WHO do you get in touch with?
Liverpool abject. Watford excellent. Softest opener, though let me see lads around the ref. Softest second, Martin Skrtel bullied into obsolescence, the finish from Odion Igahlo divine.
Softest third, Emre Can making it too easy and then every other Liverpool player being 10 yards minimum out of position. Almost innovative, almost a statement.
This was Liverpool’s poorest performance of the season by some distance. It was mind boggling how poor every Liverpool player was with the possible exception of Jordan Henderson, who may well have been merely average.
Pining for Milner.
Pining for Lovren.
Pining for Mignolet.
Pining for Benteke.
Pining for Sturridge.
Pining for Sturridge the most.
This is important:
1. If you think they didn’t work hard enough or care enough then the manager’s USP is in doubt.
2. If you think Watford outsmarted Klopp and his team then that needs to improve.
So, the manager has been had off. By events, yes. The early goal hurts and knocks, that’s number one. Makes number one a thing. But on the whole it is number two: Sanchez Flores has himself a pitch and a side set up to undermine visitors. It’s a dog of a pitch. A dog of a set up. It suits Watford. It is, indeed, linked wonderfully to the history of Watford. They knock you about and turn you round.
There is a lesson here, a learning curve this manager is on. Yet it is, in fact, a lesson for this Liverpool manager and one his predecessor chose to ignore. A front two with physicality, understanding and finishing will get you results in this league. Is it the purest football? Nope. But it is functioning football.
This league is dreadful. So invoke dread. Bring about the most basic of nightmares. They don’t give points for style. They give points for scoring more goals than the opposition. Liverpool played two up top at Southampton. They scored six goals. They did, admittedly, play Daniel Sturridge.
There is something that needs to happen pretty quickly and that is Liverpool starting games looking likely. In this suddenly democratic Premier League Liverpool need to suddenly find a set of strengths to play to when the opposition will trash the place rather than let you play. The opposition will burn the gaff down just to watch it burn.
Liverpool: Only West Ham (8) have committed more errors that have led directly to a goal in the PL this season than Liverpool (7) #WATLIV
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) December 20, 2015
I am reluctant to act as though an undeniable football genius as Jürgen Klopp needs to learn anything, but he is here to win this league. That won’t be done with the best players unless something radical happens. It will be done with graft, togetherness and desire. It will be done with brains. It will be done by being prepared to do what no-one else will.
Yet talk of this when Liverpool are this abject seems a million miles away. Look at that target though. It is the only one that matters and today Watford were kind enough to give Liverpool a million clues. Fair play to them. Smart and aggressive. Certain. A good, good football team.
They don’t give points for style. They give points for scoring more goals than the opposition. Five off the top four. This is mad. And shouldn’t be allowed.
Liverpool abject. Watford excellent.
Everything to play for.
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Pics: Propaganda-Photo–David Rawcliffe
”Five off the top four.”
Times are tricky when Neil references top four and not the top o the league.
Agree on most of that but no strikers or 2 strikers…u can’t legislate for basic defensive errors from keeper/defender can you? Without them we’re not 2 down early on and it’s a different game altogether.
I’m waiting on the Player Ratings :)
Never mind looking up, time to look over our shoulders at Chelsea.
We all love Klopp and the honeymoon is still on, but the hard fact is results haven’t improved. We’re ninth and still getting results that would’ve got Rodgers sacked.
We’re poor throughout, but central defence needs sorting first. We’ll never play with confidence until we stop conceding soft goals every game.
Klopp needs a couple of his signings in for January.
In 1970 L’pool were humbled by a 2nd division Watford in the FA Cup and Shankly read the riot act. Half the side were dropped for good and fresh blood brought in.
After witnessing Newcastle, WBA and now that debacle today, Klopp has to be similarly ruthless.
– The GK farce has now gone on too long. Should be first priority in Jan.
– Central defenders are too weak and easily bullied. Skrtl was at fault for 2nd as he was shrugged off the ball by a journeyman. Go raid Dortmund for replacements.
– Firmino is a charlatan. Can’t be arsed. Worst buy in years. Get rid.
– If, as seems increasingly likely, Klopp doesn’t fancy Benteke, then buy a forward cos the goals have dried up and Sturridge can’t be counted on.
