Essential The Official Football (Soccer) Thread - The Slotification of Liverpool is nearly complete

[SCORCH]

Stop looking at weirdo stats

He failed the eye test a long time ago. The weirdo stats just further strengthens the case against this bum.

 

[Ohene]

Yall talking like it isnt midway through serie a .
Ac milan is right there relax

 

[frush11]

He failed the eye test a long time ago. The weirdo stats just further strengthens the case against this bum.

You need to stop.

I swear next time I go to London, imma hit your goofy asss up to go catch a Chelsea game. Just so I can hear you shiit on them irrationally.


Oh everyone, show some love to my IG page.

 

[Yayo Toure]

You need to stop.

I swear next time I go to London, imma hit your goofy asss up to go catch a Chelsea game. Just so I can hear you shiit on them irrationally.


Oh everyone, show some love to my IG page.

This a big tune, I'm not ashamed to say it was curren$y who put me on when he used it as an intro to one of his mixtapes like 12 years ago.

 

[ScottyG]

You need to stop.

I swear next time I go to London, imma hit your goofy asss up to go catch a Chelsea game. Just so I can hear you shiit on them irrationally.


Oh everyone, show some love to my IG page.

CHO > Pulisic.

Pulisic has already reached his ceiling it's clear he won't ever evolve into a hazard esque player.

Odoi looks bright anywhere you play him and can play anywhere. Pulisic needs to play in his strong spot or he's invisible

 

[ThrobbingHood]

@frush11 you’ve got good music taste. (Well you would, you support Arsenal). Did you use to DJ/Produce?

 

[frush11]

@frush11 you’ve got good music taste. (Well you would, you support Arsenal). Did you use to DJ/Produce?

Used to DJ, tryn get back into it.

 

[Roberto Firmino]

You still in your feelings about your Guinean cousin Naby.

What's Naby got to do with anything?

Keep his name out ya mouth

You keep on going on about your injuries THIS season. I'm not even debating or talking about that. The lack of rotation from 18/19 and 19/20 has burnt the players both mentally and physically has led to this. Y. Liverpools play this year has looked fatigued and that was even before VVD got taken out. Potentially can argue even just before lockdown if you look at the Watford and Atletico results and games. You Liverpool brehs are soo caught up in this season are totally forgetting about the sins of not rotating the previous 2 seasons prior. Why you think Fergie managed to dominate for so long because he knew when to rotate his squad. Klopp plays his best XI regardless its vs the worst team in the league at Anfield. or vs the best teams in the league. You dont think that isnt going to catch up with a side after a while.

Bu-bu-but its the Hedge Funds fault Klopp plays the best XI every game. Bu-bu-but we only sign players for the first XI and who is going to replace our starters. THe one thing great teams/coaches do is not only sign starters they sign squad players too. Fergie and Wenger did this for years btw. You know why the Galaticos failed in the end at Madrid when Zidane, Real Ronaldo, Figo Becks etc etc were there. It wasnt just because Makaelelelelelele was sold. Because Florentino sold all the back ups and left them with about 14 first team players and mix and match it with youngsters. And this is well over 15 years ago. Is this not too far off from where Liverpool are at now. Bu-but-but our injuries its not fair. Life aint fair Liverpool had their luck with injuries for 2 seasons and the Liver bird has come home to be found in a pool of blood.


Carragher basically put up the most games and starts played since August 2018 and Liverpool have 5 players in that list. 1st Salah 3rd You 5th Robertson 8th Mane and 9th Wijnaldum. Sterling 2nd Coady 4th Bernardo Silva 6th Lucas Moura 7th Apzilicueta 10th Rashford.

Lets look at the non Liverpool 5. United fans were saying Rashford needs a rest. Then he broke his back vs Wolves and then Covid. Coady and Dave are defenders. Sterling did lose form prior to lockdown and has only just started looking his old self the past few months. And Bernardo Silva last season was off form. Given that he had basically played in 3 Title winner teams in 3 seasons you expect that too happen they aint machines. Then there is Lucas Moura

You have preconceived notions about Kloppo, his methods and the narrative of his last season at Dortmund, I know exactly what you are saying bro but it's pure confirmation bias.


