How can something disappoint you so often and yet you still love it so dearly? I'm sure me mam has asked herself that question in regards to me many times throughout her life as well. But honestly, in normal life you wouldn't put up with it. If a bird you were going with constantly let ya down, you'd jib her off for someone else. If your job constantly fu**ed you over, you'd piss off and find yourself another one. If a curry house didn't deliver anywhere near the time they said they would, you'd scrap it and find somewhere else. But football, nah, it's alright Liverpool. You let me down, you keep breaking me heart and give me sleepless nights all you like because in the morning I'll still F***ing love you and find a way to forgive yet another embarrassing performance. The sport of football is F***ing stupid!
On to today's game though what's new eh? We dominate the game for the most part and still concede a goal to a side who didn't even want to attack. We miss a shedload of chances because our front line isn't clinical enough. We rely on a piece of magic from a South American who made it crystal clear that he wanted out. Same old Liverpool. And these are problems that have been engrained into the club for many years. It's why we've had five managers in this decade alone. To put that in perspective, we only had eight managers in the fifty years previous to 2010. We've now had five in seven. So if we're continuing at this rate, from eight managers in fifty years, we'll be headed for thirty-five managers in the forty-nine years that followed. The business of football is F***ing daft!
Now, today's game. As I said before ranting about the managerial merry-go-round we've been on lately, what's new? It's getting so tiresome saying the same things game after game. It's simply not good enough or acceptable for us to be playing like this for such a sustained period of time, without addressing the real issues. We're a disaster waiting to happen at the back, we haven't signed anybody to solve that problem (we've tried and they've all just increased the issue rather than rectify it). We're a free scoring side who miss more golden chances than we put away because we don't have that clinical forward who'd break every record going with the amount of chances we create. Again, we haven't solved that problem since Suarez left. We haven't went out and got somebody who you can bet your house on scoring. Now's the time to reminisce about Robbie Fowler.
And the constant refusal to actually address these issues are costing us, both have been very apparent this year - including today.
Mignolet - could very easily be man of the match because he didn't do anything wrong. He dealt with the balls he had to, he looked alright with the ball at his feet, didn't play any of his stupid suicide passes to the defence. And for the goal, I don't think he could of done anything about given the fluky nature of the actual goal.
Gomez - had a shocker today and should of been subbed. Lucky not to get sent off, either for two yellows or a straight red for the one he was booked for. That was worse, in my opinion, than the Mane red card at City. Got forward a few times and never really delivered a decent ball. On the odd occasion he was tested defensively, he was found wanting. I like Joey as a player but today was not his finest game.
Matip - the goal apart, he didn't do much wrong and he did alright to get back and get a foot in on the goal. But even despite all that, you can't take away how F***ing daft a goal it was to concede and Joel, along with Lovren beside him, both need to take responsibility for allowing that goal to happen. A straight ball played right through the middle to a fella completely unmarked. Only player to play every Premiership minute for us this year. Now since we're having constant problems, maybe the problem is the constant.
Lovren - like Matip, didn't do much wrong bar the goal. But that seems to becoming a trend. We don't gift sides seven or eight chances a game, we just gift them chances that they can hardly miss. And having defenders who will always make a mistake, is a big F***ing problem.
Moreno - it comes to something when our most assured looking defender is Alberto F***ing Moreno. At the minute he's the least our of troubles at the back. F**k me! His attacking play, which used to be the one thing he had going for him, deserted him today because every time he went forward he did nothing. But defensively he was alright for the majority of the game and I don't know the F**k Matt Ritchie got Man of the Match off that pr**k Alan Smith, given he hardly touched the ball, thanks in large to Albie.
Henderson - what's new? He's still the same player he was four years ago. He's improved since we bought him but that's because we primarily played him as a right winger for his first couple of years. But since he's become a permanent fixture in the middle of our team, he's not kicked on at all. And like many others, I like Henderson. I think there's a place in the side for a player like him but it's not as the man who has all the space in the world to look up, pick a pass and execute it because he doesn't have the mental ability to play that role. He can play those sort of passes, he's proven it but his mind doesn't allow him to play them as often as he should, instead his first thought is safety.
Wijnaldum - hit the post from a corner, which caused havoc in their box and led to both Matip and Lovren missing easy chances. But other than that, I don't know what Gini provided. Now I usually have a soft spot for the players who do their work unnoticed, I'm not a fan of fancy dan type players. And I have always said that I like Gini. But as I've also said so often, he and Henderson as a pairing just isn't creative enough. They don't have to be Alonso but they have to get the ball forward to our clever thinking players much quicker. But to do that, you have take the odd risk and neither is prepared to do that, they are both safety first players.
Coutinho - I see he's walking away with the man of the match vote, probably because of his goal alone. Because other than that, I thought he was quite poor really. Had a lot of the ball but didn't do much with it. Came far too deep far too often to collect it - though that goes back to what I just said about Wijnaldum and Henderson not getting the ball forward quickly enough.
Salah - I've said it all season with him that he's not clincal enough. And today again proved it. Also wasteful with the ball. Few times where he could of broke free and played the right ball, he either knocked it too far ahead of himself or just lost it. When we win, his missed chances are covered but when we don't, it becomes more apparent how important those missed chances are. Today was one of those cases. But he certainly improved when he was moved into a more central position.
Mane - one of his more infuriating performances because, like Salah, he was so wasteful with the ball - especially in the first half. I was still surprised though to see him come off first (or joint first) because even though today wasn't his day, he's one of two players we have (Coutinho being the other) who can make something happen out of nothing even when they're not performing at their best. Having said that, the change gave us a new lease of life and we looked a lot more lively.
Sturridge - very disappointing from Danny. He wants his chance, we want him to get his chance and when he does he plays like he did today. Missing chances that he should be burying, trying too hard to be an individual rather than part of the team and just looking like he didn't give a toss. Not one of Danny's finest games and could wind up being one of his last in a Liverpool shirt.
Solanke - I really like this kid because he gives us something different. Not only his hunger to impress and willingness to put himself about physically but he's also a threat in the air. And he doesn't mind putting his head in where it hurts by the looks of things. At this stage of his development as a player and ours as a side, he may only be a plan b type player from the bench but I think over the next twelve to eighteen months he'll have cemented that starting forward position as his own.
Firmino - undoubtedly man of the match from some quarters but didn't do a lot in all honesty. Ran around and looked like he cared at the very least, which was an improvement on Sturridge but overall he didn't do anything to get us on the edge of our seats.
Chamberlain - what's the F***ing point in him being here? I mean your record transfer (even with today's F***ing daft inflated prices) sat on the bench until the 85th minute? Hasn't started a single Premier League game for us. He's played less than a full match in his four sub appearances combined in the League since he joined. If Klopp doesn't fancy him then why the F**k did we sign him? Is Klopp the yes man that we were told he wasn't? Is the committee making transfers without his say so? Is Klopp just a bad judge of player? Whatever the F***ing reason, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should not be at Liverpool Football Club.
Overall, not F***ing good enough. Again. Missing too many chances, giving the opposition chances on a plate and a lack of real effort. No heart, no desire, no care. Just swanning around like it doesn't matter. Well it F***ing does matter to billions of Reds across the world. And it F***ing hurts to see a side that can wipe any club in the world aside with ease underperform so often.
Logged