Liverpool Banter Archive November 02 2015

02 Nov 2015 18:10:43
Guys. I would request you all to lay off Milner for a while. Look at this from his point of view. He just arrived this summer and has already worked under 2 managers.

The man who signed him is long gone and whatever promises were made to him are now moot. Plus he is the captain now with the team and
fans thinking that it is undeserved.

Give him a break! If Klopp feels he can contribute, give him some time. Klopp will definitely not be playing favorites.

Also I clearly remember many City matches where he came on as a sub and turned matches for them.

Honestly I am really tired of everyone picking a new player to slag off each week.

We have a had a good week, let's just sit back and enjoy. let Klopp look ahead!

02 Nov 2015 18:30:44
We've been slagging him off since August.

02 Nov 2015 18:48:55
Spot on pal. Well said.

Some have got so used to the dark days that they aren't seeing the light.

Let's focus on the positives. Milner has a lot of quality and we need to trust Klopp to bring out the best in him.

Milner could have stayed where he was but chose to come to play for us. The one thing you can't question is his effort levels. He's trying hard for us. Let's get behind the lad.

02 Nov 2015 19:11:48
If you don't like his current form I think that's fair enough to say your thoughts, although I do agree that it sometimes strays into the disrespectful. But don't say that you've been against the signing from the start, because that is not true for the vast majority. Most were very pleased with the signing. After he scored a couple of goals in preseason many were singing his praises. Most were even supportive of the Vice captaincy, I don't remember seeing many people saying we should give it to Lucas or Sakho. I've not been impressed with Milners start, but I'll admit I thought he'd be great for us.

02 Nov 2015 20:13:58
Well that's just not true shrewsbury red, at all actually, i remember many on here being against the signing and more were against him being appointed vice captain! I thought he would be a good signing i won't lie, but i was actually disgusted on the behalf of Lucas and Skrtel who have been at the club for years, even sakho has been here for 2 seasons and has captained PSG and France!

02 Nov 2015 21:49:29
Sometimes it's necessary to seperate the player from the decisions behind the scenes. The logic of signing Milner: experience after the loss of Gerrard, tick. The negatives? What does he offer apart from experience? I'd pick Hendo and Can ahead of him in terms of value to the team.

What really accentuates the negatives is the previous manager, promising the VC role, and a guaranteed CM position. He isn't the best available at either role. Put these stupid decisions aside, and he deserves support in the role he should have been given.

an experienced head in times of need, cover for Hendo/Can, daft as it sounds, even cover at right wingback. Give him a clean slate like everyone else, and don't look for scapegoats where there is no need.

02 Nov 2015 23:30:39
Shrewsbury, you need to go read the posts in the archives because a multitude of posters including myself, bashed the signing of Milner as a waste of wages and time because he would struggle and has only had one good game vs Villa, which is not saying much.

The VC issue was not his fault. You can chalk that up to the rank incompetence of the prev regime. Klopp has no time for passengers like Allen and Milner, so if you can't pull your weight in the rock n roll, high press system he plays, you're not going to be around here that long. End of.

03 Nov 2015 01:00:27
Milner is a quality player but not a messiah - he never scared me when he played against us, so why should we expect him to be destroying teams playing for us?

What he is in my opinion is another Hendo type (high energy box to box midfielder), and a very experienced head in the dressing room. I for one am glad he's in the squad for youngsters to learn from his professionalism, and I'm sure he'll be invaluable in a big match at some point when we need someone who's seen it all before to come on and help close things out.

Yes his form has dipped a bit, but let just give someone else a run and I'm sure he'll be back stronger than ever. Everyone goes through rough patches, it doesn't suddenly make them rubbish.

03 Nov 2015 02:31:45
Oh, and one thing I really hate is when someone has a dip in form and everyone wants to sell them, but then someone plays a good couple of games and suddenly they're "world class" (or wants to buy them when we're alreay well stocked in that area eg. Vardy) .

I'm therefore thrilled with Klopp's approach which seems to be invest in the talent already at the club and to get them competitive through hard work, training and gradual improvement. We have some great players and youngsters at the club to work with.

