Topic: Fulham vs Liverpool FC, League Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 20:00 Wed 24th Jan 2024

[the_red_pill]

Kelleher
Bradley Quansah van Dijk Gomez
Jones Mac Allister Gravenberch
Diaz Gakpo Nunez

Yep. That would be my lineup.
100% With Darwin on the left. He's just so much more effective there(needs to move central though for more of a goal threat later on) and facilitates a lot of movement in the box- in the absence of Jota.

[the_red_pill]

We can draw and do the same.

I would play Ali in goal and maybe rest Konate and Jones.

A lot will depend on the availability of Dom, Trent and Robbo.

Away-goals rule?

EDIT: Nevermind- my head is like a rock tonight.

[TAA66]

Is Kelleher injured? I thought Adrian was sub keeper against Bournemouth

[SamLad]

Is Kelleher injured? I thought Adrian was sub keeper against Bournemouth

both of them were on the bench.

[JackWard33]

kelleher played the 2022 final...played the 2nd leg at Arsenal?. Why would he not play tomorrow?

I guess he will and the final but it's always been a really odd situation/decision
Obviously they promise it too him but it does signficantly weaken us at the end of the tournament (by benching the best in the world) when you can win the thing. Imagine doing it with another position on the pitch - Robb's fit but we're playing Beck in the final because we promised him minutes.. and yet with goal keepers its been normalised .. funny one.

[TAA66]

both of them were on the bench.

Ah cool - then he definitely plays tomorrow

[andy07]

We will start our strongest available team and hopefully bring the kids on later in the game.  Rotation against Norwich.

[Jm55]

I guess he will and the final but it's always been a really odd situation/decision
Obviously they promise it too him but it does signficantly weaken us at the end of the tournament (by benching the best in the world) when you can win the thing. Imagine doing it with another position on the pitch - Robb's fit but we're playing Beck in the final because we promised him minutes.. and yet with goal keepers its been normalised .. funny one.

The difference is that the likes of Beck will get minutes as substitute appearances as they did on Sunday against Bournemouth, that almost never happens with goalkeepers.

I assume the logic behind it is that you need to keep Kelleher motivated and content (as much as possible) so that when we do need him to cover Alisson he’s in the right place mentally to do so.

I do agree it always irks me slightly when it gets to this stage and you know we’re not playing the best keeper in the world but I do get the logic and the difference between that and the scenario you’re describing.

[TAA66]

I guess he will and the final but it's always been a really odd situation/decision
Obviously they promise it too him but it does signficantly weaken us at the end of the tournament (by benching the best in the world) when you can win the thing. Imagine doing it with another position on the pitch - Robb's fit but we're playing Beck in the final because we promised him minutes.. and yet with goal keepers its been normalised .. funny one.

I think it’s all about the bigger picture with the goalkeeper.  Jurgen wants to motivate and keep probably the best no 2 in the league.  Having a guaranteed run in the league cup is one of the ways to do it. 

[disgraced cake]

I'd play Alisson (why not play the best keeper around especially at this stage) but can understand Kelleher playing in the League Cup and against Norwich. Just hoping it's Alisson in Europe really.

[duvva 💅]

I'd play Alisson (why not play the best keeper around especially at this stage) but can understand Kelleher playing in the League Cup and against Norwich. Just hoping it's Alisson in Europe really.

Guessing it’s all agreed at the start of the season, as mentioned above - it’s how we ensure we have a really good back up keeper. Seems sensible to me and hasn’t done us or Kelleher any harm (if he’s not desperate to get away).

Again, it’ll depend what’s been agreed but I’d suspect Alisson will play in Europe from this point on

[Boaty McBoatface]

For me, I'd play:

Fulham 24th - Alisson
Norwich 28th - Kelleher
Chelsea 31st - Alisson

Except if Ali's feeling any tightness from Sunday's match vs Bournemouth, then I'd play Kelleher twice and rest Alisson until the Chelsea match. Hell, I'd play Adrian ahead of Ali for the next two matches if he didn't feel 100%.

[Angelius]

The difference is that the likes of Beck will get minutes as substitute appearances as they did on Sunday against Bournemouth, that almost never happens with goalkeepers.

I assume the logic behind it is that you need to keep Kelleher motivated and content (as much as possible) so that when we do need him to cover Alisson he’s in the right place mentally to do so.

I do agree it always irks me slightly when it gets to this stage and you know we’re not playing the best keeper in the world but I do get the logic and the difference between that and the scenario you’re describing.

Exactly, you can conceivably give minutes to players through matches in all other areas of the pitch but you can't really do that with the goalkeeper unless they get injured. And if you want a top class second goalkeeper, you have to keep them motivated and in some sort of rhythm. Not that difficult to comprehend the logic behind this.

[RedG13]

Great OP Zlen.
I expect Klopp to go strong here with Kelleher starting.

[Angelius]

The only changes that we'll see will probably due to fitness/freshness reasons. Can potentially see some of Quansah, Grav, and Gakpo starting this game. Hopefully Bradley is ready to do high-intensity games this week!

