Liverpool FC Team Talk, Gossip, Rumours 2024/25

passatman86

Gini Wijnaldum getting mates rates with Hendo .. Fair play to them

atilladehun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065508#Comment_121065508

Last season we went from tchouameni to no one because klopp decided no one else was suitable.

This season we didn't get Caicedo, a first team option and Lavia, an over priced development option.

Klopp seems to be happy to have a gap rather than a problem player. Lets say he signed Ndidi or Tielemans. They'd be on massive wages, they would have cost a decent whack and when it became clear that they weren't up to the task they'd become a problem. See Harry Maguire. He'd be stuck with them for years and his budget would be limited by their wages.

Fabinho left so they were a body short. They didn't get their 1st choice or development option but needed a body. Endo isn't a problem. He's on reasonable wages, won't come with an ego and will bring a milner level of great attitude. He's here to do a job.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065738#Comment_121065738

Other than making alot of money I don't think he has done anything of note or played any good football since leaving Liverpool, fair play, another in a long list that's loss is lamented even though it appears they left at the best time for all concerned .

Fitz*

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065710#Comment_121065710

I'd like to see him start in the cup game against Leicester anyways.

bdmc16

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065631#Comment_121065631

I'm more talking about the profile of player we tried to sign. We were clearly looking for a starting 11 Fab replacement who would be intergal part of team like Mac and Szobo. I believe we signed Endo (one of only natural 6 on the team) to be more than a bit part player who could just do a job so was surprising to see him dropped already when it prob a good opportunity to bed him in today at home.

Jones will definitely not get as many opportunities now gravenberch has been signed so we seem to shoehorning Mac to the 6 role in starting 11. I'm sure Endo will plenty of mins in UEFA and with Thiago and Baj coming back will be interesting to see once gravenberch is up and running.

robwen

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065738#Comment_121065738

That's our starting midfield that won the Champions league & 2 of the front 3 in Saudi now, mad

Augme

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065819#Comment_121065819

When he's been on the pitch he's looked as slow as Fabinho did. No matter what he will come in handy for all the cup games. I wouldn't be expecting much else out of him apart from that. Hopefully he'll improve but I wouldn't count on it either.

Fitz*

MOTD read the Liverpool boards thread 😉

bdmc16

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065852#Comment_121065852

Ya that's what I was getting at. 2 weeks ago we were hoping it was a clever deal, he started both games . captain of his club and Japan he touted a starting player at 6. within afew weeks later the expectations now seem to have dropped way off to the point he's a "cup" player with Klopp shoe horning players who are not natural no.6 into the role rather than playing him.

As you said you need the depth and he had a very tough intro to the prem but we'll have harder games than today and need a strong natural 6 to help our defence so it's not ideal . Thankfully Mac did a superb job

Tusky

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065852#Comment_121065852

I reckon the club wanted a top-quality defensive midfielder in a similar age bracket to MacA and Szlob (e.g Caicedo) but decided there was no value in the market, and bought Endo as a stopgap/squad player. I see him as a Milner replacement. I wouldn't be surprised to see us sign a DM in January.

That's not to say that Enda can't/won't play an important role, but I doubt he is our long term Fabiniho replacement.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065911#Comment_121065911

What did they say?

Fitz*

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065943#Comment_121065943

Just mentioning about Trent picking up more of a CB position when in possession.

That, and something about melting Pandas on Monday morning 😁

patsy sally

Easy as you like today evening though a few expected a tough afternoon,maybe the break is coming at wrong time for us.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065948#Comment_121065948

Giving away your age Fitz, some of these wouldn't know what a panda looks like...

atilladehun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065943#Comment_121065943

In fairness to Warnock he was saying it during the match on cocomms for optus. I like when hes on motd for us. He actually pays attention to us and knows what hes talking about. The mainstream guys who don't watch us week in week out can be infuriating pushing what is often just wrong.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065917#Comment_121065917

Pretty much all defensive players Klopp has signed have needed a while to settle in to what he wants before they start looking decent and getting proper game time. Fab himself looked trash for his first 4 or 5 months. Robbo didn't play for months, Tsimikas didn't play for months, Ramsay didn't play (and then got injured), Konate only made 4 appearances in our first 16 league games when he joined. For whatever reason there's a clear trend in the way defensive lads have to be bedded in slowly, before they look good.

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121066012#Comment_121066012

I have difficulty putting what I mean on type but I can honestly say I haven't a notion what this means.

JPup

Reads fairly clear to me?

