Football Thread 2021/22: pre-seasons in the abyss

[Kankurette]

We're 5 games in.

[Lord Mandrake]

Yeah I know, there's many a slip etc... just speculating that that Liverpool team from 2019 is still ahead of the others and last season was obviously an anomaly (crowds more a factor than credited) the true status quo is LFC dominance but others gaining.

[sevendaughters]

if this Pep thing gives City mindherpes and Tuchel's sickly face becomes too much in the Chelsea dressing room then LFC could win by 10/15 points, but their start has been against teams that will likely finish bottom 8. Yeah VVD looks fine again, Thiago has remembered he can play and Fabinho is playing out of his skin, but not handing trophies out just yet.

[JamesTC]

It was against teams in the bottom half of the table that Liverpool dropped the most points against last season. We got 5 points last season from the equivalent fixtures we have started with this season.

[sevendaughters]

It was against teams in the bottom half of the table that Liverpool dropped the most points against last season. We got 5 points last season from the equivalent fixtures we have started with this season.

woah i just rolled a dice and got a six but i got a four last week!

[Lord Mandrake]

VVD looks fine again, Thiago has remembered he can play and Fabinho is playing out of his skin, but not handing trophies out just yet.

Thiago & Jota are a net gain from 2018/19. Salah, Mane & fit Firminio not lost a step. Keita, Jones and an angry Hendo cover Wijnaldum exit and of course the 12th man is worth at least 9 points.

[EOLAN]

It was against teams in the bottom half of the table that Liverpool dropped the most points against last season. We got 5 points last season from the equivalent fixtures we have started with this season.

Who is the Norwich like for Like from last season?

[JamesTC]

Who is the Norwich like for Like from last season?

18th - Fulham = 1st - Norwich
19th - West Brom = 2nd - Watford
20th - Sheffield United = 3rd - Brentford

[chveik]

yikes don't blow your liverpudlian load too soon

[JamesTC]

I'm simply pointing out that the early signs are good that we have stopped dropping the points we had been dropping last season. Nothing wrong with being confident that we have improved in an area we needed to, surely. I'm personally confident (what is the point in thinking otherwise) but I'm not crowing about being top right now.

January/February will be the key month. Mane, Salah and Keita will be missing for two or three games due to the AFCON (Brentford, Palace and maybe Leicester).

[Lord Mandrake]

This just doesn't make sense to me;

Latest Premier League top-four odds
Manchester City 1/33.
Chelsea 1/14.
Liverpool 1/5.

Most pundits agreeing with that but it seems largely based on an exceptional season.

[Kankurette]

Jimmy Greaves is now Jimmy Graves. He's joined the great football team in the afterlife.

RIP Greavesie.

if this Pep thing gives City mindherpes and Tuchel's sickly face becomes too much in the Chelsea dressing room then LFC could win by 10/15 points, but their start has been against teams that will likely finish bottom 8. Yeah VVD looks fine again, Thiago has remembered he can play and Fabinho is playing out of his skin, but not handing trophies out just yet.

There's also the problem of Man United and their new Portuguese WMD. I'm surprised they're not seen as title contenders.

After the fun and games yesterday, be interesting to see what Rafa does with 4 key players out.

[Chedney Honks]

yikes don't blow your liverpudlian load too soon

Haha got em

[Kankurette]

Besides, Everton are 5th and 8th place has our name on it. Much like the goonz and 4th, before they got really disappointing.

[imitationleather]

The Liverpool fan-fiction over the past couple of pages made my eyes bleed.

You guys know that RAWK exists, right?

[sevendaughters]

nice start for Brighton. they'll probably fade but I have a lot of respect for Potter. strikes me as a superior Southgate in some respects.

[WhoMe]

It's gonna be a rough season for Spurs. Still, might be easier to get a few tickets at least

[Inspector Norse]

It's gonna be a rough season for Spurs.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but they must surely realise now that they should have taken the Kane money and used it to get some other actual good players. Looking at them today, there's just a gaping, aimless hole behind Kane and Son.

