Again, I come back to £8m for Long (that's been rejected anyway). Had we bought Jelavic in January 12 when he (or his agent, anyway) wanted him to come here I still believe we'd have made top four that season. Now, Long is no Jelavic, but I still think someone like that (even someone from the lower leagues. till May) would be helpful. If we have no-one by the end of the month we'll be ****ed if we get through the FA cup, progress in the UEFA and are playing two games a week every week until May. Or more ****ed that we're not because the first eleven are shattered and injured.
You're nailed on top four though, no jinx! And I've said that all season. It's Arse, City plus two others. You never know with Spurs, and Leicester have still to have an inevitable wobble. Either of those two teams slip up and yous will be in, and one of them will for certain. What did you think of holding Mata back yesterday? A tactical masterpiece, waiting till we tired, or just dumb luck? If I was LVG he'd be on my team sheet before Rooney, but I'm a complete Mata fan, and have been since he played for Valencia. It's like us benching a fully fit Coutinho for this game. Think Mata ran the game in this fixture last season,
I do agree. If we just want league cup and that it we are ok. We can try but to achieve like fans would expect meaning actually trying and for me if nobody comes in ... and long is rubbish... then we are simply not trying.
I think Mata should play at 10 and Hererra should be the more attacking of the two midfielders. LVG doesn't like Hererra at all, he's too adventurous and has only been selected recently as LVG has been trying to appease the fans, and he prefers Mata on the wing where his creative play is negated. In summary, they both gave the ball away once and have been on the naughty step ever since. And Tony Montana should be played up front not the on the wing. And Lingard should be out on loan.
Fair. It's clear LVG feels the same as mourinho did about Mata. Herrera has decent technique compared to our clown henderson but he's not great is he? I do think Leicester are cracking a bit but so far nobody has kicked on so they are on the coat tails. If anything spurs Leicester cup replay is gold for Utd.
Strangely, I'm not too despondent after the result yesterday. While we clearly still have problems in finishing, retaining the ball and defending set pieces, we were still by far the better team and just didn't get the rub of the green. I can see why Utd fans are fed up with how they are playing.....hardly edge of your seat stuff.....they play not to lose with minimal risk taking......even then the excellent De Gea had to dig them out....that lad is a top, top keeper. Martial was also decent for them but otherwise we dominated. As for us. Progress. Definitely. I see fight, organisation, intelligent pressing, commitment.....shame that we have so many injuries and the odd square peg as I feel that Klopp could have done more this season with all available to him. Our future looks much more promising than Utd's if this game is to go by!!
Utd have had funds to spend big and Moyes (to some extent) and LVG did. Look where it got them. Just leave Liverpool out of the equation and imagine LVG being there next summer. You still sure spending big again is the answer?
It got them back into the top 4, yes not champions but its a start, will the GGs spend big again, yes they will but not £200m
I do understand that people want to take the positves from an awful match and an awful result. Lets face it: -This was match between 2 teams who are not the best of the premiership. The quality was poor. - We had more chances but didn't convert as we didn't have that cutting edge. That striker that can finish the moves off. - The more the match went on without us scoring, the more likely they would score one and we all knew that would be the final outcome. - We can fool ourselves that we were terribly unlucky but the facts speak for themselves: 4 matches against them, four defeats. They fired 4 on our target, four goals conceded. That must indicate something other than poor luck! Whilst I was quite happy that we got Klopp, the euphoria and huge expectations surrounding his appointment was totally misguided. He has to get hold of the squad and work out what's the best team and the best system to play in the premiership. He has got his work cut out for example to deal with the set pieces. He has been paid to sort it out and being baffled and shocked at our incompetence is not enough. In the end like he said himself: In a match like this the result is ALL.
