Liverpool FC Forum

Good overall performance but a few non performances by players who we are pinning our future on once Mo leaves (possibly in the summer , although I hope not) Even with Mo around we need succession planning.

My take on DIaz, Nunez and Gakpo:

Diaz- seen enough now to be convinced that he has been found out by defenders and managers in the toughest league in the world. Can't beat a man anymore and lacks basic intelligence as to when to keep hold of the ball and when to move it forward quickly.

Maybe sounds harsh but I would sell him in the summer
Nunez- total engima..lots of effort and bags of ability with positioning and making runs but  his finishing has to improve. Needs to impress between now and the end of the season or he can catch the same flight out as Diaz in the summer.

Gakpo- inconsistent - only good enough to be on the bench.

IMO we need a major signing for the attack in the summer - if Mo goes to Saudi make that two.

In the midfield-
Szob- form is temporary, class is permanent

McAllister- the sooner he plays further up the pitch the better

Endo- better then expected and growing on me as a regular starter. My starting MF would be Endo , Szob and McA  with Curtis in the mix on a regular basis.

Elliot- fast becoming our new super sub. Not a PL starter for me seems much more fired up when he comes on.

Thiago - sell him in January if he is fit . Total waste of money on salary that can be freed up for a genuine 6.

Gravenberch- still adapting to Klopp's methods- jury remains out

Bajetic- the sooner he comes back from injury the better - need him as a quality option off the bench.

Thought we were the better side but they had their moments too tbf, got to hand it to this Liverpool 2.0 Jurgen has put together resilience wise they are tough as old boots. Real work ethic there too.
If anything is letting us down it’s we are far too profligate in front of goal, we aren’t just missing good chances we are missing absolute sitters.
We are in the mix, let’s just see what happens in the new year. Merry Christmas everyone

electrum » Sat Dec 23, 2023 9:13 pm wrote:Good overall performance but a few non performances by players who we are pinning our future on once Mo leaves (possibly in the summer , although I hope not) Even with Mo around we need succession planning.

My take on DIaz, Nunez and Gakpo:

Diaz- seen enough now to be convinced that he has been found out by defenders and managers in the toughest league in the world. Can't beat a man anymore and lacks basic intelligence as to when to keep hold of the ball and when to move it forward quickly.

Maybe sounds harsh but I would sell him in the summer
Nunez- total engima..lots of effort and bags of ability with positioning and making runs but  his finishing has to improve. Needs to impress between now and the end of the season or he can catch the same flight out as Diaz in the summer.

Gakpo- inconsistent - only good enough to be on the bench.

IMO we need a major signing for the attack in the summer - if Mo goes to Saudi make that two.

In the midfield-
Szob- form is temporary, class is permanent

McAllister- the sooner he plays further up the pitch the better

Endo- better then expected and growing on me as a regular starter. My starting MF would be Endo , Szob and McA  with Curtis in the mix on a regular basis.

Elliot- fast becoming our new super sub. Not a PL starter for me seems much more fired up when he comes on.

Thiago - sell him in January if he is fit . Total waste of money on salary that can be freed up for a genuine 6.

Gravenberch- still adapting to Klopp's methods- jury remains out

Bajetic- the sooner he comes back from injury the better - need him as a quality option off the bench.

Must admit, Diaz does seem to have lost something ever since returning from that long term injury. Doesn't look as menacing and don't know if it's a physical issue, confidence/just form or teams having somewhat working him out or maybe a combination of all those things.

Problem is his game is heavily about jinking, sharp turns and he doesn't seem to be making those driving runs from left towards central areas which causes the opposition panic. Wonder if the knee isn't quite the same but hoping he can show us something in the second half of the season.

Sounds like Tsimikas is out for 2 or 3 months with a broken collarbone.

I think Arsenal tried to do a few of our players yesterday. The foul on Tsmikas by Saka was deliberate and unnecessary.. the interview after of him apologising was purely for the cameras.

And earlier in the game Havertz trapped Szoboszlais arm and dragged him down straight on his shoulder.. it was the same dirty move Ramos did to Salah in the Champions League final.

Santa » Sat Dec 23, 2023 5:58 pm wrote:Slow-mo just show a dead cert penalty for Odegaard scooping the ball with his hand inside the penalty area, but no VAR intervention. WHY???

