All Aboard the Slot Express

[Steveo]

Klopp’s quotes are Klopp’s quotes. They were made because he was well aware that - as a team - Cjty were the best around. The number of titles - points and trophies attest to this fact.

Nobody is debating if Kyle Walker is better than Trent. He isn’t and never was - not in his class in fact.

I was simply highlighting the fact that Klopp even at our peak under him / never had the best team.. TEAM… And he did not - and he is on the record saying it multiple times. What he built was

Klopp didn't buy a finished product - he bought ingredients... He took a failed Chelsea winger - a relegated Scottish fullback - and an unwanted Newcastle mid... and he turned them into “Heavy Metal"

Pep was always about Selection - Klopp about Evolution... Pep buys the best - but Klopp builds the best… and that is why his team was always greater than the sum of its parts.

- The “special” players are ONLY “special” players under Jurgen Klopp.

[Steveo]

The entire point was to highlight that another manager EVEN with hundreds of millions on top thrown down - in one summer - cannot build that mentality and togetherness that Klopp did.

The spend - out of all character - and itself a testimony to the blind panic last summer. They knew that Klopp’s players had won Klopp another title. Zero changes in personnel - (save Chiesa on the bench) and a few subtle tweaks.. Made good on his Klopp 2.0 side in their second season. And they now knew they had to do everything in their power to try and make it look like continuity - when it was anything but. To desperately make it look like like FSG were capable of doing the same without Klopp and inside this model.

Here is the breakdown of the Klopp miracle worker - the stuff no tactical genius or checkbook manager would have even dreamed of attempting.

He took a skinny kid from the academy - ignored every safe veteran - and handed him the keys to the engine room...from the right-back slot! He didn't just see a prospect but a revolution... and that was before the rest of the world even knew his name.

He convinced a London star like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to walk away from a £60,000-a-week pay rise at Arsenal - for the move north to L4 - work twice as hard - and play for a hug and a vision. That's that’s not a transfer - that’s a spiritual recruitment.

He took a Chelsea flop in Mo Salah - a winger who had failed the Premier League test - and polished him until he became the Egyptian King - the GOAT of the modern era who broke every record in the book.

He even convinced his best player at the time - Sadio Mane - to vacate his favourite side of the pitch and move to the left just to accommodate Salah - and still made him even better in the process.

Took "Gok Wan lookalike" Bobby Firmino - a player with a questionable scoring record - and turned him into the most unique false nine the world has ever seen - the heartbeat of the team who defended like a beast and assisted like a magician.

He took "Bog Ordinary" Jordan Henderson - a man the club once tried to swap for Clint Dempsey - and forged him into a UCL and Premier League winning captain - he gave a workhorse the belief of a thoroughbred.

Took Mr. Floppy Matip on a free - and turned him into a world-class ball-carrier (when he was fit) - made Joe Gomez look like a veteran at 20 and even turned Dejan Lovren into a Champions League finalist.

He went to a relegated Hull City - found Andy Robertson - and told him he was the best left-back in Europe until it actually became a fact. He took a City reject in James Milner - a man supposedly in the twilight of his career - and turned him into the Mentality King who was still winning lactate tests at 37. He even managed so well that Origi stayed sweet on loand or on the bench... for years - just to be unleashed as a Legend who only scored goals that broke the internet.

No other manager in history could have taken that specific group of humans and made them believe they were Mentality Monsters until the rest of the world was terrified of them.


And this is why for most of the season I have given 'The Slot Express' an easy ride. When others were calling for his head.. I was focussed mostly on H'edwards. Because I was well aware that Slot had a massive amount to contend with last summer. The tragic loss of Jota - cannot be overstated. He also lost Diaz who I believe he tried everything to keep.

But the reality is that even after being left with probably the best coached and managed squad of players out there... With a mentality that no other squad comes close to.. Capable of taking well over 80 points - even while coping with an injury crisis and bedding in an entirely new midfield... inside of a single year - the signs were there...and they have manifested to a huge degree this season.

[CCTV]

Heres what you said:

In fact... most of our strongest side doesn't even make Pep's best Premier League 11... and I only say that to highlight what it took and what is actually needed under these owners - to compete.

You've then posted your team... with 2 LFC players in it.

