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Six to fix…
Since interviewers never really ask the questions to managers many fans really want the answers to, here are my ‘six to fix’ for Jurgen Klopp as a Liverpool fan:
Can you tell us why you keep substituting Curtis Jones who has been one of our few best players over recent weeks as well as taking off the Premier League’s top scorer when both were nowhere near the worst players on the pitch?
What do you understand the difference to be between ‘loyalty’ and ‘blind loyalty’ to the same group of players you keep selecting week in week out?
Would it be fair to say that Liverpool’s prolonged run of poor form is actually down to underperforming midfield and forward players rather than the focus being on who plays at CB?
Taking into account our back up players aren’t as strong and that this season is close to a write off, what must Origi, Shaq, Milner, Tsimikas, Naby, Ox and others be thinking if those ahead of them can play this poorly for this long?
Is there value, after such a long run of awful form, in advocating a kick up the arse approach (read: you’re dropped) to star players?
Is it time that Liverpool’s style of play evolves as all teams must surely do in order to remain competitive?
I should end by saying that Jurgen should manage us for many years to come – and any Liverpool who says otherwise is just a tit – but if you have any means to pass these on to Jurgen for his consideration it’d be appreciated!
Jay, ‘banging our heads against the same wall’, LFC
Another 16 questions for Klopp
I sincerely wanted the post-match interview to be these questions. Everyone at Liverpool needs to start showing since accountability, starting with Klopp.
- Why do you keep playing a high line when all it does is enable the opponent to play balls in behind and over the top, which exposes our patched-up defence?
- You say you could have subbed any of Salah, Bobby or Mane, of those is your top scorer and biggest goal threat really the right one to take off?
- Why do you keep giving your opponents easy ways to win, rather than your own team?
- Why haven’t you tried something new, when plan A is getting worse and worse every week?
- Do you know that only ever playing one way makes you very easy to play against?
- Why can’t you see that your team is completely knackered and unable to play the high-energy pressing game?
- Have you noticed that your players appear to have completely given up?
- Do you care?
- Why haven’t you bought proper competition for the front three?
- Was Allison ready to play?
- Was Fabinho?
- Why don’t you have adequate cover in key positions?
- Why aren’t you building the next squad while this one declines?
- Have you finally run out of excuses, hence none tonight?
- Do you actually believe that God is a City fan, therefore you can’t hope to win, therefore there is no point in even trying any more?
- At what point at Dortmund did you realise it was all over?
Morgan (Fulham to make it six? Seems more likely than not tonight) Goford
Slow defenders
As a Liverpool fan I’m still pretty happy – if you’d have said they would win the Champs League and the Premier League to me three years ago I’d have struggled to believe it.
If I had to ask the powers that be there one question though it would be this.
Knowing that we were short of our best centre backs but despite this continuing to play a suicidally high line why did we not just try and pick up the quickest CBs we could in the transfer window rather than a guy who looks ok but mid paced and the invisible man?
Mark C, Hemel
In Mount condition
A legend in the making. Unforgettable already. Others have been singing his praises for a good while now, but I’ll throw my hat in anyway. He’s the most complete footballer in our side at the moment.
First of all, he has an incredible hunger and drive. It enhances all of his other attributes, because all of his technical skills are in service of that endless hunger.
His defending is undervalued. Poor first touch? Mount’s spotted it and is onto you. Taking too long to decide whom to pass to? Mount will hound and harrass you into giving up the ball. It all just adds that extra oomph to our pressing high up the pitch against players who often aren’t good on the ball.
Then there is the half-turn thing that he does (I’m sure there’s a word for it) where he receives the ball, and is doing a 180 degree turn while he collects it. So effective. You’re instantly facing the right way to look up and pass, and can often earn the crucial half a yard. Lampard used to do this all the time, Gerrard too, and I just don’t know why more modern midfielders don’t use it. Kovacic has his alternative where he taps the ball around onrushing players, drops his shoulders, and is off. But Mount is equally press-resistant. As a corollary to this, his first touch is sublime.
Mount’s shooting speaks for itself, so I won’t belabour that point. The goal against Manchester United early in the second half, and the one yesterday are two greate examples.
His electric pace is no longer a secret, but that doesn’t diminish its importance. The word ‘dynamic’ comes to mind. A real engine of our midfield.
His passing is progressive. That shouldn’t really be a big thing, especialy for a midfielder, but we have so many limited or safe passers. Jorgi and Kante had a blinder yesterday, but both of them have been culpable for not being adventurous enough (or capable enough) for cross-field diagonals or penetrative through balls. Reece-James never passes it to his winger. Mendy seems to balloon every forward pass. Mount is always on the lookout. It might not always be pretty, and his final ball has actually been pretty pedestrian the last few games, but he helps move our attack along by looking around at whom to pass and attempting things.
