Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2016/2017

Can see us beating Chelsea..... be grand.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Fairly damning indictment of Sturridge there by Jamie C: "when he doesn't score Liverpool are down to 10 men".

He said earlier in season that he'd play Sturridge every game & have others do the running for him.... our Jamie can't have it both ways

citytillidie

If there is no waiting time before Mane can play then come on Cameroon, make up for the Matip mess up

Lord Trollington

League cup is irrelevant . And I couldn't give any fcuk about not winning it.

It's actually the continuation of the poor form I'd be extremely worried about .

We are at a completely defining time i our season

Turtyturd

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Fairly damning indictment of Sturridge there by Jamie C: "when he doesn't score Liverpool are down to 10 men".

Strange to see the likes of him criticising an English international. Alan Smith spent the game talking about him as if he was a competent player.

Ardent

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Fairly damning indictment of Sturridge there by Jamie C: "when he doesn't score Liverpool are down to 10 men".

Yup, reckons Sturridge is not the same player, has lost his pace. You have to "serve up chances on a plate for him".

I'm sure LT will be along to say Carragher is going senile.

~Rebel~

Really need to smash Wolves now to mentally halt this decline before Chelsea.

MD1990

Strangly Chelsea could tge kind of gane we need.
I agree with Carra on Sturridge.
He will be gone in the summer and no club in the top 6 will want him his best days are behind him.

Potential Underachiever

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Nailed on for 6th even though we haven't dropped that low in months. Stick you're house on it sure, plenty to be made if it's so obvious.

I wish I had your confidence, we're in quicksand at the minute!

D-D-L-D-W-L-L

That's the last 7 games, what gives you the confidence that we can turn it around and not sink down the table, is it blind faith or are you genuinely confident that it's a 7 game blip?

Osmosis Jones

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

I wish I had your confidence, we're in quicksand at the minute!

D-D-L-D-W-L-L

That's the last 7 games, what gives you the confidence that we can turn it around and not sink down the table, is it blind faith or are you genuinely confident that it's a 7 game blip?

No, it might be an 8 or a 9 game blip, who knows? But we also won a good few games in a row this season, and didn't go on to win every single game after that, because that's not how form works. Temporary form does not determine the outcome of an entire season.

emo72

My united friend says, we look like united. That's it.

A2LUE42

Potential Underachiever wrote:

That's the last 7 games, what gives you the confidence that we can turn it around and not sink down the table, is it blind faith or are you genuinely confident that it's a 7 game blip?

Potential Underachiever wrote:

D-D-L-D-W-L-L

Potential Underachiever wrote:

I wish I had your confidence, we're in quicksand at the minute!

And if you consider that the w was Plymouth. Last meaningful win was new year's Eve

Lord Trollington

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

I wish I had your confidence, we're in quicksand at the minute!

D-D-L-D-W-L-L

That's the last 7 games, what gives you the confidence that we can turn it around and not sink down the table, is it blind faith or are you genuinely confident that it's a 7 game blip?

The blip does coincide with missing some of our better first team players . We genuinely do not have good enough players to come in if someone is out of form or injured. That I believe is our biggest problem

MD1990

Potential Underachiever wrote: »

I wish I had your confidence, we're in quicksand at the minute!

D-D-L-D-W-L-L

That's the last 7 games, what gives you the confidence that we can turn it around and not sink down the table, is it blind faith or are you genuinely confident that it's a 7 game blip?

Mane will be be back soon . Matip and Coutinho should be fully fit soon .
I then expect us to hit form.

Osmosis Jones

We've 4 top 5 teams in our next 8 games, one every second week. they're the kind of games we've done well in this season, honestly they might be the perfect games for us. If we can perform well in those we'll go into the games against lower opposition between them with confidence. It's not an easy set of fixtures on the way but it's the ideal set for Liverpool with how they've been lately. Plenty of six pointers on the way.

kingshankly

Imagine mane walking in the door in a couple of weeks saying "wtf lads wtf"

Lord Trollington

Transfer Centre next on Sky sports. Can switch over , nothing relevant about Liverpool here . On that note . Good night Vienna

SlickRic

It cannot be undersold just how fúcking crippled we are without Sadio Mané. It's ridiculous.

