SATURDAY was good fun, wasn’t it?
They say a rolling stone gathers no moss. Well I wish it fucking would. I wish it would roll like fuck and clatter into auld Jonny Moss, gather him up like a trodden-on snail and dump him right in the river.
That said, it would probably smash into his unfathomable girth and bounce back up the hill it come from. I mean, for a man who has to maintain a high fitness standard and is made to run as part of his job he has got the stature of someone who has devoted his life to eating the world’s supply of Babybels before he turns 60. Imagine the size of him once he packs in ruining matches for a living.
And don’t get me started on the shape of his head. Its fucking ridiculous. I was wondering how his ancestors ended up being called Moss. My guess was that his great, great, great, great, great granddad was that much of a greedy bastard that he ate everything in his path until there was only moss left, the fat medieval shit. Apparently though, the origin of Moss is a topographical name for someone who lives next to a peat bog, which makes load of sense really, doesn’t it? The bog-dwelling baby bellend.
You can’t get away from the fact that the match was ended by this bog-cheese prick. I don’t see how it is anything other than an accidental collision. There was absolutely no intent to kick him in the face. None. That’s clear.
What would the outcome have been if Sadio Mane went for it with his head and butted the side of his face? Their ‘keeper would have had a much more serious injury than a little graze on his face but there is no way Mane gets sent even though he would have endangered the players wellbeing all the same.
The facts are the referee took a look at the cut on the player’s face and made his mind up as a consequence of that rather than on the merits of the challenge and that surely can’t be right, can it?
Sky were keen to tell us that this is a referee who has played football at a decent standard and understands the game as a consequence. Well if that’s the case, let me take you back to the 10th minute. Trent Alexander-Arnold was struggling to find his feet on throw ins, mainly because Manchester City were flooding the options and blocking the space to try and make Liverpool go long.
As a result, he was taking longer to throw the ball in than he normally would because he wasn’t able to retain possession. Being such a good reader of the game, you know, because he has played it, Jonny Moss chose to stop play for the benefit of the crowd and warn Trent about time wasting, after 10 minutes, in a game that was 0-0, with Liverpool having had the better chances. Nobhead.
These fellas aren’t interested in the game or reading it properly, they are interested in themselves and their career. Moss, like all of them, isn’t interested in doing the right thing. He is interested in the perceived right thing. He is interested in the context of the decision.
When their ‘keeper is on the deck with a cut on his face his thoughts are all about what is the best decision for Jonny Moss. What is the safest decision for Jonny Moss. “If I don’t send him and this fella is badly hurt then I’m fucked.”
It didn’t help that their ‘keeper has got the pain threshold of a baby lamb with frostbite sat in front of a fire one minute, but was back in the ground with the shittest plaster you have ever seen doing head stands by full time.
There has been a fair bit said about the Reds defence since full time; some of it fair, some of it absolute flannel dressed up as serious analysis. What is clear is that there doesn’t appear to be much appreciation for how Liverpool actually try to defend, rather a focus on individual players relative qualities.
The Reds’ defensive strategy (and a significant part of their attacking setup) is all about controlling space, counter pressing and positional play to block any passing options. They also focus on forcing teams to play in certain designated areas so that they can capitalise on any errors.
Against a team like City, who have a pretty similar attacking and defensive plan, but have pretty much the best possession-based manager in the business and one of the most expensively-assembled squads in the world, your game plan and implementation of it has got to be perfect.
After Liverpool’s 1-0 win over City last year Jürgen Klopp suggested the physical and mental fatigue which affected The Reds for much of January was down to the exertions of the home game on New Year’s Eve.
Defending space and making sure you are always in the right position relative to your teammate is a very difficult thing to do. Now imagine trying to do that with one less man, against one of the most expensive sports teams ever put together with the greatest possession-based manager on the planet.
How do you block the passing lanes when one of you is in the changing rooms? Each player has now got more space to fill, more distance to cover and virtually no time on the ball if they ever receive it.
