Liverpool 2018-19 ALLEZ ALLEZ ALLEZ!!!

[Firemans4Horn 18528]

Klopp at the helm for his 3rd full season. Auto qualifying in pot 3 of the champions league. Man city’s quality head to head but not over a 38 game season. Can we close the gap with some smart buys this summer? 

Virg captaining out of the back, Keita marauding forward from midfield and Fekir scroing goals for fun off the bench. 

 

YNWA. 

[hobbes2702 13425]

Keita will be a huge addition to the midfield and Fekir will be great if we land him. Think we still need another attacker, another mid to replace Can, and now it looks all but certain that we need a new Keeper

[TKS 66]

Ship out Migs and bring in a #1 keeper.

I feel defense is fine. Maybe a young prospect that can play on the B team and ship out Moreno.

Keita and Fekir should be what the midfield needs when teams park the bus. 

Need one more striker that can come on if any of the big three can't go. Solanke, Origi and Sturridge need to go.

Fill in 2-3 more young prospects that can be plugged in for cups and short week league matches and that's solid.

Edited May 27, 2018 by TKS

[pied 252]

#1 keep Mo

 

[Cheeseweasel 26439]

All I want for my Summer transfer is Samir Handanovic.

[pied 252]

Gesundheit!

[hobbes2702 13425]

16 minutes ago, Cheeseweasel said:

All I want for my Summer transfer is Samir Handanovic.

I think you meant to say Jan Oblak

[TKS 66]

3 hours ago, pied said:

#1 keep Mo

 

If FSG lets Salah leave this summer, Klopp should fly to Boston to kill John Henry with his bare hands, then quit.

[maninblack 7975]

Not to jinx it but in what world would Fekir be coming off the bench?

[hobbes2702 13425]

8 minutes ago, maninblack said:

Not to jinx it but in what world would Fekir be coming off the bench?

Think this is right. Keita takes over for Gini and Fekir for Ox/Milner

[mdmost 43920]

Ox isn’t back till November at the earliest.

[Bone3421 716]

Im not ready to give up on karrius yet
Everyone loves a comeback and i want to see how he bounces back after today

He has admitted he cost team today and greatness is forged in failure

It could lead to a great run of keeping if he uses the motivation/failure correctly

He could let this "haunt" him and be an absolute stud ........... To be determined

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[Jograves 357]

I’m in for another year. Let’s go!

[Firemans4Horn 18528]

9 hours ago, maninblack said:

Not to jinx it but in what world would Fekir be coming off the bench?

Subs on for one of Mane/Firmino/Salah in the games that he’s not starting. I imagine he’d start 70% of the games we play but still like to imagine a player of his quality available on the bench. 

[maninblack 7975]

Dp

Edited May 27, 2018 by maninblack

[maninblack 7975]

Ok your first statement read weird.

I wouldn't count my chickens just yet. Atleti are sniffing around him as a replacement for Griezmann. Not sure we win that battle if the money is the same.

Edited May 27, 2018 by maninblack

[yoladu 4188]

could one of you all in the know explain the "allez allez allez" thing to me? Google search was not fruitful.

[Pathetic Shark 94]

We’ve conquered all of Europe, we’re never gonna stop.  From Paris down to Turkey, we’ve done the fucking lot.  Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly, the fields of Anfield Road.  We are loyal supporters, and we come from Liverpool.  Allen, Allez, allez.   Something like that

[maninblack 7975]

Since we're onto the summer I'm going to re-post this from the last thread. I think the GK situation is much more likely to change after Karius blowing up in the UCL final.

-----break-----

Here's my take on our depth. We have depth but our bodies depending on the position are either injury prone or lacking quality.

Attack:

Starters are good. 

Bench is currently lacking quality. I think we need to bring Origi back and buy a back-up versatile attacker. I'm fine with keeping Ings and Solanke for break in case of emergency situations and cup matches but neither is truly good enough to be Liverpool players.

Midfield:

Starters are average for the most part and there's injury history with Hendo, Lallana and Ox. Think we need an AM and a DM in addition to Naby this summer. If we do that I think we'll be set up for 2018/19. Expecting Can to leave.

