Liverpool 2014/15 | WARNING: Contains strong amounts of Scouse nonsense

Why? We need a left back badly.

I really like Bacca but he falls into the same category as a lot of other very good strikers - great player but not what we need in terms of versatility and link up with Sturridge. We need someone who can either play deeper and out wide, Bacca and Sturridge wouldn't be a very good partnership and we'd be stuck playing 2 up top if we got him.
Bacca's link up is very good plus he's very versatile and would link up quite well with sturrige. He's a great all round striker which is what pool need to replace suarez. I've not been convinced by moreno.
 
Yep, the 20 point gap of last season is all breezily explained away by pointing to Moyes and Suarez. And now - regardless of having lost a huge amount of experience and cover in their back four - United are going to storm back courtesy of LvG, a CM from Bilbao who may or may not adapt quickly and well to the Prem, and a 19 year-old, apparently attacking wingback with no goals and 1 assist to his name from 60 appearances for S'hampton.

:lol:
 
At least they are trying to improve that defence, Moreno and Manquillo..

Any info on the latter? a 2 year old loan deal, what's that all about.

Loan deal with option to buy so the rumour says, I am not sure he will be first choice to be honest assuming he signs.
Pretty sure Moreno would be though.
 
Loan deal with option to buy so the rumour says, I am not sure he will be first choice to be honest assuming he signs.
Pretty sure Moreno would be though.

Moreno to start definitely..

Yeh that's why I asked, even seen Manquillo play so wouldn't really know to be honest if he will start. Johnson is awful in my opinion. As things stand what do you expect next year..

? Sakho Lovren Moreno
 
The PL is probably the most competitive it's ever been, so it's difficult to see any one club ruling the roost in the way United did for the past 2 decades. It's hard to see past City & Chelsea when it comes to winning league titles for the foreseeable future. But football is a funny old game. Always was, & always will be.

There is one more factor that some people overlook ... for all the money City & Chelsea have (and United too probably) the gap has closed between them and the other teams in the division due to the huge amounts now paid to all the PL teams in the form of the PL prize-money, TV money and sponsorship. Who could have seen Everton paying £28-30m for a striker 2-3 seasons ago ? Or teams like Sunderland easily coughing up £14m. When you consider how few players, anywhere in the world, can command a £30m+ fee and think that now pretty much any team in the PL top 7-8 can afford to buy them you can begin to conceive of a slip in the crown of the previous Top 3 teams (City, Chelsea, United) as money may not always buy them the buffer they thought they had. The PL could become a far more competitive place.
 
Moreno to start definitely..

Yeh that's why I asked, even seen Manquillo play so wouldn't really know to be honest if he will start. Johnson is awful in my opinion. As things stand what do you expect next year..

? Sakho Lovren Moreno

Flanno Sakho Lovren Moreno

Twatter talk of Johnson to QPR for £4m !
 
Moreno to start definitely..

Yeh that's why I asked, even seen Manquillo play so wouldn't really know to be honest if he will start. Johnson is awful in my opinion. As things stand what do you expect next year..

? Sakho Lovren Moreno

Not 100% sure, Lovren I understands prefers to be on the left of the 2, I would reckon Flanagan Lovren Sakho Moreno maybe?

To be honest I don't know , wouldn't be surprised if 'Arry came in for Johnson, or if Skrtel was selected. Agger not sure either.
I still reckon a couple of defenders will be sold.

EDIT - just read @Rafateria and he seems to agree
 
I reckon your club will snap theirs hands off.. He would be on big wages and all that.

Would you expect any centre halfs to leave, there's a fair few now with Coates back from loan, Kelly and Lovren to go with the 4 from last year.

Yep, I think we have 3 left on big wages and Johnson is one of them.

CBs : Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Ilori, Agger, Toure, Kelly, Coates. Personally I'd keep the first 4 and sell the others. However Carra reckons that a top team only needs 3 CBs and a Utility that can stand in if required, he says young Cbs are wasted at #4 and should all be sent out on loan. If that is the case and Ilori doesn't get enough games then I'd send him out on loan and keep Toure.
 
