THE Reds are abject again.
The Reds are abject again and it hurts.
I’m very, very fond of this Liverpool team and this manager. I feel they can do a lot this season.
But they can’t do that again. They can’t be that blunt. They can’t keep starting slowly at grounds like Turf Moor. It gives the opposition all the encouragement they need. They want to stick one on Liverpool. They need to be blown away or left to ponder their shortcomings.
They can’t keep putting themselves at a disadvantage. It happened too often last season. It has now happened once too often this. The season is young, but more of this will mean it grows old very quickly indeed.
Burnley held a good shape and had good focus. They did their jobs and didn’t lapse but Liverpool didn’t stretch them. Didn’t threaten that concentration.
There isn’t a single performance that should escape criticism. This is Liverpool emphatically losing together. Across the board they worked for each other. The effort wasn’t the issue. Instead it was the fact that across the board they weren’t good enough for each other.
Too many players were trying to force the issue early. Philippe Coutinho looking for that curler too early, too often. Daniel Sturridge too elaborate. Roberto Firmino looking for through balls that weren’t there. The decision making in the final third was about as lacking as it can be.
Conversely, Jordan Henderson spending his life looking sideways when his best Liverpool games have come when he is on the front foot, passing and running vertically. He was poor. He wasn’t alone. They were all poor – Firmino and Coutinho’s first 20 minutes amongst the worst they will ever throw out in the shirt.
Aspects of why Liverpool are poor come from a good place. There is the idea that they are a side built to play well. Playing well is what the manager looks for. He doesn’t build a side to play a 6/10 game. He builds one which can and should show trust that it will find a way to shine, that it will come alive. However, when it didn’t shine today it couldn’t improve. Every change made Liverpool worse – which was some achievement.
The pattern needs to break. Liverpool were rightly confident and excited after Arsenal, their 20 minute explosion of consciousness marking football. But to follow the big win up, again, with a lifeless showing has to stop.
Our manager is a man who focuses on process. Who will already be thinking of how to improve. Process is important. If we are fond of him and these lads we need to buy into process. We need to go on a journey with them. We need to bounce into Spurs.
But we expect to bounce into Spurs – this is our concern, dude. Process is forward movement, not deja vu for Watford and Newcastle last season. Lose 4-2 after stirring us. Not 2-0 after boring us.
It happens. It is football. No one wins every week. How you lose, therefore, matters. Liverpool lost too many games badly last season. Not badly in terms of scoreline but in terms of approach. Start poorly, be unlucky, whatever, just finish strongly. Run out of time, not ideas.
How you recover matters. We’re all in this together. We do this 36 more times. Let’s go Red Men. Let’s just go and not stop going. We need you to go. No backward steps. No sideways eyes. We’re in this together.
Burnley 2 Liverpool 0: The Pink
Burnley 2 Liverpool 0: Match Ratings
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Burnley dragged Liverpool down to their level and killed them. Klopp says he wants to do that to the big teams…but what do we do when our level is higher than other teams, and they decide to sit and and catch us on the break or when we make a mistake? …I haven’t seen an answer to that yet…
The story of the modern Liverpool FC continues.
The only times we see signs of the story being rewritten are when we’re spearheaded by an extraordinary forward. Otherwise the league campaigns follow the trend. So it goes.
Bad performances will always happen, but it seems like we haven’t had a decent plan for a game like this in the last 5, 6, 7-years or more. It’s so frustrating, there really isn’t much more to say. The season isn’t even close to over, and we don’t need to sell our whole team (as the entirety of RAWK seems to believe), but damn, this was deflating.
Its just a dream..its only a dream…its only a dream….its just a dream….its only a dream..this is not heppening really…
Same old. In hi-vis. Frigging Rodger’s playing square pegs in round holes again. Oh hang on a minute…
Not sorting a left back out or a defensive mid to stop that farcical second goal from happening would’ve seen fucking mutiny under Benitez.
That’s because deep down, if we are honest, mutiny has given way to acceptance the owners have run the club down to the mediocrity that sees 5 goals conceded alrrady and a game lost at Burnley despite 80% possession. As with most branded goods, quality is irrelevant, it’s how it looks and how much profit you can make…. superficial.
I wish these yanks would fuck off.
Feels like we haven’t had ‘proper’ tactics since Rafa left. Knew we’d lose the two finals and thought we’d lose at Arsenal even when 4-1. Wouldn’t trust this lot as far as I could throw them. Think thus lauding of Klopp needs a reality check too – getting away with stuff Rodgers never would.
Same old, same old !! The owners need to look at themselves I think do we want to be winners or be happy to be mid table shit bags !?!
