LOLiverpooLOL - Next Season

[Hendo]

His pass for the Greenwood goal on Sunday was sublime as well.

yeah, that was top notch tbf

Yep, right up there with your Beckhams, Iniestas and Caskeys.

[Winston Biscuit]

His pass for the Greenwood goal on Sunday was sublime as well.

yeah, that was top notch tbf

Yep, right up there with your Beckhams, Iniestas and Caskeys.

whoa whoa whoa, lets not get carried away

[Hendo]

[URZZZZ]

I'm finding some of the comments here bizarre. Rashford is a fantastic player.

Same, he really is one of the best English talents to come through in recent years.

The guy is 23 and has scored 51 goals in 161 premier league games and 11 goals in 40 games for England. He is only going to get better from here and does so much more other than score goals anyway.

His pass for the Greenwood goal on Sunday was sublime as well.

Clearly has talent but he’s too inconsistent for me - think he’s a tad overrated

Something you do expect for young players but he’s been around the scene for five years now

[Sanguine]

Anyone mind if I call him Rashy btw?

Considering you're shipping him off to Sunderland, I'd say yes, I mind.

[Winston Biscuit]

Anyone mind if I call him Rashy btw?

Considering you're shipping him off to Sunderland, I'd say yes, I mind.

Not league 1 Sunderland though, i meant PL relegation fighting Sunderland

Having looked at the nickname generator software that footballers use I think Rashy is the one that gets applied to him.

no suitable nickname style shortened first name, surname that is 2 syllables and with a soft consonant in the middle = cut surname in half and add a Y to the end

The same but with a hard consonant in the middle results in the surname being cut in half and either an O or an S being added

[BR0B0T]

Great piece of writing by Barney Ronay in the Guardian that sums things up for Liverpool.

Liverpool’s owners don’t want to pay over par for a match‑ready centre-back in the transfer window. This has not been the model. The model has been smart, considered, value for money. The model has worked.

But the game never stays still. Breaking that pattern, signing the best centre-back in the league, validated the rest of the model. Buying Virgil van Dijk helped make buying Andy Robertson such title-winning good sense. One doesn’t happen without the other. And the stitches are starting to show back there.

With Joël Matip and Jordan Henderson injured, Williams was not just the natural choice, but the only choice to play at right-sided centre-back against the most effective left-sided combination in the Premier League. Rashford and Luke Shaw have a supreme understanding right now.

Williams, by contrast, has made one Premier League start. He’s 19 years old, but a young-looking 19. At the same age Wayne Rooney had the physique of a grizzled Ukrainian middleweight boxing champion. Williams moves around the pitch like a slender sapling, bending with the wind, looking always in need of a strong bamboo switch to keep him upright.

He is good in the air. His defensive positioning is good. But one early run from Rashford demonstrated the alarming physical mismatch on show. Rashford is a sensational athlete, with a rare combination of speed, strength and lateral spring. Add in the purity of his movement, a man who seems utterly clear in his mind where to run, how to use the space on the right side, and it is a daunting challenge for any defender.

written by someone who only watches Rashford highlights

Do I detect that you don't quite see Rashford in such lofty, best player in the world terms?
His latest dive wasn't mentioned but the boy can do wrong in people's eyes both on and off the pitch-quite rightly in respect of the latter where he has shown himself to be a top lad.

Also Shaw now has a new first name apparently-"Excellent".
Unfortunately the "Excellent" Shaw was missing when his man Salah nipped in for 2 goals but there was no comment from the TV commentators.

As for the game itself it was a good watch with both managers showing great respect for the competition by putting out just about their best available eleven apart from Sane and Fernandes.

I think Liverpool did enough to show that their epitaph may be a bit premature.

Shaw divides opinions more than any United player. I think he's a good player

Rashford makes a lot of bad decisions in a game, needs to lift his head more and look around to get to the next level.

Not sure how you can shit on us when you're six points behind, we've just put you out of the cup and came and took points off you at your place

[Hendo]

written by someone who only watches Rashford highlights

Do I detect that you don't quite see Rashford in such lofty, best player in the world terms?
His latest dive wasn't mentioned but the boy can do wrong in people's eyes both on and off the pitch-quite rightly in respect of the latter where he has shown himself to be a top lad.

