Liverpool FC Team Talk, Gossip, Rumours 2020/2021

TitianGerm

chicorytip wrote: »

One good season doth not a successful manager make. In fact, looking at his overall career, he was useless. He was the man who signed Bernard Diomede f.f.s.

Have a bit of respect.

1o059k7ewrqj3n

There's always one.

gimli2112

Veron
Good night

Trigger

chicorytip wrote: »

One good season doth not a successful manager make. In fact, looking at his overall career, he was useless. He was the man who signed Bernard Diomede f.f.s.

Mod: Do not post in this thread again

Agent Coulson

sadiomaneofficiel
Verified
I will always be please for your contribution on my carrer. Thank you.
Rest In Peace. ��

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIy53IEBIZn/

Guy:Incognito

thenightman wrote: »

Liverpool were a joke defensively when he took over from Roy Evans. Houllier really instilled some organisation and discipline into the club,

Not to be too harsh on revisionism but the defence fluctuated year on year in the years after he took over to conceding less then more than Evans had in the league in the previous 3 years (3rd best defence in the league twice and 2nd best once) before he came in. All in all it averaged about the same

Talisman

I'll always remember the night Houllier returned to the Anfield dugout after his heart surgery - Roma in the final game of the second group stage of the Champions League. Before the game everyone was nervous and the thought of beating Roma by two goals to progress was nothing more than a dream. Owen was injured so we were relying on Heskey and Litmanen and we didn't really have much hope. Then minutes before kick off a whisper went around that Houllier had been seen outside Anfield and it was like somebody switched on the electricity when he walked out of the tunnel. Both Heskey and Litmanen scored. I think Danny Murphy probably had the game of his career. Himself and Gerrard did everything in midfield and Murphy was involved in both goals. It was simply incredible how Houllier's mere presence elevated everyone in the ground and the the negative impact it had on Roma. They hardly got out of their own half for much of the game, not because they mere being defensive, the Liverpool players were just so dominant and Roma hardly bothered Dudek.

Agent Coulson

Probably safe to say RB won't sell either of there CB's to us in January now.

giveitholly

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Probably safe to say RB won't sell either of there CB's to us in January now.

Pearce had an article in the Athletic yesterday saying Bayern were favourites to sign Upamecano

Thud

Agent Coulson wrote: »

Probably safe to say RB won't sell either of there CB's to us in January now.

I'm sure they could stick in a clause where we couldn't play them in the game against RB if it comes to it

ArmaniJeanss

Thud wrote: »

I'm sure they could stick in a clause where we couldn't play them in the game against RB if it comes to it

These clauses aren't valid in UEFA competitions.
Remember AthMadrid, Chelsea and Courtois in the semi-final about 8 years ago.
Obviously Liverpool could choose not to play him.

SlickRic

That FA Cup Final in 2001 is still my favourite Liverpool memory. always has been.

Istanbul will likely always be the greatest night of my Liverpool-supporting life, but that final in 2001, and that Owen goal in particular, is still my fondest memory.

8-10

I've been lucky to have gone to a lot of big games at Anfield but the 2001 semi final v Barcelona is hands down the most tense game I've been to anywhere.

On paper Barcelona should have gone through easily but we stifled them at the nou camp and the home leg was just incredible.

Barcelona played Petit at CB alongside de Boer with Pep Guardiola and Cocu sitting in front allowing freedom for Luis Enrique, Rivaldo and Overmars.

They also had a teenage Pepe Reina in goals (with a head of hair!) but weren't weak anywhere on the pitch

Those were the sorts of games Houllier set us up for that made us incredibly difficult to get a result about in European knockouts. We had it in the previous round against Totti and Roma, and we did it against Barcelona that night too when on paper we had no right.

Imagine a 95-98 era Evans team playing that sort of team in Europe and you'll see obviously the changes that Houllier brought and we continued to stifle big teams and get big results for years after that under Rafa (Juventus & Chelsea 2005).

He was an excellent coach

The 2nd half of the 2001 season is one of my best periods following LFC. The craziness of some of the finals made it more special.

Arsenal and Alaves finals were only 4/5 days apart. What a crazy week!!

Agent Coulson

A really nice piece from Thommo in the Guardian

Gérard Houllier was my mate. It was a strange relationship in some respects but it was a great one that got better the longer it lasted. There was a bit of man-love about it. We appreciated each other and we loved each other. He was very family orientated. He cared about everybody and everything. I am absolutely devastated.

