JUST when you thought LFC Twitter couldn’t go into any more of a meltdown post Burnley disaster, there was the 10:30pm hot LFC journo news.
We’re sending Mamadou Sakho off for a few months to “find himself”. Possibly to Thailand. Possibly to a football club in Italy. Depends what’s more expensive.
This was not what people wanted to hear. A lot of Liverpool fans love Sakho. A lot. You know what, I love him too. One of the highlights of last season was the post European celebration of a Sakho chant followed by a salute to The Kop.
He’s big. He’s Scouse. He’ll come and paint your house.
A fella who gets the bond between footballers and fans, and plays like it.
So what is Jürgen Klopp – a manager who has just seen his Sakho-less defence concede five goals in his first two league games – thinking? Well there are a few theories knocking about.
Firstly there is the discipline stuff. That he wants to make an example of Sakho, to put his marker down on the squad. Show who is in charge. It seems unlikely to me that Klopp needs to assert his authority on anything. Surely his reputation, medals won, general demeanour and absolute massiveness do that for him? He’s already slapped Jordon Ibe on the pitch and then sold him. I think they know who is boss.
Or maybe he just generally doesn’t like his indiscipline? In the wake of the news that UEFA weren’t going to ban Sakho after all, and we all wanted to ban UEFA instead, it was largely ignored that the club were absolutely furious that Sakho had got himself into the situation in the first place by going off and taking whatever he fancied. That he then spent the summer getting injured, being late for everything and trying to recreate the “WASSUP” Budweiser adverts was probably not what the football club expected, or wanted.
Towards the end of Rafa Benitez’s time at Anfield there were rumours of breakdowns of relationships with certain senior players. I took Rafa’s side. I always did. But it was always in the back of my mind that it was easy for me to say. I didn’t have to deal with him every day. I just got the Rafa of my imagination, and the thought of another European Cup.
We forget that football clubs are workplaces. We get the Sakho on the football pitch – and the memes. For a manager he has to think about much more than that. He has to think about the culture of a football club and who might be in the way of that. And sometimes there is just a fella who is doing your head in, one way or another. We’ve all been there.
Or maybe it isn’t discipline at all. Maybe they are all over that. Another theory is that we just want to see him get right on someone else’s watch. That Sakho is a bit slow coming back from injury at the best of times, and after a lengthy lay off it might be better to have him get fit somewhere else, where he can be first choice straight away.
Klopp obviously feels that he has sufficient enough CB cover in Matip, Lovren, Klavan, Lucas, (Gomez) to let Sakho go and get games.
— Jack Sear (@JackSear) August 23, 2016
This is possible, but what if he picks up another knock in a couple of months? And what do we do in the meantime? We don’t have masses of cover and I’m surprised Lucas Leiva is still being seen as an option. It seems to put a lot of pressure on Joel Matip, who hasn’t yet played a real game for Liverpool and Joe Gomez, who may or may not have working legs.
That Klopp seems willing to let Sakho go in this situation suggests something that people don’t really want to admit. That he’s another manager who doesn’t think he is particularly good. Liverpool fans have spent a long time defending Sakho. Accusations of “Bambi on Ice” are hit with passing stats. Accusations of errors are hit with comparisons of other defenders. However, actual football managers remain unsure.
It is often trotted out that Sakho was named Paris Saint Germain’s youngest ever captain aged 17, but rarely that this was mainly a political move, and that by 23 his hometown club had seemingly given up on him. From there he moves to Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers never seems entirely convinced of the defender, despite being willing to throw him straight in the team. This was seen by fans as a fault of the defensively suspect Rodgers, rather than the player himself. Yet a new manager has come in and could well agree with him. Despite all the issues both Liverpool managers have had at the back, the Frenchman has rarely been seen as the answer.
It may just be the case that fans love the passion and the effort rate of a player, higher than a manager needs certainty and reliability. That a manager who knows what winning squads are doesn’t quite see a place for a Mamadou Sakho. That a centre half partner would prefer, as Jamie Carragher once told us, a seven out of ten each week, rather than a fella who can throw in a nine one week and a three the next.
It’s possibly all these things in some way combined. Most situations are. The manager isn’t entirely convinced, is having his head done in by a variety of factors and is worried about the return from the long lay off. So he chooses to do something about it. That something can seem drastic to us – to him he is just solving a problem.
It’s a shame for those like me who believe in the player and want to like those who pull on the shirt for Liverpool. But if Sakho goes out on loan this week, I really struggle to see a way back.
I like Sakho as a person but he burns my head out as a player, which is probably a result of the 9 out of 10 one week followed by the 3 out of 10 the next.
Its similar why Firmino burns my head out as well as he’s just as likely to give that massive swing in performances.
Anyway hopefully it will work out for Sakho and he’ll come back a stronger and better player
Sakhos indiscipline has been an issue across his career. It surfaced at PSG, it surfaced under Rodgers and now under Klopp – and this is just the stuff that get into the public domain.
The whole slimming pills nonsense was apparently as he had put on weight after being out injured for a few weeks – certainly the indiscipline did. Maybe the weight issue has surfaced again.
Sakho is your archetypal cult hero – but that’s not always enough to keep them around.
All the points you make are pro Klopp and anti Sakho. So let me ask whether the possibility exists that Klopp is doing something wrong here?
No possibility. There’s enough evidence to the contrary, and as Peter Reilly says in his comment there’s probably plenty more behind the scenes that we’ll never know about.
Yeah. Possibly mate. But time will tell and he’ll be judged by his decisions
I don’t understand how people can think Sakho is a good footballer.
