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Liverpool 1 Newcastle 1 (Apr 24 2021)

     

     
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    Dave Usher

What do you call Liverpool in an empty stadium? Arsenal. Yeah, that’s who we are now. Mentality lightweights who waste loads of chances and shit themselves as soon as even the smallest amount of pressure is applied. 

 

Twice in a week we’ve done the same thing and it’s going to cost us a place in the Champions League. Those four points would have us in fourth, one point off Leicester in third spot. Forget all the other fucking horror shows we’ve had that led us into this predicament, despite all of that we could have still found ourselves in a decent spot just by seeing out these two games. And we shit down our own legs twice.

 

What happened at the end of this game was embarrassing, shameful and humiliating. The inability to see this game out against a team that had barely gotten out of their own half since the opening twenty minutes or so was just so bad that I have no problem in saying that this squad really don’t deserve to be in the Champions League next year. Let's be honest here, they've been pitiful this season and have shown no resilience in the face of adversity.

 

There are lots of thing wrong but the main issue is the one that’s been plaguing us all season. We either don’t create enough or when we do create we just don’t take them. The last couple of games have been so Arsenal-esque it’s making me just not want to watch anymore. I don't like sitting there screaming "you fucking knobheads" at the telly but they're driving me to it.

 

Shitting themselves in front of goal and then just completely bottling it late on and forgetting about the basics. Not keeping the ball, making stupid decisions, conceding set-pieces and generally just giving hope to opponents who had none. It's pathetic. 

 

We should have won this game by fucking six. It was just chance after chance created and fucking squandered. The one goal we scored was probably the hardest finish of the lot. Incredible goal by Mo just three minutes in. To not take advantage of that is just appalling. 

 

The other teams who are also chasing a top four spot keep opening the door for us and we keep slamming it in our own faces. It’s just embarrassing now and I’m not prepared to offer up any defence for them. Sure, they’ve had a lot of setbacks and it looked like they were feeling sorry for themselves a while back, but since then they’ve been given opportunity after opportunity to salvage something from a wretched season and they just seem to determined to ensure it gets even worse.

 

They even had a favour from VAR for once and still didn't take advantage. Funny thing is, I didn’t even know about the drama at the end of this. I switched it off in complete disgust when Newcastle equalised so I didn’t know the goal had been disallowed and that we’d somehow conceded again immediately after. 

 

I think we all knew that an equaliser was coming. As chance after chance went begging there was nothing more obvious than us giving away a set-piece or two in the closing minutes, panic setting in and us eventually conceding. We all knew it. We’ve all watched footy long enough to know that’s how it works. A struggling team with a 1-0 lead that has wasted a bucketload of chances nearly always pays the price. It’s just how it is. If we were top we’d have seen it out, as we did so often last season. Last season seems like a lifetime ago now.

 

What makes this so fucking risible is that we paid that price but for once we were bailed out by VAR. Then we still fucked it up anyway. Staggering stuff. They completely shit themselves. It was a collective shitting of shorts that caused this. It isn’t just the goal itself, it’s the failures that went before that led to it. Little things like not keeping the ball or wasting a bit of time. You know, standard game management. We’ve shown none of that in the last two games. Maybe it’s because we’ve forgotten how it feels to be leading games that we’re just so out of practice.

 

As I say though, I didn’t even see the actual equaliser and it was only when I was reading the match thread on the forum a bit later that the depths we’d managed to plumb actually hit me.

 

I’d seen the final score and assumed that I’d witnessed the equaliser. For us to have been given a reprieve like that and still manage to fuck it up is absolutely criminal. Almost as criminal as the shit finishing.

 

I know this is very much a ‘yer da’ thing to say but this week I’d have the cunts doing an hour’s finishing practice after training every single day. Not just the forwards, the entire fucking squad as we’re too reliant on the forwards scoring anyway, and they just can’t be trusted any more.

 

If I was Klopp I’d be at the end of my fucking tether with those forwards and their dogshit finishing.

 

Their finishing is just consistently shite and their decision making is even worse. That has killed our season as much as anything outside of no fans being in stadiums. I keep saying it but they’re a much, much bigger issue than us not having centre backs and frankly I’m getting sick of the defensive injury situation being used as an excuse to let them off the hook. Are we putting this latest fucking shitshow from the forwards down to Virgil not being there too?

