Liverpool Banter Archive March 21 2016

21 Mar 2016 21:56:19
Am I the only one that gets frustrated every time Gerrard speaks? Given the way his book has lead to trouble for the club, and every month he talks about how he's going to coach and wants it to be Liverpool. It's almost like he's claiming he's not begging liverpool to hire him, but he is. (I would work there, but I have other options. But if they asked me i'd go, but I can still play. But I'm doing my badges. But maybe they'll hire me) . And the La galaxy fans are extremely displeased with not only his performances but his lack of professionalism with the club. I think they're right. It's quite annoying. But Maybe it's just me.

21 Mar 2016 22:11:55
TjRed

It's not just you.
The man is full of his own importance.

21 Mar 2016 22:21:24
I agree - also Carragher should his keep his mouth shut sometimes. Same goes for Aldridge. Liverpool and Manchester United seem to have a lot of ex-players in the press giving their opinions. They tend to be ones who don't have the balls to go into management. You don't hear Dalglish spouting to the press at every opportunity. Personally I believe ex-plyers should be more discreet but I know am in the minority.

21 Mar 2016 22:50:23
As someone who attends Galaxy games, he's certainly not super-popular with most fans. I personally thought he'd struggle in the MLS as while the technique isn't anywhere near the level of the EPL, the one thing they do do in the MLS is run. A lot. Which is not exactly his strength these days.

21 Mar 2016 23:17:02
Wow this man has earned this he turned down Big teams to stay with us he gets my respect and if we had 11 gerrards on the pitch who gives 110% all the time we would walk this league.

21 Mar 2016 23:50:59
He played us to get a better contract is also what he did.

22 Mar 2016 00:32:51
He had a chance to go to Real Madrid and he turned it down to say at Liverpool. He also turned others offers down. He stick with us though the dark days whan we had hicks and the other person.

22 Mar 2016 05:25:08
Comments or no comments, Gerrard at his best could be such a massive upgrade for our current team. Exactly the kind of player we need in midfield. Someone who can pass a ball to any distance, score from anywhere in the last third, help keep possesion, organise our game and provide some leadership.

22 Mar 2016 06:22:43
You are not the only one TJ. There are a few people who doesn't like him. In fact there are some who always figure out a way to criticize him. He spend 17 years with the club ( with omit without money ) I don't think I would spend that time with my GF.

{Ed001's Note - they criticise him because he opens himself up for criticism. He should be up there with the likes of Dalglish as a legend of the club beyond criticism, but his misbehaviour off the pitch, attempts to leave and overbearing arrogance, not to mention the way he drove more than one player out of the club because he didn't like them, have left him open to criticism.

If he wasn't so keen on making more money and getting more famous, then he might not make comments that draw criticism. Sadly he is always all about him.}

22 Mar 2016 09:04:19
Redmen Reus.
If we had 11 player like gerrard in the team, then we'd have the whole team not wanting to play in their most successful position, Each player would want to be the highest earner at the club irrespective of anything. And who know how many other dj incidents would have been there?

22 Mar 2016 09:29:46
Rest, if you are by far the best player at your club for years, then of course you would want to be the best paid. Would you accept being paid less than a workmate who you knew was not as good as you.

22 Mar 2016 11:37:31
Can't believe the disrespect yous are just throwing at Stevie. Maybe he should just keep quite in the media but c'mon the guy is a Liverpool legend, one of the best players to put on the jersey so a bit of respect wouldn't go a miss.

22 Mar 2016 12:18:58
Still gave me the best night of my life in Istanbul so i don't mind the BS right now tbh.

22 Mar 2016 12:26:13
So talking to alonso Suarez Torres and other great players to stay at the club and not go shows you he cares for the club. And for making money he could off what to a big club.

22 Mar 2016 12:46:14
Who did he drive out?

22 Mar 2016 12:50:42
He could have earned double or even tripple at any other club in his peak time. All now accusing Gerrard comes out here and ask to support the current crop of players for the same reasons.

Reet
If we had 11 Gerrard we would have walked away with title some 10 years ago. His Quality on the Ball is second to only Zidane. The position you are refering was a success when gerrard played behind Torres. How many did he score? . He still holds the record of most goals scored by a midfield player in modern day era.
He was the face of this club for about 15 years.

