[Closed] A 2015/16 Football Thread

do they want to move or does Klopp want them gone?

I imagine he's been prmised ££ to spend during the Summer. He's done what he's done with a squad not of his own making. Benteke was always on the cards to go. Coutinho would be a loss I think. As would Henderson. The others can go if he can raise decent money from them. Lallana has been a disappointing signing IMO.

Christ knows, they need some kind of international class defence.

Coutinho & Firmino are world class,albeit the latter is a luxury. They'll want European footie.
Lallana has said it'd take an "amazing" offer to move....hello Spurs/hammers. I like him fwiw.
Sturridge has said he wants to stay but he's a bit high maintenance/moody for my liking.
Kolo's brother is supposed to be looking for a move ,he s better than both Henderson & sadly Allen.

Firmino is world class? I think LFC are by in large on the up , and I think a fair few players would be very keen to keep working with Klopp. People like lallana though are at an age where CL is real draw

Lallana looks decent enough but he's not scored or created enough - works hard but if they get a decent offer they should take it. Moreno is poor defensively which is his main function. Can't see how he'll figure long term. Sturridge is class but his fragility and the way he strolls about sometimes, hmmmm, not sure Klopp trusts him. And then there's the goalie....

If they can keep their better players I'd back them for the top 4 with no European football as a distraction.

Moreno is poor defensively which is his main function.

In the new football world defending seems to be a dying art, look at the dross that are David Luiz, Phil Jones, Mamadou Sakho and John Stones, to name a few.

what a disaster...absolutely mortified that we chucked it away last night. we had the chances in the first half and should have done better...we managed to reduce them to playing the long ball in the first half...whether it was their tactic to do this doesnt matter....we should have capitalised on it and got more than just the one goal
having said that you would have thought that in the first 10 minutes of the second half we would have held it together, expecting sevilla to go on the attack and try and weather the storm...but no...moreno has to demonstrate his comedic defensive qualities with that equalising goal...after that they clearly had liverpool on the ropes as the midfield went AWOL

klopp has a massive re-building job to do now...problem is he has a number of players who dont deserve to be playing at the club on big contracts and will the hard to move on without taking a big hit on the financially

mignolet, moreno, toure, allen, benteke all need to find new clubs
skrtel, sturridge, lallana, lovren, sakho are just about hanging on by the skin of their teeth
coutinho needed a kick up the backside last night...was completely anonymous last night as was firmino

looks like next season will be yet another "transitional" season....again(!)

klopp has a massive re-building job to do now.

The trouble is that at the moment there are a number of clubs saying that they 'need to rebuild'. City, United, Chelsea, and now Liverpool. Where are all these world class players all going to come from then, for this rebuilding process?

i imagine that a number of agents are rubbing their hands with glee, and that a load of players who look anywhere near half decent for more than 10 minutes in the Euros will be commanding ludicrous transfer fees.

problem is he has a number of players who dont deserve to be playing at the club on big contracts and will the hard to move on without taking a big hit on the financially

Jordon Henderson has a contract until 2020 that guarantees him £100,000+ 😯

Whoever his agent is, I wish he was doing my salary negotiations

spot on binners!!
especially when you look at the recent european track record of english clubs...its going to be hard to entice players over to england
unless you're a club with limitless wealth that doesnt mind paying £20M for mediocre players who at best are squad players or reserves...i dont know where these world class players will come from
to add to that united, chelsea, arsenal and city will also be also rebuilding this summer...i havent the foggiest how liverpool will be able to compete with them in the transfer market...no european football on offer and probably no where near the available transfer funds as the other clubs

When was the last time Liverpool purchased a player who was regarded as world class (Before he signed for you).

Liverpool are at the second tier of signings unfortunately. Potential or flaws but there are only a few clubs that compete for truly world class players and that aint liverpool with no european football.

Klopp is the perfect manager for them because you need to hope he can polish a few gems for you and raise the levels of what is already there. Man utd spent £250m and have arguably gone backwards. Another £250m and i wouldnt be surprised to see them not win the league again next season. Its not all about signing big names

Moreno is poor defensively which is his main function

He is not even that good is utterly inept at defending

Sturridge is class but his fragility

Agree there are lots of teams needing to rebuild and a dearth of good quality players

Almost no decent defender who are native and not many more if you scour the globe.

Its interesting we get great athletes these days but not great players

When was the last time Liverpool purchased a player who was regarded as world class

Define world class.

world class = top drawer 😉

one of the best in the world in their position

Almost no decent defender who are native and not many more if you scour the globe.

Still, if Clyne and Lallana want to further their careers at a club playing in europe then they know who to call 😀

Also, it's a shame Chambers gambled his career on Arsenal. In he and Clyne we had two first choice right backs to be used situationally.