The Echo sums it up....... http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-0-1-manchester-united-10748416 "Somehow the worst Manchester United side for decades secured the spoils – despite having just one shot on target and spending most of the afternoon grimly holding on for a point" Anfield bore witness to a mugging. Those in red sloped away ashen-faced, trying to come to terms with the fact they had ended up with nothing from a contest they had dominated against their most bitter rivals. This was the ultimate smash and grab raid as Liverpool crashed to a demoralising defeat . Somehow the worst Manchester United side for decades secured the spoils – despite having just one shot on target and spending most of the afternoon grimly holding on for a point. Wayne Rooney's emphatic finish 12 minutes from time enabled United to complete a league double over Liverpool for the second successive season. Jurgen Klopp's first experience of this fixture proved a painful one. After sampling a contest he had labelled as “the salt in the soup”, the Reds boss was left with the most sour of tastes. The outcome was cruel. Liverpool didn't deserve to lose. Yet they only had themselves to blame for a setback which effectively kills off any lingering hopes of launching a push for a top-four finish. The only realistic route into the Champions League now is winning the Europa League and that will only happen if Klopp can quickly address familiar failings at both ends of the field. United became the latest beneficiaries of Liverpool's embarrassing lack of firepower. Louis van Gaal's side also cashed in on the Reds' inability to defend set-pieces. The fact that Liverpool's goal difference is minus three in mid-January speaks volumes. Their 22 league games have yielded a pathetic return of just 25 goals. Liverpool had 19 shots against United but just four of them troubled David De Gea. It was hardly a surprise given that Liverpool's starting line up boasted a combined tally of just six league goals between them all season. Klopp inherited a major problem and coming up with a solution has proved problematic. The reality is that the club's striking department is currently a mess. Danny Ings is out for the season, Divock Origi is sidelined following knee surgery and Daniel Sturridge remains unable to convince the manager he's fit for duty . The one recognised striker who is available just happens to be the second most expensive signing in Liverpool's history and their top scorer with seven goals this term. But Christian Benteke faces an uncertain future having failed to nail down a starting role under Klopp. Once again the £32.5million frontman was sat on the bench as the Reds toiled in search of a breakthrough. Little blame could be placed at the feet of Roberto Firmino, who led the line against United. The Brazilian attacker couldn't hit the heights he had reached against Arsenal in midweek but there was still plenty to admire about the shift he put in. The problem was the absence of any real quality around him as Firmino remained horribly isolated for long periods. By the time Klopp belatedly introduced Benteke late on, the game had gone. The introduction of Steven Caulker as a makeshift striker at the death smacked of desperation. How did it come to this? Twenty months ago Liverpool had one of the most deadly marksmen on the planet leading the line in Luis Suarez. Now they are throwing on a centre-back who is on loan from a Championship club up front. Liverpool have spent nearly £300million in the transfer market since Brendan Rodgers' appointment in the summer of 2012. Yet their recruitment has been largely appalling . Vast sums of cash have been squandered on striking flops like Fabio Borini, Iago Aspas and Mario Balotelli. After Rodgers paid the price with his job last October, Klopp has been left to pick up the pieces. Another Anfield rebuilding job awaits and days like this highlight the full extent of it. The absence of any real match-winners is glaring. Even if it's merely another loan which acts as a sticking plaster until the summer, signing a striker during the current window is a necessity if Liverpool are going to secure anything tangible between now and May. This was a very different Reds performance to the lifeless display served up in the defeat at Old Trafford back in September. On this occasion there could be no complaints about the passion or the commitment levels. After a cagey opening, Liverpool took control and United rarely ventured outside their own half. Bringing in Lucas Leiva for Jordon Ibe was hardly a positive move by Klopp but the long-serving Brazilian provided a much needed combative edge in midfield. It was Lucas' searching pass which sent Adam Lallana scampering clear only for De Gea to deny him. Firmino fired the rebound wide. Liverpool enjoy plenty of joy down United's left but in the final third there was an alarming lack of both composure and conviction. James Milner and Jordan Henderson were both wasteful as chances were squandered. The second half brought more of the same with Liverpool on the front foot and United showing zero ambition. Emre Can burst past Chris Smalling in the box but once again De Gea rescued the visitors. The Spanish shot-stopper then clawed away Can's piledriver and reacted smartly to keep out the follow up from Firmino. Liverpool were fast running out of ideas. Fresh legs were required but it was Ibe rather than Benteke who got the call with Lallana taken off. Defensively, the Reds had rarely been troubled. Kolo Toure could hold his head high after an accomplished display from the veteran Ivorian. United had barely had a sniff. But they hung in there and then capitalised on Liverpool's Achilles heel. It was the seventh time in the league this season that the Reds have conceded from a corner – the worst record in the top-flight. Marouane Fellaini's header cannoned off the bar and nobody was alert to the danger as Rooney pounced on the rebound. Finally, Benteke was summoned but Liverpool were deflated and looked resigned to their fate. Firmino fluffed their one opportunity to restore parity. United could scarcely believe their luck. They came for a point and walked away with all three.
Meh....we outclassed Arsenal for large parts of the game at Anfield too. I'm looking for progression, small steps towards a bigger picture and i've seen it in the last 2 games without key players but It's definitely not enough right now.. This isn't rose tinted glasses, just looking ahead and liking the idea of Klopp moulding his team. Anybody who thought that he'd waltz in and win the league with the squad he inherited were delusional in the first place tbh
Aye. Just hope these small steps take us to where we want to be in a reasonable timeframe. These steps hopefully would be long enough not to require another 2 decades...
And for all that I lay the blame on the door of the transfer committee and FSG. If what BR says is true and a gun was held to his head for him to sign Balotelli and make him world class then either someone is taking the piss or FSG know bugger all about football; I'm inclined to say the latter. Had they done their research there's no way on this planet Jarsoom (Earth) or on Barsoom (Mars) that Balotelli is world class. A sow's ear maketh not a silk purse!
Rodgers is full of sh*t. Tony Barrett quashed that rumour today as well. Rodgers was very much involved in that deal as well. Of course, everyone wanted Sanchez. But Rodgers was too busy on holiday whilst wenger was in Rio speaking with the player to convince him to join. And who held a gun to Rodgers's head when his first choice signings were Allen, Borini, Lallana, Lovren, Benteke, Milner, Kolo?
