Scouse_Mouse

I'm not doubting you but where did you read that? Nothing official yet but the reports I've read are saying 4-6 weeks (which is bad enough).

Yes I do get that, and if our injuries were all down to players injuring themselves that might be the case but isn't.

I'm not confusing physicality and athleticism, I knew someone would say "yeah but the game is much faster now" so I said it first. I agree that todays players run more and are in better shape but none of that would explain the injuries. I could understand Jurgen's pressing style being more demanding than say other managers who's players don't run as much too. Then again when I brought up our injuries a few weeks ago and called them "unprecedented" it was shot down by plenty on here who claimed they were the same everywhere. It is hard to follow on here, one day our are nothing out of the ordinary, the next we are being injured more because of Klopp's style of play?

In a word yes. I can't be arsed getting into it, it's all subjective, we could argue until the cows come home about different teams from different eras, I'll leave that to the deep thinkers at GQ. I will just say that the City team the season before last was a great one, maybe because we pushed them down to the wire but as good as that team was it wouldn't have suddenly become a better team if we had been shite and you had clinched it much earlier.

I know you are probably on another wind up and I'm most likely going to regret trying to debate this sensibly but why would points totals or winning margins be important? Take the season before last, City ended up worthy Champions in one of the best neck and neck battles in years right down to the last day of the season If Liverpool been poor, if City had got more points, if the winning margin had been bigger would that have made City a better team? Sounds daft, right?

We bring ex players over to the Toronto Branch every year, a few years ago we had Ian St John, one of the things that came up was injuries, the Saint said that if anyone got injured Shanks wouldn't talk to them, he made them train away from everyone else as if what they had was somehow contagious. Crazy, but true.

And the Scraping the Barrel award goes to.................... GQ ffs Centurian Blues ffs? You'll be waffling on about those tallest floodlights again soon.

You have watched too many Harry Enfield shows mate. Whenever you compare eras you always get someone piping up with a "yeah but it's so much faster today", which it is, but there were plenty of speed merchants back then just like there are plenty of slow fuckers around today. But maybe your analogy works, maybe they built things to last back then and like everything else built today they are made to be replaced way more often.

What's even crazier is why these unprecedented injuries are happening in todays game? When you compare the path we are currently on to becoming a non contact sport to years ago when almost every club had their "hard man" it really is hard to fathom? Clubs now have so many physicians looking at every aspect imaginable, I remember years ago Rueben Bennet joking about the "magic sponge" and being able to reset broken legs at half time and get them back out there. And yes I know the modern game is faster but why so many injuries in a much less physical era?

As I said I wasn't sure regarding the age of Klopp's squad, I have a good mate over here who is a big Dortmund fan I'll try and get his take on what went wrong. As far as "heavy metal football taking its toll"? maybe? I just don't buy it though, just another cliche or soundbite for the twitterverse.

I will have to check but I'm pretty sure that Jurgen's Dortmund team were quite a bit older than his current Liverpool side. I might be wrong but I seem to remember too many players the wrong side of 30.

Its a job for life mate, injuries have been unprecedented in spite of what some would have us believe. All we can do is finish as high as we can and hope we don't get taken to the cleaners too badly before the season is over. I've supported this club for a very long time, I can't ever recall feeling that Id want it to be over with so many games still to play. Roll on August.

If I had a quid for every time I've heard that Id be a wealthy man I've always been more of a glass half full kind of guy. I was talking about the whole season, or more accurately since things went pear shaped at the Goodison derby. We have been shite since the Burnley loss but had more than a few good wins prior to that. Personally I'd like to see us crack on with the pressing game rather than try to make more radical changes to our tactics.

It's obviously not completely broken, we are still having a measure of success playing a high press. I can see us tweaking things but can't see a radical change of tactics. It's certainly not a case of Jurgen not knowing how to coach a back three, more a case of accommodating our two attacking full backs into a system that works.

The high press worked pretty well last season. It's not a case of it not working anymore or other clubs somehow "sussing" us out. Last season everyone knew how we were going to set out our stall but that didn't help them because they couldn't counter it. It's not working this season because we have missed the players needed to implement it, imho we get them back and its going to work just as well again.

Sorry but warm air and sand from Africa sounds like heaven to someone like me who just got in from shovelling two foot of snow off their driveway in southern Ontario.

I think some teams are built so they can tweak a "plan A" I think that was why we bought Thiago to use in those situations. The way I see it we are so invested in Jurgen's pressing game that it's virtually impossible to abandon it without wholesale changes.

I think that is where we have problems Rick, our success over the last couple of seasons is down to our pressing game, it's not easy to emulate otherwise everyone would be copying us. The problem is we need world class players to accomplish it and right now that's where we are struggling, we can pull it off once in a while but without VVD, Fab and now Hendo we are struggling to play that style with any consistency.

Very good player none the less. You can't judge players on short periods of time Devil, just look at Mo at Chelsea.

A joke right?

Which part? Not City looking like they have already got it in the bag? Or me not seeing much above us that couldn't be caught? I think both your lot and manu have had good seasons, maybe punched a bit above their weight but I wouldn't say either weren't catchable. Chelsea look the weak link right now, shite under Lampard and a easy(ish) run of fixtures for the new guy. Our game coming up against them is going to be huge. I'm not saying we will catch any or all of them, I'm just saying if we can get our act together and (a very big if) we can avoid more injuries then I think we still can make top 4. btw I'm not writing Everton off either, their historic victory might give them more confidence going forward, but in all honesty I just don't see it, they have spent months just behind us with games in hand and bottled it every time. Will they use their big win as a springboard? Only time will tell Stan.

You have really missed an opportunity to become a trial lawyer with these deep probing questions Stan. Yes, really, that's why I said it.

I think top 4 is still a half decent possibility if we can get our act together and if we can avoid any more injuries. City are clearly going to win it but other than them I haven't seen much from the others to suggest we can't catch them.

Nice hat.

"Did I get the sack or did I leave by myself"? Classic