And finally, dat neck girth. How can you not have a world class player with a world class neck? Absolutely love Mount to death, and love that he’s a blue. Other teams should be rightfully jealous.
Viren (Chapman has to start Mount, right?) CFC
Liverpool v Chelsea
So … It was offside because Timo Werner’s bicep was offside. Remind me again who last scored a goal with his bicep? Anyone?
It’d be a really neat idea if when SKY are trying to justify an offside with their little graphs they actually prove it with a screen
shot that shows with the ball being kicked in the frame , just so some people don’t think the system is corrupt . Cough , cough .
Mark Kelly
A lot of rage in this morning’s mailbox about who in red should have been blamed for last night’s limp show, but I just want to say hats off to Chelsea.Where we’re not at our best, it’s fair to say, Chelsea looked really good; quick one touch passes, graft in midfield, pace and strength at the back, and looked a danger up top.
Where you can see they’re not quite the finished article, Tuchel’s clearly got them playing his way quite early and his way looks good.
Where Liverpool are definitely off it, and a few players could be justifiably called out, we were simply beaten by the 2nd best team in the country at the moment.
Paul, The Wirral
I’m not really with Minty and other supporters at the moment. While I’m not sure Thiago suits this particular 11 and formation, I think F365 touched on it that Thiago and Fabinho + Jones/Henderson/Gini/Keita with two proper centre backs playing in central defence would change the fortunes of this team and individuals.
I’m really not sure what happened to Nat Phillips yesterday (I read injury, in which case, wtf?!) but I really hope Klopp sticks to playing players in positions and starts rotating the front three with Jota and Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Shaqiri also joining in occasionally and I think we’d see a different kind of performance.
The only thing I would say about Thiago that jars with me, he comes across as a bloody serious guy doesn’t he? Maybe that’s just his on field persona or my interpretation, but one thing about this Liverpool side that seems to be missing and has been even before this awful period of defeats is that they don’t seem to be having fun. There are so many reason why this would be (fans, pandemic, family, bereavement) and each is something all teams have to deal with, which isn’t the excuse.
My point is that Thiago hardly brings “fun” into football. The cheeky smiles disappeared roughly about the same time he came back from injury, which also coincides with the teams performances dropping. On that basis alone, and while I don’t think he’s useless, I just don’t think he’s a good fit. Which is a shame.
Ah well.
Rob, Brighton
Highlights reel
The LFC social media guy is going to lose his job next summer when we have no highlights of this season to post on Instagram. The club will think he’s just lazy when in fact nobody wants to watch a highlights reel of Firmino getting tackled 18 times in a game or Alisson nutmegging himself.
Poor lad.
Minty, LFC
What a difference a season makes…
Liverpool last season, go one-nil down – Game On
Liverpool this season, go one-nil down – Game Over
Robert, Kilkenny, Ireland
Money
I am reading all massive overreactions about Liverpool and would like to throw a bit of context.
As a die hard Liverpool fan this will not be full of excuses just my opinion on what has happened. Ok, firstly last night. Chelsea deserved to win the match, they did a very good job last night of playing on Liverpool’s frailties at the back. What else I seen was two high quality teams that performed at higher level than any other team in the league can, city excluded. It was fast paced, competitive, had quality, but yet Liverpool are by anyone with a keyboard in crisis, go figure.
With a covid ravaged season you could of put your house on the way the league table is panning out. Condensed fixtures with lots of games be played with next to no rest. So to see Man City Man Utd and Chelsea moving towards the top end is no surprise. The premier league is usually decided by who spends the most money.
It’s sad but it’s true. Manchester United’s domestic dominance under Fergie, nobody could compete financially. Then came abromovic and automatically utd had a rival and Chelsea began to take titles off them regularly. Then came city, same as Chelsea, pumped a load of money in and won titles. So in a season where the squad is needed now more than ever before, is it a surprise city, a team with 2x 50m players in every position are running away with it or that Man Utd with the most expensive squad ever assembled is sitting second or that the team that spent over 200m in the summer are starting to get their act together?
This is not an excuse just the reality we live in. The best squads where always going to do well in a condensed season. Liverpool never had a squad to compete with the above mentioned teams as they’ve never repeatedly spent the money the other teams have. The age old reply to this is you bought VVD for 75 and Alisson for 50 what are you talking about? Well Liverpool did have to sell their best player at the time in coutinho to raise those funds. Tell me when the other three teams have had to sell their best player to raise funds? The answer is never. It is not the same playing field by any stretch quite frankly and only heightens the fantastic job klopp and the squad has done.
Don’t worry Liverpool fans we are not done as much as the rest of the country would lead you to believe. Once this terrible season where the games have been every three days, where so much bad stuff has happened. Example, how did we start the season with one hand ball rule and end it with another??? Results determined at the start of the season that wouldn’t of been the same results now. VAR intervening when it’s not clear and obvious and the changes in that system on the fly that still continue to baffle people.
