Cup talk - Spurs at home

[Sheik Yerbouti]

It was a bit of a weird game. At times our central midfield was overrun and they constantly had two on one against our full backs but I never felt we'd concede until Lamella came on and we did our obligatory mess up at the back. Mignolet was his normal self, Lucas and Klavan were fairly solid, some great blocks by the former.

All the new lads did well considering, Grujic probably the least impressive. Moreno played well until he decided to wander and got caught out of position.

I think the most comforting thing from tonight is our squad appears to have greater depththan Tottenhams which will pay dividends.

Shout out to the two pricks sat behind me who moaned all game about people not standing. It's not worth going the game if you can't stand up apparently.

 

[Ryan]

Origi is such a fucking talent.

Kid's got everything talent-wise, and seems to have a great attitude too.

I know every cunt's raving about Rashford cos he's English and plays for those wankers, but I'd have Origi over him every day of the week. He's unfortunate to be behind Firmino, and possibly Sturridge, in the pecking order - and it'll be interesting to see how we allow him to develop and get the games he needs. But my word what a player he could be.

Pace, power, touch, workrate, close control, he can finish. He's a serious prospect.

 

[Dreambeliever]

Stewart, ejaria, Arnold - all very good

Grujic was a bit meh, wijanldum was tidy but a bit invisible at times , Moreno did well I thought but as per went missing on two occasions which almost cost us .

I genuinely don't understand why Moreno isnt pushed further up the pitch as a winge for whatever, he's got a decent first touch , lightning speed and can kick a ball sometimes , the concept of marking a man and or tracking back is easily the weakest part of his game

Moreno was rubbish again and should have cost us a goal.

His tackles were rash and he was out of position and time and time again.

Take him out the back and shoot him and be done with it.

Waster.

 

[Woland]

I went the match and I'll be honest. I had this dream last night about this girl, she's no-one I know, a total product of the dream, and I doubt many of you would find her attractive. She just had something about her and I had to whack off about her when I woke up. Basically spent the entire match thinking about this imaginary infatuation.

 

[rurikbird]

I don't know what @Dreambeliever was smoking – Ejaria was great. First of all, he did not play in an attacking position – yes, the pre-match lineup showed him on the right of the front 3, but if you paid attention during the game you would have noticed that we actually played 4-4-2 "diamond" with Grujic in the #10 role. Ejaria played in the midfield three alongside Wijnaldum and Stewart.

Secondly, Ejaria is not projected to be a speedy attacker like Ojo or Kent. He has been most frequently compared with Yaya Toure – a lanky, athletic CM who kind of ties together midfield and attack, is very difficult to dispossess and is hopefully going to add a powerful shot once he matures (Toure developed his shot at 20-something). He is too young to be a goal-scoring threat at this point, but other parts of his game were on full display – movement, passing, tackling, confidence in possession, growing physical strength. I was especially impressed by his calmness and maturity; if they didn't show his baby face up close on TV from time to time you would never guess this is an 18-year-old kid by the way he plays.

BTW Grujic might have been more impressive had he been playing in his more natural midfield position. I think this is what Klopp referred to when he said he originally wanted to select 1-2 more senior players, but they complained about minor injuries, so he had to get creative with the formation to stuff all the youngsters in there at the same time. Grujic was a bit shortchanged by having to play in an unnatural position, but he did well considering the circumstances.

 

[King Binny]

I hope someone finds a clip of Alexander-Arnold coming off the pitch. Most players just accept a hug from Klopp. This lad went to him with open arms, he'd been dreaming of that hug. It really made me laugh.

😀

 

[Ryan]

Secondly, Ejaria is not projected to be a speedy attacker like Ojo or Kent. He has been most frequently compared with Yaya Toure – a lanky, athletic CM who kind of ties together midfield and attack, is very difficult to dispossess and is hopefully going to add a powerful shot once he matures (Toure developed his shot at 20-something). He is too young to be a goal-scoring threat at this point, but other parts of his game were on full display – movement, passing, tackling, confidence in possession, growing physical strength. I was especially impressed by his calmness and maturity; if they didn't show his baby face up close on TV from time to time you would never guess this is an 18-year-old kid by the way he plays.

Reminds me of Danny Wellbeck actually.

Not a striker, not a winger, not a midfielder. Kinda languid in his approach, but extremely hard to disposess, and can tie togethor the inside left gap between midfield and attack.

