Liverpool Banter Archive October 23 2016

23 Oct 2016 22:47:10
Anybody else think chris smalling put in one of the worst individual performances in decades?

24 Oct 2016 00:47:38
The guy has always been awful. His performance only just added more confirmation to that truth.

24 Oct 2016 02:25:16
Terrible player always was always will be.

24 Oct 2016 07:59:42
I wouldn't say Smalling is a terrible player. I think he's a decent CB, mobile and decent in the air. He just isn't good enough to be the main man. He needs someone next to him doing all the leadership stuff and managing his game too. Its the same with a lot of the Chelsea lads, they need John Terry there to boss the game.

23 Oct 2016 21:52:53
This is a very serious post.

What would convince professional footballing brains that pogba is worth anywhere near what was paid?

23 Oct 2016 21:59:25
It's gone like the housing market did before the big bust, is Neymar jnr worth €250m aaaahhhh no but .

23 Oct 2016 22:09:23
Pogba is a fantastic talent who is playing in one of the poorest system in the world. At Juventus the team literally dominated all other 18 teams. That is not the case here.
UTD paid for the brand Pogba and not the talent. Another marketing statergy.

23 Oct 2016 22:26:12
Brand can only survive so much poor play though.

23 Oct 2016 22:41:32
For once wise one I actually agree with you, he's not worth anywhere near the money they paid, don't get me wrong he may turn out good, but I can't see it, of course he is going to look good at Juventus, that league is nothing compared to the Premier League. I never understood when utd bought him for that amount of money why they did. not that I'm moaning I think it quite hilarious. He's got bugger all on Hendo.

24 Oct 2016 00:56:13
This is a case of a manager having no idea of what he's doing or how to use a very talented player, period. I watch a lot of Serie A here in the States. At Juve under Allegri, Pogba NEVER played in CM or behind the striker. He played on the left of a 4-4-2 diamond alongside Pirlo, Vidal and Marquisio, a sysrem that got them two Scudetti and got them to a CL final and Pogba was phenomenal. Allegri also played a 3-5-2 system last season with Pogba on the left of central midfield with Khedira and Lemina or Maquisio and Pogba was again outstanding. Mou does not know how to use Pogba hence, he will continue to struggle until his manager figures it out. Until then, the jokes will keep coming.

24 Oct 2016 00:57:33
For that money you expect match winning performances week in week out. Anything less is failure.

24 Oct 2016 08:02:44
Fees don't always reflect a players value. I know that seems odd but its true. Some clubs will pay over the odds for a player because of how much they need them. Its all about how much a club is willing to pay according to how the player fits in with the style and mould they are after.
Man United could afford to go well beyond what others would because of their great commercial structure and the shirt sales from Zlatan also helped.

24 Oct 2016 08:04:46
It can't be hard to watch a few games from last season to work out where he is best deployed. However I'm more than happy to watch him and Utd struggle ;-)

24 Oct 2016 12:07:42
Utd have lost their identity
Their great manager has retired
Thei great batch of players have all retired and are now pundits criticising evey performance.
Their last 2 managerial appointments before mourino were sacked.
Since Gill left they have thrown a billion at signing players and managers to fix the problem.
LONG MAY IT CONTINUE.
YNWA.

24 Oct 2016 19:55:07
L pool page!

23 Oct 2016 20:01:33
Long time since I posted, but I went to the game yesterday, my pal spoilt me and got some nice free tickets along with meal in the Paisley bar. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the new stand is absolutely huge!
We have an awesome team, not perfect in every area but full of intensity, skill and in some cases just shear stamina. I am really looking forward to the season and fingers crossed we should be up there or thereabouts near the end of the season.
The one key difference between Man United and Liverpool this year is the word TEAM. United have some great players but not a great team spirit. Liverpool have some great players and a great team spirit. Personally its all down to the managers for me, but just seeing the look on Fergies face today made my week, he had a smile like a baboons rectum, classic!

23 Oct 2016 20:47:24
what a great game to get free tickets for. excitement for the whole 90 odd mins. and the right result. you should go more often.

