Topic: FT Liverpool 2 v Swansea 3 [Llorente 48', 52' Firmino 55' 69', Sigurd 74']

[gatcliffe]

Here comes the body language experts. I see no change in his behaviour. He will be prickly to the media once result goes bad. Its part of drama. I hope our fans dont turn on Klopp like they did against Brendan.

If klopp doesn't win PL with us. I dont know who will especially with our spend

Never said I was a body language expert clever so and so. I asked did anyone else think JK looked tired it is a simple question not a statement as you imply it to be.

[Jookie]

Saturday was one of those days. One of those gut wrenching days when you realise another potential title bid was going up in smoke. Saturday was one of those days to bin off 'Dry January’ and look for some solace in the bottom of a glass.

Saturday was one of those days where all our weaknesses were laid bare and magnified. Clyne’s lack of cutting edge, Milner’s suitability at left back, Klavan’s suitability for a club of our stature, Lovren’s leadership and organisational qualities, Henderson’s passing ability and leadership, Wijnaldum’s disappearing act when we aren’t playing well, Emre Can's being ponderous in possession, Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi being square pegs in round holes in this system, the lack of depth in the squad. We just need a Mignolet mistake to get the full house.

By my 3rd pint on Saturday evening, I’d settled on Klavan being shite as my go to reason for the loss. Without reading much on here or social media, I’d imagine most have chosen one of above and ran with it. On reflection my blame of Klavan was obviously unfair. As is the blame of any one thing or player for the current blip. Klavan is good enough to be 4th choice centre back and in the main has done a good job when called upon this season. Harsh criticism of Clyne, Lovern, Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum etc..  would be unfair too.

The players and manager deserve credit for what they done so far this season. 45 points off 22 games and a semi final of the League Cup to look forward to. It is much more than I could have hoped for at the start of the season. However, the problem for fellas and ladies my age, is that it’s hard to view this season as Klopp’s 1st season in charge. It feels more like the 27th season without the title. It’s against this backdrop that most of the angst stems. It’s another year where the league seems beyond us before the title race has even begun. That’s why the defeat on Saturday was so gut wrenching.

In saying all that, now isn’t the time for inquests and recriminations. Watching football for over 30 years has taught me a few things. The main one being you support the team in hard times. Particularly teams that are giving their all – week in, week out. Particularly teams that have a manager who has the passion, the ability and know how to get this club back where we all want it. Manager who understands the club and has helped transform the atmosphere around the club. A manager that is getting every drop out of the players at his disposal. I just hope everyone feels the same way and we can get behind the team over the next few months.

[jepovic]

Has he? He might have been a cheap punt who has done OK here and there in games with minimal pressure on him but he was essentially brought in to replace Sakho as our left footed centre half to cover for Matip and Lovren. I'm no fan of Sakho but is he as good as Sakho? Very clearly not. With the money we made in the summer there was nothing stopping us bringing in someone better.

Apart from one thing of course: FSG won't commit Sakho's wages to a replacement before selling him.

From day one and day two when he was constantly playing everyone onside at the Emirates and being nut-megged by Steven Defour he's not really looked up to the level we require.

We have to put it into context. Sakho suddenly killed his future at the club, and there was no time to find a proper replacement. Klavan was a last-minute backup solution, a cheap one. I think he's done very well, and I don't think Sakho would've done any better. Sakho is very talented, but he makes a lot of incredible mistakes too. Klavan is less talented, but makes full use of what he's got.

Key point though: It seems like our scouting is working.

[Buck Pete]

Is "bedwetters" still the 16/17 RAWK word of the season?

yep unfortunately that is the case. It appears to have superseded 'hyperbole'.  The people that do it wrongly think they are being smart and original too.

Id be more embarrassed accusing someone trying to make a point as being a 'bedwetter' than actually pissing in my pit.

[MerseysideBrum]

Glad I missed this as the gloom hasn't hit me and I'm still well up for the semi on Wednesday.

