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An absolute fucking disaster of a season


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The season hasn't gone remotely according to plan, for several reasons, all of which have been done to death for the last 7 months:

  • Injuries - especially to defenders
  • Mental and physical fatigue - especially after going at it like the clappers for 3 years straight
  • No fans
  • Post league-win-and-monkey-off-back anticlimax
  • No pre-season
  • Lack of quality transfers

I could probably go on. We could almost certainly deal with one of those at a time, probably a few of them at once but I just feel like too much has gone wrong this season and all of the above have basically just cabbaged our heads and crashed our form. Mentality monsters only gets you so far: if your best players are injured, VAR is fucking you over, your best forwards can't score for love nor money and there's nobody in the stands backing you up or helping you out then it's easy for things to just start circling the drain. It's unpalatable to see the fight just wash away week by week, but after the last three years there's enough credit in the bank for me to not really turn on them for it.

 

There's reasons to be optimistic for next season. We've still got Klopp. We'll have key players back and we shouldn't lose more than one player from the current squad. Hopefully fans will be back in the stadium and there'll be some new faces in the squad. A lot of players will get a decent break and we should get a good pre-season (I have a theory that we would have tweaked our defensive system a bit to make us less vulnerable to balls into the channels with time on the training ground in pre-season, but there wasn't the time to do it last year).

 

And above all else, it'll just be a reset - 0 points, level with Manchester City, back in all the cups, all of that. We were brilliant last season and it counts for nothing now one year later. Well that works both ways - as poor as we are now, it'll count for nothing against wherever we're at this time next year.

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21 minutes ago, m0e said:

I honestly thought this was a bump from Hodgson's half season with us.

 

Fucking disaster!? Behave

 

We've seen fucking disasters in many forms, and this season isn't one.

With respect, the team Hodgson had is in no way comparable. This team is a recent CL and League winning outfit that is sitting in 7th, out of all domestic cups and is on the verge of a CL exit.

 

I'd say thats pretty much disastrous for this bunch of players and coach. Wouldn't you?

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16 minutes ago, BeefStroganoff said:

What has that got to do with anything BTW? Why do people talk such nonsense? We are talking about a football team and venting at their disappointing car crash form. 

Have you ever considered that it might be you that's talking nonsense ?

You're writing it off before the second leg has been played. 

I get the feeling you don't really grasp the concept of "support", which is what Scott was alluding to.

You're more the "you lost so you're on you own you fucking loser cunts" type. 

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1 hour ago, BeefStroganoff said:

With respect, the team Hodgson had is in no way comparable. This team is a recent CL and League winning outfit that is sitting in 7th, out of all domestic cups and is on the verge of a CL exit.

 

I'd say thats pretty much disastrous for this bunch of players and coach. Wouldn't you?

No.

 

Next.

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21 hours ago, BeefStroganoff said:

I REALLY HOPE this comes back to bite me on the backside if we turn things around next week but fucking hell, the Club couldn't have fucked up more if they tried this season.

 

Its lurched from one mistake to another, one fucking disaster after another. Tonight was the crowning turd on the dog pile.

 

Poor team selection? Check

Half assed approach? Check

Mistakes? Check

Shit subs? Check

Shit refereeing? Check

 

You wouldn't believe this team won the league last year, they look absolutely shot. That Real Madrid side were strolling about with a couple of players in their mid 30's in midfield and 33 year old relic benzema up front. A side that are a pale shadow of what they were. When Mane got tackled by 35 year old Modric (and outrun) that just about summed up this season.

 

The players

 

What the fuck has happened to some of them? Firmino, Mane, Salah? Between them they can't control a fucking ball these days. Mane looked like he had two fucking giant bars of soap on his feet second half as he did his best Djimi Traore impression. What the fuck has happened to him? Wheres his skill? Sublime goals? Pace? All fucking gone.

 

Salah too, good goalscoring record but the ball just bounces off him half the time. Tonight no one was running. I saw Robertson fucking WALK BACK in the first half when Madrid where attacking down his flank. In a fucking CL QF. Thats not Robertson. TAA all over the shop, making mistakes. Fabinho giving the ball away. Our over reliance on a a midfielder who has already said his goodbyes and the only one who can stay fit. We've also managed to turn one of the best Midfielders in Europe, multi trophy laden Thiago into Jay Spearing.