You're wrong about rotation, I've complained myself I wish it was better at times cause I lean towards the Rafa school of though but he has done it, especially over December/January and for a lot of his tenure the quality just hasn't been there to be able to do it as much as you'd like. It's laughable trying to use Watford the first time we had lost all season and Atletico which is all on that clown Adrian, like I said confirmation bias.


Pickford taking out VVD isn't burnout, or Joe who has extended time out damn near every season (before he'd ever played a game for Klopp) or Joel who just can't stay fit, it isn't the reason why Jota in his first season with us gets injured having no cbs and then having to pull Hendo and Fab out of mf so fundamentally changes how we are able to play because not only the defence but also the mf is affected and the knock on effect to the attack, yesterday was the 17th cb pairing we have used this season, it's self inflicted (just not the way you think it is) but that's gonna be too much to overcome for any team in the world eventually, I'm just not hearing it's burnout, don't act like we weren't top at Christmas even with all that, don't act like most people in here didn't think we were running away with it again up until recently the injuries and the way it has forced us to change how we play is why we are seeing what we are, Hendo has played in mf 15 times (really 16 but I'm not gonna count Lincoln) we haven't lost a single one of those games, I'm not using it as an excuse because it was foreseeable but it is the reason, nikkas just being wilfully obtuse trying to pretend otherwise. You ignored it last time, be honest and you tell me who in the top half would be forced to use their 2 best midfielders and a 19 yo kid that was on loan in the conference north the season before for the majority of the season and would even be within touching distance let alone still be Top 4 at this point and that's after losing 3 straight and then come tell me it's burnout and fatigue




Miss me with all that it's not fair talk cause you know you ain't heard that from me once injuries are what they are, as you say we've been lucky with them in the past, everyone deals with them, part and parcel of the game but again you being disingenuous

That was the team in his first match, Bogdan, Toure, Sinclair, Texiera and Randall were on the bench

I have Hendo, Bobby, Dejan and Danny as the only significant players missing and Danny was hardly available, he inherited a team and squad that was miles away from winning the league or cl. The only Top 4 first xi quality players there are Hendo, Bobby, Danny, Phil and Clyney and all of those bar Danny (who was never fit) I would think are gonna be debatable af (you yourself don't rate Hendo at all I like Nat but I think I'm being generous) to a lot of man and another 5 that are Top 4 squad quality (Dejan, Lucas, Jimmy, Emre and Lallana) and I'm probably being generous again and having red tinted glasses with a couple of these guys. It needed a hell of a lot of surgery, of course the focus needed to be improving the xi at first but I must have missed us buying squad players like Klavan, Taki, Shaq and Tsimikas. Jota wasn't bought to start but to improve the squad and push the front 3 and provide depth, as was bringing in 3 midfielders in 2 seasons.

A Klopp team having problems with teams sitting and parking. My word, that hasnt happened this season has it.

Is that too far back for you?

More recent

May 2019

A team built to counterattack and hit with quick transitions will sometimes struggle with teams sitting and parking? that's profound and while that is all true and we have in the past, the team and the system has changed and we are a much more possession orientated side now and that hasn't been a problem for the last 2 seasons really until recently and our whole way of playing and system has been altered with our current selection problems

May 2018 CL final
May 2019 CL Winners
July 2020 PL Winners

I think that fits the windows non? I did say Liverpool peaked in 2019 right? You know peak is their absolute maximum?