Why should i define world class? Its open to interpretation and imo liverpool havent signed a world class player in decades. Mind you neither have most other teamsin the prem so its nowt to be ashamed of.

Shirley world class is the best , or perhaps top 3 in the world in that position..,?

Lovren has been pretty decent this season considering how poor he was last season. He and Sakho seemed to be developing a bit of a partnership until Sakho's brain fade. Toure was really good last night - might be worth year deal! Moreno gets no assistance from Coutinho if there is to be any defence of him and I'm not sure why Klopp doesn't play Flanagan at left back instead. Perhaps he's not yet fully fit after his long lay off?

The defence has been problematic for years though. I believe it does all start with the keeper though - players know Mignolet's a liability despite him doing better recently and are just waiting for his next mistake or flap at a cross. Not sure why he got a new deal - maybe to seek a better fee if he is sold?

I do think Skertl deserves a special mention last night for getting a yellow card from the comfort of the bench. Special!

Why should i define world class?

I only ask, as I'm wondering how many world class players have came to the Premiership in general.

In recent years, the best players in the world have been IMO -

Ronaldo (not before he went to Manchester United)
Messi
Zlatan
Zidane
Ronaldinho
Fat Ronaldo
Rivaldo....

Just off the top of my head. So how many world class, in their pomp, players have came to the premiership? None of those above certainly, so it goes that the fact LFC haven't signed any isn't actually a huge surprise, as you say later in your post, granted.

The trouble is that at the moment there are a number of clubs saying that they 'need to rebuild'. City, United, Chelsea, and now Liverpool. Where are all these world class players all going to come from then, for this rebuilding process?

Building a team isn't about signing the best, I'd have thought this season has proved that.

Moreno gets no assistance from Coutinho if there is to be any defence of him and I'm not sure why Klopp doesn't play Flanagan at left back instead. Perhaps he's not yet fully fit after his long lay off?

The defence has been problematic for years though. I believe it does all start with the keeper though - players know Mignolet's a liability despite him doing better recently and are just waiting for his next mistake or flap at a cross. Not sure why he got a new deal - maybe to seek a better fee if he is sold?

maybe so that moreno doesnt get enough support from coutinho defensively...but even when coutinho isnt playing moreno is still a very poor defender...he looks lively when going forward and i'll give him credit for being pacy but thats about it.
his shooting is woeful and rash, so is his passing and crossing...its like as if he panics and then just hoofs the ball. his tackling of recent has been very bad...again he goes diving in with studs showing...i'm surprised he hasnt been sent off recently
coutinho had a very poor game last night...he should have come off instead of firmino
problem with moreno is that there hasnt been much competition for him this season...flanaghan has been injured for most of the season as has joe gomez...the less said about the social media king jose enrique the better...but even so he isnt good enough to be in the starting 11
mignolet is a liability...and maybe you're right that the new contract may have been t try and retain his value before being sold...but who would want him at that price/contract?
i've always said all along that bodgers made a massive cock up in getting rid of pepe reina...and i thik it showed in that season when we came second...some of the games we lost were down to some very poor goalkeeping from mignolet.

Nobearinthefridge i totally agree. Maybe possibly some of the united, city and chelski signings could be argued that they were at or near the top level but even then, your list defines what i would deem world class more precisely.

So given that there is no way liverpool can shop at those levels, where does the recent (10yrs) signings of Liverpool really place them. Personally i would say they are similar to Spurs but with a higher wage structure. Which hammers home my point that Klopp is the perfect manager for them.

The trouble is that West Ham, Stoke, Everton etc etc are now closing the financial gap that used to exist whereby fans demanding clubs improve by making signings are going to have to realise its not that simple. Everton signed Lukaku for best part of £30m. Stoke offered a player £100k per week. These clubs are able to resist being cherry picked for their best players financially at least.

Football has moved into a very interesting period.

You supposed 'big clubs' can keep signing the supposed 'world class' players.

We will hopefully continue down the avenue of building a 'world class' team instead 🙂

Nobeerinthefridge you list is about 10 years out of date on the whole and Zlatan isn't world class except in his own head. Some current world class players in the PL IMO, not everyone will agree.

S. Aguero
k. de bruyne
E. Hazard
De. Gea
H. Loris
T. Courtois
Ozil
Sanchez
Schweinsteiger
V. Kompany (if only he could stay fit)
H. Kane
Vardy (on this seasons form)
Mahrez (on this seasons form)
Martial
T. Alderweireld
C. Azpilicueta

When was the last time Liverpool purchased a player who was regarded as world class

you're right liverpool havent done this and you're also right in saying that no-one else has really in the premiership...only real madrid and barcelona seem capable of buying world class players

what i meant by the suggestion of buying world class players was more along the lines of those who have the potential to become world class in the near future...such as the likes of Alonso, Torres, Mascherano, Suarez etc...
obviously it is equally important to bring through youth players of genuine ability too such as the likes of Owen, Gerard, Carragher etc

however should a genuine world class player become available at the right price then they should seriously consider bidding but without the prospect of any european football next season its difficult to draw them in

I am a spurs supporter and there is no way i would class any of the spurs players world class.

