Topic: Half time: Liverpool 1-0 Brentford

[kasperoff]

Seems to be showing up our lack of attacking options and depth.

Jota is great, but clearly looks like one of those players who needs quality around him to succeed.

Ox looks shot.

Firmino doing anything?

[Coolie High]

The fact it takes Matip to attempt to dribble at them is a bit of an embarrassment really. Great on Matip like but says alot about our attack and midfield that a centre half is the only one doing it.

Yep.

[killer-heels]

We knew we had to grind out the results and performances whilst Mane and Salah were not here so we cannot complain about how we are playing. We are in control and just need to show moments of quality.

Would like to see far more from Jones on that left. Very little movement on that side between Jones, Jota and Robertson.

[Sharado]

it's almost as if we are missing two prolific players! 🤔

Appreciate this is, as ever, for many other threads, but if only we'd known we might be missing them at this time of year. And if there was any opportunity to provide adequate cover for them.

I guess it's just the way it is.

[Simplexity]

Not really a good sign when your best ball carrier by far is your center back. Our midfield has been anonymous at best, Ox has been in a league of his own of being ineffectual, like watching a competition winner out there.

[tubby]

Jota looks to have lost his goalscoring touch at the worst possible time

Probably a lot easier to score goals when defenders are shitting themselves about Salah and Mane at the same time.

[redmark]

That’ll do. Win any way we can.

Trent drifting in narrow is doing my head in. He’s a world class wing back masquerading as an average midfielder in that position.

Biggest issue is he doesn't really know what to do when he gets there. He can't just stand there while we pass it around him.

[Clint Eastwood]

Unfortunately, Ox is done at this level.

He’s always looked uncomfortable as a winger in this side, since the day he arrived actually. It’s infuriating he’s still getting picked there but I guess we don’t have many options. Maybe Neco Williams deserves a go.

[scatman]

Jota looks to have lost his goalscoring touch at the worst possible time

Think Firmino sold him short with that chance, if it went onto his right no chance of it being blocked, on his left just didn’t have the pace and let the defender recover

[Tobelius]

Fabinho our mom even before the goal,everyone else bar Trent been quite average.

Need another goal,by hook or crook just take the 3 points please lads.

[idontknow]

Glad we got the goal.
Now speed the passing up upfront and get a couple more.

[Ultimate Bromance]

Woof

[JovaJova]

This is how every team will set up against us now for the rest of the year, unfortunately. Tedious stuff.

We really need some unpredictability and ingenuity in midfield. In an open game Henderson is effective at breaking through the lines, but in a game like this you know every time he touches the ball he’s either going to do a one-two with the full-back or cross it. Curtis has been out for a while but I’d like to see him take a bit more responsibility.

I’d love a proper striker who we can aim these crosses at.

Thiago and Keita provide the unpredictability but unfortunately are also out. Thought we have actually been pretty good all things considered.

[Wabaloolah]

We're just too easy to defend against without Mo and Mane. When you make that Arsenal back four look like the old Arsenal back four you know you're toothless.

It only takes a scrappy goal or set piece if the delivery is good enough as we've shown. It doesn't need to be the perfect move or the perfect goal.

every team in the league will suffer when shorn of their best two players and one player who likes to take players on, add in the injuries to Thiago, Elliott and Origi and it's no surprise we are struggling a bit in front of goal.

People need to chill the fuck out, these games are about three points nothing more

[stockdam]

Would like to see Gordon come on for ox for the second half.

Good call…..somebody fast who will hog the touch line.

[gaztop08]

need another one

[lgvkarlos]

Ali is playing like he's got Sadio and Mo still on the wings. 

We 😂should be on fire when they come back

[buttersstotch]

The problem with our attacking play is we have no one at the moment who can really stretch the lines and make things difficult - loads of our players want the ball to feet. We are playing against a low block though and there's been more space in an attacking sense since we scored. These are the games where we badly miss Thiago.

1-0 up and plenty of time to score another or concede a daft equaliser Come on the Reds!

