Liverpool FC Forum

[red till i die!!]

Are people surprised by the injury list?

Most of our central midfielders are injury prone. Naby and Ox should have been moved on long ago.

And I'm starting to worry that Hendo's best years are behind him, too.

No one outside of the club is surprised    Henderson has steadily declined over the last 2 years imo. Picks up a lot of injuries and tires quickly during games.

Absolutely shocked we are even offering Keita a new contract as well. He is far too unreliable to deserve a new one that he isnt signing. He was moaning about the gametime he gets but again another opportunity and he's got something wrong with him. is something going on in the background like him wanting a move and us not obliging. Strange the way he wasnt even in the squad last night.

[kazza]

Liverpool's poor start to season has four similarities to Klopp's final Dortmund campaign

LIVERPOOL are yet to win a match this season and have picked up just two Premier League points.

By TOM PARSONS
06:10, Wed, Aug 24,

Liverpool are still waiting for their first win of the season after being defeated 2-1 by Manchester United on Monday night. That result followed draws against Fulham and Crystal Palace, with the Reds looking a far cry from the side they have been in recent seasons. The Merseysiders' poor start is evocative of Jurgen Klopp’s final campaign in charge of Borussia Dortmund in 2014/15. And Express Sport takes a look at four similarities between the two.


Injuries

Klopp spent seven seasons at Dortmund and led the club to two Bundesliga titles, a German Cup triumph and an appearance in the Champions League final. But his last season at Signal Iduna Park was disastrous. In fact, the team even flirted with relegation as they won just four matches before February, before finishing seventh.

During that campaign, the current Liverpool manager saw his team ravaged by injures, with the likes of Mats Hummels, Marco Reus, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Ilkay Gundogan and Nuri Sahin absent for much of the season. This time around in England, Klopp is facing another injury crisis, especially in his midfield, with Thiago, Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all currently missing.

Complacency

One of Klopp’s key players at Dortmund, Neven Subotic, previously admitted that complacency was partly to blame for Dortmund’s demise. “When you get the feeling as a player that you've already achieved something, that you have a bit of experience, you suddenly don't want to say 'yes' to everything anymore,” he told The Athletic.


And there are question marks over whether the same thing could be happening at Anfield. Liverpool have won the Champions League, the Premier League, the Club World Cup, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup over the last three years. And maybe the hunger to succeed is no longer present for some players.

Key departure

Ahead of his final season in Germany, Klopp lost Robert Lewandowski to Bayern Munich. The prolific striker had bagged 103 goals and 42 assists in 187 appearances for Dortmund. And his departure hit the team hard as they failed to score in a third of their Bundesliga matches during Klopp’s final 12 months at the helm.

Liverpool lost Sadio Mane this summer as he too opted for a move to Bayern, with Luis Diaz being tipped as the ideal replacement for the Senegal forward. But Mane was as well-suited to the Premier League as any player and racked-up 111 goals and 48 assists in the competition during his spells with the Reds and Southampton. Without Mane in their team, Liverpool now lack a cutting edge in front of goal.

Burnout

Liverpool’s struggles could ultimately be put down to burnout - something which also seemed to be a factor at Dortmund. And that is a crisis that Klopp may not be able to solve with his current crop of players. The 55-year-old is known for his intense, pressing style of football and has enjoyed vast success with it over the years.



But that all-out effort, twice a week, season after season, will eventually take its toll on players. And some stars might have already given everything they can for the Liverpool cause. If that does turn out to be the case, Klopp could well be wondering whether he has the energy for a complete squad rebuild or whether his time at Anfield has run its natural course.

[UvS xR4GEx]

I've read alot of things recently suggesting that Liverpool will not panic and will only buy if the right player is available. This method has turned out to be really successful.

But has it really?


2017/2018 - Mignolet is really struggling, his confidence is at a all time low. We've known for 2 years now we've needed a world class keeper. The season before we brought In Karius for cheap, and it was evidently clear he wasn't good enough. But we battled through and got all the way to UCL final. Maybe the fans were wrong about the keeper, maybe Karius was actually good enough? NOPE!! all our fears came true and Karius single handedly lost us the biggest game we'd had for 13 years.

