Pre-Match: Liverpool U23 v Shrewsbury Town (4th Feb 2020, Anfield)

I get what you're saying, and part of me agrees, but I read yesterday, that the PL, FA & EFL all agreed that there would be a winter break. Now if the FA knew about the break, why did they not have a contingency plan if PL teams need a replay? Similar with the League Cup, why did the EFL not accommodate our World Club Cup games, we have pointless international breaks that are mandatory, but only affect a few clubs.

It’s because they’re simply incompetent.

Gonna need the crowd to get behind the lads tonight, Shrewsbury have been given both tiers of the Anfield Rd end due to FA Cup allocation & completely sold them out, so there'll be 4x the amount of Away supporters in the stadium as opposed to standard league games & I'm sure they'll be wanting to make themselves heard due to the magnitude of the tie

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/curtis-jones-chance-become-liverpools-21423994

Curtis Jones' chances of setting a new all-time Liverpool record could rest on the flip of a coin.

That is the suggestion from his Under-23 boss Neil Critchley, with the 19-year-old in line to become the youngest-ever captain in the club’s history against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup tonight

Critchley, who will be in the dug out at Anfield with manager Jürgen Klopp taking the week off with Liverpool supposed to be on a winter break, says that, with Pedro Chirivella captaining the side when they played Aston Villa on the Carabao Cup, he may have to toss a coin to decide between the two.

“Curtis has been our captain for the U23s this season but he wasn’t captain in the Aston Villa game because he was away at the Club World Cup,” said Critchley.



“So I shall toss the coin and see which one [player] it lands on. Would he be the club’s youngest-ever captain? Well, he might give me a double-headed coin to flick then.”

Jones’s birth day was on January 30 and if, as expected, he is given the armband, that would make him the youngest captain at 19 years and 5 days.

You have to go all the way back to Alex Raisbeck in 1900, who was 20 years and 250 days when he first led the team. Steven Gerrard is next on the list, after being made captain at the age of 22.

For Jones, it would cap what has been an incredible few weeks, with Klopp saying the midfielder would “definitely” become a Liverpool regular if he continues his current progress.

He has scored two goals in his last two games for the first team Critchley says he has a belief and confidence that will take him far.



“He is a young player who wants to prove himself,” said Critchley. “I don’t see a problem with that. He has belief in himself and he’ll learn through experience of when to show that on the pitch and when not to show it.

“He couldn’t be learning off better people here, the senior players around him and the staff.

“He is who he is. We are here to support him and guide him. You have to let Curtis have a certain amount of freedom in the way he plays because that’s when he’s at his best.

"But he has to do some of the other things in his game otherwise he won’t be part of the team.”

Critchley led Liverpool in the cup game at Villa when Klopp was away at the World Club Cup with the first-team squad.

There is some controversy this time around with no first-team players appearing, after the manager insisted they have a week off.

Even James Milner, who trained with the kids on Monday afternoon as he hit the injury comeback trail, will not take the chance to find fitness.

But the stand-in boss said it is a good chance to learn for his kids, after a harsh lesson at Villa Park.

“We got a lot of praise for the performance at Villa and we played well in parts but we didn’t do well enough in both penalty boxes,” he added.

“If you are going into a results-driven business you have to win games of football. We didn’t keep the ball at one end and didn’t score at the other end and that’s not a recipe for success, they have to learn that.”

First 20 minutes are crucial for both teams, hopefully being the home side and with a big Anfield crowd behind them it will settle our lads and we'll begin to control the game as time goes on, these lads will be used to playing with each other, so unlike the first game when we had a sprinkling of first teamers upsetting the normal side, that won't be the case tonight.
I'm confident we'll get the win we need to progress through to meet Chelsea in the fifth round, but at the end of the day we have bigger fish to fry, if we win great, if we don't, I won't lose any sleep over it.
Come on you youngsters, do yourself proud and wear that shirt with pride and passion. YNWA.

I was watching that, I had to turn off.

He said Critch had contradicted himself in the presser by saying it was nice what Jürgen said to them at half time in the last match the lads played and for that reason Jürgen should be there. He wasn't there at the last match, he was on the phone you f**king pr**k.

Sky sports news are doing the usual sh*t, for the last couple of days they've been interviewing people and using terms like 'slap in the face', 'disrespectful' etc in the hopes that we lose and then they're set for a day of no mark talking heads banging on about it.

Still laughing at sky sports website asking if ighalo is the new cantona

so its radio only today :S

I'd like to see the kids do well, but other than that, I'm not really fussed.

so its radio only today :S

Yeah one article mentioned Jürgen will be watching on his laptop....not unless he's tapped into someone's secret Facebook Live stream, he'll be listening like the rest of us.

First 20 minutes are crucial for both teams, hopefully being the home side and with a big Anfield crowd behind them it will settle our lads and we'll begin to control the game as time goes on, these lads will be used to playing with each other, so unlike the first game when we had a sprinkling of first teamers upsetting the normal side, that won't be the case tonight.
I'm confident we'll get the win we need to progress through to meet Chelsea in the fifth round, but at the end of the day we have bigger fish to fry, if we win great, if we don't, I won't lose any sleep over it.
Come on you youngsters, do yourself proud and wear that shirt with pride and passion. YNWA.

