Can't blame Joe for wanting first team football. He's a decent PL player and should be a starter at Stoke. I'm sure we'd have happily kept him as a squad player but I respect him if he wants more than that and is willing to move to get it.

Seems we're racking up a fair bit in sales fees. Will be £40m now and could be more if the Brad Smith deal happens and we manage to shift Benteke. Having brought in Karius, Mane and Matip for less than that I'm reasonably pleased so far. Hope Klopp's got a left back in mind though.

If we sell Benteke for around £28m or something then we won't actually have spent that much. We bought Grujic in January, too, so he's kind of a new signing but the £4m or so we paid for him isn't included in this summer transfer window.

After being linked with him, Jetro Willems posted a picture on his Snapchat of him signing a Liverpool contract.

I take it he wants the job?


https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...09&oe=57EACD08

He doesn't look all that happy, though. It looks like someone put his face over Wijnaldum.

For anyone that cares (I care):

The Voice of Anfield, George Sephton, will continue to be the Voice of Anfield for another season.

Four posts in a row. I'm on a roll!

Or, rather, R.I.P. Liverpool thread.


From Liverpool FC Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolFC...4519335957573/

There was controversy in our staff game v Stanford - was this over the line? 🤔 No better man to analyse than Luis Garcia! 😉


The best thing you'll see today. Garcia questioning whether the ball was over the line or not.

Sakho sent home early from the U.S due to his attitude around the rest of the team while injured

Mmm

I think sakho could be off this summer

No longer the best bloke ever?

Klopp probably got bored of him clowning around while injured. There's the video of Sakho interrupting a Klopp interview, which Klopp took in high spirits. Maybe he started to think Sakho was being disruptive or distracting so he sent him home to recover where he's not getting in the way.

Maybe Klopp had a word with him to tone it down, and Sakho might not have taken it so well, or he did something again that annoyed Klopp.

I think it'd be a bit premature to sell him already, based on a little dispute, but if Klopp wants to replace him with someone else who he considers a better professional then I'll trust his judgement as usual. With Matip and Lovren here, Sakho wouldn't be first-choice CB anyway.

Jon Flanagan is having a medical at Burnley today ahead of a loan move.

With Brad Smith also going then we're sure to bring in a full-back. Someone said recently that Klopp is looking to make one more signing, being a left-back. Can't remember who but it was one of the reliable journalists, might've been Paul Joyce. I like the links to Jetro Willems. Ben Chilwell is looking unlikely now.

Our 33.5m bif for Joao Mario reportedly rejected.

Ryan Kent has joined Barnsley on a season long loan.

On this day in 1974 the great Bob Paisley became Liverpool manager.

It still amazes me what he achieved in such a short amount of time. Even though now it'd be considered a long time to be at a club.

Sakho sent home early from US tour.

http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...our-of-america

I read about Burnley being interested in taking Flanno on loan a couple of weeks ago and scoffed at the idea; I just didn't see us letting him go anywhere at the moment. Does this mean Wisdom will be our stand-by RB until Gomez is fully fit again?

Willems is a bit like Moreno: he's very good going forward but not quite so good at stopping the opposition coming the other way. He's also not the biggest of guys for a defender. Although he's a good player and I wouldn't be unhappy to have him at the club. Hector would still be my first choice though; capable at attacking and defending, experienced and at least 6 inches taller than Willems or Moreno.

I don't know why Sakho was taken to the U.S. with an achilles inury anyway, he was always just going to get in the way if he can't train properly. I suspect that his injury record is something that annoys Klopp more than his fooling around. That was probably a factor in Allen being let go as well, and I dare say his patience will be at breaking point with Sturridge if he breaks down again in the early part of the season.

Sakho was probably taken for the team bonding part of it. It'd be a good idea if he got to know his team mates, in particular defensive team mates and goalkeeper during preseason.

Wisdom has been getting played in the friendlies. There'll be a reason for that. Klopp takes the friendlies a little seriously. There's no future for Balotelli so he's not being played, not even to put him in the shop window. That to me suggests there's a chance for Wisdom. Maybe he'll take Kolo's place? I want to see him played at CB, not RB.


I like this:

Sadio Mané has revealed that he turned down Manchester United before completing a £30millon move to Liverpool. ‪#‎lfc‬ (James Pearce)

That's one way to get the Liverpool fans on side!