In terms of what we have already, in my opinion our only really scary players (ie. that really worry the opposition) are Sturridge, Benteke, Coutinho (but even then Couts needs to be more consistent)

Our top 4 standard players are Hendo, Lucas, Llalana, Clyne, Sakho, Firmino, and perhaps Milner (just)

Young players with quality for 1st team, but with real potential for more are Can, Ings, Moreno, Ibe, Rossiter, Markovic

Everyone else is either no more than solid IMO, or perhaps talented but too early to say regular 1st team material (eg. Skrtel, Migs, Allen, Lovren, Origi, Teixera, Gomez)

03 Nov 2015 06:12:48
This is rubbish. No one has deliberately slagged of any player let alone Milner. You can have your opinion on a poor performance and when it repeats eventually raise your finger.

03 Nov 2015 09:44:14
I have to agree with what the Ed has said. Just because you've played with great players it doesn't make you a great player as well. Traore played in a team with Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso etc. Get my point? Milner runs and runs. That doesn't make you a good player at all. I, personally think that the commitment he's shown to the club after all these years, his improvement and the difference he's made whenever he's played and how highly he speaks of LFC that Lucas should have been AT LEAST Vice Captain by now. But as always he's been overlooked.

02 Nov 2015 16:01:49
I like this Sabona guy on the page. Good posts.
edd01 what ever happened to Steve parker? I think that was his name on the page if you can remember mate. He wrote some brilliant long posts.

{Ed001's Note - no idea mate, sorry.}

02 Nov 2015 23:31:13
I like his posts, too.

02 Nov 2015 13:24:12
For Ed001 if you're around.

Klopp seems to be putting a lot of emphasis on the players' confidence and mental strength - is Steve Peters still involved with the club?

Many of the players spoke highly of him in the 13-14 season - when their confidence was sky high. I haven't heard anyone mention him since then though.

{Ed001's Note - he is working with the England team now, I don't think he has the time to devote to us these days.}

02 Nov 2015 13:33:42
we already have klopp, we don't need steve peters.

02 Nov 2015 13:42:22
Thanks Ed.
That's a pity for us but at least Klopp has picked up that it's an issue and is working towards fixing it. I'm really impressed with how quickly he's identified many of the club's and player's problem areas. It's refreshing.

02 Nov 2015 13:51:59
BR's inner chimp wouldn't let him back into Melwood, so he went to England instead.

02 Nov 2015 16:31:14
I was actually going to ask this question a few days ago, good shout.
I remember a quote saying 'if Liverpool stick with Rodgers and Peters they'll win the prem in 4 years' or something to that effect,
Either seems a ridiculous move to let him move on or that we needed him more than we thought,

02 Nov 2015 16:48:43
BR took all the credit and deflected all the blame, no wonder many of the players needed a shrink! But in all seriousness Klopp is a great motivator and leader. I have been watching him since his Mainz days. I won't pretend it was because of klopp but it was because of my favorite player at the time Mohamed Zidan, who klopp took with him to Dortmund as well and i followed them there together as well. He will get the best out of most of the players and many of them will reach levels many on here thought impossible, trust me. Dortmund sold Reus for not being strong or good enough, he brought him back and made him what he is today, he promoted Gotze from the B team, he took Hummels on loan from Bayern B and bought Lewandowski from the polish league.
At the time i remeber Dortmund fans saying he would warm the bench for Zidan but Zidan got an ACL injury and the rest is history for Lewandowski.

02 Nov 2015 23:35:45
A man after my heart, Sabona. Your post is spot on. I would need a shrink if I had to deal with BR and his disgraceful and shameless conduct if I was an LFC player.

02 Nov 2015 12:25:23
Adam
you said a lot more than just coutinhos head was turned.
Fans should support the players who have consistently been great for us.

02 Nov 2015 12:35:25
I said Firmino is the better player which i still stand by and that if Coutinho left we could cope with his loss.

He's been inconsistently great for us actually. Before yesterday his last goal was against Stoke in the opening game of the season was it not? He has been playing poorly which is why i would've dropped him.

Fair play though, Klopp kept him in and Coutinho played very well. Perhaps Teixeira's performance midweek and his presence on the bench gave Coutinho the kick up the back side he needed.

02 Nov 2015 12:38:51
Coutinho was over played, he needs a rest once in a while.

02 Nov 2015 12:50:45
And Firmino might prove to be a better player once in form and fully setteled but right now he is not Adam.

