Bottle job?
We have 1 away win against the top 10, and that was the late steal at Newcastle after they battered us for 75.
We have been nowhere near good enough for this to be bottle job territory.
I think that's fair. The bottom line this season is that we're just not quite good enough. It's as simple as that. We haven't done enough against our fellow title challengers. We've also been playing catch-up in games for much of the season after gifting the opposition a goal and the initiative more times than I care to remember.
Our finishing has been wasteful to say the least, and we've been defensively frail too. Last gasp comebacks can only take you so far. We simply didn't have enough in the tank to beat a good Arsenal side and the 115* to the title. We'd have been closer if PGMOL mistakes had not been made but, overall, we are third in the table for a reason, and it's not because we "bottled" it.
Klopp leaving. Hangover from the previous season. Transitional year. Ridiculous amounts of injuries. Frail defence. Attack that needs 30 chances to register one goal. Constantly gifting our opponents the first goal. New players to bed in. Older players reaching the sunsets of their peak. PGMOL industrial scale incompetence. Uncertainty over who is coming in to manage us. None of this suggests a settled side that can be fully focused and firing on all cylinders. We've simply not had a fully fit side all season. Everything has been patchy.
This isn't a bottle job. Under the circumstances it's maybe a par season. Before it started I hoped for a CL place and a cup. Anything else would have been a bonus. Regardless of anything, and despite everything, we're still the second best side in the country. Third if you have to include the cheats. So not bad considering.
Tonight at 1-3 I still felt we could lose the game. Now that's ridiculous. We weren't playing Real Madrid. But that's our fragility this season. Not taking chances, but giving up chances a plenty to our opponents. So if there's one thing I hope the new manager can achieve it's making us solid again defensively. Then, we can build from there. As it stands, scoring three away from home and still not coming back to Liverpool with a win is something that cannot continue. It's happened twice in the space of just weeks. And once to poor opposition too.
But anyway, it's no bottle job. We just aren't quite good enough this time around, and for multiple reasons too.