In summary it’s been a terrible season not just for Liverpool but for English football and the sooner it’s over the better. Hopefully next season can be normal because what’s getting churned out now is pretty bad on every single level. Let’s get fans back in the stands and a proper schedule in place again. Because this season has been a farce on so many levels.
JB
The Manchester conundrum
To answer the question asked by David Blue Moon, I’d say simply “stop defending them”.
I like Man City fans in general, especially the away support every time I’ve seen City (am old enough to have seen the league game at Colchester), but there’s a newer breed, magnified by social media, who will defend your owners to the hilt or go on the attack about the moral failings of other clubs and owners.
There’s no morality left in football, I get that – but on balance you do have the worst owners, so enjoy the brilliant team, the ridiculous level of player you have, all the lovely trophies and just…take the rest on the chin. If you’re explaining you’re losing.
That’s it really. It’ll never end – that’s just how the world works now, just don’t make it worse by engaging in an unwinnable argument.
Jeremy Aves
Clean sheets
Amongst all this doom and gloom, can we all please acknowledge that United have gone three games in a row without conceding. Harry Maguire is the GOAT.
Shivam, MUFC
Confused…
To whom it may concern
Can I please have a cogent explanation from those more versed in the game than I as to what, now, constitutes a handball in the penalty area?
Also, when will match officials be subject to the same level of professional scrutiny as those they affect to scrutinise and when will they be held to the same level of accountability for their decisions as say, top executives, in what is now, sadly, a wholly commercial environment?
When will we hear ‘officials’ justify their decisions in real time? As they are clearly wholly versed in the rules of the game, in complete control of the game at all times and thoroughly satisfied in their own judgement on every aspect of the sport I feel it would be a real fillip to their self-confidence and they may even relish the elevated public profile that such an innovation would surely bring.
Sorry, Para 4 and perhaps I should say I’m talking about Martin Atkinson here. I expected nothing when he was named as a handy late sub from the ref’s bench and my hunch was confirmed as Mo got his pecks firmly yet erotically rubbed early doors.
Still, Marty gave us the odd free kick and ‘let the game flow’. My dander was starting to coalesce.
Then came our classic Marty moment (insert wry smiley face emoji here)…. N’golo surrendered to our habitual brilliance but the ‘Cock of the Kop’ denied Mendy an opportunity to warm his mitts and earn his full-time Mint Club. I hope, at least, they gave him an orange one, by way of recompense.
Best answer wins a packet of Breakaway (prize may vary).
Hugs
SB (Farnham FFS!)
Roy Keane
There was a mail written in recently about Roy Keane and it’s true and fair to say he rubs a lot of people up the wrong way. However, I do think he tends to be right about a lot of things, it’s just his delivery is wrong or he’s perceived to be the same as Souness, when he’s not.
He said about Liverpool’s high line at the start of the season and Klopp and Liverpool fans jumped on him; he scythes United players for a lot of things that are mostly right; he was pretty right about the Spurs team but maybe not as fully as it came out, and he is right about Liverpool being bad champions.
The injuries to centre half are huge but the rest of that team is quality and Klopp has no desire to alter the style of play. Would it have been so bad to use 3 at the back tonight to offer more defense, maybe invite Chelsea on to them, and at least not lose?
Also, about Man City that’s been a hot topic; they are a phenomenal team. Really. It’s possible that they are a phenomenal team with a phenomenal coach and also have lots of money from questionable owners who have assembled an expensive squad. All those facts can coexist together, it doesn’t need to be one so much over the other.
Also, with Liverpool, they seem tired from much the same players being played in a busy season and a few years together. It’s possible they’ll be alright with a summer break and pre season, but there’s the Euros. From years of watching Fergie’s teams, that’s also not fully how it works. Mental damage can be done as well as physical. Chances are they’d be better off getting rid of 2 or 3 just to freshen the 11 rather than hope on the others returning to full power as a unit.
James, Galway
Nick Knowles painting a wall is more exciting than this season…
This is now becoming a stale biscuit, reheated pig swill, the dregs from the slops tray or the fag buts from the ash tray it’s not top flight football. You are only watching football now because of your addiction the quality is non existent.
Maybe football all along was the spectacle, the atmosphere the feeling of the collective and not the actual game. There are many levels to experience football the best is live In the stadium, then in the pub with your mates, then in some bodies house with like minded people, but sitting on your own with the dog is a very poor 4th.
I am watching football now channel surfing oh I see Monty Don is planting some grass seeds or Nick Knowles painting a wall, got to be more exciting than watching Liverpool, Man Utd, Spurs or Arsenal.
I know I will be back watching the next round of games, I am the old prospector the gold nugget is going to come.
Gary in Germany
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