Perhaps the biggest lesson for Klopp today is that this team has no fight or heart.
To think we could just show up and stroll was unforgivable.Hope JK has seen enough now to make sweeping changes asap.
Disgusted with that ‘display’.
I hope Martin Skrtel’s Christmas is terrible. All burnt turkey and pigs in blankets that give you food poisoning. Just the worst shit that you can possibly imagine.
Remember when Brendan Rodgers played himself center half for Liverpool and we got turned over 6-1 by Stoke and 3-0 at home to West Ham? I should probably feel ashamed of being quite pleased at an injury but the fella has spanned 8 years and 5 managers by my count and he’s still soft as shite. Looks dead hard though. If a bouncer was a professional player, he’d be Skrtel. People will be talking about how Suarez and Sturridge nearly dragged dipshits like Skrtel, Mignolet and Glen Johnson to a league title long after everyone’s forgotten who Vardy and Mahrez are.
The amount of appalling keepers we’ve signed in my lifetime is farcical. Even the one good one in Reina turned to farce eventually (he was world class till the beach ball then his head went). How can you ever hope to dream to think to win the league operating like this? The likes of Heurelho Gomes would improve us by far too big a margin for this to be an acceptable situation. The Brad Jones debacle was 12 months ago and this still hasn’t been sorted out. It’s gross negligence. I mean, are we trying to win things or…
Even players who I like and think have character like Sakho and Henderson shit the bed massively. Having an elite manager everyone likes is great for spotting who is really not up to it and it seems none of them are based on today and yet it’s a similar team to the one that beat City. I’ll never understand it.
I’m still not blaming Klopp as this is Rodgers’ team and his players. Any group of players at this level can have a great game especially against the top teams because they mentally raise themselves. I agree that psychologically, the players need to work on treating all opponents with the same attitude. But we all know that these players are not at the top of the sport. We all said that when Rodgers was in charge but after those few games where we destroyed man city, chelsea and Southampton, all of a sudden they are top players and can win the league. Anyone who actually plays the game…not only watches…will tell you that our players are nothing to fear. Obviously we all want to just win games. In order to do so, Klopp needs time to build his own team. These players were never going to cut it if our true goal is to win the league. I remember before the season started that people were saying this may be Liverpool’s weakest ever team which is clearly not true but the fact that a notion such as that could even be conceived tells us that they are not good enough. What we need is solidity in defense more than anything. Unfortunately Bogdan threw are way his chance to be the starting keeper and now it looks imparitive that we get a keeper in January. Crossing my fingers that it comes good and I’m keeping the faith in Klopp to sort this out.
Highly debatable whether or not this was “Rodgers’ team.” When he clearly indicated, “I would rather have one or two absolute top players than seven that might not help us,” that was decidedly not the case. You could make an 11 out of players targeted by Rodgers but never delivered, a pretty damn good one, mind (Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Willian, Bertrand, Papadapolous, Costa, Konoplyanka, etc.).
So, Rodgers had to deal with a group he did not ask for, and deal with injury set backs galore. Those are mitigating factors. You either allow them for both managers, or reject them for both.
Rodgers left us 3 points off fourth and 6 points off first, and that was with major players coming back into fitness or getting assimilated into a new squad/country.
I like allowing for mitigating factors, as I think of football more like a massive chess game. Others go on as if it were Tic Tac Toe. But you can’t have it both ways, at least not with any credibility.
Klopp has been out-thought and has yet to find a first 11. He has dropped points against managers with a fraction of his resources. He has to rise above this adversity, and become stronger for it. It does no good to pretend that it is someone else’s adversity – especially after 9 league games with a win percentage no better than Rodgers’ lowest ebb.
I like Klopp. I believe in Klopp. What I find incredible is the childish narratives that people wrap themselves in to keep warm at night.
you are a fucking idiot Walter, your constant talking up Rodgers is fucking boring now. There not Klopps players are they? he is managing a squad that was acquired by Rodgers, he is here to try and sort the fucking mess out he didn’t create it.
Let him get his players in the team playing his way and then see if you come back and drop your asinine comments about Rodgers.
‘Highly debatable whether this or not this was Rodgers team”??!!!
Fucking hell, Walter, you should be writing for Pravda as you will spin any garbage to twist the facts in favour of your false Messiah.