02 Nov 2015 13:00:15
Even if coutinho is not on it he's the only player you would fancy to produce abit of magic to win the game. Lallana and Milner have been worse, and Milner has proved what a bad signing he was.

02 Nov 2015 13:03:13
Are you guys Sibling? Big Al and Adam? 😂😂😂.

02 Nov 2015 13:13:14
It's not just his goals and assits you need to look at. Fact is you can pretty much just ignore anything under BR because we were playing attrocious slow build up football this season before Klopp with little movement in the final 3rd and a centrebacks that loved tippy tappy passes to one another.
Coutinho I agree was taking pot shots and being wasteful at times, but he was still one of our better players. How some one can say drop hiom for Firmino, who has missed several games from injury at the beginning of the season is quite surprising.
As I've always said and stand by, Coutinho bring a lot more to the game than just goals and assist, (which will still likely improve this year compared to last) He demands the ball from deep, draws in players out of position, dribbles from deep committing more men from the opposition to stop him. He gifted at gliding from th left hand side into any space left in the hole and usually doesn't get picked up. He shows for Sakhos and Skrtel (watch how many times Sakho will pass to him in a game, pretty much by passing the midfield) and in doing so more often than not can turn and fact the goal/play he's got that much room.
Coutinho hasn't been firing, because we as a team haven't been firing in any department. At no point was any call for him to be dropped justified.
Yes his wastefulness trying to score 25 yarders was annoying, but he was still our best player (usually) on the pitch, and had a young 20 year old learning the game in front of him since Klopp became manager.

02 Nov 2015 13:20:15
I called for Lallana and Milner to be dropped as well Al. I wanted Ibe and Teixeira to keep their places. Lallana and Milner yet again offered virtually nothing but Coutinho was exceptional in the second half. Scoring that belter on the stroke of half time really filled him with confidence.

Sabona i don't mean right now i mean in general. Firmino is a proven world class player who was regarded as one of the top 3 players in the Bundesliga alongside Reus and Lewandowski. Coutinho for me is world class on his day but he needs to have more good days!

02 Nov 2015 13:30:45
Firmino proven world class? Big statement. We will see how he preforms for the rest of the season .

02 Nov 2015 13:31:33
Agree with Adam on Firmino. He is an exceptional talent. He would go on to become a better player than Coutinho in future.

02 Nov 2015 13:39:31
I remember you branding Mr. Adam Lallana world class as well. You are very loose with that term and Firmino is not world class, neither is Coutinho. Both might become that one day, but in my humble opinion there are only 2 world class players in the entire world, maybe 4 if you take Alexis Sanchez form into consideration since joining Arsenal and Lewandowski's current form. We have many very good players, but no one really is top class player apart from maybe Jordan Henderson and Mamadou Sakho in my opinion. They are consistent and influence our play massivley. Henderson has like 35 assists in the last 2 seasons which is simply stunning. So in my opinon Henderson is our best player by a mile, followed by Sakho, followed by Lucas, followed by Sturridge, then i think Benteke will become vital as well, then Coutinho. Look at it this way, take away Lucas or Benteke or Henderson or Sakho and you will feel a big drop in the team performance, not so much with Coutinho no matter how brilliant he is when he's on song.

02 Nov 2015 13:43:00
And bro, why the pic of the dwarf? hehe.

02 Nov 2015 14:05:34
Sabona I actually agree with you regarding Henderson and Sakho. However I disagreed with you because I've never said Lallana IS world class. I have said he is the most technically gifted English player since Barnes, I said he was better than Di Maria and I said he could become a world class player in a better side. He seems to have stagnated at Liverpool though.

02 Nov 2015 14:12:28
Sabona, it was just one of my favourite tv shows when I was younger. I love sci fi and comedy and it mixed them both brilliantly.

02 Nov 2015 15:55:27
I was actually refering to EMS Boba! haha! And EMS you are right about Lallana, hopefully he can kick on this season, he is still not close to being clincal enough with his final ball or finish. And he also needs to pass the ball quicker instead of twisting and turning.