I really like the look of him.

 

[tombrown]

I don't know what @Dreambeliever was smoking – Ejaria was great. First of all, he did not play in an attacking position – yes, the pre-match lineup showed him on the right of the front 3, but if you paid attention during the game you would have noticed that we actually played 4-4-2 "diamond" with Grujic in the #10 role. Ejaria played in the midfield three alongside Wijnaldum and Stewart.

Secondly, Ejaria is not projected to be a speedy attacker like Ojo or Kent. He has been most frequently compared with Yaya Toure – a lanky, athletic CM who kind of ties together midfield and attack, is very difficult to dispossess and is hopefully going to add a powerful shot once he matures (Toure developed his shot at 20-something). He is too young to be a goal-scoring threat at this point, but other parts of his game were on full display – movement, passing, tackling, confidence in possession, growing physical strength. I was especially impressed by his calmness and maturity; if they didn't show his baby face up close on TV from time to time you would never guess this is an 18-year-old kid by the way he plays.

BTW Grujic might have been more impressive had he been playing in his more natural midfield position. I think this is what Klopp referred to when he said he originally wanted to select 1-2 more senior players, but they complained about minor injuries, so he had to get creative with the formation to stuff all the youngsters in there at the same time. Grujic was a bit shortchanged by having to play in an unnatural position, but he did well considering the circumstances.

Ejaria didn't make any point blank saves or catch any floaty crosses; no future at Liverpool

 

[Gary25]

Thought Mignolet was solid last night as well

 

[Judge Jules]

TBH he's done little wrong all season when called upon. I wanted us to try and improve on him, but on what I've seen so far I'd say Karius is a lucky boy to have been tagged by Klopp as first choice.

 

[rurikbird]

Thought Mignolet was solid last night as well

It's interesting how perception works. In the first half Ming made what looked like a carbon copy of Karius's error against West Brom – misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed it to float directly onto Janssen's head, who shot over. And his distribution was worse. But most people said Ming looked "solid," while Karius was a "disaster."

 

[mark1975]

It's interesting how perception works. In the first half Ming made what looked like a carbon copy of Karius's error against West Brom – misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed it to float directly onto Janssen's head, who shot over. And his distribution was worse. But most people said Ming looked "solid," while Karius was a "disaster."

Was it worse? He made a couple of dangerous passes into players who were marked (as he frustratingly always does), but Karius has been guilty of the same sort of stuff too. His distribution is quicker and he's more comfortable on the ball, but that's about as far as the improvement goes. When it comes to dealing with crosses it's six of one, half a dozen of the other. I'd even say on current evidence, Mignolet is the better shot stopper. So in terms of attributes we've probably swapped a bit of agility for a bit more composure and decisiveness on the ball. Both are as bad as each other when dealing with balls in the air.

I know it's early days, but Karius hasn't been good so far, irrespective of Mignolet.

 

[Hansern]

It's interesting how perception works. In the first half Ming made what looked like a carbon copy of Karius's error against West Brom – misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed it to float directly onto Janssen's head, who shot over. And his distribution was worse. But most people said Ming looked "solid," while Karius was a "disaster."

Yeah, its really strange and it just shows how quickly some make their minds up about a player. I said it last night when Ming caught a standard routine cross and it was commented on straight away. Weird.
Ming was decent but his distribution was poor and it made the defence pretty edgy and nervous. We also lost possession every time he hit it long. Several times it was hit into an area where we didnt even have a player.

Good to see Klopp saying Karius is nr 1. Makes it easier going forward.

 

[gkmacca]

😀

Ta Binny.

 

[Mystic]

It's interesting how perception works. In the first half Ming made what looked like a carbon copy of Karius's error against West Brom – misjudged the flight of the ball and allowed it to float directly onto Janssen's head, who shot over. And his distribution was worse. But most people said Ming looked "solid," while Karius was a "disaster."

Yep, I made a note of this in the match thread, he was caught completely in no mans land, if Karius had done it their would have been a witch hunt.

 

[gkmacca]

Pochettino is a bad loser. He's been complaining that Alexander-Arnold deserved a straight red, and he's moaning about Klopp having the temerity to react to a couple of Spurs' tackles late in the game. Klopp was actualy quite restrained in the technical area but listening to Pochettino you'd think he'd been raging around like Conte against Mourinho. Just shake hands, shut up and piss off back to London, you miserable twerp.

