West Ham post match

[tombrown]

West Ham United 1 Liverpool 1: The Match Ratings

by Ben Johnson | Feb 4, 2019 | 5 comments
Alisson: 6
Made a good save first 15 when our midfield was getting legged for a bit. Is he shite for the goal? I think he might be shite for the goal there, which is a shame. Fuck all else to do.
Milner: 6
Thought he was pretty shite first half. And didn’t manage much better second. Shite in possession, which is a worry all round.
Virgil: 7
Twatted one out after half an hour and it knocked any wind left in my sails for a posh one. Nothing to do the other way second half but the damage was done.
Big Joel: 6
Kept doing that march into deep space oblivion with the ball at his feet. I can’t accept that that is any part of our game plan. Yer, yer, yer, let’s create space for this big awkward cunt to meander into their half and then pass it to them.
Robbo: 6
Struggled in possession today. Then fucking decided he could score from 30 yards when the hard-fast rule that every cunt knows is that no defenders should be shooting from the edge of their box. Fucks sake, Reds. Poorest he has been for a while.
Lallana: 7
Won a tackle first five minutes and I went fucking berserk, beating fuck out of my chest like fucking Donkey Kong, knocking ale over, shit everywhere on the basis that he had an actual human body, like he just legged into Whoopi Goldberg’s body or something. On the fucking march.
Then he swung his fucking soul at that shot on the edge of the box two minutes later and it dribbled into the abyss and ended up counting as an incomplete pass. Then he just thought what am I good at? I know, sneaky Dutch turns, and he did 15 in a minute and The Reds had scored.
Might have been our best midfielder there even though he got subbed, which is a fucking scary position to be in.
Fabinho: 6
Thought he was poor today. You can dress that a number of ways. Option one: he was playing midfield basically on his own. Option two: he was shite and playing in midfield basically on his own.
Naby: 6
Lad runs off him for the goal. Might get blocked off but still, come on. That said, looks again on the cusp between fabulous and shite. No middle ground. Feel like at half time he needs to play and The Reds might be alright. He didn’t play and The Reds were shite.
Mo Salah: 6
Quiet. Couple of self-made, half chances. These Reds look half the side they were pre Crimbo.
Bobby: 3
Jesus fucking Christ he stank, didn’t he? Like not just a little bit. Couldn’t pass it five yards. Repeatedly. Over and over again. Like a monkey with a miniature symbol, trying to pass the fucker to feet. Without success. I reckon that was the worst he has played for The Reds.
Sadio: 7
Great touch and turn for the goal. Did fuck all else, but then you know, neither did any other fucker.
SUBS
Divock: 7
Miles better than Firmino. Had a half chance at the end but in fairness, did more from an attacking viewpoint than most other Reds.
Others:
Fuck it.

 

[FoxForceFive]

I actually think those ratings are spot on.

He's usually funny but not exactly accurate, but they're bang on what I thought this time, & funny to boot.

 

[tombrown]

I actually think those ratings are spot on.

He's usually funny but not exactly accurate, but they're bang on what I thought this time, & funny to boot.

Can you explain his Virgil comment ... it beats me. I read it to mean that Virg was having a tug :S

 

[jexykrodic]

I actually think those ratings are spot on.

He's usually funny but not exactly accurate, but they're bang on what I thought this time, & funny to boot.

The Lallana comment is glorious.

 

[Brizzle]

Origi's chance at the end showed the importance of needing someone who is more likely to play through the middle when teams park the bus. We need a wider range of options to break through and he brings a slightly new dimension. Not necessarily saying he needs to be starting, but there are too many occasions when all of Mane, Bobby & Mo want to come short leaving the 18 yard box empty. Do we need to think about games where teams park the bus (we surely have about 5 more of them at least) having a sacrificial #9 playing who does nothing for the team outside of pressing and staying in the box?

 

[tombrown]

As Carra said, if he had scored that Twitter would have melted down. Would have been sweet to have won with two gloriously offside goals

 

[jexykrodic]

Divock gets a bye for the goal against the Bitters as well.

 

[Frogfish]

Jesus H Christ - so much negativity, so many people saying our league campaign is over, when we are three points clear at the top.

We can still win it - we might not, but I just don't get why people tear themselves to pieces when we hit our first bad patch of the season. Curse last nights game, but enjoy the season you fuckers - these title fights only come to us once every five years (though I am confident they will be more the norm over the next five).

When we win it I hope all of you whinging twats will have worried yourselves into an early grave, so you're not there to enjoy it.

