Jurgen Klopp Sack Watch

crossy1686

career ending
Joined
Jun 5, 2010
Messages
31,486
Location
Manchester/Stockholm
He’s clearly a top manager but this idea that he’s working with shite is very strange. His starting XI is comfortably the best in football. You could easily make the case for any of Alisson, Trent, Van Dijk, Robertson, Thiago and Salah being the best in the world in their position. Them not winning the league or the CL is failure.
No one said shite, I said these players aren’t elite or amazing, they’re perfect for a system but can’t get you over the line when you need a goal, in let’s say, a cup final for example.

I think the best 11 in world football is a massive stretch. VVD is the only one I’d say has a shout for any world 11.
 

Morty_

Full Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2013
Messages
2,812
Supports
Real Madrid
It wont be too much of a stretch to say Real had a Euro-Greece like run this CL. They were absolutely second best in all their 4 games against PSG, Chelsea, City and Liverpool. Don't let the dipper-hate cloud common sense and make them seem like some Messiah. They were absolutely dominated yesterday. If we go just by yesterday's account, Benzema, Modric, Vini had literally zero impact. The game's best players were the GK (Court), RB(Caravajal), DM (Casemiro in the 2nd half) and the GOAL POST. Rest of them were pathetic. The football gods were kind to us and all our suffering and prayers were answered in the form of an inspired Courtois and his wonder-saves.

One of the poorest CL winners since Chelsea 2012, Liverpool 2005. Great run of results, yes, very lucky will be the right verdict.
Teams should try taking their chances then, we gave teams plenty of chances to finish of us but none fancied it, their own fault.
 

caid

Full Member
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
8,266
Location
Dublin
Italian manager wins it the Italian way perhaps?

Try it this way. Italy which is well known for their defense/defensive play, their goalkeeping has a history of excellence too. The reality is that goalkeeping is also vital part of the defense art.

The total football principle may place more expectation on sweeping, and distribution than actually shot stopping, doesn't mean that is the best goalkeeping standard. Same can say about the style. Dominating many metric, but not be able to take exhaust your opposition mentally and physically then got suckered punch.

It's sport. Else where end up watch computer generated stimulation with hard set standard.
I did say kind of outplayed and it applies less to the final than previous rounds. Ancelotti isn't the first name i'd associate with catenaccio normally but maybe you're right. I'd generally say you get what you deserve and the only stat that matters is the score at the end. But some of their games were a bit snatch and grab and there was some luck on the way. This isn't a vintage Real really.
 

iamking

Full Member
Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
252
Liverpool were better between the boxes, but only Mane's shot that Courtois hit the post on was near the quality of final pass/strike that Valverde's game winning assist was. The Madrid defenders and Casemiro had strong games. Also the disallowed goal was genuinely 50/50 to be one, which basically equals the Mane post moment.

I'd say play the game 10 times and it's something like Liverpool win 5, 3 draws and 2 Madrid wins, so I can see why Liverpool feel a bit aggrieved, but Courtois is the keeper on the biggest team in the world because he can have games like this, not for his ability to sweep or pass, so it's kind of meaningless to say "their keeper won it for them." He's a De Gea type, not an Allison/Ederson type, and if one of the latter sets up a goal you don't go "well their keeper had an assist."

Honestly seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.
Brilliant post.. Good thing is, I can't see any known names currently available, who could go there and do a great job in that midfield. They had Coutinho there, Bruno would do a fantastic job in that position (despite this season), Mason Mount/Kai Havertz, KDB and B.Silva, but that's about it. They are all taken. Only Dybala is available. Unless Pool pulls out an absolute rabbit out of the hat, I can't see them improve much in the squad. They have a stacked defense and attack and their mid can't improve as the exact type of player they seek are not available at least not the ones that are known.

