THERE are nights when I am jealous of those who can come to massive conclusions. I just don’t have it in me after that.
If you want big bold criticisms, I probably have this one:
Liverpool aren’t aggressive enough at 0-2 and 1-3. They don’t do enough to make it 0-3 and 1-4. They have their foot on the Bournemouth throat at 0-2 and should have it on at 1-3. But the squeeze isn’t there. The insistence isn’t there. The conversion of dominance and superiority into scoreline isn’t there. And, without it, the football match becomes a vacuum. Doubt fills that vacuum.
The rest you know.
The rest is a conversation around individual mistakes, Bournemouth’s doggedness and some lad called Fraser. The rest is Dejan Lovren’s bad header leading to James Milner going for a ball he can’t win. Loris Karius at fault and Liverpool all racing back ahead of the ball once. Steve Cook turning and swivelling. Karius spilling. In the midst of all this, some lad called Fraser came on and was the best footballer in the world for 20 minutes. I don’t know what his first name is. I don’t even know what position he plays. I just know that Leo Messi has a lot to worry about all of a sudden. He’s the best player I have ever seen for 15 minutes. Is this allowed? Can we ask for a recount?
Bournemouth come out second half playing for pride and playing for not getting battered in front of their own crowd. They just want it to be respectable. But the hammer never comes, the battering isn’t there. Liverpool come out 10 per cent off where they were for the first 20 of the first half. Liverpool don’t come out like they should.
It’d be easy to say this is complacency, to turn it into a personality defect. I think it is something which just happens to football teams on occasion; I thought Chelsea started the second half against Manchester City far worse than they did the first yesterday. And that ended up the way it did. Similarly it would be easy to do that sort of imposition of personality defects across the park. The reality is this is just elite team sport sometimes combined with there being ongoing question marks around a couple of Liverpool’s players. The two centre-halves and the goalkeeper don’t cover themselves in glory. Far from it. Lucas Leiva looked quite literally short in the last 20. Karius needs to save more things, harsh as that might be. Lovren needs to be senior. That is the point of him and has been since he was signed.
Sometimes players just have off days. That’s probably Roberto Firmino’s poorest 90 minutes of the season. He was never in the game. He never shirked, never hid but it couldn’t get going for him. He couldn’t show what he needed to.
Sometimes footballers have a poor 20 minutes. Jordan Henderson had a poor 20 minutes. He was otherwise excellent but for 20 minutes at 3-1, leading to 3-3, he didn’t impose as he had been. At 3-3 he is excellent. First half he is excellent. But that 20 minutes. That 20 minutes.
Sometimes football teams need to bounce back. Liverpool have been unbeaten for 15 games. They now need to be unbeaten for the next 15. Whether or not this result can be marked down as one of them is all about what happens next to make it one of them. Liverpool have West Ham and two aways against Middlesbrough and Everton. Nine points is needed to make this one of them.
Around this time in 2013/14, Liverpool lost to Hull and were abject. This Liverpool haven’t been abject but the points are the same. That side then went on to win a host of football matches including West Ham at home. Around this time in 2002/3, a high flying Liverpool lost to Middlesbrough away and then barely won a league game again until February.
League football exists in a context. It always has and it always will. There are far fewer title deciders than people think and most of them happen in April. The goal between August and the end of March is to be in a position to decide things. Liverpool’s quest to do that has taken a backward step today. There are nights when I wish I just knew how that quest would end up, nights where I just wish I could flick to the back page and find out whodunnit.
There are nights when it is a joy. There are nights when it is a heartbreak. These nights can’t exist without one another. If Liverpool do what we need them to, then let’s enjoy the rest of December like no other. All the joy.
All I want for Christmas is nine more points and all the points. Dukla Prague away kits can do one. Nine more points and it is one of them. Anything else?
Much love. Big three to come. Get ready, Reds.
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I didn’t enjoy The Pink but that was a pretty fair review. Disappointing but not the end of the world, it’s December and we are 4 points off the top. And Chelsea are operating at the peak of their powers at the moment they will have injuries and otherwise drop points too.
That said, I totally agree re the points about drop in intensity/not going for the jugular but at the same time if you score 3 goals that should be enough to win. I do think in the long term we need another centre back to partner Matip and we need to address the goalkeeping issue sharpish, whether through Karius cutting out these basic errors or if not bringing in Mignolet or someone else. I’m not saying Karius will turn out to be crap and he may be excellent in the end but he has not impressed so far and the mistakes today were horrendous. In the year we are trying to go for the title I am not sure we have the luxury of allowing him to learn on the job. This year feels like we are closer than we have been in a long time and I would hate to lose cheap points due to goalkeeping errors. I would rather do our best to win the league now than have a great goalkeeper in the future.
