It's Quiet thread 14 - 'do one' edition

[mcfc1632]

It would have been others if Messi had come off, and maybe we don't see an alternative available at the moment , or if Zinchenko had agreed to go there may have been a left back. Nothing is certain in this window more than any other window. Nothing is certain, with lots of competing factors,fans returning has been put back and our finances will be hit just like everyone else.

That is where my head is

I know that it is the annual 'its quiet thread' and therefore it is all about a rollercoaster of posting excited rumour, tracking flights and depths of despair, but it really is more than just a game to the people that run the club

Every player that we sign - just because we can or to keep the fans happy - rather than because we see the player having great potential or someone so special that we need to push the boat out for - becomes a long term problem for us

I would love to see us buying genuine world class players in the positions that we all know are exposed - but I would rather not see us just buy someone 'for the sake of it' - such players take up slots and budget for 5 years each time and limit what we can do when someone of great potential or someone that is worth pushing the boat out for comes along

We got Ake and Ferran in early and they fit the 'great potential' criteria - but, setting aside the 'Messi situation' I have not really seen any players mentioned on here where there has been genuine excitement raised.

KK has been had a lot of posts - but not always in favour given his age

People have talked recently about Tagliafico - but would that not just be bringing more 'so so options' in that position and being a problem next year if there is a genuine world class option available?

Then there is the suggestion that Aouar is a snip at 40m - but is he really top level potential - or could we just be loading midfield with another player that is good - but not top level - and just going to make our problems worse next year

Maybe I am just too satisfied with the way the club does things or just not the right sort of personality for this thread - but I would rather not see the club bring in more numbers just for the sake of it - we have issues through having too many players on the books already

I am happy to wait for future windows and be able to act when the right potential or the top level player becomes available - and use what we have and use players from our academy

 

[Semper aggressus]

That is where my head is

I know that it is the annual 'its quiet thread' and therefore it is all about a rollercoaster of posting excited rumour, tracking flights and depths of despair, but it really is more than just a game to the people that run the club

Every player that we sign - just because we can or to keep the fans happy - rather than because we see the player having great potential or someone so special that we need to push the boat out for - becomes a long term problem for us

I would love to see us buying genuine world class players in the positions that we all know are exposed - but I would rather not see us just buy someone 'for the sake of it' - such players take up slots and budget for 5 years each time and limit what we can do when someone of great potential or someone that is worth pushing the boat out for comes along

We got Ake and Ferran in early and they fit the 'great potential' criteria - but, setting aside the 'Messi situation' I have not really seen any players mentioned on here where there has been genuine excitement raised.

KK has been had a lot of posts - but not always in favour given his age

People have talked recently about Tagliafico - but is that not just bring more 'so so options' in that position and being a problem next year if there is a genuine world class option available?

Then there is the suggestion that Aouar is a snip at 40m - but is he really top level potential - or could we just be loading midfield with another player that is good - but not top level - and just going to make our problems worse next year

Maybe I am just too satisfied with the way the club does things or just not the right sort of personality for this thread - but I would rather not see the club bring in more numbers just for the sake of it - we have issues through having too many players on the books already

I am happy to wait for future windows and be able to act when the right potential or the top level player becomes available - and use what we have and use players from our academy

That's completely understandable in many aspects, and I'd never advocate buying a sub-standard player just for the sake of it.

However I do feel we need to try and do whatever we can to aim to win everything every season, and I don't think we've strengthened enough this summer to do that.

 

[BillyShears]

Very disappointing. Given our injuries and the var factor I don't think we've done enough to win the title or CL.

After winning the CAS appeal, Khaldoon's end of season speech and chasing Messi it's a bit underwhelming. We still have a painfully slow midfield and no reliable left back and we're a bit light up front.

Personally I'm not disappointed in the signings we've made, nor do I think that winning the league/CL was predicated on signing players. We have an incredible squad of players already, and frankly swapping Otamendi for Ake and Dias is huge. Torres will end up a better and more consistent player than Sane too.