Hoping the crowd is really switched on for them tonight, the way the away support at Villa was. It's a tough, tough match for these kids but positive crowd support can really make a difference. Here's hoping.

Yeah one article mentioned Jürgen will be watching on his laptop....not unless he's tapped into someone's secret Facebook Live stream, he'll be listening like the rest of us.

 

Wait till closer to kick off,one of these  will come thru.
   

Great bunch of lads!

Match tonight, you know, the one we are devaluing, the one we don't respect, the one we are fielding an U20 team, is.... SOLD OUT.

This is my main issue really.  Are we really saying that Keita, Fabinho, Lovren, Matip need a mid-season break?  Between them they've probably had a combined 12 months out injured just this season.

Fair enough if you've played 35 or so games for us in the past 5 and a half months - have a week off.  No problem with that.

But

Lovren's played 1 game out of the past 14.
Lallana's played 90 minutes once since the Club World Cup.
Matip's played 79 minutes since September.
Fabinho's started two games since November.
Keita last started a game on Boxing Day.  He's played about 50 minutes since then.

I honestly don't think Klopp had to draw a line in the sand of every single first team player because they have all had different workloads, not only since August, but some of them basically never stopped in the summer.

They could have played tonight, and then still gone and had a week off.

Rant over.  Feel better now!

Agree that the lads you mentioned *could* have played tonight, or Jürgen himself could have even flown back for the night and done the game with the kids and flown back out again - but it's not got anything to do with how rested or not the lads are, Jürgen's decided to make a stand, and is sticking to it. He's probably talked to the lads about it in advance, and is not going back on it for the replay.

And maybe not playing Keita, Fabinho, Lovren, Matip reinforces to them that they are important players for the rest of the season, and is not distinguishing them apart from the more regular first XI starters like TAA, VVD, Hendo, Bob, Mo etc. which must be good for togetherness and moral. That might be a stretch though.

Could argue that given the way the league is going, could afford to put a little more into the FA cup run. But this season he has a great chance to win the two big Cups and maybe doesn't want the distraction. Either that, or he really does feel very strongly about fixture congestion.

so its radio only today :S

I remember the radio-only FA Cup match from a few seasons ago, I had the radio on one tab and every time something happened I kept clicking back onto to it so I could see it.

Match tonight, you know, the one we are devaluing, the one we don't respect, the one we are fielding an U20 team, is.... SOLD OUT.

 

Hopefully they all show up and not just keeping up the acs thingy for bigger games to come.

Match tonight, you know, the one we are devaluing, the one we don't respect, the one we are fielding an U20 team, is.... SOLD OUT.

More than City can do for the CL or a semi final of the mickey mouse cup

commentary on lfctv its 2020 and we still cant watch the REDS when they play even if we want to pay to watch each game. It will be like the old days in the 70's tuning into the Radio to hear the away European games.

Match tonight, you know, the one we are devaluing, the one we don't respect, the one we are fielding an U20 team, is.... SOLD OUT.

That would give the lads a huge boost playing in a full stadium & in full voice.👊🏼

That’s backing.

Come on we got to win this. Hope the kids put a performance of their lives.   The thing is the FA Cup final is very important for the Champions league.   This time the CL is 2 weeks later which is far better than 3 weeks, but with the Cup final in the middle gives us a better chance to have a better performance if we get to the final of the Champions League. 

I know some are uneasy with Jurgens decision but this is Neil's team he has set up and managed having Jürgen come in or putting a few rusty first teamers in wouldn't be the same these lads will relish this chance to play in front of a full house I am convinced they will make us proud and STFU pundits like Mills

Hoping the crowd is really switched on for them tonight, the way the away support at Villa was. It's a tough, tough match for these kids but positive crowd support can really make a difference. Here's hoping.

Definately Robby, I'm sure every red will be up for this game to help the young lads get through tonight.

This is my main issue really.  Are we really saying that Keita, Fabinho, Lovren, Matip need a mid-season break?  Between them they've probably had a combined 12 months out injured just this season.

Fair enough if you've played 35 or so games for us in the past 5 and a half months - have a week off.  No problem with that.

But

Lovren's played 1 game out of the past 14.
Lallana's played 90 minutes once since the Club World Cup.
Matip's played 79 minutes since September.
Fabinho's started two games since November.
Keita last started a game on Boxing Day.  He's played about 50 minutes since then.

I honestly don't think Klopp had to draw a line in the sand of every single first team player because they have all had different workloads, not only since August, but some of them basically never stopped in the summer.

They could have played tonight, and then still gone and had a week off.

Rant over.  Feel better now!

Exactly how I feel but like you I've had my rant and I'm not ready to get on message. I just pray we get through, then it would be quite funny tbh seeing the likes of Mills lose their minds about it.

Given all the broadcasters have pulled out I don't understand why they don't just let lfctv put it on, as you say it's 2020.

The DFB pokal or german cup is all over youtube in the next few days and on an official channel. The english fa has alwayd been an absolute shambles

All the fuss about it and it's not even on TV.
Oxford vs Newcastle though, that should be a classic