Unsure if Pep picks Salah at rwf

Banging out Robbo & Mane not even getting a mention like Salah, for Foden & Gvardiol

[Steveo]

Heres what you said:

In fact... most of our strongest side doesn't even make Pep's best Premier League 11... and I only say that to highlight what it took and what is actually needed under these owners - to compete.

You've then posted your team... with 2 LFC players in it.

Unsure if Pep picks Salah at rwf

Banging out Robbo & Mane not even getting a mention like Salah, for Foden & Gvardiol

Counting a weak point for you? I picked 3 Liverpool players as starters in pep's strongest Premier 11 because ONLY 3 would make it.


Pep’s 11

GK: Alisson
RB: Kyle Walker
CB: Virgil Van Dijk
CB: John Stones
LB: Josko Gvardiol
CDM: Rodri
CM: Kevin De Bruyne
CM: David Silva
RW: Mohamed Salah or Bernardo Silva
LW: Phil Foden
ST: Erling Haaland or Segio Aguero


Not a prayer Pep goes with Robbo or Trent as FB's - why would he need to risk that when he has all that talent behind the CF? It does help to watch CC.

As with my comments on Arteta 2x eclipsing Klopp to finish second to City after finishing 43 points behind us in 2020. A 60 point gain in 3 seasons. Simple facts.. For some reason you have issue with facts. It's a problem.

[CCTV]

You picked 2 LFC Players in your 11.
VVD & Alisson.

RW: Mohamed Salah or Bernardo Silva

You seem unsure who is the best rwf

Pep picks Salah.

You've not even considered Mane at LWF
#OnlyFoden

Pep picks Mane.

You've binned off Robbo at Left back !!
Robbos the best left back for me in the PL era.
The common sly pundits choice is Ashley Cole, and Roy Keane picks Irwin.

Pep picks Robbo over Gavrdiol at left back.

That's 5 LFC players in a combined 11.
Maybe 6.

Right backs a toss up between Trent, Walker & Cancelo.

Fairly sure the Forum and wider world agrees my combined 11 beats yours...


Steveo says
"Gok Wan lookalike" Bobby Firmino - a player with a questionable scoring record - and turned him into the most unique false nine the world has ever seen - the heartbeat of the team who defended like a beast and assisted like a magician.

The shit you write about our players is unreal.

At rwf for cituae Bastardo has

A goal or assist per 231.4 minutes.


As an attacking Midfielder at TSG Hoffenheim our Firmino had
A goal or assist per 122.4 minutes.

All positions at Hoffenheim per 143.1 minutes.

As a CF at Hoffenheim
Played 9
Scored 7
Assisted 3
810 minutes
Goal or assist per 81 minutes.

[CCTV]

You picked 2 LFC Players in your 11.
VVD & Alisson.

RW: Mohamed Salah or Bernardo Silva

You seem unsure who is the best rwf

Pep picks Salah.

You've not even considered Mane at LWF
#OnlyFoden

Pep picks Mane.

You've binned off Robbo at Left back !!
Robbos the best left back for me in the PL era.
The common sly pundits choice is Ashley Cole, and Roy Keane picks Irwin.

Pep picks Robbo over Gavrdiol at left back.

That's 5 LFC players in a combined 11.
Maybe 6.

Right backs a toss up between Trent, Walker & Cancelo.

Fairly sure the Forum and wider world agrees my combined 11 beats yours...


Steveo says
"Gok Wan lookalike" Bobby Firmino - a player with a questionable scoring record - and turned him into the most unique false nine the world has ever seen - the heartbeat of the team who defended like a beast and assisted like a magician.

The shit you write about our players is unreal.

At rwf for cituae Bastardo has

A goal or assist per 231.4 minutes.


As an attacking Midfielder at TSG Hoffenheim our Firmino had
A goal or assist per 122.4 minutes.

All positions at Hoffenheim per 143.1 minutes.

As a CF at Hoffenheim
Played 9
Scored 7
Assisted 3
810 minutes
Goal or assist per 81 minutes.

Bobby at Hoffenheim

49 goals & 36 assists in 12,167 minutes.

Goal or assist per 143.1 minutes.

Goal per 248.3 minutes.


