I'm planning on spiking his tea-bags with skunk. I agree he's definitely a ****-or-bust player, regardless of the circumstances. I just wish some of the others had his determination.
of all our players going out of contract this summer Milner is the only one i would even consider offering a new contract but it does remind me of a post on here after Lucas was named as our player of the season which ,after a bunch of posts saying "fully deserved really raised his game this season",went along the lines of "bollocks he has played to the same standard he always gas it is just the other players standards have dropped to his level"
We beat United 7-0 but we've also lost to Brentford, Brighton and Nottingham Forest this season (just to name a few). We are in a really poor state right now and given Klopp still hasn't been able to fix the issue, I think fans are right to be concerned.
I do like milner, he seems a model professional and seems an actual nice lad. But it doesn't stop my heart from sinking when I see him in the first 11. Again I suppose it comes down to what you hope you'd have v what you've got. Yes he's better than ox, keita and probably Jones, but that's a very low bar to jump over. He's playing better than fab, again not exactly hard to do. Again it's more to do with how far we've fallen than how good he is. Cones to something when I'd quite happily see him start at right back for a few games.
I dont think anybody has jumped the gun with klopp. The players have been rightly criticised, but surely you've got look at klopp at some point to? Wonder why he only changes formation when absolutely forced to? Why he persists with certain tactics even though the team is no longer suited to those tactics. Nobody is calling for his head, but wondering what he's thinking isn't a bad thing surely? Or do you regard him as infallible?
I personally think klopps hit the hump in the road now and is not showing us the tactical nous to do it. we have three issues. First we have one way to play which is everyone gonat the ball. which only works if everyone does their job. people clearly are not but we persist and persist. second sides know they can get out of this simply by humping it over our press anyway and even the better sides do it. they know defensively we've isolated the cbs due to the massive ****ing gap between them so if you stay onside you've a run on them finally what I find baffling. if a side defending the width of their 6 yard area well and just focuses on decent shape we have no answer. we don't get bodies in the box, we don't get behind, we don't run on overlaps, we don't cross etc etc. the amount of games we've all watched with our two cbs 40miles apart pretending to be playmakers is ridiculous. all our players go a certain distance forward like it matters but rarely get in the opposition box. I honestly don't see klopp changing one jot here so either all the players change or.... and that's the issue. most managers have their time. the time klopp has had is absolutely amazing and I don't want a bad ending to it. if we can't change then the same stuff is going to happen time and again the defensive set up for me is way off. you cannot play 3 cms then send all 3 lashing forward to press up, not make it and leave 1 v 1s on either side as cbs are isolated.
This is it, to play klopps tactics well again, we'd need a massive overhaul. 4/5 perhaps new midfielders, keep fab and Henderson as backup. Probably 2 centrebacks. But Importantly due to the intensity that midfield will need completely replaced in 3/4 years. The centrebacks need to be absolutely top of there game also, so again replaced fairly regularly Robertson will need replacing in the near future also. Salah will either need to move central or again play as backup. The best teams evolve, does klopp have that in him? He's shown no signs that he has.
Infallible, no. And yes, we can question some of the things he does; it baffles me that Salah gets 90 mins without question! However, we clearly have issues and need fresh blood. So when I say give him a chance to fix it, I don't mean a few games, I mean transfer windows. The way we recruit will always see us ride an up and down wave; we recruit players around a similar age with the aim of them peaking together. We're always going to have down seasons too; the other side of those peak years Obviously, the aim would be to replace those players sooner than we have to keep us performing at a higher standard. This is where I think the pandemic ****ed us over; we weren't able to sell for top price and recycle the funds. He built us up once, why can't he do it again?
Of our current centre backs, only Konate is good enough. Matip and VVD sadly are past their sell by date but maybe keep VVD. Gómez is a disaster waiting to happen. Our squad was let get too old without the ruthless approach needed to keep the high standards we had achieved. The manager has to take responsibility for this I am afraid
The team is basically 6 years old now. Can't stand Rio, but he was right that even truly great teams get overhauled every 5 years or so. Had it not been for being up against City, this team would have gone down with any of the great Liverpool teams of the '70s and 80s - there isn't another team that got 90-odd points and not won the league, never mind doing it twice, and don't forget that they reached 4 European finals and won 2 domestic cups in that time, and all with a Shankly-like emphasis on high-tempo, physically demanding football: don't forget the criticism Shanks received in the late 60s as the Yates and St John team began to age before he rebuilt the '71 team that Paisley inherited. Paisley was the one who subtly changed styles to more suit European football, and built on the team season by season, introducing 2 or 3 players a season, sometimes, as in the case of McDermott, not even playing them much for a season or so until they got the style of play which was essentially more pragmatic and adaptable than Shankly teams had been, with players sensible and mature enough to adopt different formations and tactics on the pitch under leaders like Hughes, Souness and Hansen. Sadly, I think Virgil would have been the ideal captain to have built such a system around 3 years ago, Milner too 5 years ago. Those two and Hendo need to be phased out though, and had you asked me 2 seasons ago who to build such a team around I'd have said Trent in a heartbeat, but surely his time is up now if he can't/won't adapt to midfield, as he's a ****ing liability at full-back. We're back at 2016, aren't we? Have FSG got the will and drive to do it all again with rejuvenated/refinanced Arsenal, United, Newcastle, Spurs, Chelsea and even ****ing Brighton outspending up every season? There's more in the mix now than 7 years ago. And has Klopp got another 4 years in him to see any programme through?
I'd like to see Joe at right back and DM till the end of the season. He still has pace and strength and is good on the ball. He can't cross like Trent, but even Trent couldn't cross like Trent on Wednesday, and that is sadly becoming more and more familiar.
Gomez is great at throw ins too. I wonder whether being blanked by Southgate has had an effect on Trent's confidence. If suddenly you think you're not as good as you thought you were, (Trent was really good before the first England snub) it can have a knock on effect.
I'd like to see Joe at dm. Thinking about his strengths and weakness I'd probably think it suited him better than centre back, I wonder why he hasn't been tried there.
Dier did it, and he's faster and a better passer than Dier. It's a no-brainer for me given Fab's demise.
Considering he's only 25, might be a good idea to move forward slightly while he can, whether that's with us or some one else remains to be seen. But Considering we've now got only a couple of fit midfielders left, if its going to happen, I will happen now.
Gomez and Trent have a decent understanding together too so Joe covering when TAA wonders shouldn't be an issue. Possible able to play in midfielder together too should we decide to move Trent forward to RCM at some point. All moot though, Gomez won't be moved forward
