Liverpool FC Team Talk, Gossip, Rumours 2024/25

yourdeadwright

I'm actually more worried about Diaz than Nunez this season

Diaz is electric but unfortunately he'll be inevitable be compared to Salah & Mane in numbers and its going to be very difficult to get to there numbers,

For me the season depends on Nunez, Diaz & Jota goal returns

Salah is going to get goals so he's not a worry,

Fitz*

I wasn't able to watch the game this evening but one left field observation I had is that the Bajcetic kid came on today, while Morton stayed on the bench. He impressed a bit against United alright, who Liverpool beat to his signing. He has played CB in the past at times too underage. I wonder is he going to be part of the league cup side this year?

SuperTortoise

Watched the first 20 mins and i was impressed with how sharp everyone looked, who were the standout's for the rest of the game?

BorneTobyWilde

4 strange goals from Nunez, keeper so poor for all of them. All poor finishes, but all end up in net. You don't see that often.

~Rebel~

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370466#Comment_119370466

His second and third were excellent finishes.

BorneTobyWilde

I thought the one that went in off the post was a miss hit that missed the target, but went in off the post. It wasn't a Torres style first open goal from play, where it was speed, balance, power, finish, world class.

Not that I'm knocking him, I just thought the goals were soft, and keeper was crap.

Jarhead_Tendler

Second and third goals were good finishes. It sure does sound like you are knocking him

ardinn

Keeper was terrible.

You often see some players who tend to score lots of sh1t goals and you wonder how the hell they went in, and they keep doing it for some really strange reason.

Maybe it's a style, maybe it's the shape of the player, I dunno. They just don't look right!

I hope he scores lots of them, but I agree with above poster, the goals weren't convincing.

augustus gloop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370739#Comment_119370739

Good to see your back to your normal pessimistic self toby, the que sera sera attitude towards the end of last season was quite out of character.

augustus gloop

Anyone got any hot takes for next year? Any little controverial opinions on things that may happen?

One for me is i think Tsimikas will overtake Robbo as first choice FB by the years end.

mormank

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370776#Comment_119370776

Last time we lost the champion's league final to Madrid we won it the following year and the last time we lost the league by a point to City we demolished the league the following season. I'm expecting us to win the champions league and Prem double. You heard it here first and I'm fully expecting us to get 9 or 10 wins out of our first 10 prem games.

augustus gloop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370805#Comment_119370805

Ill be honest im very bullish about our chances this year. Disappointment has always spurred JKs liverpool on.

Agent Coulson

Carvalho i think he could the stand out player of the season come next May.

54and56

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370776#Comment_119370776

Just put a little bet on Nunez to be top PL scorer. 12/1 in a 4-5 horse race where he's going to be the out and out focal point of some serious service from all over the pitch.

AdrianG08

Currently queuing for tickets in the sale (for unsuccessful ballot registrations).

Pure madness altogether, the days of getting a ticket for 1 or 2 games is gone unfortunately.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370805#Comment_119370805

When was the last time we didn't either win it or get knocked out by a Madrid team...?

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370776#Comment_119370776

Tsimikas is brilliant and always looks class

But one thing i always notice is i watch a game and think jesus Tsimikas is playing great & then Robbo comes on for the last 20 minutes and all of a sudden he is every where, going at 90 miles per hour, he pops up in place Tsimikas simply isn't capable of getting to,

I honestly think we are so used to Robbo now that we forget how much energy he brings to the left side, wasn't it Jose who said he gets tired watching him,

Tsimikas must be the best back up left back in the world, & will get plenty of deserved playing time, ,

yourdeadwright

I think Diaz will struggle to get more than 10 league goals but the goals will transfer from the left wing to CF,

Nunez ,Salah & Jota will outscore him,

So instead of Mane & Salah getting our goals , it'll be Nunez & Salah,

yourdeadwright

I see Tyler Morton has gone out on loan to Blackburn good move for him,

steve_r

Forgot about the membership sale this morning and joined at 8am.

In the queue since then and just seeing a message saying that all are sold out. Anyone had any joy?

GiftofGab

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119370776#Comment_119370776

I think Konate will have a huge season. He was immense in the champions league final and can see him getting better and better. The rest of the league will recognise come May.

