WALKING out. Walking along. Me, Ben Jono, Mike Girling, Sam Brockle. “Don’t really know what you say about that one.”
Walking down towards the brow.
“One of them. Got to write a match report.”
“About that?” asks Ben Jono.
“Yep.”
“Shape good. No threat. Just write that.”
“Robbo expects more.”
“Write that over and over again.”
The shape was good. There was no threat. Football always has facets. Divock Origi offered as little threat as he did against Spurs. But he did a job for the team against Spurs. The job the team needed tonight was ball into net and you couldn’t see how it would come for him, and therefore how it would come for Liverpool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ2MhgOLsQA
Football teams tend to be defined by the lad who plays number nine. What your number nine does and doesn’t want his team-mates to do tends to be what they do and don’t do. One who doesn’t demand enough, who doesn’t define enough leaves a side looking undefined.
First half Liverpool were defined by the lad who plays number 23. Twenty one players at times rendered barely relevant. Facets and Emre Can.
Which lens do you want to watch him through? Tonight, determined to enjoy the football, determined to enjoy the Emre. Emre makes things happen. For everyone. He can define any 30 seconds in different ways across those 30 seconds. He whirls. He dirls. He delights. He frustrates. He ziggles. He zaggles. He razzle dazzles.
Coutinho toiled. Lallana impressed for two consecutive games. Bright as a button, living his life on the half turn. The full backs look rejuvenated and the centre half Sakho imperious. The point is this — eight, nine lads can play well, but you can still fail to make it count against mediocre opposition down to 10.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6gFzPI_Tls
But you can enjoy it. A crowd that wanted to know, a team that wanted to please. Tons of graft, not enough guile. But you tend not to win if it is the other way round as well. Look at it as a starting point perhaps. Look at it as a curate’s egg if you must. Look at it the way you want.
I’ll look at it as a stepping stone towards the number nines coming back. Towards the number 10 wearing 11 coming back. Only then will it look like what it needs to. Only then will you know.
So we’re walking along. Me and Ben Jono, Mike Girling and Sam Brockle. Laughing our heads off about turps on your feet to sort your blisters when you play, about Gérard Houllier making a fortune having lads get their wisdom teeth out.
Football always has facets. Choose to look through positively. Choose to look through negatively. Look any way you like. But it will, this evening, come down to this: “Shape good. No threat.”
Add threat. And then we will see.
[rpfc_recent_posts_from_category meta=”true”]
Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda-Photo
Here’s mine:
“Origi’s not ready. Get Milner off the fucking corners.”
– Shout out to Kolo for still warming up years after the third sub. He just really likes stretching I think.
– Sakho aside, the man of the match was seemingly between Garcia and Gerrard and time has stood still the past decade. Some new songs are a must.
Yea was a bit baffled by the Garcia song.
Hey guys we’ve got 11 other players actually playing a match in front of you, how about singing a song for them?
i think its just because the song is cool rather than any long lingering thoughts of Luis Garcia (he drinks sangria) being a great. Great guy obviously, met him once and he was a real gent.
It was just lovely to hear the Kop singing again…
new songs a must though.
Klopp must be thinking how much did Rodgers spend???? *$%*@~ hell
still massively excited about where this story is going to take us.
Thought Sakho was great again tonight with Skrtel our weak link in the defence again, although Clyne has to share some responsibility for the goal.
Thought Can looked really impressive at times but can have a tendency to switch off like when their man just ghosted into the box.
Lallanna was very good too, making runs in behind, twisting and turning but his shooting has got to improve.
So does Coutinhos. His shooting is a major weak point in his game. The amount of times Coutinho pops up at the edge of the D in space only to squirm a shot is unreal. Not just tonight but in general. He needs to take a bag of balls every day after training and just shoot from the edge of the D for 15mins. If he can add 10+ goals a season to his game he will be a proper star player.
