Augsburg 0 Liverpool 0 (Feb 18 2016)

[tlw content]

This game was so bad the most interesting thing about it was Michael Owen’s commentary. How come our European away games are just so damn hideous these days? Ok, the home ones aren’t much better, but these away fixtures are just desperately dull. There’s not even an excuse for it, it’s not like any of these teams we've faced are any good either.

It wasn’t that long ago we were beating Juve, Inter, Real Madrid and Barca, now we can’t even beat these Europa League jabronis. Some would say we’re Europa League jabronis ourselves these days, which is true, but even so, we should still be beating Augsburg. They’re in a relegation battle and they aren’t very good. We just put six past relegation fodder in this country a few days ago, but as we so often seem to do after a big win we’ve been unable to follow it up.
Don't forget we lost at Newcastle a few days after putting six past Southampton. Of course that wasn't an unchanged side so there is at least some excuse for that. This was the exact same group of players that demolished Villa, although I did say after that one that we shouldn't read too much into it. This is exactly why.

I’m proper pissed off about this one and judging by Klopp’s antics on the touchline I’d say he felt the same. It was a missed opportunity and it could have consequences, both for the second leg and also the cup final next weekend. The thing is, 0-0 away from home isn’t the great result it used to be. Teams are so good on the counter attack these days that the risk of an away goal looms large, but even leaving that aside, have you seen our home form??

A defeat or a score draw puts us out, and all of the following teams have managed that at Anfield this season:

Carlisle United, West Ham, Norwich, Sion, Ruben Kazan, Southampton, Palace, West Brom, Manchester United, Arsenal, Stoke and Sunderland.

So, still feeling confident about next week? Maybe someone should have pointed that out to the players beforehand. Perhaps then they wouldn't have half arsed their way around thinking as long as they didn't lose it was fine. This was a great chance to win the tie but the players looked like they weren’t even arsed about winning. They looked like a team who thought 0-0 was a good result to take back to Anfield, when in reality it fucking isn’t. Not for this team.


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[Dr. J]

I wrote on the match thread that these players retain their loyalty to Rodgers. Who else but him would have given them such high wages/low expectations, coupled with whatever they and their agents carved out of the transfer fee. They aren't going to win anything for Klopp, whoever the opposition, because it would be ultimate show up of Rodgers and all he did for them.

 

Even though he's an idiot most of the time, Allardyce was right to point out that if Chelsea played better against Sund the first game after Mourinho was fired it would be proof positive that they weren't working for him anymore.

 

How many times this season has the team come out in the first half lackadaisical and harf-arsed, only to come out better in the second after Klopp lays into them? Is he telling them to be lazy in the first half? I fucking doubt it. They simply  aren't playing hard enough for him or the shirt because their loyalty is to Rodgers. Winning anything shows what a fraud Rodgers was.

[SasaS]

Now that's some tinfoil hat stuff surely?

[Trumo]

We've certainly seen worse performances from us in Europe over the last 6-7 years. Trouble is, we've barely seen a really good performance from the team in Europe over that time either. 

[aws]

It was pretty poor but nowhere near the worst performance so far this season. We were fairly comfortable throughout but that midfield unit has no dynamism and Sturridge was obviously worried about tweaking something if he ran quicker than jogging pace on a cold night.

[Dr Nowt]

I wrote on the match thread that these players retain their loyalty to Rodgers. Who else but him would have given them such high wages/low expectations, coupled with whatever they and their agents carved out of the transfer fee. They aren't going to win anything for Klopp, whoever the opposition, because it would be ultimate show up of Rodgers and all he did for them.

 

Even though he's an idiot most of the time, Allardyce was right to point out that if Chelsea played better against Sund the first game after Mourinho was fired it would be proof positive that they weren't working for him anymore.

 

How many times this season has the team come out in the first half lackadaisical and harf-arsed, only to come out better in the second after Klopp lays into them? Is he telling them to be lazy in the first half? I fucking doubt it. They simply aren't playing hard enough for him or the shirt because their loyalty is to Rodgers. Winning anything shows what a fraud Rodgers was.

Behold, it is JP's bitter twin.

[Paul]

Inconsistent? I'd say they're one of the most consistent sides we've had, sadly.

[Marcas]

As long as our midfield consists of Can, Henderson and Milner we, my friends, are going nowhere....

[jimmycase]

Majorly disappointed with the performance on Thursday. Once again when we rattle in a hatful in a game, we struggle to find the net just once in the next game.

[Dr. J]

Just hard to figure such a poor first half after Klopp bigged the tournament and it being his first time back in Germany. Sometimes the most obvious explanation, however extreme fits best.

 

The team has done very little for Klopp since he took over, I think the ppg total is worse than Rodgers. Either they're shite or he is. I think the former, and if they're better but not performing, what's a more plausible explanation?

[jimmycase]

Spot on report. No urgency whatsoever. Is the Bundesliga really that much stronger than the Prem because comparing augsburg to villa, they (augsburg) would have battered them as good as we did by the look of it.

[SasaS]

OK, you seriously think that footballers are deliberately sabotaging their careers out of loyalty to a manager sacked 4 months ago, who is now unemployed and who most of them are extremely unlikely to cross career paths with ever again? Manager some of them worked with for all of 3 months at best, some of them who were not really his (first) choice? It is actually his pets, Allan, Lovren, who showed most desire and improvement since Klopp came in, You think Benteke is deliberately being shit because he is showing loyalty to Brendan Rodgers?

 

You are trolling, right?

[an tha]

It all boils down to the fact that we just aren't very good and have a team/squad chocker with mediocrity that needs dismantling in the summer and some pace, craft and bollocks adding.

 

Until that happens we will continue to be shite.

[Dr. J]

OK, you seriously think that footballers are deliberately sabotaging their careers out of loyalty to a manager sacked 4 months ago, who is now unemployed and who most of them are extremely unlikely to cross career paths with ever again? Manager some of them worked with for all of 3 months at best, some of them who were not really his (first) choice? It is actually his pets, Allan, Lovren, who showed most desire and improvement since Klopp came in, You think Benteke is deliberately being shit because he is showing loyalty to Brendan Rodgers?

 

You are trolling, right?

 

How are they sabotaging their careers? If you 've got a better explanation than players not giving their all for a manager feel free to postulate. I've been thinking about it for week and that's what I think.

 

You can't seriously be shocked by a player or players laying down tools because they don't like the manager - Clough at Leeds, some player here when Hodgo was manager, or Rafa before him, the Chelsea players when they wanted Mourinho out.

 

It fucking happens all the time. Call it what you want but come with  your own explanation for why this squad has underperformed under a better manager. The only other viable reason is that the players ae almost uniformly mediocre, which may be true, but which also doesn't belie the obvious lack of effort they have put into many games.

[s(k)aturation]

If they were loyal to Rodgers, they had a funny way of showing it in the last season and a bit that he was manager.

 

I think being shite and not having any guts is the less conspiratorial and simpler explanation.

[TSC]

Don't think they're loyal to Rodgers or disloyal to Klopp.  They're collectively just a bit shit, and no manager is polishing up that turd.  We've a couple/maybe few good to great players who when collectively on form can dish out the odd hiding.  Sturridge is obviously one, Coutinho and maybe Firmino now and again.  Origi shows glimpses here and there.  That's it really.

 

Then you see they're backed up by a midfield of Milner, Henderson and Can so creativity there is zero at the moment.  So when the 2/3 decent attacking players are off form (or injured as is often the case) we're fecked.