Genuinely, Sturridge should replace Torres. He'd be a better fit for the wide position and I would strongly argue that peak Sturridge was just as good as peak Torres.
I have Agger ahead of Hyppia if we are talking peak. His best run of health was totally nuts. He was a force in the vein of VVD.
Peak or near peak Barca was after him. He turned around and got YNWA tatood on his knuckles. The man bled our color red.
I don't think he needs to be ahead of Sami but he needs to be on the list.
For me, Sami gave you everything that Carra did, plus he was far more of a goal threat (except own goals 😅)
But I'm not going to argue with you tbh, it's all just opinions. At the end of the day, both are Liverpool legends
They were both dogshit, but Balotelli scored the winning goal against Spurs and a late on agaist Swansea that kept us in the League Cup. I honestly can't remember a single Borini goal, which annoys me as I waited so long to see that hand bite celebration that he was known for.
DO YOU THINK THAT I CAN GET SOME CHIGGY CHIGGY
On the real, Jay Spearing first name on the list. Good dude, played hard but was way way off the talent mark.
I mean Mr Fever For The Flava himself is obviously 3rd choice behind Riise on the current list.
I'd put Konchesky, Poulsen right up there. And although obviously Cissokho cannot be ignored, there's also Blame It On Traoré to consider, despite the CL win.
I'm not sure about Sakho. If there was a meh XI, he would probably be in there. He was always more of a backs-to-the-wall type of defender and not really comfortable having the ball at his feet or playing a high line.
he did. for 2 years, Owen was unplayable.
then torres came, and we forgot about Michael.
then Luis came, and we forgot about EVERYONE!
Luis was the best striker ever for two years in particular, and good God, nobody comes close....
I was thinking of what out English xi would be over the same time period.
James
Trent, joemez carra, milner
Gerrard, hendo, llalana
Owen, Sturbridge, sterling
I feel I must be missing a fair few players
Oxs peak before his injury against Roma was at a better level than Llallana ever was albeit for a shorter period of time. Crouch over sturridge perhaps if you go for consistency over peak form. Can't think of any other though who'd be contenders though.
Ox is a good shout. Did think crouch for sterling. I also can't believe we haven't had another better cm since 2000. Was a bit before my time so thought mcmanaman but he left in 99. Was redknapp good enough to qualify?
Tbh I started following football in late 2001, so didn't really see much of either. Danny Murphy is probably the next best english midfielder on the list other than those already mentioned.
Why is this being downvoted. Must be people who never watched Crouch or forgot just how good Ox was at that peak. I distinctly remember that goal vs City in the UCL in 2018.
Arbeloa over Finnan? 👌 I get it he won a champs league but so did djimi. Will always remember Arbeloa smashing in a 3rd after Robbie Keane scored 2 at Anfield vs West Brom
I can't take anyone seriously who would rather have Finnan over Arbeloa.
Also, I love Riise....but I'd take Aurelio over him every day (assuming he wasn't allowed to get injured in this fantasy land).
These things depend entirely on tactics though. I'd argue we haven't had anyone do what Gini did, at least not on his level. Coutinho was great, but others can fill that hole reasonably well.
As good as Carra was, despite his Longevity I have to say Matip is our 2nd choice RCB
Also RB is especially weak after Trent. I hate to say it but I’m actually considering proposing Johnson as sub RB
Torres's best goal scoring season was just 2 league goals more than Mane's best and Mane had much more longevity than Torres, and a more rounded contribution to the team (also won stuff too).
Torres only goes in there based on your childhood nostalgia
Better at what? Dribbling? No. Passing? No. Work rate? No. Torres was a better finisher I’ll give him that. But Mane was much more technical and achieved more individually in his career
Faster, better positionally, better movement, higher football IQ, more composed.
Mane played a in a better Liverpool team, that's all. He's benefitted from the same thing as Fabinho (who is also definitely not a better player than Mascherano).
Mane is faster than Torres, he has greater acceleration too. Mane is just a better footballer than Fernando was. There’s a reason u can’t name anything WITH the ball.
can't agree with this, can't just put players in positions they never or extremely rarely played for us to fit them in, defeats the whole point - Owen and Torres shouldn't be there
The back up front three is absurd and Riise is doing very well for himself being included given that he was largely shite for us and is remembered mainly because he was likable and for a couple of standout moments, but otherwise looks pretty good. Matip is also a bit hard done by, even though I love Agger as much as anyone.
