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      Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?

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      7-King Kenny-7
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #92: Jul 28, 2019 07:58:44 pm
      It's finding those back up players that are happy to be back up players or sit on the bench.

      The only way we're getting same level type player as the front three, was if one of them were going to leave imo.

      Could do with Shaq & Keita back, that would change the look of the team as well.

      Why does it have to be a player who’s happy to be back up? Why can’t it be a player of similar quality who has the ability to start over one of the current 3?

      No player should ever be happy to just be a back up player, regardless of their competition. Getting players of a similar quality would probably push our current 3 on to a new level too with the added competition. Look at Firmino last season, even Salah, there were times they both should have been on the bench through a dip in form but as it stands, all 3 of them know that regardless of how bad they play, they will be starting the next game. Would be good to have a player who can come in and start ahead of them and we don’t lose any of our attacking threat.

      I just think we are past the stage now of having a set group of players with purely back up options, I think we are at the level now where we can attract nearly whoever we want and should be having a bench as frightening as our starting 11. Not to mention the added options on quality would give us better chances of domestic cup runs. As it stands, when we massively rotate, it’s almost a given we aren’t getting past the 2nd round, you only have to look at how bad we’ve done in the FA Cup over the last 10 years to see that.
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #93: Jul 28, 2019 08:07:28 pm
      Why does it have to be a player who’s happy to be back up? Why can’t it be a player of similar quality who has the ability to start over one of the current 3?

      No player should ever be happy to just be a back up player, regardless of their competition. Getting players of a similar quality would probably push our current 3 on to a new level too with the added competition. Look at Firmino last season, even Salah, there were times they both should have been on the bench through a dip in form but as it stands, all 3 of them know that regardless of how bad they play, they will be starting the next game. Would be good to have a player who can come in and start ahead of them and we don’t lose any of our attacking threat.

      I just think we are past the stage now of having a set group of players with purely back up options, I think we are at the level now where we can attract nearly whoever we want and should be having a bench as frightening as our starting 11. Not to mention the added options on quality would give us better chances of domestic cup runs. As it stands, when we massively rotate, it’s almost a given we aren’t getting past the 2nd round, you only have to look at how bad we’ve done in the FA Cup over the last 10 years to see that.

      Wages and wage structure?
      How much do we actually have to spend?

      All possible reasons as to why can’t it be a player of similar quality who has the ability to start over one of the current 3.

      We could of bought De Ligt, but all the talk is that we couldn't accept his wage demands. Maybe it's the same with forward players.

      Klopp has already made a comment on the lines of "We have to pay bills" meaning we definitely have financial constraints this summer.

      stuey
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #94: Jul 28, 2019 08:46:56 pm
      Wages and wage structure?
      How much do we actually have to spend?

      All possible reasons as to why can’t it be a player of similar quality who has the ability to start over one of the current 3.

      We could of bought De Ligt, but all the talk is that we couldn't accept his wage demands. Maybe it's the same with forward players.

      Klopp has already made a comment on the lines of "We have to pay bills" meaning we definitely have financial constraints this summer.



      Nothing's changed mate, sell to buy,
      Edit: Constraints allowing of course.
      « Last Edit: Jul 29, 2019 11:12:40 am by stuey »
      Lallana in Pyjamas
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #95: Jul 28, 2019 08:51:48 pm
      Nothing's changed mate, sell to buy,

       :roll:
      7-King Kenny-7
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #96: Jul 28, 2019 09:41:44 pm
      Wages and wage structure?
      How much do we actually have to spend?

      All possible reasons as to why can’t it be a player of similar quality who has the ability to start over one of the current 3.

      We could of bought De Ligt, but all the talk is that we couldn't accept his wage demands. Maybe it's the same with forward players.

      Klopp has already made a comment on the lines of "We have to pay bills" meaning we definitely have financial constraints this summer.



      Don’t have to break the bank though, just need to look at Robbo. Case of quality money spent, not quantity of it.
      But then, it could well be a case there just isn’t a player of any value that the recruitment team feel is right for us this year.
      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #97: Jul 28, 2019 10:12:29 pm
      F**k off you silly tw*t.

      Just go already your trying to take the mantle of being the forums indifferent provocateur poster and your doing a sh*t job.

      Hence your reaction. 😂
      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #98: Jul 28, 2019 10:18:55 pm
      Don’t have to break the bank though, just need to look at Robbo. Case of quality money spent, not quantity of it.
      But then, it could well be a case there just isn’t a player of any value that the recruitment team feel is right for us this year.

