I remember a season a little while ago when we thought it was ok to have Nat and Rhys as our 4th and 5th CB options. Don’t think it panned out too well.
The same two guys were instrumental in getting us to 3rd in the league when the first 3 cbs were ruled out for the majority of the season.
5 Likes
The follow up point being Rhys and Nat are 2 years older and far far more experienced than they were at the start of last year. Would have no issues with them being 4/5th choice now after how much they have grown.
1 Like
3rd… behind utd. I think we can all agree that’s not what we’re aiming for. The lads did amicably, but this is not their level right now. Let’s not kid ourselves otherwise.
1 Like
With the first choice cbs in virgil , matip and joe injured , i would venture to say that no other team could have done what we did. And that inclides city.
Just imagine city with dias , laporte & stones out injured for the bulk of the season
4 Likes
They would have been if VVD hadn’t got crooked by a fucking wanker!
When your 4th 5th options become your mainstay sure there’s going to be problems even so they showed immense character and determination and helped save us from what could have been a very humiliating season by helping to grap us a 3rd place finish against all the odds.
We are no longer in that situation as Klopp realised that you can not let one of the best CB’s in the world (players own words not mine) and not get a replacement. The problem we have now is or 4th choice CB seems to want some footballing time. That’s how things go, mate!
Come on, this is getting silly. Doesn’t matter how City or anyone would have performed in a similar situation. We aren’t going to be making the same mistake twice, if Joe goes (Really hope he stays) we’ll be looking to bring in someone as good or better. And importantly someone who can play a high line. That’s not Nat, and it’s not Rhys. Love them both, we couldn’t have asked for more from either of them. But they aren’t our future CB’s so let’s move on.
1 Like
Surely Millie, Hendo or Fabs will do, no? 
joe’s not going anywhere. he’s a solid RB cover for Trent and still only in his mid-20’s. he’s exactly what we need for that role and rotating him more often for RB will give Joe some minutes and Trent the rest (and competition) he needs.
Yep.
They did well for a team playing at a much, much lower standard than any other point in our previous 5 years.
Give them their dues but that is not the standard we should be aiming for. Phillips as 4th choice is a clear downgrade and step backwards. The Bournemouth fans aren’t even sold on him, never mind getting games for the best team in the world.
On the Right Back thing, I do sort of see where Southgate is coming from if he wants to play an orthodox back four, and have creativity in midfield.
At Liverpool the team is built around the full backs, and Trent in particular has total licence to bomb on knowing his midfield will cover him.
Also keeping Trent away from England and their tendency to totally destroy our players suits me fine.
3 Likes
Yep. Trent and Robbo can have the freedom they do for us because we have at least 3 CBs to choose a pair from that are better than anything England has.
If Trent plays England need to play him in midfield or as part of a back 5.
I honestly suspect that Maguire and Southgate have been to one (or a few) of Walkers Bunga Bunga parties.
1 Like
I sometimes imagine what we’d say about Phillips if he was at one of our rivals. The jokes would be hilarious.
When was that? Because I seem to recall going into last season with Fabinho being our 4th choice and Henderson being our 5th? That didn’t pan out too well as we were well out of CL spots.
Whereas when Nat finally won a spot and started, we were 12 Wins, 2 Draws and 3 Losses for a total of 38 points out of 51 total points for an average of 2.235 points per game. That form over the whole season would have put us 1 point behind City in second.
Why don’t we just be honest with ourselves and just say things for what they are? Despite how well Phillips has done or how well we have done with him starting, we don’t think he is that good. That’s really it.
And some may also feel that we changed the way we played with him on the pitch but that method was effective for us during the time, so it really isn’t hard criticism.
No need to try and divert things and say “we love them (him)”. It sounds like a politician with some flowery words before the kill.
I would love to sell Nat for a good fee… That’s what I would like to do. But I’d also like him to have a good career even if it means proving us wrong somewhere else. But at most I would probably only check how he is doing once or twice in the first season probably and only sparingly afterwards.
We think Nat is a lower PL or Championship level CB (myself included)… despite his past performances for us and he most likely won’t get the opportunity to change our minds. Bournemouth fans don’t seem to know what to think of him either but their record with him has been quite good as well. His manner of play is definitely not pretty.
Nat will probably spend his career trying to prove people wrong and probably deserves better. But that is life’s tough knocks.
Despite his success with us, I feel much better with Gomez as 4th choice. But equally I don’t think it is ridiculous for others to think differently. He hasn’t failed us… but when he plays I’m always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
1 Like
Probably worth 15 million plus but I don’t think we will get that fee, limited defender looked better play ing in a good team.
9 Likes
Surely they will give 12-15m for him.
1 Like
Wouldn’t be in the final without him.
Could we get 30m for Neco and Nat?