Henderson is fit, he can run and run, that is it. There is a reason England are mediocre without someone who can play the ball like Wilshere, there is a reason why teams like Ludogorets had a field day in the Champions League last time we were there. There is a reason why despite pressing teams, there are leaks that lead to open chances the other side....midfield does not essentially do a great job tactically.
There is a reason as to why the team struggles to get any kind of chances when a team sits deep, it is because very few in the team can create outside the pressing system.
Your posts seem to be getting smaller, and with good reason. The point I was trying to pass across, the point others have tried passing to you before you made some sensationalist claims was this; that money has been spent on players who did nothing for the team, a lot of money.
That money better spent on a few quality players would have given this team a foundation needed to better build a more functional team.
Show me a team in the world that was great that did not have continuity. There is none. Continuity is the platform on which great sides are built.
Van Der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney.
Cech, Terry, Ivanovic, Cole, Essien, Lampard, Drogba.
Lauren, Cole, Vieira, Bergkamp, Ljumberg, Pires, Henry, Keown.
Nesta, Maldini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Inzaghi, Ambrosini.
Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Dani Alves, Busquets, Xavi (now Rakitic), Iniesta, Messi.
Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Clichy, Toure, Silva, Aguero.
Pepe/Varane, Sergio Ramos, Modric, Ronaldo, Benzema, Carvajal, Keylor Navas, Kroos.
Lahm, Neuer, Boateng, Muller, Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger.
Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Marchisio, Khedira, Lichsteiner, Mandzukic.
Even the current Arsenal side that has won three FA Cups in 5 years has had Koscielny, Mertesacker, Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Giroud, Monreal. They have started reaping the benefits of keeping their team together, something that they could not do when they were repaying stadium debt.
Where is the spine at Liverpool FC. Where is the continuity?
Here is the reality; if the team is not competing for bigger and better more consistently, the talent drain that we have mainly seen the past few years will continue. Suarez left, Sterling left and it is likely that Coutinho without improvements will similarly demand to leave.
The first choice keeper is first choice because the man who was supposed to replace him was not ready yet. One would think that Matip and Van Dijk were the planned CB partnership with Naby Keita joining Coutinho plus one more in midfield, and that over time this team together with a front three of Mane, Salah and Firmino would grow and develop together.
Klopp who you seem to be treating like a god had a stellar team at Dortmund, but the moment teams started picking off their best talent year on year, standards started falling. He could not replace players as fast as he was losing them and he ended up in 7th. No matter how good you are, you need to keep your best players, and build around them.
There was a time when I could look at the team and see Reina, Gerrard, Alonso, Torres and would say that if they had two or three quality players around them, playing at a similar level, they would have had a team that would have been great at home and Europe. It was not to be.
As we speak, other teams are investing. Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal all have some continuity going for them, and look at the players that they are looking to add. These teams alongside United have been winning too, so there is that pedigree, that is what we are up against.
The lack of continuity is something that stems from the strategy to try and bring in young players that could turn out to be gems. Buy cheap, develop and sell expensive.
Haha
So you agree with me at last.
I've been banging on about continuity in post after post, for years, and yet you ignored it in favour of contradicting your own previous arguments.
First you banged on about no money being spent, then money not being spent "wisely", and then backtracked on the very point I'd been making all along.
The strategy isn't "buy young, sell expensive".
When we buy youngsters, we only do what every team near the top does; we try to get young players and develop them.
That's it.
If youngsters fail to make the grade, and we manage to get more than we paid for them, what's the problem?
Now let's take your little copy and paste of what you consider to be "great" teams, and I' raise you this one:
Van Der Sar, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Neville, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs, Rooney.
Cech, Terry, Ivanovic, Cole, Essien, Lampard, Drogba.
Lauren, Cole, Vieira, Bergkamp, Ljumberg, Pires, Henry, Keown.
Nesta, Maldini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf, Inzaghi, Ambrosini.
Valdes, Puyol, Pique, Dani Alves, Busquets, Xavi (now Rakitic), Iniesta, Messi.
Hart, Kompany, Zabaleta, Clichy, Toure, Silva, Aguero.
Pepe/Varane, Sergio Ramos, Modric, Ronaldo, Benzema, Carvajal, Keylor Navas, Kroos.
Lahm, Neuer, Boateng, Muller, Robben, Ribery, Schweinsteiger.
Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini, Marchisio, Khedira, Lichsteiner, Mandzukic.
1 Dudek (not a very good keeper)
3 Finnan (not a great FB)
23 Carragher (tried hard, good last ditch defender)
4 Hyypia (Excellent defender)
14 Alonso (good passer, not very good defensively)
10 Luis Garcia (had more bad games than good games for us)
8 Gerrard (A world class player, but left a huge hole that Milan exploited - made up for that with his creative impetus)
21 Traore (He won a European Cup? Really?)
7 Kewell (Makes Sturrdige look like a Terminator)
6 Riise (sh*t defender, great left foot)
5 Baros (Nice hair)
I'd argue that the first team we have now is superior in every position except one.
Then again, let's go further back and look at 1984
GK 1 Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar (absolute nutter, fu**ed up all the time, made jelly legs; folk hero)
RB 2 England Phil Neal Super defender, never gave an inch
LB 3 England Alan Kennedy Nutter, what he lacked in talent he made up with heart
CB 4 Republic of Ireland Mark Lawrenson Elegant, and precise
LM 5 Republic of Ireland Ronnie Whelan Dirty, dirty dog who could also play
CB 6 Scotland Alan Hansen Lacked pace
SS 7 Scotland Kenny Dalglish Substituted off 94' (super player)
CM 8 England Sammy Lee ran a lot and tried hard
CF 9 Wales Ian Rush The original "press" attacker, never gave them a moments peace
RM 10 England Craig Johnston Substituted off 72' Industrious, got up and down well
CM 11 Scotland Graeme Souness (c) Supreme in midfield, best General we ever had
See, we can all name drop and talk about what other teams do, but I'd rather focus on what Liverpool do, rather than compare us to some of the best teams in history.
To become one of the best takes time; you keep bringing up Barca, and yet neglect to say their academy recruitment process took 15 years to come to fruition.
It's not about "names", it's about balance, and what the manager judges to be the best balance for the team.
We can all throw names around of who we think are good players, but at the end of the day, it's about how they fit, and the job they do.
Like Lucas allowing others more freedom because he had the back locked down, along with the split CB's, which is just another example of Klopp bringing his version of "total football" with players interchanging.
We have a decent first, we have some options, but could do with more depth, and some more quality.
It's all part of Klopp building his team, and support of Klopp is nothing to do with "treating him like a god", but rather recognition of a Master going about his business.
You could learn a lot from him, but I suspect your opinions are far too loud for you to listen to one of the top managers in the game, and it seems like you have a bee in your bonnet about him, and don't like him very much.
You've been quite disparaging of our manager over the course of this conversation, and I'm just going to say that I support him 100%, and if you don't, that's your problem, but you'll be a hypocrite if you celebrate when (not if) he delivers.