lebron

Just as he got most of the plaudits when we were all-conquering, he gets most of the blame now when we're struggling. It's the life of a star player. I maintain that Mane and Firmino were equally important to our success back then, we were just set up for Salah to have lots and lots of chances, and score lots of goals (which he did in admirable fashion) He looks completely washed now, and totally bereft of confidence. Code can keep chirping on about him not getting the ball. Won't matter, as he hasn't gone past a defender or delivered a decent finish in what seems like months. The few times he got it against an injured (!) Mykolenko he just took the easy way out and passed it backwards. The only way we keep him is if his hamstring is still a problem, and that's why he has fallen off a cliff. If this is his physical level now we need to get rid.

Good, attacking team. Hopefully we can win it with that starting 11, as there's not much on the bench to change the game...

1. Will they do anything with it, though? Otherwise it's corruption accepted. 2. Good. You agree that there's corruption involved then. Not sure there's a "grand conspiracy" myself, more likely just a few people wanting specific results influencing a few others. 3. Funnily, that was my aim to, as Jules tried to pass Dave's (in my opinion) fully legitimate claims off as conspiracy theories. I have noticed you do the same. We'll agree to disagree I guess Emotions running high on all things Liverpool I guess. Funny thing with putting your opinions in to the wider audience is you might find people disagreeing with you. Hopefully that won't lead to you guys not doing the pod, as it's normally a great listen!

He might be done with football altogether. I can see him with the German NT, but not club football. He won't have anything to prove, and unlike a lot of the other psychopaths that are posing as football managers, he is actually a decent human being with values and an affinity for normal life and normal people. The bafflement with English referees/VAR, TV companies and football authorities has a LOT to do with how he's fallen out of love with the game I think (much like many of us).

Yeah, a bit like the guy I mentioned above. He sat for 20 years. Has to go to prison now at the age of 76… Good job on the authorities that actually put their resources towards punishing those thinking “they’d have any chance of ever getting away with it”. Interested to know, do you not think City are cooking their books either? If that’s not deliberately rigging the competition I don’t know what is. Is it really THAT far fetched that someone is being influenced by the enormous sums of money (and prestige) that is floating around? I’ll take the crank description if it is the opposite view of yours as a badge of honour, thanks!

Hey, I’m not looking to pick a fight here, so if you took exception to my comment then I apologise for that. Just seemed a bit out of character with you view on that conspiracies and/or corruption doesn’t seem to exist in the PL, but is rife in the US because they are gambling derelicts (can’t be bothered to listen back to the exact time you said it and your exact wording). There’s enough evidence and material out there to connect the dots without being branded a conspiracy theorist. Anyway, I’ll leave Dave U to fight the fight on the pod for those of us that don’t think everything is all above board with the results and decisions in the home of football…

So you don’t think there’s any chance of bias and or corruption in sports? I’d say that it’s you and Jules that are out of touch on this one. I find it incredibly naive and just flat out galling that it’s just being laughed off as something totally unthinkable.

It is however, a fair question to ask why would we still watch it if we know it's corrupt? 1. It IS possible to beat the odds from time to time 2. Most of us were kids when we grew to love the game. It's pretty hard to give it up even if it doesn't resemble what was back then. 3. Some of us (even if that number shrinks by the day) live in hope that it will eventually be cleaned up.

I can only echo Dave's (and my own) previous comments about the refs. If Jules (Julian?) think everything is above board I would say that is an incredibly naive way of looking at the multi-billion-dollar industry that football has become. Talking about the Americans as if they are more susceptible to foul play than your own kind is a bit childish (if not xenophobic) as well. We have had our own little/big scandal here in Norway recently. The president of the Biathlon federation had been taking bribes for years to overlook the systematic Russian doping issues as well as generally being really friendly in debates regarding Russian particpitation. This is the man on top of the pyramid being directly influenced by Putin and his cronies. We (Norwegians) pride ourselves on being "clean" and at the front of the anti-doping work being done. Then our (possibly) biggest international influence in terms of winter sports (which is huge over here) not only completely sabotages his own sport's reputation, but actively works with a dictator. It won't be a hard stretch for me to think similar dealings are being done with the PL refs. A watch here, a hunting trip there, some prostitutes conveniently taking part in parties. Suddenly some friendly decisions go in their favour. You don't really have to go that far away in sporting terms either. There's enough corruption between the leaders in football to last a lifetime, Warner, Havelange, Blatter, Platini etc. https://www.wada-ama.org/en/news/wada-welcomes-guilty-verdict-besseberg-case