[sms1986]

yep unfortunately that is the case. It appears to have superseded 'hyperbole'.  The people that do it wrongly think they are being smart and original too.

Id be more embarrassed accusing someone trying to make a point as being a 'bedwetter' than actually pissing in my pit.

The people being called bedwtters are generally the negative ones who never seem to be happy. There's nothing wrong with making a point or criticising someone/something.

[CallumLFC]

I think as well he will be gutted about how much of an opportunity they have blown this season and CL football doesnt at this moment seem a consolation. He is clearly a winner and we are unbeaten against the top 6. We have literally done the hard work, only to throw it away against complete rubbish sides.

To be fair it's hardly much of a missed oppurtunity when Chelsea are on track to get around 90-94 points. Even if we were slightly better against the lower opposition, we would have still fell short anyway.

[Jookie]

To be fair it's hardly much of a missed oppurtunity when Chelsea are on track to get around 90-94 points.

I was going to say something similar. Chelsea have 55 points from 22 games. Even if they only take 35 points from their last 16 games they'll get 90 points. Extrapolating their current ppg that's a drop off of 5 points over the last 16 games (13 points dropped in total).

People feel it's an opportunity because we are doing well and were well placed in 2nd. Even if we'd won on Saturday we'd still be big outsiders for the title. We'd have still needed 42 points from 16 games to get 90 points overall. That's a massive ask - W13 D3 or W14 L2.

Saturday felt rubbish because we needed to win to even stand a chance. Chelsea may capitulate during the run in. And we need to be in a position to capitalise if that happens. Personally I think Chelsea falling to pieces is unlikely to happen. They have an experienced manager and squad who are capable of handling the pressure. They pretty much just have the league to concentrate on as well. Who knows though.

Our season isn't over though. It's a massive challenge getting top 4 in this league. The benefits are huge. Increased revenue for yourself but also denying a direct rival of the funds that come with CL qualification. Top 4 plus the cups are still a huge incentive for us to keep going this season.

[stevo747]

To be fair it's hardly much of a missed oppurtunity when Chelsea are on track to get around 90-94 points. Even if we were slightly better against the lower opposition, we would have still fell short anyway.

So an extra 9 points against Burnely, Bournemouth and Swansea, games we should have won, would have put us a point behind Chelsea. Not to mention points dropped against a woeful Sunderland side and a badly out of form WestHam. I say it's a missed opportunity with no European football.

[gatcliffe]

So an extra 9 points against Burnely, Bournemouth and Swansea, games we should have won, would have put us a point behind Chelsea. Not to mention points dropped against a woeful Sunderland side and a badly out of form WestHam. I say it's a missed opportunity with no European football.

Could not agree more. I know you can't expect a side to go through a season without dropping silly points but you are bang on in what you say

[alonsoisared]

We have the absolute best manager we could possibly have, but everyone has weaknesses and I think Klopp's were on show Saturday. We really struggle to change matches that are sliding away from us, either with subs or tactical changes. We got it back to 2 all with two crosses into the box and never really looked like getting another, there was no real change in our play. Other than our go to tactic in these situations which seems to be to chuck all the strikers on and hope for the best, which just doesnt work. I think behind Sevilla, Saturday was the worst example of it but there have been a few more. Once they took the lead again we didnt come close.

Its extremely disappointing, I didnt expect us to win the league this season but Leicester didnt expect it last season Chelsea having finished miles off last season and with a new manager probably didnt expect to be doing as well as they are, the truth is that this league is a bitch to win so when you get the chance you really need to take it. I doubt we'll have the same sort of record against the top sides halfway into the season as we have now for a long time, we gave ourselves a huge platform to go on and lead the way but we have blown it. 10 points back, we pretty much are at the point of needing to win every game. Its not as easy as saying "we'll bring in better players in the summer and we'll kick on further", how do we know that? Arent united, arsenal, spurs, chelsea and city saying the exact same thing?

Wednesday night is now the biggest game of our season. Get to Wembley, hopefully get the confidence back in time for the Chelsea game. That is our final chance to get back into it.