Lets put it this way, Harry Kane is fantastic, but he has 1(One) assist for the entire season. In the same season Suarez at Barelona has about 40 goals and 30 assists (Guesses but i know the figures are high).

If Kane is world class then we need another accolade for those who actually perform at this higher level.

Even then, if Liverpool fancied any of those players, how many do you think they are capable of signing? These 'questionable' world class players.

Dragon you started well then went downhill . Kane is absolutely brilliant , as are loris and martial, but not world class. There are at least three better keepers in the PL than Loris for example . All IMHO of course . I love debates like this !

These 'questionable' world class players.

which questionable world class players are you referring to? you've kind of lost me there

I think world class may be a bit strong and could be replaced by "looking very good in a decent league" and whom would not look out of place starting for Barca, Real Madrid or Bayern. Players that fit this criteria and have moved to the Premiership over the past few years would include:

Silva
Aguero
Mata
Diego Costa
Di Maria
Kevin De Bryne

Obviously some players blossomed after moves from other leagues (Suarez, Hazard) or showed more skills than they were commonly perceived to have (Yaya).

The days of Liverpool being able to compete for the headline players are over (for the moment) but Klopp has shown a good eye for a player so maybe they can emulate Tottenham's recent progress. They will have to accept that modern players no longer view them as anything special even if romantic dreamers such as Klopp do.

On keepers I had De Gea in that list also, and don't forget Loris is the current French national captain and they go into the Euros as one of the favourites.

On Harry Kane, for his club over the last 2 seasons he's scored 59 in all competitions, won the PL Golden Boot, and also scored 4 in 10 appearances for England. He isn't going to get many assists as he plays as an out and out front man, which is unlike how the Spanish play.

A world class striker for me is a guy who in the PL is going to bang in 20+ a season, and Aguero and Kane fit that bill.

Dragon, that's why I asked what the definition of world class is. If it is top 3 in the world in their position, I wouldn't have thought many of your list would make it.

[url= http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport/sport-headlines/chinese-tycoon-who-took-over-aston-villa-thought-he-was-buying-a-house-20160520108955 ]Quite amusing in the Mash[/url]

[url= https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/may/19/tony-xia-revamp-aston-villa-top-three-world-owner ]But not as funny as this[/url]

😆

🙂

But not as funny as this

[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/27387616 ]Ahem[/url]

So, tell me about Brendan Rodgers? 🙂

Yes that was a bit of a surprise!

Anyway, it's FA Cup Final day today and I sense it might be a shocker.

Palace will pack their final third and try and hit Utd on the break. Only Utd won't attack very much, so the number of chances will be minimal and the final outcome will be decided by a set price scramble or header!

So for that reason.........I'm out!

Honestly, I am looking forward to Dortmund/Bayern and Milan/Juve more today.

Shame the games overlap, but nothing the Tivo can't handle 😀

@bongo I've almost forgotten about Italian football it seems irrelevant. German domestic league is just so one sided. This years PL just brought that into even sharper focus, it was such a triumph.

That's a very narrow view to take, jambalaya. Well, in relation to Seria A at least. It's worth it just for Paul Pogba alone.

In respect to the PL, I think this year was an anomaly. It'll be business as usual next year.

Well this has the potential to be a truly awful game, with Palace no doubt sitting really deep, and United doing their usual sideways-sideways-backwards style of all-possession, no-threat football that has been so bloody infuriating to watch all season.

They'll try and hit us on the break, so no doubt he'll start with hair-n-elbows in midfield to clobber Zaha if he goes on a run. I Wouldn't be surprised to see the usual no shots on target in the first half, or maybe Palace even going one up on the break.

Hopefully then he'll let Martial do what he does in the second half, and he'll get us a result. He has come up with results we didn't deserve this season. Be nice to see Rashford get on the score sheet to top a fantastic first season too.

I think we'll do it in the usual workmanlike, uninspiring fashion, with a flash of inspiration from those two in the second half. Rooney to act as supplier for any goals, as he's not looked bad of late, and seems to have finally seen that his future lies in that midfield position, and not depriving younger, fitter players of opportunities up front.

