21 May 2021 09:18:41
I wonder if Klopp has a niggling thought in the back of his mind regarding the Phillips / Williams partnership? Whilst it's not the VVD / Gomez partnership, I just wonder if there is a slight regret in not playing them earlier as apposed to draughting in Henderson and Fabhino to fill the gaps.

Just a thought that's all.

1.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 09:42:51
I'm sure he regrets not trusting Phillips more at an earlier stage. Williams at Christmas was being targeted and bullied by average players who weren't getting any joy out of anyone. I'd imagine it's taken a lot of work and introspection to get him to this stage which, let's face it, isn't brilliant but is just about holding in for the last few days. I seriously doubt there is much regret about not playing him more at an earlier stage.

2.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 09:55:26
Maybe but if henderson was fit I doubt Williams would be playing. Done very well mind just painfully slow 👊.

3.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 10:39:08
Or even Kabak and Phillips.

4.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 10:45:27
Removing Fabinho from our midfield hurt us big time.

5.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 10:55:17
Play forwards where forwards play and midfielders where midfielders play!
We where only missing 2 main cbs when playing but when u take your 2 best mids or one to play cb your messing the whole balance of the team and we suffered big time!

6.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 11:06:17
Any risks of playing Williams are outweighed by the reward of playing Fabinho in midfield. As it is, Williams has done well and we’ve looked better as a team having two actual centre backs and Fabinho holding it together in the middle. Far more balanced.

7.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 11:24:20
OP, For me a the time, Klopp was going through a lot of crap on and off the pitch and when all you are doing is putting out fires on a daily basis, it is normal that you have some blind spots that will be missed hence, poor judgment in certain areas.

IMO, the Phillips we are seeing now is nowhere near the Phillips we saw play back then cos he has vastly improved his game. He simply was not ready, IMO. Kabak also improved a ton after spending more time with the team and training together. The same goes for Williams. Klopp said once in Jan I think, that while we have to find solutions to our issues, we still have to be prepared to play the game therefore, Klopp was literally rebuilding the plane while it was in mid-flight. Also do not underestimate the lack of training time and heavy schedule meaning, no time to train and prepare the team to shoulder the high burden of injuries we had.

The fact is that there was no way we were going to win or challenge for the title with our injury pile up. It simply would not have happened no matter how much people want to believe the contrary. A better go at top 4? Maybe. More point than we have now? Probably but in the end, Klopp played the hand he was dealt so it is what it is.

8.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 12:26:28
with the same information at that time, it's still a 50/ 50 call. But at the time, my feeling was that it'd be better to trust actual CBs to play at the back especially if meant keeping the rest of the team at full strength.

rightly or wrongly, the decision Klopp made did seem to impact the whole team and the rot really set in for a while.

9.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 13:33:20
I think it’s more than a niggle.
It can only be seen as a mistake by Klopp, but that’s very easy to say in hindsight, it was an extraordinary situation that I don’t think many managers, if any have ever faced.
The important thing is that Fabinho is back in the middle and we have regained some form again.

10.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 13:55:12
Phillips is a tough, no nonsense, agressive defender that is better than anything else we've had available since the main 3 got injured but ended up 7th/ 8th choice. Possibly the best header of a ball at the club. Started 14 league games with 10 wins and 2 draws with only 9 conceded. Points per game is better than Man City can achieve at the end of the season. Lack of trust cos he is not Franco Baresi on the ball cost us big time.

11.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 15:19:45
1985 Mikey, I try not to refer to the phrase “ hindsight “ it’s just a bit of a pet hate of mine - personal thing.

But I couldn’t agree more in this instance.

12.) 21 May 2021
21 May 2021 15:44:59
Underneath the floodlights, not playing an untested Phillips at the very height of the turmoil we were in, did not cost us anything. It is normal under the very terrible circumstances, not to trust Phillips cos he prolly did not want to hurt him either cos if he starts making mistakes then, his confidence is shot and you cannot go back to him. The manager has to protect the players as well long term and in the end, it helped cos Phillips has improved massively since then. Phillips was simply not ready to do what was required and clearly is twice the player he was back then. That we can all agree on.

Most importantly, playing Phillips would not have allowed us to fully challenge for the title anyway. That would never have happened as much as we would like to believe the contrary. You said it yourself, he was 7th or 8th choice so how would that have helped bridge the huge gap left with the CB injuries we had? Klopp played the hand he was dealt and that's life, IMO.

13.) 22 May 2021
22 May 2021 11:45:56
Oil Red, I'd buy into that, except Rhys Williams was being thrown out there in the Prem before Nat, so not sure that argument really stands.

14.) 22 May 2021
22 May 2021 09:16:21
OR you obviously can't recall the fact that Phillips first appearance was when he was awarded MOM against West Ham. He hardly played before Christmas and the games he has missed since Chsistmas have invariably ended in defeat or draws. The lad has not had the opportunities he deserved and if you believe that Fabinho/ Henderson/ Williams/ Kabak were full of CB experience compared to the apparently untested Phillips then you don't understand the issue.