06 Feb 2021 18:58:33
It’s odd that there is an obvious reason for the massive drop off this season yet people keep looking for other reasons. We have been dealing with horrendous injuries all season. Liverpool have 7 players who have missed 10+ league games this season, comparatively Manchester City have 1 player who has missed 10+ league games this season.
Yes there were poor performances even when everyone was fit but this team was top of the league not so long ago, we didn’t look ‘not hungry’ when Firmino was planting that header past Lloris.
No team in the world could cope with the injuries we have had, look at the drop off from Man City last season when they lost just one player, Laporte. The fact is this team has really struggled in the past 6 weeks because we are missing some of our best players and the rest of the lads have had to play virtually every game, they look tired.

06 Feb 2021 19:43:34
Tried to post pretty much the same earlier and I couldn’t agree more!

06 Feb 2021 19:49:28
These constant excuses must stop. They are of course reasons but we still should be beating Burnley, WBA, Fulham etc. WBA and Fulham are championship level. The players are sometimes using the injuries as excuses instead of looking after their own performance levels. Klopp has made many mistakes this season as well. If he knew the midfield was exhausted why is Jones not starting, for an example.

06 Feb 2021 20:09:25
The injury and tiredness argument would work if we weren't struggling almost exclusively against bottom half opposition. It's very easy to motivate yourself for a big game and a lot less easy when you are expected to win comfortably. We've looked perfectly fine against City, United, Arsenal, Everton, Chelsea, Leicester, Spurs, Wolves and West Ham. We have 27 points from a possible 33 against those sides. Hardly strikes me that injuries are significantly affecting the quality of the XI we can put out. Clubs have 30 man squads nowadays when you consider all the u21's they don't have to register. We had plenty of injuries last season. The only real difference is the knee injuries to the 2 guys at the back. Thiago and Jota missed significant game time but no more than Lallana and Shaqiri did last year. Matip, Ox and Keita miss most of every season.

So you must think it's just a massive coincidence the players only seem to be tired against teams we're expected to beat? I fully expect us to go out tomorrow and give City a game because the players don't need motivating in a games like this. I'm pretty sure the only top 10 team who have beaten us are Aston Villa and they did so very early in the season when everyone believed they would be relegated having only stayed up courtesy of Michael Oliver's broken watch.

I get it. You think the 13 points from 33 against lesser opposition is purely a coincidence we were tired those days and we have no issues getting up for the perceived lesser teams. Look man, i respect that you disagree. But all you're really saying is that you think the other 20+ players in our squad aren't good enough to cope without the 8 guys who are injured. The only difference between me and you is that I think they are good enough, but that we aren't mentally at it this season as a collective. Agree to disagree.

06 Feb 2021 20:15:53
What excuse mark we’ve los 5/ 7 starters a game take that from Utd Everton city and it’s the same it’s not a excuse it’s a fact mate your fringe players become your main players and so on can u not see that!

06 Feb 2021 20:28:48
It’s not even just the players were missing due to injuries, the team is completely disjointed due to losing Hendo and Fabinho from midfield. It must be demoralising for the players. We haven’t got a god forgiven right to beat everyone just because we are Liverpool.

Stick by the team and let’s get through this together.

06 Feb 2021 21:09:25
It’s not a full team of fringe player. Your favourite Thiago has been playing so have normally at least 2 of the front 3. Trent, Robbo. It’s half the first team normally plus 5 so called second string. But why can’t they play better against really poor sides? Fulham and wBA are rubbish at best. Why can’t our squad get more points against the rubbish sides? Many sides have had injuries but have much smaller squads than ours. Stop the excuses.

06 Feb 2021 21:27:30
Absolutely spot on Plymouth Red.

06 Feb 2021 22:39:56
Who is talking about a god given right? We are talking about getting some points against the bottom sides. We had to hang in there until some players regained fitness.

Some players haven’t been upto the job, some players aren’t as good as many thought and Klopp for whatever reasons doesn’t play Jones or Taki and the lb we bought they can’t get him upto speed.

In addition why didn’t so sort a cb much earlier at the beginning of the window? We have to look what we can and must do better not keep going over the same excuses we all know what they are.

The self styled mentally monsters need to step up.

06 Feb 2021 22:48:17
Mark Thiago isn’t doing what he can do because he’s coming back to Collect the ball he’s doing defensive duties He’s making rash challenges trying to be defensive that’s not his game! Our whole team is unbalanced! I get it annoyed dropping points at lower teams so are we all!
But I’ll answer back to the fringe player quote! Williams Jones shaq Philips ox origi wtc are nvr staters for us nvr will they be apart from the crisis we have! On top of that your 2 best centres are playin CBS’s so the defence is unstable hence AR and TAA bombing and staying forward Is flawed! So a team weakend by injuries is playing fringe players to cope! There’s lads on the bench now who I bet your even sayin who the f#%k is he! Injuries have done us and done us bad pal same players Wk in Wk out and they are shattered! Give it a rest u got a league title it’s a poxy season and year many will want to forget some died happy knowing we won it!

06 Feb 2021 23:27:46
Mark, we’re struggling because we can no long pin teams in their own half without Henderson and Fabinho in midfield. Teams don’t fear us anymore. We’ll see the best of Thiago once he’s got Fabinho and Henderson with him.

{Ed0666's Note - hopefully tommorow

07 Feb 2021 07:35:55
I agree with that Plymouth, I think everyone does. But whatever the circumstances we should never struggle v a side like WBA or Fulham. I agree Ed let’s get the pair in midfield tomorrow and get right after City.

07 Feb 2021 11:19:06
Mark, u ere nitpicking and choosing only one part of the problem to explain the bigger picture, which I find disingenuous and convenient.

This may be foreign to you but big teams struggle with bottom half teamsprinters teams adopting low block tactics, all the time. City struggled with it in the past two seasons (and this season) when teams like Saints, Palace, Wolves (twice) Utd (twice), Leicester, Spurs (Spurs and Leicester were this season) and so on. City lost all these games by the way and they did not have half their starting team out in any of these games btw. Utd, Arsenal, Spurs do as well with these teams and tactics at times.

You have to look at the big picture and you simply cannot make an argument that regardless if of the unprecedented amount of first team injuries we have, we should not be struggling vs these teams or those that low block us. We are a well oiled machine BUT with as many missing pieces out as we have, it is simply impossible to operate said machine at 100% vs these teams/ tactics every time. In fact, Any team with half the injuries to their first 11 would struggle already so why are you judging the team with such a high bar that you prolly know they can never meet?

As for digging out Thiago, are you going to act like you don’t know he is coming back from a dreadful injury and playing the 6 which is not his best position due to again, injuries or Fab and Hendo missing in midfield or is Thiago now your knew whipping boy after you left Bobbie alone for a while?

Either way, our issues have been well described here and in this thread slander we all know what the fundamental cause is. This is not complicated and you digging out players trying their best in a difficult situation won’t change the real cause of our issues.