{Ed001's Note - not true, he turned down Chelsea because Liverpool matched their offer. He also made the club insert a clause ensuring he must be the highest paid player at the club.}

22 Mar 2016 13:03:05
If Gerard comes back it will be a huge mistake by the club.

22 Mar 2016 13:22:06
ed, are the Liverpool mafia stories true? Rhetoric is rife on the web that he only turned Chelsea down because some Liverpool mobsters threatened him him not to go to Chelsea.

{Ed001's Note - that was not the only factor involved and it wasn't quite as told. The Liverpool mafia I was referring to were the lads within the club who were a clique as disruptive as the Spanish clique at Madrid.}

22 Mar 2016 14:12:42
Ed. if you can't or don't want to tell us who he drove out.
Could you tell us if they was decent first team players or are we talking the likes of Diouf, Diao. Aspas and so on.

{Ed001's Note - mixed.}

22 Mar 2016 14:17:07
Torres this player?

23 Mar 2016 08:27:02
Oh I know what you meant by the 'Liverpool Mafia'. But how much of an influence did the real mobsters have in Gerrard staying?

{Ed001's Note - money seemed the main motivator to me.}

21 Mar 2016 20:03:00
Ed2 sportbild reporting that we've enquired for Sule. Fantastic if we have. With wisdom, jones and toure all going, could we add ilori or either the main 3 if we are after Sule. I see Gomez being used as fullback cover.

{Ed002's Note - Yes, but don't forget Matip is joining so not all of Sakho, Lovren and Skrtel will survive in that case. You need to think four plus versatile full back or young cover.}

21 Mar 2016 21:08:55
Sorry ed is that yes that we would need to sell more CB's or yes we've enquired for Sule?

Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool cannot keep adding without thinning a little.}

21 Mar 2016 21:11:43
Is this true Ed? Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - I don't know but I explained before he would be number one pick from my perspective.}

21 Mar 2016 22:54:37
God hope it's true. Sule is supreme. Sule, Sakho, Matip and Lovren with Ilori as cover. This would be and awesome CB list for any squad.

Need a better GK or it almost means nothing.

21 Mar 2016 23:36:49
I was hoping Matip/ Sakho or Lovren plus Skrtel and Lucas remaIning as versatile backup but if we sold Skrtel for Sule we'd be in even better shape. Can't see Illori, Wisdom making it and Gomez needs more time.

22 Mar 2016 06:36:44
Max Renn

What about Gomez then? I don't think the club needs 4 specialist CB's ( all wanting regular game time ) with us missing both CL and EL next season.
If Sule were to come then I expect 2 out of Skrtel / Sakho / Lovren to go.

22 Mar 2016 07:03:57
Why Harry? You make it sound like having 4 players for 2 available positions is madness, when it's clearly the norm everywhere. With EPL, League Cup and FA Cup, with EL possibly also, next year, having 4 cb's is an absolute minimum. Gomez may be talented, but still unproven, and it's about time we stopped living on future potential and results, and living for results today!

22 Mar 2016 07:17:39
Süle looks decent but also a bit clumsy.
I'm not sure he's as good as some people claim.

21 Mar 2016 21:38:51
Ed002, how do you generally rate SportBild when it comes to transfer scoops? I know it's a kind of vague question, but if you were to read a transfer rumour revealed by Bild, would you feel more inclined to believe it or treat it with a pinch of salt?

{Ed002's Note - I generally don't read the newspapers or websites Nick.}

21 Mar 2016 18:03:15
Hi ed01 any chance of dat much promised transfer update. We need a pick me up after yesterday.

{Ed001's Note - I will try and get it done this week for you.}

21 Mar 2016 17:26:30
So Ed1,

In your esteemed opinion - Allen, Skrtel and Benteke are going/ should go in the summer?

I'm not sure about Milner - say what you want but fact is he can cover more positions than anybody. But he wouldn't be my 1st choice in any of those positions. Conundrum.

