Champions League SF draw

Originally Posted by Wellinever

Googles newsstand app is saying Roma were offering tickets for the Liverpool game on THURSDAY evening, almost 24 hours before the draw took place!


UEFA is looking into it? So that's all right then!

You are deffo a city fan

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Liverpool team that started at Crytanbul.

Mignolet
Johnson
Skrtel
Sahko
Flanagan
Gerrard
Lucas
Allen
Sterling
Sturridge
Suarez

With Coutinho and Moses off the bench.

None of those players are around now, they had to rebuild from scratch.

Not a single player left from that team is interesting.

What worries me a little about them at the moment is the club is working the market quite well.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Not a single player left from that team is interesting.

What worries me a little about them at the moment is the club is working the market quite well.

Yep.

Salah and Firmino incredible buys, obviously. The Ox was derided at the time but he’s fitted in seamlessly. Van Dijk was certainly overpriced, but he’s improved their defence immensely.

Selling Coutinho for £140m and not missing him one bit is looking like even more of a master stroke with every average performance he puts in for Barca

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Not a single player left from that team is interesting.

What worries me a little about them at the moment is the club is working the market quite well.

Confirmed by their identification of attacking player especially. All tend to fit the same patterns, quick, mobile, capable of pressing from the front and playing at high tempo. They are more than the sum of their parts, a midfield of Milner, Chamberlain and Henderson/Wijnaldum has a more than decent chance of winning the CL.

Can not look at the Liverpool and Utd squads and believe that player for player Liverpool have anywhere near as much quality as Utd. They are overachieving, which is one mark of good coaching but they have built a squad that actually fits playing together. The difficulty will be maintaining that as they look to progress. Think of Utd in 06/07, some of the best football I have seen Utd play, supreme chemistry, but faded due to workload on a smallish squad.

All this said (and I agree with the worries), we will still finish approx equal to them this season, and next season will be a Mourinho season

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Liverpool team that started at Crytanbul.

Mignolet
Johnson
Skrtel
Sahko
Flanagan
Gerrard
Lucas
Allen
Sterling
Sturridge
Suarez

With Coutinho and Moses off the bench.

None of those players are around now, they had to rebuild from scratch.

Klopp has done a great job taking on that squad in october 2015 and then gradually changing it, but that title challenge is in recent memory and is in the air of the club.

We've changed loads of players from the moyes season but the air of loserness is still around, even to this day.

Truth is we are 7 pts ahead of them if we win our game in hand. Lets calm down a little. Klopp is great though as i've always said and has had them overachieve extremely.

Originally Posted by Ethers

Yep.

Salah and Firmino incredible buys, obviously. The Ox was derided at the time but he’s fitted in seamlessly. Van Dijk was certainly overpriced, but he’s improved their defence immensely.

Selling Coutinho for £140m and not missing him one bit is looking like even more of a master stroke with every average performance he puts in for Barca

Originally Posted by Tiberian

Confirmed by their identification of attacking player especially. All tend to fit the same patterns, quick, mobile, capable of pressing from the front and playing at high tempo. They are more than the sum of their parts, a midfield of Milner, Chamberlain and Henderson/Wijnaldum has a more than decent chance of winning the CL.

Can not look at the Liverpool and Utd squads and believe that player for player Liverpool have anywhere near as much quality as Utd. They are overachieving, which is one mark of good coaching but they have built a squad that actually fits playing together. The difficulty will be maintaining that as they look to progress. Think of Utd in 06/07, some of the best football I have seen Utd play, supreme chemistry, but faded due to workload on a smallish squad.

The Van Dijk one quite telling. Could easily have looked elsewhere but were determined to get him, to the point of waiting six months. I wondered if it looked a lack of creativity but it seems they are very clear on what they want. Keita is a very good player too.

Example of the transfer bods upstairs being on the same wavelength as the manager.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

The Van Dijk one quite telling. Could easily have looked elsewhere but were determined to get him, to the point of waiting six months. I wondered if it looked a lack of creativity but it seems they are very clear on what they want. Keita is a very good player too.