That's not to say we don't have weaknesses, but then so does every other side in the league. Even the Scousers who seem to be properly en vogue on this forum judging by how many people have given up all hope of being better than them over the course of the season.

 

[Gareth Barry Conlon]

This thread would have probably served us better this window if we'd stuck to household cleaning recommendations.
Not sure any of our signings were called by our resident ITKs yet lots of names hinted at that never materialised.

As an aside, I'm happy overall with the business we've done.

I tend to stick to supermarket own brand cleaning products - try to convince may to go with the big brands...

 

[domalino]

We still have a painfully slow midfield

Where do comments like this come from? Foden, Bernardo, KDB, Fernandinho...we have pace in midfield.

If Pep chooses to pick Rodri and Gundogan, the only 2 who don't have pace, that's not going to be fixed by just buying another midfielder who can run.

And when did football become a 100m race? Busquets, Alonso, Gareth Barry were all slow as fuck. Why are people pretending like your defensive midfielder has to be a marathon runner now?

 

[mcfc1632]

That's completely understandable in many aspects, and I'd never advocate buying a sub-standard player just for the sake of it.

However I do feel we need to try and do whatever we can to aim to win everything every season, and I don't think we've strengthened enough this summer to do that.

Part of the point that I am making is that there do not seem to have been the players out there to go for that could achieve that strengthening of the squad - even all the knowledge of the very many posters on here has not really identified many targets that were attainable or would meet the potential of world class criteria I was mentioning

Perhaps it is just that simple

 

[Phil1]

Personally I'm not disappointed in the signings we've made, nor do I think that winning the league/CL was predicated on signing players. We have an incredible squad of players already, and frankly swapping Otamendi for Ake and Dias is huge. Torres will end up a better and more consistent player than Sane too.

That's not to say we don't have weaknesses, but then so does every other side in the league. Even the Scousers who seem to be properly en vogue on this forum judging by how many people have given up all hope of being better than them over the course of the season.

The strangest thing about all the plaudits Liverpool have been getting on here is they haven't even looked that good. Should have dropped points against Leeds, Chelsea down to 10 men for a full half and missed several chances before that and Arsenal themselves missed a couple of 1 on 1s.
They have the points of course but I've seen fuck all that says as a team they are any better than they were since lockdown.
This idea that they are the perfect team is nonsense.

 

[cjn]

Damn. Semedo and Nouri would be starting full backs for a lot of top clubs.

Ait-Nouri is a 19 year old with less than 20 starts in a mid table French side, no he wouldn't.

 

[Semper aggressus]

Where do comments like this come from?

Foden, Bernardo, KDB, Fernandinho...we have pace in midfield.

If Pep chooses to pick Rodri and Gundogan, the only 2 who don't have pace, that's not going to be fixed by just buying another midfielder who can run.

Central defensive midfield mostly! I think buying a defensive midfielder who can close down a lot faster than Rodri and Gundogan would have seriously strengthened us.

 

[razman]

Where do comments like this come from? Foden, Bernardo, KDB, Fernandinho...we have pace in midfield.

If Pep chooses to pick Rodri and Gundogan, the only 2 who don't have pace, that's not going to be fixed by just buying another midfielder who can run.

And when did football become a 100m race? Busquets, Alonso, Gareth Barry were all slow as fuck. Why are people pretending like your defensive midfielder has to be a marathon runner now?

That's the issue, Pep playing foden and Bernardo mainly on the wings.. Let's see if it changes

 

[BillyShears]

Central defensive midfield mostly! I think buying a defensive midfielder who can close down a lot faster than Rodri and Gundogan would have seriously strengthened us.

I asked question earlier because I few people have said things like the above: do you think that Pep would've signed Ferna if Ferna had been available last summer instead of Rodri ? And if so, then why didn't we target one of the multitude of number 6's in Europe who have those characteristics.

We spent close to our transfer record on a player who has VERY different characteristics to Ferna and he was by all accounts our number 1 and ONLY target. Hard to see Pep not being behind that.

