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Why we’ve been so mediocre and occasionally shit - but are deffo on the way back

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Timbo's Goals:

--- Quote from: cdav on January 23, 2023, 11:41:42 pm ---https://www.espn.com/sports/insider/soccer/insider/story/_/id/35488094/explaining-liverpool-chelsea-issues-season

Thought this was a good article,


--- End quote ---

It certainly is and those 50% additional energy sapping high pressure games [92 versus 60] identified in the piece really serve to pinpoint the strong likelihood for much of the striking contrast this season between the effervescent performances of Arsenal/Newcastle and the comparative lethargy of our own performances.

When you throw in our failure to replenish our engine room plus all the injuries - most crucially the seemingly crazy one to our by far currently brightest and most effervescent star - plus the massive psychological damage inflicted by losing the league to City due to VAR abominations and the Champions League to Madrid because of shite finishing and an inspired Courtois, it’s a wonder we’ve managed to summon enough oomph to win a single fucking game since August.

 :)

stoa:

--- Quote from: Timbo's Goals on January 25, 2023, 02:16:40 am ---It certainly is and those 50% additional energy sapping high pressure games [92 versus 60] identified in the piece really serve to pinpoint the strong likelihood for much of the striking contrast this season between the effervescent performances of Arsenal/Newcastle and the comparative lethargy of our own performances.

When you throw in our failure to replenish our engine room plus all the injuries - most crucially the seemingly crazy one to our by far currently brightest and most effervescent star - plus the massive psychological damage inflicted by losing the league to City due to VAR abominations and the Champions League to Madrid because of shite finishing and an inspired Courtois, it’s a wonder we’ve managed to summon enough oomph to win a single fucking game since August.

 :)

--- End quote ---

The whole psychological aspect gets forgotten a bit in my view when looking at our performances this season (and also the one after we won the league). There are definitely other important factors that have a negative influence on our performances like injuries, lack of new players in certain areas and (maybe) aging players. However, what we have seen in recent years is that, if we want to win stuff or compete for the league with Man City we need players who are emotionally invested in the whole thing and therefore are prepared and able to perform on the highest level all the time and often go way further than what seems humanly possible.

We've competed for four trophies last season and while we won two of them, we ended the season with two "huge" losses. We "lost" the league to Man City after actually getting into a position where we might have been able to win it. Then we lost the CL final against Real again. While we still had lots of reasons to be happy after that season (we won two cups and we played quality football), it must be emotionally draining to not having been able to win at least one of the two "big" trophies. And then in my view as a player you just reach a point where you just can't keep going anymore. I think we were in a similar position after our league win, except that we got to that point, because we had basically won it all (i.e. the CL and then the league).

For me that's the big difference and the big disadvantage we have compared to Man City. They just don't rely on players being so emotionally invested in the whole thing. They don't need everyone to go full pelt all the time, because they're already starting from a position where they have a first eleven that consists of big money signings and when things aren't working out, they just throw their 100 million signing and some others who were a bit cheaper on and hope they can change the game. Not saying that their players aren't under pressure or not emotionally invested at all, but in my view for them it's much less than it's for us. It starts with the managers where Pep wants robots, whereas Klopp basically is emotion and passion personified.

spartan2785:
The emotional aspect is partially why it is so important to freshen up the squad with new players.  Players who have not had the same emotional damage, who can invigorate those around them with a new way to play, or new partnerships.  We've ended up stagnating, this along with all the injuries we've suffered, the grind of playing so many high intensity (both physical and mental) matches, an incredibly short turnaround, and a terrible plan for the preseason, in the end it means we have the recipe for a shit season.  What frustrates me the most is not knowing how this will impact us in our ability to get the players that we require in the summer if we are out of the Champions League or European football entirely. 

meady1981:
Football never ends.

RedBec1993:
Although the vast majority of our squad have won it all with us, no doubt they would have been hurt with how the season ended, emotionally hurt and mentally hurt. The lads do give a shit. It’s a tough season for them all on the cusp of greatness and then all of it taken away within 15 mins and one goal in the champions league final.

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