As soon as it was 10 versus 11 it was inevitable that City would win. It was unfortunate and unlucky but it was the match, right there, when Jonny Moss looked out for himself. Using the evidence of the second half to hammer home an agenda about the quality of Liverpool’s individual defenders seems a little redundant to me.
Yes, these players aren’t the greatest one-on-one defenders on the planet. Yes, Liverpool’s defensive unit left a lot to be desired in the second half but most teams, if not all, would look ragged against that Man City team in those circumstances. In fact, the evidence would suggest that you would struggle against any good side in those circumstances.
Dan Kennett off of the Twitter posted some brilliant stuff yesterday about the results of the recent top six games when it has been 11 versus 10 for more than half an hour in the game. The score across 17 matches was 44-6 to the 11s.
And here’s the details of the 17 matches in question pic.twitter.com/Zk6jbc8RDA
— Dan Kennett (@DanKennett) 10 September 2017
He went on to bladder home his point by doing the same thing for the knockout phase of the Champions League. The score was 44-6 again to the 11s. That is 88-12 in total. I think we can safely surmise from this that it isn’t much fun playing against a good side with one less man.
And yet, the theme across the media and fan base in the aftermath is one of Liverpool’s defensive woes, with plenty of outlets boldly outlining that their frailties were on show prior to the sending off before gleefully ramming home the failed transfer narrative and shit centre-half theory.
Before this game, Liverpool’s record against the top six under Klopp was played 19, won nine, drew nine, lost one. If The Reds’ defensive shape is so shit, how has that happened? By chance?
It was a game to forget, to wipe from the memory banks until the next time City or the Cheese Moss come to town. When they do, let them fucking have it. I’ll get in Jonny Moss’s head early doors when I dress up as a massive Babybel until he doesn’t know where he is. Let’s get into Sevilla early doors and vent our frustration.
Come on, Redmen. Let’s get into these.
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Pics: David Rawcliffe-Propaganda Photo
This is another unfortunate take. The only people who disagree on the red card are fellow Liverpool fans and the ‘pay footballers the wages of soldiers’ crowd. Mane was slightly late and kicked him in the head with about as much force as possible. John Moss was only three feet away.
The first goal was always going to be crucial. To concede it in such a manner should leave no debate except the centre halves were shit and we fucked up in the window. If you want to blame Moss for everything then go ahead but we’ll be having this debate over and over throughout the season. Did Klavan have 2 men with him? Was Matip standing 10 foot away fast asleep? Did they fail to communicate with each other? It was a shambolic goal and to be expected when you have average centre halves against top players. Then there’s the midfield. 10 men or not I expect more. The ref ruined the game but to put it solely down to that is madness. I look forward to your next excuse.
you completely overlook the initial clearance by Mignolet to no-one in particluar, the poor header by Henderson, the lack of cover to close down De Bruyne.
The 2 runners off Klavan were 2 yards each side – as Henry said, that’s the advantage of playing 2 CFs – we saw that particular benefit right there.
Then you’re also missing how inch perfect that pass was.
As Ben said…
“The Reds’ defensive strategy (and a significant part of their attacking setup) is all about controlling space, counter pressing and positional play to block any passing options”
We did none of that for the 1st goal. That’s why it happened. To simply blame the defenders is pretty lazy really.
I’d ask you to have a look at this picture and ask yourself where KDB is gonna put this ball. It was a good ball but it was inviting. There’s 2 City players and 5 Lfc.
pic.twitter.com/rJk5ALmsNC
Jesus mate! Do you honestly believe all that? Playing two centre forwards doesn’t mean the defenders don’t have to mark them. It’s quite simple, when the opposition have the ball the centre halves need to get tight on the attackers. Matip was miles away and half asleep. Klavan didn’t shout to him. If you want to blame a million other things go ahead but that was shocking defending. I find it incredible you make excuses for it.
they could be tight as fuck – that just makes the centre forward’s job of spinning the CB and latching onto the pass even easier. The pass from De Bruyne wasn’t into feet – in which case I may agree with you. It was split between the CBs – that’s bread and butter for Aguero to spin off.