Owners? It was basically the same team that ripped Arsenal to bits last week, apart from dropping Moreno which everyone wanted anyway. Didn’t see us hi 5-ing the owners last week. The money is there for JK to spend and we need to, especially on a full back.
Ripped Arsenal to bits?
You mean the weakened Arsenal who came back 4-1 to end the game the more dominant side?
That’s the fella, yep.
Yes the owners !! We have only spent 30 million after ins an outs so far !?! An for Liverpool football club that is a piss take after the TV money an the mid table shit from last season
All too familiar, Coutinho taking pot shots and passing to the ghost of a player (for Daniel Sturridge read Albie Moreno) all game. Vulnerable on the break and slow, slow, slow. We shouldn’t be missing Mane already!
I love Jurgen but he shouldn’t be playing Firmino and Sturridge as a pair unless he has willing runners in the team: they both love to drop deep, vacating the box in the process. This was a game for Origi. Oh, and he needs to sign a new left-back, pronto.
There’s been lots of discussion on recent shows about not minding players who only contribute goals: we saw the problem with that today when we had far too many anonymous players on the pitch. You have to do stuff as well as score goals: we learned that lesson with John Wark.
Its as goalie we need.
Mignolet is not good enough.
Joe Hart he isn’t.
We’ve bought a keeper who broke his hand in pre-season and will be fit again in c.6 weeks As much as I don’t rate Mignolet, JK ain’t going to buy another keeper this season.
I know. You couldn’t script it.
It’s like Laurel and Hardy.
We collect the lame cos they are a cheap path to hope…until reality sinks in.
I would love to have a goalkeeper like Joe Hart command our back four or five or whatever it takes to defend basic training ground stuff. But what about our team captain? Where was he?
Why not we look at the spine again, and if any of them in this lot has a spine of their own, nevermind the team spine?! I am equally gutted at the lack of fight when I think of Kennedy, Souness, Barnes, Stevie, McDermott, Alonso who have graced that midfield in Red.
The Goalie as you state is not free from error, but leaves me wondering if Klopp has learned from the previous manager’s mistakes of not building out from the back. Very concerning this.
You mean the Joe Hart that gave up 4 goals on 6 shots at the Euros? The GK who gave up the 30 yard grass cutter last year to Adam Lallana? Are you daft?
You want a high quality team and Pep is telling you Hart doesn’t cut it but,no, you just know that Pep is wrong and you’re right.
Hahaha. Um, no.
The issue is the culture of the club and the players. We have essentially put together what could be called a team of ‘1 in 3’. One in three games we play like champions ( Arsenal game), then one in three games we play like a mid table side who offer no real threat and cannot defend (Burnley game), then an ok performance from the team with a draw the likely outcome (Spurs next?).
Then repeat for the rest of the league season… and finish between 6th and 8th. Although Firmino, Coutinho, Henderson, Mane, etc have quality they lack consistency, which is the key to winning titles, and it has to be said character and leadership.
The manager has to act firmly after this result. Firstly, look at the key areas of weakness. Left back and leadership in central midfield. Also, good idea to cut back the hugs until they have truly been earned. Otherwise, the pattern of one excellent performance every three games will continue to get hopes up only to end in continued disappointment.
If this is you Mignolet go fuck yourself
^^ haha
I agree with most of what you stated. For me Henderson being the captain was disappointing in that he didn’t do much as a captain needs to do when things aren’t going so well.
Passing sideways is not the answer either. There is no directness with whoever wears the armband these days, verbally or physically. Glimpses perhaps, but that’s about it.
I thought Sakho had something in this regard.
5 goals in just two games.
Geggenpresse to have hoofed balls landing in a porous defence with an inept , frail goalie.
This is Liverpool under FSG and that was Burnley.
It’s going to be a long season.
Meet the new season, same as the old season.
Nice one…we will though eh….
Hindsight and all that, but
The reality is that Klopp got it wrong today. And then when he realised it was wrong he took far too long to make the change. No biggie, we all make mistakes… In fact, I may have made a mistake myself by staying up till 2am to watch the end of the game Down Under. Ho ho
Perhaps Klopp thought that Sturridge would be able to drop deep and orchestrate a way to unlock the 2 banks of 4. But when it wasn’t working, he waited far too long to adjust
Sure, no one else was on top of their games, but really it felt like that was partly because Sturridge was a cancer on the whole team dynamics
Initially I wasn’t too concerned at half time, because after last week I felt it was in Liverpools locker to put 2 or 3 goals in 15 minutes. The type of goals that Liverpool scored last week were intelligent and intricate. In my view the type of goals that could have unlocked Burnley’s door
But when we saw Danny come back out after half time, it was clear that the pipes were calling. In the end, Sturridge barely acknowledged Klopp as he went off. Totally opposite display to when he wasn’t in the team last week
Football results are never about one thing, it’s about multiple things that come together to create a result. Thats why there are 11 players in a team and that’s why Klopp defended Moreno last week. But some things stand out more than others. So if Klopp wanted his guys to make a change to the game, Sturridge would be the last person he could rely on.