It’s true about that intensity. We beat the breaks off them first half without even really meaning to, just by sheer virtue of being better. It was easy. Despite that you never felt we had 0-4 or 0-5 in us. They pull one back and you just knew. It had that feeling. That’s football, as cliched as that is. Get those beautiful composed bastards Matip and Lallana back in the starting eleven and our heart rates can all settle a little. What a lovely trio of goals we scored today. Ultimately meaningless but worth a mention. Origi’s was filth.
Fabulous! The quality of the report in itself has lifted me more than any football related point!
I recall a ball out to the right at 2-0, into Saido’s path, it looked a great lead for him to break on the defense and catch them on the back heel, with Origi and Bobby on the front foot. Instead, he did the most un-Saido thing ever, jogged it out and then just sort of chilled waiting for Clyne to do something and waiting for Karius to decide if he wanted to come forward for a pop at goal. Something about that play made me uneasy and I felt Bournmouth would always get back into it. Not sure what was up today, but let’s get it fixed. You can feel for the Brazilian lads though.
Hi mate.
“Not sure what was up today, but let’s get it fixed”
It’ll be fixed for next game. The answer is simple. No Matip.
These are league games, goals conceded – (No Matip) 3,2, (Matip) 1,1,1,1,1,0,1,2,1,0,0, (No Matip) 3
Matip is what makes this season very different to the last 3 seasons.
We need cover for him. We don’t have it.
Once again Robin, you’re on the money.
Deggsy Love turns back into Dejan Lovren without Joel. The image that remains with me is Milly’s look at him after the penalty is awarded … it screams -you twat, look what I had to do to cover for you.
I’m not even going near the Big Si discussion.
It’s a troubling result, a throwback to LFC past, not the Red Monster that JK has carefully and painstakingly built since the Origi equaliser through the Norwich winner to the glorious win over Dortmund. It feels like regression of the worst sort. But then again my head has fallen off. Completely.
I believe in Klopp. I believe in Buvac. I believe in the players we could see trampling all before them not so long ago. I believe that we can learn more from adversity.
But like I say I’m trying to re attach my head do I. Oils be talking out my arse just now.
Up the Reds!
Haha, I knew this was coming. There was always gonna be a loss at some point. We’ve had it too good for too long. In fairness to us, the manner of it was hard to take and I suppose we wanted to open up the gap over City and saw this as winnable. Regardless of how long our winning streak was the loss was always gonna make our heads fall off. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Oh well, straight back on the horse.
Hey Robin, totally get it, these games are bound to happen. I wasn’t having a go at the boys, we were off today. I’m just agreeing with Neil really, let’s make sure it’s a blip on the radar. Full faith in Klopp and the staff. Some of the apparent knocks today are concerning. Lalla naps showed well though, hopefully he’s firing on all cylinders again soon.
Totally agree on the Matip point as well. Lucas is sound as fuck, but he needs a strong partner at the back.
Hi Scott, I was referring to me when I said heads have fallen off. It was me that was having a go at all the players in the hour or two after the match. I’m fine now but have woke up absolutely gutted still. We had it in the bag.
Robin, at 2-0 I thought it could/should end 5/6-nil. I was massively gutted, but up the restart reds.
So funny – that is exactly the moment I keep returning to. As close to literally taking your foot off the gas as you can get without an actual vehicle.
Surprised not as much has been made by the media regarding the absence of Matip. Generally, they figure that the reason we conceded 4 goals was because Coutinho was not playing (we did score 3 goals, mind).
I know the point you’re talking about. Sadio slowed down into a leisurely stroll, the kind you take after a long and languid lunch. Then he sent in a really poor cross behind Origi (behind, not towards). At that point I knew things had just turned towards a very slippery slope. The complacent had crept in. In my opinion we didn’t lose the game because of a poor defence(didn’t help at all though), we lost because every single one of those boys relaxed and took their collective foot off the table. consequently, we got our collective ass handed to us. Having said that, L.I.V.E.R.P.O.O.L. LIVERPOOLFC!!! (We need a new goalkeeping coach though)
I thought the same thing re Sadio. He and Can personified us today, way too good for Bournemouth when they turned it on but really sloppy and complacent when we were a couple of goals up.
