Jump to content

Football: “WHAT THE F*CK WAS THAT”?


AncalagonTheBlack

Recommended Posts

If Mahrez comes in im assuming that the front 4 will become a lot more fluid and he will float between right wing and #10 salah will float between right wing and striker firminho will float in his false 9 type roll and then switch to the left when mane comes central. This sort of system is why we really need a top quality holding mid as well as a new goal keeper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, lmanion said:

If Mahrez comes in im assuming that the front 4 will become a lot more fluid and he will float between right wing and #10 salah will float between right wing and striker firminho will float in his false 9 type roll and then switch to the left when mane comes central. This sort of system is why we really need a top quality holding mid as well as a new goal keeper.

I think the only time we won't need a top quality holding mid is if Pool plays as you've mentioned, i.e. 4 up front with two holding mids (4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1) as there will be two midfielders protecting the CBs and the front four will be a handful. Lately this has been Hendo/Can + Milner/Gini. With Can gone next year, it will likely be Keita + Hendo with rotating Milner/Gini. The major issue being height if Hendo is injured.

But if they still play 4-3-3, where they usually attack with front five (the two 8s) and has a solo holding mid, then we definitely need an upgrade/backup for Hendo. Unless Keita can play that role. I haven't seen much of Keita so I don't know how good of a defensive mid he is. Every clip i've seen so far suggests he will be more suited to the box-to-box role.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Word on the twitvine is that they've wrapped up Mahrez for 50mil or so.

Not quite. BeIN Sports has been spreading this story but the various Liverpool correspondents have been saying that no contact has been made with Leicester and that Klopp has other targets in mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another team that will be affected by Coutinho leaving Liverpool is Arsenal. It looks clear that Alexis and Özil will be leaving in the summer, so they will be on the lookout for one or two wide forwards / number 10s. With Coutinho gone, Liverpool and Arsenal will be shopping in the same market.

The same names have been mentioned at various stages for both teams: Mahrez, Lemar, Draxler etc. It’s Liverpool, though, who seem to be more forthright in the transfer market, especially comparing the two teams’ summer signings and January signings so far. Despite the clear need to replace Alexis and Özil, the only player I’ve heard Arsenal seriously linked with this window is centre back Jonny Evans. 

Arsenal are going to have to start acting fast if they don’t want Liverpool to snare any of their targets. But when have Arsenal ever acted fast when it comes to signing a player in recent years? I think the last time they showed any urgency and cunnning in a transfer was when they signed Sol Campbell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Have no idea what was said myself. Will have to see what comes from the hearings.

Internet lip readers so far has Firminho calling Holgate a son of a b*tch, then something obscured by the camera. Other lip readers have Holgate telling Kenny «he called me a n*gger». What is clear is that Holgate didn’t react at all until we get to the obscured part, when he suddenly is all fired up. 

Guess we’ll see eventually.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

 

Really what Firmino should have done is stayed on the ground in the crowd and feigned serious injury, which probably would have got Holgate his red, but it's ridiculous that players should have to do that.

For all the whining about diving and faking injury, it seems you actually need to do that to get the free kicks and correct decisions sometimes.

This is the frustrating thing because you see guys taking a dive or going down easily in the box and they are rightly criticised for it but when there is a guy who gets fouled and stays on his feet nothing ever happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Rorshach said:

Internet lip readers so far has Firminho calling Holgate a son of a b*tch, then something obscured by the camera. Other lip readers have Holgate telling Kenny «he called me a n*gger». 

He’s shouting whatever he said right next to Madley’s ear. I might be doing Holgate a disservice but I’m assuming he doesn’t speak Portuguese so Madley should have a similar idea to him what was said. You’d think it should be pretty straight forward to clear up given how close the ref was plus the amount of footage there is. It’s not really a having to take one player’s word over the other situation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, polishgenius said:

Coutinho is obviously a really good player, but even in this day and age £142mil for him is absolute nonsense. Liverpool could probably buy three players of his quality for that. As could Barcelona. I have no idea why they're so set on him in particular.

This is where your Manu bias shines through. Three players as good as Coutinho for the same price? Care to name two you could have for £50 mil each? There's a reason Barca are playing this money for him, and there's a reason we're gutted to see him go, despite him doing it in the fashion he is. 

21 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

I’m conflicted. I’m happy to have the snake who would fake injury to avoid playing gone but top four is gonna be a tough ask when you sell your 2nd best player halfway through the season. 

Hopefully we buy some replacements who can make a difference this season. Ugh 

Coutinho is our best player, in my opinion. Has also been instrumental in many of Salah's goals. 

What's galling is that Liverpool is the club who took a chance on him when he was bombing in Inter. We've kept the faith with him through years of inconsistency and development, and at least some of the credit for the player he has become has to go to Rodgers and Klopp. As others have said, I understand wanting to go to Barcelona after five seasons and no trophies, but do it after the season. Don't shaft the entire team midway through. And if Barcelona and Liverpool agreed a fee now for a transfer after the season, his world cup performance wouldn't matter. 

