WANT to see a magic trick? Jürgen Klopp has got a cracker, he can turn three points into one in the blink of an eye.
For the second time in five days, Liverpool have contrived once again to throw a victory away with the finish line in sight and no doubt the manger will once again claim he doesn’t care and that goals conceded are the ones you can’t change and aren’t worth talking about. To be honest though, I’m getting more than a little fed up with The Reds ruining an evening in all too familiar fashion.
To throw away one victory in the last 10 minutes in a week may be regarded as misfortune, to do it twice in the space of five days isn’t carelessness, it’s negligent, and don’t dare have the front to imply it isn’t a deep-seated issue.
I get that managers have to defend their players but one mistake that Klopp shouldn’t make, that many have before, is to try to kid the fans.
This squad, for whatever reason simply doesn’t have the wherewithal to cope with the pressure of what being accountable for a red shirt brings, the lack of care on the ball in both the equalisers conceded this week is criminal with the lack of anyone willing to take responsibility being the prime suspect.
It’s not that this team lacks ability, far from it, they just lack leadership and a spine worthy of note.
I’d get so far as to say I’d fancy us far more going into the last 10 minutes needing a goal as opposed to trying to protect one.
For all the ability the side has, and it has plenty, where is the spine?
We’ve two goalkeepers who no one trusts, not a sniff of a partnership at centre back and no real leadership in midfield.
And this leads to the most frustrating thing of all, we’re still on the fringes despite the flaws being so obvious.
But how long can we limp on with a goalie who gets lobbed from the most limp of angles — and on that, check his starting position — and a captain whose lack of care on the ball has directly lead to equalising goals in the week?
The problems this side has are eminently fixable and the solution doesn’t necessitate throwing the baby out with the bath water. Jordan Henderson is a more than capable member of the squad but needs freeing for the burden of captaincy and quickly.
We’ve got five weeks before the transfer window opens and everything is, just, still on the table, but, whether we get to January still intact or not, let’s not allow the chance to fix obvious issues pass us by.
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“The problems this side has are eminently fixable and the solution doesn’t necessitate throwing the baby out with the bath water”
Would be interested to hear possible solutions to these problems that are “eminently fixable” rather than just complaining. Would be interested to hear discussion of Migs starting position for the cross Willian hit, not for the goal he ended up scoring by accident.
Not sure I agree with the sentiment behind that assessment today. Frustrating as it was, and much as I was banging on to my mate about getting subs on from 65 onwards, I thought Chelsea had been the more likely to score overall- a genuinely good team who didn’t resort to manc-esque shithousery either. I think if anything, we deserve credit for digging in and snatching a lead, and only conceding to a bit of a fluke. Seville was another matter altogether – I think pretty much everyone would agree on that one.
Agree completely.
Yep
Spot on.
Yeah. Not one of Andy’s best summations.
Who gives a toss whether it is Mancs playing hoof-ball or Chelsea parking a bus or playing well???
We play to win the game against whoever at Anfield, right? Or have our standards dropped so far these days that it has become acceptable when we give away two points, due to our manager’s in-game management/strategy?
It’s like this every other time with Klopp, and the worse part is, win, draw or lose, it feels like the players coming on have no proper chance to have an effect – what’s the point is what most fans are wondering.
You are right in that he should have gone for the jugular at the 65 minute, with players who were not returning from injuring or illness. Lallana’s sub being delayed was fine.
I meant Lallana’s substitution was understandable from the perspective of him returning from injury, though the ref bottled that chance on top of it.
Spot on.
I commented to my ate at HT that Chelsea would be disappointed they weren’t ahead, ok nothing clear cut created but much better than us. Winning the midfield, Hazard just fucking unreal at times too, and just looking genreally more dangerous than us going forward that first half.
A draw on the face of it a fair one but no disaster this. Klopp’s subs were awful, I thought an injection of pace and something different was needed once we went ahead. Instead he did fuck all and we let one of the best passers in the league in Fabregas just ping balls all over the show. I thought Chelsea finished the match like the home side to be fair.
