Liverpool Banter Archive May 29 2017

29 May 2017 22:17:20
Danny Ward. What a humble person. After a barnstorming half season in Scotland he goes to little Huddersfield for the season and plays a massive part in their promotion push, then almost single handedly drags them through the play offs conceding just 1 goal in 330 minutes, and only 6/ 10 penalties. The journalists naturally try to pry a comment from him on these heroics, only for him to completely deflect the praise onto the guys who converted the penalties.

Maturity and leadership beyond his years. If he is not going to play for us next season, I hope he goes back to Huddersfield on loan and proves he should be in our goal for the 18/ 19 season. Keep it up Danny!

29 May 2017 22:43:36
Massive respect for the boy!

29 May 2017 22:49:33
He definitely didn't single handily drag them through the play offs. He had a watching brief for the majority of today's game, im pleased for him and it's a great position for everyone involved that they have gone up but it's a hyperbole reaction to say he dragged them through.

29 May 2017 23:06:55
Well i am from Reading : ( ( (
But fair play to Hudders, i think they edged the game personally. Reading looked really nervous. probably because they are use to losing playoffs like that :)

29 May 2017 23:26:30
'Almost' Cobra ;) I am well aware that he had plenty of help in normal time, but when it came down to the shoot outs it was just Ward vs the opposition and he stood up to that task in a situation where you quite simply have to do it single handedly. Saving 3 from 9 penalties on target is an astonishing record across a single round of play offs. Hard to count the one blazed over, but you could easily argue Ward has made himself big and psyched him out.

Obviously he hasn't done it all alone. That's just a turn of phrase, but he was easily the best player in their team across the 3 games. Let's just be proud of the lad anyway!

30 May 2017 02:15:54
He did well.
Astonishing? I think that's a bit much.

30 May 2017 06:41:51
Saving a third of penalties he faced is pretty astonishing in my mind!

29 May 2017 18:07:24
Big congratulations to Danny Ward. Great penalty save to help win it for Huddersfield. Massive achievement for the lad and will do him the world of good. Looking like a very promising goalkeeper.

29 May 2017 23:08:42
He did well, but Reading skied one of theirs : (.

29 May 2017 17:58:11
Well done to Danny Ward and Huddersfield. Hopefully he goes back on loan to them next year for some premier league experience.

29 May 2017 17:55:49
Well done Danny Ward! Well done Huddersfield!

29 May 2017 15:48:46
Just watching the play off final. Any chance of a sneaky bid for Ilori eds? I think he's what we've been missing for years! 😉.

29 May 2017 16:57:50
Cheeky bid?

Does that mean that everything we saw before was a smokescreen?

29 May 2017 17:37:07
Exactly! Not to be mistaken with the fella we had at Liverpool. That was Ilori's 3rd cousin's dog's vet's brother Llori.

29 May 2017 17:58:43
Well done Danny Ward.

Crucial save again, just at the time where they needed it.

Having Huddersfield in the prem can only be a good thing for us. Hopefully with Klopp and Wagner's relationship it could lead to some successful top quality loan spells for some of our guys. Also some of their play is easy on the eye.

Look forward to seeing them more in the Prem next year. Fingers crossed they stick with Danny Ward and we loan him for another year, would be another great loan for him/ us.

29 May 2017 18:21:42
The rules may have changed, but I think you can only have one long-term loan from a team in the same division as you (in the EPL anyway), and Danny Ward, having been there for a year, seems the obvious choice. although I think it'll be a permanent transfer rather than a loan.

29 May 2017 22:18:30
Well we xouls agree some favorable transfers will biy backs.

Say 1 mil for ojo. 3 mil buy back.

Its a way of getring around loans. Not sure its completely legal haha.

29 May 2017 15:22:26
sorry for the long post but would like to hear an opinion from ed002 that i really appreciate. I would like to know how do you see our current squad and potential and what would need to change in order for Liverpool to be competitive in league. not just on a transfer plan but also in general managment. it is obvious we need 2 starting fullbacks, one starting midfielder as our captain seems to be questionable with his injury. center back would be nice also. I was wondering what would be 5 players ed002 would try to get given the price and aviabilty that would improve liverpool first eleven but also fit in longterm project. Thanks in advance.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool need a left back, a left sided forward and a striker. After that a goalkeeper if Ward doesn't return, a centre back if Gomez goes, a replacement for Lucas but that may restrict opportunities for Grugic, and then possibly a right back.

