The Mood at Anfield

[ChicagoRed]

Is it just me, or have we been just hustled off our game in the Premier so far this season? Sheffield United had no class, but they worked harder than us, same for West Ham, and the Blues ran us off the park yesterday. Their chasing and tackling back made us look asleep.

 

I'm wondering if we are taking these games too much for granted....5 times European champs, F A Cup winners, all the new talent....we are just too cool for our own good!

 

We NEVER were made to look second best in effort, but it's happened three times this season already!

[Newport]

It's just mind games. After the next two league games we'll be ahead of Chelsea.

[Guest molbyscorchio]

Is it just me, or have we been just hustled off our game in the Premier so far this season? Sheffield United had no class, but they worked harder than us, same for West Ham, and the Blues ran us off the park yesterday. Their chasing and tackling back made us look asleep.

 

I'm wondering if we are taking these games too much for granted....5 times European champs, F A Cup winners, all the new talent....we are just too cool for our own good!

 

We NEVER were made to look second best in effort, but it's happened three times this season already!

 

This is true. Rafa says that it only takes a minute to change attitude, but I think he needs to get on it straight away, and make sure the message sinks in.

[ritchie]

Sheffield United and Everton away were right off the back of internationals and we just weren't at the races and the opposition were in our faces and right up for it anfd the early Saturday kick offs didn't help, with little preperation. You can't carry players and when you've got players who are still on the coach for the first half at least, it rubs off on the teams performance. I could tell from the first 5 minutes at both games we weren't at it. The West Ham game aswell was off the back of a difficult game in the Ukraine against Haifa, so its been a patched up start with tired/lazy performances.

 

Hopefully now we can go on a run (until the next international break, where we'll return and play like shit in the next match).

[Guest molbyscorchio]

Sheffield United and Everton away were right off the back of internationals and we just weren't at the races and the opposition were in our faces and right up for it anfd the early Saturday kick offs didn't help, with little preperation. You can't carry players and when you've got players who are still on the coach for the first half at least, it rubs off on the teams performance. I could tell from the first 5 minutes at both games we weren't at it. The West Ham game aswell was off the back of a difficult game in the Ukraine against Haifa, so its been a patched up start with tired/lazy performances.

 

Hopefully now we can go on a run (until the next international break, where we'll return and play like shit in the next match).

 

I'm afraid I don't buy into this nonesense. We won the European Cup in 77 off the back of a gruelling FA Cup Final four days before, and at the end of a long hard season where we had won the league playing two more games than we do now. Those players 'still on the coach' should be told to get the fuck off it, concentrate, and give their best. It's not like they have anything else to do.

[MLB]

We tend to be slow starters in individual games and over the course of a season, if the last two are anything to go by. We really need to rectify that if we're going to put in a challenge.

[Plewggs]

Is it just me, or have we been just hustled off our game in the Premier so far this season? Sheffield United had no class, but they worked harder than us, same for West Ham, and the Blues ran us off the park yesterday. Their chasing and tackling back made us look asleep.

 

I'm wondering if we are taking these games too much for granted....5 times European champs, F A Cup winners, all the new talent....we are just too cool for our own good!

 

We NEVER were made to look second best in effort, but it's happened three times this season already!

 

We didn’t play well in pre-season or the CL games against Hiaffa, but victory over Chelsea in the Charity Shield following the summer recruitments raised expectations in the media that we could mount a serious challenge for the Prem.

 

I suspect the players, like our fans, believed the hype and ignored the performances.

I agree with you, we have been taking the early league fixtures for granted.

 

Hopefully the derby defeat will provide a reality check that will return us to the form of last season. Last year our results and performances improved after that 4-1 defeat to Chelsea and I’m sure it will be repeated now.

[ritchie]

Those players 'still on the coach' should be told to get the fuck off it, concentrate, and give their best. It's not like they have anything else to do.

 

Agreed but there's a few players this season (and the team as a whole) that haven't started playing till we go behind and while we got an equaliser at Bramall Lane and went onto beat Haifa and West Ham you can't do it all the time, especially in a derby when the first goal is always vital.

[Paul]

We tend to be slow starters in individual games and over the course of a season, if the last two are anything to go by. We really need to rectify that if we're going to put in a challenge.

Yep. It starts tomorrow.