05 Apr 2017 22:20:55
Very disappointing result, I know what happened in the match generally as I was watching on and off and there was some very bad mistakes made by Klopp and the players. I think people saying we won't achieve top 4 are jumping the gun even some questioning Klopp again which you would expect, but the run in that we have does not help the current mentality at all. It's strange to say it as we should get most of the points out of our remaining matches but we have been terrible against the lesser sides this season. Some want to put the onus on the players and say it's a mentality thing, some want to put it on the manager, I would say it's both. It wouldn't happen consistently if it was just the players, there's something else wrong there. Top 4 is still in our hands regardless and we sit in 3rd at the minute, whilst the others still have some tough games to play.
In terms of the game, the switch in formation and the sub (matip for coutinho) ruined the flow of the game and Bournemouth knew we where going to be defensive and just took advantage. We are seriously an utter shambles at the back, I've been saying this all season and I like how there was some earlier in the season saying our defence wasn't that bad haha. The concerning thing for me, is that I don't see our goalkeeping and defensive issues being sorted out anytime soon with Klopp. I think he needs help in that regards, otherwise we will just have to rely on our 'high risk, high reward' style of play to bail us out. It will not work in the premier league, as it did in the bundesliga that's for sure. I hope these areas are addressed once and for all as we haven't had a decent defence since Rafa.
Top 4 is the bare minimum this season and we can class that as a success and a step in the right direction, I'm not overly confident because of the teams we have to play but I think we will scrape over the line somehow.
WBA away on Saturday which just magnifies my worries. I don't see how we win that game but we have to.
05 Apr 2017 22:32:11
Fact is that klopp failed with his 2nd half substitution. he let us down bitterly today. I am beginning to think that he is overrated.
05 Apr 2017 22:34:46
Stoke on Saturday.
05 Apr 2017 22:37:05
My bad we have stoke away on Saturday, still a tricky fixture given our circumstances. Really can't get over why we are so bad against the lesser sides.
05 Apr 2017 22:38:38
Can we just play Spurs, city and Arsenal again please lol.
05 Apr 2017 22:40:56
We play at Stoke on Saturday.
Any better? ðŸ˜.
05 Apr 2017 23:00:37
Kman its simple klopp only knows 1 way to play and that's counter attacking/ pressing upfront where it works against teams who are looking to attack us where they leave massive gaps in midfield and in defence where we perfectly exploit it . against mid table teams its completely different they defend deep giving us no space or gaps to exploit it.
05 Apr 2017 22:59:52
For heavens sake. We are 3rd in the League. 6 points gap on UTD and Arsenal as well as a better goal difference. 2 points ahead of City too.
They might have games in hand but we have the points on the board. 1 point gained against a team who played extremely well at Anfield at this stage is better than no point at all.
05 Apr 2017 23:15:07
Valid points, Kman. I will add that I expected a drop in intensity after an energy and emotional sapping game vs Everton which suck the life out of you the game after. I will say that we could have seen the game out and making a defensive change at 65 mins, is NOT good management even if it works. BUT I will say that on their second goal, Klavan has to take responsibility here. King just turns him like he was not even there and he doesn't even stick a leg in to stop him. Klopp made a blunder making the change BUT sometimes, players have to be accountable and right there, Klavan screwed up big time. On the bright side, Origi and Couts are back in form, we created enough chances (not a lot) to score, in fact we could have scored 3 goals in the first half alone, we have one extra point more than City for 3rd spot (games in hand are NOT points in hand) . This bodes well going forward. Now, regarding the defence, we are prolly leading the PL in goals conceded via individual errors. Our players are NOTY focused in critical defensive situations and that is a huge concern.
05 Apr 2017 23:43:28
Can't believe some of you don't think you'll make top 4. I think your a certainty.
05 Apr 2017 23:52:17
Kopite the thing with that is that we had the lead so it wasn't as if we found it difficult to break them down, the thing that changed the match was actually us sitting back and allowing Bournemouth back into the game when we should have went for the jugular. That sort of change worked more for the bigger games but we always concede against the lesser sides like free handouts. I agree that Klopp only knows one way of playing and preparing for games and when that goes wrong we're effectively in for a bad result unless we get extremely lucky which we have a few times this season. Klopp definitely needs help on the coaching staff in my opinion, he's just as bad as rogers at sorting out a defence.
06 Apr 2017 01:28:08
I remembered reading (maybe I took it in a wrong way) people used the point of Klopp not changing the formation to a more defensive ones, but instead bringing in attacking players when we were leading, and that decision led to the team lost the lead and eventually lost or drew the game (so sorry I couldn't recall which game) .
