Hehe Tbh, my only gripe with Milner are his wages as I dont believe his 'influence / experience' is enough to warrant such a high wage. But if he's taking a big pay cut, then fair play to him. His influence is very big (more than Hendo IMO) so having him there is still a big asset. But I'm glad that we're finally paying him what he actually deserves now.
Players like Milner and Hendo (and I'd include Thiago in this) continue the chain of command down from the manager so it isn't like a bunch of schoolkids with a remote father figure. The importance of this can't be over-estimated imo, and Milner would be worth the money because his presence helps the rest. However, the fact that he's prepared to stay on with a big cut shows his commitment to the club which is nice to see, considering he's played for almost everybody down the years. Perhaps he has an agreement in place to move into a coaching role when he finally runs out of steam.
You and me both mate Can't see us changing the system. You buy players to suit the style, not the other way around
We bought Mané's replacement in January. It's Firmino we'll struggle to replace as he seems well past his peak now.
Personally think when you get 92 points and have a fairly full squad the thought of evolution not revolution comes to mind. Think about the squad AND those who might develop and ignore a lot of press chatter and think about then what we really need. For example, is williams really going or not. Who knows. Is Elliott going to develop? We will see. Is firmino absolutely ****ed or can he regain some level to compete for a place. And so forth. I'd say the following Alisson kelleher Trent Williams Gomez matip Konate vvd Robbo tsimikas Fabinho (this is the real issue) Elliott henderson keita Thaigo ? Jones at best Diaz jota Firmino (bit of an issue) Salah (no cover) Imo a midfielder and a forward in. At least that.
You could argue that Thiago didn't suit our system ... Nunez does not offer much in the build up play so putting him on the wing won't be great. And he doesnt play the 9 role like Bobby does. So unless we plan on changing his entire game to suit us, I think we can expect to some tweak to our system. Which is not something we haven't seen already - Klopp has used 4 attackers in games this season (usually starts 433 but then changes if wer're chasing). Since our midfielders don't get into the box, we need another body in there to help breakdown teams. Our 433 is mostly brilliant but it would help to have that extra threat.
I agree that you cannot underestimate their impact off the pitch but they need to be paid accordingly. Essentially you're spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on cheerleaders in the background. All the talk is about Mo's contract but are we going to keep paying Hendo and Milner £200k a week until 60 just because of their leadership off the pitch?
All we were short of in winning the league and the CL was a finisher. 3 more goals and we won both. For whatever reason none of the forwards could find the back of the net consistently enough in the later stages of the season. Nunez, from what I have read (only seen him play twice) is that finisher. What he lacks in passing, pressing and holding up he makes up for in scoring plenty. If we get him, no doubt Klopp will improve those areas of his game that need it. Still just a rumour atm.
I'm not so sure an out and out 9 is what we need though - we scored around 140 goals last season. Scoring wasn't an issue until nearer the end of the season where I think fatigue played a part. in the CL final, I think what we really lacked was a 4th body to get in the box - I thought Bobby came onto too late. This is where we need the RCM to join the attack and this has been the weak link of our midfield all season. But I agree with you - Darwin is a goal scorer and he's a physical presence, and he's very quick as well. Only 22 with a lot of potential.
Dunno, Jota is a finisher but very poor in build up, pressing and has no pace. I like him as an option, but not leading the line. We need pace and pressing
Might as well say why bother paying a manager because he does nothing on the pitch. It's a unit - it needs all types to function efficiently. If the senior players are an integral part of the success then they deserve recognition for that. If the total payroll is manageable for the club then that's fine, its distribution amongst the players isn't our concern. I think we just have a different opinion over the relative worth of players, but imo if the club and Klopp think it's worth paying to keep them that's ok with me.
But Klopp isn't receiving his salary to contribute on the pitch. Milner was receiving a very high salary to be a footballer and his contribution ON the pitch. That's the difference. He was being paid as if he was one of the best footballers in the world. We wanted parity in the wage structure but then giving someone who hardly plays that much money is justifiable?