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121066071#Comment_121066071

Yeah, just me, sorry

BorneTobyWilde

This team has potential, with Thiago to come back, and the whole midfield will gel over time, consistency is key, need a good unbeaten run this season to give us something to hold on to, a good start can lead to a title race.

happyoutscan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065710#Comment_121065710

Seems to know the system and seems to have good game intelligence. I reckon he will see some action.

Osmosis Jones

Gravenberch reportedly skipping international duty to get acclimated with his new club, love to hear it

GiftofGab

I hear some are now calling us title contenders. Is it just me or is this a bit pre-mature? If Chelsea and Newcastle could finish in any way shape or form then we'll be looking at just 6 points from 12. Our overall performance against these were below par.

Yesterday looked like a very complete performance but the next 4 games will be very telling, which will include Spurs and Brighton.

The Rooster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067001#Comment_121067001

Man City are the only title contenders.

We're contenders for second, along with 5 or 6 other teams. All the other teams hoping for an unforeseen downturn for City to give some hope, but highly unlikely.

rob316

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067001#Comment_121067001

I've thought for a while if we could get midfield strengthened we would be up there again, it's all that was missing last season, we were comprehensively outplayed by most teams in midfield.

We didn't get the no.6 but our midfield looks really strong now, Alexis and Szoboslai have hit the ground running too. Then you have probably the best collection of forwards in the league in Salah, Diaz, Nunez, Gakpo and Jota. Best goalkeeper around. so its up to the defence now to rise to the level of the rest of the team.

Girly Gal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067001#Comment_121067001

A bit early to say we are title contenders, probably a bit lucky to have 10 points from 12, could so easily be 6. Would want to wait until about 10 games in to give a better indication. Good signs so far, winning when down to 10 men, Mac Allister and Sobo have hit the ground running, forwards all doing well.

We would need to be exceptionally lucky with injuries as our strength in depth in defense in particular is not great. City are the obvious title favourites and would expect them to win the title again, but, we look well capable of getting top 4 and we saw with Arsenal last season, that a good start can lead to a title challenge and I wouldn't expect us to fall away in the same way Arsenal did if we managed to get into a title race.

Ottoman_1000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067337#Comment_121067337

I don't think even Klopp thinks we're in with a chance of the title this year, but I do feel he's building us towards one final run for him next season. He knows we need a few more players to bring us that extra step, especially in defence and a recognised No.6, but we looking like we're heading in the right direction again. In a way it kind of reminds me of the 17/18 season, he was starting to mould his first great team, but things were not fully there, we could score 5 but easily concede 5 in the same game! We will have some mad games this season, mixed in with huge wins, to go with some terrible losses, but I do think we will get top 4...it would be nice to see a No.6 come in January and have the same impact as VVD had the January he came on board. But all in all, things a looking ok, Szobo and McAllister look the real deal. I can't even imagine having Mount there now instead of either!

dogbert27

We're 5 points better off than we were this time last year after 4 games.

Head to head though we are nearly the same except for Villa at home:

Chelsea away 1-1, last year 2-2 again giving away the lead

Bournemouth home 3-1, last year 9-0

Newcastle away 2-1, last year 2-0

Aston Villa home 3-0, last year 1-1

The Newcastle game was definitely good for getting a new team to gel and have a fighting spirit which was taken in to the game yesterday.

We're 4 points good on United, 6 points good on Chelsea and 7 points good on Newcastle.

It's been a decent start to the season and again against Wolves away I'll take an ugly win and 3 points as it's been a difficult place for us to go.

Girly Gal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067456#Comment_121067456

Compared to last year's start, it's night and day, last season the performances were lacklustre and lethargic, we seemed to be completely out of ideas. The performances so far this season, while not perfect are much better, there's a freshness to our play now that was missing last season, we have a functioning midfield thar will likely improve as they play together more. We will still probably have a few ropey performances as the team gels together more, but, the outlook is much more positive after 4 games this season than last year.

noodler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121067548#Comment_121067548

We've had a ropey first half against Newcastle and a ropey second half against Chelsea for sure.

Parts of Bournemouth game too

Probably why it's been such a satisfying 10 points.

rob316

Midfield hasn't even clicked yet with the forwards, there is much more to come.

SlickRic

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121065589#Comment_121065589

Great shout.

Trent was allowed to create from higher up the RW when we had prime Hendo, Gini and Fabinho cleaning up behind him. The priority seems to be to get him dictating things while giving him the protection needed - and I'm all for the subtle position changes at the back to do so. Let him be Pirlo 2.0 back there.