The same with Pep's City. What's Haaland going to bring, surely they don't need more goals than what City have already scored this season. Typically out and out strikers of Halaand's ilk don't work well for Pep's City teams, he prefers drop down playmaker 9s (Like Ibra, Lewa). Kane and CR7 made sense as both of them are capable of doing it. Haaland felt more like a bulldozer of F.Torres mode, take the ball and run at defenders striker, unless am mistaken. So in effect, we are the only team grossly underperforming and I feel if ETH gets us playing like what we should 'normally' be capable off, we shouldn't be too far off in the league.
 

90 + 5min

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
5,032
It’s 2022. A full back’s primary job for top teams is offensive. You’re not living in the real word if you think otherwise.
That is why Real Madrid scores behind him and wins Champions League. Or why ManCity wins Premier League with Cancelo / Walker as right backs. A defenders job will always be defending first. It was in 70s. It was in 80s. It was in 90. It is now. And it will always be that.

Brilliant right foot. Great power in it. Great engine and can run up and down. But as a defender, they are better ones.
 

Tavern in the town

New Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2022
Messages
1,532
That is why Real Madrid scores behind him and wins Champions League. Or why ManCity wins Premier League with Cancelo / Walker as right backs. A defenders job will always be defending first. It was in 70s. It was in 80s. It was in 90. It is now. And it will always be that.

Brilliant right foot. Great power in it. Great engine and can run up and down. But as a defender, they are better ones.
Did you seriously just use City’s full backs as an example of how defending first is important? Cancelo cannot defend for toffee. Walker is exceptional defensively but his main job is to play inside as an extra midfielder. Zinchenko is an attacking midfielder by trade for feck’s sake. They got 100 points with Fabian Delph at full back because of his on ball qualities.
 

90 + 5min

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
5,032
Did you seriously just use City’s full backs as an example of how defending first is important? Cancelo cannot defend for toffee. Walker is exceptional defensively but his main job is to play inside as an extra midfielder. Zinchenko is an attacking midfielder by trade for feck’s sake. They got 100 points with Fabian Delph at full back because of his on ball qualities.
Yes I did and I rather have Walker or Cancelo as right fullbacks then Alexander -Arnold. Not as wingback but as fullback. Simply because they are better defenders. Not better when attacking.
 

Mercurial

Full Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2017
Messages
2,365
I'm loving how Klopp got found out by Italian pragmatic schooling at ramming speed and how much they are squirming over it like butthurt babies.

Dislikeable bunch their entire aparatus, behaving entitled with great hubris. Months on end writing checks they couldn't cash in the end. Literal antithesis to humility.

The very best tasting falls from glory are always the ones that were put very high up on a pidestal. As far as Liverpool goes, they were above the clouds.

Klopp screwed up the league vs top 4 and got outsmarted by cup genius Carletto in UCL. It was extra succulent the way the narrative was so heavily tilted towards LFC before the EPL and UCL finals, mostly fanned by deluded partizan media and veteran LFC brown nosers and enablers.

To then finally have the party ruined in part by Gerrard's tactical ineptitude and to see the glorious crash in real time in Paris made it all the more sublime.

Klopp is reinforced as the biggest serial choker in big games and finals and has been for ages.
He wrote the mandatory literature on how to slip at the finish line. Thanks for the fabulous savory entertainment Liverpool!

The stale expressions of dissatisfaction on some of the bigger players faces being forcefully interviewed for the club TV on the Mickey mouse parade bus of denial was agonizing and delightful at the same time.

Seeing the big, half empty trophy box indicator on the front of the bus that clearly had room for two more bigger trophies was a cherry on top. Both their trophies are physically so tiny and unmajestic, and project small pp energy on their own. One of them literally look like a pimp goblet without the foot attached. They really really needed a larger one of the trophies to bind it together for the optics. This season ending was up there and almost as nice as the Gerrard slip.

Petty? Yes! Any less enjoyable? No!
 

