At this point we might as well become a counterattacking team. What do we have to lose?
We have pacy fullbacks, at least one pacy midfielder, and pacy forwards.
Even Mo can still run a bit.
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The palace manager 1
The Bournemouth manager 2.
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We need a manager who is not afraid of making big decisions like Mo and Konate.
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Good luck finding that guy.
Get Christophe Galtier from the Saudi league
Our post-league winning form has been average at best but to think that we would go from winning the league to shaking our heads in disbelief at the thought of Amorim lasting longer than Slot…
I think it’s safe to say that Slot doesn’t seem to know how to get the team out of this rut. His perfect subs from last season have turned into rolls of the dice now. Mentality has absolutely been destroyed. Konate plays like Lovren - doesn’t get dropped. Isak is being shoehorned into the side ahead of Ekitike. Injuries are striking again.
One thing I respect about him is his honesty - he said after the match that he was the one to blame for this form. At least he’s owning up to it but he’s been saying the right things for a while and not acting on them.
I’m convinced he won’t be the head coach of Liverpool next season, the only saving grace for him is that there are no good options available at the moment. Even if they are, they would be risking their reputation joining now instead of the summer.
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i think the club will be looking at a new manager as we speak, id imagine it’ll be at the end of the season we see movement.
they’ll be patient, Slots not being replaced without a plan in place, and there’s no obvious immediate solution, so i doubt its happening anytime soon, regardless of all of the mitigating circumstances, the justifications and what not, the players bought in have enough quality to win points…the issue the club has is bigger than all that, it’s the response to the crisis, and even Slots most ardent defenders have to admit it’s the response to the issue that is the problem.
lets assume hypothetically he turns it around in the next month or so and we start to resemble something like a decent football team, the question mark to what has happened over the last two months remains, and the lingering problem is what happens if we then go and do the same stuttering next season and the season is written off…we cant afford to spend the amount we have and end up writing off two seasons (only the two manchester teams and chelsea can afford that )
that said, i wonder what questions are being asked of Hughes right now… to spend that type of money, end up with two similar strikers who the manager seems to not want to play together for around 200 million pound outlay…no CB… hmmm, there should be a few questions asked.
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Agreed.
Also, we went from a high pressing team and replaced our three best pressers with players who have never displayed those capabilities. None of Wirtz, Ekitike, or Isak did a whole lot of pressing for Leverkusen, Frankfurt, or Newcastle.
So how was that going to work out?
Pressing from the front has been our identity for years now.
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Just got back home from the game.
Sorrows were drowned post match.
1st game on this season but some of my observations are…
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Senior management look clueless. Assistants barely got involved from what I saw and Arne looked lost. I think 2 more games like that and the majority, if not all of fans will want change in that role. I think i’m in that group now. This was the game I had been keeping patience for and it was an embarassment.
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Players look 2 steps behind on absolutely everything. Our anticipation and in game mentality is just appalling defensively. They all look weak.
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The players out of form are WOEFULLY out of form. You just see it way worse up close. Konate and Mo need dropping. Chiesa and Gomez need bringing in. They absolutely cant do any worse than whats on show.
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Isak.. 125 Mil was it? Jeez. Looks like a twig out there that gets played in a way thats the complete opposite of what he’s effective at. I really hope a proper pre season next year sorts him out but i’m very, very worried he’ll be flop of the last 10 years. Infront of Wirtz which is rough.
I could go on and on but I don’t want to get that negative nancy tag. It’s bad now. Really bad.
It’s not lose at West Ham bad yet. But thats around the corner.
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I’m not saying they are similar players or that Isak won’t work out but your post just reminded me that Benteke was a top scoring striker at Villa before we bought him and he did nothing for us.IMO Isak can only work in a front 3 if included with two monster pressers. Then he can mop up the resulting chaos.
You can’t have both Mo and Isak in the same lineup. Not going to work. From what I’ve seen of Hugo, he can become a good pressing forward. I don’t know about Flo’s game when we don’t have the ball.
The trouble with a player like Isak is once he has arrived at Liverpool, what is he fighting for? He’ll never be at a bigger club. He is secure in his national team.
Our history has plenty of examples of lads who looked the absolute business until they got here.
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He was very clear that he wants to win things. Titles, trophies. He seems very ambitious when he speaks. So maybe that?
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You’re clutching at straws.
So Isak signs and thinks “fuck it, I’m at one of the biggest clubs in world football so I can stink the place out every week because it doesn’t matter any more”?
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I don’t know the exact state of certain individuals, but going to a 4-3-3 shape today, Isak instead of Ekitike stylistically didn’t make much sense.
I thought our wingers actually had a decent game, especially Salah looked lively. But there was a big gap centrally between our two #8’s and Isak.
He wouldn’t be the first.
I would take him in a heartbeat, he knows how to win.
Oh, I don’t think that they should be excluded from blame. The current instability is without a doubt their work too, and I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes next time they meet JW Henry.
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Did you ever watch Leverkusen under Alonso?
The mentality is so poor and the slightest setback in the game sees them fall to pieces. I thought we were pretty good for the first half an hour but once Forest got the lead we withered. That is the mentality, and until it improves the personnel or the system won’t matter as much as it should.
How it improves, I’m not sure. Sports psychologist? Working hard and hoping something clicks? Patience?
For me it is not the time to look at changing the manager yet, but if something doesn’t turn then a new manager can be a catalyst for a change in mentality, and everything good that follows from that.
We need a couple of players and it is a real shame we missed out on Guehi at the last minute, and that Leoni got injured. But even in spite of needing a couple of players, we have an excellent squad that is much, much better than what it is showing.
I personally would go with a midfield diamond, Ekitike and Isak up top, Wirtz behind them, Grav disciplined at the base, Szobo and Macca in there too, with Jones able to rotate in. Width from the fullbacks bombing on, less of this inverted stuff that isn’t working.
I genuinely think that’s the way to go and it might spark something to life. But I am concerned about the mentality. They look like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders when they concede, and unfortunately it tends to fall apart at that point, rather than spur them on to fight.
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