Our boys actually breached WBA’s buses. We just weren’t clinical enough to nick another goal or two.
1 Like
Agree… If we fail to win the league. We will look back at the points dropped against trash teams like these.
1 Like
Poor result for us and we just did not do anything of worth in the 2nd half but I also like to use this match as a point I made regarding when Klopp did not play the youth team in Denmark as some wanted. I said if we had played a youth team including potentials like Rhys or Neco etc and they get demolished or made mistakes, they would be taken to pieces by fans, as Neco had experienced in one way or another. I had always said, criticize the players and the team for bad performances but to always say ‘who and who is not good enough’ after one bad performance is tiring. Curtis Jones is 19 and as much as he is a great potential and already considered a regular in the first team, he is going to make mistakes and sometimes even a serious one like this that leads to a goal but it is important to point out the mistake and say lets go again instead of being sarcastic or saying that he is not good enough etc. Yes Rhys was outran but then suddenly his previous performances are forgotten and he is now not good enough.
On the subject of substitutions, yes I also wonder why they are not made earlier. On transfers, I too am on the side of thinking we should buy a CB even before this Matip injury. But Klopp is in charge and he will make his bed and lay on it and his decisions will be judged at the end of the season not now.
But being objective is one thing but over-reacting by branding young players not good enough after one mistake, then we might as well not bring anyone of them into the first team.
1 Like
Was at a loss in the 2nd half as we stopped playing down the left-hand side which, as you said, our main threat came from and started to play down the right when Mo was way off his game.
1 Like
Not saying he’s shite. He’s been remarkably composed and done really well both on the ball and defending but… he is incredibly slow. Unfortunately the one thing you really can’t improve on is pace and I doubt that lumbering gait is going to suit us long term. Pity really, he seems to have everything else to be a front foot defender.
3 Likes
You might be right but broadly not necessarily. VVD might have abit of pace but his defensive prowess comes from position and anticipation rather than using his pace to get out of trouble, which is actually a criticism of Gomez who because of his pace, does not usually cut off the danger ahead at source. So if Rhys can use his strengths to overcome his weaknesses with the coaching of Klopp, then he could still become a very good player. But to be fair, even with his performances which have been good, he is still of course a long way from being a top level player.
still trying to get over the result
would really heal the soreness now felt, if we hammer manure and citeh, especially manure
look forward and up to get our positive results for all games in the future
Exactly Atkinson is the one who hates us the most. We have not seen him as our referee this season so he could not fuck us directly but in a fortnight we play the mancs I bet that Atkinson is the referee and Taylor the VAR.
We need to get in players who can play more than 1 game a week.
We have far too many who get injured on a regular periods for a long time.
What’s happened to Shaq? Had a hamstring strain about 10 weeks ago and nothing from him.
Matip just breaks all the time. Ox and Nabby are permanently injured.
Fabinho is doing great at CB but we miss him in midfield sometimes.
We need to buy a top CB in Jan and worry who plays alongside VVD when all are fit later. We are dropping too many points against crap and it will cost us.
Williams is a good young prospect but fuck me he is slow in a foot race. As Carra said playing these kids is good for them but you can’t be playing them every week as they are still learning and will make silly mistakes.
Anyway let’s move on. Hopefully Thiago can play some part.
3 Likes
Fat Sams gum chewing is so taunting.
He was on the bench, Klopp did play him but he was ready to play.
I’m not disagreeing with you about the need for a CB but the goal came from the mistake of Jones who did not play the best game of his life. He needed to much time on the ball again, hold play up. I have seen it before but I thought he cured it, not last night.
It’s time to give Ox a chance.
I think the thing that annoyed me the most about yesterday was the ponderous nature of the side, particularly in transition.
If you are playing a team like West Brom who want to defend compact in two banks of five, on those occasions you have the opportunity to get up the field quickly before they are all back from a rare venture forward, you have to take it.
When West Brom were attacking a bit more in the second half we had a few opportunities to break and catch them before they had settled back in. Instead we dawdled on the ball and made square passes in our own half until they were comfortable.
4 Likes
The thing is, it’s not like we didn’t know what to expect. We had a week to prepare and it was obvious how WBA would play, but we just didn’t have any ideas on how to break them down. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve played against one of these teams, and it certainly won’t be the last.