Watch the goals again. I’ve just watched them all. They’re all appalling. Matip wasn’t interested all day. Matip made the first goal easy for them. He’s 10 yards up the pitch from Klavan leaving him 2 v 1. Moreno has made the second easy. Matip and Can aren’t really interested for the third and there’s a whole host of Liverpool players ball watching for the fourth. When the ball goes in there’s 7 Liverpool in the box and 2 City. That’s nothing to do with having 10 men. It’s just shite. Embarrassing performance all round.
I’m only referring to the 1st goal based on your comment that it changed the game. And I also think its easy to suggest we were poor – that’s fine – but also City are a very, very good side.
We were due one of these. It felt inevitable it was going to happen sooner or later after the decent “top 6 run” we’ve had. Every side gets them at some point. Fuck, Everton stuck 5 past City last season.
What needs to happen is that we move on. Sevilla on Tuesday is as much about getting Saturday out of the system as it is about Champions League.
All the teams in the PL are good sides. We have to deal with it. We can’t have days where we switch off to that extent. Have you seen the pic I linked to? Matip is flat footed. It’s shocking. ps We play on Wednesday.
I know what my issue is here. It’s quite clear to me. I felt physically sick when it dawned on me we weren’t going to buy in the window but I have to accept it. What I can’t accept is Liverpool fans trying to look for any positive where there are none and telling us we’re over reacting for having fears about how this season will go as a consequence. This team could potentially challenge and we’ve finished the window with £150m sitting in the bank and an appalling defence. It’s so frustrating. I don’t want to fall out with LFC fans or act like it’s all doom and gloom but I’m genuinely on the verge of exploding every time I hear this defence is alright. Our best 4 is barely good enough. Make changes and it’s appalling. It really is.
its not a case of looking for positives. Its looking at the reality of the situation as I see it:
As much as we were poor, City were clinical.
Money in the bank doesn’t matter, identifying the right lad does. If 30m cant get Jonny Evans out of WBA then what does money actually matter?
Our defence might be appalling but it got top 4 last season and has kept clean sheets regularly in the last 10 PL games so it can work – why, when we concede 1 we then concede 4 I do not know. So wont bother trying to work out why.
What was definitely worrying is the way we looked like we gave up.
We shouldn’t be poor mate. We only ask that they stay switched on for 3 hours a week at most. It’s not a lot to ask. At this elite level it should be a given. This Jonny Evans shout is a bit weird. There are better players around. In saying that I’d take him over Klavan any day. Whilst I agree the defence got us fourth I’d add that we have the potential to go higher. I’m not content with needing to win on the last day to get 4th. This team deserves more. Look at the games we dropped the points. Bournemouth 4-3, Swansea 2-3, Hull 2-0, Leicester 3-1. Those games ruined our season and we had either Klavan or Lucas as centre half in all those games. That’s the issue. I’m sure Lovren and Matip can do a job. I’m not convinced our next in line can. First game of this season without Lovren and Matip and we concede 5. It’s worrying going forward.
Load of tosh! You talk more rubbish than our John. It was dangerous play. Ask Carragher he agrees. And we were spineless afterwards. And as for slagging Moss off for his looks! Look in a mirror lad.
LOL!
Thoroughly enjoyed this, Ben. Put me in a good mood.
You can criticise Moss for his decision to issue the red card. As a fan that’s your entitlement. And whether you are right or wrong is irrelevant. It’s about interpretation and the refs interpretation is the only one that counts. It’s not the first contentious decision and it certainly won’t be the last.
But you cannot blame referee Moss for Liverpool’s ‘pub team’ defending, a common theme now for several years. Liverpool’s inability to defend was the root cause of that 5-0 defeat. The problems with Liverpool’s inability to defend have been quite apparent since before Klopp’s arrival but for whatever reason, with the exception of cheap makeovers, the FSG way, it’s has never been properly addressed. The centre half pairing is a big issue, left back may or may not be an issue, protection afforded from midfield is an issue and the lack of leadership is an issue. Until they are properly addressed we’ll continue to flatter to deceive. In layman’s terms, “if the holes are not plugged, the ship will sink.”
