***Official*** English Football Season 2017/18

[wpdavid]

Possibly a different game if Salah had stayed on but the one thing you could have said before the game was that with the attacking potency of both sides you had to make them work for their goals. Real got two on a platter and scored a worldie. I feel terrible for the lad but I’ve just sat through three years of the conference and would be raging at goals like the first and third in a routine league game never mind the biggest game imaginable.

The only thing I’d say about the third is that Bale scores a lot of goals that look like the keeper should save, usually free kicks, and the amount of spin he puts on the ball can deceptively make the keeper look worse. However you have to save that, no getting away from it.

The attacks on him from reds on social media are appalling though. Just stomach churningly bad.

I've only just watched the highlights of the game, and the 1st & 3rd goals were horrendous, weren't they. As bad as anything I've seen, actually.
Obviously the twitter stuff is unacceptable, but hopefully they'll know that having slept on the matter. Either way, Karius is surely finished as a Liverpool keeper.

 

[sledger]

Hopefully going back to Tottenham, if only to remove the need for them to buy Zaha.

One suspects they won't be able to afford him.

It'll be City, United, Chelsea or nothing.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Hopefully not us.

 

[Cabinet96]

This is what happens when you spend the majority of your money on forwards and neglect one of the most important positions in any side. If you try to do things on the cheap you get what you deserve.

They probably haven't spent enough money on forwards tbh. Didn't even have one they felt confident enough to bring on when their best player got injured in the first half. They sold one of their best attackers in January and reinvested a chunk of the money on a CB.

 

[Cabinet96]

Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand absolutely gushing ad nauseum about Bale's second goal whilst Steven Gerrard sits there silently looking miserable

I guess it's probably obliged in their contract that they do these games, but I could never do punditry work if Arsenal were in the Champions League final. Would be way too nervous and devastated in the case of a defeat.

 

[Cabinet96]

Not sure the 13/14 comparison is really relevant. They were amazing for six months or so and were utterly mediocre for the rest of the decade until Klopp arrived, and have since been a consistently good side for two years. That's clearly good managerial work.

 

[sledger]

Hopefully not us.

Yeah, I wouldn't want him either if I were you tbh.

 

[sledger]

Not sure the 13/14 comparison is really relevant. They were amazing for six months or so and were utterly mediocre for the rest of the decade until Klopp arrived, and have since been a consistently good side for two years. That's clearly good managerial work.

Agreed, he is obviously a good coach. Does seem to be in danger of flirting with the tag of "perennial runner up" though.

Also maybe developing a reputation of being a Bielsa-like manager (i.e. develops teams that play a very intense, attractive and eye-catching style, but never win anything due to end of season burnout).

 

[Cabinet96]

Bale is so much more a United signing than he is a City one.


I think the burnout thing is quite unfair on Klopp. The Champions League quarter finals and onwards are literally all played in April and May. You wouldn't be able to get to two finals in five years with underdog teams if the players were getting burnt out. When he won the 11/12 title they also started the season badly but went on an amazing run in the second half of the season. It was definitely a problem for him last year when they had that awful January and February. But he actually did a lot more rotating this year. He even got criticised for doing it against Everton when they got that lucky penalty in a 1-1 draw.

Reality is Klopp probably won't get the trophy haul some other managers as good as him might, mostly because he hasn't managed a club who are the dominant force (or even the top two or three arguably) in their own league. When it comes to the biggest prize he has and probably will get closer than most have though, because his biggest strength is making teams who might not be the best over a season, but are capable of beating anyone on their day.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Wait I thought we were talking about Zaha. Though I don't want either.

 

[GIMH]

Poor first half from flibberty’s lot, let’s hope Hurst has something in his locker

 

[sledger]

Well done The Millers. Sledger Snr v happy.

 

[Ausage]

Shrews

 

[Uppercut]

Liverpool fan reactions to last night are the funniest thing in football since The Slip.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Never going to the pit of misery again. Once more we never showed up, better team won and deserved it.

Probably get relegated next season.

 

[GIMH]

Congrats to marc and commiserations to Pickup (and Grecian if he still reads this place). Coventry just looked better on the day, it happens in the play-offs, most of us who’ve experienced them have learned that the hard way.

League 2 looks tasty next season. Not too many sides that I look at think ‘no way would we finish above them.’ Will be an interesting summer, a good replacement for Cook and I fancy us to be much more like Lincoln than Forest green.

 

[Niall]

Fabinho and Keita are serious signings for Liverpool tbf.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

**** off football. Lose at Wembley one day and lose the manager the next.

 

[sledger]

People having a cry about Sterling getting a tattoo of a gun on his leg.

 

[Ikki]

I always thought Fabinho looked good, excited to see how he does at Liverpool.