Liverpool 2020-21

[Zlatan 7]

So now prove to me that those injuries are down to our style of play then?

Alisson is a keeper, Keita, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Matip are always injured. None of that is down to Klopp. We could cope with them being injured in the past but once they are out and your starting XI players get injured for some reason or another, you'll struggle.

Apart from this whole "injury crisis" discussion, it's just the fact that people (not necessarily you) are so quick to jump on our injuries to have a dig at Klopp that annoys me. It's not our style that caused those injuries. It's not Klopp running his players into the ground. It's just bad injury luck in one season, which happens to every team. It's also not an excuse. Saying that we've struggled with injuries is not an excuse as to why we've been shit the last month. It's just a statement. When Utd had their "injury crisis" moments the last few seasons, it was just "terrible luck with injuries" rather than "Ole is running his team into the ground" as well.

I asked the question because when I was reading down through the thread I seen you mention that klopp hadn’t run the team into the ground you’ve only got 2 injuries (who were there last year) and they’re not even muscle injuries. That made me think oh right I thought they were having an injury crisis, so I asked, then after firstly biting you listed 5 or 6 more players out, I’m assuming they are down to muscle injuries and wondered why you initially left them out of your argument.

that is all. I couldn’t give a feck about using injuries to have a go at klopp, I think he’s a nob and he does enough for me to dislike without me having to make stuff up about injuries

 

[taribhumpu]

I asked the question because when I was reading down through the thread I seen you mention that klopp hadn’t run the team into the ground you’ve only got 2 injuries (who were there last year) and they’re not even muscle injuries. That made me think oh right I thought they were having an injury crisis, so I asked, then after firstly biting you listed 5 or 6 more players out, I’m assuming they are down to muscle injuries and wondered why you initially left them out of your argument.

that is all. I couldn’t give a feck about using injuries to have a go at klopp, I think he’s a nob and he does enough for me to dislike without me having to make stuff up about injuries

I dont disagree that if we had klopp, then we would have definitely won multiple titles and CL. However at this point he is no more than a tool

 

[Bubz27]

We'd be going absolutely mental if I United were doing what Liverpool are doing today, wouldn't we?

Signing a 25 year old Championship defender and a youngster or two around Europe on deadline day when this problem has been evident since October.

 

[RobinLFC]

We'd be going absolutely mental if I United were doing what Liverpool are doing today, wouldn't we?

Signing a 25 year old Championship defender and a youngster or two around Europe on deadline day when this problem has been evident since October.

Why so? The club is addressing a problem, I'm actually quite delighted that we've managed to bring in not one but two actual defenders.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

They've signed much needed bodies to help with what is left of their defence. Don't think either of their signings today are particularly longterm but they are desperate.

 

[united_99]

Why so? The club is addressing a problem, I'm actually quite delighted that we've managed to bring in not one but two actual defenders.

I think the post is more related to United fans going crazy and blaming the board when we made deadline day signings (Cavani & Telles) when we could have signed them earlier. Similar with Liverpool, it has been clear for ages that you needed a CB and you leave it to the last day.
But the inner workings no one knows, I am sure the clubs have their reasons for these delays.

 

[Liver_bird]

I think the post is more related to United fans going crazy and blaming the board when we made deadline day signings (Cavani & Telles) when we could have signed them earlier. Similar with Liverpool, it has been clear for ages that you needed a CB and you leave it to the last day.
But the inner workings no one knows, I am sure the clubs have their reasons for these delays.

I get that but it’s also baffling we’ve left it this late and are actively bidding for players after briefing all month we’ve got no money despite being down the the literal bare bones. Caleta-car is the best defender we could get right now and would actually be a very good signing however due to us leaving it late Marseille won’t sanction the deal. So we’re having to get whoever we can. Kabak and Davies will help us manage the workload of the other players and will play around important CL fixtures hopefully but I don’t expect to see the starting cbs changed much

 

[Klopper76]

We had to act today after Matip's injury looking like it's long term. Never seen Kabak play but I feel like he'll allow Henderson to move back into midfield.