[medley]

A few rough patches towards the end of the half were we encouraging them to come on to us by handing them the ball. Need to cut that out and we'll be fine. They offer nothing otherwise and I'm still annoyed watching them today how bad they are that they managed to score 3 past us earlier in the season

[Wabaloolah]

Appreciate this is, as ever, for many other threads, but if only we'd known we might be missing them at this time of year. And if there was any opportunity to provide adequate cover for them.

I guess it's just the way it is.

who are you bringing in to cover for the best player in the world then and someone as unpredictable as Mané, also that cover is for what three or four weeks?

[OkieRedman]

Why do our attackers refuse to beat a man in the box? Is it fear of the turn over? So many times on the left they have a defender 1v1 with someone and we play a shit pass back out of the box. Jones can beat a man, for the love of God please try.

[rob1966]

Appreciate this is, as ever, for many other threads, but if only we'd known we might be missing them at this time of year. And if there was any opportunity to provide adequate cover for them.

I guess it's just the way it is.

So how do you do that? Spend £90 million on two players who will only play for 1 month?

[Red Sky at Night]

Fabinho to complete his hat trick in the 2nd half..... He'll be club top scorer by the time Mane and Salah return ;-)

[El Lobo]

If you get this little joy out of supporting a football team, honestly why bother?

[kingmonkey007]

Keita would have been perfect in this game, none of our other players like to dribble apart from Matip ironically.

This quote is brought out nearly every game about Naby, not sure if to laugh or cry at it though. We’ll be forever waiting for him to be perfect for a game.

[TepidT2O]

Keep up the crosses into the box, they will pay off again.

[lgvkarlos]

This is how every team will set up against us now for the rest of the year, unfortunately. Tedious stuff.

We really need some unpredictability and ingenuity in midfield. In an open game Henderson is effective at breaking through the lines, but in a game like this you know every time he touches the ball he’s either going to do a one-two with the full-back or cross it. Curtis has been out for a while but I’d like to see him take a bit more responsibility.

I’d love a proper striker who we can aim these crosses at.

Totally agree about a proper #9

[Haggis36]

I know we're missing Salah and Mane but it's not great when your most creative/threatening player is a CB...

Game is passing too many players by, to be honest. Firmino looks slow, Ox is more or less anonymous, Jota looks semi-dangerous when the ball is near him but isn't linking up with the other players, the midfield continues to create naff all. For a player who sees so much of the ball in our set-up, Robertson's use of it has been dreadful the past few games.

Oh well, so long as we don't see any defensive howlers we should see it out, although we look like we have one in us...

[Wabaloolah]

I know we're missing Salah and Mane but it's not great when your most creative/threatening player is a CB...

Game is passing too many players by, to be honest. Firmino looks slow, Ox is more or less anonymous, Jota looks semi-dangerous when the ball is near him but isn't linking up with the other players, the midfield continues to create naff all. For a player who sees so much of the ball in our set-up, Robertson's use of it has been dreadful the past few games.

Oh well, so long as we don't see any defensive howlers we should see it out, although we look like we have one in us...

your first sentence sums it all up no need for anything else, I don't get why people don't understand what is happening here

[HardworkDedication]

Our fans are pure class. Just before the start of the second half they were chanting Rafa's name.

[Knight]

So how do you do that? Spend £90 million on two players who will only play for 1 month?

This has got to stop being said. If you replaced Origi and Minamino with one player who was stylistically right, and who was of a higher quality, they'd get LOADS of minutes. People said it before we got Jota as well and were proven comprehensively wrong as he immediately started getting loads of minutes. You'd of thought folk would be slower to say it again. We can comfortably carry 5 forwards of the required quality. The squad building on this is so weird, because we've carried 2 players who aren't of the required quality and, perhaps more importantly, don't first stylistically, for ages. It's sucked up wages and lost us transfer fees, and it's left us playing Ox up top in games like this, when we've known for 5 years that he can't play there.

[BOBSCOUSE]

Honestly, it's like half of you have never watched football before and expect chances to be made every single time the ball gets near the opposing penalty box.  I've actually been thinking that the lads have been decent against a low block and how much they've varied the attack.  Got what we deserved at the end of the half and yes, been a little sloppy at times with the odd misplaced pass, but sport is never perfect.

[duvva 💅]

Well done everyone slating Ox. Worked perfectly