Unless Salah is going through a Ronaldo-like performance spurt, then I can’t see him scoring 40+ again next season. So, those extra goals + more to turn those many draws into wins, need to be found from somewhere. Adding big game players is a risk as much as it is a positive. Does it ruin or enhance the formula? Getting a top keeper is another big task. They surely won’t win anything with the current lot, too many mistakes in them. Buffon is available.. just saying
Liverpool - 2017/18
- Thread starter Rafateria
- Start date
Being honest (and I said this way before the game too), we have the 5th best squad in the league +/-1 place depending on how you rate Arsenal/Chelsea (I have Chelsea ahead of us, but Arsenal behind). Finishing top 4 should be our main goal, & we achieved it. Getting to a Champion's League final is an overachievement - No-one would've really expected it from us (although most people would've thought we'd lose it
), so that's a positive surprise. The biggest negative for me is we didn't do anything in the domestic cups, but if you asked me if I'd swap a League Cup or FA Cup for a place in the CL final, I'd say no, even knowing we've lost. Overall, I'd still give it a 7/10. It's been a fun ride, but hey, it's all just personal opinion.Their midfield was
honestly. I've said all summer that that's where we need to be strengthening, even moreso than defence. Of course, I hope we do absolutely everything we can to get a quality keeper here - We'll see what happens. Also really proud of our defence yesterday. Robertson & TAA didn't really put a foot wrong all night with one being a teenager, and the other costing less than Neymar's knee. Even Lovren stood up to be counted when we needed him.People can say it's an unrealistic dream (and it probably is), but if Oblak is wanting to move, Liverpool should be throwing all they can at him/Madrid. We've seen from watching United just how many points a quality keeper is worth, so I say why not go all out & bring in one of the best.
I thought Liverpool were just about on top when Salah went off - obviously Ramos WAS trying to take the opportunity to injure him as they fell, but probably not the OTHER shoulder, Salah had his arm 'straight-out' which is always gonna be a bad idea. Ref probably hid behind it (the grappling) being 50/50, because it kinda was, and also the 'other shoulder' of course. Pretty despicable from Ramos, all the same though, imo. Not super-uncommon from defenders of that ilk, however. And nor is getting away with it.
Losing Salah obviously hurt LFC a lot but I thought they had just about regrouped when Karius assisted for the first goal, although I would have have had RM as favourites at that point. Did well to equalise so quickly & I wasn't sure then, I suspect Bale's goal would have settled it but you can't give away 2 like that AND lose your best player and expect to stay competitive at all.
He can easily improve the MF & the bench. They are a very dangerous team.
But, does the style of play persist win-tastically enough through every game of a long League season & people will be on to how to stop them some of the time very soon, some signs already from the number of draws this time around. Salah can't possibly score as many either & may find himself getting Ramos-ed a bit more often too.
They might also rumble Klopp a bit & his claims to be committed to all out attack all of the time. They love to be breaking this Liverpool team, I still don't feel that their 'pressing' is as much an all-consuming style as City. or Tottenham even. Surprise press & then the transition though, they are very formidable. You definitely don't want to be losing the ball in the middle 1/3 against them & then 'too high' as well - to kinda be going back over the convo this thread has already had.
Losing Salah obviously hurt LFC a lot but I thought they had just about regrouped when Karius assisted for the first goal, although I would have have had RM as favourites at that point. Did well to equalise so quickly & I wasn't sure then, I suspect Bale's goal would have settled it but you can't give away 2 like that AND lose your best player and expect to stay competitive at all.
He can easily improve the MF & the bench. They are a very dangerous team.
But, does the style of play persist win-tastically enough through every game of a long League season & people will be on to how to stop them some of the time very soon, some signs already from the number of draws this time around. Salah can't possibly score as many either & may find himself getting Ramos-ed a bit more often too.
They might also rumble Klopp a bit & his claims to be committed to all out attack all of the time. They love to be breaking this Liverpool team, I still don't feel that their 'pressing' is as much an all-consuming style as City. or Tottenham even. Surprise press & then the transition though, they are very formidable. You definitely don't want to be losing the ball in the middle 1/3 against them & then 'too high' as well - to kinda be going back over the convo this thread has already had.
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A match you were in control???? Wtf
I agree with a lot of your points here
I also feel they do not press as much as spurs or city
They also play quite direct which means their midfielders don’t need to necessarily be the best on the ball when the tactics work as they are mostly hitting ball into open space.
