Wanting applause for showing a consistent lack of fight when the going gets tough? Not at Liverpool, and certainly not in Manchester…
I CAN’T GET my head around Dominik Szoboszlai.
There are many takeaways from the latest episode of Liverpool’s Great Season Debacle, but if I were to make a trailer of the lowlights, the bit where he asked for his customary round of applause and chest thumping at the end only to receive short thrift would have subtitles. In bold.
An hour later, he said:
“The fighting spirit wasn’t there enough, the mentality wasn’t there enough. None of us were there to be honest as much as we could.”
Yeah, we noticed.
I love Dom. He’s been the best player this season, but to look appalled that people didn’t fancy staying behind to watch a team who had given up was an atrocious look. Well done to Fede Chiesa for noticing that he was being incredibly stupid and ushering him off the pitch.
Did they give up? Virgil?
“… also you shouldn’t give up and that’s maybe, at a certain point, what happened.”
‘Maybe’ doing an awful lot of lifting there.
Then there’s Hugo Ekitike swapping his shirts with an opponent before the game had finished when his side were losing in a Cup tie. I mean…
To be honest, I didn’t notice any of those incidents until well after the game. During the match I was still ruminating on Florian Wirtz’s decision to not bother chasing his man back for the second goal. Instead, he left Milos Kerkez to deal with two City players on his own. At that point a regrettable 1-0 scoreline became a game over 2-0. Wirtz just let him go and watched. I’ll never know why.
Liverpool players giving up. Liverpool players not chasing back. Liverpool players not concentrating hard enough to get in at just 1-0. Liverpool players feeling they deserved an arm around the shoulder for THAT, and a bit of YNWA love.
And all of that happened in Manchester. You’d think one of them might suggest that this was not the city to conduct a team wide knock-off. You’d think there’d be a conversation around ‘Jesus lads, not here.’
No, nothing.
Just a frustration at the lack of applause, tea and sympathy. You’d think there’d be some pride.
And I get the argument about the away support staying until the end. I’ve done it. Tottenham, the 4-1 at Wembley when the Reds were a disgrace? I was the only one in my row when the final whistle sounded and I didn’t like it. You stay and take it, that’s what I was always told. But Saturday? Saturday I can see the argument. What’s the point when they’ve given up long before we have? Given up after 39 minutes if we’re honest.
And I know what’s coming.
‘That’s down to the manager.’
Maybe it is, though everyone seemed pretty fine with the team selection before the capitulation. Everyone was fine with the first half an hour. Arne Slot didn’t tell Wirtz to let his man go but will be punished for it all the same.
The manager will go. I thought the lads had it right on The Pink. Do we think he’ll be here in the summer? Maybe, but probably not. Do we think he’ll be here the summer after? No chance. One bad defeat next season will be reason enough. So what’s the point in keeping him here now?
Level all of this at the manager if you want but come 3pm on Saturday I had no faith in any of the players. The captain looking for who to blame after every goal before the dawning realisation that he was just as culpable. The walking around the pitch at the start of the second-half. Jesus, the penalty. You didn’t need a crystal ball to see how that would end. I honestly thought the best outcome would be a Liverpool corner. So did they, I think.
It was just disgraceful. Liverpool’s worst day since the 6-1 at Stoke in 2015. And there’s been a few candidates for that this season.
There’s a school of thought that they’re not playing for the manager anymore. There’s even suspicions that the penalty was deliberately missed to see the manager off in an alleged Gerrard v Blackburn under Hodgson fashion. I doubt that. Mo wants any goal going and I don’t think any managerial rift would stop him from adding another one to his total.
Are they not playing for the manager anymore? How about us? Do you think they’d have a go for us poor sods?
It’s a low. A really bad low and I didn’t think it could get worse at the final whistle. Then I saw a suggested future Liverpool captain asking where his round of applause was after a 4-0 defeat when they’d had an hour off. In Manchester.
I’ve no faith left. Oh, like them, I had plenty at 0-0 and can live with a side going down fighting, but once it gets hard they just don’t want to know. For the current captain to admit that they pretty much gave up…
This is the cry from an older fan I know, but what I wouldn’t give to have a Souness on the pitch and a Ronnie Moran waiting for them in the dressing room. Someone to talk — roar — about standards.
They walked off and some apparently wanted applause for it.
And I still think we can get something in Paris. I know. Stupid maybe, but that’s because there’s no point in any of this unless you hope and yearn. I wonder if they believe it too.
Sure, the manager will go but I’m taking names of those who thought it was alright to do that on Saturday. Big senior names allowed that to happen too.
In Manchester. Manchester of all places.
Applaud that, Dom.