If the club are looking to Keita as a Lucas replacement, and it seems they are, someone needs to make way in the first 11 as Lucas has not been a starter. Assuming a LB arrives, it frees up Milner to provide cover on either side.

I still think help is needed with the coaching and a defensive coach might make sense.}

29 May 2017 16:14:29
Why the need for a GK Ed002? Think Migs and Karius should get another chance plus Ward who should have the opportunity of showing of he is good enough. GK is the least of our worries (for now) .
Agree about the rest though.

{Ed002's Note - So you think Ward would come back and be third choice? Or that the player Klopp announced to the world as his number one would be happy as third choice after the fans got on his back - and remember with the very fickle fans they spent 80% of the season trashing Mignolet as well.}

29 May 2017 16:52:03
I think it perfectly okay for a manager to change his mind depending on the circumstances; hence why Mignolet took over as first choice after Karius struggled initially. I would rather a manager who can see the need for a change rather than someone who is oblivious to it.

{Ed002's Note - The point is you don't give commitments to players and you don't say stuff like that in the public domain.}

29 May 2017 18:09:27
I think it's pretty clear Kloppo messed up with Karius.
He wasn't ready to start in the premier league and he shouldn't have said anything to the public.
The number 1 will be the goalkeeper who is selected on the day - end of.

29 May 2017 18:18:16
It's okay to change your opinion when given new facts.

{Ed002's Note - He made an embarrassment of himself - "new facts" or not.}

29 May 2017 18:38:10
Karius made a couple of mistakes, far less than migs when he started for us and was thrown on the scrapheap. He is a good keeper who needs time to adjust like every player that comes to the prem. He will get pre season to prove himself again and he will eventually be no1 if klopp has not dented his confidence too much.

{Ed025's Note - i dont think he was exactly thrown on the scrapheap IAC, he was taken out of the firing line by klopp for his own good, myself i think klopp got it right mate..

29 May 2017 19:24:50
Klopps decision to drop karius was spot on, and I agree with ed2, making those sort of claims can come back to seriously bite you. As it where I don't think it's that much of a big deal, the management team watch karius in training all the time and there must be a reason why he couldn't earn back his spot. Every time I've seen him before a match in warm up he doesn't look to have the makings of a top keeper but that's obviously no way to judge a player. I think ward leaves to some capacity in the summer (hopefully another loan) and then karius and mignolet are given another crack at competeting against each other. I would not be saying that had mignolet season turned out differently. I guess the replacement for ward ed2 is talking about is just another regular 3rd choice keeper like manninger was, not someone that will be ahead of karius or migs if they where to stay.

I think priorities should be: LB, CB, CM and a forward that can play out wide or centrally. RB and GK are possibilities depending on what happens with our current players.

29 May 2017 19:45:53
Sorry ed i don't agree, you are one always saying players are too soft and are molly coddled. He was not given a chance to prove himself, just one day he was good enough and the next he was spinning his heels with john atcheburg being thrown about by bodybags for the rest of the season. Sounds like the scrapheap to me mate, yea it was a good decision for lfc but not for karius. What if man u had done the same with de gea when he had a few howlers, do you think he would have been the player he is now, no it toughened him up and he became the best keeper in the world. Not saying karius will reach his level before i get castigated for that but he could certainly become a very good keeper if given the time to develop and play games, how can you learn from your mistakes if you are never given the chance to make any?!

{Ed025's Note - his chance will come again IAC, he was having a very uncomfortable time of it and if he had been left in then it could have destroyed him mate, because our opinions differ does not make one of us wrong and the other right they are just different opinions..

29 May 2017 20:50:26
I know ed, its why i like debating with the eds because you don't take it personal like. Ultimately klopp was proved right because migs came in and did a solid job. Its just as an ex keeper it irks me when keepers are not at least given a chance to prove themselves after a cock up. Like i ssid migs had numerous chances but hay we will see how that story pans out next season.

{Ed025's Note - we will IAC and i fancy that karius will be a regular starter next season, he is highly rated by klopp and he really wants it mate..