23 Oct 2016 22:54:02
I bet it was brill mate, what a great weekend of football for Liverpool fans.

23 Oct 2016 23:02:00
Good to see you back posting on here Tel.

23 Oct 2016 23:30:45
It's a long time since my last match visit to Anfield - October 1986 won 4-0.
I shall be at the Watford match and am hoping for a similar result. At the same time I would say that I am sure that one of these days we are really going to thrash some opposition. What we usually face is the De Gea from Monday and not the De Gea from 30 seconds into today's match. Had the same goal been scored on Monday I am sure we would have at least equalled Chelsea's total. Still - we are going in the right direction.

23 Oct 2016 17:46:50
Gudjohnssen has just ironically tweeted that Jose still knows how to get the best out of Chelsea.

23 Oct 2016 19:19:09
Haha! Oh it's so good isn't it, the amount of utd fans I know who was saying they'd beat chelsea hands down, I just can't wait to see them.

24 Oct 2016 00:59:49
I think I cracked a rib reading that tweet.

23 Oct 2016 16:45:08
Wonder if jose is going to have a winge about costas diving or bad sportsmanship.
Good results today boys so far.

23 Oct 2016 16:23:24
Chelsea are ripping united apart, complete dominance.

23 Oct 2016 22:51:30
Mourinho's run out of ideas, you can't park the bus all the time, you'll get found out. If we had got one goal we'd have scored four. Only two teams wanted to play football today and it wasn't Man United.

24 Oct 2016 01:08:58
He didn't even have time to back the bus up into the Bridge before Pedro blew its gasket. Mou is an outdated manager with outdated tactics, just like Tony Pulis and to me, he's on his last legs.

23 Oct 2016 16:05:15
One thing I have noticed about the entire club is the feelgood factor is back at Anfield, We are quietly confident going into every single game. For instance when we played Spurs, we came away with a 1-1 and everyone felt we deserved more, however in Klopps first game we got a 0-0 and we all felt that was a major major result for us last season.

Then we get to the new signings, we brought in 6 new players, and in all my 20 years of following Liverpool, I have never seen soo many players settle at the club soo fast as the new recruits have done. No players feels burdened by any price tag, and all the players have hit the ground running and produced a great understanding with the players around them. Not to mention all the dead weight we managed to get rid of this summer, and I think we all can feel comfortable with the players we have right now, and more importantly Klopp feels comfortable with the players he has at his disposal, not to mention that nearly everyone in the squad play amazing when started even when they have been out of the team for a while.

Everything is coming up roses at the moment for all Reds related, the players and the fans have really bought into Klopps methods, which is something i don't feel everyone did with Rodgers, even when we finished 2nd. I feel if we can get through the next 3 games, will show where we are at for the season. Palace next in the league will be a real test for us. Benteke will be out to prove a point against us. We have been the ones to watch this season and with other teams playing soo poorly or not to their potential, we have a great chance, but we need remain focused and not get ahead of the next game. Bring on Spurs on Tuesday.

YNWA.

23 Oct 2016 14:12:39
while we are talking about yesterday's match and how good it feels to finally beat a pulis side, I would just like to single out the performance of james milner, not only was he solid again, he provided one of the passes of the season to countinho{who I felt should have taken it on himself} I never rated milner as a centre midfielder and was highly critical of him when he played there so I think its only fair of me to praise his performances at left back.

23 Oct 2016 14:01:06
Ed002. You said I may soon be surprised. Should I be scared? What's the surprise!? The thought of a part time rodeo clown surprising me is not something I am sure I should be looking forward to!

{Ed002's Note - Time will tell.}

23 Oct 2016 12:22:37
To be honest I can't get over us beating West Brom yesterday, i didn't actually think we would. I thought it'd be one of them games we'd slip up on, thank god I was wrong, can't be anyy happier right now.

If somebody had said to me at the beginning of the season we'd lose only 1, draw 2 and win the rest out of the first 9 games i'd of probably laughed out of been realistic. When you consider the teams we've played, the results we've got (minus Burnley) we've done excellent.

Every team has off days, our recent off day i'd say was against utd but we STILL manaed to get a point. Which to be fair I was happy with.

Some of the most notable performances for me was us beating Swansea and West Brom yesterday, both very difficult nuts to crack but we did it. These kind of teams are teams under Rodgers we'd of gone and probably lost.

