06 Aug 2021 20:43:50
James Pearce saying Newcastle be in contact about Nat Phillips. If true would be a good move for Nat hope it comes off soon.

06 Aug 2021 21:44:11
It would be a great move for him.

06 Aug 2021 21:46:39
I’d definitely put him in my FF team if so. Think he’d be very good for them.

06 Aug 2021 22:18:34
Definitely see why Bruce would be a fan.

07 Aug 2021 00:35:11
Phillips is largely the reason we got champions league football. If he goes I’ll be sorry to see him leave as he’s a proper blood and guts defender, but he’ll get a very warm round of applause if he leaves and returns to play against us.

{Ed0666's Note - I agree but if he has to be sacrificed in order to bring in a midfielder and a forward then needs must and so be it.

07 Aug 2021 07:52:43
VVVV, the credit should go to the whole team and Klopp for getting the guys fully focused on that run we went on. That was a full team effort and everyone should be commended. Remember as well, IF AB1 does not score a belter of a header in the last kick or “header” of the game, none of this happens. Just saying.

As for Phillips, I would sell him if it is what he wants and use the funds to get the players we need. I don’t see it as sacrifice cos let’s be real, he is surplus to requirements at won’t start ahead of the 4 in front of him. In the end, it’s in his hands.

07 Aug 2021 09:47:28
Oil, that’s also true, but if Klopp had persisted with playing midfielders in defence, we’d have finished outside the top four by some way. To step in and step up to the degree that Phillips did, and prove himself a very capable centre back in the PL played a huge part, good defending is always the key to winning. If he goes, which seems likely, he’ll get a good price and I think he’ll go on to have a very good PL career. Said it before and will say it again, he’s at least as good as the likes Tarkowski, Keane or Mings and he’s better than the likes of Gibson. And we know what they went for so whoever gets him for £15m is getting a bargain.

07 Aug 2021 15:01:07
VVVV, if you thought Klopp didn’t know even before going in that playing mids in defence was what he really wanted to do then you are badly mistaken. He did what he had to do at the time cos things were going to hell in a hand basket all around him on a weekly basis.

Also, did it ever occur to you that just maybe he did not play Phillips cos he simply was not ready yet? The Phillips that is as good as Tarkowski was NOT the version that started much ealier on. That is not true. He was shaky and a bag of nerves in possession and I can keep going. Also, We all saw the mistakes Williams was making early on and was getting destroyed on SM (shocking, I know) and Klopp pulled him out of the team. Maybe he did that to protect both of them at the time cos the league was gone then anyway and they needed time to fully train and learn and we saw the results when they played after Kabak got injured.

As a manager, you are not just there to manage the game, you are there to protect your players esp the most vulnerable ones. If he persisted with both and mistakes kept happening, their confidence is shot and he can’t go to them again hence, Kabak came in to help and much later, both were ready cos they were playing better in the final stretch than before. Just pointing out something you could be missing.