We're in a position at the moment whereby everything is congested in the final third because there is no pace to be scared of.

Coutinho won't sprint by you. Firmino certainly won't. Lallana, nope. Origi won't. And Sturridge? You must be fúcking joking.

This is compounded by the fact we don't have a real presence in the box. Like Costa. Or even Ibra. Strikers who if the ball is crossed into the box, defenders are worried.

So the net result is, we've no pace to break the lines of a congested defence, so we invariably go wide, and when it's crossed, unless a defender is caught on the hop, it gets cleared. Rinse, repeat.

Add to this our undeniable frailty at defending crosses, and the gameplan for playing against us couldn't be simpler. Just concede possession, and wait until there's an opportunity to counter or to put in a set piece.

The template is simple.

Mané has become our most important player by a distance because his pace frightens teams, and it makes room for everyone to play.

It's fúcking painful watching us right now. Every game is so predictably shít.

Mané should demand a pay rise immediately upon his return.

Potential Underachiever

A2LUE42 wrote: »

And if you consider that the w was Plymouth. Last meaningful win was new year's Eve

And one of the losses was at home to a pathetic Swansea team!

Utopia Parkway

MD1990 wrote: »

Strangly Chelsea could tge kind of gane we need.
I agree with Carra on Sturridge.
He will be gone in the summer and no club in the top 6 will want him his best days are behind him.

We'll probably still get 20M for him just because of who he is. Or who he was. Some club will take a chance on him.

daithijjj

Thin squad has hit the wall completely now. Bad decisions in the summer to not provide for an entire EPL season. Tired and out of form players cant keep up, cant/wont be replaced in a game.

Not sure there's enough people around the club making decisions who know what it takes in England.

Still believe they can recoup and get 4th but they need a lift and one signing this window.

Osmosis Jones

Lord Trollington wrote: »

The blip does coincide with missing some of our better first team players . We genuinely do not have good enough players to come in if someone is out of form or injured. That I believe is our biggest problem

I'm not even sure that's true. I do think Klopp's management with Coutinho and now Mane being out has been bizarre. He's moved the team around in such a way that it calls for the maximum amount of changes possible to be needed, when really all he needs to do is change one player. If Mane is missing don't move Firmino out to the right, don't move Coutinho into the middle, and don't move Lallana out to the left just to bring in Sturridge up top. Instead leave Coutinho on the left, leave Firmino up top, and leave Lallana in midfield and just bring in someone like Ojo. Sure Ojo may not be as good as Sturridge, but he's not a bad player and Klopp has given him chances in the past, why not introduce a natural winger to replace a natural winger and allow the rest of our players to continue playing in the positions that have yielded their best performances this season.

It really is poor from Klopp.

niallo27

daithijjj wrote: »

Thin squad has hit the wall completely now. Bad decisions in the summer to not provide for an entire EPL season. Tired and out of form players cant keep up, cant/wont be replaced in a game.

Not sure there's enough people around the club making decisions who know what it takes in England.

Still believe they can recoup and get 4th but they need a lift and one signing this window.

Thing is now it's going be a week between games from now on so we might get the legs back.

Turtyturd

Turtyturd wrote: »

Strange to see the likes of him criticising an English international. Alan Smith spent the game talking about him as if he was a competent player.

You could write a bloody PhD on the form of Daniel Sturridge at this stage. I think he's heading inevitably towards the door now though IMO.

5starpool

Maybe it's because of how much I hate Alan Smith, but I'd love to know what % of games on Sky of ours that he does commentary on? It seems like 80% or so to me. I know it's not likely to be near that high, but it seems like it's him nearly every time. Doesn't help my mood when we lose.

Harry Palmr

When the crowd are chanting Origi's name and he's still on the subs bench you know Sturridge's time is almost done as should be the case. Beyond the odd moment like Leicester what has he actual done this season, nothing. It's impossible to make a case for him on his own terms or within what Klopp wants from a forward.

