One possibly overlooked, underlying issue that needs addressed

Many a good thread on here discussing tactics, players, owners, manager, supporters, etc....concerning our ridiculously slow and ineffective start.

The more I read through and participate in these discussions, the more one thing is starting to stand out to me.

Last year as we were going on our run and pillaging every team we came up against, there was a concerted effort by the team and even the manager to not look too far down the road. Every opportunity to talk about winning the title was swatted away as the manager and the players talked about focus on the next game, on working and performing in the next match, and it served us well almost taking us clear to the title.

This year, with being back in the Champion's League and with the expectations of a title challenge, all of the talk has been about winning the title, about progressing in the Champion's League, about replacing Suarez and getting players healthy and bedded in.

We are now constantly looking forward, not just to the next game, but we are continually looking past the next game to the Champion's League games, to the end of the season and making the top 4.

Personally, I think part of the reason that the players aren't performing as well is because they are feeling the pressure of where they are "supposed" to go or end up and they aren't focusing on doing the little things and putting in the work for the game that's right in front of them.

I've seen this in other sports I follow and it usually ends the same....the teams that can stay focused only on the next game and the teams that can put the joy of winning the last one or the heartbreak of losing it behind them are the teams that ultimately stay together, stay strong and stay committed to what they need to do. Those are the teams that end up being able to plow through adversity and stay the course.

We've seen quotes from the manager regarding the goals and objectives for the season, we've heard it from some of the players, talking about top 4 or cup games, etc.....

What they all need to be focused on is the NEXT game and nothing more. What can they do to be prepared for only the NEXT game?

It's amazing to me that with our world renowned head doctor we have apparently lost track of the focus that allowed us to almost run the league last year.

Maybe this is simplistic thinking, but I firmly believe that the team/players with the shortest memory and the sharpest focus on the task at hand will ultimately perform at a more consistent and meaningful level than those teams that are always looking ahead or deliberating the past.

Now the players playing poorly and the manager being stubborn on tactics or player selection are obviously factors, but I think those things can aided and overshadowed by a team that has concrete focus and immense belief. Something we don't seem to possess right now.

One underlying focus that everyone is neglecting - including the majority of people on here - is our pithy youth academy.

When we are in the F***ing shits like we are right now, we should be plucking talent from the youth and putting them in - clubs in turmoil have always fallen back on their good youth setups. Clubs around the world have done that - look at Dortmund and the youth academy products they used to build themselves back up. Do we have that? I doubt it, and the club will continue its shameful attitude towards the youth academy where we have to rely on crap mediocre squad players instead.

There's always potential but I'm pretty hopeless about the current crop making it considering the last 16 years of youth production has been embarrasingly sh*t (and no, I don't count Sterling as a youth product).

Quite frankly, if a club doesn't put all its efforts into the youth academy, then they deserve to fail. And that goes for any club.

One underlying focus that everyone is neglecting - including the majority of people on here - is our pithy youth academy.

When we are in the f**king shits like we are right now, we should be plucking talent from the youth and putting them in - clubs in turmoil have always fallen back on their good youth setups. Clubs around the world have done that - look at Dortmund and the youth academy products they used to build themselves back up. Do we have that? I doubt it, and the club will continue its shameful attitude towards the youth academy where we have to rely on crap mediocre squad players instead.

There's always potential but I'm pretty hopeless about the current crop making it considering the last 16 years of youth production has been embarrasingly sh*t (and no, I don't count Sterling as a youth product).

Quite frankly, if a club doesn't put all its efforts into the youth academy, then they deserve to fail. And that goes for any club.

Dude, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but what you have written has 'eff all to do with what I posted

if they can't handle the pressure of a big club, they should leave and join midtable teams

if they can't handle the pressure of a big club, they should leave and join midtable teams

Has nothing to do with the pressure of a big club. Has to do with the mentality of the team.

Soton players will quite possibly have to deal with this sort of thing this year considering their current position and they aren't a big club.

Many a good thread on here discussing tactics, players, owners, manager, supporters, etc....concerning our ridiculously slow and ineffective start.

The more I read through and participate in these discussions, the more one thing is starting to stand out to me.

Maybe this is simplistic thinking, but I firmly believe that the team/players with the shortest memory and the sharpest focus on the task at hand will ultimately perform at a more consistent and meaningful level than those teams that are always looking ahead or deliberating the past.

I agree FL  but this is basic stuff of a football manager.

Whether you are managing a school under 15 team or Premier League team , being only as good as your last game and not looking past the next one , is key to successful management.
One game at a time.
Simple.

There is one thing we are missing and its F***ing obvious.

Pace

I agree FL  but this is basic stuff of a football manager.

Whether you are managing a school under 15 team or Premier League team , being only as good as your last game and not looking past the next one , is key to successful management.
One game at a time.
Simple.

I agree it's fairly basic but so many teams don't manage it well and to me, there's a noted difference in the way the manager's and players speak about last season's success and this season's expectations. I'd much rather them push that sort of talk aside and only talk about the next game. Just seems like a completely different vibe around this team and their mentality.

I'm not sure it's looking ahead too much (we are a bit guilty) as it is not having as much time to gameplan for the next match. Brendan said something along the lines of with playing in the Champions League, the team has 2 less days to prepare for the next league fixture. You also need to take into account the recovery plan used last season has also had to change to accommodate more fixtures, so the more explosive players like Sterling don't have the recovery time they had last year, hence him looking so jaded this season.

I mean, the players are professionals and should be able to cope without being babied, but I think the fitness and coaching staff have had a bit of a rude awakening too.

Dude, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but what you have written has 'eff all to do with what I posted

I realise that FL, but nobody on here gives a sh*t about the youth academy.

If the fans don't give a sh*t, then that is really worrying.

I agree it's fairly basic but so many teams don't manage it well and to me, there's a noted difference in the way the manager's and players speak about last season's success and this season's expectations. I'd much rather them push that sort of talk aside and only talk about the next game. Just seems like a completely different vibe around this team and their mentality.

I agree with Eurored, it is just basic stuff that will have been drilled into the players from an early age.

I do think there has been a bit of a hangover from last season exacerbated by the early disappointments of this season. It must be hard to go from title challengers to also ran's in such a short period, but surely this shouldn't affect our new signings and they are just as bad as the players that suffered the disappointments of last season. 

Every opportunity to talk about winning the title was swatted away

Not really.  As early as December of 2013 Rodgers himself was talking about us possibly winning the league:

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11669/9093878/liverpool-boss-brendan-rodgers-insists-his-team-can-win-the-premier-league

You're right insofar as they need to focus on winning the next game and not where they'll end up but the wider point goes back to our transfer policy. Big players can handle the pressure and expectation of finishing in a Champions League spot. Players from teams that have never been in the competition so never expected to qualify for it cannot. It's the biggest flaw in the policy.

if they can't handle the pressure of a big club, they should leave and join midtable teams

They are already at one 

I realise that FL, but nobody on here gives a sh*t about the youth academy.

If the fans don't give a sh*t, then that is really worrying.

Did we give a sh*t during the glory years?

No!! We just got on with supporting the first team and players were brought through from the reserve team.

I agree FL  but this is basic stuff of a football manager.

Whether you are managing a school under 15 team or Premier League team , being only as good as your last game and not looking past the next one , is key to successful management.
One game at a time.
Simple.

That last word was the by-word for all our success. We kept things simple.