Klopps incredible, what he's done in so little time with HIS own players is pretty remarkable.

I've seen a lot of people putting the blame on Karius for the goal we conceded yesterday, I don't think it was his fault at all. I think he needs more confidence and let's not forget he did break his hand! he's at a new team, in a new league and needs our support. To me he deserves his chance, let him play every game, he won't improve if he's sat on the bench.

Overall I'm delighted with Liverpool! I never expected the first part of the season to look like this for us, long may it continue! YNWA!

23 Oct 2016 10:06:46
Total shame Both Firmino and Sturridge wouldn't be playing together. It just won't happen in my eyes.
Sturridge is the best finisher in the game But Firmino is the best all round attacker in the game today.

23 Oct 2016 12:49:17
Firmino is no longer Studge's problem. He has a new problem now and his name is Adam Lallana. That front three or four is so dynamic and watching the free flowing football we saw yesterday, if Studge can't do what any of those guys are doing then he's wasting his time here and he won't start and frankly, I'm not bothered.

23 Oct 2016 13:55:02
I think we need to move Sturridge on whilst we'd still get good money for him. With every game he sits on the bench his £ value diminishes.

It's a shame as he's a cracking player but he really doesn't fit our current style of play and I don't see him getting regular playing time.

First offer over £20m gets him for me. Should be more but I think his perceived injury problems will keep his price down.

23 Oct 2016 14:13:56
The sitter which Firmino missed in the dying minutes would have berm in the bavk of the net had it being Sturridge ( World class finisher ) . But then Sturrudge wouldn't be in that position in the first place ( Poor movement off the ball, Static and doesn't run into the channels or space )

Sturridge is the best finisher in the game today unfortunately he doesn't get into space and is more like Benteke now.

23 Oct 2016 15:12:32
How can sturridge not fit into our plans? His work rate is similar to Lewandowski and Lewandowski is crown jewel in Klopp’s Dortmund side. If Klopp plays sturridge I am sure he can be as effective as Lewandowski. We badly need 30 goal a season merchant, look at missed chances ytd.

23 Oct 2016 19:53:07
His work rate isn't similar to Lewandoski, nor is his movement, pressing, hold-up play etc.
As a lifelong Bayern supporter, even before I started supporting Liverpool, I've always followed the Bundesliga.
Sturridge compared to Lewandoski? No way. Klopp's transitioning football worked superbly with Reus-Gotze-Lewy because of their superb movement on and off the ball. One pass from midfield could put them 2 on 1 with the last centre defender.

23 Oct 2016 23:16:59
Wonder will Wenger come in for him.

24 Oct 2016 01:25:05
You are talking nonsense as usual, Leek and your post clearly shows that you have never seen Lewandowski play. He would never have made it at Dortmund under Klopp had he not played the way Firmino is playing right now under Klopp. Lewandowski is a very lethal striker whose undoubted talent and ability in front of goal is only matched by his immense work rate, fitness levels and stamina and the guy is a machine, all the things Studge is not. Studge is no Lewandowski and at this rate, never will be.

22 Oct 2016 22:03:13
Hi ed001,

Any chance for that match review?

Cheers.

{Ed001's Note - I really enjoyed that performance yesterday, the Baggies came in scared of us, despite Pulis having an excellent record versus us. We went out and ripped them apart time after time, but just couldn't quite put the ball in the back of the net enough, in the first half. It was a completely dominant performance throughout that half.

Pulis tried to change things up for the second half but nothing he did made any difference and we continued to dominate until we hit a silly period and our workrate dipped slightly. Maybe that was down to tiredness, but our concentration levels dropped and we made a few silly errors and they managed to push us back. A few more silly errors later and they are back in a game they had been battered in.

After that, the game was nervy but we were still the better side by a long way and managed to see it out.

