Liverpool Thread - Premier League Champions* 2019/20 (Part 2)

Yep that looks about right to me. Nice.

Leigh's right... Sturridge will stub his toe next match and be out for the season and you'll have to recall Balotelli.

I was thinking that was an uninspiring team, then I started to wonder how much it cost to assemble, so added the cost of each player. Making this as nice as possible (starting Milner and Ibe), that team cost £115m. That also doesn't include Beneteke (£32m), Frimino (£29m), Markovic (£20m), Lovren (£20m), Ballotelli (£16m), Joe Allen (£15m).

That is a fudge of a lot of money wasted.

to flog this dead horse a little further, I am going to look at the cost of the team just below Liverpool in the table - Swansea....Their team in the last game was as follows:

Fabianski (Free)

Williams (£0.4m)

Taylor (Free)

Rangel ("Nominal" - let's say £0.5m)

Fernandez (£7m)

Ki (£6m)

Shelvey (£5m)

Siggurosson (Swap)

Montero (£4m)

Gomis (Free)

Ayew (Free)

A total of £22.9m. Over £92m more just to get 2 extra points.

Leighbo , PM sent.

Yeah this stuff was getting published a fair bit in all the rags prior to BR getting the boot. I guess some of it was desperation (thinking Andy Carroll after Torres left), getting carried away and then some with the Suarez money (Markovic, Mario etc.) and some of the others was a manager wanting a couple of his former favourites in (Allen, Borini).

Reeeaaaallllyyy hoping Mr Klopp is going to be able to get a bit out of this bunch before recruiting to some kind of plan, rather than just throwing darts at a list of names.

So...marks out of 10 for Klopp's first game in charge?

Defence: 8 - some dodgy moments BUT the different was that there was always someone to clean up. Mingolet seemed more willing to come for the ball and Sakho was immense. Skrtel still suffers from indecision but the whole team tracked back and helped out when needed.

Midfield: 6 - tried to play at pace and didn't really pay off with Can the exception. Some bright sparks with Lallana playing well and Coutinho trying to fashion some chances but telepathy with Origi just wasn't there. Milner was poor on the ball BUT they all worked hard on defence. Ibe was great for the few minutes he was on. Had the pace and freshness to match what they were trying to do. 

Forwards: 5 - (basically Origi): He tried hard but showed why he is 4th or 5th choice. Excellent header at goal, hitting the underside of the bar and again, worked hard but needs more time which he may not get with Benteke, Studge and Firmino due back soon. 

The approach: 8 - first 20 minutes Spurs wondered what had hit them as LFC gave them no time on the ball and forced usually assured players into mistakes. Had Sturridge been playing we may well have had a couple in those early exchanges but it was not to be. The frantic pace wore both Spurs and the LFC players down and the game fell into a game of force back for a while. Maybe the execution of the approach wasn't great (due to fitness and the fact they had 3 days to work with it) but I can see how well it will work if players can adapt.

Overall - 6.75 out of 10 - not bad for 3 days with a team, first clean sheet for 9 games and away at White Hart Lane against a Spurs team starting to grow in confidence. Overall a solid if not spectacular start but positive signs.

A blight on the night was the behavior of some Spurs fans at Four Kings - first time we've had issues and a bit of a shame.

I  only saw the 2nd half but I thought Liverpool were much the better side, but Spurs were poor by their standard.

It did look like the International break did come at the wrong time for THFC and the right time for us. Maybe that was a part of the second half malaise but we did pressure them a lot which would have left the energy sapped (as ours was). Hard to judge on one game but not a bad start. 

What happened?

I would be interested to hear about this as well. People getting all uppity while watching a game of football on television 12,000 miles away from where it is taking place is about as pathetic as it gets.

Pwoper nawty those spurs fans.

Let's just say that for all of the good natured songs going both ways, there was one or two awful ones from the Spurs fans that i'd rather not repeat on the LFC thread. There are things you don't sing about...*

*especially with a contingent of Scousers around.

double post...see above. 

Can is the obvious one who will benefit, I think. Looked a different player. 

Funny what playing in his preferred position does..

Sturridge, Benteke and Firmino could be fit for the game this weekend (Studge may also be ready for tomorrow's Europa game).

Rumours that Klopp may recall Markovic from Febernache in the Jan transfer window - apparently rates him and would work well in his pressing system.

Markovic is fast, will run and will not give up. Exactly what Klopp would want.

This just in...

Stevie G will return to LFC to train in the MLS off-season - he will unlikely play for LFC again but will be in discussions regarding a coaching role at the club. 

Fudgeing gold at Stamford Bridge!

Four Kings was going absolutely mental - brilliant atmosphere!!

Yeah I heard! Gutted I couldn't make it. Are there plans for monday morning vs Palace or is that a bit difficult?

Kopgoff will have something out soon I'm sure but we're beign a bit more selective this season so we don;t spread the events too thin. 

Klopp quote before the game before Chelsea.

"We need to know that what we are doing is a game, it started as a game and it is still a game. But sometimes it looks only like it's work. And that's not allowed. And that's what I try to bring to a club. Until now, it was pretty successful."

Sorry Mila Kunis, I'm now in love with another!

'Supersub' David Fairclough to appear at The Paddington, Parnell, Auckland for a Q & A session hosted by The Official Liverpool Supporters Club of NZ 8pm - 10 pm on Nov 12th.

see www.eventfinder.co.nz for tkts.

Groff and Leigh:

sorry guys, couldn't do palace because of KO time.

Will try to do Citeh on Sunday in 2 weeks but think we'll need to guarantee at least 20

If we start to drum up interest early, we might do ok. 

LFC Wellington and Premier League Pass

For all of you using or considering using Premier League Pass – you can help us out!

Existing or new PLP members can now add a code to your subscriptions which will result in PLP giving a generous donation to LFC Wellington which will help us administer the club, helping us give back to the fans and to local charities. 

If you’ve already signed up go here to select “Liverpool (WLG)” as your club. More details, including instructions for new PLP subscribers, can be found at https://www.lfcwellington.co.nz/plp/.

If you don’t use PLP, you should try it. It’s an excellent service and great for watching LFC.

YNWA

She's taken the news hard - these two photos are of her before she heard this news, and then of her a week after she heard

I'm quite the catch, what can I say. 

And for an absolute romp at the Etihad........!!!!!

Deeecent

The hope is tempered this time...MUST.NOT.GET.EXCITED.

LFC Wellington 

We've got 2 exciting announcements to share with you!

1. LFC Wellington and Yellow Fever - Supporters of the Wellington Phoenix FC

In December we are running a huge foodbank appeal with the Yellow Fever for The Wellington City Mission
Please follow this link for info on how you can help us do our bit for our community:
https://t.co/V9Y7PoFywM

2. LFC legends heading to Australia in January

LFC Legends such as Gerrard, Carra and Ian Rush are heading to Sydney to play in January.
Match day and ticketing info can be found here:
https://t.co/G9hSDgGtwr

YNWA