NEIL ATKINSON is joined by Gareth Roberts, James McKenna and Phil Blundell to talk about Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Norwich.
Discussion of Danny Ings, Emre Can and Brendan Rodgers for forty minutes or so after the frustration of Liverpool’s latest result and performance.
THE PINK: LIVERPOOL 1 NORWICH CITY 1
Their goal killed us. I really sensed a goal just prior to the equaliser which would have sealed it.
We didn’t take our chances though. We did enough to win the game. Had we won, we would have been in an ok place in the league. Had we then followed it up with a win against Villa then I was confident about 30% of the fans could have moved on from the anger we felt after Utd. We could even have taken a few positives from this game. Ings showed enough for me to really like him. Moreno did enough for me to think he should start the home games at a minimum. We can say what we want but we didn’t beat a bottom half side at home again. The fact that Sakho did well makes it even more perplexing for me. Where’s he been? There was a time recently when it seemed every player we bought was a midfielder. How is it still so poor and lacking any creativity? I agree there were moments today but it wasn’t really enough for me.
Prior to the match I was watching my son’s team play. They got a corner and the lad failed to clear the first man. Really shit corner but it went out for another one. This time the lad took a brilliant one and we scored. When the first one has been such a poor marker it’s a lot easier to correct the next one. Where I’m going here is, we can blame Rodgers all we like but how were Milners corners so bad? How was his second one worse than the first at that crucial stage? It’s schoolboy stuff to be able to deliver a corner past the first man, especially if you get a second chance. I can clear him 90% of the time. All game our set pieces were awful. I’ve got to be careful here, not so much for being a grass but sounding like a complete knob, but I’m gonna say it anyway. My mate is good friends with someone we all know from the club. They talk weekly at least. Whether true or not, that person is under the impression the players don’t like Rodgers. I know it’s been ‘speculated’ for a long time but in my head I’m convinced that’s the case. Ok, the effect of that gets negated by the hardly new info that it wasn’t harmonious under Rafa either but if I want an explanation of why there’s no buzz in the side. Why there’s no spirit, then I’m looking there. If the players aren’t happy, the majority of the fans aren’t happy then what’s the point. I feel for Rodgers. He’s given it his best shot but I can’t see how this gets turned around. Yes, we’ll go on a good run at some point but the fractures will still be there. I think that as fans we’ve become influenced by the throw away attitude of society and it applies to managers as well. I seriously wonder who out there I’d be happy with as a replacement. On the other hand though, I can’t stand it when I feel full of despair after matches and despite the few positives, I do today. It’s not good enough. Better, but not good enough. I’d rather finish 6th under someone else. No one wins when it’s like this (except Sakho perhaps, who becomes a cult hero and the poster boy for the anti Rodgers fans).
Try and take the positives out of the better performance today. We might go on good runs and we might do this and we might do that but the manager I feel is 100% committing and most of the players are so with that we must take the positives and apply it to the next game.
Like I said mate, it was fine lines today. Had we won 1-0 or, even better, 2-1 then I’d have been in a completely different place. The new buzzword seems to be fume and that’s what I had after the match. I saw today as a chance to put everything behind us and be in a good place in the league. It wasn’t that bad though.
What do we need to do to get a little luck? It was a better performance compared to the last few games I agree and if Sturridge, Milner and Coutinho buried there chances we would of been 3-0 winners like Man Utd the week before who buried there 3 chances. Fans can not simply blame the manager because Rodgers changed the system and if the players can’t bury there chances then how is that the managers fault? Rodgers set up the team to score and at least Milner and Coutinho should of scored. I believe the performances will improve over the next 3 games. We got to take heart from this performance and remain positive.
Good stuff this and Gareth is right, there comes a time when “If this happened. if that happened, If If If” has to stop.
Just seen the txt TAW shared on social media that they were sent and the guy is completely right. We have some really good players at the club unfortunately Rodgers seems completley devoid of ideas of how to get the best outta them. How many formations did we go through yesterday???
What is it now? 16 points from 15 games?? In the last 20 games we’ve only scored more than 2 twice. For the players we have at our disposal that’s scary. For how much longer can this be allowed to be the norm?!
Just realising txt was from Gutman…..fair play Rob, pretty much agree.
Even as I type this now, I still believe we have the players there to finish top 4…..I just dont think we have the manager.
It will probably be allowed to continue for as long as the TV income increases. The club is raking it in, well beyond the initial projections back when FSG bought a club heading into administration.
The only way FSG will react is to start seeing empty seats in games. That image affects the brand.
Success for FSG = money.
Success for fans = silverware
Have to say too, starting Sturridge smacks of desperation. This is a guy who hasn’t started a football match since April and before that he only had a handful because of another layoff. The guy also had surgery during the summer. Nobody would have thought twice if Sturridge was named on the bench. People would have understood, the guys fitness needs to be managed, he needs eased back in. 20/30mins here and there to get back into the swing of things but because we are under pressure for results he’s put straight in.
What does that say to Ings too?? A guy who’s only played a handful of matches in the last yr gets on ahead of him. Ings showed what he’s about when he came on and hopefully he starts the next league game. If Benteke is ok I’d start Ings beside him against Villa. Give Sturridge time to find his feet and confidence again. Play him tomorrow night in the cup and again next week in the Europa.
It was just one of them where if we take our chances we win 3 or 4 – 1 and come away happy. Could have done with a few things going our way.
There’s been far too many “one of them” games in the last year or so. Are we now getting so used to them they are deemed as acceptable?
I’m far from a Rodgers apologist, but no one is saying these kind of results are acceptable.
Yesterday after the match I was fuming and disappointed to fuck, still am if I’m honest. Didn’t even watch MOTD or anything (never do when we don’t win). However upon reflection it was a big improvement. Now there’s probably a justifiable argument that says we’re playing Norwich at home and there should be an improvement.
Nevertheless at least we created enough to win the match, which if we can recreate this from now on I’ll be encouraged. The Coutinho decision to shoot when we were 2 on 1 was the worst of an afternoon that contained a few poor decisions around the final 3rd of the pitch.