 

Jurgen

 

Again, too busy with his focus elsewhere first half of the season. Arguing for subs, moaning over fixtures. Meanwhile the team was getting badly exposed and the run just after Christmas was not addressed. He continued to persist in two Midfielders at Centre half until both got injured. Bizarre subs and bizarre team selections. Keita tonight. Just totally fucking bizarre all round from someone who is usually so switched on with a siege mentality.

 

The board

 

Where do you begin? We played a Champions League Quarter final tonight with 5th rate CB we've been loaning out for years from the ressies and a bargain bucket centre back from a nearly relegated German side we got on a temporary free. 

 

21 hours ago, BeefStroganoff said:

 

No vision, no planning. Cheap ass approaches in the transfer market. Not building on our momentum. We only got Jota because they agreed on a cheap structure to the deal. The guy in the street could see our injury woes coming (we've been on about them AT LENGTH on here), but no, not the fucking Club. And again we are back to scouring for cheap deals and being clever. Fuck off.

 

Anyway neg away. Tonight tipped me over the edge. The lack of fight and intensity, the shite passing, shite subs, shite co commentator, shite ref and a shite stadium.

Agree with every word. Id of laid into the board a bit more tho.

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Without Klopp we'd have been nowhere near being world,european and national champions. He gets a pass from me because we'd be in an actual nightmare scenario without him. If the interweb was around in the 50s and 60s Shanks would get hounded out by our current gang of shithouse supporters who dont know they were born.

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2 hours ago, scudger99 said:

Have you ever considered that it might be you that's talking nonsense ?

You're writing it off before the second leg has been played. 

I get the feeling you don't really grasp the concept of "support", which is what Scott was alluding to.

You're more the "you lost so you're on you own you fucking loser cunts" type. 

Another superfan who can't correlate between support and criticism. I could turn it on its head and put to you that  for a supporter of this great Club your bar is set very low. We exist to win the big prizes. We aint West Ham.

 

 

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HEY GUYS, So, are we going to win number 7 then, or do we need a massive overthrow of the current squad, because I gotta tell ya guys, I just can’t keep up with ya. 
I await considered and mature responses, it’s the liverpool way, (TLW). I hate losing at the soccer and take to the chat rooms to show my displeasure. We need player trading and we need it yesterday! Thank Fowler for the red bird deal!! Am I right?! LMAO guys, ANFIELD RD will be bouncing in the second game play.

Oh ya buddies let’s buy mbappe, he’s sick

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13 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Without Klopp we'd have been nowhere near being world,european and national champions. He gets a pass from me because we'd be in an actual nightmare scenario without him. If the interweb was around in the 50s and 60s Shanks would get hounded out by our current gang of shithouse supporters who dont know they were born.

I agree. But you also have to acknowledge that for some reason he hasn't quite been at it this year. my ire is at the board mostly, for letting Jurgen down.

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For me and apart from the glaring ones about injuries in key areas, well, just one area really, the thing that sits with me the most -  is the bit about not having fans there.

Yes, thats the same for everybody else, which is very true, but for us and specifically around the team - we started a season in effect with nothing to prove, nothing to play for almost, as we'd just won it all in the last 2 years.

I'm sure some will totally disagree, but we've been half arsed all season, even after all the bravado of we will fight for our title comments early doors. 

So to start a season without the scream and urge from the fans, behind you, and reminding you, about the standards that are expected by us the fans, we(the team) have slipped and we haven't been able to recover.

 

Its set the tone for the season and even in games, just like last night, a laboured start with no kicks up the arse to remind them who they are playing for and what the shirt means, the game was over before they even scored.

Last night felt like our season in a nutshell. Slow start, shoot our-selves in the foot, glimmer of hope and then shoot our-self in the foot once again.  

 

I'd like to hope for some weeks away from football at the end of the season and time for our team to gather its thoughts and recharge - but with International tournaments happening this summer, I'm not so sure we will come back as refreshed as we should or could, and that for me, means that recruitment will be not just be a big part on putting pressure on some who have started to play like they are a cert on the team sheet, but also to give the place a bit of a buzz with some fresh faces. 

 

I think we're all tired and drained and we all need a rest from it all, as we don't have the answers because we can't see the trees between the woods, to why we are, where we are, and how to get out of it. Add to that a loss of a loved one and its a year we'll all like to forget and start a fresh from.

 

 

Or something like that.  

