ONE of them, isn’t it?
A game we’ve seen a million times before but, actually, far less frequently of late than you’d maybe appreciate, but still too often to mention.
That you knew on the hour mark, probably earlier, that we were going to get fuck all, where do we go?
And I’m not buying tomorrow’s line that will be trotted about missing Phil Coutinho. What I will buy is the dereliction of duty around Liverpool’s desire to reinforce areas that clearly need strengthening.
We released a “Gutter” show on TAW Player today discussing whether Liverpool need to reinforce with the money we’ve banked from the Coutinho sale, and my argument was that the grade of what we currently have on the bench isn’t anywhere near strong enough. The drop off is too large and so it proved.
Look at the business done today by Arsenal and Manchester United. They have changed up to either progress or consolidate their positions, Arsenal will also probably sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang an’ all.
That leaves both teams with a bench and a depth, going into the business end of the season that Liverpool simply don’t have.
When it does not work, who do we have who will affect the game?
Our first-choice front three is, bar Manchester City’s, the best in the league but after that, what do we have?
The drop off between our first choice and our backup is alarming. Neither Danny Ings nor Dominic Solanke have registered a league goal under Jürgen Klopp.
Solanke might well turn out to be a great player, but it doesn’t say much when the manager elects to put on Ings ahead of a player, who you’d assume, would be a better option.
That isn’t to knock Ings either. I’d love him to do well given his struggles, and Solanke has promise, but neither have a body of evidence strong enough to suggest that they can come on in those situations and change the game. It especially ranlkles when you’re leaving Daniel Sturridge at home in a game crying out for a striker who can turn water to wine in the opposition penalty area.
Liverpool, until tonight, have gone 18 unbeaten but, at 1-0, the sense that they played like a team clutching at straws was palpable because they had no other option.
What pedigree do we now have on the bench to bring to the party when things clearly aren’t working to step into the breach?
Where is our Alexis Sanchez? Our Henrikh Mkhitaryan? Our proven quality.
This Liverpool side is on the verge of being a great one, and the best comeback from losing an 18-game unbeaten streak is to go on another one, and that we are good enough to do just that only makes the pain more acute.
I’m not having it that we can’t strengthen, stop trying to be too clever for our own good.
Spend the fucking money.
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Well said Andy.
We’re a ‘super club’ that hasn’t won fuck all since 2006 yet thinks the squad is great with Ings and Solanke on the bench if we need a goal.
There is no money. Thats the model.
Well that’s just a plain lie.
Sturridge cried off yet again over a busy Christmas period. It’s well known as this point there have been times he’s cried about injuries and when the tests have been done they’ve shown nothing or very little. Klopp, and the club, simply don’t believe him and think he’s happy to be collecting his £150k a week in return for a few physio and gym sessions every month. If someone would take him off our hands with his wages we’d be putting him out the door, but no club is that stupid. Perfectly understandable why Klopp, whose shown what type of manager he is when it came to Sakho, doesn’t want to select Sturridge. I wouldn’t either.
Then we should buy a fucking striker, shouldn’t we.
By “well known”, do you mean “widely conjectured by pub-goers”?
Well said mate. These owners are slowly killing us. the rate of improvement is too slow. By the time we get some more of the pieces in place, Salah and Mane will be off. We are only going to get 4-5 years our of those two and even less with Firmino. Plus our manager…at times brilliant, at times infuriating. He needs to buck up too and stop thinking he can turn water into wine.
The language used around this transfer window is that Klopp is “prepared to gamble” and wait till the summer before we acquire our top targets. But it’s not a gamble. Last January we signed no-one and that was considered a gamble which was just about vindicated (by one point mind you). Selling your best player and not reinvesting that money this window is not a gamble- it’s stupidity.
Only when the season ends and we look back in hindsight will we know for certain if such a decision was vindicated. And the transfer window is still currently open so there’s no point definitively ruling out us doing any business just yet. But the fact is we as a club should not have to take gambles anymore. We should be looking for definitive answers to problems. The goalkeeper situation is a gamble I can just about live with. Selling coutinho and not replacing him is unforgivable. Even if we do make the top 4 this year, why gamble on that fact now? Why not buy the players to make a top 4 finish a certified minimum for this year. We bemoaned having to utilise Woodburn last year but is anyone really cheered at the sight of Ings and Solanke on the bench this time around? It’s simply not good enough.
What this guy said!
“Spend the fucking money.”
On who Andy? Which position? And what will this do until this player blows cold? What about the rest of the team – same old shit as before? This miracle player money must be spent on isn’t going to cut it.
So what happened tonight?
Salah and Mane both missed glorious chances – this was always going to happen as we all know both miss a ton before they score and look like geniuses.
Firmino missed and so did Lallana – That was 4-1 to us by then.
Virgil wasn’t to blame for the goal – the replays suggest that a group of Liverpool players went up and for the ball throwing him off.