Utopia Parkway

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

I'm not even sure that's true. I do think Klopp's management with Coutinho and now Mane being out has been bizarre. He's moved the team around in such a way that it calls for the maximum amount of changes possible to be needed, when really all he needs to do is change one player. If Mane is missing don't move Firmino out to the right, don't move Coutinho into the middle, and don't move Lallana out to the left just to bring in Sturridge up top. Instead leave Coutinho on the left, leave Firmino up top, and leave Lallana in midfield and just bring in someone like Ojo. Sure Ojo may not be as good as Sturridge, but he's not a bad player and Klopp has given him chances in the past, why not introduce a natural winger to replace a natural winger and allow the rest of our players to continue playing in the positions that have yielded their best performances this season.

It really is poor from Klopp.

I agree we have lost Mane AND moved Firmino away from the centre where he is far less effective. So we've changed two positions rather than just one. Leave Firmino up top. He can't be moved to accommodate Sturridge.

BorneTobyWilde

Sturridge is hard to let go of, He's best finisher by far.
We do need to let him go though and buy a proven 30 goal a season striker.

daithijjj

SlickRic wrote: »

It cannot be undersold just how fúcking crippled we are without Sadio Mané. It's ridiculous.

We're in a position at the moment whereby everything is congested in the final third because there is no pace to be scared of.

Coutinho won't sprint by you. Firmino certainly won't. Lallana, nope. Origi won't. And Sturridge? You must be fúcking joking.

This is compounded by the fact we don't have a real presence in the box. Like Costa. Or even Ibra. Strikers who if the ball is crossed into the box, defenders are worried.

So the net result is, we've no pace to break the lines of a congested defence, so we invariably go wide, and when it's crossed, unless a defender is caught on the hop, it gets cleared. Rinse, repeat.

Add to this our undeniable frailty at defending crosses, and the gameplan for playing against us couldn't be simpler. Just concede possession, and wait until there's an opportunity to counter or to put in a set piece.

The template is simple.

Mané has become our most important player by a distance because his pace frightens teams, and it makes room for everyone to play.

It's fúcking painful watching us right now. Every game is so predictably shít.

Mané should demand a pay rise immediately upon his return.

Said this 3 or 4 weeks ago.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=102158394&postcount=4052

His absence has erased much of the physicality in the entire team and even before he left this team was on the turn to jaded.

Osmosis Jones

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

I agree we have lost Mane AND moved Firmino away from the centre where he is far less effective. So we've changed two positions rather than just one. Leave Firmino up top. He can't be moved to accommodate Sturridge.

We've also moved Lallana out of midfield and Coutinho away from the left wing. One of our four main attackers is in Africa and the other three are not in the positions they've done their best in this season. Their downfall is their versatility here, if they were absolutely awful in any positions bar one then I'd suspect they'd be left in their best spots and we'd be better for it.

Turtyturd

BorneTobyWilde wrote: »

Sturridge is hard to let go of, He's best finisher by far.
We do need to let him go though and buy a proven 30 goal a season striker.

Toby's life stream is stuck buffering in 2015.

daithijjj

niallo27 wrote: »

Thing is now it's going be a week between games from now on so we might get the legs back.

Well, i wouldnt use the time to bring them back to watch Barca any time soon, we have been awful since.

I dont believe its just legs, we should be trouncing teams like Plymouth.

monkey9

Harry Palmr wrote: »

When the crowd are chanting Origi's name and he's still on the subs bench you know Sturridge's time is almost done as should be the case. Beyond the odd moment like Leicester what has he actual done this season, nothing. It's impossible to make a case for him on his own terms or within what Klopp wants from a forward.

Oh Sturridge is done at Liverpool, there's no doubt about that. He'll be gone in the summer and as much as i hate to sell him to another English club because i do rate him when he decides to play, when he inevitably signs for Arsenal, we better be getting top money for him because Wenger thought it was a good idea to sign Danny Welbeck, so fleece Arsenal. Even by an extra pound.

Gbear

daithijjj wrote: »

Thin squad has hit the wall completely now.

I don't think it's general thinness.

Even with a few lads out longterm, we're able to bring in at least decent quality senior players - usually internationals - to plug any holes that arise.

But we only have 1 direct threat with pace.

That's not enough for the first 11, never mind the entire squad.

