It's funny that you generalise. I've criticised that aspect of his game from the start.
End of season RAAAAAAATINGS!
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It's funny that you generalise. I've criticised that aspect of his game from the start.
I've been criticising this aspect of his play all season .. and last.
Ah. Your such an opinion!!
Clyne's lack of offensive nous has bugged me for a long time, I'd be very happy with two new full-backs this summer (or at least for TAA to step up).
Re the ratings, I'm flabbergasted that some are separating Klavan and Matip by a single point, given Matip makes Klavan look like the elevated clogger he is. Unbelievable.
Looking over the rest, it seems there's a broad consensus of ratings across the board. The late season form of Can and Mignolet might just enable Klopp to focus on spending big on a few key areas rather than spread our budget too thinly.
Re the ratings, I'm flabbergasted that some are separating Klavan and Matip by a single point, given Matip makes Klavan look like the elevated clogger he is. Unbelievable.
Looking over the rest, it seems there's a broad consensus of ratings across the board. The late season form of Can and Mignolet might just enable Klopp to focus on spending big on a few key areas rather than spread our budget too thinly.
Finishing fourth is, if nothing else, a sign of progress. It's higher than most people predicted. Perhaps Arsenal were long identified as the most "in danger" of dropping out, but it was harder to predict how new managers at United and Chelsea would perform, as they had - relatively - poor seasons last time, so it was fairly uncertain. I expected us to finish behind City and Spurs certainly, but finishing above United and Arsenal is impressive.
As ever, the challenge will be to identify the problems and weaknesses in the team - which actually is the easy part - and then sign the players required to improve. And as I mentioned, it isn't hard to see where we need to improve.
The best teams have that great balance between clinical attacking quality, and defensive solidity, with the midfield a crucial platform for both. The teams who finished ahead of us all scored more goals than we did, and conceded less.
As almost all of us realised quite early on, this would be a problem for us, as we lacked the reliable top quality finishing talent that the Champions and title-challenging teams all possess. As usual, the title was won by a team that had a player who could supply 20 league goals (and in Hazard, another who contributed 16). The other teams above us also had in their teams one or more players who scored nearly 20 (or more goals); Aguero, Costa, Hazard, Dele Alli, and the irrepressible Kane.
Our main striker managed a paltry 11 Premiership goals, a total that is one of the lowest in our history, so the first problem to fix is all too obvious. Luckily Sadio Mane and Coutinho managed to score 13 each, which went some way to repairing the self-inflicted damage of playing with a striker who isn't very good at scoring goals. So that will be Klopp's first task.
The second is ensuring that our best two players - Mane and Coutinho - stay at the club, and that we have top quality support for them. The absence of Mane for long periods meant we entirely lacked pace, which as we know is crucial in this league. And while we had decent-ish goalscoring support from Lallana, Wijnaldum and Can, we need more. Lallana especially should be capable at his supposed peak, of scoring more than 8 goals in all competitions. So we need more.
The defensive solidity of the team is also a massive issue. The requirement for a top quality midfield addition to help protect and stiffen the defensive third is obvious. But the amount of goals conceded - more than even the much-derided Manchester City! - means that we must also look at at least three new players: a CB, a LB and a new goalkeeper.
Klopp knows this summer is huge for the club, and it would seem as if the owners do too, with promises of the biggest transfer investment in our history. If we keep Mane and Coutinho, sign players to improve on the likes of Lovren, Milner, Mignolet and Firmino, and ensure the squad is strong enough that we can happily get rid of Lucas, Karius, Klavan and have better players in their place, then we should be in a position to make a genuine title challenge.
Ratings for season:
Mignolet (6) Wobbled, dropped, and then regained his place when Klownius proved himself even worse. Mignolet showed plenty of improvement, especially in his catching and punching, but still couldn't kick his way out of a wet Echo. But looking about this league, there aren't too many obvious replacements who are better.
Karius (3) A jittery fucking clown.
Matip (7) He's had a few mediocre games, certainly, and he is not great in the air, but he showed some moments of class, and is very useful in building attacks with his measured passing and easy movement. Perhaps 7 is a touch generous, but I'm pleased overall.
Lovren (6) When he's good, he's very, very good. But sometimes he plays like a total flid. It would be nice if he could smooth out his level of performances, because a few 8s are almost always followed by a 4 or worse, and that usually means a dreadful mistake has cost us a goal.
Milner (7) Very consistent overall, and plenty of commendable displays, even if sometimes it's a bit obvious he isn't a LB and isn't left-footed. He has been flogged to death, though. Playing full-back involves so much work, and also expectations seem to be that "the modern full-back" is either Dani Alves, or "not good enough". There has been times when his use of the ball has been wayward, true, but he hasn't cost us many goals, and he's made and scored plenty. Needs to be given genuine competition next season.
Clyne (7) Solid as teak, defensively. Which is important in a defender. His pace means that he is rarely caught out, and he is always willing to get forward. Now, it's pretty cleat that he is no Kyle Walker or Trippier in the opposition half, and his lack of attacking quality and ability does mean that good positions are wasted, but I still don't see that there's many better than him about. Certainly, RB isn't as much a priority as others.