Thought Moreno gave eveeything today. Brace performance.
Yep. The bi-annual Sevillian nightmare is now past.
Round and round we go in the same endless cycle. Same as we were under rodgers. Cannot see out a game, even less likely to do it without lucas. Feels like we need 4 or 5 new signings going into every window. I’ll be shocked if we sign anyone in January. Great to see lallana back though.
There are still players from Rodgers’ era so it may look like the same, but I disagree. We have progressed with these remnants. Remember how they were playing towards the end of Rodgers’ time at the club? 1-6 to Stoke? And the following season?
I think these players have come a long way, but I don’t know if Klopp knows, but we all know that many of them, including the new recruits might have peaked already. Asking for more out of them might be too much.
As I have stated before, Klopp needs to adjust his tactics, improve his in-game management or latency issues with his subs and meet the players half way to get everything he can out of them.
The lads are trying and it was a fluke goal today, but Klopp needed to gamble and take his chances, instead he allowed Conte to make his call, and the rest is history.
And yes, great to see Lallana back again.
Drawing against the reigning champions (once again) without any injuries, sitting in 2nd place in the form table. It was an even contest, though deeply disappointing, and a draw was not too far from a fair result from a hard-fought battle between two very good sides.
Yes Walter, I agree with you. A good solid point is still worth more than a loss, especially at home to Chelsea.
You can’t be content with what happened against Chelsea but unhappy with the Sevilla game. It’s the same demon which prevents us winning both, it’s been hanging around for a long time; the draw against Chelsea on face value is a decent point but far too much of our form is taken on face value. A few wins against mediocre opposition and suddenly criticising something which was apparent before those wins is not as acceptable.
When you’re consistently winning games as we did in the 80s and in a few seasons since then, a bad loss or short run of poor results doesn’t provoke a tantrum because the bigger picture is unspoiled.
The current bigger picture is bereft of trophies and we’re a soft touch. The performance away at Leicester in the league was heartening but where has that side been in the last two fixtures ?
Understandable frustration, but a bit harsh this. Chelsea are a top team and we more than matched them and it took a bit of a fluke to get them back into it. Haven’t seen it again but I didn’t think Migs could do a lot about it either.
That said, I thought Klopp was slow to react to their subs. He’s now under pressure to win at Stoke after resting Mane & Firmino.
Spot on
‘Brave’ performance
Middle age eyesight on phone!
Chill. This was the reign championes, and we should be proud of our
performance. Bring that on next week, Jurgen. No problem here.
The frustration is that we are so, so tantalizingly close to the finished article- it’s the fine margins that a better goalkeeper and a better centre back turn the two draws into wins
Step back from the ledge.
Their goal was a fluke. How can you blame Migs for that? If he is standing on his line on the 1% offchance Willian mishits his cross, and then Willian doesnt mishit his cross like he doesnt 99% of the time but sticks it on Morrata’s head on the 6yd line you would be killing him.
I agree subs should have been made earlier. Too many players looked goosed, but fresh legs might yet get us 3points against Stoke. 4 from 6 is okay. In fact, I’m cinfident this will prove a good point. I fancy us to go on a roll.
A bit harsh Andy. They got lucky with their goal after all.. Mig made some food interventions in the first half too. It was an unlucky goal to concede after we really have them nothing in the second half. I agree that Henderson is probably under to much pressure. He looked absolutely knackered today. We really needed a playmaker anla Fábregas as the game wore on. A Didi, a Xabi….. someone to control things. Jordan does a lot of food but he’s no Tony Kroos. Albie did well today too. Plenty of positives despite the draw.
Food interventions? What? Like a prawn sandwich…?
Agree with this and feel similarly frustrated. Obviously Chelsea are a good side but if you look for it you can find justification for most dropped points; it doesn’t mean there isn’t a systemic issue.