I had a bad feeling that this would happen when Van Dijk was announced so early and with so much ado.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Mme Erzulie said:

This is where your Manu bias shines through. Three players as good as Coutinho for the same price? Care to name two you could have for £50 mil each?

 

Riyad Mahrez, Nabil Fekir.


Heck, you yourselves just bought Salah for that.

But even if you consider me to have exaggerated a bit or those players would cost a bit more than 50mil each, Barca have vastly overpaid. That's not United bias talking, you're gonna have a hard time finding anyone who supports anyone disagreeing with that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

We’ll definitely need a strong replacement.  Our midfield looks pretty ordinary.  Ox has been a good addition and Keita will be an excellent addition but Can is leaving (and was uneven in quality), Gini has declined this season, Henderson and Milner are only good enough for back-up, and Lallana needs to recover his form.  None of them are playmakers even on their best days. 

So... what you're saying is that now it's time for Grujic to shine? :lol: 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a pretty clear overpayment, but Liverpool know they had the Neymar money and everyone now knows they have the Coutinho money. I doubt they would have got Salah for £40m had this move come before. As for replacing him, I would not look for a specialist winger or number 10 but a natural number 8 or 'free-8' (as KdB described his role) who, even if he lacks Coutinho's brilliance, can facilitate Mane, Firmino and Salah in addition to signing a proper DM. With those players tending to be cheaper, I still think Liverpool can be a better side despite Coutinho's exit despite the surplus they'll need to pay, especially if Lallana can ever come back at near his level of last season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

VAR is coming in tomorrow, but would it have cleared up the incidents around the last penalty?

Robbie Savage commentating thinks it shouldn’t have been a penalty but I disagree. Then BT Sport have shown the penalty kick itself multiple times and still no one is clearer whether Dowell touched the ball once or twice. 

Good luck, VAR.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, JordanJH1993 said:

VAR is coming in tomorrow, but would it have cleared up the incidents around the last penalty?

[...]

Good luck, VAR.

What are the options for VAR when making a call? For instance, for American football's NFL, there are 3 outcomes for a play that is under video review:

1. The call on the field is confirmed - Means the video conclusively supports the call that was made by officials on the field

2. The call on the field stands - Means the video replays could not conclusively confirm nor deny the call made by field officials. In this case, the field officials' call remains.

3. The call on the field is reversed - Video replays conclusively show the call on the field was incorrect, therefore is subject to the video review results.

In the NFL, the referee on the field looks at the video to make the call in consultation with officials in the booth (I think this is still the case).

There are other ways of that, too.  In professional hockey, NHL goal calls that need to be reviewed go to a central team in Toronto to make the call, which leaves the refs on the ice out of controversy.  In the NBA, there are reviews by on-court refs to verify if a shot was a 2 or 3 point play, or to see if a shot was taken before time expired.

Lots of factors.  It's going to be bumpy with VAR for a while.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, looks like Coutinho was not on strike/faking an injury, since he will miss his frist three weeks at Barca with an injury.

Anyway, with regards to the VAR I hope the EPL is better at implementing it than the Bundesliga, there it has been rather controversial (mildly put).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Liverpool a bit unlucky to get another PL team in the FA Cup 4th round draw.  Everton and now WBA -- two defensive teams who are happy to kick lumps out of us for 90 minutes in pursuit of a replay.  At least both are at home.  I guess if we go far in the Cup then we'll be doing it the hard way.  A pity that it reduces potential game time for the younger players.

Tough draw for Newcastle.  Soft draws for both Manchester teams, but they will have to slum it at smaller grounds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/7/2018 at 4:30 PM, polishgenius said:

 

Riyad Mahrez, Nabil Fekir.


Heck, you yourselves just bought Salah for that.

But even if you consider me to have exaggerated a bit or those players would cost a bit more than 50mil each, Barca have vastly overpaid. That's not United bias talking, you're gonna have a hard time finding anyone who supports anyone disagreeing with that.

I know you're not trying to tell me Mahrez is as good as Coutinho. I know he had a stand-out season, but come on.

Haven't seen enough of Fekir, but weird that Barca didn't go for him if he's as good for 1/3 of the price.

How do you feel about Mbappe's transfer fee?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Mme Erzulie said:

I know you're not trying to tell me Mahrez is as good as Coutinho. I know he had a stand-out season, but come on.


I am trying to tell you that, because he is. Either you're overrating Coutinho something chronic, or you're underrating Mahrez. He's a brilliant player.


Mbappe's transfer fee was obviously also a nonsense but I think he at least has the potential to live up to it in future, whereas I don't think Coutinho's going to improve an awful lot from where he is now.

16 minutes ago, Mme Erzulie said:

but weird that Barca didn't go for him if he's as good for 1/3 of the price.

 

Well yeah. That is exactly what I am saying.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...