We do get players picking up injuries from knocks in training too. Missing the midgetland game was no guarantee of Jota not getting injured. I love how people try to write history that never happened with such absolute certainty. Jota had been rested plenty leading up to the game. If anything he probably needed match minutes for sharpness. And being our fourth choice attacker this is exactly the type of games he’s there for. He could have been rested and then suffered a knock in training or pulled his hamstring in the warm up today or sonething. If people disagree with Klopps decision that’s fine but you’re only talking possibilities. There is zero way of knowing that being careful with Jota would have had a positive outcome. Also disagree with a bit of humility (Klopp is an expert you are not and he has access to a mountain of data you do not have access to) and respect (he just won us the league after all). Some people need to take a breather and rethink the way they’ve worded a post before submitting it.
Klopp’s handling of the midweek fixture is, at the very least, a talking point. He played a much stronger team than any of us thought he would.
My opinion is that sitting here looking at another Important player getting his knee fucked and being out for two months, it can’t be seen as anything other than a mistake. I don’t care that it was an impact injury. He did not need to play that game. And neither did Mo, who looked shagged out today.
An impact injury is always possible. It’s possible in training as well. Which is why when you have an opportunity to protect your lads you take it. If it happens in the PL or in training, we shrug our shoulders and curse the bad luck. But it’s not bad luck when he’s charging about for 90 minutes against some minnows who are desperate to leave one on the world champions. That’s a risk.
This doesn’t mean I don’t respect Klopp. It just means on this occasion he fucked up. He is allowed to fuck up, and he would be be first to say he isn’t perfect and will make a mistake every now and then. I think he decided to try and win a game of football he didn’t need to.
If that’s disrespect, then we might as well fuck off the forum and just replace it with a shrine to the man.
I’d be very disappointed if our manager didn’t aim to win every game we play.
Which is an honourable sentiment. Not risking vital players in a meaningless dead rubber would be considered sensible though no?
Klopp knows the players and their physical states better than us. However, he did risk players whilst we’re facing an injury crisis of biblical proportions. Why? Maintaining momentum probably but I’d have had the first team at home in cotton wool. But then I’m not a top flight manager. Always easier to judge than do I guess.
We are still at 2 games back? Those are over and yes hindsight is great. It has happened, and if Klopp made a mistake for whatever reason, and he had before, he will not hesitate to improve, which he also had before. There is no right or wrong decision, just right or wrong result after the fact.
Lets move on to the Spurs match!
Can someone actually put together the team they’d have gone into the match with? Keeping in mind there’s limitations on who we can use and all the Best, available, academy products were already involved? I keep seeing this “stronger than expected” line but short of literally rolling out the u23s en masse and pretty much sacrificing the game (and therefore potentially harming the confidence and progress of the next generation) I’m not sure what people realistically wanted? Jota probably would have been involved in any “second string” line up that would have been put together before the game and injury. If anyone it’s Salah who would have been rested. Hindsight is a cruel tool to use. Except Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho we played nothing but rotation players and academy kids. Jota just happens to be the best of the rotation players and closest to forcing his way into the first choice slots. If (and it is an if because I can’t think of anyone) there had been a kid ready to play in attack then it’s likely Salah would have been first rested but it doesn’t even look like there was one ready to sit on the bench.
You have to pick from the 25 in the CL squad as well I assume?
Although you can register additional under 21s as needed.
Bored of this one now.
Imagine if Jota hadn’t played Midgetland, played the full 90 against Fulham, but pulled up with a hamstring towards the end…then who’s to blame?
Fulham isn’t a meaningless game. No-one is suggesting we don’t play players at all. Just that a dead rubber is a good opportunity to rest lads, considering the manager has complained about fatigue to the point of self parody.
Yes, playing the kids and sacrificing the game, that’s really what should have happened, especially since we did exactly the same last year in more meaningful games. Kids and a few fringe players like Origi, Minamino etc. Certainly not Fabinho, Salah, Jota (or Hendo, Robbo, Firmino, Mané - they entered the game too and if we go by the logic that contact injuries ‘can happen’, they can happen even if you only play 30 mins, especially against thugs). They should have just stayed at home, feet up and see you again for Fulham. Many of us said that before the game, because we simply had a look at our injury list, so that’s not exactly hindsight either.
I agree it’s a good opportunity to rest lads. But you can’t rest them all. It’s a team sport, got to still play games, and as its been set out, playing games is likely part of the fitness regime etc etc. If Jota doesn’t play midgetland, but gets a knock in training before Fulham ruling him out for 2 months, then is that a meaningless training session that he should have missed out on too?
There was nothing meaningless about the Midtjylland-match, there were € 2.7m on the table. Money we need, money that we can not afford to throw away to give ‘all’ the player’s rest. We needed to give rest to players and still give ourselves a good chance to win.
After all don’t we want a new CB this window?
this shrine you refer to…you thinking a hugging type stance?, or the fist pump?..both pretty iconic…on the granite plynth theres a fair few quotations you could use, but for me its the old ‘doubters into believers’
yeah, not even i’m buying that one…
Understood. So Klopp had options if needed.
Not sure if he’s actually revealed the reasons behind that team selection, I’ve probably missed it but it is unfortunate.
For me it’s just another example of a completely screwed up season which has been driven by footballing authorities that really don’t consider welfare as part of their remit. Not sure there’s any other Client / employer that could get away with that nowadays.
@Waldaz and @Mascot can you actually tell us what attack you would have actually fielded for the game? Because to my obviously ineffective eyesight we did all we could with every fit and available second string attacker starting. So I’m not sure who you wanted us to field?
You’re asking the question like we had to get a result. We didn’t, it was nothing more than a glorified friendly. And the answer will again be the same: literally anyone eligible from the youth sides.
Example: Liam Millar, is he eligible? Yes? He’s in. Luis Longstaff. Same? In. And so on. Very simple.
And again, we did the same in the FA Cup last year when we actually needed a result, it wouldn’t have been the first time.
So what you’re saying is that even when we have the squad to be able to win we should intentionally sabotage our chances of winning because there is a possibility of injury? We’ve got the best squad we’ve ever had and you don’t want us to use it! The team was 90% what would effectively represent us in domestic cups with who was currently available. You literally want us to give 5/6 possibly even more debuts to kids? All the kids who were remotely ready for that step were involved. Some before they were really ready causing some raised eyebrows. I can guarantee one thing for you Klopp will never intentionally field a side to lose that is what you are asking for. That’s not the manager we have. He might field a side that’s the best he has available due to circumstances and hope for the best but Jota probably actually needed game time so was likely to always be involved.
You can accept training injuries, because players have to train. You’d also hope in training lads wouldn’t be subject to the kind of challenges you associate with a team from a minor European league looking to make a name for themselves by leaving one on the World Champions.