Neil was joined by Rob Gutmann, Gareth Roberts and Mike Girling after Liverpool’s dire home defeat against Southampton.
Direct link to PODCAST: LIBPOOL, FIFTH IN THE LEAGUE!
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I wanna thank Rob Gutmann. Wasn’t expecting to laugh during this podcast.
“Rodgers spoke of this three quarter press. I didn’t have a fuckin clue what he was on about but it sounded good”, haha.
I only take my lad once a season really. Can’t afford the cost of tickets, plus he always wants to go to the club shop, programme, hot dog, hats, scarves and ya badges, et al, not to mention the likelihood of getting 2 tickets next to each other. I was fuckin livid coming out the ground. I mention that, primarily because the cost is still on my mind, but also because we were all angry that we’d started the day on top and put in a performance like that (and that is the main issue, obviously) but there are other unforeseen factors. I bet there was someone there that day who’s come from abroad for their dream day. As it happens I got a ticket for a New Zealand test cricketer (a few appearances anyway) for his first trip to Anfield. On a separate issue he said he preferred the atmosphere at Anfield more than when he went to O.T. Jesus!! As always, I’ve lost my point but I think it was – that performance wasn’t just shocking, it was disgusting.
I’m probably not alone in looking at that squad last month and thinking it looks pretty decent. I was always in agreement it needed 1, maybe 2 first eleven signings but on Saturday it looked wank. No other way to put it. The squad looks strong in that you can slot 1 of the young lads in if forced in most places on the pitch but, as stated, if you’re 3 or 4 players down you soon see we’ve no depth. For the first time on Saturday I felt angry about the type of player we’re buying. I don’t wanna get on Aspas’s back but if I had a choice between Aspas and Borini or a £20m striker who’s a proven scorer there’d be no contest. They don’t have a goal in them between them. Looking at some of the signings other clubs have made compounds my despair, particularly our neighbours.
Putting the above to one side, we’re at a real crossroads now. If we beat Utd and Sunderland then it was just a blip. We’ve played very well in spells, controlled games well, definitely look like we’re improving and maturing as a team. We’ve got a host of first team players to come back in and we’re still within a win of the leaders. If we get beat by Utd and draw at Sunderland then we’ve played 2 good halves of football and are lucky to have 10 points, our fitness looks shocking and it’s only down to Mignolet that we’ve managed to cling on in the last 30 minutes. The squad looks poor. Still not enough goals in the strike force and no cover in key area’s. I pray it’s the former but I honestly believe one of those sentiments will prevail by Sunday tea-time. It certainly will with me.
“He played against Notts County, for fucks sake…”
This is what made me laugh out loud. This show is such a joy, especially after games like what we saw on Saturday. Thanks so much to Neil, et al.
So, who else thinks Stevie is being played until he breaks?
I have commented on our fitness before. Darren Burgess was our fitness guru but returned to Australia a year or so ago, and is now the fitness coach at an Australian Rules football team that was rubbish when he arrived and is now an exciting and effective outfit. It is not all down to Burgess, but the main feature of their game is their fitness; they now blitz all other teams in the last half hour or so of every game. Precisely what we are not doing.
I won’t go into the BR area, for fear of upsetting the Brendanistas, but we are not playing better football than we did under Kenny and our fitness is suspect. Kenny had to contend with no Gerrard, no Johnson, no Carroll and no Suarez for much of the season, as well as the pressure of the Evra incident and his manful defence of what every pundit in the country deemed the indefensible.
Under Rodgers we have bought almost an entire team but the only real improvement has been Coutinho. Tactically he is at best naïve. I admit to a jaundiced view of the garrulous man, but I am hard pressed to recall a game he has rescued or saved due to astute substitution. And can we stop making excuses for Sterling?
“Tactically he is at best naïve”, I think I agree with what Wenger said about facing Rodgers’ Swansea side they are a defensive containing side. This is now us, not creating bucket loads of chances, we do not go full throttle for 50/50 opportunities that would leave opponent off balance or out of position, we just turn the ball back on ourselves and pass the ball around to retain possession. BR please return to the more adventure style of play that kept the fans off your back from last Christmas until May. I think a change back help up tempo players like; Gerrard, coutinino and Stirling
“…a defensive containing side.” When we go a goal down, the other teams now seem to think they can sit on that, and often prevail. We seem, on the other hand, to cough up leads quite easily (twice we let 2-0 leads go last season.)
I think we have the defensive personnel we need, now. It’s early days and we have lost only one league game, but to be honest we could have lost them all.
I think the most exasperating think about us is our use of corners. When an opponent wins a corner I always think we are vulnerable, and often we are. When we win a corner, though, it invariably finds a defenders head. I don’t understand why Stevie G. takes them all, or nearly all; he doesn’t seem to have any special delivery skills, and I’d rather see him cruising outside the box waiting for a duff clearance.