Liverpool v Spurs - Saturday 11/02/17 K.O. 17.30

Dont see Mignolet being dropped think despite Hull he has done ok and you are just moving the problem . Karius is not good enough . City have a reliable keeper to come in we dont think it would be a mistake but its our own doing as both clearly not good enough to hold No1

I'll be surprised if Mignolet starts.

Both Mignolet and Karius have been as bad as each other this season and it seems that Jürgen has gone with whoever appears more confident at that time.

Although he saved a pen, Mignolets performance V Chelsea wasn't very good and he certainly played a large part in the goal we conceded. His performance V Hull and in particular that blunder for their first goal was again poor. His confidence will be at rock bottom again and any slight hesitation from him or minor error will see the crowd getting on his back which will make things 10x worse.

Karius on the other hand has been impressive in his recent performances in the cup. Surely he is the most confident of the two at present. I'd go with him and I reckon Klopp will too.

I'll be surprised if Mignolet starts.

I'll be 30% surprised.  I think Karius 'should' start - not wholly convinced he will though but  Mignolet will never be our long term keeper while Karius MAY go on to become a long term keeper.

I think Karius should be given the gloves for the rest of the season and he may well have some brainfarts but then so would the lad we've been trying to play there for 4 years.

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Interesting to see whether Pochettino has them playing the way they usually do or whether they'll also sit back and try and counter like the smaller teams have done to us. Got a feeling they will look to attack though.

We'll have had a whole week to feel sorry for ourselves by the time this one comes around so I'm expecting a reaction. A lot of people expect us to drift away from the top four now and I think having that pressure off might suit us.

I don't think the bigger teams can bring themselves to play like that mate (except for Mourinho), they haven't got it in them to sit so deep and surrender so much possession. That will suit us because it means our pressing game can come into play.

I expect us to play well, to deserve to win it but for our defence to let us down and we finish with a point. That seems to have been the way of things in the last two bigg games vs mancs and chavs.

We really need a win here though. I reckon it'll finish 1-1 or 2-2.

Nonsense

In what way is it nonsense to say that both Hull and Swansea soaked up ineffectual attacks form us and then hit us on the break? Or are you saying nonsense to it be an good tactic?

Confident we'll win this, the problem isn't against the "bigger" teams its the so called "lesser" sides. IMO its down to attitude, the 2 best performances in January were against Man Utd and Chelsea. Yes the smallerteams sit in but thats no excuse.

But we never won either of these games and confidence is rock bottom I hope we win but something in my head.........

In what way is it nonsense to say that both Hull and Swansea soaked up ineffectual attacks form us and then hit us on the break? Or are you saying nonsense to it be an good tactic?

No just your notion that they didn't park the bus, but I agree it's a good tactic as we are sh*t at playing such teams so not surprising opposition managers are setting up in such a way.

Not really. How many chances did they have? They sat back, defended and let us have the ball and then really took advantage of the few chances they had. There  was a clear gulf in talent for everyone to see, but  our talented players wanked around and couldn't finish. Simple as.

?? They both have far less quality in their squads yet on both matches outplayed us. Soaking up pressure, if you can call our attack pressure, and scoring from forays going forwards is the very essence of counter attack football, and it works pretty damned well. Also the fact that they didn't have many chances yet outscored us is surely a big plus for them and damning indictment of not only how inaccurate we are at finishing but also how sh*te we are at defending.
In summary I really can't see what you are objecting to in my original statement but would love to hear more of your argument.

They aren't that good, we'll beat them.

If Spurs aren't that good what are we? You must be comparing Spurs to Barcelona or something.

No just your notion that they didn't park the bus, but I agree it's a good tactic as we are sh*t at playing such teams so not surprising opposition managers are setting up in such a way.

