Official Liverpool FC Thread II

[MetalFingaz]

Is the marginal improvement worth the price? Should we limit minutes for Gravenberch or Bajectic to develop, potentially, into long-term solutions in the position or should we buy Barella or Koopmeiners (assuming either is actually available)? Should we spend $50m on someone who improves the midfield if that means we can't offer Trent the contract he wants and he walks for free to Madrid next year?

Gravenberch wasn't exactly a clean bill of health last season. And it sounds as if the club wants to loan Bajectic (RB Salzburg the rumor). I have always looked at Endo as a stop gap considering his age.

Yeah I don't see Endo getting a lot of starts in the league this year, barring injury.

[danfantastk32]

Sounds like we signed that Goalie. I'm not gonna try and remember the name. Good to see we actually got a signing....but A) he doesn't come till next year, and B) Aren't we pretty good at Goalie right now? Seems like a weird deal to get done. I guess at least SOMETHING happened. Was starting to wonder.

Mamardashvili. Wouldn't be surprised if we sell both Alisson and Kelleher before next season to fund other transfers.

Will be bummed when Alisson leaves. He's been a great goalie. Best I can remember. I remember he was a bit of a risk-taker when he first arrived...made a couple dufus errors. But he soon turned into one of the best in the business.

I don't know much about the Mamardashvili guy....but would like to see him get some run before we just move off a world-class goalie like Alisson.

[Baseline81]

Mamardashvili. Wouldn't be surprised if we sell both Alisson and Kelleher before next season to fund other transfers.

Kelleher is very likley to leave after the season. He desires, and should be given the chance, to be a No. 1 keeper at a club.

[MetalFingaz]

Mamardashvili. Wouldn't be surprised if we sell both Alisson and Kelleher before next season to fund other transfers.

Kelleher is very likley to leave after the season. He desires, and should be given the chance, to be a No. 1 keeper at a club.

Totally agree. Hopefully we get a good price for him. He's very clearly starting quality for a Premier League team.

[MetalFingaz]

Sounds like we signed that Goalie. I'm not gonna try and remember the name. Good to see we actually got a signing....but A) he doesn't come till next year, and B) Aren't we pretty good at Goalie right now? Seems like a weird deal to get done. I guess at least SOMETHING happened. Was starting to wonder.

Mamardashvili. Wouldn't be surprised if we sell both Alisson and Kelleher before next season to fund other transfers.

Will be bummed when Alisson leaves. He's been a great goalie. Best I can remember. I remember he was a bit of a risk-taker when he first arrived...made a couple dufus errors. But he soon turned into one of the best in the business.

I don't know much about the Mamardashvili guy....but would like to see him get some run before we just move off a world-class goalie like Alisson.

Definitely, I'd like to see Alisson stay on while Mamardashvili gets reps as the #2 playing in our system. We'll see if we needs funds to replace any or all of Mo/Virgil/Trent.

[Baseline81]

Forza Liverpool indeed!

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[danfantastk32]

Forza Liverpool indeed!

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Will be interesting to see how this goes. Could be another one of those "Mane" signings where Liverpool haters shake their fists at us yet again.....but could be a guy who never breaks into the starting rotation.

But for $13mil???? I mean....what the hell. Can't really lose here. Nice little video too. I hope this turns into another one of those great signings.

[Baseline81]

I would rate this summer window a 3/10. Like the swing on Chiesa and long-term planning at GK, however, there is no way anyone would look at this and conclude the club made the moves needed to challenge for a title.

For the third year in a row, the club has failed to bring in a starting DM. What's worse, is Hughes and Edwards have not sorted out the contracts for Salah, TAA and van Dijk -- meaning all three can walk away for free next summer.

[MetalFingaz]

Okay so we do definitely need another midfielder or two, but Gravenberch has been impressive.

[Shaazzam]

Okay so we do definitely need another midfielder or two, but Gravenberch has been impressive.

I had no idea he was that fast until he ran through us like butter.

[Baseline81]

I had no idea he was that fast until he ran through us like butter.

You have to understand, prior to leaving Ajax, Gravenberch was considered one of the elite teenage midfielders in Europe. LFC pushed to sign him even then.

With that said, Klopp's system never brought out the best in him. As a result, many on the official Liverpool FC forum had decided they'd seen enough of the 22-year old and would have gladly sold him after his sole year. Fortunately, he's been a breath of fresh air under the new manager, who has played the Dutchman in a double pivot, similar to his days at Ajax.

Before the season, there were calls, including from me, to bring in a starting DM. Needless to say, I'm very please with his performances.

[Shaazzam]

I had no idea he was that fast until he ran through us like butter.

You have to understand, prior to leaving Ajax, Gravenberch was considered one of the elite teenage midfielders in Europe. LFC pushed to sign him even then.

With that said, Klopp's system never brought out the best in him. As a result, many on the official Liverpool FC forum had decided they'd seen enough of the 22-year old and would have gladly sold him after his sole year. Fortunately, he's been a breath of fresh air under the new manager, who has played the Dutchman in a double pivot, similar to his days at Ajax.

