Napoli (A) - CL, Wed 7th Sep 2022 (8:00pm)

[Lurtz]

Fuckinell I'm not missing match threads. 

[El Rojo]

 

'Klopp will be disappointed' - Woodgate

 

You don't say, mate? Actually got my first laugh of the night from that headline on the BBC.

[ZonkoVille77]

Just now, coachpotato said:

Jurgen looks lost.

 

Anyone who keeps picking a midfield like that and a formation that makes it worse, is definitely lost. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before climbing back up. Let's hope tonight was our rock bottom and the team, and Klopp, wake up. 

[Colonel Bumcunt]

10 minutes ago, Moo said:

I think 4231 would be too narrow, the full backs will need help from the wide midfielders/wingers if they are expected to primarily defend.   I think if we're going to try something new we should solidify, find a good base to work from and, sadly, become less fluid.

We should probably try something though as the midfield is non existent and completely unsuited to the current system.

I don't necessarily agree, our back 4, plus 2 DMs can withstand a hurricane, when all in position.  That leaves the front 4 to start working-out solutions to puzzles themselves. 

I think we need more pace in attack, and that's where I have issues with the giddy coronation of Elliott.  In a front 4 there's no room for a player like him unless he's got acceleration. 

 

I'm seeing Haaland scoring goals for City, easy goals, and it's just a quick player cutting through a defensive line and flashing a high quality team across the face of the goal. We seem to have no players capable of providing that assist.  We have Nunez and Jota who can finish them, but nobody to provide that ball.

[Aventus]

2 minutes ago, Red74 said:

Play Diaz in the Suarez role or on the right. For all his great play he doesn’t actually create anything from out wide and unbalances us.  
 

Mo’s finished on the right now. Can’t keep persisting with this now. Get him on the left and give us some balance and natural width on his proper foot. Inverted wingers aren’t helping this side at all. 

I definitely think we need to utilise Diaz differently, we aren't getting the best out of his attributes. 

[3 Stacks]

4 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Jurgen looks lost.

Nah, that was a good post-match interview. He knows we're shite and isn't sugar coating it, but obviously he's not gonna have all the answers right now. Or else, we wouldn't be so shite.

[Mathewbet1]

Cant believe people are having digs at Nunez for this game. And by the way he was judged from game 1. He did really well in his first three games if you remember. 

[Moo]

3 minutes ago, Colonel Bumcunt said:

I don't necessarily agree, our back 4, plus 2 DMs can withstand a hurricane, when all in position.  That leaves the front 4 to start working-out solutions to puzzles themselves. 

I think we need more pace in attack, and that's where I have issues with the giddy coronation of Elliott.  In a front 4 there's no room for a player like him unless he's got acceleration. 

 

I'm seeing Haaland scoring goals for City, easy goals, and it's just a quick player cutting through a defensive line and flashing a high quality team across the face of the goal. We seem to have no players capable of providing that assist.  We have Nunez and Jota who can finish them, but nobody to provide that ball.

I think if you ask the two midfielders to stay deep to help out the defence you'll either end up with a massive gap between the six "defenders" and the four forwards, or the single forward will end up isolated.  Just imo.

[Creator Supreme]

1 minute ago, Mathewbet1 said:

Cant believe people are having digs at Nunez for this game. And by the way he was judged from game 1. He did really well in his first three games if you remember. 

No, he did OK in his first 2 games, since then he's got himself sent off, missed 3 games, and done the square root of fuck all since!

[Moo]

6 minutes ago, ZonkoVille77 said:

 

Anyone who keeps picking a midfield like that and a formation that makes it worse, is definitely lost. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before climbing back up. Let's hope tonight was our rock bottom and the team, and Klopp, wake up. 

I think you probably have to hit rock bottom before considering ripping up the entire system that has served you so well for so many years.  Because with that midfield the system is useless.

[Mathewbet1]

So your writing him off after 4 games 2 of which he was excellent in mmmmmmmmmmm ok.

[coachpotato]

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

[HBenn]

4 minutes ago, ZonkoVille77 said:

 

Anyone who keeps picking a midfield like that and a formation that makes it worse, is definitely lost. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom before climbing back up. Let's hope tonight was our rock bottom and the team, and Klopp, wake up. 

I think he was hampered by not wanting to risk Thiago or Arthur getting injured and so had very little choice but to go with that. 

Agree though that maybe a formation change would have been in order. 

I thought he was relatively candid tonight and expect he has a good idea on the solutions. Whether they lay within the squad who knows.

 

[manwiththestick]

I'm sick to the back teeth of seeing teams attacking down the right and Trent nowhere to be seen usually still in the other half. And that stupid outside of the foot attempted pass  fuck off with that shot if you're struggling to do the basics.

 

Gomez was really bad today but fuck me he's not given much help by his right back.

 

Klopp's got work to do, hopefully we can keep Tiago fit for a month to steady midfield.

[Carra_is_legend]

2 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

He is the only one playing well in midfield and you would drop him?

[Carra_is_legend]

More than 45 mins after the game has finished and no photo of that girl. Ffs.

[Anubis]

 

“Hey Paul, can I get your witch doctor’s phone number?”

