The College Dropout

Roberto Carlos? Nonsense. Over 100+ caps for Brazil teams that went to 2 World Cup finals winning 1, won 2 Copa’s. Over a decade at Real winning the CL 3 times. A key player in those teams. One of the players to redefine what a fullback could be. Scored goals from fullback. Technically and physically a wonderful player and played football with the right spirit. If he’s not an absolute legend and shouldn’t be celebrated as one of the best, most charismatic and entertaining fullbacks ever, I don’t who should. Philip Lahm can fuck off.

Aye pre-injury I’m his first Liverpool city he was brilliant.

Ok fair enough. He wanted to move closer to home. Salah is from a different continent. There’s no reason he should be paid less than he could at Liverpool over another top European side. If he was moving to a much less competitive league for the money, I would understand the criticism.

He mentioned those screws in his hips last week as well. Poor lad must be in pain.

He's pretty good at presenting tbf. I tell this to my wife all the time. He was bloody shit as a player (he wasn't but relative to the A1 pundits and Lineker he was) and is sitting in company he doesn't deserve. Although it's better when he's presenting than the punditry. Murphy is still the worst. He's a crap pundit. Not entertaining. Not a character. Not even a great footballer. I don't think Henry's a great pundit. But he's Thierry Henry and bounces off well with others. Merson's a character. Al & Wrighty are a great duo and developed real skills as pundits.

We changed transfer strategy too. What took us to those heights was adding mostly young, athletic British players with a lot to prove into the team from lower down the league and Champo (+ Larry). We already had genuine quality with Given, Lee, Speed & Shearer. Then we started supplementing it with more established players of the same ilk (Woodgate, Bowyer - didn't work for different reasons). But that core of young lads may have started losing their way, at least that was what the fans were being told. IIRC SBR wanted to double-down and bring in another youngster in Carrick. Shepherd wanted a more established professional and got Butt. We did get Milner in that summer I think though. SBR leaves. We waste our money on Boumsong, Luque, Emre, Parker, Babayaro, Faye. Within 2 years - Bernard, Robert, Dyer, Jenas, Bellamy, Milner all gone. That spark gone. Our fans contributed though. It was that era we started getting accusations of being spoiled. We boo'd a 0-0 opening game. James Milner, a player who always gave 100% was routinely ridiculed. Our success was down to SBR (& Shearer). Shephard wasn't a visionary owner but he would back his managers with ££ when he wasn't interferring. SBR was the best appointment he was ever going to make. It was always going to be downhill from there and Shephard's ego was just getting bigger. If he had kept SBR we would have remained European contenders i'm certain. Look at the players SBR wanted, 2 out of 3 would work.

No he couldn't. And not for this amount of time on his contract considering the fee we paid. Salah could join any LFC rival and get what he's demanding.

It's not like LFC will be in peril or face a serious down-turn if they pay him what he wants. It won't stop them being profitable even. They just don't want to break their financial model because if they do, other players will want more money and eventually LFC wll become less profitable.

One thing I loved about the Jenas side was the athleticism. Needed some more strength but we certainly had the speed and a bit of power with Speed and Shearer. On our day teams couldn’t Handle us. Bellamy, Dyer, Jenas could run teams ragged. Robert and Solano adding the finesse. I remember Sporting couldn’t handle the pace of Dyer and Jenas for 130 minutes. But Souness had already gotten rid of Bellamy, Dyer and Jenas got injured then they smashed us.

As in Jenas was more talented than Butt, Shelvey the rest of them. He legitimately had all the tools.

He didn’t fade like. His general performance level was high. in the pre euros friendlies we was a standout performer. Only friendlies but the lad has ability.

It’s rare to find 31 year old players with that hunger and ability. If they’re available we should get them.

I don’t think so. You always had your Zidane’s and Rui Costa’s. I think in England and the 442 the ‘second striker’ had more responsibility to score goals and had to hold it up in the air so were ‘strikers’.

Yes but I’m not a massive fan of that formation. The best team that play it in the PL are Arsenal and I think they’re a rigid and stodgy side. But that Odegaard & Saka combo is legitimately elite. Before them Man Utd used it well under Olebut they were super reliant on Bruno and a bit of magic. I think it’s a luxury position that places too much emphasis on that player. I look at the best managers in the league and they don’t play with a sole 10 in a 4-2-3-1. Chelsea and Liverpool get creativity from wide and pressing. Liverpool have gotten more football ability from the 3 midfielders when that doesn’t work. Chelsea have 2 creators with a forward. City play with 7 creators. that’s why I’m so keen on Raphinha. He’s a genuine creator. He has the stats of one. But he plays wide. He might actually be a natural 10 he’s just got the stamina and pace to play wide. If we get Raph and a 10 - the 10 is just going to get in Raph’s way.