Taa,is not a fullback,kalvan enough said,ginny disappears again in away games,c/backs that can not head a ball away,having said that,up to the sending we were the better side,but the manager should have left the side that beat arsenal.rotate after hand full games,never,two c/backs needed,with big gobs,the sending of,i said to my mate,it will happen again,and it be a yellow,sunday,two playes clash foot high,yellow card,City fans,gobshites.rant over.
Let’s set aside the lack of defensive reinforcements brought in during the window to strengthen what is the weakest link in the team and the fact that we are STILL playing Moreno at leftback.
So, we are playing away to one of the strongest attacking lines in the entire league, a team that is amongst the favourites to win the title and we choose this game to “rest” one of the centrebacks that makes up our strongest partnership. Instead we play a guy who was originally brought in as 4th choice centreback to play against this incredible attack.
Anyone else think that’s a strange call to make?
I’m not against rotating or resting players, in fact I’m for it but we play home to Burnley this weekend. Would that game not have been the better option to rest one of our top 2 centrebacks?
Surely yes.
If Lovren was “leggy” after the internationals then the manager has to call it. A fatigued CB doesn’t resolve anything I would think.
If he’s fatigued this early in the season then we truely are fucked.
It makes the decision not to bring in defensive reinforcements even more ridiculous.
Howedes, a 29 yr old World Cup winning defender who can play right across the back line, who is an experienced leader went to Juve on loan. Did we even consider him? Were we even in the conversation?
Even if we were successful in getting VVD we still should have brought him
in. We need defensive leadership badly.
no, not really. Its pretty easy to feel like that early in the season.
You’re missing the point. There will be plenty of games where either Lovren or Matip will be rested. They simply can’t play every game. That’s why we’ve fucked up.
Of course they can’t play every game. No one suggested they can. In fact I suggested resting one of them against Burnley at home rather than against one of the top attacks in the league.
He’s a centreback, he’s not a midfielder or lone striker expected to do miles of hard running.
Not to mention this only Sept.
As it happens, I completely agree with you. My reply wasn’t too you.
If Lovren was ‘leggy’ as has been suggested then that’s gonna be a feature of the season. We have to get used to it. My issue is who comes in. Next match Klavan is on the team sheet we’ll all be nervous regardless of who it’s against. I’ll be nervous when I see Matip on it. But, now and again they’ll have good games and we’ll hear ‘see, he’s a good player’. Neither are. They’re both wank. Over his last 5 windows Klopp has spent £4m on centre halves and £12m on the defence as a whole. Considering we have money I feel it’s negligent. People say, look at City but at least they’ve tried to strengthen. Paying £50m for a £25m player doesn’t necessarily bring success but paying £0m and £4m for players you can’t be surprised when what you get are not that good.
Sorry Robin, my bad, looked like you were replying to me.
Our 4 centrebacks cost circa £34mil.
Now I appreciate price isn’t the be all and end all but if we are serious about competing at the business end of the season I’d suggest we should be investing more in the centre of defence.
Just thinking here, I don’t remember Sami or Carra needing much rest when we were getting to CL finals and semi finals nevermind after 4 league games against top opposition.
Cheers for this Ben. Take the point that the shape leaves us vulnerable in open play, but that shouldn’t prevent us from being able to defend set-pieces or (as we saw on Saturday) crosses into the box. City had one ruled out for a fairly marginal offside before scoring their second, both times the fella was unmarked. Mane being off shouldn’t affect our back four being able to mark players in the box. Fair enough, De Bruyne delivers a great ball, but we’ve seen it time and time again, against good and bad sides. If anything, it’s probably a bigger issue against the poorer sides, who know that they can just sit deep and wait for a set-piece against us; better sides will come and try and play through us, and (with eleven men at least!) that usually suits us better
Ben, I’m with you in spirit but in reality, the answer in this particular set of circumstances is surely: park the fucking bus. A thrashing against one of our main rivals is never a good look. I’d rather have lost 2-0 than go the full five, and if that meant tightening up and altering the system during the game, then the team should be able to at least try that. Otherwise we’re back to the old maxim of ‘if plan A doesn’t work, do plan A better’. Sometimes you have to have a plan B, even if it’s not much fun. Every point is crucial, every goal conceded could be just as pivotal come season’s end. I love Klopp and I think we’ll do great things this season but ref’s decision aside, we can’t simply excuse shipping that many goals. Chances are this will ultimately prove to have been “one of those” and we can all stop fixating on it, but ideally we wouldn’t ever get a hockeying like this again.