29 May 2017 22:27:42
Mignolet has had a great second half of the season, and I think we can be unnecessarily harsh on him. It's not like he wants to make silly mistakes! But hasn't he done this before? Stepped up when he might lose his spot and then get complacent again when the number one spot looks like it's his. Karius had a dodgy start, showed his lack of experience and of course everyone notices because he is a keeper, and he was getting a lot of flack for it. However, you have to question when the last time we had a decent performing goalkeeper was. Pepe under Rafa? Surely our GK coach (however much of a nice bloke Achterberg is) must have a part to play in this? I really want things to work out for Karius, so I hope he can have a fresh start next season and we can all get behind him.

30 May 2017 15:46:07
AG, the better th Klopp to stay with Karius and help him improve (as well as put a better defence around him) when he struggled but that did not happen cos the fans got on his back and took sides with a bitter manc who bullied him cos he made two measly mistakes (as if no GK has never done that in history) so Klopp's hand was forced by the social media hacks. Klopp did not need to change his mind on anything cos Karius is here due to Migs' own well-documented failures.

Those saying Migs was wrong to be dropped are deluding themselves. Karius is here cos Migs was a disaster for three years. Hence, Karius would have been first choice anyway and had played all the preseason games before he broke his hand in the Chelsea game in the States so those saying he should never have been first choice are being disingenuous.

For now, Klopp will go with both and even tho, Migs has improved, Karius will still be No. 1 IMO and Klopp has said he will leave the battle open during the preseason so we shall see.

30 May 2017 16:33:48
edd02 unlike ed01 you seem to rate clyne. Im not sure about him and think he would be playing better if he knew he isn't definate starter. ed001 says we are in a market for a starting rb i don't know why i have the feeling we are not. Thanks for your answer.

{Ed002's Note - It is not so much me "rating" him as I am not aware that Liverpool are looking to sell him.}

29 May 2017 14:24:44
Eds would you expect our Strikers next season to be Ings Origi Firmino and another arrival or might Ings or Origi be moved on?

Also on the striker front has there been any development with Luan at this stage please? Can we forget about Dembele altogether?

{Ed002's Note - Nothing at all has changed - I have explained over and over about Luan and Dembele. I have explained the club has made no efforts to sell Ings or Origi. Asking the same questions and repeatedly asking has anything changed really doesn't help.}

29 May 2017 15:48:20
Ok ed fair enough. Sorry.

29 May 2017 19:37:33
Ings should probably get fit and go out on loan, that would be the best thing for him and the club. Origi should stay especially with Sturridge likely to go. At times I feel like Sturridge is just a complete lost cause unfortunantly, at other times I feel maybe (even with his recurring injuries) he'd still contribute something worth keeping. At the end of the day, if we get a decent replacement then I'd be happy to let him go. It's sad but we have to move onwards and upwards.

29 May 2017 10:24:42
Hi Ed's 001 and Eds 002. Realistically and all joking aside do you see Liverpool challenging consistently for the Premiership title over the next 3-5 years bearing in mind the colossal spending power of United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal and now Spurs?

{Ed002's Note - They will try like all of the others but they will face a tough time. Each of these clubs will have the same ideas - and you never know, perhaps West Brom or Everton might leap to the fore and challenge. What I do think is likely is that you won't see one side dominate year-on-year.}

28 May 2017 13:12:23
Ed25 bit of banter for ya. U have been on here a bit warning us to be worried about how you lot are going to overtake us etc due to the millions you have and you seem like an optimistic guy with Walsh and kidnap giving you hope but my word I would be worried by some of the rumours. Seems to be interest in Martino as a back up. Not going to move u forward in my view and u have after Trent the next best right back of that age in Kenny. Keeper wise Hart will not improve you . Pickford maybe slightly. Cb Williams and jag too slow funes mori no good. U ain't getting koulibaly or van dijk. Centre mid is where u guys are strong as I like guyue Davies and scnide. Barkley and lukaku look like going and although I don't believe either is world class they are best u have. Rooney will not come to sit on the bench and he's not top six standard any more. Deeney? . My point is it's going to be difficult to attract players to improve you enough without cl and all the teams above will strengthen as well. Plus if you lose lukakus goals you need someone to come in and hit the ground running. thoughts please.