As Melissa mentioned on a recent pod, Klopp did say in America that he really didn’t have one particular style of play. It was a case of making the adjustments to the team to deal with each individual game. Naturally this should also apply within games as well as in different games. It appears to me that Sturridge doesn’t have it in him to adjust his play for the team
Didn’t matter who Klopp brought on, it would have been better taking Sturridge off
What a totally self absorbed performance by Danny. I’ll be more than happy to see him replaced by anyone next week. Yes, of course we missed Mane, but with Sturridge we had no chance of replicating some of those intricately created chances from last week.
How or what could Klopp change? Start polishing Turds? Turn Henderson into Stevie or Mignolet into Pepe?
Are you the guy who’s always first on the Radio Merseyside post- match phone in? Because you should be.
That’s a good point you brought up about Sturridge. He seemed to be out of sorts today and I was wondering if it is the manager’s call for putting him in a wide position. But don’t you think he and the others play in a way that sees their positions interchange a bit as the game progresses?
I think today seemed like a full tilt off as far as the team was concerned, like they were mesmerized by their own fluorescent football kit or something, including Klopp.
Also why was Danny Ings not playing? I wonder if would have done better than Sturridge or at least showed some level of passion and grit?
Hi Sash,
Agreed about Ings, in my mind he would have suited our needs on the day more than Sturridge. My general point was that most other players would have suited our needs better on the day. As long as they bought into the team collective.
Sturridge reminded me of that classy, but selfish kid in your school team. Because he is so skilled, he demanded that the team fit around him rather than him fitting into what the team required.
For example. When is the last time you have seen him press with a genuine, intelligent and focussed fashion? At best Sturridge kind of saunters half heartedly into a position that maybe forces the player closest to him to pass the ball. That’s about it.
You are right, we are at or best when the front 3 or 4 are fluid and interchangeable. The Gunners didn’t know who to pick up where last week. If Sturridge can’t do that; then maybe he is a bench player for certain situations that might require a moment of individual flair. When teams are tired or not so compact. Not when we require a high intensity full tilt collective effort to break down a tight organised unit
When your front man is like that, it can be like a disease that spreads through the rest of the body.
With Firmino playing central, we could have had almost anyone play in Sturridges position. ings, Origi, Ojo. You could push Hendo up and play Can deeper. Hell even Milner or Markovic. Anyone that would embrace the team requirements.
To me, Sturridge is the one who hasn’t quite bought into Klopps collective thinking. It’s all about him and getting the ball to him and running play through him. That’s why he drops so deep. Proven by him brushing Klopp off as he was subbed. Poor form and I hope Klopp puts him in his place. I truly hope that Klopp doesn’t make any concessions for him because that just starts the rot. Sadly even the best coaches do this with what is regarded as the best player in the team
Anyway, I am on a tangent not all would agree with and I accept that. But everything about Sturridge seemed to be about him rather than the team against Burnley.
I also acknowledge that other players might have been off their game at the start, just like there were at the Emirates. But with Sturridge on for so long, we probably didn’t leave enough time to turn it around once he was off the pitch
a good 20 minutes in two games. Not good enough.
I’m kinda happy we got that one out of the way, now I can lower all those pre season expectations right down to where they should be. Nothing has changed with this team and the Arsenal win only glossed over the three goals conceded, which is now five in two games. Outmanoeuvred by an ordinary team yet again.
Said it all last season and year before . Sturridge is not the guy we think he is . Sell him and get a top striker in and someone who knows precisely what they are there to do . Sturridge tries to be all things to all people . in General not enough top quality in the team to break burnley down . Losing doesn’t bother me but how you lose is important . Shouldn’t be conceding away from home in these games . Have an off day at the office attacking wise and walk away with a point… but to lose that is not acceptable . Had title hopes at 4-1 up on arsenal but after nearly throwing that away and today’s result , the warning signs are there. As harsh as it seems to think that way after just 2 games , you just kinda get that feeling … And it drives me mad. Another emotional roller coaster of a season awaits. But At least it will be interesting…
Not a fan of this idea that we can shoe-horn box-to-box mids into specialist midfield positions.