[gatcliffe]

We have the absolute best manager we could possibly have, but everyone has weaknesses and I think Klopp's were on show Saturday. We really struggle to change matches that are sliding away from us, either with subs or tactical changes. We got it back to 2 all with two crosses into the box and never really looked like getting another, there was no real change in our play. Other than our go to tactic in these situations which seems to be to chuck all the strikers on and hope for the best, which just doesnt work. I think behind Sevilla, Saturday was the worst example of it but there have been a few more. Once they took the lead again we didnt come close.

Its extremely disappointing, I didnt expect us to win the league this season but Leicester didnt expect it last season Chelsea having finished miles off last season and with a new manager probably didnt expect to be doing as well as they are, the truth is that this league is a bitch to win so when you get the chance you really need to take it. I doubt we'll have the same sort of record against the top sides halfway into the season as we have now for a long time, we gave ourselves a huge platform to go on and lead the way but we have blown it. 10 points back, we pretty much are at the point of needing to win every game. Its not as easy as saying "we'll bring in better players in the summer and we'll kick on further", how do we know that? Arent united, arsenal, spurs, chelsea and city saying the exact same thing?

Wednesday night is now the biggest game of our season. Get to Wembley, hopefully get the confidence back in time for the Chelsea game. That is our final chance to get back into it.

Excellant post a lot of good points especially Chelsea's expectations about winning the league this season.

[LiamG]

We have the absolute best manager we could possibly have, but everyone has weaknesses and I think Klopp's were on show Saturday. We really struggle to change matches that are sliding away from us, either with subs or tactical changes. We got it back to 2 all with two crosses into the box and never really looked like getting another, there was no real change in our play. Other than our go to tactic in these situations which seems to be to chuck all the strikers on and hope for the best, which just doesnt work. I think behind Sevilla, Saturday was the worst example of it but there have been a few more. Once they took the lead again we didnt come close.

Its extremely disappointing, I didnt expect us to win the league this season but Leicester didnt expect it last season Chelsea having finished miles off last season and with a new manager probably didnt expect to be doing as well as they are, the truth is that this league is a bitch to win so when you get the chance you really need to take it. I doubt we'll have the same sort of record against the top sides halfway into the season as we have now for a long time, we gave ourselves a huge platform to go on and lead the way but we have blown it. 10 points back, we pretty much are at the point of needing to win every game. Its not as easy as saying "we'll bring in better players in the summer and we'll kick on further", how do we know that? Arent united, arsenal, spurs, chelsea and city saying the exact same thing?

Wednesday night is now the biggest game of our season. Get to Wembley, hopefully get the confidence back in time for the Chelsea game. That is our final chance to get back into it.

And until we sort out the amount of goals we concede we will never win the league

[Jookie]

So an extra 9 points against Burnely, Bournemouth and Swansea, games we should have won, would have put us a point behind Chelsea. Not to mention points dropped against a woeful Sunderland side and a badly out of form WestHam. I say it's a missed opportunity with no European football.

You should probably add the 2 points Chelsea dropped against Swansea to their total. Given they've won 18 out of 22 games, and 10 out of 11 at home, they are probably disappointed they got beat at home by us. Maybe change that into a Chelsea win or a draw.

Or is this not how it works?

[jillcwhomever]

We have the absolute best manager we could possibly have, but everyone has weaknesses and I think Klopp's were on show Saturday. We really struggle to change matches that are sliding away from us, either with subs or tactical changes. We got it back to 2 all with two crosses into the box and never really looked like getting another, there was no real change in our play. Other than our go to tactic in these situations which seems to be to chuck all the strikers on and hope for the best, which just doesnt work. I think behind Sevilla, Saturday was the worst example of it but there have been a few more. Once they took the lead again we didnt come close.