Notice that you did not include Borini in that list. The first Rodgers signing who, we were promised’ would have fans on the edge of our seats’.
Then why did Rodgers openly state he was “the final say” in transfers?
Are you saying that in addition to getting his secretary pregnant, he was a man who would lie?
You will be saying Rodgers spouted bullshit about “projects” and ” style of play” next and had actually won things.
Forgetting Rodgers endless banging on about the need to “rebuild” KK team when he arrived.
Despite KK winning a trophy and getting to an FA cup final we narrowly lost to Chelsea.
Rodgers was, and still is, shit. Without a single honour to his name besides 3 sackings.
You gotta remember that Rodgers said (the week b4 he was sacked) ‘I need the tools to get the job done’. He had enough money to buy B&Q and Screwfix and managed to fk it all up.
Wise up. U r Brendan Rodgers aren’t you?
There’s obviously a debate about the system, especially up front. It’s a good point you make about Klopp’s USP and one I’d overlooked but my anger today is directed back to the transfer committee and Rodgers. Easy targets maybe, but the squad is so unbalanced.
We’ve needed a keeper for a long time. A lot of us were perplexed when we bought Bogdan. We all wanted a real challenge to Mignolet and possibly replacement. How is Achterberg still employed? Is he not judged on results?
Skrtel hasn’t been good enough to be our main centre half for years now. We’ve brought in a few in the last 4 years and none have worked out fully. We have no cover for the full backs.
We’ve been crying out for a holding midfielder for years. Regulars on here know my views on Lucas. Occasionally makes me look stupid but overall Liverpool need more from that position. How is Can playing before Allen? Allen has the odd game where he goes missing but for 2 out 3 he’s influential. Can shows glimpses of what he may become but overall he’s not been good enough and to keep Allen out makes me livid.
Then we move onto our expensive players. A look at our season in 13/14 and even, a look at Leicester now and it should be obvious what players we should be buying. Lallana is too weak and too slow. None of us want to admit he’s been poor because again, we get the odd glimpse. Firmino is a disgrace. Being wank I can handle, for example I’m not mentioning Moreno. If someone shows some fight I can handle it. I don’t ever want to see Firmino start for us again. How dare he turn up and think that’s acceptable.
Let’s just buy another number 10 though hey, that should solve it. Oh and Henderson and Sakho showed they have a bit of fight in them so let’s sell them. Let’s not stop until this team has no fight in it at all.
Klopp got the transfer committee off the hook when he came in got results. The reality is, they haven’t done their job. They’re fucking clueless and that still stands if we get top 4. The balance of the squad is a joke. It lacks cover for key areas i.e. the defence. There’s no personality in there. There’s no fluid attack. On the weekend Suarez has just made Barca world champions I look back to Mario, Lambert and Benteke with disbelief.
Had a feeling that we would do bad today. Chose to stay in bed as I didn’t want to ruin my Sunday watching us getting outworked. I always get so down when we are loosing and I am watching. Somewhat easier to stomach when we loose and I don’t watch. Two of the things which I think even out the playing field between clubs at the minute is fanhood and desire. A lot of our players show to little of both. We have no local lads playing and so the ingrained desire to go the extra mile for your boyclub is just not there. As a local lad growing in Liverpool few would dream about leaving if they were in the team. Desire – so like most other clubs we pick up players from somewhere else, but I would be curious if any of them were actually Liverpool fans – that is before they came to Liverpool. 2 of my 3 boys play football and everything Liverpool have been ingrained in them from the time they started playing when they were 4 . Today they are 12 and 16 so they have got their dose of my interpretation of the “Liverpool” way. The difference when you buy players as Watford or Leicester you by definition are buying a “lower” tier player compared to Liverpool who attract the “just below top tier” kind of players. The difference being that the the so called “lower tier” players are playing for their life, whereas the once Liverpool pick up dream about playing for Barcelona. That equation represent a lot of problems for all the “Just below top tier” clubs.