      I simply refuse to believe we can't find a better forward than Origi, Brewster shows promise but he's no Owen or Fowler from what I've seen so far.
      We'll just have to pray our front three go injury free another season
      PGlynn91
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #99: Jul 29, 2019 09:57:24 am
      The simple answer to this is no. They have brought in Rodri for big money and we have signed a 17 year old kid.

      We have one senior left back in Robertson and if pre-season is anything to go by, we do rely heavily on our front three who all have had busy summers.

      I did not expect a massive window but surely after coming so close in the league and winning the UCL, there must be funds there for one big signing.
      racerx34
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #100: Jul 29, 2019 10:37:05 am
      City didn’t dominate or walk the league. We had a significantly different squad from them and yet we pushed them all the way. It was down to that head to head league game with them that they won the league. We are not too far off. Ok. Were.

      Domestically, City won everything there was to win.
      They did so because of the ridiculous strenght of their squad.
      Essex Mingle
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #101: Jul 29, 2019 11:05:10 am
      Domestically, City won everything there was to win.
      They did so because of the ridiculous strenght of their squad.


      and with cup draws that only happen once in a 100 years
      waltonl4
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #102: Jul 29, 2019 12:03:09 pm


      and with cup draws that only happen once in a 100 years

      that's a good point they did have very easy routes to both finals.
      Robby The Z
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #103: Jul 29, 2019 06:01:48 pm
      So back to the original question - help me out here.

      I can surmise our current squad pretty well, two deep at each position. Can someone who knows the City squad well do the same and put them side-by-side?:

      Liverpool 2019-20
      GK: Allison, Mignolet

      RB: Trent, Hoever
      LB: Robbo, Larouci (realize that Milner or Gomez could be the backup at either left or right back if one of them goes out)
      CB: Virgil, Lovren
      CB: Matip, Gomez

      Mid: Fabinho, Gini
      Mid: Hendo, Milner
      Mid: Ox, Keita (all three midfield positions are interchangeable, along with the players listed

      F: Mo, Brewster
      F: Bobby, Origi
      F: Sadio, Shaqiri

      Others: Lallana, Van Den Berg, Elliott, Wilson
      Robby The Z
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #104: Jul 30, 2019 01:21:48 am
      Thinking again about our squad. I re-watched the Napoli game this evening (was distracted a bit during the 2nd half yesterday with family). I know people liked a couple of touches Harvey Elliott had and fair play, but the sub who really stood out was Kijana Hoever. That kid can play! I noticed he played on the left this time as well after playing on the right in earlier matches. He could be the backup fullback on both sides this season. Our bench in a typical match could be: Mignolet, Gomez, Hoever, Milner or some other mid, Shaqiri, Origi, Brewster (or one fewer forward and another midfielder).

      BostonScouse
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #105: Jul 30, 2019 03:40:53 am
      Thinking again about our squad. I re-watched the Napoli game this evening (was distracted a bit during the 2nd half yesterday with family). I know people liked a couple of touches Harvey Elliott had and fair play, but the sub who really stood out was Kijana Hoever. That kid can play! I noticed he played on the left this time as well after playing on the right in earlier matches. He could be the backup fullback on both sides this season. Our bench in a typical match could be: Mignolet, Gomez, Hoever, Milner or some other mid, Shaqiri, Origi, Brewster (or one fewer forward and another midfielder).

      I love me some Hoever.

      Looks ready for some real tests.
      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #106: Jul 30, 2019 08:16:09 am
      I love me some Hoever.

      Looks ready for some real tests.

      I agree that we have some very exciting youngsters coming through, but that doesn't solve the issues for this season, we are exposed at LB and I'd still like to see one more quality forward in the team, if Citeh can have 6 surely we could accommodate 4 and then have Origi and Brewster in reserve.
      ozi_wozzy
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #107: Jul 30, 2019 10:10:05 am
      Man City powered their way through the English domestic season last year with their three trophies, but the reds claimed the top European prize.

      Although both sides had different fortunes in the domestic cups (I would argue we had different levels of opponents) in the Premier League the two teams were separated by just 2 points.

      I'm kind of after people's gut reactions here.  I'm coming down on the side that it's been a bit of a missed opportunity - but if I try to look at it both ways.

      On one hand you can say that we haven't brought anyone significant in. 

      On the other hand you could say the team are a year further on together, they have sampled success in Madrid and we do have a couple of players available who missed last season - Oxlade-C and Brewster.

      On balance - will these things close the gap on or overtake Man City? Or should we have done more in the market?  Maybe trying to integrate 'star names' can unbalance your squad and affect early season results?

