Liverpool 1 Sevilla 3 (May 18 2016)

[King Emlyn]

Agree with Section, the squad is jam packed with mediocrity, mental strength is only one of the several requirements they lack, history is littered with shit sides who can perform to a high standard every now and again. The league as always is the true barometer of how good you are, the truth is there for all to see. We're half decent as a plucky underdog like.

[johnsusername]

The current team isn't good enough to win trophies. It's why we came 8th in a pretty average league.

[RobbieOR]

To be fair we came 8th because we played the reserves since we beat United. We wouldn't have finished 4th obviously but probably 6th had we not concentrated on winning the Europa League.

[Soleilrouge]

We are not a proper team

 

Seville are a proper team

 

Leicester are a proper team - we have some better players than them but they don't have shit the way we have

[jimmycase]

I think everyone agrees mental strength is what is letting us down and what let us down in the EL final but, how do you identify players with the magical winning mentality (serious question)?

 

It is clearly Suarez had it, gerrard had it but how do you identify it especially in the age group of players we tend to buy?

 

Im reading this morning we've convinced ourselves we've won the race to sign this left back lad from leicester. Great, but Im also reading he hasnt played in the PL yet. All this despite moreno's abject performances as a left back who needs replacing now not in 3 or 4 years.

 

As to why Klopp didnt change the midfield when sevilla started to run riot early in the 2nd half, fucked if I know. Maybe he thought we could weather the storm but, apart from a short spell in the first half, I dont agree we generally dominated or boss the first half either.

 

Has he said why he didnt make a change? Id have put Lucas in there to stabilise things but, that's immaterial now.

[Soleilrouge]

Proper teams get 11 professionals on the pitch whose performance does not depend on  mood or whether its home or away

 

We have only may be two or three of those

[Grinch]

Seville are a better team. Its why they've won three Europa leagues on the trot and finished higher in a superior league.

 

Nzonzi whose apparently shite last bullied our over rated players in a 6-1 win for Stoke.

 

This team is only better than any other mid table club cause of the name our previous players made special

[RobbieOR]

They finished a place higher with eight less points having not won away all season. Don't think they're significantly better than us we just collapsed in a big game.

[Arnaud]

Good report as usual, Dave. Unreliable and spineless bunch of bastards as you wrote.

Still, I believe Klopp got it wrong totally as well, and his five losses in a row may be not a coincidence. 3 things :

First, You play a final to win it, and the team he put was not stong enough, we needed Allen right from the beginning, especially with Can just back from injury.

- Second, as you wrote, at 1-1, the game was crying for another midfield, he did nothing.

- Third, the team totally lost its shape when he threw an unfit Origi and a useless Benteke. Putting more strikers on the pitch does not mean you are going to score more goals. On the other hand, we were disorganised badly.

 

So, the player let us down, but Klopp did too, from the start to the end.

 

What's next now ? Hard to tell, obviously get better players and get winners, but he has do make a bid decision : build the team or not around Coutinho. I hope he does not ....

[jimmycase]

I dont think he has to build the team around any one player. Do that and the player gets a long term injury or fucks off to another club and your 'built around' team falls to bits.

 

Where have we seen anything similar to that recently?

[Section_31]

They finished a place higher with eight less points having not won away all season. Don't think they're significantly better than us we just collapsed in a big game.

 

 

I thought they looked pretty slick to be honest, no stand out players but they seemed to pass the ball really well. 

 

I think a lot of continental sides have the basics right, to the point where even if they have no stars they can pass the ball under pressure and have the basic skills you'd expect from a team sport.

 

In England, and this isn't just liverpool, but sides like City too, they seem to be a mishmash of abilities. You have a few players who are really skilfull, and then a few who couldn't trap a bag of cement, it makes for this strange hotchpotch approach to football that you see so often in the premier ship now. 

 

If you took a side like Bayern or Barcelona or even Arsenal and blacked out the players so you couldn't see who they were, you'd still probably get a sense of which side it was by the way they were passing and playing, you wouldn't get that with the likes of us or the mancs or city. 

[RobbieOR]

I thought they looked pretty slick to be honest, no stand out players but they seemed to pass the ball really well. 

 

I think a lot of continental sides have the basics right, to the point where even if they have no stars they can pass the ball under pressure and have the basic skills you'd expect from a team sport.

 

In England, and this isn't just liverpool, but sides like City too, they seem to be a mishmash of abilities. You have a few players who are really skilfull, and then a few who couldn't trap a bag of cement, it makes for this strange hotchpotch approach to football that you see so often in the premier ship now. 

 

If you took a side like Bayern or Barcelona or even Arsenal and blacked out the players so you couldn't see who they were, you'd still probably get a sense of which side it was by the way they were passing and playing, you wouldn't get that with the likes of us or the mancs or city. 

 

I'm not really that's true to an extent. I've watched them in the league a few times this season and they've not played that football at all. They've been crap they just turned it on when it mattered. 

 

Bit harsh on us that last paragraph too. As the season has gone we have had a clear identity in most games of how we play and if they weren't wearing Liverpool shirts you'd have been able to tell they're a Jurgen Klopp side.

[ben48]

I thought they looked pretty slick to be honest, no stand out players but they seemed to pass the ball really well.

 

I think a lot of continental sides have the basics right, to the point where even if they have no stars they can pass the ball under pressure and have the basic skills you'd expect from a team sport.

