And here's to you Mr Robertson
- Thread starter Red Astaire
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He was in his shell for the first couple of games, but my goodness is he getting good. Him first choice, with Milner occasionally filling in should be absolutely fine for us next season.
If Clyne can get back to his best, TAA and him will be fine on the right. Sorted.
So a CB, another midfielder along with Keita, attacking player that can play in any of the front three positions, and possibly a keeper. We will be fucking good next season.
I love that you can tell the attackers trust him, which isn't always the case with full backs. Mane links up very well with him and I feel that Firmino is always looking out for his runs. What a guy. Can't wait for his first goal, Anfield will erupt. He is quickly earning a cult status.
Woah woah woah
When he's scoring free kicks and getting more assists he'll beat my darling aurelio
So when he's beat 3 goals and like 5 assists in 100 games and plays a complete season....
Bars not very high for our left backs is it?
Bit harsh on Riise there Fabs !
So here's to you, Andrew Robertson
Jurgen loves you more than you can know
Oh, oh, oh.
The kop loves you too, Andrew Robertson
We all have a place for those play
And can you play! Play, play, play.
A couple of lines a bit rusty, but a little work and this could be a banger.
Jurgen loves you more than you can know
Oh, oh, oh.
The kop loves you too, Andrew Robertson
We all have a place for those play
And can you play! Play, play, play.
A couple of lines a bit rusty, but a little work and this could be a banger.
That's not true.
What is quite interesting is that while he had some recognition in Scotland, winning their Young player of the year award, he was certainly going under the radar at Hull, with the competition and interest in signing him limited to the likes of Watford and Burnley. And Liverpool.
Certainly was
I most definitely not call clyne aggressive
He's also got a very decent long-range shot on him, which hopefully he'll use as his confidence keeps growing, and he can also finish off the odd one-two inside the area. As free-scoring as we currently are, any team with title ambitions could do with more goals spread around the team, and him, TAA and VVD could chip in with maybe ten to fifteen or so between them in a full season.
Haha - I just knew you'd pipe up and say that. You couldn't help yourself could you. I only saw that you mentioned it in the West Ham thread after I wrote it but let's be honest it is fucking obvious. 😀
It's one of the things I like to see, & one of the things that really pissed me off about Moyes at Everton, he was renowned during his successful spell there for preferring players a little less skilled with the right attitude over ones that were better players but had issues with application or attitude.
It showed when they played & he got a lot more out of the side because of it, cos their side was batting way above where they should have been simply due to that application & attitude.
Of course, our level of target is very different, & the pool of potential players smaller, but it's equally important to get that right, had we looked at El Hadji Diouf the same way for example, it would have saved us a lot of cash (at the time) & reputation too.
You're absolutely spot on.
I'm glad we're taking the time to buy players that will "fit" under Klopp rather than just buying because we "can".
I had a really great opportunity once to have a one-on-one conversation with John Barnes once (well... Barnes speaks... you listen... mainly because you can't get a word in - once he starts- he just keeps going.)
Part of that discussion was the mistakes made signing players and simply expecting them to recreate their performances in a totally different set up with different players around them, normally playing in a different position.
Some players are more adaptable than others, maybe less of an ego, willing to take instruction, etc
You look at Utd - and you see Pogba being wasted - how do you reckon he'd go if he was at Liverpool, under Klopp, playing just behind our front 3.
Mentality is important as well - take Suarez, for example - he'll give everything he has whoever he's playing for - regardless of the situation - never hid- but so many others just disappear when going gets tough.
I feel like, under Klopp, we're finally doing proper due diligence on players we sign - rather than just signing players because...
It might not satisfy everyone - take the most recent window and the cacophony of angst at not making more signings.
We've shown we're more interested in making the right signings - we'll be better for it in the end.
It was the same with Benteke and Mario, I couldn't see how they would fit into a system that had been reliant on work-hungry, quick, interchanging attackers. It would be similar to putting one of them into this attack, it would make the whole system defunct and it just wouldn't work.
It's why it surprises me that Mourinho went back for Lukaku. Mourinho has always liked his industrious, fierce competitors in attack (much like us with Firmino now, or Suarez previously). It's why they've bought Sanchez too, because he gives them a bit of that back. But Lukaku seems an odd fit overall, his place for them seems to be to bag 20 a season against the dregs of the league. If that contributes to overall success, then fair play, but he doesn't strike me as a long term "fit" in the main striker position for Jose. He's lazy and in certain games, easy to take out the game. Look at him against us for Everton, we always controlled him high up the pitch so he had minimal impact.
It's why it surprises me that Mourinho went back for Lukaku. Mourinho has always liked his industrious, fierce competitors in attack (much like us with Firmino now, or Suarez previously). It's why they've bought Sanchez too, because he gives them a bit of that back. But Lukaku seems an odd fit overall, his place for them seems to be to bag 20 a season against the dregs of the league. If that contributes to overall success, then fair play, but he doesn't strike me as a long term "fit" in the main striker position for Jose. He's lazy and in certain games, easy to take out the game. Look at him against us for Everton, we always controlled him high up the pitch so he had minimal impact.