Also Shaw now has a new first name apparently-"Excellent".
Unfortunately the "Excellent" Shaw was missing when his man Salah nipped in for 2 goals but there was no comment from the TV commentators.

As for the game itself it was a good watch with both managers showing great respect for the competition by putting out just about their best available eleven apart from Sane and Fernandes.

I think Liverpool did enough to show that their epitaph may be a bit premature.

Shaw divides opinions more than any United player. I think he's a good player

Rashford makes a lot of bad decisions in a game, needs to lift his head more and look around to get to the next level.

Not sure how you can shit on us when you're six points behind, we've just put you out of the cup and came and took points off you at your place

Would say that Shaw is one of the most improved Utd players this season. Looks a threat going forward and much more solid at the back.

[BR0B0T]

Do I detect that you don't quite see Rashford in such lofty, best player in the world terms?
His latest dive wasn't mentioned but the boy can do wrong in people's eyes both on and off the pitch-quite rightly in respect of the latter where he has shown himself to be a top lad.

Also Shaw now has a new first name apparently-"Excellent".
Unfortunately the "Excellent" Shaw was missing when his man Salah nipped in for 2 goals but there was no comment from the TV commentators.

As for the game itself it was a good watch with both managers showing great respect for the competition by putting out just about their best available eleven apart from Sane and Fernandes.

I think Liverpool did enough to show that their epitaph may be a bit premature.

Shaw divides opinions more than any United player. I think he's a good player

Rashford makes a lot of bad decisions in a game, needs to lift his head more and look around to get to the next level.

Not sure how you can shit on us when you're six points behind, we've just put you out of the cup and came and took points off you at your place

Would say that Shaw is one of the most improved Utd players this season. Looks a threat going forward and much more solid at the back.

Used to really rate him until he broke his leg. He's always been pretty solid at the back...he's getting forward a lot more now.

There has surely got to be a trade-off with full-backs. TAA was often at the edge of our box on Sunday leaving masses of space for Rashford

[Hendo]

Shaw divides opinions more than any United player. I think he's a good player

Rashford makes a lot of bad decisions in a game, needs to lift his head more and look around to get to the next level.

Not sure how you can shit on us when you're six points behind, we've just put you out of the cup and came and took points off you at your place

Would say that Shaw is one of the most improved Utd players this season. Looks a threat going forward and much more solid at the back.

Used to really rate him until he broke his leg. He's always been pretty solid at the back...he's getting forward a lot more now.

There has surely got to be a trade-off with full-backs. TAA was often at the edge of our box on Sunday leaving masses of space for Rashford

Thought that was a bit naive from TAA and Liverpool, especially with Williams covering, who looked well out of his depth as well. It is a bit different if you have someone like VVD covering, you can get away with it a bit more, but Utd properly exposed that space on Sunday.

[Whore Jackie]

Amazes me that Liverpool don't have a young academy centre-back with pace. Williams and Phillips are both reasonable defenders, can pass and head, but have zero pace. It's rare that Liverpool are camped in their box, defending for their lives, and they're not bad against set pieces. The one area they're vulnerable is on the counter, which United fully capitalised on. They'd do much better in the short term, while VVD and Gomez are out, is just having someone alongside Fabinho or Henderson, who can actually run.

[Sanguine]

Would say that Shaw is one of the most improved Utd players this season. Looks a threat going forward and much more solid at the back.

Used to really rate him until he broke his leg. He's always been pretty solid at the back...he's getting forward a lot more now.

There has surely got to be a trade-off with full-backs. TAA was often at the edge of our box on Sunday leaving masses of space for Rashford

Thought that was a bit naive from TAA and Liverpool, especially with Williams covering, who looked well out of his depth as well. It is a bit different if you have someone like VVD covering, you can get away with it a bit more, but Utd properly exposed that space on Sunday.

