05 Oct 2025 07:43:11
Ed001 mate, any perspective you can offer to alleviate the concerns? I’m not too fussed with the results per se, but more with our style of play and how laboured it seemed?
You mentioned the risky baiting approach of passing at the back, but it also looked as though the centre backs had no passing options?
{Ed001's Note - there is so much wrong at the moment it is difficult to get it all down - but a lot of it is simply down to players needing time to understand each other's game. Really, we just needed to start with mostly playing the same players as last season and gradually introduce new ones, but we instead had to throw a bunch of them in together. Given time, they will improve as a unit, but that won't change the style of play, nor how slow and laboured it is. Those come from the training, which is clearly not right.}
05 Oct 2025 09:05:56
1) Salah and Virgil are getting old (in elite footballing terms) - it catches up with everyone. They’ve been main attacker and main defender throughout our period of success.
2) Too much squad churn. Lots of sales, lots of new players and it being mainly first team players. They need to get used to the premier league and their new teammates. They need to find where the pockets of space are in their new team and work out the pace and the runs of their new teammates.
3) Curse of the champions - we have a target on our back. Opponents raise their game. This is especially true when you’re also the “biggest spenders”.
However, despite these 3 big reasons there is a bigger one we’re not talking about - the death of Diogo Jota. It’s still only 3 months since he was tragically killed. These players, they’re still “young” in life, many will not have experienced much death of friends and family.
There is no doubt it will have had a psychological effect on them - even if it’s relatively undetectable.
Psychology in elite sport is still under appreciated. Grief hits people differently and at different times.
This was always going to be a tough season for reasons 1 -3 but add in the death of Diogo and it’s amazing that the results have gone so well.
The team and the manager need our support more than ever - YNWA.
{Ed025's Note - I think it’s a bit disrespectful to be using that as as an excuse if you don’t mind me saying Ron. It’s about new players not gelling yet and adapting to the way Slot wants them to play imo mate..
05 Oct 2025 09:10:33
I said awhile back we are missing Klopps intensity. I’m particularly worried it ain’t coming back. Awful performance with no power and no intensity
Come on Slot wake up.
05 Oct 2025 09:18:04
We have no style of play also we don't look fit, to lose 2 games in the Premier in the last minute is devastating but also psychologically is not healthy as teams are confident now and we look vulnerable, Bradley is way of it proving overrated I would start frimpong, mcallister also way of it Jones should start ahead of him, also what does chiesa have to do to start as salah/ gakpo need benching.
05 Oct 2025 09:10:33
Thanks Ed. Just saw your reply below re training, were there major changes in the training schedule/ levels that you know of? Weird if we changed what seemed to have worked last season.
And Slot has mentioned a few times how he wants to emulate PSG but seems like we’re moving away from that way, even less intense than our plays last season.
{Ed001's Note - there were major changes last season, it takes a while for the effects to be felt, especially for those players who had trained for years in a more intense way. There was a gradual lowering of intensity as the season went on last time out, which is probably in large part due to fitness coaches, who think high intensity training causes injury. Klopp used to have lots of fights over it. He believed, quite rightly, that training harder made the matches easier and so brought about less injuries. But it is more than that, your training sets the tone for your play, and we need to up our levels.}
05 Oct 2025 09:26:08
I would have to add players attitude into the mix as well. Konate was walking back into position yesterday when everyone else was sprinting, not long after that he was taken off that was 56 mins in there’s no way he was tired and can’t run. Same with robo, he plays less than half a game yet he’s bent over when the cross comes in, no way he is tired, it’s down to attitude and the will to win. On the other hand I like wirtz attitude, yes he is struggling but he’s not letting his head drop.
05 Oct 2025 09:31:32
We’re in dreadful form. It’s not even enjoyable watching us. We don’t create anything, slow Boring football.
Someone said we improved. 1 shot in the first half can’t be considered improvement against a weakened Chelsea side.
We are playing absolutely Terrible and Arne Slot is struggling massively to get a tune out of one of the best squads in the world.
05 Oct 2025 09:40:27
I think Chiesa should be getting a chance ahead of either Salah or Gakpo at the moment. Both haven’t been at it yet this season.
05 Oct 2025 09:55:53
I don’t understand your reply Ed025.
It’s not disrespectful to suggest that the players have experienced grief at the sudden loss of a teammate.
It happened before they started pre-season training. A time where you want the players to be energised, refreshed, excited for a new season.
Personally I think it’s disrespectful and unrealistic to suggest they won’t have been affected. It’s not 3 games they’ve played poorly, it’s all season.
{Ed025's Note - but that’s not a reason for me Ron it’s an excuse mate. If you are right they should be trying even harder in respect of his memory instead of these lacklustre performances we are seeing. Just my take of course..
05 Oct 2025 10:16:09
Definitely agree about your point on needing to train hard Ed. That's what our coaches did for us too and it became so much easier during competitions for us since our fitness levels were much higher than our opponents. Granted, I was playing a different sport but the principle should still apply. Our trainings were 2x or even 3x as hard as official matches.
{Ed001's Note - exactly, but the coaches used to fight with Klopp over it, they thought he was pushing players too hard. The mythical burnout, that is actually just players getting older and slower. Better to push them hard and just bring in new players to replace those struggling to keep up. As Hendo has shown at Brentford, they can still cope with playing just not at our level.}
05 Oct 2025 10:28:23
Totally agree with that. We should be looking to play a team that most resembles the team last season, with a look to bring in the new players later on in the game.