[chveik]

werner you plonker

[Chollis]

this is brutal to watch

[ersatz99]

At least that was carbon neutral.

[Ignatius_S]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but they must surely realise now that they should have taken the Kane money and used it to get some other actual good players. Looking at them today, there's just a gaping, aimless hole behind Kane and Son.

Wishful thinking, rather than hindsight. The money upfront was less than the headline figures and how much business could be made in that time?

The original deal was £75 million upfront with another £25 million in add-ons further down the line and there wasn't that much time to make the signings.

The revised offer was just under £130 million, but again, a substantial amount was in add-ons and very little time (about a week, IIRC) to make the signings.

Also, if you're selling Kane to bolster other areas of the team, aren't you also going to have to sign a new striker?

[Inspector Norse]

Maybe they should have planned in advance for some signings to make, then? An Ings for £25m, as an example of someone who did move this summer, might not have the same star quality as Kane but would do a good job and would allow them to make the other improvements that seem desperately needed. I think it's arguable that a well-balanced team with quality in every position would be better than a team with no creativity and a shoddy defence fronted by a disinterested star striker.

[JamesTC]

They did improve the squad though. Or at least attempted to with a fairly significant amount of spending (albeit with the reported £40m for Romero being as part of a loan with an obligation to buy).

I think it was a mistake not to sell Kane while they could get a value that was overinflated, but they clearly didn't need to sell him in order to invest in the squad.

[Kankurette]

Lingard, you treacherous slut!

[chveik]

Also, if you're selling Kane to bolster other areas of the team, aren't you also going to have to sign a new striker?

looking at their team they still needed one anyway

[Inspector Norse]

They did improve the squad though. Or at least attempted to with a fairly significant amount of spending (albeit with the reported £40m for Romero being as part of a loan with an obligation to buy).

I think it was a mistake not to sell Kane while they could get a value that was overinflated, but they clearly didn't need to sell him in order to invest in the squad.

They brought in a rookie winger, a rookie right-back (though to be fair anything would be an upgrade on Aurier) and Romero was a straight replacement for Alderweireld. They also got their 17th-choice manager with others saying no because they were concerned they wouldn't have funds for signings.

This is a fairly typical way for Levy to go about things, I guess.

[Ignatius_S]

Maybe they should have planned in advance for some signings to make, then? An Ings for £25m, as an example of someone who did move this summer, might not have the same star quality as Kane but would do a good job and would allow them to make the other improvements that seem desperately needed. I think it's arguable that a well-balanced team with quality in every position would be better than a team with no creativity and a shoddy defence fronted by a disinterested star striker.

As JamesTC said, they did add new players - also, they offloaded ones surplus to requirements. But regardless of that, it's a little tricky approaching players to say we're interested in signing you, but we need to wait until someone makes an offer for Kane before we can sign you - but we have no idea when that will be.

The Ings suggestion is an interesting one, but there have been good counters to that - the Gould and Gold podcast made some good points about that.

[Inspector Norse]

As JamesTC said, they did add new players - also, they offloaded ones surplus to requirements. But regardless of that, it's a little tricky approaching players to say we're interested in signing you, but we need to wait until someone makes an offer for Kane before we can sign you - but we have no idea when that will be.

Yes, true, but they might also have benefitted from setting a price on Kane straight off and seeing if they got any bites. Ultimately I don't think you can look at the teamsheet today, especially the bench, and think they're challenging for anything of note, Kane or no Kane.

[WhoMe]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing but they must surely realise now that they should have taken the Kane money and used it to get some other actual good players. Looking at them today, there's just a gaping, aimless hole behind Kane and Son.

The midfield was and is our biggest weakness, although it seems that Spurs is where promising midfielders come to die so whoever we had bought probably would've forgotten how to kick a ball forward anyway.