Letters To The Editor addresses your burning questions & comments pertaining to Liverpool, including our confidence around Jude Bellingham…
HERE are your burning questions and comments in the week after Liverpool dropped more points to Crystal Palace…
Robert Whelan: We’re the worst team in the league at managing the referee. From manager down to the players.
My last game at Anfield was vs Spurs and I have to say Harry Kane must have been knackered as not only was he playing up front for Antonio Conte’s men, but he also put in a serious shift as ‘referees’ advisor’. Making sure he had a friendly word at literally every break in play.
We’re the worst at tactical fouls, the worst at calling out incompetence from officials and the worst at protecting our players as it’s got to the stage you can literally do anything you want to Mo Salah.
Editor: There’s definitely something in what you’ve said, in that our team don’t seem to have as much interest in the “dark arts” as some others do.
I do wonder whether it’s stylistic though, as you rightly point out Kane spent lots of time using the referee to break up the game. Liverpool aren’t a side who want to break up the game. The longer the ball is in play, the more chance we have of winning.
There’s a happy medium where we make a bigger deal of how Salah’s treated especially, but I can’t see any of them getting to Spurs levels of disruption – and I’m glad about that personally.
Anthony Carmel: I’m dismayed by the negativity of ‘fans’ due to our slow start this season. Some supporters feel we have a right to win everything – we don’t.
Importantly, to win anything is a huge success given the highly competitive nature of the league, but also the disproportionate budgets some clubs have – we don’t.
Finally, we must give Klopp due respect – do fans remember where we were five years ago? Klopp and the players are allowed to falter and let’s leave judgments until May 28th!
Editor: Look, it’s fair to question things when they aren’t right but we always need to keep that in perspective. Klopp is one of our greatest managers of all time so if anybody is questioning his decisions or ambition, they need to have a big long think about why that is.
Ian Hogben: If we don’t need a midfielder, why are we starting with a 38-year-old Millie? Love him, by the way. Keita, do me a favour, the lad has never played for us – not the answer. Hendo, brilliant engine but can’t last 90. Thiago, brilliant but injury prone. Ox, injured all the time and not good enough. Harvey, brilliant lad, love him. Curtis, needs a big season when fit. Trent, because of the above and him playing everywhere last night.
Conclusion? We need a powerful goalscoring midfielder.
Editor: You near enough answer your own question here, mate. Milner has got loads left to offer, which is I’m sure why you love him too. Klopp and Pep both love Keita, so I’m good with that. Henderson has a brilliant engine and is therefore an asset however long he’s on for. Thiago, same but different. Ox was healthy all of last season and played a crucial part in January especially. Harvey is great and signing somebody could block his path, and the same goes for Curtis.
Everything you say contains variables and Klopp is clearly happy to play on those variables by having more lads than, say, City who have about four/five of them that seem to us outsiders more reliable but probably don’t play more minutes on the whole.
Mike Riddlesworth: I find it puzzling, to say the least, that the FSG/Klopp team have not opened the chequebook to alleviate the player injury crisis. The muscle injury problems are not their fault but unless some immediate action is taken I fear that by mid-September, when most players should be available, the points gap will be too wide to overcome. I hope I’m wrong but new player investment, which FSG haven’t shied away from this far, is a matter of great urgency.
Editor: This is just really short sighted and not how the football club can afford to operate, I’m afraid. It’s all well and good saying go and sign a few players to deal with a short-term injury crisis, but what happens when everybody is fit and wants to play?
This is exactly what Jurgen has been saying about blocking paths too, because he’d clearly much rather give a deserving youngster the experience for a few games than sign a lad (with no settling-in time, by the way) to just come in and do a job for a couple.
Chris Johnson: What, besides blind optimism, is driving the belief that Liverpool are seemingly the leading contender to land Bellingham next summer?
If, as expected, he performs as well as expected at Dortmund this season, won’t he have not just the other top English clubs but possibly also the likes of PSG, Barca and Madrid (maybe not given they just signed Tchouameni) going after him?
Jude would look great in red, but is it possible we’re just getting our hopes up only to be let down when Liverpool (a) are priced out of a major bidding war or (b) lose out to a different club Jude fancies more?
Editor: The only people who will really know what our chances of signing Bellingham are, are the people inside the four walls of the club. All of us outside can speculate and get our hopes up, but that’s irrelevant anyway as it’s not our jobs to be actually going and sealing the deal.
If the club are serious about signing him, those wheels will already be in motion.
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“I feel like the players haven’t had long enough to gel yet, and then on top of that we aren’t capitalising on our chances…”
— The Anfield Wrap (@TheAnfieldWrap) August 17, 2022
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When you post this the same week your new start player gets sent off for headbutting someone (the 2nd attempt, after he missed the 1st) and you’re the same club that defended Suarez for biting, racism; Salah diving… alternatively you can read articles at thisisanfield.com in November 2019 about how Liverpool were good at the dark arts; or indeed this same site at that time…. short memory?
“Editor: This is just really short sighted and not how the football club can afford to operate, I’m afraid. It’s all well and good saying go and sign a few players to deal with a short-term injury crisis, but what happens when everybody is fit and wants to play?”
You what?
If we cant afford to buy any players now after we spent 10 million net this summer after several seasons of challenge and earning all the prize money, the tv deals and the amazing partnerships the club promotes week in week out, when can we actually spend some money?
It’s also a misnomer to suggest “When everyone is fit and wants to play” which with this group you can count on one hand the number of times this scenario has surfaced in 4 seasons.
Utter twaddle.