Official Liverpool FC Thread II

[MetalFingaz]

Now that TAA is off Real Madrid, it's no surprise we're hearing contract talks with Salah and van Dijk have ramped up. There was never a world where all three came back on improved wages. The thought of a RB collecting over 200K a week was simply too much to bear for FSG.

Trent isn't a regular RB, he is a dozen assist or so from top 10 list in PL history, that's Salah ranking....
87 assist in 350 games is better than most creative midfielders, forwards. Salah, the midfield 3 will suffer without his creativity. Liverpool has to replace thier true playmaker alongside Salah. The Cup final showed how easy Trent makes it for Salah compared to traditional RB...

I tend to agree we'll lose a lot when Trent goes. We don't have anybody close to his vision and range of passing. And as Madrid needed a Kroos replacement, we'll need our Trent replacement. Maybe we'll play Salah deeper lol, he's been our 2nd best passer this year imo.

[danfantastk32]

Alright.....had a nice long rest. Time to focus up, and get these next 9 wins. Big test, IMO against Everton. A game we can certainly lose points to. Important that we go out there and TAKE it.

[Baseline81]

1-0 victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Doesn't have to be pretty as the 3 points are the only thing that matters.

Four more wins, and the PL title heads back to Liverpool.

[danfantastk32]

1-0 victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby.

Doesn't have to be pretty as the 3 points are the only thing that matters.

Four more wins, and the PL title heads back to Liverpool.

The only thing pretty today were the 3 points......but MAN were they sexy =0)

[danfantastk32]

Sheesh man.....just can't do it, can they? All they had to do was get the win, and step down on Arsenal's throat. But instead, we get this. Thankfully it's almost certainly too little, too late for Arsenal.....but holy hell, I just don't get why we can't ever just go on an 8-game win streak at the end like City do year after year to claim the prem.

[danfantastk32]

Going to be an interesting offseason. I think this team (as we know it) is done. I think several guy's have checked out, and others are falling apart. Please just keep it together for another 4-5 wins please! For the love of God.

This team looked like a team who already won the league, and were tired, so they were going through the motions.

[KG Leonard]

Going to be an interesting offseason. I think this team (as we know it) is done. I think several guy's have checked out, and others are falling apart. Please just keep it together for another 4-5 wins please! For the love of God.

This team looked like a team who already won the league, and were tired, so they were going through the motions.

Robertson is so done, he is making the midfield defensive players and VVD, Konate look bad. He is use to be mistake free defender but he is shockingly bad this whole season. Slot needs more defenders as backup or starting LB,RB and backup midfielders.
Slot is not good enough at rotation, you can't play your first 11 to death when Elliott looks very good every time and Chiesa, Gakpo too.

[Baseline81]

Robertson is so done, he is making the midfield defensive players and VVD, Konate look bad. He is use to be mistake free defender but he is shockingly bad this whole season. Slot needs more defenders as backup or starting LB,RB and backup midfielders.
Slot is not good enough at rotation, you can't play your first 11 to death when Elliott looks very good every time and Chiesa, Gakpo too.

This is becoming a bigger issue as each match passes.

[KG Leonard]

Robertson is so done, he is making the midfield defensive players and VVD, Konate look bad. He is use to be mistake free defender but he is shockingly bad this whole season. Slot needs more defenders as backup or starting LB,RB and backup midfielders.
Slot is not good enough at rotation, you can't play your first 11 to death when Elliott looks very good every time and Chiesa, Gakpo too.

This is becoming a bigger issue as each match passes.

I don't get why he never lets Salah rest either. I barely survived Ramadan the last month, going to work and just walking around in the city without food or drink. There is hungry, speedy players like Elliot, Gakpo, Chiesa running around when Szoboslai and co look very tired.

Klopp was a master of rotation and keeping hungry players on the bench who shined when they believed in the rotation. I can see the quality players on the bench in not a very deep team not believing they will get a fair chance.

[danfantastk32]

Hope Liverpool passes on Kane. Great player, but he's 31. Will be 32 by start of next season. Too late to start a career here. We gotta get younger now. Get new, younger players, and reboot. Hopefully we're back in the thick of it after a season.

Im hoping these rumors are just Liverpool letting Salah know that we can still get hot chicks too.

[Baseline81]

From Paul Joyce, who usually chimes in only when contracts/transfers are close to happening:

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/mo-salah-liverpool-new-contract-extension-7ch23hvpz

Mo Salah closing in on new contract at Liverpool

There is growing expectation that Egypt forward will extend Anfield stay after Premier League club’s breakthrough in negotiations with Virgil van Dijk

EDIT: And now this from David Ornstein.

