Liverpool FC Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours 2016/2017

kingshankly

Klopps in game management and his ability to see and change things from the bench is one of the worst I have seen from any manager we have had
Tearing what little hair I have left out watching him on the line

Our team & squad is most certainly better than 6 pts in 7 pl games. We destroyed Spurs but I was amazed at their tactics.... played to suit us.

If teams don't play the ball out from the back, sit deep and press our non ball playing defence we are a shambles.

Klavan must be utter dog sh1t in training. Lucas has played in most of our woeful 2017 games and gets picked repeatedly to play out of position. Lucas as a midfielder is a non runner so play him at CB, makes no sense.

The form we are in we could do with Lucas sitting in front of 2 CBs.

I was 100% sure we were clearly overachieving in the first half of the season.... that accepted I never imagined us folding like this.

Arsenal & Evrrton coming up in next few games.... no harm. Need to raise our game and get points on the board again.

Long-term this could be good for us. If klopp realises you can't geggen press a PL season (as many teams are happy to not facilitate you essentially) he might develop a more pragmatic or cynical element to the squad.

Worst case scenario we need to be able to shut up shop and grind out results to put points on the board during turbulent times... 6 pts from 7 games & 2 cup exits in two calender months is not far off a free fall .... we were challenging for the PL title 8 games ago and the transfer window just about to open.

If wenger has his wits about him arsenal could take 3 pts on Saturday. If they don't play out from the back, attack on the right and drag our CBs about they could score a couple.

If wenger learns from spurs how not to play us..

jesus_thats_gre

Augeo wrote: »

not buying and buying badly can have the same on pitch result.

Of course. I agree and have posted along similar lines before.

One is merely frustrating though while the other simply cannot be overlooked.

Still happy with Klopp and this season has turned out as I expected it would.

jesus_thats_gre

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

...

Still happy with Klopp and this season has turned out as I expected it would.

12 games left.... what's your expectation?

jesus_thats_gre

Augeo wrote: »

12 games left.... what's your expectation?

Suspect we will finish 5th but 4th is as much a possibility as 6th.

IIRC, that is largely aligned to my expectations at various parts of the season. Being near the top of the table was nice but it was never going to last the season.

kingshankly

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Suspect we will finish 5th but 4th is as much a possibility as 6th.

IIRC, that is largely aligned to my expectations at various parts of the season. Being near the top of the table was nice but it was never going to last the season.

To say you didn't expect it to last is nonsense
In late November Liverpool were 5/2 favourites to win the league and even in early January were 1/8 to finish in the top 4
Every man woman and child expected at least a top 4 finish
And not to get it would be catastrophic after such a good start

SlickRic

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

jesus_thats_gre

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Suspect we will finish 5th but 4th is as much a possibility as 6th.

IIRC, that is largely aligned to my expectations at various parts of the season. Being near the top of the table was nice but it was never going to last the season.

Indeed, I agree 100%. It was great to be up there challenging up to the turn of the year.

kingshankly wrote: »

To say you didn't expect it to last is nonsense
In late November Liverpool were 5/2 favourites to win the league and even in early January were 1/8 to finish in the top 4
Every man woman and child expected at least a top 4 finish
And not to get it would be catastrophic after such a good start

To be fair it's not nonsense for someone to say they didnt expect it to last, it was a clear overachievment. It might have lasted if Mane wasn't at AFCON but even with him you couldn't expect us to keep up an >2ppg haul for anywhere near 38 games.

