WELL, that’s another cup Liverpool can’t win for another year.
Some will say they’re not arsed and The Reds should refocus but the League Cup is always a good chance to lift one of those shiny things — and we’ve got a history of lifting it.
Here are Anfield Wrap contributors with talking points from a disappointing evening…
Pre Match
📋 The #LFC team to face @LCFC. pic.twitter.com/TtlIbRK3ed
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) 19 September 2017
Phil Blundell: Reasonably strong side that. Be good to see Gomez at centre back
Josh Sexton: Coutinho missing out on Barca to play in the same side as Flanno. Unreal.
Dan Vincent: Is this the first time Gomez has played CB since Wolves?
Phil Blundell: Bar pre season I think so.
Ian Ryan: Think so mate. Phil tbf you called Flanno, loads didn’t have him involved in this.
Phil Blundell: Think he wanted Gomez CB and didn’t want to have to play Trent maybe four games on the run which he probably would if he started tonight
Reckon he’s only playing cause Gomez can’t play in Russia
Dan Vincent: No involvement at all for Sturridge is a bit mad. Can’t imagine he’ll play Saturday.
Josh Sexton: Mustn’t think he can do two in a row
Phil Blundell: He might play Saturday
Ian Ryan: Sometimes find out he’s injured out of nowhere with no one reporting it. Hopefully not the case, does seem a little odd he’s not involved at all
Dan Vincent: I expected him on the bench at worst. Actually wanted him to start again but I want lose any sleep over it as my squeeze is netting his first for The Reds tonight
Two yard dogs up top for these tonight.
Josh Sexton: Looking forward to the possibility of seeing Markovic run away from their defenders for 10 minutes later
Dan Vincent: Be decent to see Ings have a little run out when Klopp brings him on in the 87th minute.
Phil Blundell: Would quite like to see Flanno do enough to show he’s an option here. Concerned he’s absolutely finished but if he isn’t then you get another option at right back which could give us more Gomez centre back stuff.
Ian Ryan: Being totally honest I’d worry about Gomez in the PL playing CB. Then again I worry about them all
Phil Blundell: Maybe but I wanna see it first before we worry I think
Dan Vincent: I’d rather see Verne Troyer CB than Lovren, Matip or Klavan so if Gomez plays well tonight I’d keep him there for the weekend.
Phil Blundell: Haha
Dan Morgan: Their massively changed here too. Full of physicality and not the quickest side. Be shocked if they look to turn us around with that side. Reckon we’re much the better line up with the changes
First Half
Phil Blundell: Confused me why teams like Leicester change so much
Surely this is bigger than Huddersfield the other day?
Ian Ryan: Dan Vincent must have had his kecks off there
Phil Blundell: Good start this. Not quite sure how we’ve not scored there. Even defended some corners well
Ian Ryan: It’s a great block on Ox Chambo tbf
Phil Blundell: Has this Leicester right side just got off? Robertson has had so much space it’s crazy
Josh Sexton: Looks like he’s more than willing to exploit it as well, just generally feel safer with him than Moreno though yet to see him have loads to do defensively
Ian Ryan: They looked ragged as fuck then
Josh Sexton: Coutinho looked like he didn’t know what to do with all that space then
Ian Ryan: Gini could have put Coutinho right through there.
Johnny Milburn: Robertson looks a great outlet
Klopp calm and cerebral
Ste Evans: Great delivery again from Robertson. Got to do better with them.
Ian Ryan: Robbo putting some great balls in here, no one getting close to him again
Josh Sexton: Robertson’s delivery is the best we’ve had since Aurelio on that side
Paul Senior: Mad how this Robertson is the best left back to ever play the game
Phil Blundell: Right I’ve had 20 minutes, Gomez centre back forever please
Dan Morgan: Henderson running it.
Josh Sexton: When did footie players jib the actual sock part of their socks?
Phil Blundell: How the fuck has that not gone in?
Paul Senior: What’s our initial thoughts of Alexander Mark David Oxlade-Chamberlain?
Phil Blundell: Enjoyed the way it came from a long ball
I’m concerned he’s shit Paul.
Ian Ryan: How the fuck is this 0-0.
Paul Senior: I’m growing on this opinion Philip
And I wanted him a lot
Phil Blundell: I’d like to see him do something
These are awful by the way.
Ste Evans: Henderson looks really sharp. Really need to make a goal here. So much pressure but no end product.
Johnny Milburn: Will these be this shit for 90? I doubt it – need goals while on top
Dan Morgan: Can someone talk to Phil about the shots
Ste Evans: Danny Ward is our only ‘keeper that doesn’t make me shit my pants every time he’s involved.
