I hear Zenit have one of the best centre halves in the world playing for them…
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He also believes in bringing in quality players, particularly if it’s to fix a large hole in the squad. Also, I’m advocating buying a player we might already be considering for the summer, not just some kneejerk signing that hasn’t been thought through (like we’d ever do that with our current set up).
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He doesn’t react in a kneejerk fashion, so in my opinion we would only bring in a key signing in Jan if it were already someone that has been identified, scouted and vetted by Klopp and Edwards for next summer and the deal is moved forward due to VVD’s injury. We know that the club do plan quiet a few windows in advance so this would not be a far stretch. But I don’t see them just suddenly throwing all previous planning out the window just to sign someone due to Virgils injury.
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Yes you are right… but me thinks with the way he has to motivate his squad from here on in… quality player or not, timing wise, I very much doubt he will risk that mid-season without the usual opportunity to integrate the new signing into his methodology…
Time will tell eh… season won’t be over by January so I suppose team performance up until then will dictate his final decisions…
Whatever happens… We need to go for maximum points by facing each game and given situation as they crop up…
I am more concerned by the players we have left not doing their jobs than I am about losing Virgil. Even with him playing this season we’ve seen an odd return to the Rodgers era of defenders simply not doing what they’re supposed to do. If we don’t kick that we were not going to win the league even with Virgil in the side. And if we do kick it then the lads we have left are more than good enough to take us on a league winning run.
There was a clip of Thiago against chelsea celebrating winning a throw in after a snappy tackle, and that was the sort of things we saw all the time from the back 4 in the previous 2 seasons. It was visible how much pride they took in the doing the little things right and how accountable they were to their team mates for doing them. Each individual case looks small, but done time after time they are the bedrock of having the best defensive record in the league. We’re just not seeing it this year, and Trent on Saturday just watching Digne run past him is now par for the course. I don’t know what is going on, whether it is physical, mental or tactical but this is the fork in the road for us as to whether we’re going to be able to cope.
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Surely there must be, we were already considering a CB this summer but then Gini stayed put and we went for the Fabinho 4th option. Now we 100% have to get someone if we are to compete this season, as it’s not a few weeks or a month. Or stay like this and hope for the best, but that would likely mean tanking the season to me.
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Noticed that and also noted it was Milner with whom he celebrated, another player of like minded mentality.
Those two and Henderson will set the right tone. More so than any of the others, including Virgil.
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Add Mane to the list of tone setters.
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You’re right, certainly in terms of attitude. But Sadio’s a nutter 
A wonderful, unbridled, nutter
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Totally agree with you plus the players will be fired up now to fight for each other and cover for each other when defending Klopp and his staff will also bond them up even tighter what VVd gave them was a sort of comfort blanket
Now they will fight like fury and Klopp will use Rhys and Koumetio a lot more in cup games and home PL games. Vvd in his open letter said he will help out whenever required all good my depression has lifted a bit now
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Yeah, I can’t believe we weren’t looking at a CB in the summer. It’s probably just a question of priorities and availability, of course. We maybe felt we could get away with 3 plus Fabinho. I didn’t like it but I’m a realist and there isn’t a bottomless pit of money.
I trust JK and Edwards to do the right thing. They are big picture guys. Not short term fixers. Playing the long game on transfers has served us well to date so I don’t want to see us bring any old player in. Has to be the right fit.
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I think what we have to assume is these guys are always looking at players in every position. They will already have a very strong idea of who they like as possible replacements should they decide it comes to that.
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Maybe Thiago could chime in as well, for motivational purposes. “Listen lads, I won the triple last season with a past his prime Boateng and a 5ft10 full back playing at CB, so what are you whining about?”
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One thing, apart from his amazing defending and organizing skills ofcourse, is the ability to make those cross field inch perfect long passes. That none of our midfielders used to do with an amazing ease until now. Thiago could help atleast cover that aspect of our game.
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Maybe a post for a different thread but I was mildly impressed with Wes Fofana yesterday playing his debut for Leicester at CB. He’s still a teenager, coming from a middling Ligue 1 side (ASSE), and he held his own in a fairly physical contest. Did not at all look out of place.
They are however tactically it’s another story. There isn’t an organiser between them (and adding Fabinho wouldn’t change that). Matip goes on cover and he sits far too deep. We will end up having those balls played from central positions in behind Trent and Robbo (the memory of those horrifies me).
I would change the midfield to a double pivot of Fab and Hendo to try and ‘block’ those central areas i.e leave the defense as it is. the problem with that is Fab is our next CB in line.
This is going to be a trying period and all our players are going to have to put in the extra effort needed to keep in touch at the top of the table imo.
Btw Salah made some real effort defensively against Everton even if he lost the ball too easily in possession his effort was immense). that’s what we are going to need.
To some degree yes, I would think so too. Maybe a sharper reaction to when the press fails or when it isn’t on.
About the line though, and not dropping it when there’s little or no ball pressure: Bayern do the same thing, or at least did last season. Haven’t watched them yet this season, so I don’t know if they still do that. It seems a bit unusual, at least in terms of the old, conventional wisdom.
Is it because of the insurance of VAR on offside calls, is it because compactness always is the priority; is it because they simply fancy themselves getting out on top in a foot race anyway, and dare the opposition to go for the breakthrough? All of the above…?
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I wonder if we’ll be like we were when Gerrard was out injured? When he was on the pitch, a lot of players just didn’t seem to put it all in because Gerrard would pull them through. When he was absent, those on the pitch had to do it themselves. Joe and Joel might form a formidable combination in his absence. If Matip can stay fit for 8 minutes of course.
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So the FA are satisfied that the ref and VAR saw the incident and dealt with it at the time. That’s two officials that have completed failed, one of whom had numerous TV angles and attempts to review it and neither saw it as even worthy of a yellow card.
However, we can apparently trust them to judge offside to the millimetre. Utter farce and shows what a bunch of pedantic arseholes we have running this game.
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There are rumours that he’s already injured again.
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