Liverpool fans are happy for the title challenge but naming names among those whose arrogance has cost them.
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Liverpool and their season of arrogance
Early this season we strolled along with an arrogance which was hard to understand. We were no longer the strutting heavy metal football machine and the players surely knew it, so what was that all about? We had just completed a midfield rebuild, so how could any side look like an expectation of being world-beaters?
My theory at the time was that VVD was the source. His own extreme casualness was contagious, it seemed. I remember that period very clearly.
Then, sometime late fall he cast that all aside and got down to the business of being the best centre-back around, easily resembling his old, imperious self. Totally rejuvenated.
But I wonder if he is the leader we really need. Our downfall this year has been our arrogance in games where we needed to be more professional and clinical. It showed up in spades Sunday against a truly terrible United side. We looked like we figured we’d just brush them aside, but football doesn’t work that way.
Even the kid, Quansah, got burned for looking way too casual in THAT horrific pass which he will see in his sleep for a very long time (the still-pissed-off part of me hopes).
I wrote in late last week that we can’t finish for shit, and that was also true Sunday.
It also has to be said that it really looks like Klopp can’t get this team ‘up’ for a big match anymore. We’ve been shite against the top clubs (and United) this year, dropping a ton of points. That can only point to a major mentality fault. We start games terribly, and we can’t go for the jugular when that time is there for it. Maybe the Boss really is done.
There goes the league, most likely. P***ed away in the most unforgiveable way possible if you’re a red. And I wouldn’t put my house on Europa, either, because the 2024 version of Liverpool may just decide we’re owed that trophy, too.
Get the new boss in, even if it only means getting our players up for a big f***ing match, for once. Like before the 15-minute mark.
Entitlement, arrogance.
Scott, LFC, Toronto
READ: 16 Conclusions on Man Utd 2-2 Liverpool: Arrogance, Fernandes, Elliott, title race, Allardyce, Amad
…Liverpool are worryingly displaying characteristics that don’t make champions… a failure to keep a clean sheet (they always look like they need another goal), a failure to take chances and a failure to beat top 6 teams.
A previous contributor pointed out that Salah has been taken off recently because of Ramadan. I think it ending will be big for Liverpool because Salah’s recent performances have lacked both energy and sharpness. It’s a big call but maybe he should have been kept in reserve at the start of games to put in a big effort at the end of games.
Salah needs to be taken off penalties for Mac Allister. Similar to Messi he’s a great player and a bang average penalty taker. A difficult transition for Klopp to make at this stage with Salah’s ego but it’s what’s needed for the team.
I think the Liverpool arrogance point made by F365 is fair. I felt it was evident in the cup match. Liverpool (perhaps as a hangover to 7-0) seem to think they can and will score at will against United. It appearing in the play again so soon yesterday was unforgivable. You have to earn it in big games where you are season saving-scalp for the other team.
Where does it come from (aside from the 7-0)? I love Virgil, he’s a Rolls-Royce player but in the absence of Hendo and Milner I sometimes feel this squad lacks a bit of blood and guts leadership. The.. I’m going to win this 50/50 and get us through this match by force of will … stuff. It’s what I feel Rice has added to Arsenal vs. last season. It’s not an English quality Roy Keane had it, Patrick Vieira had it.
It’s a shame because with the midfield injuries there would have been enough games to keep Hendo happy and I feel we’d have fared much better in the big games and might be 4 or 5 points clear now. Also I feel an England player ‘liaising with referees’ in these types of games is helpful. I was reminded of this by the latitude Harry Maguire got yesterday. Harry Maguire is truly a bad footballer. It’s industrial at best: throwing his head and body at things.
Another contributor to the Rolls-Royce (borderline arrogance) play is Szoboszlai. He’s talented but it too often takes the form of casualness. We didn’t control midfield in the second half and he missed a lot of chances yesterday. I felt he should have been taking off sooner and I’ll take Jones or Elloitt going forward.
