Napoli (A) - 3 Oct 2018

[Red Shift]

Disappointing. Something is definitely amiss.

However, I refuse to believe it's not fixable, and I'm not going to write the team off on the weekend. I really think the players are setting their sights on the league. Last season they learned that Cups are hit and miss - you can have an amazing run and lose the final. Winning the vast majority of matches in a cup, is massive consistency with no reward if the final is lost.

We should qualify for the knock out phase, but the important thing is, we'll then get a break from European football and only have to deal with the F.A. Cup on top of the all important title race. I'd sacrifice an early FA Cup exit for a decent run at the Title, myself. Others may not feel the same.

[Arnaud]

Strange selection from Klopp, no desire from the players, we lost every single battles, and after the goal we were not even able to put them under pressure. A total failure .  Disappointing.

 

 

[aRdja]

1 minute ago, Mr pink said:

Think it's time to maybe accept the squad just isn't good enough for the league and champions league. Need to pick one that we are going to focus on or will end up empty handed. 

 

Need to sort the midfield next summer for a sustained attack on both fronts. 

We had £100m worth of ins to our midfield in the summer. 

[rubble-rouser]

4 minutes ago, diamondjoe said:

Front 3 dont look arsed at all, add to that a plodding workmanlike midfield and hey presto. Been like this all season.

 

The front 3 are instructed to stay high and make themselves available for the counter. 

 

Mane never stopped running tonight, carried the ball like a running back at times. Salah looked stronger than he has for a while although he is massively low on confidence. Firmino couldn't get into it at all but to say he didn't look arsed is ridiculous. 

 

The midfield was the root of our problems tonight - even with Naby on the pitch we were too narrow, perhaps because the full backs were neither here nor there.  Henderson was the only midfielder to come out of that with any credit (although Fabinho was OK when he came on) as the others wee giving it away from minute 1.

 

I don't think I've seen Robertson play so badly before and Trent was really poor, although he made one unbelievable tackle midway through the second half. Every time they launched it long (their only tactic by the way) our defence was at full stretch. Gomez in particular, along with VVD and Alisson kept us in it.  

 

The ref gave us absolutely fuck all - every time Mane got free he was hacked down - and that didn't help, but it seemed like every time we tried to clear our lines we just gave it away. Just thoroughly careless and it's worrying the number of late goals we are giving away.

 

The worry for the weekend is that when we've played well against City it's been by flying out of the blocks with pace and power and those are the attributes we are lacking right now, especially without  Naby. 

 

Dickheads will have a go at Mo but I thought he kept plugging away, despite being badly out of form. I've said it before - he needs a rest. He won;t get that at the weekend mind you. He just needs one te go in off his arse on Sunday. 

 

 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

11 minutes ago, Baltar said:

We need some competition at right-back. Clyne is not good enough, TAA is still one for the future for me. He gets caught out so much it's just ridiculous. 

Trent was outnumbered, time and again, because Salah wasn't offering anything at all defensively.

 

I would have hooked Salah for Shaquiri, with intsructions to track back.

[Grinch]

8 minutes ago, an tha said:

The question for Sunday is where is the intensity going to come from - we looked totally devoid of any tonight (an all too common problem for us when we have 3 games in a week)

 

We need high energy, pressing and quick play to do City damage and we look miles and miles off that right now...plus they have a 24 hour jump on us..

 

Klopp has to start finding a way to stop these low energy and tired looking performances in the busy times.

 

Only squad depth will do that and for all the laughable talk of our apparent great squad depth, we've fuck all.

[rubble-rouser]

Predictable levels of fanniness on here

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Just now, rubble-rouser said:

Dickheads will have a go at Mo 

 

 

 

Just now, AngryofTuebrook said:

I would have hooked Salah 

It's a fair cop!

[Anubis]

14 minutes ago, Stickman said:

Wasn't great and we got what we deserved but you know what even when we were the best in Europe we played shite and lost.

Nice to see some fannies are already out wanting xy and z dropped, how City are going to wipe the floor with us.......etc etc 

it does make you think some people love us losing more than winning 

We lost. It will occasionally happen. I agree with this and RR's long post.

[Aventus]

Everyone was shite.

