Lallana in Pyjamas » Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:48 am wrote:ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Sun Jun 09, 2019 10:11 pm wrote:Lallana in Pyjamas » Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:48 pm wrote:But it’s not an area Klopp sees as somewhere to improve - unless City want to sell us KDB, we aren’t going to be able to be better than City in every position
And even if Klopp did want to replace one of them - then it won’t be with Coutinho , he won’t ever play in a Liverpool shirt again
And no it’s not hypocritical even if you want to use it as some sort of justification that Coutinho would be ok coming back .
I actually thought this season winning the CL and going so close in the Prem would actually make you open your eyes to the FACT we have a squad and team good enough to win major competitions and it would be time for you to stop downtrodding them every chance.
I think we have a terrific defence and a terrific attack, it's our midfield which I think is average and it is.
Look we've been through all this before, a few months ago I listed about 10 midfielders from our past and asked you where you'd put Henderson, Gini and Milner in that lot, to be fair you admitted that all the MF I listed were better players but you said it's not about how good Hendo, Gini and Milner are as individual players but how they fit into our system and I agreed.
Hendo et al do a good job at being workhorses, they've got big hearts and will run all day but you can't tell me that we wouldn't have a better side if we had Gerrard, Alonso and Mascherano in our midfield instead.
That's my point, our MF do a good job but it's an area where we can obviously improve. To be fair Fabinho has come in and pretty much nailed down a place now and he is a huge upgrade on Hendo at DM and Keita, after a slow start, is a player who can go past a man and thread a pass even though he see' himself as primarily a defensive player.
Our midfield is evolving I acknowledge that but imo we still lack someone who can open up teams, we saw it last year, Shaq et al either aren't good enough or consistent enough, Ox may have been the player we were looking for but he suffered one of the worst injuries a footballer can get, we don't yet know if he'll be the same player.
I only mention Coutinho because I know him, if you know a midfielder with Phil's passing ability great get him instead, but we need someone.
How many trophies did we win with - Gerrard , Alonso and Mascherano - None , Zero , zilch
It’s always about the sum of the parts - you spent all season trying to compare our midfield constantly calling it average and constantly comparing to a midfield that won nothing
The midfield is not average - it’s very good and provides the exact platform for the team , it was excellent in the second half of the season as Klopp mixed and matched it and they were a hell of a lot more than runners and grafters but you won’t ever give them the credit they deserve , that midfield has a CL medal round it’s neck and next season with a returning Ox and a more settled Keita will go again for me. We opened up teams from all over the park and will do again - get used to the fact we won’t be getting a Coutinho type player. And calling him”Phil” - shows the love you still harbour for the snidey *****
There you go again being a hypocrite, I don't know why you feel you have to be such a zealot but if someone like myself who was born in Mill Road hospital, grew up and went to school in the shadow of Anfield and barely missed a home game in over 2 decades can get over the fact that modern players act like ***** to engineer their way out of clubs then I'm sure you can.
You're like those arl fella's when I was a kid who refused to go the game anymore because players started hugging each other after they scored instead of shaking hands. Move with the times Benny.
You seem to think the fact our players won a CL medal makes them great footballers, it doesn't, one of the most limited players I ever saw in a red shirt (Joey Jones) was in the team that won our first European Cup in 1977, the likes of Traore, Smicer, Baros etc won a CL winners medal under Rafa.
Granted those players did a job, just like Henderson etc have done a good job this season, but make no mistake without the likes of Emlyn Hughes and Kevin Keegan Jones wouldn't have a European Cup winners medal, without the likes of Gerrard and Alonso Traore et al wouldn't have a CL winners medal and without our terrific front 3, defence and keeper our midfielders wouldn't have CL winners medals either.
Even when they win major trophies the best managers don't rest on their laurels, that's why European Cup winning fullback Joey Jones was immediately shipped out and replaced by Alan Kennedy, a far better player who incidentally went on to score the winning goals in 2 more European Cup finals.
That's my point, Jones played in a team that won the league title, European Cup and a team that missed out on a treble in the days when doubles happened twice a century because of probably the most jammy goal ever scored in an FA Cup final, having limited players in your team doesn't stop you having great success, the best managers though like Bob Paisley recognised that successful teams can still be better. Bob never rested on his laurels, he constantly improved his team and that's why he won so many trophies.