TAW contributors with talking points straight from the ground after Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Leicester City.
More Mignolet Mistakes
Simon Mignolet do much wrong tonight? Backed off for the first? @jsexton24
Thought Mignolet was one of the few to emerge with credit tonight. He was out off his line, he made some solid saves and he was trying to organise as best he could. Can’t pin this one on the ‘keeper. @robbohuyton
Mignolet is shit on the second goal. I’m never giving him credit for anything. Soz Gaz. I’m off to throw myself off a bridge. @RobGutmann
His angles were poor for the first, other than that I thought he played well. Still not good enough to be our number one, though. @paul7cope
I don’t want to watch him play footie for Liverpool. But that’s not a ‘Mignolet match’. The fellas in front of him didn’t battle enough, didn’t fight enough — it should have been fucking obvious what was coming, there was always going to be a reaction after the world got on Leicester players’ backs. Yet it seemed to surprise them. @robbohuyton
Summer Signings
You cannot turn up in every game and be perfect. Need players who know how to win. It’s been said loads but not clinical in either box. No centre forward who bangs and gets you out the shit, no centre-half who wins his battle and gets you out the shit. No ability to ride out pressure, no ability to get through games. Too reliant on shape, no-one who can respond. @Benjanijohnson
The squad’s not good enough. Jürgen Klopp can fire them up for the big games, and we get through them on energy and effort and will, but like Johnno said there just isn’t the quality there ultimately. Too many square pegs. Not enough strength in depth compared to who we are trying to square up with. We’ll get more good results this season, and more bad ones. We’ll score a load more, but concede a load more. We need nailed on, first-team starting, experienced, quality. And take your pick where you slot it in. It’s not hard to upgrade all through the first-team squad. Buy it. This summer. Please. @robbohuyton
Squad Size
Just look at Manchester United’s bench for the cup final and compare it to ours tonight and you can see where part of the problems lie. We’re playing a slow centre midfielder at centre-back (against a quick forward who plays on the break) just because our first choice centre-back is out. That team was only two players short of full strength and the bench was awful. @paul7cope
United spend over £100 million. We didn’t spend anything. @C_Hannan7
All In The Mind
All this said, we’ll probably be sound against Arsenal. It’s still Liverpool, the Liverpool of old, the flawed Liverpool. I’ve seen that same situation unfold over and over and over again. Klopp wants to change our mindset but Liverpool have always got up for the big games no matter what. Even fucking Roy Hodgson beat Chelsea, didn’t he? But we need to nail beating the shite, the games we’re expected to win. Not sure you can cheat that. Buy proven to boost the base we have. @robbohuyton
Something to be said about the same mistakes in every game. We spoke about it on Tuesday Review two weeks ago and all three of us predicted this defeat and suggested ways to combat it — e.g. don’t have all the ball, set up differently. These limited players are constantly asked to be perfect to win, perfect shape for 90 mins, perfect shape in contrast to teammates position, perfect use of the ball, it is such a trusting shape that it is so wide open when the inevitable mistake is made and opposition is set up to exploit it that it will continue to happen. @Benjanijohnson
Lacking Snide
Fitting that after the pod with Stephen Warnock about the dark arts we see that performance as well — no guile, no snide, no-one appealing for anything. Jamie Vardy put a late one on Sadio Mane after two mins that set the tone. We didn’t bat an eyelid. Two possible penalty appeals and nothing from our lads. Need more cheats. @paul7cope
Time For A Change
Too reliant on a system. Needs adapting which thankfully it was second half but I refused to watch the last half hour so I’m the wrong man to ask there. @PhilBlundell
There’s no options though. He can change the shape or the system but there’s one really good centre-half at the club. There isn’t a great left-back. There isn’t a feasible, starting every week, alternative to Nathaniel Clyne. The ‘keeper spot is still up for grabs, Klopp wanted another centre mid and another wide man and didn’t get them. Up front there isn’t a fella getting you a guaranteed 25-30 goals. And so on, and so on. @robbohuyton
First goal comes from Gini passing the ball five yards straight to their lad. Only way this shape wins in that circumstance is if your centre-half is faster, stronger and better than the forward he is up against. You can’t exploit the opposition by making them lose the ball, because they aren’t interested so your advantage from the shape is lost. You then need Sol Campbell and Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic-like centre-halves to get you out the shit. We have got a 25-year-old lad we got for nothing in his first season in the league and a centre mid who can’t play there any more because he is too slow, so we play him centre-half because our first choice centre-half is injured. It will continue to happen. @Benjanijohnson
A good problem?
I think, all things told, if we’re gonna have a problem then make it being shit against crap teams. Clearly an issue but also one of the easiest to fix. @PhilBlundell
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Too depressed to comment (kind of). Duncan Castles is a Fu*king C**t!! (Sorry, bit plastered and totally ‘over’ footy……for now/
Agree with GR. Never in a million years is this down to Mignolet. Having a defence would help.
Migs wasn’t the problem.
And we see Can right back where Rodgers should have kept him – as a CB. Boy, am I tired of looking at his flappy hair.
Tired of missing Henderson, too. Can we just not be shite without him?
I think Firmino took Klopp a little too seriously about having a great game without scoring a goal.
The first one is down to Gini – the through ball was good, but why on earth would you play it in there if under pressure. Hit it to the stands or block it to get a foul. But that’s old stuff. If there’s no Hendo taking Gini by the hand, then there’s no Gini on the field. You can’t even blame Lucas for being slow. We know it, he knows it, Klopp knows it.
I agree with Walter, Migs wasn’t the problem. But then again: a decent keeper doesn’t let the first one get into the near corner. For the second: not really his fault, however that’s one of the situations where the likes of De Gea, Courtois, Cech or Lloris show their class and get it somehow. Mignolet might be a decent Premier League keeper but we won’t win the league with him. It’s not only the goal keeping per se, the vital stuff is how he starts counter attacks (hint: he doesn’t, it takes him ages to get rid of the ball). We just have too few situations when our fast offensive midfielders go 3 on 3 due to a fast kick from the GK.
Can’t blame Lucas for losing a foot-race against Vardy: it’s the shape they’re being asked to play.
Klopp like Rodgers has messed up transfer windows.
I think Klopp is guilty of having too much faith in certain players, but the issue is not Klopp. He has shown he can manage a winning team, but in order to do that he needs winning players – he does not have enough of them here.
Lol “a good problem to have”. That’s sprinkling shit on 2 day old chinese and calling it cocopops. Love it
How is easily fixed Phil ?? Tell Klopp.