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Sad to learn of Houllier's passing. RIP YNWA


Following developments at the Celtic AGM.



2020 Scottish Cup Final this Sunday... just a little bit late because of covid, but better late than never.



Never minded Houllier, always seemed like a gentleman.
Requiescat in pace Gérard.



That was enjoyable. Spurs had enough chances in the second half to get that typical Mourinho victory. Happy for Bobby. Has had a rough few months.
Also, a word on young Rhys Williams. He is a budget version of Van Dijk. Similar hairstyle, kind of similar running style and the way he gathers the balls and turns. Has put in another good performance against a formidable frontline.

Good tribute to Houllier. The sooner the stadiums get full the better.



It's cool to see Mou back to what seems his prime again! Rooting for Spurs this year!

Yep, he is back to the old Mourinho of Chelsea (first stint) and Inter. You can even tell in the press conferences. I was smiling listening to his pre Liverpool game press conference where he named all our injuries. And fortunately for him, his Spurs players and fans are buying into that brand of defensive-counter attacking football, which for me makes him a contender this season.


Maybe it's one of the reasons why he failed at Real Madrid and United (I know he won trophies there and had to fight player power), but the fans and to some extent the players there wouldn't accept this brand of football. I can't speak about his time at Porto. I only followed his UCL run the season your club won.


I am not going to be a snob about it, and say that it's anti football or unacceptable. It works for him (almost worked on Wednesday night). And if he ends up winning the league this season, then it will be hailed again.



The thing isolated becomes incomprehensible
Yep, he is back to the old Mourinho of Chelsea (first stint) and Inter. You can even tell in the press conferences. I was smiling listening to his pre Liverpool game press conference where he named all our injuries. And fortunately for him, his Spurs players and fans are buying into that brand of defensive-counter attacking football, which for me makes him a contender this season.


Maybe it's one of the reasons why he failed at Real Madrid and United (I know he won trophies there and had to fight player power), but the fans and to some extent the players there wouldn't accept this brand of football. I can't speak about his time at Porto. I only followed his UCL run the season your club won.


I am not going to be a snob about it, and say that it's anti football or unacceptable. It works for him (almost worked on Wednesday night). And if he ends up winning the league this season, then it will be hailed again.

I'd say his time in real was pretty successful. More impressive than winning the CL was winning the Spanish league against what what probably one of the best teams of all time. But I understand what you mean.


In Porto, what he did will always be one of the most incredible achievements done by a manager in history. The fact that he built his team using only unknown players from secondary portuguese teams or from the unwanted of benfica and sporting lisbon and turned them into the best generation of portuguese football ever while winning everything is nothing short of extraordinary. Deco, for example, was a drug addict released by benfica not long before Porto bought him. 4 years later he was playing with Messi and Ronaldinho... That was Mou.


From what I remember seeing them play, they usually massacred during the first 20/30 minutes, often scoring a goal or 2 and then it's counterattack until the end.



I have to admit I was a little worried about yesterday. Leeds are the kind of team which could've ripped us apart had we approached it wrongly. Thankfully that didn't happen and two goals in three minutes meant that the players were all confident but, critically, stayed on top and kept their concentration.

I was gutted when Leeds got promoted. Even the thought of beating them twice didn't make up for the fact they were back in the Premier League. But I have to admit that yesterday felt reeeaaalllly good.

Unlike the rest of the planet I haven't decided that Ole is the man now and we're the challengers to Liverpool this season, but if you can't enjoy a 6-2 win against historic (main?) rivals then maybe football isn't the game for you.
__________________
5-time MoFo Award winner.



So would I. Even if you handed us our arses I'd love a title fight because it would mean we were actually good enough to be involved in one.

BTW, I mean a real title fight, not just we're the best of the rest and we're still 15 points behind.



We were lucky, but that's the kind of win United haven't been able to get, at a (supposed) critical time, for years. It felt like one of those moments fans will look back on should things progress.



You lot could go joint top tonight, @honeykid.


On a side note, I came across this list of players who are going to be out of contract at the end of the season. It doesn't feature Ozil, who at 32 is also going to be out of contract soon, and could still be an option for a top club in a less hectic league.
But there are some interesting options here. While Puig looks the most attractive one, I expect him to extend his contract at Barcelona.


Draxler looks another interesting option. Wasted at PSG. And a bit controversial this and unlikely to happen, but I wouldn't mind seeing Aguero at Anfield considering he was a boyhood LFC fan, and he would be an amazing option from the bench.


Wijnaldum looks likely to leave. He has been a reliable player, but we do have options to cope.



So we're joint top with a game in hand.... But that's all it is. I have to admit that even I get a smile on my face when I see that at this point in the season (it's not like it's after 3 games or something like that) but I still don't think it's something to get carried away with. In this season of all seasons, a couple of wins or loses and the table looks very different.

Ole's been there, Arteta has been there and Frank's there atm. Listening to the talk and the rumours while trying to overturn some really poor form. Of course, Ole and Michel were lucky in that they didn't have Abramovich as their boss.

Are the Liverpool fans here getting at all worried by their form? How long is Jota out for? There's talk of Barca and Real for Mo Salah. I don't think it'll happen but I don't think it'd be a bad thing if it did. I freely admit that I've never gotten the hype over Salah. Don't get me wrong, he puts up good numbers but he's not close to world class IMO.

