THERE are loads of mitigating circumstances. Loads and loads. You know them all and you can even probably include the weather, which Liverpool never got to grips with, and the fact that Martin Skrtel is on the pitch. But, to enjoy ourselves, shall we pretend there aren’t any?
It’s probably the worst ball retention I’ve seen from a Liverpool side since Roy Hodgson was on this patch stinking the joint up.
As a collective, Liverpool could not keep the ball — they couldn’t make it stick. They couldn’t turn and spin. They couldn’t play.
This didn’t take place in a vacuum. As John Gibbons so often says, we press because we think it works. Other sides might come to the same conclusion. Swansea did, and they pressed Liverpool to death in the centre of the park first half.
They played very well. Pedro Chirivella — making his Premier League debut — and Kevin Stewart couldn’t cope; Sheyi Ojo and Jordon Ibe couldn’t help and, for whatever reason, instruction or instinct, Phil Coutinho chose not to. They looked as inexperienced as they are. Weak as kittens and twice as naive.
Liverpool’s side were two footballers adrift, only in the game to be taken out of it. Pulled here and there, no-one to come and sit next to them and make their lives easier.
Swansea scented blood and were rapacious. They got their reward.
Ojo did some business through the game. He looked bright, but he is a footballer likely to spend two or three years on the periphery of games, decorating them occasionally with panache. The issue Ibe has is that he doesn’t look to have the panache while also looking short in so many other areas. The case to persevere with him gets undermined by every game on the pitch. Bournemouth seems a long time ago, strangely, perhaps unfairly for Ibe. It was warmer then. It wasn’t lashing down and freezing for one.
The first half ends as a write off. The second half is in a sense more frustrating. Or more accurately, the five minutes after Liverpool score. The five minutes after Liverpool get one back Skrtel, Lucas, Smith, Stewart and Lovren are disgraceful. Some more so than others but only Clyne — maybe only Clyne across the 90 minutes to be honest — only Clyne emerges from that five minutes with any credit. It was Aston Villa levels of calamity from Liverpool’s men. It was lacking in absolutely everything you want from a red shirt. Sense. Steel. Ambition. Control. Desire. Reactions.
It reduced my brain to an Alan Hansen Match Of The Day list of qualities footballers need. If I didn’t already think Skrtel and Smith were gone, and Lucas was at best going to be a fourth or fifth-choice centre back next season, I would argue it should be a career-changing five minutes.
And the sending off is bloody stupid.
The state of Degsy Lovren next to Martin Skrtel is bigger than most match reviews. I feel sorry for the lads and girls at the grown-up newspapers and websites. To be honest, it could well be bigger than even this nonsense masquerading as creative non-fiction. It may well need a novella. Degsy’s day from the moment he realises it will require him to play centre back next to Martin Skrtel. Shock. Anger. Adjustment to the reality in front of him. Coping. Collapsing. Flashback.
The rest, well Sturridge and Benteke frustrated but the football match mostly took place a mile behind them in real terms. The goalkeeper did alright.
But back to our mitigating circumstances, there has been too much made of them in a sense. The game is when the game is. Cop for it. Gérard Houllier had to. Rafa Benitez had to. The manager has to keep his bounce and his smile. He has to. The other two didn’t if we are frank. No one says it is easy. If it was everyone would be doing it. And yet.
And yet. Behind the scenes I have no doubt the Liverpool manager is already thinking he will need a squad of 28 — he will need more pace, he needs more physicality. Behind the scenes I have no doubt that things will be getting boxed off. Cop for that? Ok, you cop for this.
Thursday more important. Of course. But next season weekends will be everything. Weekends will need to be better against Swansea, Watford, Newcastle/Sunderland, West Brom. Weekends will need to be better.
Get to it. Up the no mitigating circumstances Reds.
Into these. For the purpose of clarity “these” is everyone. Into these.
A reminder, if any were needed, we lack depth and have to rely on FSGs youthful investment punts and can’t compete on two fronts.
The squad is under invested and lacking quality, hence us being mid table.
That was fucking pathetic, and if you want to blame the rain, getting back at 3am ( cheaper than a decent hotel?) then whatever.
But the fact remains, it was below the standards expected and FSG have been here 6 (six) fucking years.
Agreed. Time to see some return on their investment. 6 years is a long time. There haven’t been many good signings and numbers mean little in football. This American money ball approach was doomed from the outset. Football is a team game….baseball…not so much. Numbers mean much more in that “sport”.
I forgot to mention the last profit statement… £80m.
That’s more than the Bitters turn over.
And to travel to Swansea for noon kick off to watch players who can’t pass or hold the ball, it’s a fucking travesty.
Still, at least there was no Skyrtl OG. I take some comfort in that
Isn’t playing Skrtel at all basically an own goal? Maybe Klopp scored an own goal today….
I hope you haven’t read Moneyball because thats better than the alternative. Moneyball is about finding value in the market, not using stats, which have always been part of baseball.
In terms of squad depth, we have not only the injuries and the fat pills but several players out on loan who are well better than those that started today. Not sure why Caulker is not getting a run ahead of Skrtel. Not sure why I am not getting a run ahead of Skrtel. Which reminds me I think they should have raffled off that last bench spot.
“Not sure why I am not getting a run ahead of Skrtel”~ a good one, Baggio
Is there a team in Europe with decent 7th and 8th choice centre mids to call upon? It’s not as if Chirivella would even get into our 3rd string XI with everyone fit, never mind the first team.