It surprised me too, but like I said before, Jose is pretty inept at buying players, it's like he doesn't know what qualities he actually values until the player is already there. Let's not forget he actually went and spent big money on Quaresma, of all people, back at Inter, before realizing he's hopeless and freezing him out and instead playing Eto'o and Pandev as wingers. The more power he gets to buy his own players, the worse his team becomes as a result.
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Agree with most of what you've said, but I take a a small amount of umbrage with the quote above. For me at least, the issue wasn't about not just "making more signings". We sold Coutinho - a player who had been agitating for a move for about six months - and didn't outwardly appear to have used the time to build a robust plan to replace him.
As has been argued umpteen times before, there isn't only one player in the world in that position who will fit in that position, or have the correct attitude, or make us stronger, or protect us from further losses through an unanticipated injury. A strong plan would have ensured that a replacement was identified and signed before Coutinho was sold. (Protecting us from the financial blackmail we will now face from clubs who know how much we got from the sale.)
So, whilst we have been steadily improving in our purchases, the process for planning player sales, identification, and acquisition is absolutely not functioning in an optimal way. That's the point here. Not a single person is arguing that we should throw cash around for the sake of it, just because we have it. because that would be fucking retarded.
No, but I don't think that was Stevie's point. I think he's aiming, rightly IMO, at all those panicky "there has to be somebody else out there who would do just as well" posts - of which, with respect, there's a slight echo in the beginning of your second para.above - which kept appearing a while ago, usually without actually naming anyone. AFAIC there may well be only a tiny number of players, quite possibly just the one, who (a) will be good enough and (b) are available at (c) an acceptable price - and, even if we find him/them, doing a deal isn't an overnight job. We have endured a profusion of "near enough is good enough" signings in recent years, decades even, which have turned around and bitten us on the @rse, so I'm totally with Stevie in celebrating the fact that under Klopp we're no longer willing to go that route.
Nothing panicky about what I posted JJ. And, at the same time, I also don’t have to name anyone because I’m not employed to research replacement players. Someone, or a bunch of someones, are employed to do this, and had at least six months to figure it out. The balance of probabilities suggests that in all of world football, there is a replacement for Coutinho out there. The fact that you’re defending the inaction tells me that you’re probably just as bollocks at planning as LFC.
And the fact that you refer to "inaction", despite yourself having admitted just now (by your use of the word "outwardly") that you don't know whether that's true or not, shows you're ranting, albeit fluently. In terms of backing up your argument or otherwise, it may not be your "job" to name names, but it's never been clear to me how those who voice such criticisms expect those criticisms to be taken seriously without being able to point to possible names themselves. That "balance of probabilities" line is a copout and you know it.
Can't agree with that. A lot of people have full time jobs and don't have the time of a weekend to watch football from across the continent and beyond. It's literally the jobs of people at the club to do that, so why is it beyond them to identify targets preemptively
Hindsight at the minute shows that it's worked out, but if we hit injuries or lack of form, our perceived inaction will rightly be called in to question. And if the club say that "we tried", then the anger will rise and questions to the capability of the board or the owners.
Football fans are emotional beasts
As for players... Fekir, Luan, lemar, demirbay, Meyer, mahrez
Some great, some potential, some unknown, some overpriced. Different types to coutinho, but overall options.
That phrase "perceived inaction" is an interesting one. If anybody seriously imagines the club has just sat back and done nothing about these issues, I want lots of whatever they're toking. If not, why accuse the club of it at all? I appreciate that anger will rise, but that doesn't make it a good guide to decision-making.
To me the vastly more likely explanation is that we've looked but haven't found what we want so far. Fair play to you for naming names, but we simply do not know whether the club has enquired and been knocked back/quoted unacceptable fees, whether Klopp doesn't think they're good enough/a good fit for our system, whether there are off-the-field troubles affecting some of the players concerned, etc. The fact that Coutinho hasn't yet been replaced does not automatically imply that the club's at fault, and the apparent assumption by some of us that it does imply that makes no sense to me.
To me the vastly more likely explanation is that we've looked but haven't found what we want so far. Fair play to you for naming names, but we simply do not know whether the club has enquired and been knocked back/quoted unacceptable fees, whether Klopp doesn't think they're good enough/a good fit for our system, whether there are off-the-field troubles affecting some of the players concerned, etc. The fact that Coutinho hasn't yet been replaced does not automatically imply that the club's at fault, and the apparent assumption by some of us that it does imply that makes no sense to me.
I wasn't totally convinced by what I'd seen of him for Hull but at the time I did say it was worth the risk for £8m. My main worry was (and still is to a lesser degree) his defensive qualities and particularly the way he tended to avoid 50/50 challenges. So far I've been very impressed and his whole game has improved and I think he has benefitted hugely from; Klopp's tutelage; playing with better players and thirdly because we are obviously comparing him favourably to Moreno.
He has scored about 10 goals in about 200 career games so far so he must be due one for us quite soon..............winner at Old Trafford would be a nice way for him to open his account.
He has scored about 10 goals in about 200 career games so far so he must be due one for us quite soon..............winner at Old Trafford would be a nice way for him to open his account.
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