Featured: That was the week that was (May 5-11 2020)

[tlw content]

 

Tuesday May 5:

 

Well this is interesting. Most transfer rumours can be dismissed as bollocks even in mortal times, but stories that come out while we’re in this mess are almost certainly just clickbait to keep the hits coming in when there’s no footy. There’s no substance to anything, just lots of ‘it is believed’ and ‘reports suggest’ and that kind of vague nonsense.

 

This one today is a little different though, as a former manager of Turkish keeper Ugurcan Cakir says: “Liverpool will sign Cakir at the end of the season. Trabzonspor will not say no to Liverpool’s offer.” He then added “I met with Ugurcan. He told me that Liverpool took care of him”. Of course that doesn’t mean it will happen as things can change, but that’s pretty definitive stuff in terms of us being interested at lest.

 

I’ve heard his name before as we’ve been linked with him regularly, but this would seem to confirm that something is definitely afoot. In theory it sounds great. He’s meant to be top drawer so he’ll therefore be a big upgrade on Adrian. The problem is this kind of two goalie set up just doesn’t work. I’ve played enough footy manager over the years to know that. Shit, I’m playing footy manager now during lockdown and I’m trying to juggle two brilliant 21 year old keepers. I’m telling you, you can’t keep a top keeper happy just by giving him cup games and you can’t rotate two keepers because they both end up getting pissed off and you have to choose between them.

 

That being said, we could maybe bring him in for a year and then sell him for a profit when he gets pissed off. Maybe that’s the way forward. Keep buying boss keepers to back up Alisson and sell them after a year. Maybe if we’d done that last summer we’d still be in the FA Cup and the Champions League.

 

Probably the hardest position to fill when building a squad is the back up keeper. If you have two goalkeepers of a similar level then you have no goalkeeper, because as soon as one of them fucks up there’s a clamour for the other to get a chance. Karius would never have had a sniff if Mignolet was top class. This still applies if they’re both really good though. Goalkeeping controversies do nobody any favours. You need a clear number one and the back up generally needs to be - and to accept that he is - inferior. If he’s too inferior though then you better hope you don’t need to call on him, otherwise you could be knocked out of two competitions in the space of a few days.

Meanwhile, Melwood has opened up for players who want to train on their own. Some have found it difficult to train at home so this is a good thing for them. When I heard this, the first thing that popped into my head was an image of Milner in a little tent camped outside the gates making sure he was the first one in.

Wednesday May 6:

 

Ok it’s your now weekly Stevie Nicol assessment. He’s been talking again and he’s not happy. He’s become embroiled in a war of words with our throw in coach. When I heard about this I assumed I’d be on the side of the throw in fella to be honest with you. Some of the mocking by old pros of what he’s brought to the table has irked me a bit. It seemed like they were completely dismissive of him but after reading this little exchange I think I’m coming down slightly on Nicol’s side.

 

Gronnemark said: "First of all, a guy like Steve Nicol or Andy Gray who also did it earlier, it's really clear for me to see that they have no knowledge around throw-ins. It's also clear for me to see that they're like stuck in the football world of 30-40 years ago where we were like drinking 10 pints the night before we had to play.

 

"Of course they had passion at that time but there are, not old, but there are some old players who haven't really been following modern football. I think the fans and social media have answered for me because a lot of people are calling them outdated, dinosaurs, so I don't have the need to call them that."

Nicol responded: "What an absolute load of nonsense [that] the game's moved on. Listen, I've spoken to players who have been in his sessions on the field, I've spoken to players that have been in his video sessions and sat for 40 minutes, and there wasn't one thing they said that they hadn't already been told.

"Listen yes, I'm sure this guy can teach a player to throw it harder or throw it longer with some technique, but the stuff about moves, it's been the same for moves. And this nonsense people talk about that 'the game's moved on'. Well, let me give you an example. The game's moved on in terms of full-backs for example. When I played, and certainly when I coached, a huge part of a full back’s responsibility was to cover his centre-back - that's not the case anymore. That's when you can say the game's moved on because it's completely different.

 

"Throw-ins aren't any different. Yes this guy can make you throw it longer or faster, yeah I can see that. And if you've got the money to splash out on a throw-in coach then good luck to you, on you go. But don't tell me he's doing anything that we weren't trying to do 30 years ago. I'm sorry, not having it."

 

I reckon he’s probably right there. Saying “Nicol knows nothing about throw ins” was pretty insulting really, considering he took them for virtually his entire career and played under Paisley, Fagan and Dalglish. Having some one trick pony nerd throwing shade at him like that doesn’t sit well with me, but I understand why he’d want to hit back to defend himself.

 

It was good to see Nicol explaining his reasoning for once though rather than just scoffing “a throw in coach!! What a load of old bollocks. What next, a goal kick specialist!”. It’s not so much about doing it differently now, I just think that maybe they’re spending more time working on it and so bringing this fella  in is a good thing because that’s his area of expertise. If we needed one, I’d have a corner specialist too, but apparently that’s something that Pete Krawietz does very well so we don’t need one.

 

 

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[alles ist gut]

Top, top “how the fucking fuck did Gravesen wind up THERE?” analysis there, Dave.

[sir roger]

If I was the Prem , I would be looking at selling the rights for the last games of the season separately , while agreeing a free 6 months extension for Sky/BT at the conclusion of the present contract.The clubs get an immediate income boost and Sky/BT get a quarter of a season extra free in 2022 or whenever.

[sir roger]

Oh and when did Tom Watson become a pundit on ESPN ?

[Jordy Brouwer]

Great stuff but are you sure about Timo Werner? I think he has amazing potential and although he wouldn't perfectly into our system I think he could be amazing for us over time. 

[Mark M]

Great stuff Dave.

 

Time is a great healer... next paragraph Suarez was the best player I’ve ever seen but he tried to sign for Arsenal so fuck him.

 

Hahahha love that!

[rhylerpudlian]

souness would definitely walk into this team dave, fabulous player fantastic captain too, just a shame his legacy was tarnished by his article in the s*n and also not one of the best managers we've ever had, but still a liverpool legend to me and i'm sure plenty of other reds fans feel the same way too

[Dave D]

We have history on the keeper front signing both Dudek and Kirkland on the same day!

 

On the ex player thing, our current side would benefit hugely from having Xabi Alonso- what a player 

[Bob]

Barnes definitely gets in the side. He’d be fucking awesome in the way we play now at his peak. Power, skill, vision, selflessness, goals, work rate. Everything.

 

get him signed.

[DalyanPete]

Great funny read as ever Dave.

We fuckin need it with the shite that gets written elsewhere.

 

[William_Ulsterman]

great stuff... but i dont think anyone is swallowing the old "some fella in China eats a fucking bat and the world goes into lockdown" anymore. Some very rich Yank funded a lab in China to the tune of 3.7 million to do research on Corona virus and the fuckwits accidentally (or deliberately) released it. Its common knowledge. 

[Chocoholic]

Yeah, China's answer to Ozzy Osbourne has been badly slandered.