Yeah but I still disagree that they were parking the bus because in both matches there were periods of time when they were attacking more than we did, certainly attacking more effectively. In any case if a team is parking the bus then their must be established methods and tactics on how to break that down, from my pov a good tactic might be to have someone who's good at drilling a ball in from distance, either at the goalie with someone following it in hoping he'll spill it or diagonally and then trying to get some knock downs or headed balls across the area. There must be a load of cute variations which can be worked on on the training ground, but we just seem to do the same tepid lofted ball into the area with no one big or strong enough to meet it. This is where a manager and coaching team need to earn their money, by finding solutions to these problems, regardless of the quality of players.

If Spurs aren't that good what are we? You must be comparing Spurs to Barcelona or something.

It depends how we play, if we are on it, like we were against Chelsea, PLUS they play open football then we can win. If they play smart and look to hit us on the break AND Klopp and his team have not worked out a way of countering that then we are fu**ed.

I have lost all faith in Liverpool

they seem to have lost any form of dignity and show zero desire

i would go with:

Mignolet (not because hes any good, but has more big game experience)

clyne
Matip
Lovren
Milner

Henderson
Gini
Lallana

Mane
Courts
Firm



 

Football mate is all about give and take, especially if you support LFC, so here's a wee bit of advice for you mate, give a bit more support to your team, and take your head out of your arse !



YNWA

I'll be surprised if Mignolet starts.

Both Mignolet and Karius have been as bad as each other this season and it seems that Jürgen has gone with whoever appears more confident at that time.

Although he saved a pen, Mignolets performance V Chelsea wasn't very good and he certainly played a large part in the goal we conceded. His performance V Hull and in particular that blunder for their first goal was again poor. His confidence will be at rock bottom again and any slight hesitation from him or minor error will see the crowd getting on his back which will make things 10x worse.

Karius on the other hand has been impressive in his recent performances in the cup. Surely he is the most confident of the two at present. I'd go with him and I reckon Klopp will too.

Fair enough like I say not a lot to choose between them Just dont see Karius being a ny better and the more we swop and change just adds to the circus and media shitstorm. Not a debate we should be having really .

Sounds like Lovren may be out again. Otherwise I agree with the team most of you are selecting. I HOPE Jürgen takes Gini over Can, but that's the one I'm least sure of him about.

When have we ever had everything go our way, when have we had a season we didn't go through the mill?

We've more often than not at some point struggled for form at some stage of a campaign, this just happens to be that time right now,
The campaign trail has and always will have bumps and potholes along the way ,

It's probably a good time to be facing Spuds, a top 4 rival and obviously playing better than we are presently, I think we have city soon as well,
We can use this as a platform to launch ourselves out of the slump we're in and charge up a few notches in the table,

There is far too many negative vibes in these boards, understandable yes but irrespective of disappointing results we all have to remain positive,
We all go through it each and every one of us, we were all cursing and gutted with the Hull game, we've all had the sh*t from mates and felt lower than shark sh*t, yet we all come back each and every week for more... WHY?.....

Because we believe, we believe in our club, we believe in our manager, we believe in our players and we believe in ourselves,

Every week we face a challenge this week it's Spuds, forget last week that's history, we go on, we try again, Spuds are no different to us, there not as good imo , their form is better obviously but that's the only advantage they have if I'm honest,
We always do well against top 4-6 sides so there's absolutely no reason we won't do so again,

I'm confident we will take all three points and put us back in the top 4....

                       Karius
   Clyne  Matip Lovren Milner
       Henderson  Wijnaldum
     Mane.  Lallana  Coutinho
                   Firmino

Bench ; Mignolet, Gomez, Klavan, Can, Sturridge Origi, TAA

Probably our best X1, strong bench too, let's see us employ pace and return to the gegenpressing in your face heavy metal we're gonna f**k you over football,
No lily livered side to side we pose no threat beige boring pish we seen a month or so back,

Pace is the key for me, allows our creators to open defences almost at will, get Mane running at them, with Coutinho pulling the strings, Lallana and Bobby dragging players left and right and rotating, getting inbetween lines and causing havoc,
Do this and we will win, regain our confidence and shake off the shackles and March on to CL qualification,

BELIEVE!!!!


