You mean in the quarterfinals???
Clearly I mean that we qualify for 21/22. Winning the league and/or CL are immensely difficult targets even with a full squad, but with one central defender who is, incidentally, made of glass, either would be miraculous. As we stand, I just hope we make it into the top four and have a decent run in Europe. Any other expectations would be unrealistic.
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Maybe, but they do generally have more than one CB
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My expectations are as follows.
“Premier league announces major reorganisation”
From the the first fo February the Premier League will now be a 5 a side league.
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Moaning,lots and lots of moaning.
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In 16/17 we reached top 4 with Lovren, Klavan, Gomez and Matip as our centre backs. Gomez missed the full season then too whilst Matip had a number of injury problems and is a better player now than he was.
Our current 4 centre backs are Matip, Fabinho, Williams and Phillips. They need to get us to January (when we can strengthen if it’s all gone tits up) and we’ve got an easier run to January than we’ve had already whilst sides like Tottenham and Chelsea have a much tougher run of fixtures coming up.
Centre back is a problem, and will rightly cause a bit of anxiety, but don’t make it out to be a bigger issue than it is. We’ll still have more quality in every other area of the pitch than our opposition.
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Always thought that CB meant Comedic Bellend to utd.
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If Jurgen and the boys are given the right type of support…
We nail both of these seasons competitions…
Keep the faith… We are LFC
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It is not only the defense that is in trouble. We have problems in midfield too. Ox and Thiago are still injured and Wijnaldum is way overplayed and be probably in the red already. Stupid de Boer has made him the captain of Holland and played him in that meaningless friendly. He will for sure play him Sunday and Wednesday.
The England manager is a bit smarter and kept Henderson on the bench in Englands meaningless friendly.
So we have for next Sunday against Leicester Henderson, Keïta, Shaq and Jones as backup against a fit and fully rested opponent whom parks the bus very well, won all their 4 away games (Arsenal, City) and is fast in the counter-attack.
We further without Salah and we need to rest Robertson who is in the red too. Being optimistic is one thing but IMHO this does not look good until we get the news that some of the injured players are fit again.
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We don’t have that much of a problem in midfield. A few issues here and there but still plenty of good options. We don’t know that Thiago will miss out or that Gini won’t be able to play.
Leicester have plenty of their own injuries, and as for being fully rested Praet and Tielemans are away with Belgium and they’ve been key for Leicester this season.
They had James Justin and Christian Fuchs playing as centre backs in their last game alongside a 19 year old. If they can cope with that I reckon we can put up a decent fight as well.
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Regarding the woeful injuries we are encountering and how some feel it will derail an entire season unless we buy like for like… I wonder if it is worth considering the following two points…
- In Jurgen we have an example of a lateral thinker at the top of his game… If looking for a pot of gold buried in a farmers field, do we dig a single hole deeper and deeper, or, do we dig lots of holes in different places a lot shallower, given the same timeline…?
HE WILL find solutions to our present dilemma and as fans we should watch in awe. - The timing of moving into the AXA Kirby complex would offer him the perfect opportunity to advertise the ‘real meaning’ of the LFC facilities to every youngster with special footballing talents across the globe… and reassure their parents that LFC is the place to be.
In order to do this he has to demonstrate what it actually means to be a youngster on the books of LFC… how better to parade these opportunities than by playing Billy the Kid, Rhys Williams and probably Nat Phillips for the rest of this seasons campaigns… Helter Skelter of heart pounding ride from here-on in if he does, but what better message to put out there to the youngsters that may consider the Manchester Cheater or Chelsea’s of this world that hardly if ever… or small percentage at any rate, promote the young talents to their first team status…
Just a thought is all… Point 2 would get my vote everyday of the week and twice on Sunday
In Jurgen we trust to bring the success home…
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It’s just stating the obvious to say we’re in trouble but I don’t see the point in being relentlessly negative. Over the last few years I’ve learnt not to underestimate Klopp or this team. They are not the ‘mentality monsters’ for nothing. Did you expect us to beat Barcelona 4-0 without Salah and Firmino? I know I didn’t. The coaching is absolutely brilliant and is what sets us apart from other teams. It’s not just about individual players.