That's any team though man that isn't exclusive to a Klopp team I don't disagree with that and it's clear that even before this season's fukkry Kloppo's first team was coming to an end and we would be transitioning to his second team. Where we goofed is the inactivity 2 summers ago after winning the CL we should have struck while the iron was hot, we didn't for a mix of reasons, I think it was a combination of FSG thinking after 2 cl finals and the way we lost out on the title that improvement was not really needed (this is where we suffer from them not being football men) and the recruitment team thinking that this past summer was gonna be when our priority targets were more gettable, be that time left or release clauses activating, etc and I think Kloppo was also probably happy enough to run it back again and wanted to see what we had in some of the youngsters like Curtis, how Naby and Ox were going to return, or fringe players like Divock who after his heroics looked like maybe he was gonna be the player he looked to be on the way to becoming before that derby injury and the gamble worked, we won the league, Curtis established himself as a genuine option but what we didn't see coming obviously was covid which scuppered transfer plans and has impacted finances (not for me, they want to boast about record profits and increased revenue streams, the value of their investment has increased fivefold, I'm not really trying to hear poverty being pleaded but hedge fund gonna hedge fund).


Without covid, I think you see Tsimikas, Thiago, a new cb, Werner and another forward (maybe Sarr I don't know), possibly a second midfielder if Wijnaldum goes but maybe we hold our powder one more season get Curtis increased time to integrate more and hope we can get Naby fixed with one of Mo or Sadio sold next season and that be reinvested be it Sancho, Mbappe, Haaland whatever and someone in midfield.


There's just no way there wasn't a plan between Kloppo and Edwards and the whole reason he signed the extension was he wanted to be the guy to oversee that transition, now it's not come off but even then I don't think the squad is in bad shape:

GK
Ali (28)
Kelleher (22)

Recent struggles aside he is one of the very best and Kelleher has shown to be a reliable understudy, there's no concerns about age or anything like that we should be set for the foreseeable future.


FBs
Trent (22)
Robbo (26)
Neco (19)
Tsimikas (24)

Starters no concerns there, Neco has not worked out, I never rated him anyway but I get that you want to give the homegrown kid a chance and without the shambles that is losing 3 cbs, you have Fab, Hendo and Milner that could all give Trent a break when needed so charge it to the game lb depth was certainly the priority in the summer and, unfortunately, covid and injuries haven't allowed Tsimikas to really play but from what I saw of him for Olympiakos in Europe he looks a decent player. Age profile is fine, backup rb will be needed in the summer but that isn't anything too extreme and should be easily doable.


CBs
VVD (29)
Joel (29)
Gomez (23)
Kabak (20)
Davies (25)
van den Berg (19)

Here's where it does get dicey, before the injury Virgil best in the world hands down in his prime, you'd think he should recover fine it's not the career ender it used to, there is talk from someone who knows that it's multiple ligaments rather than the one as the club has let on but I think for now you have to plan that he comes back pretty much 100%. After that it's a lot less certain, I LOVE Joel, I think he is crazily underrated, one of the best in the league but he just can't be available for any consistent amount of time now and given his age compared to Joe whose problem is he seems to pick up a long term every season rather than being on and off the treatment bench I think he's the one you need to move on in the summer as much as it pains me, if you can even find a buyer but he just can't be relied on. Joe is creeping towards that status too, I don't rate him quite as much as some of the fanbase but he is quality and as good a 3rd choice as you could probably realistically find. I don't know what to make of Kabak you hope he plays well enough to earn the move and be a cheap option for depth to be 1st or 2nd choice in a couple seasons. Virg needs a reliable partner it is the priority we get someone in, if Kabak doesn't work we need 2 unless Davies unexpectedly turns out to be a revelation or van den Berg really shows something for Preston this second half of the season.


MFs
Hendo (30)
Fab (27)
Naby (25)
Thiago (29)
Wijnaldum (30)
Milner (35)
Curtis (20)
Ox (27)

