Manu vs Liverpool

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Will we get top 4? If I wasn’t a Liverpool supporter I would say No way and even as a Fan I still think it’s unlikely. I wrote this opening sentence even before the United/Leicester match and the odds have lengthened even more since then so much so that even a generally optimistic supporter like me has serious doubts. We might well effectively know the answer after Thursday’s game. If we had our full side going into that game I would give us a real chance but even with Maguire missing I doubt we will be able to raise our game enough to overcome the changes that have weakened the side and that this season will just have to be written off.

I don’t like what United did against Leicester and much as I dislike Ferguson I don’t think he would have done what Ole did. Since I wrote this Klopp has said he would have done the same as Ole but whilst I think he might well have made some changes I doubt he would have gone that far but who knows? That said, we only have ourselves to blame that we are in a position where we have to rely on others to win or lose. Every year in the final straight teams falter in their quest for a top 4 place and we weren’t able to keep ourselves in contention to take advantage. Perhaps it’s no one’s fault and just shows how fine are the margins at the very top of the game.

I previously questioned some of our transfer dealings and now, after the SL fiasco, FSG’s golden touch has been heavily tarnished and I think letting Gini move on a free is another big mistake they are making. I understand that there has to be an age limit for offering players long contracts to avoid having players on high wages no longer able to perform. I see too that it cannot be predicted when individual players will fall off a cliff edge but Gini is seldom injured and I believe he could have been our next Gary McAllister or James Milner but now he will probably be doing that for Bayern or Barca.

I am not one of those that think we need to go for wholesale changes for next season though, even if I thought for one minute that FSG would splash the non existent cash, which I don’t. I still think when everyone is fit we can be challenging for all the top honours next season (except perhaps the CL ;-/ ). This is assuming that, as expected, we will indeed get some more cover for our injury prone CBs and hopefully a replacement for Gini.

Anyway, I suppose I had better have a stab at the team which seems to virtually pick itself as Kayak is out and Klopp won’t play 4 upfront against United. Team: Alisson, TAA, Williams, Phillips, Robbo, Fab, Thiago, Gini, Mane, Firmino, Salah.

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