Depth is fine if we buy players that push Henderson, Milner, Lallana, Ox, and Gini to the bench. All those guys are fine options as cup/rotational guys.

Defense:

Starters are good except for the CB next to VvD. Need to purchase a partner for him.

Depth isn't too bad going into next season provided nobody is sold. I can live with Robertson/Moreno, VvD/Lovren, New CB/Matip, TAA/Clyne. 

Keeper:

Karius likely gets another year. While I'm not sold I do think putting a more solid defense right in front of him will help. 

If Mignolet stays I'm good with him as a backup. If he leaves then I think we need to buy unless Danny Ward has made massive strides.

 

Our depth will be ok if we make the correct buys. This is how I'd like to see us start next season:

 

Reserves		Mane		Firmino		Salah
Milner		FNG		Origi		Solanke
Gini
Ings				FNG
				Lallana
			FNG		Naby
			Hendo		Ox
	Robertson		VvD		FNG		TAA
	Moreno		Lovren		Matip		Clyne
				Karius
				Mignolet

 

I didn't list Gomez or Klavan. Not that I expect them to be sold but just to keep it within 25. I'd expect some sales as well but no sense in predicting those atm.

[406W30th 1111]

According to L'Equipe we're in negotiations for Fekir at £53M. Feels like this one should get wrapped up pretty quick – Lyon isn't exactly known for holding onto its players and a move at this price makes sense for all parties. Ideally it's finalized before the World Cup, as he's part of the France squad. 

A keeper is a no-brainer at this point but I'm not sure we blow the lion's share of the transfer budget on Oblak or Alisson; Atleti are bastards to deal with and there's no way Roma do us any favors after basically embarrassing them on the Salah deal. I don't want to see them bring in a stop-gap option but Karius simply cannot be our first-choice keeper after Kiev.

 The silver lining in the CL loss was that it exposed our two greatest weaknesses – attacking depth and first-team GK. Hopefully we address those, replace Can, and upgrade VVD's partner at the back.

 

 

[HenryJames 67315]

You still could have used last year’s thread title.

Too soon?

[mdmost 43920]

I hate you. 

[TKS 66]

Joyce and Reddy are saying LFC are about to finalize a deal worth 40-45 mil plus add-ons for Fabinho from Monaco. French journos are also on board.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bimgf_9aCvY

If Fekir happens as well....my god.

Edited May 28, 2018 by TKS

[pied 252]

Hard to get a better source than those two. 

[Bodowned 889]

Fabinho is official per LFC's official twitter account. What a signing out of nowhere. That's the CDM we need.

[Jograves 357]

Great signing. 

[TKS 66]

 

 

 

[TKS 66]

They got Fabinho leaning against a Melwood wall before most LFC fans knew he was an actual transfer target.

Funny thing is that the Brazil NT is in Liverpool for a friendly vs Croatia, but Fabinho isn't on the roster.

[hobbes2702 13425]

What a great signing. And so early in the window. Give me Fekir, Pulisic, and Allison and that would be a pretty outstanding window. Although it will probably cost 200+

[406W30th 1111]

Fabinho was heavily linked with United last summer during the Monaco fire sale. I was pissed they were going to land him – he's a big, ball-winning bastard with a great range of passing. £40-£45M is a steal in the current market and we get him in on July 1. That's our #6 ticked off for the next decade or so.

Ecstatic about this move.  

[maninblack 7975]

My literal reaction when I saw the alert on the golf course

My perfect window would be something like this:

Forward (Pulisic/Draxler/Dembele/Lemar)
AM (Fekir)
CM (Maddison/Neves)
DM (Fabinho)
CB (?)
LB (Sessengon)
GK (Oblak/Alison/Donurama)

Do that while selling off some of the deadwood it's a home run summer.

Edited May 28, 2018 by maninblack

[maninblack 7975]

Also, Mourinho and Fabinho have the same agent. Delicious.

[hobbes2702 13425]

I don’t think we will get another CM. I just don’t see Klopp being willing to spend with options of Ox, Milner, Lallana, Gini, etc.

[pied 252]

51 minutes ago, TKS said:

They got Fabinho leaning against a Melwood wall before most LFC fans knew he was an actual transfer target.

Funny thing is that the Brazil NT is in Liverpool for a friendly vs Croatia, but Fabinho isn't on the roster.

