Liverpool Discussion

[Rick]

I'm praying that Thiago at least isnt out for long. This news really is devastating for us, might genuinely be our title chances over if we cant sort out that defence. How depressing has this weekend been.

But yeah, I echo what has been said in here. We need a CB in January.

[El Profesor]

1 hour ago, Mel81x said:

I can see some sense in that but January is a long ways off and there are a lot of games which will come before then. The problem with bringing someone in, even an experienced CB, is that they will need to be integrated and that takes a bit of time. Add to the fact that our defensive line seems to have players who rotate in and out with injuries so its not an assured solution because the two CBs could potentially be swapping around even if you get one who is more experienced. Mind you, I wouldn't mind Pepe at Liverpool. Bit of nastiness and a drive is never a bad thing. 

He's still a great CB and Pepe has been much more disciplined since the end of Mourinho era at Real Madrid. 

A guy like him would be a decent addition for Liverpool considering the circumstances.

 

46 minutes ago, Dr. Gonzo said:

I’d buy someone expensive in January now, just in case Virgil’s never the same. Best case scenario, we end up with a very ridiculously nice CB pairing when he’s back. But I think it’s wise to plan for the worst with a bad knee injury. Don’t want to be relying on him but he’s always injured like Sturridge was.

But hopefully they big man makes a full recovery and comes back strong.

It's harder to get a long-term fix like Koundé or Upamecano in January because Sevilla and Leipzig have ambitious goals for this season and I kinda suspect Liverpool might be saving its bullets to move for Mbappé next summer. But I guess van Dijk's injury could change FSG's plans.

[Mel81x+]

52 minutes ago, El Profesor said:

He's still a great CB and Pepe has been much more disciplined since the end of Mourinho era at Real Madrid. 

A guy like him would be a decent addition for Liverpool considering the circumstances.

It's harder to get a long-term fix like Koundé or Upamecano in January because Sevilla and Leipzig have ambitious goals for this season and I kinda suspect Liverpool might be saving its bullets to move for Mbappé next summer. But I guess van Dijk's injury could change FSG's plans.

I think that if we can get someone experienced to join the team and shoulder the tougher periods it would bode very well for us in the longer run. I am unsure what Pepe's injury record is but I do know hes the kind of defender who is no-nonsense. Having said all that Klopp has other defenders in the team who will be tried first and as Pep Lindjers suggested before Fabinho is someone that they can slotted into that position should the need arise. All that remains to be seen now is how bad the injury to Thiago is. I am confident if we dont lose him to injury then this storm can be weathered. 

As much as we like to say that Gomes and Matip aren't reliable there was a time when both of them were actually really really good so I am hoping this opportunity brings that back to the fore again. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Mel81x

[Harry]

3 hours ago, Bluewolf said:

That's going to have a pretty big impact on your season now.. 

That was the absolute worst case scenario injury for us. The absolute worst thing you'd want to happen to the most irreplaceable player in the team.

Fuck Jordan Pickford and his reckless tackles

[LFCMadLad]

1 hour ago, El Profesor said:

He's still a great CB and Pepe has been much more disciplined since the end of Mourinho era at Real Madrid. 

A guy like him would be a decent addition for Liverpool considering the circumstances.

 

It's harder to get a long-term fix like Koundé or Upamecano in January because Sevilla and Leipzig have ambitious goals for this season and I kinda suspect Liverpool might be saving its bullets to move for Mbappé next summer. But I guess van Dijk's injury could change FSG's plans.

Mbappe? 

[DeadLinesman]

Liverpool aren’t going to completely tear up the wages status quo to sign Mbappe. People need to let this one go. It’s Madrid or bust.

[Bluewolf]

1 hour ago, DeadLinesman said:

Liverpool aren’t going to completely tear up the wages status quo to sign Mbappe. People need to let this one go. It’s Madrid or bust.

Also Liverpool can't just keep throwing tons of money at their problems, they will just have to dig deep and use what they have.. 

[LFCMike]

 

[Mel81x+]

[Burning Gold]

It's a big loss. There's an argument that van Dijk is the best player in the league. Certainly up there with De Bruyne and Salah for me. His presence in defence will be missed as will his the quality of his passes from the back. But Matip and Gomez are both good defenders; if they step up, the drop-off from van Dijk won't be too precipitous. Gomez's form is a bit of a concern, but if these are the "mentality giants" we're always told they are, they'll be fine.

