In case you guys didn’t know, Joe got his own thread
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Because Van Dijk wasn’t as bad as Gomez? That’s probably why. He does get called out if he makes a mistake, like he did vs Leeds. But it wasn’t Van Dijk who Klopp had to take off twice because he’d lost the plot.
Last I’ll say on the matter. If you think Gomez played well in that time period, we were clearly watching different games.
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England has a dearth of talent at center back. Cart horses mostly, with one or two promising players like Konsa and Tomori (decent shouts to broaden it). Even then, I would have Gomez over any of them.
As for form, yes, long injury, then not seeing the action - yet - to be able to get back to his best. The form argument is fine. But he is a good player and I would have him over any other English central defender.
Mind you… if we sold him, I am confident we wouldn’t skip a beat and could buy a very good central defender with the dough. I am equally confident that they wouldn’t be English, which probably tells the story.
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Well considering he hasn’t played for a while, then yeah
NEW: Neco Williams is expected to move in search of more regular game time in the next year or so. Liverpool would listen to offers on the basis they have high hopes for youngster Conor Bradley, who has kicked on impressively over the past 12 months. #awlive [@JamesPearceLFC]
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From the little I’ve seen Bradley is nowhere near ready for the 1st team yet.
Neco might do better in a different system judging by his international performances though.
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It’s only Pearce he knows no more than you or me. 
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To be fair to Pearce, he says in the next year or so, so it might not be an immediate move away. Although, it is difficult to imagine his performances haven’t caught the interest of some clubs…
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I dont think Pearce is saying anything unexpected though. We know last summer Neco was keen to leave and the club willing to facilitate that if a fair offer came in.
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So Neco Williams (who there is recent history of maybe being unsure of his future due to lack of game time and has since not got much more game time) is expected to move sometime in the next year or two but might not. Liverpool would listen to offers which they may or may not accept. And Bradley has been impressing a little and we have high hopes for him.
James Pearce really putting his money where his mouth is with such specific knowledge that could only possibly come from inside sources due to the level of detail!
Have to sell papers somehow!! Rewriting what everyone has know since last summer as new information with a snapping headline will keep his paycheck coming for another week as he can go celebrate Xmas with his family satisfied his employers are happy with him.
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The club are amazing at not leaking stuff from our side and even persuading those in the players camp and the other club involved to be quieter than usual too.
We let the likes of Joyce, Reddy and Pearce etc. know literally JUST before a deal is complete that it’s going on and they all rush to have the exclusive. Every now and again a hiccup will happen to stop that going ahead like Fekir.
We also sometimes let those (mostly Pearce) know when we like a player sure but not interested, they’d be too expensive, we have too full a squad etc etc like with Thiago and Alisson. So us saying we aren’t in for a player isn’t even that reliable.
If you know or can find out about who is reliable at the other ends of deals you can sometimes get an inclining of what’s happening. Like someone in France or Germany who is reliable may start talking about Konate then English sources starting saying the same thing like it’s their own info. But that’s hard because so many are linked to us it’s hard to narrow it down to who is reliable or not.
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Except each time Gomez was taken off, it was for midfielders. Jones against City, and Milner against Aston Villa. Just based on their individual characteristics, you’d take off Gomez vs Virgil any time. Neither was to put on another centre-back, which would suggest we made a change tactically rather than because Gomez was doing poorly.
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Look at the stated time frame though. Outside of those who see something in neco to suggest he can play in the attack, I think most fans would view him as a Phil Neville type player for us…fight for a few years for appearances whereever he can get them before reaching an age where he decides he has to be competing for a place every week. The time frame in the tweet kind of allows for that while giving Bradley the time he’d need to develop in at a Neco replacement.
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James Pearce may or may not be putting his money where his mouth is
In his defence, he was answering fans questions so its hardly surprising what’s come out of this is his opinion and some conjecture.
Of course then all the Twitter accounts spin it their way to entice their clicks. Opinion becomes rumour, becomes “fact” that then gets picked apart and mocked.
Thankless task getting pestered every day on Twitter for transfer news and mocked whenever you do say anything.
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We’ve got the best right back in the world, and he’s only, what, 21? If Bradley takes Neco’s spot I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually got off as well!*
Same for Kelleher, Tsimikas, etc. We might need to get used to a bit of churn in these back up roles.
*However, with the right back slot I would personally hang on and see what the next manager wants to do with Trent.
It’s not as bad as a clickbait headline I saw yesterday “Salah hammer blow”
I had a look as I was wondering if it was about the Chelsea game, nope apparently it’s a massive blow that he will miss the league cup games 
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If ever there was a young player who should go out on loan it’s Neco. Another manager with a different system might unlock something in him. He was superb for Wales recently. If we let him go and he ends up being the next KDB we’d be sick as fuck.
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If I’m honest, he doesn’t strike me as a player who will reach the greatest of heights but I think he’ll have a solid PL career. That said, he might turn out to be a good winger rather than a decent fullback.
Still, looking at some academy player sales the clubs like Arsenal made in recent times, I hope the club get at least something in 15-20 million pounds range for the likes of him and Phillips.
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