{Ed001's Note - it really depends on who we get offers for, very few of our squad are indispensable.}

21 Mar 2016 17:46:49
People say he can 'cover' positions but i don't see how?

People seem to associate being a utility player with being rubbish.

Just because someone is a hard worker doesn't mean constantly being out of position, getting skinned, not offering anything going forward, giving the ball away, slowing down our play, giving away stupid fouls and defensive mistakes and spending half the game on your backside for some reason is good enough! Why do people continue to believe milner can 'do a job'?

Allen, skrtel, benteke, moreno, mignolet all definately need to go.

Milner and lallana are not good enough going forward so would like to see them replaced but may not happen for the sake of chemistry.

Then bring in a goalkeeper, a left back, a holding mid, a winger and maybe a new centre back in and we should be all set for the new season.

21 Mar 2016 18:02:51
I'm not convinced by Milner but do appreciate the effort. On Lallana I am convinced that if he got his head up and moved the ball on quicker he'd be a cracking player.

21 Mar 2016 18:28:19
Wiwar

He hasn't got that head up in three seasons now mate.

21 Mar 2016 20:01:55
Hear what you're saying DGX but I think there have been some positive signs (albeit a long way down the line) that the change in coaching will bear fruit.

21 Mar 2016 20:40:09
Wiwar.
I would certainly swap Lallana for an excellent pacy winger next summer. Something different to what Coutinho / Firmino brings to the team. A new dimension to our attack.

21 Mar 2016 20:53:40
The problem with our team is that we give them too much credit for good performances when the whole team plays well, like arsenal.

When we play well, milner, allen, lallana, they all appear to be really tidy and do a job, are economical with the ball and they appear to play well.

But that's only when we're on top, and even when we are, they don't do much other than retain the ball.

We need players that can pull things out of nowhere when the chips are down. Milner, lallana and allen will not give you that. They don't offer enough.

22 Mar 2016 06:39:12
AW
Agree there mate. We need someone like Sanchez whom we can rely up on when nothing is going our way. May be the first goal or a moment of genius to open up a dead game.

21 Mar 2016 17:07:44
Eds everyone seems to be talking up about the idea of Gotze arriving in the summer. I don't see that we need him as we are over run with No.10's and also i don't see that he would want to come to us with other options he will have. Do we have genuin interest or is it purely down to the fact that Klopp worked with him before so everyone jumping to conclusions?

{Ed002's Note - Try the search engine.}

22 Mar 2016 04:15:34
I would love to see gotze at anfield, but I don't expect it to happen sadly, when fully fit and playing well he is top quality, its one of those links where I do hope the klopp factor gives us an advantage.

22 Mar 2016 21:28:55
Don't want him here as he is not a player we need in an area where Couts and Robbie are flourishing. We have issues elsewhere that Gotze's talents cannot fill.

21 Mar 2016 15:29:01
Which players in the Prem have you been most surprisingly impressed with this season Ed1?

{Ed001's Note - has to be Kante, I had never heard of him. Alli, as I thought he would take a season or two to settle. Antonio, I knew he worked hard but I had not realised just how good he was, he never looked like he quite had enough ability for the Prem. Lanzini was really beginning to blossom before he got injured as well. Funes Mori has looked good, especially considering the manager gives him no help with defending. The Bournemouth centre backs. They have been a rock for them in the main. Ake has looked really good.}

21 Mar 2016 15:47:19
Marhez?

{Ed001's Note - he said surprisingly and he had already shown he was quality last season.}

21 Mar 2016 18:04:41
Kante without a doubt. Such humble attitude towards the game and what a fine fine player.

21 Mar 2016 19:10:04
Cheers Ed1.

21 Mar 2016 20:02:17
wes morgan has been immense this season, but all the leicester players seem to be having blinders.

22 Mar 2016 01:47:23
Drinkwater and Kante even tho, Mahrez has been quality but that, we already knew.

22 Mar 2016 04:28:08
I have been impressed with payet at west ham and okazaki at Leicester and ighalo at Watford. my footballer of the year would be kante and young player delli alli, Claudio raneri manager of the year with a special mention to eddie howe for the superb job he has done at Bournemouth.