Its extremely disappointing, I didnt expect us to win the league this season but Leicester didnt expect it last season Chelsea having finished miles off last season and with a new manager probably didnt expect to be doing as well as they are, the truth is that this league is a bitch to win so when you get the chance you really need to take it. I doubt we'll have the same sort of record against the top sides halfway into the season as we have now for a long time, we gave ourselves a huge platform to go on and lead the way but we have blown it. 10 points back, we pretty much are at the point of needing to win every game. Its not as easy as saying "we'll bring in better players in the summer and we'll kick on further", how do we know that? Arent united, arsenal, spurs, chelsea and city saying the exact same thing?

Wednesday night is now the biggest game of our season. Get to Wembley, hopefully get the confidence back in time for the Chelsea game. That is our final chance to get back into it.

You're going on as if this is going to be our only chance of winning a title. There will be other chances if we don't do it this time, once we have a squad which is as strong as our first team is. This is what Klopp's trying to build. He can't do it over night though. The moment we started having injuries and loss of form there was a chance of us suffering a downturn.

Leicester were lucky last year in so much as all the major teams had particular problems, so were never able to put together a proper title challenge. For me it was a total one off, its not going to happen again. Most teams who win titles have strong squads almost like two teams, that they can put out when the first choices get injured we're not quite at that stage yet.

Having said that its not over yet. The next two league games will be crucial with Chelsea having to meet Liverpool and Arsenal two weekend's running. If all goes well for  us we could have closed the gap again. We need to keep optimistic, you never know what can happen in football.

[na fir dearg]

And until we sort out the amount of goals we concede we will never win the league

am inclined to agree. Chelsea got well beaten by Spurs but in most games they just dont concede very many - Spurs generally the same.
Attacking wise I think we are much better than both and probably beat both in head to heads - its against the lesser teams we have these wobbles where we concede 3 or 4 goals

Another top quality centre half is a must - a no nonsense keeper as well. I think Clyne and Milner arent the best going forward but i believe they are good enough defensively to win a league

[nico 8]

You're going on as if this is going to be our only chance of winning a title. There will be other chances if we don't do it this time, once we have a squad which is as strong as our first team is. This is what Klopp's trying to build. He can't do it over night though. The moment we started having injuries and loss of form there was a chance of us suffering a downturn.

Leicester were lucky last year in so much as all the major teams had particular problems, so were never able to put together a proper title challenge. For me it was a total one off, its not going to happen again. Most teams who win titles have strong squads almost like two teams, that they can put out when the first choices get injured we're not quite at that stage yet.

Having said that its not over yet. The next two league games will be crucial with Chelsea having to meet Liverpool and Arsenal two weekend's running. If all goes well for  us we could have closed the gap again. We need to keep optimistic, you never know what can happen in football.

Agreed- there is no reason to give up hope yet. If results  go our way over the next 3 rounds of fixtures, there may be up to 5 sides in it. Of the top 6, we have been the most adversely effected by the fixture pile up. After this month save for Chelsea, all the other sides will be playing in Europe and we shall revert to one game per week. That will make us fresher than them and no reason why we cannot have a look in. Sure- Chelsea are overwhelming favourites but you never know. They lose to us and drop points against Arsenal, suffer a few injuries to key players they may begin to wobble.
I further wish to add that we have not had the rub of the green from the referees during this tough period unlike the other top 5 (save for Man City). ( Sunderland- soft penalties, Man Utd equalizer- offsides as has been several of the recent goals, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal not conceding / given clearcut penalties.) If we had to flip this around, momentum will swing our away and just as Chelsea are looking invincible, so too could we. We have seen worse and unlikely things to happen in football. Need to believe and the fanbase needs to play its' part.

[stockdam]

Irrespective of what the other sides do, we need to stop conceding goals. We need to finish as high up as we can and conceding three against one of the weakest teams at home just isn't good enough.

[redk84]

Just did a quick calc.....

Chelsea are going at 2.5 ppg
That would have them end up on 95 points....which would be the joint highest points ever in a PL-era season. Record currently being held by Chelsea....


Can't beat ourselves up too much for not being able to keep up with that

[Greatness]

Shocking defeat, Swansea have been awful this season and to lose to them at home is hard to take.