So...another apology by PGMOL for not awarding a clear and obvious penalty with that Ødegaard handball. How does that change the results for us?

In retrospect this was a clear and obvious error and should have resulted in a penalty being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene

If we can see this as a deliberate handball with certainty, how could a team of professional match officials failed so badly?

Dafaq is wrong with all these official match fixing already 

Santa » Sun Dec 24, 2023 10:09 am wrote:

Santa » Sat Dec 23, 2023 5:58 pm wrote:Slow-mo just show a dead cert penalty for Odegaard scooping the ball with his hand inside the penalty area, but no VAR intervention. WHY???

So...another apology by PGMOL for not awarding a clear and obvious penalty with that Ødegaard handball. How does that change the results for us?

In retrospect this was a clear and obvious error and should have resulted in a penalty being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene

If we can see this as a deliberate handball with certainty, how could a team of professional match officials failed so badly?

Dafaq is wrong with all these official match fixing already 

I doubt we will get an apology, they will say he slipped and his hand was in a natural position even though he fondled it and gained a clear advantage. No point complaining about VAR anymore, those poor officials have it so tough. Funny that Klopp preempted the Dermot whitewash that will surely come.

kazza » Sun Dec 24, 2023 11:33 am wrote:

Santa » Sun Dec 24, 2023 10:09 am wrote:

Santa » Sat Dec 23, 2023 5:58 pm wrote:Slow-mo just show a dead cert penalty for Odegaard scooping the ball with his hand inside the penalty area, but no VAR intervention. WHY???

So...another apology by PGMOL for not awarding a clear and obvious penalty with that Ødegaard handball. How does that change the results for us?

In retrospect this was a clear and obvious error and should have resulted in a penalty being awarded through VAR intervention, however, the VAR failed to intervene

If we can see this as a deliberate handball with certainty, how could a team of professional match officials failed so badly?

Dafaq is wrong with all these official match fixing already 

I doubt we will get an apology, they will say he slipped and his hand was in a natural position even though he fondled it and gained a clear advantage. No point complaining about VAR anymore, those poor officials have it so tough. Funny that Klopp preempted the Dermot whitewash that will surely come.

Dermot has already said it was a penalty. He said there was an obvious movement towards the ball with his hand and it was a penalty.

Once again Kavanagh is involved in yet another disgraceful potential penalty incident and fails to take the correct action. Kavanagh was on VAR duty when Tierney failed to award a penalty for the well documented Rodri hand ball incident. Kavanagh lives in Greater Manchester. It is strongly rumoured that he is a City supporter and that his brother is a City season ticket holder !! Kavanagh said of the Rodri handball that there was insufficient conclusive evidence which was utter nonsense given the video’s and photographs that were posted after the match. Is it any wonder that accusations of corruption are rife !!

devaney » Sun Dec 24, 2023 1:39 pm wrote:Once again Kavanagh is involved in yet another disgraceful potential penalty incident and fails to take the correct action. Kavanagh was on VAR duty when Tierney failed to award a penalty for the well documented Rodri hand ball incident. Kavanagh lives in Greater Manchester. It is strongly rumoured that he is a City supporter and that his brother is a City season ticket holder !! Kavanagh said of the Rodri handball that there was insufficient conclusive evidence which was utter nonsense given the video’s and photographs that were posted after the match. Is it any wonder that accusations of corruption are rife !!

IIIRC Rodri himself flat out admitted it was a handball, cost us the title that decision/non decision.
Yesterday’s was another shocker as well, even the Arsenal fan tv crew thought it was a pen

Always going to be a tough game and I thought we had a good go but!!!! Can't help but feel we got robbed again by a clown ref and corrupt officials manning an inept system.  They never sent him to that monitor because they knew he would have to give it. Honestly can't believe they are still making such bad calls and people still don't think it's corrupt. It's blatantly obvious imo.

Much improved performance from us anyway so hopefully we continue tomorrow.

Surprise surprise City ends up the benefactor of that poor decision. They return from the Club World Cup full of confidence and will go on a 12 match win streak (including some helpful ref decisions) and they will probably win the title…. Rinse and repeat! Will their fans care, definitely not, there is no honor in sports anymore.

How this is good for the PL brand I will never know.