23 Dec 2022 14:07:56
Nat Phillips for me is our 3rd best centre back. Incredibly alarming on the 3rd goal last night that 7 players were marking Haaland (or nobody) and Phillips was the only player who spotted 3 men on the back post. He would've dealt with it too if Laporte hadn't nudged him under the ball.

Gomez, I hate to say it, but his time at Liverpool has to come to an end. Summer time he has to be sold as he costs us nearly every game he plays. He lost every 50/ 50 last night and how a professional centre back can just forget Haaland is behind him and dangle out a leg rather than step onto it and head it away, is just criminal. He may be quick but that doesn't mean he suits our team. He can't hold an offside trap, he can't win a header, he doesn't read the game, he can't defend 1v1, he can't pass unless it's sideways with a clear sight line along the ground etc. He can't even cross it well enough to play right back. Must've hit at least 5 crosses straight into Ortega's arms last night. List goes on. At some point we have to accept that his injuries have finished him at this level. That's not me being harsh, that's me facing the reality of the situation in front of me.

Matip also should go next summer in my opinion. He was rusty last night but that's because he was injured for ages (yet again) . Can't trust him and he's 32 anyway.

Virgil, Konate and Phillips should stay in my opinion. Maybe Quansah, Koumetio, Williams Chambers or Van den Berg can save us some money, maybe not. If not, next summer we need to go and find a reliable centre back who won't miss 20 games and won't bottle 50/ 50's. They don't even need to be elite. Akanji at Man City is a perfect example of a back up centre back. Not world class, never will be, but when he plays you get a 6 or 7 out of 10 performance. Basically we need another Nat Phillips!

1.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 14:36:20
What is more alarming is how easy it is to get to our goal. You can have the best defence in the world, but nothing will change if the opposition can run through our middle or have all the time in the world to switch play over our fullbacks.

But agree that Joe looks very low on confidence and Matip flatters to deceive.

Just listened to Klopp's presser for the Villa game. Curious that, not for the first time, says "our counterpressing was non-existent".

Jurgen, why is our counterpressing non-existent?

He also mentioned that the lineup plans had to change last minute and that contributed to the slow start against City. I mean, not to be facetious, but given there is a high probability of injury in this squad of players, you may need suck it up Jurgen and have more flexibility.

2.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 14:54:30
I agree gomez for me is better at right back and a liability at centre back, matip is ageing but still useful if not injured.

3.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 15:56:03
Gomez is simply a liability whether at centre back or right back.

4.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 16:45:09
Been saying it for a long time now that Gomez is positionally inept. He causes mayhem for his own defenders but still we continue to play him.

5.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 16:47:25
Iv been saying it for ages now. Bitter sweet as I like the bloke but Gomez’s time at Liverpool is done. Anyone waiting on his form from yesteryears to return will be waiting an eternity. It simply is not coming back I’m afraid. New ownership is exactly what we need because so many players need moving on and fresh blood needs to be injected into the squad. We have well document problems in midfield, aging players, not good enough players etc so won’t elaborate further in regards to that area of the pitch. Central defence is an interesting one and maybe going under the radar due to the midfield issues. We are light considering Matip is injury prone. Gomez cannot be relied upon, which leaves VVD and Konate. A big injury to VVD will leave Konate carrying the defence, which is a lot of responsibility at his age.

6.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 17:03:03
I Gomez is terrible at right back, he constantly gets caught out.

7.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 17:05:40
Mk nothing against your opinion mate and it’s a good interesting post. But for me If Phillips is better than Matip and Gomez then things have really taken a turn for the worst.

Phillips is a decent centre half who is still actually unproven in the Premier league over a sustained period of time.

I’ve seen posts criticising Klopp for not replacing Matip last season but we hardly had a disaster of a season with him in there.

I agree though that Konate is the future and him and Vvd will and should likely be our starting centre backs nogung forward. But if one of them needs replacing or resting then it’s Matip every day of the week for me.

8.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 17:30:06
"Gomez is just lacking in confidence"

9.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 18:16:14
So Joe Gomez is the new scapegoat because we lost a game?
Has Pep's book fallen by the wayside or something?

10.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 18:30:22
Phillips cannot pass at all and definitely cannot run out from the back. Yes he can head and tackle. A decent no nonsense old skool defender who defends. Good for a bottom half of the table team or 4th choice. Stick him in against the dinosaur teams. The bolton, Stoke, Burnleys etc. Gomez just loses the flight of the ball constantly which he always has done but now he also switches off aswell.
Time for Konate to be Virgils partner.

11.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 19:52:57
Flash, it's nothing to do with making him a scapegoat. He's had 1 good game this season (ironically against City) . But he then followed that up by costing us the game against Forest and giving away a comedic penalty against West Ham. Then yesterday where he gifted Haaland a goal, and bottled 50/ 50's against Cole Palmer who looks he's only taking his GCSE's next year.

4 years ago i thought he was England's best centre back. Then he broke his leg against Burnley and a succession of injuries just seem to have cost him the trust in his own body. Ducking headers 3 times in a single game is just embarassing. Phillips would head a dangerous cross away if the ball was filled with cement. He's an average Premier league centre back but right now Gomez is way off even that.

It's not about making anyone a scapegoat and i'm sorry if it came across that way. It's purely about what i've seen. I bottled it up for ages hoping he'd come good. This isn't a post off the back of 1 bad game. It's a post of the back of 3 bad years.

12.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 21:56:20
Phillips is not an average cb, sence why no one has offered £15m to buy him.

13.) 23 Dec 2022
23 Dec 2022 23:07:34
Everything MK Scouser said are my sentiments to a tee.

14.) 24 Dec 2022
24 Dec 2022 04:47:11
Was about to write the same Alonso. Gomez was easily England's best centre back in 2018. Now he's a liability. Phillips isn't PL standard for me. This summer I'd sell Jones, Gomez, Phillips and Kelleher (like to keep him but he deserves first team football) . We need to stop holding out for stupid money and get market value.

15.) 24 Dec 2022
24 Dec 2022 11:16:06
MK, I agree with you on Gomez and it pains me to say it cos i still think kid is very talented. He did did not play well on Thursday. I was late to everything, lacked aggression and played “nice” the whole time. No good enuff. Phillips is a good CB but not sure he is fit to play the high line we play and even that, he can make up fir it via reading the game better and with better positional awareness.

To me, that is his only flaw cos in terms of actual defending, he is very good indeed. Better than Matip, imo. As for Matip still being here this season, it’s Klopp trying to phase him out since Konate us the future but again can we trust Klopp to follow thru and out his loyalty to players he has trusted over the years to the side? We will have to see.