The amount of times our defenders have a free header and never look to direct it to a player is beyond me.
The other side of it is Macca who was very adept at 'squeezing ’ the passing lanes but has been off kelter this season
Is that also because he isn’t allowed to or isn’t being backed up?
Also, the back up to our front players pressing seems unconvincing or worse, not practised.
We use to press with a front 4, now I am lost at times is it 2 or 3? just no obvious pattern and that is what is disconcerting.
1 Like
Yes, opinions are divided and there have been various studies with an array of results, but 50% is the minimum.
How is it pointless? Is Slot the only one who had dead rubber games during a calendar year?
If his record is worse than the likes of Rodgers and Souness who had much worse squads that suggests that something is very wrong with what he’s doing.
I remember how just about everyone here was celebrating during the summer. Turns out that even the best laid plans often go awry.
In any case, if Slot was doing the best with what he has at his disposal, no one would be asking questions about him. He very clearly isn’t though. Tactics, game preparation, squad utilization are all severely lacking and that has nothing to do with Hughes’ own deficiencies.
The latter should be in the hot seat as well, you are absolutely right about that. Klopp had mentioned a few times during his tenure that the goal was to set up a structure that would work effectively without him being part of it. The issue is that still has to rely on someone making the right decisions, which obviously hasn’t been the case for a while.
The question is why? Why on earth would he want to change a tactics that has reaped so much rewards in the near past? I can’t get my head past this.
Edit; here is a quote from Slot after yesterday’s game:
“I would love to create more, but if we play with the amount of midfielders we play with and one attacker against a 5-4-1 of Fulham in an away game, I don’t know if you can expect chance after chance,”
“Overall, we have done enough to win the game and we did very well by limiting them to maybe one half chance - but the end result still stands.”
“I didn’t change as a manager. I would love to play with eight attackers if that’s possible defensively as well, but if those eight attackers don’t defend enough it’s hard to win a game of football,”
“My philosophy of football hasn’t changed this year compared to all the seasons I was a manager before. But we have to do it with the players that are available.”
Another one just for you … 
https://x.com/AnfieldEdition/status/2007865994438660346?s=20
3 Likes
That framing is total shite.
Sunderland and Fulham are two of the form teams of the league, Leeds aren’t exactly playing like shit either, and we won the other matches.
What’s tragic about this is the need for every content creator to score cheap points.
12 Likes
I’ll give you Sunderland, but Fulham is number 11 and Leeds is number 16 in the League. For me, this series has nothing to boast about.
1 Like
Ps. We are playing WELL BELOW the level we should be, but there are reasons for that, let’s discuss those instead of giving away points we earned fair and square because we look down our noses at the teams we earned them against.
3 Likes
Not sure anyone is boasting…
And calling it ‘the most tragic x of all time’ is agenda driven nonsense.
1 Like
We were moaning about losing games, now we’re moaning about not losing games.
Give me a fucking break.
6 Likes
It isn’t really anything to boast about, and a team that wants to win the league should really be taking 15 points from Sunderland, Leeds and Fulham over a season.
However, we also have to acknowledge that these games - in fact all games - are really hard. Leeds have recently comfortable beaten Chelsea, drew with United and twatted Palace - so they are no mugs.
Every team in this division has players that can really hurt you. People say it’s a shit league. What they mean by that is that there are only a couple of teams who can have any chance of winning the thing. But that also means that everything from 3rd to about 17th is really good, and any game within that grouping is a contest. That isn’t a weak league. It’s a really strong one.
2 Likes
Oh and also on a similar point. We need to recalibrate our expectations match to match. We are used to feeling that every game is a cup final. That’s the legacy of the titanic title struggles against City in which every dropped point felt like the end of the world.
We need to finish top four and possibly five would do it. In this context the trick is just to keep points on the board at a rate of about 2 per game. A draw is disappointing, but it isn’t the end of world
1 Like
Yeah, that’s an important point. The title is beyond our reach this season, so what’s left is the CL places. In that perspective, a point at Fulham is good to take (Arsenal and Cheaty won there with 1-0 and 5-4 in difficult games for them, but other teams around us in the table lost points there).
I’ll also take it as a positive that we played better during the second half than during the first, with a more positive outlook, creating chances and winning that half. That’s a small progress compared with recent games.
1 Like
They say it might be. Not that it is.
I’ve seen some absolutely dreadful teams, endured some dreadful managers and watched us spend money on some truly dreadful players. And most of the time, I didn’t expect much. Hope, yes. Miracles, no.
But this season is different. This is without doubt the most disappointing season I can remember.
We are the Premier League champions. We have spent £400 million. And for that, we get the most boring, lifeless football I have ever had to endure. No intensity. No swagger. No fear factor. Just sideways passes and players who seem afraid to take responsibility.
With only half the season played, being 15 points behind the leaders is not just bad, it’s embarrassing. At this level, there are no excuses. Not with that budget. Not with that squad. Not with those expectations.
Slot has sucked the life out of this team. Whatever philosophy he is trying to implement, he has taken away everything that made us dangerous. We look over-coached, cautious, predictable and a million miles away from a team that once overwhelmed other teams. If this is control, then it is control without threat, and that is painful to watch.
3 Likes
Amorim’s available if we fancy a back five and a load of stress.
5 Likes
I think this also needs to be taken into account when looking at the context of the title win last season. Comments and criticism from some quarters that the points total wouldn’t have won it in previous seasons etc. Yes you can normally pick 2 or 3 teams that realistically have a chance of winning it each season, but below that are plenty of teams which can cause you problems and beat “better” teams regularly.
4 points currently separate Chelsea in 5th and Crystal Palace in 14th.
Awards can always be withdrawn…
2 Likes
We’ve spent four hundred million and ended up with a worse squad. I don’t think that can be pinned entirely on Slot, while Hughes and Edwards get to keep their heads down as escape scrutiny.
I understand the frustrations with Slot and share some of them, but I have sympathy for the guy when he is turning to the bench and his attacking options are a 17 year old kid, and lad who’s only real quality is a cracking song.
7 Likes