TEN more games. That’s all we’ve got. It’s come around really quickly, hasn’t it?
From the autumn highs to the winter lows, Liverpool have worked themselves into a position to get something tangible out of this season. It’s pretty unlikely that we’ll be choosing to bin any games off for the rest of the season and give second string players a chance like we seem to have done every year recently bar 2013-14. Meaningful in May should always be your aim, even if that aim in this case is nothing more than entry to a competition that we probably won’t win.
Although saying that, with our record against good teams maybe we’d have a chance. Hopefully we get the opportunity to find out.
Sunday’s performance was a disgrace. Ben Johnson echoed my exact thoughts, right down to the not celebrating the goal with my usual vigour. It felt embarrassing that we were level and that was down there with worst halves of football I’ve ever seen from a Liverpool side, I can’t remember worse although judging by Twitter there’s people who aren’t having it in their worst five this season. Until Gini Wijnaldum scored we didn’t have a shot against a team of meathead wools with crap tattoos who look like they should be doing MMA instead.
It was abject, but it was also something that again highlights a big issue that we have. When we are at our strongest we are a really good side, but take a couple of players out and the whole thing falls apart. Couple this with a couple of lads who are in absolutely no form whatsoever and you create the perfect storm of absolute garbage we saw on Sunday.
This is why, for the future of this club, we simply have to get top four. Imagine how bad that performance on Sunday would have been if we’d been to play Rostov on Thursday – doesn’t bear thinking about, does it?
Obviously we’d like to think that we wouldn’t be playing Rostov in March, but it tells you that this summer we need more players that are children of the manager, so to speak. It’s worth remembering that Jürgen Klopp took over a Liverpool side which everyone thought were pretty average, and while I think that’s a little bit harsh we certainly weren’t filled with top class talent.
That side on Sunday had four players in it that he’d signed, the two centre-backs, Sadio Mane and the goalscorer Wijnaldum. You couple him not having players that he signed, with the removal of his best centre-back partnership, holding midfielder and number nine (yes, he didn’t sign these three either, but he clearly trusts these three players) and it isn’t surprising that problems arose.
The James Milner experiment isn’t far off driving me crazy, he’s solid and he provides a good footballer in a position where you wouldn’t usually have someone of his level but he’s being found out a little there now. His lack of pace and inability to beat a man, coupled with him wanting to come inside all the time is hindering us.
We all know what we need really, don’t we? More good players, it’s genuinely very simple. A centre-back to play with Joel Matip who doesn’t make Daniel Sturridge look fit and a pair of full-backs would be a good starting point. Teams are starting to cotton on to the fact that Nathaniel Clyne’s technique is dreadful. I went through a long period thinking he’s loads better than Kyle Walker. Well, he isn’t. Teams are leaving him in loads of space and making him the easy ball knowing that he can’t do a great deal with it. Partly because he isn’t great, but also because his technique is that poor it takes him ages to properly control it.
Given my seat is in a part of the ground where the right-back would attack quite a bit, seeing him in loads of space and hearing everyone around me advocate passing to him is starting to do my head in. He’s in loads of space because he slows every attack down by taking ages to control the ball, and then his inability to do anything particularly clever with it and teams are on to it. Don’t pass to him if he’s in space.
I think Clyne is a really good example of the issues that faced Klopp when he took over at Liverpool. There were plenty of players who were capable that didn’t need replacing with great urgency but aren’t good enough in the long run. Clyne would fall into that bracket, as would Simon Mignolet even if he has improved of late.
Lucas Leiva came on for 10 minutes on Sunday and did a brilliant job of winning headers, stopping the ball getting where Burnley wanted it to go, and just generally doing what he does. But if we get into the top four we should be looking at buying someone who can do what he does, but better, that can start games of football regularly and actually run.
There is a certain amount of irony that we currently need a few of the players we’re using regularly to get us into the Champions League so we can buy better players than them to move us forward.
A centre-back would be nice to partner Matip, as would a left-back with pace who can go on the outside and widen the pitch and create space for Philippe Coutinho. It would be nice if we could get a player who offers what Jordan Henderson does but could actually play every week, while a couple of midfielders that mean Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana don’t have to play every game. I like Emre Can but I’m not sure he can replace those two there. Then we should go all out to bag a top striker. Roberto Firmino is great leading the line, but we need options moving forward – more than one way of playing, more than one way of winning games, more ways of outfoxing the opposition.
But if we don’t finish in the top four, the chances of being able to do these things decreases. We can’t throw the levels of money at them that make the difference – we can pay footballers a lot of money but if they need their mind making up to choose us over another good side, we just can’t offer them that extra £50,000-£100,000 a week like Manchester City did to get where they are. That makes a difference. We have to do it with football.
Any player will want to be in and around a side of the level that we showed in the autumn, we are an appealing proposition because we’re capable of being a really good side. A Champions League place demonstrates that.
We’re in a weird situation here: 10 games to get a Champions League place that almost certainly ends the Liverpool careers of certain players.
