Romario

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They were all machines weren’t they. Unreal actually. We are so seriously thin right now that we’ll have to mend and make do all over the park and that’s never good. The lack of signings had already compromised the first 5 games up to the international break.

Just thinking about the Jones situation. I get he wants to be the main man somewhere. Totally get that. But if he goes there is a knock on effect in the squad right? Right now it’s Frimpong for RB and potentially Jones if and when he gets injured. If Jones is sold we are back to Dom at RB and holes in the midfield and the frustrations from last season are back but at heightened levels as we’ve experienced this already.

Absolutely right. I think it’s why I’m so pissed off with us right now.The current situation was so obvious and completely avoidable. Anything we could do in Jan to lighten the summer load would have been good business. Even if a player didn’t work out it, we’d have looked less desperate as we already had positions covered. Right now Barcola could be priced as the difference between champs league and no champs league rather than someone who could swap with Semenyo.

If we’re gonna finish 8th at least let us have some mad times. Bring Darwin home. It’ll be like Maradona arriving at Napoli for scenes.

Always good to warm criminals when you’re coming around. “We’ll be there next Tuesday at 2pm to check the accounts in that black book beside the fridge. Do not throw it in the fire pit we’ve built in the garden and do not use the lighter fluid and matches in the second draw down left of the cooker.”

Wasn’t it mentioned that he had all the summer business mapped out before he left? I swear they just sacked him as all he was really doing was writing articles about how great he was. Not have some kind of a replacement lined up for Mos departure is dreadful. Same for Konate. Also knowing Bradley and Ekitikes recovery length means there was no excuse for not having a plan for them either. The only bit of cover we have is Kostas for Robbo and that looks like it happened because we actually just did nothing and Kostas simply returned.

And forwards. 3 minimum.

This all day long. I feel frustrated by the signing and not backing of our new manager as I think he’s an exciting choice and potentially a very good fit but we are totally hampering him and are hurtling towards repeating what the Mancs did for a decade. I could see Iraola only lasting a season as he juggles all season to fill holes in the squad. I’ve moaned about us all year as this was coming but I didn’t think we’d be this unprepared for a season. I keep thinking of Virg sitting on the pitch at the end of our last game looking despondent that another chapter is definitely over and maybe he’s staying too long.

They don’t bulls*** their fans by claiming they only buy if a world class player becomes available. They’ve built a squad of 7.5 player and have about 22 of them. They’ve could have 8 injuries and they’d still compete at their level. That’s why they won the league.

The first 11 probably won’t start a game together before Easter so it’s not a thing. Also I don’t think it’s true. Also when did an 11 win a league? This current team is closer to doing what Spurs did last season than any team I can remember in years.

If that’s really their thinking they should sack themselves. Sounds like awful pr spin though. I mean Ekitike might be elite but he needs backing up as he’s not on the pitch. Same for Bradley. No one is holding him back as he can’t get on the pitch. CB is a major problem as well. The lack of thought in replacing Mo blows my mind too. I’d understand if Ekitike was fit as we might be trying something different but he isn’t and replacing Mo with an 18 year old is not the answer. Seems we are happy to fall out of the champs league and be mid table. It was a hard to complain as it sounded spoilt when we spent so much and the players did look good on paper. But it was mentioned many times that the squad was smaller in numbers in height and in aggression up front. The window also ended quite flat when when failed to land a CB when everyone knew including the club was a major concern.

A CB was a priority last summer when we pushed hard on Guéhi even WITH Konate.

The wage thing is interesting to me once you are loaded for generations to come. I can only think a big wage is a guarantee to play and that’s why players push so hard.

We might buy someone once Virg picks up an injury from playing back to back football all year round for what seems like years in a league row now.

I’m surprised you have no questions over Isak. Do you see him as a 65 game a season striker? I’m not sure.

We were laughably short on bodies last season and then lost another 5. We are about 5-8 signings short. I’m intrigued how this season is going to go.

That’s a tragic forward line isn’t it. The drop off from Mo, Mane, Bobby, Jota, Diaz, Origi and Minimino to this is criminal.

Absolutely perfect age for what we need to bridge the gap between Virg and the young signings. If he’s good he could be here 5 or 6 years and considering we let most players wind down their contracts and go for free age shouldn’t be an issue. Also if we had an injury to Virg ( and it’s coming at some stage ) then it’d be nice to have someone with experience to Shepard the youngster next two him while Virg recovers with Gomez who’ll most likely be injured again just when you really need him. PS The fact that he can cover both positions and means we could sign one player rather than two has got to be too good not to pursue?

I do think there was residual intensity from 8 years of Klopp in the DNA of the team and it slowly ebbed away over the season though. The momentum was from sitting top of the league and once that was in the bag we downed tools. The slightly less intense periods in games might have felt like a breather to the players at the time but it was clear that when needed we couldn't switch back on the levels we had before. They were gone. Once it was ok to lose its hard to say it's not ok to lose and everyone to believe you.

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I remember the whole thing about Slots teams don't pick up injuries line. Maybe they were not fit enough to train hard so they didn't get injured.

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Liverpool have done a pretty good job so far in balancing its legacy and history with globalisation and the flattening and franchising of everything into a product. I guess the constant battle is finding the sweet spot between whatever success means and what that costs you and what the club is willing to give up. It’s a really fine line and it’s hard not to fail sometimes but the stadium is a literal concrete example of that approach. Klopp also felt like a throwback. Unpolished and real without the corporate veneer. It’s why I’m happier with our current manager than say Alonso. It feels like a better fit. I think.

But he might have only had one! That's garbage. Like saying the departure of Robbo has opened up a path for a new RB