We were playing at home and leading with 5 minutes to go. We really should have won this. But there are always stupid errors costing us points if it’s Lovren one week it’s Moreno the next and Mignolet after that. That’s not to mention Klavan or Matip who have made their own contributions this year. The reality for me is that the defence and Henderson simply aren’t good enough. We will get two or three decent games and then there will be another mistake costing us points. It’s all very well talking about individual errors and improving players but if you can’t coach it out of them and the mistakes keep happening you need to replace the personnel. It’s like a hole in my bucket – even if we score the goals you know there is a mistake at the back waiting to undo it all. And I will never understand why he leaves those subs so late almost every time.
It’s not a terrible result over all as the Sevilla one wasn’t. But I just can’t see us winning anything with these glaring deficiencies. Maybe next year when we have Keita and possibly Van Dijk or whoever else instead of him but as things are it’s all too familiar and we all know this is hardly going to be the last time we stupidly drop points from a winning position.
It’s annoying to let leads slip and it’s certainly something we do way too often, but Sevilla was the one to get fucked off about. That was a real joke. This one was just one of those games. They are the reigning champions let us not forget.
It was a somewhat makeshift team and it almost delivered us a win over Chelsea. I think we all knew they’d equalise, which is a problem in itself, but I’m not too wound up by this. They beat Spurs and home and have also beaten Utd. This isn’t a bad result by any stretch.
Makeshift team? Utter tripe, this was the team Klopp chose to send out and keep, Lallana, Mane, Firmino and Wijnaldum on the bench. Of the players who started, all are full internationals and most appear regularly for their country (Mignolet because he’s shite, Matip and Milner because they retired, do not) so it’s not like he played the kids.
You may disagree with the term “makeshift” but would Klopp be picking this side if everyone was firing on all cylinders and he didn’t have 93 fixures in 4 weeks to negotiate? Course he wouldn’t. The use of the term makeshift was usefld to highlight the fact that we took on and matched the champions without two of our three first choice attackers.
You are correct in stating it’s the side Klopp sent out. I wish he hadn’t, but he did and we should really have won it regardless. Being angry not to beat the champions is the sign of a top side.
Agree with the assessment Andy – if anything, I don’t think you’ve gone far enough. Are we allowed to criticise Klopp? Can someone tell me why he’s turning into Rodgers, with bullshit excuses about the ref not allowing him to get the subs on? The ref may have stopped him getting subs on 2 minutes before the equaliser – he didn’t stop Klopp making the subs when they were needed for the previous 15-20 minutes.
I get that most modern managers don’t care about the captaincy – they see it as a thing from a bygone era. It’s okay to have that attitude if you fill your team with multiple leaders. We have none. And I’m including Klopp in that. He’s a world class coach – genuinely brilliant. But why has he not bought one leader when it’s so obvious it’s what we need? Why is he standing there doing nothing as Conte runs rings round him, making changes that see the game from going 50-50 to all Chelsea?
A team reflects its manager – far too often we are shite when a game is on the line because we’re too emotional and not clinical enough. Don’t tell me you haven’t put the two together. Either our performance worsens when needing a winner (see last 20 minutes at home to Sevilla when it went 2-2, or last 20 away to Newcastle at 1-1) or it worsens when we’re trying to protect a lead and can’t dominate the ball (like today, or away to Sevilla midweek). When we are desperate, we become desperate. Ultimate responsibility for this is on Klopp. Has he not watched Rafa? Calmness on the touchline, so calmness on the pitch, even when under the cosh? Has he not watched Atletico Madrid? Even when they have 8 grocks in their first 11, they dig in and defend, make multiple defensive substitutions, waste time expertly, feign injury, use the sideline to win throw in after throw in, start a silly bit of pushing and shoving that the ref has to take 3 minutes to calm everyone down (except Atleti players are calm, they pretend to be annoyed about absolutely nothing, in order to waste time). It isn’t rocket science. And we do none of this. Even in England, when Spurs or Chelsea or Utd have a lead, it’s usually game over. Not us.