When it works it is pretty good and they get an early goal, but when it doesn’t they have no plan B and their midfield is totally exposed for lack of footballing ability which is why they have so many draws.
So they can sacrifice a work horse in midfield for a more creative player next season to improve that, but possible that player won’t have the doggedness to work for turnovers as much as Henderson or Milner would for example. That actually might hurt them more than you would expect.
Even if they retain possession more they may find less space in behind where speed of mane and salah has been devastating at times this season.
I actually think looking for that creative 10 coutinho type is probably wrong move here. A deep lying playmaker a la carrick IMo would make them much more effective and give them another weapon and the ability to slow the game down, drawing other team out more when they sit in deep to hit the corners again for pace of mane and salah. United did this with carrick for couple of years very effectively. They can’t do that now as they cannot keep the ball recycled effectively in possession everything has to go forward at pace.
Also I think they still need a center half to partner Vvd (who was overpriced but is still a decent center back) and a goalkeeper and the team would be much better.
I like the 2 full backs (Clyne and Robertson)
I don’t think keita will be the midfielder you need to play they way I described have seen him 4/5 times this season and reminds me more of a Darren fletcher type. Good all round but not an outstanding tackler passer goal scorer or creator. Also not sure he is as good a worker as Milner or even ox so that might hurt even tho I would say he is a better player on the ball.
Remember Liverpool fans used to claim Lallana is all that? Fun times.
I'd certainly agree that Madrid were superior last night. They always looked like they possessed that extra couple of gears that we didn't. We lose our best player to injury & his replacement is a 'good' player who's hardly featured at all this season due to successive injuries, & was nowhere near match-fit. Zidane takes off a very good player in order to change things, brings on a world-class player who ends up scoring a world-class goal. I was always more hopeful than confident of winning the final, but when I saw the corresponding benches of both teams any hope I had disintegrated as quickly as my first cold bottle of beer on a wonderfully warm evening.
The positives I took from our performance was mainly in relation to our back 4. They give me great hope for the future, & I find it amazing how some people still go on about our shit defence. One things for sure, they certainly deserve a better last man than Karius, & I'd be shocked if they didn't get one for next season. So there may be a silver-lining after all after Karius's horror-show last night. I also expect there to be a much more creative edge to our midfield next season. Simply relying on an industrious midfield 3 to help feed the front 3 isn't an approach that will help bring long-term success. I'm confident that Klopp will rectify that next term, which in turn will give us options from the bench & options to change our playing style, as, & when, needed. We only took 3 points from a possible 18 from United, Spurs, & Chelsea last time out. That obviously needs to improve. Klopp needs game-changers when things aren't going to plan. We definitely didn't have them last night, so I trust our manager will get the required funds to help sort of the 'quality' issue we have within the current squad.
As for 4th being 'good enough', well it's all about context I suppose. Chelsea have won the FA Cup but won't be competing in the CL next season. We lost the CL final but we'll back for another go next season. I've always stated that winning silverware = a successful season. But I wonder how many Chelsea fans would swap their position for ours right now ?
There's quite a bit of assumption going on about the impact this Keita fella will have.
Of course he could be amazing, but surely it's not as nailed on as Liverpool fans think?
They have to sign a duff one who doesn't work out at some point don't they?
Of course he could be amazing, but surely it's not as nailed on as Liverpool fans think?
They have to sign a duff one who doesn't work out at some point don't they?
What's wrong with being optimistic? We're fans for christ sake. Also, "Next year" doesn't necessarily mean "we're gonna win the league next year!", it just means we're looking forward to the next season, and being hopeful and optimistic about it (at least for most of us).
There is reason to be optimistic. Our transfers under Klopp have been excellent so far, and we've qualified for the CL two seasons in a row, something that happened since Benitez. It's huge progress for us.
He isn’t the type of player I think a lot of people think he is
Lovren's gonna keep Ronaldo in his pocket. Super-sub Moreno is gonna blitz past Ramos & do a cheeky little dink over Navas for our 4th. Modric is gonna get outplayed in midfield by TAA after we lose another first choice midfielder to injury. Karius is going to keep a clean sheet with a DDG level performance.
Prepare yourself!
Spot on then!
Allez allez allez - back under your rocks dippers
I've obviously only seen youtube stuff, but he looks like he runs around at 100mph in a league which is a bit slower than the premier league. He probably fits the Liverpool current style, but there's no guarantees as we've found with quite a few signings in recent years.
