Liverpool Match Posts

19 Apr 2024 00:09:30
Dear god what a dire game that was, so frustrating it's unreal. I just want the end of the season to come now.

After the early goal I really believed we could do it, stupid on my part I know but come on, we should've been at them full throttle but instead we kept buggering about doing absolutely nothing. It was almost as if we didn't want to score another?

1 goal (a pen) in three games, we're in trouble, real trouble. Bring on next season already. We need big changes and I fear it won't be an easy quick fix.

19 Apr 2024 02:09:34
That’s what I thought too
And guess what, the chance came about from width!
But TAA just keeps drifting inside. Yes he did play some good balls from that position that put us in some good positions, but he will be even more dangerous outside. In the second half, we had no attack at all and so often we approaching their final third but had no one to play to on the right and we came back to the middle again.
Formation aside, the tactics was dire, especially second half. At no time did we even try to pressure them into submission in the second half. There was no high pressing, balls into box, shots from all ranges to put them into panic stations. It was honestly very comfortable for them for large parts.
I just wonder where has all our intensity went to? The very way we played that gained so much success. Even in this and last season, regardless of formation, it’s when we pressed high and hard and win the ball back fast and used width that we had the best spells. But time and again we revert to a slow paced build up. Boggles my mind.

18 Apr 2024 23:05:03
I appreciate all that Klopp has done for us but, if he wanted to make it so we wouldn't miss him when he leaves, these last few games have reinforced that.

Tactically outclassed again and very little urgency shown with our players simply passing around the backline and Goalkeeper. Klopp selecting players whose performance have dropped rather than those that would feel better suited to the occasion, Jones instead of Elliott, again, for instance. Pigeonholing players into roles they are simply not suited to, i. e. Szobo as Hendo 2.0 and Gakpo as everything but the LW he came as.

It has been a bizarre season and, honestly, I am looking forward to a change. Time to have a manager at the helm that has the desire and motivation to achieve more, leave sentimentality at the door as it has blinded Klopp's decision making far too often. We need to be critical now, recognize flaws and address them rather than allow them to stagnate.

I think this group of players need a refresh, defence and offensive units especially. Rotational players, such as Tsimikas need to be sold. And, once integral players, such as Salah, moved on before they are allowed to become free agents. We need to be ruthless with our decisions now, if a player is past it, no matter the contributions they have made in the past, they need to be sold to build funds. Same goes for free agency, if Van Dijk will not sign a new contract, that all parties can agree on, get what you can now, rather than allow him to leave on a free, like many before him have.

No idea who the next manager will be, mind you. But, I feel honestly hopeful for the future. Of course, be careful what you wish for and all that, but I honestly don't think I could sit through this version of Klopp's football for another season. His greatest strength was the press and occupying / utilizing the wide areas, and he has gone completely against it.

Mind boggling.

18 Apr 2024 23:21:26
Unfortunately, I agree. It seems the team are done, not playing for each other or the manager. I do worry though that they have to pick themselves up, otherwise with Villa away, we run the risk of not even getting top four anymore!

18 Apr 2024 23:32:01
Good post mate ditto.

19 Apr 2024 00:31:46
The unfortunate fact is that when we are pressed high we don't have any answers. We don't have the players to play our way out of it and don't have the pace and power up top anymore to play direct, at least not when Salah is playing. That's why this possession inverted nonsense is awful. It works for City because they buy the players that can play that way. We don't so why try?
Klopp is a legend and always will be winning everything and making us believers again, but he is right. It's time for him to go.

18 Apr 2024 23:04:04
Feel like that match resembled the beautiful flaw of our football under Klopp.

Just weren’t technical or brave enough on the ball to pass the ball through their press.

Shame to go out that way but was watching and thinking that it was almost an appropriate reflection of Klopp’s tenure where we’ve been so good yet fallen short so often.

Well, PL run to come and maybe some more good times before this chapter closes.