I agree with @WrinkledMind that an option from the bench is needed for when the front three aren't firing (and while rare it's not the first time it's happened) I don't know if Aguero would work or not but if they don't expect him to run as much he could work. I was thinking of someone a bit more like Giroud but I doubt he'd swap sitting on the Chelsea bench for the Liverpool one with the Euros in the summer.

Another semi final tomorrow. Considering how City played on Sunday I'm not confident at all, but hopeful that it won't be a fourth semi final defeat. We need to get past this mental barrier passed.



Is Klopp just frustrated or is the pressure starting to show? After 2 years of near perfection I can understand how frustrating it'd be to see everyone doing the same thing as before but not getting the same results but it happens to everyone. The United rant was particularly odd as it doesn't actually help Liverpool in any way but it was obviously something he'd looked into beforehand. I've heard some say that he's trying to get it in the officials minds (with the United game at the end of the month) and while I can see that and wondered the same myself, it didn't come across to me like that. I wouldn't go quite so far as to say it's his Rafa moment but it did have echoes of that iconic moment amd he's been moaning a lot more over the last few months.




@honeykid
The front three have looked a mixture of listless, bored, lazy, selfish, unmotivated, etc ( I don't know what's the right word to describe them correctly), since the lockdown. But because they are all supremely talented, only one of them needs to have a good match (or 30 odd minutes) to bail us out.


Jota's unexpected form is a surprise, and has also been one of the reasons to paper over the front three misfiring sometimes. He is expected back at the end of the month.


Salah has ridiculous numbers for the league and not just for us, but he can be problematic and probably the most replaceable from the front three. But when I look at the financial conditions of Madrid and Barca, I don't think they can afford him presently. PSG and Juve (if they offload several players) yes.


I am no longer worried about him. More so with Harvey Elliott coming along nicely on his loan at Blackburn.


The results have been disappointing, cause we could have put some distance between us and the challengers. It was a combination of Klopp rushing in players who have been injured for long (Trent, Thiago, Ox, etc) and them looking unfit at times, and players not taking things seriously (West Brom, Newcastle first half) to an opposition keeper having a blinder (Darlow of Newcastle). No excuses for the Southampton match, they were the better side from start to the end.




I really fear City. I think they have got over their issues,and at the back have become really solid. I expect them to sign a big money striker in this window and they could easily go on a run of good results.


I agree with you on United, Chelsea and even Spurs. It's a matter of couple of results and it could go either way with them. They are still sides that are rebuilding.


Our biggest concern is CB. We need to sign one this January window. I hope we do. Matip is like Agger V 2.0. Brilliant when available, but there's always an injury in waiting.


As for Klopp losing it. His behaviour is not surprising. As much as I love the guy, let's not forget, he once (or maybe twice) blamed the grass for defeat. I think most managers are touchy when they lose.



The front three have looked a mixture of listless, bored, lazy, selfish, unmotivated, etc ( I don't know what's the right word to describe them correctly), since the lockdown. But because they are all supremely talented, only one of them needs to have a good match (or 30 odd minutes) to bail us out.
I get this and it's pretty much what I have seen when I have seen Liverpool since the resumption of the league last season. It's also how I see United's current climb, although I do think we've improved a bit at the back and Henderson's prescence seems to've lit a small fire under De Gea a bit. But, essentially, we're depending on one of our star players (often Bruno and/or Rashford) to perform some individual brilliance or a final third pass to pay off and put someone in front of goal.

I really fear City. I think they have got over their issues,and at the back have become really solid. I expect them to sign a big money striker in this window and they could easily go on a run of good results.
Yep, I agree with you about their defence. I've heard people talking numbers and stats about City's defence this season but I was really impressed with Stones and Dias on Wednesday. I don't think either of them put a foot wrong or looked like they'd been caught out of position. Those final third passes I mentioned for United were continuiously intercepted and shots blocked in the first half. Admittedly the didn't have to do so much in the second half, but they still did what they had to do perfectly. I got sick of hearing Dias' name actually which is about as much praise as I can muster for a City player atm.


Our biggest concern is CB. We need to sign one this January window. I hope we do. Matip is like Agger V 2.0. Brilliant when available, but there's always an injury in waiting.
Again I agree and I think everyone who's seen Liverpool this season would. I've heard that Klopp has said it's not going to happen this January. As I assume they have the money, I guess it means they can't get the player they want and are prepared to wait until the summer. Which may well mean there's no title this season, especially if he keeps playing two midfielders at CB and one of them is Henderson.



@neibaGoing forward I like him but I'm still not sold on him defensively yet. I know that's not as important today (apparently) and the full backs are played like wing backs to provide width and extra man/men in midfield, but I still like defenders to defender. Don't get me wrong, he's not messing up and, unless it's full back like Wan Bissaka, it's tough to really tell about how good defensively they are on a few performances.

I think most seem to be pleased with him though and I'm hoping that with more playing time and getting settled in a new country and league, he'll really start to produce.



Thank you Crawley Town. I love the third round of the FA Cup and this kind of thing is one of the reasons why. Even better when it's (Dirty) Leeds. Well done lads.