Liverpool Banter

03 May 2024 09:14:56
Hi ed025 you OK mate? Going back to the other day with your comparison with Alison and Clemence. Where would you rate Brucie? And probably a daft question but how highly do you rate Big Nev? I started getting took the match as a 5 year old and Clemence was a spurs player by then so I never really got to see him, I always thought Brucie had a mistake in him and didn't think he was as good as people made out but as he's an absolute rock solid soldier I wouldn't tell him that. I always respected Southall tho and at that time he was the best in the league, if not Europe.

{Ed025's Note - Big Nev was a great keeper Baz and i know im an Evertonian but he was a special talent mate, Clemence was a top top keeper for me and out of all of them was the most commanding of his penalty area, anything in the air and you could rely on him to rise like a sock eyed salmon and grab it (not like the keepers of today who punch everything), Brucie was a decent goalie but always had a mistake in him and usually in important games, a bit of a hot head as well but mind you most of them have got a screw loose it seems, im good thanks Baz and hope i find you the same my friend..

04 May 2024 13:58:11
Neville Southall is a decent bloke away from football too, he’s probably spent too much time at the buffet table mind you.

{Ed025's Note - he is a big guy VV, he definitely ate all the pies mate..

04 May 2024 19:36:15
He's vast these days, still do a good job for most PL teams as he fills the whole goal area!

{Ed025's Note - he has certainly let himself go Johnny. But when in his pomp nobody could hold a candle to him mate..

04 May 2024 21:49:45
Fantastic goalie big nev was, mid-late 80s him and the Russian goalie, was it dassayev ye called him?, where prob 2 best in world.

04 May 2024 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Seano_ has posted a new article entitled, What Liverpool FC Should Do

04 May 2024 09:50:32
Good piece mate. I don’t agree on quite a few things but that’s to be expected when you are essentially writing 30 opinions in one go! Really well written and full of excellent points to back up your thought process. Overall you nailed it though as we are probably only 4 signings away.

I’d personally keep Kelleher. Allison’s fitness issues are too severe to risk selling him in my opinion. Ali is far too good to sell, but he’s becoming less reliable every year. Let Adrian go, 3rd choice can be a kid surely.

Tsimikas, Trent and Bradley I think you nailed it. Kostas’ time is up but Trent and Bradley are our future. Robbo I would keep though even if it is as back up. He is one of the few leaders we have. Beck, don’t know enough to have an opinion but others think he’d do well. With Trent also possibly going to be an option in midfield maybe we should look at a versatile player who can play both sides. Geertruida would be my pick. Trent and Bradley for the right, Robbo and Beck for the left with Geertruida signing to cover the whole back line.

CB we should move on Matip and Gomez in my opinion. Matip is out of contract anyway but Gomez just isn’t good enough at CB and I certainly don’t want him anywhere near an inverted full back role. Keep Quansah and Virgil absolutely. I’d like us to sign Pacho as we need to plan for life after Virgil now. Konate probably gets one more year under a new gaffer to prove his fitness. Van den Berg might be worth a look at if Konate isn’t at it from day 1 next season so I’d keep him onboard. Konate, VdB and Quansah for RCB, Virgil and Pacho for LCB.

Midfield I mostly agree. Move Szobo to a new role higher up the pitch. Keep Endo, Macca, Elliott and Bajcetic. Thiago is going. I disagree on Jones though. He is not much better than Keita with injuries and then not affecting games when he finally is fit, and he’s 24 next year. Gravenberch maybe we’ll see him thrive as Slot often plays with a no.10 which may suit him. It may also suit the returning Carvalho who I’d give a chance. I’d definitely go all in on Koopmeiners as I think he’s exactly what we lack in midfield. Sell Morton, keep Clark absolutely as he looks a gem, McConnell maybe needs a loan. Leaves us with 8 or 9 options still; Endo, Baj, Macca, Grav, Elliott, Clark, Carvalho, Koopmeiners and possibly Trent.

Attack i think Salah needs to move on now as we’d have to lose him on a free or risk a new contract and have him decline even further on a high salary. Jota I think has to stay if Salah goes as he’s a good finisher but this would be last chance saloon like with Konate. Nunez I want to stay as he still affects games and he may come into his own without Salah in the side, as we saw between January-March this season. Gakpo I agree, needs to show us more but he has it in the locker. Diaz i agree fully, keep if he wants to be here but if a big offer comes in and he pushes for it, then let him go. I hope we go big ourselves on Bowen. Gakpo and Diaz fight it out on the left, Nunez, Jota and Danns up top, Szoboszlai and Bowen for the right.


To Conclude I think we need to go big this summer and back Arne Slot, but with 4 top signings not 7 or 8 average ones. Quality over quantity. Getting Salah, Thiago and Matip off the wage bill is huge for FFP, and Gomez, Morton and Jones should fetch half decent fees thanks to the English tax. So not sure how realistic it is but I’d like to see the following.
Sell: Tsimikas, Matip, Gomez, Morton, Thiago, Jones, Salah
Sign: Geertruida, Pacho, Koopmeiners, Bowen.