We should have enough but it's the semis and they'll be right up for it - a couple of early goals from us can really kill their momentum. Rarely is it that comfortable, but it would be nice to see!

[nerdster4]

Going to be a really tough match . Given that kelleher could play Saturday I would really like to see alisson .

Also this is a semi final . Let’s have our best team with VVD and konate . Norwich at home is where we rest people and we just had an 11 day rest

[4pool]

You have to go back 8 matches to Nov. 2018 as the last time we beat Fulham by 2 or more goals.

Expect another tight match.

[Nick110581]

Be interesting to see how they play it.

Do they come out quickly or will they feel their way into it ?

[PaulF]

true.  I'm sure the oppo players will refrain from tackling him, or shoving him and so on.  that will help.  plus there's no chance he could get tripped as well, or land awkwardly on his shoulder when contesting a header.
all good.

Without wanting to pile onto the original comment too much. Is there also risk of other, muscle injuries starting a game after such a long lay off.
Though given how we seem to perform in most first halves, it's probably better to get an extra 45 mins warming up than be bought in off the bench!

[lionel_messias]

Going to be a really tough match . Given that kelleher could play Saturday I would really like to see alisson .

Also this is a semi final . Let’s have our best team with VVD and konate . Norwich at home is where we rest people and we just had an 11 day rest

If you play Alisson now, do you then play him for the final? No, you don't.

So you have to play Kelleher.

Could play Ali on Sunday, no issues.

[JackWard33]

I think it’s all about the bigger picture with the goalkeeper.  Jurgen wants to motivate and keep probably the best no 2 in the league.  Having a guaranteed run in the league cup is one of the ways to do it. 

You’re definitely right about the desire to keep him motivated but whether it’s worth it or not probably hinges on what you think his level is

[has gone odd]

For me, Kelleher plays tonight, if fit enough. No question.

The experience gained from games like this is priceless, plus we all know Ali is unfortunately not immune to injury either. An experienced backup for a trophy hungry team is a very nice thing to have. If there is a bad day at the office, then he would learn from that to, am sure.

As for the game, it's nicely balanced and despite not nailed on to win, would be disappointing if we didn't put in a good performance. Gonna be an uncomfy evening if we start slow.

Am sure the away fans will give them plenty of motivation.

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

You’re definitely right about the desire to keep him motivated but whether it’s worth it or not probably hinges on what you think his level is

It's not just about what level he is.

Say Kelleher leaves in the Summer and we want to sign a decent replacement - the quality of player we are going to attract is going to be much higher if we can at least point to the fact that they will always be able to play in, and potentially win, cup competitions. The same also applies if we have any good up and coming keepers in the academy if we want them to stick around.

Our need for a quality back-up is also relatively high given that Alisson has a habit of picking up little injuries during a season. And despite the fact that I'm guessing you don't rate Kelleher that highly, you cannot dispute that he is better than the large majority of other back-up keepers we and other clubs have had.

[Too early for flapjacks?]

Nothing particularly new or novel about big clubs giving their number 2 the League Cup. Kelleher, Zack Steffen, David Ospina, Willy Caballero, have all played in the final at Wembley as the number 1 sat on the bench.

[duvva 💅]

Nothing particularly new or novel about big clubs giving their number 2 the League Cup. Kelleher, Zack Steffen, David Ospina, Willy Caballero, have all played in the final at Wembley as the number 1 sat on the bench.

Kepa however is the only goalie to have made a complete fool of himself in two league cup finals as both 1st and 2nd choice keeper

[Redley]

You’re definitely right about the desire to keep him motivated but whether it’s worth it or not probably hinges on what you think his level is

Going back a while, but we saw what happened when we didnt have a good back-up goalie against Atletico Madrid the season we won the league. If we're wanting someone of the standard of Kelleher, which is a sensible position I think, we need to throw them a bone with this sort of game.

[classycarra]

Now it's chelsea awaiting tonights winner, I feel like this week wish list for santa would be (in order):

no injuries to first team players
advance to LC final
minutes/experience (maybe as close to 180 minutes as works, fitness wise) for Quansah, Bradley
minutes/experience (maybe as close to 120 minutes as works, fitness wise) for Beck, Gordon
minutes/experience (maybe as close to 90 minutes as works, fitness wise) for Clark, McConnell
minutes/experience as subs for some of Nyoni Kone-Doherty Danns
advance to 5th round of FA cup

[naka]

Yep. That would be my lineup.
100% With Darwin on the left. He's just so much more effective there(needs to move central though for more of a goal threat later on) and facilitates a lot of movement in the box- in the absence of Jota.

is jota injured?

[MH41]

I can't believe the amount of shouts for Álisson to play, rather than kelleher. Talk about support for one of our players?
When did he become a bad keeper, or a liability?

The best thing I can say about him, is that whenever he is in the line up, it doesn't faze me at all.
More importantly, it does not seem to faze the back line either.
He is totally reliable, and outstanding with his distribution.
Playing Álisson tonight is not going to happen. And not should it. Get behind Kelleher!!!

