rgk_lfc

Nah. He has his issues, not perfect, but he is cool in the larger scheme of things. He is a hipster like Rafa in the sense that they prefer and are a better fit for clubs like Valencia, Liverpool, Dortmund, Newcastle over Madrid, Bayern, and Barcelona. If you look at the current list of top managers, he is the most likely to be your manager at some point in the future. He has a very different personality than Rafa but internally there are a lot of similarities. Just like Rafa, he understands the bonds fans have with their club in a location like Liverpool, Dortmund, Newcastle and knows how to harness that and bring everyone forward.

It looks good overall but our front three is the key. One of them rested or injured and our performance drops significantly. We defeated City in a friendly yesterday. That's 6 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss against City for Klopp. If only we could play them every weekend

You don't get a pay-off if you're sacked for gross misconduct. Running your mouth off about your boss is gross misconduct. Rafa is doing absolutely the right thing by keeping quiet and saying nothing. Rafa has no issues mouthing of on owners at the right time if he feels that the situation is not salvageable. I don't think he cares too much about pay-off. He has never made money an issue in his career. The reason he has not gone fully ballistic as bad the situation is now, he can still make it work due to the confidence in his ability to turn lead into gold or a possible potential takeover sometime in the future. If he feels that there is no chance whatsoever, he will go for a full frontal attack on Mike in the press conference. He has too much professional integrity to continue coaching and try to hang on to a job. He may also be holding back as he does not want to disrupt the mood of the squad especially some of the younger ones.

One thing about Rafa is that if he is pissed and genuinely feels that there is no way to move forward, expect a press conference where he drags Mike Ashley through the mud. The one thing Rafa is not is a coward. Expect a press conference interspersed with metaphors "I was hoping for a sofa, and they bought me a lamp", "Some people cannot see a priest on a mountain of sugar", "If Chelsea are naive and pure then I'm Little Red Riding Hood", "Why is your child on the donkey, rather than you?". He had no problems going after Valencia, LFC, and Inter owners. I don't think he will care too much about Ashley. Bottom line is until that happens, dont worry too much about press briefings.

You're not English? Didn't know that, where are you from? In total agreement re Henderson like. He's starting to get noticed for what he brings to England and Liverpool now, which is really pleasing after years of people just repeating 'he just plays it sideways' and hoping that it still applies to how he plays. Based in US.

From an outsiders perspective, I think England have a lot to be optimistic for. Kane is as good as it gets upfront. Your defense is solid and with Pickford you have found a very good Goalkeeper. But I think the main area for improvement for England would be in the middle. Might not be the popular opinion around here but Henderson is a very good midfielder. Especially if you play tactics involving pressing. I have witnessed him develop over the last few years and love his attitude, determination, hard work, and attention to the coach's tactics and instructions. However, he has his limitations. I dont think he is going to develop further and he is a quite a bit below the level of Modric and Ratikic and you need that at the international level to win cups. Twice in three months, Modric ran rings around him and the second time Modric could barely move. Ox is much better at holding ball in tight spaces, dribbling and escaping tackles, and running with the ball in dangerous areas but he is not a controlling midfielder. Second is upfront, Sterling needs to start contributing in goals for the national team. However, good his approach play is, 2 goals (Lithuania, Estonia) in 44 games is an incredibly poor record for an attacking player of his quality.

At some point, Diego Godin and Modric must enter the discussion for the World Player of the year They are brilliant in their respective roles.

Man Utd finished above us comfortably last season. Chelsea have won two of the last four premier leagues. Their players appear to have a switch which they can turn on and win the league. Way too early to make that statement. I don't know ... it feels like the game is moving into a really dynamic, attacking era. I really like the types of players Liverpool are bringing in. They are already the one team that have been able to handle Man City under Pep, quite consistently, and Man City are miles ahead of everyone else, and so that is more what I am basing it on. Their front three are already pretty outrageous, and now all of a sudden they have upgraded the midfield three significantly, rendering the likes of Ox, Gini, Milner and Henderson as backups or rotational players. That is very very impressive IMO. Chelsea don't know who their manager is yet, are coming off a really poor season, and really need to upgrade their team. Going forward they only really have Hazard and maybe Willian to be happy about. As far as Man Utd go ... well, I'm of the opinion that Mourinho is actually going to end up being a disaster. Think there will be a big fall out due to the way their attacking players are being utilised. The expectations of the fans and former players will never match with the type of football Mourinho is producing. It's all the more sickening for them with both Man City and Liverpool playing the way they do. Well Klopp is Guardiola's kryptonite. He knows how to disrupt Guardiola's passing rhythm. I do agree that football is moving towards a more dynamic proactive attacking approach. However, the teams which win trophies using this approach are the truly elite clubs - Barcelona, City, Bayern. Don't get me wrong, I love watching us play. Also, love how Pochetino's Spurs play. For all of the plaudits for the style of play, both teams have won zero trophies whereas Chelsea and Utd have 2 trophies to show for. I am still not 100% convinced if the front foot aggressive attacking football will deliver trophies unless we have an elite squad or a once in a generation player like Messi. But can't complain though.

