Liverpool's awful fixture congestion

[jawillwill]

As I'm sure many other people are  I am beginning to feel a bit for how difficult things are for Liverpool and Jurgen Kopp given their injury crisis / wafer thin squad, coupled with a busy fixture list.

 

Is there anything that the more fortunate, smaller clubs, such as Saints, can do to help? Morally I don't think we can sit around whilst they suffer.

[skintsaint]

Blimey, at this rate they may have to blood some of their local talent.

[Secret Site Agent]

19 minutes ago, jawillwill said:

As I'm sure many other people are  I am beginning to feel a bit for how difficult things are for Liverpool and Jurgen Kopp given their injury crisis / wafer thin squad, coupled with a busy fixture list.

 

Is there anything that the more fortunate, smaller clubs, such as Saints, can do to help? Morally I don't think we can sit around whilst they suffer.

Yes, I am sure there is something we can do.  Perhaps we can loan them Danny Ings and JWP, with perhaps Ryan B and KWP as well.  

 

This is surely the least we can do for them to assist them.

[Lighthouse]

It's hardly a new problem. I remember a game in the United/Mourinho era where injuries forced him into playing four or five reserve players, who would all have been our record signing. It's tough being a big club.

[Matthew Le God]

[Toadhall Saint]

Give them the title now and let them have the rest of the season off - they should then be raring to go at the start of next season. If their not then we can let them have that season too.

[saintwbu]

I knew as soon as Keita went down injured last night it’d be all about the need for 5 subs. He’s played 326 minutes for Liverpool this season, 50 of those last night!! Hardly a victim or over-exhaustion. Likewise Ross Barkley, injured after 2 minutes on Saturday for Villa, doesn’t play international football or European football. But as usual, the big teams will get their own way. Look forward to losing to City late on once they’ve brought on 5 £50mil+ players and we’ve brought on Obafemi, Long and Valery.

[Saint Keef]

Hang on, I can't do two things at once. I'm trying to put my black armband on and light another candle for them at the same time. Bloody multi-tasking.

 

[Pickles]

[Wurzel]

Surely Pfizer et al will come to their senses and divert their

efforts to save the world from Covid into developing a cure for Scouse injuries.  #priorities

[stevegrant]

[HarvSFC]

Two of their substitutes yesterday were in the 89th minute. Very negligent from Mr. Klopp.

[whelk]

It’s the inevitable death of some of their players. Maybe then the tv companies will wake up

[Whitey Grandad]

I’m sure I can think of some way to help them...

 

 

...once I stop laughing.

[Micky]

4 hours ago, saintwbu said:

I knew as soon as Keita went down injured last night it’d be all about the need for 5 subs. He’s played 326 minutes for Liverpool this season, 50 of those last night!! Hardly a victim or over-exhaustion. Likewise Ross Barkley, injured after 2 minutes on Saturday for Villa, doesn’t play international football or European football. But as usual, the big teams will get their own way. Look forward to losing to City late on once they’ve brought on 5 £50mil+ players and we’ve brought on Obafemi, Long and Valery.

Seriously,  that's about the crux of it really.  Just watched Palace desperately seeking a goal at Burnley and so they turned to their prolific goal scoring sub,  Christian Benteke.....! 

[saintwbu]

8 minutes ago, Micky said:

Seriously,  that's about the crux of it really.  Just watched Palace desperately seeking a goal at Burnley and so they turned to their prolific goal scoring sub,  Christian Benteke.....! 

Exactly - and on the other foot, I think Burnley struggle to even get 5 on the bench, let alone use them. Liverpool have a squad of 25 top players, if Klopp really cared about his players he’d start Shaqiri and Origi every second game instead of Salah and Mane. But he doesn’t, he wants to win the most games he can, understandably, but the league shouldn’t make it easier for them just because they’re complaining. 

[SW5 SAINT]

Pray for Liverpool......

