RUBIN Kazan. What can you say about them that hasn’t been said before?
Firstly, how about “it’s close”? No-one is saying that. Perhaps “it’s easy to get to.” No-one is saying that either. Because these things are lies, it isn’t close, it isn’t easy to get to. The travelling Reds who really matter — the supporters — deserve to have everything doffed in their general direction. It’s miles away, a nightmare to get to and there isn’t a lot there, I have been reliably informed.
The travelling Reds who matter a bit are the players. And we are reportedly taking all of them. All of them who can walk/have been registered are going. A plane load. Maybe they are all going because there is a ton to do in Kazan. Maybe they will be going paintballing in the Tatarstan woods for team-building or playing Risk in the Shalyapin Palace Hotel between a series of presentations around their expected individual and collective KPIs under this new Kloppian regime. Maybe when playing Risk they will realise how difficult it is to fight a war on two fronts. Who knows? Who knows why they are all there.
Because they can’t all be going to play football. They can’t all be travelling all this way just to play football. Only 14 of them can feature in this competitive game of football. And yet there they all are. Boarding planes, going a long, long way to possibly not play football.
https://twitter.com/JoeMConnolly/status/661701910676824064
We’re not in the camp with a sense of what the group of players need. We don’t have the medical advice. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Perhaps the hierarchy have tasked Klopp to give Liverpool the best possible chance of winning this competition. We wouldn’t know because they don’t bother telling us. Perhaps they have fallen for the frankly absolute nonsense line that our most likely way back into the Champions League is through winning the Europa League. We’ve just won at Stamford Bridge, lads, leaving Chelsea nowhere. Regardless. Regardless.
Most sides Liverpool put out should be able to get a result in Kazan. Any side Liverpool put out against Kazan can drop points. And regardless of what side and how fresh they are, any side Liverpool put out against Crystal Palace could drop points, too. Freshness can be important. Freshness can be discounted. Momentum can be important. Momentum can be discounted.
It’s not a science though science is involved. It is one of them. Often you can’t do right for doing wrong, sometimes you can do wrong and still end up getting the right result. That is football for you. Determined to make fools of us all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2VEm2tguLA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV3Y9iDrfZg
What do I know? What do we know? Not enough, never, ever, ever enough.
And so. Put it all out of your mind. There is going to be a Liverpool 11 on a pitch. Who should we will on? Who are our favourites? To quote the endlessly sensible Steve Graves: “my favourites are the 11 who play for Liverpool.”
We’ve seen Kazan. They are alright. Good on the break. A side who clearly possess nous and speed. They’ll take a fair bit of beating on their own turf in the freezing cold of the Russian winter, but as per the above almost any 11 Liverpool put out should be capable of getting a result, therefore the first 11 should certainly get a result against them.
So if all these lads are boarding planes then let’s do this properly and do everything we can to win the game, then beat Bordeaux at Anfield and then be able to have a look at some youngsters at Sion away.
Start them all bar Mamadou Sakho and Philippe Coutinho, the former so he can hopefully stay away from his muscle injuries, the latter to come on for Roberto Firmino last 30.
My team from those who have travelled: Mignolet; Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno; Lucas, Can, Milner; Firmino, Lallana; Benteke. I could have been convinced to have a look at Milner at either full back position, simply to rest legs, but that ship might have sailed.
Rubin Kazan New Stadium by Amar77 – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons.
However, the whole thing isn’t what I’d do. May not be what you’d do. But what do we know? I’ll say again, not enough, never enough. Our job is to support and the hardiest of our number are brilliantly doing just that in Kazan.
One thing we do know, more than almost anything, is this — it is not easy being Liverpool manager. You can’t do right for doing wrong.
So just win the game, Liverpool. Win the bloody game.
(Wrap) Up (Warm) The Reds.
Injuries: Jordan Henderson (metatarsal), Jordan Rossiter (hamstring), Joe Gomez (ACL), Danny Ings (ACL), Daniel Sturridge (knee), Jon Flanagan (knee), Kolo Toure (hamstring).
Match details: Kick off: Thursday, November 5, 6pm, live on BT Sport Showcase/BT Sport Europe
Odds: Rubin Kazan 16/5, Draw 5-2, Liverpool 10/11
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Liverpool pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda-Photo
I’d be surprised if Allen doesn’t start, most likely ahead of Lucas, who I’d put in the same category as Sakho in terms of ‘least likely to be capable of 3 games in 8 days’.
But then, Lucas is always proving the doubters wrong.