I was a bit surprised that Bradley started over Gomez yesterday. I think Gomez has improved going forward and Bradley’s form has evened out a bit. I don’t think it made a difference yesterday but Quansah and Bradley are an inexperienced combo.
I think we are still in a great position relative to the start of the season and the new year’s injury situation. It was good to see Robbo back yesterday and I hope that the player’s coming back from injury can bring the freshness and energy required to finish off the season on top.
PL from DL
Liverpool got their tactics wrong v Man Utd
The United game was painful to watch. Probably great as a neutral but as a Liverpool fan it was so painful.
We looked from the start like a nervous team. Having watched United a lot this season the games where United struggle are the ones that sit back, don’t press high and wait for mistakes because the United midfield loses possession a lot and the attack doesn’t conjure much in slow games. I was pleased to see that at the beginning the press was holding off until close to the halfway line before stepping up meaning United couldn’t play a fast transition game and so created nothing.
As the game wore on for some inexplicable reason we began to press higher and gave United the game they wanted to play. We were not patient. And aside from Mac every player had horrible passing and decision making. Strikers were unwilling to pull the trigger, passing or dribbling away good chances while Salah tried to score rugby conversions from 10 yards away.
United also aren’t being given the credit they deserve, they cut off passing lanes to Van Dijk and allowed Quansah to keep the ball. Van Dijk is the route for many of Liverpool fast attacks and so it took one weapon away and set up a young inexperienced player to have more of the ball than he really looked comfortable with, and it led to a mistake. Great finish by Bruno. United sucked us into playing their game of playing a faster more intense game when really slow and methodical is how you beat united
Granted I feel confident saying that Konate for Quansah and Jota for Salah or Nunez and that changes from a 2-2 draw to probably a 3-1 win. There was a LOT of wasted chances. I was one of the (few) Liverpool fans who was actually in favour of selling Salah for 150m in the summer as I’d noticed last year his pace was gone and he wasn’t finishing chances the same way he did three years ago. Great servant and hero to Liverpool bit every story has an ending. Klopp was too loyal in hanging on I think, it’s Def Klopp biggest failing, he doesn’t have the ruthless streak that Pep and Fergie have to cut players who aren’t contributing enough.
There is still a reasonable chance of winning the title since Arsenal have a bunch of tough away days coming up and we still lead City on points. But right now I’d say arsenal look the most capable given they can defend and finish off teams they should.
Disappointing and I can see this being another ‘almost’ great season in which we fall short of a title and then lose the final of Europa to the manager who decided to turn us down, football can be ironically cruel at times.
Good luck to all, see y’all at finish line. Whomever wins will utterly deserve it.
Lee
Liverpool get giddy v Man Utd
Not sure why Utd can turn us into giddy little schoolkids with no composure, but they can.
Hopefully others will bottle it against their own nemeses and hard to be too upset when you get a late soft penalty.
Aidan, Lfc (thought Salah was going to miss that)
Was that a penalty though?
Ok, firstly, had Utd lost that game there could have been no complaints. Liverpool could have won like in the FA Cup but they didn’t convert chances.
However, I do want to pick up on the very dubious penalty. Elliot was going down before AWB put in his challenge. By the time Elliot effectively manufactured contact with the defender he was already halfway to the ground. That was as clear-cut a dive as you’ll see.
Then the commentators, before seeing a replay, decided it was a stonewall penalty and we had just one quick replay before VAR also decided it was fine. Usually you would see the same from 2.or 3 angles with any point of contact slowed down.
I don’t blame the referee as it looked clear in real time but watching that first replay I already saw minimal to no contact. How the hell do some VAR decisions take minutes and this one that was dodgy barely got a second glance? Who exactly is pulling the strings behind the scenes?
I can’t say I really care about the result, whether Utd make Europa or not doesn’t really matter and whatever the result the title has a long way to go but that did strike me as an incredibly weird call.
