We have a team packed with classy players, playing well and it's not even the end of September. We played well in both European games. Sometimes teams win two games and then get two draws with minnows because the pressure isn't on. Now there's a bit of pressure in the slovakia-anfield ties and we'll have to go in wide awake and chomping at the bit. I'm more worried by the attitude of some of the fans than the team.... I'm betting that by mid Nov we are safe in Europe and sitting, treading water in the top 4 in the Prem.....
You may be right. But the reality is this many points lost already speaks to something wrong. It's not something that has an easy fix, we aren't missing our first choice CB pairing... it's systemic. It's ingrained. These same issues have reared their heads for YEARS now. They could get it together. But why are we thinking that they will? A few more goals go in here or there, yes they'll get out of the group and they'll challenge for top 4. OK. But where's the progress? I suppose just doing it on multiple fronts? I dunno. I do hope the defense will get it together. That's the only progress I want to see, everything else is secondary to that for me. We know the goals will come, the attack is good. But I see no reason to feel confident about this defensive corps and this somewhat mindless CM. I hope I'm wrong and will be proven as such by the remainder of the first half of the season.
On top of that...let's discus the "other teams"...I wouldn't be "as concerned" if it weren't for the two Manchester clubs pouring in the goals at the rate they are...I wouldn't even be as concerned if it weren't for our heavy loss against City...but when they are winning, 3-0, 4-0 and 5-0...and we are struggling to win or draw... and NOT scoring those goal that we should be scoring (barring our result against Arsenal)...then yeah - that is where I start to panic
Take a deep breath... let it out... take another... Luckily I've managed to miss some of these games live due to work. But when you watch them already knowing how it will turn out, you get a bit of perspective. We aren't losing (or drawing) these games because we aren't good enough. We're losing them because we aren't tuned correctly. When you watch these games with a bit of a dispassionate eye, you begin to see that what actually is happening is that we're clogging things up with possession. We're pushing the game into a weird place, and then get caught if/when the other team escapes and counterattacks. Is this a problem? Of course, but I can imagine it is a hard one to solve... how do you teach your team to occasionally give the ball away?
You guys should be fine and qualify, it was always going to be you and Sevilla qualifying. Trust me when I say sometimes 2nd place is a blessing in disguise, especially in the current UCL format. We won our group last year and got paired with Real Madrid in the R16 ... Anyways what I came to ask about was Man City, I see they've been scoring a shit ton of goals, how do we match up with them over the 2 games? A win and a loss? Just curious cuz I haven't watched the Premier League consistently for about 2-3 years.
I'm not gonna debate your point in 2 different threads hubba .... but you are seriously ignoring our inability to defend crosses, which has zero to do with having too much possession.
i agree. you can't compare us to the manchester clubs -- their transfer spending and player salaries dwarfs ours. chelsea are closer to them in that regard, even though they had a quiet summer. unless we get a major influx of cash (which FSG seems to be willing to do at some point), super luck in the transfer window (a few more salah sucesses), or woodburn becomes the next messi, we are right where we should be -- in the hunt for top 4, doing decently in europe. our "rivals" are spurs -- who we are level on points with, and the arse who are struggling. the only team who has won a match in our CL group -- keep in mind we are the third seed -- is sevilla over maribor, who we should -- should -- beat easily. i don't see why the panic in either of these competitions. the easy goals given up is frustrating, yes. the late equalizers are heartbreaking, but, it's how we play. our CBs are isolated, our fullbacks usually up the pitch. could we be more of a grinding team? sure. but i love the way we play offensively. keita should help shield or CBs next season (or in january, if rumors are to be believed). salah has hit the ground running, we've only started our "best XI" once all season. why all the panic? because lovren is shite and still shite? be realistic. the way the league is, the money that chelsea and city get from billionaires and united's turnover means we realistically could get a sniff of the title once every few years, which is what we've been doing. the thing we can do better on, surely, is qualifying for europe more.
I'm perfectly calm. This isn't a reaction stemming from some emotional meltdown. Nothing I've said is based on emotion, it's all based on facts; CM is mindless, they haven't tracked runners through midfield on quick restarts and multiple goals against have come from that in just the past couple weeks; the defense is prone to being out of position or drawn to the ball, both of which leave gaps and spaces from which opposing teams engineer good chances... in fact sometimes these are the ONLY ways opposing teams engineer chances at all. Anyone can look at this and suggest a "tweak", but the reality is that this is a systemic issue that won't be solved with a tweak. What will happen is LFC will go on a run, like they ALWAYS do, like they have EVERY season since 2010, and it will make some forget that this systemic organizational issue remains waiting to rear its head once again. The only question is how long will this year's run last. I'm easy to please -- for instance, right now I'd take top 4 and progressing out of the group stage of CL/avoiding Europa League. I'm not demanding they challenge for the title! But at this rate, they will be finishing 6th or so, with the way this defense has played. We will see where they end up I guess. I hope this season's run is a long one!
That's it - out of the nutshell I placed it in. But yes, that's how I see it too, largely. Utd, btw aren't all that hot lately (they started great but the Everton game was pretty even until the last 8 minutes when Everton fell apart. Could easily have been 2-1 to the Cadbury's boys by then - and th elast game they didn't look great either. I fancy us to do them... particularly if Pogba is still out, but the international break may give him time to get back
I didn't watch that.But I watched them "thrash" Everton and we would have won that one, I'm certain.....
My basic contention is that we have only lost once this season, and that was against arguably the best team in england and after a moment of disastrous consequences where the heads went down briefly.
Losing to really, really good teams is never the problem. I wish that were LFC's problem, they'd be top 4 every year. Drawing matches they should win is almost always LFC's problem... and how many times has that happened this 6-week-old season?
Kuyt scored on me in FIFA 17 and I was like wut? He's still playing? I miss that guy. The kinda guy who would have found a loose ball in a 1-1 game in Moscow and slotted it home in unspectacularly effective fashion.