Overall everyone’s shooting needs to improve as does our passing and corner taking ability. They played 10 men behind the ball for the guts of an hr and took something form this game. We are gonna face better teams this season that will put 11 men behind the ball and we need to find away to put the ball in the back of the net.
Fella next to me says they are all saying Can is playing well! What what WHAT! Sobs.
Ramblings:
Effort there, guile certainly not.
Sakho should captain this side.
Agreed 100% with Tom M, Milner should be barred from taking any more corners.
[Klopp finally had enough of those when he ordered Moreno to take the last one].
Thought we telegraphed too many high balls to Benteke when a bit more movement would have unlocked them.
Coutinho is going thru his first extended slump and its not pretty. Hope the Brazil rejection gets his motivation going in the right way. Still not sure if Klopp fancies him long term.
We have been truly stitched up for 29 million for Firminho.
I will wager that Klopp will unload 80 % of this side before next season.
Noone expects miracles or magic dust. Klopp is no mug and will sift out the dross soon enough.
Rodgers and the so called TC have squandered 300 million in 3 years to create a 10th place side. That is why he was removed and the ‘restart’ necessary.
Your Firminho comment is vapid. The lad played in an unmotivated, Rodgers team with in a different position in a different system every week and then go injured. I think you should (and me) re visit that in 6 – 7 weeks
‘I will wager that Klopp will unload 80 % of this side before next season.’
If we begin the 2016/17 season with Skrtel still starting I’m gonna have to change from a believer to someone who doesn’t watch football.
Goalscorer supreme or no goalscorer supreme, you’d like to think we could make light work of a struggling Russian side near the bottom of their League and who were playing with 10 men for most of the game, away from home at that. poor showing.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, the players simply aren’t good enough. Klopp has a mountain to climb with this lot…
True ^^^^ but klopp has worked miracles before with averagely talented players. It’s the tactics that he will have to use for better results. I think off loading 80% of the team again will create another transition team. How many have we had those till now? I think klopp has a plan for the present squad.
So much work needs to be done. Rodgers has left this group of players completely lacking in any belief that they can score a goal. They approach the box with all the confidence of a college freshman, taking on a bra-strap with one hand for the first time at a drive-through movie.
Klopp must be looking at our first team and feeling that his 2nd XI at Dortmund would have utterly destroyed it.
I can see some big-money sales coming in January, with Coutinho already looking the most likely guy to fund Klopp’s first round of spending. I bet he already is thinking of several unfashionable Bundesliga players who would instantly improve us.
One positive for me was that we didn’t press hard. This disappointed me, initially, but when I thought about it I decided it would have been suicide to wear ourselves out against Rubin Kazan before facing a well-rested Southampton.
Our players are going to have to go through brick walls in that game, or the likes of Mane, Tadic and Pelle will tear us apart. I would be happy with another draw and wouldn’t be surprised if there are one or two names in our starting XI that cause quite a shock.
I can’t help feeling that one (or perhaps more?) of the lads, in either the U18s or U21s, Liverpool career is about to really take-off. Fascinated to see how Jurgen approaches this one.
Lallana and Sakho men of the match, definite starters going forward. Well done, lads.
As for the rest, hmm…
Although regardless of Rubin’s domestic league position, you have to say they defended very well.
Spot on, Neil.
“Football teams tend to be defined by the lad who plays number nine. What your number nine does and doesn’t want his team-mates to do tends to be what they do and don’t do. One who doesn’t demand enough, who doesn’t define enough leaves a side looking undefined.”
Great point. To put a finer point on it, I think a team is defined by the number nine and ten (or whatever version of striker and support striker you prefer). And this is where we’ve struggled since Suarez left and Studge broke.
That said, I believe Klopp can rectify this, whereas I lost faith that BR could.
I agree with this. Gerrard behind Torres with a team tailoring their game around them is one of the most ‘defined’ Liverpool teams I’ve gotten to watch. We’re probably a fit Sturridge and an in form Coutinho away from looking a really good side.