This would be fine a year ago (or maybe even earlier in the season), but what Mo had in abundance before (pace), he's now woefully short of. That might be down to Father Time, the amount of football he has played the last 5-6 years, or his recent hamstring injury, or most likely a combination of those. Fact is, when we deliver the ball into space where he was a distant 1st to the ball, he's now either 2nd to it, or at best being immediately closed down. What your stats don't show is that his general play has been woeful for most of the season. We tend to lean towards him when attacking (which is to his credit), but the amount of times he's lost possession this year seems to have doubled (if not tripled) compared to previous years. Part of that is him receiving the ball in the wrong positions, but he seeks those positions because he doesn't back himself to get on the end of through balls like he used to (I think). I also think he's been an incredible asset for us during his time here, and he has for sure developed other aspects of his game. His passing and through balls to Diaz and Darwin should have resulted in more goals lately. However, if we are to continue with 3 up top, we need the two wide players to be rapid though, and that's not really his game anymore (or at least at the moment). I wrote something earlier on how his hamstring injury might be hindering him as much mentally as physically, something is clearly bothering him atm. He's much easier to knock off the ball than previously, and his sprints seem shorter and shorter. Anyway, hope it's just a blip and that he'll get back to previous heigths. I don't think our other players are much too blame for his current troubles though. I'm not in the "sell him, he's finished" camp, I just think there are warning signs that he won't be able to be a threat for us in the wide left position any more.

I think something which is lost in a cople of pods (and on the forum in general) lately, is the fact that every other team give their 100 per cent against us. There are no teams in football that produce that level of effort week in and week out. I remember being properly mad at our teams of the 90s and 00s that they would raise their game against some teams and then produce stinkers the next, through sheer lack of effort. Sport at this level is all about the margins, and as shit as you might think Palace, Atalanta and United (I largely agree) might be, they are still professional footballers. If they all decide that this is their cup final, we simply HAVE to match their effort to turn out clear winners. Otherwise it's down to chance (s), and we don't take any of them at the minute. I watched Utd's game against Bournemouth the other day, and the gulf in effort they put in against us and Bournemouth was huge. They ran about 90 pct as much, and had much fewer sprints. All of you were pointing to Atalanta's league position as a barometer of how good they are. I guarantee you if they had put the same effort in over the league season, they would either be closer to the top or having 10 players out injured. It's the one little thing that might improve when Klopp leaves, our injury list will probably be reduced. I fully expect us to have more games where everyone isn't running as much as they need to though. This is not a criticism of either Klopp or the players btw. I just think we have expanded too much energy, and when we need to go back into the well one more time (as we will over the next few weeks), there probably won't be too much down there to squeeze out): I have the same feeling with Arsenal, as they have been playing their key players even more than us, they simply won't last the distance. Injuries and/or fatigue will catch them as it did us two years ago.

That’s an interesting take on Konate... He has at the very least been much better than van Dijk. Endo I fully agree on. He looks as bad now as he did in his first few games.

Endo the worst player on the pitch by a distance. Needs subbing. Get Macca in the 6 to put passes between the lines for Jones and Szobo to run onto. I would give Darwin and Salah 15 mins to prove who should stay on. Jota on last 30. I would consider Trent for Bradley at 60 as well, we could do with some quality balls.

Was hoping he had built up some confidence to cover for his limited technique and skill. Let’s be honest. As “exciting” as he may be, he’s just not good enough to start every game. Jota looked proper rusty too, and Salah looks like he’s playing injured. This game gave me proper bad vibes for the run in, hopefully there’s a bit more left in the tank for us to squeeze out some league wins and keep our title hopes alive.