Man Utd finished above us comfortably last season. Chelsea have won two of the last four premier leagues. Their players appear to have a switch which they can turn on and win the league. Way too early to make that statement.

Makes sense. Thanks.

Does failing FFP regulations matter for clubs which are not going to qualify for Europe? Genuine question? Does UEFA have the authority to impose restrictions on clubs which are not going to play in Europa or Champions league?

Hard luck man. It was a brilliant campaign and run to the final but maybe not yet up there with the very best. The front 3 look incredible, now it's time to work on the rest behind them. Some promising transfers so it's all looking good. Yup. After a few days, have to hold my hands up and say, Madrid deserved the win. Klopp did a brilliant job getting us to the final but this was one step too far. Madrid team is too good. We bought on Lallana, they bought on Bale. Also Zidane, he might not be the greatest tactically but kudos to him for the mentality he has ingrained in his team. They can graft when they need to graft, play when they need to play. I don't think they had any doubts in their mind that they were going to win the cup - all of that is due to him. Also a special mention to their midfield particularly Modric. He is not getting enough attention due to the Bale goal. He was critical to the way they overcome the press. Schooled our midfield trio.

We have just announced Fabinho deal. From every journo with inside info, FSG are going to go big this summer. Klopp has a negative net spend until now. LFC have the Champions league run money, qualified for CL next season. So have a lot of money sitting in the coffers. Current rumors are Fekir or Pulisic + a goalkeeper.

Gutted at the loss but overall proud of the campaign. Our gameplan went out of the window with Salah. Madrid defenders placed themselves at least 20 feet in front and started controlling the game. Karius - feel for him. But there is no way he should start for LFC next season. Having said that, even if the above two incidents did not happen, I think Madrid would have found a way to win. They found a way to win at champions of France, Germany, and Italy. They have too much European nous, too much firepower in the bench. Their midfield was at a whole different level compared to ours.

The Milan team that night was mental as well. Ha ha ha aye - I was looking before at the teams - absolutely incredible team! AC Milan: Dida, Cafu, Maldini, Stam, Nesta, Gattuso (Rui Costa 112), Seedorf (Serginho 86), Pirlo, Kaka, Shevchenko, Crespo (Tomasson 85). Subs Not Used: Abbiati, Kaladze, Costacurta, Dhorasoo. Goals: Maldini 1, Crespo 39, 44. Liverpool: Dudek, Finnan (Hamann 46), Traore, Hyypia, Carragher, Riise, Gerrard, Luis Garcia, Alonso, Kewell (Smicer 23), Baros (Cisse 85). Subs Not Used: Carson, Josemi, Nunez, Biscan. Booked: Carragher, Baros. Goals: Gerrard 54, Smicer 56, Alonso 59. When talking about the 2005 Champions League, a lot of people just focus on the final due to the drama associated with it. But if you study our run, you will realize that the entire campaign was one of the greatest managerial performances of all time. For example, we played Juventus in the quarter final and defeated them 2-1 in the first leg. Compare the teams. Carson, Finnan, Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Luis Garcia, Gerrard, Biscan, Riise, Le Tallec (Smicer 73), Baros (Nunez 66). vs Buffon, Zebina (Montero 81), Cannavaro, Thuram, Zambrotta, Blasi (Pessotto 45), Emerson, Camoranesi, Nedved, Del Piero (Trezeguet 61), Ibrahimovic. And then we knocked out Mourinho's record breaking Chelsea. Before that we defeated the Champions league finalist from previous year, Monaco, Deportivo ( who were CL semi finalist previous year), and a very decent Olympiakos team which had Rivaldo. If you believe the press, it was all back to the wall defending but it was not. For example, in the first 30 minutes in the home leg against Juve, we blitzed them. Once we got a two goal advantage, we sat back and frustrated them and attacked them on the counter. The second leg was 0-0 but we had the better chances to win. Without a doubt, among the top 10 greatest managerial performances in England. And the best part is, he then took a team with Peter Crouch upfront and Pennant on the wings to another CL final two years later. He has a ridiculous record in Europe. I think in the 12 years he has participated in European competitions, he has reached the semi-finals or finals atleast 8 times. Which is a stunning record, as he often did not have the most expensive teams.