 

[TheGame]

Any Liverpool fans know why Van Der Berg isn't playing? Meant to have been highly rated when signed.

 

[RobinLFC]

We had to act today after Matip's injury looking like it's long term. Never seen Kabak play but I feel like he'll allow Henderson to move back into midfield.

I'd even take a chance on Philips/Williams/Davies and Kabak if it means we finally get to see a Fabinho-Thiago-Henderson/Wijnaldum midfield, especially against the smaller sides.

 

[Bubz27]

Why so? The club is addressing a problem, I'm actually quite delighted that we've managed to bring in not one but two actual defenders.

Wouldn't you have preferred them bought in earlier in the window? You might still be in the FA Cup, might still be top of the league?

Anyway, the point is Liverpool have been lauded here for how they've been run recently (sold Solanke for £20m? How? Basically swapped Coutinho for VvD and Alison) and rightly so. So only fair to call it when they're running around on deadline day signing unproven players when they've had plenty of time.

And I don't buy the Matip injury as the tipping point. Any Liverpool fan I've spoken to has said all along they need a CB and Matip is injury prone at the best of times, let alone when he would have to be relied upon to play twice a week for the foreseeable.

 

[RobinLFC]

Wouldn't you have preferred them bought in earlier in the window? You might still be in the FA Cup, might still be top of the league?

I would also have preferred Mbappe, but real life football clubs aren't run as my FIFA career team. I'm sure there are good reasons why it lasted until today to get the deals over the line. It's pointless to fret over things that didn't happen.

Anyway, the point is Liverpool have been lauded here for how they've been run recently (sold Solanke for £20m? How? Basically swapped Coutinho for VvD and Alison) and rightly so. So only fair to call it when they're running around on deadline day signing unproven players when they've had plenty of time.

And I don't buy the Matip injury as the tipping point. Any Liverpool fan I've spoken to has said all along they need a CB and Matip is injury prone at the best of times, let alone when he would have to be relied upon to play twice a week for the foreseeable.

If the reliable journos are to be believed, Kabak was on our radar since last summer so he's not a panic buy. And adding depth for £2m is almost always a good deal.

 

[Bubz27]

I would also have preferred Mbappe, but real life football clubs aren't run as my FIFA career team. I'm sure there are good reasons why it lasted until today to get the deals over the line. It's pointless to fret over things that didn't happen.


If the reliable journos are to be believed, Kabak was on our radar since last summer so he's not a panic buy. And adding depth for £2m is almost always a good deal.

Great attitude to have. I'm sure Pickford not getting sent off for his tackle on Van Dijk didn't bother you in the slightest. Or some of those marginal offsides that have gone against you. No point fretting.

And I never said Kaban, or anyone, was a panic buy, did I? Just said he's unproven, which he is.

 

[Klopper76]

Wouldn't you have preferred them bought in earlier in the window? You might still be in the FA Cup, might still be top of the league?

Anyway, the point is Liverpool have been lauded here for how they've been run recently (sold Solanke for £20m? How? Basically swapped Coutinho for VvD and Alison) and rightly so. So only fair to call it when they're running around on deadline day signing unproven players when they've had plenty of time.

And I don't buy the Matip injury as the tipping point. Any Liverpool fan I've spoken to has said all along they need a CB and Matip is injury prone at the best of times, let alone when he would have to be relied upon to play twice a week for the foreseeable.

I don't think we planned on buying a CB until Matip got injured against Spurs. Losing him, Fabinho, Van Dijk & Gomez was a bit of a disaster. If Fabinho was still fit I'm not sure we would've been as active today.

 

[RobinLFC]

Great attitude to have. I'm sure Pickford not getting sent off for his tackle on Van Dijk didn't bother you in the slightest. Or some of those marginal offsides that have gone against you. No point fretting.

Exactly.

And I never said Kaban, or anyone, was a panic buy, did I? Just said he's unproven, which he is.

This:

So only fair to call it when they're running around on deadline day signing unproven players when they've had plenty of time.