Never mind the fashion of their goal – it was coming. If Willian didn’t fluke one, another one of theirs was scoring, whether on 85, 89 or 93. It was coming. And that comes down to a shameful mentality that must change if we’re ever going to win anything. At some stage, we’ll come up against a good side who have a good period, who’ll put us under pressure, who will pen us in and dominate the ball, and who we’ll have to stand up against, who we’ll have to say no to, who we’ll have to not acquiesce to their desire. I don’t see it happening. Unless we’re up against a vastly inferior side and can keep possession, we will wilt. That is who we are.
“Why is he standing there doing nothing as Conte runs rings round him.”
It was a draw today and Conte has never beaten Klopp.
Dan his point I think is that other managers have also done this at times and it is frustrating when Jurgen has some latent issues with substitutes. His untimely subs have cost us games in the past, and gives the impression he lacks strategy when he has to think on his feet.
Not always are we going to have the luxury of having a game plan go according to Jurgen’s plan.
There’s a fine line there that makes the difference between good and great managers over the course of their careers at a club.
It was a lucky goal, but we had them on the ropes more than once to take full advantage off, but we decided to allow them or Conte to gamble and take a swing.
We got sucker-punched again by Chelsea – champions or not.
Agree, Sash. Klopp is often not proactive enough with subs. Even if we had won this game, I would still have been annoyed about the lack of subs.
As soon as we hit 70mins, you could sense that a few of our players were getting leggy. Yet Klopp did nothing to provide us with another outlet for countering by putting Mane on early enough.
I was as angry as anybody Sash, mainly because I knew they’d equalise, but I’m not sure Conte “ran rings” around Klopp. He made a substitution and said player scored a totally unintentional goal. Fair play to Conte for getting an attacker on in a game he needed something from, but it’s not sublime management, just something any manager would do.
I am not saying I’m always enamoured with Klopp’s subs. Too much faith in the players out there, even if it’s not working. I’d like to see him make subs at half time if I’m honest. I, and I expect you as well, can always, always, always tell what kind of game our lads are going to have after 20 minutes.
In summary, not defending Jurgen’s choice and timing of subs, but equally not accepting he got had by Conte. As I’ve said, he’s never lost to Conte.
What has Klopp having never lost to Conte got to do with analysing events specific to only yesterday? It’s like me saying Conte has won more league titles and more major trophies, and achieved success in two different countries – it’s completely irrelevant.
Conte ran rings around him by making three substitutions, all at different times, and each one improved Chelsea. Before the subs, the game was pretty even at Chelsea were 1-0 behind. After the subs, Chelsea were by far the better team and had a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile Klopp sat and did nothing. Literally nothing. Klopp then made two changes in the 89th minute that had, understandably, no impact. In what world can this not be looked at as Conte getting the better of him in in-game management?
“Klopp then made two changes in the 89th minute that had, understandably, no impact.”
You’ll see elsewhere that I’ve already said I was wound up by this. He seemed too ardent in his belief that those out there could rescue a victory. His faith in players has already been highlighted as a potential flaw in his managerial make-up.
The bit I took issue is saying Conte “ran rings” around Klopp. All he did was get a draw from a game he was losing. The reason I reference Conte’s previous record against Klopp is because I want to respond to these unfavourable comparisons between Klopp and other managers that are becoming more common. I actually like and respect Conte a great deal but I don’t think he ran rings around Klopp Saturday. He put on some top level football players in a game he was losing. You could argue Klopp was having the better of him until that point.
Conte had something he needed to get (an equaliser), whereas Klopp had something he needed to protect or add to (a lead).
If we’d lost I could accept Conte having the better of Klopp, but not in the case of a draw.
Conte got the thing he needed, and Klopp lost the thing (to Conte) that he need to protect. So remind me again, how, in in-game management, Conte didn’t best him?
