Yup, in general this approach makes a lot of sense. But this is not business as usual for us. We're deep into the season, and trying to finish ahead of the very best teams in the world in the two competitions we're still in. imo a time to make an exception to this rule and buy ourselves some insurance depth. I wouldn't be in favor of buying somebody necessarily, but letting Clyne go didn't make sense to me in this case. Title runs don't come along every year.
Didn't know he can see the future. I would rather have unnecessary depth than no depth at all. It's not like the trophy cabinet is over-flowing with recent league titles.
The obsession with Clyne is a strange one. He missed all of last season without anyone even wondering when he was coming back. He is our 4th choice right back. Trent, Gomez, and Milner are all ahead of him. Klopp may prefer other midfielders as well. He wouldn’t have started yesterday even if he was available. Should I be concerned that I don’t know who our 4th choice left back is? I probably would have kept him around, and I was surprised he even wanted to leave. However, since he wanted out, it was a completely reasonable decision to let him go.
Not so sure about that, Suss. I keep mentioning that I don't think we should start with Hendo, GW and Milner in midfield, but I also don't think we should start with none of them. It's possible that Milner would have started ahead of Lallana yesterday if Clyne had been available. Oh well, the cushion isn't as comfy as it once was - so be it ..... onward....
That might be true. Good point. It still doesn’t make Klopp an idiot for letting him leave. He never could have anticipated the amount of injuries that would have created a scenario where he might play. It also would have been nice to have Marco Grujic and Harry Wilson on our bench last night. It’s not realistic to keep players around if you have no intention of using them 95% of the time. Klopp also respects the wishes of the player (except Mingolet). If they don’t want to be at the club he would rather let them go.
We'd all be singing Naby praises if the referee had blown for the penalty he won us which gets us 2 more points. We're three points ahead of City. It's been a great season and should be a fun run in. Want to be Champions? Weather the storm. Be champions.
Just a stick with which to beat a struggling side. The reasons for our lack of results has very little to do with right back and more with lack of creativity in the middle. But that narrative doesn't fit.
Gomez and Trent were dealing with injuries before Clyne was sold... it's not about Clyne being some great player, it's about the fact that he's an actual RB in what is clearly a position of need right now all things considered. Frankly putting Milner and Hendo there, regardless of whether or not you can directly attribute them for goals against, is less than ideal for a whole number of reasons regarding the current state of the squad -- they aren't RBs, both looking their age a little more, and also it impacts the depth of other areas of the team, namely that midfield which seems to be struggling in more ways than one not just with creativity but also with energy and focus.
Salah, Firmino, and Mane have jointly scored a single fewer goal than they had at this stage (this matchday) last season. The problem, as it has almost always been, is letting in BAD GOALS against. Grinding out tough wins is what champions do, the problem the last few matches has been an inability to hold a lead.
Exactly my opinion - bloody annoying listening to people acting like the thing is all but effin' won in bleedin' January.... ffs ....
Sometimes you have to have a bit of extra spark to break through. Firmino often provides that but when he has an off night he is not gonna likely do that.
At the same time, it seems no MF player has more than one goal (other than Milner with penalties). That is nowhere near good enough. Shaqiri is the next highest scorer on just six, three of Milner’s five efforts have been penalties and Daniel Sturridge is on four. Own goals (two) are up next, ahead of midfielders Gini Wijnaldum (one), Fabinho (one), Henderson (zero) and Keita (zero), which makes for pitiful reading. https://www.thisisanfield.com/2019/...-firmino-to-step-up-and-mask-defensive-flaws/
Got to say I am still not convinced by having Salah central and Firmino dropping deeper. The goal output of the front three might still be similar but I think it has a generally negative effect on our open play.
Yes that's fair enough and after Coutinho was in fine form last Fall I knoew the rest of the squad is lacking in the goals in the direct comparison. Maybe Ox can make a difference there during the run in, or maybe Shaq can find some of that attacking form. But the issue with the last couple matches, considering they should have had a penalty, is mostly that they conceded 2 really poor goals against. That just cannot happen if you're going to win a prem over this City side.
Wouldn't really consider the goal last night as poor. Very clever actually, and a foul by Noble to help with the execution to boot. BHig problem is that weaker teams are afraid to push out past 25 yards for fear of Salah or Mane getting in behind them... That then requires Firmino or someone to pick the lock. Last night, West Ham tasked hard and played very well.... but we should really have put Leicester away before half-time last week.
Naby either completely fell asleep while part of a high line OR he was blocked off... either way, regardless of the quality of the strike which was excellent, that kind of defensive positioning and awareness categorizes that as a goal that really shouldn't happen.
Teams are setting picks and blocking our defenders, happened to VVD in either the Leicester goal or one in the CP game. Refs need to be made aware so they can watch for it. Naby was not as bad a most are saying, he was the only one besides Mane, driving forward. What I can't understand and frustrates the hell out of me is why we pass up shots or can't shoot.How many goals have we scored from outside the box?
I think it is a case of deflecting the responsibility. "I do not know if I hit this, will it go in, will Klopp be mad at me for not passing, where are my teammates, why is Firmino behind me, let me pass to someone" Robertson had a very poor shot from outside the box and although I see the benefit of trying, it should really be to the attacking mids and strikers taking those shots. Uncertainty within the players rubs off on one another so I really hope Klopp is looking into managing the mental side of the players as for some of them they have never been in a such a position in the league.
I think teams have decided to block off our defenders at set pieces. Even hulking units such as van Dijk have been undone. Need a fresh look, I’d say.
Don't mean to open up old wounds but on the Clyne thing my theory, partially stolen from Melissa Reddy, is that the Clyne departure is down to Klopp's personality and his insistence that he be honest and fair with players. We have to remember that riding the bench this spring, even for a league winning side, could cost Clyne millions of pounds on his next contract. Klopp knows this and put his values of fairness above the short term needs of the club. That's Klopp for you, and it's what makes him such a good manager even if this time it hurt us.
I agree. There are limits to this, however. Mingolet was desperate to leave in the summer, but Klopp was not willing to be left without a backup goalkeeper.
I've heard on the grapevine, and from many different sources, that there was very bad sickness bug that struck the team. The club has, rightly, not made this widely known but the level of lethargy on display in the last two matches must surely, if only partly, be down to this bout of illness. Hopefully this has passed and we can get back to A game.