yellow jumper

yeah, that's probably right. different challenges though. villareal the best of them defensively.

comfortably the fourth best team in spain this year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzBq0n8dxFQ

gibbering. fair play.

think we froze, first and foremost. mistakes, but also no intensity at the start.

we'll get chances.

still not totally convinced by bayern, always look like they'll concede.

they should scrap the entire enterprise. or rename it the ryan giggs memorial award for attacking players.

not particularly bothered by allen, either way. so, yeah. but i'm a bit suspicious of the set plays/aerial argument when we've got two other centre mids who've played centre half and henderson who's over six foot. two big lads already signed and sealed. wasn't it supposedly part of rafa's thinking on alonso? not that allen is at that level obviously. but i'd find it a bit odd if we reduced judgment of a midfielder in quite that way.

we're not going to be accommodating coutinho and firmino. they're players with obvious roles to play. allen's starting role under klopp isn't obvious, that's clearer than any idea he just isn't good enough for the sort of level we aspire to. in my view.

yeah, wouldn't disagree. i think in a three his ability to win ball is there, he had good games against fellaini/dembele, for example, under rodgers if memory serves. but perhaps a bit too much to ask for him to do the more dominant job you'd need in a two, in klopp's style. player who's good enough to play fairly regularly at a successful club if the approach and system suits, but not one who's going to transcend. probably.

didn't guardiola have a pop at the medical department there?

i understand the concern about size, but the likely winners of the premiership aren't stacked with huge lads in midfield and forward areas, and they manage to compete, defend the high ball, whatever else.

steve peters tribute.

paris probably not great anyway, but veratti particularly a big miss alongside matuidi.

if they press as well as you'd expect the long ball out and into channels probably suits origi better. although I'd be tempted to start both in this spirit. particularly if firmino not 100%.

great waffles.

I've seen dahoud play a couple of times. Not sure he's offering more than what we've already got, really.

you only need to go back a few pages in this very thread to understand that.

until any point at which he isn't. whatever. it's unlikely to be with us. the mistake in that transfer and the coates one before it, and paletta, san jose, ayala and whoever else before that is the notion that this is a club that can afford to allow 20 year-old centre halves to learn on the job. gomes at least has the benefit of being able to operate at full back, a much likelier route to a more central role later in his career.

morata missed chances, but sense role he's doing probably not helping either, basically being used like mandzukic - back to goal, wider at times, workhorse - when i think bit more to his game in terms of pace and dribbling if you wanted to develop that.

bit of henry about the second.

the critical view of him would be that he doesn't score enough goals, and has had slumps.

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