We won't challenge for top four or the league until....

Arguably, the biggest reason why we can't break down teams who sit deep is because of our number 6 be it Hendo, can, etc.

We have no one who can pass through the lines and switch play quickly.

 

Even if we cannt break down teams that sit deep, we should be able to prevent them from scoring. Them scoring the first goal makes things more and more difficult.

 

We're ultimately missing a spine lol

 

Not sure we need 3. Depends who gets move on I suppose.

Actually thibk hendo wojld would be better in Ginis role. Right of midfield, pushed forward a bit. Allow him to put more dangerous balls into box.

 

I agree but I think the injuries taken its toll on him so unable to provide that same level energy.

Either way - he's not good enough to be starting for us if we have aspirations. Goes for the rest of the midfield.

 

Gini, Hendo and Lallana are of value to us. Can and Lucas are not good enough, would like to see 2 Midfielders come in and replace them, one who can at least protect our defence effectively. I wouldn't want to see Lucas anywhere on the pitch, even if he was brought on as a 12th man.

A 20+ goal a season striker. Sturridge was, but isn't anymore. A move would be good for both parties.

A solid CB to partner Matip. Klavan isn't trusted ahead of Lucas. Gomez is still in the process of developing, which was hindered by that injury. Lovren is back up at best.

Those 4 positions will form our spine.

We need another solid LB obviously, Clyne is not always perfect but an equivalent of him would be ideal. Any other tricky attacking player brought in would just be a bonus if they're good, but not a necessity or priority.

 

Can would like to be new Gerrard. -the straps of whose sandals he is not worthy to untie."

 

Going to have to disagree with this. Whilst positionally, Hendo could be better, he's pretty strong and he has the tenacity and the energy to cover basically the whole of the defensive half when he's been playing there whilst all your players pretty much run forward.

As for his passing, it's not always the best and its usually pretty safe but he can hit a few long passes. I think you are expecting too much from your DM to also act as a playmaker. You are harping on back to a period where the likes of Xabi Alonso and Pirlo were brilliant deep playmakers and good shields. Just look at the Anchors recently though, they are nothing special:

real madrid - Modric/Kroos you could argue (think he plays more in windys position) but i think Casemiro starts more
chelsea - Kante/Matic. Could argue Cesc is sometimes there
Juventus - Khedira.
Barcelona - Busquets
Bayern Munich - Alonso (old)
Man U - Herrera/Carrick
City - **** knows, sometimes yaya, sometimes fernando
Athletico - Gabi
Seville - Nzonzi
Arsenal - Coquelin/Xhaka/Cazorla

I would say in most of these midfield, theres normally a better ball player (Winja) and there is the muscle (Hendo). Hendo isn't quite Kante or Busquets but he's not as bad as some make it. I'm not sure why Jimmy is so obssessed with his passing ability when its not even that bad

 

Amen to that lol.

 

We leek goals when we have defenders or midfield players missing.

Anyone know why we play lucas cb and can midfield?

Why nother try other way round?

 

honestly I think you are probably right as players like alonso or pirlo are like hen's teeth.

Really LFC's problem is leicester fronted up to us last monday and we folded

Vardy kicked (deliberate) mane under 2 mins and no yellow. mane never got up and got in his face, never got on it etc etc and bascially faded out of it. Lallana and coutinho went hiding. you can tell when coutinho is hiding cos hes on the half way line passing it not taking anyone on or looking for tight areas.

wijnaldum looked totaly nervy and didnt want it.

In short we totally bottled it physically. The players knew they needed to match up and they just shyed away. ergo.. I've no time for ANY of them at all. NOT ONE.

talent is one thing but you must stand up and be counted and all of them fail that test IMO.

 

Waiting for a RHC comment on my spelling of leek

 

Did Klopp really say we were going to win all our remaining matches after the Spurs match? That was asking for trouble.

 

no he said we have to try.

clearly the players decided not to.

