Maybe because the news that came out was that they are both to be getting extentions? But Ragnar does have his own thread.
Still very happy at that news. Keeping squad players who are good enough to be squad players here is better than replacing them. How many left backs did we work our way through to get one at a level Liverpool fans will actually accept as being good enough and not tear to pieces every time he makes what they perceive as a mistake? Recruiting squad players rarely works out well in truth. Klavan is actually a good example of why. He is needing to play very few minutes, while trying to adapt to English football, and being judged at VVD levels when he comes in lacking match sharpness. Needless to say, in his first season he was horrific at times.
But in the summer I watched back some Augsberg games and it was very clear why we signed him. He was commanding at the back for them, organising, bringing the ball out of defence, playing great quick vertical passes and doing much better in the air. I surmised in the summer that he would adjust to the league and have a solid second season - to much disagreement from people in teh transfer forum. I was dubious still myself - because that sort of adjustment to a more physical league rarely happens once players pass their physical peak. But fair play to him, he has been much better this season and is still our best defender with the ball at his feet. He is still a little too passive for my liking, but that isn't as much of a problem now as he isn't paired with Matip who is much the same.
All this makes replacing Moreno or Klavan very hard. In terms of quality, you likely are not bringing in someone considerably better. Which means you have the usual transition while they adjust to the league, our system, a new place to live etc all of which negatively impact on their ability to come in and do a job immediately. When you are buying VVD or Salah quality, they can walk in and be effective while getting up to speed. Just look at Salah's record up to November and after November for example when he took off. But when lower quality players come in, you tend to see them struggle to be effective, often costing you results, then you are up against it to make it here having been written off in the usual kneejerk way some fans do.
We need to keep transition as small as possible while also improving. The more changes we make in the summer, even if it is replacing backup players, the greater the liklihood is of another season of transition rather than one with a settled side ready to mount a title challenge. We won't win the league in the first three months of the season, but you could certainly lose it while trying to bed in too many players.
The best thing that ever happened to Chamberlain and Robertson was not being first choice the moment they arrived. It saw the fans yearn for them to start and be more sympathetic for any problems they had when they did rather than being immediately written off for not being instantly perfect for our system.