[Kevin D]

31 minutes ago, Strontium said:

I'm loath to blame anyone other than the owners for tonight's performance. It's not even worth getting pissy about individual performances when the real issue is chronic underinvestment. 

In one.

[Aventus]

6 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

We have a long list of players that people have suggested need to be dropped for the good if the team, at this rate we'll be starting every game with just Alisson and Diaz. 

[Red74]

9 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

I felt sorry for him tonight. Kid worked his arse off and got next to nothing in support from established players trying to help him out.

 

His lack of pace is another problem with this chronic slow team. He lost a 50/50 in the 2nd half near there box and the lad was 10 yards into our half with the ball while Harvey still hadnt got to the half way line. 
 

Clearly talented but where does he fit in at this age. 

[coachpotato]

2 minutes ago, HBenn said:

I think he was hampered by not wanting to risk Thiago or Arthur getting injured and so had very little choice but to go with that. 

Agree though that maybe a formation change would have been in order. 

I thought he was relatively candid tonight and expect he has a good idea on the solutions. Whether they lay within the squad who knows.

 

This performance hasn’t been a surprise though. The Bournemouth game might have had some fooled, but the United game should have banished any thoughts that we had returned to form.

Surely if Klopp had a good idea on the solutions he’d have had tonight better sorted than it turned out? I can never understand that if a player is on the bench, he can’t be starting if necessary. To be on the bench you have to be fit enough to play some part in the game, whether that’s the last 20 minutes or the first 20 minutes. So play your strongest line up from the start, Napoli played Osimhen from the start, even though he was a risk, and he ran us ragged and enabled them to go a couple of goals up before he went off. 

[HBenn]

3 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

Robbo talking about big gaps across the park. Not helped by having a statuesque midfield. Think the key to us getting back up there is closing those gaps while still having a pretty similar midfield. 

We don't have anyone that is quick around the pitch in there so does he need to add in another midfielder, plug the gaps with sheer numbers and leave just Mo and Diaz up top?

 

Think it will be quite a different team come Saturday with perhaps 2 or 3 surprises.

If Gomez hadn't have been so poor could have seen him be at right back for Trent. Can see Arthur and Thiago both starting now. 

 

Think the only two guaranteed to play on Saturday after that is Alisson and Diaz. Thought Harvey was actually our third best player but can see him being sacrificed.

[DaveT]

11 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Elliot is a real dilemma for me.

The kid is obviously talented, he gives no less than 100% whenever he’s on the pitch.

If we were dominating games, we could afford to have him in learning the ropes, but we’re not.

A couple of times he played the ball too far ahead of himself and turned the play over, he isn’t particularly quick, to me, he’s not quite ready to be in every week and I hope having the team play poorly around him as well doesn’t damage his confidence.

Conversely, would taking him out affect his confidence?

He takes no blame for tonight’s shitshow, but I don’t know if he should be starting while we’re this poor.

I think he’s got great technique, is clever and imaginative but lacks physicality and pace. Which would be ok, if it was being compensated elsewhere in the midfield, but….

[Colonel Bumcunt]

4 minutes ago, coachpotato said:

Jurgen looks lost.

Yeah that was an odd interview where he admits we need a new way of playing, and have 3 days to come up with it. 

 

But why?  What plan did he have at the beginning of the season, and what has changed for him to now ditch it?  

 

Maybe its a fatigue thing because that's the 7th game in a row we've been outrun, outsprinted, officially.  Perhaps the gameplan for this season was heavily based on lots of running and we just had too many injuries too early and it's just game-by-game eroded the freshness of some key players like Fabinho, Trent, Gomez, Virgil, Milner, Salah? 

I'd believe it, but early this season we had 7 day gaps between games!  We've had 7 games in 35 days.

 

Maybe the high-line is knackering for the defenders because the ball isn't sticking enough at the other end of the field?  That's a lot of 45 yard sprints that the defenders are having to do this season, the same 4 defenders mostly, and maybe that's why we're seeing them look drained.  Teams play rapid players against our high-line, and they ALL fancy a footrace from the halfway line, and the absences of Konate, Ramsey, Matip and Tsimikas didn't help matters, neither has the absence of Thiago to help retain the ball in the other half for longer. 

 

The CBs also get dragged out into wide channels to cover the full backs, that's more running.  Is hazard a guess and say someone like Gomez is doing twice as much sprinting per game than someone like Andersson at Palace.  

 

 

 

[George Costanza]

42 minutes ago, Strontium said:

I'm loath to blame anyone other than the owners for tonight's performance. It's not even worth getting pissy about individual performances when the real issue is chronic underinvestment. 

While this is true, there are some fundamental laws with how we are playing.  Some players simply are massivley underperforming and quite frankly they don't look remotely bothered.  Injuries in midfield & CB haven't helped but how about a bit of pragmatism from Klopp and a change of tactics when we don't have the players available to play his preferred system.  Tonight we should have played deeper, have milner & fabinho are midfield protectors and try to hit them on the break. Maybe if we were at full strength & in reasonable form we could have looked to dominate a decent opponent on their own turf but we're nowhere that at the moment sadly.