Let’s pick ourselves up and go again next Sunday. Today was an off day or 20 minutes was any way. Very impressive first third of the game. Let’s stick with these Reds. Come on you Redmen!!
Great review, Neil.
I still remember The Dell in 1989/90. Of course, we’d go on to win the league but Le Tissier and Rod Wallace(!) made a very good Liverpool look like mugs that day in a 4-1 pasting.
As a kid at the time, I was absolutely shattered. But it was the first time I realised that even good teams have bad days. Now, days like today still hurt, especially when we throw away a lead, but as you correctly say, the response is all that matters.
Loved Klopp’s comments after the game. You just know that he (and therefore, we) will learn from this.
We will be alright folks. This hiccup is expected. But Klopp and the boys will use this as a timely reminder to learn from and build on for the next 15 game unbeaten run.
Matip and Lallana will start the next game. Possibly, Lallana will start at Phil position, left side of front three and Bobby will move back to his centre role. Our aggression and speed will come back.
Origi will be the super sub, sturridge will be the next in line. All good. Stay positive, Reds!!
All will be well again. The performance itself was fine until the bat-shit mental finish. The return of Matip will see to that. Heads don’t fall off when he’s about, the classy bastard. Lallana’s return to the middle will bring about an upsurge in our pressing tempo. Tough call on who to leave out, though it will probably be Can.
How Lucas is still conning Liverpool out of a wage is a mystery that would have baffled Arthur C Clarke.At his peak he was a boring,sterile negative gimp. Age and a switch to ersatz centre half have not improved him.
Isn’t Matip off to Africa Nations in January? Bit of a worry that tbh. Lucas is the best human being in the world, but I get nervous when he’s played CH. If Sakho wasn’t a such a (lovable) nutter we’d be alright.
Forgot about that Estonian lad what’s his name, he’s class you know. Christ what’s his name… Errmm KLAVAN yesss. Ragnar Klavan, what a great name!
No
Good review Neil, as ever. We’ve got to think how Dortmund would have felt after that game in April, because it was the exact same game as yesterday. Same pattern of goalscoring, 2-0 at half time, two centre backs make it 3-3 and 4-3. Dortmund were mostly great in April and we were mostly great yesterday, both were just mad games defined by momentum, the crowd playing a huge part. Nobody thought it reflected badly on Dortmund when it happened to them because they’re a great side and the occasion superseded everything. This is Bournemouth’s greatest ever win, everyone in the ground including the 22 on the pitch knew it would be Bournemouth’s greatest ever win and could feel it coming and that’s a powerful thing. There’s only been two games all season when we’ve dropped points from a winning position, Spurs being the other. This was a mad game that happens very rarely and I think and hope we’re too good for it to be a pattern.
Excellent points. I said earlier it was just a case of us giving in to the inevitability of it all, something which I think we were all guilty of. Certainly when Fraser got them back to 2-3 there was no doubt in my mind that they would at least equalise. When Cook became Zidane and scored the kind of goal he will never repeat it was guaranteed we would go on to lose. Sometimes you just cannot repel momentum like that.
Karius is going to get it in the neck but that was a vicious shot that hit the turf right in front of him. Combine that with the fervent support from the stands and the error seems almost expected. People shouldn’t forget that De Gea, the best keeper around, dropped a massive bollock against Stoke recently with a really shocking piece of handling.
Losing is an eventuality. Doesn’t mean you have to like it.
Regarding yesterday’s loss, blaming a young keeper in his first season isn’t all that healthy or recommended. For all the good Lucas has done over the years he’s not a CB. Just as Milner isn’t a LB. In the midfield, there are no natural ball winners so the keeper, in a way, has a lot on his plate. Most keepers can figure 3-6 team mates in front of him dedicated to the same purpose respective to their own positions. Yesterday, our keeper didn’t have that luxury.
Regarding the manner in which we lost: At 3-1, Lallana for Mane should not have been the only change. We should have put another body in center midfield and shut down shop. Reminds me of that old argument about needing a defensive midfield player. Someone who could have come on and put Fraser on his backside. Someone to say ‘not today, there’s no way you’re coming back in this game’. Javier Mascherano was the king of this. Aside from the fact we didn’t have the personnel for that yesterday I do have to question the leadership on the pitch. When we won at Arsenal earlier in the season, I said that if that game went on another 5 minutes we would not have won it. This time, that came true except it wasn’t Arsenal cutting us open it was Bournemouth. When things start to go against you the leaders in the team must step up and do something about it. Yesterday it was those so called ‘leaders’ who gave Bournemouth the game. That needs to be addressed.