23 Apr 2017 20:25:30
Match review Ed001? Really interested to read your views on the top 4 race.
{Ed001's Note - I will do it in the morning, when I have had a bit of time to reflect on the game.}
23 Apr 2017 22:02:26
Worst performance I've witnessed this season apart from 1 bit of magic from Coutinho.
It feels like Groundhog Day when I say "we can't defend crosses or set pieces".
We need a defensive overhaul, none of them are worth keeping.
23 Apr 2017 22:16:26
Couldn't agree more Ron. A defensive shambles.
23 Apr 2017 22:24:31
Spot on Ron, our best defender on loan says it all really. If we don't get top 4 it will be our defence that has failed us, bunch of average overpaid and mentally weak footballers.
23 Apr 2017 22:41:57
People keep knocking the defence but its the zonal marking that's causing the problems . When will JK and his coaches realize that if you closely mark the dangermen, the goals conceded will reduce! Benteke had the freedom of the park today and we were lucky he didn't score more.
23 Apr 2017 22:58:38
Can was man marking Benteke on that corner today and he let him go completely.
Cannot blame Klopp for that. Get a life man.
Players were poor today. Only guy making things happen was Coutinho. Mignolet was flappy. Clyne was sloppy. Lovren and Matip were a shambles. Milner was defensively sound but offered nothing going forward. Can was at fault for the second and over ran it every time. Gini had his worst game in a red shirt. Lucas was very hot and cold, playing some good passes then following them with terrible passes. Origi looked like he'd been taking first touch lessons from Lukaku. Firmino was off the pace. Moreno still can't cross. Arnold gave it a go but ultimately failed. Grujic had no time to do anything but at least tried to get in the box.
Coutinho on the other hand scored a stunner, played some great passes in behind, should've had a penalty, and was just all around a class above every player on the pitch.
Really disappointed. I honestly thought we'd rectified this but there are just too many players in our squad who don't show up against average opposition.
23 Apr 2017 23:44:25
Boss, NONE of what you posted is true and is in fact, patently false. Sahko is NOT our best defender and never has been. He's been here for 3 years and in those three years, our defense has been a shambles (conceding 150 goals in three seasons in the PL) BUT I guess for you, all that does not matter.
Spot on, Ron. Our defence is plagued by individual errors being committed by the usual suspects in this case, Lovren and he's not the only one. We got shot of Moreno, Skrtel and Lovren and Klavan should be next. Lovren actually succeeded in making the same mistake THREE times in the same game, both of which led to goals. He should be next. Also, not absorbing the rest from blame either as we created next to nothing vs a team that was of NO threat to us in any way until Lovren's bone-head decisions took over. STme to regroup and go again.
24 Apr 2017 00:10:38
MK, the players you mentioned who didn't turn up, are the same ones who stood up to be counted in the last 7 games (5 wins and 2 draws) hence, I'll take it as a bad day at the office and next week will be the time to fight back and take the battle to Watford cos anything but a win that game will be dreadful. I will say that Lovren is awful, succeeded in making the same mistake 3 times in the same game that led to both goals (diving in for a ball and getting rolled each time) and needs to get shot of, period.
24 Apr 2017 00:23:36
You can't blame all our problems on zonal marking. For one, it can work well when done correctly. But you need intelligent, well-organised defenders and we don't have them. That's one problem; pretty average defenders being asked to play a tricky system. It's simply beyond them.
I don't think that's why we lost today, mind. We had over 70% possession, mostly in their half, but only one shot on target. We should have converted that possession into more opportunities and put the game to bed before they got back into it. Credit to Sam Allardyce, by the way. The guy is a master of nullification and that showed today.
The squad lacks depth and we are missing big players through injury - players who can create opportunities. We can't expect Coutinho and Firmino to bail us out every time. We already know that we need to add more quality. Let's hope the problem is addressed in the summer.
Today was woeful but it's not all doom and gloom. I'm still confifent of making top four.
24 Apr 2017 00:25:14
Cans a major culperate each and every week.
Hes just let's his markee run off and then throws his arms uo in a strop if there's been a goal.
24 Apr 2017 00:26:17
N red, If you cannot see that then I'd suggest you follow a different sport. Sakho is far superior to Klavan Lovren and is marginally better than Matip. Matip has been very shaky since January, there's a reason we will get at least 25 mil for Sakho in the Summer. He's single handily kept palace up, but obviously you fail to see that.
24 Apr 2017 00:45:21
The defensive problems are a combination of poor management and average inconsistent players. For example if we had a manager that stressed more importance on defence we wouldn't have as bad a record even with the same players (I'm not saying that's what I want I'm just making a point), that's should be quite obvious. That isn't klopps strength and that's where I think he will fall short in achieving major success with us in the premier league. In the bundesliga he didn't have the best defensive record either but their defence was superior to ours in personnel therefore they where better in that regards. In the bundesliga most teams play a very modern European way of zonal marking (most not all) and therefore it's not exposed as often as it is in the premier league which has a very varied way of defending. So whilst a lot of our goals is due to poor individual errors, they are also due to poor preparation and poorly set up. You don't concede pretty much every game if it's just the players, it's definitely more than that.