For the avoidance of confusion, Klopp needs to improve his decision making, particularly in-game decision making, or he’ll be nowhere near the manager his coaching ability suggests he should be. Great coaches are not always great managers, and great managers are not always great coaches.
Indeed. That’s what Andy’s article should have been more focused on instead of ranting about leaders, spine and all that. For me, Klopp was more accountable for this draw today. Just isn’t proactive enough.
I completely agree on most points Andy, but not our record of scoring late goals, we haven’t scored a league goal after the 77th minute all season.
I also have very little faith in Klopp to try and sort it out in January given his track record in the previous two windows when we’ve signed a grand total of zero players, unless you count Steven Caulker, which I don’t.
If the captaincy was taken away from Wor Jordan, who would you nominate as his replacement, there doesn’t seem to be anyone obvious for the job, apart from maybe Milner, but he’s not likely to start too many games. Which goes back to your point about our spineless spine, it seems like a lifetime ago we had the likes of Pepe, Sami, Carra, Masch, Xabi, Gerard, Kuyt and Torres on the same team, even one of those lads would make an enormous difference to this team. From following Keita this season it looks like he has more bollocks than most of our lads combined but having not watched much of Leipzig I have no idea if he’s vocal. Let’s go back to Rafa’s policy of buying club and/or country captains.
We’ve played 21 games in all comps this season and in 6 of those, we’ve managed to throw away a lead. Only thrice have we drawn when going behind and have yet to win when conceding first. I could accept more defeats if we had more wins, the fact we’ve only won 10 games (47.6%) all season, 2 against Maribor and 2 against Hoffenheim is a sad state of affairs and doesn’t give me much encouragement for the busy period we’re in now. Klopp doesn’t do winning runs, if my dodgy memory is correct I think his record at Liverpool is 4 games.
One of the big pluses from last season was our record against the other Top 6 teams, that was never going to be replicated this year so the onus was on the team to put the bottom 14 to the sword regularly, unfortunately we’ve already dropped points to Watford, Newcastle and Burnley and picked up a paltry 2 points from our 4 games against the big boys with a whopping -8 goal difference to boot.
Like yourself I hope we’re still in the mix come January, I think we will because City apart the rest of us are inconsistent at best as witnessed by Spurs draw today and Arsenal’s draw at Burnley tomorrow.
Decent post. Only thing I would point out is the ignoring of the fact that we did beat Arsenal. So its not 2pts from the 4 games.
You might not want to admit they are ‘big boys’ but they are certainly one of our rivals for that top 4 spot. And would likely finish today ahead of us. So a 4 nil win over them isn’t anything to be sniffed at.
There was a question from Gareth on the telly to Ferdinand, Lampard, and Gerrard after the match, and if I remember correctly the question was how do you lift the team after throwing away two matches in a row. I loved Ferdinand’s answer – he compared the attitudes at West Ham and Leeds v the attitude at United when he was there. Basically at West Ham and Leeds it was all negative, whereas at United it was always looking for positives, what we can take from the game, what teams near us dropped points today, etc. Interesting comparison between a losing mentality and a winning one I thought, and quite different from what we’re told each should be.
Andy, in my humble opinion, you should abstain from these post match rants, mate.
I’m mad as heck too but I take it out on the dog rather than broadcast it to the world.
You should read this fella Niel Atkinson. He has a good moan in him but manages to get the balance right. Maybe you’ve heard of him?
Dale that’s the beauty of TAW at times, we get a mixed bag and Andy’s only human, like the rest of us. Neil on the other hand…
Touché, Sash.
Completely agree negligence is not too strong. Klopps game management i has been poor , second half Chelsea right wingback and the Willian given the freedom Anfield. Just unacceptable and amateurish !
I would prefer not to have to post this but at the end of the day I am a consumer (I subscribe), I pay my money and I feel a responsible service provider would be wise to listen to the views of its customers.
I love The Anfield Wrap and I think there are a number of brilliant contributors.