YNWA

Post of the year nomination Billy. Well done.

One point I wanted to dwell on: "No lily livered side to side we pose no threat beige boring pish we seen a month or so back,"

Saturday will probably be more open which should help, but in these games when teams bunker in, we too often do as you say, just go side to side to side. It reminds me of when there's a total traffic jam on the freeway. All of the lanes are blocked, and then some tosser starts cranking his steering wheel to change lanes in front of you, when the lines are all literally, standing still. I want to lower the glass and yell "Good move buddy, because we are just FLYING over here." My point is when teams bunker in so deep, switching the field doesn't really do you any good. Sure the crowd may applaud you at first for a well-executed long pass, but when the ball moves to the other wing, the receiving player is looking at exactly the same thing most of the time.

So to me, we need to go for it more, try that pass into the area even thought they have defenders. Make that run into the 6-yard box despite the cynical tactics. Take the long shot from the edge of the area into the pack of bodies. Because the worst thing that will happen is that it won't be on. But the fact is, it's already not on. But if you try things, sometimes they will work. I know this reads like a grammar school tactical guide, but dealing with such bus-parking is going to take some expedience on our part.

Sorry to go on a tangent, but the side-to-side comment struck a vein.

Post of the year nomination Billy. Well done.

One point I wanted to dwell on: "No lily livered side to side we pose no threat beige boring pish we seen a month or so back,"

Saturday will probably be more open which should help, but in these games when teams bunker in, we too often do as you say, just go side to side to side. It reminds me of when there's a total traffic jam on the freeway. All of the lanes are blocked, and then some tosser starts cranking his steering wheel to change lanes in front of you, when the lines are all literally, standing still. I want to lower the glass and yell "Good move buddy, because we are just FLYING over here." My point is when teams bunker in so deep, switching the field doesn't really do you any good. Sure the crowd may applaud you at first for a well-executed long pass, but when the ball moves to the other wing, the receiving player is looking at exactly the same thing most of the time.

So to me, we need to go for it more, try that pass into the area even thought they have defenders. Make that run into the 6-yard box despite the cynical tactics. Take the long shot from the edge of the area into the pack of bodies. Because the worst thing that will happen is that it won't be on. But the fact is, it's already not on. But if you try things, sometimes they will work. I know this reads like a grammar school tactical guide, but dealing with such bus-parking is going to take some expedience on our part.

Sorry to go on a tangent, but the side-to-side comment struck a vein.

The reference to beige pish to be fair was when we didn't have that pace we need to unlock defences, no one was running into space or between lines because the supply just wasn't there, we had key players missing, players who have the artistry and guile and can spot a pass where others can't, Mane, Coutinho and Bobby in particular, Lallana to has the vision to spot a runner or find space to get behind the buses,

I think I'm right in saying those four have not featured together since November, proof if needed we haven't been at our best in that time, it also shows us how thin our squad is, where Jürgen has had to play young lads not quite ready to step up,

Another key factor is quality, we simply do not have the resources to replace one player with another without losing too much fluidity,  in the summer, if CL is obtained especially, I'd expect at least 6 or 7 new faces , with 3/4 top drawer quality in amongst them,  this is pivotal if Jürgen wants to take us up another level,  none of us can expect progress if quality players are not added, hopefully with experience of CL behind them,

Whether those tight arse muther's in Boston dig deep enough remains to be seen, but it needs to happen, not holding my breath on that one let me tell ye.


Thanks for the sentiments btw, appreciated.


YNWA

Nothing wrong with going side to side that's one of the main routes to breaking down a low block.

You want to switch play quickly from one side to the other to try and isolate a defender with 1v1 against your winger.
Our issue has been slow laboured passing, anyone noticed Hendo trying a cross field diagonal pass, the ball comes down with snow on it and the defenders put their cup of tea down and get back into defensive formation!