Yes as I described he is a good all rounder (in the admittedly handful of German games I saw this season) but I see a lot of people describing him differently than I observed. I liken him to fletcher good at everything but no absolute outstanding quality like say lampard with scoring goals or carrick with passing or Kante with tackling : interceptions
He is a definite upgrade in ability on someone like Milner on the ball but not so sure off it and that could cost liverpool in the way they play
Does the same not apply to Man Utd, and most teams in the top 6 right now? Are football fans not meant to look forward to the next season with optimism? Or should we all just hang ourselves whilst we have the chance?
We haven't really had a midfielder with drive & energy since Gerrard was in his prime. Consequently a lot of the time we've been quite ponderous & predictable in that area of the field (Jordan Henderson). If he can replicate, or even improve upon, some of the form he showed at RBL, then hopefully he'll give the opposition more than just our front 3 to worry about.
This Liverpool team only have one idea that works, and when it doesn't work they're fecked.
Their main idea may be better than ours, but we're better when the original one doesn't go to plan, and that's why we finished above them.
Their main idea may be better than ours, but we're better when the original one doesn't go to plan, and that's why we finished above them.
Hardly a serious question laced with the tired old cliches. Which Liverpool fan has said next year is our year? Klopp is improving the team year by year , the fans the players and the board are behind him, maybe the lack of recent success has made us more patient than you lot.
Nah City won it because of PEDs isn't that right? You guys have a massive thread about it on here. Just as equally pathetic as the Liverpool fans who said it United only won it because of refs. And i've seen many United fans saying Pep is buying the league but you guys have spent nearly the same.
This guy isn’t in the same league as gerrard from what I have seen. No where close in the small sample size or has he done anything during those games to suggest he could. He does look like a good all round player though
Improving how? By getting less points that last year? Losing 1 final instead of 2?
I’ve yet to see one Liverpool fan claim that we’ll win the league next season. Most are positive and looking forward to it, though, as we play some exciting football and Klopps additions seem to pan out (mostly).
It's a very common theme among Liverpool fans at this stage of pre-season. They insist the team has shown signs of progress over the last year, which leads to the age old saying 'next year is our year'. It's The 'boom bust cycle' in full affect. Hope you forgive the skepticism but I don't buy the whole 'progress' card this time around.
Why is this year different from any other over the last 30?
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Added to the fact I think Klopp is flawed and their touted targets don’t seem to be addressing what I would consider their top priorities and I don’t think salah can reproduce what he did this season
Stopped reading there and so should everyone else. Utterly ridiculous, biased and plain false.
He tried to injure a shoulder but not that one? Do you even hear how stupid that sounds? Wrecking someone’s shoulder whilst falling, being held by said player? Because you do see that it’s actually Salah that’s holding the most out of the two? Please disregard that at your own convenience of course, video evidence is of course not worth the same as your ability to read minds and body language.
It’s a nothing-situation.
Ramos focused his chi into a deadly beam of energy that tore through Salah's shoulder just at the point that his shoulder impacted with the ground.
Clever of Ramos to use the contact with the floor to mask his psychic attack.
Clever of Ramos to use the contact with the floor to mask his psychic attack.
Fair point. It's very unlikely Salah will produce anywhere near the 40 goals of last term.
I can only compare Klopp to his previous seasons managing Liverpool. It's ridiculous for me to compare him to the last 30 years. Is that what you do for Mourinho compare the last 30 years? If that's the case he should of been fired as he's not living up to the standards set by SAF.
Any sane United fan would compare Mourinho's progress to his previous seasons work and to that of his predecessor. In my opinion he has shown good progress compared to LVG. The same with Klopp he has shown progress improved our squad , we've qualified for the UCL twice (we've only been in it 3 times in the last 9 years) and the signings he's bringing in there's much more hits than misses. Rodgers didn't even make it out of the group and Klopp has taken us to a UCL final.
Just because we've shown signs of progress doesn't mean we expect to win the league. When Klopp came in we were the weakest top 6 team, i think Arsenal are now.
City have improved much more than anyone this season, so relative to them all teams have fallen further behind. Hence why Poch Mourinho and Klopp are all looking to spend as everyone's playing catchup to City
Its amazing isn't it. They've been progressing for 30 years on the bounce now and still nothing.
all I'm saying is that he was deliberately falling on the arm that was held - over the other side (the actual injury) is obviously an accident
Ramos was up to some mischief I would have thought
I said somewhere or other that Salah is 50/50 responsible for the grapple & daft to be playing with straight-arm because someone will grab it & he'll get hurt.
