LF:D

Dreadful defence? Jesus - I give up!

Making it worse? Not his fault the few goals we’ve conceded lately.

Apart from all the clean sheets!

What has he done wrong?

In the sense we already have the best in Europe. Gomez was so fucking good this season pre injury. Matip has meant we’ve not missed him too much thankfully.

I think if it wasn't for Van Dijk being so exceptional last month, he was probably our player of the month (maybe Mane). He's not been at fault for any goals really (Van Dijk can't even say that). He's got clean sheets without Van Dijk (Bayern), he's brought the ball out of player. Our defence have hardly conceded any goals since he's been in the side. One was a foul on Alisson vs Burnley, the other a mistake by Van Dijk / Alisson. I think it's time Matip got the praise he deserves. Deserves to keep his spot even if Gomez is fit after International break. Can't give him much more praise than that.

Financially - yes But I think our transfers are becoming less & less about money over the years & more about risk. If we spend big we want them to deliver & you're probably right that at £60m it's probably too much given he still has a lot to prove. We spent big on Alisson, Keita, Fabinho - but they had a history of delivering. If we spend big we'd probably want someone with a few years of proven success. If Dybala becomes available I would not be surprised if we are interested. He'd cost big but he has the skillset, experience & is the right age - money is becoming more less of a factor rather than getting the right player. But we do probably need to spend on one or two homegrown players.

He's more of a LW/LM for them. But the way Robertson & Trent play, we need our full backs to be big attacking threats. He has the perfect skillset to do that. Hope he's still on our radar.

I'm Out! Haha

Saw the Varane swap with Mane, bullshit today. We already have the best defence in Europe. Why lose one of the best match winner in the league for such a minimal improvement. Well the answer is we won't. It is partly why I am not overly keen on getting De Ligt. Boss player, going to be elite. But £50m+ which doesn't really improve our First XI when Gomez is fit. Even then Matip has been exceptional recently really (deserves more praise). Guess you could argue Gomez is injured a lot. But we still have the best defensive record despite all that. I don't want to see £50m come which would potentially mean Gomez plays less or is shunted to RB again. If Trent doesn't play I think the United game showed we need a really attacking threat in that position. If we're spending big this summer we need to do it where we can have improvement. So that means match winners. Brandt, Pepe, Bergwijn, Jovic types are the ones I'd have thought we'd be looking at. Assuming the Fekir ship has sailed. I do think some of our signings over the new few windows might be homegrown. With Solanke sold, Clyne probably off soon, then Sturridge, Milner & Lallana probably more likely to be sold sooner rather than later given their age & position in the squad. That quite a lot of homegrown players we are losing. I know we like to promote youth, but someone like Ryan Sessegnon who can cover Robertson, play LW/ LM too & has great talent might be someone we look at to help boost our homegrown quota. Guess James Maddison is another, as he's the right age & is probably a more productive, younger version of Lallana (not sure that's a compliment, guess it depend how highly you rate Lallana). I do like Maddison, especially his ability to pick a pass, someone our midfield probably could be improved upon. Ox & a fully adapted Keita will offer more penetration. But I do think someone with the vision of a Maddison could really be useful at times. A Havertz is probably an upgrade to Maddison, but I do think Maddison has a lot of the core qualities needed & someone Klopp could mould into an important player & improve, like he did with Ox & Robertson. I don't want to see Brandt come to be an alternative to Mane or Salah in the front three. The reason why he's getting so much more praise now is because he is thriving as an attacking midfielder (if we go for him, that's where I want him playing 99% of the time). Luckily Mane & Salah have (touch wood), been very lucky with injuries this season. But getting another player of that skillset should be our number 1 target this summer IMO. Pepe looks to be maybe the most productive who we could get. But he's a bit of a maverick & at 23 might not totally buy into our team ethic (I could be doing him a disservice there). Bergwijn would be my option as a wide player, assuming Dembele can't be prized away from Barca (looking unlikely). Young, highly talented, getting more productive each season & is like a Sterling-lite. Jovic would be the striker I'd get. So clinical but he can also create. Wouldn't say no to a Jovic, Bergwijn, Maddison, Sessegnon type summer. Players at the right age, ability to develop & improve our already impressive squad. Probably would try to look to upgrade Lovren too. But I'd be looking homegrown again in that regard, someone who is not called Tarkowski. I'd be happy for a fourth choice option who can improve like Gomez did. Don't think we need a star given the way VVD, Gomez & Matip have all performed this season. Saying that I wouldn't say not to a Militao, Havertz, De Ligt, Dybala & Dembele - if money is no object!

What's the draft on?

Beckham going might hurt Barkley. Ingram going might help Kamara get more action. Who do you think are the current Top RB options going into the next Fantasy Season? I'd probably have Barkley & Kamara the top two.