Tavern in the town

New Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2022
Messages
1,532
Yes I did and I rather have Walker or Cancelo as right fullbacks then Alexander -Arnold. Not as wingback but as fullback. Simply because they are better defenders. Not better when attacking.
Cancelo absolutely isn’t a better defender. And that’s okay because he’s also amazing offensively. Which is was is required of top full backs today. There’s a reason we’re going to bin AWB despite him being the best 1v1 defender in world football.
 

GledTheRed

Full Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2005
Messages
14,964
Location
Twitter thread
He has 44 assists in the league in the last 4 seasons. Any reasonable fan would think there’s a case for him being the best right back in the world. It’s only on the Caf where that’s considered such an outlandish opinion.
That's outstanding but he can't defend and he cost his team the CL last night.
 

cyberman

Full Member
Joined
May 26, 2010
Messages
37,331
Did you seriously just use City’s full backs as an example of how defending first is important? Cancelo cannot defend for toffee. Walker is exceptional defensively but his main job is to play inside as an extra midfielder. Zinchenko is an attacking midfielder by trade for feck’s sake. They got 100 points with Fabian Delph at full back because of his on ball qualities.
To be fair they are a lot more focused on defending these days than it’s made out. Counters used to kill Pep in England and now they’re sensational with boxing opposition out, especially out wide.
 

Klopper76

"Did you see Fabinho against Red Star & Cardiff?"
Joined
Dec 15, 2015
Messages
19,716
Location
Victoria, BC
Supports
Liverpool
Liverpool were better between the boxes, but only Mane's shot that Courtois hit the post on was near the quality of final pass/strike that Valverde's game winning assist was. The Madrid defenders and Casemiro had strong games. Also the disallowed goal was genuinely 50/50 to be one, which basically equals the Mane post moment.

I'd say play the game 10 times and it's something like Liverpool win 5, 3 draws and 2 Madrid wins, so I can see why Liverpool feel a bit aggrieved, but Courtois is the keeper on the biggest team in the world because he can have games like this, not for his ability to sweep or pass, so it's kind of meaningless to say "their keeper won it for them." He's a De Gea type, not an Allison/Ederson type, and if one of the latter sets up a goal you don't go "well their keeper had an assist."

Honestly seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.

Wouldn't blame Klopp, though, aside from him being the one to push for Keita I assume? His team created more, he didn't make any particularly bad calls in the first XI or subs and one piece of magic from of Salah or TAA instead of a bunch of 7/10 deliveries and they probably win it.
Great post. Echoes how I feel about the game.
 

90 + 5min

Full Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2019
Messages
5,032
Cancelo absolutely isn’t a better defender. And that’s okay because he’s also amazing offensively. Which is was is required of top full backs today. There’s a reason we’re going to bin AWB despite him being the best 1v1 defender in world football.
Ofcourse he is. Better in position. Better in air. Better one on one. Liverpool loves attacking fullback and that have helped them a lot. At same time, they are exposed and long balls on either side will often get you chances. Because their fullbacks are not trained to defend as others. Why do you think Konate played yesterday instead of Matip? Because Trent needed help on that side against Vini Jr. Specially when Trent would attack they needed someone with speed to cover for him.

WanBissaka might be good one vs one defender, even that a question, but he lacks everything else.
 

Coy Keane

New Member
Joined
May 2, 2022
Messages
41
Klopp's first 7(almost) years in Liverpool: 2 major trophies, 3 minor(4 if you count the super cup).

Wenger's first 7 years in Arsenal: 3 major trophies, 3 minor.

I rate both of them, btw. I was just surprised to see that if we view their PL club management in isolation, Wenger is actually more successful. His teams could play pretty entertaining football too.

I guess my point is that in terms of trophies won, Klopp hasn't been as successful as one might think when you consider his near impeccable reputation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Invictus

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
Liverpool were better between the boxes, but only Mane's shot that Courtois hit the post on was near the quality of final pass/strike that Valverde's game winning assist was. The Madrid defenders and Casemiro had strong games. Also the disallowed goal was genuinely 50/50 to be one, which basically equals the Mane post moment.