In continuation of my previous post. My oldest son played for a select team
Against a u17 team from Liverpool – not their academy “pro” team but a team made up of players who did not make the cut at LFC. Liverpool won that game 3-0 and it was a deserved win. The clear difference to me was desire – those youth players from Liverpool was playing for their life. Whereas my son among others do not yet understand, that to compete in top level football you have to practice and play with a “go to war” like mentality. Going to war mentality does not mean playing dirty it means getting stuck in and it mean playing hard for every ball in every game. And so in reference to my previous post this is what I am hoping that Klopp are here to change. My hope for the the future is to see all 11 eleven giving their for the fans every week – win, loose or draw. In other words play for the fans, the shirt and for their manager. YNWA
The attitude from the players as a collective concerned me a lot more today than individual errors. Clearly Klopp unleashed the hairdryer or something at half time, but by then the damage was already done.
Not sure what to make of this, don’t want to jump to conclusions. Hopefully we’ll get a decent goalkeeper in the upcoming transfer window. Without that sense of security at the back, we’ll run into plenty more of these landmines before the end of the season.
I think it takes a special kind of discipline to actually sit behind a keyboard after a result like that and post Neil so fair play: I actually can’t imagine how miserable it would be to travel to the Radio City tower and do a The Pink. Even if it was in the back of some toilet NCP in Hertfordshire I’d be tempted to just pass a pipe from the exhaust and just call it a day.
1) That ranks alongside Stoke 1-6
2) That actually raises woke questions for Klopp perhaps even ABOUT Klopp. If I see any of the 50% of these charlatans holding hands you’d be glad we have gun control in this country plus he has to reverse his public statement about Jan transfer market and that will be uncomfortable.
4) if Firmino is anywhere other than rotting in the fucking Central League until April I’ll start supporting fucking Tranmere.
Get a FUCKING grip Jurgen – that must have been like two pints of water in the face from your ma after a night on the ale.
Do not also yourself to be associated with that shite ever again
It’s not “attitude”, it’s not “lack of quality”, it’s not “lack of guts”.
It is FATIGUE. Physical/bodily and mental/cognitive FATIGUE.
Players do not suddenly and miraculously become incompetent and completely uncoordinated. They do not acquire ADHD out of the blue.
Over-training and playing too much & too often have THESE PRECISE effects on human neuro-muscular control and coordination.
Less abuse of players, less drama please.
Leave Rodgers out of it. It’s got naught to do with him or with Klopp’s tactical acumen or his understanding and appreciation of our league.
When you find yourself thinking that “two up top” is the solution and you start convincing yourself that Klopp just “doesn’t see it” or “hasn’t seen it yet”, it’s time to reconsider.
For 18 months? or nearly 3 years if we’re talking about the defence. Maybe, it’s got more to do with the players not being good enough. We’ve said it for time about a lot of them. I think a team is more about a dynamic (the sole reason I bang on about Allen playing so much) and we’re along way from having it. We’re missing vital components. That team after a month’s break would still lack them. So, although I think your point has a touch of merit I think you’re reading too much into it. This is the result of Rodgers ins and outs. Some of those players are good but they’re good in certain environments and it’s all been overlooked in our transfer policy. It looks completely amateurish to me and this is the consequence.
I’ve banged on about this ad nauseaum (for all involved). If you look at the players targeted by Rodgers, you see the hallmarks of a coherent vision based on technical skills, mentality, and interrelations that magnify strengths.
If you look at how the committee actually brought in players, it has the hallmarks of a group looking at statistics and resale potential.
We are not looking at a Rodgers squad. We are looking at a squad assembled by Dave Fallows, Barry Hunter, and Ian Ayre. All of whom are still gainfully employed by Liverpool Football Club.
Now that Klopp has played Lucas as a CB and prepares to make his first signing a midfielder from Red Star Belgrade, perhaps you can see that there are structural issues that transcend the cult of managerial personality.
we are looking at Rodgers squad. End of story. The manager is responsible for the signings if he is to fucking weak to say no then he shouldn’t have the job. I am beginning to think you are related to him now.
I see your holiness. You must be very strongly connected with the TC to know that piece of Information. Do you play bridge with their wives over the weekend?
Explains why Rodgers is such hot property in the jobs market. All the bottom half championship teams are knocking on his door.
Brendan Rodgers! Fuck off!!!!
Thanks Walter. Stop talking sense. You’ll go insane.
The Rodgers hate is limitless. What a waste of time.
Like anybody actually knows anything.
