Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

@Thrash13: Missed your comment and just read it now. I support Everton and went to a load games last season. We missed Howard when he was out injured and Landon Donovan joined us on loan twice and was outstanding (a few seasons ago) I follow Tim on fb and he's boss. Underrated imo. Premier league football is the best because of the full stadiums for EVERY game and the football mania in England. We went to Everton v Burnley last season and it was a sell out a week before the game. Burnley who are they lol.

So its looking like Klopp will be LFC's new manager. I am surprised at the timing of the sacking of Rodgers who still has one of the highest win rates of a LFC Manager. I think that he would have been replaced in the summer if Klopp was available then but because he wanted a sabbatical, it was not the right time. Personally I think that Rodgers would have been given a few more games this season but I do think that the results, performances and purchase decisions over the last few seasons have been poor. I do like Klopp's philosophies and has done very well even though he has a lower win rate than Rodgers and doesn't have the experience of managing in the EPL or at many clubs. That could work to his advantage of course and I do think he could bring a higher calibre of player into the club in the transfer window(s) than Rodgers could/would. I know Rodgers was able to attract the younger players due to given youth a chance but I don't think he would be able to attract an established quality signing like Klopp could. Klopp does have a good record with youth and transforming players into world class stars - Reus, Hummels, Lewandowski...

I must admit, I do feel more optimistic with Klopp as the manager but I do feel a bit sorry for Rodgers. I do feel the Transfer committee should shoulder some of the blame too

I think Liverpool are too far down the pecking order now to make it back to the top. Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City, and Arsenal will continue to step in and nab any top talent Liverpool are interested in. Liverpool had Gerrard, Suarez, and Sterling. Now they have no one, and I doubt Klopp, or anyone else, can fix that. Domestic cups and the Uefa cup should be their targets for the foreseeable future.

@Wesker: Chelsea may have 'talent' but look at their current predicament. Liverpool do have a lot of 'talent' in their squad too. I believe they are all internationals at some level - even if some are just internationals at youth (u21's for example) and a lot are in the top 10 international squads. Despite being near the top of chances created, Liverpool are near the bottom at actually converting those chances. at this current stage, A top 4 finish and therefore a CL spot for next season is still within the realms of attainable. LFC are only 6pts from the top - closer than Chelsea are.

@BAMozzy: Unfortunately Liverpool end up having to make a team out of players the top 4 are not interested in. Any players the top four are interested in don't go to Liverpool. So Chelsea get Willian, Arsenal get Alexis Sanchez, Man U get Martial, Man City get Kevin de Bruyne, and Liverpool get Benteke! It's not just league position and CL qualification that matters either. Even when Man U weren't qualified for the CL, they were still signing players like Di Maria.

@Wesker: But that can change. How long will Abramovich stick his cash in? Likewise sheik mansour? Arsenal and Man Utd unfortunately will be around forever they have extensive fan bases and world wide infrastructure. Liverpool were far too stubborn in raising their game during the prems early years, now its like Spurs and unfortunately as I'm a fan Everton. The 'new stadium' debacle has been raging for 20 years for the Merseyside clubs.

@iDangerMouse_: No ya not...

Liverpool got players no-one else in the top four wanted because nobody wanted to play for Rodgers. It's that simple. Klopp is a big name, charismatic, inspires belief and confidence. Players went to Dortmund to play under him, same way players do under Mourinho or did under Fergie. We were linked to Charlie Austin a few weeks ago. Now, three days in to the reign of Klopp, we're being linked with the most deadly player in football at the moment - Robert Lewandowski. Won't happen but that is the power of a big name manager.

The United comparison is lazy and wrong by the way. They paid massively over the odds (even more than we did) for players who want money more than trophies, something they've laughed at City doing for the past few years. They've also touched players no other club wanted. Who came in for Di Maria when they got him? Who was after Martial (love that you put him as a big name by the way, very funny)? Who was after Schweinsteiger? Nobody, be they untested or having horrendous injury or form records. Falcao was pimped around to every club in the world and nobody would go near him, bar United. Helps that they also offered them wages far higher than they were getting, natch.
Nothing wrong with that, and I'm not having a go at them, but bit of perspective, eh? If Liverpool had the money United did then they'd have got those players or been in for them. Thank **** we weren't! Bar David de Gea, there isn't one player in United's squad that I'd want or would get into better teams than us. They're just a more expensive Liverpool at the moment. But while we've got rid of our lunatic manager who hasn't a clue what he's doing and making players hate him, LVG is still there.