 

In England, and this isn't just liverpool, but sides like City too, they seem to be a mishmash of abilities. You have a few players who are really skilfull, and then a few who couldn't trap a bag of cement, it makes for this strange hotchpotch approach to football that you see so often in the premier ship now.

 

If you took a side like Bayern or Barcelona or even Arsenal and blacked out the players so you couldn't see who they were, you'd still probably get a sense of which side it was by the way they were passing and playing, you wouldn't get that with the likes of us or the mancs or city.

Section you've about got it right there,good post,over the eleven players they were technically much better than ours,so easy to bring a ball down and use it,energy alone will only get you so far.Tough bastards to win the ball,then create,if you've got it rolled into one I.e Souness then so much the better.At the moment we hardly have either.

[Jairzinho]

They finished a place higher with eight less points having not won away all season. Don't think they're significantly better than us we just collapsed in a big game.

 

Agreed in terms of overall quality, although they have a significantly more balanced squad.

[RobbieOR]

Agreed in terms of overall quality, although they have a significantly more balanced squad.

 

Oh yeah, you don't have the record they do in cup competitions over three seasons without that. Although they have a good structure which we haven't had for years.

[Jarvinja Ilnow]

A good report in full. A confused and confusing report, and all the more accurate and relevant for it. Sums our team up and collective state of mind.

[KopOut]

It was pace that got us. We came out 2nd half, one hand on the cup, attempting to control the game slow short deliberate passing, no mistakes.

 

They came out with pace and intensity and no mistakes.

 

Going back to the Dortmond game, at 3-1 down, we were still putting intricate passing together and matching Dortmond with the same speed and intensity.

[aws]

Did anyone see the interview with Gerrard before the game? He was asked who were the leaders and big characters in the dressing room. He said Milner, Toure, Lucas and (looking a bit embarrassed) Henderson. Two are bit-part players probably on their way out and Henderson doesn't really convince me as a leader.

 

Not really surprising we can crumble under pressure. I just hope we are recruiting some winners with a bit of mental strength.

[Paul]

I think there's a 'smattering' of ability, notably among the three attackers, but that's about it. The Milners and Hendersons of this world are hopelessly out of their depth against high class opposition.

 

If you're naturally gifted at something you don't need to play at your maxium to make an impact, someone like Mascherano is boss because he's naturally genetically boss, he just stroles through a match instinctively breaking up play and doing his job.

 

our present squad have to play to their maximum, full concentration and full lung busting play to get those wins against decent sides. It's impossible to keep that up all match or for every match, so for every flag-waving fist pumping success there will be a sucker punch and a damp squib at the other end of the scale.

 

I say it all the time but it's Roy Evans-era esque. Mediocre players can keep it up in short bursts or in big matches, but they can't keep it up long term - they just don't have it in their locker.

So who in the Leicester squad meets your definition of gifted? It's about mentality; the application of ability. Look at Stewart Downing: two feet, a burst of pace, good vision, good crosser, good shot on him and the mental strength of a three year old.

 

Or how about Everton? Clearly the most skilful, technically gifted squad they've had since they won the title and yet utter fucking shite.

 

It's mentality.

[cuppatea]

Our worst players on the night were the two £30m+ Brazilian internationals, the young lad who starts regularly for Germany and the left back who already won the competition with Sevilla as one of their better players a few years ago. All of whom would breeze into the Sevilla side and in the case of Can, Coutinho and Firmino, be the most valuable, if not best player in the squad.

[stringvest]

What's next now ? Hard to tell, obviously get better players and get winners, but he has do make a bid decision : build the team or not around Coutinho. I hope he does not ....

 

 

Jesus wept.  I hope that thought has never entered his mind, only to be sent on its way with a typical Klopp roaring laugh.

[Mathewbet1]

Brilliant summary, guess the only good to come out of this is that it will kill off any lingering doubts about some of the players (being any good) Klopp may have had. I think the only way to address is this is to fuck them all off (bar a couple) and start again. It has to go down as one of the worst captiulations in our history from half time onwards, remember when roberto carlos called the real ronaldo yellower than his shirt, in the world cup  (a bit harsh i thought because he had the weight of the nation on his shoulders and finished as top top scorer), well our players are even yellower than that, shat themselves to a man. Need a strong spine in the team or we wont win anything.

[Section_31]

So who in the Leicester squad meets your definition of gifted? It's about mentality; the application of ability. Look at Stewart Downing: two feet, a burst of pace, good vision, good crosser, good shot on him and the mental strength of a three year old.

 

Or how about Everton? Clearly the most skilful, technically gifted squad they've had since they won the title and yet utter fucking shite.

 

It's mentality.

Leicester is a once in a century combination of freakish events, Downing is shite.

 

It's about both ability and mentality, but our problems aren't mental, they're down purely to the fact this is the worst Liverpool squad in decades. Who are they going to put on the posters next season? First time I can remember that we have no world class players at all.

[Mathewbet1]

just looked at that handball when his hand was down low, that was a dead cert penalty whicheverway you look at it.

[3 Stacks]

Think this was more about squad balance. They have a balanced and functional midifeld whilst we have two workhorses who run around like headless chickens. We have three #10's who get in eachother's way and a striker who can't be arsed to sprint whilst they have proper width and a clinical striker who also works for the team.

 

The way I see it, the more complete and balanced team won.