Messages

[Interesting, as in the bit I watched that they highlighted, he was free but not really looking for it at all!]

I think this counter attack or dominating the ball debate is a little distracting.

Arsenal are now a good bit down the track of their system of play and have backed that system in the market bringing in the exact players Arteta requests, while he has spent money I dont think ETH is getting the targets that would be top of the lists. So it's a bit catch 22.

Full out with first 11 they could match most of the top six on their day, but thing that would worry me more is the mentality of lack of it in the tough moments in games. Doesnt seem to be a steely edge to them that teams of the past had, this Sancho carry on it just another example of the type of character that they have at the club.

Antony was Ten Haags man and nearly 100 million wasted on him. Most players brought in played in Dutch league so he's definitely getting his targets.

Looking at MOTD2 I actually felt sorry for Antony they couldn't get him the ball. I think he's fairly limited anyway but he was free and looking for it on a number of occasions!

Interesting, as in the bit I watched that they highlighted, he was free but not really looking for it at all!

Possibly a case of

1) Arsenal happy for him to have it as they have seen what he does with it and ;
2) Team mates not happy for him to have it as they have seen what he does with it

[He's of little use to the Saudis I imagine. It's names they want, not footballers.]

He's of little use to the Saudis I imagine. It's names they want, not footballers.

United statement a bit daft putting it out there that they've concluded he didn't commit the offences with which he was charged. Feels a bit needless and they could have just stfu about that side of things.

Would agree with that. Italy might be a more likely destination as they are historically a bit more "accommodating" and can afford decent money.

What a waste of talent.

[relying on Endo as a deep lying midfielder, destroyer]

One of Thiago, Bajcetic, Endo, Trent alongside MacAllister and Szobo is a top quality midfield in my view. Jones, Elliott, Gakpo can fill in when injuries intervene. Thiago available this weekend, Baj back training too, though this week may be too soon for him.

We did dominate midfield for the first 30 min against a good Chelsea team last week. While the remainder of the game wasn't good , I thought it was more to do with too many players not being able to retain possession (and gifting it back to Chelsea), more than missing someone sitting in front of the back 4. Alexis and Szobo both had poor enough second halfs, but they both showed early on they are class operators, so they will settle and contribute lots.

If we are to splurge 70-80m on a player, I'd prefer a new top class defender.

"Baj" " Hendo" "Robbo" "Szobo" "Trent" "Virg" "Mo" "Bobby"

Cringe.

Maybe he knows them personally. Liverpool is a big family. Except in a pandemic and they want to lay off their staff. Or when the supported the racist Luis Suarez. But a big family all the same.

Big families are complicated things. You might see them idolizing men who f**k around for years with their brothers' wives. Or you might see them debating about whether to let men who beat their partners back into the fold.

Indeed. 

Back to the football. I wouldn't be comfortable relying on Endo as a deep lying midfielder, destroyer type.  He will get games ok but not every week and I don't see any of Thiago, Baj(!!!) or the others being able to play that role or stay fit long enough.  We're only papering over cracks with trying to fit one of them as a 6.

Not sure about that as from what I have read that is exactly what he is and hes very highly thought of at Stuttgart. The issue might be more the other way in terms of his ability on the ball. I would imagine he will play most games against the bigger teams with maybe TAA moving into that role alongside Thiago for other games.

David Ornstein
@David_Ornstein
·
17m
🚨 Liverpool closing in on signing Stuttgart defensive midfielder Wataru Endo. #VfB wanted to renew contract (2024) but Liverpool in advanced talks + 30yo granted permission to travel to Merseyside to complete move
@TheAthleticFC
after
@FabrizioRomano
#LFC

Know nothing about the lad and on face value is an underwhelming signing given that last week looked as though going to break the British transfer record for a player in the same position. 

There has been some positive feedback from those who watch German football on him and he is captain of club and country which would indicate that he is a good character.  The dressing room has lost huge leadership in Milner/Henderson, so getting a leader into the squad can be no bad thing.  Can also fill in at centre half if required. 

Would hope that there is minimum one further signing to come in midfield.

Underwhelming i sthe word but I would rather a stopgap that recycles Henderson type money for a season or two than blow £60-£70m on a panic buy who is a) overpriced because the seller knows theyhave the club over a barrel and b) is not the right fit. The new transfer committe has a lot of work to do to redeem themselves after the last week......

Can't blame Southampton either. I'm suprised they didn't ask for higher.

Its a rare fcuk up by Liverpool in these situations. Hopefully its only a coincidence that the new Sporting Director only started but you cant help but feel it would not have happened under Edwards.

Yesterday demonstrated how important this player is to Liverpool. They were overrun in midfield until Jones came on. I would have concerns about just how many times Szobolazki, MacAllister (and Jones) turned into trouble yesterday, and thats against a team that is not renowned for pressing.

Not trying to be insensitive or argue that the road does not need improving but is it not true that about 95% of Road deaths are caused by driver error, not paying attention, speeding, driving while impaired etc ?

It is true but there is no point saying that everyone will just sit at 40mph behind a tractor. Yes if everyone did deaths would reduce dramatically but its not going to happen. On that logic why do cars need seatbelts?

The A4 to Dungannon is a example of what happens when the road is upgraded. Journey times reduced and deaths reduced dramatically. Yes it costs money but it is the only realistic way of reducing deaths because driver behaviour is unlikely to change dramatically.

[and a smaller bag at that]

Hope he wasn't whinging about it. I've just had a look at their menu and he has bought the dearest burger, drink and if he's buying Diet Coke and Haribo at that price then fcuk him.

if you really want to eat a bag of haribo in the cinema just buy it in a local shop at a 1/4 of the price before you head in!