Cancel the whole thing. Half the country will be pissed off, but they will whatever happens. What about democracy? You vote governments in to make these tough decisions, not pass the buck to the public when it's a tough decision. David Cameron deserves the most stick for starting all this and leaving it to someone else to sort out. I'm very against referendums! Theresa May is in a thankless position whatever she does & that was always the case with such a divisive issue. I don't like her, I don't like Tories (I don't like any of the parties), but I don't think anyone would have had a magical solution to Brexit which would be popular. Corbyn has been pathetic just using this to get in power. Everyone is coming out of this looking bad currently - The government & the opposition, even the parties are divided. There's an argument to have another referendum & to be fair a lot has happened in the last two years, it's fair to see if the public have changed their mind on the issue (I know I have). But another referendum doesn't sit right with me, as I don't think the public are educated or informed enough to make such a big decision. As John Barnes was saying on Question Time. The Government are voted in to make tough calls - they should be doing it with all the supposed expertise & information. So I'm like Alan Partridge, I don't trust (like) the general public making these massive decisions. Therefore my solution would be to just cancel Brexit. The whole inertia is crippling the U.K. & that's what needed changing more than anything. More inactivity could be disastrous. Cancel Brexit, the half that are unhappy - suck it up! But let's move on & look forward. Or we could wait longer, have more inertia, waste more time, energy & money (given leaving is proving to be expensive) & then still half the country will be unhappy. Cancel Brexit - won't happen, but I think it should do!

I'm not confident. (That's usually a good thing as we weirdly seem to play well when that's the case - I remember we beat Chelsea away with Cheyrou masterclass, when I feared the worst)... Anyway, they seem to have hit some form. Although Kimmich not playing is a big boost. Not only because he's an attacking threat. But I thought he dealt with Mane really well. Rafinha I think could struggle in that regard. The back five pick themselves, assuming Trent is fit. The front three pick themselves too. You'd have to think we'll go 4-3-3, as Klopp rarely plays away from home against a top team not having three in midfield. On paper we seem to have a lot of options, despite no Keita & Ox. However I think not having those two presents a bit of a problem when looking to compile a balanced midfield. The 6 position will be between Fabinho & Henderson. I think Fabinho is the better player & option. However Henderson was MOTM in the first leg playing in that role & he is fresh having not played much on the weekend. My preference is Fabinho, but I wouldn't be upset if Henderson got the nod. Now here is where Klopp has an issue. I don't think Gini looks fully fit & I don't think that has been the case for the last 3 games. He's a very important player for us in big games. For me he's tactically our most intelligent midfielder & that is why when he doesn't play he is missed. Probably why Klopp is playing him despite not being 100%. Klopp said Gini wasn't fully right on the weekend & lacked energy. Maybe he's knackered. But he has had heavy strapping on his leg too. I think he's playing through an injury as he doesn't look as mobile as usual. But having said that... I think he has to play as I fear for our CM in this game without him. The other options to play as the 8s are Henderson, Milner & Lallana. Our record in big away games where both Milner & Henderson play together is pretty bleak. I think that could be even worse if they were both 8s. Milner always goes rogue. He might be down as a CM, but he's usually seen anywhere but the centre of the field. He follows the ball & he drift wide a lot to get on the ball. Henderson drifts wide a lot too when used as an 8. This presents a problem when you lose the ball the midfield can get horribly exposed. That is where you really miss Gini (or Keita who does it too) who will plug gaps & stay central in case we lose the ball & don't get exposed. But the other key component to a balanced CM is having a player who will offer some penetration & link midfield too attack. That's what we didn't have when we played Everton or United away recently. Our best midfields this season & in Klopps reign have had balance & one player who can offer that. Henderson-Gini-Lallana (few years ago), Henderson-Gini-Coutinho/Ox (last season), Gini-Milner-Keita (beginning of this season) Fabinho-Gini-Keita (vs Bournemouth). For me these are the best CM combinations we've seen under Klopp & you always have one penetrative player (you also always have Gini, covering gaps). Last weekend, we saw balance to the midfield again with Lallana. I don't think he's our best option at the club to link midfield & attack & be that penetration. For me Ox & Keita are those players, but they aren't fit. Lallana however is our only fit option who can do it the best. That is why I think he is needed to get the right balance in midfield & give us the best chance to win the game. Guess there could be an argument for Milner, but he seems to play much better at Anfield than he does away from home. Therefore my midfield to start this game is Fabinho-Gini-Lallana But given Henderson & Milner both didn't start on the weekend & Klopp does seem to like both in his midfield vs the big teams. I wouldn't be surprised if one or both started. As stated I could cope with one (especially Henderson as the 6, albeit not my preference). But I think playing both could see the midfield not function correctly & then we'll be relying on our front three to be exceptional (probably feeding on scraps) & us defending superbly. I'd rather we picked the best midfield combination to get it functioning, balanced & then I'd feel more confident tonight. But that midfield for me would have to include Lallana & Gini out of the current available options.