I don’t think we’ve ever been in a position where we can play the 25th, 26th and 27th best players in our squad and still expect to roll over Premier League opposition when they’re littered with experienced internationals.
True but then look at our first 11. How many of them would walk into any team? The truth is that it’s a team game and as long as the players gel together things will be good. We’ve had shocking transfers over too many different managers resulting in an incredibly unbalanced team. I’m pretty sure 99% of us were against the Benteke transfer before it happened and sure enough he has not fit in with the first team. That is not to say he is not a good player. We really just need long term stability and someone actually *thinking* before throwing ridiculous money at transfers that don’t improve the TEAM. I mean Balotelli? ??? FSG trying to sell jerseys???
The kid Chirivella is not as bad as he played today. It so happened we just didn’t have any fit senior players to lead/guide them for a match like today. For example, if he or Stewart is paired with two seniors in a midfield 3, he would have played with a lot more confidence.
Lets just don’t write the kid off yet. He might yet turn out to be another Origi
Anyone else notice how ward just didn’t come for anything? Esp in set pieces?
That’s 3 keepers this season.
Yes. Somehow our two keepers seem to be a Lot more passive to come out for slow crosses into six yard box.
One Swansea player was trying to block our keeper for the first goal but still he should have come out.
Is our goalkeeping coach the problem??
Well in that case let’s start a new hashtag #achterbergout. Anyone up for it? (:
Completely agree Neil. Some of those players have hearts the size of peas and brains not much bigger. Disgrace is the word.
I wasn’t really expecting much more than what I saw to be honest. I’m disappointed we lost of course but I’m more disappointed Sturridge played the full 90. I suspect that signals the end of Daniel’s Liverpool career. If Klopp isn’t going to trust him in two of the biggest games of the season and then hangs him out to dry (poor choice of metaphor given the Welsh monsoon) with a makeshift U21 squad, what hope is there?
And it was an U21 squad out there today. It reminded me of watching Liverpool reserves in 90’s when you’d go to watch the young lads play but get to see 45 mins of Harkness and Ruddock making a comeback from injury… Yeah, it was kind of like that, only, in the Premier League… with the whole world watching.
Ah well, If having everything to lose on Thursday doesn’t get the crowd rocking and the players fired up, nothing will. It’s all or nothing now boys, once more unto the breach!
Won’t be surprise if Firmino run around/press for the first 60 mins and Sturridge comes on and kill off the match.
Even better if Sturridge starts and score 2 goals before half time.
It will be all or nothing match!! Can’t wait.
What is an U21 squad doing playing league games?
Surely Klopp has assessed thier ability at Melwood?
Weirdly it said we had 52% possession after the game. Don’t know how that works when we spent the entirety of the first half just giving them the ball back at every opportunity.
Having a manager that everyone loves is great for being able to criticise him. Usually with Liverpool managers you’d be choosing sides or have an agenda. With that said Klopp’s management of Sturridge this week has been absolutely woeful. Didn’t give him a kick with a sub to spare in the match that mattered then had him running about for the full 90 in that pile of shit game? If that was Rodgers or Benitez etc.
See how cheddared Owen was in the studio when it came through United had gone 1-0 as well? Little rat.
We are now nine points behind City, with a game in hand.
If we don’t win the UEFA cup there’s got to be a few questions about why we dropped five points to Newcastle and Swansea.
Questions like, what the fucking hell are we playing at?
And, what sort of thing is happening here?
Is Jurgen’s plan to make Sturridge angry and absolutely fucking fuming when he comes off the bench against Villareal if Liverpool need him on Thurs, so he just rips them to shreds? Does he play better angry?
Regardless Klopps in charge unmistakenly so, and has a record to show he knows what he’s doing even if fans can’t see it, this is what Brendan didn’t have.
Agreed. With all due respect to BR, he would not have dared to drop Sturridge for big games. (But then again he dropped many big games in Real away game though :)
We just have to trust in Klopp. He is world class manager and he will get us there soon!!
Obviously we trust in Klopp. He has won stuff.
Rodgers has won nothing. Although he did get a secretary pregnant whilst at Liverpool, which could be seen as an achievement. Possibly.
Secretary pregnant? what an achievement. Sven Erickson did shoot but no ‘goal’ during his time as England manager.
Fuck off with that shite will you?
Go on the Daily Mail website if you want to gossip about people’s personal lives.
It’s not gossip. It’s a statement of fact.
The man was distracted.
So you fuck off
Can we jib this shite? Just have a conversation without the bellendery.
Yeah like when Carroll came on angry and nearly won the fa cup against Chelsea. Key word there is ‘nearly’. Play your best team for the games that matter and stop pissing about.
I love Klopp to death but if reincarnated Shankly pulls the same shit Sturridge-wise this week I’m still in vehement disagreement and largely fuming.
really think that Sturridge will start Thursday, biggest game of this season so far. And non stop attack from the start with Courtinho, Bobby and Lallana behind him, and Allen and Milner further behind.
Benteke would be the 60 min sub.
The fact that Leicester pumped these last week, notwithstanding, good luck to The Swans beating our U21s at theirs 2 days after our last match in the rain at the end of a season with no actual players the manager has signed off on.
It’s been a disappointing league campaign from Klopp for me.
I know everyone will say it wasn’t his team, but if he went on and lifted the title this year (as some on this page were stating he could..) Im sure he’d have got most or all of the praise, so he has to have the responsibility of another mid table finish in my opinion. Basically, since taking over he managed to take us above Palace and Everton.
Hope we can hit the ground running next year..