I'd say play the game 10 times and it's something like Liverpool win 5, 3 draws and 2 Madrid wins, so I can see why Liverpool feel a bit aggrieved, but Courtois is the keeper on the biggest team in the world because he can have games like this, not for his ability to sweep or pass, so it's kind of meaningless to say "their keeper won it for them." He's a De Gea type, not an Allison/Ederson type, and if one of the latter sets up a goal you don't go "well their keeper had an assist."

Honestly seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.

Wouldn't blame Klopp, though, aside from him being the one to push for Keita I assume? His team created more, he didn't make any particularly bad calls in the first XI or subs and one piece of magic from of Salah or TAA instead of a bunch of 7/10 deliveries and they probably win it.
Great post. But I strongly disagreed on bolded part.

Liverpool under Klop record against RM spoke for themselves. The flow the game was going in the end, RM is gonna add more goals if the games would magically extend.

In case a new game start, the dynamic is different. Wouldn't be the same game but based on different luck favoring Liverpool. So with such record, RM would only become stronger with their winning belief while Liverpool heading the opposition in term of morale. Something like how Atletico got more and more outclassed against RM in CL the more they met each other, despite they was second away from beating RM in 90 minutes in the first final.

In another word, Liverpool doesn't want to meet RM in CL anytime soon. They better forget about revenge.
 

Zetrio2002

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 1, 2018
Messages
368
Klopp has always been quite clueless at tactics and mind games with referees. So it's not a surprise pool lost once they conceded first.

Klopp's strengths have been man management,team management and identifying good players for the squad among other things. His only win in Euro final came against Pochettino who is also quite weak at tactics.
 

adexkola

Doesn't understand sportswashing.
Joined
Mar 17, 2008
Messages
48,028
Location
The CL is a glorified FA Cup set to music
Supports
orderly disembarking on planes
...seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.
Thiago?

And we need to keep things in perspective. They are PL/CL runners up by the thinnest of margins. I don't see a glaring hole (especially with Thiago), it's more of a minor rejig and try again next season
 

clarkydaz

Full Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2013
Messages
13,354
Location
manchester
Klopp's first 7(almost) years in Liverpool: 2 major trophies, 3 minor(4 if you count the super cup).

Wenger's first 7 years in Arsenal: 3 major trophies, 3 minor.

I rate both of them, btw. I was just surprised to see that if we view their PL club management in isolation, Wenger is actually more successful. His teams could play pretty entertaining football too.

I guess my point is that in terms of trophies won, Klopp hasn't been as successful as one might think when you consider his near impeccable reputation.
ooh thats a nice stat, thanks for this. Below Wenger
 

The Corinthian

I will not take Mad Winger's name in vain
Joined
Dec 10, 2020
Messages
11,464
Liverpool were better between the boxes, but only Mane's shot that Courtois hit the post on was near the quality of final pass/strike that Valverde's game winning assist was. The Madrid defenders and Casemiro had strong games. Also the disallowed goal was genuinely 50/50 to be one, which basically equals the Mane post moment.

I'd say play the game 10 times and it's something like Liverpool win 5, 3 draws and 2 Madrid wins, so I can see why Liverpool feel a bit aggrieved, but Courtois is the keeper on the biggest team in the world because he can have games like this, not for his ability to sweep or pass, so it's kind of meaningless to say "their keeper won it for them." He's a De Gea type, not an Allison/Ederson type, and if one of the latter sets up a goal you don't go "well their keeper had an assist."

Honestly seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.

Wouldn't blame Klopp, though, aside from him being the one to push for Keita I assume? His team created more, he didn't make any particularly bad calls in the first XI or subs and one piece of magic from of Salah or TAA instead of a bunch of 7/10 deliveries and they probably win it.
Liverpool have played Real Madrid 4 times in the last 4 years, and have lost all 4 games.
 