They were saying the same when we were 4 points behind .. City could go unbeaten this season, they won't drop points, blah blah. We may or may not win it but hopefully our injured players return quickly and we get back into our stride as there is no doubt it's the injuries that have upset our equilibrium. I really don't get how people can be so negative and hope for their sake it isn't a reflection of their lives in general, what miserable bastards they must be if it is.

 

[MomoWASright]

Can you explain his Virgil comment ... it beats me. I read it to mean that Virg was having a tug :S

He has a tug over Virgil, then he hit that ball out and it ruined it.

 

[tombrown]

They were saying the same when we were 4 points behind .. City could go unbeaten this season, they won't drop points, blah blah. We may or may not win it but hopefully our injured players return quickly and we get back into our stride as there is no doubt it's the injuries that have upset our equilibrium. I really don't get how people can be so negative and hope for their sake it isn't a reflection of their lives in general, what miserable bastards they must be if it is.

It comes to something when DB is one of the more positive posters this morning ...

 

[MomoWASright]

They were saying the same when we were 4 points behind .. City could go unbeaten this season, they won't drop points, blah blah. We may or may not win it but hopefully our injured players return quickly and we get back into our stride as there is no doubt it's the injuries that have upset our equilibrium. I really don't get how people can be so negative and hope for their sake it isn't a reflection of their lives in general, what miserable bastards they must be if it is.

I don't get it either. We are in a bit of a bad spell AND STILL TOP OF THE FUCKING LEAGUE. It is still in our hands. In the space of a month we went from being 4 in front to 3 in front despite having a load of players out. Once we get an actual defender playing right back and our midfielders get back in to their correct positions you will see a massive change in the way we play.

We'll smash Bournemouth. 5-0.

 

[mark1975]

I was in work until 8pm and then at band rehearsals straight away, so I missed it, other than a small tv in the corner of the room that we kept checking. Is it worth torturing myself with the highlights?

 

[tombrown]

I was in work until 8pm and then at band rehearsals straight away, so I missed it, other than a small tv in the corner of the room that we kept checking. Is it worth torturing myself with the highlights?

There are enough people torturing themselves (and the rest of us) this morning, so I'd say swerve

 

[MomoWASright]

No.

 

[got red on me]

 

[Frogfish]

Becker - 6 - has been better, I don't think I can put any blame on him for the goal though, it was perfectly placed across the keeper.
Robbo - 5 - poor crossing has become the norm. I want our early season Robbo back.
VvD - 7 - nowt to be said
Matip - 6.5 - his powerful passing into midfield when a gap appears is often overlooked, it worked 3 or 4 times yesterday (and a couple of times didn't).
Milner - 5 - he isn't a RB, as the gaping gap whenever they attacked showed. Tried his heart out as usual.
Fabs - 6.5 - did what he had too and had a decent game against a powerful midfield three.
Keita - 6.5 - a poor first half was replaced by a good to very good second half. Those stats Rurik posted show how much this forum's negative bias misses.
Lallana - 6.5 - was up for this, pity most others weren't. Superb play for our goal, pity it won't count as an assist.
Firmino - 2 - seriously WTF. I don't think I've seen a worse game from him ever. Beyond irrelevant.
Mane - 7 - didn't really cause many problems but took his goal very well.
Salah - 5 - he needs to make far more impact than this but part of that was not having TAA or similar on the right flank.

Subs
Shaq. - 5 - did nothing to warrant a higher rating.
Origi - 6.5 - so close to being a hero but was so much better than Firmino when he replaced him.

 

[Gary25]

I was in work until 8pm and then at band rehearsals straight away, so I missed it, other than a small tv in the corner of the room that we kept checking. Is it worth torturing myself with the highlights?

Most definitely

not

 

[Brizzle]

It's amazing that for a club that prides itself on its fanbase, and after the level of support we drove through the CL last year - that our fans are letting us down. We are turning into a collective bunch of wankers and expecting our players to fail, then jumping on them when we do. It is so fucking small time - where is the support?

We mocked Jose for asking more of the United fans but aren't paying attention to the fact that our biggest leader on the pitch has made the exact same claim to us. Its almost like we would rather be out of the race now than stay in it until the end. If that is the case, why even watch football? Why even want to create a great team?

We're top of the fucking league.

 

[mark1975]

There are enough people torturing themselves (and the rest of us) this morning, so I'd say swerve

Oh I don't know, I might watch a 5 minute highlight reel and then join with an in-depth analysis.

Seriously though:

*we're crippled with injury

*the front three have been wavering off and on all season, with Firmino mostly off (I don't think that's unfair, he's had a poor season overall). We need another striker, we said this last season and the season before. It's not because Firmino is poor, it's because aside from an amazing season in 17/18, his goals record and general consistency is hot and cold. And we could just do with another finisher who isn't as lazy and half arsed as Sturridge, or as confidence brittle as Origi.