We know Rodgers blew £270m, got his secretary up the Duff, brown nosed FSG, was sacked from Watford, Reading and Liverpool and is still out of work. And has never won a thing in his life.
That much we do know.
My hatred of Rodgers is without bounds, after what he did to this club. He might have conned FSG with his bullshit, and a fair few sheep like superfans, but most saw him as a shitehawk.
the squad consists of a load of over priced rubbish that were hand picked by BR as having PL experience, not being too young and possessing what he thought were elite qualities. Southampton and Villa are considerably richer for that too.
Then there are a second set of players who are younger and purchased as backups to those older 1st team EPL experienced players – that seem pretty ordinary – and would develop over several seasons while being able to contribute something now.
Seems entirely rational except for the manager failing to correctly identify the qualities required and guiding the committee to that end.
Are you saying that Liverpool specifically are vulnerable (either because of Klopp’s regime or the specific run if matches we have had ?) becuauae clearly other than our Europa a League outings it seems this pretty much the same as everyone ?
I think you may have a point if Klopp was created continuing with a very explicit gegenpress but there doesn’t seem much evidence of that ?
I’m not sure where your point is directed and would be glad if you could expand
Players are not good enough full stop. shambles thanks to BR and Co.
If I’ve learned one thing from watching us play Palace, WBA, Watford and the like, it’s that we need to get rid of everyone under 6′ 2″ / 15 st and buy some muscle. We’re too easily bullied by our opposition and we lack pace and we lack power everywhere on the pitch.
Seriously, I don’t give a flying one for how tricky the diminutive flair players can be, if they’re getting pushed off the ball by every journeyman defender and midfielder they’re no good to us.
A few more 6 or 7/10 players that are big, strong and committed, and few less 8 or 9/10 players that only show-up 2 games out of 5 would suit me, and more importantly, better suit this league.
I’m absolutely dreading Leicester.
Thanks Neil.
“though let me see lads around the ref”
A-fucking-men.
Just like the Baggies second goal last week – Lov gets a push in the back on the corner and subsequently takes a tackle on the knee and no-one is in the refs face!
All too meek, all to timid, all too mediocre.
it was a SHOCKING performance overall.
BUT the bottom line is that I BELIEVE JK will fix this, in his own way, over a realistic timeline, and within budget.
I won’t look at the table again till.our next win, but also I won’t be losing.sleep over this loss. I would take this as another learning step for JK..about our players, need to strengthen, and the variety of styles that EPL teams play to get the result.
We go.again…cheers
I respect and admire your passion, and what you have built for yourselves with TAW. It certainly provides a more intelligent / in depth discussion on football than much of the mainstream media provides for football fans.
Nevertheless, I wish you would take the time to learn how to punctuate better. Poor punctuation undermines your articles, Neil. I’m afraid to say that you tend to veer too close to pretentiousness in your writing too.
That was a fucking disgrace of a footy match.
Honestly, if the opposition score 3 passed us without reply then the players, coaches and manager should all be fined. And the money pays for the LFC away fans’ transport costs.
Lazy millionaire cunts.
More than ever this is now pretty much a journeyman league. That’s dispiriting enough but if you have quality you have to show it all the time not just against the very few teams that actually try to play. One point and seven conceded against sides that are barely premiership standard but have a simple plan and ride their luck. That is championship form. But not the championship that we’d like.
What this side strikes me as being not so indifferent from the Rodgers era (not so hard as it is his team) is that it is often so easy to gauge from the first 10 minutes whether it is going to be our day or not.
Newcastle and today are perfect examples. After Newcastle I thought (maybe in an act of delusion) that on the bright side we won’t play as bad as that again, 2 weeks later we played even worse. The worst thing today I felt the kind of apathy the Rodgers era brought, just carried on with my bevvy and socialising as if nothing had happened.
Concerning, very concerning. I don’t blame Klopp one bit, not because I’m up his arse and blind to everything. I will not judge this man until the end of next season at least.
Clueless… After Southampton game I was looking at the next 5 games and reckoned some points were to be had. 15 perhaps a little optimistic, but 11 for sure.. Why not? Wasn’t thinking it was gonna win us the league like some over-enthusiasts (Those who did weren’t bothered about looking stupid to other teams (fair enough), but what about simply looking stupid?) but put us in a good place going forward. Now, looking ahead I’m not sure at all. Mid table, similar distance from top and bottom and utterly unconvincing against teams we should supposedly be running rings around.