 

[Gumzy97]

I asked question earlier because I few people have said things like the above: do you think that Pep would've signed Ferna if Ferna had been available last summer instead of Rodri ? And if so, then why didn't we target one of the multitude of number 6's in Europe who have those characteristics.

We spent close to our transfer record on a player who has VERY different characteristics to Ferna and he was by all accounts our number 1 and ONLY target. Hard to see Pep not being behind that.

Pep likes a CDM that can pass/ start an attack always has did it at Bayern with Xabi Alonso and did it at barca with Busquets. Rodri is a perfect Pep CDM thats why we signed him.

 

[domalino]

We spent close to our transfer record on a player who has VERY different characteristics to Ferna and he was by all accounts our number 1 and ONLY target. Hard to see Pep not being behind that.

And before that we wanted Jorginho, again, the opposite type of defensive midfielder to Fernandinho.

In between we wanted Frenkie De Jong, another in the same category.

 

[BillyShears]

The strangest thing about all the plaudits Liverpool have been getting on here is they haven't even looked that good. Should have dropped points against Leeds, Chelsea down to 10 men for a full half and missed several chances before that and Arsenal themselves missed a couple of 1 on 1s.
They have the points of course but I've seen fuck all that says as a team they are any better than they were since lockdown.
This idea that they are the perfect team is nonsense.

An injury to VVD, Mane, or Salah would IMO decimate their season. The way Laporte going down killed ours last season. Their squad is IMO much thinner and weaker than ours. It just so happens that their first XI seems fucking injury proof regardless of how many games they play at a high intensity.

Makes you think about all those rumours about Pep's teams being doped up ...

 

[Gumzy97]

An injury to VVD, Mane, or Salah would IMO decimate their season. The way Laporte going down killed ours last season. Their squad is IMO much thinner and weaker than ours. It just so happens that their first XI seems fucking injury proof regardless of how many games they play at a high intensity.

Makes you think about all those rumours about Pep's teams being doped up ...

their missing mane and 6 other players according to liverpool fans this weekend rumor that Mane and 6 other players have Covid

 

[Semper aggressus]

I asked question earlier because I few people have said things like the above: do you think that Pep would've signed Ferna if Ferna had been available last summer instead of Rodri ? And if so, then why didn't we target one of the multitude of number 6's in Europe who have those characteristics.

We spent close to our transfer record on a player who has VERY different characteristics to Ferna and he was by all accounts our number 1 and ONLY target. Hard to see Pep not being behind that.

I don't know, but Rodri's (and Gundogan's) poor acceleration and lack of pace to close down attackers in midfield does seem to leave our defence exposed quite a bit.

 

[Gumzy97]

And before that we wanted Jorginho, again, the opposite type of defensive midfielder to Fernandinho.

In between we wanted Frenkie De Jong, another in the same category.

Jorginho and Rodri are the ideal Pep midfielder for that position. He likes a CDM that can pass through the lines, also start an attack

 

[ami]

I can’t understand why we’re not plugging our obvious weakness at leftback. Every team will attack our left side. Incredible.
We have money, and two players (Zinchenko/Garcia) who could be sold.

I hope this won’t come back to bite us.
Cancelo and Aké can sure cover leftback, but then we’re short on cover at right and centreback instead. Really disappointed we didn’t get a leftback, although very happy with our signings.

 

[Gumzy97]

I honestly think Pep is happy with the team now.

Both first team Cb's can pass out from the back
hes got his new Busquets in Rodri whos there to start attacks and break the lines
Jesus who is a work engine like David Villa was
Kdb is our Messi

 

[blueparrot]

I don't know, but Rodri's (and Gundogan's) poor acceleration and lack of pace to close down attackers in midfield does seem to leave our defence exposed quite a bit.

What left , a makeshift defence exposed, was a lack of pressing from the front 5, with a more energetic press and a stronger pair of central defenders the shot comings in pace from Rodri or Gundogan would be compensated for.