I’M hoping by the time I get to the end of this that I’m feeling a little better, that you, dear reader can be my therapy because I’m not going to lie my current state is one of absolute discombobulation.
The Reds have won their first game away from home in the league having bagged three goals but the mood for celebration, for the moment, is beyond this fragile constitution.
Quite how Liverpool Football Club consistently contrive to put themselves in these situations beggars belief and should lead to a study in how to induce panicked hysteria.
This Liverpool side, at the moment, has become its own worst enemy, no one can deny the quality and danger they carry, but they also need little excuse to give themselves a massive problem.
The pattern is all too familiar, Liverpool start well and either fail to capitalise or, as today just as against Sevilla, put themselves in a position of strength only to miss an opportunity to put the game beyond doubt.
A 2-0 lead away to anyone should be enough for teams with designs on going far to sit on, but just as sure as when his penalty thumped off the post in the Champions League, the absolute certainty that we’d be punished for not going three goals up when Roberto Firmino slid his shot wide of Kasper Schmeichel’s post was nailed on.
We’ve convinced ourselves that the worst is about to happen to the point it has become self defeating, we put ourselves constantly in harm’s way, the lack of authority and a calming presence is chronic.
Yes, we’ve been unlucky, every 50-50 seems to break the other way, every deflection seems to give us little favour, every clearance seems to drop to anyone apart from a red shirt putting everyone in panic mode.
The solution? Stop being unlucky.
Stop believing the worst is about to happen.
It’s impossible to legislate for every potential outcome of every single action on the pitch of which there are hundreds, but how many times do we tend to end up feeling sorry for ourselves because of one unlucky break or the other?
Prime example, just as against Watford when we conceded an injury-time equaliser, we concede again in added time in the first half.
Whether Joel Matip fouled Jamie Vardy or not is neither here nor there, nor is it the point. The question is why we were in that position in the first place? Why, put ourselves in a situation where a decision has to be made?
I’d wager any money that if the clock is reading 26 instead of 46 the ball doesn’t even make it down that channel, but because we know that getting to half time with a two-goal cushion is important we start to overthink and disrupt our own rhythm.
And the opposition know this, they don’t have to work hard to create chances and get opportunities, just keep a modicum of pressure up and we’ll get ourselves in a mess.
What makes it even more infuriating is the myth we concede goals as a matter of fact because of the system when that’s far from the truth, we actually don’t defend too poorly for most parts and an awful lot of the goals we do concede are more to do with individual errors than a systemic issue.
Do we need better personnel? Well, yeah, but there is fuck all we can do about that at the moment and to pin it just on that doesn’t tell the whole story.
How many goals have we conceded as a result of committing seven or eight men forward or as a result of a brilliant piece of play compared to the teeth-gritting, hair-greying, clusterfucks that can be seen a mile off?
The good news is, in theory, that these problems are fixable, just maybe not on the training pitch.
And if we’re looking for symbols to cling to or decisive moments to change the mind of the players and stop them succumbing to nerves, maybe we have a few straws to clutch at today.
The easiest fix in the world would be a few back to back clean sheets, but for something to build on?
Well, how about this.
Despite trying their hardest at times to throw it away tonight, Liverpool managed to cling on to record their first ever win under Jürgen Klopp at the King Power Stadium.
And this, don’t just forget about being unlucky, how about convincing yourself of the opposite, that every break will drop your way, that if you just take care of yourself and do your job and not panic, that corner will clear the area.
And to top it off, the penalty you concede at 3-2 up will be saved and you will emerge victorious.
There, you see, I feel better already.
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I don’t understand what game you were watching. this was ‘atritional football’ by Leicester and it would have taken the best of any team to resist it. Mistakes by Mignolet cost us the lead…..or bad referring and I am sick of pundits lambasting our team….and in this case you unfairly. We did what we had to and fought tooth and nail and i am proud of them all mistakes and all. It’s a war this Premier League and when teams turn up like this you have to fight…for your lives and the points…we did that. We lost in the face of such tactics last season and this was MUCH BETTER. I think you need to re-watch the game and think again.
@Ken Charmer he’s not a pundit and just expressing the reality of what he and some of us saw.
It’s great to come home with a win, but there are obvious mistakes made by the team and by the Ref, the former which need to address in training and Klopp to do so in the Jan transfer window.
Andy’s point of how the team cracks at the end of halves like most teams did against Ferguson’s United during Fergie Time, is valid and at some point in the match you couldn’t help but think our defense could let us down.
Klopp himself said that he was sick of conceding goals like this, like we’re Santa Claus from August to May, some of us our sick of it as well as it fucks up the hard work done up front.
Still the positives are seeing the likes of Moreno, Sturridge, Henderson and Salah all giving their best and by my books, improving for the long haul.
Up the Reds!
Definitely felt Okaxaki was fouling Big Si for their opener, but they got their just desserts on the peno.
Ref didn’t do us any favors today. He chose to ignore a blatant foul on Loren despite having a clear view of the incident. One of several errors on his part.
The second goal pen was from a misplaced pass straight to the Leicester midfield by salah. Not the defence. Away support was immense today from first whistle. Showed we knew it wasn’t easy out there and were fighting for that win. Remember Lovren and Mignolet making mistakes early on, support just kept willing those lads on. Need more of that at Anfield. Captain’s performance from Hendo. Vardy is such a handful.
Sunday roast always goes down so so much better after a Reds win!
Moscow next. Champions League, only second time in 7 seasons. Jeez we’re doing a lot right under Klopp get behind him like we did yesterday and give him time to improve the defence (unless we think Eddie Howe is the answer)??
We do this, we do. We aid the opposition in their anti-LFC tactics of ‘keep the ball off the ground at all costs’, because our strength is shown clearly in the one and two touch-game we play so well. Once teams break up our game by getting the ball in the air and keeping it there; we go and f*cking well join in the madness, lashing feet and heads at the ball and, in this game, miskicking the f*cker or heading it straight back into the pack where it’s often waiting for them to welly the second ball back into the air again. And on it goes ad infir-f*cking-nitum. I wish someone would go and tw*t Lovren & Matip round the head and shout ‘F*CKIN STOP this sh*te ya melts’, put the f*cker on the ground and pass it to a better ball-carrier than you, ya d*mb f*cks! It’s like watching f*ckin 7 year old Yanks playing the game for the first time ever, ie after asking to try ‘Kick-ball’ because they saw 5 mins of a game on TV news last nght.
@fitz07 Until Klopp fixes the defensive woes, these “f*ckin 7 year old Yanks playing the game for the first time ever” you mention would still be better than Lovren, Klavan and the comedy central defensive unit.