*VVD and Robertson have been overplayed when both could do with a breather

*the midfield have been plugging gaps everywhere and look unbalanced, also the assumption that a real DM will solve our problems is wide of the mark, when you consider there's much of a muchness in terms of results, for whoever has played there. So there's no real validity for criticising Henderson's game against City, when Fabinho has been part of games like last nights and the one against Palace where we conceded three. The midfield needs balance and we lack it.

*What I saw of Keita last night, he looked alot better, but Klopp has tried to shoehorn him in when we least needed it. It's cost us in terms of balance. It'll come off in the longterm with the player, but you have to question how much it might cost us in the title race.

So overall, injuries have ravaged both our ability to rotate and the balance of the side, due to things like not having TAA's ability to overlap and put in good early deliveries, or Milner having to play everywhere but his favoured role, Henderson at right back, etc.. We've found no real continuity in that attacking midfield role, Klopp doesn't seem to trust Shaqiri wholeheartedly, Keita has been settling in, AOC is out and Lallana has been injured and is further down the pecking order now. The chopping and changing trying to find a solution isn't helping. Against Leicester playing with two more attack minded midfielders really exposed Gini, yesterday we did the same to Fabinho, which is baffling really when it was THE obvious flaw in the previous game.

We have it all to do. It's not negativity or doomsday stuff, it's reality. We're on the brink. It's not all our fault, we've been unfortunate, but let's not act like it's all a bed of roses either. I could do without lessons on positivity from posters at the other end of the perspective spectrum too. We all want to win the league, but we've witnessed this club fall at the final fences too often in the last 29 years, we've never quite had the squad or the extra bit of luck to go all the way, so it's natural that's in the back of everyone's minds and the root of our worries. Be positive all you like, but if we drop more points while City and Spurs are looking strong, then we're in danger of losing both top spot and our momentum. By tomorrow night we might not have the emotional cushion of just saying "we're top of the league". That's the reality of it. Dress it up however you want.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

It comes to something when DB is one of the more positive posters this morning ...

Yup, made me smile. All hope is not lost.

 

[Insignificance]

It's amazing that for a club that prides itself on its fanbase, and after the level of support we drove through the CL last year - that our fans are letting us down. We are turning into a collective bunch of wankers and expecting our players to fail, then jumping on them when we do. It is so fucking small time - where is the support?

We mocked Jose for asking more of the United fans but aren't paying attention to the fact that our biggest leader on the pitch has made the exact same claim to us. Its almost like we would rather be out of the race now than stay in it until the end. If that is the case, why even watch football? Why even want to create a great team?

We're top of the fucking league.

Well said. People are giving our players a beating cause we are only 3 points clear.

 

[tombrown]

We have it all to do. It's not negativity or doomsday stuff, it's reality. We're on the brink. It's not all our fault, we've been unfortunate, but let's not act like it's all a bed of roses either. I could do without lessons on positivity from posters at the other end of the perspective spectrum too. We all want to win the league, but we've witnessed this club fall at the final fences too often in the last 29 years, we've never quite had the squad or the extra bit of luck to go all the way, so it's natural that's in the back of everyone's minds and the root of our worries. Be positive all you like, but if we drop more points while City and Spurs are looking strong, then we're in danger of losing both top spot and our momentum. By tomorrow night we might not have the emotional cushion of just saying "we're top of the league". That's the reality of it. Dress it up however you want.

I'm in the positive brigade.

It's not rose tinted glasses, but recognition that whether I am positive, negative or neutral has zero impact on what happens on the pitch but a massive impact on what happens in my mind & life, my own enjoyment and peace of mind, so I choose to see the glass half full. I'm not preaching, but I am kicking out at negativity. If people want to be negative or find things to worry about, that's fine, just don't expect me to agree with or join them.

I'm in a shit place at the moment from a job perspective, if I add negativity about the reds it will drag me down

 

[Ijg]

Fuck the positivity (jokes) I will still watch our team play and support them, I just think from this point on, we have fucked our title charge, my personal opinion * shrugs shoulders * that's not to say I think it's all doom and gloom, I'm just massively disappointed.

On another note, did Alisson actually do that much wrong last night, the goal was put right in the corner, no keeper would save that, and he had that dodgy kick when Fabinho put him under pressure, other than that he didn't do much else wrong, I think he deserves to be on par with Virgil ratings wise at least.

 

[Brizzle]

Well said. People are giving our players a beating cause we are only 3 points clear.

We need to dust ourselves off, have a reaction against Bournemouth and then do a huge reset going into Feb with intense games coming up against Bayern, Everton & United. City will falter - but we need to be the ones putting the pressure on them to make them crack. Let's make this the end of our blip.

