EPL Matchday 23

[Fryer Tuck]

Initially, he was behind Patrick van Aanholt for the LB position but he has been better this season and is slowly winning over the fans. Had a solid month when we won at Leicester and Southampton and showed he liked to go forward. Being out for the season now is a blow for us.

Glad to hear that he's gotten ahead of PVA, and is being solid.

Has he improved his footballing IQ since? Like, you're not expecting it to go to Row Z because he's developed an idea on what he wants to do once he's made it this far?

 

[Gosha]

Pogba is having an underrated season. 9 assists (the same as KdB) yet he has played 900 less minutes.

He’s an absolute goose but you have to pay credit where it’s due.

 

[Fryer Tuck]

Note: Newcastle lost 4-3 to Liverpool at Anfield in the leadup to this table

 

[Latro]

Note: Newcastle lost 4-3 to Liverpool at Anfield in the leadup to this table

The difference in coaching ability is inverse of then though.

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

Keegan is far kess neurotic though.

 

[Zidane98]

There's no way Pep utensils it up from here.

 

[jod23]

Heard he had a good game.

jod23 you coming round yet?

I am mate, he's been impressive.

 

[RPCB]

Note: Newcastle lost 4-3 to Liverpool at Anfield in the leadup to this table

Newcastle lost to Liverpool 4-3 in April that season or MD 31 to be exact lol.

 

[FAITH]

Interesting a lot of LFC supporters are debating whether LFC are better without coutinho than with.
For me its got a bit of the crows are better without danger.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

It’s not the end of the world when a team loses their best player. We lost Ronaldo and carried on just fine after that.

Sometimes it frees up other players to take their game to another level now a big chess piece is no longer there.

 

[kangaspurs]

It depends on how much of the heavy lifting that player was doing when he was there and who he was surrounded by. Bale is a good example. He won us so many points and did so much on his own in that last season he was with us and there was no one really around him that was any help whatsoever. Of course we were goign to struggle when he left because we were just so reliant on him.

With the excellent front 3 of Firmino, Salah and Mane, a good midfielder in Can and the returning Lallana (who I personally love as a footballer) you have enough there to cover his absence and what he was contributing. With all those guys there LFC weren't as reliant on him as some other teams are on their star players.

 

[Magma]

there are always players who just thrive off a change of scenery. clichy instantly comes to mind as he really lifted his game back up again after leaving arsenal. also, kolarov and dzeko are playing really well for roma too.

 

[jod23]

The loss of Coutinho certainly hurts but we're just in a much better position with much better players to be able to cover his loss. It's not the same as when we lost Suarez as we had a poor squad around him.

 

[moomba]

Loads of examples of clubs selling off big names and improving as a result.

I fully expect Liverpool to be a better, more rounded squad as a result of the Coutinho sale.

IMO there's a stigma about being a "selling club" that's far worse than reality. As long as you treat each case on it's merits, and look for how it can improve you rather than how you don't want to lose a star player.

 

[Zidane98]

Loads of examples of clubs selling off big names and improving as a result.

I fully expect Liverpool to be a better, more rounded squad as a result of the Coutinho sale.

IMO there's a stigma about being a "selling club" that's far worse than reality. As long as you treat each case on it's merits, and look for how it can improve you rather than how you don't want to lose a star player.

That's all good but it is madness to sell a world class footballer smack bang in the middle of the season. It's a huge blow to our top 4 challenge and ends any faint hopes of winning the CL. Really we should have adopted the RB Leipzig approach and said no deal until after the world cup at least.

 

[moomba]

Depends. How much did he want to leave, what was he prepared to do to force it through. Was the first half of the season based on the understanding that he'd be allowed to go in January? Would VVD have been bought without Coutinho being sold?

Lots of questions that will probably never be answered. But not sure I agree that it was a bad decision to sell in January.

 

[jd2010]

Liverpool bought their coutinho replacement in the summer. The Ox!

 

[WealstoneRaider]

Don’t quite understand this one. You only have to look at which clubs pick up the trophies to understand that buying rather than selling top players is the way to go.

 

[moomba]

Don’t quite understand this one. You only have to look at which clubs pick up the trophies to understand that buying rather than selling top players is the way to go.

Atletico Madrid is a good example of a "selling club" that strengthens at the same time.

 

[chef]

Atletico Madrid is a good example of a "selling club" that strengthens at the same time.

Or Chelsea i guess.

 

[Zidane98]

Depends. How much did he want to leave, what was he prepared to do to force it through. Was the first half of the season based on the understanding that he'd be allowed to go in January? Would VVD have been bought without Coutinho being sold?

Lots of questions that will probably never be answered. But not sure I agree that it was a bad decision to sell in January.

Nope, Coutinho made it clear as long as he was at Liverpool he'd give it his all. Also, turns out he is injured until the end of the month so it shouldn't have been too difficult to just simply ignore Barca and say come back to the negotiating table at the end of July. We have an identical scenario with Keita wanting to join us now and we have already purchased him as of 1 July yet they still wouldn't let him go.

VVD was purchased regardless of Coutinho being sold. There was never any understanding that Coutinho was going, it was made clear to him that the club wanted him to stay at all costs. It will cost us selling him now I am sure unless we sign someone that has the potential to match his talent.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

Atletico Madrid is a good example of a "selling club" that strengthens at the same time.

So you’d be at the worst nonplussed if you had to sell KDB in the summer? Everyone hates seeing their best players leave. Factor in that it can lead to other players becoming unsettled also. We went backwards for two seasons after we sold Bale. Most of the time it doesn’t work out

 

[moomba]

So you’d be at the worst nonplussed if you had to sell KDB in the summer? Everyone hates seeing their best players leave. Factor in that it can lead to other players becoming unsettled also. We went backwards for two seasons after we sold Bale. Most of the time it doesn’t work out

In every case you look at what you'll get for a player, and what alternatives there are. If a top player can be replaced by two or three top players you'd have to consider it.

From my perspective (and I know people strongly disagree) if any player wants out I don't see the point in making them stay. Get the best deal you can, and move on with the players that want to be at the club.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

In every case you look at what you'll get for a player, and what alternatives there are. If a top player can be replaced by two or three top players you'd have to consider it.

From my perspective (and I know people strongly disagree) if any player wants out I don't see the point in making them stay. Get the best deal you can, and move on with the players that want to be at the club.

I can understand top players wanting out if the club they are at stagnates. If we miss top four this season I wouldn’t be happy for the likes of Kane to try and bail out in the summer though. What happened with both Modric and Bale was we managed to squeeze another season out of them - and they both had exceptional ones. That’s the least I would expect. If the club is still short after that additional season the player stays for then they go with my blessings. There has to be some display of loyalty in my opinion.

 

[Zidane98]

I can understand top players wanting out if the club they are at stagnates. If we miss top four this season I wouldn’t be happy for the likes of Kane to try and bail out in the summer though. What happened with both Modric and Bale was we managed to squeeze another season out of them - and they both had exceptional ones. That’s the least I would expect. If the club is still short after that additional season the player stays for then they go with my blessings. There has to be some display of loyalty in my opinion.

Agree with this. Footballers are professionals and getting paid a shitload of money. Most will still perform if they don't get a transfer, just look at Coutinho who was absolutely brilliant first half of the season. Unless a player needs a transfer for family / personal reasons mid season they really can't complain about not getting a transfer and putting their best effort in. Cannot agree with selling Coutinho in January at all, it is madness and may very well cost us a top 4 place. Had he stayed we probably could have driven his transfer fee even higher after the world cup also or possibly convince him to change his mind.