Virgil Van Dijk

[Funkasy]

We will buy a defender before we buy a midfielder. 

[KevieG]

12 minutes ago, AngryOfTuebrook said:

Konaté is Part One of the CB transition.

Konate was the Lovren replacement. A year late. That's kinda my point. 

 

 

[VladimirIlyich]

Konate and VVD is a superb partnership. The problem is that both are regularly missing games and their replacements are a big drop off in quality.

[an tha]

I wonder how many times this season Konate and VVD have started together.

 

Can't be many...

[VladimirIlyich]

1 hour ago, an tha said:

I wonder how many times this season Konate and VVD have started together.

 

Can't be many...

And this is probably our biggest defensive problem. Those two with Allison behind and Robbo with TAA/Gomez at full back is decent enough most weeks.

[Turkish Delight]

On 30/01/2023 at 08:28, an tha said:

I wonder how many times this season Konate and VVD have started together.

 

Can't be many...

 

They said in commentary the other day that Trent, Van Dijk, Konate and Robbo have started together once since the Champions League final.

[Red_or_Dead]

51 minutes ago, Turkish Delight said:

 

They said in commentary the other day that Trent, Van Dijk, Konate and Robbo have started together once since the Champions League final.

Yeah, Spurs away.  From what I can remember of the game was how poor Spurs were in the first half.  Still, I'd bite your arm off for 19 more games like that in the league from now on.

[ZonkoVille77]

Anyone know when this cunt is back?

[an tha]

3 hours ago, ZonkoVille77 said:

Anyone know when this cunt is back?

I'll bet you nobody who works at LFC could give you a reliable idea....

[Red Shift]

We’re missing VVD’s long balls.

[VladimirIlyich]

7 hours ago, Red Shift said:

We’re missing VVD’s long balls.

Keep your fetishes to yourself!

[an tha]

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/03/not-the-right-decision-virgil-van-dijk-admits-to-playing-too-many-games/

[etho]

I thought he looked like himself yesterday, wonderful to see

[Reckoner]

Just now, etho said:

I thought he looked like himself yesterday, wonderful to see

Thought the same. Maybe we should cut him some slack after all the sacrifices he makes he makes such as eating nice healthy expensive food (jokes!)

[Bobby Hundreds]

I ain't got kids but I'd like to think id make the sacrifice of training two hours a day, playing football for 90 minutes twice a week, earning millions upon millions of pounds a year, traveling the world! id do all of it to give them a better chance at life than I got.

 

I know he's not saying any of that, he does need to be rotated a bit more.

[an tha]

23 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

I ain't got kids but I'd like to think id make the sacrifice of training two hours a day, playing football for 90 minutes twice a week, earning millions upon millions of pounds a year, traveling the world! id do all of it to give them a better chance at life than I got.

 

I know he's not saying any of that, he does need to be rotated a bit more.

As much as he has battled injury and osuhed body etc which is highly admirable and shows desire - is there an argument that says once an athlete starts talking about things like he has here 'kids' etc, that maybe their real inner desire and fire is burning out.

 

It is a little like the Marvin Hagler analogy about how "It's tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5am when you're sleeping in silk pyjamas."

 

VVD has won the lot with us - are those trophies his silk pyjamas so to speak? 32 before next season - major injury he had to deal with.

 

I am not saying VVD is not 100% committed and that he hasn't worked his arse off etc - but maybe, just maybe once a top level athlete is actively thinking about 'the sacrifices' 'wanting more time with kids' etc it means he could just be that few % off the mental level he was at in his peak and that few % makes all the difference at the highest level - just a little drop in hunger and desire leads to a drop in everything....

[Scott_M]

47 minutes ago, an tha said:

https://www.thisisanfield.com/2023/03/not-the-right-decision-virgil-van-dijk-admits-to-playing-too-many-games/

It would surprise me if a few of our players felt that way.

 

I wonder if it’s coincidence that Fabinho, Trent & VVD all seem to have shown signs of recapturing their old form in recent weeks. 

[No2]

54 minutes ago, etho said:

I thought he looked like himself yesterday, wonderful to see

I definitely think been named in the FIFA World XI done him a world of good. Having his peers or whoever voted massaging his ego must have been a huge lift when no marks are saying he's shite.

[an tha]

On the overplaying thing.

 

It is our own fault we have this situation across the side.

 

With so many players injured so often and others that the manager just clearly does not trust key men have to play more than they probably should, rotation can't happen as much as maybe would like and returning players may also be pushed harder than they would be under normal circumstances.

 

If we had better and more reliable depth this would not be an issue.

 

[VladimirIlyich]

7 hours ago, an tha said:

On the overplaying thing.

 

It is our own fault we have this situation across the side.

 

With so many players injured so often and others that the manager just clearly does not trust key men have to play more than they probably should, rotation can't happen as much as maybe would like and returning players may also be pushed harder than they would be under normal circumstances.

 

If we had better and more reliable depth this would not be an issue.

 

Which goes back to not buying and producing enough homegrown players to take the pressure off the regular starters. Selling Taki and releasing Divock at the end of last season when both made regular contributions seems like it was nothing more than a money freeing exercise. I'm not sure how can operate this way and expect long term consistency in the money pit that is today's football.

[El Rojo]

12 hours ago, an tha said:

On the overplaying thing.

 

It is our own fault we have this situation across the side.

 

With so many players injured so often and others that the manager just clearly does not trust key men have to play more than they probably should, rotation can't happen as much as maybe would like and returning players may also be pushed harder than they would be under normal circumstances.

 

If we had better and more reliable depth this would not be an issue.

 

 

I like them, but I wonder what the point of paying salaries to Nat Phillips and Curtis Jones is if they're not going to see a minute's football. 

 

They would have been worth more money last year too. 

[3 Stacks]

13 hours ago, an tha said:

On the overplaying thing.

 

It is our own fault we have this situation across the side.

 

With so many players injured so often and others that the manager just clearly does not trust key men have to play more than they probably should, rotation can't happen as much as maybe would like and returning players may also be pushed harder than they would be under normal circumstances.

 

If we had better and more reliable depth this would not be an issue.

 

In van Dijk's case, it's absolutely not the club's fault. A player likes him plays every game possible and is fuming if he doesn't. It's a commentary about scheduling in football and the amount of games they have to play.

[VladimirIlyich]

22 hours ago, 3 Stacks said:

In van Dijk's case, it's absolutely not the club's fault. A player likes him plays every game possible and is fuming if he doesn't. It's a commentary about scheduling in football and the amount of games they have to play.

It's the club's fault for not having good enough quality back up to be able to say 'No! You are sitting this one out.'

[3 Stacks]

47 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

It's the club's fault for not having good enough quality back up to be able to say 'No! You are sitting this one out.'

No, it isn't. van Dijk is one of the best players of his era. Those types of players don't sit games out.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

Great little arguement, but it’s clearly both. The fixture list is a joke, and means we can’t expect the players to perform at their best in all matches. And as long as that is the case the club and the manager have to make sure the load on individual players isn’t too heavy. The latter is about professional assessment and leadership.