FA Cup Semi Final Draw

First topic message reminder :

Crystal Palace vs Watford
Everton vs Man Utd or West Ham

Can't knock a goalie in trackers! Old school.

Indeed, He was quality about 10 years ago

Remember him for Villa.

Another poor player.

He'd be stand out nowadays.

30 mins to go get Lallana on klippity klopp. Otherwise why take him.

Exeter 2-2 Liverpool

Exeter gifting both goals so far.

Exeter should've won that - although a draw is a good financial reward for them

Cracking cup tie.

Hopefully a lot more to come over the weekend.

Hopefully we can get our first win under Garde.

Will be a tricky cup tie.

Will be under pressure for a while, then I expect us to get on top.

We just need to win to get a bit of confidence, as it must be so low.
A good break from the league is what we need.

Gonna go for a 3-1 win.

Wont be easy.

On the other hand, wouldn't be surprised if we lose.

Will Garde but a first team out? I was against Liverpool playing 2nd stringers, but will not begrudge Villa doing it, given their league position.

God this is frustrating to watch.
The players are to soft, man up ffs.
Simple balls that we are not playing.
Hope Kozak comes on for Gestede.
Take Westwood off to. Useless.

I almost feel like giving up.

Almost.

Stella wrote:Will Garde but a first team out? I was against Liverpool playing 2nd stringers, but will not begrudge Villa doing it, given their league position.

I mean Liverpool had 12 first team players available and Arsenal and Manchester United games coming up, it would have been madness to use them at Exeter. It wasn't disrespectful to Exeter or underestimating them at all, I think even if we were up against Premier League opposition in that game a similar team would have been chosen. There wasn't really an alternative in this case, with 13 first team players missing.

Through and no injuries. Good day

That was a pretty pointless affair

1 attempt at goal by Utd in first 34 minutes v a League 1 side.

Painful viewing.

West Ham scrape past Wolves with a late goal.  Yet another prediction by Mark Lawrenson of a West Ham loss fails to come true....

68 mins gone, still not a shot on target by Utd.
Quite possibly the worst game of football I've ever seen.

What a stupid bit of defending. Stupid. Mindboggling. Idiotic.

Penalty to Man U in Fergie time.

That was painful.......

Do Utd fans really want to watch that kind of crap for much longer ???

I was impressed by two United players. Borthwick-Jackson and Depay. Basically because neither followed the script; not just sideways play, tried to use the width. Depay tried to beat players and fire in shots, good cameo and changed the game.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:That was painful.......

Do Utd fans really want to watch that kind of crap for much longer ???

No.

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:I was impressed by two United players. Borthwick-Jackson and Depay. Basically because neither followed the script; not just sideways play, tried to use the width. Depay tried to beat players and fire in shots, good cameo and changed the game.

Depay's struggled since he joined but I very much believe that's due to the script he's having to read off. When he has the freedom to run at the defence he's shown he can cause problems.

He's a young bloke in a new league who was used to being the main man.

Has been poor but flashes of genuine quality, needs an arm round the shoulder and to gain some confidence.

Needs a run in the team- but we are so crap we can't afford it.

Not sure that was a pen, but leics have rode their luck

Nothing spectacular there to be honest. Dull round.

Not happy to get (likely) Liverpool. Though we've beat them twice this year, we generally don't have luck against them and having waited 50 years to beat them at Anfield, I don't think we'll be doing it twice in a season.

GSC, I think the same sentiment was thought in the 4th round last year and look at the shock results that came from that.

Colchester being drawn at home to Spurs or Leicester might beg to differ. The money coming in from that tie would likely be very welcome to the club especially if their tie gets televised.

Derby vs United will be televised, can see an upset in that one. I'd rather see dull draws early on & see more competitive later rounds between the big sides. Don't really want to see a 4-0 drubbing in the final this year

So Ibe still the worst crosser in the squad and Benteke still an absolute joke of a player. Joe Allen looks on course to end up top goal scorer this year for Liverpool...

Lovely goal by Tottenham. 2-0.

Update on 60 mins: Benteke still crap!

Rare moment of good football from Benteke! Good run and very good pass. 3-0

I saw two very good bits of play from Benteke.

Looks like we're out then

Rumours abound that Sturridge is to announce his retirement. Part of me wishes this was true as I don't think I can live much longer in the hope that he comes back and shows Benteke just how the f*ck it's done.

Most of this season has been spent muttering "Sturridge would have scored that, Sturridge would have buried that" etc

Think Tekkers tackled himself more than the Exeter players tackled him.

DAVE667 wrote:Rumours abound that Sturridge is to announce his retirement. Part of me wishes this was true as I don't think I can live much longer in the hope that he comes back and shows Benteke just how the f*ck it's done.

Most of this season has been spent muttering "Sturridge would have scored that, Sturridge would have buried that" etc

Think Tekkers tackled himself more than the Exeter players tackled him.

It's total rubbish.

