Official Liverpool FC Thread @ The Phins

"Da 'Fins wrote:

Great goals by Salah. Might have been a goal without the hand ball but he created the penalty and then made it!!

and another great great goal on his second!

I’ve been saying for over a year that Liverpool needs a strong CB to pair with Van Dijk. This first game shows the weakness of Joe Gomez. I know Alexander-Arnold got beat, but that’s where a great CB needs to make a play. Gomez was slow getting back. This is a real weakness against clubs like Man City and if the front 3 are not clicking on all cylinders... they are in trouble.

And. Terrible mistake by Van Dijk.

Diego Carlos is the guy they should have gone after. Carlos has speed. Is a great defender and offensive skills. Only 27. Perfect complement to Van Dijk. Ideally, Carlos and Thiago would be a perfect situation. But that’s a bit of a pipe dream (unless they sell Keita or Winaldum).

And I just don’t see how or why Liverpool don’t have the money that other clubs (Chelsea, et al) have. They have won the two biggest club titles in football the past two years and are at peak popularity. I get that all teams are down on money but they should have as much to spend as anyone else!

I was thinking the same thing, and there was a really nice breakdown of what the club spending strategy has been posted thru twitter, I've linked it all up above. It's a great read if you have the time. Essentially the club is running their financials differently than a ManC/ManU/Chelsea. They don't leverage loans to make the team better. It's run more like a business than a "sports franchise." As the owners are the same group that owns the Boston Red Sox, I'm curious if their strategy is the same? I'm not into baseball so I don't know. But the Red Sox have let some big players leave and not give them the big contracts. That Mookie Betts is an example. I wonder if their balance sheet is built the same way. Certainly LFC is in no danger of getting hit with a financial fair play notice :lol:

"Paul 13 wrote:

I was thinking the same thing, and there was a really nice breakdown of what the club spending strategy has been posted thru twitter, I've linked it all up above. It's a great read if you have the time. Essentially the club is running their financials differently than a ManC/ManU/Chelsea. They don't leverage loans to make the team better. It's run more like a business than a "sports franchise." As the owners are the same group that owns the Boston Red Sox, I'm curious if their strategy is the same? I'm not into baseball so I don't know. But the Red Sox have let some big players leave and not give them the big contracts. That Mookie Betts is an example. I wonder if their balance sheet is built the same way. Certainly LFC is in no danger of getting hit with a financial fair play notice :lol:

great twitter quotes!!! Fantastic info.

This is very much how the Red Sox are run. But I think they are going to hurt themselves in the EPL this way.

especially as the stars age out. It’s a bit different in MLB Because they have a farm system and drafting of young players, which can give some more predictability in terms of future stardom then the player development system within Liverpool itself. And just looking at the team you can see that several Liverpool stars are foreign players and not part of their own system. I think they would have been wise to spend on players like Carlos and Thiago, and that would have really helped their opportunities to win again this year, either the EPL or champions league. As well as set themselves up for a solid base the next 3-4 years as some others (Salah or Mane or Winaldum et al) can be sold of younger players emerge.

What a fantastic day!! Thiago AND Jota. Thiago was a saga that took a while but its going to be great for our depth in the MF. Its a good problem to have, deciding who to play on a given day.

Jota came out of nowhere. We were interested in Traore earlier but i reckon hes just too expensive and would want to play more than Jota. Jota is a better fit that way. Plus he seems more like a Werner to me. He can really accelerate on the ball. And can hit the goal with either foot. Really checks all the boxes. And with Hoever going in return, looking at the money, it seems the first year net, we are actually getting money from Wolves in the deal as its spread over four years.

a very nice day full of surprises. And i reckon we are not done just yet. Looking at a third CB in the Turkish Kaban. Just 20 and comes from a German side. Sounds great.

terrible day yesterday. VAR killing the game. I've never wanted to see a negative test come back so much than on VVD's knee. I'm expecting the worst of course. And with it, I don't see how LFC finishes top 4, let alone repeats. Very depressed.