Dan Morgan: Loads of presence
Johnny Milburn: Him leaving his box earlier made me panic just as a reflex reaction based on the last three years — but he looks sound
Phil Blundell: He’s not had anything to do yet though has he?!
Good to see the corners are still good even when we get a new player to take them
Dan Vincent: Be careful, Blundell.
Grujic is a big lad, think he’s won every single header on the pitch.
Ste Evans: That wall was about six yards away.
Johnny Milburn: I meant when he came out his area before
Half Time
Craig Hannan: It’s going to be a lot more difficult for us second half surely
Ian Ryan: The Reds dominant, Leicester offered fuck all. Got to be more ruthless second half though or you can see what’s coming a mile off.
Johnny Milburn: Robertson very good when used — finding lots of space and threatening delivery but not chosen anywhere near enough — trying to walk it through bodies instead
Phil Blundell: It should be Craig but I think they’ve got 11 lads who can’t be arsed
Josh Sexton: Mad how Robertson and Solanke are our best ever signings
Phil Blundell: The best reason for giving Robertson the ball would be to get them to give him less space and then give Coutinho more by default
John Gibbons: Think I’ve got more chance of necking Perrie than her fella has of getting in our first team at the moment
Second Half
Dan Morgan: Good to see Chambo has adopted our corner taking brief.
Ian Ryan: Clearly part of everyone’s contract.
John Gibbons: Has this fella really knocked himself out heading a ball?
Ian Ryan: Imagine him in the ’60s he’d have died.
Dan Vincent: Splinter looked fucked there.
Ian Ryan: Grujic loves one of them, goes in like a lunatic
Josh Sexton: Alan Smith has just made up that Grujic has been sent off before, hasn’t he?
…Just googled it, he’s never been sent off in his career.
Craig Hannan: Nah he has
John Gibbons: Maybe he watches the u23s
Craig Hannan: He’s been sent off has he not?
Josh Sexton: Didn’t he just snap somebody at Palace or something?
Didn’t get sent though
Phil Blundell: Got sent off in the under 23s in the summer didn’t he?
…Apparently not
Ian Ryan: Been booked twice against Palace, Anfield and pre season, both naughty ones like.
Josh Sexton: That pre season one is the one I’m thinking of
(Okazaki scores)
Josh Sexton: Surprising
Phil Blundell: Gotta be kidding
Ste Evans: Of course
Ian Ryan: Inevitable. Don’t take your chances then…
Phil Blundell: Can’t figure out if Gomez dropped too far or the others should have dropped
John Gibbons: Bit unlucky with the finish. Klavan blocks it
Paul Senior: The fuck is Flanagan doing
Dan Vincent: Ward running to the edge of the box to catch that ball is the best thing any of our GKs have done in three years.
(Slimani scores)
Phil Blundell: The fuck is that
He hasn’t scored for about 20 years
Josh Sexton: Shite cup anyway
Phil Blundell: How far away from Gomez was Flanagan there?
Ian Ryan: Probably doesn’t score again till April, that prick.
Ste Evans: Fucking despise these cunts.
Craig Hannan: This means we’ll win the league game. I’m sure of it
John Gibbons: Can’t wait to get beat again there on Saturday
Josh Sexton: Chamberlain, fucking hell
Dan Morgan: Watching Flanagan play for us is absolutely painful.
Dan Vincent: He’s awful. If he wasn’t a scouser he wouldn’t be near a single fan’s thoughts.
Ian Ryan: Couldn’t get near Burnley’s team for majority of last year.
Craig Hannan: Don’t imagine we’ll have to see him play for a while like
Dan Vincent: He’s just a scouse version of Andre Wisdom.
Josh Sexton: Flatmate just asked if this goes extra time or replay… felt an optimistic question at best
Full Time
Josh Sexton: The fuck do you say about that?
Dan Vincent: Shite. I know I’m in the minority but I wanted us to win that. Easiest trophy to win, real chance to do so considering the rotation that goes on in the cup. Instead it’s another kick in the sack. Don’t fancy us there at the weekend at all.
Ian Ryan: Defensively we seem to make the same mistakes regardless of who is playing. They obviously work on stuff in training but Jesus Christ nothing seems to change.
Dan Morgan: Again, in game, manage the moments when you’re not on top better. I think we’ve got a real issue with how we start second halves this season.
Ian Ryan: Four without a win, Saturday was big anyway, feels like a massive game now.
Ste Evans: All the goals we concede are pretty much the same. How many is it gonna take for the manager to say OK this system with these players isn’t working. He needs to change something or he’s in trouble here. I’m a massive fan of his but these signs aren’t good. We look weak as piss defensively and have done for three years but none of the issues have been addressed. Massive worry.
