02 Jun 2021 09:09:35
Given the Patson Daka rumours I thought I'd check out a you tube video of him. I was struck by a few things.

Firstly, goalkeeping in the Austrian (thanks Ed0666 ;-) league is absolutely shocking! The funniest was a shot Daka hit directly at a GK, the keeper managed to 'avoid' the ball with his hands, and it deflected off his head into the goal!

Secondly, I can see why we bought Taki! I hope he's been hitting the protein shakes and gym workouts in the last few months!

Finally, Daka does look great. And it makes me wonder about Brewster, for whom most of us had really high hopes a season or two ago. A question, probably, for Ed001 - what's happened to him? I know a lot of players don't make the progression from youth to mens, but he looked SO promising! Is it attitude, dedication, weakness in technique? Being used the wrong way by Sheffield Utd?

It seems crazy that we got over £20m for him when we could pick up Daka for under that!

{Ed001's Note - he was never as good as he was hyped to be, plus injuries badly affected his progress. We will only find out now if he has the right attitude, as he has had such a big setback he will need it to bounce back.}

1.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 09:29:40
Thanks for that Ed001, that's a shame. I had such high hopes as the last player in the academy who seemed to be hogging the headlines as Rhian had been was Sterling and he did alright!

Do you think it would be best for him to stay with Sheffield Utd and 'serve his apprenticeship' in the Championship? I'd like to see him do that as it shows, if nothing else, a bit of moral fibre too to improve and help the team back into the EPL (or at least try! ) rather than chasing the money elsewhere.

{Ed001's Note - Brewster never came through our academy, nor did Sterling. Brewster should stay put and force his way into the team. If he can't do that then he needs to sit down and look at himself.}

2.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 10:09:12
Good point Ed001, albeit they spent enough time with us to Club Trained, right? I seem to remember that Sterling came to us from SPR when he was 14/ 15? And Brewster was a bit older but from Chelsea.

{Ed001's Note - I don't know if they count as club trained, I can't remember.}

3.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 10:26:33
Hi Ed001, why did Liverpool sign Taki? Was he just a low-risk punt? If he can't pull up any stumps at Southampton then I doubt he has a future at Liverpool.

{Ed001's Note - Harry Kane never pulled up any stumps on loan at a few clubs, but he had done alright. You can't judge a player on how he does on loan.}

4.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 10:43:51
Zed, maybe the thing to take with Daka is that he knows when to shoot early and plays percentages by making sure his shot is on target which can catch most keepers out? He does look a good player and RBS do know a good player when they find one.

5.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 11:07:53
Hi eds1
So what would be best for mino another loan or we sell and he come back to us and has a proper go of it?

{Ed001's Note - it really depends on if Klopp is going to give him a go. When he did play well, it was the last time he played for us, that is no way to go about giving a player confidence. If that is how he is going to be treated, better for the lad to let him go somewhere they will play him if he does well.}

6.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 11:11:51
Taki wasn’t all that impressive when he was here though either Ed. I suppose he’s got pre season to show what he’s about, would like to see him succeed with us but the lad needs some confidence and a bit of aggression I think. definitely a player in there though.

{Ed001's Note - he played well and got dumped out of the team and then farmed out on loan. How was he ever meant to impress when he wasn't given the chance to?}

7.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 11:12:06
My thoughts exactly VVVV. His two footedness and early shooting often seem to catch keepers out, which is exactly how you should finish your chances and something we seem to be lacking in the squad. Obviously his technique will improve upon moving to Liverpool given his age and the step up in training, but he seems to have the right idea when it comes to how to take chances. He also seemed to be able to get his head on some crosses through pure movement and guile, and looks to have explosive pace and really good agility to twist and turn past players. He reminded me of Mane in some respects.

I’m not 100% convinced he can make the step up nor is it ideal when it considering we already have a few players who will be off at AFCON, but given the C.V. market we are operating in his rumoured price seems to be a snip and worth a punt.

8.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 12:00:28
Good point VVVV and AW. I really like the two-footed ness.

Re AFCON, AW, Zambia didn’t qualify for this one, so Daka won’t be going until at least 2024.

9.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 12:18:18
Actually, just checked Afcon on Wiki and it looks like, although the 2021 edition will be payed in the winter, 2023 and 2025 are both scheduled for the summer. So, as Zambia didn't qualify for AFCON 21, there shouldn't be any other AFCON disruption to our squad during the season because of AFCON.

Perhaps we will end up keeping Taki (given we didn't spend a huge amount on him) so that we have Jota, Taki, Daka and Elliot as options alongside Bobby during Jan/ Deb 22?

Or Taki could leave and we use the opportunity to blood some of the academy forwards during that period, at least from the bench.

10.) 02 Jun 2021
02 Jun 2021 19:42:11
Occasionally there are times, and timing that determines a success of a player. taki should have got a run at the start of last season when firminio was very slow to start the season. He had looked good at the start of season, but klopp went with those more experienced guys and used him very limited.

Reminds me of suso, Rodgers should have gave him a go but sent him on loan and signed the guy from Malaga. If he won't get opportunities he should go, but his movement looked great against Palace away and he seemed like he had settled.

{Ed002's Note - Liverpool are in need of Home Grown players and I expect that padding such as him will have to go and the coaching staff will need to start working with the players who are HG or again play an undersized squad.}