Jump to content
  • Sign up for free and receive a month's subscription

    You are viewing this page as a guest. That means you are either a member who has not logged in, or you have not yet registered with us. Signing up for an account only takes a minute and it means you will no longer see this annoying box! It will also allow you to get involved with our friendly(ish!) community and take part in the discussions on our forums. And because we're feeling generous, if you sign up for a free account we will give you a month's free trial access to our subscriber only content with no obligation to commit. Register an account and then send a private message to @dave u and he'll hook you up with a subscription.

Shewsbury Town 2 Liverpool 2 (Jan 26 2020)


tlw content
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

 
dave_usher.jpg
 
Report by
Dave Usher

 

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. 

 

 

This is just a teaser, click to view the full article

 

Please note that Match Reports are only available to website subscribers. Subscriptions cost just £2 a month (you need to register first) and can be purchased here. 

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • dave u pinned this topic

Agree with every word of this. It's a clusterfuck all round - our performance on and off the pitch, fixture scheduling, the whole lot. I fully understand Klopp taking a stand on this and shining a light on the staggering greed and ineptitude of the various football bodies and their stubborn reluctance to talk to one another. 

I can't say I'm going to relish turning up at Anfield expecting to see our youngsters get bullied and eventually betaen by a battle-hardened League One team, whatever the price of the tickets.Common sense says to include those senior plays who need minutes or are just on their way back (Lallana, Milner?) but that might be determined by how much Klopp wants to make his point.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually thought Williams was poor.  He was the reason Elliot couldn’t get in the game.  He just wouldn’t pass it to him.  A lot of the players were hanging on to the ball too long and then trying to hit some impossible killer pass instead of just moving it quickly.  Minamino has looked lost in every game he’s played.  He might be a bit overawed but I think we may struggle to actually fit him into a position in the 433.  He’s definitely not a forward or a wide man.

  • Upvote 2
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fair report on what was a very poor team performance. Fully agree on the root cause - the three stooges in the centre of the field. 

No enthusiam, no leadership and no common sense between them.  The total opposite to Lallana & Gomez in the last round.

Shrewsbury have the second worst attack (based on goals scored) in League 1 - the top scorer has 4 goals - and Liverpool's defence made them look like Brazil in the second half.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, tlw content said:

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?

Klopp has every right to be p***** off by the FA. The FA are being run by a bunch of stupid old men who think they’re better than others just because they went to Eton. Best we can do is to ignore them.

Klopp should, however, stay at the sideline in the replay. He should be there to guide our young guns. He can tell FA he doesn’t care about the cup all he wants, but he should show respect to the young players and the crowd.

It’s easy actually. Decide on 11-14 players you’ll probably involve in the match against Norwich Feb 15.  Let them have their holiday as planned. The rest of the seniors can have their 1 week holiday starting the minute the Shrewsbury game is finished.

Ask the young players what they'd prefer. One week holiday or playing Shrewsbury in front of a packed Anfield. The answer is given. The repay is actually good for them and therfore also good for us.

 

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good report and I agree with almost all of it.

 

 I thought Fabinho was way off the mark against Wolves as well but the substitution worked because it allowed Gini and Hendo to push on and Wolves we're starting to flag.  He badly needs games not a beach lounger. 

 

Matip, Lovren and Fabinho own this result and they should take responsibility for sorting it out rather than set up our non-squad youngsters for what could be a humiliation at Anfield. 

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, aws said:

Good report and I agree with almost all of it.

 

 I thought Fabinho was way off the mark against Wolves as well but the substitution worked because it allowed Gini and Hendo to push on and Wolves we're starting to flag.  He badly needs games not a beach lounger. 

 

Matip, Lovren and Fabinho own this result and they should take responsibility for sorting it out rather than set up our non-squad youngsters for what could be a humiliation at Anfield. 

You , Matip, Lovren, Fab,  made a mess of it. Now clean up! Surely the only way.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

4 minutes ago, JustTosh said:

Ask the young players what they'd prefer. One week holiday or playing Shrewsbury in front of a packed Anfield. The answer is given. The repay is actually good for them and therfore also good for us.

 

 

 

If any of Elliot, Pedro, Jones , Williams, Larouche, Hoever (who I think are all in the first team squad) would prefer a holiday to a first team appearance then they're probably at the wrong club. I expect Adrian would want to play as well. Add a few fringe seniors who need to get match fit and we can field a team which ought to be good enough without any real impact on the first team squad. 

  • Like 1
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with most of what you say, Dave, but not the need for Klopp to be in the dugout. The U23s are Critchley’s team that he’s been trusted with and which he knows best, and it would undermine him if Klopp just jumped in and took them for one game because it’s the FA Cup.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, buster69 said:

How about scrapping replays but giving lower division sides the decision whether they want the game played at their own ground or not? Then lower league league sides can decide if they want to get a better chance at winning, or the gate receipts

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gary-lineker-agrees-liverpool-manager-17638061

 

That you Gary?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, sh#t waffle said:

£10 a ticket with the club making up the difference to Shrewbury. Never going to happen, and would cost a fair few quid, but would enable the club to claw back some positivity with both our fans and the press.

Agreed. If Shrewsbury are bringing (say) 5,000 and they would have paid £50 a ticket, that's £250,000 for the club. If they get charged £10 a ticket the £200,000 difference is not going to hurt LFC's bottom line. But there will doubtless be some FA Rule that forbids a club subsiding another blah blah blah.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agree with all you say Dave but WTF what was all that about with big eared Lineker getting a hard on with the pitch invasion about " majic of the cup bollocks ". He even had the audacity to lift the cup up for all the marauders on the pitch to see and was very excitable about the whole thing.

Don't see him repeating his antics to the Liverpool fans if they do the same in the replay. 

Cock he is and always has been. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At the outset it seemed to make a lot of sense to bring in Matip, Lovren & Fabinho as they'd need game time, but in reality it played out that having 3 players on their first starts back from long-term injury destabilized the starting eleven. They all looked a million miles off the pace from the first 20 minutes onwards and I'm surprised that two of them played the full 90. 

 

I also thought the two full-backs were willing, but both had poor games and offered nothing going forwards. Bit harsh, probably, but we're a team built upon guile from the flanks and yesterday there wasn't any available. I felt sorry for both because there's a huge difference between playing half-arsed Premier League stars at Anfield and playing League One cloggers who are treating it like a World Cup final. 

 

 

 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dave, it’s a break, it means no game but it’s not hollydays.

 

I reckon the club has planned a camp somewhere in a sunny location to get the team ready physically and psychologically to the second part of the season. 

 

Who cares about a treble when you aim a double !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Arnaud said:

Dave, it’s a break, it means no game but it’s not hollydays.

 

I reckon the club has planned a camp somewhere in a sunny location to get the team ready physically and psychologically to the second part of the season. 

 

Who cares about a treble when you aim a double !


They've been given the week off. Holidays is exactly what it is. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The likes of Shaqiri, Lallana, Origi, Lovren, Keita etc should not be given a week's holiday when we have a game in that period. If there was no replay, then fine, but there is, so why would we send players off on holiday who have barely played all season?

 

Let the first team put their feet up on the beach for a week, and keep the rest here to play the replay and then give them a few days off afterwards.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • dave u unpinned this topic

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...