Fulham (A) - Sat 6th Aug 2022 (12:30pm)

[an tha]

It is quite worrying to have so many injuries so early in season.

 

The Konate one is potentially a really big problem he was so important in helping us manage Matip's workload - which was obviously so helpful in Matip staying injury free.

 

The knock on effects of hie injury are likely to be massive now.

 

The timing of all these injurues is lousy too as it means the injured players have missed pre-season/early part of season where you build your base fitness and will be playing catch up for a while to get up to the required fitness level - and of course have absolutely no rhythm at all....it is really hard to effectively start your pre-season/season in Septtember/October, especially when just as you may be starting to get at it the fuckingv season will stop for that bollocks in Qatar....

 

How we cover these injuries as well with a really compressed schedule is of course a big challenge too.

 

Just a really lousy feel to it all - made worse by a fucking abysmal performance and result yesterday.

 

[stringvest]

12 hours ago, Dave D said:

Firmino a squad player at best. Thiago would be a great signing for the slightly overweight legends team. One game every 3 or 4 months would be ideal for him

We’d have won fuck all without him

[Guest]

@Tony Moanero's dream of relegation has never looked so achievable...

[John102]

As shite as they have been for a while now, it still makes me nervous having to go to Old Trafford in the 3rd game of season needing to win.

[sir roger]

We're assuming the win against Palace then?

[CapeRed]

13 hours ago, Dave D said:

Firmino a squad player at best. Thiago would be a great signing for the slightly overweight legends team. One game every 3 or 4 months would be ideal for him

Thank fuck you’re not on our scouting team.

[Paulie Dangerously]

Now the dust has settled I'm pissed off about yesterday. Taken very much with a pinch of first game salt but fucking hell. 

 

How many times have we seen this exact performance from this team? Out battled, out worked and out played by a lesser team. It was obvious how Fulham would play, first game back again a big boy. Why weren't we prepared?

 

I didn't for a second think they'd roll over for us, but it looked like some of the lads did. That first half an hour we couldn't string 2 passes together at all. They'd clearly done their homework and overloaded our right time and time again. 

 

Bobby, bloody hell lad. Love him but he's done as a starter isn't he? Watching him float about trying to shield the ball and losing it was painful. My da, who's seen it all with us, said last season, "a striker who doesn't score wants fucking off." When he was assisting left right and centre, and mobile enough to pull defences out of shape allowing Mo and Sadio to fill their boots I would've disagreed, but I think his time has passed. 

 

Right back is an issue. Note I don't say Trent, he's clearly following instructions and leaving his position. Whoever is in RCM needs to be quick enough to fill in, hendo and Milner used to do that a few seasons ago IIRC but now it dosn't happen and teams are targeting us there. 

 

I've had it with Thiago as well. He's a great player, a lovely fella by all accounts but he can't be relied upon. Like Ox, we knew this when we bought him. We're like a clingy girlfriend and a toxic drug dealer fella, "We can fix him!" Apparently not. Another crock. 

 

Big positive for me was Darwin. He's got it hasn't it? Always there in a dangerous position. Movement, aggression and the knack for getting it in the net. Virgins will tell me his technique or touch isn't sound but he will score and sometimes that is enough. 

 

Up the reds. 

[johnsusername]

The difference in attitude and application of yesterday compared to the charity shield game was alarming. Yesterday was all about putting our foot down on the opposition and making a statement. Well, we made a statement alright, just not the right one. 

 

[Bobby Hundreds]

When we are chasing a game I wish we'd fuck off heading a ball back into nowhere just control it keep possession. When the opposition are trying to run down the clock stop giving them opportunities to do so. Weve terrible game management sometimes. We can be so passive. Yesterday lacked desire, its not a good look for an ambitious side. I haven't seen any interviews did klopp say we were tired did he give reason for the display.

[A_S]

I'm less worried about the result after sleeping on it, though it seems most here are more...It's going to be a stressful season, regardless!

[Jose Jones]

30 minutes ago, Paulie Dangerously said:

Now the dust has settled I'm pissed off about yesterday. Taken very much with a pinch of first game salt but fucking hell. 

