Topic: Steven Caulker - Welcome to Liverpool FC

[rafathegaffa83]

Not sure why people are questioning his inability to get into the Southampton line-up, when Fonte is their captain and Van Dijk is one of the best summer signings this season. After all, we've brought Ilori back on loan when he couldn't get into the back four of one the worst PL sides ever.

We have injuries. Sakho is injured and injury-prone. Skrtel is out for a while. Ilori is injury-prone. Lovren is injured. Kolo is injury-prone. Klopp won't play Can in defence. We have had to play Lucas as a CB this season. We had to bring Enrique out of the football wilderness to play CB, despite being persona non grata and not playing for a year.

This is Caulker's last shot at playing for a big club. It might be his only chance to ensure he won't be playing in the Championship next season. It fills a need for all parties. He'll have a better chance of getting games here, due to our injuries. If he's good, it benefits all parties. If he's poor, he's only here until May. A logical signing.

[rawcusk8]

Says it all about this thread when Fordy is the one talking the most sense.

[Gnurglan]

Enrique and Illori at CB against Arsenal and united, and a 17 year old with no senior games on the bench? Cos thats what we have at the moment.

It would be a test. No doubt about it. But it's part of what comes with the approach that I would like to see. The upside of that same approach is that we'd be forced to include our young players. We'd be forced to promote them, we could assess them and then make decisions based on it. This would then feed back to our Academy and how things are being run there. Are the young ones ready or not? Why?

[Greyfox]

He's an LFC player so I love him

Seriously, what a chance for him.

He's a lucky boy there is no doubt.

Adrian Durham is gonna have a field day wit this.

Personally I though he was terrible when I saw him play. But LFC is different. 

The day anyone on here gives a flying fuck about what that twat Durham has to say (or laughingly "think" - but that in itself is an oxymoron) then we are lost. We truly are.

[Chakan]

It would be a test. No doubt about it. But it's part of what comes with the approach that I would like to see. The upside of that same approach is that we'd be forced to include our young players. We'd be forced to promote them, we could assess them and then make decisions based on it. This would then feed back to our Academy and how things are being run there. Are the young ones ready or not? Why?

Who are the young ones you would call up? Lets say Sakho and Lovren aren't ready.

[astowell1]

Brilliant signing. Young and still got room to grow. Looks good at Swansea.

So if he performs well is there any chance of him signing a perm deal?

Why not? I'm sure he wouldn't cost all that much either.  But that's a way ahead yet.

[ranimi]

No 'leaning' pics ?

[Suareznumber7]

Well......good luck to the lad. 

[Iloveyoumamadou]

Pretty much this.

I mean how thick can people be? We're down to bare bones at the back at the minute. I've seen someone say that we'll have 'all our center backs return in like 2 weeks' but how many injuries have they had combined this season already? More injuries will happen - Toure can barely finish a game and Ilori is a long way off match fitness.

Welcome, Steven.

I don't think people realise how many games we have coming up. Up until the 6th of February we have 8 games in 24 days, on average a game every 3 days.

Arsenal 13th January
Man Unt 17th January
Exeter 20th January
Norwich 23rd January
Stoke 26th January (Potential extra time)
West Ham at some point around here (Potential extra time)
Leicester 2nd February
Sunderland 6th February

No way would Lucas survive that if we stuck with him. Toure struggled to finish one game as did Ilori. We need cover, the club have clearly done everything they can to sign a higher quality player before the noon Arsenal deadline, but haven't been able to so Caulker is what we've got now.  Like others I think he's a bit crap, but one thing I will say is that every one of our centre halves has improved under Klopp, hopefully he can do the same to Caulker.

[[new username under construction]]

Hit the ground running lad. With luck you'll be good enough to sign permanent

[plura]

Well can't complain too much, needed some CB cover that is for sure and unless we could get that top one then I wouldn't want us to spunk out more than needed.
We'll get some decent premier league experienced cover now til the end of the season, and after that we can re-asses our squad and go for someone better if needed (especially as Toure is probably playing his last season here).

[ThePeetmix]

Welcome lad. As long as he does his best and does a job for us, that's all I care about. He's not the future of Liverpool's defence for the time being, he's just giving us a chuck.