Controversial opinion - he'll have a better season than Van Dijk

Fitz*

Morton going on loan to Blackburn so that answers my question about why Bajcetic was playing ahead of him.

Seems to be a relationship developing between Liverpool & Blackburn now with loans the last 3 seasons in Elliot, Clarkson and now Morton.

martyos121

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371378#Comment_119371378

He has all talent and athleticism required to be the top defender in the league. What we need is for him to develop into a leader in defence so that we can actually afford to rest Virgil once in a while. That won't happen this season or maybe even next, but Matip and Gomez aren't vocal enough to organise a defence and it's unlikely that'll change at this stage.

Konate is still very young for his position, so there's plenty of time to mould him into the exact player we need him to be. He plays on the right of defence too so a vocal presence on that side would be huge for the team, because Robbo already does it pretty well from left back, even though he has Virgil beside him doing most of that already.

When you play a high line and offside trap as aggressively as we do, it's crucial that we have a player who can organise it and maintain it over 90 minutes. That's why we're so overly reliant on VVD. Having another guy who can step in and do that job, like Konate hopefully, would be massive, and would likely add a year or two onto Virgil's career.

yourdeadwright

Massive season for Jones, Elliot & Carvalho

Can one of them become a regular ,

Most pressure probably on Jones to have good season out of the 3 given he's older,

giveitholly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371507#Comment_119371507

No way is it a massive season for Carvalho. First season at a new club there is no pressure on him to make an impact given his age profile as well

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371291#Comment_119371291

I fully expect Salah, Jota and Nunez to outscore him but he brings an element of unpredictability to the attack. It's also worth remembering that Saido Mane was a 10-13 goal a season player until Klopp got him playing with Salah.

Diaz managed 22 goals and 11 assists in all competitions last season - 6 goals and 5 assists in a Liverpool team in which he wasn't properly integrated. I don't think he lacks the confidence in himself, but he needs to improve his shooting skill and his linkup play with the rest of the team - that will happen with time spent on the training pitch. Having had four months at the club last season will also give him a better understanding of how he can fit into the team and the analysts and coaching staff will have crafted game scenarios for utilising him better in games.

giveitholly

A few on twitter linking us to Matheus Nunes today. I presume there is no truth in it

Talisman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371399#Comment_119371399

Hopefully he has a better experience there than Leighton Clarkson had last season. I thought that this was going to be the season that Morton made the step up to the senior squad but the opportunity of playing regular football in the Championship will be better for his development.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371668#Comment_119371668

Ye i agree he brings a different feel to Mane & Salah but i fear he'll be judge on the other twos numbers which isn't fair, He will create most chaos as opposed to being on the end of chances,

I do slightly worry about goals this term

We lost 39 goals form last season in Mane ,Taki & Origi, Nunez can't replace that on his own so we will need people to step up ,

Jota also hit a career best of 21 goals last season so we will need him to get that or close again this year,

I predict goals wise

Salah 25-30

Nunez 20-25

Jota 15-20

Diaz 10-15

Bobby 5-10

I'm sure Elliot & Carvalho can get a few each, along with the CB's and Trent ,

Then the odd one from the rest of the lads

Widdensushi

Go against the grain here, I think Diaz will score a good few more than jota. Jota will be moving on next summer.

Damien360

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371879#Comment_119371879

I agree with that. I love Jota’s energy but he shoots dead centre of goal every single time. Diaz has the same energy but hasn’t found his shooting boots yet to compare but he is more hassle for defenders due to the space he creates for himself and I think he has a longer future with the club.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371879#Comment_119371879

I think Jota will be become unsettled if he isn’t a regular starter this season, agree with you that he could look for a move next summer.

I saw some highlights of yesterdays match, I know it’s early days but Carvalho and Elliot look terrific, Mo looks sharp, Virg pinging some outrageous long balls from the back. Can’t wait for the season to start.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371946#Comment_119371946

While i don't disagree i think Diaz seems to do more outside of the box and Jota does more inside the box,

Jota is best with few touches, Diaz likes to take many,

I think they are very different players

Jota will be interesting he was great as a CF but then Klopp moved Mane central and Jota struggled,

Now he is probably 1st choice back up for RW,CF LW

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371582#Comment_119371582

I agree there's no pressure on him. Still think it could be a massive season for him!