19 Apr 2024 00:30:01
Let's face it we were all over the place . no cohesion anywhere. we wouldn't have scored if we played till May. looks like we're running out of ideas. new manager new ideas.

18 Apr 2024 22:36:12
Didn't really understand tonight. Was scratching my head a lot.
I think it was clear that we could not play a passing game and credit to Atalanta for that. However, why then did we not understand that it wasn't possibly to play that way. Why didn't we play longerand get players closer toegtwr to win the 2nd and 3rd and 4th balls. Why not try to force the issue abit because we were not going to score goals with passages of play.
Very confused tonight.

18 Apr 2024 22:52:34
We simply didn’t go for it. Could not for the life of me understand why Jones was picked after he was woeful in the first leg and not much better at the weekend against palace as he looked off the pace and may as well not have been there. Even when time was slipping away we didn’t try anything different (why not try to go 424 and be more direct? ), just the same insipid sideways and backwards passing. Awful end to the season. Only hope we have enough to get a champions league place.

18 Apr 2024 22:57:55
Our exits at the moment are so slow and basic.

Exiting is one of the key components of football and right now ours are slow, pondourous and lacking ideas. We are playing around at the back against set defences. Today was the worst yet.

18 Apr 2024 23:05:52
Atalanta were very frustrating to watch. Lots of little cynical fouls and shirt pulling, tackling from behind and snide trips. The ref was letting them get away with it though so fair play to them.

We just needed to fight fire with fire and not allow ourselves to be bullied. We needed a Carra or a Stevie G crunching tackle just to show them we meant business.

In truth they physically bullied us over both games and we just didn’t stand up for ourselves. Whenever they got close and roughed us up we just gave them the ball back until in the end we were scared to get on the ball because we didn’t want the physical battle.

It was the same against Palace in the first half on Sunday. Too weak and too submissive.

Normally that points to a lack of confidence and judging by our finishing that’s exactly what we are experiencing. Let’s hope Klopp can get them up for Fulham on Sunday because that won’t be easy.

18 Apr 2024 22:32:55
Is Szoboszlai a midfield 3 player?

18 Apr 2024 23:12:55
He has the tools to play there that's for sure.

18 Apr 2024 23:44:10
Honestly haven’t seen anything of him that makes me think he’s worth sticking with, if anything he’s gifting the ball away and costing goals. He’s got ability and really needs to start showing it. That RCM is vital for us as it is supposed to help the right back which he’s not doing. Needs to up his game.

19 Apr 2024 06:30:35
Agreed sailor Jerry. He’s very average.

18 Apr 2024 22:29:12
Absolutely pesh yet again lijnders tatics is a joke. And Klopp just keeps playing same old crap tatics. Where's the high octain football gone? Not winning naff all this season now. Roll on next season new manager new tatics. Goodbye Klopp you was good but now you've lost it. And see ya sh@t lijnders who's destroying us.

18 Apr 2024 22:52:15
Do me a favour. When it’s good Klopp gets praise when it goes tits up it’s Pep’s fault. Yeah that makes perfect sense.

18 Apr 2024 23:32:41
I never got that either Mark. Klopp is the boss so if you have beef with the tactics it’s him you should criticise not someone who takes their orders from him. Even if he’s allowing Pep to dictate tactics to him that’s still on Klopp not his coaches.

Myself I find it difficult to criticise Klopp. I can obviously see the flaws everyone else can see but I think we have to remember where we were before he walked through the door and the giant strides we have taken since.

We were going nowhere fast until he came in and took us back to the top table in Europe for the first time in 30 years. He made us feared again and I will be forever grateful to him for that.

Without Klopp I hate to think where we would be right now but it would probably be top 8 with the odd cup run here and there like we were before he arrived.

Let’s just hope that him leaving doesn’t send us straight back there.

18 Apr 2024 22:28:52
Cant believe I've just seen us score early like we needed and then instead of throwing the kitchen sink at then we've spent the rest of the game passing the ball back to Alisson. What was that all about?

{Ed025's Note - very frustrating Will..