I’m more annoyed by this than I have a right to be. After the season we’ve had - actually make that two seasons - complaining about an under-strength side drawing away in the cup would make me seem like a bit of a grumpy bastard with a misplaced sense of entitlement. I’m going to do it anyway. Well, maybe a little bit.
I’m conflicted on this. We’re still in the cup and an extra game presumably means more opportunities for Jones, Pedro, Neco and Elliott (unless Klopp sees them as ‘first team’ and gives them a week off). That’s no bad thing, as the more games they get the better. So a replay is a positive from that point of view.
Also, I’d be lying if I said that either of the domestic cups are particularly high on my priority list. If we don’t win them, then *shrugs shoulders* whaddayagonnado. So the result itself didn’t bother me. It was the performance, especially after the break, that I found infuriating.
After the way this side played against Everton in the last round I was really looking forward to this. The performances were like night and day though. We were great against Everton and we were utter garbage against Shrewsbury. There was no comparison between the two displays.
Why was that? I think I can sum it up in three simple words - Matip, Lovren and Fabinho. There’s the problem right there. Those three. Top players who’ve been great all season, but they were all absolutely fucking shite. Not just below par, but genuinely terrible.
Others didn’t cover themselves in glory either *looks disapprovingly at Origi* but to me it was glaringly obvious how we allowed Shrewsbury to get back into the game. It was down to three players who ought to have been leading the way but who looked like Sunday League lads playing with a stinking hangover.
The common denominator with all three is that they’re all just back from fairly long term injuries. That goes some way towards explaining it, but their body language all evening screamed out “this is beneath me”. That’s probably harsh, but it’s how it looked.
The last time I remember feeling this way was when we lost at Wolves last year. The senior players stank that night too (particularly Sturridge and Moreno), but Wolves are obviously vastly superior opponents than Shrewsbury. It’s not what I’ve come to expect from this squad as their attitude has been so good for so long and after the Arsenal and Everton games I had high hopes for this.
In the last round Gomez and Lallana were both immense and showed the way for the kids around them. Where was that leadership from the senior pros in this game? It was non-existent, unless you count Adrian who did all he could.
The kids acquitted themselves well in the first half but it became really difficult for them after the break, not least because what should have been the strength of the team - the experienced spine - performed as badly as I’ve seen any of them play in a red shirt. Ok, Lovren has probably had worse games than this, but the other two were definitely at an all time low.
Fabinho was terrible even in the first half. He stank from start to finish. I know he’s had a lengthy lay off, but he looked fine in midweek when he came on against Wolves. I genuinely can’t get over how bad he was in this game.
Matip too. He just got worse and worse until eventually he had to be subbed because he was going to cost us the game. The final straw with him was presumably when he passed the ball straight to an opponent in the middle of the field. He was under no pressure and there was no Liverpool player anywhere near it. It summed up his day.
Lovren could easily have been hooked too. I don’t know what he was playing at either. These were league one strikers who kept getting a free run at Adrian. Seriously, what the fuck was going on?
From the moment we went 2-0 up those three started fucking around by their own box, inviting pressure. It wasn’t the pitch for doing shit like that and all it does is gets the crowd into it and encourages the opposition players to think there might be something in the game for them. That’s exactly what happened. The game should have been over but we kept messing around at the back and giving the ball away. It gave Shrewsbury hope when there should have been none, and eventually it cost us.
It should never have gotten to that stage as it wouldn’t have taken much to put the game away. We got the lead early on with a lovely goal created by Chirivella and finished by Jones. We should have built on it but the balance of the team looked all wrong. Other than Jones our attacking play was generally toothless and at the other end we needed Adrian to make a couple of big saves.
We were given a present seconds after the restart when former Man United defender Donald Love hilariously put through his own net, but instead of spurring us on to a bigger win it seemed to be the signal for us to completely stop playing.
It was just a dreadful performance all around, and while I lay most of the blame at the door of the senior players, Klopp didn’t help either with how he set up the front three. Minimino was a passenger again and couldn’t get into the game in the false nine position, while Origi was stinking it up hugely on the left. That’s how they started against Everton too, but even in that game we looked better after Minamino was subbed.
Divock is a finisher. A penalty box player. A goalscorer. Occasionally he’ll do a decent job out wide but more often than not he’s crap out there. He spent most of his time with his back to goal, trying to control passes that were bobbling up off the pitch, and invariably he’d either lose the ball or have to take that many touches to get it under control that all he could do was pass it backwards.
As early as ten minutes in I was saying we needed to swap him and Minamino. It just seemed the obvious thing to do, but we had to wait until late in the game when Elliott was brought off before we saw Minamino wide and Origi central. And within a couple of minutes of it happening Origi had had two shots on goal and suddenly looked like he was a threat. Who knew? Everybody actually, because it’s fucking obvious.
Still, for all my complaints about the top end of the pitch, the real problem was at the back. Matip was weak as piss and Lovren must have left his brain back at Melwood. Either that or he’s been on a week long bender since he beat Mo at table tennis on LFC TV.