{Ed001's Note - I knew Payet was quality and that his issues were off the pitch, so I couldn't include him. It is when things are not going well that you need your best players to stand up and be counted, so we will only know about him if they go on a bad run. Okazaki I loved as a player before he arrived and so again I couldn't count him. Ighalo I remain to be convinced by. He had a purple patch but the rest of the season has been average.}

22 Mar 2016 05:36:56
point taken about payet ed but I did not no of okazaki personally that's why I chose him, I have ignored ighalo's recent poor form as I was impressed by him earlier in the season, having said that troy deeney has been a very unselfish partner for ighalo.

{Ed001's Note - I love Okazaki's style of play, he has always been willing to run himself into the ground for his team and that is hard to dislike. I have to say Ranieri is using him brilliantly.}

22 Mar 2016 12:50:59
I am rather biased as I lived in Watford for a while and was a season ticket holder there but Troy Deeney is a really underrated player in my opinion. Maybe hasn't scored as many as he should have but creates a lot and is a real handful all game, never gives up. And I am currently living in Japan and they show a lot of Leicester games due to Okazaki and he really is a great player. If he was a few years younger he would be so perfect for this Liverpool team, reminds me a little of Ings but has some real quality to him. Kante, as the Ed said, has had a truly incredible season!

21 Mar 2016 12:26:20
Hi ed001

what do you pin our loss yesterday down to? To be honest I reckon Klopp gets too much stick for his substitutions. How dare he expect a 31yo international captain like Skrtel to help hold the fort for 45 minutes.

As for the midfield, yeah he could have done better to adapt to that, but it wasn't so detrimental that it caused us to concede 3 in 45 minutes.

{Ed001's Note - it was down to not having Firmino and Henderson in the team. Though Lucas could have filled in for Henderson, with him out as well we were left with Allen. Allen is just not as good, nor has he got any kind of understanding with Can, so it was just two men in midfield, rather than a midfield unit. Worse was not having Firmino chasing back and helping out.

Skrtel's weakness is well known, that was a huge error by Klopp. I don't care what country Skrtel captains, he is utterly hopeless as a player. Never been good enough and should have been let go many years ago. They targeted him and got joy from it. It didn't help that Flanno is still feeling his way back and struggled badly as well.

Koeman just did really well to adjust things at half time, while our players were so comfortable in the first half they struggled to get going. I think it would have been difficult even without Skrtel being brought on, that just made it more obvious. I have to say well done Koeman, he adjusted his tactics well.}

21 Mar 2016 13:07:09
Fully agree with Ed01 pretty much the way I saw it. Lovren struggled at times to cope in the 1st half, down to Flanno off pace and no Hendo to cover down that side. Koeman got tactics right 2nd half, targeted that side of the pitch Skrtle coming on just made it easier for them.

{Ed001's Note - tactically Koeman has been very good for Southampton it must be said, in the main. He has managed to make some good players look like great players and some average ones look like good ones. He even makes a donkey look decent on occasion.}

21 Mar 2016 14:27:20
You referring to Pelle Ed001?

{Ed001's Note - not in terms of the donkey no. I was talking about Wanyama, he can't pass a simple pass.}

21 Mar 2016 14:48:14
Well Pelle not the quickest either but had Skrtel for dinner. I Really hope Klopp has seen now that Skrtel is a passenger. The amount of times Sakho was left for dead in the second half by Skrtel was staggering. How Skrtel has been our longest serving CB over recent times is beyond all logic. We should have let City have him when they came calling years ago.

It is not like Klopp is spoiled for choice though.

21 Mar 2016 15:00:54
Pelle had little joy in the first half and absolutely bullied Skrtel in the 2nd. Watching a 'hard man' get bowled over by Ward-Prowse was just embarrassing. Lesson learned, hopefully.

21 Mar 2016 15:07:12
Agree with most of it except for about Allen. Think he has strangely been one of our most consistent performers this season.

21 Mar 2016 23:58:13
Tj he's performed well, but not in that role, he needs to be in a midfield 3 with a DM to cover and someone like Hendo alongside him otherwise PL sides will just ping it in the air and we lose the second balls every time. Man Utd destroyed him the same way with Fellaini a few games (but had no joy with Can/ Hendo in midfield with the same tactic) .