05 Oct 2025 10:53:53
I agree regarding the intensity,
when we do play with a bit if intensity we look much better in the attack, but only seem to be able to manage 10 minutes of intensity per half.
and with regard Kloppp. Pre losing his Mojo, with the players we have now. he would have this team handing out some right hammerings.
05 Oct 2025 09:44:34
I agree 100%, Ed025. Jota’s death has absolutely nothing to do with this, and using it as an excuse for the poor performances is disgraceful.
1. It is untrue, which is just disrespectful to the memory of Jota.
2. Less importantly, it excuses the players and manager from giving their all for the club.
The reason our poor form/ performances is that the team is being poorly coached, that’s all. Slot deserves plenty of time to figure this out, but I can’t say I’m 100% confident he even knows how at this point.
{Ed025's Note - yeah I’m with you Lowe. For me it’s been a struggle to integrate the new players mate but I imagine that will improve over time..
05 Oct 2025 11:10:38
How can we pick a team that resembles last season? Alisson is injured, Trent has left, Robertson, by everyone's admission has gone, Diaz and Nunez have left and Jota tragically died. So, I repeat, how can we pick a side that resembles last season? Some of the regulars from last season, their form has nose-dived. Those being Bradley, Konate, Mac Allister, Gakpo and most of all Salah, who needs taking out of the side. I don't buy that we've thrown in too many new players too soon. What were our options? Endo, Gomez? Would they have made a difference? I very much doubt it. However, if I was picking the team, I'd definitely be starting with Ekitike, Isak and Chiesa up top.
05 Oct 2025 11:23:09
Arsenal have put Zubimendi, Eze, Gyokeres, Mosquera, Madueke into the team and don’t look any different. We just don’t have any balance. We need good solid full backs and a CB parter for VVD and a DM who’s good on the ball to play in front to play beside Gravenberch. Build a good platform for the forward players.
05 Oct 2025 11:22:20
But Ed, did we not have less injuries last season because of this? Slot's teams were well known for having good fitness records and that continued with us. But I agree atm they seem to be dropping like flies and there's a lack of intensity to our game.
What concerns me the most is the lack of control in games. I know some didn't like the slow football last season but it came with a good defensive record and we killed the opposition in bursts. Now that control has gone and we are porous - grav is roaming around the pitch, every fullback has had at least one horror show, etc. We're at the total mercy of the game state and the subs are always really reactive.
Cheers.
{Ed001's Note - we had less because they were still fit from the Klopp-era plus Slot added yoga.}
05 Oct 2025 11:55:02
Ed, I agree with Klopp on that. Receipts? Marco Reus once said that Klopp used to ride them so hard at Dortmund that the games became easier. This is what helped them dominate the league in the seasons they won the title. They just steamrolled teams for fun and won at a canter. Sound familiar with the titles we won under Klopp and Slot?
Now it seems cos Slot smartly didn't change much last season in this and other departments, he is trying to change that along with the system and new players bedding in, yada, yada, yada. The issue is that the process will take time. It is what it is, regardless of how frustrated we may all be.
05 Oct 2025 11:30:04
Ed, I'm not sure any of us can say for sure how jota's passing has affected everyone. That being said his death has not just affected our club, some of his closest friends were footballers playing for other clubs, like Neto.
What I think we can say with some degree of certainty is that it had an effect upon our preseason preparations, when players would have felt the full weight of his leaving us and when it would have been wrong to carry on regardless without having time to grieve. I don't think it's an excuse saying that it would have had some effect upon the team, there are other factors in play and it might not be the primary reason but it's not a non-factor.
{Ed025's Note - I can buy that it has been a factor especially pre season PB. But let’s not make it an excuse for the poor quality of play mate. When you step on that turf it’s about focus and I think that would be a help rather than a hindrance..
05 Oct 2025 11:43:40
Personally ed0025 I don’t think it is an excuse.
Nobody can say what the loss of a colleague does to those around you. I’ve experienced it first hand this year.
A head of department who I work closely with never came back after Christmas. Off ill initially, diagnosed with cancer and dead in eleven weeks. Supporting that team and helping them through this year has been one of the toughest tasks I’ve had to do.
The effect of that empty chair, off waiting for them to do something as part of a usual routine, of being able to talk to them. It can’t be overstated. Yes everybody deals with it differently and yes people still have to “get on with it. ” But it takes time.
{Ed025's Note - sorry to hear that Wassa. I am not saying that it won’t have affected the side just that it can be a bit of a cop out to blame his loss on the team playing badly. Myself I think it’s more to do with integrating the new players and the system Slot is trying to play. But of course I can’t be sure..5
05 Oct 2025 11:50:27
Ed25 - the only difference between a reason and an excuse is really in your own interpretation of it.
Ron - As someone who has openly said on here that letting Mo go would an ok thing to do, Mo’s age is in no way an acceptable reason to explain away his performances.
05 Oct 2025 18:15:34
ED25, I don't see it as a cop out. It's real life for these players to play thru grief. I have lost loved ones including one who died in his sleep and the grief I carry in my heart can be tough to deal with. There are times their memories flash before me and I stop walking or doing something. This is tough for people in the public eye who sometimes have to deal with their mourning in public.
That is not a reason for playing badly BUT you cannot ignore it cos it affects the players and the staff individually and comlectively and most importantly, privately. Just my opinion.
{Ed025's Note - we have all lost people Oli but life moves on mate. Early doors I would say it could be a factor but I think enough time may have elapsed for it not to be a major reason for the drop in standards. Of course not everybody is the same but if it is the case then I would imagine playing would be a positive distraction. Just my take though..