Yep, I think we have 3 left on big wages and Johnson is one of them.

CBs : Lovren, Skrtel, Sakho, Ilori, Agger, Toure, Kelly, Coates. Personally I'd keep the first 4 and sell the others. However Carra reckons that a top team only needs 3 CBs and a Utility that can stand in if required, he says young Cbs are wasted at #4 and should all be sent out on loan. If that is the case and Ilori doesn't get enough games then I'd send him out on loan and keep Toure.

Reports apparently saying Ilori could be off on loan to Dortmund.. Surprised at Kelly, I thought he was rated at Anfield.. Probably injuries changed that. Toure/Coates would agree with yous can find a buyer..

One thing for certain is that your club certainly has the numbers/personnel required to play 3/5 at the back.. Would actually rate Agger is a system like that.
 
Bacca's link up is very good plus he's very versatile and would link up quite well with sturrige. He's a great all round striker which is what pool need to replace suarez. I've not been convinced by moreno.

I don't really agree. As I said, I do like Bacca, but his link up play isn't that great. Both him and Sturridge like to play on the shoulder of the defender too rather than dropping deep or out wide (Sturridge does go wide but it's just under instruction really, he does add much out there). How is Bacca versatile?

An all-round striker would be a good Suárez replacement but I wouldn't class Bacca as that. Think we'd be better off getting a wide man who can fill in as a striker, but that's just me, I've no idea what Rodgers will prefer.

Reports apparently saying Ilori could be off on loan to Dortmund.. Surprised at Kelly, I thought he was rated at Anfield.. Probably injuries changed that. Toure/Coates would agree with yous can find a buyer..


One thing for certain is that your club certainly has the numbers/personnel required to play 3/5 at the back.. Would actually rate Agger is a system like that.

Yeah Kelly has been wrecked by injuries, really don't see any way back for him now.
 
Yep, the 20 point gap of last season is all breezily explained away by pointing to Moyes and Suarez. And now - regardless of having lost a huge amount of experience and cover in their back four - United are going to storm back courtesy of LvG, a CM from Bilbao who may or may not adapt quickly and well to the Prem, and a 19 year-old, apparently attacking wingback with no goals and 1 assist to his name from 60 appearances for S'hampton.

So your saying Southampton players aren't upto much then because that lad was one of their finest performers.

You might actually have a point had United been finishing consistently around 7th under the guidance of a top manager, the point loses it's edge when you consider that they were actually finishing top 2.
Liverpool's excellent season has been put purely down to Rodges management skills, a team finishing consistently around 7th suddenly finds itself in 2nd in what was easily their best players best season. All around have changing management and United being undisputedly mismanaged,
I personally consider a blip a break from the norm and that's exactly how you could describe both Liverpool and United's last season, to clear it up for you, it would be comparable to Spurs getting above Arsenal once.

United certainly need to steady the defence but in LVG they have exactly the right man for it, it may take a while to gel the new back line but don't be so sure it won't happen, the rest of the squad in front of it won the premier league two years ago and has finally signed an actual CM, United fans have good reason to be positive going into the new season if you ask me.
 
Who's actually said that ? There is a strong possibility though (as shown by our performances over the past 18 months of Brendan Rodgers 2 year reign at Anfield) that the gap between the clubs won't be as significant as it has been for most of those 20 years. United will no doubt improve under LVG, but will they improve enough to be the dominant force they once were with Fergie at the helm ? The PL is probably the most competitive it's ever been, so it's difficult to see any one club ruling the roost in the way United did for the past 2 decades. It's hard to see past City & Chelsea when it comes to winning league titles for the foreseeable future. But football is a funny old game. Always was, & always will be.

Can I have a punt at @BarneyLFC and @PickledRed for that one please.
Oh pickle, it's descends into jibes and accusation because we're rival fans and worse still we're United and Liverpool rival fans.
We will see how studge gets on this season, if he continues to fly without mr snappy then fair play.
 
So your saying Southampton players aren't upto much then because that lad was one of their finest performers.