[Hestoic]

Kelleher got us this far and deserves to start. He's our League Cup goalie and everyone wants to keep him around and keep him happy. If he ends up getting to lift another trophy after playing a major role in it, that is the least he deserves.

[disgraced cake]

I can't believe the amount of shouts for Álisson to play, rather than kelleher. Talk about support for one of our players?
When did he become a bad keeper, or a liability?

The best thing I can say about him, is that whenever he is in the line up, it doesn't faze me at all.
More importantly, it does not seem to faze the back line either.
He is totally reliable, and outstanding with his distribution.
Playing Álisson tonight is not going to happen. And not should it. Get behind Kelleher!!!

It's pretty obvious why, because he's the best keeper around. I like Kelleher a lot, he's probably the best back up keeper we've had in a long time and I think replacing him with a better back up won't be easy, but it's a massive game where every bit of quality will help. Then again I've just never really been one for the cup goalkeeper stuff. As for keeping him happy, he'll play double figures amount of games this season for one of the biggest clubs around deputising for the keeper who is the best in the world. I think he should be pretty happy with that, considering he'll have had the chance to have got off in the past. Maybe this is the year he will go and play elsewhere and that's fair enough, but he's had a very fair crack at the whip here so far.

Hopefully this plays out similarly to the second half at Anfield a couple of weeks ago. Plenty of chances and a couple of which you think we'll take. Fulham have only played three games in nearly a month this year and one of them they had a rotated side out against Rotheram for. As the game goes on our quality/freshness should tell.

[PaulF]

Having a backup keeper that knows our system through years of training with us helps.
I guess a new keeper would be up to speed in a transfer window as we change other personnel and systems. But 'better the devil you know'.
Also we have no idea how Kelleher feels about it.
Would he 'happily' sit this out, knowing we are waiting for Salah and others to come back and Ali is best in the world and get the Norwich game and the LC final.

[joezydudek]

Don't know why there's a debate, Kelleher played every game two seasons ago as we won it, and we're not going to change that system this time around. Just deal with it.

[duvva 💅]

I think the Kelleher situation is why Klopp gets more out of players than other managers.

For example if Kelleher has been promised the League Cup, if Jurgen’s was to turn round and say I’m going to play Alisson it says to Kelleher he doesn’t trust him. That has a knock on effect where other players then no longer know if they can take his word.

The arrangement seems to work and everyone is happy. If Kelleher were to start costing us games particularly important ones, that may change in future. But so much of what Klopp can get from his players is down to them buying in and trusting him and what he says.

You only have to look at them as they come off the pitch to know what he means to them.
But that harmony can be destroyed and if the squads unharmonious then there’s less chance of us doing well and winning things as a club

On another note it’s great to see almost everyone really want to win the League Cup. Before we won it a couple of years ago I’d estimate at least half of the posters on here were indifferent to it or wanted to get knocked out early so as to concentrate on other things

[Too early for flapjacks?]

This is Alisson's 6th season with us and he's only ever made 1 league cup appearance.

The 1 appearance he made for us in the League Cup was in the 21/22 season vs Arsenal in the 1 leg of the SF. Kelleher was left on the bench that day. Maybe it was so he actually gets a medal if go onto win it and we'll see the same this time?

[classycarra]

If we're looking to play it safe with the team and not just play as close to the first eleven/bournemouth team as possible - which is how I assume we're approaching it - I think it's the perfect time to bring Allison in to add a little extra security (on top of our lead) while we hold back some of our players until the second half from the bench. Then Kelleher plays the FA Cup game and if we qualify the LC final

[Hestoic]

This is Alisson's 6th season with us and he's only ever made 1 league cup appearance.

The 1 appearance he made for us in the League Cup was in the 21/22 season vs Arsenal in the 1 leg of the SF. Kelleher was left on the bench that day. Maybe it was so he actually gets a medal if go onto win it and we'll see the same this time?

From this angle, I retract my further post. 

Let Ali play this and if we get to the final, Kelleher deserves the start.

[Garlicbread]

This is Alisson's 6th season with us and he's only ever made 1 league cup appearance.

The 1 appearance he made for us in the League Cup was in the 21/22 season vs Arsenal in the 1 leg of the SF. Kelleher was left on the bench that day. Maybe it was so he actually gets a medal if go onto win it and we'll see the same this time?

I believe you get a medal if you're on the bench in the final. Which I would imagine he would be if we went to the final and won it.

[newterp]

Are Fulham missing any key players?

[duvva 💅]

If we're looking to play it safe with the team and not just play as close to the first eleven/bournemouth team as possible - which is how I assume we're approaching it - I think it's the perfect time to bring Allison in to add a little extra security (on top of our lead) while we hold back some of our players until the second half from the bench. Then Kelleher plays the FA Cup game and if we qualify the LC final

What makes you think we’re looking to play it safe with team selection tonight?