We started the season on a house on fire, the last month though it looks like our players are running out of gas because the squad isn't deep enough to compensate injuries.

Title is gone now, hopeful of a top four finish and if we don't finish top four I rather not finish in the Europa League positions as that competition always disturbs a team's league campaign, unless you have a massive squad full of international players. 

[Felch Aid]

Been lacking quality squad depth for ages and it shows. We certainly dont have anywhere near enough quality for a champions league campaign next season and any suggestion of top 4 or title challenge.

Klopp is doing a superb job but we have to be patient. It took him a couple of years to get any consistency with Dortmund.

[jambutty]

I'm still well up for the semi on Wednesday.

Might as well knock one out now and hope you get another then, no?

[CallumLFC]

So an extra 9 points against Burnely, Bournemouth and Swansea, games we should have won, would have put us a point behind Chelsea. Not to mention points dropped against a woeful Sunderland side and a badly out of form WestHam. I say it's a missed opportunity with no European football.

If we avoided dropping points in all of those games then you might as well put us in the same bracket as the European elite like Real, Bayern, etc.

Why were they stupid dropped points? Burnley, West Ham and Sunderland we didn't deserve much from those games because we were poor, and you know why we were poor because we're not bloody Real Madrid who can swagger ourselves through these games with world class talent every week. When you aren't blessed with a great team but a good team nevertheless, you're bound to drop points to lowly opposition because you'll be surprised to know another team in a top major league is going to pull off a decent performance themselves.

You're moaning about stupid dropped points when we had our best ever start in PL history after 21 games. What exactly are you asking for?

[Zoomers]

Just did a quick calc.....

Chelsea are going at 2.5 ppg
That would have them end up on 95 points....which would be the joint highest points ever in a PL-era season. Record currently being held by Chelsea....


Can't beat ourselves up too much for not being able to keep up with that

Chelsea were always going to run with the league. We can beat ourselves up for not keeping the pressure on them or even potentially throwing away top 4...

[Red_Potato]

Might as well knock one out now and hope you get another then, no?

Depends how old he is.

[jepovic]

Just did a quick calc.....

Chelsea are going at 2.5 ppg
That would have them end up on 95 points....which would be the joint highest points ever in a PL-era season. Record currently being held by Chelsea....

Can't beat ourselves up too much for not being able to keep up with that

And last year's PL was probably the worst ever. Would Leicester from last season make it into top four this year? I doubt it. Not a fair comparison. I think we're a much better team this year.

[Giono]

There are few if any fans that would have kept Allen instead of Can if we had the option. Both he and Sturridge was probably still on most peoples best 11 at the start of the season but neither have performed well when given opportunities. Origi is still a bit raw so you can forgive him but in our minds everything just progresses smoothly and Origi becomes even better when in the real world players sometimes do regress in a season.

People would have taken Can over Allen as Can was playing deeper last season, where he played well. I think everyone was expecting him to play the deeper role this season too. Henderson has had that role this season and when Can was fit to play he has been played further forward, and has disappointed there.

Klopp tried out Allen as an AM last season and opted to get someone else (Gini) in during the summer instead. I think Gini is a step up from Joe.

[Giono]

I stand by my opinion that he and Henderson should never be in the same midfield.

Agree. But I do wonder how they would work in the same midfield with Henderson further forward and Can in the deeper role.

Early this season in a couple of matches Klopp would sub off someone for Lucas late on and moved Henderson forward where he terrorised tired defenders with his runs.

If Klopp persists in moving Lallana into the front three with Mane out, maybe playing Can deeper and Hendo further forward could get a bit more out of that midfield?