Yes, albeit it's not so much VVD as Henderson or Fabinho who in a fully fit squad is the player covering. Once he is back in midfield it is actually worth looking out for on purpose, it is remarkable how many times Henderson picks up the ball in a wide centre-half position - and not just as a short pass from a centre-back, but as a covering player and an option for TAA or the rest of the midfield.

[URZZZZ]

Amazes me that Liverpool don't have a young academy centre-back with pace. Williams and Phillips are both reasonable defenders, can pass and head, but have zero pace. It's rare that Liverpool are camped in their box, defending for their lives, and they're not bad against set pieces. The one area they're vulnerable is on the counter, which United fully capitalised on. They'd do much better in the short term, while VVD and Gomez are out, is just having someone alongside Fabinho or Henderson, who can actually run.

Hindsight and all that but they’ll regret letting Lovren go now

At the time, it wasn’t a bad decision, as he was a clear 4th choice defender, who was OK at defending, but prone to errors during games (Blackett esque maybe). Likely would have started the majority of games this season but no one could foresee Van Dijk and Gomez picking up long term injuries, although perhaps Matip’s constant niggles were predictable

What adds to the complication is that Liverpool don’t really have fullbacks that can fill in as CB’s. The likes of Walker, Azpilicueta, Shaw are all able to fill in at CB’s but Liverpool don’t have that luxury unless Tsikamas can do a job there (also injured I think)

[BR0B0T]

5th

[URZZZZ]

Exactly the sort of game Liverpool needed to regain confidence, a game where the opposition effectively gift you three goals

Don’t think their performance levels were particularly bad in their winless run but they couldn’t get the ball in the net. Playing a defence with Dier and Aurier I suppose is probably the best way to change that

[Silver Fox]

Agreed, they've been dominating games (and did again last night no matter how much Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle) but for some reason the incredibly prolific forward line had totally forgotten where the back of the net was (and so had Divock Origi) but thanks to a very accomodating Spuds defence they might have their eyes in again now. Although it's still Citeh's title to lose.

[Sanguine]

Was a really entertaining game that, even at 0-0. VAR continues to frustrate - Salah's goal for me should not have been disallowed - VAR wasn't wrong to conclude that Firmino handballed it, but it was wrong to focus on that element of the build-up and not that Dier was fouling Firmino or that the ball hit Dier's arm first. Son's disallowed goal was technically the 'right' decision - but as ever frustrating to see a goal chalked off for the heel of a football boot. And the Spurs move for that 'goal' was brilliant.

[South Coast Royal]

Was a really entertaining game that, even at 0-0. VAR continues to frustrate - Salah's goal for me should not have been disallowed - VAR wasn't wrong to conclude that Firmino handballed it, but it was wrong to focus on that element of the build-up and not that Dier was fouling Firmino or that the ball hit Dier's arm first. Son's disallowed goal was technically the 'right' decision - but as ever frustrating to see a goal chalked off for the heel of a football boot. And the Spurs move for that 'goal' was brilliant.

Totally agree.
With the Son goal I felt that at last Liverpool had come out on the good side of a VAR for a change but these miniscule offside decisions are so frustrating and Liverpool have suffered more than their fair share this season.

As for the disallowed Salah goal-Dier was fouling Firminho so , after the review, it should have been a free-kick to Liverpool.
It's as if refs forget any other offences ( Pickford on VVD) when considering the first issue.

Talking of Dier, what on earth do Mourinho and Southgate see in him as a central defender that the rest of us don't?

[Sanguine]

Oh and Matip is definitely made of jelly beans. Ankle ligaments this time. FSG surely have to sanction some sort of centre-back signing, even if only a loan - Fabinho apparently likely to miss the West Ham game, where Liverpool will have no choice but to field Phillips and Henderson at the back.

[URZZZZ]

Oh and Matip is definitely made of jelly beans. Ankle ligaments this time. FSG surely have to sanction some sort of centre-back signing, even if only a loan - Fabinho apparently likely to miss the West Ham game, where Liverpool will have no choice but to field Phillips and Henderson at the back.

Phillips and Henderson did well last night but reckon they’d struggle against Antonio who’s able to cause havoc amongst the best defenders

Reckon they’d even take Caulker back at this rate!