"Paul 13 wrote:

terrible day yesterday. VAR killing the game. I've never wanted to see a negative test come back so much than on VVD's knee. I'm expecting the worst of course. And with it, I don't see how LFC finishes top 4, let alone repeats. Very depressed.

I am really surprised at how well Liverpool has done so far this year given the injuries and the brutal schedule. Hopefully they can stay healthy and keep up the good work and if they get some of the guys back like Thiago, that could really be a big benefit for them. I really like Fabinho at center back and I would love to see him there along side VVD next year with Thiago in midfield. I think our defense would be better and our ability to counterattack would be amazing!

"Da 'Fins wrote:

I am really surprised at how well Liverpool has done so far this year given the injuries and the brutal schedule. Hopefully they can stay healthy and keep up the good work and if they get some of the guys back like Thiago, that could really be a big benefit for them. I really like Fabinho at center back and I would love to see him there along side VVD next year with Thiago in midfield. I think our defense would be better and our ability to counterattack would be amazing!

Agreed. Fabinho has exceeded my expectations certainly. I still like Gomez back there next to VVD because of his speed (he's probably the fasted guy on the team). Seems top 4 is still in the offing (I re-read the post you quoted, wow, I had such doom and gloom that day). A bit surprisingly lately is the lack of scoring has reared it's ugly head after that big offensive output a couple of weeks ago. I reckon we are missing the consistent finishing of Jota.

wow... we've become inept at finishing. Incredibly frustrating game considering how well we possessed the ball in the second half. it was as if we were playing the Italian national team down 0-1. And Southampton aren't Italy. 2 points from our last 9 is going to hurt at the end of the season. And it looks like Man City are hitting their stride. Not looking good for the league at the moment. And with both Hendo and Fabs playing CB too. Our defense gave up a soft one surely... TAA had a shit of a game really. But it's the front three that aren't performing. No excuses.

Just when I started feeling good about the offensive return the past two games - with lots of chances and Salah getting back into form, though I didn't see an EPL title I thought for sure the Reds would finish 2nd behind Man City, we lose yet another game at home to yet another near bottom dweller.

Just crazy to lose to those teams. I don't get it.

No Sadio today really hurt. Shaq had an awful game. Ox came on and was worse than that. At least Curtis Jones gives you some ability to not turn it over. He should start vs City if Sadio is out again. And not having Jota is really killing us.

After the last two wins and then signing two CBs who look promising it was starting to look good for the run up to the end of the season. But they just threw it all away today. And BHAs flukey goal was just the fucking topper. Very sad right now.

must win against City plus we need them to lose points against teams they shouldnt. League is likely gone. Finishing top four is back to being a challenge now.

probably need some scoring reinforcements next signing period. I would be surprised if all three of Sadio/Bobby/Mo are back next season as well. Boy no UCL would give them an excuse to go too.

My worry is that a number of them had their eye on the City game at the weekend and like the Burnley game, thought "it's only Brighton"

Havent been the same since the virus hit. No fans, no total intensity. There have been flashes at times but not all the time. And until all the fans are back this is the end of this run. What a shame.

Man that Chelsea game was brutal to watch. It really hurts losing 1-0 on a goal that should have been closed down. Sure, Chelsea had other opportunities.

I think we're currently 7th in the league :lol: All you can do is laugh. At the injuries... Robbo looked like he pulled something during that last game but kept playing. When he got "hurt" I just laughed. What else is next? It is really amazing the injuries/lack of fans effect has had on this team. But then City aren't struggling with the lack of the fans. They are just that good. We need the fans to get that extra 5 to 10 % out of us when we play. Otherwise, it's fine margins. And with the injuries, it's just been a total cluster. Add the two together and you get what you have now.

Are there other problems besides those two? Why aren't the front three scoring? Are they starting to decline? These are difficult questions that we need to answer before next season starts if you want to challenge for the league again. With Jota coming into the front three, you saw it against Chelsea on the first run of play after he subbed in, he was immediately a threat.

