Liverpool in the Media (Linked Articles Only) VI

Bien dit...

 

My beginning-of-season prediction had us finishing third (behind Citeh and Chelski) but I think anything can happen over the rest of this season. I expect us to finish in the CL places and definitely see the possibility of winning #19.

 

Paul Mariner predicts 2nd for the Reds. I think that's completely realistic, given the inconsistencies of Citeh, Gunners, et. al. Winning numero diecinueve will require that Chelsea fold a few hands. But I think Liverpool can only lose one more match for 1st to be in reach.

Either Spurs or Arsenal, and deffo not the 31/1 fixture at Anfield. More than one loss might put the League title beyond achieving, and the Reds need to win against teams now in top 4 to preserve a 2nd place finish, IMO.

 

8th to 3rd is a pretty big improvement.

I'm all for title hopes I just don't see Chelsea sacrificing that lead with their tactical setup. But anythings possible. I hope for first, but expect something like 4th.

 

There isn't an Emre Can thread so here's a good TIA article exploring the dip in Can's recent form. I agree with this observation:

The past 2 games he's been about shit.
Perhaps Klopp playing him out of position is the cause but I just don't see the quality he supposedly provides consistently enough.

 

Agree 100%. I actually think he's redundant to Hendo when they are both on the field and playing deep would be his best position. Get stuck in on a tackle, win the ball, then get rid of it to someone with vision and passing skills. I want to like the kid but his passing and decision making is slow and/or poor more often than not. It's just so aggravating to watch.

 

Sometimes he reminds of a German version of Gerrard with the driving runs yet other days he should be left back.....left back in the changing room....seriously he should focus on becoming a didi Hamann type player, with the discipline

 

He has never once reminded me of Gerrard in any way but I agree with you about the Hamann part.

 

Okay, granted it was a big, big stretch.....it's the runs he has made in the past.....he needs to have a bucket load of athleticism to be one those players and above all, it's the timing

 

http://www.football365.com/news/coutinho-not-world-class-wages-too-high-merson

Merson claims Coutinho ain't world class (which is subjective) ,
claims coutinho is paid too much (debatable as clubs need to secure long term deals for players that are targets for other clubs plus coutinho is yet to reach his best imo & how much would it cost to replace a coutinho, like for like Brazilian international at 24 years of age),
Coutinho only scores great, worldie goals (as opposed to tap-ins and toe pokes ??)
& Coutinho is not the best player at Liverpool ( personally I think he is and there is an argument for Mane and Lallana depending on the criteria )

 

Has Paul Merson ever said anything that was positive about Liverpool?

 

Merson's short stint as Walsall's mgr was desperately grim. I guess he deserves some credit for his years at Highbury and The Riverside, but I don't think he should be accounted any special praise as a "pundick".

 

An interesting take on our recent slump.

Here’s why Liverpool struggled in January…


Looking at the circumstances in November I always found that January would be a month where we would struggle and here’s why…

At the Time – Coutiniho, Lallana, Henderson and Matip Picked up Injuries and were ruled out of December and not expected to be back for Mid Jan – (only Lallana returned before mid jan), then Mane would be off to the AFCON in January.

Now everyone has stated that Liverpool/Klopp has been found out and that all you have to do is sit back against them. however for me that is total and utter Hog wash. Our starting Midfield 3 was Henderson Wijnaldum Lallana… Our starting front 3 Was Coutiniho Firmino Mane… this combination with Matip at CB in the system that is set up is designed to break down teams that park the bus as the player movement, interplay and quick passing opens gaps in tight spaces.

This team has not played since mid-November and if Mane does not play tonight it means we would have been unable to start our first 11 for nearly 2 and half months. Could you Imagine Chelsea without Luiz, Moses, Kante, Hazard, and Pedro out at the same time for 2 and half months.. exactly..

Throughout December with the loss of Lallana, Henderson and coutiniho, Klopps approach to games was more defensive and in some cases direct…. the Middleborough is a great example whereby the strengths of Mane and Origi as a combination worked to a tee in getting beyond a stubborn back 7 or Boro… Origi also benefits in playing with Mane as they have a genuine understanding.

So what has gone wrong in January ?

the 2-2 draw with Sunderland was a result of the ridiculous game scheduling with the man city game… and ridiculous penalty decisions.