Bobby at LFC

111 goals & 76 assists in 25,194 minutes.

Goal or assist per 134.7 minutes.

Goal per 223 minutes.

[CCTV]

Steveo says:
He took a Chelsea flop in Mo Salah - a winger who had failed the Premier League test - and polished him until he became the Egyptian King - the GOAT of the modern era who broke every record in the book.

^^ such sly/bt framing. A chelsea flop !!

Salah had better goals & assists per minute stats than our then front 3 in the previous 2 seasons.

It's a real pity, those record breaking feats didn't leave Salah in your combined 11.
Him or Bastardo at rwf for you

Salah thrived at LFC under Klopp, but his 1st season at LFC was great and he had great stats before joining LFC.
This all points to LFC signing a great player.

[Steveo]

Another raft of facts ignored

This is why so few bother with you.

3 players openly stated as making Pep’s strongest 11 and they are all in the list. I just added 2 each for the RW and CF as Haaland and Aguero and Bernardo Silva and Salah is splitting hairs in terms of what suits Pep’s needs.

Alisson - Virgil - Salah

That’s 3 players not 2.. Simples

Bobby Firmino as near as makes no difference to 1 goal in 4 games after 2 full seasons in England. Questionable …but he was turned into the most unique number 9 around. Nobody said his numbers were poor just questionable. You need an English language course if you don’t know the difference.

And the Gok Wan Lookalike moniker was the label he got from the Anfield Wrap when he debuted his thick rimmed Glasses.


And - Salah was considered a complete flop by Chelsea and sold. This isn’t my opinion but that of the collective football media and seemingly Chelsea football club

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mohamed-salah-flopped-chelsea-before-20098196.amp


https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/23/mohamed-salah-chelsea-liverpool-signing-roma


https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/the-warm-up-just-sign-chelsea-flops-liverpool-close-on-mohamed-salah_sto6225043/story.shtml

Must try harder

[Steveo]

Another raft of facts ignored

This is why so few bother with you.

3 players openly stated as making Pep’s strongest 11 and they are all in the list. I just added 2 each for the RW and CF as Haaland and Aguero and Bernardo Silva and Salah is splitting hairs in terms of what suits Pep’s needs.

Alisson - Virgil - Salah

That’s 3 players not 2.. Simples

Bobby Firmino as near as makes no difference to 1 goal in 4 games after 2 full seasons in England. Questionable …but he was turned into the most unique number 9 around. Nobody said his numbers were poor just questionable. You need an English language course if you don’t know the difference.

And the Gok Wan Lookalike moniker was the label he got from the Anfield Wrap when he debuted his thick rimmed Glasses.


And - Salah was considered a complete flop by Chelsea and sold. This isn’t my opinion but that of the collective football media and seemingly Chelsea football club

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/mohamed-salah-flopped-chelsea-before-20098196.amp


https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/23/mohamed-salah-chelsea-liverpool-signing-roma


https://www.tntsports.co.uk/football/the-warm-up-just-sign-chelsea-flops-liverpool-close-on-mohamed-salah_sto6225043/story.shtml


So continue your distractions and usual bullshit - all part of the shilling process. But most of us who know the game KNOW that it took a HUGE effort from the manager to completely change the entire club from top to bottom - and build a team of world beaters out of a “bog ordinary” squad. You can try to tell us we bought the best - we all know that’s not true. Only time we ever did that was after the Coutinho money - Virgil & Allison. The rest - were forged in the fire, and they know it.


Happy Shilling

[CCTV]

Oh no, more UK media backing you up.
Enjoy your UK media

Calling both Salah & KdB chelsea flops just shows the low quality of UK media.
Sensational headlines ignoring both players stats after leaving cfc as young fellas.

Salah better goal and assists stats than each of our front 3 for 2 seasons prior to arriving at LFC

Bobby arrived with great numbers too.

Peps picking a lot more LFC players in a combined 11 than you.

Theres no doubt Pep is picking
Salah at RWF,
Mane at LWF,
Robbo at LB,
VVD LCB
& Alisson in goals.

[Ravo19]

More back and forth between salah and slot with salah talking about players having the right attitude to turn up early at the gym and slot telling media "performances have to be on pitch not just gym",while slot might be right about salahs performances on pitch,did it need saying to the media.
To many players seem happy to walk away,robbo,jones,salah talk about alisson and now a whisper that virgil could walk away.
Need a new manager with a strong personality to turn this round off and on pitch.