Injuries or the ACON haven't been needed to expose that. Even just days where Mane hasn't been on form exposed that.

theoneeyedman

Poor enough performance, but better in the second half. Soton very well drilled and defended rigidly, following the template used by other sides of sitting deep, and allowing the likes of Can, Lovren, Matip et al to slowly carry the ball forward, crowding the middle channels where Coutinho, Lalala, Fermino are most effective, and conceding the wings from where our crosses are generally poor, or is delayed to non existent aerial threat.
When Lallana, Mane, Fermino and Coutinho are all flying they will always find a way through, but if not there is no plan B. Sturridge looks a sad shadow of the player he was, and his pace looks gone (witness the ball over the top from Can that he couldn't chase down early in the second half). The big disappointment is Origi, who looks completely out of his depth. He is neither fish nor fowl, he's big and slow but wants to play like a speedy small lad, and has zero aerial presence. Looks a weaker, younger version of Benteke.
Need to develop a plan B which is easier said than done. Sadly, the squad being what it is, there is nobody really one could say should brought into the 11. Pushing Fermino out of the centre to accommodate others has to stop for a start though.
Lads here very hard on TAA and Can.in particular. TAA is only 18, and did OK, but was badly exposed. Can is Can, he lumbers about and isn't the quickest, but that's what you get. Playing himself and Henderson is never a good idea.
We knew the squad is light, our midfield is cak, so the last few.weeks are probably some chickens coming home to roost. Still lots to play for, one good win and we can roll on again.

BMMachine

SlickRic wrote: »

It cannot be undersold just how fúcking crippled we are without Sadio Mané. It's ridiculous.

We're in a position at the moment whereby everything is congested in the final third because there is no pace to be scared of.

Coutinho won't sprint by you. Firmino certainly won't. Lallana, nope. Origi won't. And Sturridge? You must be fúcking joking.

This is compounded by the fact we don't have a real presence in the box. Like Costa. Or even Ibra. Strikers who if the ball is crossed into the box, defenders are worried.

So the net result is, we've no pace to break the lines of a congested defence, so we invariably go wide, and when it's crossed, unless a defender is caught on the hop, it gets cleared. Rinse, repeat.

Add to this our undeniable frailty at defending crosses, and the gameplan for playing against us couldn't be simpler. Just concede possession, and wait until there's an opportunity to counter or to put in a set piece.

The template is simple.

Mané has become our most important player by a distance because his pace frightens teams, and it makes room for everyone to play.

It's fúcking painful watching us right now. Every game is so predictably shít.

Mané should demand a pay rise immediately upon his return.

Exactly how I feel.
A really big worry. Another thing I would add is a snide sense of sloppiness in our play. loose and frustrated play with a certain lack of mental strength at times. This may sound weird but I couldn't help but think of Gary McAllistar watching that. Need a f**king man to stand up and make us work.

Osmosis Jones

So this has been our best XI this season, our best attack at least:



Mane goes off to AFCON, and we switch to something like this:



It's a complete reworking of the team, it's far too disrupted and lacks any sort of pace than Mane took with him when he left. Surely we would be better off making minimal changes and reintroducing some pace by just going for this instead:



EDIT: Sorry for all the space taken up, can't figure out a better way to format it though so I'm leaving it :P

daithijjj

Gbear wrote: »

I don't think it's general thinness.

Even with a few lads out longterm, we're able to bring in at least decent quality senior players - usually internationals - to plug any holes that arise.

But we only have 1 direct threat with pace.

That's not enough for the first 11, never mind the entire squad.

Injuries or the ACON haven't been needed to expose that. Even just days where Mane hasn't been on form exposed that.

To play the way Klopp likes to play, in England, our squad is thin for a whole season.

At least 4 on the bench tonight who probably shouldnt get a game other than a big injury crisis. The gulf in quality between starters and bench is very wide compared to those around us.

Francie Barrett

Sturridge was always going to be finished at this club after Klopp had a go at him early on. The mistake we made was not moving him on during the Summer when his star was still shining.

If a striker comes available now, we should move on him.

Gbear

daithijjj wrote: »

To play the way Klopp likes to play, in England, our squad is thin for a whole season.

At least 4 on the bench tonight who probably shouldnt get a game other than a big injury crisis. The gulf in quality between starters and bench is very wide compared to those around us.

