Groundhog Day… but worse!!
These post match articles are becoming something akin to self harm but here we go again…
First things first – the system. Many of us have been calling for a formation change but what the hell was that supposed to be? At first I thought we were playing a 4-4-2 diamond, then I thought no we can’t be as we’re playing with two holding mids. Ox seemed to be playing on the left, with nobody playing on the right. Trent was getting forward but then once again, our right side was more exposed than a royal in Prince Harry’s book! I can only think Hendo was meant to be covering the right flank and Trent was supposed to be providing width but neither happened and once again, any kind of chipped ball down our right flank was on the whole game. I’ve been saying for ages that we’re over complicating our right flank and it appears that continues even in a different system. That system was very much a failed experiment though, no shape at all to the team, no plan and no clue.
Talking of our right flank, Mitoma had Trent on toast the entire game, Matip too to be fair. Trent actually started the game quite well defensively I thought but by the second half, he wasn’t even attempting to tackle Mitoma and was literally just letting him run past him. It was no surprise to see Matip make way for Gomez second half either, as apart from his terrible pass that led to a goal, he couldn’t get to grips with the game and we were getting exposed time and again, although the left flank wasn’t much better. Robbo has been one of the few players to come away with any credit in recent weeks but he had one of his poorest games in an LFC shirt as he was run ragged by Solly March who seemed to constantly be able to run at our defence, despite the fact I don’t remember Robbo getting into an attacking position once!
Our midfield continues to be a shambles, I lost count of how many times Hendo just hoofed the ball aimlessly forward, conceding possession and Fabinho was a passenger once more. Can anyone remember the last time Hendo or Fabinho had a good game? I certainly can’t and all pushing Thiago further forward achieved was isolating him and spotlighting the fact that without him controlling our game, we can’t string three passes together. We also took the only one of our midfielders that has actually been winning tackles out of the defensive position. It was just a mess from start to finish.
Our forwards were totally ineffective and barely got a touch first half and second half wasn’t much better. They were starved of service granted but Gakpo in particular was lackadaisical in the press and timid in the tackle. One that springs to mind was he was bearing down on goal, 50-50 with the keeper and pulled out of it. Unacceptable but he must be wondering what kind of cowboy outfit he’s joined at the moment, as we’re playing like relegation fodder.
All week I was voicing my concern that Brighton would do a number on us but the way it transpired beggared belied at times. Their keeper could have had the day off, our midfield was passed off the pitch and our defence run ragged, with Konate firefighting from the first minute – the Frenchman pretty much the only outfield player who should be anything other than ashamed of themselves at that torrid display.
I honestly don’t know where we go from here. 35% possession first half, we only managed two extremely timid shots on target in the whole game and never managed to even win a corner until the 90th minute. We’ve gone from looking like the best coached side in Europe, to looking like we’ve picked 11 strangers out the crowd and lined them up in the famous red shirt. If anything, the game only finishing 3-0 flattered us, such was Brighton’s dominance.
Again though, I need to question the lineup. Thiago has been our only midfielder who’s been performing so we decide to move him out of his natural position. The lesser spotted Keita would appear to be our only midfielder who can still run and win a tackle, yet continues to sit on the bench and Ox has been finished for a number of years now. Klopp rang the changes and although it gave us a bit more energy, it became even more head scratching trying to figure out what the system was supposed to be and I’m not sure why we decided to play Doak on the left.
Top four is becoming less likely by the week, as we now slip 10 points behind United and 7 behind Newcastle, which will also stretch to 10 points should they win today and while they show a degree of consistency and improvement, we’re getting worse week on week.
It’s glaringly obvious we need midfield reinforcements, yet Klopp is continually forced to keep spinning the narrative that we’ve got no money and Gakpo certainly doesn’t look like he’s going to have the transformative effect that Diaz had last season but you can’t really blame him for that, the team is dysfunctional all over the pitch.
The games keep coming then, Wolves next in the FA cup replay and if we somehow manage to beat them, we’ll have to play Brighton again. Great!!
A depressing time to be an LFC fan then, as our catastrophic loss of form only seems to be getting worse. The players need to have a long hard look at themselves and our coaching staff really need to start earning their money. Go back to basics, instead of trying to be too clever all the time or the title of Ljinders next book will be Mediocrity, rather than Intensity.
The weekly ranticles continue then but it’s very difficult to find any positivity in our performances at the moment and we really can’t grumble about sitting mid-table as if we’re being honest, what we’re seeing from the boys is relegation form. If Karius was still in goal as opposed to Alisson this season, we’d likely be looking over our shoulders at the bottom three!
Anyway there’s nothing else for it but to keep bashing on and hope the tide turns along the way but at the moment, there’s no evidence to suggest that the end of the storm will happen any time soon. Nothing else for it but to walk on with hope in our hearts, however misguided that hope may be.
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