Needs some refreshing, Milner is really there for what he brings off the pitch at this point, Wijnaldum is gone in the summer we all know my feelings on Hendo and he's going nowhere anytime soon, Curtis is flying under some radars but he's a baller and will be a mainstay for years to come, Naby has been fit for the last month but we are doing extra work and not rushing him in a bid to fix this once and for all, if we get that sorted that's a HUUUUGE game changer as the quality is there to see but we will see. Thiago is quality, not a fan of the buy but quality is undeniable some combination of Hendo, Fab, Naby and him is a problem though I still have doubts over his robustness. Ox is a write off, he's done well to even comeback but I think he's done at our level and probably sees out his contract then leaves in 023. It's probably one in one out with someone replacing Wijnaldum (I think Curtis is the replacement maybe not stylewise but minuteswise but we will still bring somebody else in as an extra body at the very least with some of our midfielder's fitness issues) and Naby given another season. Maybe Milner fancies it with Leeds next season and he goes too. Hendo, Fab, Naby, Thiago, Curtis and another is fine for next season because cb is priority number 1,2 and 3 but there will need to be a shakeup in the next 18 months but it's a less pressing concern just having the first 2 back should see a much better functioning midfield and allow everyone else to do their thing. I do think we really missed a trick with letting Grujic go out on loan but that's for another day.


FWs
Mo (28)
Bobby (29)
Sadio (28)
Jota (24)
Div (25)
Shaq (29)
Taki (26)
Young Harvey (17)

No explanation needed for the main 3, obviously either Mo or Sadio going to be sold soon, I'd be shocked if both are here at the start of 22/23, Jota looks to be a great fit, I love Div he's always gonna be good with me if he wants to stick around and be 6th choice great but he needs to be used as a starter when resting guys he's just not suited to coming on and impacting a game his 020 heroics aside. Assuming Taki's loan goes well which I think it will he just needs a run of games to find his feet in the league, Shaq gets shipped out, Harvey the sky is the limit oozes class, he has been killing it for Blackburn and I fully expect him to back next season and get minutes we gotta thank your lot for the good work I think we are fine going into next season with the first 4 and Taki, Harvey and whoever else is left, a new face would be nice and the age profile does need to come down a bit but the splash and big boy is gonna be whoever the Mo/Sadio money is spent on, maybe it ends up being 2 I don't know.



CB needs sorted ASAP, mf is a slight concern but I think you can see how that transition gets made without too much turbulence and I don't think it needs a massive overhaul there are some solid building blocks in place.

 

[Roberto Firmino]

Nothing about the lack of rotation for the previous 2 seasons. And thinks fatigue is only physical. Gotcha. So keep on complaining about your 3 CB's being injured when that has nothing to do with what I'm on about. At least we know that the lack of scoring goals vs Newcastle, Burnley Southampton and Brighton. Only scoring 1 vs Fulham and WBA. Is all down to the 3 CB being injured.

When you did have 2 out of 3 CBs fit you conceded 10 vs Villa and Leeds. But I guess that was the keepers fault.

I did warn you please don't reply to me anymore on this discussion thanks.

Don't do that lol, if it was mental fatigue you crumble when you lose VVD, then Gomez and but this mentally fatigued team is sitting top at Christmas? Behave


Now if you wanna make an argument that we have hit a wall and mental fatigue has kicked in from the effort put in to carrying on after the injuries then yea I'll give that the time of day, I don't agree and think it's mostly structural but that's a lot more reasonable and convincing than what you are trying to argue here.


And most of those teams have something in common and how they approached it which would speak to what we are saying


We will have our answer soon enough, Kabak is getting a run now, with one of Hendo or Fab in midfield we will either look closer to how we were in the first half and results will improve, or if everyone is burntout like you say shyt is gonna get even uglier and nikkas will have a field day, I know what my money is on and it's not the latter

 

[TobiOT]

 

[frush11]

At this point put him out his misery and just stop playing him.

Its like he doesn't really want to play anymore

 

[TobiOT]

No wonder he always gets injured in training...

 

[Trajan]

It's laughable trying to use Watford the first time we had lost all season and Atletico which is all on that clown Adrian, like I said confirmation bias.

Yh that Atlético example doesn't make sense as far as fatigue/falling off

We had them in a chokehold for damn near the entire 90m...absolutely dominated..hit the bar with Robbo.. Came close a few other times and then Adrian struck after we managed to find a breakthrough

 

[TobiOT]

 

[mastermind]

@Roberto Firmino , you are wound up.