Post match: Liverpool v Cardiff (FAC 6/2/22 12pm)

Harvey Elliot just continues to impress and Luis Diaz looked as if he had been witth us all season. Not a great team oerformance but good enough.

If we judged everyone by Gerrardā€™s standard then no one would make the cut. He was captain at 21. Bellingham and Elliott are just starting out. Nothing is certain. Jones is progressing nicely

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I said to the the lad when we were watching, if thatā€™s red, that we should have had about five players sent off against us this season.

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If KonatĆ© hadnā€™t been covering, clear red.

Itā€™s funny how two matches with referees making the correct decisions somehow means ā€œweā€™ve been extremely lucky with ref and VAR decisions this seasonā€.

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Is that Luis sister?

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This is just such a bizzare take, even worse its utter bobbins.

All players develop at different rates, yes you will get your Stevieā€™s of this worldā€¦ Elliot may be similarā€¦ However look through our team and bar Trent all of them didnā€™t become ā€œtop classā€ till 24+. This includes Salah, Mane, Robertson, Firmino etc. World class players in their position, some of them the best etc.

Itā€™s utterly unfair to criticise Jones and then use Stevie as a stick to beat/compare him against. You are talking about a generational talentā€¦ You do understand that word right? Generational means the best of an entire generation of playersā€¦

What about all the others? The ones who may not be fighting for a Balā€™on Dor but key parts of title winning sides? Milner, Henderson as prime examples. Title winning sides have everything and every types and Jones looks like a player who does not look out of place.

The worst thing is Jones isnā€™t a bad player, he has some edges to round off but he has everything you need. Iā€™ve seen him come on at Palace at 19 and turn the game on itā€™s headā€¦ At 19 again score a worldie against Everton which was the only and winning goal.

All Jones needs to do is learn timing of passing, he was head and shoulders above everyone at youth level and could do everythingā€¦ It simply takes time to learn how to be part of a team rather than be the star. Nothing to do with his mentality, his confidence is one of his strongest attributes.

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Another recent stellar performance of Curtis that sticks in my memory he absolutely bossed a champions league match last season. Best player on the pitch that night in fact.

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Not to detract from what Elliott did when he came on but part of the benefit of coming on as a sub when your side has had 85% possession for am hour is that the other team is shattered.

So whilst Jones nor Keita had the influence Elliott did itā€™s a bit simplistic to say he showed them what was needed. I thought Curtis and Naby were okay, not spectacular but both did some nice things and some bits that showed some rustiness. And Elliott coming on did give the place a lift but weā€™d also just gone a goal up and basically gone with five attacking players against a team who were shattered.

Bit early for post mortems on both of them based purely on the impact Elliott had. Letā€™s enjoy his moment for what it is and not use it as a reason to tear other players down.

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Regardless of the impact and emergence of Elliott and Jones, I feel that Keita and Ox are vulnerable due to durability issues. Both good players, but may possibly be usurped, so both, or more likely one, might be moved on in summer. Weā€™ll see.

As for Elliott, take a bow son, take a bow. Came in like a boss. Positive. Crisp in the pass. Lovely goal. Some of our worst stuff this season has been when we passed it too slowly, in front of the opposition defence, and it all looked ponderous. That all ends with Elliott. He has initiative and we will be that much more incisive with him. He already looks excellent, and thereā€™s every chance he will become world class here. I know heā€™s only just getting going but you can see it already.

As for Jones, he is a very good player. Yes, he lingers slightly too long with it on occasion, but that will improve as he plays more. He is an intelligent player with a lot to his game. He will be fine.

Diaz, nice cameo, good skill, nice assist. I suspect he will add some of the urgency and thrust we see in Elliottā€™s game too. The future is starting to shape up and it looks very red. Man City are catchable in the league, but it will be tough as they drop so few points. Gutted we lost to Leicester. Have to put that right in a few days.

Fifth round, here we go. Norwich. They are improving but if we do our job we will be fine.

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We all can see it, Harvey Elliot is going to be a special player. You can just tell. He will become one of the best Pl players in the league. He is a star player.

Jones should not be judged by Elliotā€™s exceptional potential. Instead he is an excellent youngster. If Klopp said tomorrow we are selling Naby with expectation of Jones taking his role. I would be phased at all. Jones is a versatile player who will continue to grow.

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yep yep, good catchā€¦

I agree with your summary of Jones. I almost tend to think itā€™s your point about being part of the team and not a star that needs to click. To me it can look like he wants to always appear a Rolls Royce of a player, perhaps similar to when he was a big fish in a small pond at youth level. He is sacrificing trying to look a million bucks with just executing the basics at high speed.

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Harveyā€™s goal actually gave me goosebumps, I am not afraid to admit!

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I gave it to Jota. I know everyone is buzzing because Diaz is new and Elliot is come back from a long spell out but Jota has come up big for us time and time again over the last month while the two boys are off playing in Africa. And he did it again today - that header was not easy.

Great goal from Elliot though and good to see Diaz get a run out.

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Harvey needs to have a word with his mate Fabio Carvalho now and tell him what scoring in front of the Kop feels like, and to sign ASAPā€¦

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The only reason it looked close to a red was because the Cardiff player miskicked !

Well that was a good game for us. As could be expected beforehand, we were rusty as hell during the first 45 minutes, but progressively came into the game. As always in this type of game, the first goal helped us a lot. A wonderful cross from TAA, right on Jotaā€™s head. The latter isnā€™t that big, but what a header of the ball heā€™s becoming! So accurate and precise!

After that first goal, we looked good for the win, but the introduction of Diaz and Elliot clearly helped us to reach second gear, and from that moment, Cardiff couldnā€™t live with us anymore. Minaminoā€™s second and Elliotā€™s wonderful third were only a matter of when, not if.

For me, itā€™s a really good win against a side playing deep having three big lumps in their box and parking the bus at all times.

Keita and Hendo, while not spectacular by any means, helped the side to tire Cardiff down. By the time Diaz and Elliot came on, they were already running on fumes, having conceded the first goal. The two did the most out of it and were both eye-catching.

Elliotā€™s first goal for the club gets into the selection of the top-ten goals of the season I think. The way he managed to get that ball under control, to turn around and then sweetly put it into the net with a chirurgically precise shot was exceptional. It reminded me of the natural skill of Fowler when in front of goal. Letā€™s see how it goes from here, but the first taste of Elliotā€™s comeback and Diazā€™ debut is really encouraging!

Ten out of ten for Klopp here. The player selection and the game plan worked to perfection. As weā€™ve seen again this week-end on numerous occasions, itā€™s never easy to get the win against a motivated lesser-league side. All the lads did well, full stop.

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I think for the first time VVD looked a bit pressed and switched on - I use the term in the context that I think he has been playing within his comfort zone a bit (unconsciously self-imposed I think). For the first time there was a bit of risk and a bit more initiative to his play which I think is needed to get the best out of all players.

Similarly (for different reasons), Hendo for the first time in a while was a bit more positive and a bit less whiney - got on with it, which is what he did/does best.

Still think that TAA could do with having a bit more mental sharpness to his defensive game but I just canā€™t work out how much of his ā€œlapsesā€ are due to the way we set up or him being solely responsible.

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So pleased for Elliott after such a bad injury. Looks a natural talent, what a goal. Diaz good debut, my heart was in my mouth when he went down. We look strong on all fronts. Roll on the rest of season canā€™t wait.

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