[Purple Red]

Well that was utterly wretched. The number of goals we concede to inferior opposition is a serious issue that needs addressed. I'm a fan of Klavan and I think he's a good player but he's meant to be back up. We're overly reliant on players that are at best back up at the moment. Emre Can is not, and will never be, good enough for our team or system. Our midfield has absolutely no dynamism when he is on the pitch - Lallana has made that position his own and he is the perfect foil for Henderson and Wijnaldum. The fact is he would get nowhere near any of the league or Europe's top sides. I'm also beginning to think that Origi and Sturridge as options from the bench simply doesn't work. They have been terrible this season and I suspect that they need runs in teams to have any effect. It was painfully obvious on Saturday that we don't really have any impact players. I'm still not sold on the idea of January transfers as they rarely work but we definitely need to strengthen in the summer. We currently have the foundations of a very good squad but there needs to be further injections of quality. We should still qualify for Europe but we have a lot of work left to do.

[alonsoisared]

You're going on as if this is going to be our only chance of winning a title. There will be other chances if we don't do it this time, once we have a squad which is as strong as our first team is. This is what Klopp's trying to build. He can't do it over night though. The moment we started having injuries and loss of form there was a chance of us suffering a downturn.

Leicester were lucky last year in so much as all the major teams had particular problems, so were never able to put together a proper title challenge. For me it was a total one off, its not going to happen again. Most teams who win titles have strong squads almost like two teams, that they can put out when the first choices get injured we're not quite at that stage yet.

Having said that its not over yet. The next two league games will be crucial with Chelsea having to meet Liverpool and Arsenal two weekend's running. If all goes well for  us we could have closed the gap again. We need to keep optimistic, you never know what can happen in football.

we may get another great chance next season or we may not. The fact is that in the last 20 odd years any time we have challenged we have capitulated the following season while convincing ourselves that we're in the middle of a project and we're bound to be stronger next season. I dont think we will implode in such a way because we have such a great manager and a bit of stability in the club, however it goes to show that its never easy to have a second go at it. Certainly it seems that way at Liverpool where its become part of our culture in the same way as Arsenal and finishing fourth.

What makes it especially hard for us is that when we do miss out our rivals spend serious money on world class talent. Summer of 2014 chelsea went out and splashed out early on fabregas and costa, 2 proven world class players in positions they were shy in and walked the league. This summer the big target was Kante, they payed the money and look at the difference. We can counter this with Klopps ability to get the very best out of players and improve them but it is very hard to compete. This summer we knew full well we would be without Mane at the afcon and possibly matip as well, everyone said it could cause us a problem but we failed to get our targets then and we have failed to get them in january too, now we have paid the price. Also worth pointing out that if our squad is stretched in a year without european football then next some serious business is needed to be done in the summer. But given our planning which has seen us have to play klavan at centre half and move our best midfielder out of position, plus our record in the transfer market the last decade, its no given that we will be able to prepare for that so effectively.

I agree leicester were a one off and its pointless using them as the yardstick but they arent the only example. As i said, chelsea wouldnt have expected to be in this position either but they continue to make the most of it. We're halfway through a season where we have beaten chelsea, arsenal and man city, unbeaten home and away against united, drawn at spurs, won at goodison, beat the defending champions and yet we are 10 points off 1st. That is pretty shocking.

I know this is painting a pretty depressing picture and im a bad bedwetter etc but its hard not to feel downtrodden somewhat after our total loss of rhythm since the bournemouth capitulation. We gave ourselves such a great chance, just a few weeks ago we were looking at beating chelsea to go top and now we are looking at beating them to claw back to 7 behind. I really do feel that our performances will improve but our job was to stay as close as possible to chelsea until that happens. Unfortunately our disastrous planning has prevented that from happening and we now feel that bit further out of the picture. Again i feel klopp is the best man for the job by a long distance, i wouldnt swap him for anyone, i am just trying to be realistic on where we are at the moment.

[jillcwhomever]

we may get another great chance next season or we may not. The fact is that in the last 20 odd years any time we have challenged we have capitulated the following season while convincing ourselves that we're in the middle of a project and we're bound to be stronger next season. I dont think we will implode in such a way because we have such a great manager and a bit of stability in the club, however it goes to show that its never easy to have a second go at it. Certainly it seems that way at Liverpool where its become part of our culture in the same way as Arsenal and finishing fourth.

