The thing that concerns me the most about this squad is that on paper it’s absolutely unbelievable. One of the best ever seen in the Premier League.
But we are carrying too many injury prone players.
This summer I’d be looking to make a choice between Gomez and Matip, and between Ox and Keita. I’d be happy with one fragile lad in each position, but not two.
Or Maybe Klopp’s plan is to trust the new fitness coach to sort this out.
Your point is incorrect.
And…
This really is the wrong thread but to use “conspiracy theory” to demean the discussion is uncalled for. Apologies to the Mods, but I cannot allow that comment go unchallenged.
Same interesting to note the diagnosis was better on a few players recently.
Used to be oh he will be back soon and then 3 months later they would still be a month away. I do feel we needed an appointment in that area.
Especially in the light of ex ref Clattenburke admitting there was always bias shown towards United out of fear of Fergie.
Good point on spreading the sick notes around, as we can’t carry too many in the one position.
Squad is excellent on paper, but when they aren’t available through injury, and it happens rather too much with a few of them, then the squad looks thin.
Could be, he really has assembled one of the most progressive coaching and science setups in football. That said, I don’t think there will be a scientific breakthrough that can strengthen the bodies of players like Sturridge, Lallana, Matip, Keita, Shaqiri, Chamberlain… Which is a crying bloody shame, just look at the sheer amount of ability between these players.
I still reckon that three players will be brought in - a centre back and a forward this summer and maybe another central midfielder next year (though Wijnaldum is leaving, so it might speed up the recruitment in that area). I have no clue who the centre back might be but the forward should be a replacement for Origi, perhaps that Balogun kid from Arsenal? Ideally, it is Awoniyi who obtains the work permit, finally puts on a Liverpool shirt and takes the league by storm but such stories just don’t happen, I guess.
I think there’s only that much that a certain fitness structure can do with certain players who are already halfthrough their career or near the end (not the usual end, but their end), who have been through a lot. When you look back, we had plenty of these “great fitness maestro appointments”. This current one does seem to know what they’re doing, or better to say, they seem to be in coleration with the footballing staff. We’re doing a good job I’d say, years after the likes of Verheijen criticized Klopp so much. Of course that fans always think that their club is cursed. It’s never as black at our place and it’s never as rosy at someone else’s.
Sturridge was way too late anyway, what could someone do with him at that time, not much anymore. I don’t think he was ever 100% fit in his career, or better to say, physicality was not one of his main strengths as a player. I actually see it as a success under Klopp, the fact that he was actually fit most of the time (he said that they tried to do less training with him, to keep him fresher for games and cameos), but of course, time and injuries played their part, us starting to play a much more intensive game. Bobby taking over as our central forward from 16/17 onwards, other players stealing minutes off the bench, etc.
Did we just complete a deal for Renato Sanches or is this still just a rumor?
I assume it’s a rumour
It seems that the club will very likely go for Ben White as CB option due to the homegrown/non-homegrown quotas.
What really worries me is that our transfer team have set a precedent of getting players in at the start of the window, presumably at Klopp’s instructions. Doesn’t bode well.
Yes its right, and given the crises we would have moved already; we’re weathering it and no one is coming.
Like the serious line at the end of the first act of a disaster movie.
Yippe-kay-ay!
That’s odd because I reckon we had at least two months of Thiago arriving on here.
Klopp does, but we are also in a very odd position at the moment, clubs seem to in the last few days started to show a few more moves if a deal can be done it will be. I don’t think it’s dead I just think were working on what we can with what we have, as others have said if the season was suspended tomorrow there is no guarantee it would restart.
Do we want one, that seems obvious and Klopp has even stated we would have gone out and got one in normal circumstances, the fact he is also playing Hendo at the back alongside Fabinho shows how he feels about what he has.
We will see I guess, I think top 4 without one would have to be a realistic outcome, however it really depends on how many games Fabinho and Matip play and how quickly Thiago gets up to speed and whether the front 3 ever discover to make the right decision again.
I’m just floating a theory.
I wonder if the reason why we haven’t/won’t move for a centre back is because what we are actually missing in Van Dijk’s absence is not his defensive ability, it’s his ability to start attacks from the back and his incredible passing range that can pick out the forwards from 60 yards away. His ability to get us up the pitch incredibly quickly and turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye.
There are no centre backs who offer this. It’s no good saying there are. There just aren’t. Not that we can get on a short term fix, and not that a club would be willing to lose before the end of the season.
So perhaps Klopp’s thinking is that the answer is to not worry about the defending part but to look at how he can approximate that attacking aspect of Van Dijk.
So If you want a lad who can do the basic centre-backing, but actually gets us close to what Van Dijk offered offensively, then Jordan Henderson starts to make a lot of sense.
Him and Fab didn’t put a foot wrong on Sunday. Man Utd have a potent attack, and aside from a few chances late on, they didn’t really trouble us.
Sure, you lose him from midfield, but the numbers we have there make that sting a little less. We have plenty of lads in midfield who are more than capable of stepping up. And I don’t think the midfield is the issue either - we’re getting to the box and it’s the forwards who are not in good shape.
It was really interesting on Sunday that Klopp played him on the left of the pair, choosing to move Fabinho over to the right. We expect Matip back this week, and I think what we might see is Klopp choosing to play him with Jordan instead of Fabinho. And I think Fab has been brilliant there (and you can still drop Fabinho in there if the game suits Jordan in midfield or Matip needs a rest)
Sometimes I think we’re guilty of seeing football players in neat little boxes. They are a CB, a Foward, a Left Back. In reality, they are lads who are really good at football, and skills sets are transferable. And I think Klopp’s vision of football is less fixed anyway. Trent is not a right back. He’s probably second only to De Bruyne as the leagues best playmaker. But he’s doing it from Right Back. If we had to replace him, we’re not buying a right back, we’re finding a lad with a similar skillset, and that probably a midfielder.
Me? I’d still get another centre back in. But Jurgen Klopp knows a bit more about footy than me. I’ll back him to the end of the earth over what us gobshite fans know.
You have basically saved me the time of writing out pretty much the same post. The diagonal to Salah or Trent literally turns the whole of the oppositions team round, same with the balls over the top to Mane.
I also noticed the change of sides between Fab and Henderson and i applied the same logic.
Really interesting theory but it’s Occam’s razor for me- he’s playing Hendo at CB because the young lads are nowhere near good enough (yet) and there’s no other options
Interesting theory but then wasn’t Thiago brought in to do some of that side of things. A bit of a (and God I hate the term but it’s the easiest to understand) quarterback type who will dictate the play and deliver those passes.
The worry with Hendo doing it is that the backline drops a little deeper with him there instead of Virgil and those balls then become longer or to forwards who have also had to drop their line back and therefore the balance isn’t right.
It’s an interesting idea but a team with a more savvy manager is going to target him and make him do some meat and potatoes centre back work. I suspect part of the reason he played Henderson left was so Fabinho was alongside Trent to cover their stronger left side more than anything to do with our counter attacking ideas.
Interesting theory but have to disagree. Especially this bit. If we had a different keeper than Alisson we lose that game as they score at least once with the chances they had. And that’s without Ole having the guts to really go for the game or the tactical acumen to get his players to target Henderson and try to expose him. They played into our hands and allowed Fabinho to do all the clearing up of the danger. Henderson did really well in an unfamiliar position but I wouldn’t want to see that pairing at CB against a good CL side or city if it can be avoided.