Henderson, the best player on the day but we need a captain who can drag us out of the mire like Stevie so often did.. he will never come close (likes to make try hard faces though). It’s hard to point the finger anywhere in particular.. Shocking all round. However, after all the shit Rodgers got for continually picking Lovren, you simply have to look at Sakho’s performance today for reasons why, fuck he’s nervy on the ball.
I don’t understand how it is possible to put in performances like those against City and Southampton and then turn up like today…. Baffling. Maybe playing a top team boxing day will be enough to get a decent performance.. it seems there has to be a particular reason for players to turn up nowadays.
To be fair to Sakho, I thought he looked rusty from the off, rather than it being down to a lack of ability.
Ever been into TK Maxx and seen a t-shirt that looks great on the rail.Or a pair of jeans that look just the job?
And when you get them home and try them on again you realise why they were reduced?
Ever seen midfielders and defenders who can do fancy turns and back-heels and think “He’s worth every penny of £20/30 Million?”
Or would you look at those players and compare them to McMahon,Case and Souness and think “Hold on a minute,I want these players to win the ball then play a pass to an unmarked team mate who’s in a better position.”
Football is a very simple game if you have committed and focussed players with that kind of mentallity.
If I was Klopp I’d get in touch with Rodgers to see if he’s still got the receipts.Then take them back to TK Maxx for a refund.
Can’t see Klopp getting in touch with Bodgers.
Judging by his press conferences,Klopp doesn’t look the sort to tolerate bullshit. Rodgers would probably start spouting baloney about “tiki taka, philosophy, style of play” and start calling squads “groups”.
The mindless negativity in here is so much worse than the result.
Thanks for those words of wisdom.
I’ll blame the ‘mindless negativity’ and just let the result slide.
I take it you’re happy then Chris? I bet Klopp Isn’t!
There’s a difference between being happy and raging at every single aspect of the football club. This is the team that beat City 4-1 and Southampton 6-1 a matter of weeks ago. It can’t be as bad as all that.
Right now I feel every fucker at Liverpool that isn’t Klopp, arguably Clyne and like, the tea ladies and that should be cleared out so soz.
I’ll worry about being rational in a day or so.
I can’t recall being this depressed by a football game since that result at Stoke.
Like others, I thought we’d collect nine points from the last three games, not because we’re entitled to it, but because we looked to be on an upward trajectory.
But … IF this highlights the long-term problem at the heart of the defence (keeper and Skrtel), then I’ll accept the hit now. Yes, the rest of the team was shambolic today and Klopp’s got a lot to do to get our offensive game working, but being the top of the list of teams that gives away goals over the last 3 years (mistakes leading to goals), is not something you improve on the training ground. It’s a problem you rectify in the transfer market.
This.
Maybe this result (and it WAS a bloody awful petformance!) will prove to be the best thing that could happen. We have had three games against the journeymen of the EPL and been found wanting against old-fashioned and brutal tactics (although Watford showed some nice moves) and Klopp will have learned a lot about the EPL and the spirit of some of his squad. Shankly once bought and sold a player within a very few months “…because he has a heart like a carroway seed…” and there are signs that one or two of our squad ‘don’t like it up ’em.’
Klopp’ll fix it, but for two years or more we have been shitting ourselves every time we concede a corner, and with good reason. A keeper has been a priority since Pepe went but it has been ignored. No longer, please??
Oh, if only Ings was available.?
well written words of wisdom, Kevin. agree with your point of view (while majority of us here are panicking.)
I can see myself (wrongly) believing we’ll be the ones to put an end to this Leicester nonsense come Boxing Day, but that’s football for you.
certainly hope so, Tom.
and I’Il bet all the nearly 600 million Liverpool fans (if those stats were to be true) along with you and I would be routing for an impressive win ~ in both form and substance.
This is the beauty about being loyal supporter, isn’t it. We all have fresh start, new hope, new possibilities each new match (no matter what last match result or performance level might be).
Bring on Leicester!!..
Worse game I’ve watched since the Hodge was on the bench. Twitchy and nervy and I could see those first two goals coming – no penetration – no idea. Oh dear JK….