I think we can handle that supposed lack of depth for the most part though.

Our entire gameplan doesn't go down the toilet if we're a bit slower at moving the ball because no Hendo, or because Lallana can't link.
We might be worse and it might be enough to stop a title challenge but it shouldn't be this bad for this long.

But you lose Mane and everything goes tits up. It happened as early as Burnley and each time he hasn't been available or hasn't turned up we've looked a totally differnent side.

A lack of depth should mean a poor version of Liverpool - not something that is barely recognisable as being Liverpool.

niallo27

niallo27 wrote: »

Thing is now it's going be a week between games from now on so we might get the legs back.

What makes this slump more worrying than this time last year is no European football currently. Many thought we would benefit this season with the perceived lightness in the squad with Europe in mind. Yet here we are again.....

Osmosis Jones

I really don't think our squad is that small, not for a season with no Europe anyway. I think as of late it's been used really sub-optimally. Players like Can are being given so many chances when they're just not performing and, surprisingly with Klopp, youth players aren't being given a chance unless there's really no other option.

Utopia Parkway

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

I really don't think our squad is that small, not for a season with no Europe anyway. I think as of late it's been used really sub-optimally. Players like Can are being given so many chances when they're just not performing.

You've answered your own question there. Can is still in the team because the manager obviously thinks the other options available to him are just not good enough. At least not yet.

Osmosis Jones

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

You've answered your own question there. Can is still in the team because the manager obviously thinks the other options available to him are just not good enough. At least not yet.

Yeah but that's not an issue of squad depth as much as it is persistence with seemingly the wrong option. Wijnaldum is a natural replacement for Can and I'd be worried if Klopp didn't think his 25m signing was good enough yet.

Turtyturd

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Sturridge was always going to be finished at this club after Klopp had a go at him early on. The mistake we made was not moving him on during the Summer when his star was still shining.

If a striker comes available now, we should move on him.

He should be gone asap. He's offering nothing to the team and Origi would benefit more from the game time.

Don't think we will have to worry about his star not shining anymore, there will always be teams willing to take a gamble on him despite the complications.

Raisins

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Fairly damning indictment of Sturridge there by Jamie C: "when he doesn't score Liverpool are down to 10 men".

Thought that too...his phone will be buzzing with that comment, I also think it's very harsh. Can't see him staying at the club after tonight.

Harry Palmr

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

I really don't think our squad is that small, not for a season with no Europe anyway. I think as of late it's been used really sub-optimally. Players like Can are being given so many chances when they're just not performing and, surprisingly with Klopp, youth players aren't being given a chance unless there's really no other option.

Grujic's growing pains and early season knocks have removed him as an option and would one really play say Ejaria in a game like this? Esp when Wijnaldum was fit to play, as he presumably is.

I think Klopp did take a risk he didn't need to not getting in a couple more bodies of experienced quality. Sure we're all on a journey but this one could have be shorter and more direct than is the case.

Osmosis Jones

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Grujic's growing pains and early season knocks have removed him as an option and would one really play say Ejaria in a game like this? Esp when Wijnaldum was fit to play, as he presumably is.

I think Klopp did take a risk he didn't need to not getting in a couple more bodies of experienced quality. Sure we're all on a journey but this one could have be shorter and more direct than is the case.

Wijnaldum not playing is a mad one. Rather than putting hope in Ejaria in midfield he should be putting Lallana back there and bringing in some pace with Ojo for Sturridge.

Blondie919

As deflated as I feel right now I think Liverpool should forget about the FA cup and concentrate on the league. We are just 2 games away from getting out of this slump. A good result against Chelsea can spur us on to the next one, win at Hull and we're capable of going on a decent run. We have more home games left than anyone else in the league. We have Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham yet to come to Anfield. Remember before the season started, with everyone saying what a tough opening we had? Well, we got through that in style. We play those same teams now but at home. We can go again. Mane will be back soon, Coutinho back to match fitness and players in the positions they were in before the slump/injuries. One more game to finish the January blues. One win against Chelsea can help wash those blues away. Lift the heads and make a right go at it. Forget about the FA cup. Rest the whole team that played tonight. Don't have any as subs either. The league is and always will be more important.

nice_guy80

Always the victims