Expectations for the season

The Albert
352

They are fucked, simple as that. Maybe their bodies are not in the red zone but mentally half the team just seem completly burnt out.

For all Klopp has bemoaned 5 subs, he rarely uses 3 a game and some games doesn’t use them till late on.

He needs to trust the players behind the front 3, Taki was fantastic v’s Palace and yet we’ve not seen him since? That’s a bizzare choice by Klopp… Our front 3 are fucked, out of form and yet the most inform and fit player is left watching on.

I know it’s easy to sit here and look on with none of the knowledge Klopp has, but my view is he’s not making it easier by overplaying some of the team. Some is forced on him (Robbo being flogged to death for example) but not in other poisitions.

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353

Yeah, now you say it, that is really bizarre indeed… is he injured too?

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354

I can only think he played best off the left and Mane (shooting aside) is our biggest threat currently. Salah/Bobby are the biggest concerns, they just aren’t there currently. Salah paints a very sad sight, he is a shadow of his former self - The two chances he had against Newcastle showed where his heads at.

Another point was Oxlade playing last night, why not play Jones? Why try and bring both Thiago and Ox into fitness v’s probably one of the biggest pressing sides in the league? Play one or the other, let Oxlade get minutes in the FA Cup.

Now I’m sure I’ll get pelters for this but my view is Klopp is struggling, historically we are usually a bit shit over Christmas, we then come back from the winter training camp and take weeks to get into our stride… This time No pre-season, no winter-camp… All time taken away from the training pitch so Klopp is going safe currently. He’s overplaying the core and hoping they push through and play themselves into form, and who best to do that but your trusted best.

He has an impossible job, made harder by losing our 3 CBs, but his lack of trust in the wider squad is compounding our current state.

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356

Ah I don’t believe it’s to do with a transfer, just think he’s burnt out. Our swagger and confidence looks shot.

We are snatching at shots, our first touch is wank, we are static.

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357

My expectations haven’t changed. Still expect us to be in title race come April. But it feels like its delendant on a CB and Klopp whipping the players into the right mindset.

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358

I know; I was joking. :wink:

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359

Personally I’ve doubt we will come good again. Pretty much every challenger as well as other teams have had a bad patch this season. City, United, Arsenal, Spurs, even Everton. A lot of those sides have turned it round. I see no reason why we wont either. The only issue is minimising the impact of the down turn.

360

I can: the officials.

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361

Yeah. Some bizarre stuff happening right now.

We need to sort ourselves first though.

362

Aye, made me think though… Salah has been in/out of form since he caught Covid pretty much.

363

Given the injuries, especially to VVD, we are probably doing as well as could have been expected. We lost our best defender and biggest leader of the team when Pickford took him out.
Only Henderson comes close in terms of his leadership qualities and maybe it’'s too big a job to expect him to do it on his own.
Matip and Fabinho are a good pairing but Joel cannot stay fit and by moving Fab’s position we loose out on a world class defensive midfielder. If Phillips and Williams are options then why do neither get a game last night when Klopp opted for Hendo to partner Fabinho. The fact is neither are good enough at this level and the Manager is band-aiding it until Matip is fit again.
There is a lack of creativity in the side which Thiago should be able to help correct but the form of the front 3 is probably our biggest problem. Bobby does not score enough goals and he has missed 3 good headed chances in recent games. Salah has looked “pouty” since he was left out and maybe at heart he wants away this summer. I’ve seen people suggest the front 3 needed shaking up and certainly the success of Jota lends validity to those opinions.

Being totally honest I think we will finish 3rd and empty handed. Our league form has been patchy at best for a sustained period. I’d doubt Klopp will use the market to solve the defensive issue for several reasons, the lack of funds, the quality and price of what’s available.

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364

It seems important to acknowledge that between the upcoming Villa FA cup tie and the game against United is the first time we’ve had a full week of training time since November, and that was an international break where most of our players were away.

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365

The one thing I am clinging on to is that we can’t play much worse than we have, and we’re still in contention.

I do get the feeling that City are starting to click back into gear. Nobody was really talking about them because of how far they were behind, but with all their games in hand, they are, realistically, still right in it. And, they reminded everyone on Sunday what they are capable of — they didn’t even have to play that well and still blew Chelsea out of the water with their quality. As SBYM said elsewhere, they still appear to be our biggest challengers. Yes, they have looked a little disjointed at times throughout the year, and I did wonder what was in store for them after they lost 5-2 at home to Leicester, but they didn’t just become crap overnight, just like we haven’t just become crap overnight, even though it has seemed to be the case at times! All told, I think they’re the side most capable of going on a serious run and counting them out of the title race is done at one’s own peril.

As for United, they seem to get all the breaks; it is incredibly frustrating. That said, they’ve also been very lucky with injuries, and while my “persecution complex” might lead me to believe that it will continue to be the case, the reality of getting lucky is that it’s all dependent on fortune…and that fortune can run out very quickly. Anyway, I think they are just one or two injuries away from major problems. And while I don’t believe in the tin-foil hat conspiracy theories that they have bought the refs, it does grate me that they’ve earned so many (debatable) penalties despite having fewer touches in opposing boxes than us/City while it seems that it has to be a stonewall for us to get it. Still, they have to play Europa League starting in February, and that Thursday/Sunday combo is bad enough in a normal year. It’s easy to be “in” the title race around halfway (just ask 13/14 Arsenal; 15/16 & 18/19 Spurs; etc.), particularly in a year with so much parity. Let’s see where they are come the last eight games.

Would it be better for us to not have dropped all these points? Of course! Yet, in a weird way, I think our results puts the pressure on the rest of the contenders to prove that they belong. If we’re playing like shit, been screwed by injuries and VAR, and are still around the top, imagine what we’ll be like if we get our shit together. Plus, we’re a wounded animal at the moment, and you can bet Klopp will be doing his best to summon a response.

And, for the millionth time, pundits can’t bang on about us not having title-winning experience. Just because we ran away with it last year doesn’t mean we have to going forward.

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366

A f*****"g miracle…still sickened from last night.

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367

Not quite. They literally just had 8 days between Palace and West Brom.

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368

I assume the players were given time off for the holidays.

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369

We need to get New Balance back as Nike is obviously making us shite.

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370
That fucking blue(shite)
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371

For all the good goalkeeping and shambolic decisions, 1 goal in 3 League games is not title-winning form. Crazy to think it hasn’t been CB which is our undoing!

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372

Finally :+1:

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