He's also excellent in possession and keeping the ball in a game we're in control of, but when the other sides tails are up and they have big physical players on the pitch, he disappears. Overall he's a good player but not what we need I'm afraid.

22 Mar 2016 01:51:02
As soon as Skrtel cane on, I knew we would be in trouble and we were although, we were leggy and tired and Can and Allen didn't function as a tandem in midfield at all.

21 Mar 2016 09:58:19
I was not surprised by our defeat yesterday. The Manager got it wrong with the players on the pitch.
I know this page as become the Flanno the greatest thing since sliced bread society, but why Captain?
He doesn't influence a game in the slightest. A strong tackler and would be great in defensive set back 4 team that stays together and as the Gandalf mentality of you shall not pass.
I agree he has the heart of a lion, but this he's a local lad and he's aggressive argument doesn't wash with me.
The stats since his comeback has been played the full 90 minutes on 4 occasions and in 3 of them games we have been beaten.
I am not blaming him for the defeats alone. I am just saying he doesn't deserve the captains armband, or a place in the team, on the grounds that he's a scouser who has been devastated with injuries.

21 Mar 2016 10:13:06
Agree with you, He was non existent through out and guilty of the 1st and third goal. Emre Can was also at fault.

21 Mar 2016 10:58:54
Don't let ed1 hear you say that.

{Ed001's Note - there is no denying he is not back to his best, but he has been out for nearly two years, it takes a long time to shake off the rust.}

21 Mar 2016 11:18:40
Time to get Edd China in with the sanding pads and a new top coat?

21 Mar 2016 12:05:29
I don't think he has what it takes to play the Klopp way. Hendo was not there to bail him out when he went forward and miss place his passes. He turns like the Titanic and will always leave the Centre Back exposed.
He would be perfect in a solid style back 4 that just sit like Leicester do.
He is a great lad tough as teak and would be in my team all day long under Houlier, but the way we play with a high press, he needs to react faster. I agree that he's ring rusty, but he has always been slow at turning and I just don't think he suits the highline style of play.
I remember saying the same about Carragher in later yrs.
Before I am accused of not liking scousers playing for Liverpool. I was born in Liverpool and look at my sign off name.

22 Mar 2016 02:19:57
He def has a place, he is just rusty.

22 Mar 2016 04:50:29
one minute we are fuming his contract has not been sorted, then we are thrilled he has been made club captain, one bad result and performance later, he is not good enough, he won't fit into klopps team etc, as the posters have said not surprisingly he is rusty, but every time this player is written off he comes back stronger, I back him to do so again.

21 Mar 2016 06:29:01
This one for Ed02. Absolute legend. Hoffenheim has recieved an enquiry from Liverpool for Sule.
You said this at least 3 months ago.
Take a bow master.

21 Mar 2016 08:54:29
Is there anything in this? Considering how overburdened we are with CBs?

21 Mar 2016 09:23:21
HwB

Could be possible if Klopp decided to shift a few CB's in the summer. I don't think Matip will end our business in the CB department. The player has claimed his desire to play in the Premier league which suits his physique.

{Ed002's Note - There is long term interest from elsewhere in the EPL and, as you say, Liverpool need to have a clear out at CB.}

21 Mar 2016 09:32:22
Can I ask you which side it is Ed02. Irravelant but since you mentioned long term interest.
cheers.

{Ed002's Note - Arsenal - I have explained this all before.}

21 Mar 2016 09:39:15
I used the search angine and found your replies on Sule Ed02, You have mentioned a line which strike me ". Klipperty keep looking at Subotic. "
Not sure If I could ask under this thread, But Do you see us going for another CB over the top of Matip. Must be at the expense of either Lovren or Sakho then?

Thanks Mate.