You might actually have a point had United been finishing consistently around 7th under the guidance of a top manager, the point loses it's edge when you consider that they were actually finishing top 2.
Liverpool's excellent season has been put purely down to Rodges management skills, a team finishing consistently around 7th suddenly finds itself in 2nd in what was easily their best players best season. All around have changing management and United being undisputedly mismanaged,
I personally consider a blip a break from the norm and that's exactly how you could describe both Liverpool and United's last season, to clear it up for you, it would be comparable to Spurs getting above Arsenal once.

United certainly need to steady the defence but in LVG they have exactly the right man for it, it may take a while to gel the new back line but don't be so sure it won't happen, the rest of the squad in front of it won the premier league two years ago and has finally signed an actual CM, United fans have good reason to be positive going into the new season if you ask me.

No, I'm not saying (and haven't said) that S'hampton players aren't up to much: Shaw has big potential and was indeed one of their better players last season. But I am saying that based on the changes that have so far occurred in the United and Liverpool squads (and manager in United's case) it won't be a surprise to me if United fail to close the 20 point gap from last season. The confidence on here otherwise of many United fans is IMO based on not a lot more than wishful thinking ... tho' the transfer window is far from closed of course.

And I agree that United fans should have more confidence than going in last season. But writing off last season as merely a 'blip' is to understate the enormity of losing Fergie as manager and to ignore the 'end of an era' feeling generated by the loss in quick succession of players like Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand - even if most of those were well past their best and/or had become more bit-part players. And since then I wouldn't regard your transfer dealings overall as having been exactly stellar in quality.

LvG or not, it will take some time to remould the team/squad to anything like it's previous best. And let's not forget, Liverpool fans probably regarded it as a quickly-to-be-restored blip when they dropped out of the Prem top 4.

All in all, and based on 'so far right now', United will probably be in the mix for top 4 ... but whether you'll actually finish in the top 4 is very far from certain.
 
I read today that Henderson said Gerrard was "probably the best player this country has ever seen". fecks sake :lol:
 
Us claiming that we won't do as poorly as we did last season is the exact same as Liverpool fans claiming they will do as well as last season. So theres really no point in being childish about what oppos think about each other's teams at this point.
 
No, I'm not saying (and haven't said) that S'hampton players aren't up to much: Shaw has big potential and was indeed one of their better players last season. But I am saying that based on the changes that have so far occurred in the United and Liverpool squads (and manager in United's case) it won't be a surprise to me if United fail to close the 20 point gap from last season. The confidence on here otherwise of many United fans is IMO based on not a lot more than wishful thinking ... tho' the transfer window is far from closed of course.

And I agree that United fans should have more confidence than going in last season. But writing off last season as merely a 'blip' is to understate the enormity of losing Fergie as manager and to ignore the 'end of an era' feeling generated by the loss in quick succession of players like Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand - even if most of those were well past their best and/or had become more bit-part players. And since then I wouldn't regard your transfer dealings overall as having been exactly stellar in quality.

LvG or not, it will take some time to remould the team/squad to anything like it's previous best. And let's not forget, Liverpool fans probably regarded it as a quickly-to-be-restored blip when they dropped out of the Prem top 4.

All in all, and based on 'so far right now', United will probably be in the mix for top 4 ... but whether you'll actually finish in the top 4 is very far from certain.
Its not really about us making up 20 points from last season, as they will likely drop a lot more points. They certainly won't get 6 points of us again.
 
Can I have a punt at @BarneyLFC and @PickledRed for that one please.
Oh pickle, it's descends into jibes and accusation because we're rival fans and worse still we're United and Liverpool rival fans.
We will see how studge gets on this season, if he continues to fly without mr snappy then fair play.
You can but you'd lose.
 
Rumours of Bony and Konoplyanka popping up again.
The Bony one is more likely than not to happen ... not exactly the style of PL striker I'd choose (Remy was - pace and 1:2 goals per game) but he scored 25 goals last season, holds the ball up very well and could be a good fit bringing all our pacey midfielders into play or getting on the end of all their good work. To keep up our GD according to my assessments on p54 he only has to score 13 :D

Kono is surely not going to happen otherwise we'd have that one done and dusted 3 days after the season ended.
 