Ultimately though, I absolutely cannot be doing with playing some Slovakian pig farmers on a Thursday night and having to stick with some of these players for another season.
The manager needs this summer to get exactly what he wants, and the best way of him getting what he wants is by finishing top four. As Robbo said on video last week, let’s go to Anfield, let’s get behind them, and let’s get big European nights back at Anfield. It’s in this club’s DNA.
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Our buying policy is crap
Spot on about Clyne mate.
We are not getting someone to replace Clyne. It’s gonna be him and TAA next season. Agree with the rest of the positions you mentioned.
How’s Flanno doing? I never liked him as a right footed left back. Better on the right if he can get back to top form.
Doesn’t get a game at Burnley
Bang on the money Phil lad, bang on the fuckin money!
Spot on about Clyne Phil – his touch is poor and when he does control it he invariably takes the easy option or gives it away. However, rather than waste a fair chunk of our budget on two new full-backs, I’d rather we went big on a top class pacy striker (Mbappe of Monaco?) who can actually beat a man and drive to the byline, like Mane does on the right, or cause chaos in the area for the left of a front three. Jurgen should take a leaf out of Guardiola’s front three were Sane (pity we couldn’t of got him) and Sterling stretch the opposition by constanly hugging the touchline and then attacking at pace. Then instead of having Milner and Clyne bombing-on, to predictable effect, they can tuck in a bit closer to our centre -halves, making us less susceptible to the counter-attack. Just hope we buy pace and quality this summer.
Klopp is damn stubborn at times. He played many players out of position in Dortmund and did not get the best out of them (Mikki and Auba recently). Why the hell Milner was playing left back on Sunday I’ll never understand. Put Milner in for Hendo. Did Klopp not see Milner pinging the ball around the park last season? He was maybe the best passer. Then put whomever at left back, even Moreno. Moreno/Milner is better than Milner/Can all day every day.
The other thing, Liverpool are not shopping for stars, they are shopping for good players and projects. You want a league, you need some stars but Liverpool aren’t shopping at the same places Chelsea, United and City are. The other way is to luck out and get the next Gareth Bale and sell him to Madrid, then spend that money and wait and pray.
But signing stars hasn’t been Klopps thing and it hasn’t been FSG’s thing since Suarez and Carrol (the latter was star money but not star quality). I mean, look at how the Suarez money was wasted.
I fear that Liverpool are going to be stuck in this cycle for a while. Buy young talent, get a few playing really well then sell them a few seasons before stardom…rinse and repeat.
While I see your point about Clyne’s technique, I absolutely disagree with the notion that he’s in the same bracket of desirability and performance as Mignolet, at least until recently if at all my evaluation has change (overall). I do attribute Mignolet’s recent good form to battling for the top spot recently, I imagine his trend will produce future nadir’s as well, maybe Karius can challenge him again, who knows. Wouldn’t mind having Migs as #2 and Karius #3. We need a striker desperately, but odds are we won’t be getting a marquee with the world-class-striker-market these days. If we can’t get a striker, we should get a proper LW, as you said. Also don’t appreciate disrespecting the Europa contestants with that “slavic pig farmers” or whatever comment, our Europa match against Dortmund last season was of-the-year quality… That is just disrespectful. Should be a little more self-aware considering England went out to Iceland (a team of actual part-time footballers) in the last World Cup.
Funny how Clyne has become a scapegoat of late when earlier in the season he was considered literally the best thing since someone really fucking good. Did he suddenly become shit or did people realise their analysis of players is useless? I’m interested cause literally no-one was saying this a few months ago.
I was mate. No end product and can’t defend. Never understood the consistent 7/10 that was labelled at him. He’s wank.
How about supporting the players we have instead of lauding the players we haven’t got? Mbappe? I guess you wastched Monaco last night????
Why do people keep saying we need a centre back to partner Matip? Based on consistency Lovren has been the better player this season and was our best CB last season too.Has he missed more games to injuries than Matip this season? I’d say they’ve missed similar amounts and I don’t want to make assumptions about Phil Blundell,but I’d say there’s a good chance he didn’t watch a lot of Matip in his Schalke days,so is probably basing his opinion on Matip on this season in which he’s been far from convincing.If Lovren needs replacing then why doesn’t Matip?
Maybe they both do but for now I’d settle for a new centre half. Lovren and Matip have played 10 games together this season. That’s been our downfall. We need a centre half end of.
As the President of the Slovakian Pig Farmer’s Association, I have to remind you….but seriously, I agree with a lot. The players, the Reds had at the start of Klopp’s tenure were neither really bad (apart from Skrtel maybe), nor particularly brilliant. There have been many players who showed “something” but were lacking other crucial components to become real top players.
Can and Sturridge might be the most annoying of them, because both could really be world class, but fail for different reasons. Clyne and Lovren would be very solid and good backups. I am impressed by Woodburn and TrentAA. Grujic and Karius will be very interesting to follow. – For Lucas, Moreno, Can, Sturridge, Flannagan and Ings (after the 2nd serious injury)I don’t see much of a future