I almost agree with the bolded bit, extremely disappointing yes, probably not a catastrophy though, all considered. Might not come to that yet either

Don't get me wrong, 6 pts from 7 PL games is a disgrace from our squad.

mav79

I can't see us improving over a whole season until we improve midfield, no matter what CB or striker we buy. We are too Jekyll and Hyde, when things are working well we are great, but as often we are hopeless. There is no-one in the squad composed enough to put their foot on the ball when needed. Or intelligent enough to spot where they should position themselves when defending.
Don't get me wrong we badly need a CB, LB and striker but central midfield is crying out for a huge upgrade

SlickRic

mav79 wrote: »

I can't see us improving over a whole season until we improve midfield, no matter what CB or striker we buy. We are too Jekyll and Hyde, when things are working well we are great, but as often we are hopeless. There is no-one in the squad composed enough to put their foot on the ball when needed. Or intelligent enough to spot where they should position themselves when defending.
Don't get me wrong we badly need a CB, LB and striker but central midfield is crying out for a huge upgrade

Coutinho and Lallana should be more than enough intelligence in there. I don't believe it's their fault.

The problems IMO are that our fullbacks are terrible on the ball. One is obsessed with crossing it to our midgets, and the other can barely control a football at the best of times.

Then you've Firmino. Yes, he's superb at triggering a press. But as a CF he's just not enough. He doesn't have the presence or pace to do the job when we're trying to dictate play.

Don't even get me started on the tactic of leaving space in behind for Vardy last night, often while our fullbacks were high up the pitch. It was a clusterfúck of epic proportions. Its like Klopp doesn't care what the other team is going to do.

Recruitment is the issue, as it usually is. But Klopp has been negligent in how he's set up the team in too many games.

SM01

Zak Flaps wrote: »

Sh1t result last night. we're a struggling team. But at least "the brain" is doing an amazing job!



Those who were raving about "the brain" when Klopp joined....you were absolutely right. He is incredible.

The Brain!

This is a very random post. Unless you're going to substantiate your criticism of Buvac, I'm inclined to believe your post is nonsensical too.

ricero

SlickRic wrote: »

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

Luis suarez says hello.

Watching the game last night told me that origi should be starting these away games. At least his physcial attributes can help us hold up the ball.
big summer ahead for the club, time for fsg to put up or sell up. Serious investment is needed to make this squad competitive imo

Iused2likebusts

Robson99 wrote: »

Ye all thought ye would win the league at xmas

And ye all thought u had it won in august.

SlickRic

SlickRic wrote: »

Coutinho and Lallana should be more than enough intelligence in there. I don't believe it's their fault.............

Coutinho is playing wide in the front 3 though........ interchanging he might play where a traditional #10 would be too over the course of 90 mins.

The fault/issue is further back in midfield. The front 3 (or 4) if you include Lallana is far too often totally isolated and not being fed from CM or CB. Sakho was good at getting quality ball up the pitch fast to be fair to him when opportunity presented but he's less than creative obviously. Hendo can do so too no doubt but not quite to the required level.

It's evident when Sturridge played too and Mane wasn't about, Sturridge was dropping deep to get involved, reason being he was isolated.

SlickRic

SlickRic wrote: »

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

someone recently (8/10 games ago) posted a more favourable one showing Klopp had really made a big improvement. Our current 7 game form is brutal but the next 7 could be great.

smileyj1987

Emre Can has been so poor lately , the chap has talent but dont know why it has gone so badly wrong. The midfield only works with with henderson , gini and lallana. Any other combination and the midfield looks all over the shop

Nalz

citytillidie wrote: »

Even when a player who has just won a cup who tweets to another club you know there is insecuties deep routed in the fabric of said club

I'm assuming you meant insecurities, and that's quite laughable to deduce that in my opinion. I'll probably be called obsessed for reading/posting in here but Christ did you read the League Cup final thread? Or perhaps have you ever taken off your biased cap and noticed (a) this is the internet and (b) everyone has muppet fans or even decent fans enjoy the odd windup.

You constantly jump on this conversation with the whole "they're obsessed" or "I ignore them a lot" or "those guys over there" vibe. That alone speaks volumes in fairness.

Muppetry happens. Banter exists. Rivalry happens... And it happens both ways. Surely you can see that?