pretty sure 4 and 5 came with Can moving in as the 3rd CB. So I think we tried but it didn’t work.
Laws of the Game – Red, in the context of the play – Yellow. Ball there to be won, Keeper using head (which is down). Dangerous play only because of the Keepers positioning, Keeper on the deck claiming a ball at the feet of a striker, can the striker not attempt to kick the ball because keeper is down low?????
In terms of the collapse, I would say City play similarly attacking football to ourselves so when our defenders are training against SALAH,FIRMINO & MANE are they just getting battered. Surely they are learning how to defend this style of play on a daily basis, which can then be transferred to the Pitch….
I think it was a red. Yesterday, my mate text asking if it was a red. I told him no, it was pathetic, worst I’d ever seen. Today, I’ve tried to get some answers and listened to other refs. It’s changed my mind. Eyes on the ball is irrelevant. Simply doesn’t come into it and surprisingly neither does intent. It’s just endangering an opponent. Now, if I boot someone in the head it’s not necessarily a red (in fact, it rarely is). Why Mane’s was a red was because his studs were 6ft in the air, on a horizontal trajectory towards the keepers head. It’s very unlucky for Mane and very clever goalkeeping but it’s difficult to argue that studs coming at you head height isn’t dangerous. He had to win the ball to stay on.
Accept the premise of the article and Klopp has definitely improved the defence since Rodgers was in charge, but that was hardly a difficult achievement given each managers comparitive credentials.
Problem was tactically and concentrational. You can’t take Salah off, have zero pace and play as open as we did after the third goal. To compound matters you then bring on the likes of Milner and Ox and end up with a midfield that can barely keep the ball for more than 2-3 passes. Every goal there was shocking ball watching going on. Gini, Hendo and Can were sleepwalking on the first 3 goals. The last 2 we didn’t even bother defending.
Until Klopp realises that there are better defensive midfielders than Hendo and Can and better defenders than Lovren and Klavan then he’s always going to be relying on players (who inherently have poor decision making) not making costly lapses in concentration.
It may be enough to sneak top 4 but it’s not going to make us genuine title contenders and meanwhile leaves us fans bricking it (and probably same for the attacking players) every time we have a lead because we can’t trust the defence.
We all would have called for defensive reinforcements after the end of last season. To only bring in a left back is frankly not solving the issue and that’s pretty poor going into Klopp’s 3rd season. Let’s stop dressing things up.
You know, I’m over the red card, as for me it was a red card, whether rightfully or wrongfully given.
What followed soon after is what I consider unacceptable and worrying for the overall mentality of the team and the manager, and for us fans.
The criticism may seem off the mark, but the manner in which we played highlighted the defensive problems that should have been addressed this summer, and brought on criticism that was always there for a problem not addressed since before Brendan Rogers.
– The red card took out one of our good attacking players, but it “did not” take out a key defensive player.
– Looking at the defensive players:
• Joel Matip is a good player, but he is still young but we got lucky not because of his defending or the defending by Lovren, dare I say, but because Arsenal fucked up towards the end and we squeaked through to CL.
• Klavan is a throw-away player good for making up numbers
• Lovren is hyped up Southampton player who may benefit from other defenders behind him to repeat his performance at his former club
• Gomez is decent but is returning from a serious injury and layoff time
• TAA is young, perhaps too young, still needs time to develop
• I don’t know enough about Robertson
• And Moreno is NOT, I repeat Jurgen, NOT a left back. He is better left out wide as he can make those marauding runs at will, and cause some issues in the attacking half.
