Had a thought. Late in the month and I hadn’t had one, so I knew there was one coming. For a man who seemed to have almost too much sense, how badly has Henderson f.ucked up in the past calendar year? Firstly he goes to Klopp looking to kinda guarantee his place in the side. Which falls flat. Which means that he then engineers a move to Saudi, ostensibly for the money but also to shore up his place in the English side. Undoes all his great work with the move to Saudi. Then undoes his move to Saudi by pissing off to Ajax to keep his England place open. Which he then loses because he can’t even make the bench. And he then loses his English place. Jordan, whoever is advising you, with their next snippet of wisdom, do the opposite.
yep, an outlandish sequence of deplorable career mistakes - each of which could be seen a thousand miles away, so surely to god someone around him could see them, so either he/they are idiots or they all completely ignored the risks. what a sad end to an otherwise proud career, for a guy who worked his balls off every day.
So true. It’s difficult to believe how many crucial, absolutely dumb mistakes he has made. And not just here or there, but sequentially. To quote a meme from a few years ago, every time he says, “hold my beer!”, he goes off and finds another case.
Barcelona have contacted Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who will leave Liverpool when his contract ends on 30 June, about the 33-year-old becoming a player-assistant to prospective new manager Hansi Flick.
Former England midfielder Adam Lallana, 36, is in talks over a return to Southampton on a free transfer when his Brighton contract expires next month. BTW how about naming the thread "Former Liverpool Players" ? I guess it could be a tad confusing for some though.
Former Liverpool star Naby Keita, has been voted as the Bundesliga's worst player by his fellow professionals. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/naby-keita-hits-new-low-29288937
in his case, seems like he's viewed as a guy who simply doesn't want to be on the pitch badly enough.
Feel bad to a degree only because he seemed like a nice person here and teammates liked him. His stint here in England was just average (at best) - coupled with his body saying no, and his national team playing him through all injuries (and him saying sure) - and eventually now his head also says no. Quite the fall. Sports are littered with the Naby Keita stories. All you can hope is that he hasn't blown his money and can live a good life given the tough upbringing he had.
One of the stories about Keita (which may not be true, obviously) is that he is an injury freak. The slightest tweak and he’s off to the physio and declares himself unfit if he cuts his nails to the quick. There some players who’ll play with a leg hanging off, others, like Keita won’t play if they stub their toe. Excellent player, poor attitude.
I think Thiago is one of those guys who really is made of glass - just constantly injuring himself, ruined his career. Unfortunately, Keita really seems to be a head case - there was a serious injury or two but he was way too prone to give in to the slightest niggle and sit out for weeks. We hung on to him too long.
Former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, 41, says he is looking to "write the last chapter" in his career after leaving Spanish side Villarreal. The Spaniard rejoined the La Liga side in 2022 and last year played the 1,000th competitive game of his professional career. Reina, who was part of Spain's World Cup winning squad in 2010, has played at several European clubs including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Napoli and AC Milan, and had a loan spell at Aston Villa in 2019-2020. "It's not easy to say goodbye to what has been, is and will always be my home," said Reina, who also played at Villarreal from 2002–2005. "Now I need to find the place that will help me write the last chapter, feeling very prepared and motivated to do so." Reina, who turns 42 in August and started his career at Barcelona, also won the European Championship in 2008 and 2012.
I agree. You get the sense Adrian is in the squad for morale / personality reasons as much as fill-in skills, a role that Reina can fill very easily.
damn https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cn00k4gkpz3o Former Liverpool and Scotland centre-back Alan Hansen is "seriously ill in hospital", the Anfield club said on Sunday. The 68-year-old was a key part of the great Reds teams of the 1970s and 1980s, winning eight First Division titles, three European Cups and two FA Cups. As a player, Hansen won promotion to the Scottish Premier Division with Partick Thistle before joining Liverpool in 1977 for the start of a successful 14-year spell. "The club is currently in contact with Alan's family to provide our support at this difficult time, and our thoughts, wishes and hopes are with Alan and all of the Hansen family," Liverpool said in a statement. Liverpool called their "legendary" former captain a "defender of the utmost elegance". He won 26 caps for his country and was a member of Scotland's 1982 World Cup side. After retiring, Hansen appeared as a pundit on Match of the Day from 1992 until 2014.
How good was he? He just might have kept VVD out of the side, all things being equal. (Reading the reactions, sounds like a matter of time).
Has it really been 10 years since his last MOTD appearance? Grief. I watch that show every week (except when we lose) and it feels like it's only been a few years. Wishing the guy nothing but a speedy recovery. Stay strong Jockey.