NukaCola

SlickRic wrote: »

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

Its only damning if you think BR wasn't a good manager. Its not far off that 2 ppg we need to be consistently meeting. Of course theres a big job ahead, did anyone think any differently?

NukaCola

Zak Flaps wrote: »

Sh1t result last night. we're a struggling team. But at least "the brain" is doing an amazing job!



Those who were raving about "the brain" when Klopp joined....you were absolutely right. He is incredible.

The Brain!

Who was raving about Buvac?

smileyj1987

SlickRic wrote: »

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

Id like to see the same thing in a years time or so , i think BR is a good manager but took the job at the wrong time.
I know it may seem like i love klopp blindly but didnt he kind of have a horrible time like this at dortmund in his first two seasons ?

NukaCola

Augeo wrote: »

not buying and buying badly can have the same on pitch result.

Pretty much sums up our transfer policy under Klopp. Milner is fine cover at LB but starting every week is a sign of failed recruitment. Starting Lucas at CB against Spurs and Leicester is another sign of failed recruitment. These players do a job but are no way a solution to the problem.

NukaCola

J Mysterio wrote: »

- Should not have sold Allen
- Should have kept Flanagan around to compete with Clyne (his form has dropped badly)
- Should drop players when not in form

The main failing I think is Klopp is loathe to create competition in the squad. He wants to create a perfect XI who all like him, and then just play them every week.

I don't think he wants a big squad with two players to every position, as it doesnt suit his management style - as you can't hug everyone when they are pissed off and hating you for being left out. He wants that family atmosphere where he is Papa Klopp.

I agree with a lot of your points but not the above.

Would Allen improve our midfield or just be cover? I like Allen but he would not be an improvement on any CM we currently have, and even if you want to argue that he is my personal opinion is he would be a very slight improvement at max.

Flanagan is a poor FB, I'm more than happy to have TAA as cover over him. He does a job but is very limited.

Dropping players is a problem when the depth isn't there and thats a problem with recruitment. He dropped Karius and Moreno after defending them, he drops players when he can.

Also I'm not sure the evidence is there that Klopp just wants to be liked but maybe there is a loyalty thing that needs to be overcome.

noodler

nullzero wrote: »

Hang on lads, there's plenty going back and forth all this moral high ground stuff is Daft. Go read the efl cup final thread and you'll see endless insecurity on display from Liverpool fans.
All football fans are capable of being ott with slagging but the gloating in the United thread is directly proportional to the bitterness displayed by Liverpool fans yesterday.
Nobody is holier than thou particularly when it comes to United and Liverpool fans having a go at each other.

You are trying hard to play the one is as bad as the other card but I've already addressed that.

A few here in the Liverpool thread doesn't compare to every second poster in the utd thread doing it.

Its not holier than thou stuff either, it's simply an observation.

qm1bv4p8i92aoj

I've seen a couple of posters alluding that Klopp doesn't like a big squad and likes to supplement a realtively unchanged first team with youth players. Does anyone here know if that's true of his time at Dortmund?

Very concerning if it is true because we are going nowhere in the PL with that philosophy in place.

noodler

I've never been so downbeat since Klopp took over.

Absolute shambles at present.

Really fearful.

Pyjamarama

People realise that klopp didn't just wave a magic wand at dortmund right? It took time. It will take time here too. We've seen glimpses of where he can take us. Zero reason to not have faith in Klopp to get us there eventually. I don't care if it takes him 5 years to do it. He's 100% our best chance to do it.

One "poster" deriding him in a what has he won post..? I can only assume this person is a Trump fan.

The biggest fear I have is that if Klopp can't do it then I don't think anyone can.

murpho999

If we had been told at the start of the season that come end of February we would have been fifth place, one point behind fourth then I think most of us would have been happy enough.

It’s how the season has unfolded with a strong start and panache for goals led us to believe we were genuine title contenders.