What makes it especially hard for us is that when we do miss out our rivals spend serious money on world class talent. Summer of 2014 chelsea went out and splashed out early on fabregas and costa, 2 proven world class players in positions they were shy in and walked the league. This summer the big target was Kante, they payed the money and look at the difference. We can counter this with Klopps ability to get the very best out of players and improve them but it is very hard to compete. This summer we knew full well we would be without Mane at the afcon and possibly matip as well, everyone said it could cause us a problem but we failed to get our targets then and we have failed to get them in january too, now we have paid the price. Also worth pointing out that if our squad is stretched in a year without european football then next some serious business is needed to be done in the summer. But given our planning which has seen us have to play klavan at centre half and move our best midfielder out of position, plus our record in the transfer market the last decade, its no given that we will be able to prepare for that so effectively.

I agree leicester were a one off and its pointless using them as the yardstick but they arent the only example. As i said, chelsea wouldnt have expected to be in this position either but they continue to make the most of it. We're halfway through a season where we have beaten chelsea, arsenal and man city, unbeaten home and away against united, drawn at spurs, won at goodison, beat the defending champions and yet we are 10 points off 1st. That is pretty shocking.

I know this is painting a pretty depressing picture and im a bad bedwetter etc but its hard not to feel downtrodden somewhat after our total loss of rhythm since the bournemouth capitulation. We gave ourselves such a great chance, just a few weeks ago we were looking at beating chelsea to go top and now we are looking at beating them to claw back to 7 behind. I really do feel that our performances will improve but our job was to stay as close as possible to chelsea until that happens. Unfortunately our disastrous planning has prevented that from happening and we now feel that bit further out of the picture. Again i feel klopp is the best man for the job by a long distance, i wouldnt swap him for anyone, i am just trying to be realistic on where we are at the moment.

I do understand that you're feeling down, and for sure its annoying that we have lost some of these games. But when you;ve fallen from the horse, you need to get back in the saddle. That's what we need to do now. It's too easy sometimes convincing ourselves that we can't put things right, that's its never going to change. But if we go on thinking that way, it never will. Once he has laid the foundations of the squad things will start to look brighter. We have an academy with quite a few talented prospects too, which can only help the situation.

Chelsea are just ahead of us in their depth of squad, which is why they can survive the loss of form/injuries of individual players.

I don't think Klopp will fill the team with star players and I am not sure I would want that. I look at a team like City who are full of top players with egos too match, players who only turn up when they want too. I don't want that, I would far sooner see what I saw earlier this season with our boys. A team who want to learn and develop together, rather than people who think they don't have to try anymore.

It is natural as we've dipped a bit that people are downhearted, but win on Wednesday night, we have a cup final to look forward too. No reason why we can't achieve that. Also even the league is undecided. Chelsea's next two games being against us and Arsenal, whose to say they won't lose both of those? Suddenly we're not so far away again. So much can still happen

[Upinsmoke]

In regards to a title challenge you have to be realistic and acknowledge that the start we made gave us a great platform to challenge so that's why maybe a few people are a bit low. Add to that both Manchester teams will probably invest around a quarter of a billion each then it's gonna be difficult next season, even more so if we are in Europe.

[jillcwhomever]

In regards to a title challenge you have to be realistic and acknowledge that the start we made gave us a great platform to challenge so that's why maybe a few people are a bit low. Add to that both Manchester teams will probably invest around a quarter of a billion each then it's gonna be difficult next season, even more so if we are in Europe.

Sure nothing you say is untrue. But the way to look at it next year we too will be an improved team. Look at how much we have improved since last season. It took Klopp two years before he got Dortmund competing consistenly, so we are slightly ahead at the moment. Providing he manages to get the players that fit our system, we can expect that we will make more improvements and also have an experience of having led in the title challenge. It is all experience at the end of the day.

As for the Manchester clubs spending their millions, it guarantees nothing. You look at how many players at City have underachieved. I think Guardiola will have to do a serious rebuilding job there. It's not much different with United either. I think we  have every reason to remain hopeful that we can continue to challenge.

