Stoke(a) match thread

[G Richards]

Everton have loads of money though. They can easily afford the school fees. 

[an tha]

I'd give Coutinho and Firmino a couple of days off training early this week and let them rest/protect them from injury as we can't afford either to go down really....and with over a week to WBA now would be an ideal time to do it.

[El Rojo]

Great result, the only negative being the Bobby F suspension.

[dennis tooth]

They're a funny team this season. Mainly shite but capable of an overdue performance of which no doubt they will produce.

N

[an tha]

The only suspension Bobby will be serving is when he is hanging out the back of his tart later.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

I'd give Coutinho and Firmino a couple of days off training early this week and let them rest/protect them from injury as we can't afford either to go down really....and with over a week to WBA now would be an ideal time to do it.

 

Yep, I#d also give Klavan a one way ticket to Timbuktu. 

[Tom araya]

That's a fantastic 3 points,dug in and grounded out....And we can't win without mane apparently.

[LFC 6 Times]

Great to see Phil back amongst the goals too, that's 4 in his last 6 league games I think. In the past 18 months he's become a real goal threat with the exception of the 6 week period after that bad injury. The criticism labeled at him in that regard isn't fair in my eyes. 

[an tha]

Yep, I#d also give Klavan a one way ticket to Timbuktu.

He's beyond shite isn't he....as much as i hate him playing in the back 4 you have to say Lucas is a better option than him in there

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

He's beyond shite isn't he....as much as i hate him playing in the back 4 you have to say Lucas is a better option than him in there

 

Neither is good enough there.

[an tha]

Neither is good enough there.

Oh absolutely - but i'd rather have Lucas, which is more about how bad Klavan is rather than how good Lucas is at centre half

[Ne Moe Imya]

He's beyond shite isn't he....as much as i hate him playing in the back 4 you have to say Lucas is a better option than him in there

 

How bad are our centre backs that we're even having this discussion?

 

Matip isn't even that great, it's just that he's decent and that makes him look like Hyypia next to the rest of them.  Lovren is about to get a huge contract and he's actually well below average, the rest of them are shocking.  Hope Gomez turns out to be as good as we hope, that would help out a lot.  Still, even if we think he'll be good enough as our 3rd best CB next season we definitely need to make a really good one our first buy this summer.

[El Rojo]

Great to see Phil back amongst the goals too, that's 4 in his last 6 league games I think. In the past 18 months he's become a real goal threat with the exception of the 6 week period after that bad injury. The criticism labeled at him in that regard isn't fair in my eyes.

Of course it isn't, but it goes with the territory these days. He's our most talented footballer by a distance and he's coming back into form at the right time.

[3 Stacks]

We absolutely need to make Lovren a backup next season. He and Klavan tried their best to make us lose that game, they were appalling. 

[an tha]

How bad are our centre backs that we're even having this discussion?

 

Matip isn't even that great, it's just that he's decent and that makes him look like Hyypia next to the rest of them. Lovren is about to get a huge contract and he's actually well below average, the rest of them are shocking. Hope Gomez turns out to be as good as we hope, that would help out a lot. Still, even if we think he'll be good enough as our 3rd best CB next season we definitely need to make a really good one our first buy this summer.

Yeah our centre half situation is frigging awful.

 

Our full back situation isn't great either.

 

But for today i am too happy to moan about it too much! (Be back on it later in week)

 

Sun is shining, we won away after going behind and i won a few quid on BTTS bet.

[Trumo]

Let's be honest, that win was more by luck than design. I understand Klopp wanting to deploy 3 at the back on occasions because both he and we need to know if we can switch from 4-3-3. The trouble is, he went with 3-5-2 to start with, and we ended up getting bogged down in the middle third when we had the ball, and looked too stretched when Stoke had it. None of Milner, Can or Wijnaldum were able to dictate the tempo.

 

Of the 10 outfielders, I think only Woodburn can say he played above mediocre in the first half (Mignolet in goal was very very good all afternoon to be fair, making a couple of crucial saves from Adam and especially Berahino). Woodburn wasn't brilliant by any means but he was the only one showing any urgency. Klavan will get criticised for his display but I think Lovren was our poorest player on the day. Time and time again he was mistiming his attempts to win the first ball, causing us to have to scramble back desperately. On one occasion he shoved his opponent over after initially getting it wrong.