Yeah, this is pretty much my take on it as well, and why I thought Gakpo in the middle, Nunez on the left and Salah on the right would be a better idea than what we're currently seeing. Gakpo's drop in form combined with Nunez, Diaz (and Jota before his injury) hitting form put paid to that idea. It will be interesting to see what Klopp does when Jota is back. I think he's the only one that should be guaranteed a spot in the run-in, let the other more wasteful players fight it out for the two last spots. Was it in his left or right foot he got the hamstring injury? Nevermind, shooting can be just as bad when you have to plant your foot before shooting, as having the injury in your shooting thigh.. Don't really know how to explain this properly in my second language, but I had my worst hamstring injury on the football field in my right foot when trying to play a long ball with my (preferred) left foot. The action leading up to the pass is probably as stressful as the eventual release of the foot. Would explain why he never seems to plant his feet when shooting anymore (not that he did this as frequently as other players anyway, leading to a lot of powder-puff finishes). My hamstrings are totally gone, and if I try to plant my feet attempting a 30 yd pass these days (I'm in my 40s), I'm guaranteed to pull up. I just have to sweep and let go of my plant foot. Before you think I'm comparing myself to a top athlete like Salah, I'm not. I just think this can be one of they underlying circumstances of his decline in terms of shooting and pace. Athletes repeatedly speak of their mental struggles with hamstring injuries as well as physical restraints. I can easily see Salah restraining himself from sprinting 100 pct, and shooting with full force in fear of getting a recurrence of his injury. We need him at 100 pct though... ...as having someone other than Nunez to get in behind will be vital if the opposition focuses their attention on him. Life was a bit simpler when we had electryfing pace either side of Firmino dropping deep.

His most apparent strength is also his weakness I think. His shooting and long-passing technique is based on the knuckle-ball striking of the ball. I hate it, but it does produce a wonder-goal now and then. His pressing and running with the ball in open space should be something we will prosper from in the long run.

This was the second most egregious moment of the match. Any chance you can dig up Mo's miss from 4 yards out following Diaz' powderpuff shot? Just kidding. I agree with some of the sentiments in the opening post, and much of what has been written over the last two pages in that our attackers aren't composed or game-intelligent enough. Apart from Neymar-Suarez-Messi, our trio of MFS was unique in terms of understanding each others game though. I said when Mane and Firmino left that that was the peak of attacking play that we could hope to see, and I'm extremely grateful for having seen them wreak havoc home and abroad (sigh). I'll end on a positive note. Our current front three have stepped up their pressing game since the start of the season, probably aided by Endo's and Mac Allister's positioning. Casemiro's no-look overhead kick was the first time in a while where we gave up space similar to that of last year with Hendo and Fab chasing shadows.

I actually thought he was pretty good yesterday, barring the missed chances. He was a Nunez cutback away from scoring a certain goal after outpacing the entire Utd midfield with the ball at his feet. He played a sensible pass to Salah, who gave it to Diaz, who put Darwin in. One ounce of calmness in Darwin's head and that is a red arrows-style Liverpool counterattack for the ages. I love Harvey, but if I'm honest he fits the sub role much better than the starting role. When the other players are tiring, his lack of pace and physicality isn't as visible as when everyone is fresh and firing.

That was your man Mo, but Szobo was a close second. Szobo actually produced the one effort that troubled their keeper and forced him into a good save though, so there's that.

Not sure if anyone's writing them off. Just think a few posters find it unconceivable that they won't suffer injuries and fatigue when trying to balance the two top competitions after already putting huge demands on their key players. I don't think you can completely rule out the advantage Klopp and Guardiola have over Arteta either, given their past experiences of high-pressure situations.