My four boys are here with me now and they’ve all said how nice he was to them. Whenever he came back to Liverpool and saw them at a game he would grab their faces and kiss them on both cheeks. That’s something he always did. He would do it to me too.........

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/14/phil-thompson-tribute-gerard-houllier-liverpool-togetherness?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

citytillidie

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

These clauses aren't valid in UEFA competitions.
Remember AthMadrid, Chelsea and Courtois in the semi-final about 8 years ago.
Obviously Liverpool could choose not to play him.

That was a load deal not buying someone

Electric Nitwit

6 wrote: »

Arsenal and Alaves finals were only 4/5 days apart. What a crazy week!!

And 3 days later was the final league game, had to beat Charlton to get a CL place and we put four past them (if my memory is holding up!)

Such an incredible end to that season

ArmaniJeanss

citytillidie wrote: »

That was a load deal not buying someone

The core point was that UEFA ruled that any prior 'no play' agreement between two teams regarding a player was immaterial - if a team wanted to play their registered player then they could. So therefore RB couldn't hold Liverpool to such a deal as suggested by the above poster.

gimli2112

6 wrote: »

The 2nd half of the 2001 season is one of my best periods following LFC. The craziness of some of the finals made it more special.

Arsenal and Alaves finals were only 4/5 days apart. What a crazy week!!

it was like 2 and 1/2 months of cup finals. we were in a real battle for fourth which we secured on the last day of the season with a 4-2 win over Charlton but some crazy games inbetween including the Gary McCallister derby. I think I was hoarse for a week after that and then actual cup games as well, truly mental. A poor man's treble some may say but considering how starved we were for success it was a fantastic time.

Enzokk

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

The core point was that UEFA ruled that any prior 'no play' agreement between two teams regarding a player was immaterial - if a team wanted to play their registered player then they could. So therefore RB couldn't hold Liverpool to such a deal as suggested by the above poster.

I know these rules change, but I thought the rule was if you played in the Champions League you can play for another team during that same season only if your team has been knocked out. That is why Minamino was able to play for us as RB Salzburg was playing in the Europa League after he played for them in the group stage.

I am open to correction though.

dogbert27

Electric Nitwit wrote: »

And 3 days later was the final league game, had to beat Charlton to get a CL place and we put four past them (if my memory is holding up!)

Such an incredible end to that season

Yeah we finished third that season.

4th the season before that and second the season after it.

I thought 02/03 would finish the climb, 4, 3, 2.......... then Diouf.

ArmaniJeanss

Enzokk wrote: »

I know these rules change, but I thought the rule was if you played in the Champions League you can play for another team during that same season only if your team has been knocked out. That is why Minamino was able to play for us as RB Salzburg was playing in the Europa League after he played for them in the group stage.

I am open to correction though.

I believe that got changed in the 2018/19 tweaks.

https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/news/024e-0e9960c4c766-21ef2df7ed44-1000--the-rules-january-transfers/

….
it no longer matters if those players have already played in the competition for another club, or for another club still in the competition.
...

45.01 As of the round of 16, a club may register a maximum of three new eligible players for the remaining matches in the current competition.
45.02 Any or all of the players from the above quota of three may have been fielded for another club in the qualifying phase, play-offs or group stage of the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League.

Agent Coulson

It will be interesting to see if the club remove VVD & Gomez from the Champions League squad for the knockout stages.

If they don't they are giving hope that both could be back before the end of the season.

8-10

Agent Coulson wrote: »

It will be interesting to see if the club remove VVD & Gomez from the Champions League squad for the knockout stages.

If they don't they are giving hope that both could be back before the end of the season.

Either a new CB or Nat Phillips will need to be registered at a minimum.

Also think we might be well served by cutting Elliott's loan short. Not ideal but with Jota out we suddenly look very light and Origi is unfortunately no longer a viable option

Agent Coulson

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338826553996828672?s=20

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338824072625606658?s=20

Demosthenese

So how does everyone feel about Spurs?

Playing at home i'm less worried - also think the way we played v Fulham will be rectified as this is classed as a BIG game.

This Kane/Son combo is the threat obviously - can we negate our attacking willingness to make sure we do not get caught like City/Arsenal when they decide to play football?