@themcnoisy: Hear rumblings you're going to expand on one of your stands, like we have. Your club want to make it an inch taller than ours.
Have you seen the new billboard opposite Goodison Park? A Ryanair one saying where have the last twenty years gone. Everton last won a trophy in 1995. Coincidence or a Liverpool fan on the wind up? Haha.

On Klopp (to reply to your question) I'm still curious as to whether it's real or not. I have anxiety and I keep thinking it's going to have just been a big con. I do love him though. Everything he's said so far has made you think "he gets us". Not just the club, but the fans. I think he'll do wonders for us.

There's a great video online if you can find it of him nearly being by a car on his second day in the city while going to watch our Under18s. He's an absolute lunatic. Walks out into traffic shouting "Stop for the Klopp!" and laughing like the Joker. I love him.

Klopp at Liverpool is going to be a disaster. Liverpool's team is awful.

@Wesker: I think he can do well, lallana and Moreno look ok.....

Thought I'm bump this thread up after today's interesting matches.

Firstly, I honestly think Leicester will win the PL this season. No other team looks capable of playing them, and their entire team is class. Not only do Vardy and Mahrez excel at scoring, but N'Golo Kante is a rock in midfield, Wes Morgan and Robert Huth are an excellent centre-back pairing, and Kasper Schmeichel is a class goalkeeper.

Funny I'm talking about class defences, because Liverpool's (my club) are awful. I honestly feel sorry for Roberto Firmino - he's be in great form, scoring and assisting for days, working hard to get us into winning positions, and then our defence just crumbles. Clyne is about our only consistent defender, with Lovren being shaky ever since his injury and Sakho being... Sakho. Moreno is excellent at attacking, but shoddy in defence, which is why I think Brad Smith should get a run out soon, too. Mignolet is easily the worst goalie we've had in years, and I have no idea why Klopp signed that 5 year contract with him.

The moral is that we need an overhauled defence come the summer window. Our attack could be consistent when we've got Sturridge, Coutinho, and Firmino playing together, and we've plenty of gifted midfielders, so it seems that our defence is really letting us down.

Honestly, seeing how badly we're struggling just excites me for the team that Klopp will build in the future. Seeing what he did at Dortmund makes me optimistic for our future, so let's hope we can get some silverware this season to start off a new era.

I like klopp and think he will make a positive impact on Liverpool. I think Sturridge as much as I like seeing him play and think he is a great striker will always suffer from injuries. I am an Everton fan so really should not be praising Klopp but will let it slide this once

What did you think about the walkout? I agreed with it. Ticket prices for all the premiere league clubs are so expensive I have stopped going and have not been for a long time. They receive so much money from the TV deal and it just means larger transfer fees and higher wages and then they increase the prices for the fans. It would be better if it was like the German league where prices are reasonable and fans are not priced out.

Personally this season has been the worse quality of football I have seen for many years. The positive is that Leicester is doing well and they are proving that a well run, scouted and managed team can still fight for the league title. In the past only the team with the most money could win it now that is different. It might not happen again for another 30 years. Whatever happens for the rest of the season Leicester have done well.

I am more interested for next season. Jose possibly at Man Utd, Pep at Man City them hating each other. Then you have the other clubs who will also be fighting for the title. I do not think Pep will have the same impact at City as he has done in Spain or Germany. Simply for the fact that the teams in the permiere league are a bit more evenly matched and there are less easily winnable games with more teams being able to win the league. Also Pep is not a manager who sticks around 3 or 4 years and he will want to move on just like Jose.