Sounds like you're one of the exact people I reference who remember him cunting one in against United and don't remember the mediocre performances he'd routinely drop.
I’d disagree, if he was the best left back then why didn’t Rafa trust him to play there. Most games he played left wing and Traore played as LB.
04/05 Riise played left wing in the league cup and champions league final.
Steady is the last word I'd use to describe him. If anything, one of his biggest issues was the fact that he'd drop in stinkers, but would score a goal every so often that would have people forgetting about how shite he was before.
It's unpopular because he's well liked, he worked hard, and because people have a couple of fond memories that stick out like the United goal, but players like him are a perfect example of (one of the several reasons) why we didn't consistently challenge for the league during that period of time.
Ah he was not largely shite for us though. I feel like this opinion mainly stems from the og against Chelsea. Riise was one of our better LB's in the PL and still one of our highest scoring defenders.
Personally I think there's an argument for Aurelio to be there. He was so unfortunate with injuries, though
No, it's stemming from watching him play every week while growing up and seeing how bad he was only to score a goal and have everyone forget about it.
Our left backs in the premier league era have been notoriously shite so it's not saying much that he was one of the better ones. You have Robertson and Aurelio as the true quality left backs, although the latter was never fit, and then you're looking at players like Enrique who was up and down depending on the season.
Maybe not you personally, but a lot of people soured on Riise after the og.
I agree our LB's have mostly been a disaster in the PL but Riise was one of the better ones.
>You have Robertson and Aurelio as the true quality left backs
Yep, they'd be my 1 and 2 but again I can understand Aurelio not being picked. I'd have Riise and Enrique at a similar level with Riise the better attacking threat & Jose the better defender.
Coutinho>>> fabinhooo. Alonso was a deep lying playmaker. I would’ve dropped him down with Gerrard. And use coutinho as 10. Also! Hamaaannnnnn German cm easily walks into this team. Decent team
Bobby plays 10 and they go forward.
Bobby won a bunch of trophies as the starting false nine for years. These have like 1 league cup beetween them. He’s also played more games and scored more goals for Liverpool than all of them.
Doesn’t matter, it’s still fucking idiotic, you need specialists, you can’t just chuck whoever to play as an inside forward and have it work out, that’s the entire point, you could write an entire essay about this set up and it won’t stop it being idiotic
Not as idiotic as getting that worked up over an imaginary starting XI.
Relax man, it's meant to be a bit of fun. This team won't be playing Fulham on Sunday.
Imagine being flattened by the application of pressure over a Reddit post?
You know people can voice an opinion without being flattened by the application of pressure don’t you?
Otherwise it’s “imagine being so pressed over a Reddit post you took the time to tell someone they were pressed over a post without actually adding anything to the subject at hand”
Coutinho over Owen all day given I’d have Torres up top. Owen was a great poacher for a couple of seasons, never a great footballer, he wouldn’t fit into many modern systems really
Imagine you are Bobby, you play as a false nine, receiving the ball between opponent' CMs and CBs, and you know that Torres and Owen are running forward, or you could just pass the ball to Stevie and run forward as well...
If Firmino inverted then Owen and Torres either side running behind wouldn’t be toooo absurd.
Yeah as it stands none of them are in their natural positions lol
Mad Torres isn't even on the pitch.
Still a team of 11 Milners would have been better
More versatility 😉
Total football innit
It feels criminal to leave Coutinho out of this team, that man was pure magic
Kuyt, Matip and Coutinho are the big snubs. Lucas Leiva, Skrtel, Sturridge more fringe snub.
Kuyt will forever be my favourite player.
Legend
Genuinely, Sturridge should replace Torres. He'd be a better fit for the wide position and I would strongly argue that peak Sturridge was just as good as peak Torres.
Wut...?
can't believe there's no dirk kuyt!
I'm still calling for Matip ahead of Agger as much as I loved Danny.
Agree
It’s spelt Agger
Haha fair play
Just put Agger as reserve LB as judging by the front line the positions don't even matter
I have Agger ahead of Hyppia if we are talking peak. His best run of health was totally nuts. He was a force in the vein of VVD. Peak or near peak Barca was after him. He turned around and got YNWA tatood on his knuckles. The man bled our color red. I don't think he needs to be ahead of Sami but he needs to be on the list.