We have box-to-box midfielders coming out our ears, yet struggle because we don’t have specialists in those key midfield positions. This really has to stop.
I just hope we don’t waste another season watching the manager learn this lesson, or worse, not learning it.
We need to allocate funds to bring in a specialist defensive mid.
For the last few seasons we have conceded roughly 50 goals in each of those seasons… there is something fundamentally wrong with our setup for this to be occurring, and our lack of a defensive midfielder needs to be seriously evaluated by management.
If we cant win games like today, then we shouldn’t be losing them either.
We need to be picking up regular points, otherwise this season will look very much like last season.
Ok we lost. We deserved to. Burnley played well. Tight. 4-4-2 they did their jobs so well. Our Silly passing across out of defence puts Clyne under needless pressure and Voghts scored a beauty, Gerradesque quality – our goalkeeper not at fault. 2 mins gone, they’re at home and 1 up. Then what?. We pass and piss around but Burnley played well. They are as organised as any PL team could be and they played like an Italianteam defending and then scoring on the break by Gray who instantly threatened us any time we overextended. Give them credit. We couldn’t penetrate despite dominating. Bad day against a team who deserved to win. They’ll repeat that against other contenders too- good manager, an honest Leicester City type workmanship. Chalk it off- dust down, and get Mane and Can (holding MF) for Spur and get this one out of our system. Hopefully this reality check will stand to us to play hard and dirty and ugly for these game types. Beauty doesn’t always prevail.
After today’s game, I remembered seeing this 26 year old Stevie G goal as he wore the captain’s armband and had to dig around youtube to find this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVIH9dMweZI
Today I was left bereft like many of my fellow Liverpool supporters at our current 26 year old Jordan Henderson’s performance as captain and finally needed a laugh as I read this comment by another fan (don’t mean no harm by this, but needed to get over it before the next match, perhaps thought some of you might as well):
A few years ago, Henderson was just your average office drone, frittering his life away in some cubicle when he happened upon a dessicated monkey paw. He half remembered a conversation he’d heard about these things and how they granted wishes. Jordan, like many men up and down the country, had always wanted to be a footballer, but he’d never been good enough. He simply didn’t have the talent, guile, or intelligence to get into the sport at any level. Now with the promise of a wish granted by the monkey paw, however, he finally had his chance.
‘Oh, great and powerful monkey paw,’ he said, holding the limb aloft. ‘Grant me my wish, and make me a premiership footballer.’
He watched as the monkey paws fingers slowly curled and then the paw turned to dust and crumbled away. He closed his eyes and waited with bated breath….but nothing happened. He didn’t feel any different. He didn’t feel any more athletic or skillful or anything. He opened his eyes and found that he was suddenly on the pitch at Anfield, decked out in Liverpool red, and what’s this, the captain’s armband! He glanced around at the roaring crowds, the lights of the stadium, the flash of camera lenses. His wish had been granted! Someone shouted his name and as he looked up he saw a ball skidding along the grass, coming toward him. He strode forward imperiously, confident in his mystically acquired abilities, he aimed a kick at the ball….and promptly misplaced the pass horribly, slicing the ball out of play…
For you see, the monkey paw was cursed. It had put Henderson in the position he had wanted but had not given him any of the ability that the position demands. Game after game after game, he fouled up play, stank out the place, driving the supporters insane with his stunningly mediocre (at best) performances. He wanted to quit. He wanted out. He would go up to the manager and say ‘sub me, please!’ or ‘please, i’m begging you….don’t start me in the next game.’ The manager would always agree, how could they not after having seen Henderson play? But to both his and Henderson’s surprise, Henderson’s name would always magically appear on the team sheet. He had to play, it was the curse in action. Henderson was doomed to be forever stuck in the Liverpool team. Forever terrible. Forever unwanted. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.
….I mean, that’s my theory on the whole situation anyway…makes about as much sense as anything else that can be posited on his continuous presence in the team.
the (expected) come down. klopp still has a lot to learn it seems.
Neil, thank you. This loss really hurt but this write up didn’t make it worse. Not saying you took it easy or glossed over Liverpool’s problems, just appreciate the opposite of a “sky is falling” article when THAT happened. Please get us back to Anfield and that colossus of a main stand asap. We will rise boys, have faith!!
Spot on. Agree 100%. Let’s stick together and keep believing.
Klopp will get us there.
And thanks, Neil.
Only pop music can save us now.
That match would certainly qualify as a video nasty! It’s just one damned thing after another, and I certainly just can’t be happy today…
Guys. Guys. Walk on… 36 games to go !!
