Let’s just get Mata on the free.
1 Like
Or Fabian Delph
I remember the joking about Jay Spearing over the summer…
Nightmare triggered.
so so true on all accounts. Jude will not save us. we need two or three new players in the engine room!!
2 Likes
Three. Replacements for ox, Keita, Milner
1 Like
Jeez inflation has even hit the ‘volume of midfielders reqd’ basket. Before Old Trafford, I said we needed two midfielders and a forward this summer and told this was too many; now we’re at three midfielders! (I’d actually agree but I expect that we would be better served to hold back a year on number three and first see how Hendo, Jones and Elliot age and how well next summer’s two fit in).
The club needs to be signing 2-3 players who can immediately contribute to the first team every season.
1 Like
Surely given that Thiago has missed almost 50 games since 19/20, like Keita, then he would also be shown the door too as part of this proposed mass cleanout of injury-prone players? Why does he get a free pass?
1 Like
Because Thiago wasn’t with us from 19/20 and when he has played he’s been boss?
4 Likes
Yikes that makes it worse then. 50 games missed across 2 seasons. Naby 50 games across 3 seasons.
So there are exceptions to which players we throw under the bus. ‘Must not be a fan favourite’.
EDIT: I would probably wait until this season is beyond recoverable before I would contemplate a rebuild
but my point is that if we are going to go down that route at all, at least be consistent.
2 Likes
i never really wanted to weigh in too heavily on the midfield thread, but that midfield, 3 games in, away at old trafford, its cause for alarm.
the very fact we are starting Milner at 36, as much as he is amazingly awesome, is really illistrative of the fine line between being transfer genuis’ and transfer muggins
i really get on board with Mascotts posts regarding the matter, they all are grounded in sense and logic.
however, at some point, theres a line and it becomes less a case of ‘theres no one avaliable’ and more a case of someone, somewhere isnt doing their job properly if three games in to the season we are startign with Milner, Henderson and Elliott.
more astoundingly, we drag the captain off first…now, ignoring the in game situation, Henderson was the only one of the three who mixed game situation experience with peak athletic fitness (from a career stage)…so whats going on?
so whats the issue, is the complex scouting department unable to identify a single midfielder with better qualities than Milner, Oxlade, and Naby?
is the only midfielders they can find so far away from the target player that Klopp cannot massage his tactics to accomadate?
i suppose, much like the ‘great centre back debate’ of 2020, there are a myriad of reasons i can nod in sage agreement with for not finding a player to sign, but ultimately, its a proffessional organisation and the players we need to replace really arent that great that its a reasonable point.
the only player at the moment who is irreplaceable from a stylistic and quality POV is probably Thiago.
2 Likes
i suppose its because Thiago is so many levels above Naby when both are fit that hes a player worth waiting for.
Naby, as good as he is when he has a rare run of fitness, he aint no Thiago
German false friend issue. It’s enough in German to say: ‘Ein Spieler fällt aus’
In English the only usage of the verb to fall out that doesn’t need a complement is when two friends have a bust up.
The slightly more interesting error preceded it in Klopp’s Naby comments.
‘Out of nothing’ is another one of these Kloppisms we love so much. Out of nowhere, is correct of course…When the meaning is ‘a negative event without any warning’, Germans would usually say ‘aus dem Nichts’ literally ‘from out of the nothingness’.
It’s so difficult for Klopp because indeed we do use that phrase: Eg Salah made something out of nothing in the box. It’s just that here it’s a positive thing that popped into existence. German learners dealing with the subtleties of usage & connotation is just one reason why people like me might still have some professional future (just about).
6 Likes
Well at least get your data correct, Keïta was out for 62 matches.
Thiago was out for 43 and from that 43 he was out 17 matches due to an Everton POS who put him in hospital. There is a difference between the two and it has nothing to do with being a fan favourite.
1 Like
Thiago: 20/21 + 21/22 + 22/23 = 47 matches across 2 seasons Thiago - Injury history | Transfermarkt
Keita: 19/20 + 20/21 + 21/22 + 22/23 = 51 matches across 3 seasons Naby Keïta - Injury history | Transfermarkt
apples to apples? 47 matches out for Thiago and 30 for Keita across the last 2 seasons plus this one. I’m not sure how you came to your figures…
1 Like
Dicked around from months when the player clearly wasn’t interested? I don’t think that’s quite right.
1 Like
Let’s be honest, they are both hugely injury prone. Both have had impact injuries but both also pick up an above average number of tweaks and strains that disrupt their respective seasons.
Keita cost more, has been here longer and has largely underwhelmed when he’s played. Whereas Thiago cost less and performs at a higher level when he does play.
You can understand why there’s more willingness to work around Thiago’s injury issues than there is Keita’s based on contribution alone. Then there’s the contract situation and the rumours of him being unhappy should you choose to believe them.
And like clockwork, here’s the confirmation that it’s a muscle injury and he’s likely facing a spell out. Two weeks ago people were telling me it was fine because he was just ill and would be back for the Palace game…
https://twitter.com/neiljonesgoal/status/1561981590053478400?s=20&t=qMbHmZZL3bWEEgJH0enRGA
1 Like
I honestly admire your defence of our approach, but surely you can’t believe that there isn’t a single player of the millions around the world that could improve our midfield. It’s not our job to identify them, it’s our elite scouts and sports scientists that can surely see beyond Bellingham and Tchouameni. Well all love Klopp, but loyalty and purity of approach are perhaps his blind spots
1 Like
Frankly I would not mind if we did not offer him a new contract, the guy is injury prone and for what he brings when he is fit I don’t think he earns a new contract.
Better look elsewhere for a new midfielder.
2 Likes
Fully agree. In fact, I’d have looked to move him on this summer given he’d not signed a new deal. If we could have got something like £15m I’d have taken that in a heartbeat. Not fit often enough and when he is, Klopp often chooses not to start him anyway.
1 Like
I can’t see why anyone would risk £15m on him. Clearly there’s a player there but his value has plummeted as he can’t string a few games together