Pre Match - Leicester (A) - 28th 20:00
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Coming from Klopp, it is - he doesn’t need to swear and shout to make his point.
That was the worst I've seen us play all season (I didn't see the West ham game). But wow, devoid of ideas, of strength, of playmaking, of confidence...
Before the game I was worried about what to do during afcon but seeing Salah and Mane stink the place out made me think they are not necessarily our biggest worry. They had one worrisome shot on target and scored, and we missed a penalty with Mane somehow missing our best chance in open play.
I think we need to redefine our play a little and sort out getting the second balls again, and just fight for the result better. The rest should come with it
Before the game I was worried about what to do during afcon but seeing Salah and Mane stink the place out made me think they are not necessarily our biggest worry. They had one worrisome shot on target and scored, and we missed a penalty with Mane somehow missing our best chance in open play.
I think we need to redefine our play a little and sort out getting the second balls again, and just fight for the result better. The rest should come with it
Agree - but that’s not to say Hendo isn’t at fault.
2 CB’s didn’t cover themselves in glory either.
Allison too, could have done better.
Something too casual there - Lookman sees the space and powers in to it and our two seem to think the CB’s will cover it. Matip trying to be careful because he’s on a yellow, doesn’t risk a challenge.
That’s not the first time this has happened - same against West Ham for the goal that came from open play. It almost feels like they’re holding back, so that if we win they’re in a position to attack quickly - but one of them has to be tracking that Lookman run - pair of them switched off.
Van Dijk - well, how many times have we seen opposition defenders dive in and get a block just as our forward pulls the trigger - 50/50 decision, he chooses to stand off and let Lookman get a clean shot away.
Allison beaten at the near post - it was hit with power, but he’s saved harder before.
I think Van Dijk does the right thing by not diving in and covering the far post, betting that Alli would save anything at the near post. This time it didn't work, but this strategy pays off more often than not. It's clear that one of Hendo or Trent should have put on the afterburners as soon as they noticed Lookman sprinting in behind them; they might not have caught up with him all the way, but he would not have had the luxury of slowing down before turning inside. It's a bad sign when a direct attacking run like that is not tracked by anyone; Klopp has every right to go ballistic.
I agree.
Like I said, it’s 50/50 whether Virg dives in - you’re right, he tends to stay on his feet, which more often than not works - this time it didn’t.
I feel like he could have put more pressure on him... but in the array of mistakes that led to the goal, he’s the least culpable.
Yes - nit tracking the Lookman runs the mistake - that’s what they’ll be sitting looking at in the post match review with the coaches - that’s a simple thing to fix and is just about “smarts” and being aware.
In possession we’re obsessed, sometimes, with slowing things down, retaining the ball and probing the opposition - other times we’re quick, incisive and brutally clinical.
Sometimes feel like out of possession, when the high press doesn’t work we’re very sluggish and not very good at quickly closing down space, instead relying on the individual brilliance of players like Van Dijk to save us.
Feels like we don’t have the balance right.
For Klopp that is hanging, drawing and quartering them !
EDIT. Rurik got there first.
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TBH the way they both jogged back - the pair of them, Though I doubt either could have got near Lookman. If fact after watching the GIF 10 times ... VvD, the gap was closer to 15m between the CBs as Matip covered TAA and VvD held his ground in the centre, especially since there was a Leicester player (Vardy?) he needed to get in front of.
VvD gave himself too much to do, he needed to be much closer to Matip and then that gap doesn't appear and the goal likely doesn't happen. Tsimikas was there to cover Vardy, VvD moves across then so does our Greek.
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I think you've hit the nail on the head with your assessment. Trent clearly sees Lookman sprinting into space between Matip and VvD but slows down, instead of filling the gaps he left. I can only imagine he was hoping to take advantage if we regained possession. The idea that he has failed to recognise the danger is unbearable.
Alisson's form has dropped off massively since Taffarel's appointment, starting with that game he kept passing into the feet of the opposition.
Hendo for me carries more of the blame, Trent is infield he has to cover the RB channel. Instead he lets the no22 go to block off Lookman. Lookman then offloads the ball to the no22 in acres of space and runs in behind Hendo who reacts with zero urgency. He's made the wrong decision about 3 times in 10 seconds.
Alli has a run like this every season, he's capable of being the best keeper in the world on his day but the variance between his best and worst is enormous.
From the moment Lookman made a sprint and wasn't followed by Trent and Hendo, it was a clean 4 against 3 attack; there is no movement VVD could have done that wouldn't have left a spare man somewhere and it's better to make an attacker beat Alisson at the near post than leave a empty net tap-in at the far post. Like I said, I think the only way this should have been defended is as soon as Hendo and Trent noticed Lookman motoring past them (I think they both noticed roughly at the same time, both seem to have a little glance/turn of head), one of them should have sprinted as hard as they could after him and when he slowed down to cut inside Matip, that's when the sliding tackle would catch up with him. The fact that they both saw the run and didn't make the decision to sprint (probably hoping the other one would do it, so I'll just keep jogging and pointing at things), leaving 3 defenders against 4 attackers is inexcusable.