For the record (not sure what record) I’m not a conspiracy theorist, I just get really annoyed at inconsistencies in a system that is so poorly applied and leads to unnecessary screw ups.
Jon, Cape Town (not celebrating any Utd results when they dish up this crap)
Straight to the comments! ‘That was as clear-cut a dive as you’ll see… The softest of soft penalties yesterday’ Ridiculous. An experienced defender slides in like that and doesn’t touch the ball, he deserves what he gets. I can only assume that these two commenters were watching their first game ever on Sunday. Completely bewildering bias. – Mat. Respond here.
…Paul Murphy is entirely right. United got away with one with the non-penalty for Wolves in the first game of the season, and we’ve been made to pay for it all season since then.
It was obvious as early as the 2nd game, with the absolutely inexplicable decision not to give a penalty for handball against Romero when his arm was at right angles to his body. Hojlund manhandled in the box at Arsenal – no penalty. Hojlund ‘foul’ on Rodri in the derby that happens in every game of the season without being blown up – penalty. Hojlund equaliser v Brighton ruled out for the ball being out of play, when the exact same situation lead to a goal for Newcastle v Arsenal, which was allowed. Subjective offside for Maguire that ruled out McTominay’s opener v Fulham. The barest breath of contact by Dalot against Chelsea, that led to their penalty equaliser. The softest of soft penalties yesterday; had that been for United against any other team, it wouldn’t have been a penalty
But yeah – United get all the decisions.
Kevin, Dublin
What the FFP?
When Everton got their first PSR-related points deduction I didn’t see what much of the fuss was about – rules were broken and a punishment was applied. The “115 charges” constantly being referred to seemed to only showcase a lack of understanding for legal processes especially those involving vastly rich and powerful organisations – they take time.
Now; there’s been a secondary deduction and talks of a possible third before the season closes out. I hope the Premier League realises how incompetent it seems to everyone now. I hope they realise how important optics are in the modern game and can sort this and hopefully City’s charges ASAP.
I believe we’d all love to go back to just watching a game of the sport we love without whipping out our calculators and arguing about who leads the net spend, PSR and pure profit tables.
Emma (Abuja)
…Now Everton have been punished with another 2 point deduction Premier league clubs have come up with a plan.
It seems clubs are trying to weasel their way out of point deductions (an actual punishment) in favor of a “Luxury Tax”. The tax would mean they just get fined for breaking the financial rules so can spend as much as they want. The richer you are the more you can spend because you can afford the fines.
The clubs claim they will become uncompetitive on transfers and salaries if the rules are not changed to exactly what they want (so they won’t actually be getting punished as they will just see the fines as a cost of doing business).
Seems fine to me, let the league do this after Man City are punished though because this new system would benefit them the most. It is probably them who came up with the idea in the first place so it would be fitting they cannot take advantage of it (due to playing in a lower league or not existing at all).
Lastly about Everton again. Isn’t interesting that they can be investigated and punished for 2 breaches separately (with another charge on the way) but a certain club from about 1 hour down the road can’t be. A two tier system indeed.
Morris
On the fourth-place run-in
Spurs face a tricky game at Newcastle in the early Saturday game this coming weekend (Apr 13th). Their next game is then home to Arsenal on April 28th.
In-between those two games Villa will play Arsenal (A) on the 14th, Lille (A) on the 18th, Bournemouth (H) on the 21st, and Chelsea (H) on the 27th. In short, Villa will have played 35 PL games to Spurs’ 32 after they’ve played Chelsea. To be clear I’m not complaining as a Villa fan as I really don’t know who this favours. It’s also great to be involved in meaningful games this time of the season. Just seems incredibly quirky. Any thoughts on who it favours? Points on the board or games in hand?
Mind you, Spurs’ run of Newcastle (A), Arsenal (H), Chelsea (A), and Liverpool (A) in their next four looks ‘fun’.
Christ, I’ve bored myself writing this.
Ta,
Gary AVFC, Oxford
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