SalfordRed18

Netflix and avocado, no chill
Joined
Sep 24, 2012
Messages
13,927
Location
Salford
Supports
Ashwood City FC
Not really. At the moment you’ve got Trent, Walker, Cancelo, Reece James, Kimmich (plays in midfield now but he was amazing there), Carvajal and Hakimi. Sounds pretty stacked to me.
Mate and me were talking about this last night, why is Reece James always referred to as Reece James and not just James?
 

ti vu

Full Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2015
Messages
12,799
Mate and me were talking about this last night, why is Reece James always referred to as Reece James and not just James?
Perhaps, because James is more often known as a first name normally? In formal way, a person/player more often display their family name on their jersey. But in Reece James case, it makes him somehow less formal, being an English.
 

Woodzy

Full Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2004
Messages
14,697
Location
Cardiff
I like how he had to clarify that there’s no better club in this world. He’s not denying that there’s a team out there somewhere in Saturn that could give them a battering.
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,340
Great post. But I strongly disagreed on bolded part.

Liverpool under Klop record against RM spoke for themselves. The flow the game was going in the end, RM is gonna add more goals if the games would magically extend.

In case a new game start, the dynamic is different. Wouldn't be the same game but based on different luck favoring Liverpool. So with such record, RM would only become stronger with their winning belief while Liverpool heading the opposition in term of morale. Something like how Atletico got more and more outclassed against RM in CL the more they met each other, despite they was second away from beating RM in 90 minutes in the first final.

In another word, Liverpool doesn't want to meet RM in CL anytime soon. They better forget about revenge.
I wrote poorly, I meant if yesterday's game happened 10 times. Obviously Liverpool wouldn't outshoot Madrid 240-40 over 10 games that's mad.
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,340
Liverpool have played Real Madrid 4 times in the last 4 years, and have lost all 4 games.
Yeah I mean they're bottlers with a worse midfield, you love to see it. Also Madrid are aging. Casemiro seems to still be at his prime in big games, but Modric and Kroos are probably only like 85% of their truly fantastic peaks, so it makes sense they won in previous years.
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,340
Great post. But I strongly disagreed on bolded part.

Liverpool under Klop record against RM spoke for themselves. The flow the game was going in the end, RM is gonna add more goals if the games would magically extend.

In case a new game start, the dynamic is different. Wouldn't be the same game but based on different luck favoring Liverpool. So with such record, RM would only become stronger with their winning belief while Liverpool heading the opposition in term of morale. Something like how Atletico got more and more outclassed against RM in CL the more they met each other, despite they was second away from beating RM in 90 minutes in the first final.

In another word, Liverpool doesn't want to meet RM in CL anytime soon. They better forget about revenge.
Yeah, a likely 2nd Madrid goal was likely coming on the counter, as shown by the space Ceballos had when he biffed it.

I didn't mean Madrid would only win 2/10 games between them, or I would have bet on Liverpool to win or draw yesterday. I meant considering the play yesterday and it being 24-4 in shots, and honestly I was probably harsh on Madrid since they ultimately had a lovely goal and a 50/50 called off goal while Liverpool just had a bunch of good chances against a top goalie plus the Mane one which was unlucky to go in even with Courtois' incredible play.

I just think Liverpool lacked quality and Courtois was on his game, and of course the Madrid players are lions, as shown by someone like Carvajal, who has declined from his peak but had some absolutely fantastic passages of play yesterday. Madrid have the technical qualities of a classic Spanish team and the toughness of a German one.
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,340
Brilliant post.. Good thing is, I can't see any known names currently available, who could go there and do a great job in that midfield. They had Coutinho there, Bruno would do a fantastic job in that position (despite this season), Mason Mount/Kai Havertz, KDB and B.Silva, but that's about it. They are all taken. Only Dybala is available. Unless Pool pulls out an absolute rabbit out of the hat, I can't see them improve much in the squad. They have a stacked defense and attack and their mid can't improve as the exact type of player they seek are not available at least not the ones that are known.