Everton have played well this season but been defensively poor. Impressed with the attacking football but need more balance. Personally would sell John Stones in the summer. Great player with good ability but takes too many chances and its already cost 11 goals this season. He can go to Man City or Barcelona for £50 million which is a fair price.

I did not even know there was a football thread on here.

@dryrain: I'm an Everton fan too.

The atmosphere in Goodison is terrible these days. I travel back daily from Maghull via Goodison way to the Mersey Tunnel so go passed the general direction which fans of both Liverpool and Everton travel to and from games. Most of the fans are 40 plus year olds. I think younger people are priced out.

I'm gonna be honest - and this is the biggest problem. I earn above average wages for the area I work, an affluent area of Merseyside. Aaron Lennon earns the same amount I earn in a year in 3 days. That's preposterous.

@dryrain: I definitely agree with the walkout. Football's nothing without the fans, so why should they be overcharged? Ultimately, if prices are raised, it's going to impact the team negatively. If you look at the owner's website, they talk about "turning fans into customers" which just puts me off. £77 is about a day on minimum wage, which is insane. I know that's the premium ticket but it's still annoying.

Plus I was thinking of going up to Anfield with my dad to see a match at some point (I live on the South coast so I've never been before) but it looks like we'll have to postpone that, which sucks. We tried to get tickets to the Capital One Cup final, but they're expensive too. I would've thought the new expensive TV deals would lower prices, but it seems to have done the opposite.

@TripleGK We're in a bad place at the moment. Firmino's in excellent form, but Coutinho and Sturridge, arguably the best 2 players we have, haven't even had a chance to play together this season. I can't wait for when Firmino, Couts and Sturridge are playing together.

Also, who does everyone think will win Player of the Year this season? Mahrez is my pick, so far.

The problem is that if people buy the tickets regardless, the prices won't come down. £77 is outrageous, but as long as Anfield, Old Trafford, and the Emirates remain full - and they will - then why would the suits ever drop the prices?

I don't know the statistics of how many seats are £77 in the new Anfield stage and what the average price of a ticket is. I know £77 seems a lot to me but how does that compare with a 'box' or other grounds? Is the average price at Anfield going to be more than at Old Trafford, the Etihad or the Emirates for example? Comparing Season Ticket Prices to Germany or France is a bit off in my opinion. I know its more expensive in the UK but so it seems are our Transfer prices.
If there are only a 100 seats that are at £77 but the average is comparable to other clubs in the top half of the EPL then I don't really see the issue but if the average is above these by a significant margin, I understand why people are upset. I know I wouldn't pay £77 to watch my favourite team lose a 2 goal lead at home and put in some very average performances!
If Liverpool were the force they once were and had more world class players on the pitch instead of mid table (at best) players, I think paying £77 for the best seat in the house wouldn't be so much of an issue - at least for some people. Those on minimum wage can still get in to see LFC in one of the other seats. I know that the prices range from £9 upwards - although I think the £9 seats are for kids.

Its not just about the fact that there will be 200 seats at £77 its the general high price of tickets. The new TV deal give them an increase of 50% on the income which they have not factored into their business its gone into a separate pot.

@Anchorsam_9: Mahrez is my shout for POTY, he's played some fantastic football and plays the game the way I love, taking people on, dribbling, direct football in essence. Scored a cracking goal against Man City too.
As an Aston villa fan, this year has been awful as you can expect, we can't even get someone to buy the club! 😂

@Hego: Don't worry, you can probably expect to pick up a point or 3 against us next week when our defence falls asleep again.

Also on the topic of ticket prices, I think that the Premier League should follow in the Bundesliga's example. It's easily the best league for fans in the world thanks to low ticket prices because they realise that fans make the sport, not money. I remember seeing a quote from the Bayern Munich chairman who said something along the lines of: "We could raise ticket prices to £300 and we could make an extra £2 million, but what's 2 million to us? £2 million gets argued over 5 minutes in the transfer window, but for fans £300 is a much bigger sum. We don't treat our fans as cows and try and milk them. That is the biggest difference between us and England" That's the kind of attitude I wish more English clubs had

@anchormansam_9 The German league treats its fans well. Across Europe fans are treated better than they are in England.