Topic: PL: Liverpool 0 vs 1 Burnley ‘83 Barnes (p)

[WorldChampions]

Should be sitting top considering the run of fixtures we had. Now we have a bunch of tough games and on current form we will be lucky to win any of them and could well be miles away.

Funny old game eh.

[Jm55]

We've been in much worse form and worse postitions than this before and still gone on to win the league. It's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel here, but really people need to stop catastrophising and hold their nerve a bit. We have a brilliant mananger and a squad of brilliant players, it'll come good again at some point.

Out of interest what examples are you referring to?

Honestly not meant as a sarcy comment but I’ve only seen us win one and we fucking pissed it from about November.

[Caps4474]

You can see this is why Klopp won’t extend his contract. You can see how much it takes out of him.

[stockdam]

Actually, yeah.  I had some one on ones against Southall back in the day.  He read literally everything I tried to do and made me look a total ass.

So it’s not easy to score against a good keeper when the keeper is closing you down. I played against one top keeper and had 4 clear chances where I hit the ball hard into the corner and he tipped it round the post every time. Origi tried to set the ball wide of Pope and curl it in. I think it wasn’t as easy a chance as most people think. You’ve got to be very accurate to score that type of chance; I thought he would score but I wouldn’t blame him for missing.

[Circa1892]

Firmino should be put on the first train out of lime street.

Doesn’t feel like that would qualify as an essential journey in the current climate.

[oldfordie]

There's a huge collective loss of faith in the team. I've no idea why. The players are still trying hard, but it really feels like they don't believe they can score. More than that, it looks like they believe they can't break a team down. Around the box there's nothing. No smart movement, no ingenuity, no inspiration. Whenever a slightly unpredictable pass is played (Trent to Minamino in the 85th minute or so) it isn't read. It looks like the team has been drilled into conformity.

Clearly the rot is spreading too. The more things don't work the less risks are taken and the safe option is all that remains. It's painful watching some of the players now. Mo Salah cannot beat a man, Bobby doesn't want the ball, both full backs are playing without joy. Even Thiago is getting dragged down, if tonight is anything to go by.

Our opponents are getting wiser of course, and have been for some time. Perhaps as a team we have been over-exposed, victims of our own success. We have been examined and examined again and opposing coaches have devised methods to neutralise us. It's no coincidence, perhaps, that our most uncontainable player this year has been Jota. 

We've had a lot of richly deserved success recently and this is hard to take. I began the season thinking the team had two more years in it, but I no longer think that now. Some serious surgery needs doing in summer. Clearly the attack needs an overhaul. I feared the worse today. If the answer is Origi, then you're asking the wrong question.

Yeah agree with all you say, I can't help thinking the lack of enthusiasm has grown as the confidence has drained, add that to a cold night without any large crowd driving them on has taken the adrenaline out of some players to fight and hound to win the ball back. to give that extra effort to get to the ball to score before the defenders.

[WhereAngelsPlay]

Penalty or not, are we playing for a fucking point at home vs Burnley?

27 shots says that's a stupid fucking thing to ask.

[Crosby Nick]

I’d play Virgil on crutches at this point because he at least would offer a threat from corners. Since Bobby scored against Spurs have we even had a header on target from one?

[Reeves]

Doesn’t feel like that would qualify as an essential journey in the current climate.

hats off - and we need some humour

[Caligula?]

I’d play Virgil on crutches at this point because he at least would offer a threat from corners. Since Bobby scored against Spurs have we even had a header on target from one?

It doesn't help when most of the corners have been horrific

[goalrushatgoodison]

yet Mané hacked down late at the other end but nothing given, lack of consistency again from the refs and VAR

Yep, fwiw I don't think either should be penalties but in the modern game they probably both are. Either way the  challenge on Mane was much worse than the one on Barnes.

[WorldChampions]

So it’s not easy to score against a good keeper when the keeper is closing you down. I played against one top keeper and had 4 clear chances where I hit the ball hard into the corner and he tipped it round the post every time. Origi tried to set the ball wide of Pope and curl it in. I think it wasn’t as easy a chance as most people think. You’ve got to be very accurate to score that type of chance; I thought he would score but I wouldn’t blame him for missing.

Mate it's about as easy a chance as you can ask for as a striker, if you can't bag a one on one under little pressure then you shouldn't be a striker for a top team.

[Marty 85]

Completely deflated at this point. Bit depressed that we'll not even get into the stadium to celebrate being champions every week during this season. At least Aug is another season and we'll have our players back and can go again.

[Dim Glas]

I really can't tell at this point whether it's a confidence problem, or simply that we've been found out.

ah I love the good old ‘been found out’ call.

Cos what does it even mean?

If it takes so long to find out a team, what does that tell us about other coaches?  This team have been insanely good for a good while, not just a few months or a year.

Now many factors are affecting the team.

1. 2, even 3 intense seasons on the trot, with a long break thrown in, followed by a quick turnaround to a new season, maybe that’s affecting the teams’ rhythm (lack of) and causing fatique, who knows.

2. A season long struggle in  defence, due to injuries meaning a lot of changes, and having to move influencial midfielders to patch up the back line.