The best thing about it is that it was another excellent team performance, it wasn't about one or two players, it was the whole team working together. At one point Hendo dropped in at left back to cover and as the following move progressed he popped up on the right wing within a few seconds of being at left back. The movement and workrate was top class. Everybody was swapping around, tracking back, getting forward and generally working as a unit. A genuinely good team performance. Again.}

23 Oct 2016 10:01:24
Thoughts on karius' performance Ed?

{Ed001's Note - too early to judge him, he has only just come back from a broken hand, which is clearly bothering him when he goes for crosses. He is scared to get in amongst them right now, which needs to be sorted quickly. As he gains confidence in the league, gets used to his team mates, and gets over the broken hand, he will improve. His kicking was good, he played a couple of pinpoint passes yesterday. He just needs time, De Gea was worse in his first season, he was dreadful and the fans were worried they had been sold a pup. It takes time for some to settle in and I think Karius is one of those now, though in a huge part that is down to the injury, as that has effected him. Overall he was ok though.}

23 Oct 2016 10:32:06
I didn't think we were nervy after conceding Ed which was the biggest positive for me. Yes west brom tried to lump balls and make it nervy but I thought we dealt with everything comfortably we still had chances and I don't think they even had another shot after?

{Ed001's Note - I meant I was nervy!}

23 Oct 2016 10:53:56
Edd001 he looks a great passer. Massive plus. Used to mignolet hitting it out of play.

23 Oct 2016 10:51:26
Thoughts on the future of Sturridgeach ed?

{Ed001's Note - depends on him, I know he doesn't want to leave, but I also can't see him getting regular football with us, which he clearly needs right now. Personally I think he will have to leave for the sake of his career.}

23 Oct 2016 11:22:51
It's not just sturridge though, that's the problem.

The whole team looks better without sturridge.

23 Oct 2016 11:35:16
Anfield is becoming a fortress again.

Its great to hear that teams and managers who have good records agsinst us are now nervous coming to Anfield.
The test of Mourino and Pulliis in one week is not easy but We done reallly well in both.

23 Oct 2016 12:11:09
For me our first half performance yesterday was as complete an all round half as we've delivered this year- not just based on attacking quality but actual calmness and solidity in defence and dominating the midfield battle. It should have been 4 or 5 by the end and they didn't have a sniff until 75 minutes in. Almost perfect.

23 Oct 2016 19:12:40
Ed, what's your opinion about game management during the late minutes in second half. Energies seem to wane by then. Don't want a bad period of 5-10 minutes to be the difference between getting all 3 points and lesser than that.

{Ed001's Note - I would rather we just continued to hold onto the ball and went at them, rather than managed the game as such.}

24 Oct 2016 20:44:38
That's obviously my first choice Ed, but given we seem to tire after 65-70 minutes, I think at some point of time, we need to think about managing.
It's just being cleaver and waiting for opportunities whilst holding onto the ball.

{Ed001's Note - which is why I said hold onto the ball, it takes a lot less energy to play with the ball than it does to win it back with a press.}

23 Oct 2016 08:20:46
Did anyone see the stat before the game that in our previous 8 matches against tony pulis teams we hadn't even won 1?!

Great performance yesterday, I've never seen us so dominant against such a negative team before.

23 Oct 2016 00:35:38
Clyne like most players has stepped it up a notch under Klopp, he has brilliant pace, good crossing, which was my biggest gripe with him under Rodgers, a fantastic engine and athleticism, he is poor on the ball but solid enough defensively, hasn't made any costly errors recently but does have a mistake in him, although he's generally reliable, evidenced by the fact that teams don't target him as a weakness (they don't really get to go at us though as we've dominated most games in an attacking sense this season) . His willingness to overlap gives us an outlet too and he can beat his man, when he has the opportunity to use his pace. He is definitely within the top 3 in the league for me and seems to have been given a new lease of life when given the opportunity to get further forward, he is back to his Southampton form or even better in my humble opinion.

23 Oct 2016 03:32:07
Got to agree with that, Lil M - i thought Clyne was superb. He put across a couple of inch-perfect crosses to the six yard box but noone had anticipated fast enough to convert them. He is looking solid most games this season.

23 Oct 2016 00:02:33
Let's be completely honest now.

At the beginning of the season, looking at the harsh fixture list and the lack of a left back.

who would have taken joint top at this stage? ;)

23 Oct 2016 01:01:19
We are joint top having played all the big boys bar City. I would have taken that before the season began for sure.

23 Oct 2016 01:25:29
Me two it looks like I under rated are team.

23 Oct 2016 05:12:27
defo would have taken it at the start of the season.