We got to stop talking about being champs and these guys winning stuff the past few years. Blah blah blah. Dude, I'm grateful for all of that, but that is in the past. If we don't change things and read the signs than it will be back to the drawing board.
There needs to be a change in personal in this squad. Milner, Ox, Shaq, Origi, and Kieta aren't good enough to be bere, be it age, lack of fitness, or skill. That's not a bad thing to say, nor does it diminish what they've done in the past. It's just the truth.
In MY opinion, it's evident that some of our guys skills are slightly eroding. Age and miles are adding up to Mane, Bob, and Gini. Our style is demanding and we've played a ton the past few years with minimal rest. We need upgrades in those positions. We also need a RB who can defend.
VVD back next season will certainly make us better, but he won't turn back the hands of time in the legs of aging players.
I don't know what age you consider as old, but until we hit the wall at Christmas, our squad was described as "in it's prime". We surely haven't evolved from a bunch of athletes to a bunch of pensioners in 6 weeks.
Early in the first half, they lost possession cheaply in their own half, and Mane got it. Instead of charging at them as he did last year while they got players back, he slowed the play down, passed it inside while they all got back into position, and nothing came of it. That's the way we've been playing now for far too long, and it has to change.
We didn't lose this game because of ageing players, we lost it because the goalkeeper was ill and lost his marbles. I didn't think he would fully recover from whatever he had during the week in time for this game, and clearly he hadn't. And it's not good enough to dismiss it as an isolated incident. You can't carry passengers in a game like this, then see him make major errors in big games and get away with it. You couldn't do it in Kiev, you couldn't do it against Atletico, and you can't do it now. A Liverpool keeper rarely has much to do during a game, but it still has to be done right, and this game was the latest in a line of recent errors by him that make the difference at the end of the year. His status as undisputed No. 1 should come under review.
We have two brand new centre backs, at an age where they're not exactly looking for their pension. But they might be wondering what the hell they're doing if they're not going to be used. It may have been considered a risk and by their nature Germans hate taking risks, but we took a risk with the keeper and that didn't work either. I believe Fabinho is out for the next game after getting 5 yellow cards, so if that is the case, Jürgen will have to do something about it. But we have many players still in their twenties, so anyone expecting a radical overhaul of the squad in the short term is bound to be disappointed.
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