3. Other injuries hampering other key players throughout the season including long injuries to our 2 new major signings.

4. The injuries means that there is less ability to rotote, which means out of form players are playing games when they could do with a sit down.

5. Some absolutely baffling and seemingly endless runs of bad refereeing / VAR decisions.

I’m sure there’s many other factors.

But what I see now is a team stripped of confidence, who are overthinking every pass, which means everything is slowed down,  that has become very easy to play against because of it.   

[Chakan]

So it’s not easy to score against a good keeper when the keeper is closing you down. I played against one top keeper and had 4 clear chances where I hit the ball hard into the corner and he tipped it round the post every time. Origi tried to set the ball wide of Pope and curl it in. I think it wasn’t as easy a chance as most people think. You’ve got to be very accurate to score that type of chance; I thought he would score but I wouldn’t blame him for missing.

Come on mate for any striker playing at this level it's about the easiest chance you can ask for.

[Flaccido Dongingo]

Might I add, that I'm not being bitter, but I hope that shithouse Barnes get hit by an articulated lorry, a diving cheating big fanny.

[NarutoReds]

Any "sample" of team currently is / are playing well against low block?

Barcelona and Bayern for me. Something... Way or tactical approach that we could learn from?

Impossible there is none.

[Mighty_Red]

As someone else in this thread said, if Origi is the answer then what the fuck is the question? Even in the state we're currently in he should be nowhere near the starting XI.

As true as that may be and even taking fluffing a 1on1 chance in account, Origi still did well, especially when you compare what the other 3 have done for the past few games in front of goal.

[mkferdy]

Movement in the final third is pretty poor at the moment as is the final ball. If Matip can stay fit I would play him with one of the younger lads and move Fabinho back into midfield. Hopefully winning the ball higher up the pitch we can play in transitions and create something.

Got to focus on saving the season now and let them plan on changes for next season.

[Bjornar]

Best front three in the world everyone, no way we could possibly improve on this.

Not by adding (on paper) creative midfielders at least, because Thiago and Shaqiri started tonight and we looked exactly the same.

[stockdam]

Mate it's about as easy a chance as you can ask for as a striker, if you can't bag a one on one under little pressure then you shouldn't be a striker for a top team.

Ok but I don’t agree. A penalty is a much easier chance but not everybody scores (or even hits the target).

Anyway, the main point is that Origi was trying to get his shots away which was more positive than I’ve seen in most of our other recent games. I’d give him a couple of full games to see what happens. The rest may do Firmino good.

[Macphisto80]

Might I add, that I'm not being bitter, but I hope that shithouse Barnes get hit by an articulated lorry, a diving cheating big fanny.

Looking back at the half time handbags, I'd have rather one of ours smashed him down the tunnel and taken a red. Would have been worth it in the end. Complete c*nt. One of those players that is just dogshit and has to resort to be an absolute scumbag on the pitch. But you know what. I actually don't blame him for being shit. I blame Dyche, the ginger anti-football c*nt.

[Smellytrabs]

Out of interest what examples are you referring to?

Honestly not meant as a sarcy comment but I’ve only seen us win one and we fucking pissed it from about November.

Let me light my pipe and look wistfuly into the fire...

It was 1981 and a cold and bitter winter. Don't You Want Me Baby by the Human League was Christmas number 1...and Liverpool were 12th in the league table with half the season played - we'd won only 6 games out of 17. We won the league by 4 points.

[mkferdy]

As true as that may be and even taking fluffing a 1on1 chance in account, Origi still did well, especially when you compare what the other 3 have done for the past few games in front of goal.

I would play Origi in the next game, least he gave it a go.

[Circa1892]

Absolutely shit isn’t it that when our three strikers are all shit Jota is out.

I think when he’s back he’s in our first XI for the rest of the season rather than a first change.

[Johnny Foreigner]

So it’s not easy to score against a good keeper when the keeper is closing you down. I played against one top keeper and had 4 clear chances where I hit the ball hard into the corner and he tipped it round the post every time. Origi tried to set the ball wide of Pope and curl it in. I think it wasn’t as easy a chance as most people think. You’ve got to be very accurate to score that type of chance; I thought he would score but I wouldn’t blame him for missing.

Please, he was doing 1 v 1 with distance from the center backs and had mane as an option. He shot too early and he was unlucky. Origi is not a good PL striker; not starting and not as a backup. Wonderful memories but he should go now

[Andy82lfc]

Why is it? 5 games and hardly a clear cut chance created. Firmino is absolute shite , everyone knows it but sentimentality stops them saying it. Teams have figured out if they put enough defenders in the box then we are absolutely clueless. Man City would’ve won that game tonight. This teams way of playing will no longer be successful as it’s been well and truly figured out, it needs to change now which is why I say this team is finished. I’m not saying all the players are, but we need to evolve. I would be extremely surprised if the front three is still intact next season.

4 games ago we were top of the league by three points. Tell me, were you screaming for the same back then? If not which unless you were off you head you wouldn’t be, don’t you think talking about all this shit is even just a tiny bit over the top?

Genuinely though cheers, when I read such posts as your it helps out things into perspective and calms me down.