Sounded to me like you think it's a panic buy. Our defense hasn't been the problem since the start of the transfer window, I don't think it would've made any difference to have him available for one or two weeks extra.

Proven or not means very little.

 

[njred]

All the speculation aside about our issues this season and it comes down to injuries. It’s not how many, it’s the way or formation has changed. Allison- TAA-Gomez-Robertson/Henderson-Fabinho-Thiago(Wijnaldum)/Mane-Firminio(Jota)-Salah
This team wins the league easily. We all agree on that.

 

[Bubz27]

I don't think we planned on buying a CB until Matip got injured against Spurs. Losing him, Fabinho, Van Dijk & Gomez was a bit of a disaster. If Fabinho was still fit I'm not sure we would've been as active today.

That doesn't seem a great way to go about things imo.

 

[Bubz27]

Exactly.


This:

Sounded to me like you think it's a panic buy. Our defense hasn't been the problem since the start of the transfer window, I don't think it would've made any difference to have him available for one or two weeks extra.

Proven or not means very little.

You're a better man than me. Imagine never letting anything bother you because there's no point. Genuinely wish I could be like that with football.

That's fine, it can sound like however you want. I didn't say it so that's pretty clear in my eyes.

And proven absolutely does mean something. Like you yourself said, you'd prefer Mbappe. There's probably a reason why you chose Mbappe rather than Ansu Fati for example. However good Fati is for a 17 year old, Mbappe's more proven.

Also, on one hand you say depth for £2m is never a bad deal then you say it wouldn't have made a difference to have him over the last few weeks. I don't know mate, seems a bit hypocritical. He would've of coded you with depth which surely makes a difference? Ah no bother anyway.

My initial point was those United fans who do fret, would've been fretting at us waiting to sign a player in a position we desperately need on deadline day rather than a few weeks earlier. Especially when it could've helped us beat our bitterest rivals twice.

 

[RobinLFC]

You're a better man than me. Imagine never letting anything bother you because there's no point. Genuinely wish I could be like that with football.

That's fine, it can sound like however you want. I didn't say it so that's pretty clear in my eyes.

And proven absolutely does mean something. Like you yourself said, you'd prefer Mbappe. There's probably a reason why you chose Mbappe rather than Ansu Fati for example. However good Fati is for a 17 year old, Mbappe's more proven.

Also, on one hand you say depth for £2m is never a bad deal then you say it wouldn't have made a difference to have him over the last few weeks. I don't know mate, seems a bit hypocritical. He would've of coded you with depth which surely makes a difference? Ah no bother anyway.

Robertson was unproven, so was Gomez, so were countless others. I could give you a thousand proven names who flopped after a transfer, you should know with Alexis and Di Maria. There's so many factors going into a decision. Kabak is 20 years old and has already been a starter (I think?) in the Bundesliga. Good enough for me. We wouldn't have been able to sign an Mbappe caliber defender this window anyway so it was always gonna be someone like Kabak or Caleta-Car.

How is it hypocritical? It would also not have been a bad deal two weeks ago, but unless you think we would've won against Burnley with him in the team after only a few days of training, then it wouldn't have made any difference at all because we won against Spurs and West Ham without him anyway.

My initial point was those United fans who do fret, would've been fretting at us waiting to sign a player in a position we desperately need on deadline day rather than a few weeks earlier. Especially when it could've helped us beat our bitterest rivals twice.

But instead they could also just be happy that Utd got it done in the end rather than ending up signing no one. That is how I feel right now.

 

[manny_67]

Any Liverpool fans know why Van Der Berg isn't playing? Meant to have been highly rated when signed.

He’s 13 years old.

 

[Bubz27]

Robertson was unproven, so was Gomez, so were countless others. I could give you a thousand proven names who flopped after a transfer, you should know with Alexis and Di Maria. There's so many factors going into a decision. Kabak is 20 years old and has already been a starter (I think?) in the Bundesliga. Good enough for me. We wouldn't have been able to sign an Mbappe caliber defender this window anyway so it was always gonna be someone like Kabak or Caleta-Car.