{Ed002's Note - See numerous previous answers - the squad is vastly over-sized in many areas. If the club decides to add centre backs then they must clear out a number. Matip has been added - Toure will be leaving. Ilori was taken back from loan and effectively not required. Caulker was added and effectively not required. Joe Gomez is to return but it is unclear if he has a future given the club are looking to add a left back - perhaps he and wisdom could provide cover - and even then it would still require one of Sakho, Skrtel or Lovren to leave. THis is the consequence of having far too large a squad and a manager who made a number of poor decisions in January.}

21 Mar 2016 10:07:56
Gomez isn't a left back. In fact he can barely kick with his left foot. That was a Brendan Rodgers idea, reasons for which I'm sure are known to him and him alone.

21 Mar 2016 10:10:43
Got your point mate, I do expect one of Lovren / Skrtel or both to move in the summer with or withour replacement. As you say we need a clarity on the future of Gomez.

21 Mar 2016 13:24:18
After this season I'd expect 2 of Skrtel, Lovren and Sakho to be moving on. Gomez could easily get a bye from the manager on the basis he's had no real chance to see him and his reputation, for his age, was generally high, plus he covered a totally new position and did OK (not great but OK) at it. Illori is another whose best hope might be age because his complete lack of football for much of the season clearly did him no favours when he got those games in the FA cup. He looked like a guy lacking match fitness and sharpness.

Ultimately though would anyone see us being worse off if we did clear out the main CBs and start again? Yes they have each been good at times but that is a level none of them can sustain across more than a couple of games. I know it is harsh to keep saying but these guys are mid table EPL players, if the club genuinely wants to win things then they'd be OK as the squad players but not as the first choice.

{Ed001's Note - I am not sure Skrtel is a mid-table player, maybe in the Slovakian league possibly?}

21 Mar 2016 13:51:24
I was trying to be fair to him as a pro Ed. I know where you're coming from though; my in-laws are all Palace fans and they always want Skrtel to play against them because they fancy scoring when he's playing.

{Ed001's Note - exactly. An analyst from another club said to me just last week that he always used to advise his team to target Skrtel as he is a weakness.}

21 Mar 2016 07:34:39
As much as anything else, the player wer really missed yesterday was Stewart - someone who could come into the midfield without trying to be fancy, win the ball with assurance and pass with economy of movement. 2-0 up and that is the type of player that can seal off games - Allen can do it when he's not the one being relied on as the backbone, and Lucas can do it when the defence can withstand the occasional free kick. But Stewart was a big loss today and I can't wait to have him back in contention.

21 Mar 2016 07:53:32
Absolutely spot on. Kevin Stewart is the turning point since Gerrard. I did claim this some weeks ago how much we miss him.

21 Mar 2016 08:58:19
How can a player who has played about a couple of games, the majority against much lesser opposition be such a great loss? Some people really do come off with some weird stuff.

21 Mar 2016 09:08:22
Stewart is a real talent and has had a few good games but if we're at the point Liverpool live or dies by his fitness, were either deluding ourselves or seriously weaker than we should be. Reality is absence of Hendo, Firmino, Milner and Lucas far more problematic IMO. we could have brought on any of Hendo, Milner or Lucas for a three man midfield and closed that game out.

21 Mar 2016 09:10:27
Was about to say the same, IR!

If anything, the players who we missed yesterday were a fully fit Hendo or Lucas.

21 Mar 2016 09:25:30
We don't live or die by his fitness because on a normal day we have Hendo in there doing that job and if he's out then we have Milner more often then not, and it's the sort of job that Serbian lad will be doing next season. But this year, in our current situation, he's been the perfect player in that situation to make sure teams can't press the attack freely and that we maintain our advantage and it was a real shame that yesterday we didn't have that to call on.

21 Mar 2016 09:26:42
Hendo Firmino and Lucas are really important to our team. Hendo for his energy I bet you Flanno wished he was there to chase back for him. Firmino positioning and skill and Lucas sniffing out danger would have been a much better option to replace Lovren.

21 Mar 2016 11:17:58
I have to admit I'm a bit confused about this love for Stewart. Is it based off his performances in the FA Cup this season or is there something else to it? Before those games he'd never played higher than league 1.

Is this just fans getting over excited by a youth player who's signed a new contract or is there good reason to think this lad's a real prospect?

21 Mar 2016 15:03:23
To be fair to Stewart he's played really well when he's had a shot but there is a tendency for many on this site (talking generally here, not at you Hijkle) to proclaim youngster --------- (fill in the blanks) to be so much better than --------- (fill in an established PL player) and demand we drop them for said youngster after a single tough game.