 

Noticed that too.

Sets tempo for game,ha ha we are going to get away with niggle tackles and put doubt into manes confidence on ball.

Always pisses me off refs never have to justify not penalising players. Then we get argument well first minutes blah blah of game

 

this had occurred to me as well. On Can the one position i don't want to see him play is DM where as Lucas can only play there , if only for 60 mins as by then he will be pushing the refs patience

 

If i were a prem manager I would in fairness take one look at michael oliver as ref and decide to push my luck in this regard as far as I could. The crowd were always going to be up for this and basically that ref is a coward.

there were NO cards at all given out as far as i could see so once leicester got in about the job they didn't even need to kick us. we shied away so much and lumped it up in air to get rid it was ridiculous.

I would have preferred mane to go in book for clogging on of them or some out with 5/6 cards like spurs would have done than what we did.

The thing is... are spurs any better than us.. no.. but they'll get CL simply cos they'll fight more.

 

Good points but I'm not expecting the DM to be playmaker. Hendo may be the deepest midfield but that doesn't mean he's a DM. It's about the role he plays which is to screen the back four and to playmake.

Kante is a DM but he plays ahead of Matic. Mascherano was often ahead of Alonso.

Hendo isn't good defensively and he's far too safe on the ball. This isn't his fault because he's naturally a box to box mid. It's a completely different skill set.

Regarding his passing ability - he can't play through the lines! Our full backs are constantly 1-2 yards ahead because they know he won't play pick them out otherwise. There are so many occasions when he doesn't even bother to receive the ball, wait and look up at options. He will literally just lay it off to the nearest man.

We clearly cannot play through teams - why not? Because we don't have the midfielders who make those types of passes - this is not just about Hendo. We can only make these passes when the opposition are pushed higher and there's a space. When things are tight and there's no space, you need players to make the risky passes. This is why teams are happy to give us possession.

And again, whenever there's an ounce of pressure, Henderson bottles it and is easily dispossessed. Again, not just him but our team crumbles.

The fact that you're saying that Henderson is ok and could be better is the problem - this guy is the captain of LFC! How far have we fallen where we are accepting this level??

We are at a stage when the newspapers are printing stats about his passing ability and letting losers like Lallana Lovren and Mignolet give interviews about stepping up and taking responsibility and being leaders who amongst the most cowardly players in the game. There was an article in the Echo about how Lallana is better than ozil FFS. If the players are good, they don't need articles - we just know!

Other than the manager and a couple of players, this club screams out mediocrity at all levels. From the owners (who overall have done a good job but now need to start being aggressive), the committee who haven't a clue on how to negotiate deals, the fans who are accepting the passing and tackling stats for Lucas and Henderson and thinking they're quality players, the players themselves etc etc.

Then you have players like Sakho who are constantly ridiculed because he 'looks' dodgy on the ball, Sturridge has an attitude problem because he doesn't press as hard as Firmino or he is not smiling when sitting on the bench. Sturridge is the prime example of a risk taker and a person who tries to make things happen but he will be crucified when it doesn't come off.

However, This fan base is happy when a player like a Henderson makes a nice 2 yard pass to the full back because it looks classy. Then you wonder why I have a problem wth the passing in our team.

I don't care if people think I have an agenda - the players are pissing me off because they're **** but the media narrative is that they're hard working players who give everything so they get a free pass. Firmino has done sod all recently, Lallana is living off his 10 game purple patch, Coutinho is still working his way back. Carragher the clown was so quick to lay into Karius and Moreno but when it came to Lucas, he was sympathetic.

 

I see MUCH confused thinking here.

 

Injury news:

E Lamela Hip Injury no date
Liverpool 5 J Henderson Bruised Foot 0 day
D Sturridge Illness 0 day
O Ejaria Ankle Injury no date
A Bogdan ACL Knee Injury no date
D Ings Knee Injury 3 months