He's apparently getting closer and closer to fitness. I actually think Klopp is handling this very well, basically refusing to use him until he's completely proved his fitness. Allowed him time to train alone, build up his fitness. He has been pretty consistently training this entire time, just alone, doing his mini "pre-season". I think the target set is 10 sessions in a row, and he can start training with the team again.

Much better than Rodgers' handling of the situation which was whenever Sturridge was available, throw him back in, then what a surprise; injured again. He hasn't had a pre-season since 2011. I think this is his last chance though, if he can't stay fit after being given the time to come back to full fitness, can't keep him on the wages he's on.

Also, I think you have to be particularly miserable to try and find fault with an incredibly comfortable 3-0 win with that team. It was still very inexperienced and it showed how big of an effect the pitch had in the first game.

Benteke looked much better in this game when he was actually on the ball, making a few nice passes and runs. The most frustrating part is his movement in the box, he needs to be moving around a lot more and attacking the ball. It's a confidence thing though, a couple of goals and I think he'll be fine. Klopp obviously isn't the biggest fan, but it doesn't mean he can't be a useful member of the squad.

How many times has Sturridge been close to full fitness though?

Suspect at this point his hip(?) issue is degenerative.

GSC wrote:How many times has Sturridge been close to full fitness though?

Suspect at this point his hip(?) issue is degenerative.

As I said, I'd say never. He hasn't had a pre-season since 2011 and every injury he's had has been a completely different injury. The hip one kept him out for a while, but since then he's had thigh, ankle, hamstring issues and I think they all come from being rushed back too soon. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and let Klopp test his theory that what he needs is time to recover.

This season is a write off anyway, unlikely to get top four, not going to drop dramatically down the league. If we can go on some cup runs that will be great but I'd rather allow Sturridge to properly recover, gain fitness before throwing him back in. If we were chasing the league, I'd say put him on the bench and give him 15 mins at least every game, but I think we're in a position where bringing him back isn't really going to be worth it.

Crimey wrote:

GSC wrote:How many times has Sturridge been close to full fitness though?

Suspect at this point his hip(?) issue is degenerative.

As I said, I'd say never. He hasn't had a pre-season since 2011 and every injury he's had has been a completely different injury. The hip one kept him out for a while, but since then he's had thigh, ankle, hamstring issues and I think they all come from being rushed back too soon. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and let Klopp test his theory that what he needs is time to recover.

This season is a write off anyway, unlikely to get top four, not going to drop dramatically down the league. If we can go on some cup runs that will be great but I'd rather allow Sturridge to properly recover, gain fitness before throwing him back in. If we were chasing the league, I'd say put him on the bench and give him 15 mins at least every game, but I think we're in a position where bringing him back isn't really going to be worth it.

I disagree, I believe irrespective of whether or not we're chasing fourth, Sturridge needs to be given game time and, if he keeps breaking down then the club know that it's time to think about spending big to get a fit, quality striker they can actually rely on and build the team round instead of Sturridge. Can you imaging the uproar if Klopp builds his squad around the "possibility" that Sturridge might be fit for next season and then two games in he breaks down again. We need to know Sturridge can be relied upon and whilst it's frustrating to see him sidelined, I fully appreciate and support Klopp's stance re not rushing him back until he's ready. However, once he IS deemed ready, Klopp's going to have to be prepared to be brutal in his assessment if Sturridge does get injured again.

Sadly I fear Sturridge has had his one great season in Liverpool colours and we'll have to look back fondly and wistfully say "Oh if only...." but still doesn't stop me hoping there's a miracle cure round the corner and he fires us to Cup and League glory.

DAVE667 wrote:

Crimey wrote:

GSC wrote:How many times has Sturridge been close to full fitness though?

Suspect at this point his hip(?) issue is degenerative.

As I said, I'd say never. He hasn't had a pre-season since 2011 and every injury he's had has been a completely different injury. The hip one kept him out for a while, but since then he's had thigh, ankle, hamstring issues and I think they all come from being rushed back too soon. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and let Klopp test his theory that what he needs is time to recover.

This season is a write off anyway, unlikely to get top four, not going to drop dramatically down the league. If we can go on some cup runs that will be great but I'd rather allow Sturridge to properly recover, gain fitness before throwing him back in. If we were chasing the league, I'd say put him on the bench and give him 15 mins at least every game, but I think we're in a position where bringing him back isn't really going to be worth it.

I disagree, I believe irrespective of whether or not we're chasing fourth, Sturridge needs to be given game time and, if he keeps breaking down then the club know that it's time to think about spending big to get a fit, quality striker they can actually rely on and build the team round instead of Sturridge. Can you imaging the uproar if Klopp builds his squad around the "possibility" that Sturridge might be fit for next season and then two games in he breaks down again.  We need to know Sturridge can be relied upon and whilst it's frustrating to see him sidelined, I fully appreciate and support Klopp's stance re not rushing him back until he's ready. However, once he IS deemed ready, Klopp's going to have to be prepared to be brutal in his assessment if Sturridge does get injured again.

Sadly I fear Sturridge has had his one great season in Liverpool colours and we'll have to look back fondly and wistfully say "Oh if only...." but still doesn't stop me hoping there's a miracle cure round the corner and he fires us to Cup and League glory.