 

[Hansern]

Pochettino is a bad loser. He's been complaining that Alexander-Arnold deserved a straight red, and he's moaning about Klopp having the temerity to react to a couple of Spurs' tackles late in the game. Klopp was actualy quite restrained in the technical area but listening to Pochettino you'd think he'd been raging around like Conte against Mourinho. Just shake hands, shut up and piss off back to London, you miserable twerp.

I'm starting to dislike Pochettino. His antics regarding a penalty claim that wasnt a penalty at all was also just moany cunty behaviour.

 

[Hansern]

Dier continued to show what I've been thinking all along, extremely limited player that was made to look much better than he is in that system.

Loved Gruijc tackle on him in the second half.

 

[gkmacca]

Yep, I made a note of this in the match thread, he was caught completely in no mans land, if Karius had done it their would have been a witch hunt.

Sometimes I feel that we've just signed thick goalkeepers. I gather that Achterberg is well aware of the failings of the keepers and sets up special sessions designed expressly to deal with all the weaknesses we keep complaining about, so the coach isn't the complete lazy and clueless buffoon he's come to be seen as. But the worrying thing is, in spite of these sessions, the keepers go on to the pitch and keep repeating the mistakes. I guess that means either that Achterberg lacks the teaching ability to make his charges learn their lessons, or they're just too stupid to change - or a bit of both.

 

[gkmacca]

Dier continued to show what I've been thinking all along, extremely limited player that was made to look much better than he is in that system.

Loved Gruijc tackle on him in the second half.

He's gradually evolving/regressing in a discernible direction:

There was a moment yesterday when it seemed as if two competing evolutionary lines met face to face out on the pitch:

 

[Pesam]

We finally look to be developing a new ability..................to hang onto 1 goal leads with 15 minutes to go.....................we've done it against Arsenal, Chelsea, WBA and Spurs. Far too many times over the last 20 years we've succumbed to pressure in these positions so hopefully we're developing a bit more of a backbone in tight situations.

 

[Insignificance]

Moreno was rubbish again and should have cost us a goal.

His tackles were rash and he was out of position and time and time again.

Take him out the back and shoot him and be done with it.

Waster.

A little over the top?

 

[Modo]

He's gradually evolving/regressing in a discernible direction:

There was a moment yesterday when it seemed as if two competing evolutionary lines met face to face out on the pitch:

 

[doctor_mac]

We finally look to be developing a new ability..................to hang onto 1 goal leads with 15 minutes to go.....................we've done it against Arsenal, Chelsea, WBA and Spurs. Far too many times over the last 20 years we've succumbed to pressure in these positions so hopefully we're developing a bit more of a backbone in tight situations.

In each of those games, rather than hanging grimly on with our back 4 retreating further and further towards the box and inviting waves of pressure, we've 'hung on' by playing good football and taking it to the opposition. In each of those games we've looked more likely to grab the decider rather than concede the equaliser. Very positive mindset.

 

[gkmacca]

Agreed, but I hope we don't need that too often in future. We've got the ability to score three goals or more instead of hanging on to a 2-1 lead, so I'd prefer us to break through that barrier. It's odd that we seem to lose a bit of focus and clinical finishing power once we get the second goal. I know some will claim it's fatigue but it's happened even when we've been two up with loads of time still to go.

 

[FoxForceFive]

Although learning not to actually concede goals in the final third of a game would be a more important trait! Its becoming a worrying habit now.

Teams will be told by their managers that we are likely to concede in the final third of a game, which means they'll have the self belief to keep pushing on when we're only one or two goals up, so it becomes self fulfilling.

I'd really, really like a couple of clean sheets on the bounce.

 

[Sheik Yerbouti]

I hate Moreno with a passion but he certainly wasn't rubbish last night.

 

[manwithnoname]

I hate Moreno with a passion but he certainly wasn't rubbish last night.

Who said he was? Ridiculous. He was good.

 

[Hansern]

Moreno was decent last night. Still some very weird decisions being made which puts us under pressure.
Lucas was the same, and Ming.

 

[Modo]

I agree Moreno did OK. The penalty situations is a bit like the glass half empty / half full question.
You either see as him saving us from conceding a goal or him almost causing a pen.
Other than that he made some good forward runs but his crossing is fucking shit