My guess is that Klopp wants to have a chance of doing something in the FA cup, then players like Caulker will be important for that.

[JLFC]

Could be a shrewd piece of business this. Not at transfer fee and defensive cover until end of season.

Best of luck to the lad.

[FlashGordon]

I remember a couple of years ago he looked a real prospect. As a 5th choice centre back on a loan with no commitment to buy half way through the season he really isn't a bad option at all!

[Bunter]

"Better than Enrique though" is such a ringing endorsement

Pretty average defender but hey, we're low on bodies and he's probably the best value option right now. Plus in 6 months we can say ta-ra and get someone of quality in.

[Coolie High]

Average signing, but then again i was here when a lot of you were truing to justify the Moses, Cissokho and Aspas signings as well.

[Andy82lfc]

.

[ThePeetmix]

I don't think people realise how many games we have coming up. Up until the 6th of February we have 8 games in 24 days, on average a game every 3 days.

Arsenal 13th January
Man Unt 17th January
Exeter 20th January
Norwich 23rd January
Stoke 26th January (Potential extra time)
West Ham at some point around here (Potential extra time)
Leicester 2nd February
Sunderland 6th February

No way would Lucas survive that if we stuck with him. Toure struggled to finish one game as did Ilori. We need cover, the club have clearly done everything they can to sign a higher quality player before the noon Arsenal deadline, but haven't been able to so Caulker is what we've got now.  Like others I think he's a bit crap, but one thing I will say is that every one of our centre halves has improved under Klopp, hopefully he can do the same to Caulker.

This. You could almost think of it as a 1 month emergency loan signing that lower league clubs do. Obviously QPR and Caulker would never agree to that, but if he helps us get through this month as best we can, then I won't complain.

[jwill2127]

Bit similar when rafa got Pellegrino and by resting sami he played a massive part in us winning the CL! ??

[SwissV]

https://twitter.com/lfcfanscorner/status/686899899368095744

If anybody wants to see his first goal for Liverpool

 

[marios_moustache]

Good bit of business

[Fitzy.]

WHAT A SIGNING!!!

But seriously, it's a necessity. Don't get too worked up over it. If he's half as good as Kvarme then he has my unconditional support...

[ThePeetmix]

Average signing, but then again i was here when a lot of you were truing to justify the Moses, Cissokho and Aspas signings as well.

Moses on paper wasn't a bad signing at the time. He was just didn't perform. Cissokho was top even if he was a bit crap. ;P

[jepovic]

I guess some of the fans were hoping for a Hummels or so, not a desperate loan. But it seems like a reasonable emergency solution to me.

Lovren and Skrtel are normally fit, so in a month or so we should be fine. But that missing month is crucial for this season.

[Gnurglan]

Who are the young ones you would call up? Lets say Sakho and Lovren aren't ready.

Honestly, I don't know. But I'd probably have played Lucas/Can with Ilori. Then I'd have tried to recall Wisdom and since we used Enrique vs Exeter, I would have considered him an option too.

[Hij]

Average signing, but then again i was here when a lot of you were truing to justify the Moses, Cissokho and Aspas signings as well.

They all nearly had league winners medals

Anyway, I think the signing justifies itself considering the unique situation we find ourselves in.

What would you have done in this circumstance mate?

[007.lankyguy]

Not sure why people are questioning his inability to get into the Southampton line-up, when Fonte is their captain and Van Dijk is one of the best summer signings this season. After all, we've brought Ilori back on loan when he couldn't get into the back four of one the worst PL sides ever.

We have injuries. Sakho is injured and injury-prone. Skrtel is out for a while. Ilori is injury-prone. Lovren is injured. Kolo is injury-prone. Klopp won't play Can in defence. We have had to play Lucas as a CB this season. We had to bring Enrique out of the football wilderness to play CB, despite being persona non grata and not playing for a year.

This is Caulker's last shot at playing for a big club. It might be his only chance to ensure he won't be playing in the Championship next season. It fills a need for all parties. He'll have a better chance of getting games here, due to our injuries. If he's good, it benefits all parties. If he's poor, he's only here until May. A logical signing.

Exactly. Good post.