Having calmed down after yesterday, I think we still have a pretty good chance. It would have been even better being in the driver's seat, but as many others have said, our rivals are not out of sight, and both of them have equally as hectic a schedule as us (if not more given the importance of the CL). I still think City will be the toughest nut to crack, as the return of de Bruyne and Haaland will give them that extra bit of match-winning quality. I don't think Haaland has improved them much as a team (if at all), but the link up with de Bruyne is unfortunately lethal. I see people (especially 3stacks) are really impressed with Arsenal. I don't underestimate them, but their run is based on overplaying key players over an extended period of time. Only Virgil (who is a player renowned for his avoidance of injury) has racked up minutes similar to Saliba, Gabriel, White, Rice, Odegaard and Saka. I can easily see 2 or 3 of those having niggles in the coming weeks, and it won't take much to get them out of rhtyhm once they have to break up that base. Would be nice if one or two of the refs in the league would reign in on their ridiculously aggressive defending and attacking at set pieces, but I guess that's a bit too much to hope for. I can see us winning 6 of the last 7, but I'm a bit afraid of the Everton (a) games given the lack of rest that week. We will probably need to rest some of our key players in that one, leaving us vulnerable. I've maintained since the Arsenal defeat that Spurs at home is our hardest remaining game, but the same is true for Arsenal and not least City (who haven't won at Tottenham's new ground in the league yet). Let's hope Spurs put up a better effort in front of their home supporters than when away to us... If I had to guess now, I'd lean towards these results: Palace (h) Win - think this will be relatively routine Fulham (a) Win - First of a tough week. Think this will be tight, but doable Everton (a) Draw - Will be tough on two days rest. Might have to rotate a bit. West Ham (a) Win - If we play all our starters at Goodison, this might be the toughest. Not all our players will start all 3 games this week. Spurs (h) Win - The toughest remaining game in isolation, but we should be rested and ready. Will need to be clinical. Villa (a) Win - Villa and Spurs will both hopefully be assured of a CL place by this time. Second toughest game in isolation Wolves (h) Win - We will find a way to win, but probably not without drama. 90 pts for us, I think both our rivals will end up with a better GD than us, so for us to win it with our results, we will need both City and Spurs to drop points. The Spurs game away for both teams seems the most obvious one. I think both of them will struggle the weekend after their second QF leg in the CL. Other than that I'm struggling to see big obstacles for them if they keep their best personnel fit. I think Arsenal especially will be extremely lucky to keep all their players fit and fresh given what they have already put them through. Anyway, I am still optimistic! Put me in the nerveless big dog category as well!

What IS a pretty regular occurence with athletes Konate's size who are fast twitch, is that they get a lot of muscle injuries. Hamstrings in particular are vulnerable. Given that he plays in the toughest league in the world, and has been playing regular top flight and international football for 4-5 (?) years as a CB already, it's no wonder he has had injuries. He has had to be matched carefully, which is what you would expect of a young CB in a tough (Bundesliga) and even tougher (PL) league. Having Gomez and Qansah to rotate him with this year has been nice, next year and the year after he should be entering the prime years as a CB. Fair to say we might expect more from him then. As a comparison Virgil was playing for Utrecth and Celtic at the same time as Konate has racked up appearances in the BL and PL (and national team). In my view the ever more money-driven football industry, the type of career path Virgil has had is more and more unlikely to occur unfortunately. Players are given much too big a workload too early as everyone wants to put their big talents in the shop-window, and with results being more and more important at all levels of the game, players are the ones suffering by playing way too much too early. I have no doubts the reason Virgil and Salah have been going for as long as they have without major injuries is that their minutes were managed more sensibly at the start of their careers. We've seen this movie before as Liverpool supporters, Gomez, Martin Kelly among the defenders, and Fowler, Owen, Torres among the forwards. All had their careers cut short (hopefully not so much Gomez) cut short and decimated by injuries due to the club putting them through too many matches too early. Just as an aside, wonder what would be the reaction to another assault to Virgil's knees like the one Konate was on the receiving end of on Tuesday.

I’d obviously (as would all I assume) have Mane over Diaz and Old Mo over current Mo. The biggest difference maker is Darwin’s lack of game intelligence (and skill) compared to Bobby’s though. For all of Darwin’s threat and pace, he just doesn’t knit our attack together the way Bobby would. No big harm in that, nearly every other forward of the last 20 years would have trouble replicating what he did for our attacking three. Darwin’s unpredictability and poor decision-making makes for a pretty stark contrast though.

As bad as our finishing often is, I’m not having that this was a normal day at the office for our collective attacking unit, Mo, Darwin, Sczobo, Robbo, Bradley and Diaz (in that order). They squandered countless opportunities, and for a professional footballer to not hit the target when presented with the ball like Salah was on that rebound is beyond shameful. He just had one of those days that he seems to be having more and more of. We shit the bed when we play them, especially at OT. We rightfully pat ourselves on the back with how we and Anfield influence the opposition badly. Seems our players aren’t immune to that type of influence and pressure either…

Bradley was 9/1 to get carded first… Followed the same pattern of previous encounters. They give up huge chances, and we don’t take them. Glad we got a point in the end. Such a travesty that we’re so incredibly poor at finishing (and at making the right choice).