It’s his indecision that’s his main problem. He’s not 100% sure when to come and when to sit tight. He got away with one in the second half.
Otherwise he’s a decent keeper but that indecision creates nervousness I think.
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Players take ice baths after the game so I don’t think we should read too much into Curtis putting ice packs on his knees.
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I noticed the ice packs as well. If he’d had ice on one knee, then I would guess he’s taken a knock during the game, but ice on both knees could indicate a recurring problem. I hope that isn’t the case, but that’s not good for a player who’s only 20yrs old.
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More than the result, it’s the performance that delighted me. We looked lively and hungry.
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A concern I agree. He was also walking in a really stiff / ginger like manner which at the time I wasn’t sure if that was down to the ice packs or not. It didn’t look good either way.
I do wonder if it’s something along the lines of shin splints or similar? I remember when I moved back to the UK as a youngster. A combination of poor shoes and training on those clay type pitches etc. and I was in agony after a session. It peaked so badly in Uni that I literally had to crawl to the bath the morning after training and sit in there and loosen everything up.
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If my memory serves… Think Stevie got them at an early age also
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He did. This isn’t shin splints but I do wonder if its something along those lines.
They do as it aids recovery but that is a muscle thing. This was on his knees, clearly to stop any swelling.
Actually, do they have ice baths at away games? Do all teams provide them from away teams?
I dont want to make a big thing about it but I’m interested to know what it’s for.
in Uni I literally had to crawl to the bath the morning after and sit in there and loosen everything up.
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Too much information me thinks…!
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Too much information me thinks…!
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It hurt!!! And there wasn’t any beer involved either
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I was not reminding you that head injuries are serious. I was saying that it’s not a matter of referees being twitchy. They are obligated to stop the game for a head injury. It’s not their choice.
It’s really fucking obscene that players are gaming this. Feigning injury is not the same. If a Utd lad is rolling round on the deck clutching his ankle the ref can wave play on around the cheating twat. He is not allowed to do this for a head injury.
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Good performance I thought, with our full backs much better, our midfield did its job, and the keeper did what he had to as you’d expect of a backup keeper.
I think Phillips is probably our best specialist centre back right now. He’s a bit of a war horse, does his job effectively, and when a forward gets the better of him, it’s because of his limitations - such as pace - rather than his concentration. With Kabak it’s arguably the other way round, he’s got attributes but seems to get bettered in ways he shouldn’t. Maybe I’m totally wrong on that, but it’s kind of how it seems to me. He’s doing ok though.
We might have to still use Fabinho at centre back, I worry what good forward lines would do to Phillips/Kabak as a pair.
Great to see Keita back on the pitch, rotating a midfield between last night’s starters and Keita/Milner really helps keep the level up. We’ve seen recently how we dip when the likes of Shaqiri and Oxlade come on.
We can’t expect too much more of defence/midfield than we’re seeing, it’s the forward line who are letting us down right now. Working hard, contributing to all round play, but not enough goals, which are desperately needed given the defensive issues.
Put simply, it’s just not good enough for your main striker to be missing chances like Bobby did, although he did do good work on the second goal.
Let’s hope the front three remain fit though, as with Jota coming back it gives us the ability to rotate and substitute and retain intensity and quality over the 90.
I actually wonder whether Jones could also be used as a false 9. He does a lot of work very similar to Bobby.
On to Thursday, a crucial match if we’re to finish top four.
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Their throw ins the first half took about 5 minutes as well, the long throw in was a bit amusing as it wasn’t long and went straight to us twice.
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And the first. I incorrectly credited Trent with the assist in the poll, but it’s actually Firmino who hooks the ball back to Curtis after Trent keeps it in play.
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And yet if Firmino doesn’t drive on with the deflected goal we hang on for a one nil potentially.
And we know what we are like at the moment, yes he should have shot in the first half on the rebound but I think he did right with his one on one, the goalie saves it with his legs (Ramsdale was very good with his legs), but yeah Firmino sends it the correct way.
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He does contribute, but I still think it’s not enough to be picked week in week out.
Personally I think Jota, Mane, Mo as a forward line would cause a bit of havoc, as they did at Atalanta, one of the few times the three of them have been used together.
There’s a place for Bobby in the mix, but for me it’s horses for courses. I don’t think, especially against tight defences at home, that he offers enough to be always picked.
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It was a win that we desperately needed and winning breeds confidence. Got to remember that SU turned Utd over a few weeks ago. Another strange result that’s happened this season. Didn’t think there were any stand out performances but once again everyone worked hard. I think Robbo epitomises our whole team as he is running his legs off but at the moment the final pass or shot is just not coming off. The same with the team everyone trying hard but just not clicking as we were. Still a good three points. I thought Natt did okay and I would pick him to play alongside Fabinho against Chelsea before Kabak. Bobby could have put the game to bed in the first half but he’s drained of confidence at the moment. Hopefully the goal he got will help although I think it was going out before the deflection. Watched Chelsea against Utd and they are very slick but are struggling to find the net. Let’s hope this continues on Thursday but we are going to be at our best.
Gave my MOM to Curtis for a good solid display and important goal when it mattered.
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Nice to bag 3pts. Curtis was my MOTM, and his goal was just reward, excellent work from Trent to provide the assist.
Adrian did give me the jitters, but fair play to him he was ok. Phillips apparently won 7/12 heading duels, and I’d prefer him to Kabak for the Chelsea game alongside Fab if fit.
Bobby should have scored with his chance in the first half, but he made up for that miss with his deflected goal.
Thiago avoided getting booked - again! Played quite well too.
Players feigning injury should be ashamed of themselves. Disgusts me.
Now onto Chelsea.
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Not the prettiest of games to watch, but three points is three points, so onwards and upwards.
Something the MOTD and the pundits missed was the rare opportunity to watch a world class athlete in all his pomp and glory. Fortunately we managed to obtain the following clip:
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Just a small point but I dont think he wasour main striker last night. We were almost playing a diamond at some points with him at the tip of it. I think it was an adjustment made allow us to sit a little deeper.
did you notice how we didn’t squeeze United onto their own 18 yard line like we have with teams in the past?
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For those complaining about Bobby all the time had he not played we would not have won the game he still put in a shift every game Mane has fluffed just as many chances without scoring a tiny bit of luck he would have had a hat trick Klopp certainly believes in him judging by his support from the touch line. When he plays with Jota the opposition are not able to nullify our attack as there are 4 strikers to mark not just 2 when Bobby is playing deep. When Fab comes back he should play in his best position in front of Philips and Kabak or Davies
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