Man Utd 1-1 (18th Jan) – an excellent team performance where we had Matip, Clyne, Coutiniho and mane out of the starting lineup, lallana out of position and TAA making his EPL debut. Henderson returned from Injury and showed a lack of match fitness after the 60min mark

Swansea loss – 2 of the 3 goals were individual errors from Lovren, Momentum was lost when coutiniho was substituted for origi where we had just equalized. Henderson looked knackered after 60 mins (lack of Match fitness), Lallana not effective in manes Position. on another day we could have been 3-0 up in the first half if Frimino and lallana were clinical with the opportunities they had. – This game has to be put down as a bad day at the office…

Southampton 0-1 … you have to take your hat of and say they defended well and had a bit of luck on their side with the Forster spill… the sturridge of old would have buried the 3 chances he got.

Wolves – the wolves loss was down to team selection — first of all it was a team that has never played together. Picking a team that would never be considered as he picked players who are clearly not part of his Plans I.e Randal, Moreno, Sturridge, Lucas

So will it get better – of course it will… not only will Mane be back but Matip, Clyne and Henderson will be back with Coutiniho returning to match fitness and Lallana back in his position.

Context has to be given… experts can criticize squad depth all they want but it is statistically proven that teams with 2 world class players in each position struggle when 3 core members of the teams spine preferred starting team are missing.

If you look at Fergie, Jose, Houllier and Rafa the core spine of the team never changed during rotation, as weather it was Plan A, B or C the core players always play a significant part in its execution..

NorthernBahrain

http://www.teamtalk.com/news/why-liverpool-struggled-in-january-is-ivanovic-a-chelsea-legend#fb-comments

 

I'm all for looking for positives but no offense speke but that sounds like a long whinge to me.

blaming injuries and individual player mistakes only gets you so far.

blaming tired players and poorly-timed subs only gets you so far.

moaning about poor pens? come on now ... maybe accurate but jeez ....

listing all those things, but not mentioning uninspired / poor team play at all? gimme a break.

and as for "Context has to be given… experts can criticize squad depth all they want but it is statistically proven that teams with 2 world class players in each position struggle when 3 core members of the teams spine preferred starting team are missing." what bloody stats are those - sounds like total BS to me.

as for context - how about mentioning the poor-quality oppo involved: bottom of the league Swansea, bottom 3 Sunderland, lower-league Wolves and even-lower-league Plymouth.

without key players would Chelsea have done better? I'm bloody convinced they would actually.

the whole thing is a long-winded piece hinting but not saying outright that "Klopp effed up" imo......

 

Love those rose tinted glasses though.

 

I think most slumps are usually down to a confluence of causes rather than one simple reason ie that" Klopp simply effed up" tho I agree the manager has added a few errors of his own this month too and also probably didn't strengthen enough last summer .

During our good run the team virtually picked itself each game other than the keeper.

Clyne, Matip,Lovren,Milner
Lallana.Hendo,Gini
Mane,Firmino,Coutinho.

And we did lose some key players both thru injury and international duty during our heaviest fixture spell of the season. The Chelsea game will be our 10th game in 30 days .The guys that filled in certainly failed to perform at the same levels as those missing. Origi,Sturridge,Can,Klavan etc ,their form has been mostly crap and iffy at best.

That's been the biggest factor to me but throw in missed offside calls,eg the non call on Valencia which resulted in Utd's late tying goal and non pen calls in against us of which we've seen a number , Klopp's selections of weakened sides and more has all added up to a disastrous month for us. I said before we really needed to bring in at least one quality reinforcement in Jan to boost the squad.

But bottom line is that if we are going to go with a smallish squad then imo the quality of that squad needs to be much better. We had no one suitable to fill in for Mane for six weeks,we've had no cover at right back all season , Moreno isn't good enough as backup at lb etc etc.

Going week in week out with our best works fine until we're not able to use those same guys then we get what we saw in Jan.

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/man-cycles-235-days-south-9743840

I suppose the spurs game is a decent fixture

 

He could've gone 1st class for around 4k or booked a cheap hotel in Liverpool and watched more games.......I suppose it's the journey and not just the destination

 

Dietmar Hamann has criticised Liverpool’s decision to hand Jurgen Klopp a six-year contract and claims they’ll be lucky to make the top four this season.

Liverpool were beaten 2-0 at Hull on Saturday after a dismal January saw them drop out of the title race.

Klopp was recently given a lengthy new contract, something former midfielder Hamann has questioned strongly.

Hamann told the Sunday Times:

“In England it can be OK to fail, in Germany it never is.

“I like Klopp, but they lost two finals last season, so I’d be careful.

“I wouldn’t have given him a six-year contract. That’s absolute madness.

“They won’t win anything this year and they may not finish top four.”

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6 year contract means diddly squat as anyone can be sacked if the performance does not improve......the attrition rate in the EPL for managers is pretty high tbh