Crap. Next…
Was dog shit.
Having to win every single week, while extraordinary that we were doing it for four years, to keep pace with a club that are cheating was not doing any good for my anxiety.
Felt kind of nice to be able to have a few months “off” from that stress. I’m also kind of excited to see a Europa League campaign, hoping to play a few new clubs. Unironically the Champions League is, by design, a bit boring at times.
Tactically it was good to see us be a bit more flexible. Football in general has seen something of an evolution this year and we were caught flat-footed at the start of the season with our minor and poorly planned changes to Salah’s positioning.
Finally I think its opened up the transfer window for us. Last few years we’ve always been waiting for that one right player because the level of our squad has been so high that there are literally maybe two or three available players even worth thinking about each summer. Now we have the room for a little more of a risk and take a flyer on a couple of talented players. That philosophy helped us reach the top but our mindset understandably changed once we got here and I think we’ve been a little risk averse.
When you reach the pinnacle of the game you start doing things like buying Thiago Alcantara and that, to this day, just doesn’t feel in line with what made us successful despite how absolutely brilliant he is.
I think the culture has needed a bit of a shake up also. Milner and Henderson have led the group through all our recent success but its about time we have some new leaders emerge.
Long story short, I like watching a journey. I like a story. The last one ended in 2022 with coming within two goals of winning every trophy available. This is the first season of Klopp’s second team - so I’ve found it fun.
I’m genuinely excited to see what the next phase will look like.
Klopp’s comments certainly suggest we are going to try and be more active in the window that we usually are…
I didn’t find it fun, it was shite.
It wasn’t shite because we didn’t win anything, it was shite because most of the games were shite. We played bad football for far too long for it to be enjoyable. The 6s, 7s and 9s wins were great, as was the odd game here and there, but most of it was terrible.
A poorly utilised squad making the same mistakes every week. Poor management, poor individual performances, countless injuries.
A season to forget, I don’t see any real positives to have come out of it. Trent’s form when we finally changed the system (far, far too late) is about the only really exciting thing we can take into next year.
I made a decision before a ball was kicked that I wouldn’t go to any games this season, I haven’t regretted that for one moment.
To be clear, fun doesn’t mean good in this situation - its obviously been shite quality for much of it but you know, that’s fun sometimes
Most of what Sweeting is saying is right though, the season has been poor but let’s see what comes out of it.
No one is going remember this season but for how poor it was I still actually don’t think we are light years behind and this is when part two starts.
What’s worked really well these past few weeks is the rotation of the forward line if that can be replicated in midfield without a drop we’ve got a well drilled set up ready.
Evidently you don’t want a massive switch up at the back or you see the conceding of 4 goals.
I’ve said elsewhere what I think of the wider season and cheats have prospered with the only goodwill stories being Luton and Napoli.
Notts County too, I’m glad they came up.
Well Plymouth as well but yeah you’ve got to go down the leagues sadly to see some good stuff.
One thing that gave me prophetic food for thought watching this season unfold… There just does not seem to be any good managers out there, or emerging through the ranks. For at the end of the day, it is these guys that set the standard and quality of football we watch.
Fast forward ten years… will it be the same two or three teams hogging all the silverware because of money and a lack of top talent. We know football has already sold its soul in so many different directions. I despair whether we can ever get it back to some sort of control.
Read a comment on a match commentary yesterday during the games… It stated it was far better when every game kicked off at the same time, instead of being spread over 4 days. There was an excitement and certain type of buzz to monitor events across the same timeline. Of course, it was a last day of the season scenario, but the point remained. Things did seem a lot more different back then when this occurred in so many ways, and for so many reasons.
What we witnessed at LFC this season, was a lot of tired minds, and tired bodies that had hauled themselves over a 63 game finishing line from the preceding season, to more or less take their places in the starting blocks again awaiting the starting gun for more of the same.
We never got going as individuals. We couldn’t get going as a team. We were disjointed, we fell apart, with some players proving they were broken beyond repair… Hoping for a lot lot better when the new season begins… Football eh, gets its claws into you and won’t let go :0)
I’m still mind-blown we’re having one the worst season of recent years and we were this close to get top 4. This bodes well for next season.
We ended up with European football so not as bad as some think, utd and arsenal had it this season and both made top 4.