Sadio is 28, will turn 29 next month
Mo, same thing, he turns 29 in June
Bobby turns 30 in October.

There are exceptions to a player's age relative to their performance, but the general feel is that once you get close to 30, you've played your best days. And that little 5% drop off per season (?) coupled with the fans impact not being there, I just think you see it starting to drop... again FINE MARGINS!!

Jota turns 25 this year, so he's set here for at least 3 more seasons.

I think you have to add to the front 3 this season. And feelings are going to get hurt if you bring in a "big name" that should be starting. That's always been the risk. That's why JK has been reluctant to do it. Jota was the perfect addition. Werner and Pulisic would have been as well, guys young enough to grow into the side and eventually take over. but now you've almost missed your opportunity to do that. Now you are looking at adding a true replacement, someone who MUST start now.

I do think you need to consider selling one of the front three if not two of them. One would be workable if you add a big name. Two, well that's going to affect chemistry completely. It's fairly obvious that if you go with two names, one of them has to be a replacement to Firmino. And to add to this line of thinking, I don't think Jota is "ready" to be a full time starter just yet. So that's another variable to consider down the road.

The talk about Mbappe is just a pipe dream, that'll never happen (hey if it does I'll happily admit I was wrong)
Haaland? Would be a great add. I just don't see it if we're not in the UCL. Speaking of that, how much will that affect our ability to add names if we aren't in the CL. Does the mystique of being at LFC with JK add to the lure?

Time will only tell.

The last few weeks have been brutal! Offense is just, well, offensive, in the negative way!

and it seems if we drop behind by a goal, it’s all over. The front three, regardless of who they are, just seems so unmotivated and almost inept. The team seems to play with great lethargy. Maybe they are just simply worn down mentally and physically.

it’s possible that next year, with a couple of new players in, and no champions league, that there will be a fear and a real motivation that will energize the team. Especially if they get some time off this summer, although many will be competing national contests.

I agree with your post above, Paul. Firminho has been one of my favorite players at Liverpool, but he seems to play with no drive or speed or energy. He still has amazing skills with his feet, but he lacks speed and attacking ability. He plays so passively and just really is not a threat to the back 4 versus any EPL team! It’s unfortunate because he used to be so good at setting up Mane and Salah.

"Da 'Fins wrote:

The last few weeks have been brutal! Offense is just, well, offensive, in the negative way!

and it seems if we drop behind by a goal, it’s all over. The front three, regardless of who they are, just seems so unmotivated and almost inept. The team seems to play with great lethargy. Maybe they are just simply worn down mentally and physically.

it’s possible that next year, with a couple of new players in, and no champions league, that there will be a fear and a real motivation that will energize the team. Especially if they get some time off this summer, although many will be competing national contests.

I agree with your post above, Paul. Firminho has been one of my favorite players at Liverpool, but he seems to play with no drive or speed or energy. He still has amazing skills with his feet, but he lacks speed and attacking ability. He plays so passively and just really is not a threat to the back 4 versus any EPL team! It’s unfortunate because he used to be so good at setting up Mane and Salah.

yeah I made this comparison a little while ago (not in here, somewhere else) regarding Firmino and Curtis Jones. Curtis has similar abilities with his feet and is probably more motivated because he's younger. He could play almost the same role that Firmino does now, that false 9 and be a threat. Still not the speed of the other two forwards of course, but there's a comparison there that makes sense to me. He can finish just like Firmino. Probably not the two way player that Bobby is though in terms of his ability to close down.

"Paul 13 wrote:

yeah I made this comparison a little while ago (not in here, somewhere else) regarding Firmino and Curtis Jones. Curtis has similar abilities with his feet and is probably more motivated because he's younger. He could play almost the same role that Firmino does now, that false 9 and be a threat. Still not the speed of the other two forwards of course, but there's a comparison there that makes sense to me. He can finish just like Firmino. Probably not the two way player that Bobby is though in terms of his ability to close down.

I know that Winaldum is gone. I wonder if there would be interest in Firminho in the transfer market?