Post match: Napoli v Liverpool (UCL 7/9/22 8pm)

[RedOpium]

Half the players were barely involved preseason.

[mattyhurst]

I really wish it was as simple as Mane.

[The-AllMightyReds]

We’re seeing it in the flesh…

& how long are fans going to keep using “nearly won the lot, nearly won the quadruple”, facts are we won 2 domestic cups on pens, lost a final and we did everything we could to push City until the last day…it was a great season but it’s come and gone and now we’re seeing this team buckle week after week.

The squad isn’t good enough to compete any longer, but that’s down to a mixture of things…for 1 Klopp not being backed properly for years and having to keep working with the same old team year on in.

[Mascot]

@Draexnael

You’re being far too kind, if the team is tired, set up defensively. Get the lines closer together so there is less to cover.

Sick of excuses, there is no reason to start away from home with the kamikaze tactical shape we had tonight, no reason at all, even worse if we are tired, that makes it an even worse decision.

The fact that we’re set up bizarrely, doesn’t mean we’re not tired. As I say, I think pre-season might have been a miscalculation.

It isn’t just running about. It’s also the way we’re passing - lazy, slow, pedestrian, refusing to miss put a man when it’s on. It’s the way we’re defending - like we’re running through treacle, sloppy, slow in thought and deed. Players like Fabinho, Van Dijk, Salah, Hendo, Trent and Robbo look a shadow of what they were last year. Regardless of any tactical issue, just doing the basics poorly.

I don’t think it’s a surprise that the two players who have been generally speaking our best performers this season - Elliot and Gomez (notwithstanding his rough game tonight) - barely got a look in last year.

[Worgan]

And overall I agree with these tactics. It’s just that sometimes need some pragmitism. Not just keep doing the same over and over.

[Noo_Noo]

Yeah but for Diaz has at least put in a heap of effort. Much the same as Mane did. There is something else badly wrong.

We were torn to shreds for 47 minutes tonight.

[WeeJoe]

Listening to utter shite on BT sport while waiting for Klopp to explain what happened

[Thomas1195]

Change my tone a little bit: I would rather start Jones than Milner, if both are available.

[mattyhurst]

Diaz and Elliott are the only bright things from this season so far.

[Dutch]

Yes that loyalty is his strength but also his weakness.

[WeeJoe]

@Noo_Noo

Everyone (not on here) is pointing the finger at Mane’s departure but that has bugger all to do with it imo.

It definitely has something to do with it. Not all of course, but we could do with his spirit and fight

[mattyhurst]

I’d start Arthur, at least I’m not sure what I’m getting and would him having to get up to speed with how we play much of a hindrance at the moment.

[Mascot]

@Walshy07

I think we went too hard pre-season.

We look shattered.

My thoughts exactly. I think we tried to squeeze too much into a compressed pre-season. Someone said they’ve just had a holiday, but that obviously not how it works.

[JibJab]

@Mascot

They look fucking knackered.

How is that possible less than a month into the season?

@Mascot

I think we’ve made a godawful mess of pre-season.

In what way? I cannot imagine that Klopp and his staff would have neglected to work to get them fit. Their preseasons are designed with that very purpose and are grueling for that very reason.

[The-AllMightyReds]

Agree with pretty much everything you’ve said.

As soon as I saw the team sheet I knew we were in trouble…everybody knew it but were too afraid to say to it.

Mane is a miss sure, but Napoli lost 3-4 big players…did that affect them? Did they all play with their heads down feeling sorry for themselves? Did they all wait for one another to do something? No, they played like how a team should.

[WeeJoe]

What’s going on with Virg? Physical or mental aftermath of his injury?

[Obanite]

Sorry, but this just feels like such an overreaction and based on recency bias. We were utterly relentless last season and looked at that level as recently as a month ago in the community shield.

These players haven’t lost ability overnight. There’s no excuse for tonight’s performance, but a team that nearly wins literally single competition isn’t the ‘same old team’ and not ‘good enough to compete’. Come on man.

[Colossal_centre_back]

@mattyhurst

Diaz and Elliott are the only bright things from this season so far.

And I feel Diaz isn’t even completely involved yet. He’ll be a monster if he gets the support tactically and from the rest of the team, one like a year back

[Lynch04]

@Mascot

I really don’t think it’s a matter of waking up. They are professional footballers who have achieved great things. They know what a performance looks like. They look fucking knackered.

I mean, we can dig out individual performances, throw a few under the bus if it makes us feel better.

But the overriding sense I’ve taken away from every match this season, is that we’re very tired. Everything looks laboured and hard work.

I think we’ve made a godawful mess of pre-season.

I agree to a certain extent. The question is why? I know we played every game available last season but we should not be this lethargic, easily exposed. This is something that has carried on from the end of last season.
I am not the one to negatively highlight individual players and so I won’t, however, I feel some are currently turning up expecting a result rather than working towards a result.
I really worry about our next 2 league games.

[Dutch]

That’s because we are not winning, a not winning team always looks shattered while a team that wins looks like they are floating, neither has to be true.