How is it hypocritical? It would also not have been a bad deal two weeks ago, but unless you think we would've won against Burnley with him in the team after only a few days of training, then it wouldn't have made any difference at all because we won against Spurs and West Ham without him anyway.


But instead they could also just be happy that Utd got it done in the end rather than ending up signing no one. That is how I feel right now.

Robertson had played a season in the premiership. Gomez wasn't bought to fix an immediate hole in the squad. I'm well aware proven players aren't the be all and end all. United have played a few unproven players in the first team in my lifetime.

I know you wouldn't have been able to sign an Mbappe level defender. You did bring him up initially, somewhat facetiously I felt.

Absolutely, like I said. I'd love to be like you and never fret. Of course it's better to get a deal done than not at all. Just a feeling of what could've been, but you obviously don't think that way. I still wonder what could've happened if we'd got Bruno in the summer instead of waiting until the end of January. But that's just me.

 

[saint Jose]

I asked the question because when I was reading down through the thread I seen you mention that klopp hadn’t run the team into the ground you’ve only got 2 injuries (who were there last year) and they’re not even muscle injuries. That made me think oh right I thought they were having an injury crisis, so I asked, then after firstly biting you listed 5 or 6 more players out, I’m assuming they are down to muscle injuries and wondered why you initially left them out of your argument.

that is all. I couldn’t give a feck about using injuries to have a go at klopp, I think he’s a nob and he does enough for me to dislike without me having to make stuff up about injuries

Possible move for Chamberlain to Old Trafford in the summer on the cards? moved to Wilmslow last month, dropped to the beach out of favor with the club.. clear that he isn't happy at liverpool so who knows?

 

[Klopper76]

That doesn't seem a great way to go about things imo.

We've made some losses during Covid so I think FSG are trying to be tight regarding funds. They put up a lot of money towards Thiago & Jota. That's why these two CB signings are with small fees attached, and Kabak isn't even permanent at the moment just a loan.

 

[thegregster]

Possible move for Chamberlain to Old Trafford in the summer on the cards? moved to Wilmslow last month, dropped to the beach out of favor with the club.. clear that he isn't happy at liverpool so who knows?

We dont need another Lingard.

 

[Liver_bird]

Getting two cbs in for a combined fee of 3 million is the best we could have done today shy of convincing Marseille to sell us DCC. The club rightly should be criticised for allowing it to reach this point as he was clearly already available. With three cbs practically unavailable since October the club should have been rubber stamping a cb for January 1st. It was complete negligence to go through January without one.

I’m hoping the two new lads can prove good purchases and in kabaks case earn himself a move, however from the little I’ve seen and read of him he’s not really the best fit and looks like lovren mk2 but worse. He’s also 20 and not many cbs that age play for top clubs because they’re understandably very raw and mistake ridden. The one thing it does do is ease the workload on the players we have and allow us to rotate against certain sides. DCC is the one that could have slotted right in and has the attributes to succeed in our system. It’s going to be a battle till the end of the season and hopefully Matip can string 10 games together but I’m not holding out hope for that.

 

[TheLiverBird]

I think Liverpool fans just have confidence in our recruitment

Not always perfect but it’s been Damn site better than most since Klopps arrival

It’s abit of a gamble in a way but a necessary one I feel

I’m sure we probably do have the money for a more known name, but then with there being a pandemic and injured top players to eventually return to the starting x, can we afford to have another player on relatively high wages etc pushed to the bench

It’s a balance I guess

I think for less than £3 million, the 2 players we got may very well end up being very shroud business

Or atleast I hope so

 

[RainyDays_10]

Personally, the criticism of us signing a couple of centre backs today smacks of worry and concern. Our rivals were probably hoping we didn’t sign anyone and just let our current CB crisis continue.

Now that we’ve signed a couple (one yet to be confirmed, but looks to be happening), it has probably annoyed them, as we could suddenly look flush in depth all over the pitch again and go on a bit of a winning run, with actual centre backs in our squad, after beating Spurs and West Ham convincingly without any, bar a very inexperienced back up player (Phillips), so it’s fairly predictable that they’re looking for ways to play it down.