 

The Woodburn penalty incident could so easily have been given, and is the sort of thing we routinely give away in games against bottom-half sides. When play was waved on, I though the players had retreated back to their defensive shape OK. Milner stepped out to close down the right back but Can fell asleep and failed to cover the space behind him. Clyne was left isolated 2 on 1 and Matip couldn't step across in time to block Shaqiri's cross, leaving Walters in acres of space to head in. Stupid lapse in concentration right before half time, and it was looking like Hull away all over again (Hull took the lead just before the break too).

 

Klopp took the two teenagers off and replaced them with the two Brazilians in attack, switching us to a 3-4-3. We looked much better on the ball, more incisive and the midfield started to dictate the tempo. We failed to convert a couple of half-chances and hadn't really opened Stoke up convincingly, but then we got the ball to break in our favour and Coutinho buried it.

 

Firmino scored with an absolute beauty. But enough about his shenanigans on social media. *Ba dum tish!* He got a great goal today with a thumping finish on the volley. The silly cunt still managed to get himself booked for removing his shirt. He needs to jib that shit off pronto. The shirt-off celebrations, not the goals!

 

Other than nearly conceding an immediate equaliser via Berahino, we did a much better job of nullifying our opponents in the last 10 minutes.

 

The defensive lapses are chronic as they've been a issue for this entire decade. It goes back to Rafa's last season and though we've totally overhauled staff and personnel between then and now, we still haven't solved the problem. The main reason behind it is the way our squad gets cobbled together, never with sufficient enough depth to aid consistency. When we focus on defensive solidity, we end up lacking creativity and incision in attack. When we focus on attack, we end up leaking like a sieve in defence. In both cases, it's the lack of depth that kills us. The owners need to recognise and act decisively on resolving that issue. We cannot continue to slog through season after season with one hand effectively tied behind our back as you are never going to see every other contender fall apart at the same time.

[Stickman]

Yep, I#d also give Klavan a one way ticket to Timbuktu.

 

The only downside of the match was that he didn't pick up a second yellow in the last minute so he'd be out for next week.

[joe_fishfish]

What's going on with Gomez? Injured again? He has to be better than Klavan. Couldn't believe what i was seeing for their goal today - wasn't even strong enough to step up and play offside then got completely skinned by Shaqiri before the cross came in.

[1892-LFCWasBorn]

Oh absolutely - but i'd rather have Lucas, which is more about how bad Klavan is rather than how good Lucas is at centre half

 

I'd rather get rid of both and keep Sakho, but fuck all chance of him returning.

 

We absolutely need to make Lovren a backup next season. He and Klavan tried their best to make us lose that game, they were appalling. 

 

Lovren is getting a new deal. Doubt he'll be back up. Hopefully I'm wrong on this.

 

Need a new left back too.

 

I know it's not a priority, but need better than Clyne too. I'd like to see TAA feature more instead of him.

 

All are part of a defence that is continually failing to keep clean sheets on a regular basis. Don't forget Sakho and Skrtel are no longer here.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Firmino's highlights reel is full of highlights.

HIS TEETH ARE WHITE,

HE'S FUCKING DYNAMITE,

FIR-MI-NO

FIR-MI-NO

[Guest Pistonbroke]

The only downside of the match was that he didn't pick up a second yellow in the last minute so he'd be out for next week.

 

He gives me the jeebies, he just can't defend that well and is slow as fuck. 

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

That's a fantastic 3 points,dug in and grounded out....And we can't win without mane apparently.

Great effort attacking wise in the second half. But only great goalkeeping and a bit of luck meant we didn't concede more. A true horror show defensively. Lovren really challenging Klavan for the position as the worst defender at the club.

[Tj hooker]

What a vile little twat he is.

Looks like we dodged a bullet there

[Lee909]

No way Lovren is going anywhere and if that 100k plus a week is right he will likely be starting next year too. Not like FSG to spend big wages for squad players

[stringvest]

We're competing with Arsenal and the Mancs for one place at this stage, and it's in our own hands.

 

 

We're normally excellent in such situations.