as delay pointed out, that doesn't take into account the importance of those players - big difference between losing a guy who always starts vs a bench-warmer. In LC's case Vardy's been out quite often, but no team has lost as many of their top players to the extent we have (VvD, Joe, Hendo, Fab, Mo ... etc etc etc etc etc)
Looks as if Gomez and van Dijk are unlikely to take part in the Euros (England and Netherlands take heed) according to Klopp. https://www.thisisanfield.com/2021/...d-joe-gomez-unlikely-to-feature-at-euro-2020/
Already "reports" from the Netherlands claim that van Dijk hasn't given up hope of playing in the Euros
Joe Gomez takes major step in Liverpool training Joe Gomez takes major step in Liverpool training after nightmare injury - Liverpool Echo
this isn't photoshopped, and yes it is Salah. I've no clue what kind of training this is, what it's supposed to accomplish, or who thinks it's a good idea. no wonder we have players breaking down in training. WT actual F???
Haha. It’s a pegboard. It’s full body and heavy core strength. Basically think of free rock climbing. Also - these guys are absolute beasts. You don’t realize how strong they are even though aren’t huge like nfl or nba players (or roided out baseball players).
yeah I assumed it was upper-body stuff.... but ffs wear a damn harness! players are naturally super-competitive, and doesn't take much for someone to overdo it to make a point then find they can't control it. that's one of the club's zillion-dollar asset hanging there - bloody irresponsible imo !!
‘Read this tweet by PaddyPower re that pic. Can’t believe the injuries we’ve had this season. ‘Right, who’s next on the twenty foot peg wall of death?’
A bit of good news from Klopp on Joe Gomez today. "Joe is outside running now. A big step. All looks fine. No reaction in his knee. He's in a good way but it takes time".
excellent!! https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57083439 Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk has ruled himself out of playing for the Netherlands at this summer's European Championship. The 29-year-old is recovering from surgery after suffering knee ligament damage in October. "I feel physically it is the right decision that I've decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab in the off-season," said Netherlands captain Van Dijk. It's tough, but I'm at peace with it." Jurgen was asked about it at today's media thing: "Virgil has had one of the most serious injuries [ACL] you can get," said Klopp. "It can take up to 11 months [to return to action], on average. It is going really well and the plan is that he can do pre-season with us, but we are not sure. "The Euros are before that. For Holland, the next big tournament is waiting and everything will be fine by then. But we all have to be patient. "The type of rehab is really tough. It’s very painful, and when you overcome that, then you can make steps and become more positive. "I never wanted to cut the Euros off but I always knew with common sense, it was never possible. Hopefully he can start soon with us again."
That's unfortunate . Again I think it illustrates the need to freshen up the squad with some younger players. Too many guys hitting the 30 and over range who have many many miles on their legs .
Yup and something I think canucksh has brought up - Klopp's game is a young boys game - 29, 30, 30+ year olds are geriatrics for this style (unless you're a Milner).
I don't disagree, but in addition to great stamina, the style of play requires real game intelligence, experience and maturity, which younger players don't have. so do we change the style completely? or make big squad changes and hope a bunch of younger guys can be as effective? the huge question is: was this season a one-off run of totally crap luck, or (as you imply) it's been crap as a result of having pushed the squad beyond their physical limits. I get the sense Klopp and his guys think it's just crap luck on top of crap luck. I may be totally off base but imo it was more shit luck than broken-down old guys. if we hadn't incurred 2 of the key-player injuries -- eg if we hadn't lost both of Gomez & Hendo for so long -- I think the season would have ended up just fine for CL qualification. and don't forget the abysmal fall-off-a-cliff form of the forwards. I don't think there's anything physically wrong with Mane or Bobby (Mane said that the other day) and it's very rare for a team to have all its strikers all go down the crapper for months on end at the same time.
I think we're bringing up the multiple issues that have contributed to the drastic fall of in form we've seen this year. Absolutely, if it wasn't for bad luck we'd have no luck at all this year. Especially with injuries. And as canucksh has pointed out, Going into next season: Salah, Mane and Firmino are all going to be 29 with Firmino turning 30 in October. Wijnaldum is leaving, Henderson will be 31, Thiago 29, Fabinho 27 and Milner 35 Van Dijk and Matip will both be 30. The above is the spine of our current team. Older players can be more injury prone, and the rehab times are longer. I think the fatigue factor may well be both mental and physical. This group had two torrid years of near perfect performance, the exertion and focus required of that performance has to have some longer term effect. Our luck literally can't get much worse, so hopefully that will begin to turn. Getting key players back will be a huge help. We need to get key positions better covered as everybody has stated. How we get the front line firing again is beyond me, maybe it will just happen.