Klavan (3) Fuck off, binman.
Henderson (6) Hard to rate, given he missed so many games. Every time he seemed to be getting back into his groove, another issue forced him out. And his replacements have been up and down, to say the least.
Lucas (4) It's a total joke that he has managed to play so often this season. OK, so obviously he's never been anything more than an emergency stop-gap, but having over 20 emergencies that require Lucas to play CB or DM (not sure which is worse) in one season tells its own story. Never been good enough, and is getting worse. Please let that be his last ever season at Liverpool. PLEASE.
Can (6) He's never hid, or shied away from taking the ball, even when he appeared to be wearing greased-up clown shoes at some points half way through the season. Can is a player who takes responsibility. He hasn't been helped by an ongoing niggling injury, and by having to play in a few different positions, but deserves credit for turning his for around and delivering an impressive run of displays in the last quarter of the season.
Wijnaldum (6) He has hid, quite often, and has scored all of his goals at home (this season and last), which is illustrative. Perhaps that's what we have to accept with Wijnaldum - he will sometimes be utterly invisible, and others a matchwinner. Technically impressive and works hard. At his most visible, a good player indeed, and 6 goals from CM isn't too bad, but could be better.
Lallana (7) An impressive season, especially the first half. Performances and goals tailed off a bit, so that he scored his usual "between 5 and 10" goals overall, but his consistency was improved and his contribution to the team more obvious.
Coutinho (8) Joint top scorer, and ended the season at his mercurial, bewitching and deadly best. He had a bad period when nothing seemed to go well, and then a spell out injured, but he played himself back into form and was a joy to watch at times.
Mane (8) What a signing. It's interesting to speculate what the season would have been like if he didn't disappear to play in the GiveAFuck African whatever for a month, and then have his season ended early by injury. We missed him so badly when his searing pace, workrate and invention, plus that rare talent for goalscoring, wasn't available. That must be fixed in summer, as we are too reliant on him. But he's a great player to rely on. Was everything I thought he would be for us.
Origi (4) He's not very good. That's why we don't talk about him more.
Firmino (6) Nobody expected him to score 15-20 goals, because he's quite clearly not a very good finisher, but even I was disappointed with a total of 11. That's shockingly poor, really. But while he isn't a goalscorer, and has no pace, what he does have is superb control and lovely ability with a football, allied with a frenetic work rate that ensures we never allow the opposition to relax in possession. There are games when it's clear his flicks and tricks aren't working, but when they are, he is a creative skilful player, and brings others into the game well. It will be interesting to see how he can adapt to a position behind the new striker, where his lack of goalscoring ability will be less damaging.
Sturridge (n/a) Some glimpses of his quality and ability. Not enough, though.
Klopp (7). Improved on last season. Some odd decisions tactically and in-game, and worrying blindspots, but hopefully he and the rest of his team can make the most of the money and opportunity this summer to recruit well. Top 4 is better than many expected, so he deserves credit for that. Of course, given we were briefly top at Xmas, the subsequent scramble to finish Top 4 could be seen as disappointing, but it was clear that we would never be able to maintain those levels of performance, and that we couldn't rely on an "extended purple patch" for certain players.
As ever, the challenge will be to identify the problems and weaknesses in the team - which actually is the easy part - and then sign the players required to improve. And as I mentioned, it isn't hard to see where we need to improve.
The best teams have that great balance between clinical attacking quality, and defensive solidity, with the midfield a crucial platform for both. The teams who finished ahead of us all scored more goals than we did, and conceded less.
As almost all of us realised quite early on, this would be a problem for us, as we lacked the reliable top quality finishing talent that the Champions and title-challenging teams all possess. As usual, the title was won by a team that had a player who could supply 20 league goals (and in Hazard, another who contributed 16). The other teams above us also had in their teams one or more players who scored nearly 20 (or more goals); Aguero, Costa, Hazard, Dele Alli, and the irrepressible Kane.
Our main striker managed a paltry 11 Premiership goals, a total that is one of the lowest in our history, so the first problem to fix is all too obvious. Luckily Sadio Mane and Coutinho managed to score 13 each, which went some way to repairing the self-inflicted damage of playing with a striker who isn't very good at scoring goals. So that will be Klopp's first task.
The second is ensuring that our best two players - Mane and Coutinho - stay at the club, and that we have top quality support for them. The absence of Mane for long periods meant we entirely lacked pace, which as we know is crucial in this league. And while we had decent-ish goalscoring support from Lallana, Wijnaldum and Can, we need more. Lallana especially should be capable at his supposed peak, of scoring more than 8 goals in all competitions. So we need more.
The defensive solidity of the team is also a massive issue. The requirement for a top quality midfield addition to help protect and stiffen the defensive third is obvious. But the amount of goals conceded - more than even the much-derided Manchester City! - means that we must also look at at least three new players: a CB, a LB and a new goalkeeper.