Ironically, when Klopp made this decision, and here we are, saying this and that.
No, I'm not saying Klopp made the right decision, but I seems to understand the reasons behind it. It backfired, and we drew. "If" is a really enjoying word to play with. What if Matip in, and we were solid and maintained the lead? What if Coutinho stayed then injured himself? What if Coutinho off Sturridge in and they scored two and we lost?
I'm not having a dig on you Kman or anyone else who agrees with you. Only that, I couldn't agree on most of your opinions above.
06 Apr 2017 02:35:35
Some of you are slating Klopp for only knowing how to play one way and yet in same breath criticising him for bringing in Matip to close up shop which is clearly not his normal tactic.
In this case he changed his tactics and it didn't pay off. But a lot of managers would have done similar - sit back protect the lead hit them on the counter attack (which did nearly pay off if only Clyne etc had taken their chances) . Not sure what i would have done. But clearly players need to stay focussed until final whistle and value every chance when it comes.
06 Apr 2017 02:55:25
Haizan, you are talking too much sense. I suggest you stop cos there many on here who are too eager to jump on a manager's decision as soon as it fails w/ o taking into consideration that a manager has NO control over the outcome as Klopp himself, had NO control over Klavan bottling a challenge vs King for their equalizer.
After reading Klopp's post game comments, you will understand more the reasons why he pulled Couts at the time he did and why did not start Matip. I don't like the result nor Klopp bringing on Matip that early as he could have brought on Woodburn instead to keep their defence honest. BUT I understand his decisions hence, NOTHING is ever black and white in management so we move on.
06 Apr 2017 03:31:51
Bournemouth played well? They were one of the poorest sides we have played at home. The manager got it wrong tactically today. It happens, we move on to Stoke.
06 Apr 2017 04:28:38
Hamzah the point is very simple, if you assessed the game properly you would have realised why the game turned out the way it did. Before the substitution and subsequent change in formation, we where pretty comfortable and we could have gone for a third which is what you're supposed to do in these types of games, now if we had conceded trying to get the third then your point is valid but we didn't. Against teams where we are bossing, why should we suddenly take our foot of the pedal? In the reverse fixture of this exact matchup we lost because we took our foot of the pedal. The reason Klopp went to 5 at the back is because coutinho felt sick or whatever and he didn't want to put on Sturridge, Sturridge doesn't have the pro activity of coutinho or any of the other players so it's one less player running around putting pressure. So instead of putting constant pressure we decided we would just sit on the lead, and that's ok if you can properly organise a defence, but unfortunantly as we have seen countless times this season Klopp hasn't been able to. So in summary, you do not go defensive when you're playing a team lesser than you at home and are bossing them and have a very shaky defence, this allows them a chance to get back into a game. You do it when the team is piling constant pressure on you and you are seeing less and less of the ball, that is when you go defensive and it is usually against the top teams. It's simple.
{Ed001's Note - the defence was fine, how many shots did they give up? The goals both came from individual errors, not a lack of organisation. Klavan simply didn't know where the ball was and took too long to realise King had it, because he was looking up in the sky for some reason. Not sure what on earth goes on in that man's head at times. All the pace of a sleeping sloth, yet he charges into the opposing half to make challenges, knowing full well he will never get back if the ball goes to an opponent. The point is that, while I disagree completely with the choice Klopp made, at least so early in the game, but it wasn't actually doing as badly as I would have expected.}
06 Apr 2017 13:23:33
Old Fergie reckoned what separated the best from the rest at the highest level was not so much physical ability but mentally ability. Speed of thought. speed of reaction and concentration.
It Makes sense when you think all the players are trained to a certain level of fitness. But all don't perform at that level for the same length of time,
some tend to dither or panic and make costly mistakes when all that's needed is to catch the ball or hoof it to row z.
06 Apr 2017 14:30:35
Spot on, Ed and Dermot. Our defensive issues are mental, not physical nor are they tactical. B'mouth have scored 6 goals against us in two games and 4 of those goals can be attributed to individual or collective mistakes. They are the worst team to ever come to Anfield as they were for the most part, very poor. They had 2 shots at goal yesterday, scored on both and both were due to our individual errors. Money on new players can't fix this as this has been happening even since BR's time. It is mental and the players have to be accountable and sorry to say, they have not over this season as most of our goals can be traced back to an individual error of some sort.