a great season at Bayer Leverkusen, but very inexperienced, although there will be interest in him from Liverpool, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester United, I would discount all but Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Has made no secret of a desire to follow Ancelotti at Real Madrid - but that won't be until 2026 so they can be discounted at this time although he has the support of Carlo Ancelotti. Manchester City may provide an option in 2025 and don’t rule out a move. Klopp has endorsed both Alonso and Nagelsmann for the Liverpool job – but neither is available this summer.

Bayern Munich offered a serious option but again they are having to look to other options inkling a Plan B that will see an interim Head Coach for a year. Having won the league this season it would likely make it very difficult for him to leave Leverkusen and there would be significant pressure to stay.

His agent Inaki Ibanez has said that multiple clubs are enquiring and that clubs need to work with Bayer Leverkusen, who Liverpool have approached to ask permission to speak directly with Alonso but he will stay for now looking at a future role in Madrid when Carlo Ancelotti departs in 2026.}

23 Apr 2024 11:17:59
Agree with most of that especially the Diaz part I get so frustrated with the amount of times he runs into trouble and holds it too long. Nunez gets, but Diaz is more frustrating for me.
I'd keep Jones personally.

23 Apr 2024 12:43:53
I think Diaz's dad is especially disrespectful given the support the club showed his family during their hour of need just this season. He's also there at every game wanting photos with everyone. The next day he's talking about his son leaving. Talk about a cheek.

I don't think we need to replace Diaz if he leaves. He has zero end product. Just give extra minutes to Elliott, Clark, Doak and others.

23 Apr 2024 12:54:38
Ed2. Cheers for the detailed response. Much appreciated.