I dread to think what Alan Pardew would be like if they won. He's a gobshite at the best of times.

it's a tough decision up on tyneside
http://www.themag.co.uk/2016/05/want-alan-pardew-manchester-united-win-fa-cup-final-vote-now-newcastle-united-crystal-palace/

I'd actually look forward to it if I thought LVG just said, "we're better than them, just go out and beat them and let Martial, Rashford, Mata do what they're good at..." And CP said "we'll soak it up and try and hit them on the break." That could be an entertaining game. Cup finals are usually dire though - and between the two managers, I'm not expecting much entertainment. You never know though, it can't be any worse than people are expecting. Obviously cheering for underdog while holding nose (Pardew) but would like to see Rashford and Martial let loose too and do well.

I had £6 left in my SkyBet account, so put on a couple of stupid bets.

At least it'll add a frisson of excitement to the game 🙂

think we'll do it in the usual workmanlike, uninspiring fashion, with a flash of inspiration from those two in the second half. Rooney to act as supplier for any goals,

Yes

It has 1-0 written all over it and I think whichever team scores wins

That said Palace have been dire all year and we would beat them 9 ties out of 10. However none of them will be entertaining or goal fests

Hopefully some brilliance from a Man u player rather than a Place counter attack decides it

'd actually look forward to it if I thought LVG just said, "we're better than them, just go out and beat them and let Martial, Rashford, Mata do what they're good at..."

Oh, and if we're doing predictions. 3-1 to Palace.

Have you put money on that Bongo?

The Scottish Cup has been absolutely blinding, first half! Probably the opposite of what's coming up after it. End to end stuff with loads of shots on target!

No. So I will be somewhat peeved if my prediction comes true 😀

3-0 Palace Zaha hat trick.

Alain De Pardeux to headbutt LVG

cant wait!

Oh they'll be singing Sunshine Over Leith this afternoon. 😀

Nice work Hibs.

Retro style ending there!

After our shambolic semi final, I'm delighted hibs stepped up! great scenes for them!

Rangers, hibsed it! 😆

Also Arsenal have made their first signing of the summer. Granit! #yeswekhan

check the nick of the goals!! 😆

I still remember the home game against Palace at the Emirates, which was another nail in Arsenals title challenge. They just defended as if their lives depended on it and their one shot went under Cech.

Of course Arsenals tactics on the day were all wrong, playing possession football meant Palace never tried to attack. Utd need to risk losing the ball, which will allow Palace to come out of their half and in turn give United space to attack themselves.

But will LVG work that out?

He'll write it down to analyse afterwards

Jeez, what's wrong with a marching band, Abide with Me and shaking hands with some 3rd tier royal.

GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!

What's all this nonsense?!!!

We're not like those frightful Americans!

You is not street innit Blud

Swimming on BBC 2 Let me know when the match starts !

Wait....did that poor girl forget to sing the anthem?

It's a slick operation this. I doubt Beyoncé feels too threatened

COME ON PALACE!!

I don't often, ok never, agree with Alan Green, but this time he's spot on.

"Whoever was responsible for the last 15 minutes, an utter shambles, should go away now and lock themselves in a darkened room."

Penalty

(Well, it wasn't)

I was in the car and listening on the radio for the start so didn't see what was happening and whether whatever it was was a shambles... But Alan Green (who I don't like much anyway!) was banging on about the final kicking off 5 mins late as if it was the end of the world, does anyone really give a monkeys?

For possibly the first time ever... Come on United!

Bit more 'action' than expected but that is because United trying to run through the palace bus , which isn't working so far. Fellani looking it's best hope!

Well.... So far, so predictable.

It does indeed look like hair'n'elbows from a set piece is the main threat

No one ever often agrees with alan green

sort of more interesting than I expected and then , at the same time, exactly as expected

Needs a goal tbh from either tem and both had chances

And after the opening 'performance' shambles, we now get to see the traditional Wembley site of the best seats in the house sit empty for the first 20 minutes of the second half, while the expensively upholstered corporate arses gracing them disinterestedly meander back from their half time champagne and canapés.

It's like a metaphor for this country really

Come on Utd!

Some dickhead said earlier in the thread that it couldn't be any worse than everyone was expecting. As usual, he was talking out of his arse.

🙄 scrolls back!

Edit : 😀

hair'n'elbows from a set piece

(If I was a corporate "neutral" I think I might have gone straight to the canapes from kick-off, givent the 2 teams in it this year)

OK red card or a goal..which will be first ?

Extra time and penalties?

Please no.....no one deserves that.

At least Utd are committing players forward which is creating half chances. But it's seriously difficult to break through a determined fit team like Palace

Ooh hope Rashford hasn't done ligaments. Andy Carrol will be unpacking his boots.

Hang on a minute. Is VG Really bringing Ashley Young on as a striker?!!!! Again?!!! FFS!!!!!!!! 😯

8)

Huh.

Yes extra time and penalties

That rooney is no attacker 😉