We could be getting Jese from Real Madrid

I have always rated him

He should have been in the Spain squad at the Euros

I am not saying Klopp was wrong to do this - heck I have no idea what happened so how could I and I think Klopp is a wise guy and a good man manager so he was probably right - but the media frenzy it has engendered has been a bit unfortunate. And if there is any truth in the media stuff that says Klopp has had enough of Sakho and is going to sell him then from where i am looking at it that would be wrong. However I would be 99% sure that is the media again creating a story that is not even there to sell papers or whatever.

In no way do I see Sakho as a bad lad or a bad influence - he is perhaps a bit ill advised or immature at times but that can easily be rectified and I think this will have come as short sharp shock to him and be all he needs to really knuckle down in the way the manager wants in future.

Some positive things about him to redress the balance of the negative stuff going round.
1) Since he came to the club most weeks he has voluntarily been into a local primary school in a tough area of the city teaching the kids there French. He does not have to do this and has become a hero with the kids there.
2) Over the summer of 2016 he has been to poor parts of the world working with kids there - I think it is as part of his foundation.
3) Despite the case against him collapsing and to be pretty much a scandal he has not spoken publicly talking about how this unfair ban caused him to miss a European final for his club and a home tournament for his country - must be hard to keep silent in the face of that
4) After the drug ban thing he was not banned but stepped down to save the club embarrassment.
5) He has changed his shirt number and has offered to sign any shirt with the wrong number on to any fan who comes to see him at Anfield

This is all about the type of person he is - a good lad imo - and that is before we even look at what he does on the pitch. Inconsistent yes and at times he worries you to death as he looks so clumsy but at his best an absolutely awesome defender who has to have a future at our club - a club he clearly loves.

We've conceded our first goal of pre season, Chelsea have scored after 10 minutes.

Moreno was a disaster, Firmino kept losing the ball. To be fair Chelsea weren't great either but first decent competition and we're beat.

And first defeat (even if it's just preseason) and here you are.

It's not all doom and gloom. There's plenty to be optimistic about.


If you want something to actually be negative about, Marko Grujic is in hospital after suffering a head injury and supposedly can't remember anything.

Chelsea played at parking the bus which saved on energy, we played the pressing game which in that heat (100o +, & High humidity) was fatal. Both sides were about equal, and the goal came from a set play corner - something we have always been a bit shoddy at defending.

As you say Munch, the biggest worry is Grujic right now, no way could that Chelsea player have got that header over him - nasty but not intentional.

I see Klopp has defined Sakho being sent home as through lack of discipline. Late for the flight, late for tea, late for training - 3 strikes and off you go! Nothing serious though, Sakho probably took the trip as a bit of a jolly due to being out injured - wrong!

Georginio Wijnaldum’s Arrival at Liverpool

I didn't watch the game so I can't comment on the performance. I've watched most of the preseasons so far. I was even awake for it because I went to bed quite early but didn't watch it.

I can't complain about the result, because the result doesn't really matter. If we lose because of a Moreno mistake then that could be a good thing if it encourages us to sign a LB. With Brad Smith gone and Flanno possibly going out on loan we're kind of short on LB options. RB is a bit thin, too, but Clyne's fine, and behind him Randall, while not great at all, can do a job if we need him for a couple games or in the cups, and there might be opportunities for young Alexander-Arnold. There's always Wisdom, too.

At LB, with no Brad Smith or Flanno it's Moreno or Klavan. I'd rather we didn't have to use Lovren there, too.

Hopefully there's not much in the Sakho thing. The media went a bit nuts over it, as they do. We did leave it open to that, though. Klopp said he'll wait until he's back in Liverpool and talk to him so right now we don't know what Sakho's future holds. I'd like to think they'll talk it out and move on, depends on Sakho's response, but Klopp won't put up with any nonsense or discontent.


I see Chelsea's twitter account has come under a bit of criticism over the Fabregas red card. Fabregas and Conté acknowledged the red and accepted it while apologising, but the Chelsea twitter account said this:

Cesc Fabregas receives a red card for a foul on Ragnar Klavan. It was a late challenge but it seems a little harsh. #CFCTour

Bearing in mind that it was posted during the game, where they didn't know Klavan would have escaped an injury. The tweet didn't exactly go down well!


http://www.empireofthekop.com/2016/0...ampaign=buffer

http://www.thisisanfield.com/2016/07...t-sold-summer/

Based on this, it doesn't look like Klopp will be getting rid of Sakho.