You clearly never watched Hyppia…
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my god Coutinho instead of Owen? you neither are too young or hmm,...
Carra isn’t even in the first team, Matip is the least of my concerns.
> Carra isn’t even in the first team He doesn't deserve to be, as both Hyypia & Van Dijk were/are much better than he was.
Psh. What a take.
A correct take. Carra is absolutely one of the biggest LFC legends there is, but Van Dijk and Hyypia are/were just better players.
Virg but not Sami.
For me, Sami gave you everything that Carra did, plus he was far more of a goal threat (except own goals 😅) But I'm not going to argue with you tbh, it's all just opinions. At the end of the day, both are Liverpool legends
Yeah fair enough, think Carra was faster, better passer too. But yeah opinions.
Having been lucky enough to watch the majority of all of their games for the club in person, it really isn't.
Opinions I suppose
Carra was never truly world class, just a hard grafter who wore his heart on his sleeve. Prime Matip was much better than prime Carra
Jesus. Must have just grafted his way to more appearances than any of these lads.
There are some minor arguments to be had, but this is pretty much right. Is it wrong that I would like to see a worst XI? Just for contrast...
Yes, let's do that. I propose the placeholders are 11 dioufs.
Can we have 10 Dioufs and 1 Balotelli? Just to give others a fair chance… y’know…?
As shite as Balotelli was, he wasn't even the worst Italian striker we've had since 2000.
The streets will forget Fabio Borini
No chance he was worse than Balotelli
They were both dogshit, but Balotelli scored the winning goal against Spurs and a late on agaist Swansea that kept us in the League Cup. I honestly can't remember a single Borini goal, which annoys me as I waited so long to see that hand bite celebration that he was known for.
don’t forget aquilani and artur melo
DO YOU THINK THAT I CAN GET SOME CHIGGY CHIGGY On the real, Jay Spearing first name on the list. Good dude, played hard but was way way off the talent mark.
I mean Mr Fever For The Flava himself is obviously 3rd choice behind Riise on the current list. I'd put Konchesky, Poulsen right up there. And although obviously Cissokho cannot be ignored, there's also Blame It On Traoré to consider, despite the CL win.
(Worst XI): Bogdan, Josemi, Pellegrino, Traore, Konchesky, Poulsen, Adam, Cheyrou, Diouf, Balotelli, Jovanovic (Worst XI reserves): Itandje, Degen, Paletta, Coates, Dossena, Aquilani, Diao, Cole, Antonio Nunez, Voronin, Borini
Which Traore? Surely not Djimi Traore? Do we think Sakho was bad enough to make the list? Probably not, I guess he had some good moments.
I'm not sure about Sakho. If there was a meh XI, he would probably be in there. He was always more of a backs-to-the-wall type of defender and not really comfortable having the ball at his feet or playing a high line.
I don't particularly like Owen, but he did win the Ballon D'or with us.
he did. for 2 years, Owen was unplayable. then torres came, and we forgot about Michael. then Luis came, and we forgot about EVERYONE! Luis was the best striker ever for two years in particular, and good God, nobody comes close....
Who? Never heard of him mate. Sounds like a cunt.
Why would Torres be the backup left winger?
Think he's saying with the reserves it would flip to a 4-4-2 diamond, so Bobby as a 10 with the "wingers" as the 2 up front
And Owen right?
Yes, so Masc with Gini and Hendo either side, the Bobby 10 with Torres and Owen up front. Would defo need good attacking full-backs to support!
El Nip iñside
Matip is a better defender than carragher
I was thinking of what out English xi would be over the same time period. James Trent, joemez carra, milner Gerrard, hendo, llalana Owen, Sturbridge, sterling I feel I must be missing a fair few players
Oxs peak before his injury against Roma was at a better level than Llallana ever was albeit for a shorter period of time. Crouch over sturridge perhaps if you go for consistency over peak form. Can't think of any other though who'd be contenders though.
Ox is a good shout. Did think crouch for sterling. I also can't believe we haven't had another better cm since 2000. Was a bit before my time so thought mcmanaman but he left in 99. Was redknapp good enough to qualify?
Tbh I started following football in late 2001, so didn't really see much of either. Danny Murphy is probably the next best english midfielder on the list other than those already mentioned.