I get the sense that Andy is doing a lot of really valuable work behind the scenes to contribute to the successes of ‘the product’ so on that score, Andy, thank you and well done.
However, some people are just better behind the scenes. Sorry to be a critic, Andy, but I generally don’t chime with your opinions and, unlike your fellow contributors, I don’t think you contribute quality arguments that are worth reading or listening to. Frankly, the midweek podcast was a disgrace that everyone at The Anfield Wrap should be embarrassed about. Please don’t ever give those ‘debutants’ airtime again.
Then there is this hot-headed reaction piece which is incredibly shallow.
Reading this, it feels like a petty tantrum because we didn’t win what was a well-contested and fairly even game against a very good side and it reeks of bias-confirmation.
It was frustrating that their equaliser came at a point when they seemed dominant and our manager appeared not to have reacted but, as he explained post-match, he had tried to make a substitute before they scored and the ref hadn’t allowed it despite the ball being out of play. We could see Lallana on the sidelines and I was as confused as anyone why the sub wasn’t made when the ball was out of play. You can’t criticise the manager for not reacting when he is literally trying to make changes and is not allowed to.
“To throw away one victory in the last 10 minutes in a week may be regarded as misfortune, to do it twice in the space of five days isn’t carelessness, it’s negligent, and don’t dare have the front to imply it isn’t a deep-seated issue.”
Are you claiming this Liverpool side can’t hold onto a result with 10 minutes to go?
How many times this season have Liverpool conceded an equaliser in the last 10 minutes this season? The answer is 3: today, Sevilla and Watford (offside). 3 in 21 games. And last season? 4 times in 47 games Liverpool conceded a goal that changed the result: Bournemouth (a), Sunderland (a), Man United (a) (offside) and Bournemouth (h). Is that really sufficient evidence to call this a ‘deep-seated issue’?
“I’d get so far as to say I’d fancy us far more going into the last 10 minutes needing a goal as opposed to trying to protect one.”
This season, Liverpool have not scored a single equaliser or winner in the last 10 minutes of a game. Last season Liverpool twice changed the result by scoring a goal in the last 10 minutes: Swansea (a) (winner) and Everton (a) (winner). The stats just don’t support that argument.
“But how long can we limp on with a goalie who gets lobbed from the most limp of angles — and on that, check his starting position…”
Firstly, it was a miss-hit cross that fluked its way into the net. Are you seriously going to criticise the ‘keeper for that? It was a ‘Paul Konchesky’ in the 2006 Cup Final. Did we slate Reina for conceding or just chalk it up to one of those things? I haven’t seen replays of Mignolet’s starting position but my impression was that he was in position to stop the most likely anticipated shot towards his front post.
Secondly, are we limping on? Let me be clear: I don’t like Mignolet being our No. 1; I think we should have upgraded by now and I don’t feel that the efforts made to upgrade have been sufficient, and I don’t expect us to win the Premier League or Champions League with Mignolet in goal. However, in a season where City are this good, should the aim for any other of the ‘top six’ teams’ objectives be more than a top 4 finish? Mignolet is a good enough ‘keeper to secure a top four finish. He has literally achieved that twice in 4 years at Liverpool and right now we are in the mix for a top four finish. I think most supporters felt that Mignolet finished last season strongly and had a decent season overall – probably his best since signing for the club – so it was understandable that upgrading on him wasn’t deemed a priority this summer.
I think Chelsea have a better ‘keeper but he conceded as many as Mignolet today. I also think United have a better ‘keeper and he conceded as many as Mignolet when the sides met at Anfield. Are we limping on with this ‘keeper? I think he’s better than people give him credit for even though I would like an upgrade.
“…and a captain whose lack of care on the ball has directly lead to equalising goals in the week?
The problems this side has are eminently fixable and the solution doesn’t necessitate throwing the baby out with the bath water. Jordan Henderson is a more than capable member of the squad but needs freeing for the burden of captaincy and quickly.”