Osmosis Jones

I think Trent was also afforded sitting deeper because Villa's defensive line was so high, not sure we'll see that positioning every game. Interesting tho!

Osmosis Jones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121063735#Comment_121063735

Just going back to this, really is a joke that MacAllister was sent off (rescinded but multiple refs on the day still called it a red) for something far less dangerous than this challenge that wasn't even called as a free kick.

jones

I agree the one thing we should have with these decisions is consistency but they can't even get that right.

Talisman

When is the squad for the Europa League expected to be announced?

I just checked the UEFA website and it helpfully states "Official squad list not available yet". 🙄

https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/clubs/7889--liverpool/squad/

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121068660#Comment_121068660

The Champions league squad list seems to be midnight tonight, so I guess it's likely the EL squads are the same? (Or else I'm misunderstanding, and it was midnight last night and they just haven't updated the pages yet)

Osmosis Jones

Conflicted as ever on Joe.

He looked great for 94 of the 95 minutes, wasn't counting but he cut out a lot of attacks by stepping up and winning the ball ahead of his man.

But one of the few times he was under pressure he tried to be too clever and lost the ball, leading directly to a really good chance for McGinn.

We keep saying it but if he can cut down on the brainfarts he's a great player...but CAN he cut them down?

Are we saying Joe Gomez is like a new signing?

😄

theoneeyedman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121068878#Comment_121068878

He was very good and very consistent before he got thumped and broke his leg at Burnley. Had a stable run in the side and was in the England squad (no great achievement at CB I know) but 2qs playing well and had a long run of games. That injury knocked him back IMHO, after him coming back from an earlier knee injury. I'm one way it would be good to see him get an uninterrupted run in the team, but that's gonna mean we're down to the bones in terms of numbers.

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uho2aV36zqc

..

noodler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121068878#Comment_121068878

I think we need to be careful not to say he was great bar the brainfart. He was fine until then.

He's about a dozen or so good performances away from me ever using the word great to describe him again.

SuperTortoise

Gomez kept a prime Matip out of the team on merit when we won the league.

He needs consistent gametime to show his very best.

Very few better players that can come in and do a job at CB and RB and not kick up a fuss about lack of gametime.

noodler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121069936#Comment_121069936

Living off a purple patch in the 2019/2020 season despite the terrible displays in between.

I don't think any of this is a call to get rid of him, just a recognition I don't ever see him being in a first choice pairing even before we buy a new badly needed CB

ShamoBuc

Both first choice CB's not available. Our cover is still very good in fairness, but maybe cannot be relied upon over a sustained period of time, possibly. We've even been able to even give a young fella his first 2 appearances too and he didn't look out of place. By comparison, United finished with Maguire and Evans.

All in all, I'm happy enough to be honest. The break came at both a good and a bad time. Couple of injuries might be cleared up over the 2 weeks although when you are winning, you don't want a break.

But 10 from 12 is not to be sniffed at and I reckon we should be very happy overall where we are at, by comparison to a few of our rivals in particular.

K-9

Szoboszlai and McAllister look class, long term signings. Endo and Gravenberch we just don't know yet. As somebody said before it could take a few months to get them to gel, Fabinho took a few months to fit in properly. I think we should get top 4, question marks also about Chelsea and Newcastle with the CL, hard to know what United will do.

Talisman

According to The Athletic, Alexander-Arnold is only expected to be out for two weeks.

https://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1809372/Liverpool-news-Trent-Alexander-Arnold-injury

Alexander-Arnold underwent a scan on Monday and is set to be sidelined for two weeks after suffering a minor hamstring strain in Sunday’s 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The 24-year-old was replaced in the 71st minute and after receiving treatment on the field, he walked straight down the tunnel.

The injury leaves him a doubt for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 16 but his availability for the fixture will depend on how he responds to treatment. He is expected to miss no more than one Premier League game.

theoneeyedman

Pretty self serving piece in the Athletic from Henderson, explaining why he took the Saudi soup and left.

Basically, wasn't guaranteed to be first choice and is moving not for money 😉🙄 but for adventure, the gays are still a great bunch of lads but so are the Saudis and he doesn't want to offend them by wearing colored laces.

cmac2009

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121070667#Comment_121070667

Baffling. Some of the nonsense he has come out with is nauseating. Whoever is giving him PR advice should be sacked.

Vicxas

Henderson trying to justify why he took the soup. Pathetic really.