Same happening/ happened with Ibe, Illori, Gomez, Ojo, Kent, Teixera, Rossiter, Stewart, Chirivella. all talented and deserving of a shot, but all with some way to go to being established and proven PL winners and as such need to be integrated in a sensible way to avoid disrupting the cohesiveness of an established first team IMO.

I don't think its rocket science we've started playing well since we've had a settled and experienced first team setup (once klopp had taken a good look at everyone), nor that we lost the first time we departed meaningfully from that setup.

21 Mar 2016 06:07:20
Lessons we learned:

1. Sturridge and Origi upfront works.
2. We missed Firmino.
3. Two man midfield only works with Can and Hendo. After watching yesterday's game if you still don't why we need Hendo, then I don't know what else to say.
4. Allen to protect back 4 is a bad idea.
5. Skertel has to be behind Toure and Lucas (when fit) in the pecking order.
6. While the idea to sub Lovren was okay, using Skertel was a bad one. I guess Klopp thought it would be an easy ride in the second half. Well now he knows that no lead is good enough for us NOT to screw it up.

However I don't think this game was a fair reflection on how good we have been doing last couple of games and 45 minutes if this one.

Let's learn what we can and move on. If we let this game get to our heads then the next few games will be nightmare.

My best team going forward and hoping everyone comes back fit.

------------------Migs------------
Clyne/ Flanno Lovren. Sakho. Moreno/ Clyne.

21 Mar 2016 06:31:59
Correction

2 Men midfield only works when your wide players come back to the normal shape when not in possession. It rarely happens at Liverpool so we get exposed and overrun in the middle.

21 Mar 2016 06:40:22
Ye and actually it is normal for our midfield to get turned easily. The way we press and seemingly are ao eager to get out of position it'll take just one pass to fly by and then its scrambled eggs from there.

21 Mar 2016 06:53:49
It doesn't feel like it, but there are still plenty of positives to take out of the game. If not for the capitulation, Liverpool were on course for a second successive resounding victory at St. Mary's in a single season, which is not easy to do. Our attack was crisp, lethal and sometimes unstoppable. The only thing that has let us down in our attack recently has been our finishing. Joe Allen *should* have scored, Benteke should have scored. I'm really excited for Origi's future. He looks a real talent, he did me proud when he had the composure to hold the ball for the right amount of time and then simply lay it off to Sturridge.

Klopp needs to cop criticism for his substitution choices, relative to Southampton's second half team, but seriously, there are no excuses for conceding 3 goals like that, regardless of your manager's substitutions. Southampton may have turned the tables in midfield but conceding 3 goals like that is utterly poor.

It is not double standards to give Sakho a free pass after a dodgy first game back, but give a scathing assessment of Skrtel on his first game back. First of all, I don't care how long you're out for. There are no excuses for that type of performance. As a 31yo international captain, there is no excuse for him to be making basic, rudimentary schoolboy errors. You don't blatantly pull a shirt like that in the box and let yourself get manhandled, and you don't just so hopelessly make a mess of winning Migs' clearance kick when you're in at least a 70/ 30 position to win the duel. I don't care how bad the kick was, Skrtel was virtually unchallenged when trying to win the ball and he completely carked it. Not once, but twice in the space of that moment. Sakho was last man but there was really not much he could do. Yes Skrtel had his first game back, but he was up to his same old rubbish.

Remembering that we knocked out the mancs and still have a tie with Dortmund to come makes the loss a little easier to swallow, but if it weren't for that it'd be virtually impossible to swallow. Man City lost, and that was such a great opportunity that we wasted to make valuable ground on them.

As for Flanno. I was stoked for him to get the captaincy, but I was unsure about whether he was actually fit for the role. I'm happy for people to disagree, but he doesn't strike me as a captain. In hindsight, it should have gone to Sakho.

I'm confident that Klopp will be able to get rid of this spineless nonsense by next season. Because grabbing defeat from the jaws of resounding victory is the definition of spineless.

