rgk_lfc

Pep's deployment of John Stones as an inverted roaming fullback is genius. Arteta copied the same formation in deploying Zinchenko the same way. Klopp did the same using TAA as a hybrid roaming right back and central midfielder and our performances improved.

I will be surprised if that is true. None of the "reliable" journos for LFC have linked us to Veiga.

I have to disagree with the make or break assessment. One thing I have realized over the last 25 years is that progress and, at the same time, moving backward, at the highest level is highly nonlinear. We went from way outside the CL places to compete for the PL in 2013-2014 over a summer. We reduced a 25 point gap to City to one point over a summer under Klopp. In one and half seasons, you went from nineteenth (or eighteenth) to CL. No one would have predicted Chelsea finishing outside of tenth place at the beginning of the season. We went from competing for quadruple to finishing outside CL places in one summer. Even if we don't qualify for CL the next season, it will be fine. As long as we have a quality coaching setup, anything is possible. All it takes is one superstar signing, and clubs will rocket up the table.

Yes and No. Edwards played an important role in the successful signings, but I don't think it is 100% due to him. Edwards's signings were not that great pre-Klopp. It was during that 2016-2019 period under Klopp that it reached another level. So was it entirely due to Edwards or entirely due to Klopp, difficult to say so. All I know is we had an incredibly smart analytics plus scouting division which delivered. But I also think it was difficult to sustain that level of hits with signings year in and year out. So while our signings in the last couple of years haven't been at that level, I am fine with that. Even if Edwards was at the helm, I doubt we would have replicated the 2016-2019 success levels. Not sure if any club or sports franchise (in other sports) has nailed almost every signing over an eight to ten period.

To be fair, fans of most clubs think their transfer operation is not up to par, and their rival clubs are better than them. Most "normal" and "rational" Liverpool fans are very impressed with Newcastle's transfers under Ashworth and Howe - Bruno, Botman, Trippier - all bought with a purpose in mind and can play at the highest level. You see LFC being quick in the transfer window after having a pick of whom we want. We see a club that chased Tchouameni for 4 months before losing him to Madrid, then chasing Bellingham for a year before turning out attention to other players. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining about our transfer operation. It is not up to the level which delivered Mane, Salah, etc. but still very, very good. Just pointing out that we tend to be more critical of our clubs and sometimes look at others with rose-tinted glasses.

They bought Luiz for 25 million or something. Then within three years sold to PSG for 50 million. Then within two years bought him for 35 million or something. Then within 2-3 years sold him again.

Looks like Havertz to Madrid for 70 million. Chelsea must be the best in the world in terms of selling their players.

https://twitter.com/OptaAnalyst/status/1664200943435497472

Agreed. That is why I think he will do very well with Chelsea. I know the Chelsea squad looks mental, but there is enough latent talent there for someone like Poch to create an effective team. They also don't have the Europe distraction next season.

Forgive my ignorance as I rarely watch games out of the PL, world cup and the Euros, but does the game appear really slow given the context? I saw a pullback into the Mainz box and the Dortmund player was just ambling to get it. Another example was a ball going out of play and the Dortmund player was just gently jogging. At the risk of appearing like a PFM, show some effort. Great chance missed for Dortmund. Even the Mainz keeper has started to feel sorry for them now.

Give him some time. He is a quality player, and this is a Liverpool fan speaking. He doesn't have any outstanding attributes but has a number of attributes at a good to a very good level. There will always be space for a player like him in a CL squad. He may not be in the starting eleven of a fully fit and fresh Newcastle squad but through the season when injuries mount, a player like him is valuable. Everton over the last two years has not been an ideal environment for a youngster to develop with a revolving door of coaches and managers. Howe is also the first counterpressing coach he is under. He will be fine in the long run.

Not as much as Tierney. Hooper, I remember only two or three games. Tierney is definitely way more than 5. See, that itself says something. I remember the referees.