Leicester is going to be tough. Again, it’s just stating the obvious but it’s a long season and other teams will have injury problems too. It’s inevitable. At least the game has been moved back to Sunday night so there’s a bit more recovery time for those on international duty.
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Leicester are a good team. They have good players and Rodgers has them playing well. They look like they are in the conversation for top four, though secretly they will be aiming and hoping for even higher.
Last year we beat them 2-1 with a stoppage time goal, and then 4-0 in a display where all the stars aligned for us and it was one of our best, if not the best, of the season.
What to make of this one?
On the one hand we are right to have a little concern, given our depleted status and Leicester riding high at the moment. But on the other hand, even with some key players out we have a lot going for us, and we should fear no one.
I think we will win it, more on mentality like last year’s 2-1, rather than on top quality purring along, like the 4-0 game.
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We need Matip and Fabinho to stay fit and form a solid partnership at the back to have any chance of retaining our title. If this doesn’t happen it could be top 6.
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We need Matip and Fabinho to stay fit for 6 weeks when we can get reinforcements in. I have no worries for Fabinho but Matip is a big ask.
Luckily we have an easier run of games up to New Year although any game in the Prem can turn into a battle. I think if we can get things right in the middle, namely getting Tiago, Hendo and Gini on the pitch as much as possible, it will take a lot of pressure off the defence. I don’t see any of the teams due to visit Anfield going gung-ho so we may even be able to give Phillips a couple of games.
Qualifying for the knock-out stages of the CL next Wednesday would be a great help too, 2 less games to worry about.
It’s going to be a nervous 6 weeks with every knock to those two at the back being cause for panic, plus worrying about the constant training ground injuries we seem to pick up. I’m trying to remain optimistic, this is a resilient group of players and this period of the season has been very productive for us over the last few seasons.
Up the fucking Reds!!
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I wish I shared your optimism - I’m not saying it’s misplaced but it still relies on Liverpool players not getting injured or not contracting coronavirus, and both seem impossible… I looked at some stat the other day which said that only Man City had more injuries than Liverpool (one more, actually) but I can’t remember which period was taken into account. It seems that Klopp’s and Guardiola’s styles of football do take their toll, especially in a season as congested as this one, and when you add a couple of savage Everton specials…
Looking at short term only, I actually expect Alexander-Arnold’s injury to have a more detrimental effect on Liverpool’s fortunes than Gomez’, especially if Liverpool manage to sign a proper centre back in January. On paper, when everyone bar Van Dijk and Gomez is fit, the team still looks very strong but no one can guarantee that Matip won’t feel something in the next training session and miss the next two months, while we still don’t have any proper news on Alcantara (when asked about him, Klopp sounded exactly the same like when he replied to questions regarding Matip or Keita whenever they get a seemingly minor issue that ultimately keeps them out for months).
For that fear of injuries alone, both current and futures ones, I’ve recalibrated my expectations to a top four finish and quarter-finals of Champions League. I’d never wish an injury on an opponent but Leicester are the only top six side who are missing key players and they and Tottenham have only Europa League to contend, while Man City and Chelsea have insane squad depth that will see them through winter. All four are bang in form as well.
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I do think we need to be realistic this season. Given all the injuries, at the start I genuinely thought we would have a great chance to defend the title, but my personal expectations are lower now with all these circumstances. But with Liverpool you never know!
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That’s exactly how I feel. It’s not being negative, just realistic. Of course we all hope for the best though.
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You don’t think other teams might get injuries or have players that contract coronavirus? This season will be all about injuries and player absence. Same for everyone and as for Leicester and Spurs only having the Europa to worry about. That competition really fucks up the schedule. Glad we’re not in it. We’ve basically qualified for the CL knockouts anyway.
We’re bang in form too. 5 wins and 2 draws (City and Everton away, the latter an absolute travesty) since the Villa defeat. Of course it’s going to be hard but it’s like a competition in here to see who can be the most pessimistic (and I know you’re coming from a good place Nik).
I don’t think JK and the lads will be this downbeat. They’ll be up for the challenge. Just imagine if we did pull it off. What an achievement. If not, never mind. We’ve got a pretty good excuse. Sometimes shit happens.
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