[jr81]

He continued as well with something along these lines:

“I wish I was able to say what I feel at this moment but I can’t. So, how will I answer that question then?

“As I said, I completely agree with him [Salah] how important these standards are. I think they [standards] are in a good place at the moment."

There will a fee books written about this season. All of this comes across as a mess in the background.

Also saw the rumours of virgil going to galatasary, but surely not?

As a club we are in a very precarious position. A manger that has lost confidence from most of the supporters (and some players) and a squad that has lost its core heart beat. A lot of investment needed to keep us in top 4,never mind winning anything.

[Steveo]

Oh no, more UK media backing you up.
Enjoy your UK media

Calling both Salah & KdB chelsea flops just shows the low quality of UK media.
Sensational headlines ignoring both players stats after leaving cfc as young fellas.

Salah better goal and assists stats than each of our front 3 for 2 seasons prior to arriving at LFC

Bobby arrived with great numbers too.

Peps picking a lot more LFC players in a combined 11 than you.

Theres no doubt Pep is picking
Salah at RWF,
Mane at LWF,
Robbo at LB,
VVD LCB
& Alisson in goals.

Totally agree with you on the shyte spun by the media - but that was the general consensus of football fans - Liverpool fans included who claimed we had dodged a bullet in missing out on Salah first time around.

And no… there is no chance Pep picks Robbo. Not in this Universe and he doesn’t take Mane over Foden. Again not because Foden is better BUT because he is safer.

This is Pep and this is the reason he has so many titles. Klopp was never afforded that luxury to be able to deploy that lower risk strategy. Not that Klopp moaned about it - and he relished the challenge…. but thems the facts.

And to address the ‘Short memories of the shilling kind’..


https://www.espn.co.uk/football/story/_/id/37442670/roberto-firmino-dispelling-doubts-liverpool


https://www.thisisanfield.com/2015/12/watford-liverpool-player-ratings/

Roberto Firmino – 3
A pathetic performance from Firmino, who is beginning to bear the brunt of Liverpool supporters’ anger.
The Brazilian did literally nothing, apart from getting offside constantly, and he played with a lethargy that was extremely worrying. His demeanour is naturally laid-back, which is easy to find frustrating.

————————————————� �————

Bobby firmino

The fact is during his first season he did have a questionable scoring record.. just 1 goal to his name by early January 2016. Some of us remember. And…..doubts about his overall ability and where he fitted in were commonplace especially before Jurgen was bedded in. He was a project... and Jurgen turned him into a world-beater.

Pointing out the truth of his struggle isn't "shit talking"... it’s acknowledging the massive graft and management it took to get him to the top. Stop rewriting history to suit an agenda... some of us were actually watching.

It highlights the difference maker - Jurgen Klopp - and the huge shoes he left to fill…. and this is what triggers the shills every time. Because it highlights the deficiency from the top. The owners who have spent literally nothing, Got the nation’s most successful club “for a steal” and left us to pay for the rest… Fourteen times their investment if they sold today. Imagine what they have bought with that collateral and leverage - while Klopp had to stretch his squad till it broke again and again.

[miller0863]

Bobby was a beautiful footballer but it took Klopp to fit his particular skill set into the jigsaw.
If he hadn’t had Klopp as a manager he may well have gone on to have the very average career that was looking more likely before the great man arrived.

[CCTV]

He continued as well with something along these lines:

“I wish I was able to say what I feel at this moment but I can’t. So, how will I answer that question then?

“As I said, I completely agree with him [Salah] how important these standards are. I think they [standards] are in a good place at the moment."

There will a fee books written about this season. All of this comes across as a mess in the background.

Also saw the rumours of virgil going to galatasary, but surely not?

As a club we are in a very precarious position. A manger that has lost confidence from most of the supporters (and some players) and a squad that has lost its core heart beat. A lot of investment needed to keep us in top 4,never mind winning anything.

It's a rotten camp and thats been obvious before new years.

Against United they looked like they might win the game and shut down, losing the game.
Today take a lead and could push on, and shut down.