16 Apr 2024 00:56:47
No wonder this team is looking fatigued we have had to come back from teams scoring first in 27 games 21 in the Premier league . The mental fatigue I feel is catching up with us now going behind missing loads of chances when we should be scoring is really caught up to us to the point its drying up.
16 Apr 2024 07:58:49
This is why Robertson saying the forwards need to take their chances didn't sit well with me. Focus on your own game pal. We only have 2 defenders who can say they've played to the level they are capable of this season; Bradley and Quansah.
Virgil has dropped the ball in several games with his strolling around, Robertson and Trent have been absolutely cooked repeatedly on the rare occasions they've been fit, Tsimikas and Gomez have proven yet again that they're mid-table players (at best) due to a lack of ability to consistently trap or complete a pass, Konate has completely failed to up his game even remotely and has arguably regressed positionally, and Matip is less robust than a McDonalds straw.
The defence has completely and utterly failed us this season. If we didn't have Alisson/ Kelleher behind them I think we'd be down with Villa and Spurs scrapping for 4th, never mind the title. The defence is heaping pressure onto our forwards every week and like you say, that constant demand on them can only be a bad thing in terms of mental and physical fatigue.
On a more positive note though, just wanted to elaborate a bit more on Quansah and Bradley. To make the step up from league 1 and look this good at 20/ 21 years old is exceptional. They both deserve a massive amount of appreciation. In a season where the senior defenders forgot to show up, they have dug us out of a hole and helped us massively in some very big moments. If all the hard work at the academy starts to pay off by giving us 1 or 2 young lads of that calibre each season, then the future is very bright. So I don't want to come off as too negative, despite the clear need for a defensive rebuild!
16 Apr 2024 09:05:52
In fairness MK the Defence as individuals have been poor on occasions but defending happens very much as a team.
There were times in the last two games that the forwards and midfielders didn't track their runners and looked like training cones out on the pitch.
16 Apr 2024 09:07:20
It's an astonishing stat isn't it. It's remarkable that a team that has conceded first and started so poorly on so many occasions was top of the league so late in the season.
I saw another dreadful stat yesterday regarding the "big chance conversion" of our five strikers. All poor. Nunez in particular, 6 out of 32.
So it's clear we have been poor in two of the fundamental areas of the game. That we (be it manager, coaching staff or players) haven't been able to change that over a long period of time is problematic.
Watching Liverpool this season has often felt like watching the same match over and over again. Start poorly, often concede first, lots of possession but don't create much with it, too many speculative long range shots, and the few good clear cut chances we do create and often missed. For as long as we were dragging ourselves over the line with a late goal, we were all happy but that sort of form always catches up with you in the end.
16 Apr 2024 11:45:29
"Watching Liverpool this season has often felt like watching the same match over and over again. Start poorly, often concede first, lots of possession but don't create much with it, too many speculative long range shots, and the few good clear cut chances we do create and often missed. For as long as we were dragging ourselves over the line with a late goal, we were all happy but that sort of form always catches up with you in the end"
Exactly, RR. It almost felt like this was expected which we all knew deep down was never going to be a good thing but as fans, we were cool with it overall cos well we were winning.
Personally, I thought we would improve on these things with the injured players coming back BUT alas, it seems like the coaching staff either could not be arsed to do better or were just as blind to the effects these trends would have on the team in the long term. Well, "the long term" is here now and the results are in. Not good.
16 Apr 2024 12:26:31
Robertson has been the only player starting that shows energy and urgency, he can say what he likes until his own performance level drops, and that won't happen with him.
16 Apr 2024 13:13:47
I'd be interested to know the percentage of converted chances this season. It seems every match, we have 20 odd shots but only around 5 on target. It isn't a one off either, surely that stat tells the coaches something isn't working, forcing the players to just have useless attempts at goal.
16 Apr 2024 13:11:34
FSG, Robertson has been way off his best this season. He's been struggling with injuries and he's been getting taken apart by some of the better wide men in the league as well. Throw in that his assists have slowed down too and he's got absolutely no right to be pointing fingers anywhere until he is no longer part of the problem. He set the bar very high but it's not good enough by those standards he set.
Personally I'd shift Tsimikas this summer and sign a new left back who can gradually phase Robbo out. Or at the very least give him a kick up the backside to sort his form out. It says it all about Robbo's form that at times, Gomez has been picked ahead of him to start this season despite being a centre back with his own form issues.
16 Apr 2024 18:37:37
MK scouser, jones is not of the elite standard that LFC need just because he comes from Liverpool that does not make him an elite player and for Gomez he is another one as is Timikas these players are not getting us to the level we all want I know their reds and i don't want to sound like i am slagging them i am just making an observation do you think any of the three players would get in a city side or Arsenal or even man u time to move them on and sign top elite players or we will always be second best to the big spending teams.