Warning signs were there when Burnley beat us in the second game of the season that once a team lets us have the ball, sits back that we cannot find a way to break teams down and then can be caught out by a counter attack.#

There is not enough on the bench to be able to change courses of games and this is the problem. He only has players who can play one way.

In last night’s press conference after the match, Klopp was asked if the players he has are now not as good as he thought they were. It was a question that Klopp found tough and deep down I think his real answer is yes.

This squad is a work in progress defence and midfield needs upgrading.

Keepers, Milner, Lucas, Klavan, Can Sturridge all need to be upgraded in terms of ability and mentality.

I have always argued that FSG with its profitable summer transfer windows are not positioning the club to win and now we’re seeing that in action. Not a hint of a player in January leaving Klopp no option but drastic surgery in the summer which is always difficult.

I think if we get our winning mentality back that we have a great chance of Top Four as the teams above us will drop points but long term if we have aspirations to win the league and champion’s league’s then Klopp is going to need money from FSG to bring serious talent to the squad and proper players in their genuine positions on the field.

Otherwise we’re just going to drift along like we have since 2014.

ERG89

Pyjamarama wrote: »

People realise that klopp didn't just wave a magic wand at dortmund right?

He won't do nothing unless he can improve on stuff like this. He brought in 2 centre backs and a goalie this summer. 2 of them were dropped due to poor form for Mignolet and Lucas.......

Agent Coulson

Well now that was a big pile of pants just finished the night shift and was going to watch the game this morning but I think I'd rather do another 12 hours than watch that after seeing the result.



Is anyone really surprised I have to ask.


This issue of losing to teams in the bottom half of the league isn't new it's been the clubs problem for the last 27 years under successive managers that to me say there is something at the core/heart of the club that's an issue that needs to be found and fixed.


Klopp is to blame for some of this as well his recruitment has been good but there wasn't enough of it.

The lack of a proper DM when playing wing backs leaves us totally exposed. The falling out with Sakho also hasn't helped when we are crying out for a good CB.



The rebuilding of Liverpool football is going to slow and painful for everyone but I really believe Klopp is the man to do it.

Agent Coulson

Agent Coulson wrote: »

...........


This issue of losing to teams in the bottom half of the league isn't new it's been the clubs problem for the last 27 years under successive managers that to me say there is something at the core/heart of the club that's an issue that needs to be found and fixed..............

Rubbish.
What happened 5 or 10 years ago has no influence whatsoever on the current team or squad.

Our current problem is 6 pts from 7 consecutive league games in a season, add in the cup games and I doubt there's anything as bad in the last 27 years.

Osmosis Jones

SlickRic wrote: »

55 games in charge of Liverpool.

Klopp 94 points
Rodgers 97 points

Damning as far as I'm concerned.

Big fúcking job ahead.

That's not exactly a great comparison to make Klopp look bad though. 55 games into his time at Liverpool and Rodgers was top of the league, at that point he was said to be doing a fantastic job at Liverpool. It wasn't until the season after that everything fell apart.

brevity

Jovanni Rhythmic Ladybug wrote: »

I've seen a couple of posters alluding that Klopp doesn't like a big squad and likes to supplement a realtively unchanged first team with youth players. Does anyone here know if that's true of his time at Dortmund?

Very concerning if it is true because we are going nowhere in the PL with that philosophy in place.

This is still only his second year, I'm of the opinion that he is still trying to get the players he has to play a certain way. The problem here is that the players he has aren't good enough.

That being said, why he decided to play such a high line against Leicester is beyond me.

x43r0

nullzero wrote: »

Hang on lads, there's plenty going back and forth all this moral high ground stuff is Daft. Go read the efl cup final thread and you'll see endless insecurity on display from Liverpool fans.
All football fans are capable of being ott with slagging but the gloating in the United thread is directly proportional to the bitterness displayed by Liverpool fans yesterday.
Nobody is holier than thou particularly when it comes to United and Liverpool fans having a go at each other.