Gini should not play away games – Does Klopp know he is useless in away games?
Klopp’s subs are ineffective – Lallana should have been on at half time. He’s no Messi, but he can and was sort of helping breakdown the Swansea bus. And Ings? Nice tattoos but otherwise below average. What happened to Solanke and Sturridge?
Coutinho missing isn’t the issue – we lost to these useless teams before without him. Buying another player to replace him isn’t going to make a difference, as the team and the manager still have no clue how to beat parked buses.
Beating City was for shit now – gave Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Spurs, and City all something to look forward to now. Edging Liverpool out of the top four.
When your whole front 3 are having a mare then it’s time to bring on a sub, unfortunately the drop off in quality of our subs compared to what we have on the pitch is so great that the sub makes little difference.
@Michael
I understand your point, and looking at the bench last night, that would seem obvious to me.
However, what I am frustrated with is that Klopp and the team had 8 fucking days to sort this out against a team that they know is currently struggling at the bottom, and with a new manager.
Did Klopp really think Swansea were going to come out swashbuckling like City? It doesn’t take much to google Swansea team sheet and look at the quality of their players, and maybe wonder if they’d take a more defensive approach this time out.
They did so with an isolated attacker and nicked a lucky goal.
The manager needs to provide some way to mitigate the “off days”. Buying quality players is one of them, but working with what he has with a practical approach is another.
Based on his philosophy of not wanting to follow the blue print of the richer clubs he needs to adapt to the team’s inabilities and compromise his tactics to suit what he has on the bench. Throwing these players on to fix his problems later on in the game is not the solution. This is not the first time he has done this. Players will have off days as you have mentioned.
Maybe Klopp should learn to do a Mourinho once in a while and stifle the opposition into submission with a taste of their own medicine. You don’t need top quality for this kind of as you’ve seen it done by Swansea recently.
Of course the purists will say it’s not the Liverpool Way.
Yes Sash.
They had plenty of rest and prep time to play against a team that were nailed on to park the bus yet we were so lethargic for much of this game.
The entire 11 played poorly with the best prob hitting about 6/10.
However when this happen you have to have options in order to change things.
Our entire bench had scored 2 league goals all season. None of our attacking bench players have scored a goal.
And yet people dont think we need to dip into the transfer market.
Well, I’d spend the best part of it on Oblak, and that would have helped fuck all in this one.
Re-post from the match review, but: There was definitely a Coutinho-shaped hole in the line-up, and there will be again against similar “low-block” (hate that term) sides. The only positive that could come from this is if it pushes us into signing a legitimate Coutinho replacement before the 31st.
Also, since Dortmund are only asking for 50 million for Aubemeyang, why not bring him in and offset around half of that fee by selling Sturridge? That would be an amazing upgrade for minimal outlay.
Last night, was Liverpool’s problem in scoring or creating scoring opportunities? I get Andy’s frustration with the thin options on the bench, but what really was the problem last night? I believe the core issue with Klopp’s squad is creating opportunities against massed defenses…..and that was there even when Coutinho was available. Adding options in attack is important, no doubt, but our main problem has been penetration and creativity in midfield. Unless Klopp can convince the board to pay extra for Keita to come now, he has to either purchase a short-term alternative (which he won’t) or get answers within his squad. For example, switch Bobby deeper as no. 10, with Mane and Salah wide, play Sturridge or Ings as CF and utilize Henderson as box-to-box MF in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
@Kenyan Park
“For example, switch Bobby deeper as no. 10, with Mane and Salah wide, play Sturridge or Ings as CF and utilize Henderson as box-to-box MF in a 4-2-3-1 formation.”
I agree with you on this. Last night Salah, Mane, Firmino, Gomez, Virgil and Lallana missed their chances. We would have been up 4-1. So we created and missed. No worries, it happens.
But what you have stated is what Klopp should be doing if he isn’t or FSG isn’t interested in paying for certain players Klopp has identified who may or may not be available to come.
Against parked buses, I say just return the favor, and play their game. We have the quality, at least better than Swansea last night to have just waited it out and beat them on the counter.
If nothing we could have walked away with a point instead of a deflating loss.
I’ve often wondered what would happen if we just gave these teams the ball and waited for them to do something with it. If having over 62% possession isn’t winning us the game, then what’s the point?
@Amy Yeah me too.
I some times catch other teams on the telly and I see this happen as you said.
Possession to them often means nothing and then they take their chances. It doesn’t make the team look bad apart from what the commentators or some “experts” might say then or after.
The team don’t care, as they come away with a job done with what seemed like a match they could win and did.
We had another can-win game, but I feel we over-complicate things at times, or maybe just over-confidence after the City win.
Anyways let’s bounce back against West Brom. I think it’s another can-win for us, but a bit anxious to know if the team have their heads in the right space.
Coutinho contributed to 21 goals in the first half of the season.
Our entire bench last night have contributed to the mighty amount of 2 league goals this season.