VERDICT - We didn't act quick enough to fix the problem and lost the champions league.


2020/21 - We start the season strong and things are looking good.. Virgil gets a injury that puts him out for the season. We are top of the league and teams around us have dropped points. Without Virg we look vulnerable and start dropping points. It's evidently clear we need a CB, especially now Matip and Gomez are also injured. January comes around and there's no movement. We quickly start to drop down the table and getting into the top 4 is now under threat nevermind the title. We finally act and bring in Davies for next to nothing and we also get Kabak on loan. We dropped something like 20 points in that period and if not for Alissons goal we wouldn't have finished in the top 4.

VERDICT - Acted too slow in the transfer market and it cost us the Title and nearly cost us top 4.


2022-23 - We had a successful season the year before but just failed to win the big 2 on the final hurdle. That being said it was obvious that this season was going to be the season we upgrade the aging midfield. Last season looked like Milly was gonna retire and we'd bring fresh blood in. We tried to get Tchouameni but he chose Madrid over us.. we end up buying Nunez who was brought in to replace Mane/Origi. Carvalho was already coming probably as a Minimino replacement. Ramsey comes in for RB cover. Milly gets a new contract, which seems bonkers as we're obviously going to bring new players in. Ox gets his yearly injury that puts him out longterm.. Looks like we're not going to act even though a few Midfielders are out with injuries. Unfortunately Thiago gets injured and we struggle to get a point vs Fulham. Now with Thiago, Curtis, Naby, Ox all being out Hendo/Milly and even Fab looking 70% fit you'd think we'd try and strengthen a area what was already weak before the injuries.
Well no we don't obviously and we play poor once again and draw vs a average Palace team.
You'd think the alarm bells would be ringing especially what had happened in previous seasons when we reacted too late.
We once again put out a midfield that's not good enough vs Man Utd. We lose to our biggest rivals and looked terrible in doing it.


VERDICT - Too early to say, but if we don't react before the end of August then it'll be the 3rd time we've thrown a season away though negligence.

[red till i die!!]

2 good reads there, but I don't think we need to worry about him going as he just signed the extension. That could change over the season though if we struggle.

Transition is something that should always be happening in any team and on a regular basis. Players age and as they do so does their performances which is natural and to be expected. We don't buy world class players and depend too much on team work which requires us to be playing at 150% every week for us to be at our most efficient. That is unsustainable when you are letting too many 1st teamers cross 30 and disregard the fact that some are burnt out. Klopps style as well takes its toll on players so again the need to recycle and replace players has to happen sooner.

We aren't ruthless enough either when it comes to underperforming players and just allow them to coast through and leave on a free. The club gets praised so much for its transfer dealings but its more praise around how cheap we got the player or getting one over another club rather than the actual quality of the player. Ox, Firmino and Keita shouldn't be here and at this stage looking like all will walk for nowt. Madness considering the financial restraints the club is under. Three players earning a lot of money there which is obviously stopping us from bringing in replacements. They could have sold Bobby this summer to Juve and they should have considering how out of form he has been over the last 2 years. We had loads of time to replace him this window. This malarkey of only identifying one player and waiting a year or two to get them is rubbish along with it makes better financial sense to let a player walk for free.

The transfer committee are just wheeler dealers imo. Yes klopp is a part of it but only has one vote and no way is he getting players he wants. The club is in charge of all of the recruitment right down to identifying the players. Klopps part is choosing from the list of what they have lined up. We are set up to carry on regardless of who is the manager as their plans far outweigh the length of a contract.

What we have won since Klopp came in has been absolutely magnificent and every fan proud but it hasn't been enough seeing as he is one of the best about. City are a problem but we spend nothing close to them anyway and seem to take weird consolation from the fact that we challenge them on a pittance of the money spent. Again praising how well we do from spending nothing. The team is LFC and the main product is what happens on the pitch but gets very little investment considering the earning power of the club.  Our earnings top 500 million every year and a whole 5 million of that got put back in this season. Its the same every year. Klopp has been a miracle worker and deserves every bit of the credit of what he has won. He is being asked to win the biggest prizes through signing cheaper and less experienced players. Even selling Williams was a joke considering we have no back up but no one cares because the success was the profit we made by signing a cheaper less experienced player who isn't even available.

