Match thread ECL Liverpool v Lille

[Insidious]

To answer Steveo's question...

The prestige as people say.

The less fun (business) bit higher placings equate to more cash - there's no trophy for it or anything - though I think a Shield has been discussed as a possibility for the future which I think I would find a bit naff.

[jozza800]

The prestige as people say.

The less fun (business) bit higher placings equate to more cash - there's no trophy for it or anything - though I think a Shield has been discussed as a possibility for the future which I think I would find a bit naff.

Yep, just like the Football League clubs getting a trophy for finishing 6th and getting a trophy.

[jozza800]

Anybody else want to see what Chiesa can do for a full 90mins, or is it just me?

He's looked very lively and involved from his last 3 short appearances from the bench.

Also, I was a little disappointed that Slot chose Trent as his final sub instead of Danns for the last 10mins.

[Insidious]

Anybody else want to see what Chiesa can do for a full 90mins, or is it just me?

If he is fit for it, absolutely.

We collectively have absolutely no knowledge of what his body can and can't handle. The medical staff may have questions surrounding full matches while his conditioning gets sorted.

But if I thought he could fairly regularly put in 70 minutes and get subbed off (precaution) or regularly come on for the last 25 for impact, that'd be brilliant.

Competition for spots in the side at the front end of the pitch is wonderful right now and hopefully will keep everyone on their toes. It's wild to think that it is logistically possible (albeit incredibly unlikely that it would happen as literally as this) that we could field something like Diaz, Jota and Salah in a match and bring them off after 65 minutes for Gakpo, Núñez and Chiesa.

Having 6 genuine attacking options (even if we will always want to improve on what we perceive to be our subjective "weakest" attacker) is a brilliant position to be in and to have managed to do so with only one fee being a £50m+ one is a bit mad when you look at the current market.

Recruitment staff and in particular Jürgen have left us in a great position. If we can make the right choices going forward (who to let go, who to bring in) in the next few seasons and continue to strengthen then we are laughing.

[jozza800]

If he is fit for it, absolutely.

We collectively have absolutely no knowledge of what his body can and can't handle. The medical staff may have questions surrounding full matches while his conditioning gets sorted.

But if I thought he could fairly regularly put in 70 minutes and get subbed off (precaution) or regularly come on for the last 25 for impact, that'd be brilliant.

Competition for spots in the side at the front end of the pitch is wonderful right now and hopefully will keep everyone on their toes. It's wild to think that it is logistically possible (albeit incredibly unlikely that it would happen as literally as this) that we could field something like Diaz, Jota and Salah in a match and bring them off after 65 minutes for Gakpo, Núñez and Chiesa.

Having 6 genuine attacking options (even if we will always want to improve on what we perceive to be our subjective "weakest" attacker) is a brilliant position to be in and to have managed to do so with only one fee being a £50m+ one is a bit mad when you look at the current market.

Recruitment staff and in particular Jürgen have left us in a great position. If we can make the right choices going forward (who to let go, who to bring in) in the next few seasons and continue to strengthen then we are laughing.

Pretty much the crux of it. If we don't recruit well it wont matter if we spend £300m or £30m in the next few years.

Good Recruitment - Good Players - Good Manager.

[Steveo]

Good manager = better recruitment - and average players being able to perform.

Without Jurgen the rest is poppycock,

This is where Sid and CCTV and a few others are clueless

Let’s see WHO Slot can attract. And he has a huge head start with Klopp’s team doing so well. IF we can win a major prize this season it will help hugely - BUT Slot is no Klopp. Doesn’t have anything like the persona.

Let’s wait and see. We are living in the legacy right now. Hopefully Slot emerges like paisley did and evolves that legacy into something even more successful.

[CCTV]

Anybody else want to see what Chiesa can do for a full 90mins, or is it just me?

He's looked very lively and involved from his last 3 short appearances from the bench.

Also, I was a little disappointed that Slot chose Trent as his final sub instead of Danns for the last 10mins.

Both Bradley & Chiesa are coming back from injury so guess Slots managing their minutes.

[Steveo]

And nobody in here talking about it - BUT last night was a disgrace. Zero atmosphere - like a proper 100% tourist club.

I tell you now - FSG will be the death of LFC if they remain in situ for another decade. They are killing the soul of the club. How many locals under 50 were at that game last night? What percentage of the crowd?

[Insidious]

Pretty much the crux of it. If we don't recruit well it wont matter if we spend £300m or £30m in the next few years.

Good Recruitment - Good Players - Good Manager.

The new set-up with the changes of roles in key positions will be an interesting test and hopefully they are up to the task.


I think in the next 2-5 seasons the key area to get right will be centre-back.

I am not currently of the belief that there is a ready-made, plug-and-play, like-for-like replacement for Van Dijk, but we will eventually have to find a player or two that can replicate close to 80-90% of his contribution to secure the spine. Thankfully in Mamardashvili we have made some inroads into future-proofing the goalkeeping position, so working forward from the base, you'd want to nail centre-back.

I think the forward options look great - always can improve of course and (in due time) we'll need to recruit younger lads as Salah and Jota get older. I think the midfield options look great too and if we acquire a quality player aged 22-25 or so for depth while Endo eventually departs then it will only need tweaking going forward rather than major surgery.

We'll see what happens with right-back and Trent's contract situation, but if he stayed then we still look good on that side. Left-back I think we'd all agree needs a high-quality player to succeed Robertson and I would be happy with a player coming in and Tsimikas staying for depth - though some Reds may differ on how soon we do that, or whether you recruit, keep Robbo for depth and sell Tsimi.

The picture (overall) looks pretty good in my eyes. When Klopp came in he had a real mish-mash of a squad where several pieces didn't feel in sync with each other - nowadays the squad identity/DNA if you will looks much more coherent and synergetic, so you're starting work from a much higher bar.

[teesred]

And nobody in here talking about it - BUT last night was a disgrace. Zero atmosphere - like a proper 100% tourist club.

I tell you now - FSG will be the death of LFC if they remain in situ for another decade. They are killing the soul of the club. How many locals under 50 were at that game last night? What percentage of the crowd?

They already have in many ways. America in general is ruining the game just like they've ruined concert going. It's becoming an elite/wealthy hobby and genuine fans were priced out eons ago.
Last night there was a lot of tickets available on fan groups some going for face value, maybe the crowd had a lot of fans who can't get there much which could explain the quiet atmosphere. Fans have to pick and choose now due to the sheer expense of the whole thing.
Not much riding on it and not a big team too adding to the lack of atmosphere which isn't an excuse but I'd imagine fairly normal for any club.