But without that – before Benteke came on to give us a bit of presence for us to just lash crosses in – we weren’t going to worry anyone once we found ourselves in the final third last night. Down to ten, rubbish Russian outfits or not.
Not certain about a team being defined by their centre forward. I think it’s got much more to do with the midfield unit.
Ours is giving plenty of effort but little in the way of quality….at the moment.
is the midfield not showing final ball quality because the striker isnt doing what he should do? or is the striker doing what he should do, but the midfield isnt showing enough quality?
or a bit of both? Get Benteke, Sturridge back in there for a run of games and it should improve markedly.
I thought we did OK, but we need to release the ball earlier, keep the momentum going forward, once we take our foot off the gas the opposition get 3 or 4 seconds and then they’ve got 10 behind the ball, we’re shafted.
A few times it just seemed as though the players didn’t know where the space had opened up after an incisive run, and consequently played the wrong ball, or just kept hold of it too long. A few more weeks of drills should hopefully sort that out.
I thought Can, and Lallana were our standout players, along with Sakho. Great save from Mignolet to save a second goal, after great technique from their fella. Clyne clearly at fault for the goal, after Can was sidestepped in the middle, but for me Skrtel was equally culpable. Defenders, defend as a unit, how does Skrtel not see the danger and react so slowly, and why does Clyne not tell to come him instantly that ball is crossed ? Defending 101 – “he might beat you, but he wont beat us!”
Very early days though. Roll on Southampton. I just can’t get enough at the moment.
I like Emre but like a few I am puzzled as to what he will actually turn into! Decent performance last night and a nice goal. For me he and Nathaniel Clyne were mainly at fault for the first goal. Stepped inside the press from Can too easily and Clyne was on the wrong side – superb finish though. Can also let his man go in the area nearly causing a second.
Need to step the pace up on moving the ball, especially in midfield and around the area – too many touches. Take a note from City and be more patient intrying to work the wide players in behind their fullbacks. Early days.
Definitely agree with Neil regarding the number 9 conundrum, but we also have to look at the midfield. Can aside – who knows what he will eventually become, it could be anything – we have players who are great lads but who somehow don’t seem to have *quite* enough to really dominate games. None are bad players and some could well flourish with a few tweaks to the formation, but it’s mad to think that given the amount of money spent in recent years on midfielders, we’re still basically dependent on Phil to actually run everything, to be the dominant one. And since he’s currently off form, it means the edge is dulled…
It was an odd match to be at. The crowd was eager to do its part and the energy from us was much better but the performance just couldn’t get us past hoping not believing, well not yet.
It is obvious that Rodgers left a demoralised team with some rather lack lustre players. For me Milner is not the sort we need. Yes he works hard but he adds precious little above that, he’s like Henderson’s older understudy, but not as effective. Allen is a certain casualty now that Rodgers has gone. Coutinho needs forwards who move defenders around and midfielders who go past him. If we can’t give him this he might as well move on too.
Can wants to win, he really wants to win. He has shortcomings, but that guy gets what we want and he will be great as he matures and Klopp’s methods kick in. The value of Lucas was self evident from the second half kick off – so undervalued by some.
If we can stay confident until January and one or two reinforcements arrive alongside 3 months of Klopp’s input, we will be all right. Hope will become belief.
Funny match.
They did exactly what Klopp said in the presser. Ball over the top and in. Park the Bus.
The possession stats must be hilarious. Got me thinking – what actually is the practical upper limit ? 80% ? 90% ? Even if you lose 20-0 you have at least to kick-off, or roll it out to a defender.
It isn’t just down to the striker – you need 2 or 3 additional players to break that sort of mojo, and I don’t mean transfers (though it might come to that).
Couthino for example is going through a ropy patch and the team generally, while actually not that bad and looking remarkably cohesive all things considered, are obviously gong through the dreaded ‘transition’ shite again. To all intents and purposes Benteke and Firmino may as well be brand new signings playing their first game