Ian Ryan: Seems to have a lot of belief in certain players that just isn’t backed up by performances. Blind spots to a number of issues is a big concern.
Johnny Milburn: One less ‘auto-cup’ to sort
Recent Posts:
[rpfc_recent_posts_from_category meta=”true”]
Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
2nd half they pressed Hendo : the only bloke taking responsibilty. No one arsed about getting in the box to support. Gomez,Ward ok? Ulloa didn’t fancy it . Commentator saying “Leicester looking for the third” is a bit disheartening ain’t it?
Feels like this project is going stale even this early in the season. A lot of decent players but lacking real quality and I include Coutinho in that. Mane, and not Coutinho, is by far and away our most important player.
We’re too easy to play against and lack a proper finisher to make up for the sloppy defensive play.
For all the good build up play we didn’t really test their keeper anywhere near enough tonight. Ditto Saturday against Burnley.
We’ve got a counter attacking manager in charge of a team that struggles to create high quality chances against deep defences. Same problem he had towards the last few years at Dortmund.
Not sure what the solution is right now and worryingly wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar outcome on Saturday.
One would assume that Klavan as senior pro would organise that defence, but no leadership whatsoever. Why did he not get Gomes out for the first goal? He makes Kavame look like Beckenbauer. Thankfully for him Oxlade Chamberlain was on the pitch, now he was bad.
Ah loved that lads. Reading though it’s so funny- in a tragic sort of way. I’ll F’off now before you tell me to:)
Ps. Not bothered 1 bit. 1st half shows we can dominate, but not finish. 2nd half shoes us we can’t rotate too much right now. Plus we’ve a good keeper in Ward.
2nd Goal from a throw in, almost a carbon copy of Seville 2nd. We’re that predictable. Huge fan of klopp but he looks lost. We’re fucking shite at the minute. Lose Saturday and he is under serious pressure.
Sorry to sound negative, but the recent results and near-moratorium on citing recurrent problems might be influencing me here.
(My fume has built up over the last few games, not just this one. I was actually excited to see what some of our periferal lads could offer this evening, and found myself impressed with plenty of them in the first half, but, unfortunately, the better- Reddest- team were left disappointed again).
I know we play a certain way, which is WHY we need better personnel in defence, not a reason to poo-pooh the idea that we might desire better. Not sorting this glaring weak spot was always going to result in critcism if we ended up letting goals in which affected points tallies or got us knocked out of cups. Football innit? Isn’t it quite simple? Would you ask Lovren and Matip to mind your kids for half an hour? Erm… And, Klopp HAS reacted to be fair; no Lovren against Burnley. Gomez playing CB tonight.
I clearly don’t have the answers; I’ve had a couple of beers for a start! But, as mentioned in a couple of recent TAW shows, you don’t have to ally yourself to extremes; I’m with Klopp and, I think, FSG, but Klopp has to stand by his results. He is paid to do so. Fans pay to react to results. I want fans to get behind the team as much as the next man, but fans have been turned into customers and you can’t expect to charge someone 50 knicker and them tell them to cheer on millionaires who aren’t cutting it. Sad fact of modern football life. It’s like asking Coldplay fans to still sing along.
Who is loyal in modern football?
Players to the team? Yes, to an extent. At least temporarily.
Boards to managers. Er… yep. For an era. Or a season or something.
Fans to their club? Forever!!! But with the right to criticise, especially given their unrivalled loyalty and the direction in which the money flows.
It’s very early in the season to have a bad patch but it seems to be a period when everything that can go wrong does. We don’t help ourselves and everyone becomes frustrated but we are doing a lot of things well and it is our final ball that lets us down and a lot of that is to do with confidence.
Our defenders are individually such limited and 2nd rate players that it can come as no surprise they collectively fail to meet the standards required at one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Only way to make these lot look solid at the back is if Rafa Benitez was still in charge and ordered the whole midfield to sit in front of the defence for most of the match ha ha.
Klopp needed to buy quality defenders. He has failed to do this and we’re suffering. FSG spend as little as possible every year and it catches up with you in squad quality. We have quantity, not quality in defence.
Not one for a fume. Least of all over a shite cup. But I’m fuming. If we looked at the form guide, it’d be 5 L’s with a goal difference of -17. Or at least that’s how it feels. I don’t even want to hear Klopp’s voice right now.
But I wouldn’t mind if he gave me a comforting cuddle and mussed my hair. I probably could use it.
Those saying it’s only a crap cup and we are well out of it are missing the point that it is valuable game time for some of our squad and younger players that they will not now get. It stunts their development and also means there are a lot of players who will be cooling their heels for the next few months till the FA Cup starts. Very demotivating and. bad for morale.