Are you seriously suggesting that Henderson lacked care on the ball because he is wearing the captain’s armband? Do you think without the armband, he would take better care of the ball? If he’s a ‘more than capable member of the squad’ shouldn’t he be on the pitch and if he is, would the outcome be different? If Jordan is not captain, who is? By your own admission, you see a lack of leadership so why would that be cured by giving the armband to someone else?
“We’ve got five weeks before the transfer window opens and everything is, just, still on the table, but, whether we get to January still intact or not, let’s not allow the chance to fix obvious issues pass us by.”
What is your expectation from January? That we sign a captain? A leader? That is so far removed from reality it beggars belief. Can you seriously imagine Liverpool signing someone in January and making them captain mid-season?
Maybe you think we should be signing a goalkeeper? The manager has made it clear he is picking Mignolet as his No. 1 in the Premier League; Karius for the Champions League and Ward in the domestic cups. Do you honestly think he will change his mind mid-season and bring in another ‘keeper in January? If you think that, you are going to be disappointed. Either aim your criticisms at the manager or keep schtum. If it comes to a battle of wits between Jürgen Klopp and you, I know who I’m backing.
Andy, you’re probably a sound guy and clearly other guys who come across as sound on this site like you but you don’t come across as reasonable or credible when you post articles or join podcasts immediately after matches. Please stick to your strengths and don’t lower the tone of what is, in my opinion, the best product for a Liverpool supporter currently on the market.
The most frustrating thing about Klopp’s time at the club has been his use of subs and his apparent inability to see that we need a leader on the pitch.
Hi John, I agree with the first part, but the second I think Klopp trusted too much. I still maintain that had Hendo been relieved of the duty of the #6 role to his preferred attacking mid positioning ala 2015-ish, he would have had time to develop.
During that season he seemed to grow in confidence, so I go out on a limb to say that he might then in turn had a chance to develop into a leader we all, and the team, crave. Hendo’s been given a lot of criticism but he seems weighed down in my opinion. Too many hats, not enough time or talent to go around.
Jurgen may sort it out when he gets some of the potential transfers, and who knows things could change then.
Wow – lots of negativity from the TAW lads. So much so that I think I’ll have to watch the game back as that’s not the way I felt at full time. I get being disappointed about mid-week but reckon that might be colouring opinion on this match (maybe that’s fair enough).
Thought we were doing ok 2nd half until they fluked a goal. If Willian doesn’t mis-hit his cross then I wonder if your post-match review would be as damning.
Frustration has affected Andy’s judgement today. We are so frustrated but Mig was not at fault for the goal and overall this was a recent performance. Difficult to understand the team selection and the timing of the substitutions but cannot ignore our heavy schedule. We are not going to win the league so qualification from the Champions League is vital so rotation is inevitable.
The mood music seems to be increasingly turning against Klopp and articles as one sided negative as this only fuel it. Of course Klopp is not immune from criticism but the big picture to me at least is that there’s been plenty of positives about Klopp and he is a manger who will need time to build. Jesus we look like we are going through to next stage of CL for first time in about 8 seasons, that alone is a massive achievement. No reason we can’t go far in that with a bit of luck in the draw and just a bit of faith and belief from the supporters.
Who would we get if we change manager again? Klopp’s generation may be the last that remember Liverpool as European greats which clearly influenced his decision to take the job over the many other offers he could have taken up. Younger European managers will just see us as a team usually around the top 6. Eddie Howe?
Hi Paul, you’re right about everything except the bit about changing managers.
Nobody is stating that, except frustrated with Klopp’s timing of his subs when it looked like we had Chelsea where we needed as Salah’s goal was sort of unexpected by them.
We are and have been progressing but the limitations of the squad are impeding on the overall impression of both the team and Jurgen’s achievements so far.
But being mad about your team not beating the champions is a better sign than those expectations Brendan Rodgers set when he fielded the munchkins against Real Madrid at the Bernabau.
Now let’s go and give Stoke a great game!
Up the Reds!!!