In a nut shell - Yes
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ECHO Comment: "Fears of Witch-hunt Against Liverpool FC" part 3
- Thread starter cronullasharks
- Start date
This feels right, three horse race for the title.
But (big but).....
8 teams in a race for top 4, I wouldn’t be shocked if any one of city, United or Liverpool end up dropping out
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
TBH, I would be surprised to see Liverpool not make top 4. They have a front three that will get them at least that far. But they most definitley are a force going into decline.
Klopp wil have to build a new team there, because what they'd probably hope to have happened - integrating a new cadre of younger players good enough to win trophies - doesn't look like happening now, as that clutch of younger players in the first team squad clearly haven't stepped up. He'll get some help from FSG to spend a bit, but not that much. That's not how Henry rolls.
Next season I could see Liverpool being at that stage United were at under Moyes, where a trophy winning team needs breaking up and a new one created...with all the dislocation and disruption that brings.
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £90m
Yep feels like only City and United might be able to keep pace. Chelsea and Spurs aren’t at that level despite having squads that should be doing better. Everyone else (including us) is overachieving being as close as they are.
Out that three City are the enigmas. They have the best defence and players use to winning a lot but are arguably the most inconsistent on any given day. They could just as easily tear Chelsea apart later as lose heavily to them. If they keep Aguero fit for the rest of the season though and that defence stays watertight they’ll be up there.
United and Liverpool look very similar, far more potency at the top end of the pitch than in defence. Both very fortunate with refereeing calls. United look like a team on the up though whilst Liverpool look like they are dropping a level from where they were. Little stats like Mane and Firmino’s goal scoring outputs (aside from the Palace game), their poor away form, going unnoticed. It could come down to which team is further along in their cycle, whether United will kick on and Liverpool fall away or whether it’s a season too early for that and Liverpool hold on for another title.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Spot on that.
And I cant see anything happening in January to change those assessments. City and United look like they'll leave it until the summer to bring in new players (I'd be surprised if United snap up Sancho before the summer and maybe City will look to Haaland then). Liverpool I cant see adding to their first team squad.
4737carlin
Player Valuation: £90m
This will be the time Klopp takes the Germany job.
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £90m
I can see Klopp jumping ship as soon as he receives any criticism. He literally can’t take even a single comment against him. If he misses the title this season and goes out the CL I reckon there’d be a good chance he’d take the national job after the euros for the World Cup. I can’t see him presiding over a down turn in results and the rebuild afterwards.
Fixed that for you.
catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
This feels about right to me. I mean it's a strange season, so you can't discount someone from most of the other 7 or 8 teams doing somethin remarkable. Normally you'd just laugh a Villa off, but with no European games, it is easier to get on a run. If you can string 3 or 4 wins together, given how up and down it is, you're right in it again.
However essentially main challengers. I actually think City will be Liverpool's biggest challenger. I think United are riding the crest of a wave, but they will go the way Chelsea did recently. I don't fancy OGS at all, but there is some collective memory at OT to get them over the line. They need to go and win at Anfield though to be serious contender.
Alongside this, City or Liverpool could blow up. At different points this season it's seemed both have teetered without collapsing. Neither are playing with the swagger they have become acoustomed too over the last 2-3 years. They remind me of a Ferrari that desperately needs a pit stop racing round in 3-4th gear. It's enough to hold the lead, but the car could just break down. The pit stop analogy is probably the next 2 windows, can they resolve some of the contradictions that exist.
In a strange way, both Liverpool and City are probably quite happy with where they are. They both probably know that in other seasons had they have had the start they had, they'd be out of it already. But they are still in it somehow, which is probably a relief as much as anything.
What should be avoided, is peope assuming because a team win 1 game, then suddenly it's the title wrapped up. This will go deep this year.
catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
He jumped pretty quickly at Dortmund when it started going wong. The warning lights are going. Interestingly I saw they had the 4/5th oldest laying squad so far this season. Major work is going to be needed quite quickly to that squad, and unlikely City there won't automatically be hundreds of millions to do it. I suspect he will want to avoid that re build job, as he did with Dortmund, even preferring to jump to a less glamorous job in the short term in the process. I think he might end up at Bayern one day, and in fairness he would probably do very well there.
4737carlin
Player Valuation: £90m
The moaning he is doing is like he is doing the ground work to have his excuse ready, too many games, not enough subs, crazy thing is when he does go the blame game will be wild.
Klopp gone, weve lost our leader and its you're fault directed at Sky, The FA, the Government....etc even Joe Anderson...
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £90m
He’s leaving a time bomb for whoever picks it up. Salah Mane Firmino all on sky high wages all will be in their decline for pace players. Van Dijk similarly will be on a new 5 year deal despite having no idea if he’ll return at the same level. Thiago is injury prone and again may not have years left at the top, same
for Matip. A new manager is likely going to have to replace a whole spine of the team.
The backup cast don’t look upto much. Jota is decent but Minamino Shaqiri Oxlade Chamberlain Origi are really not adding much. Wijnaldum may be leaving on a free which after Can and Lallana left the same way is not really good business. They have no adequate cover in either full back position and their young centrebacks are complete tosh.
Will be difficult to attract a top manager there because it’s the Ferguson/Wenger/Mourinho syndrome again. No one wants to be the person who comes in and fails to win every single game (which is the current Liverpool fan expectation). No one wants to be the Roy Hodgson, or the David Moyes post Klopp. They’ll end up with either someone with ties to the club desperate to get their name associated with it (e.g Gerrard) or an up and comer who literally can’t say no (like Rodgers when he took it).
catcherintherye
Player Valuation: £80m
I've felt for a while they wanted to move on one of the big assets for big money and re-set. Not with an Mbappe by the way, but more what they would hope would be the next Mbappe. They tried to move Firmino on, and also heavily Mane, but nobody was really interested. I think a lot have seen what happened with Coutinho (even thought Barca will only pay 100m for him) and baulked. Didn't want to go anywhere near that figure.
It's probably why they have now moved on trying to get rid of Salah and those rumours keep going. He's the most saleable asset. It's interesting though, that they are not having their hands bitten off for 100m ish for Salah either. I believe he has 2 years left in the summer, if hé's not signed a new deal by the summer, I wouldn't be surprised if Madrid tell him to wind it down and they go and pay the price for MBappe.
Wijnaldum is a big loss too. The fact they haven't given him what he wants is surprising. Pains me to say it, but I've said for some time, he's a really underrted and top draw misfielder. I've never seen him have a bad game for them. Scores important goals etc.
As a final aside, almost certain Van Dijk doesn't come back the same player. He could still return a good player, but at age 30, havign a major knee injury will be very hard for him. He will lose a lot of pace and mobility as a best case scenario. He could still be quite a good stopper even in that scenario, he's a big lad with a good passing range, but the dynamic pace wil go. You also have to question where will Gomez be with another serious injury knee injury. I mean he's a poor defender without pace. So they start to mount up.
anxiouswarrior
Player Valuation: £8m
i think Southampton on monday will be a tough game for the Republic of Norway , they have had 3 tought seasons on the go they dont look infallible to me , far from it i looked on rawk today and they are bad mouthing United big time so they must be very worried , me as a United fan i dont think we win the title but if we can stop these bells it would be brilliant
We've spoke on this before - but i have zero doubt the plan was to "Cash-in" on one (at least) of Salah / Mane / Firmino last summer, but obviously Covid put the stop on that.
don't know where they go next summer, you suspect they will lose milner (massively important), winjaldum and probably one of the front 3 - that's alot of churn