That said, Shrewsbury’s first goal shouldn’t have counted as it was not a penalty. Larouci fouled the guy but he was outside the box. Those ones are always really difficult for refs to get right though so I’m not criticising the official. It’s one incidents like that when VAR shows it’s worth, but there’s no VAR at lower league grounds so it couldn’t bail us out. I have no real complaints on that, it’s a tough call to get right in real time. My complaint is with our poor defending.
Their equaliser was even worse though. Fabinho gives away a simple pass and then just look at Matip’s pitiful attempt to win the header. As I said, weak as piss. This was the old Matip, the one before he became fucking ace. Then Lovren dives in and doesn’t win the ball, leaving their sub to drill the ball past Adrian for his second goal.
That annoyed the fuck out of me, especially as just look at the fucking state of the lad who scored both goals. Letting someone with a haircut like that score against us seriously rankles. Letting him do it twice deserves some serious punishment. Like, oh I don’t know, the cancelling of a winter break for those involved perhaps? I’ll get to that shortly.
Klopp decided there and then he didn’t want a replay and on came both Salah and Firmino to join Ox who’d been brought on earlier. It made a difference and we almost won it late when Jones looked like he was about to slide in to score from close range, but the defender recovered to make a great block.
We didn’t deserve to win the game though. Shrewsbury definitely deserved a replay as this wasn’t a smash and grab. They had other chances in addition to the two they scored and I thought they played well. The lad playing in midfield who got man of the match on BBC was terrific. We didn’t get near him in that second half, which again is a poor reflection on Fabinho as usually his area of the field is a no go zone.
The midfield completely disappeared in the second half. We had no control on the game at all. Chirivella was class in the first half but we didn’t see much of him after the break. Maybe I’m letting him off the hook too easily, but I don’t think there was much he could do about that. Lovren and Matip were either fannying around passing to each other, or hitting long hopeful punts up the field. Is it any wonder Jones and Chirivella faded from the game?
Elliott did nothing all day. It was a really frustrating game for him as he hardly saw the ball. It’s not that he did much wrong, he just couldn’t get into the game. Williams was fine. He was better in the first half than the second, but he competed well enough and did nothing wrong.
On the other flank Larouci found it difficult but that didn’t really surprise me. He’s not great defensively as he’s not been playing full back for too long, but he got very little help from those around him. I don’t blame him for the penalty because look where he is. He’s playing left back but he was so far over into the middle because he’d come across to cover. The failing there was no his, he was just the one trying to solve the problem created by others.
So what now? Klopp says no senior players will be involved in the replay and whatsmore neither will he. Everyone is off on holiday and I suppose I’m ok with that. Mostly. I don’t especially begrudge Klopp having a break and I certainly don’t think the first team lads who didn’t play in this one should have to report in for the replay. Why should they be punished for that shambolic second half?
However, based on this showing you’d have to say that Matip, Fabinho and Lovren clearly need games more than they need rest. They were so rusty that if you listened carefully you could probably hear them squeaking. Minamino also needs game time more than a holiday (although games with the kids probably isn’t going to do him any good really, in fairness).
Then there’s Keita, Shaqiri, Lallana and Origi too.They’ve hardly played this season so why do they need a break? What’s the point in giving them a winter break at the expense of sacking off the FA Cup?
If Klopp wants to take time off then he can, because he can do no wrong really. In all honesty though I think he should take charge of the replay. I don’t feel especially strongly about it and I won’t be kicking off if he goes through with his threat, but personally I think he should take charge of the replay and I also think that the ‘squad’ players should also be involved, especially those who contributed to the fact we needed a replay in the first place.
The other issue in play here is the ticket pricing. If, like at Villa, Critchley takes charge and it’s his squad who play in the tie, then how can the club justify charging anything more than what they would for an u23 fixture? League One opponents, and a team full of teenagers, this is a tricky one for the club because anything more than a tenner is taking the piss.
And if they do go down that road then it’s proper sly on Shrewsbury who could really use the money. This whole situation is a sorry mess. The Premier League tell the clubs to honour the break and don’t arrange any games, then the FA schedule cup replays slap bang in the middle of the break. What are we supposed to do here? Whatever Klopp does he’s not going to please everyone.
The big clubs want to scrap replays but replays can be transformational for lower league clubs. Everything is tailored for the haves, but what about the have nots? Shrewsbury deserve a big pay day, but why should our fans have to pay for it when we’ll be watching a bunch of kids managed by the u23 coach?
I don’t really have the answer but something needs to be done because this season we’ve effectively already had to forfeit the League Cup due to fixture congestion and now it looks like the same may be happening in the FA Cup.
Losing with a second string team is fine. When it’s fourth and fifth string kids then something needs to change. With better scheduling we could have won it all this year, instead of having to prioritise. It needs looking at because we’re not the bad guys here, but that’s how it will no doubt be portrayed by many.
Star man is Adrian, with a little nod of acknowledgement for Curtis Jones too.
Team: Adrian; Williams, Matip (Salah), Lovren, Larouci; Fabinho, Chirivella, Jones; Elliott (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Minamino (Firmino), Origi:
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