02 Nov 2015 16:15:43
oh hahaha.

02 Nov 2015 18:16:03
I think Couts has been better so far this season for Pool but I really like Robbie F, he's looking more settled and happier on the pitch hopefully he carries on improving and as the team regains confidence hopefully we carry on doing well!

02 Nov 2015 18:40:33
EMS, Firmino was good in the Bundesliga but not top 3 at all.

03 Nov 2015 02:25:38
Not slating firmino at all here, I like him, but EMS you said coutinho hasn't scored since Stoke, by firmino hasn't scored yet. We need them both to improve. Coutinho had a bad spell during the changeover period, but is it a coincidence that our best game this season is the one he plays best in? Apart from that our best half was the first away at Arsenal, where he was also brilliant.

02 Nov 2015 12:00:35
So Klopp got his first win and what a win! Just hope we can push on from now and go on a run. When watching the game it was obvious that Klopps philosophy and how he wants to play is paying off. Apart from the brain freeze of Moreno we had one of our best games for a long time. What i also liked from Klopp is that he isn't afraid of replacing the captain if he isn't playing good. In January i think we need two or three players to just balance us out on the pitch and on the bench as you do need a preety strong bench as well.

02 Nov 2015 13:02:11
I don't think there will be any new players coming in in Jan? The improvement so far is there for all to see? Think the owners may wait til summer. few need to be moved on but i think Jurgen will give them to the end of the season to stake a claim?

02 Nov 2015 10:04:19
Well, what a result eh? Is EMS about today by any chance? Maybe he could drive the average Coutinho the airport. backs up my argument as to why we should just keep both him and Firmino, why do we need to sell.
I understand Mourinho is under pressure, but he is just making himself look silly now. He is like a child having a tantrum with his media interviews. Tarnishing his reputation. Sakho looking ore and more solid with each game that passes.

02 Nov 2015 10:36:08
He admitted straight away he was wrong about coutinho mate. And thank God he was!

02 Nov 2015 10:50:35
"31 Oct 2015 18:32:07

Thank you Coutinho for making me look a right bell and finally pulling a performance out of your magic hat.  Still hoping he will start playing like that more consistently but humble pie's never tasted so good. Someone pass the custard please!

East Midlands Scouser"

Nice try buddy. Also I didn't say he was average. I said he was playing like his head had been turned and should be dropped.

02 Nov 2015 11:37:24
Why are people always trying to get "one-up-manship" on the Internet? I don't get it. 😐.

02 Nov 2015 11:42:25
Haha fair enough, I didn't say that. Only poking fun. At least they showed they have a decent link up together. I think Coutinho is willing to give it another season, seems to enjoy playing under Klopp.

02 Nov 2015 12:02:10
Well that's not the first time he has admitted. James Milner? Adam was on the floor when we signed him. Hard working Milner.

02 Nov 2015 12:26:52
Yeah but no one predicted Milner would be this crap though Harry? The only thing said was that he wasn't needed while you were druling over Kovacic ;)

02 Nov 2015 12:27:59
Ron, the page name kind of gives it away, it's called Liverpool Banter.

02 Nov 2015 13:07:20
Sabona

I knew it straight away that he is not a CM in normal world. You need sheer passing abilities which he don't possess.

All they knew he could press and would become our own Vidal - Marchisio combo.

Kovacic is a playmaker in itself with excellent defensive attributes. A fine holding midfielder. He is a better player than Verratti. He has already got the backing of Rafa getting regular game time. Rafa will mould him to the next Alonso.

02 Nov 2015 13:46:21
I diagree that Kovacic is anywhere near Veratti's level. Kovacic is decent for now, nothing more. Veratti is a maniac! And if you watched Madrid games you would know even Casimero is getting more game time than your precious kovacic.

Hard for me to say this but i agree with you on Milner. He should only be played out wide as a RW or RM. And should not have been signed in the first place.

02 Nov 2015 16:05:57
A "normal world". That is where we all live in Harry. Is there a special little world you go where you get these wondrous ideas you inundate us with?

02 Nov 2015 17:18:00
With you there Ron K. Banter is great but there is an awful lot of I told you so's too.

I'm pretty sure if I looked up banter it won't say the art of proving yourself right at the expense of someone else.

I now await the "banter" to be proved wrong, oh the irony!