[stevegrant]

12 hours ago, Micky said:

Seriously,  that's about the crux of it really.  Just watched Palace desperately seeking a goal at Burnley and so they turned to their prolific goal scoring sub,  Christian Benteke.....! 

Amazing to think that Palace paid £30m for him a few years back and at one point he was genuinely quite good

[Miltonaggro]

When it gets really bad the bestest fans will start lighting candles and tying scarfs to things. The media will do a ten minute special report on the news. We should all say a prayer...

[Convict Colony]

19 hours ago, jawillwill said:

As I'm sure many other people are  I am beginning to feel a bit for how difficult things are for Liverpool and Jurgen Kopp given their injury crisis / wafer thin squad, coupled with a busy fixture list.

 

Is there anything that the more fortunate, smaller clubs, such as Saints, can do to help? Morally I don't think we can sit around whilst they suffer.

read this awaiting the punch line !!

 

Good luck fishing 

 

[tajjuk]

He goes on a rant after that Leicester game, a game where after being 2-0 since half time, he uses two of his subs in the 89th minute. 

And then complains they have a game on Wednesday. 

[Toussaint]

I don't think the elite soccer-ball clubs should have to play us small time Charlies. Surely there is some algorhythm you could employ just to give them the three points? 

[malcolm waldron]

I've been thinking and, although by know means fully formed (some may say half-baked), I do have an idea.  It's called 'wild card' - see, I'm already ticking the important U.S. box.  This simply means that Liverpool get five 'wild card' match choices a season.  They can select any game as a wild card choice (other than against a fellow Top 6 team - Man City, Saints etc) and automatically be awarded a 3-0 win.  So they can avoid tricky away games at Turf Moor, annoying long away games e.g. Brighton, or boring mid week easy games e.g. Arsenal.  

When they play a wild card for a fixture they were due to be on TV for (i.e. all of them) Sky can simply instead televise the usual load of ex-Liverpool 'pundits' to embark on a two hour snorefest of rose-tinted nostalgia on all things scouse.

 

After three seasons they will campaign for an uplift to seven wild cards, to allow more overseas profile raising trips.....

[Kingsland Codger]

The solution would be to forego their Champions League fixtures. Just play the domestic league. Fewer matches, less travelling.

[Saint Keef]

Liverpool should have a black armband incorporated into their kit design. They seem to wear one in every match and it would save them the trouble of having to put one on.  The last thing we want is one of their players pulling a bicep or dislocating his shoulder while putting the armband on. 

[OttawaSaint]

I really feel for them. Take last game, they had to bring on all their subs at half time due to exhaustion and only finished with 7 players. 

They want 5 subs, I say that they and the other top 6 glamour clubs should be allowed roll-on-roll off unlimited subs that can be used at any time. 

Imagine if they lost the league because some better rested little team broke away and scored a goal. With unlimited roll-on-roll-off subs if someone breaks free, they can just sub Mane off at the half way line and have a defender come on the field down by the goal line to snuff out this unfair threat.

 

 

[Pedantic Pete]

The only fair way to resolve this is that any team playing Liverpool has one player sent off, before the game, for every player Liverpool have injured, tested positive or is being rested. Therefore the 11 who do play for Liverpool will only have to play against an opposition with 5,4 or even 3 players depending on how many Klopp has declared are injured, tested positive or rested.

In the rare event that Klopp decides all 11 need a rest an automatic win, obviously, is given and Klopp can declare what the final score was. To ensure that the golden boot is awarded correctly, he also can declare how many goals each of his players would have scored had they played.

Klopp will also be given control over VAR to sort that mess out, he will have the final say on all cards a ref decides to issue and will run the FA disciplinary panel to ensure fair treatment to his players.

This only will apply to domestic games.

[ChrisPY]

9 hours ago, Pedantic Pete said:

The only fair way to resolve this is that any team playing Liverpool has one player sent off, before the game, for every player Liverpool have injured, tested positive or is being rested. Therefore the 11 who do play for Liverpool will only have to play against an opposition with 5,4 or even 3 players depending on how many Klopp has declared are injured, tested positive or rested.