I agree with the Jota opinions too. I'm struggling to see how he'll make a big contribution now. Hope we're all wrong though

Fitz*

Jota scored 21 goals last season. That's not to be sniffed at, especially when you consider that he had a couple of injuries and was moved across the front line in different positions and not always a guaranteed starter.

With the 5 subs now, he will play even more games, provided he stays fit. This hamstring injury has been around since January now. They have to get that cleared up.

GiftofGab

Jota is a funny one. He doesn't pass the eye test and doesn't have a major strength in any particular area (e.g. dripping, speed, energy, heading etc.) But he does have an eye for goal. He looks for space rather than take defenders on or playing off defenders shoulders. Everyone questioned Klopp with the purchase but it turned into a shrewd signing.

20+ goals last season while being rotated with firmino, mane and diaz is more than we could have asked for.

There's also the argument that he needs to add to the build up play and get more involved in the game. Too often we see him go missing in games.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372336#Comment_119372336

Will he be satisfied as a backup player though?

BorneTobyWilde

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371307#Comment_119371307

He's following the same pattern as so many young players before him, where Liverpool sign them up to long term contracts, send them out on loan, then cash the chips in months later. It's a business model I believe. All the young players we've sold in past 3 years were paraded out by Liverpool with their long term deals, told how they were the future, praised hugely, then flipped to the highest bidder.

martyos121

If we come up against a team who can compete with us for possession, those are the ones Jota is a near certainty to start. City, Chelsea, Arsenal and maybe even Newcastle in the league, and potentially a few more in Europe.

But you could make the same case for Nunez there too, though. Those are two players who excel with fewer touches of the ball, completely unlike Salah and Diaz.

I think Jota will still find a way to contribute, but I can’t think of many scenarios when he’ll be on the pitch at the same time as Nunez, and we haven’t spent all that money on the latter just to rotate him 50/50 with Diogoal.

Fitz*

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372376#Comment_119372376

He kind of already is, and had been for the duration of his Liverpool career. It just happens that there's been a few other injuries in the attack at the same time so he ends up starting a lot of games. And when Jota has been given the opportunity to start, he has usually taken it and played himself into form.

There has been a few big games where Klopp chose to start Jota ahead of Mane in recent seasons too, so there is no reason why he won't start him over Diaz, Bobby or Nunez this season coming.

giveitholly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371680#Comment_119371680

That answers that so

https://twitter.com/JamesPearceLFC/status/1550448516136312834?t=9zBLe9K4Rp452bAmRmFS2g&s=19

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119371582#Comment_119371582

He is the same age as Elliot and both probably vying for the same position in the team,

It's not a make or break or anything even remotely like that but he will no doubt be looking to make a mark,

SM01

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372717#Comment_119372717

All that is asked of Carvalho is to settle in, show a little something and a demonstrate an ability to develop his play in line with what the coaching staff ask. I doubt he'll be given a serious goal or assist target.

yourdeadwright

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119373129#Comment_119373129

All players will have there own targets they want to achieve, Carvalho looks a proper player,

No question he will be striving to be the best of the young lads & there is nothing wrong with that

OwaynOTT

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119372364#Comment_119372364

He regular takes on players and runs through them rather than around.

He’s a bit chaotic, and has a good strength to him. you’d rarely see him lose the ball in a duel and just somehow seems to bundle away with it.

He’s the best we have with finishing with the head.

I like as a player but agree with a lot you say there.

rob316

There is loads of games for Jota and we have 5 subs now, important player last season and will continue to be.

adaminho

https://twitter.com/LFC/status/1550488497869438977?t=FiH8punEbMW_Aon89RrFkQ&s=19

Rip.

Jota can go missing in games, but his eye for goal is superb. Massive squad player,and an inspired signing.

Fromvert

One area where I expect a few more goals to come from is that Trent goes from scoring 2-5 goals like he did in the last few years to getting close to double figures if not getting double figures in all competitions in the next few years. He has the ball striking ability but he has dragged a few shots/rushed them when he gets the chances. Now they havn't been easy chances but with his ability he could be doing better with them imo.

He's clearly getting more forward and getting very central at times and with maturity should come composure when he gets the chances. I expect him to explode as he hits his peak and become one of the best players in the world.

Agent Coulson

Mane won the African Player of the Year award last night.

Salah was runner up.