 

 

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33 minutes ago, BeefStroganoff said:

I agree. But you also have to acknowledge that for some reason he hasn't quite been at it this year. my ire is at the board mostly, for letting Jurgen down.

The buck stops with the board. Prior to the January window, it had become apparent that we were in a CB crisis. Matip was in and out of the team, Gomez injured, VVD obviously hit long term and Lovren sold.

 

I remember Jurgen saying in a presser that he had asked for funds for January, but was turned down (?) and clearly from where I’m sitting, FSG simply don’t have a mutable attitude. Super conservative - I guess because once you’ve built your wealth as an investment group, you take less and less financial risk, but what do I know.

 

I remember an interview with Eddie Jordan 20 odd years ago, as Jordan F1 were breaking through and challenging the Mclarens and Ferraris of this world, and he was asked about what he attributed his success. His reply was that he had great talented people around him, but ultimately Jordan was ‘small and agile enough to move quickly when required to do so’ unlike the behemoths that Ferrari and Mclaren had become.

 

Having made huge investment in Anfield, brought Jurgen in and supplied a large (by Liverpool standards) portion of transfer funding since his arrival, it’s obvious to me that FSG have kicked back thinking falsely that they have strategically built a period of dominance.

 

Shit happens. Enter Shit. FSG dropped the ball and we’re now suffering massively.

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Two established recruits capable of regular first team appearances (Tiago, Jota) in four transfer windows since winning the CL when we've already been relying on a relatively small pool of first team players is the root cause. We're a textbook example of not building upon your success.

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Getting kind of fed up with people peddling the line about a defender should have been signed sealed and delivered on 1st January. We started the season with 3 centre backs, 2 of which were injury prone, that's when we should have been signing defenders. It's like we forgot we sold Lovren and Hoever. Gomez and Matip getting injured was about as surprising as Lampard being a shit manager. Whilst VVD is God like, he is like any other player and can get a serious injury and so it proved. This was a shocking call then and only compounded in January. Having said that, I think Kabak has been alright so far. 

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4 minutes ago, Remmie said:

Getting kind of fed up with people peddling the line about a defender should have been signed sealed and delivered on 1st January. We started the season with 3 centre backs, 2 of which were injury prone, that's when we should have been signing defenders. It's like we forgot we sold Lovren and Hoever. Gomez and Matip getting injured was about as surprising as Lampard being a shit manager. Whilst VVD is God like, he is like any other player and can get a serious injury and so it proved. This was a shocking call then and only compounded in January. Having said that, I think Kabak has been alright so far. 

Yeah going into season with only 3 senior centre halves and especially when one of them is Joel Matip was fucking stupid.

 

 

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57 minutes ago, BeefStroganoff said:

Another superfan who can't correlate between support and criticism. I could turn it on its head and put to you that  for a supporter of this great Club your bar is set very low. We exist to win the big prizes. We aint West Ham.

 

 

If being a superfan is someone who doesn't slag the owners and/or players when things go wrong then that's what you'll see me as.  I can be as critical as the next man, but I draw the line at hysterical quimmery when things aren't going our way.  That is undoubtedly your bag.

We both want the same thing - success for the club - only one of us doesn't throw a screaming tantrum when it doesn't happen.

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Guest Alex_K

Looking back at the goals conceded last night (I'm a masochist, clearly), it became clear just how brutally Zidane did Klopp. He knows how devoted Klopp is to expansive, high-line football and took full advantage of it. It wasn't a million miles away from how we took advantage of Guardiola's devotion to high-line football for several seasons, too.

 

Quite a few similarities between Klopp & Guardiola. The two great coaches of their generation; both steadfast devotion to their own brands systems-based football. Both very dependent on the right personnel to bring that football to life. Cruelly Klopp has never had the club-wealth to assure the depth needed to safeguard the system against a few absences. We were top of the league in late December. FSG needed to step in to fund an appropriate cover in January; they didn't, and the rest is history.

 

Theoretically Klopp could have done away with the high-line system to best protect the personnel we have available in the here-and-now. He'll know that too. Had he done so, though, it would have been short-term thinking, and an abandonment of what he's spent several years engraining in the club. Its short-term thinking that we should all know by now Klopp absolutely abhors. Whether its players coming back to fitness or new ones arriving, hopefully he has the right squad next season to bring the vision to reality. Or the system evolves, like Guardiola did with City this year.

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