[Samie]

I guess some of the fans were hoping for a Hummels or so, not a desperate loan. But it seems like a reasonable emergency solution to me.

Lovren and Skrtel are normally fit, so in a month or so we should be fine. But that missing month is crucial for this season.

Hummels, Varane, Marquinhos etc. Some of these "supporters" on here are utter muppets.

[ThePeetmix]

Honestly, I don't know. But I'd probably have played Lucas/Can with Ilori. Then I'd have tried to recall Wisdom and since we used Enrique vs Exeter, I would have considered him an option too.

You've also got to remember that if one of Lucas and Can gets used as a centre-back option, that's one less option for centre-midfield, an area we aren't exactly stacked in either. If Wisdom could be recalled, I guarantee he would be back here. Probably similar to Ilori and Villa, they would have to agree to it, and Norwich probably didn't agree.

[Fitzy.]

Average signing, but then again i was here when a lot of you were truing to justify the Moses, Cissokho and Aspas signings as well.

Is that not a bit of a straw man argument? List poor signings to prove yourself 'right'?

Anyway, Cissokho was perfectly decent as a defender. Just couldn't take two consecutive touches without looking like a lesser coordinated new born dear.

[Caston]

Average signing, but then again i was here when a lot of you were truing to justify the Moses, Cissokho and Aspas signings as well.

Cissokho did a job
Moses was a loan so who cares
Aspas was a permanent deal so bit different

[[new username under construction]]

Honestly, I don't know. But I'd probably have played Lucas/Can with Ilori. Then I'd have tried to recall Wisdom and since we used Enrique vs Exeter, I would have considered him an option too.

Unless in the past couple of day Ilori has taken a knock..Wisdom is a good shout but Enrique? really?

[Hij]

Hummels, Varane, Marquinhos etc. Some of these "supporters" on here are utter muppets.

But they were here to say they told 'a lot of you' so.

[ThePeetmix]

Cissokho did a job
Moses was a loan so who cares
Aspas was a permanent deal so bit different

And Aspas was very good before he came here. People were happy to bring him in because he looked a good player. Sometimes it just doesn't work out.

[Chakan]

Honestly, I don't know. But I'd probably have played Lucas/Can with Ilori. Then I'd have tried to recall Wisdom and since we used Enrique vs Exeter, I would have considered him an option too.

So you'd rather have Lucas/Can/Enrique/Ilori in defense than Caulker? Only one of those is actually a CB. Taking Lucas out leaves us exposed in midfield, Can is better in midfield but can play there in a pinch. We've got like 8 games in 24 days! We can't keep playing people out of position to fill a position.

[B0151?]

Caulker >>>>> Lucas/Enrique

Weirdo.

Didn't Maguire come on at CB for a knackered Ilori too?

We've played a DM and 2 barely even back-up LBs at CB in the past 2 games and people are shocked we've gone for whoever we can get our hands on...

There's actually potentially an alright player in there too.

[Red_Rich]

He'll score the winner against Arsenal or United. Nailed on.

[Coolie High]

It would be a test. No doubt about it. But it's part of what comes with the approach that I would like to see. The upside of that same approach is that we'd be forced to include our young players. We'd be forced to promote them, we could assess them and then make decisions based on it. This would then feed back to our Academy and how things are being run there. Are the young ones ready or not? Why?

Its the approach we should go for, United had no problem throwing in Blackett, Mcnair in when they were chasing top 4 and one of them had only played in reserves while the other had played about 13 games on loan, they might not make it at United but they certainly done a job in that period, and it will be the reason why when they come to sell them they'll be getting millions in fees. Buying emergency stop gap signings at least in our past hasn't helped anyone, if anything it might have hampered some young players, because said manager would always put 'insert average player' in before some of them, because said player has more experience, we've lost handful of games with some of these same senior players we're supposed to be relying on, so why not wait it out, Sakho and Toure are back, Lovren is soon and Ilori regaining match fitness.

[TheShanklyGates]

Not ideal of course but an understandable signing given our horrific injury issues. Welcome to LFC Steven and best of luck.

[Fitzy.]

He'll score the winner against Arsenal or United. Nailed on.

For us or them...?