04 May 2024 10:22:04
@Seano_,

Do you have any preferences for ATT and CM/ CDM?

Cheers; interested to hear your thoughts!

04 May 2024 10:32:41
MK Scouser, sorry Bowen is a no-no for me. Too old and is not someone the new manager can grow with like Klopp did growing with all our veteran players past and present wehn we signed them at age 24 to about 26. We can do a lot better and a lot younger than him, IMO. The other players, I have not seen them play so I can't comment.

04 May 2024 11:16:22
Outs for me.
Salah if we get 80m plus
Tsimikas
Thiago
Matip

I'd hang tough on making any midfield changes. We made a lot of investment there last season and have a lot of talented young players. They definitely all done enough to get a second season so we can get a better look at the players we have. There's certainly enough talent there. If we buy another midfielder we are going to be very overstocked.

We need a defensive addition for sure. I Like the look of Hanko, Guertruida, Pacho

I d go Guertruida for his versatility. He has even played LB.
Perfect addition to add flexibility to the squad.

Chances are he is just an injury prone player but I'd like to see Jota under a different manager and see if he can ditch the injuries. Unlikely but I ll give it a year.

I hope we keep Diaz as he is such a hard worker.

Not ready to sell Nunez for a big loss either. Another who I would like to see under a new coach and system.

Gakpo likewise. Playing well lately and would like to see under the new coach.

Wouldn't just add a new striker either to block Danns development.

I'd add Bakayoko as Salah's replacement. Always a danger with the Dutch league but I think he has the quality to make it at a much higher level. Definitely quick enough and takes players on which I like in my wingers.

I'd keep Kelleher too if we could. Alisson gets injured. We need a good number 2.

For me, the summer is not the time for major surgery and I don't think the squad needs it either.

Allison, Kelleher

Robertson, Guertruida, Gomez, Van Dijk, Konate, Quansah, Bradley, Sepp Van der Berg

Endo, Mac Allaister, Szobozlai, Trent, Jones, Gravenberch, Elliott, Bajcetic

Gakpo, Diaz, Jota, Nunez, Bakayoko, Danns

Plenty of youth players emerging too to bolster this squad. Reminds me also to sell Carvalho too. He should make a good but of cash.

Then Id roll with that for a season. See what players step up and which players fail to deliver. Then next season, I'd make the bigger changes. If needed.

Personally I'd feel like this is the sensible approach rather than buying in 5 or 6 players when we don't even know how the players we have would play under the new coach. It's a talented bunch. Some could step up massively and others we think are great now could go backwards under Slot.

I think minimal changes now and decide next season after a season under Klopp.

I know the Salah sale is a massive change already but I think that's unavoidable if we get offered a huge sum. That's one I'd still make I think.

04 May 2024 14:19:35
Honestly don’t see the hype with Koopmeiners, just a lumbering box to box midfielder, and we’ve been plenty of box to box players. What we absolutely lack is a top class defensive midfielder and we won’t win the top prizes until we go all out and get one, none of this business about “he’s versatile, he can play there” nonsense. Koopmeiners doesn’t play as a defensive midfielder for Atalanta, he plays as an attacking centre midfielder, we’re plenty who can do that but we’re very very thin on midfielders who can adequately protect our defence. How much difference did signing Fabinho make when we got him? We need a midfielder of that quality. As for salah’s replacement, we’re essentially losing 30 goals a season from the team in goals and assists. Bowen is too old, far too close to 30, plus he’s very settled in London. Sane is too old, has serious injury issues and a questionable attitude, Raphinha is too old and not very good, Kubo will be difficult as Madrid have a buyback which they’re rumoured to be interested in activating, Bakayoko is far too much of a risk as a Salah replacement, I’d prefer we looked at Kvaratskhelia or Rafa Leao as they’re both a good age and both performing to a similar level as Salah was when we signed him.
If we do the bare minimum in the summer then don’t expect to win the title as the current squad isn’t good enough to win the league this year and won’t be good enough next year.

04 May 2024 15:11:21
@MK Scouser - very reasonable suggestions and you can actually pinpoint players we may want to move for so tons of detail and, though my thoughts differ, can’t say I strongly disagree with anything you’ve said either. Honestly I’ll just be happy if we make a few really top tier signings.

@KFCAJF - honestly I don’t watch enough football, or read or research enough, to know who would be a good signing so I can’t really offer names. I think on another post Nevada mentioned Kerkez, the Bournemouth left back, and he’s a player I have heard of (though don’t know if he’s any good), so maybe him? I think Isaak at Newcastle is a top, top player too, know it’s never happen but he’d be a great player in any team. Thought Tonali was going to be a world beater before he hit the bookies as well, maybe he still can be?

04 May 2024 16:12:25
Sadly i'd sell Gomez if a decent bid of 30-40m was made and put it towards a top CB to pair with Virg. Is not good enough at CB, Klopp obviously agrees having him behind Quansah. We have Bradley/ Trent at RB and Robbo/ Beck (i'd also let Tsimi go) at LB. If we were bringing in Gertruida at a really good price with a year left on his contract i'd even consider selling Konate (super player but misses half the games) and bring two new CB's in. don't HAVE to be big money players, if Lloyd Kelly was brought in as cover for Virg on a free or the new coach rated Van der Berg for example i would necessarily be complaining. I just know you can't plan a season around Ibou and Gomez isn't good enough centrally as nice a guy as he is.