      I really do think the front three need more cover / competition. We got incredibly luck last season with their injuries considering the number of games they played. Salah was also beginning to get too selfish, despite his impressive number of assists. A healthy competition is always a good thing and I don't want the front three to get too complacent.

      It's a delicate balance because they're so well drilled together now that it would be a risk to introduce a big name signing hence I prefer a rising star instead of an established marquee signing. We have the cash and the pulling power, we can take a chance.

      Aside than that, I'm very happy with the rest of the squad, especially Ox and Brewster coming back in.
      Robby The Z
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #108: Jul 30, 2019 11:29:04 am
      I agree that we have some very exciting youngsters coming through, but that doesn't solve the issues for this season, we are exposed at LB and I'd still like to see one more quality forward in the team, if Citeh can have 6 surely we could accommodate 4 and then have Origi and Brewster in reserve.

      I am glad you answered my post about Kijana Hoever being a good player with this post expressing your opinion that we don't have enough cover in the squad and the club needs to spend some money on transfers rather than rely on who we already have. I think we were reaching a critical point on these boards where people might have forgotten that you feel this way, as you haven't expressed it more than say, every waking moment for the past month or so. Your opinion is thoroughly, indelibly, eternally, registered on here and by now, probably in the annals of eternity.  In other words, I heard you the first 1,256,317, 694 times.
       
      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #109: Jul 30, 2019 11:35:43 am
      I am glad you answered my post about Kijana Hoever being a good player with this post expressing your opinion that we don't have enough cover in the squad and the club needs to spend some money on transfers rather than rely on who we already have. I think we were reaching a critical point on these boards where people might have forgotten that you feel this way, as you haven't expressed it more than say, every waking moment for the past month or so. Your opinion is thoroughly, indelibly, eternally, registered on here and by now, probably in the annals of eternity.  In other words, I heard you the first 1,256,317, 694 times.
       

      ;D, ok ok I guess I just live in hope that Jürgen might stumble across this forum and count the number of posts urging him to buy a top quality forward. :-)

      I'll shut up about it now and just hope that a) Brewster is as good as Klopp thinks and b) by some miracle the front three are injury free all season.
      HUYTON RED
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #110: Jul 30, 2019 01:12:41 pm
      ;D, ok ok I guess I just live in hope that Jürgen might stumble across this forum and count the number of posts urging him to buy a top quality forward. :-)

      I'll shut up about it now and just hope that a) Brewster is as good as Klopp thinks and b) by some miracle the front three are injury free all season.

      So what happened last season when some of the front three were injured, like for instance in the Champs League semi against Barca..

      Some might say our back up is actually good enough when it matters.
      SM
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #111: Jul 30, 2019 01:20:44 pm
      No we have not closed the gap, to do that we need to strengthen every year and unless we pull something out the bag I cant see us getting as close to City this season.

      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #112: Jul 30, 2019 01:50:37 pm
      So what happened last season when some of the front three were injured, like for instance in the Champs League semi against Barca..

      Some might say our back up is actually good enough when it matters.

      We were very lucky with injuries to our front three last season, you have to admit that, it was only a couple of games where we missed any of them, obviously a key one was against Barca where we pulled off a miracle and every single one of the lads played SUPERB, yes including Origi who had the game of his life that night.
      Are you honestly comfortable with the thought of one of our forwards being out for a few months mid-season, would you be happy with our forward backups starting in that situation? You see I'm not, that is the difference, and I'm baffled why that is generating so much hostility towards me.
      Robby The Z
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #113: Jul 30, 2019 03:09:55 pm
      No we have not closed the gap, to do that we need to strengthen every year and unless we pull something out the bag I cant see us getting as close to City this season.

      Still wish someone would outline their first and second choice XIs in comparison to what I listed above. Would like to see it quantified other than just the notion that they are better.
      heimdall
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      Re: Have we closed the gap on Man City this summer?
      Reply #114: Jul 30, 2019 04:25:41 pm
      Still wish someone would outline their first and second choice XIs in comparison to what I listed above. Would like to see it quantified other than just the notion that they are better.

      City
      1st XI
                          Ederson

      Walker     Stones   LaPorte     Zinchenko

      De Bruyne       Fenrnandinho    D.Silva

      B.Silva            Aguero             Sterling


      2nd XI
                           Bravo

      Danilo       Mendy      Mangala     Otamendi

      Gundogan         Rodri            Foden

      Mahrez             Jesus             Sane



      Defensively their second Xi is a bit average but in all other areas its outstanding, especially in attack.

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