Thank you. Tierney might very well be the worst of the lot. Again, I repeat, I don't think he is biased against Liverpool. He is just poor at the basics of refereeing due to the reasons you mentioned. I am betting in three years' time, fans of every club in the PL will have a long list of grievances against him. The FA and PL will protect him to the end. And when it is totally unbearable for him to set foot in any football ground in the country, promote him to becoming the head of the referees association or Director of VAR.

I grew up in India in the 80s and 90s. Every overseas cricket tour, whether it is Australia, England, Pakistan, or Sharjah was accompanied by weeks of complaining about dogawful officiating. I am betting it was the same for fans of those countries when they toured India. Nowadays, there is hardly a discussion on that aspect. Because the trust in the refereeing process has increased so much. Say what you want about ICC, but umpiring is something they have improved brilliantly. And if you thought Newcastle and Liverpool fans were rabid, passionate, and biased - I invite you to visit the subcontinent during a cricket game . ICC are no saints, but they have no issues bringing transparency to the game. With the FA and PL, the feeling I am getting is they don't like criticisms, and as you rightly point out, don't want accountability for their actions. Coming back to the discussion, I am not that neutral or level-headed in this matter. Obviously, my views will be different from yours on specific incidents, biases, etc. But I have no qualms in saying that we will finish outside of the CL places because that is where we deserve to be, irrespective of what I think about the officiating. Having said that, I strongly believe, once we fix our midfield, we will be right in the mix competing for the three CL places next season with Chelsea, Man United, Newcastle, Arsenal, and potentially Spurs and Villa. I say three because City will obviously take one.

I am not the most neutral observer on these matters, mate. I try to stay away from such discussions and butt in the football forum only when I can add insights without annoying a decent number of you . I am betting if Villa was the threat to your CL place and we were in 10th position, quite a few of you would be annoyed at the offside goal and red card not given to Mings. I can honestly say one thing, Tierney is a horrible referee. I don't think he is biased like most LFC fans. He is incompetent. And the PL and FA would rather cover it up than work on such referees to improve them. Outside of football, I follow cricket and admire how they have adopted technology more sensibly to improve the standard of refereeing. Football is a more fluid game with too many things happening outside of the referee's field of vision, I get that. But I am wondering why somehow the premier league's adoption of technology gives me the impression that things have not improved. Again my perception only which could be a result of my inbuilt bias. It may be because I watched the world cup as a neutral or it could be the slower pace of the game helping the referees, but overall I was happy about the refereeing there. Sensible decisions were made. Why the PL cannot do it is a mystery to me.

Ownership matters a lot. For Southampton, all the foundations of their impressive way of doing things were done by Nicola Cortese under the ownership of Markus Liebherr. Unfortunately, Liebherr passed away in 2010 and his daughter took over the club reluctantly. His daughter continued the tradition but did not have the same vision or commitment as her dad. So while Southampton was impressive from 2010 onwards, behind the scenes, people started to leave culminating in Cortese leaving around 2014. After that Poch left and it has been a gentle way down culminating in this season. Unless Tony Bloom sells, I believe Brighton will be fine. He seems really committed to their way of doing things. Yes, they might get one or two transfers wrong and in the process might get relegated. But I think in 10 years' time, they will be established as a top-level club unless Bloom sells or loses interest.

Kelleher's contract is not up. He is too good to be backup and needs regular game time. I will be surprised if we will sell Gomez. English, still young, lost his way a bit but a lot to work with there. Unless we are buying another defender which I doubt given our main focus will be on midfield.

Difficult to root against a Carlo Ancellotti team

Yup. That is like deserves multiple punches from Mane bad performance.

Ancelotti is a freaking don, isn't he. Man management plus tactics plus no unnecessary shenanigans or fights or no preaching any footballing philosophy. Also credit to Sobhani for even asking that question.