In the rare event that Klopp decides all 11 need a rest an automatic win, obviously, is given and Klopp can declare what the final score was. To ensure that the golden boot is awarded correctly, he also can declare how many goals each of his players would have scored had they played.

Klopp will also be given control over VAR to sort that mess out, he will have the final say on all cards a ref decides to issue and will run the FA disciplinary panel to ensure fair treatment to his players.

This only will apply to domestic games.

That’s ridiculous.

How can it only apply to domestic games? UEFA need to ensure that Klopp’s boys are not disadvantaged in the Champions League and implement all the rules suggested there as well.

On top of that, Liverpool should be able to have fans back at Anfield at maximum capacity to create that famous atmosphere that we all love to see inspire the players to Champions League glory.

[Doctoroncall]

On 23/11/2020 at 19:37, saintwbu said:

Exactly - and on the other foot, I think Burnley struggle to even get 5 on the bench, let alone use them. Liverpool have a squad of 25 top players, if Klopp really cared about his players he’d start Shaqiri and Origi every second game instead of Salah and Mane. But he doesn’t, he wants to win the most games he can, understandably, but the league shouldn’t make it easier for them just because they’re complaining. 

There is no evidence five substitutions help the big clubs.  

When it was used last season, the smaller clubs made on average more substitutions than the big clubs.  Also the smaller clubs don't suffer from "superstar phenomenon" so the subs are more like for like and expectations/pressure to perform are not so great.

[Chocolate Box]

3 hours ago, ChrisPY said:

That’s ridiculous.

How can it only apply to domestic games? UEFA need to ensure that Klopp’s boys are not disadvantaged in the Champions League and implement all the rules suggested there as well.

On top of that, Liverpool should be able to have fans back at Anfield at maximum capacity to create that famous atmosphere that we all love to see inspire the players to Champions League glory.

Have'nt they infected enough with Covid already?

[OldNick]

8 hours ago, ChrisPY said:

That’s ridiculous.

How can it only apply to domestic games? UEFA need to ensure that Klopp’s boys are not disadvantaged in the Champions League and implement all the rules suggested there as well.

On top of that, Liverpool should be able to have fans back at Anfield at maximum capacity to create that famous atmosphere that we all love to see inspire the players to Champions League glory.

I dont know quite how Sky have coped with the games at Anfield without them going silent in reverence so we have to listen to 'you'll never walk alone'

[John Boy Saint]

On 24/11/2020 at 19:01, OttawaSaint said:

I really feel for them. Take last game, they had to bring on all their subs at half time due to exhaustion and only finished with 7 players. 

They want 5 subs, I say that they and the other top 6 glamour clubs should be allowed roll-on-roll off unlimited subs that can be used at any time. 

Imagine if they lost the league because some better rested little team broke away and scored a goal. With unlimited roll-on-roll-off subs if someone breaks free, they can just sub Mane off at the half way line and have a defender come on the field down by the goal line to snuff out this unfair threat.

 

 

You’ve been watching too much Ice Hockey refreshing the team on the fly

I had a mate from Toronto his step Dad managed a local Junior hockey team, they drilled changing on the fly to the point where the very moment the off coming players skate left the ice their replacements skate would be on it, and they would keep the puck moving to stop the other team changing, back then pro hockey players life span operating at optimum levels was 2 minutes then it fell off a cliff, they had it down like clockwork and breezed the league - these were 11-12 year olds. 

Intermission over 

 

[OttawaSaint]

4 hours ago, John Boy Saint said:

You’ve been watching too much Ice Hockey refreshing the team on the fly

I had a mate from Toronto his step Dad managed a local Junior hockey team, they drilled changing on the fly to the point where the very moment the off coming players skate left the ice their replacements skate would be on it, and they would keep the puck moving to stop the other team changing, back then pro hockey players life span operating at optimum levels was 2 minutes then it fell off a cliff, they had it down like clockwork and breezed the league - these were 11-12 year olds. 