– So Jurgen had 15 minutes in the dressing room to come out with the above players and have the team defend to the best of their abilities, in conjunction with the others and not go on to try to play City at their own game.
– Instead of learning from his past experience as a defender for Mainz or taking Chelsea’s example who tried to fight back 0-3 against Burnley with 9 men down, he sends a message to the rest of the EPL team, who usually “Come not to play” at Anfield, that they can now continue to shut up shop, expose our defending and nick a goal in the end even when they are losing against our brilliant attacking side, especially if we go one man down now.
– Most worrying for me is that “we don’t have a leader” in the back nor do we have a leader period. Henderson isn’t and I think Klopp should realize that, take the pressure off and allow Henderson to develop into the world class player that some fans or TAW think he is.
– The only players, for me, who have consistent grit, skill and determination are Milner and Mane. They try every single match.
– This was only a one-off game, in that we lost by a scoreline of 5-0. However we will lose when the going gets tough.
Jurgen has shown this inconsistency, when he guided LFC in the Europa league run, and with a brilliant Dortmund side with Champions League only to lose to a familiar foe (Bayern) at the end, whom he drew against in league matches that season and I think lost to them in the final of their league cup.
Jurgen winning the league in Germany is not the same as winning the league in England as we all know about the number of teams competing for the top 4 spot.
– Lastly, remember how Brendan Rogers fielded a weak team against Real Madrid? Imagine if Rogers was in charge of the last game.
In hindsight, John Moss is the least of our, or at least my worries.
A lot of this is hard to refute, but I think the picture is somewhat rosier than suggested.
The failure to sign a centre-back or two is a big mistake. It cannot and should not be painted any other way. I think the reason we wanted van Djk to such a degree can be put down to his characteristics as a defender. He’s one of those virtouso centre-backs who can run a backline by himself, physically dominating attackers. I will never forget when we played them last season and he threw Sturridge around like a rag-doll. Obviously physicality is not really Sturridge’s game but it was still impressive.
We don’t have that at present. We are plagued with uncertainty, prone to letting the ball bounce in dangerous areas and all too often tentative in our own area. I don’t think the backline is disastrous in itself, but when the entire team is not functioning as a defensive unit, as with Saturday, it can get horribly exposed.
van Dijk was and is a priority. I understand Klopp’s insistence on obtaining his targets or nothing, but we have been left short at the back without doubt. I’d actually like to see Gomez played at the back. Look at his physical build compared to the others. I’d have worries over his mobility but sometimes we need someone to be a brick wall. Win the ball and knock a forward over in the process. It gets the crowd buzzing and has a demoralising effect on the opponent.
‘The facts are the referee took a look at the cut on the player’s face and made his mind up as a consequence of that rather than on the merits of the challenge…’
Not sure that’s a ‘fact’, champ.
This article is an embarrassment. A personal rant against a referee is completely uncalled for, and better suited to the clowns on social media. By all means, question the decisions, but to write about a mans heritage, however humorous you think you might be, is poor form and below what I would expect from a respected site such as this.
I won’t be reading this contributors articles any more.
I am not getting in to this debate (again) about the rights and wrongs of a) the ref and b) the team esp Defence.
But that TAW has sanctioned this disgusting, infantile missive against the ref is unbelievable. I agree with Russell above, it is embarrassing and the stuff of the knuckle-draggers elsewhere. Get a Grip ‘Wrap and give this idiot a Red card.
Bit harsh on simple-minded folk like myself, who like to balance the serious ICC-style reactions with something a bit light-hearted such as this piece. I hope ‘Wrap contributors don’t stop doing these just because you don’t like them.
ps Amused to note that my comment’s been held for moderation due to quoting some of the language used in the article!
Genuinely interesting points about defending and ten men, but frankly I was cringing reading most of this.
Embarrassing to read a fellow Red ignoring the facts and abusing a referee who made a perfectly understandable decision. Arguably harsh, sure, but no more.