Yep I can’t really disagree with that. Early in the season, a draw against a CL winning team after we had claimed only 69 points the season before was a good result at that point. I realise the internal targets of the club may have been to be in a title contest, but I doubt they had the expectation at that point simply because of the season before, Virg still recovering from a serious injury, whether we would again get slapped silly with injuries across the pitch etc.
As you say, if Klopp had been communicated to by his future self and been told that he would be in a title run in and that an early season draw against Chelsea wouldn’t be enough, I could imagine we may have set up slightly differently, knowing that we would have a better chance of improving the result of our home game against Chelsea than our home game against City.
Looking at that fixture list I think we should bin off the league cup - play a very young team and completly rest those who will be playing CL and PL. They are the only trophies I want this season - twice we have missed out by very narrow margins in each and we need to win them both again under Klopp.
Yeah definitely play a B team and see how far they can go. Hopefully the likes of Virgil, Ali, Trent, Robbo, Thiago and Mo never see that competition this season. Maybe even FA cup aswell?
I think that this is a bit of a defining/make-or-break season for Elliot. Through no fault of his own he has found himself in that zone that Jones and Williams were in last season. Whereas Jones moved into the “will be a Liverpool player” category, Neco went into the “won’t make it” category. Fine margins an’ all but Elliot will have to do something that will convince the management team that he figures going forward. Towards the end of the season (with all of caveats of his season of injury troubles), he came across a bit of a “lets play it safe” type of a player, i.e. play the safe pass rather than take risks.
This season he needs to be far more confident, take more risks and take his (likely limited) chances with both feet!
Has anyone done a comparison between us and City as to who has more players likely to play regularly for a team going far in the WC? Out of our starting 15ish I don’t think there are many candidates for players who are likely to play regularly for a team who are likely to reach the Semi’s or Final. None of our Brazilian lads are automatic starters, Thiago doesn’t start for Spain, Hendo and Trent (or Gomes) don’t get many mins for England, I guess Konate could be a starter for France by the time the tournament comes around. Portugal, Uruguay, Columbia, Netherlands are all capable of being a surprise package and going deep but we only have one player in each. Matip, Keita, Salah and Robbo won’t even be getting on the plane.
Anyway I’m thinking the World Cup or at least the last two weeks of it will be a break for a lot of our key players, but will that also be the same for City…
The big one is not being in the squad. That allows players to properly rest, recharge and work on stuff with Klopp. If Brazil, England Spain etc go to the semis then the intensity even for those on the bench will mean they will need a break afterwards. If we keep a reasonable contingent away at home Klopp et al will be able to work magic with them at Kirkby which could make a big difference in 2023. So here’s hoping Thiago, Hendo and Trent (for eg) aren’t selected for their squads…
Agreed, players not going at all is preferable for us, still players sitting on the bench and not going deep into the tournament is second. (Caveat: When the tournament starts I will be supporting England)
But on your point here’s a possible Kirkby 11 for the first couple games back:
(turns out Columbia didn’t make the cut either!)
Plus the possibility of Thiago and Carvalho not making their respective squads.
Obviously there are a few assumptions in this, but I don’t think will be in too bad a shape following the World Cup. It may even present an opportunity for us.
He will play Alisson if Alisson doesn’t play a lot he even made those small breaks after international games, Firmino hasn’t been going for months now so I expect he may miss out.
I am abit worried about our Midfield set up. I really think we need to buy a quality midfielder or reliable one. The Ox is always gets an injury, Milner is now geriatric status and Henderson is getting a tad slower.
There are no distractions at a club like Liverpool with 50 major trophies.
Okay, next season might be more difficult, but as long as we have a top team and a top squad, I expected them to go for all of it (of course, priorities are known).
Really hope we don’t go for it all. Dropping the league cup (ie resting all those who will play the PL and CL games) seems prudent given how packed the schedule will be.