The same with Pep's City. What's Haaland going to bring, surely they don't need more goals than what City have already scored this season. Typically out and out strikers of Halaand's ilk don't work well for Pep's City teams, he prefers drop down playmaker 9s (Like Ibra, Lewa). Kane and CR7 made sense as both of them are capable of doing it. Haaland felt more like a bulldozer of F.Torres mode, take the ball and run at defenders striker, unless am mistaken. So in effect, we are the only team grossly underperforming and I feel if ETH gets us playing like what we should 'normally' be capable off, we shouldn't be too far off in the league.
Dybala makes no sense.

I actually do think a swap like Bruno for Mane and Joe Gomez would probably improve both teams with Ten Hag coming in.

Liverpool need a midfielder who can contribute to the attack but still do the job they ask their midfielders to do, which is tough to find. Mount might be up for it, though we haven't seen him asked to do as disciplined a job defensively. Same for Bruno, though he appears less tactically smart defensively. Barella seems like maybe the best option but doubt he wants to leave or they go for him.

I imagine we'll be well off the title next year as we lack the defenders to play the way Ten Hag wants.

Haaland will probably be up and down at first but eventually learn to head the ball and score a million goals for them.
 

Suedesi

Full Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
23,866
Location
New York City
The point is we can't keep relying on Liverpool to mess up. Without getting bogged down in minutiae, they should have won last night. Klopp will keep coming back for more, so we need to be ready. They have reached three CL finals in five years; we aren't even in the competition. We have so much work to do.
You sound like a Liverpool fan or a bedwetter. Which one is it?
 

iamking

Full Member
Joined
May 11, 2022
Messages
252
All the Quad hype is an absolute joke. Klopp is a 50-50 manager in cups, with over 60 games in the year with AFCON for Salah and Mane, they never looked like winning anything. The Cup Finals was a lucky toss of the coin (they sustained it with their superior attack of Jota and Diaz). If you ask me Chelsea should have won the Carabao cup and dippers were mighty lucky. PL was their best bet, and they blew it at home against Spurs. It's a miracle they sustained it this long. It just shows how incredible our " REAL TREBLE" was.

Teams should try taking their chances then, we gave teams plenty of chances to finish of us but none fancied it, their own fault.
more like - "we were shiite but got very lucky". Much as I hate Liverpool, Madrid are not far off from the entitled list! First state-sponsored team that destroyed the football ecosystem, God Father of Man City and PSG model and somehow they get a pass in caf calling them a proper team. 5 of their 14 Cl wins came in an era where football was at its infancy. That leaves 9 CL titles. Now compare it with Milan, Barca, Pool, Bayern etc., it doesnt look extrordinary. All their La Liga titles are a joke (they split the la liga pie so unfavorably, its worse than PSG at France). Stealing important players from other teams by shamelessly overpaying them, Madrid (and Barca) are an extremely overrated team with an obnoxious entitled fans who are in general more into juvenile football gloating than speaking anything sensible. They dont value their own players and club legends and throw their toys out of their pram over some silly crap. Even during their so called great CL runs a few years back, they were absolutely poor in the league and scrapped through key matches in CL by dodgy decisions.

The current Madrid team is a shite team. I am mighty glad they gave their middle finger to pool but I also hope we stop jumping on the Madrid train (may be in a day or two). They were the only half decent team in a 2 team league this season considering Barca's situation. They rested their players for a good 2 weeks and had enough legs to camp/counter against a blunt overplayed Liverpool side. Winning CL by fluke doesn't make them strongest in Europe. Luckiest would be better.