Palace breaking them down at the weekend was encouraging - they really turned the screw and were deserving of a goal - showed that they will retreat once they score.

If we can score first of course - the game changes ... that's the key.

radiata

Agent Coulson wrote: »

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338826553996828672?s=20

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338824072625606658?s=20

If Keitas a maybe, that usually means another 2 months

paulie21

If the supporters make the same atmosphere as they did against Wolves it'll give the team a boost like Fulham seemed to get at the weekend

fyfe79

radiata wrote: »

If Keitas a maybe, that usually means another 2 months

Also, rushing Matip back for a game is quite unlikely to end well in the medium term. If he plays against Spurs, I reckon we won't see him again till January.

fyfe79

gimli2112 wrote: »

it was like 2 and 1/2 months of cup finals. we were in a real battle for fourth which we secured on the last day of the season with a 4-2 win over Charlton but some crazy games inbetween including the Gary McCallister derby. I think I was hoarse for a week after that and then actual cup games as well, truly mental. A poor man's treble some may say but considering how starved we were for success it was a fantastic time.

Yeah, lots of poo-pooing those cup wins but look how much they meant, and still mean, to people nearly 20 years later. I actually remember more from that period than I do from the 2005 CL win.

brevity

Demosthenese wrote: »

So how does everyone feel about Spurs?

Playing at home i'm less worried - also think the way we played v Fulham will be rectified as this is classed as a BIG game.

This Kane/Son combo is the threat obviously - can we negate our attacking willingness to make sure we do not get caught like City/Arsenal when they decide to play football?

Palace breaking them down at the weekend was encouraging - they really turned the screw and were deserving of a goal - showed that they will retreat once they score.

If we can score first of course - the game changes ... that's the key.

Jose would love to break the run we have at home. I think it will be tough enough. It’s very frustrating that we have so many injured players. I would imagine that plenty others are playing through injuries too.

I think with Gerard Houllier passing there could be an added edge and the fans and players will want to put in a bigger performance.

yourdeadwright

brevity wrote: »

Jose would love to break the run we have at home. I think it will be tough enough. It’s very frustrating that we have so many injured players. I would imagine that plenty others are playing through injuries too.

I think with Gerard Houllier passing there could be an added edge and the fans and players will want to put in a bigger performance.

Ironically we broke his run of what 5 years or more without a home league defeat

Fitz*

I get the sense that the sheer number of injuries that keep coming into the squad is maybe finally catching up with the manager and players. They were able to keep a handle of things for so long, but maybe the build up is just about at breaking point at this stage. Every new game is a a new injury.

Even for this game now, we still don't even know if there is any senior fit recognised centre half. Surely this is hampering the build up and game plan. Is Matip fit? If yes, then Henderson plays CM. If no, then Henderson has to drop into CB and then CM is reduced to Gini & Jones who are confirmed fit. What happens then, does Minamino start? Is Keita risked? Does this also mean that Firmino plays as 10 instead of CF? Another unanswered question until the fitness of Matip is confirmed. Any sort of positional play in training is going to be greatly reduced because of this.

What I will say is that the previous home games up against sides who wanted to just counter into space, in Leicester and Wolves, were 2 of the best performances of the season. In those games, the team played high and pressed well. Didn't give the opposition many chances to break into space. A repeat of this again will go a long way to winning the game. Spurs want to sit deep. Spurs want to use the CMs to fill in to help the full backs double up on Salah & Mane. Spurs don't want the ball and only want space to let Kane play Son through into lots of empty space.

I just hope that the lack of fit bodies doesn't hamper the energetic pressing game that will be needed to counter Spurs counter attacks. A return to the gegenpress of sorts. What will also be needed will be a repeat performance of Fabinho & Hendo of what we beat Spurs 2-1 last season at home. It was a real 'pen them in and constant retained pressure' type game, especially second half. Working the ball, and working an opening.

I'm worried about the result of course, as there are so many factors that are suiting Spurs but hopefully some fit bodies tomorrow can give us a lift, give the players a lift, send the club to the top of the table and give Gerard Houllier a nice remembrance also. Houllier managed 6 league games against Spurs at Anfield - resulted in 5 wins & 1 draw. Let's give him another win.

brevity

If Kane tries his usual shenanigans and upends Matip he will break in two...