Intermission over 

 

It’s a thing of beauty to see those high speed changes. Damn, really missing hockey, both NHL and watching my son play. Snow is falling here and no hockey, it’s weird, but necessary. Just need to hold on a wee bit longer...

[Turkish]

Klopp being an utter helmet in his post match interview 

[skintsaint]

2 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Klopp being an utter helmet in his post match interview 

Yeah. Didnt make any sense for about 1min in that.

[badgerx16]

4 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Klopp being an utter helmet in his post match interview 

"We won that by a big margin, if you count only the valid goals we won. What happened out there was fraud on a massive scale. The VAR system was funded by a dead Venezuelan dictator, the scoreboard switched Liverpool goals to Brighton, a van load of Brighton goals was brought in through the back door and the officials completely ignored them ".

[Avenue_Saint]

Blew a gasket.

 

Mind you the reporter got a bit precious too. 
 

Interview was as entertaining as the game!

Edited 28 November, 2020 by Avenue_Saint

[Lord Duckhunter]

27 minutes ago, Turkish said:

Klopp being an utter helmet in his post match interview 

The interviewer hit the nail on the head. It is the premier league (the 20 clubs) that sanctioned the midday ko slots, obviously to take advantage of the Asian market. The big clubs want it both ways, they want the money, but also the control over the TV fixture list. The tv companies aren’t going to give up the choice of games, whilst still paying top dollar. It is ridiculous that teams playing in Europe feature in the early game, but it was their decision to sell the right to stop it. 

[jawillwill]

I have a new found respect for Chris Wilder.

[HarvSFC]

Klopp in his post-match interview stated that he wants five subs to help protect players, using Robertson as his example. He said that he would have brought Tsimikas on to replace him, a 24-year-old full Greek international, who was signed from Olympiakos for £12m in the summer.

Now, if we went with the same position and wanted to give Bertrand a rest at the end of the game, we would turn to a 20-year-old with one professional game to his record, or play a player out of position.

You can see the advantage...

[S-Clarke]

He's trying to find another angle to cover up their awful form and obvious decline.

They have been nothing but average since February really, scuffing the odd win here and there to get them over the line at the back end of the season.

They are no where near their heights of 2019, they've lost that.

Edited 28 November, 2020 by S-Clarke

[The Cat]

If he wants to give a player a rest pick someone else instead. 

[Turkish]

3 hours ago, The Cat said:

If he wants to give a player a rest pick someone else instead. 

Precisely. As said above Robertson’s cover is a Greek international who cost them £12m if he wanted to rest him he could have. It was the fact that a few decisions went against them, had they won not having 5 subs wouldn’t be a problem.

 

i thought The interview did well and held his own, I just wish that he’d mentioned about their 25 man squad packed full of international and if he really wanted to give players a rest he has other internationals to step in.

[benjii]

8 hours ago, S-Clarke said:

He's trying to find another angle to cover up their awful form and obvious decline.

They have been nothing but average since February really, scuffing the odd win here and there to get them over the line at the back end of the season.

They are no where near their heights of 2019, they've lost that.

Yep. You’re seeing the difference between a good team and a great team emerging quite clearly.

[whelk]

Unprofessional calling out Chris Wilder. No doubt the poor fcker will be receiving death threats from now on. 

[Crab Lungs]

A pretend 'Mr Nice Guy' whose mask is slipping as times get a bit tough for him.

Suits the utter turd of a club he manages.

[Tamesaint]

Although the Premier League are being so unfair to Liverpool with substitutes its nice to know that the greatest fans in the world (no not Pompey they are the bestest) are still able to watch the best team in the world. Now only them and Everton have that advantage. I am sure that Klippity will acknowledge  the advantage that this gives them. 

[jawillwill]

The added pressure is unfair on them.