There is a general problem with our fan base, we tend to have a complex around UCL due to our supposedly 'poor' CL record. CL is just a glorified cup game in my eyes and can never be a true measure of a team's real quality. the Champions 'League' is a misnomer, a Champions "Knock-Out" cup would have been more suited. While we don't acknowledge dippers for their CL wins and rightly so, but somehow instead choose to glorify overrated Madrid teams for no reason. Pep's Barca were mighty lucky (thanks to a shite referee) not to be knocked out by a Chelsea team which was playing second fiddle to us in the league. I am certain if we played Barca in PL over 38 games, we would be neck and neck, if not better. Somehow winning against us in that Final has given them an extra ooomph god like status in our forum. I hope this stops and people call out these two La Liga craps for what they are as much as we do the oil teams. The yester-year version of PSG/City sides.

We have the means to tank these sides, we need a good manager and hopefully we have one in ETH. Considering how well Ajax did in Eredivise, fingers crossed am hoping we will take off soon as a team. I hope we can get back to winning PL and I feel winning the PL is the truest measure of the quality of a team, not the overhyped CL. I hope we can turn it around in a few years. CL can't be taken seriously until they figure out a league format where all top teams play each other and see who comes out on the top (Super Leaguish way). Until such time, its as relevant as a glorified Cup game and should never matter to us more than the league.
 
Last edited:

allen7

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Apr 11, 2015
Messages
597
Liverpool were better between the boxes, but only Mane's shot that Courtois hit the post on was near the quality of final pass/strike that Valverde's game winning assist was. The Madrid defenders and Casemiro had strong games. Also the disallowed goal was genuinely 50/50 to be one, which basically equals the Mane post moment.

I'd say play the game 10 times and it's something like Liverpool win 5, 3 draws and 2 Madrid wins, so I can see why Liverpool feel a bit aggrieved, but Courtois is the keeper on the biggest team in the world because he can have games like this, not for his ability to sweep or pass, so it's kind of meaningless to say "their keeper won it for them." He's a De Gea type, not an Allison/Ederson type, and if one of the latter sets up a goal you don't go "well their keeper had an assist."

Honestly seems like another game where Klopp/Liverpool's failure to get a really quality match winning midfielder doomed them in Europe. 90M pounds on Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain and it's the one real hole in the squad. They use their midfielders as workers and let TAA do the creating, and it mostly works brilliantly obviously, so I'm not suggesting they buy a Riquelme type, but it is the one obvious hole in their squad, and obviously when their chief rivals have Kevin De Bruyne it's hard not to see it.

Wouldn't blame Klopp, though, aside from him being the one to push for Keita I assume? His team created more, he didn't make any particularly bad calls in the first XI or subs and one piece of magic from of Salah or TAA instead of a bunch of 7/10 deliveries and they probably win it.
I feel they need a world class striker and not depend on Jota, Diaz for big matches.
They’re creating chances but their attackers couldn’t convert those is their issue. If they sign someone like Lewa, I’m sure he’ll help them with more goals in important matches.
 

GinobiliTheGOAT

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Mar 29, 2022
Messages
964
I feel they need a world class striker and not depend on Jota, Diaz for big matches.
They’re creating chances but their attackers couldn’t convert those is their issue. If they sign someone like Lewa, I’m sure he’ll help them with more goals in important matches.
lewa is headed to Barca
 

NoPace

Full Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
9,340
I feel they need a world class striker and not depend on Jota, Diaz for big matches.
They’re creating chances but their attackers couldn’t convert those is their issue. If they sign someone like Lewa, I’m sure he’ll help them with more goals in important matches.
Jota was poor. I think Mane moving central was fine, but Jota coming on to play wide was probably Klopp's worst choice. Jota's best stuff that I've seen is all in the box and poacher-y. Felt like they had very little creatively from the left since they shut down Robertson well with Valverde being such a good defensive option down the right.
 

Emperor

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Oct 15, 2020
Messages
30
Supports
Ajax
So it should just be the manager of the champions each year? Might as well abolish the award in that case.

They have obviously taken into account the domestic cups. Not saying they should have, since it's PL manager of the season, but it's clear that they have. Had City won one of the two cups, it would likely (and rightfully) have been Pep.
That will close the door for English managers.