 

[Peatcheo]

I think anyone suggesting City won't drop points again is fucking deluded, they will, as will we.

We have been complete dogshit the last two games and still drawn them, that's two points gained when we should have been comfortably beaten TWICE.

We need to (and will) bounce back.

It is going to the wire this, let's all enjoy it.

On a side note, those little jaunts we go on when we get bounced out the cups need fucking off, we have been woeful after we come home from every single one of them.

 

[Silver Sean]

If our blip means we still don't lose games then so be it. Still only lost one league all season and even though we will be second on gaol difference come Wed night I'm sure we'll do bournemouth and go three clear again on saturday.

 

[Brizzle]

 

[mark1975]

I'm in the positive brigade.

It's not rose tinted glasses, but recognition that whether I am positive, negative or neutral has zero impact on what happens on the pitch but a massive impact on what happens in my mind & life, my own enjoyment and peace of mind, so I choose to see the glass half full. I'm not preaching, but I am kicking out at negativity. If people want to be negative or find things to worry about, that's fine, just don't expect me to agree with or join them.

I'm in a shit place at the moment from a job perspective, if I add negativity about the reds it will drag me down

Yeah I get that, I'm not being negative about it, it's more complex really. I love where we are, I love Klopp, I love the majority of the squad which is barely ever the case in this day and age. There's a difference between negativity and concern/worry, I worry about us not having enough in the tank to get there again, because that's when people seem to then jump ship and you're on a hiding to nothing trying to get back where you were. We've seen the cycle previously with Evans, Houllier, Rafa and Rodgers.

As for the job, don't let it grind you down, it's just a job. I was in a bad place with work in about October, it had been coming for a while. I went and had some interviews elsewhere, got offered a really good opportunity and handed my notice in. I then got a load of love from all of my colleagues and promotion to a managerial role so I stayed and decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Things haven't really improved but I got something else on my CV and now have other opportunities. I've been in this job for 8 years this year, it's emotionally horrible, soul destroying and extremely stressful, but it's probably nothing compared to what the likes of Fabio see on a daily basis, or a friend I have who's worked with cancer stricken kids for the last 20 years. Just take the positive aspects of whatever you do and try to take it with you. I spent the last few years getting really depressed and stressed out by what we do, but kids and family issues have basically put all that to one side and taught me about what's important and what just isn't, it's just work, I just don't take the shit home with me any more, I leave it behind when I walk out the doors of an evening. I don't know where you're at, but I hope you find some solace and a way forward x

 

[gkmacca]

If our blip means we still don't lose games then so be it. Still only lost one league all season and even though we will be second on gaol difference come Wed night I'm sure we'll do bournemouth and go three clear again on saturday.

Us bombing out of the cup was hailed by some as a blessing - we'd go on a nice break to Dubai, everyone would come back refreshed, our injury crisis would be over and we'd have a burst of new energy to turn over teams. Well, we came back looking sluggish, with more injuries than when we left, and we've been shite ever since. So much for the 'benefit' of throwing away a cup run. Now our much-lauded defence is looking out of sorts, and our midfield looks weirdly anonymous, and only one of our attackers seems up for it. And with Everton and the mancs to come, we could easily have dropped six points after those games, and we've thrown away the chance of any kind of breathing space between us and City. I'd say that's a bit more worrying than a 'blip'.

 

[Frogfish]

.................So overall, injuries have ravaged both our ability to rotate and the balance of the side, due to things like not having TAA's ability to overlap and put in good early deliveries, or Milner having to play everywhere but his favoured role, Henderson at right back, etc.. We've found no real continuity in that attacking midfield role, Klopp doesn't seem to trust Shaqiri wholeheartedly, Keita has been settling in, AOC is out and Lallana has been injured and is further down the pecking order now. The chopping and changing trying to find a solution isn't helping. Against Leicester playing with two more attack minded midfielders really exposed Gini, yesterday we did the same to Fabinho, which is baffling really when it was THE obvious flaw in the previous game.

..........

That's the issue though. Klopp was left between a rock and a hard place. 24 hours earlier after our last training session both Hendo and Gini were due to start. We can query the loan of Clyne (and it needs querying) however we obviously didn't know that Joe would suffer a setup in his recuperation and that TAA would be out for a few weeks too. Unlucky.

I didn't like Hendo at RB and I didn't like Milner at RB. In both cases it affected the whole balance of the team. What was the answer ? Camacho ? He's not a RB is he ? And if not Fabs/Keita/Lallana for midfield then who ? Milner, Jones and Shaq. were pretty much the only option so you can understand why Klopp went with the three he did.