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negative nancy thoughts ...
1) After we won the league, we made a mistake many posters (led by @gkmacca ) bemoaned what happened in the Summer. Instead of strengthening and trying to make this a team that could, and would, compete on all fronts for more years, we didn't strengthen. FSG's fault? Edwards'? Klopp's? Don't know but we blew our best chance to really be a thorn in City's side long term.
2) I think Rurik said it best - this team basically has to be perfect to win the league. It's such a small squad that health is even more key for us than it is for any other team. However, when you're up against a robotic team like Guardiola's (it's why they struggle to win serious cup competitions), it's just not easy. Our players were not on last night, and we paid the price. It doesn't help either that every team plays Man City scared, bar us, Chelsea, Manure (derby pride will do that) and Wolves for a few years. Because our game isn't about 99% possession and "death by football", teams have a chance against us because we're not 'on' all the time - just not possible.
3) I think this team's run is finished as is. It's getting too old - case in point, our captain. Still a wonderful player but he no longer offers the defensive support that allowed TAA especially to bomb forward. Is it because he's not capable? or too many injuries? Regardless, if we don't start a serious overhaul now, we'll be struggling to compete for the Europa League once Klopp leaves ... Sorry, that's the reality - we don't have the money of Chelsea and Man City (& Newcastle) and what we've seen after managerial giants (Ferguson, Wenger) quit, teams often slide if they're not built properly ...
4) Regardless of that, it's been such a great run with this team and manager. We can still compete and win in 3 cups, maybe even the league if the robots have some malfunction (as likely as peace breaking out in the Middle East tomorrow), but we should really enjoy this while we have it ...
1) After we won the league, we made a mistake many posters (led by @gkmacca ) bemoaned what happened in the Summer. Instead of strengthening and trying to make this a team that could, and would, compete on all fronts for more years, we didn't strengthen. FSG's fault? Edwards'? Klopp's? Don't know but we blew our best chance to really be a thorn in City's side long term.
2) I think Rurik said it best - this team basically has to be perfect to win the league. It's such a small squad that health is even more key for us than it is for any other team. However, when you're up against a robotic team like Guardiola's (it's why they struggle to win serious cup competitions), it's just not easy. Our players were not on last night, and we paid the price. It doesn't help either that every team plays Man City scared, bar us, Chelsea, Manure (derby pride will do that) and Wolves for a few years. Because our game isn't about 99% possession and "death by football", teams have a chance against us because we're not 'on' all the time - just not possible.
3) I think this team's run is finished as is. It's getting too old - case in point, our captain. Still a wonderful player but he no longer offers the defensive support that allowed TAA especially to bomb forward. Is it because he's not capable? or too many injuries? Regardless, if we don't start a serious overhaul now, we'll be struggling to compete for the Europa League once Klopp leaves ... Sorry, that's the reality - we don't have the money of Chelsea and Man City (& Newcastle) and what we've seen after managerial giants (Ferguson, Wenger) quit, teams often slide if they're not built properly ...
4) Regardless of that, it's been such a great run with this team and manager. We can still compete and win in 3 cups, maybe even the league if the robots have some malfunction (as likely as peace breaking out in the Middle East tomorrow), but we should really enjoy this while we have it ...
I agree with all of that except the idea that nobody has a go at City. We've lost the same number of games in the league as City, the idea that everybody just rolls over for them is not true. We tend to draw more games because we get frustrated by packed defences.
But yeah we didn't strengthen from a dominant position, and we've allowed the core of the squad to age to the point where we are likely to see an impact to performances.
But yeah we didn't strengthen from a dominant position, and we've allowed the core of the squad to age to the point where we are likely to see an impact to performances.
We've been asking that question for years, I don't see any point in keeping Keita either. Part of the issue with those players, plus Milner, is that somebody has to either come from the academy and push them out or we need to spend £30- £40m per player to replace them. The board has shown no inclination to spend that sort of money on squad positions, so we are waiting for the likes of Elliot, Jones and Morton to prove they are good enough.
He’s fitter than Thiago and Keita.
Just take a step back and look at the table. It's incredible that you basically have to be near perfect in order to win the league nowadays.
Back in the day you could afford to lose like 6-7 games and get a few draws and still win it.
We're actually having a great season.
Back in the day you could afford to lose like 6-7 games and get a few draws and still win it.
We're actually having a great season.
Tbf, Ox is pretty shit at being available too.
On the face of it that’s true. However, the following games are where we threw away the points.
Brentford
Brighton
West Ham
Leicester
There’s 10 points right there. We lost points because of ourselves. Not because we were outplayed.
Brentford
Brighton
West Ham
Leicester
There’s 10 points right there. We lost points because of ourselves. Not because we were outplayed.
Was shit.
Poor the Ox another LFC squad death, RIP.
The insurance money is all he’s good for.
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