Not true like. Viana never had the minerals to survive in the PL of that era and probably even now. I think he would’ve been better in a midfield 3 but even then I’m not sure he had the minerals to go to the top. He never went to the top in his career. i think a player like Moutinho may have struggled in a 442 in that era but that would be sheer physicality alone. Moutinho has that heart and desire. It’s reflected in his career. Moutinho’s 35 in the PL, by 35 Viana was doing the cash grab thing. But aye Viana was elegant and classy. In the PL Jenas had a much heigher ceiling but again lacked the heart and authority on the pitch. Flattered to deceive so often. He spent the bulk of his career in teams 4-8 for a reason and I don’t think he’s well liked by either club for a reason too. Jenas had all the physical and technical tools for a top Pl midfielder. Decent jump and battle in the air, superb engine could get up and down the pitch quickly for 90 minutes. Jordan Henderson or Milner like physicality but better technically (than Henderson at least), Good first touch, crisp passer. But was just such a passive player. Wouldn’t impose himself. Always passing sideways. It wasn’t like he couldn’t pass it forward, make runs into the box he just wouldn’t. He would let games pass him by and just show glimpses of quality. Spurs fans would say the same thing. imo he’s probably more talented than every CM we’ve had since apart from Cabaye. Parker, Emre, Butt etc. but it feels like he left so much on the table and went out sad. players like Parker and Tiote never had Jenas ability but at least they tried man. Got their foot on the ball and tried to make things happen. That’s why we need characters. From what I can see I like Trips, Burn, Targett, Bruno even Wood from a character perspective. We just need more quality with those types of characters.

Not a fan of the #10 atm. Especially with a back 4 in a 4231. If we get a Raphinha style wide player, we don’t need a 10. I think Arsenal have the best 10 in the league and they still struggle for goals. I think often a 10 accompanies a stodgy midfield.

That’s an Aston Villa style spending spree and it doesn’t get the quality. I’d rather a couple quality £70m transfers than 5 30m transfers. That often doesn’t go very far these days.

Was excellent against Villa.

https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/scottish-premiership/2016-2017/the-life-and-crimes-of-joey-barton-but-is-he-football-s-biggest-bad-boy_sto5860687/story-amp.shtml this must be his 25th chance. A lot of violent altercations in there. And it’s consistent with little restbite. ‘A complete knacker at times’ is more applicable to a Bellamy or a Dyer or Ashley Cole - I mean Dyer and Cole was just young rich and foolish. Bartons genuinely a bad character.

Always been a despicable character. considering 1) he was such a bang average player and 2) his terrible behaviour throughout his career, it’s shocking and disgusting that he had a managerial job in League 1 in the first place. Far better players and less despicable characters have been given considerably less chances than this lad.

Also tactical fouls result in less goals in football. The transition and athleticism of players these days means a good tactical fouls can save a team several points per season. I would like all tackles where there is zero intent to win the ball to be a red card or specifically, "tactical" fouls becoming red cards. They only happen when there's a good (but not yet materialised) chance of a clear-cut opportunity. But as it stands if it's tactical/cynical + reckless it should be a red. I also think refs should be mroe away when a team is deliberately kicking a particular player. It may have been Mou or Fergie that I first saw employ the tactic of rotating who kicks the player(s) that cause the most danger. e.g. giving away clear but not yellow card tackles repeatedly to the same player(s) so that nobody is punished but they can kick the lad out of the game. Notice it on foul 3/4 and just book whoever does it next.

I've always agreed with this. The latter comments about there's a difference between a trip / shirt grab and literally doing anything possible to stop to cause a foul like lunging in dangerously. If that's a tackle in good faith e.g. loose ball, ball bouncing and ASM gets on to it just in time.... it's still probably a red. Strong yellow at least. The fact the ball was nowhere near and it was cynical makes it more of a red than less.

Agreed. I've said a lot of those should be red cards in the past. Pulling/holding the shirt or a simple trip - yellow is fine. Fernandinho is the best at these and we do it a lot as well. But there's ones like the Allan one - where the player goes diving in - often off the ground or from behind and completely wipe out the player. Zero attempt to get the ball, often high up or from behind to ensure the opponent is stopped. How is that not a red card? Because it's a counter attack, that makes it ok? You can't come sliding in so far away from the ball and not get a red. It used to be a red wherever it was on the pitch on FIFA back in the day because you've not even tried to get the ball. Xhaka got one against Swansea some years back. It wasn't even much of a counter attack which is why I think he got a red. He's a good metre away from the ball and slides in catches the attacker on the back of the heels. Red. Good.

I don’t think we will either. It’s entirely possible we get 4 points from the remaining 9 games. But I think that will be enough. And we probably get more anyway.

He’s at Newcastle because he holds onto the ball too much, questionable work rate off the ball but he has immense talent. It’s in his hands to be the player he could potentially be. But I don’t see it. Out of all the pre-takeover players. He’s the one with the talent to stay with us to the top. Does he want it though?