Example of the transfer bods upstairs being on the same wavelength as the manager.

Klopp goes to Bayern in the summer and they finally get that CL back (assuming big Heynckes doesnt do it this season and real madrid threepeat). Real also sniffing round.

For some reason Klopp was mocked by many on here as just a german cheerleader when he is way too good for the scouse. If they give him a serious amount of money and not just 50% of sales they could be dangerous next season in the league.

I guess only way klopp was gonna get respect on here was to attack mou!!

Originally Posted by saffers

Klopp goes to Bayern in the summer and they finally get that CL back (assuming big Heynckes doesnt do it this season and real madrid threepeat). Real also sniffing round.

For some reason Klopp was mocked by many on here as just a german cheerleader when he is way too good for the scouse. If they give him a serious amount of money and not just 50% of sales they could be dangerous next season in the league.

I guess only way klopp was gonna get respect on here was to attack mou!!

Bayern have already hired Niko Kovac, haven't they?

Originally Posted by Sandman

Bayern have already hired Niko Kovac, haven't they?

Wow just checked and its confirmed. That's a potential L. But maybe these guys know what they're doing.

Originally Posted by saffers

Klopp has done a great job taking on that squad in october 2015 and then gradually changing it, but that title challenge is in recent memory and is in the air of the club.

We've changed loads of players from the moyes season but the air of loserness is still around, even to this day.

Truth is we are 7 pts ahead of them if we win our game in hand. Lets calm down a little. Klopp is great though as i've always said and has had them overachieve extremely.

There is an element, more than than an element, of using Moyes and LVG as excuses in those first 2 sentences. Reaching I would say.

I don't like this continual harking back to what previous managers did as an excuse for the failings of the present. That was definitely a phenomena under LVG, many of the worrying signs present early in his reign were chalked off as part of the process of De-Moyesing Utd. Moyes has been enough of a punch bag at this point, he was only here for 7 months ffs.

Not worried about Liverpool in the league next season despite thinking that Klopp has done a fine job. Financially they are unlikely to be able to compete with Utd and City over a full program, definitely a threat in the cups though. At this stage I would expect Utd and City to build a gap to the rest with Chelsea falling away.

Originally Posted by Drexl

All this said (and I agree with the worries), we will still finish approx equal to them this season, and next season will be a Mourinho season

The Mourinho season is usually his second year. Shock etc but I think he’s under big pressure next year to deliver a proper challenge. Will be a huge task to overhaul City but you hire Mourinho to win the big trophies, given he leaves little framework.

Left a great framework at chelsea and real tbf

Originally Posted by Ethers

Yep.

Salah and Firmino incredible buys, obviously. The Ox was derided at the time but he’s fitted in seamlessly. Van Dijk was certainly overpriced, but he’s improved their defence immensely.

Selling Coutinho for £140m and not missing him one bit is looking like even more of a master stroke with every average performance he puts in for Barca

Keita too, who is apparently a top player?

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

The Mourinho season is usually his second year. Shock etc but I think he’s under big pressure next year to deliver a proper challenge. Will be a huge task to overhaul City but you hire Mourinho to win the big trophies, given he leaves little framework.

I agree.

He said it would take 3 years to turn us around. This being his third year the pressure is all is own making.

I will be honest, I love the man But I'm also not married to him.

I believe, for no reason other than his past and goodwill, that next season will be mint.

Originally Posted by AK14

Keita too, who is apparently a top player?

I keep forgetting they’ve got him too. He looks very good, but as we’ve seen before making the step from the Bundesliga to the Prem isn’t always nailed on.

Fingers crossed he struggles

Originally Posted by Ethers

I keep forgetting they’ve got him too. He looks very good, but as we’ve seen before making the step from the Bundesliga to the Prem isn’t always nailed on.

Fingers crossed he struggles

Hope so...

They’re building a decent looking squad and if they sign Alison from Roma and perhaps another quality midfielder they’ll challenge next season

Just hope we go for the right players and not chase the galactico shit.