Couple of things, you can only have a squad of a certain size with a set amount of HG players which means in order to add some have to be moved on. The ones can't can't be relied upon will always be the first on the chopping block. Doesn't matter how good or experienced the 'backup' players are if they never play because they're always injured. You lose a key player to injury but can't replace them with who you want cause they're also injured. Not to mention the drain on the wage bill, paying players to not play. I'm against keeping injury prone players, in order to compete with the mega rich you need on a fit squad.
Exactly. We aren't City and Klopp doesn't like having big squads. We had around 13/14 players who he trusts completely and will use them more often than not. As I mentioned previously, I would love to keep players like Matip etc. But we simply can't because we don't have the resources to spunk wages on the wall. We are a sell to buy club.
Yep, not concerned with him as a player as I'm sure it's just poor form. But unfortunately, it is coinciding with a lot of other players who are underperforming at the same time, and it's a time when we really need his creativity.
past is the past and the future is the future. Park the past it matters nothing when the game starts. then do not discount the man nor his ability for the future but someone else plays in the now. I personally think robertsons is FAR from our worst performer and someone to rely on. however is is simply not creative, he is a runner. however It'd be nice for robertson to do the following Stop jogging back stop playing people onside behind the cb line. keep running forward like he is. start demanding his team mates actually play him in. simple enough. there are players to be relied on irrespective of their ability and then there are players who are not to be relieved on. Klopp made a bad mistake in madrid by turning to keita. He can rely on milner to run through a wall, albeit slowly. We can rely on phillips and fabinho and some others but there are a few that are also flaky and you only really find out when the chips are down. When you look back at that 7-2 who was on the pitch and who was taken off? Keita, and gomez. klopp threw on milner for firmino at 6-2. VVD, Robertson, trent they were all there too. I sincerely doubt we will see keita play for us again but klopp might be more forgiving than I though, he may not discount the guy.
min that case, you can’t moan about players being overplayed, being tired and dropping form, and not having options off the bench in that case
Trent against Real Madrid last night: - Most crosses (17) - Most touches (104) - Most chances created (6) - Most penalty area entries (26) - Most ball recoveries (10)
theres a "few" more than 14 to be honest. there certainly isn't 23 trusted but they are bloody well paid to sit about.
He tried his best. Shame a lot of those crosses were aimless by the end as nobody bothered their arse getting in the box or sliding in. I would say he pinged at least 3 or 4 to the back stick area where nobody was or mane was not willing to go for. He put a lot in from deep which is rather pointless desperation but he tired. The most shocking thing is we simply have no thought to run the ball at players bar mane doing it pointlessly wide and won't stand and invite a challenge. how many times did trent try and do something only for others to either miscontrol, mis hit or run it the other way.
But that's not what I want. I'm talking about what Klopp wants and does. I don't agree with it but it is what is. I would love a big squad with quality in depth but in reality it won't happen until we get owners who are serious about winning trophies and will invest money in this squad, and also when Klopp accepts he needs to trust players more.
This season has been the season of the perfect storm. Everything, literally everything has conspired against us. Klopp built us a team, set it in motion and we watched as it took on all-comers, beat them all in style and picked up the biggest prizes along the way. We reached heights that were unimaginable before he came. Understandably he looks a beaten man at the moment and I think that has filtered down into the team in the same way that his enthusiasm and huge winning mentality filtered down. I couldn't begin to guess what next season will look like but I refuse to believe that the same dizzy heights can't be reached again.
We just have a broken team. Constant and long term injuries to key players, covid, no fans, family losses...it's all just snowballed together to create a very inconsistent, low belief, fatigued group of players. Not a lot we can do tbh. We need a summer break, a few sales, few new faces and more than anything, a rest.
It seems most on here agree that Origi, Shaq, Ox, Keita should move on. The manager has to be ruthless if he wants to get back anywhere near where we were.
Probably Minamino, Grujic and maybe Matip as well. But we probably won't get that much money for any of them, and they would all need replacing, so I can't see them all going, especially if Wijnaldum and maybe Milner go. Of the four you mentioned, I think Ox and maybe Keita will stay. Shaq will probably go and Origi will go if someone wants him.
It hasn't just been us without a crowd, though, and it hasn't just been us who's had to put up with Covid and all its trappings. The fact is when we got the injuries we didn't adapt. We've tried to play the same type of football we played for the last two seasons with different players who haven't coped and Mane and Firmino are older. We have a small squad and not much to fall back on, whereas City have a bigger squad and therefore more resources. Ben Davies was a panic buy in January and in some respect so was Kabak, although after a dodgy start he's starting to show mettle.Thiago blows hot and cold and has been a disappointment on occasion. We do need to buy in the summer.