 

They are just a HUGE problem (Jota generally hasn’t been as wasteful but he was rancid in this game) because they’ve been so great for us that it’s going to make any decision on their future so much more difficult. It’s not like with someone like Keita where it’s easy to just say “get rid of the useless fucker”. These lads are legends and deserve some loyalty but I’m just getting so frustrated with them.

 

Even Mo to some extent, which isn’t really fair because he’s scored 30 now (I think). I’m critical of him because it should be at least 40 with the chances he gets, but at the same time I have to admit that if the other two had been pulling their weight then I’d be looking at Mo in a much more favourable light than I am currently. It's because the other two have been dogshit that I’m expecting Mo to be Superman and that isn’t fair.

 

He's done his job. Maybe he could have done it a bit better than he has but the job he's done has been more than acceptable. How many others can say the same? Gini. Robbo. Fabinho. Milner. Jota. Phillips... after that I'm struggling.

 

I’m starting to really resent some of these players and I resent myself even more for feeling that way about players who have given us so much joy. For instance, I don’t want to dislike Bobby but that’s where I’m headed and I can’t control it. 

 

I definitely feel like things would be different if we could be inside the stadium. The lads need our support and I’d be more inclined to ‘support’ them if I was there, but I’m not there. I’m watching on telly and it’s just different. It’s more frustrating. I feel less attached. Less involved. More inclined to be pissed off than suportive.

 

My first instinct when I see Bobby’s face now is to mutter “fuck off” and I’m fully aware that makes me a twat. I hate it. I don’t want to feel that way and I’m not trying to justify it as it can’t be justified. It reflects really badly on me but I’m just being honest with you. That’s how I feel these days. 

 

I’m not there with Sadio yet because he’s such a great fella. I just feel sorry for him more than anything else. He’s shite though, let’s not beat about the bush. He’s worse than Bobby actually, it’s just that it’s been going on longer with Firmino. I get no enjoyment out of watching this front three anymore and it’s starting to look like Jota has been dragged down to that level too as he’s not been good of late either. 

 

I feel like a twat moaning about any of this though because I always said if we won the league then I wouldn’t care what happens the next season. Somewhere along the line I forgot about that but I need to keep reminding myself. We won the league and then this season has been a massive clusterfuck. If you’d offered me this scenario at any point in the last decade or even more i’d have taken it. So I’m not going to let any of this bother me now and I don’t give a fuck what happens in the last five games.

 

Of course I hope we get a Champions League place because fuck that Europa League. Being in that is the last thing we need but that’s looking like our future now because there’s no way we’re finishing top four. We’ll 100% lose at Old Trafford next week and probably drop points in at least two other games because we’ve got four months form for it. There is absolutely nothing other than blind faith to suggest this team can win enough games to overhaul Chelsea or Leicester. 

 

I don’t know what’s going to happen in the summer but I know that I wouldn’t want to be the one making those decisions because how can we tell if this is just a freak season or if it’s a team in decline? There’s evidence to support both theories but there are just so many questions hanging over the squad.

 

Will Sadio get back to what he was or is this him now? Is Thiago just a bad fit or will he settle in and become an important player (he was good in this game and we missed him when he went off)? Will the centre halves come back from injury at their best level? Can Bobby be salvaged? Will Hendo ever be injury free? Should Trent be moved into midfield? Will Robbo ever get a rest?

 

I could go on as there are just so many fucking question marks and I don’t have the answer to any of them. I doubt Klopp does either. I suspect he’ll go with his heart rather than his head and we’ll see minor tweaking rather than any significant overhaul. As each week passes I’m starting to think that’s not going to be enough and our problems are bigger than just not having crowds and Van Dijk.

 

I’m not even giving a star man because I’m just so disillusioned with it. Thiago got it on BT and I wouldn’t argue with that, but then he was subbed with 20 minutes to go so why would you take off your best player with only a one goal lead, and then complain afterwards that “we didn’t keep the ball”? 

 

To be honest I don’t even have the motivation to try and think about these things anymore. It’s all fucked, I’m fed up with the whole thing and can’t wait until the season is over and I don’t have to watch or spend any time thinking about any of it.

 

I’m really, REALLY, fucking dreading next week.