Post of the year nomination Billy. Well done.

One point I wanted to dwell on: "No lily livered side to side we pose no threat beige boring pish we seen a month or so back,"

Saturday will probably be more open which should help, but in these games when teams bunker in, we too often do as you say, just go side to side to side. It reminds me of when there's a total traffic jam on the freeway. All of the lanes are blocked, and then some tosser starts cranking his steering wheel to change lanes in front of you, when the lines are all literally, standing still. I want to lower the glass and yell "Good move buddy, because we are just FLYING over here." My point is when teams bunker in so deep, switching the field doesn't really do you any good. Sure the crowd may applaud you at first for a well-executed long pass, but when the ball moves to the other wing, the receiving player is looking at exactly the same thing most of the time.

So to me, we need to go for it more, try that pass into the area even thought they have defenders. Make that run into the 6-yard box despite the cynical tactics. Take the long shot from the edge of the area into the pack of bodies. Because the worst thing that will happen is that it won't be on. But the fact is, it's already not on. But if you try things, sometimes they will work. I know this reads like a grammar school tactical guide, but dealing with such bus-parking is going to take some expedience on our part.

Sorry to go on a tangent, but the side-to-side comment struck a vein.

Would it help if we had a physically imposing striker up front? Not the 'lobbing it to the big man up front' in the traditional unimaginative English style, but what we saw with Klopp at Dortmund with Lewandowski up front whose movement is intelligent and aerial abilities is good.

Klopp does not yet have a striker of his ideal preference - the current forwards were of course bought under previous management and committees, and its clear all of them struggle to break teams down.

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I thought the team worked best when Lallana played a deeper role.
That means no Can.

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Id like to see this just to shake things up a bit. 3 Workhorses in midfield that will give the Spurs players no time to think, and  Sturridge deserves a chance, he hasn't been a bad as people make out, with better service he'll score.

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Id like to see this just to shake things up a bit. 3 Workhorses in midfield that will give the Spurs players no time to think, and  Sturridge deserves a chance, he hasn't been a bad as people make out, with better service he'll score.

I agree, it's not as if firmino has been banging them in of late anyway plus I'd love to see milner back in midfield. Let the youngsters like Gomez or TAA handle left back. Milner will give us alot more goal threat than Gini also plus I'd like to see milner and lallana pressing spurs midfield.

I agree, it's not as if firmino has been banging them in of late anyway plus I'd love to see milner back in midfield. Let the youngsters like Gomez or TAA handle left back. Milner will give us alot more goal threat than Gini also plus I'd like to see milner and lallana pressing spurs midfield.

Do you not remember Milner playing in the middle for us? He was awful. He hasn't got the close control or skill to play in there. His strengths are things like professionalism, work rate, stamina, toughness etc. He is an upgrade on Can certainly but still lacks any real creativeness.

Once we sign a proper left back I don't see where Milner fits in and he will only be used as cover I think.

anyone noticed Hendo trying a cross field diagonal pass, the ball comes down with snow on it and the defenders put their cup of tea down and get back into defensive formation!

Massively agree with you on this! He has the accuracy gerrard has, but gerrard did it with more of a low fizz, just over the defenders heads which gave our winger an extra yard on the defender, but Hendo floats them a bit more.

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Id like to see this just to shake things up a bit. 3 Workhorses in midfield that will give the Spurs players no time to think, and  Sturridge deserves a chance, he hasn't been a bad as people make out, with better service he'll score.

The problem with this is that Sturridge will NOT do the same pressing that Firmino does. I really think if we incorporate Sturridge then it has to be in a front 2, perhaps pair him with Mane, would that work? You could then have Couts and Lallana playing behind them, with Henderson sitting in DM. I would then play 3 CB's with 2 wingbacks TAA and Moreno. I really think that would work for us.