No doubt he will feature to start in one if not both of the games, even if Matip plays Wednesday I think Klopp will be careful against Palace.
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Would love to see him get some gamesā¦ when we can afford to give him an opportunity. It will do wonders for his career (more and better choices) even if he does move on after the season.
Two games - but he was great for both.
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What does he have to do to get a start?
Did really well-again-today and fully deserves a run in the side.
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Yeah, he did well. And with Rhys losing all confidence and making simple errors recently it should definitely be Phillips ahead of him now.
We were already winning the game when he was introduced, though. Thereās little doubt he can do a solid job when we sit that deep.
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We know what to expect with Phillips. We have Henderson in the back, and three midfielders, all technically excellent at passing, not to mention a keeper which the payers have no qualms about give a tough back pass to. So not really need Phillips to be a ball player.
Just play within himself, clear the ball, and excel with heading. I know teams will mark the passing options and let Phillips have the ball, but that is difficult for them to do so for 90 minutes, and they will tire themselves out.
IN the last few matches weāve struggled with direct balls, and Phillips can help deal with those. He can do a job. Also, against Son, Phillips was cutting out the direct balls aerially, so that is a different way to mark pacey players.
If Fab is not back for West Ham, then Nat and Jordan should be the pairing.
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What do you mean? By then, we already would have Upacameno and Konate and Tapsoba transfers done.
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Assuming Fabās injury is not serious , then him and Nat would work just fine together for me. Could never understand why we were sacrificing Hendo to play in defence while we had a competent specialist replacement there all the time. Heās never gonna light up the world but heās also not going to be making silly inexperienced mistakes which cost us.
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I donāt recall this lad letting us down. He looks quite solid. Why is he always dismissed as a long term prospect by our resident defensive expertsā¦
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Because heās not quick enough. I donāt buy the claims heās poor on the ball though, heās not.
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Heās very slow, his turning radius leaves a lot to be desired, heās not the best with the ball at his feet (compared to senior CBs anyway - Klopp requires his CBs to be able to bring the ball out and pick their passes, long and short). He was promoted to do a job and he does it, when Liverpool have to defend deep and repel a lot of aerial attacks, it suits his game. If Liverpool had to play a high line with him in it and thus expose him to pace of opponentsā forwards, Iād be very worried.
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He played against one of the fastest players in the league yesterday evening, and had no problems at all. Yeah granted, heās not the fastest, but he has a good way to read the game and anticipate situations. Thatās the level of experience he has, and thatās where Rhys Williams is still lacking.
Take it this way: Hyypia wasnāt the fastest either, but would you have kept him out of this side? Of course not, youād have played him and taken his slower pace with his qualities. Not to say that Phillips is as good as Hyypia was, but heās really not that bad: heās good with the ball at his feet, doesnāt lose his cool when in tight situations, is good at heading the ball, heās very physical and definitely ready for all physical challenges of the PL.
This is an emergency situation now. Our three senior center backs are out, possibly for the rest of the season. Fab and Hendo do great as stop-gap center backs, but they have both a bit of a history of niggles here and there. None of them can be relied on to stay fit until the end of the season. We donāt even know when Fab will come back.
The lad is fit and has done well whenever he played for the first team. In my book, Klopp has no choice now: if he wants a minimum of continuity in his backline, he has to integrate him into the first team and play him regularly. He deserves it, and heās certainly as good as an emergency loan or quick cheap transfer solution. Play him, and letās see where it takes us.
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To an extent we have no choice @Hope.in.your.heart but I do agree with you, big up our only option. But always thought he was better than Rhys, who is just not ready.
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At this point, I think we need another defender even if Phillips were to play more regularly. He should have earned some starts for himself with his performance. Unspectacular but dependable so far.
With the injury to Matip (which looks serious) we should get someone in, even if they are less than ideal. We just need the emergency option in case (God forbid) even Phillips were to get injured.
He might have played against one of the fastest players yesterday but by that time our defensive line was on the edge of the box, and with Kane off Tottenham had no other threat.
Are we forgetting how slow he looked every time Aaron Connolly ran past him? Or Callum Wilson?
Temper the expectations. Heās not the answer, but for now he will hopefully be better than Williams.
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Heās ideal against your clogger teams, the Burnleys of this world. Probably our best defender in the air.
Against anyone with pace playing our defensive line he will be exposed, as most players would be.
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Heās our only fit senior centre back now so he should get games, he loves the ariel battles, solid but slow but much better than Williams.
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At this stage why not try partner him up with Fabinho (post injury) for rest of the season and let them form a partnership and move Hendo back to the middle.
Hes a tough guy who can defend and ok pace isnt there but a run of games and people around him could learn his weaknesses and try plug gaps for him. If we dont get anyone in I really would like to see him stay in the starting 11 now
What I like about Phillipsā¦ He comes across as just the type of guy you would like in the trenches alongside youā¦ Does the best he can with the abilities he hasā¦ Full marks for big hearted effort, it can have a galvanising effect on those around him.
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Well he was motm against West Ham thatās who we have next.
Actually to be honest the next two probably suit him better than anything weāve faced in January. He is a competent defender who has more knowledge on how to defend the team can cope with him as an option, the only option less so.
I think he got lucky that he didnāt have to face Antonio back then. He always plays well against Liverpool, I often wonder if some opponents just suit some players or if he has a grudge against Liverpool. Theyāll definitely be more dangerous with Antonio and without Haller, who was pretty static at Anfield.