[Isaacsways]

And until we sort out the amount of goals we concede we will never win the league

Exactly. i think the season with Rodgers highlighted how important a good defence is even if you've got the best player in the world that season, up front for you (Suarez).. We ain't winning shit until we get a decent goalkeeper, another centre half and a recognised left back ( Milner has been excellent), bin the shite like Sakho and Moreno and build a good competitive squad. Beyond the first XI the squad is very average imo.

[Jonsi]

Klopp needs to sort the defence out. You can't rely on your offence to score three or more goals every game. It just feels that once the team doesn't work and defends that well as a unit, the lack of quality in our defence becomes blatantly obvious. Lovren and Klavan just aren't very good centre backs, no matter which way you look at it. They do have their games when they are rock solid (like at Goodison), but over the course of a season they are just not good enough for our claims.

It also doesn't help that we have to rely more on Henderson and Can for the build-up play when our offensive players are either out or not in form. Jordan's defensive work is fantastic, but on the ball is very average unfortunately. Can has had his fair share of good games, but in games like this I think he is pretty useless as his passing is still raw and he's not exactly the player you'd want to operate in tight spaces.

If our current form is a sign of things to come, then it's gonna be very hard for us to stay in the Top4. We do have the advantage that we still face Arsenal and Spurs at home and already have the game at OT out of the way, but it's gonna be extremely tough. It may just be a feeling, but to me it seems that the team has lost a bit of an edge around the Christmas period. Our passing seems much slower and we can't put our opponents under the same kind of pressure we did earlier this season.

[redtel]

Klopp knows the defending was poor on Saturday and said so.

This is his view of the third goal we conceded;

"That makes no sense. I saw no challenge, actually. We were two or three times too passive and, in the end, a free player in our box, that’s a big mistake. [It’s] not of one player, for sure not, [there were] a lot of players involved in this situation. But that this is possible against us, that’s really disappointing."


It's clear that Lovren is much more confident with the tall Matip alongside him.

We conceded 5 goals in the opening 2 games but we were much more solid after Matip made his debut at Spuds. I think we conceded around 10 in 12 games until he was out injured at Bournemouth. We then went one better (or worse) and conceded 6 in 2.

I'm sure this was worked on and we then went on a decent run with just 2 conceded in 4 games up to NY Eve.
No clean sheets so far in January, ignoring Plymouth, but with Matip back we should see things improve.

Our first eleven or twelve look a very decent side as their results prove. Unbeaten in fact as Matip missed them all plus Coutinho and Mane for one. If we can get decent back up in 3 or 4 positions we can kick on.

I know it means another season gone, but if we can secure top four and win a cup we will have progressed. We should be able to attract the players we need to cover for the injuries and suspensions every team gets.

[CHOPPER]

When Jurgen did his 'learning the scouse lingo' bit, they should of taught him the phrase " we were wank". It would save on a whole load of time verbal hassle. 

[LFCEmpire]

Hope we smash these c*nts! .... hang on. Doing us no favours dwelling on this, focus on the next game and support the team!

[WaterfordRed]

I was thinking that the collapse would come in February since the team has run itself into the ground this season. So this is a bit early.
Dont know why we could not have had an out and out striker playing at Anfield along with the  false 9. Showed them to much respect really.

Henderson is still carrying some part of his foot injury? Lallana out of position? Heads go down as soon as there is someone on the field with a different script. I think the passing along the back line show the lack of brain in midfield.

It may be difficult to fix this season. That is the end of my dwell.   

[Chakan]

I was thinking that the collapse would come in February since the team has run itself into the ground this season. So this is a bit early.
Dont know why we could not have had an out and out striker playing at Anfield along with the  false 9. Showed them to much respect really.

Henderson is still carrying some part of his foot injury? Lallana out of position? Heads go down as soon as there is someone on the field with a different script. I think the passing along the back line show the lack of brain in midfield.

It may be difficult to fix this season. That is the end of my dwell.   

Arguably our best team doesn't contain an out and out striker.