 

 

Team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Kabak, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Thiago (Jones); Mané, Firmino, Jota (Milner); Salah:


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Just go into next week's game with the mindset that we're going to lose, then go out and twat a few balls on the driving range instead. The match reports virtually write themselves at the moment anyway and it'd be alot less rage inducing than actually having to watch it.

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Klopp is almost certainly giving our league winning squad another chance.

 

Cente half aside, we'll only replace Gini if we sell midfielders on top of that, and we'll only buy a striker if we sell the deadwood up top too.

 

I think only Shaq, Keita and Origi are dead certs to be sold at this point from the 'winning' squad.

 

I suppose it will all depend on whether we get the bids we want.

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I'm not a statto, but this one can't be ignored.

 

This year, at Anfield, we've had 146 shots, resulting in 4 goals.

 

Embarrassing, shameful and humiliating indeed.

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I've never used the term grim as many times as I have this season. Grim stuff. 

 

Edit : maybe we could have brucie piss on the posts again or get the mop and clean up. Someone has bestowed bad juju on us. 

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So much I agree with in that report.

We’ve thrown away top 4 with the last two games imo.


on the Bobby thing I’ve been there for most of the season - he’s not on his own being poor but he just seems to offer so little to our team now.

Not just the lack of goals and assists which is pathetic but his link up play and winning the ball back has been shite as well. In some matches he’s broken down more of our attacks then helped in them.

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Accurate report Dave. I dont see us getting 4th now.

 

Both Leeds and Newcastle should have been 6 points for us even with just the goal lead. Like you, I hate being critical of the boys and Jurgen but I consider Jurgen has a lot to look at himself for.

 

If the team's running on empty, why the fuck havent we been using all 3 subs especially in the last few games when you've made a big point about 5?

 

We're going to finish 5th at best. How many teams finishing 5th go on to win the title the following season? Not many id guess.

 

If Jurgen doesnt know deep down he does have a massive rebuild on his hands, we really are fucked.

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This seasons home forms been a disgrace. We’ve had more than enough quality starting for us to see all these teams off yet they’ve all walked out of here with a result using the same tactics the pint of wine drinker turned up with West Brom.

 

We’ve only got ourselves to blame. We’ve made excuse after excuse this season instead of changing it up. I know I’ve harped on about our lack of goalscoring being our problem all season rather than the defence but it’s still a problem. 

 

Salah gets his goal but his overall play is awful but goals pay the bills.

 

Mane has a go every game but has reverted to his early days here when he’d look great 1 minute then look like he’s never kicked a ball in his life the minute after.

 

Firmino’s been carried for 2

seasons by the other 2 and is a waste of a shirt in his position. He doesn’t create, he doesn’t score and kills nearly everything we do. I’ve never seen a player get so many excuses made for him as this fella. Klopp doesn’t do it for anyone else so what’s he seeing here that we’re not.

 

The midfield have always been industrial so we can’t blame them for not scoring or creating and the defence have been sound until teams have piled on us the last 10 minutes when they know we’re done for the day.

 

Klopps got to take a lot of the blame for our form this season.

Continuing with the same formation and the players being terrible game after game while

not giving those on the bench any hope of getting in the teams created 2 problems. 
 

Those starting know they’re playing no matter what and the bench have thought he’s not giving me a go so what’s the point. 

 

No ones took this season seriously and our arrogance has fucked us up on and off the pitch. 
I can’t remember any other club getting involved in every negative story as much as us this season. 

 

I was praying Klopp and the players would straight bat the fuck up that was the super league but we’re right at the forefront again taking the pressure off the others.


Just shut the fuck up and do your talking on the pitch from now on.

 

 

 

 

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Nothing to add really Dave.

 

Another game we should have won by a hatful, so that when the opposition do score it would be a case of "no clean sheet this week then..." 4-1 instead of 4-0.

 

The whole world has gone mad and we have been eaten by it...

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Excellent report as ever Dave. Some very strange decisions by Jurgen this season. Why not use Gini in the rolehe plays for Holland and drop Bobby, for example, why hardly use Shaq, is Davis so shit we need to use Fab as a centre back, big Div never used as a central striker etc etc. Like you I have given up hope of anything good coming out of this season. It wouldn’t surprise me if Klopp went in the summer. There’s a lot of talk in Germany about the similarities to what happened at Dortmund.