2 Likes
Agree with @Mascot above about how slow we were to get the ball forward in the second half, slow and sideways until they were all back in defensive positions and we ended up with the parked bus in front of us. Newcastle and saints will not be easy, hopefully we still top when utd come to Anfield and not them.
2 Likes
Up until their goal Jones had looked possibly our best player. No one seems to be having a go at Robbo for the mistake that gave them the corner that led to the goal. Many people seem to take a very one eyed view.
Personally I felt we should have been more dynamic after we scored instead of being happy to keep playing passes in the space in front of their defence. Whatever I am sure we will bounce back.
2 Likes
Just a minute earlier Ox was ready to come in, then the game proceeded for just one more play which led to Jones’ mistake and the goal we conceded…had we done the replacements early enough…also, Origi for Firmino, who was the best threat we could pose at the moment.
1 Like
More like a French soft cheese.
What makes it worse is that his tactics worked due to our complacency and carelessness. This was no “tactical masteclass” by the poor man’s Mourinho. Even in the second half in which they were supposedly better, apart from the goal they had one more chance, the punt that turned into a 1 vs 1 with Alisson. Had we played with a modicum of our usual intensity especially in the first half, the game would have been over by halftime.
Hyppia wasn’t blessed with pace either. Not saying that Williams will ever come close to that level but it goes to show that pace isn’t a prerequisite to succeed. He has done enough to earn a chance as 4th/5th CB going forward. If we don’t get a new defender in January as it’s widely reported, he’ll be a big reason why.
1 Like
I expected a difficult game and it was a difficult game. We are losing so many points against teams that are at the bottom of the league table - Fulham, WBA,BHA.
Starting the season with only 3 center backs was criminal and shortsighted. Joe Gomez is injry prone and that is a fact, since signing fot Liverpool he has missed almost 30 months of football, because of different injuries. That is too much. Matip is the same, he is totally unreliable for a solid run of games /good option for 4th center back, but not a starter/. And the club put all their eggs in one basket, which was a huge risk - VvD, but then that prick Pickford deliberately injured him and now we are playing kids and Fabinho in defence. That is absurd. Fab is very good defender, but he is still the best defensive midfielder in the league.
Instead of signing a center back, we signed Tiago - another player with injury problems in his career. Almost half of the season is gone and the boy has played 135 minutes of league football. Less than Rhys Williams, Neco Williams or Curtis Jones - three young, promising, but inexperienced teenagers…
If we had a solid option in central defence, Fabinho would play in midfield and that could at least ease the burden for Gini and Hendo who has to play almost every single minute in a very difficult season. But the recruitment team chose not to sign a center back last summer and now till the end of the season Klopp must play Fabinho in defence. And the same recruitment team wasted time and did not renew Gini’s contract - one of the leaders, one of the 4 captains and our fittest player.
While at the same time we pay solid wages to AOC, Keita, Shaqiri - three players that spend much more time in their Liverpool careers on the treatment table instead on the pitch.
Still I have only compliments for Klopp and the players. With so many problems we are still leaders. Players such as Alisson, Fabinho, Robbo, Hendo, Gini, Jota, Salah, Mane deserve huge credit. They play through pain, fatigue and do well for the club.
Several words about TAA - time to see that his form hasn’t been very good for some time. He is not even close to the player we saw in the last 2 seasons. His defensive game has dipped too and offensively he is far away from his usual standards - 2 assists in 12 appearences for the season. For example Matip also has 2 assists in 7 starts, while Robbo has 5 assists. And last night he had a lot of good chances, but his passing did not look good.
I have the nasty feeling that we won’t sign a center back next month /judging from all articles from journalists with inside info from the club/ and that will be a huge proble. What happens if we lose Fabinho because of injury? Philips and Williams to start…
Now we just know that Bruce and Newcastle will offer us a hoof football with Carroll on the field and I wonder who will stop him - Rhys or Fab, because we obviously miss a dominat center back with aerial presence and experience.
2 Likes
I don’t think that’s the end of it there. Positioning and anticipation can often trump place. That said I would also be looking why he got exposed on that one occasion yesterday.