Liverpool throw away a winning position against Sevilla. What was the tactical feeling around the game? What could have been done differently? Was it Liverpool all over?
Are there enough post mortems after goals? Ruthlessness come back up as it always does these days…
Rob Gutmann hosts as Neil Atkinson contributes as rarely happens but Sean Rogers is rock solid as ever.
Listened to the Wildcards show a couple of days ago and heard Philippa extoling the virtues of Henderson as a player and captain.
A lot of discussion on this show centred around leadership and communication and whilst this should not be solely down to the Captain he should be the catalyst in keeping the players ‘honest ‘ as Neil put it.
There is so little communication between any of the players, know one digging anyone out, know one pulling the team together when ‘a big 10’ is needed . At the very least the Captain should be doing this.
At times the team look like a bunch of automaton’s, unable to read the game they are part of, read the oppositions weakness, possibly more importantly read there strengths and nullify it without the bench telling them whilst the game is on-going. Again part of the captains remit.
Its an unfair comparison but Souness who in my time is the best midfielder-captain I have seen was able to do all the above and more without being told by Paisley, he had football intelligence and some.
Being a captain is not just about grabbing teammates by the throat, its about knowing how to get the best out of each and every player, leading by example, keeping everyone ‘on it’ for 90 and some.
Henderson to me looks like a player so unsure of his own performance , he looks almost paralysed to take on the Captains responsibilities at times .
Rarely do I disagree with Philippa who I love on here but this Liverpool team possibly more than many others need a strong leader to pull this bunch of very talented individuals into a strong team .
On the evidence of this season not sure he is.
One of the best review shows in ages, enjoyed Rob as the host and Neil and Sean as the contributors, great mix. Thanks lads
I think Philippa is usually a sensible voice myself, and I found myself disagreeing (respectfully) with her Henderson assessment too.
I love Klopp to bits and he’s an excellent manager and character. But, the current failings are down to the calls he makes and nobody else, although Edwards clearly screwed up on VVD which probably cost us signing him this summer.
But Klopp does seem a bit stubborn. He was accused of not having a plan B at Dortmund and at times it seems the case in England as well. He was criticised for his slow or non-existent in-game changes at Dortmund and that criticism would still hold now, especially the last 2 games.
My view is that he’s our Wenger and that his methods are perhaps slightly dated and in fact not sustainable for a whole season of Premier League football. Interestingly, Didi Hamann, who always speaks sense, clearly had reservations about Klopp being given a 6 year contract. I’m starting to see why. I don’t think he should be sacked or anything like that. But I don’t think this guy will win us the title with his methods. He might make us top 4 regulars but I don’t think he’s got the tactical nous to land us the big prize.
The big question is whether *anyone* can land us the title without the super riches of the Manchesters and Chelseas? I think the answer is almost certainly no, although the improbable can be done once in a while. See Leicester.
If anyone can deliver then Klopp can – see Dortmund.
It requires patience. Klopp is definitely not ‘our Wenger’, having said that it will be interesting to see what happens when Wenger eventually goes – replacing successful managers is never as easy as fans seem to think, be careful what you wish for!
The comparison to Wenger is a compliment mate, although he’s probably run his course now. Wenger has been tremendously successful in keeping Arsenal in the top 4 for so long but he’s ultimately lacked that little extra to push them to the title. My gut feel is Klopp will be the same. As I said I’m not wishing for Klopp to leave but I think he’s got a ceiling. And he seems to have the same stubbornness of Wenger in failing to fix glaring defensive issues that everyone else can see a mile off. Until he can fix that I can’t see us winning anything of note. Dortmund was a lower pressure job where he was able to make the most of Bayern having a few poor seasons. He doesn’t have the same luxury in England because there are more rivals.
Sean Rogers nails the whole fucking overreaction in the first 30 seconds.
I can’t remember who it was, speaking on a podcast before the Hoffenheim game, who pointed out that Klopp had needed quite a while in his previous jobs before the promotions and titles came along. They also questioned whether we had sufficient patience to wait for a similar outcome. You might be right, this might be a challenge beyond anyone without financial doping (barring Leicester-like miracles). It’s also true that even people with no agenda, like Jan Molby, are strongly questioning the failure to sort our defence. But, Jesus, the hysteria which follows bad results (the City game) is only matched by the hysteria which follows great ones (Arsenal). I’m used to this kind of shit, living in Madrid, but Real Madrid fans are in a position to demand zero bumps in the road while beating good sides like Sevilla along the way. My fear is that supporters less reasonable than yourself will help get us stuck in a cycle of rinse and repeat, binning managers every couple of years for failing to win the league.
Great show again guys- missed Paul btw, but I’ll cope..:), Neil’s enjoying the ‘guest chair’ too much…?(tho good at it too)
Refreshing to hear balanced views on a match we could’ve thrashed them in but came up short or unlucky!? We’ve loads of time to learn and recover those points.
Their 2nd half midfield formation switch was a very interesting discussion plus the manner of the Seville coach deliberately wasting time when he’s behind!?! as if to slow us up maybe to go for it in the last 10 mins… or to accept a 1 goal defeat so as not to deflate his men too much I think.
Many other great points but one I’d like to add to is this obsession with Hendo and he not being gnarly enough. Maybe – but it’s agreed it’s the defensive play and players that’s not paying attention at danger times. Yes I want a Carragher marshalling there or a Clemence (who only conceded a goal because his defenders weren’t PAYING ATTENTION!! :).. bit-like Schmeichel at mu was). Yes we need mouths in defence, but remember Stevie G wasn’t the pitch loudmouth- he left that to Jamie. SG (and SH) led by example, THEN coaxing and the odd hard rebuke but generally he was no bawling Keano.
Hendo gets too much stick because he sticks out as a ‘non-Stevie G’ Captain. Well, Before Stevie- who stood out so much in the last 20..? Hendos is excellent though not on top form we saw before, but better by a mile for work rate , interceptions, passing and area covering than Gini and Can who’re up and down per game but get away with it coz they’re not our ‘StevieG’ replacement.
You know from last year’s interview you were touched by his genuine concern if the fans are generally happy with the job he’s doing?… that tells me a lot. I think the anti-Hendo crap could be getting him betimes, and that can effect your game if you’re trying to do everything and looking after others deficiencies rather than your own game by being overstretched.
Captaincy is key to a winning side, we need ours to be respected more to get the best from him- because I’ve NEVER seen him give less than 9 out of 10 for effort to the team’s cause. Credit, not just criticism, where it’s due.