Loris Karius

[Fredo]

He needs time but he will need to learn quick. A few times he tried to play out of the back but gave the ball away cheaply by sending it straight to a player in the middle who wasn't prepared to receive it.

I'll be **** scared against United and any high ball going his way.

[marcus50bucks]

Loris Karius has got away with it so far - but now it’s crunch time for him AND Jurgen Klopp

BY TONY BARRETT
SPORT | 16 MINUTES AGO

Up to now, Loris Karius has got away with it.
Whether it is a reluctance to leave his line when crosses come in, a struggle to judge the flight of balls tossed in from wide areas, a disinclination to take risks as he looks to settle in or a combination of all three, Liverpool's new goalkeeper is yet to convince. While such weaknesses have been highlighted, though, they are yet to be punished.

A flap at a corner on his debut against Derby County did not cost a goal and while further hesitancy in Liverpool's next two matches at home to Hull City and away to Swansea City might have been contributed to cheap goals being conceded, Karius could not be held solely responsible on either occasion and on both his team prevailed so any damage was superficial.

Signed to challenge Simon Mignolet with the expectation that he would replace him, Karius has already achieved that objective but having won his place in a Liverpool side that is showing promising signs that it could challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title, he has not been provided with any guarantees by Jurgen Klopp that he will keep it.

Today at the Liberty Stadium, Karius's performance was not one which demanded that he should be dropped but nor was it one that indicated he should be retained at all costs. Again, he was part of a winning Liverpool team but again the Germany international bore the hallmarks of a young goalkeeper struggling to come to terms with a new style of football in a new country.

If Liverpool's next fixture was a home game against Sunderland, having a player who is still acclimatising to new surroundings would not be such an issue but unfortunately for Klopp, who would prefer not to have to make another major decision in such a key position, it is Manchester United who will arrive at Anfield once the international break is out of the way.

Not only is that the kind of fixture which can make or break most players, let alone one who is still finding his feet, United's potency at set pieces is such that having a keeper who does not know whether he should stay or go when crosses come into the area could be a major problem. At the very least, Jose Mourinho would look to exploit the weaknesses that Karius has displayed thus far.

It was only just over a week ago that Klopp's decision to select Karius to face Hull looked to have settled the debate over who was Liverpool's first choice goalkeeper but just two matches on the situation seems less clear cut. Ideally, Klopp would have wanted Karius to come in, look assured, get the basics right and create an instant rapport with his defence but in all of these elements there have been grey areas of the kind that inevitably give managers food for thought.

There is nothing straightforward about the decision that now faces Klopp. Recall Mignolet and the risk is that Karius's confidence could take an early knock and the process of integrating him into the team is set back. Keep faith with Karius and the possibility exists that United will take advantage of him while he is still coming to terms with life at Liverpool and that could be damaging to both player and team.

To add to that dilemma, Klopp also has to take into account both the short term need for a positive result and the long term need to build a team that is capable of sustaining a challenge at the top of the Premier League this season and beyond.

If Karius is as good as the Liverpool manager believes, maybe he needs protecting but, equally, perhaps he needs indulging until the time comes when he has settled and made the goalkeeper position unquestionably his own.

Klopp believes one of his strongest qualities is patience and the faith he has shown in several players continues to reap its rewards as underlined by Swansea becoming the fourth team in succession to suffer defeat at Liverpool's hands. A number of individuals who could have been dispensed with have been persevered with and Klopp's judgement has been proven to be pretty sound in that respect.

But as with anyone managing at the elite, his judgement is continually being put to the test and it will be again before Liverpool face United.

Unless there are fitness issues that give him unexpected selection dilemmas, the one big decision that will confront him will be who plays in goal.

In itself, that is a huge sign of progress for Liverpool and a sign of their own growing consistency but it is also one that Klopp will know he needs to get right.

http://www.joe.co.uk/sport/liverpool-loris-karius/89487

[BobTheCharmer]

He's looking every bit a £5m goalie so far. Obviously early days but the comparisons to de gea's start at Utd is wishful thinking. He will never be one of the top 3 keepers in the world.

[Kenneth]

I didn't expect Mig to get dropped anywhere near the start of this season, t'was a surprise to see Karius vs Hull and then since. We didn't need to swap keepers, an odd decision to me. He must have excelled in training but he's not showing it on the pitch. At least we have seen Mig react positively to being dropped before so if we do need to swap back then it shouldn't be too big a problem.

[Buzzo]

It's a tricky one for sure. Neither inspire confidence really, early days for Karius but he's looked shaky. Mignolette who on the other hand does have a mistake in him, has also performed well in big wins against City, Chelsea, Utd etc last season and this.

Klopp seems to make sensible decisions though, so I'll trust him to do the right thing.

[Irishnev]

Looked like a ****ter Mignolet today

I'm clinging onto the David De Gea story but United will bombard him with Zlat, Elbows and co flying in on him.

[Fredo]

I think he might be the busiest of all the players during the international break.

[G]

Pretty sure I read somewhere that Klopp wanted to give Karius the 3 games before the break and then he'll revisit it for the United game. Its a tough one for him cos Mig isn't good enough and Karius needs time.

[Exiled_red]

It's definately a dilemma for Klopp, I'd like to believe that Karius has the potential to be better than Mignolet, but based on his performances for us so far at the moment I would say that Mignolet is the more reliable goalkeeper. Obviously this is based on about 3 games which is too early to judge him, ideally I would like to give him a long run of games to settle into the side before judging him. However you feel that he has got away with a few errors in the games he's played, and with Man Utd up next you would imagine with Ibrahimovic in the side they would fancy their chances if the can get crosses into the box with an indecisive goalkeeper who can't deal with crosses. But dropping him could give him confidence issues.

[G]

It's Man U next who we'll batter hopefully but after that its a run of game's you'd expect us to be dominating and winning most so I'd stick with it if I was Klopp. When De Gea was signed Ferguson chopped and changed a fair bit. Wouldn't be surprised to see this one go the same way.

[Phoenix07]

Maybe it has something to do with the Lovren incident? In the friendlies before the Chelsea pre-season game, he looked much more assured, but now seems reluctant to come out.

[TheElephantMan]

I wouldn't describe Mignolet as "reliable". Occasionally he pulls off a world-class save, but often it seems like a shot's a goal. We'd be better sticking a big fat lad in front of the goals.

[Gibbo]

Has Karius faced a shot that he would be expected to save but didn't yet?

He's in this werid situation now where because he's flapped at some crosses, and he has, he looks ****e, because we have no "goalkeeper" work to compare it with.

What I will say is that compared to Mig he's very good with the ball at his feet, made some very good passes today.

[Cormack74]

I've not played in goal since I was 11 but (apart from having some sort of ability to stop shots and appreciate angles) the key for me has always been to show decisiveness, or "command your area" as the saying goes.

Grobelaar (sp) used to make occasional errors from crosses but that's because he came for everything, even stuff that wasn't his to claim. And to be honest I would prefer to play with a keeper who did that rather than one who came for nothing or only came occasionally. At least you know he's coming.

Goalies have so much protection I can't help thinking that's the way to play. Even if they miss the ball and take the player or take both man and ball together, more often than not the bloke they clatter gets pinged for fouling the them. I certainly can't recall too many pelanties given for goalies wiping out forwards in the air.

Like some have said De Gea has evolved his game (and his physical shape) to deal with English footie so hopefully LK can / will do the same.

[Robbie-9-Fowler]

Looks less than convincing at times, but the chance at the end, why didn't Matip just head it clear? He didn't even jump IIRC