 

Something seemed odd from the beginning, misplaced passes, nobody making runs, players looked like they were running through treacle, no urgency to counter attack, second to every ball, physically and mentally weak. 

 

If they had scored earlier it might have been a completely different game, we seemed to perk up after the goal but that's worthless. 

 

It's not like they were tactically superior to us either. 

 

Nobody specific to blame, just a shite game for us. 

 

 

Possibly knackered after having a big run around with Chelsea, one eye on next weekend became a distraction, team chef gave them all the shits, Napoli fans finding out where the hotel is and setting off fireworks outside their windows all night. 

 

 

[an tha]

2 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

Trent was outnumbered, time and again, because Salah wasn't offering anything at all defensively.

 

I would have hooked Salah for Shaquiri, with intsructions to track back.

For me you have to offer protection to a full back who pushes on when away against a good side....We offered him none - not from the midfielders or as you say Salah.

 

You get away with it against all the shite teams that clog up the premier league but it can be a problem v good sides and in the european cup.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

We need to throw Keita under the bus and Fabinho, stick with Hendo and throw an offer in January for Har Har Winks at Spurs. 

Start Markovic, Solanke and Origi against City.

 

[Daisy]

6 minutes ago, aRdja said:

We had £100m worth of ins to our midfield in the summer. 

Fabinho and Keita are miles off the pace. Can't see them contributing this season. 

[The Guest]

5 minutes ago, RobbieOR said:

 

Leaving him on cost us a goal that came from the opposite side?

Time and time again he couldn’t be arsed getting back.  He was all over the place and it was leading to more and more pressure.  Luckily for him every time he either got raped or just was nowhere to be seen when they were down our right the lads defended the crosses (including Robertson a number of times).

 

Robertson makes a mistake down his side and you look over to see if they can help him out and look at it.  Honestly I’ve rewound it about 5 times.  Trent can see Gomez is in trouble early doors.  The Napoli player is behind him and just as he’d done all game trudged back in instead of keeping in line with his centre half and there’s the goal he could have easily covered..  It’s the final minutes of the game what the fuck is he playing at?  But as I said it had been coming.  He was a lazy disgrace there and Klopp should have dealt with it a lot earlier.  If Clyne is on the pitch we don’t concede that goal.

[RobbieOR]

1 minute ago, Mr pink said:

Fabinho and Keita are miles off the pace. Can't see them contributing this season. 

 

Mark Coulter signing up on an alternate account I see 

[rubble-rouser]

I think the squad is deeper than it was and is OK but you've got to trust the squad members or there's no point having them. Shaqiri isn't starting this weekend, so why not play him tonight?

[The Golden Eel]

1 minute ago, RobbieOR said:

 

Mark Coulter signing up on an alternate account I see 

Good shout... 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

3 minutes ago, Mr pink said:

Fabinho and Keita are miles off the pace. Can't see them contributing this season. 

You’re just a wannabe SteveO.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

4 minutes ago, Mr pink said:

Fabinho and Keita are miles off the pace. Can't see them contributing this season. 

It's the third of October.

[aRdja]

4 minutes ago, rubble-rouser said:

I think the squad is deeper than it was and is OK but you've got to trust the squad members or there's no point having them. Shaqiri isn't starting this weekend, so why not play him tonight?

Maybe he is.

[johnsusername]

I think Napoli played with an extra player. It seemed so anyway. 

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

3 minutes ago, AngryofTuebrook said:

It's the third of October.

One of his teams got knocked out of the Cowabunga Cup. Not us like.

[Aventus]

Should have brought on Shaqiri. 

 

What seemed devoid of energy from the first minute, and sometimes having somebody on the pitch with a pair of bollocks who is gonna graft can give the other players a boost. 

 

We are missing having someone who is willing to pick up the ball in midfield and make lead a powerful charge into attack Oxlade and Shaquiri are the dudes for that specific role. 

 

At the very least give Sturridge about 15 minutes to see if he can do something, he's proven himself multiple times already this season that he can make a difference if he's given the chance. 

[El Rojo]

They’re a well managed side and they emulated the hunger we’ve shown in European games over the last year.

 

Three games on the spin without a win is a bit of a concern, but at least City will give us a few opportunities on Sunday by playing football themselves. 

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

A few undercover bloos crawling out of the woodwork on here tonight, or are they mostly clueless reds?