My primary concern is depth. One of them will have to miss time at some point; they're both injury prone, and no one can do 3 games a week for as long as they're being asked to anyway. Once that happens, it starts to sound a bit like the skeleton dance because their only cover is Fabinho, Fabinho's cover is Henderson, Henderson's cover is Wijnaldum. They all also can't do 3 games in a week in their own position, let alone cover someone else's, so there's a serious amount of shuffling that needs to be done. Not sure Pepe's the answer, but bringing in another CB in January is key.

I don't know what the pecking order in the reserves is, but I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some of Phillips, Koumetio and/or Sepp van den Berg in meaningful fixtures before January. I'm not writing them off, but it's clearly not ideal.

My other concern is Adrian because he's both shite and completely rogue. It's so much harder to be organised and focussed as a defensive unit when you can't even trust your goalkeeper to be in goal.

Edited October 19, 2020 by Burning Gold

[LFCMike]

I think we'll be fine once Alisson is back fit. Basically going back to 2017 Liverpool with a much better keeper and better midfield. 

[Mel81x+]

33 minutes ago, LFCMike said:

I think we'll be fine once Alisson is back fit. Basically going back to 2017 Liverpool with a much better keeper and better midfield. 

This. We're missing a key defender sure but its also why we've had other players brought in to step up when necessary. Its not the end of the world and we'll concede a lot of goals but as long as we're pushing and scoring as many as we concede think we'll be fine. Getting Mane back is a blessing in disguise, he makes that front-three operate very differently than in his absence.

[Rick]

5 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

we'll concede a lot of goals but as long as we're pushing and scoring as many as we concede think we'll be fine.

Are you Michael Owen?  

 

Hopefully Gomez can play himself into some good form. Matip isn’t the question for me, he has shown to step up when needed and once he has a few games under his belt (please don’t get injured) then I think he is fine for the most part. Gomez is my only concern because he hasn’t had a good start to the season and looked dodgy on Saturday when he came in. BUT, he’s got all the ability and we know that he’s capable of being excellent. 

[Mel81x+]

Just now, Rick said:

Are you Michael Owen?  

Might have to take a bath in petrol after reading that. Although to be fair hes on the TV here quite a lot so its possible some of the garbage he does say finds its way into my thinking now and then.

[LFCMadLad]

1 hour ago, Burning Gold said:

It's a big loss. There's an argument that van Dijk is the best player in the league. Certainly up there with De Bruyne and Salah for me. His presence in defence will be missed as will his the quality of his passes from the back. But Matip and Gomez are both good defenders; if they step up, the drop-off from van Dijk won't be too precipitous. Gomez's form is a bit of a concern, but if these are the "mentality giants" we're always told they are, they'll be fine.

My primary concern is depth. One of them will have to miss time at some point; they're both injury prone, and no one can do 3 games a week for as long as they're being asked to anyway. Once that happens, it starts to sound a bit like the skeleton dance because their only cover is Fabinho, Fabinho's cover is Henderson, Henderson's cover is Wijnaldum. They all also can't do 3 games in a week in their own position, let alone cover someone else's, so there's a serious amount of shuffling that needs to be done. 

You are forgetting Thiago! He will fit in lovely at #6 and by all accounts Fabinho will be a starter at CB as he is so highly rated playing there by Klopp etc. Even VVD touched on how good Fabinho is at CB after the Chelsea game.

[LFCMike]

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

Hopefully we don’t rush him back just because our star defender was injured in a t-rex attack.

[Stan]

1 hour ago, LFCMike said:

 

Is this the same session of training Salah & Mane are on ?

[LFCMike]

3 minutes ago, Stan said:

Is this the same session of training Salah & Mane are on ?

[Dr. Gonzo]

Matip had a scan on his knee as well and is a doubt for the Ajax match...

It feels absolutely mental saying it, but I miss Dejan Lovren.

[LFCMadLad]

Just watched the documentary 'KENNY' on sky documentaries. If you have sky you can get it on catch up. 

Absolute must watch !!

[Devil-Dick Willie]

How long is Thiago out for?

[Dr. Gonzo]

16 minutes ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

How long is Thiago out for?

All Klopp’s said is he’s definitely out for the Ajax match and probably can’t make the next league match. I think they’re kind of just going to play it by ear with that injury. So my guess is 1-3 weeks.

[Devil-Dick Willie]

Not too bad then considering. He's a very breakable lad. 

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 hours ago, Devil-Dick Willie said:

Not too bad then considering. He's a very breakable lad. 

I hope him being considerably better than most midfielders in England doesn’t make him a target for more “rash challenges” - because I can see a few players getting pissed off and going in hard