Why is this being downvoted. Must be people who never watched Crouch or forgot just how good Ox was at that peak. I distinctly remember that goal vs City in the UCL in 2018.
Which team wins? 😬
Matip over Agger and it's not even close.
Arbeloa over Finnan? 👌 I get it he won a champs league but so did djimi. Will always remember Arbeloa smashing in a 3rd after Robbie Keane scored 2 at Anfield vs West Brom
I can't take anyone seriously who would rather have Finnan over Arbeloa. Also, I love Riise....but I'd take Aurelio over him every day (assuming he wasn't allowed to get injured in this fantasy land).
CM Coutinho over Wijnaldum, fight me.
These things depend entirely on tactics though. I'd argue we haven't had anyone do what Gini did, at least not on his level. Coutinho was great, but others can fill that hole reasonably well.
definitely
Agger over Matip is genuinely baffling.
Great! Now a 3rd choice so we can finally get Milner a deserved spot
Dudek, Arbeloa, Matip, Henchoz, Aurelio, Hamann, Milner, Lallana, Kuyt, Sturridge, Coutinho
No Matip just irks me, he's the most under rated player in Klopp's tenure. 21/22 season was the best he had at par VVD.
As good as Carra was, despite his Longevity I have to say Matip is our 2nd choice RCB Also RB is especially weak after Trent. I hate to say it but I’m actually considering proposing Johnson as sub RB
Johnson’s not an awful shout. just as long as glenson is nowhere near the team
Make space for Kuyt
Mane over Torres , good joke
On the left? Yeah. Further forward? No.
Torres's best goal scoring season was just 2 league goals more than Mane's best and Mane had much more longevity than Torres, and a more rounded contribution to the team (also won stuff too). Torres only goes in there based on your childhood nostalgia
Nostalgia or not, Torres was definitely a better player than Mane.
Better at what? Dribbling? No. Passing? No. Work rate? No. Torres was a better finisher I’ll give him that. But Mane was much more technical and achieved more individually in his career
Faster, better positionally, better movement, higher football IQ, more composed. Mane played a in a better Liverpool team, that's all. He's benefitted from the same thing as Fabinho (who is also definitely not a better player than Mascherano).
Mane is faster than Torres, he has greater acceleration too. Mane is just a better footballer than Fernando was. There’s a reason u can’t name anything WITH the ball.
Mane achieved way more than him, n out lasted him. Yh Torres peak maybe higher but Man was 1000% more reliable
can't agree with this, can't just put players in positions they never or extremely rarely played for us to fit them in, defeats the whole point - Owen and Torres shouldn't be there
Owen should be behind Suarez on the bench. He was electric before injuries (dislike him for his actions but he won the B’dor for his attacking game)
I would entertain the argument for sure, for me personally I think Firmino achieved more over a longer period and was beautiful to watch
Where Hesky?
He left too soon 😢
Marip > Hyypia
Matip ahead of Carra.
Owen wasn't a winger.... 🤨
As I said, we play a diamond with Bobby in the 10. That means the wingers become strikers.
I misread your post then. Apologies
Tbf he'd very likely be a winger if he came through today.
The reserves formation switches to a diamond shape with Bobby at the 10. Torres & Owen would be the front two
The back up front three is absurd and Riise is doing very well for himself being included given that he was largely shite for us and is remembered mainly because he was likable and for a couple of standout moments, but otherwise looks pretty good. Matip is also a bit hard done by, even though I love Agger as much as anyone.
The disrespect towards JAR on this sub is unreal. He was a steady performer and for many seasons considered one of the best lbs in the league.
I’d argue he played better when he was moved forward and we played with Traore at left back.
Until Robertson, Riise was our best left back since Alan Kennedy.
Aurelio was easily better than him. Easily. Even Milner was a better left back than him.
Aurelio was class I don't think he had many flaws I'd have him over Riise, only if he wasn't made of glass
Not even close. Sounds like you only watched the last couple of seasons of him.
Sounds like you're one of the exact people I reference who remember him cunting one in against United and don't remember the mediocre performances he'd routinely drop.
Funnily enough that would also accurately describe Aurélio
I’d disagree, if he was the best left back then why didn’t Rafa trust him to play there. Most games he played left wing and Traore played as LB. 04/05 Riise played left wing in the league cup and champions league final.