Nalz wrote: »

I'm assuming you meant insecurities, and that's quite laughable to deduce that in my opinion. I'll probably be called obsessed for reading/posting in here but Christ did you read the League Cup final thread? Or perhaps have you ever taken off your biased cap and noticed (a) this is the internet and (b) everyone has muppet fans or even decent fans enjoy the odd windup.

You constantly jump on this conversation with the whole "they're obsessed" or "I ignore them a lot" or "those guys over there" vibe. That alone speaks volumes in fairness.

Muppetry happens. Banter exists. Rivalry happens... And it happens both ways. Surely you can see that?

Q.E.D.


Pointing out a problem isn't a solution. Be the change you want to see in the world

benny79

Look my opinion is we dont buy the top players anymore as the powers of be won't spend the money!! We are light years away! all the top 4 spend big bucks on one player.. Arsenal spent 50+ Million on Ozil, utd 90+ on Pogba. Although I think these fees are outrageous that's the current market.. look were utd have come since the start of the season why because they have spent big on good players like it or not that's the current situation. We haven't come close to a 40 million player yet never mind 50+ even though we have sold players for that amount!

benny79

benny79 wrote: »

..........40 million player yet never mind 50+ even though we have sold players for that amount!

Andy Carrol £35m
Mane £34m
Benteke £32.5
Markovic bought for the future at £20m

FSG have spent in the past to be fair, no bother to them in the near to £40m zone

Nalz

x43r0 wrote: »

Q.E.D.


Pointing out a problem isn't a solution. Be the change you want to see in the world

It can be a solution if the problem (as you put it) becomes obvious and the solution is to do the opposite.

"Q.E.D" haven't seen that in a while!

benny79

Augeo wrote: »

Andy Carrol £35m
Mane £34m
Benteke £32.5
Markovic bought for the future at £20m

FSG have spent in the past to be fair, no bother to them in the near to £40m zone

Im not saying they haven't spent I saying they won't spent big on one player as in £50+ were as utd, city Arsenal Chelsea all are! out of them 3 only 1 looks to be half decent Mane.. Id prefer 1 quality £50+ player over 3 or 4 average £20/30 million players..

Nerdlingr

Well that was one massive steaming turd of a performance last night.
Add it to the pile of steaming turds already this season from us..and yes, that's right...we now find ourselves "in the sh*t."

jem

Jany Sako must realy have done something to Klopp when even with injuries and having to play Lucas at CB, he still had to be rid of him.
We play a high tempo game ... problem is that if other teams sit back with two rows of 4 and give us no space we just go back and forth across them. This is where we need a central mid player that can take their time and pick out a pass. Over the years we had a number of them- alonso, gary Mc, Digger, Whelan, molby, Souness.

IMHO that type of player what ever their age( preferably older) A center Back that can defend and run. and an out and out goal scorer. and for God sake a Keeper that is solid. Yes that will take a fair whack of funds but the money difference in being in the CL and not is huge

Talisman

murpho999 wrote: »

I have always argued that FSG with its profitable summer transfer windows are not positioning the club to win and now we’re seeing that in action. Not a hint of a player in January leaving Klopp no option but drastic surgery in the summer which is always difficult.

You should realise that FSG are not responsible for the transfer policy. Klopp is to blame for the lack of squad depth - he has said it himself several times. He chose not to sign any players in January because he believes the same players will be available for cheaper prices in the summer.

In the summer, he decided to convert Milner to a fullback rather than sign a player for the position.

Francie Barrett

I think we all want to see this team to well, but perhaps expectations are just unrealistic?