02 Nov 2015 07:26:23
MILNER: How "safe" is his starting place? I have never been a fan of his, useful squad player in my opinion but should not be one of the first names on the team sheet. He works hard - yes; but gives the ball away countless times, makes poor decisions, goes to ground easily, etc.

02 Nov 2015 08:01:22
I know what you're saying but he put some decent crosses in on Saturday which may had paid off had Benteke started.

I'm not convinced myself really though.

02 Nov 2015 08:05:17
JK is still evaluating the squad IMO.
When Hendo comes back he'll lose the captaincy.
Then he might lose his place.

I think he'll start most games until Hendo is back.

02 Nov 2015 09:48:21
Thing about milner is i just think he is too late in his career to suit the high pressing and fast pace klopp wants to play at. He was brought in as a Gerrard mold and has not succeeded.

02 Nov 2015 12:31:53
In my humble opinion Milner will be dropped for the game vs Palace and will loose the pathetic armband to either Lucas, Skrtel or even Sakho. How a player walks into a club and takes the vice captaincy having never played for the club or even a motivator on the pitch is simply pathetic. Milner doesn't deserve to be the highest paid player nor be anywhere near the starting line up when everyone is fit.

If i worked with Klopp i would do all i can to move him away in January and despite you thinking we might struggle to offload him, half the teams in the league would take him because let's face it, he is James Milner and British and runs aroung alot. Matter of fact i would start Joe Allen ahead of Milner any day in a central midfield position. He is clueless about the demands of the role completley.

02 Nov 2015 13:57:52
Sabona, only BR could have done what u just stated by giving Milner the VC after just arriving. No manager with a brain would have done that. I never wanted him here and ghank Heavens we now have a competent manager who knows a joke player when he sees one. Hendo will be back and Milner should get the hook. Klopp doesn't care what the clueless British media thinks abour average English plagdrs. If you cannot play, you won't play. End of.

02 Nov 2015 14:36:07
I have a funny feeling Milner will surprise us all. He's clearly a talented player with a great work ethic, he wouldn't have had the career he's had if he wasn't. He's also had a hand in three or our last 6 goals (two assists and a key involvement in the build up to a third) so the accusations of how 'useless' he is is a bit over the top. He may be dropped if we have everyone fit but even then I think he'll be in the starting 11 more often than not.

As for the Captain thing I think that ship's sailed, Klopp could have made a big deal of it when he came in but I reckon the fact that he's never even mentioned it means that Milner will be vice captain for the rest of the season.

02 Nov 2015 15:57:28
we will see muscatred, i really doubt that.

02 Nov 2015 16:13:39
Milner also had a hand in us conceding both of our last 2 goals with his stupid tackle against Southampton and that poor excuse for a challenge on Azpilicueta for Chelsea's goal.

Going forward we have better options that Milner, so I expect him to be dropped soon enough. Klopp doesn't care for you seniority and doesn't believe in nonsense like Rodgers, so he will have to improve drastically to regularly get game time with us IMO.

The problem we will have when off-loading Milner is his wages. I cannot still believe Rodgers wanted him in as the highest paid LFC player at over 150K a week, and while plenty of clubs will be interested in him if we made him available, only very very few will be able to match or get anywhere near his wages demands. We really are stuck with him for now, and that is down to the previous regime and the obvious lunacy they showed with signings like Milner.

02 Nov 2015 02:37:31
Hi Ed's,
Feels bad to see Milner's performance has dipped consistently since departure of BR. The many times he gives away the ball and miss times his challenges is worrying. In my view he is a very good impact player from bench as he used to be at Man City.
Hope Henderson's comeback will move Milner to bench. Can't wait to see the pressing game when Henderson is back.
The current squad is definitely capable of winning a Silverware under Klopp.
Looking for better times ahead.

{Ed001's Note - seriously? He has been utter dross since the day he signed for us, his performances have not dipped at all, it is that everyone else's have lifted since Klopp arrived. He was never a good impact player, he was just good to inject energy, but that was his only impact.}

02 Nov 2015 04:09:13
Spot on Ed01, Apart from accumulating 5 yellow cards in less than 10 games what has he done for us?
One of the multi million blunder in the club history after Joe Cole.

02 Nov 2015 04:30:00
The only good thing he do is run. Even when he press, he always press with no intention. Is like he's just there but have no intention to win the ball back.