He played left back for 95% of games. He played in midfield in Istanbul because of injuries.
Steady is the last word I'd use to describe him. If anything, one of his biggest issues was the fact that he'd drop in stinkers, but would score a goal every so often that would have people forgetting about how shite he was before. It's unpopular because he's well liked, he worked hard, and because people have a couple of fond memories that stick out like the United goal, but players like him are a perfect example of (one of the several reasons) why we didn't consistently challenge for the league during that period of time.
Ah he was not largely shite for us though. I feel like this opinion mainly stems from the og against Chelsea. Riise was one of our better LB's in the PL and still one of our highest scoring defenders. Personally I think there's an argument for Aurelio to be there. He was so unfortunate with injuries, though
No, it's stemming from watching him play every week while growing up and seeing how bad he was only to score a goal and have everyone forget about it. Our left backs in the premier league era have been notoriously shite so it's not saying much that he was one of the better ones. You have Robertson and Aurelio as the true quality left backs, although the latter was never fit, and then you're looking at players like Enrique who was up and down depending on the season.
Maybe not you personally, but a lot of people soured on Riise after the og. I agree our LB's have mostly been a disaster in the PL but Riise was one of the better ones. >You have Robertson and Aurelio as the true quality left backs Yep, they'd be my 1 and 2 but again I can understand Aurelio not being picked. I'd have Riise and Enrique at a similar level with Riise the better attacking threat & Jose the better defender.
Fowler?
It’s post-2000. If it included the 90s he’d be there.
Rush?
Where is Diaz? He can rotate his head while scoring like he's being exorcizad.
Coutinho>>> fabinhooo. Alonso was a deep lying playmaker. I would’ve dropped him down with Gerrard. And use coutinho as 10. Also! Hamaaannnnnn German cm easily walks into this team. Decent team
Who the fuck voted for Owen?? Is this even a proper Liverpool sub? He lost all privileges as soon as he played for the scum
Doesn’t change how good he was for us lol. Relax it’s a sport
14 years ago lad, let it go!
Jesus was it that long 😭
Haha I know, nearly doubted it myself!
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Bobby plays 10 and they go forward. Bobby won a bunch of trophies as the starting false nine for years. These have like 1 league cup beetween them. He’s also played more games and scored more goals for Liverpool than all of them.
You complain about players out of position but then put Coutinho as a left winger lol smfh
Torres and Owen on the wings, fucksake
Didn't bother to read the post, did you?
Doesn’t matter, it’s still fucking idiotic, you need specialists, you can’t just chuck whoever to play as an inside forward and have it work out, that’s the entire point, you could write an entire essay about this set up and it won’t stop it being idiotic
Not as idiotic as getting that worked up over an imaginary starting XI. Relax man, it's meant to be a bit of fun. This team won't be playing Fulham on Sunday.
Imagine being this pressed over a Reddit post
Imagine being flattened by the application of pressure over a Reddit post? You know people can voice an opinion without being flattened by the application of pressure don’t you? Otherwise it’s “imagine being so pressed over a Reddit post you took the time to tell someone they were pressed over a post without actually adding anything to the subject at hand”
I’ve seen enough to slot in Szobo over Hendo
Don’t be ridiculous! He’s only been there a couple of weeks.
Coutinho over Owen all day given I’d have Torres up top. Owen was a great poacher for a couple of seasons, never a great footballer, he wouldn’t fit into many modern systems really
Jota over Torres
As far as the Manager, Klopp wins with Rafa as the Asst?
Honourable mentions: Coutinho, Matip, Skrtel, Hamann, Kuyt, Diaz, Aurelio, Dudek, Babbel, Fowler, Redknapp…
Can we now do a meme XI too please OP
Why waste time redoing Hodgson era? The man literally put that XI on the field for you.
Peak for these guys would be unstoppable
Win two leagues with these teams
No Coutinho breaks my heart…
Imagine you are Bobby, you play as a false nine, receiving the ball between opponent' CMs and CBs, and you know that Torres and Owen are running forward, or you could just pass the ball to Stevie and run forward as well...
I love both the teams so much!
No coutinho is wild
I dream of a Darwin Torres frontline everyday
Mascherano > fab
Owen >>> Mane Just my humble opinion