Most expensive Premier League squads

1. Manchester United – £628m
2. Manchester City – £532m
3. Chelsea – £419m
4. Arsenal – £332m
5. Liverpool – £310m
6. Tottenham – £239m
7. Everton – £184m

Based on the money we've put in and the current league position, we are about where we would expect to be. When you look at the top 6 teams, they all have top managers, they all have good setups. Competition is ferocious, you just need look at the current table (5 points 2nd from 6th). I think if you want to seriously out-perform without spending more money, you need a manager who is even better than the likes of Conte and Guardiola, or else you need to be very clever in the transfer market.

benny79

benny79 wrote: »

................ We haven't come close to a 40 million player yet never mind 50+ even though we have sold players for that amount!

benny79 wrote: »

Im not saying they haven't spent I saying they won't spent big on one player as in £50+ were as utd, city Arsenal Chelsea all are! out of them 3 only 1 looks to be half decent Mane.. Id prefer 1 quality £50+ player over 3 or 4 average £20/30 million players..

ok

Apologies, that wasn't what I thought you meant

ebbsy

Nerdlingr wrote: »

Well that was one massive steaming turd of a performance last night.
Add it to the pile of steaming turds already this season from us..and yes, that's right...we now find ourselves "in the sh*t."

+1

Our players are mentally weak.

Francie Barrett

Francie Barrett wrote: »

............

Based on the money we've put in and the current league position, we are about where we would expect to be. When you look at the top 6 teams, they all have top managers, they all have good setups. Competition is ferocious, you just need look at the current table (5 points 2nd from 6th). I think if you want to seriously out-perform without spending more money, you need a manager who is even better than the likes of Conte and Guardiola, or else you need to be very clever in the transfer market.

Indeed.

5th or 6th is about where we "should" be, anything above that is an over performance ..... and in some years the teams that should be 7th or 8th could over perform so..... yup

If perennial CL qualification is the expectation than disappointment looms.

brevity

Francie Barrett wrote: »

I think we all want to see this team to well, but perhaps expectations are just unrealistic?

Based on the money we've put in and the current league position, we are about where we would expect to be. When you look at the top 6 teams, they all have top managers, they all have good setups. Competition is ferocious, you just need look at the current table (5 points 2nd from 6th). I think if you want to seriously out-perform without spending more money, you need a manager who is even better than the likes of Conte and Guardiola, or else you need to be very clever in the transfer market.

I think people are frustrated at the fact that Liverpool cannot change the way they play in order to hold onto the great position that they got themselves in.

ronjo

benny79 wrote: »

Look my opinion is we dont buy the top players anymore as the powers of be won't spend the money!! We are light years away! all the top 4 spend big bucks on one player.. Arsenal spent 50+ Million on Ozil, utd 90+ on Pogba. Although I think these fees are outrageous that's the current market.. look were utd have come since the start of the season why because they have spent big on good players like it or not that's the current situation. We haven't come close to a 40 million player yet never mind 50+ even though we have sold players for that amount!

Arsenal have never spent 50m on a player.
I wish we would start to though.

RobertKK

What are Liverpool's finances like?
I don't know, but I know for United that Ed Woodward has been like a world class signing as the CEO, and has put United into the position they are now finance wise.
No one hears about the person who controls the finances of Liverpool, are they making the right commercial deals? Are they looking at every avenue for new streams of income?
I mean Liverpool are a massive club, but it does not act like a massive club in the transfer market.
The fees for the top talent is massive as are the wages these days. Liverpool need to be able to compete if they want to play CL and compete for the title. So I am just curious about the finances at the club.
There should be a very large pot this summer?

BullBlackNova

RobertKK wrote: »

What are Liverpool's finances like?
I don't know, but I know for United that Ed Woodward has been like a world class signing as the CEO, and has put United into the position they are now finance wise.
No one hears about the person who controls the finances of Liverpool, are they making the right commercial deals? Are they looking at every avenue for new streams of income?
I mean Liverpool are a massive club, but it does not act like a massive club in the transfer market.
The fees for the top talent is massive as are the wages these days. Liverpool need to be able to compete if they want to play CL and compete for the title. So I am just curious about the finances at the club.
There should be a very large pot this summer?