Haribo are £1.25 a bag now... and a smaller bag at that!!

This. Think shrinkflation annoys me more than prices going up. If the can size reduces by 10% or a Multipacks move from 6 to 5 units I'm less inclined to notice than a simple price hike.

Only a matter of time before pubs start moving to 500ml beers on draught for an easy 10% margin improvement.  (I think there might be some legal red tape around this so maybe its not that straightforward).

[a younger signing like a Lavia]

Hendo gone for £13 mill seems to be a done deal, expected to be completed this week.

We have bid £35m + £5m addons for Southampton's 19 year old Belgian defensive midfielder Romeo Lavia, but Southampton have turned it down saying their price tag is £50m. Can't say I noticed him at all last season.

You'd normally think that's close enough to get a deal done, but it seems Fabinho's £40m move to Saudi is becoming doubtful and he's to join up with Liverpool's pre season preparations. Apparently a blocker to the move is that Fabinho can't get a guarantee that he can get his two French bulldogs into Saudi! If that falls through I wonder will that scupper our bid for Lavia?

I also read that when Soton bought Lavia from City for 10.5m + 2.5m addons, City have a 20% sell on clause and they have first refusal if Soton sell. No sign so far of City showing interest, but that could change quickly.

Trent has played both pre-season games in midfield, so that positional switch could well be permanent. Not sure we've a good enough right back now though. Bradley has more development to get through. I would like to see Kostas tried there. With Trent and McAllister in midfield, less pressure on the right back to be a creator.

If Fabinho goes Liverpool would need to bring in 2 more midfielders - an experienced defensive midfielder, a specialist in that role who can slot right in and a younger signing like a Lavia. Wouldn't want to be relying on a 19 year old.

Wonder what the plans for Bajetic are this year. He is not a true 6 like Fabinho, Rodri etc which is what Liverpool need. I think last year proved just how important this role is, Liverpool form fell of a cliff when Fabinho did not perform.

Agree about pinning all your hopes on a 19 year old, especially with the track record with injuries under Klopps system.

Nobody wants maths banned.

It's just that GCSE Maths shouldn't prohibit people from pursuing career choices that have fcuk all to do with GCSE Maths.

Ah gothcha, might have misunderstood your original post. Agree with that. Maths should be mandatory on the curriculum but a pass in GCSE maths should not be a prerequisite for  jobs where it is irrelevant.

[Maths and the weight given to it is a sham]

Was at uni in the 80s and luckily did a vocation  degree which has led me to having a good life but times have changed .
Daughter graduation  was at start of summer and the reality struck that uni is now a money making exercise .
60% we're foreign nationals who queens are simply extracting cash from.
A lot to be said for apprenticeships but even that's a mess , why does a kid need English and maths gcse to become a brick layer or joiner .

I couldn't agree more. GCSE Maths and the weight given to it is a sham. Virtually all of it is entirely redundant to the vast majority of people. Much of it is redundant to everyone. Who the hell needs to know highest common factors?
Like a lot of things in education, traditionalist, classist bullshit.

See I would totally disagree with this. In my view Maths is the one thing that is needed across the board by everyone, whether household budgeting, understanding a loan, working out angles for a roof, getting ratios right for a cement mix etc.

We had a former client who could barely read or write but was a sharp as a tack on numbers, engineering plans etc. He set up his own manufacturing business when he left school and sold it for over £20m a few years ago

Liverpool will have none of that experience/leadership qualities in the dressing room if Hendo leaves now as well and the midfield begins to look a bit light again after 2 good additions

They would need to bring in an experienced leader. However, moving experience on at the right time is something that City  (Silva, Kompany, Aguero) and Ferguson did with United (Stam, Beckham etc). I would rather sacrifice one good year of Henderson at the top level for bringing through the likes of Bajectic for next 5.

This will likely be an unpopular opinion, but referees have been feeding this beast for years, by turning a blind eye during matches, and accepting post-match apologies deliberately feigned to ensure a more favourable report. And now they can no longer control the beast.

Now they need to take control again, which means getting together and forcing through a new code, along the lines of:

1. personal abuse from player or mentor - immediate red card.
2. more than two instances from the one side - match abandoned.
3. abuse from supporters - registered as a complaint with their CCCC.  Every second complaint sees the reversal of a home match, or a requirement to play with no spectators for a match.

And re no. 1, suspensions should work on a multiplier level and carried over two seasons. First offence, 1 match ban. Second instance, two match ban, and so on.

Perhaps more importantly, they need to police this from within. If they find tgat one of their own is being lenient on personal abuse, then sanction him.

One season of learning and heartache for players, mentors and supporters would clean up football forever.

This kind of approach seems necessary. Personal abuse should not be tolerated at any level.

Agree with this.

One simple change I would take is the AFL approach of moving the ball forward 50m rather than 10m (14m?) for any mouthing or backchat from players. You very rarely see it in AFL because it is such a huge penalty.

Players might soon keep their mouths shut if every transgression is likely to give a shot at goal. If the players/coaches are not constantly guldering that will reduce vitriol in the crowd.

Saudis sniffing around Thiago. This could be a disaster.

He is one of the best players to watch in the league but unfortunately I dont think his body is up to the PL so this might be the best move for both parties. Only 1 year left before they lose him on a free so if they can get daft money (£15m?)from the Saudi's to put towards a long term alternative so be it.

4 of us went to the Errigal on Ormeau road on Saturday.

3 Drinking & 1 driver. 3 x Guinness and 1 x 0.0% Guinness was £23.80.

£5.95 for a pint, 0.0% was the same price.

Think its about 50p per pint beer duty.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/woman-abandons-daughter-5-majorca-30375138

Unbelievable