Grayditch

brevity wrote: »

If Kane tries his usual shenanigans and upends Matip he will break in two...

He's been close to ruining someone with that scummy move and I wouldn't be surprised if it's Matip. I hope he knocks that craic on the head, it's dirt.

Osmosis Jones

Grayditch wrote: »

He's been close to ruining someone with that scummy move and I wouldn't be surprised if it's Matip. I hope he knocks that craic on the head, it's dirt.

Yeah but here's a clip of Sami Hyypia making a bad tackle in 2002 so uhhhhh hypocrite???

Enzokk

Some of our matches have been moved for TV in January. Southampton has been moved from Saturday to Monday evening. We then play Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday. It's almost like they know if they give us less time we will pick a weakened team so they will have more topics to discuss if we get knocked out. Or how they can lambast us for not respecting the cup by not playing our first 11?

Actually, don't really care this year, we have more time to rest for the important Southampton league fixture and we have more than a week then before we play United on the 17th January.

Seems to me that there is an open spot for United to play their fixture from the 1st week before they play us as well, and they could have a EFL Cup semifinal possibility as well on the 5th or 6th January, if they progress.

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338878711815352320?s=20

Agent Coulson

They better use the FA cup week as a mid winter break for the first team squad let the under 23's play in that.

Chardee MacDennis

Agent Coulson wrote: »

They better use the FA cup week as a mid winter break for the first team squad let the under 23's play in that.

or just do a United and say we're not taking part, but thanks very much.

brevity

Ohhh he’s crafty

Enzokk

Enzokk wrote: »

Some of our matches have been moved for TV in January. Southampton has been moved from Saturday to Monday evening. We then play Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday. It's almost like they know if they give us less time we will pick a weakened team so they will have more topics to discuss if we get knocked out. Or how they can lambast us for not respecting the cup by not playing our first 11?

Actually, don't really care this year, we have more time to rest for the important Southampton league fixture and we have more than a week then before we play United on the 17th January.

Seems to me that there is an open spot for United to play their fixture from the 1st week before they play us as well, and they could have a EFL Cup semifinal possibility as well on the 5th or 6th January, if they progress.

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1338878711815352320?s=20

Brighton is down for 02-Feb
City down for 06-Feb


Relentless season

Electric Nitwit

brevity wrote: »

Ohhh he’s crafty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI-nbQIeg4Q

So he was trying to prove everyone's the same by naming our fit players, and getting stuck on 10, then saying they had injuries in their underage teams?

O...K....

Enzokk

6 wrote: »

Brighton is down for 02-Feb
City down for 06-Feb


Relentless season

I see Brighton as listed for the 3rd February as we play West Ham on the 31st January, a Sunday for Sky. So we can only play on Wednesday, I guess the City game will be moved to the Sunday as well for TV. City will be playing on Tuesday so they will have an advantage over us as they play Sheffield United on the Saturday and then Burnley on the 2nd February.

brevity

brevity wrote: »

Ohhh he’s crafty .....

Awful mumbo jumbo ......... how the mighty / special have fallen.

RonanG86

Electric Nitwit wrote: »

So he was trying to prove everyone's the same by naming our fit players, and getting stuck on 10, then saying they had injuries in their underage teams?

O...K....

2 injuries to your first team squad (maybe 1 would start) vs. 8 (3 would start) is clearly the same thing.

He's making excuses in advance for the fact that he's going to park his bus against a team playing a midfielder at center back and who haven't really been able to rest key players lately.

Widdensushi

Augeo wrote: »

Awful mumbo jumbo ......... how the mighty / special have fallen.

He was never any better, deflect and blame officials, players etc.

AndyBoBandy

Electric Nitwit

Electric Nitwit wrote: »

So he was trying to prove everyone's the same by naming our fit players, and getting stuck on 10, then saying they had injuries in their underage teams?

O...K....

Just being Jose.

He lost his MOJO years ago at Utd. He wouldn't have entertained Spurs if he had still being top of the pile. Remains to be seen if he can get it back. If he can win the league hats off, he'll be back.

marklazarcovic

https://www.calameo.com/read/0044497156d35001c70ac?authid=LDWj2oWG8Rm6

This is good

Agent Coulson

Awoniyi scored again for Union Berlin in there 2-2 draw with Stuttgart and stay 6th in the league.

Karius again on the bench.