This is new ground for many of the players, but Arne Slot is the one who has to navigate the club through all of this. Not me, you or any of the users here, never mind all of the pundits and so-called experts out there.
That pressure must feel fucking immense on him right now, all of that expectation, and I’m sure that dealing with the grief on top of everything (let’s not forget he would’ve been quite close to Diogo too) is something many of us would struggle with.
He’s clearly not as expressive as Klopp, and likely has yet to establish the really close ties that Klopp had with many of these guys, nor with the new signings. I think we can imagine trusting Jurgen to guide us through this, as he did other difficult times, but we have to give Arne that same trust and backing right now.
If the players are thinking about Jota on the pitch then give them something else to think about. Like giving them responsibility.
Even so I not sure what Isak, Kerkez, Wirtz … have to do with Jota.
Jota’s death isn’t the reason we can’t play out from the back, or the midfield isn’t providing protection to the back 4. It’s poor coaching and limited individual players. We lost Trent and Diaz in the summer too, their loss is being felt on the pitch.
Jota died 4 and a half months ago. At the risk of sounding like ptt, you have to move on at some point. Lots of our players didn’t even know Jota and others wouldn’t have been that close to him.
It is a cheap excuse at this point, it’s desperate to keep going back to it.
The loss of Jota is a relevant issue, if we understand it as the event which blew out our mojo. I think it was, it bollocksed us, and that vibe whatever self confidence that Klopp left, was expunged. This is what we are seeing now, a group clamouring to find that mojo again. And it wont be in the same place they lost it.
It is a cheap excuse at this point, it’s desperate to keep going back to it.
Really? I’m not sure describing it as a ‘cheap excuse’ is good form on your part lad.
You saw Robbo the other day after the Scotland game right? It’s is absolutely affecting some of the players who knew him well and that will be rubbing off on the new players. Nobody is using it as an excuse, but it is a factor, that is very clear.
The sort of mental fragility some are describing should not be taken as distinct from the pure footballing failures we’ve been seeing. Outside of pathological situations, confidence and belief typically comes from a demonstration of competency so why would anyone would think the players are going to be capable of feeling “10 foot tall” when they’re collectively playing shit, when people are struggling to pick up what the manager is asking of them or they are doing it but seeing that it is not setting us up for success.
It’s not good form to erroneously use somebody’s death as an excuse because you’ll do anything but criticise the manager.
Robertson was best mates with Jota, how is that relevant to our 6 new players or the other ones in the squad that weren’t close to him? And everyone appears to think Robertson has been better this season than he was last.
The honest truth is that most of these players will be fully over it by now. Life goes on.
I explained how I think it’s relevant for the other players. I partly get what you’re saying that life goes on, but can you clarify - are you saying the fans are using it as an excuse or the players are?
Agreed. I think it affects us across at least three ways -
we lost an experienced player, whose physical style of play may have benefitted us through this rocky period (if he were to remain fit).
The impact on those who knew him well.
The impact it had on our pre-season work.
However, the reason we are struggling so badly this season is that we are being hit across so many fronts in addition to this. The loss of Trent and Diaz as @ILLOK says has had a significant impact on our play but also helping expose other weaknesses. The choice and ability of signings we have made, and injuries/ fitness issues are all contributing to this mess we’re in.
So on one hand its impact on the squad and our current situation shouldn’t be diminished, but equally, it isn’t something we can now do much about. The coaching and recruitment staff have to somehow find a way to get these players over the line for the winter window (assuming that there are transfers that can be done to help address some of the areas we are failing at) and more importantly into next.
He is having a go at me, mate because he thinks I’m using Jota’s death to shield the manager from criticism.
Which is bullshit as I literally said I don’t know if the manager is the right person to lead the team out of this (I’d have more confidence if it was a tactical issue). And I mentioned Jota alongside four or five other issues which are also affecting the team.
Personally I’d like to know what qualifications @ILLOK has to confidently assert lads should be fully over the sudden death of their close mate four month later.
Robbo didn’t look over it the other night. And even if they broadly feel OK day to day, I question whether it is right that when they need to be 100% focussed in the match they have to look at his vacant space in the dressing left like a shrine, and having to hear his song booming round the stadium twenty minutes into every match.
Slot did address this in his last press conference:
In response to Jota’s name being sung by fans being a heavy reminder, Slot said: “It’s good for us to be reminded. It’s impossible to measure what it does to the players and what it does to our performances. The last thing I will do is use it as an excuse. We will never use it as an excuse.”
Yeah I don’t think anyone can know for sure what effect it’s had and I think you’re correct that it is one of many probable factors contributing to us being a bucket of ass this year.
I thought the way it was phrased by this ‘ILLOK’ seemed massively disrespectful to the memory of Jota and his brother and also the grieving of the players and staff, but thanks for explaining the context. I’m not always reading all the comments to be honest.
How often did Ali have to get in the head space to start a game while faced with a shrine to his dead dad?
We’re all just pissing in the wind here, but I would not attribute a significant part of this season’s struggles to it. Not zero, but not a primary factor. But as a secondary factor, the sort of thing that gets in the way when you’re struggling to work through a different problem, it is surely there. And I think a lot of that comes not from his passing per se, but from the way we chose to honour him. I dont think that has helped. But maybe that isnt even the right metric to judge any of this by? Maybe honouring him in the right way is more important than the results (I dont agree with that FWIW)?