Klopp knows this summer is huge for the club, and it would seem as if the owners do too, with promises of the biggest transfer investment in our history. If we keep Mane and Coutinho, sign players to improve on the likes of Lovren, Milner, Mignolet and Firmino, and ensure the squad is strong enough that we can happily get rid of Lucas, Karius, Klavan and have better players in their place, then we should be in a position to make a genuine title challenge.
Ratings for season:
Mignolet (6) Wobbled, dropped, and then regained his place when Klownius proved himself even worse. Mignolet showed plenty of improvement, especially in his catching and punching, but still couldn't kick his way out of a wet Echo. But looking about this league, there aren't too many obvious replacements who are better.
Karius (3) A jittery fucking clown.
Matip (7) He's had a few mediocre games, certainly, and he is not great in the air, but he showed some moments of class, and is very useful in building attacks with his measured passing and easy movement. Perhaps 7 is a touch generous, but I'm pleased overall.
Lovren (6) When he's good, he's very, very good. But sometimes he plays like a total flid. It would be nice if he could smooth out his level of performances, because a few 8s are almost always followed by a 4 or worse, and that usually means a dreadful mistake has cost us a goal.
Milner (7) Very consistent overall, and plenty of commendable displays, even if sometimes it's a bit obvious he isn't a LB and isn't left-footed. He has been flogged to death, though. Playing full-back involves so much work, and also expectations seem to be that "the modern full-back" is either Dani Alves, or "not good enough". There has been times when his use of the ball has been wayward, true, but he hasn't cost us many goals, and he's made and scored plenty. Needs to be given genuine competition next season.
Clyne (7) Solid as teak, defensively. Which is important in a defender. His pace means that he is rarely caught out, and he is always willing to get forward. Now, it's pretty cleat that he is no Kyle Walker or Trippier in the opposition half, and his lack of attacking quality and ability does mean that good positions are wasted, but I still don't see that there's many better than him about. Certainly, RB isn't as much a priority as others.
Klavan (3) Fuck off, binman.
Henderson (6) Hard to rate, given he missed so many games. Every time he seemed to be getting back into his groove, another issue forced him out. And his replacements have been up and down, to say the least.
Lucas (4) It's a total joke that he has managed to play so often this season. OK, so obviously he's never been anything more than an emergency stop-gap, but having over 20 emergencies that require Lucas to play CB or DM (not sure which is worse) in one season tells its own story. Never been good enough, and is getting worse. Please let that be his last ever season at Liverpool. PLEASE.
Can (6) He's never hid, or shied away from taking the ball, even when he appeared to be wearing greased-up clown shoes at some points half way through the season. Can is a player who takes responsibility. He hasn't been helped by an ongoing niggling injury, and by having to play in a few different positions, but deserves credit for turning his for around and delivering an impressive run of displays in the last quarter of the season.
Wijnaldum (6) He has hid, quite often, and has scored all of his goals at home (this season and last), which is illustrative. Perhaps that's what we have to accept with Wijnaldum - he will sometimes be utterly invisible, and others a matchwinner. Technically impressive and works hard. At his most visible, a good player indeed, and 6 goals from CM isn't too bad, but could be better.
Lallana (7) An impressive season, especially the first half. Performances and goals tailed off a bit, so that he scored his usual "between 5 and 10" goals overall, but his consistency was improved and his contribution to the team more obvious.
Coutinho (8) Joint top scorer, and ended the season at his mercurial, bewitching and deadly best. He had a bad period when nothing seemed to go well, and then a spell out injured, but he played himself back into form and was a joy to watch at times.
Mane (8) What a signing. It's interesting to speculate what the season would have been like if he didn't disappear to play in the GiveAFuck African whatever for a month, and then have his season ended early by injury. We missed him so badly when his searing pace, workrate and invention, plus that rare talent for goalscoring, wasn't available. That must be fixed in summer, as we are too reliant on him. But he's a great player to rely on. Was everything I thought he would be for us.
Origi (4) He's not very good. That's why we don't talk about him more.
Firmino (6) Nobody expected him to score 15-20 goals, because he's quite clearly not a very good finisher, but even I was disappointed with a total of 11. That's shockingly poor, really. But while he isn't a goalscorer, and has no pace, what he does have is superb control and lovely ability with a football, allied with a frenetic work rate that ensures we never allow the opposition to relax in possession. There are games when it's clear his flicks and tricks aren't working, but when they are, he is a creative skilful player, and brings others into the game well. It will be interesting to see how he can adapt to a position behind the new striker, where his lack of goalscoring ability will be less damaging.
Sturridge (n/a) Some glimpses of his quality and ability. Not enough, though.
Klopp (7). Improved on last season. Some odd decisions tactically and in-game, and worrying blindspots, but hopefully he and the rest of his team can make the most of the money and opportunity this summer to recruit well. Top 4 is better than many expected, so he deserves credit for that. Of course, given we were briefly top at Xmas, the subsequent scramble to finish Top 4 could be seen as disappointing, but it was clear that we would never be able to maintain those levels of performance, and that we couldn't rely on an "extended purple patch" for certain players.
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