I’m in that camp.  From all indications a GREAT fit. Killing it so far. Need to get Emre to Italy and be done with it. 

[maninblack 7975]

13 minutes ago, hobbes2702 said:

I don’t think we will get another CM. I just don’t see Klopp being willing to spend with options of Ox, Milner, Lallana, Gini, etc.

I'd agree probably not this year but wouldn't be shocked if the right player is available which is why I listed Maddison (21) and Neves (21).  Either could rotate in multiple positions and provide quality depth with little drop off. They can also be loaned back a la K8A. Those two are also only going to get more expensive.

Milner and Lallana will be gone within 2-3 years because of their age. Ox is a wildcard b/c of his injury history.

Edited May 28, 2018 by maninblack

[mdmost 43920]

That’s some great business so soon after the final. 

[Firemans4Horn 18528]

Edwards is on quite a tear lately. Look forward to see who all we bring in prior to the WC. 

[skittlebrau 474]

Great start to the offseason.

[Bone3421 716]

Amazing news today....and Fab has already put it out in the public airwaves of how great it would be to play with Fenkir

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

[Cheeseweasel 26439]

15 hours ago, 406W30th said:

Fabinho was heavily linked with United last summer during the Monaco fire sale. I was pissed they were going to land him – he's a big, ball-winning bastard with a great range of passing. £40-£45M is a steal in the current market and we get him in on July 1. That's our #6 ticked off for the next decade or so.

Ecstatic about this move.  

100%. He is the DM we've all wanted. Tall, strong & smart on the ball. With Keita an obvious starter, does this mean the end of Henderson's captainship?

[maninblack 7975]

Yes, eventually. Not sure when but I expect VvD to have the arm band in the not too distant future. 

I can maybe see a scenario where Henderson has it until he leaves but is a squad player. Arsenal did that with Mertesacker and Arteta. 

 

[JimmyHoffa 1188]

17 hours ago, Bodowned said:

Fabinho is official per LFC's official twitter account. What a signing out of nowhere. That's the CDM we need.

 

Holy shit-

 

[maninblack 7975]

I wouldn't read this chart to determine who's better than who but it is a decent look at what some of each players tendencies are in the midfield. This is from last season domestic and European games even though it says 18/19.

Edited May 29, 2018 by maninblack

[Firemans4Horn 18528]

This has scratched an 8 year itch for me. I’ve been wanting a top tier DMF to anchor our midfield since Masch was sold. Pumped. 

 

Also, 

I’m excited for the different formations we can utilize in midfield/attack next year depending on the opponent. With keita/Fabinho and maybe Fekir (or someone similar) we have a lot more tools in our toolbox for Klopp to utilize. 

Edited May 29, 2018 by Firemans4Horn

[mdmost 43920]

So what's the formation with Keita and Fabinho? Milner off the bench?

[Cheeseweasel 26439]

I assume we'll play a diamond with Keita as the bottom point. Fabinho and (Milner/Henderson) as the other deep CM?

Unless we pick up Fekir and then he'd be the bottom point of the diamond. Not sure about Keita as a deep CM though.

It would be a great problem to try to figure out.

[maninblack 7975]

14 minutes ago, mdmost said:

So what's the formation with Keita and Fabinho? Milner off the bench?

I think it'll be flexible depending on opposition but in general I'd still expect a midfield 3 most of the time. If Klopp does get Fekir then he could use a 4-2-3-1 which dominated his time at Dortmund but we haven't seen here yet. 

[TKS 66]

L'Équipe is saying Lemar is back on the menu.

[Cheeseweasel 26439]

2 minutes ago, maninblack said:

I think it'll be flexible depending on opposition but in general I'd still expect a midfield 3 most of the time. If Klopp does get Fekir then he could use a 4-2-3-1 which dominated his time at Dortmund but we haven't seen here yet. 

Is Keita a decent enough defender to play deep CM in this formation?

[maninblack 7975]

Think of it more staggered with interchange than a static 2. Fabinho would hold the position in front of the CB's most of the time so the defensive responsibilities Keita would have would be more pressing from deep rather than defending from deep.

I wouldn't worry too much about formation. If we have quality the formation will figure itself out.