 

[croadyman]

There is no doubt that Michael Edwards is a proven transfer guru and it so pains me to admit that as a Utd fan, sadly we are still lumbered with that utterly useless toy story puppet who couldn't negotiate his way out of a paper bag.

 

[Klopper76]

Apparently Matip's injury is very serious which is why we acted today. As bad as VVD and Gomez's injuries were.

 

[Liver_bird]

Personally, the criticism of us signing a couple of centre backs today smacks of worry and concern. Our rivals were probably hoping we didn’t sign anyone and just let our current CB crisis continue.

Now that we’ve signed a couple (one yet to be confirmed, but looks to be happening), it has probably annoyed them, as we could suddenly look flush in depth all over the pitch again and go on a bit of a winning run, with actual centre backs in our squad, after beating Spurs and West Ham convincingly without any, bar a very inexperienced back up player (Phillips), so it’s fairly predictable that they’re looking for ways to play it down.

The fact we’ve left it to deadline day is worthy of criticism. The fact we only retracted this stance of spending nothing seemingly after another 2 defensive injuries one of which was guaranteed to happen smacks of negligence. Whether the lads coming in are of the required quality remains to be seen. Davies looks good, kabak I’m not at all convinced by but he’s the best we could get right not and it’s better than nothing. Will it be enough to have serious go at the league and CL who knows. The fact is a much better and well suited option in DCC was available all window and last and we took till deadline day to make a move. We’ve done fantastically well today to get the deals done especially for the fees which structure wise point to the fact we have cash flow issues and our owners aren’t bailing us out with money. Nevertheless under klopp and Edwards the structure is great and we have a good squad.

But the fact is despite being one of the best run clubs in the world at present I can’t think of too many other top clubs who’d have let it get this far pandemic notwithstanding. Considering our quality and city’s poor form at the beginning of the season this was a great opportunity for a back to back title and no 20. It’s still possible, but we have made it much harder for ourselves then it needed to be.

 

[Klopper76]

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[Liver_bird]

Apparently Matip's injury is very serious which is why we acted today. As bad as VVD and Gomez's injuries were.

Where are you hearing this? Makes sense though why we moved for two centre halves. Also Klopp saying it wasn’t serious makes sense in light of trying to strengthen our negotiation position.

 

[Liver_bird]

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That’s a huge blow, all the more galling we didn’t get DCC, Kobak/Davies/Phillips/Hendo and Fabinho will have some serious work to do at the back this season. He’s such an immense defender but his body is constantly letting him down for the last 18 months. It’s a huge shame.

 

[Liver_bird]

Genuinely can’t recall the last time we or any top club had 3 first choice centre halves sustaining season ending injuries.

 

[DoubleDinhos]

Zero chance of competing with City with that news. Has any team ever lost their first, second and third best centre back to season ending injuries in a single season?

 

[Rozay]

Kabak is a quality young centre half. I brought him up as an alternative when the conversation on here was more about the young French centre halves. He’s a proper defender, first and foremost. Happy to be judged for his defending more than his playmaking. He reminds me of John Terry in style.

I always liked him, although as he’s not rapid, he wasn’t my very first choice for United considering he’d be partnering Harry.

 

[Liver_bird]

Zero chance of competing with City with that news. Has any team ever lost their first, second and third best centre back to season ending injuries in a single season?

Can’t think of an occasion ever. Ridiculous season.

 

[smi11ie]

I am sure Klopp will get a tune out of both of them. They might be short term but it has definately improved Liverpool's chances. Manchester United could buy all the best players in the world and not improve. The winning mentality has to be nurtured. Utd have that semi-finalist also-ran mentality. Hopefully Ole can inspire them to trophies.

 

[charlenefan]

All 3 first choice CB's ruled out for the season is incredibly unlucky

Couldn't happen to a better team

 

[Klopper76]

I didn't realize it but this is the extent of our injuries this season:

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The CB situation is incredibly unlucky. Usually you only lose one player to an injury like that.