There’s a lot of big time Charlies who don’t fancy a muck and nettles scrap.That has to change very quickly.
Can’t help feeling Klopp is seriously regretting coming to the EPL, where Pulis thinks his style of play is what makes the league worth £8bn in TV rights. It’s great the belief that former championship teams could qualify for Europe by hoofing it and parking buses. But it will kill this league. It’s shit entertainment. So Klopps mission of bringing “rock and roll” footy to LFC gas been shat on by the likes of Pulis.
Obviously Klopp has inherited a team built by a manager who could only attract a certain calibre of player, and even then only by paying way over the odds. He can’t be expected to deliver anything until he is given the funds to rebuild. And you build from the back. Starting with Mignolet. Then a new Defence. And maybe, just maybe, Klopp will have the balls to get shut of Leiva, who in all his years here has had half a decent season. Leiva the charitable cause.
The idea that Lucas is the problem is just nonsense.
And as for building the team, you need to start at the front. We can’t score and if that continues we’ll end up in a relegation fight. We can’t integrate benteke, Firmino is just not happening, so we rely on Origi, a 20 year old that’s looked ok for 2 weeks.
If you can’t score it doesn’t matter what you do with the rest of the team.
Patience. FFS. Klopp hasn’t even reached a dozen league games yet. He is still learning exactly what the ” cultural” ( in the premiership’s case: agri – cultural football ) difference is in this wank of league. Watford did a real demolition job. I’ve just watched it back. It’s even worse on a repeat viewing. Fucking appalling.
Klopp WILL have learnt from the last couple of matches just what he has and has not got. Transfer window is going to be hugely interesting now. Is he going to dip? Does he really intend working on cohesion with a core of players he feels he can trust.? His post match presser as always was class. I absolutely love him. He pointed out we are somewhere between the tonking we gave to The Chavs, Citeh, and Saints and the unmitigated shite served up yesterday. We can be good but it’s going to take a while. Keep calm Reds and carry on believing.
We have ambitions in being THE best team in the league. The owners have made statements towards this also.
Name me one player in the team that scares the opposition???
We have more players that scare our own fans than they do the opposition.
I can think of 6-8 keepers in the league I’d have over our own.
Our defence have proven over several seasons now that they’re not very good with the old defending side of things.
Our midfield has a distinct last of creativity and for at least 18 months we’ve struggled to score goals.
None of this adds up to anything too optimistic.
The one thing we have is Klopp. Hopefully he can turn this around…..and soon!
Well that was bloody dreadful, at least as bad as the 6-1 at Stoke, and anyone that doesn’t agree with that needs their eyes testing.
Hope to god that it highlights to Klopp how badly we need another GK and CB that isn’t Skrtel, to be bullied off the ball like that by Ighalo is like a christmas cracker joke (but credit to Ighalo, he’s a beast).
Only good news I’ve read today is that we’ve just bought a 6ft 3″ midfielder in Marko Grujic, and to be frank the first thing I care about now to improve this team is height and physicality, no way should our midfield consist of 5 and a half foot headless chickens who can’t even hold the ball without tripping over their own feet.
But cheer up everyone, Leicester next…
yes, it’s a mad season Neil, and if the club had done what you had said last season and just gone for the nutz goalz strategy rather than try to be sensible then perhaps we would be where Lycester are and Rodgers would still be in a job heading the table with the worst defensive record in history!!
But as for the game, Couts, Firmino may aswell have not been on the pitch and Lallana was very poor too. That’s effectively our front line just may aswell have not been there.
Ironically, we passed the ball very well particularly in the first half, despite the press and effort of Watford, and went box to box very skilfully and frequently but then near their box it all died because of firmino, coutinho and the offside trap too. We just were zero threat.
Klopp has to unlock the front line otherwise nothing else will matter. That was the problem BR had since February. We haven’t integrated benteke, firmino is awful so we’re relying on Origi who’s 20 and only been in a state to start for 2 weeks. This is crisis stuff for me.
btw, your podcast monday was good. Glad you stopped all the nonsense talk about character, it’s such meaningless waffle. Journalists – no one can say so little with so many words the way a journalist can. Keep it up.
Couts, firmino were awful and lallana not any better so we just didn’t have a front line. You can’t play with 7 outfield players.