Quietly confident about next season.



He's a bit thick but I like him defensively. Only pre-season but he bullied Navas yesterday night. Will be good to have him around for depth/rotation.

Navas was all over him!
 
No, I'm not saying (and haven't said) that S'hampton players aren't up to much: Shaw has big potential and was indeed one of their better players last season. But I am saying that based on the changes that have so far occurred in the United and Liverpool squads (and manager in United's case) it won't be a surprise to me if United fail to close the 20 point gap from last season. The confidence on here otherwise of many United fans is IMO based on not a lot more than wishful thinking ... tho' the transfer window is far from closed of course.

And I agree that United fans should have more confidence than going in last season. But writing off last season as merely a 'blip' is to understate the enormity of losing Fergie as manager and to ignore the 'end of an era' feeling generated by the loss in quick succession of players like Vidic, Evra, Giggs, Scholes, Ferdinand - even if most of those were well past their best and/or had become more bit-part players. And since then I wouldn't regard your transfer dealings overall as having been exactly stellar in quality.

LvG or not, it will take some time to remould the team/squad to anything like it's previous best. And let's not forget, Liverpool fans probably regarded it as a quickly-to-be-restored blip when they dropped out of the Prem top 4.

All in all, and based on 'so far right now', United will probably be in the mix for top 4 ... but whether you'll actually finish in the top 4 is very far from certain.

Ferguson left a Championship winning squad and yes we saw the enormity of losing him last season but the gulf in quality of managers was obvious even during our shit pre-season.
LVG is up there with the quality of Ferguson and if it takes him a season or two to turn it round then fine but his quality is a far far cry from the shite Liverpool had at the helm, I will get pummelled of course by the 5 timers but Benitez was/is a level below your SAF/LVG/Jose and what followed was our own but worse version of Moyes only to be replaced by a relic in a bizzare past hugging exercise. Now that they actually have a decent manager we see the progress but they've just lost the main cog in the wheel onfield and United having suffered a similar loss off field have now replaced it with similar quality. Had/should Liverpool get their hands on a Sanchez quality player then it changes the dynamics somewhat but that remains to be seen.
You've also got to factor in the financial differentials, United are in a far more favourable position despite the leeching and the owners are proven smart and will speculate to accumulate. I really wouldn't be surprised to see Vidal or similar in the number 7 and another addition to the defence and we are set for a season without any pressures from Europe giving time to build and repair the squad even if we ship 3/4 deadwoods on the process.

One thing for certain though, now you've cast your crystal ball against us we're probably going to do just fine.
 
We're being linked with that Odegaard fella. He and his dad are massive reds so hopefully it will be advantageous.
 
... LVG is up there with the quality of Ferguson and if it takes him a season or two to turn it round then fine ...

By "turn it around" do you mean winning the league title, or getting back into the top 4? If the latter, then being outside of the CL for 2 or 3 seasons in a row (including this season) would be pretty far from "fine" don't you think?
 
Ilori will go out on loan and BR seems to be hinting that Coates will probably leave. Agger will also go probably.

Forgot all about Coates. He's seemed decent from the bits I have seen this pre-season. Yeah I assumed it would be Agger that would be leaving if any.
 
With Lovren signing that leaves you with 5 or 6 CBs doesn't it? Will one be sold?

Seven actually. Sakho, Lovren, Skrtel, Agger, Ilori, Toure, Coates. Wisdom out on loan. Kelly too if you consider him a centreback.

Agger looks like signing for Barcelona. Decisions will need to be made on Skrtel, Coates, Toure and Ilori. Only two of them should be here when the season starts, whether it's loan or whatever.

Personally, I'd be ok with Ilori and one of Toure/Coates as backup to Lovren and Sakho. I love Agger, but both him and Skrtel have struggled for two seasons now. A clean slate wouldn't be such a bad thing for rodgers at the back.