{Ed025's Note - you make some good points updaduff but i never said it would be easy, what we do have is the building blocks in place to become successful, we have a proven DOF in steve walsh and a top manager in koeman who are backed by a billionaire owner in the form of farhad moshiri who all have the same goal to make everton great again, now i realize that FFP means this wont be achieved in one fell swoop and that the bigger players will be looking for CL football but its up to us to convince them to buy into this project, we have some great young players coming through as well and that bodes well for the future so all i can say is be afraid..be very afraid there is a sleeping giant being awoken in this city mate.. :)

29 May 2017 10:05:17
Personally hope Everton do really well. I'd rather Liverpool and Everton be in the top 4 than plastics from London.

Everton have a lot of good young players. Holgate, Davies, Lookman and Calvert-Lewin are a few good examples. Add that to Gueye and Williams who provide a bit of steel at the heart of the team, Coleman and Baines who are still one of the best sets of full/ wing backs in the league, and I think they have a good platform to challenge to break into the top 6 club this coming season.

Lukaku and Barkley are, in my opinion, vastly over rated. Lukaku is a flat track bully who just inflates his statistics with hoards of goals against weak teams. He will never win you a title because he goes missing in big games. Barkley is just massively over rated. He is always lucky to stay on the pitch when I see him play, thinks he is better than he is, and has very little to his game other than a good set piece/ final pass. He is a poor mans Ozil/ Fabregas. He never tries to turn a game in his teams favour because he expects others to do that for him. The difference is he is nowhere near as gifted as them, and he also loses his head when he gets isolated and starts trying to hurt people.

Everton have better players in their title winning u23's than Barkley, and for the money Lukaku will rake in he won't be hard to replace with a more complete player.

It will be tough to get into the top 6 now, but Everton are the only club with a chance of doing i and I hope they do.

{Ed025's Note - cheers MK, i reckon your right on ross but the goal tally from rom will make him very hard to replace, saying that over the years liverpool over the years have dealt with losing irreplaceable players like keegan, rush, torres and suarez and still moved on so it can be done mate..

29 May 2017 10:30:53
Well i have to say i hope they falter. Reality is that its hard enough to get into top 4 spots and the plastics from London or the teams from Manchester are not going to fade any time soon. So it might be a nice wee fantasy to have Liverpool and Everton ruling the roost like way back in the 80's but fact is it will make it more difficult for LFC if Everton ever do get their act together.

29 May 2017 10:34:12
Exactly Ed, strikers are generally one of the easiest positions to change. There are exceptions where it can take a few years to recover, but in general I'd rather lose my striker than my midfield general or my centre back rock.

Everyone lost their heads when we lost Owen, Torres and then Suarez. Yet last time I checked we were one of the top scoring teams last year because we have shuffled the pack and put in players who link up well and share the load. We had a dip the immediate seasons after Torres and Suarez but with all due respect to Lukaku, he is not in their league.

I genuinely could not tell you who Evertons first choice wide players were last season though. Koeman clearly didn't trust the senior players in his squad. However I think Lookman is ready now, and if you use the Lukaku money to get in a more complete striker and a decent wide forward to replace Mirallas, you will be a better overall team, even if their is nobody to score 25 goals on their own.

I'm with you mate. Exciting times ahead for Everton. Hopefully you can improve enough to go from being the second best team in Liverpool, to being the second best team in England ;)

{Ed025's Note - it would be great to get back to the heady days of the 80,s MK when this city ruled the domestic football scene mate..

29 May 2017 11:17:59
See what you're saying Rover, but if we focus on our own game we are good enough regardless.

29 May 2017 12:11:19
I think it's ironic that the FFP rules actually make it harder for teams to compete with the top clubs. Before they were introduced a club could get themselves a rich owner and dream of actually challenging for major honours - Chelsea the perfect example - and the required signings for such a challenge. Now, because of FFP, the clubs at the top making the most money are protected from this phenomenon which means only those clubs making a ton of money (clubs who are successful, in the CL - in the UK clubs who have already been benefiting from Sky money and CL money for many, many years) can offer the wages top players demand. I think it's sad that FFP is actually widening the gap rather than closing it - I understand why FFP was introduced but I honestly don't think it is actually help close the gap between the rich and the rest.

{Ed001's Note - why is it ironic? They were brought in to protect the top club's from exactly that sort of thing happening.}

29 May 2017 15:53:27
Haha so ffp protects top clubs from being challenged, but somehow they themselves find ways to circumnavigate the rules. Life is so fair. 😊.