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The forwards were dreadful and the reason we didn't take the 3 points. Klopp should be fuming with them. I also hope Klopp looks back on this game and tries to make sense of his sub decisions - they've been awful all season too. This team needs a rest big time. Bring on the summer and then go full whack at it again next season. If we're in the Europa so be it; just use it like the league cup and try to develop players. 

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 ‘yer da’ 

A lot of the time, yer da's right.

Sad thing is I doubt there was one red who hadn't called the script.

We rightly moan about var and then fail to take advantage when it helps us.

So pissed off with this team.

We've been more front page headlines.

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Totally agree, I hate myself for getting annoyed with these players but can't help it. Bobby played a pass near the end where he lazily lofted it in the air and we lost the ball. Poor execution but also braindead decision making which I just can't forgive. He's ruining his legacy and it hurts to say that as I've loved him for years. He can't even weight simple passes properly anymore though. It's bizarre that he can become so bad and Mane is exactly the same. They look like a couple of competition winners at the moment. 

 

 

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Another great report Dave agree with it all. I never thought I would give up on Bobby but I totally have and Mane as well. If he laughs one more time when he misses a sitter .....

I am firmly of the belief that we need to spend on quite a few players in the summer  it’s not going to happen though.....Klopp won’t want too and the greedy bastards that our are owners won’t give him the money anyway. Let the season end ! 

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Great report in trying circumstances Dave, pretty much sums up what we’re all thinking at the minute. As I posted in the forum, I’m embarrassed to admit I hate watching us at the minute, I dread match day because I know my blood pressure will go through the roof and I feel like fucking the TV out the window! Personally I think we need two possibly 3 new players in, with a particular emphasis up front. I kinda think that Mané will come good again, but Bobby’s been getting progressively worse for nearly two years, that’s who he is now. The thing with Liverpool in our heyday was legend or not, if you were no longer doing it you got fucked out. You lifted the European Cup Thommo? Fuck you meet this young lad Hansen. That’s the way it should be

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I’ve just looked up to see if Mo is still top scorer but I see bloody Kane has overtaken him. Be nuts if we finish 5th or 6th and have the Golden Boot winner!

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1 hour ago, DaveTucker said:

Totally agree, I hate myself for getting annoyed with these players but can't help it. Bobby played a pass near the end where he lazily lofted it in the air and we lost the ball. Poor execution but also braindead decision making which I just can't forgive. He's ruining his legacy and it hurts to say that as I've loved him for years. He can't even weight simple passes properly anymore though. It's bizarre that he can become so bad and Mane is exactly the same. They look like a couple of competition winners at the moment. 

 

 

Forward in missing intricate pass shocker. How about the two he laid on a plate for Mo and Jota in the 1st half?

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1 hour ago, suzy said:

I’ve just looked up to see if Mo is still top scorer but I see bloody Kane has overtaken him. Be nuts if we finish 5th or 6th and have the Golden Boot winner!

Yep, I agree!

 

Kane got 2 goals against the shite the other night to overtake Mo. Mo pulled one back on Saturday and could have been ahead again if he'd taken his chances.

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Just so frustrating and my blood pressure levels are getting to danger point during games now, usually from shouting at the forwards.

I don't think we can assume that this is something which tinkering will sort, it is time now for a rebuild. That doesn't mean throwing everyone out, eg Mané, but that midfield needs surgery and Bobby should be replaced sadly. Is Tsamekis that poor to never give Robbo a rest, too late now as there is time between games?

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22 hours ago, bigal said:

Just so frustrating and my blood pressure levels are getting to danger point during games now, usually from shouting at the forwards.

I don't think we can assume that this is something which tinkering will sort, it is time now for a rebuild. That doesn't mean throwing everyone out, eg Mané, but that midfield needs surgery and Bobby should be replaced sadly. Is Tsamekis that poor to never give Robbo a rest, too late now as there is time between games?


I’m beginning to wonder if we’ve already decided to cut our losses on Tsimikas in the summer and the reason he’s not featuring is in case he picks up an injury. 
 

Absolute madness that we spent 15m on this lad instead of a centre back and he’s played about 5 minutes. It’s not like Robbo’s met his usual standards since Christmas either. 

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