04 May 2024 19:40:32
MK, with those sales, does that not affect the HG quota negatively?

03 May 2024 20:07:02
Liverpool have champions league football next season, that’s a step forward on the last one. Hopefully will help attract some players as well.

03 May 2024 20:57:15
Winning the League Cup the way we did is another big step, IMO. It shows our winning me ntality and desire to fight till the end is still intact, something Arne Slot is going to need esp. with the veterans in the squad being key in letting his message get thru to the rest of the squad, IMO.

03 May 2024 22:11:18
Is that sarcasm oli? The players have shown nothing but a weak defeatist mentality lately.

I do wonder if a hendo or milner would of got hold of some players and tore into them, I can't see anyone in the current squad doing that. Trent and vvd don't seem to have an angry bone in them.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing I know but we lack leadership no doubt about it, Trents more concerned with modelling at the minute just seen them pics of him in the new kit wearing flares. Gave me DCL tom Davies vibes.

03 May 2024 22:39:31
I think that’s harsh Amorim.
I see more mental fatigue than weakness. If they were mentally weak they would have capitulated against Man U twice but they didn’t. They kept fighting until the end.

When a manager announces their departure it creates uncertainty. It’s tough to maintain the highest performance with that uncertainty in your mind.

I don’t blame them, it’s been a tough 2 seasons and they’ve won a trophy and qualified for the champions league.

04 May 2024 00:57:24
Isn't modelling and promoting new kits something that all footballers do? I literally see the entire squad doing that on the main social media pages of the club. A bit strange to single out Trent like that.

04 May 2024 01:06:25
Probably am being harsh to be honest Ron, I still think there is somewhat of a leadership void what with the players heads dropping and us lacking the discipline to concede the first goal for the last 20 odd games. But as you and others have suggested it could be the klopp leaving effect as we were mustard up until the announcement.

04 May 2024 02:25:42
Good post Ron, very true mate.

04 May 2024 07:07:47
Hendo and Milner would never have let the team finish 5th last season.

Oh wait. My.

04 May 2024 07:33:31
Good reply Amorim, only City and Arsenal stand to finish ahead of us this season. Given the difficulties we’ve had - Salah off to AFCON, his legs clearly going, an entirely new midfield 3, Becker having a long injury, Diaz having his father kidnapped, Klopp announcing his resignation half way through the season, the Thursday/ Sunday routine, trying to compete in 4 trophies - overall we can’t complain.

We’ve not played well in recent weeks but it’s only really Atalanta who have thrashed us over 2 legs.

With top 4 assured, I’d like us to give some youngsters more playing time and I’m thinking Danns, Koumas, Clarke. Let’s see what energy they can bring to the team, let them start against Spurs.

04 May 2024 07:59:49
I think amorion has a point as regards leadership, I think the end of this season has left a lot of questions about this group. in my time supporting lfc if we in a title race or playing a final we always hard beat, never seen a full squad fall apart like this in a run in.
Tactics and klopp leaving no doubt have played a part but id still expect if we top with 7 games to go we wouldn't be completly out of it with 3 games to go. id expect us to die with our boots on like we always have, id be worried about lack of authority and lack of confidence in ourselves when it comes to crunch.
In saying that at start of season if u offered me 3rd and a cup id have been delighted but end of season i think has left a big question mark as regards mentality/ bottle of our players, i think vital we buy at least 2 big characters as well as been good players.

04 May 2024 08:39:38
Captain of Holland.
Captain of Scotland.
Captain of Japan.
Captain of Hungary.
Captain of Egypt.

Often all in the line up together.

If we can’t find a leader between them and that doesn’t even include the likes of Ali or Trent, then we really are in trouble.

04 May 2024 10:06:04
Thinking back to a couple of weeks ago and Mac Allister praising Szoboszlai, obviously aware he needs a confidence boost. Do we have a potential future captain/ vice captain in Mac Allister,

Virgil's been okay at dishing out the criticism, sometimes you need that person who is going to be the arm around the shoulder, the word of encouragement in the ear.

04 May 2024 10:49:06
Nonsense, Amorin. Hendo and Milner? You mean like they grabbed a few last season when they where struggling to keep up with the pace of the game let alone try to lead others? Oh, like their leadership prevented us from finishing 5th last season? yeah, hindsight is a great so you can go sit on the floor cos you're talking porkies.

And you saying we showed a defeatists attitude this season is a crock of nonsense cos had we done that, the EFL Cup triumph literally does NOT happen. And we have 27 point or so from losing positions (which has come to burn us, I agree) so what the football are you waffling about regarding a lack of leadership?

IMO, our issues are NOT related to leadership on the pitch. They are related to the staff's inability to fix our tactical issues and the waslow, possession tactics we play which has caused issues and inconsistencies that follow in all phases of play. Include that with the drop in form esp. mentally due to Klopp's inability to motivate the players cos he is leaving, does not help either. That was my point.