29 May 2017 15:34:26
Ed025 personally I think everyone could do worse than look at iheanacho if you did get Rooney potentially I could see that as a decent partnership quite frankly do you have a preference out of possibilities to replace Barkley/ lukaku.

{Ed025's Note - i like iheanacho shane but im not sure he could do the job of a lone CF mate, my personal preference is for arnautovic of stoke who i feel with better service would do very well, i am indifferent about ross and dont mind one way or the other if he stays or goes as i think he is overrated, i would like sigurdsson myself and i know we are interested in him..

30 May 2017 14:07:39
The only thing I'd like to see with that crowd is relegation MK, but maybe living elsewhere gives you a different outlook, you don't have to live with them, worst fans in the league by a country mile.

29 May 2017 08:49:30
Hi chaps
I need to get this off my chest but I need to know am I the only person that fumes when I read articles in the papers where Owen is referred to as a Liverpool legend? Did I miss something but in my humble opinion Liverpool should have no affiliation with him . He is a manc in my eyes just jumps on the LFC bandwagon when it suits him . Be interesting to hear the opinion of the rest of you guys.

29 May 2017 09:22:21
Could have been an LFC legend should be the phrase used.

29 May 2017 09:24:44
Personally hate him for shoving fowler out the door, then he joined united.

29 May 2017 09:25:04
People need to learn to view things objectively.

Owen played for us for half a decade and scored over 100 goals. He is the only English player to win the Balon D'or and he won that in a Liverpool shirt, won us cup finals single handedly and helped lead us to a treble.

Yes, he walked out on us and has been a complete tool ever since. That surely doesn't just delete his history in our shirt though? As a man he was a nasty, manipulative, self absorbed con artist who ripped off our youth players. I get that, but he is also one of the best players we've had in the Premier League era.

Roy Keane was a nasty piece of work as well who openly admitted to trying to and successfully ending someone's career, and ever since retiring has just tried to drag Man United down with vitriol and vengeful comments. Don't tell me he isn't a United legend though.

Unfortunately, some legends go off the rails and have some dirty secrets we don't always hear about. That does not erase their achievements for their clubs.

{Ed001's Note - he never won anything singlehandedly and helped to destroy a lot of careers. I couldn't care less what other clubs think of their vermin former players, Owen is vermin and should be nowhere near the club.}

29 May 2017 09:01:14
Totally agree with you. If we need someone to represent LFC there are thousand other ex players who love and respect LFC better than Owen. He will never be a legend in my eyes.

29 May 2017 09:34:15
Agree with the Ed and OP here!

29 May 2017 09:49:22
I don't disagree with that Ed. I think he is a terrible ambassador, but you also cannot really blame the media for calling him a legend when he was at the club for the best years of his career, which also coincide with our most success (in terms of silverware) in the last 20 years.

They are judging the player, not the man. Gerrard and Carragher weren't exactly Saints with their little bully squad or scouse mafia if that's what they prefer to call it. People wouldn't hesitate to call them legends though. They bullied a lot of players which is basically what Owen was doing, but to a lesser extent. Obviously Owen was more vindictive in his actions and turned traitor, but I think if you step back and detach emotion from the discussion (like non-LFC pundits will be doing) then it's hard to argue he isn't a legend. He was definitely the player who won us the final against Arsenal. That was just as single handedly as Gerrard in 2006 which nobody begrudges him.

I really do agree about Owens antics though and I want him nowhere near the club in any role. Especially an ambassador. That is almost laughable. But what Owen did for us on the pitch was incredible and the people who don't know or care about his antics behind the scenes, cannot really be blamed for having him down as a Liverpool legend. That's all I'm trying to explain mate.

29 May 2017 10:24:38
Owen left under a massive cloud. We got £8 million for him and then he plays for United? He isn't even close to being a legend. I wouldn't cross the street to shake his hand.

29 May 2017 10:46:39
If keane had come to us instead of celtic. He would be nowhere bear united.

He joined united and is now our global amabassador. What about agger? Rejected barcalona in thier pomp for us has YNWA tatooed on him. Never wanted to leave. that's an ambassador.

Just let that sink in for a second.

29 May 2017 14:15:20
Kenny is an ambassador, all the others are pretenders.

29 May 2017 14:30:12
Poor comparison between Owen and Keanue.

30 May 2017 14:08:41
Here here ed001 and supermane.