Perhaps the hierarchy have tasked Klopp to give Liverpool the best possible chance of winning this competition >>> a novel idea, but maybe we have a manager who feels the Europa League is worth going for.
I’d take EL over 4th all day long – 4th place gets a quali round as an unseeded team to negotiate, then likely to be a 4th seed in the group stages if we make it. Wonderful – can’t wait for that.
to clarify before I get my head ripped off – if I could be guaranteed one or the other, I’d take the EL so its a hypothetical statement based on the benefits of each.
Right now, in the real world, I want us to at least fight for every trophy out there. Can’t bear the thought of not trying.
I think you’re on the money there. Plus it’s a trophy. A trophy. It’s been too long since we last lifted one of those and the thought of Jürgen necking a load of Erdinger out of that beautiful trophy is enough for me to take it seriously. Come on Redmen.
said this before – its a cup. its a european cup. its about £18m in the bank for this season. its guaranteed CL football. its 3rd pot. its a huge boost in the sodding coefficients which currently have us 56th or something in europe (Sevilla went up 31 places i think after winning last season). its kudos in europe.
And the Palace game is close by, I get that, but then its 2 weeks of much less intense international friendlies for most to recover.
I’d got for it tonight. But thats just me.
Yeah agree. Given one or the other I’d take Europa league winners over fourth.
There’s loads of additional benefits over the obvious of CL qualification.
1) a trophy….a big fucking shiny trophy
2) re establish our name around Europe
3) raise our profile to potential new signings
4) give our current players experience and belief
5) set ourselves up for bigger and better things
I am surprised Klopp didn’t take the chance to leave a couple of key players at home, but I can see the logic.
The long trip will take its toll on the players, but it also means that Tuesday to Friday are given up to preparation, travel and recovery from the Kazan game giving very limited time for Klopp to work on the Palace game, Perhaps he looks on this as a chance to keep the players together, work on one shape with similar team to be put out over both games.
I do think we will see a couple of first choice players rested, even though they have all travelled.
spot on. I believe Klopp will use this opportunity as team bonding…and to work on team positioning and shape.
rather work with the whole group than leave out some key seniors at home.
Hard one to call. Those who played against Chelsea must be feeling so positive right now. Maybe Klopp wants their new-found positivity to rub off on the remainder of the squad?
One unpleasant thought has just occurred to me. The whole squad is away on bonfire night, when the emergency services will be at breaking point and disturbances are less likely to be reported to the police.
I hope the players’ families are going to be vigilant, as I could see criminal gangs viewing this as the perfect opportunity to target their homes. The club needs to do more about this sort of thing, given the amount of nasty incidents that have taken place in recent years. Security needs to be provided for the families. It’s only a matter of time before something truly awful happens.
isn’t it terrible for someone to be even thinking.out loud such thing in this football site, in a match preview column?
my advice would be for you to make an appt with your psychiatric :)
this is equivalent of concern about players safety during their summer vacation due to potential plane crash or drawn at the beach or snake bite while hiking, for example.
That’s a bit unfair. I’m not talking about people meeting some kind of random misfortune. This has been happening again and again, when players are abroad. Not just at Liverpool.
Just for argument’s sake, and since I am a bit free on Thursdays :)~
I take work related trips all the time, a few days at a time to a few weeks once in a while. many others do too.
aren’t we all then in a similar category? I mean, the boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, family and so on.
this is part of life….so please don’t lose sleep over it…cheers
2014 away versus Real Madrid versus Liverpool reserve reserves…. disgraceful disrespectful cards thrown in !
2015 away versus Rubin Kazan versus Liverpool’s best… chests puffed out lets win this one
I believe
Mignolet, Skrtel, Moreno, Can, Lallana, Lucas, Allen and Coutinho all played in the reserve reserve side in the Bernabau.
Good job none of them are good enough to get near the side tonight…..
Of course, it’s never racking, but this whole EL affair has been nerve racking. I support the decision. We have two games before the break. Two games to set a great tone for the rest of the season.
I think it’s great to build on the momentum from Saturday. Let the team bond on the trip. Klopp never traveled with them to Australia and Asia and that was for money. This is for Glory.
I wonder in the era of major soccer how exhausting this trip has to be. Has to be chartered flights. They’re certainly not packed in like sardines on low budget airlines, I suspect. They have a long travel time to control nutrition, control rest. Assume there are physios there keeping people stretch. Hyperbaric treatments to keep the injuries at bay. They’re not going by mule over the Khyber Pass.
Get the win today. Get the win on Sunday. Enjoy the break. The season starts anew.