I'm not a big fan of the owners at all and think they behave like a typical investment fund. No investment from them and no risk while keeping every expenditure at a minimum. All of the super deals and lucrative sponsorships don't mean necessarily a lot either because it seems they are now important to just keep the clubs head above water. When they took over income was just over 220 mil and they have grown that very well to over 500 to 550 per year but it still leaves us looking for bargains!! This is because it's their policy to do this but on the flip side the money isn't there anyway because we just about break even or suffer a small loss every year. How much does the club need to earn before we can go and spend say a 100 mil without having to sell first.

The start to this season has been really poor but our own actions are compounding it by bringing in the bare minimum  needed, gambling on older players having a good season and staying injury free and relying on back up that is non existent.

[kazza]

10 midfielders Liverpool could consider for late summer transfer
August 24, 2022

With Jurgen Klopp open to the addition of a new midfielder before the end of the transfer window, who could Liverpool target, both realistically and less so?

As the days pass by, it is becoming more apparent that, in an ideal world, Klopp would have already signed a new midfielder.


The injury-prone trio of Thiago, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have convened on the treatment table, with Curtis Jones also sidelined after picking up an issue during pre-season.

That leaves Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho as the senior midfield options, while 17-year-old Stefan Bajcetic has been on the bench for all three Premier League games so far this season.

“I’m not really the right person to ask,” he told Sky Germany after the 2-1 loss to Man United.

“As a manager, I’d like to have more players who are available, naturally. But that’s all I can say. We’re always working on it. But whether we can do something, I don’t know.”

So who could Liverpool target? Here are 10 possible signings – with some more likely than others.



Youri Tielemans

Age: 25
Club: Leicester
Contract until: 2023

Among the midfielders who are believed to be available this summer, Tielemans is into the final year of his contract at Leicester and, if the right bid is received, may be allowed to leave before September 1.

There is a long-standing interest within the Liverpool recruitment staff, and any price tag for the Belgian will now be considerably lower, with as low as £16 million mooted in the press.

Tielemans is a durable, creative, possession-hungry goal threat from midfield who, having only turned 25 in May, could have a number of years ahead of him at the top level.



Fabian Ruiz

Age: 26
Club: Napoli
Contract until: 2023

Another player with less than 12 months to run on his current deal, Spain international Ruiz has long been believed to be joining Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but no move has come to fruition yet.

That is despite reports in Italy suggesting Napoli would accept offers of just £17 million for an all-round midfielder who has proved himself adept in defence and attack.

Comfortable both working around an opposition press and breaking the lines into the final third, Ruiz could be an upgrade on Keita if the Guinean is to depart as claimed in Germany.



Konrad Laimer

Age: 25
Club: RB Leipzig
Contract until: 2023

RB Leipzig midfielder Domenico Tedesco has already ruled out a summer exit for Laimer, amid interest from Bayern Munich, but it remains to be seen whether the club’s hierarchy feel the same.

Laimer is on course to depart on a free transfer in 2023 and, as such, now is the only realistic opportunity for Leipzig to cash in on their No. 27.

The Austrian is a relentless, high-energy pressing midfielder, with his qualities both on and off the ball perfectly suited to the system employed by Klopp at Liverpool.



Florian Neuhaus

Age: 25
Club: Borussia Monchengladbach
Contract until: 2024

In 2020, journalists both in Germany and on Merseyside relayed word of Liverpool’s interest in Neuhaus, but a £34.7 million release clause in his contract was allowed to expire with no offers made.

It is likely, though, that the box-to-box midfielder will have remained on the club’s radar, and it is encouraging to see he has continued to progress at Gladbach.

Neuhaus turned 25 in March and, given his versatility in midfield, could be moulded into a variety of different roles under his compatriot, Klopp.



Houssem Aouar

Age: 24
Club: Lyon
Contract until: 2023

For a long spell, Aouar was one of, if not the, most-coveted young talents in Europe – but for one reason or another, a high-profile move away from Lyon never transpired.

That should change this summer, but the clubs he has been linked with – including both Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace – are indicative of his fade in prominence.