Agreed, let’s be cool and be patient. It hurts now – but let’s not lose our heads. Can’t believe people are getting on klopp’s case already – he is the best chance we’ve got of getting us back to where we need to be. As someone said before – he gets us, we get him – it’ll come good. We’ve got new players and its early doors – let’s chill the fuck out – be pissed off today but let’s not go mental – it’s early doors, although fucking annoying.
Henderson is often poor IMO. He’s a decent player but not the answer as captain or a starter. I love the TAW and I don’t attend games as I live abroad but what am I missing with Henderson, he seems to be so highly rated by you guys?
Great write up, Neil. Two statements sum it up well:
“The effort wasn’t the issue…”
“Run out of time, not ideas.”
That said, why single out Hendo as poor? Granted, I think he’s better in the 2 in a three-man midfield than the 1, but what else could he do? He played well in the role in which he’s picked, especially, the first 75 minutes before running out of ideas, tempo and energy in the end. The impatience and lack of guile across the front five were to blame for us not torching the parked bus (after Clyne, as so well articulated in the article, handed Burnley the initiative).
Hi Dale, I think some of us who’ve sounded off on Henderson is because he has the armband. Do you think Stevie would have something to say after those two goals went in? Did he often force things through when it was needed? I saw that in the past from a captain who stepped up and took the game by the scruff, on more than one occasion.
Well for me and some on here, I think we didn’t see that and wonder if Henderson is up to the task. When the chips are down we need to look at a leader on the field for something, anything. It went missing, and so did Henderson.
What I fear is that maybe Henderson isn’t rated by his teammates and so they ignore him? That’s not good if true and Klopp needs to address it if it is the case. Just desperately want to see a leader on the pitch.
Can will be back against spurs. Hendo is more suited for a more advanced role — ie 13/14 season. Not a holding midfielder nor a midfield 2 type of player.
But let’s not press the panic button just yet. 36 more to go guys.
Stevie played with the armband in many games exactly like this one, right through his pomp, and the end results were usually very similar (although perhaps without the defensive mistakes under Rafa)
Klopp needs to start a DM to protect the back 4. Love him or hate him Lucas would’ve conceded a foul before the ball got to both Burnley scorers.
That was as predictable as anything can be. Joltingly familiar. The early loss of a goal, the failure to react well, the monopolisation of possession, conceding a second goal and then having 96% possession and failing to create any clear-cut chances. Heard this one before.
Three points against Burnley are just as important as three points against Arsenal. Perhaps a new approach is needed in these shitty games. We need to stop dominating possession because it allows the game to fall into that horrendous pattern of attack vs defence.
Seems Henderson is this weeks Moreno….
Agreed- Hendo easy target though he was put in DM but is more effective roaming (2013/14 brilliant he was).
In fact Klaven was the main culprit all along. He’s the cause of both goals peeing around on the ball, silly cross field to Clyne who wasn’t expecting etc.
Then he’s the main cause for the 2nd.
Needs to learn to respect all PL clubs- not just the ‘big ones’
Its my kids I feel sorry for they have only known disappointment all of their lives. I feel like I have cursed them.
What’s worse, having enjoyed the glory of the Club and now enduring the repeated misery and humiliation of being just an ordinary, mid table team, or the constant disappointment of the past 26 years? I suppose it’s the latter, as my memories of repeated league triumphs and European hegemony keep me going as we lurch from false dawn to false dawn.
Soooooooo much negativity! Get behind them and see how we are after 10 games. Yes it was terrible but no need to start calling for players and manager’s head! He’ll get it sorted. Give it time.
One of the issues is that we can’t – and probably shouldn’t – manage our own expectations. The desperation online for us to make some signings, anyone, like its a balm, usually a randomer from Serie A, the way we try and convince ourselves that the Klav is Franco Baresi on the basis of a decent pre-season, the need to instantly bin quality players – Sturridge, Hendo, etc – because of one match.
It was shite. But if we hadn’t gifted them a goal after two minutes we probably grind it out. It’s second half vs Seville syndrome – once we go behind things seem to get very laborious, there’s an air of panic, shots being pinged off from everywhere. Experience within or added to this group could have a hugely positive impact, but sticking players in their right positions, like the chief striker up front, would help. Let’s not lob it all into the bonfire just yet.
Spending isn’t the only answer… some of the answers we already have. I want more of Can and less of Hendo. More of Divock, less of Daniel. I want more forward passes/forward movement, less players who act scared of having the ball at their feet and immediately pass backwards/sideways. I would also like more players who excel at doing a specific job and less attacking midfielders. Yes Mane will be back and that will impact things too but you can’t stack the team with passers who, for portions of the first two games, can’t connect with team mates or look scared to have the ball.