Before the season, there were calls, including from me, to bring in a starting DM. Needless to say, I'm very please with his performances.

Oh yeah, I knew the name and that he was a big deal as a kid but hadn't heard much about him for awhile, other than signing him in fifa.

[danfantastk32]

Well....so far it's been ok for Arne Slot. The loss was ridiculous. We're not winning squat, if we have too many gaffe's like that. I feel that the Bournemouth score was a little flattering. But we certainly deserved the win. There are some times when we don't look comfortable out there. Our passing and defense get's a little out of sorts. I feel like Arse or City woulda just feasted on us yesterday.

But it is still a bit of a new system. I get that it'll take a little time.

Well we got about 4 games to get locked in, and then it's gonna get insane. Chelsea - 3 days later away at Leipzig - 4 days later away at Arse - 5 days later Brighton - 3 days @ Bayern - 4 days Aston Villa.

If we're still a top-4 team at the end of that, then I'll feel comfortable with what Slot is doing. Let's be frank here....we've feasted on some pretty low competition. Really sad we had that slip up. This was a time to build up a buffer. Gravenberch has looked really good so far. Let's see how he looks against Chelsea, Arse and Villa.

Not screaming the sky is falling.....I consider that Milan team a real opponent. We looked really strong for most of that. But just pointing out we're about to get really "tested" here. I'll save my opinion of Slot until after that Villa game...when we get like 2 weeks off after that (prob some int stuff though).

[MetalFingaz]

Okay, I'm sold on Mac Allister and Gravenberch. What a duo.

[danfantastk32]

Boy man....I don't know what to think about our goalie situation. You'll not find a bigger Alisson fan than me, but this Kelleher guy is the real deal, and he's 7 years younger. I don't know much about the Mamardashvil guy coming this summer, but can we really just let Kelleher walk?? He's only 1 year older than Mamardashvil.....and he's proven himself more than good enough in real EPL and CL games. I just hate to see a guy so good, and with over a decade left in the motor, walk.

I guess you can hope Alisson signs another 1-2 year deal, and after maybe a season, you give Mamardashvii reigns. Or, you just give the nod to the proven guy we have now. I'd like to let Alisson finish the season...but not if it risks losing Kelleher.

Unless this Mamardashvil guy is something phenomenal. Better than Kelleher has proven to be?? Man, I hope so. Letting Kelleher walk is something we could really regret.

[MetalFingaz]

Alisson is one of the best keepers in football, but I'm not sure we're seeing much of a drop off with Kelleher. He's been elite (though it doesn't hurt that he's playing in front of the best CB pairing in Europe). I wouldn't be opposed to selling Ali and keeping Kelleher.

A lovely week for Liverpool. We were pressing ghosts against Brighton at the weekend, but turned it on for a bit and turned it around. Thought our press was much better today and once the first goal went in Leverkusen couldn't cope with our pace when they lost possession. Curtis was very good today.

[danfantastk32]

Alright, well I said about 5 weeks ago that I wanted to see how we looked after this spell of rapid fire games....and against "better competition" before deciding how I really felt about Slot.

My biggest complaint: I feel like the strikers have become a bit more selfish this season. It could be contracts coming up, and of course everyone wants to look good....but I've just noticed our guys are taking selfish shots more. I really don't like it. It really hurts your team when your not moving the ball. Selfless - talented teams are unbeatable.

My biggest complement: I'm not sure how...because I feel like we're often really uncomfortable-looking on D....but our defense is really something to remark upon. A couple "derp" moments so far (hey..your gonna get a few of those each year in such a fast-paced sport) but even with those...we are incredibly stingy on defense. I love it. Whatever tweaks he made....they are top notch.

Slot seems to be the perfect hire. With the exception of Pep, who wasn't for grabs....I wouldn't swap with anyone. He's gone about fitting in, and bringing his tweaks about as subtly as possible, and I don't think we've missed a beat. So far, I couldn't be happier. There's still alot left this season. My complaint with Klopp was how despite being such a great team...and also going into Feb on top multiple times...we always seemed to d+ck it up, and fall short. Dumb draws....you name it. I'm curious to see how this team under Slot handles things down the stretch (assuming we are still in it).

I really like to see Slot decide to keep Kelleher. Will be hard, as the goalie coming next year was his first signing. But I think it will be a massive mistake to let Kelleher walk. I also have yet to rate his signings. Klopp was a complete master at signing the right guys. It must be noted that all this good play is at the hands of Klopps signings...who've looked this good, and better, before.

But I give Liverpool an A+ for finding, and signing Slot. Complete A+

I really thought we were gonna have a ManUre style collapse, and take years to get back, after losing Klopp. So glad we're still right up where we were.

[MetalFingaz]

Couple of head-scratching defensive decisions, but 3 points to go 8 clear. Give Salah whatever he wants and then double it. Use whatever's left to sign Cunha and give Gravenberch a raise.

[danfantastk32]

Great win against a team that seems to have our number. And I thought we looked quite dominant.

Fingers crossed that we can get a win on Sunday. Would be huge

[MetalFingaz]

If not for Courtois we might have won 6-0.