John, I’d let him go. In fact I’d sell him and we might just get more than the 18m we paid as his Europa nights got a lot of attention. He’s a warrior but he’s inconsistent. He’s erratic. He’s a liability in passing waiting to happen. Agger, Skyrtel, old Toure, now a jury-out on recent Klaven – none of these hit the mark. Lovren was showing signs of Saints performances but he needs a boring, strong, dependable partner in the ilk of Carra or Hypia – not a Hansen wanna-be- but-will-never-be. We’ve enough defensive problems with current personnel continuously worrying us without a loose cannon, (though I do love his big heart’edness).
Seems too precocious and ill- disciplined for JK to allow around the place influencing others too.
If JK wants to let him go- there are these reasons but more likely plenty of others we’ll never know too. I’d go with his judgement. We’ve got to get big, boring, dependable guys at the back who’ll flatten opposition then smile as they release the ball quickly and accurately upfield. Hummels was a nobody when Klopp took over. Now he’s the dogs you-know-what.
An honest assessment. Some people think it’s cool that Jürgen is “ruthless” — until he actually is against one of their Kop darlings. I agree that this feels like the beginning of the end for Sakho at Liverpool.
Lucas Leiva just smacked @JamesPearceEcho on Twitter for writing a Tweet (based on an Echo article) that implies that Lucas staying for the season has something to do with Sakho being offered for a loan deal. Ouch! Lucas wrote “@JamesPearceEcho can you have more responsibility when you involve my name?
You putting me against the fans for something I’ve nothing to do”
I read it that Lucas was giving out that it was suggested that he was angling to leave rather than the club trying to get him out.
I may have read it wrong!
Or I may not!
Lucas started getting abuse on twitter as it was taken that keeping lucas was forcing sakho out of the door.
Spot on, Gibbo. The manager is solving a problem in what he thinks is the best way.
I like Sakho. I think hes a good player and I find him funny with some of the videos that get put up of him. I find him endearing but I dont have to deal with him on a day to day basis so only the peoplewho do can testify to what’s potentially happened.
Whatever happens, I trust the manager to do whats best for the club.
I wouldn’t be arsed if he was sold,but if he gets sent out on loan without anyone being brought in to replace him will be yet more mismanagement by the club.Almost on a par with not signing a left back.Im in a good mood today so I won’t even start on the keeper situation.
GK situation? You do know we bought 2 this summer right?
Yes correct and both keepers are better than Mignolet he is so shakey no confidence in himself and makes our defence even more nervous.
He likes to think he is the class clown but he is simply a clown.Off load him.
If Sakho goes we’ll have 4 or 5 CBs on the books (depending on how you view Lucas) – how many do people expect we should have?
It seems 3 GKs on the books isn’t enough so assume 8-10 CBs should be fine.
I guess it’s that Lucas isn’t a true centre back, coupled with the fact Gomez isn’t 100% fit and we still have Moreno who is error prone. Remember the injury crisis we had earlier this year? We just need solid cover and depth, sending him on loan reduces that.
I would keep him unless we find an experienced replacement. Then flog him. Just shows you if ur not in managers good books ur gone bentekke had a fighting spirit wanted to fight for place and got flogged. I would have played him last 15 games of last season and see how he done. Think Sakho knows his days are up he isn’t bothered.
One thing that is certain now (on social media in the next 24 hours or so):
Lovren will go back to being unreliable.
Klavan will go from experienced possible 1st choice to being signed as 4th choice cover.
Gomez will go from highly promising to highly inexperienced.
Lucas should be sold.
On a remotely related note, Joel Matip has played 50 games as a defensive midfielder and got 7 goals as well. John you’ve been crying out all summer for one, a cry I echo. Obviously considering the Sakho story it looks unlikely Matip will play there, but he does have that in his locker. Bothered?
Sakho has never convinced me as a player, although he comes across as a decent if ill-disciplined bloke. Yes he dives in to block shots and yes he does deliver a good pass forward but he is error prone, loses position too often and can’t head a ball for toffee. We can do better.
Diving to block shots would have saved 40% of the goals we have conceded this season. Sakho has his faults but I have seen nothing to suggest we have two other options are categorically better.
That said, the thing I like about Jurgen is that there are two of him. He has a good mate there to make it less likely he will do something daft – something that Pascoe manifestly failed to do with BR.
How he is a cult hero I will never understand, he is rubbish as a footballer, no ball control, no brain, and no discipline. I will be delighted to see the back of him. Lucas is a proper player and doesn’t deserve any flak, especially over this situation. He can do a better job than the gangly Traore mk2. Lovren was always going to come good, he has class and knows the game. So for me, bye bye Mama…Whoever thinks he is our best defender doesn’t know the game
I’d get rid solely because of him taking dodgy fat burners without informing the club’s medics. He left himself open to a failed drug test and a UEFA inquiry that cost him and the club.
The fact there was no case to answer in the end doesn’t exonerate him. He took a massive risk and we lost him at a vital time.
That’s enough bad judgement to warrant a sacking and then he carries on fucking about on the pre-season tour. We don’t need these distractions.
Jan Molby went to jail and still had a place at the club.
All evidence points to Sakho being our best central defender.
Him and Matip could make a formidable partnership, we should be trying rehabilitate him and bring him back into line so he can focus on being the best player he can be…..at Liverpool.
If you ever want to see how far fans opinions of a player differ read a comment section on Sakho. In my view loaning Sakho makes absolutely no sense because the other options in cb aren’t exactly world beaters fair enough the jury is still out on Matip. Sakho is a brilliant passer of the ball I think we have all seen that and yes he is error prone buy Lovren is just as bad if not worse and doesn’t have the passing ability of Sakho so ability wise this loan makes 0 sense. We fans always try make excuses when Lfc does something we consider dumb e.g. buying Benteke. Yet 9/10 times fans end up right.