I'm not suggesting that Sturridge not play again this season, just that there's no reason to have to rush him back early. I'd expect him back by at least March, which gives him those two months to show he can play consistently than Klopp can start including him in plans.

Crimey wrote:just that there's no reason to have to rush him back early

Van Gaal believes Utd can still win the title despite being seven points from top so why can't we think that we can get top four being eight points from that position? Surely there's every reason to get him playing because personally I doubt two months going to be considered enough to assume he can do a full season. Don't get me wrong, Sturridge doing two months would currently equate to practically anyone else playing three seasons on the bounce for club and country but I think it would give a false impression of his condition.

DAVE667 wrote:

Crimey wrote:just that there's no reason to have to rush him back early

Van Gaal believes Utd can still win the title despite being seven points from top so why can't we think that we can get top four being eight points from that position? Surely there's every reason to get him playing because personally I doubt two months going to be considered enough to assume he can do a full season. Don't get me wrong, Sturridge doing two months would currently equate to practically anyone else playing three seasons on the bounce for club and country but I think it would give a false impression of his condition.

I think it's just a waste of time, we bring him back too early, he'll simply get injured straight away. I prefer Klopp's approach which is to basically pretend, at this moment, that he's not even on our books. He can come back in when he can prove he can actually play.

I do think top four is a very slightly possibility, but would I rather give Sturridge the chance to come back to full fitness for the first time in 5 years? Definitely. I don't think him coming back for one or two games, then getting re-injured is going to be particularly helpful in us achieving top four. Sturridge getting back to full fitness would help us next year though.

Klopp was about to play him before he broke down again.

At this point, all the stuff about mini preseasons etc is just fluff. The guy is just incredibly injury prone, and evidence is beginning to suggest he isn't getting over it. You cant include him in any plans when hes likely to break down after 3-4 games and miss half the season again. Realistically, if you can get a decent price for him, let someone take the longshot he manages to get fit again.

At the end of the day, hes a very good striker, but he's not Suarez. Hes not impossible to replace.

DAVE667 wrote:

Crimey wrote:just that there's no reason to have to rush him back early

Van Gaal believes Utd can still win the title despite being seven points from top so why can't we think that we can get top four being eight points from that position? Surely there's every reason to get him playing because personally I doubt two months going to be considered enough to assume he can do a full season. Don't get me wrong, Sturridge doing two months would currently equate to practically anyone else playing three seasons on the bounce for club and country but I think it would give a false impression of his condition.

That's because Louis is a tad delusional

GSC wrote:Klopp was about to play him before he broke down again.

At this point, all the stuff about mini preseasons etc is just fluff. The guy is just incredibly injury prone, and evidence is beginning to suggest he isn't getting over it. You cant include him in any plans when hes likely to break down after 3-4 games and miss half the season again. Realistically, if you can get a decent price for him, let someone take the longshot he manages to get fit again.

At the end of the day, hes a very good striker, but he's not Suarez. Hes not impossible to replace.

He did play him again against Southampton and he got injured, because he was thrown straight back in. That was the point.

It might be, but neither you or I know that at all. It is true that Sturridge hasn't had a pre-season at all whilst at Liverpool and I believe the last time he had a full pre-season was 2011. It is an important point because he's not had a reoccurrence of the same injury, which is what tends to be the case with injury prone players, he's getting niggles everywhere. It might be that this will be the case from now to forever, but I'm willing to give a shot that making sure he actually works himself back to full fitness before playing him again.

He isn't Suarez, but I'd put him in the top five Premier League strikers for sure. If he can stay fit for even 3/4 of the season he's worth £30-£40 million. Liverpool won't get anywhere near that if they tried to sell him now and I'm not sure what striker Liverpool could conceivably get right now to replace him. I think there is a dearth of really quality strikers right now.

He hasn't had a preseason because he keeps getting injured. Evidently he doesn't even need to be playing to get injured. The chances to prove he can regain fitness at this point are fast running short.

GSC wrote:He hasn't had a preseason because he keeps getting injured. Evidently he doesn't even need to be playing to get injured. The chances to prove he can regain fitness at this point are fast running short.

Yes but he keeps getting injured because he's thrown back into playing without having the opportunity to get fit again. Hence the point of allowing him to do that mid-season so as to not have a reoccurrence of the same pattern.

I agree, but this is a totally new method and I'm willing to give it a shot, as most teams would for their star player.

Frankly I am one injury away from wanting him gone. Think we could still get 15-20 for him at a push. With Benteke I think give him the rest of the season to see if he can change into the type of player Klopp wants. If not we should move him on in the summer.

Main problem is, what striker could we realistically expect to convince to come to us who we could build a team around...

This is all much the same theory we had with Carroll. Slaven said "he hasnt had a pre-season since two thousand and something" then we got him through this special pre-season for him and he's gone and got a hamstring injury. Now, its only gonna be another 2 weeks, but how long do you think till something happens again? Its definitely more likely hes injured for a stretch again than it is likely he goes a long time without an injury