 

How many times have we seen this exact performance from this team? Out battled, out worked and out played by a lesser team. It was obvious how Fulham would play, first game back again a big boy. Why weren't we prepared?

 

I didn't for a second think they'd roll over for us, but it looked like some of the lads did. That first half an hour we couldn't string 2 passes together at all. They'd clearly done their homework and overloaded our right time and time again. 

 

Bobby, bloody hell lad. Love him but he's done as a starter isn't he? Watching him float about trying to shield the ball and losing it was painful. My da, who's seen it all with us, said last season, "a striker who doesn't score wants fucking off." When he was assisting left right and centre, and mobile enough to pull defences out of shape allowing Mo and Sadio to fill their boots I would've disagreed, but I think his time has passed. 

 

Right back is an issue. Note I don't say Trent, he's clearly following instructions and leaving his position. Whoever is in RCM needs to be quick enough to fill in, hendo and Milner used to do that a few seasons ago IIRC but now it dosn't happen and teams are targeting us there. 

 

I've had it with Thiago as well. He's a great player, a lovely fella by all accounts but he can't be relied upon. Like Ox, we knew this when we bought him. We're like a clingy girlfriend and a toxic drug dealer fella, "We can fix him!" Apparently not. Another crock. 

 

Big positive for me was Darwin. He's got it hasn't it? Always there in a dangerous position. Movement, aggression and the knack for getting it in the net. Virgins will tell me his technique or touch isn't sound but he will score and sometimes that is enough. 

 

Up the reds. 

Mate, we barely ever see this type of performance from the team. That’s why it’s such a shock and disappointment when it does happen.

[an tha]

17 minutes ago, A_S said:

I'm less worried about the result after sleeping on it, though it seems most here are more...It's going to be a stressful season, regardless!

Due to the room for error being so small it feels (even though it shouldn't really) a massively harmful loss of pts.

 

Piles on pressure for the more difficult games.

 

We will now likely need to do something we didn't do last season and win one of the games v the cheats or chelsea....it is ridiculous having to think like this and it feels ridiculous writing it, but that is where the bar has been moved to now....

 

Probably got about 20 pts tops across season that we can drop to realistically be in with a shout of winning league - dropping 2 of them to absolute dross in the opening game is a big blow.

 

Leaves us with a mere roughly 18 to play with.....

[Moo]

2 hours ago, stringvest said:

We’d have won fuck all without him

We won the Carabao Cup while he was crying on the sideline.

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

57 minutes ago, Bobby Hundreds said:

When we are chasing a game I wish we'd fuck off heading a ball back into nowhere just control it keep possession. When the opposition are trying to run down the clock stop giving them opportunities to do so. Weve terrible game management sometimes. We can be so passive. Yesterday lacked desire, its not a good look for an ambitious side. I haven't seen any interviews did klopp say we were tired did he give reason for the display.

He said the attitude wasn’t right from the start. And that the game frustrated him 12 on a scale from 1-10.

 

I’m convinced he’s extremely pissed off wirh this, we clearly underestimated Fulham. And the players are certain to be told what he thinks of it. 
 

I would expect to see some changes to the starting 11 next week, the problem of course being that the alternatives are in many cases injured. Wonder if we may see Gomez at right back and Trent benched? Robertson was for me perhaps our weakest player, but will probably play due to lack of options. Henderson and Fabinho probably the same, even if both were a big part of the problem. Up front I reckon we’ll all expect Nunez to start and not Bobby. 
 

I reckon what we saw yesterday was mainly complacency. Also we have a problem in midfield when Fabinho and Thiago arent performing or arent playing.

 

Edit: Also Milner to start next match should be expected. Either in for Thiago, or to replace Fabinho or Henderson. I would go for the latter, as a midfield three of Fabinho, Henderson and Milner isn’t creative enough.

[Daisy]

That was the title challenge over yesterday, you can all try and convince yourselves otherwise but that's it over

[Joey8FrogsLegs]

2 minutes ago, Daisy said:

That was the title challenge over yesterday, you can all try and convince yourselves otherwise but that's it over

The title challenge is over in the same way as Everton won the league in September a few times the last decade.

[Mook]

18 minutes ago, Moo said:

We won the Carabao Cup while he was crying on the sideline.