But it is 2 different arms & shoulders we;re talking about - I agree with that.
But yeah, I do think Plan A from Ramos was pretty spiteful - it didn't work, he got lucky with the unintentional Plan B on the other side, which does make it an accidental injury, I suppose.
But it is 2 different arms & shoulders we;re talking about - I agree with that.
But yeah, I do think Plan A from Ramos was pretty spiteful - it didn't work, he got lucky with the unintentional Plan B on the other side, which does make it an accidental injury, I suppose.
I’m elated that they lost, and despite his record in finals, Klopp is a phenomenal manager, and with continuous support he’ll likely get it right when it matters eventually.
I mean dude got this Liverpool team playing, and took them to a CL final, where they were actually outplaying Madrid until Salah went off. Can’t remember the last time Liverpool registered on my radar.
I hope it all goes pear shaped and they sack him before he gets it right.
I mean dude got this Liverpool team playing, and took them to a CL final, where they were actually outplaying Madrid until Salah went off. Can’t remember the last time Liverpool registered on my radar.
I hope it all goes pear shaped and they sack him before he gets it right.
My prediction: Liverpool will take a huge step forward next season, just alone from signing Naby Keita. Keita will be a major improvement to their otherwise pretty mediocre midfield. Not long into next season there will be voices suggesting that Keita might be the best player in the entire league. You might not believe me now but you'll see it -- and don't forget to quote me next season!
That’s not entirely true and that ‘next year is our year’ thing hasn’t been said by Liverpool fans in years.
Isn’t it logical for supporters of sides like Liverpool, United, Arsenal etc to expect their sides to improve (or maintain that level of they’re champions)? You don’t really expect fans to go into the summer expecting things to go pear shaped all the time do you? That’s not what supporting a team is about in my opinion.
Outplaying is an overstatement of what happened, they started well is all that happened (and Ronaldo still had a great chance to score from the angle)
The reason I knew Liverpool wouldn't win the final is because hardworkers like Robinson, Milner and Henderson will only get you so far because ultimately when they come up against the very best (Bale, Modric, Kroos) they're found out. If the title comes down to Liverpool or City next year then it's City's title again (unless there's sizeable investment at Liverpool resulting in replacing at least 6 of last nights starting XI)
If he gets near 25 again I would say it would be a successful season
its not, anything else is fan fiction.
They really weren't. Madrid outplayed them for most of the game. The opening 15-20 minutes is characteristic of all games involving superior vs inferior teams where the inferior team gives it a right go in the initial stages of the game.
Even in those 15-20 minutes with Salah on the pitch, Madrid defended stoutly and also created some chances for themselves.
Madrid being pros, conserved their energy and slowly tightened the noose as the game went on. Liverpool were extremely naive and full of emotion, so they started full of energy and were soon shown up by Karius and a lack of tactical awareness. Klopp couldn't adjust his style once Salah went off and nobody else could compensate for his absence.
I don't disagree. For all the effort players like Milner & Gini will put in, they're not, nor will they ever will be on the same level as Kroos & Modric. We were outplayed in midfield for large portions of the match, but I do maintain that our back four had a very good game (especially Robertson).
Not sure what else we could've done tactically, honestly. The only thing that my armchair tacticians mind could come up with was playing Lallana behind Firmino/Mane in a 4-3-1-2 rather than continuing with a 4-3-3 with Lallana playing as a winger. Might've helped us get the ball up top a bit easier, but like I said, I'm not really able to judge - I know nothing
In 2009, Manchester united outplayed Barcelona for about ten minutes creating a really good chance that Park missed. I remember thinking, "we've got these on the ropes here"
Liverpool did the same on Saturday, albeit for a bit longer, but basically created one decent chance in the first half.
Liverpool did the same on Saturday, albeit for a bit longer, but basically created one decent chance in the first half.
They will be a real danger for the next years: they need few players to adjust the squad
+ improving the turnover players
If they do not wrong signings they are real contenders at 360°
Coutingo sale has been (an involuntary) bless
GK
Arnold CB VVD Robertson
Henderson Wijnaldum Keita
Salah Firmino Mane
Arnold CB VVD Robertson
Henderson Wijnaldum Keita
Salah Firmino Mane
+ improving the turnover players
If they do not wrong signings they are real contenders at 360°
Coutingo sale has been (an involuntary) bless