Ings, Solanke nor Lallana scored either of them.
And people still think we don’t need to add to our attack.
We needed to add to the attack last summer and the club tried and failed to do it for all sorts of reasons, independent of whether Coutinho was sold. We still need to add to the attack. Coutinho played in similar matches this season that we didn’t win, against Burnley, Newcastle, United, Chelsea, Everton, and West Brom (all were scoreless or 1-1 draws), so this wasn’t about Coutinho. He also would have still been ‘injured’ because the window is still open. Again though, I agree (like most supporters I think) we have to bring in another attacker, and hopefully the club is just waiting for Sturridge to open up room in the wages. We really need to add to our attack.
My biggest concern regarding these matches is that more often than not it’s every player – not just one or two – that has a terrible game. The other concern is that the manager and coaching staff seemed to use this game to give minutes to Lallana and Ings – this will pay off in the next few weeks, but I can’t help but think that the message it sent out about the importance of this game (as in like a pre-season friendly) could have contributed to the way the players approached it. I really hope it pays off in the coming weeks.
Just want to add (nothing to do with your comment) that I can’t believe people are fawning over the F1 analogy. It’s just a fancy way of saying they parked the bus. Not sure what the invention is there.
But “spend the fucking money” on whom? Saying we should spend the cash and bring in reinforcements is all very well if those players that could improve us are available but they so rarely are in January. MUFC have only managed to get Sanchez because Arsenal are terrible and he wanted out. Arsenal have only got Mik (who has hardly proved that he’s about to do anything special in the Premier League so far) because United wanted Sanchez.
We clearly do need to bring in more quality and spend the Coutinho money, but I don’t to see us throwing away the money in desperation in late January when waiting until the summer would see us bring in better players, possibly for a better price. Let’s not do another Rodgers bringing in Balotelli.
There’s an entire spectrum between doing nothing and buying a Balotelli.
What makes everyone think Lemar is gonna be so much cheaper in the summer?!
Why would he be massively cheaper?!
Will he still join us if we don’t qualify for the CL?
“Oi Lemar we’ve waited until July to sign you, let’s go!”
“Ahmmm guys don’t really know how to say this but you’re playing Europa league now and all these other top European clubs over here are playing CL and want me too sooooo…”
let’s wait until the next transfer window, wouldn’t want to waste any money, and when we get there it’ll be wait til the next transfer window.
Meanwhile another season without a trophy has passed by. And Mane / Salah are another few months closer to leaving cos they want to win things.
FSG have no intention of spending the sort of money we think is available.
I saw a stat saying the last two years we have the lowest net spend in the prem. That means we have spent less than Bournemouth who have a match day support of approx 14,000 and a world wide fan base of similar size.
FSG are laughing all the way back to Boston with sackfuls of wonga, and by the end of the season, listening to some comments on here we’ll turn on Klopp who has got us CL with this level of investment, and is the best thing to happen to us in years.
It’s all so predictably sad!
@Alan
“Meanwhile another season without a trophy has passed by.”
We’ve still a trophy to play for in the FA Cup and dare I say in the CL (yes dreaming of course, but I had hope in 2005 and years before too).
“And Mane / Salah are another few months closer to leaving cos they want to win things.”
How do you know this?
Do all players not want to win trophies particularly the more talented?
You don’t think the likes of Salah will start looking round him if we don’t qualify for CL this year?
@Michael
Yes that’s possible if we don’t qualify, but I think nobody knows for sure what will or won’t happen.
So I prefer to remain optimistic that we can work on issues that might help us progress to the CL next year as well.
Just focus on the next match like the team has to and allow Jurgen and his staff to worry about the rest when time comes.
Been too many years now for me to remain skeptical about each move, you know what I’m saying Michael?
WestBrom is going to be tough after this loss but let’s see what happens.
No one knows for sure about anything which is why you have to strengthen the squad in order to stack the odds in your favour.
Since they have been here FSG have consistently, across all their different managers, failed to invest, and only sanctioned purchases after selling our best players. This window is no exception.
So why is everyone so certain that this lack of recruitment is down to Klopp?
I don’t believe for one minute he would not strengthen if he were given the money and his utterances to the contrary are only to shield his players and his employers.
About time our fan base wised up.
There’s a clue to how committed FSG are to Liverpool when not one of them came across from Boston for the Naming ceremony for Kenny’s stand. Pathetic.
We’re a cash cow and until places like TAW and the Echo start to put pressure on the ownership that’s exactly what we’ll remain.
We lost one game. After an unbeaten run of 18.
We had no luck but didn’t play well. It happens.
Who would you buy who a) would be available this month, and b) would improve AND compliment our current first eleven? I can’t name anyone (except maybe Mahrez) who I’d know enough about to pin my hopes on. Most are just exotic names from other leagues who could be as anonymous in the wham-bam Prem as Mkhitaryan has been. Get a keeper.