Mohamed Salah + Virgil van Dijk closing in on signing new 2yr contracts with Liverpool. Both players into final months of existing deals but breakthrough found in negotiations & fresh terms set to extend key pair at #LFC until summer 2027

[danfantastk32]

From Paul Joyce, who usually chimes in only when contracts/transfers are close to happening:

https://www.thetimes.com/sport/football/article/mo-salah-liverpool-new-contract-extension-7ch23hvpz

Mo Salah closing in on new contract at Liverpool

There is growing expectation that Egypt forward will extend Anfield stay after Premier League club’s breakthrough in negotiations with Virgil van Dijk

EDIT: And now this from David Ornstein.

Mohamed Salah + Virgil van Dijk closing in on signing new 2yr contracts with Liverpool. Both players into final months of existing deals but breakthrough found in negotiations & fresh terms set to extend key pair at #LFC until summer 2027

Hope it's true. Im happy with 2-year deal

[KG Leonard]

Two year deal is very good for physical freak like Salah and 35 year old Van Dijk is still in his prime. Defenders age easier, Maldini won CL final as 38 year old in 2007.

[-Luke-]

Read on Twitter

[danfantastk32]

Sounds like it's official. 2 years. Perfect! Well done to LFC for getting it done, and not caving to a 4-year deal, or something.

Awesome to keep Salah. Hopefully the goals keep coming, and we can do this again in 2 years.

[danfantastk32]

I hate maths.....but if we win next week, and Arsenal lose, then that's 16 points clear with 5 games....ie: we win!

I think that's right. Should be right. Let's do it!

Rootin for Arsenal on Wed. Go take it to them! Hope they win Wed by another 3 goals.

[Baseline81]

I hate maths.....but if we win next week, and Arsenal lose, then that's 16 points clear with 5 games....ie: we win!

I think that's right. Should be right. Let's do it!

Rootin for Arsenal on Wed. Go take it to them! Hope they win Wed by another 3 goals.

Regardless of what Arsenal do, LFC needs to win two matches. That's it... two.

Thought Bradley performed well. I don't think we'll see the club bring in a RB to replace TAA, but rather supplement Bradley, who has earned his chance to be starter.

[KG Leonard]

The math is doing all the work for LFC now. The best place to be, limping into the title will not be remembered in the history books. It will be all glorious memories from next season, winning this.

[danfantastk32]

The math is doing all the work for LFC now. The best place to be, limping into the title will not be remembered in the history books. It will be all glorious memories from next season, winning this.

True that. Nobody remembers how the 1988-89 Arsenal team looked down the stretch. Hell....that crazy 2015-16 season when Leicester won it amazingly....I couldn't tell you about the last 8 games to save my life. But I do know they won! =0)

[danfantastk32]

It looks like the VVD-Salah era of Liverpool will continue for 2 more years.

I'm very happy about this, even though their best years are almost certainly behind them. A) They've earned it. If we take a little dip rewarding them for the years they've put in...so be it. It's a risk I'm certainly willing to take in an effort to give them their last contract. 2 years is fair, and I can live with it, no doubt. B) Our team has alot of work to do. We've truly squeezed all the blood from a few of these stones.....and not making any signings last year didn't help. We need to start....whatever you wanna call it: A rebuild is prob a little too much....but a 'retooling' is prob a little underselling. We need major retooling. Having those guys for a couple years means we'll be able to rely on them...and spread this out over a couple years....and not try to get it all in one summer.

But.....(always gotta be one)...we need, need, NEEEEEED to stop relying on these two for 99.9% of the season. Sorry, but they are old guys now (in the soccer sense, never mind top level soccer sense). Gonna have to sit them 2 or 3 games during that crazy late Dec-Jan-Feb stretch. Prob shouldn't see either of these two for any FA or Carbao cup games moving forward.

But this is good. Let's get another midfielder. We need major work back on defense. If we could bring in another striker, that would be great. And I think we need to let Elliot, Jones, Conner, and a couple other young guys start playing more, and featuring in our FA - Carbao cup matches. We need to get away from this crazy-heavy reliance on our top 13-14 players. It just wears them to the nub by the end....and if someone is hurt, or whatnot, the guy replacing him has had no experience! It's a bad formula, imo. I know these guys wanna play in everything....but there are plenty of times when you can rotate 4-5 players for a game, and rotate 7-8 guys for an FA match.

Lastly....let's see if we can revive TAA talks. Maybe there's hope. Seems slim...but why not give it everything?