and all aged out so in some ways the Saudis have done us a favour in forcing klopp to change we've lost mane and firmino who were past it as well and now we are "losing" fabinho and henderson who were running through quicksand last season. we've had all 4 in one way or another force klopp's hand which is his fatal flaw. same at dortmund as @Diego would say. now however there's a whole other team bar salah and vvd who a more ruthless manager would push out as well. a younger team who might just do a lot better than we would have with aging former stars on big wages. only time will tell.
Indeed. Those two seasons from 2018 to 2020 were epoch-making. Don't forget, he'd have won at least another Prem title, possibly two, had it not been the fact that he was in the only team to get 90+ points (twice) and not win the league. Think we ****ed up in 2020 after Virgil's injury though playing him (and even Hendo once) at CB. Ludicrous decision to not change formation to protect Williams and Phillips, and to gut our midfield of its best player was ****. Last 18 months he's been shot though, and he's the wrong side of 28, so he isn't going to suddenly get any quicker or develop more stamina any time soon.
Tbh I never thought of Henderson as versatile. I would say that Fabinho is (or was). He could play mid, defense and had a thunderbolt of a shot, great free kick, although we never used him there like Monaco did. We will miss Henderson's leadership and dressing room presence but on the pitch, I don't think I could say who we will miss more.
Shankly, who's probably an ideological match for Jurgen, was forced to get rid of most of the 60s team in 1970, probably 2-3 years after they were showing signs of being worn out. I remember my late dad saying again and again that Yates, St John, Lawrence, and Hunt were all past it and shankly was too loyal to them. But basically, that team he rebuilt around Clemence, Hughes, Keegan, Toshack, Smith, and Callaghan was what Paisley (a bit more like Rafa, I'd say) inherited to go on to rule Europe.
Isn't Shankly the manager credited with the quote "let the players lose their legs on someone elses pitch?
yes thats what the history books show, shankley was over loyal but learned from it and paisley certainly did. Paisley had about 3 teams with very few hangovers klopps very loyal. if the worst we get out if it is one 5th it's not too bad
Yep, Paisley was ruthless when the time came to let go. I remember both Hughes and Smith basically being told "We have Thompson and Hanson now - enjoy your pensions at Wolves and Swansea respectively". Like Ferguson to some degree on that score. Edit - remember when he rightly dumped first Lindsay for Jones, then Jones for Alan Kennedy? The guy was Mafiosi!
Allison, Trent, Robbo, Matip, Gomez... And I don't think you's push out Salah quite yet, unless you were offered silly money. Rotation maybe.
if we get a silly offer for him, he’ll go and he’ll fund his replacement - pretty much impossible to replace mind.
Salah is still our best forward and main goal scorer. Don’t see any logic in even contemplating selling him
Expecting the lavia deal to push on now we have Fabinho gone. Will Still need at least one more mf after that i think. Reports yday that were looking at Tyler adams who has a 20m price tag and can play rb and midfield
time and tides wait for no man. salah is almost done. so whether or not he is hard to replace he will have to be replaced. if you get 100mil offer then you make damned sure it's all up front and then go use it. no, nobody should be pushing a top pro out the door but you have to be ready for the day.
We've just lost so many players in one go, some legends, some not, that I can't even contemplate another player (not from the fringes) going. We all accept that the midfield shuffle is a year too late in happening, we really don't want to start messing with the forwards until we see what this new team looks like in a competitive match. I wouldn't take £100m for Salah today or tomorrow. It's vital that we don't have any more major changes just yet. I realise it's all what ifs, just saying.