21 Mar 2016 07:14:26
What I learned is that I don't think any of our current central defenders will be regular starters next season. It will be Matip and another new one. I don't think Klopp can trust any of the current crop. The fact that Saints tactic was the long ball down the middle to Pelle highlighted our problems.
So Kolo will be out of contract, Caulkers loan ends and Ilori will probably go, plus Skrtel and maybe one other.
Moreno, Allen and Benteke will also go IMO assuming suitable deals can be concluded with buyers. Klopp regularly flips out at Moreno, Allen is surplus to requirements and Benteke needs a move more than most.
Also, we do seem to need a CDM to compete for the second ball.

21 Mar 2016 07:28:53
@ Ron : I think Lovren, Sakho and Matip will be rotated.

Lucas/ llori/ Toure as additional cover.

Honestly don't what is Klopp's plan for summer. Is he planning to trim down the squad by shipping out multiple players or will there be just one or two changes.

Maybe the Ed's can give their opinion on this.

21 Mar 2016 07:31:22
It's nothing to do with a CDM competing for the second ball, any player close to the ball should be competing for it.

21 Mar 2016 10:55:41
The problem wasn't a lack of CDM, it was the almost complete lack of structure in Defence. Previous games we had a forward defensive press of an energetic Couts/ Llalana/ Firmino shielding Can and Hendo who sat deeper and worked together to squash out any midfielders that made it through.

Against SH, we had a gap ahead of Can and Allen which Firmino usually filled, Wanyama used it to control the game and when one of either Can or Allen stepped up on him, they left space between them and the CBs which Mane exploited, greatly helped by Skrtel.

We can rightly berate the players given Allen was bullied and Skrtel was headless, but fundamentally it was a breakdown in defensive pattern that could have been fixed with Toure instead of Skrtel and Hendo instead of Sturridge to help shore up the gaps in midfield.

Easy in hindsight though. but I was very surprised to see Benteke on as there was no way he was going to help protect our CMs.

21 Mar 2016 14:12:35
Ultimately leaving aside what the heart would like, this wasn't a surprise because we are unbelievably inconsistent and this just sums it up. The struggle has been to field consistent selections and even then to have those players string 3-4 performances together. You can excuse younger, less experienced guys for being inconsistent but in a set up where we're missing some key players, others have had long injuries and no one seems to be able to hit a real run of form across midfield/ defence then this is just how our season will go. My hope is that the Europa league continues to be a better performance night because that is almost certainly our only hope of European football next season.

21 Mar 2016 14:44:53
origi, sturridge, lallana, allen, lucas, can are what demolished southamptom last time. difference is we had a decent midfield. i wish klopp goes back to that with hendo for lucas, and continho or firmino for lallana.

21 Mar 2016 00:13:14
Can anyone explain why Allan goal was offside because I still can't get why thanks. I know sakho jumped over the ball but he was not in the gk eye line.

21 Mar 2016 02:27:10
Under the new rules, the player doesn't need to touch it, they just have to be deemed to have influenced play. I'm assuming the linesman either guessed he nicked it, or else deemed he interfered with the GKs ability to save it (perhaps not line of sight but perhaps viewing it as impeding a free dive at it? )

Think it was a poor decision but then again they probably should have had a penalty against Lovren so net net balances out. We lost that one because of our own mistakes, not the refs decisions.

21 Mar 2016 04:39:43
he actually lifted his leg or something for the ball to go in thereby interfering with play as per linesman. thereby being offside. fair call to be honest to the ref very much as per the rules. However the rule is utter BS.

{Ed001's Note - to be fair, the keeper can't move to make the save until it gets past him, as it could easily have its course altered by him. I don't get this interfering with play nonsense, if they are on the pitch they are interfering with play, end of.}

21 Mar 2016 08:24:54
It's probably fair on the goalkeeper like ed said if sakho touched it and the keeper had dived he would have missed it.

21 Mar 2016 10:06:04
some go for us and some dont, just watch sweinsteiger foul the west ham goal keeper and then stay offside and being next to the gk if that was allowed then ours should have been allowed, because this interpratation law is down to what the ref thinks and not straight forward, it should go back to being a straight forward off side.