There’s a lot of doom and gloom in this thread. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I’m not looking to ruffle feathers but…
We finished fifth. Not what we hoped for at the start of the season but, better than I imagined at points throughout the season.
This past season has been very strange. From putting 9 past Bournemouth, 7 past Utd and riding the wave and thinking we were getting there. To defeats at Forest and at home to Leeds when they were rock bottom of the table?
The wheels obviously haven’t come off. We may have had the odd flat tire and a dirty spark plug or two along the way? But let the Boss and his mechanics add the new parts and tinker with the engine and see how far we go? And let’s not forget the fuel? Us, the fans. It was not only the team that may have been suffering from mental burnout this season. The atmosphere at Anfield has been flat this season for the most part. Again, it’s only my opinion but it felt to me that the ground as a whole were maybe holding back? Not wanting to go close again only to fall short and be broken hearted? From minute one of game one next season we need to be up for it.
This closed season it’s important to get everything on and off the field right. Please get our targets in early so that Jürgen can work with them from day one of training. The same goes for any backroom staff we bring in. Get the machine together and get them running smoothly.
Nothing to hide or pretend, it was a bad, bad season for us.
No (major) trophies, no CL football for next season and some of our principles of play have seriously decreased.
Big drop considering where we were this time last year. Every football person around and in the first team needs to have a look at themselves in the mirror.
Sure, we can always talk about support from the top and transfers, but this squad on paper (and 30 of them) is not made to be left out the top 4.
Still, we did manage to save something near the end (5th and 4 points off 4th), so that’s one small positive, that we didn’t completely sink like Chelsea or Tottenham.
But for us that have been following the club for a long time, it’s just how it goes. Experience gives us lessons. It’s not the first season like this and won’t be the last.
Now we absolutely have to make sure we improve our level for next season. Let’s not let this become the beginning of the end under Klopp.
The rebuild goes deeper than 1 or 2 midfielders. Our defence is nowhere near good enough.
Matip, gomez should be moved on, vvd really poor this season, konate - injury prone and i personally dont rate him (not that what i think matters!!) and not sure what klopp sees as his positioning is terrible, lacks awareness and erratic tackling.
Midfield…where do we start… id lose them all if i could bar Jones. Theyve dropped off a cliff. Whoever plays there is slow and leggy and so easy to play through.
So ox, nabby, milner have defo gone and id move on Thiago as well . Reduce hendo to milners role. Keep fab for 1 more season to see of he can get it back as has shown glimpes of it.
Keeper and front lot are fine but if i were manager id possibly look to sell Nunez. I just dont think hes good enough. People love the chaos…i prefer a good consistent player. He got 14 and missed 114.
I think Carlvahlo will go as well.
Alisson: 47 games, 4230 mins
Kelleher: four games, 360 mins
Adrian: one game, 90 mins
Trent: 47 games, 3776 mins
Robertson: 43 games, 3329 mins
Tsimikas: 28 games, 1289 mins
Ramsay: two games, 93 mins
VVD: 41 games, 3645 mins
Gomez: 31 games, 2125 mins
Konate: 24 games, 2080 mins
Matip: 21 games, 1605 mins
Philips: five games, 232 mins
Fabinho: 49 games, 3539 mins
Henderson: 43 games, 2558 mins
Elliott: 46 games, 2267 mins
Thiago: 28 games, 1963 mins
Milner: 43 games, 1285 mins
Jones: 23 games, 1175 mins
Bajcetic: 19 games, 931 mins
Ox: 13 games, 493 mins
Keita: 13 games, 488 mins
Salah: 51 games, 4301 mins
Gakpo: 50 games, 3819 mins
Nunez: 42 games, 2365 mins
Firmino: 35 games, 1711 mins
Diaz: 21 games, 1357 mins
Jota: 28 games, 1395 mins
Carvalho: 21 games, 540 mins
It’s the hope that kills you …
After an interminable run of shitness we suddenly started to find a bit of form and then we hammered the Mancs 7-0 and suddenly top four no longer seemed an impossibility.
A few days later we went to Bournemouth and put in one of the most soul destroying performances of the entire season and were deservedly beat and our season was over.
I still haven’t really recovered from that. What came after was meaningless
???
Both leagues combined.