Without wanting to get into everything else going on in this thread (I'm very frustrated with the team, players and manager but I don't have the time to go into all the reasons why!!) I just had to call out this nonsense.

Ian Ayre has stepped down from this role after an exceptionally successful term, achieving commercial deals with everyone from Dunkin Donuts to Standard Chartered.

Liverpool remain a massively successful commercial entity, almost to the point of irritation among some fans - is the club focusing too much on this and not enough on the pitch? I'll let the rest of ye decide that.

In addition, we literally announced our new CEO YESTERDAY.

We can debate the transfer policy all we want but you can't suggest the club aren't at the very least trying when it comes to making us commercially relevant all over the world.

marklazarcovic

Francie Barrett wrote: »

I think we all want to see this team to well, but perhaps expectations are just unrealistic?

Based on the money we've put in and the current league position, we are about where we would expect to be. When you look at the top 6 teams, they all have top managers, they all have good setups. Competition is ferocious, you just need look at the current table (5 points 2nd from 6th). I think if you want to seriously out-perform without spending more money, you need a manager who is even better than the likes of Conte and Guardiola, or else you need to be very clever in the transfer market.

None of this adds up to ****e performances , team gets rumbled by lesser players not the teams who are spending more.

Not a go at you.


It's down to coaching and tactics. Not good enough. We can beat the better teams and look fantastic,but look out of depth against a team below us regularly.

My season of support is over. It's not acceptable to me at all. Enough is enough.

Fitz*

It's all well and good saying now in hindsight that we should have set up differently last night but the 2 worst things are 1) we knew that we would play into the hands of Leicester and leaving space behind us for Vardy to run into if we continued to set up like we do in every game & 2) the worst thing that we don't have the options to change the way we play. We don't have a squad of players that allow us to change the system.

With Lovren & Henderson out, if took some of the pace (not quick pace but are mobile) out of the team and thus made us even more open to counter attacks. Lucas can't get to a ball to intercept quick enough, and couldn't win any header against Vardy - 2 things Lovren would bring. And Can can't turn his body in under 3 minutes and can't pass the ball quick enough. We could not pay deep and counter attack for these reasons. Any team asking themselves to sit deep with a short centre mid at centre half is madess, and even more so asking a midfield compromising of Can, Lallana & Gini to sit deep is shocking. They are not players to sit deep. Then asking them to play on the counter with Can at the base is shocking. he takes far too long on the ball so asking him to release the ball quick in behind the defence to Mane or Coutinho or whoever is asking a player to do something that he doesn't have in his locker. Then you have the issue of you asking 2 of your better players to play on the defence for the night. Coutinho's best attribute is retaining possession and creating chances but you are now asking him to soak up pressure and then make runs on the counter all night and burning him out so he has less energy when he finally does get on the ball. He is not a pacy winger. Again, doesn't make sense. So for them reason I feel we can't play on the counter. We didn't have the players in key posistions available to play on the counter last night.

What we could have done is played the same system, high line. But bring in Joe Gomez at centre back. Young lad, very inexperienced, wouldn't have had this type of game before so a big risk. But he could deal with pace of Vardy more than Lucas but that is the only thing going for him. Then play Moreno left back. He has pace to get back too, but also width and penetration and pace going forward - 3 things Milner does not have, and we could have actually caused problems to Danny Simpson. That then leaves 2 options for midfield - play Milner in the Henderson role which would have been better than Can but not much of an upgrade or else play Coutinho more infield. it leaves Moreno very exposed but we can just tell Can or Gini to basically cover him at all times and then let Coutinho pick up the role of dictating the tempo from midfield - basically what Henderson does but you have 1 or 2 lads to cover the counter attack.

In reality, we have teenagers and 21/22 year olds as our back up plan and our rivals have £30m players. We can't compete with that kind of difference. We have Gomez, Woodburn, Stewart, Origi as our substitutes. That is not a viable squad.