In regards of who our best defender is, it's clear sahko is better than both lovren and klavan. I would even go as far as to say sahko had a better season last year than what Matip has had for us this season individually. But would you not say Matip is our best defender, yet we are still abysmal with him in the team and have conceded just as many with him in the team. It does not mean he's not a good defender. Sahko might not be our best defender (I personally think he is) but he sure as hell should be in this team. It remains to be seen how Klopp intends on replacing him because klavan will never be an adequate replacement.
24 Apr 2017 00:49:38
Sakho hasn't single handily kept palace up. Don't be silly.
24 Apr 2017 09:17:57
defence was awful but firminho missed the ball at the near post before it went too benteke to score the winner, we need men with leadership qualities not promising young players,
look at our bench
squad is not good enough
first 11 yes but rest no.
24 Apr 2017 09:22:50
Sakho proved yesterday why PSG got rid of him and why we need to. Celebrating Palace's goal whilst still technically a Liverpool player shows the type of character he is.
He is an idiot who never thinks about his actions. Why was he even sat in the dug out instead of in a box?
No matter how good he is you can not have that sort of disruptive influence at a top club. I was a fan when we signed him and hopes he would mature into the central defensive leader we need, however he has shown time and time again his immaturity and this has cost him his position at 2 clubs now.
{Ed002's Note - Sorry but he has been treated very badly by Liverpool's idiotic manager who did more harm than good to the club by treating him the way he has. If they had been reasonable about the asking price he could have been sold - but they weren't.}
24 Apr 2017 09:41:54
Granted Ed02. But the guy doesn't do himself any favours.
{Ed002's Note - No he doesn't, but Liverpool knew that when he signed.}
24 Apr 2017 09:36:40
Klopp just so inflexible when it come to man management.
24 Apr 2017 09:37:28
Klopp is so average that people are struggling to find excuses to defend him. People now abusing the players need to realise it's all his choices after all. After 2 and half windows he had already. He has a CM at LB, two free signings as CB, A RB who can't cross for his life ( Yet gets picked ahead of TAA) A GK who was dropped for bring poor in the first place.
But hey it's all someone elses fault. A limited manager with limited ideas getting tactically exposed. It took 3 years for people to suck how average Brendan was, it would take equal time with Klopp as well.
24 Apr 2017 09:34:49
Allardyce is responsible for CP's change in fortunes, they did pretty well yesterday without Sakho.
24 Apr 2017 09:58:11
I think we should look at why our team played so badly and stop taking it out on Sakho for celebrating a goal.
24 Apr 2017 10:27:43
Exactly Ron, but is it all their fault, with mane, lallana and hendo out we have limited attacking threat. However our defence is a shambles as always and that needs to be laid at the feet of klopp although i will not subscribe to harry's overreaction as usual.
24 Apr 2017 10:29:48
Also im sorry but i agree with ed02, players have done far worse than sakho and are still playing for their clubs. He is our best defender and the club should come first shouldn't it?
24 Apr 2017 12:08:46
MKS we can't blame Klopp for individual mistakes but we can blame him for not changing the coaches, defensive and goalkeeping should be stripped of all coaching badges as they aren't fit for purpose, the coaches I mean. You can also blame Klopp for waiting until after the 80th minute before making a change and bringing on Moreno?! What was that going to achieve. We lost our momentum and were struggling before half time, everybody could see it. He did bring on TAA and Grujic but only when it didn't matter. It's not the first time either. It wasn't just the players that cost us points yesterday. I don't wanna have a go at Klopp but nor am I one of those in the Klopp love in but he has to take some of the blame. Attacking changes where needed early in the second half, with an injection of pace needed and a bigger goal threat and we had the youngsters on the bench to do it.
24 Apr 2017 15:03:59
Hindsight is a wonderful thing poolie, no one was complaining when klopp took off the youngsters at half time and couts and firmino came on and won the game against stoke.
24 Apr 2017 15:28:13
Why did he take them off? Because it wasn't working? A change was needed here too but he did nothing until it was too late. I don't think it's hindsight but more common sense. Hindsight is when you see something after the event, nearly everyone knew a change was needed before half time.
24 Apr 2017 16:34:17
I agree with ed2 I think sahko was treated rather unfairly and very ruthlessly. I feel like even if sahko had said sorry (which might have happened) he would still have found himself in that poisition. Something must have happened where Klopp took it very personally, that in addition to being given the bad word about sahko might have contributed to easily banishing him the way he did. He does have a bad attitude but I don't think its the unmanageable type of attitude, I think if you're stubborn yourself you might not be flexible for people like sahko. Either way I don't think anyone would have batted an eyelid if sahko was properly replaced instead of a panic buy in klavan.
If I was sahko, honestly I might have done the same. Even though it was disheartening to see, we can't blame him for wanting some form of revenge, maybe I'm just a vengeful person.