However, this could present Liverpool with an opportunity to sign a player who could establish himself as a capable No. 8 within Klopp’s system at a much lower cost than previously quoted, with £12.7 million the price tag this summer.



Sander Berge

Age: 24
Club: Sheffield United
Contract until: 2024

A strange target, perhaps, but one who has been linked with Liverpool in the past and could provide a useful squad option.

“What kind of player are we missing?” Klopp asked when discussing his midfield options earlier in the summer. “One who is offensive, 6’5″ and arrives into the box to head balls in? OK, apart from that!”

Berge, who stands at 6’5″, is developing a reputation as a progressive, goalscoring midfielder with Sheffield United, and is seemingly outgrowing his surroundings at Bramall Lane.

He may not be the “golden cow” Klopp jokingly referred to, but Berge – available for around £25 million – could be a solid addition to the midfield ranks.



Moises Caicedo

Age: 20
Club: Brighton
Contract until: 2025

On to the slightly less-attainable targets, and first up a youngster linked with Liverpool in his native press back in Ecuador.

Brighton pulled off a coup in 2021 when they secured a deal for Caicedo worth in the region of £5 million, having seemed close to joining Man United from Independiente del Valle only for negotiations to prove too complicated.

After a season on loan with Beerschot in Belgium, the all-action 20-year-old has now returned and is already impressing in the Premier League, with a step up from Brighton – for a sizeable profit – surely not too far away.



Jacob Ramsey

Age: 21
Club: Aston Villa
Contract until: 2027

It would take a big offer for Villa to consider a deal for Ramsey, but it may be worth it for a player who Steven Gerrard is creating in his own image.

Ramsey is a supremely talented, instinctive young midfielder who plays at a blistering pace as he surges through the midfield with aggression and crisp passing play.

Having signed a new long-term contract as recently as April, though, the Englishman may be one to monitor for the long term instead.



Nicolo Barella

Age: 25
Club: Inter Milan
Contract until: 2026

“We’re really happy Barella is not playing,” Klopp revealed ahead of Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 second-leg clash with Inter Milan in March.

The manager pointed to an outstanding display between the two legs that saw Inter’s No. 23 “set up three or four” in a 5-0 thrashing of Salernitana, with Barella not short of admirers on Merseyside.

It makes sense, then, that the Italy international would be considered a target by the club’s recruitment team, and though the price tag would be high, his balls-out, box-to-box brand of midfield play could be worth the investment.



Jude Bellingham

Age: 19
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Contract until: 2025

Berge may not be anywhere near the golden cow, but if any player is close, that would be Bellingham.

A concrete target for Liverpool, the England international is already considered one of the best in the world in his position and, scarily, has plenty of years to develop still.

Dortmund are unlikely to part ways with Bellingham this summer, with a nine-figure transfer instead slated for 2023 – but if the Reds decide to pull the trigger early with another midfield signing, it would be rude not to at least test the waters

[RED BEERGOGGLES]

It's going to be a strange old season that much is for certain ,arguably its been a window that has seen practically every team in this league fortify their strongest positions as well as adding quality to improve their most glaring weaknesses. Now taking that all into account,I cant help wonder how the team who have pushed City all the way for the past few years would sit on their laurels and not revamp the middle of our team ,especially in the knowledge that our older players looked leggy at the end of such a monstrous season. I think the best eleven we could put on the pitch last season now look cooked for the start of this one. I firmly believe the injury situation is more to do with the players being physically and mentally drained and fatigue is the reason we're picking up so many niggles in training ,but that said the players supposedly fit for action and the most usually reliant are stinking the place out. I know the manager will have a plan to improve our lackluster start ,but hopefully its one with a switch up in formation when Nunez is back from suspension as the current one is clearly not working.

I'm sick to the back teeth of the very mention of Bellingham ,he's supposedly been earmarked for our future and we're currently struggling with the now ,if we don't sign a midfielder and believe me that's a scenario I wouldn't rule out ,then we're done. At United on Monday I have never heard our traveling fans so quiet and disheartened by what we were seeing unfold on the pitch ,United fans chanted your fans are f*cking Sh*t and even though completely demoralized we managed to find a retort in "Your supposed to be outside " which was brilliant in its execution ,but then those fans that tip up at the Mancs back yard have always been brilliant ,its just they expect a tad more for their unstinting support than a midfield consisting of two midfielders with the combined age of 66 ,to be frank it was painful viewing and it will increasingly get worse the more faith the manager puts in these two to drag us out of this mire.