Sub is his best role. Most likely when it's 70 min, legs get tired, he can come on and make opponent commit silly mistake by his energy which is all he got. He does have decent cross at times.

02 Nov 2015 05:09:39
He will be a very very expensive sub then. If it doesn't work out for him by summer, I would try and move him on, as I certainly don't think we need to be keeping our highest earner on bench. The question is, who will pick him up due to his ridiculous wages? At this early stage, Milner looks like yet another expensive we will struggle to shift.

{Ed001's Note - why wait until summer? Just move him in January.}

02 Nov 2015 07:05:24
Lol Ed001, and who exactly do u think will want to buy him? We are stuck with Milner for the full length of his contract. None of the top bpl teams want him and the mid table teams will not pay his wages or any transfer fee whatsoever. The best we can do is loan him out and pay a substantial portion of his wages. Hate to say this but we clearly have another Joe Cole situation on our hands, thanks to clueless Brendan.

{Ed001's Note - buy? Why not let him go on a free?}

02 Nov 2015 07:30:16
No end product, poor decision-making, runs around like a headless chicken and goes to ground way too easily!

02 Nov 2015 07:41:04
He was very average when BR was manager. What shocked me was his passing was so poor.

02 Nov 2015 07:53:49
Another quality BR signing he's shite.

02 Nov 2015 08:09:02
We're not stuck with him at all.
He left Man City, for reportedly less wages, because he thought he would get more playing time.
If he loses his place some one will come in for him. He may return to Newcastle, he may go to somewhere like Leicester as they start to slide down the table.

There will be buyers if he accepts a lower wage in order to play.

{Ed001's Note - Newcastle won't come anywhere near his wage demands, nor would Leicester, who have shown no interest in him anyway.}

02 Nov 2015 08:33:27
A January loan where at least half his wages are covered could be the best option IF we use the money to recruit a new wide player in the January window. Otherwise I'd keep him. We don't have many wide players at all and as bad as he is he's better than nobody. Unfortunately we don't have anyone in the youth who is ready to play out wide regularly and offer pace.

Milner out on loan and Markovic recalled could be a cost effective option.

02 Nov 2015 09:04:31
Is it true milner is our highest paid player?

{Ed001's Note - yes.}

02 Nov 2015 10:52:24
Holy crap just read that about him being our highest paid player thank god klopps there raising spirits as if that dross is our highest paid player there would be a mutiny under br!

02 Nov 2015 11:10:26
So Milner is the next player to get a trolling from everyone on here. Classless and clueless.

The fella has only played alongside some of the best players in Europe for the past 5 years, winning title after title.

We're 13 games in, relax. Let the lads and the manager do their work.

{Ed001's Note - clueless is defending someone because they have played with good players! Talk about ridiculous. Shame he wasn't one of the best players in Europe, instead of just playing with them! I have played with some of the best players in our history, but it doesn't make me a great. Oh and he is not getting a trolling, he is getting stick for underperforming, there is a huge difference.}

02 Nov 2015 12:06:06
J H

He is a 30 year old experience professional who wears a captains Armband only to accumulate 5 yellow cards for poor positioning in less than 10 games.

A poor Gerrard managed a whole season playing at DM.

We did a mistake and I don't see any club in Europe coming after him with 150k wages.

02 Nov 2015 12:27:45
Behave lads. Maybe you should review your posts a little then. Things like "He's dross, utter rubbish" etc etc, pathetic.

Not playing well, fair enough, make a comment, but as per usual, most comments end up below the belt. In case you've forgotten, the man is the captain of the club at the moment, a bit of support wouldn't be a bad thing.

{Ed001's Note - he is vice captain and highest paid player. A bit of support is what he gets on match days, this is not the place for mindless support of your kind.}

02 Nov 2015 12:34:30
You are full of it harry. Many clubs will take milner if we make him available!

02 Nov 2015 14:46:03
JH, Probably won't lift your spirits but I agree with you. It seems there's a 'worst player this week' badge that gets passed around. Posters unload on them until their form improves and the badge goes to the next guy.

02 Nov 2015 15:58:44
that might be Muscat but milner has been pretty bad for weeks and only getting worse, how is that this week?