Highlights from our lead Liverpool FC writer Ian Doyle’s Q&A on the Liverpool ECHO website.
The Saudi Pro League are keen to sign Liverpool legend Mohamed SalahWith the second international break of the season upon us, there’s no better time to assess Liverpool’s start to the season and discuss the big talking points from Anfield.
And that’s exactly what our lead LFC writer, Ian Doyle, did during his latest live Q&A on the ECHO website.
Numerous topics were covered, from the latest news on Mohamed Salah’s future to the latest developments surrounding the Anfield Road expansion.
And after Howard Webb broke his silence on VAR’s chaotic decision to rule out a fine goal from Luis Diaz in the Reds’ controversial defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, numerous questions were asked about that incident and his performance in the Premier League.
In case you missed the Q&A, we’ve rounded up the highlights here… seanbrad2: No surprise to see Salah flying for Liverpool again this season.
What do you think will happen to him next summer? Are the Reds tying him down to another deal or could he be sold in the next phase of the rebuild? Ian Doyle: My gut tells me a lot of things, usually that I’m hungry or that I need to exercise. Or fix the gallbladder thing.
Greetings Salah, I think he will leave this summer assuming the Saudi Pro League hasn’t imploded by then and he will attract big money. I also think it will be impossible to replace him with the same, so the Reds will try to do something different. And if he stays, it’s great, he remains Liverpool’s best player. footballisthewinner7:
According to your article on André and arrivals at Liverpool, what about departures or even contract extensions? I read your article on Matip this morning and as the weeks go by, I feel like the argument for a one-year extension for Joel Matip is becoming clearer.
Do you expect further measures to limit the number of Liverpool players who are in the final two years of their contracts? Ian Doyle: Matip is interesting. It’s easy to forget that he’s been around for so long, but what’s intrigued me is how often he’s played over the years.
He actually hasn’t been injured that often and when he has played, especially this season, he has been different.
However, Virgil van Dijk is the club captain and you can’t have too many central defenders in their thirties. I think Matip’s future depends on Joe Gomez’s.
If Gomez stays, Matip will leave and Liverpool will look for a new young centre-back. As things stand now, there’s no question that Gomez is going anywhere; he only signed a long-term contract last summer.
As for other contracts, it would surprise me if Thiago was offered one or even agreed to sign one. And I fully expect Liverpool to sign a defensive midfielder in January or next summer.
Maybe it’s Andre, maybe not. But the fact that they already like him will help a lot. Asuldan: Do you have any idea who the next sporting director will be? Ian Doyle: Jorg Schmadtke is still there because he signed a one-year deal in the summer.
So there are no real rumors about who the replacement will be, if there will be one in the near future. tommypyg: When commenting on the reasons why VAR did not stop the match after realizing Diaz’s goal error, Howard Webb referred to those who knew and followed the IFAB rules on VAR protocol.
When I checked the IFAB protocols for 23-24, I was interested in their comments on the use of video in reviews, particularly in relation to Curtis Jones’ red card. Since it was confirmed on appeal, there is no need to reopen the discussion on the actual conflict.
However, VAR’s submission to the referee still appears to have been instrumental in his decision; and the IFAB protocol is quite clear:
Thereferee may request different camera angles/replay speeds, but in general slow motion replays should only be used for facts, e.g. foul/player position, point of contact for fouls physical and handball, ball out of play (including goal/no goal); normal speed should be used for the “intensity” of a foul or to decide whether it was a handball.
So in this case, as with many other red cards in on-field reviews (which concern the “intensity” of the foul), referees are shown slow motion or freeze frame when normal speed should be used.What are your thoughts on this?
If referees and VAR are familiar with the IFAB protocol – and I assume they are – it seems strange that they ignore it when it comes to red card reviews.
Especially if they feel constrained in terms of interrupting a restarted game to correct their obvious mistake.Ian Doyle: The phrase “in general” does a lot of the heavy lifting here.
Personally, I think almost anything can look bad when slowed down: often a slow-motion replay of a goal has suggested that the goalkeeper was at fault, only to then have the full-speed replay show that they had absolutely no chance of making a save. – therefore a still image should definitely not be used for red cards.
It should be a rule that the field monitor shows an accident a certain number of times in full speed, and then again in slow motion before a decision is made.
No still images should be allowed. This is my point of view anyway. nick24: Will there be a replay of the Spurs-Liverpool match? Ian Doyle: No. I never thought that mistakes would be made and probably never will be made by the referee, even if a goal that was awarded after a VAR check was not awarded. tel1:
Do you think there is a certain degree of bias among some referees? Can referees and VARs, and as I believe, change some things to suit their own agenda? Ian Doyle: I don’t think civil servants are biased, but they are human beings and there will be some sort of unconscious bias – for or against – when having to make questionable decisions.
This has always happened, however: look at how many times the home teams were given the benefit of the doubt on certain decisions. We don’t want robots to take over the games, but at the same time we need more consistency.
One thing VAR did was highlight mistakes made by officials – I’m pretty sure that’s not why this happened.10jb: Do you think that we let a lot of players go as free agents (Naby, Thiago, Bobby, Ox, Can, Lallana, Gini…) and on the other hand we are unable to integrate good players as free agents?Ian Doyle: Well, Liverpool used Matip and Milner on free throws, so that worked out pretty well.
As for the others, those who left, with the exception of Can who wanted to leave, didn’t really suggest in hindsight that Liverpool had made a mistake in letting them go. And few could argue that, apart from Keita, the Reds got their money’s worth.
However, I think Liverpool are aware that so many people are leaving for nothing and are taking action accordingly.
Ian11: Once Anfield Road is finally completed, do you think the Kop development will be the next step? Ian Doyle: It would be quite difficult given the footprint of the stand.
It is perhaps more likely that Sir Kenny Dalglish’s stand will be renovated. But there is still a very long way to go before Liverpool consider further stadium renovations.
Let them finish the Anfield stand first! What I definitely don’t want to see at Anfield is the Tunnel Club, which is now also at Brighton after being there on Sunday. This is completely unnecessary and does not look good for any club.
They all have to pack their bags.10jb: Any news on the opening date of the new stand? Ian Doyle: Given what has already happened in the stands at Anfield, Liverpool are absolutely right to set no deadline. Work resumed and by the last home game it was clear that more seats would be added and that completion was nearing.
The plan is still to open it in phases. footballisthewinner7: What do you think of Liverpool’s start to the season? Jurgen Klopp has often praised his new team.
I was wondering if you believe they are on the same trajectory as the great LFC teams of years gone by? Ian Doyle: It’s too early to tell, to be honest. Liverpool’s start was good as they achieved some decent results.
Some parts of the team are impressive, but they really need to address the defensive situation in midfield. It’s not fair to Alexis Mac Allister and I would love to see Wataru Endo come in and play a good number of games in the next series of seven.
Klopp has more tactical variety this season and it is clear that some players have stepped up – not least Darwin Nunez – and can provide more of what he wants, while Dominik Szoboszlai has made a huge difference in midfield.
Liverpool aren’t done yet, but they’re a lot closer than most of us might have thought a few months ago.