[Eagle]

Bellingham already confirmed in May that he's staying at Dortmund for another season so I don't know why he keeps being mentioned. The power is with him in terms of when he decides to move and when he does make that decision he'll have his pick of all the top clubs in Europe. Shame we weren't able to convince Tchouameni to choose us over Madrid as he looks quality.

'I'm really looking forward to next season. I can't wait for it to finally start. But yes, I'll be here next season, and I'll be ready.'

https://www.ruhrnachrichten.de/bvb/letz ... 1652446336

[red till i die!!]

It's fine that we are interested in a player like Bellingham but there is no guarantee he will come here. Will we beat off City or Madrid when it's time is something else that should be considered. Its a lot to hedge everything on one player as well when we need more than that.

[Pig Catcher]

We tried to bring in Tchouameni and Klopp said as recently as today we've been looking at other players. So this whole "the only midfielder we'll consider bringing in is Bellingham" is a red herring. Totally made up.

[woof woof !]

Think we're all agreed our midfield needs something more.

Been catching up on Ruben Neves' performances for Wolves .

IMO he looks a perfect fit for us.  I'd be going all in for this fella hopefully Jurgen is of the same mind and can persuade the owners.

I know it's a You Tube clip but his quality can't be denied. Take a look.



For what it's worth, another clip showing he's a lot more than just some special goals



Number 8 on his shirt ! does that ring any bells     

[UvS xR4GEx]

I honestly don't think we'll bring anyone in before the window closes. Alot of teams have spent alot during this window and we've just stood back and done very little. Teams have definitely closed the gap on us, and we're gonna struggle to pick up points as consistently as we did over the previous seasons. The win at the weekend was very impressive, but I hope that doesn't become a excuse as to why we're not improving the team.

[electrum]

No new midfielder means we will have to rely on Thiago (sick note) being fit for the vast majority of the season and Elliot/Carvalho will have to turn out to be totally consistent each week.

If neither of the above materialises we will finish outside the top 4. UNLESS the blindingly obvious is seen by the hierarchy and MF bought in (Neves would be a great choice IMO)

[red till i die!!]

Lage has said that Neves is going nowhere. He's 99% sure he will be here beyond this window.

Barella has a price tag of 75 to 100 mil and is on a 5 year deal so it's probably safe to rule that one out!!

After that it seems to be that lad from leipzig. He has a year left and apparently 25mil will get him. This one is more likely imo. Pricewise he is right up our street but the thinking man would surely try to offer Naby back as part ex or straight swap.

[UvS xR4GEx]

I'm not convinced with Klopps recent Press conferences. I think he's become a voice for FSG and he's saying what they want to hear and not what he believes himself.

For 5 years in a row we're here talking about how injured players coming back are like new signings. What are we doing here seriously?

Klopp says its so hard to buy anyone and its so difficult to buy anyone with so little time in the market. WE HAVE HAD ALL SUMMER!!

We question FSG every single transfer window.. so nothings ever gonna change while they're in charge.

They've turned us into a profitable club, but it's only their pockets that's seeing the benefit of this profit.

[Reg]

Here's a load of waffle from me ..   

The fallacy in football is the belief that new players are so much better (worth millions more) than the current players. Good example for us is that Glen Johnson was better than Steve Finnan. We bought Johnson after buying Arbeloa and Phillip Degen, so Johnson was 3 steps from Finnan and arguably never as good as Finnan who was still in his prime with Espanyōl. Millions and millions had changed hands out of the club over less than 3 years trying to find someone MUCH BETTER than Finnan.

There are too many fallacies, delusions and vanities in football for it to be in anyway logical or sustainable.
Klopp has decided to push his current crop to greatness, which he did. Now we’re getting regression to the mean unfortunately.

But just because we're looking for replacement players, it doesn't mean they'll be better that what we've got.
Case in point, United spending 135 million on Wan Bassaka and now Antony at right back. Any fool can spend money, it's how you spend it that counts.