But how does that explain constantly playing Hayden Mullins in place of Mascherano for half a season. Does he not watch them in training? Even the craziest posters on football forums wouldn't make that mistake. Mascherano walked into our midfield as first choice competing against Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard. But could not displace Reo Coker and Mullins. Pardew was satisfied Jack Colback could replace a prime Yohan Cabaye. Somethings can't be explained. Fair enough

But how does that explain constantly playing Hayden Mullins in place of Mascherano for half a season. Does he not watch them in training? Even the craziest posters on football forums wouldn't make that mistake. Mascherano walked into our midfield as first choice competing against Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard. But could not displace Reo Coker and Mullins.

Mascherano on Rafa "Benitez lifted me out of a dark hole 20 metres underground and put me up on a high," Mascherano said. "He is a great person and a teacher as a coach -- with him you can learn a lot, if that is what you really want." Mascherano said he had stayed in touch with Benitez after both had left Anfield, but their current positions at Barca and Madrid meant they talked less currently. "Since we were at the same team we have remained in touch," he said. "Our relationship has not changed, although the situation is a bit more uncomfortable now. Someday I will leave Barca, or he will leave Madrid, and it will return to normal. We still talk now, but less often." Guess which manager put Mascherano in the dark hole "The likes of Hayden Mullins and Nigel Reo-Coker kept Mascherano out of the side and within six months he was gone to Liverpool, where he would play in the Champions League final and establish an outstanding partnership with Xabi Alonso. Speaking to Gazetta dello Sport the Barcelona defender was critical of Pardew, saying: “It was frustrating to join after a World Cup and have the manager ask what position I played but I continued to push forward for six months.”

Klopp on Rafa Klopp hailed the return of Benitez, who won the Champions League with the Reds, as the “return of a legend”. He told his weekly press conference: “We know who is coming – a Liverpool legend is coming, Rafael Benitez one of the best managers in the world. We all know how he works, how he can organise a team, how he can make your life really difficult.” Message to Ashley: There isn't a single manager whom you can hope to hire whom opposition managers will even get close to calling "one of the best managers in the world" even if they are drugged, kidnapped, and have a gun pointed at them. All Rafa is asking is a reasonable portion of the PL money which he has earned for the club this year. Just put that in a bank account, give Rafa the account number and go and enjoy your summer vacation or whatever you do. You have one of the easiest jobs as an owner in the premier league. If you screw this up, then either you are dumb, or you are funneling Newcastle monies for something more serious.

link ? At 2:07

From our tunnel cam after the game a month ago Rafa to Klopp as Henderson walks by: Be careful of him. He is from Soonderland. Klopp: Soonderland, makes some remark which I cannot understand.

Rafa is going to be your manager next season. Rafa is not a coward. If he reaches a point where he is genuinely unhappy with the owner, you will know. There will not be any ambiguity in his statement. He had no issues going against Gillette and Hicks, Valencia owners, and Inter owner in the media. If he doesn't see a future with Ashley at Newcastle, he would have no problem calling out Ashley and his cronies in a press conference in a very direct manner by now.

Real defeated PSG in France, Juve in Italy, and Bayern in Munich. All three champions of their respective leagues. Their football looks unimpressive for a team about to do a historic three-peat but they know how to get the job done. They have a manager and players with vast experience in such games. They are ruthless and clinical with their chances. I may be biased in the next statement but I feel that a reasonable number of the 50-50 decisions fall in their favor because of their aura and reputation. Whoever plays them in the final, us or Roma, will have to play the game of this season, to have a minor chance.

Watching him on the TV every weekend was some kind of connection to my teenage years. Brilliant manager. Definitely stayed past his due date but an icon of the PL nevertheless.