[Stockholm Syndrome]

Any "sample" of team currently is / are playing well against low block?

Barcelona and Bayern for me. Something... Way or tactical approach that we could learn from?

Impossible there is none.

I thought Barca were doing not brilliant this year, and Bayern while attacking well have done it by sacrificing their defence, we do their tactics with our current defence we'll conceded 2 or 3 each game.

Not sure who to emulate really? City really

[Kekule]

yet Mané hacked down late at the other end but nothing given, lack of consistency again from the refs and VAR

I’ve only ever once seen a player get a penalty for being clobbered after having a shot that went miles wide.  It goes without saying which team got that penalty, and that all the commentators and pundits agreed it was stonewall and ought to be awarded every day of the week.

They all then went back to ignoring those challenges the very next week and haven’t mentioned them since.

[Ghost Town]

The players don't look like they believe they can score; they no longer seem to be doing things with purpose. More like just going through the motions. It's a massive loss of confidence, but what is the cause of it?

Could it primarily be the lack of fans in the grounds? Could it be the way we have been shafted so often by referees and VAR to th point where it looks deliberate (not saying it is, but it can look and feel like it is); seeing your mate assaulted on the pitch and ending his season yet no sanction given for it, not even a free kick.

Or losing so many to injury. So much bad luck coming thick and fast, incident after incident until they automatically expect things to go wrong, to not work out, like a dog that has been kicked so often that it expects another blow and shrinks whenever someone passes by.

Just doesn't look like they believe any more. Maybe this will have to be Klopp's biggest ever job of turning 'doubters to believers'...

[stockdam]

Let me light my pipe and look wistfuly into the fire...

It was 1981 and a cold a bitter winter. Don't You Want Me Baby by the Human League was Christmas number 1...and Liverpool were 12th in the league table with half the season played - we'd won only 6 games out of 17. We won the league by 4 points.

I do hope your prediction is correct because at the minute it just doesn’t look probable. Yes we could start scoring for fun again and go unbeaten........I don’t see it though.

[GreatEx]

ah I love the good old ‘been found out’ call.

Cos what does it even mean?

If it takes so long to find out a team, what does that tell us about other coaches?  This team have been insanely good for a good while, not just a few months or a year.

True. Probably the wrong choice of words from me. I guess it's more a case of opposition coaches using the same low-block tactics they have for years, but where previously we found a way to win, now we are clueless. So maybe rather than "confidence vs. being found out", maybe my question should have been "confidence vs. cooked". I dunno. Commentators saying that other teams have worked out how to play our fullbacks, but that could just be lazy analysis because by the sounds of things, we're still managing to put in a Moyes-v-Fulham number of crosses per game, but they are now shite. I dunno, it's all just a little bit fucked, innit.

[kasperoff]

Any "sample" of team currently is / are playing well against low block?

Barcelona and Bayern for me. Something... Way or tactical approach that we could learn from?

Impossible there is none.

Man City are making light weight of shit like that at the moment.

[Macphisto80]

Any "sample" of team currently is / are playing well against low block?

Barcelona and Bayern for me. Something... Way or tactical approach that we could learn from?

Impossible there is none.

Yeah. You let them have the ball and hit them on the break. You don't fanny about with 3 yard slow as fuck passes sideways and backwards around their area. Do we just expect teams to magically lose their discipline or something? We're playing straight into their hands, and its been an ongoing theme.

[Bucko - Dubai]

Sell the players, sack the manager and burn the stadium.

The only option at this point imo

[kasperoff]

I would play Origi in the next game, least he gave it a go.

I would too. Horrific miss aside, he was the most dangerous player we've had on the pitch since the Palace game.

[Racer]

Play Williams/Phillips next to Matip and put Fabinho back in midfield. Win the ball quicker and start attacks higher up the pitch etc. Fabinho’s done very well at CB but his presence a bit further up the pitch is now clearly being missed considering the lack of tempo and urgency at the moment by the current midfield.

One of the best in the world in his position and I feel it would really help the squad right now when going forward.

Agree with this 100%  - we can’t do any worse with Rhys or Nat at the back. Fab back in midfield with Hendo will be a massive boost. This is of-course assuming Matip stays fit .......

[MPowerYNWA]

Salah is one dimensional - cannot take player on and always cut backs onto his left.

Bobby has given up since lockdown started - doesn’t even close down anywhere near as much as before.


That’s the issue - fix that and it’s a different kettle of fish.


Next issue - how do you fix that, get new players, but we don’t have unlimited transfer funds - so we just got to keep behind them.

[slaphead]

It's soul destroying seeing game after game.....ah fuck it I'm just going to bed and then tomorrow look forward ?  dread ?  Sundays game

[goalrushatgoodison]

I’ve only ever once seen a player get a penalty for being clobbered after having a shot that went miles wide.  It goes without saying which team got that penalty, and that all the commentators and pundits agreed it was stonewall and ought to be awarded every day of the week.

They all then went back to ignoring those challenges the very next week and haven’t mentioned them since.

But is that not exactly what happened with Barnes? He shot it went wide and he fell over the goalie.