We wont finish fourth. We are way too inconsistent game to game and within games. In the Arsenal game, the Xhaka tackle woke us up and we played brilliantly after that. In the Leeds game, we were not that great in the first 30 minutes till we got a lucky break for the first goal. When we are in the zone, we are capable of blowing teams away as we have shown in spurts this season. But we have not been able to maintain that level and I don't see any reason for that to change. Regarding TAA, Klopp has deployed him as a hybrid RB, midfielder in the last two games with Robertson, VVD, and Konate acting as 3 central defenders. Pep developed this tactic earlier this season I believe. Sample size is low but TAA has been very good in this role. Check out most of his positioning in this video against Arsenal. Irrespective of where we finish this season, I feel confident of us being in the mix for CL qualification next season after some of our performances in the second half of the season. Fix our midfield over the summer, better luck with injuries to key players like Jota and Diaz, and we should be competing for the top four again.

Alan Pardew has been brushing up on his Spanish as West Ham prepare for their first big European jaunt for seven years. And in a bid to make new Argentinian signings Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez feel at home, Pardew has set his staff a Spanish test for the end of this week. 'I have been speaking Spanish this week,' Pardew revealed proudly. 'It all went down well with the lads and all the staff have a little test on a few football terms!' https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/pardew-sets-spanish-test-2313362

Well, Pardew claimed he did as he "helped" Mascherano and Tevez settle in London through his knowledge of Spanish. The fact that they couldn't wait to get away from him, suggests otherwise, or at least he was as bad at Spanish communication as at English.

One very basic thing we can look for is how many of the PFM's are multi-lingual. Because language and communication are key to managing a diverse squad. I know their stock is low, but Rodgers can speak fluently in Spanish, French, and English. Potter can speak multiple European languages. I can't talk about Howe, but given his obsession with Spanish football tactics and training methods, I would be surprised if he cannot speak Spanish at a basic. Not surprised the most progressive British coaches are multi-lingual. Most of the great European coaches can speak around four languages. I know there are some advantages as some of the mainland languages are related and easier to pick up if you know one. But still. For example, Pep and Xabi Alonso can speak Spanish, Italian, German, and English. And they put effort into being fluent in German before they went to Germany. Alonso was answering questions in English at 21 at press conferences which he picked up in a month or two. What does it have to do with football coaching? It indicates how much they value the communication of ideas and how much effort they are willing to put in. In comparison, most of the PFMs can barely speak English. If you take a college-level English essay assignment and hand it to several managers, I am sure Mourinho, Rafa, and Ancelotti will turn in a significantly more articulate English essay than Gerrard and Lampard. I bet "Good ebening" Emery turns in a better essay than PFMs. I know some of you will retort by saying that Pardew can speak Spanish. But I am sure he is as obnoxious in Spanish as in English.

It is all relative, isn't it? After they failed at their first job, Rafa and Pako spent their money traveling economy to various clubs in Europe to learn more about coaching and tactics. They spent quite a bit of time arranging cones at AC Milan to absorb the knowledge of training sessions from Arrigo Sacchi. They spent time at Ajax and Feyenoord to understand their youth training philosophy. I believe Howe and his team spent time in Madrid to learn more about tactics at Atletico. I may be wrong but he spent time in the Netherlands too. After quitting Dortmund, Klopp's "break" was in Portugal (Porto, Benfica, and other smaller clubs), absorbing their football culture and approach to youth development. Before taking up the Barca job, Pep traveled to Argentina to meet with Bielsa to discuss tactics, refine his thoughts, etc. Rafa started coaching his daughter's Under 8 football team when he was fired from Inter. It became an issue as parents and other coaches started complaining, and he was asked to step aside. Yes, Gerrard and Lampard work hard. I don't think they have the managerial acumen at the highest level, but I also don't think they have the humility and commitment to the craft which is needed to be successful at the highest level. There are different layers of working hard which I highly doubt they have. There is a huge chasm between working harder than us and spending every waking minute obsessing about how to improve by 0.0001%. I would be dazed if Gerrard or Lampard spent their time away from management working alongside coaches in AZ Alkmaar or Rotterdam, learning more about fitness management, attacking patterns, etc.