I was going to say the same thing.

 

We won the league & Champions League the two seasons before he arrived too.

[gkmacca]

Training game v Villa cancelled. That's obviously due to all the injuries but I wonder how heavy-legged the past week of training left the players. Whatever we did right before the City game we did wrong before the Fulham one.

 

I don't quite believe, or at least understand, the notion of players at this level, with this much experience, 'under-estimating' anyone they play. Why on earth would they? The average fan sitting on their bed eating crisps would know that a newly-promoted team would play like coke-snorting banshees in their first game. Why would top players who know the game inside out, and are briefed thoroughly by a massive scouting and video analysis unit, turn up expecting a nice slow opening game against a bunch of dullards? On top of that, this LFC squad has two ex-Fulham players in it who know all about their old team - presumably they'd also point out how the game would most likely start. So this idea of us being caught by surprise - it strains credulity to snapping point. These are generally very smart footballers. 

 

 

[KMD7]

31 minutes ago, Daisy said:

That was the title challenge over yesterday, you can all try and convince yourselves otherwise but that's it over

Are you going to watch any more PL games then? Or just stick to the CL and cup games?

 

 

[Dave D]

1 hour ago, CapeRed said:

Thank fuck you’re not on our scouting team.

Scouting doesn’t come into it.

 

i was observing we have 1 formerly excellent player who I have nothing but respect for  who is now probably not even a great option as an impact sub. I’d have preferred Origi or Minamino yesterday.

 

We also have one truly superb player that will likely miss 15-20 games. Rely on that and it will bite you hard on the arse.

[gkmacca]

Klopp does sometimes resemble the penny-pinching dad who stubbornly points at the two chairs with legs missing, the settee with a spring sticking out of the cushion and the upturned wooden fruit box that now serves as a pouffe and declares that 'no matter how many sofa sales are advertised on TV there is no need to add to the perfectly good furniture we already have!' 

 

 

[Chip Butty]

Started slow and never really got our of that first gear till mid way through the second half. Their left back looked solid and with there RB getting booked early, I though we'd pressure him, we never.

Soon as we got the ball from defence, everything was take facing our own goal, Fulham did a job on us by not allowing us to turn, as the game wore on, they began giving us that room to turn, and then we started to make headway, but we were far to easy to play/mark out of the game by simple sharp pressing and this slow starting is becoming too common now, it appears gone are the days of heavy metal football and 2/3-0's up after 20 minutes. 

 

The mid field once scratching below the surface through either injury or having a bad game(Thiago and Fabinho) we feel a bit light weight. Prospects are all well and good, but that mid-filed doesn't feel like it compares to the class in depth we have in defence and attack. 

[AngryOfTuebrook]

7 hours ago, Pungkoq Hang said:

Just like Inzaghi then. God I hated him, particularly after 2007 but that hysterical cunt knew where the back of the net was.

Christian Vieri, too. He always looked shit, but then you'd look at his goalscoring stats and question everything you think you know.

[TheHowieLama]

If they were match fit but we were not then that surely is a coaching issue, not a player issue.

[SasaS]

3 hours ago, gkmacca said:

Training game v Villa cancelled. That's obviously due to all the injuries but I wonder how heavy-legged the past week of training left the players. Whatever we did right before the City game we did wrong before the Fulham one.

 

I don't quite believe, or at least understand, the notion of players at this level, with this much experience, 'under-estimating' anyone they play. Why on earth would they? The average fan sitting on their bed eating crisps would know that a newly-promoted team would play like coke-snorting banshees in their first game. Why would top players who know the game inside out, and are briefed thoroughly by a massive scouting and video analysis unit, turn up expecting a nice slow opening game against a bunch of dullards? On top of that, this LFC squad has two ex-Fulham players in it who know all about their old team - presumably they'd also point out how the game would most likely start. So this idea of us being caught by surprise - it strains credulity to snapping point. These are generally very smart footballers. 

 

 

That is hardly average, sitting on your bed while eating crisps. Who does that? Strictly a no-no.

 

How can we have 8 injured players after just one competitive game, insane. Two our of our four most important midfielders are injure prone and are already out in the first week of August.