We didn't intentionally go out of the FA cup - we fielded a pretty strong and experienced starting XI. As disappointing as losing in the FA cup is, let's be happy that it's not another league defeat. Our poor run in January has been mainly across cups. The league is priority - get CL next year and we will attract better players and build a squad. Then we can field better squad players against wolves next year This is a long term project -we're building for the future.
LFC's last 15 games were played across 59 days. Their next 15 will be across 102 days. This is why we had to rest and rotate players. Insane schedule.
Ahem. 15 over 59 = no issue to any champuonship side. Also. Gk. Karius. Defensive line had a crap srt of full backs and a donkey of an lcb and a really rusty kid... experience pah. Midfield line had a pinderous like and a **** brazilian who cant run. The attack.. a child, a guy who just fouls all the time and a moron who dyes his hair and teeth to go to court. SURRRRREEE that strong and experienced.
Flew back on a private plane last night/this morning, ie we rushed him back. Guess he'll be back in time, but to start... don't know.
I am going to wait till end of season to form an opinion. Out of two cups in four days is a disaster, purely just on confidence alone. I also believethat first trophy is a millstone till acheived. Carlthejackal is to blame for everything with his jinxing prowess We keep comparing to Leicester - where did they get in the cups last year? If Klopp is resting/mixing the team with the intetion of guaranteeing a top four finish its a no brainer, and he will be proved right. What worries me is the pattern. For us it is a well worn pattern, that is a team defends against us in numbers and we will enjoy massive possesion but will not break them down and generally cough a few howlers. I dont believe Klopp sent a team out that he did not think could win. I do feel all the pressure is on us on Tuesday night and I hope that we win, as a draw is not good enough because of the Swansea result.
they threw them ASAP but then they didn't have a team 10 points celar and so banded to togehter and fought. I don't see these players banding together at all. I agree on pattern. The pattern is of our own making. It never varies. YOu watch whoever takes a corner for us tomorrow nihgt. one hand up they TRY kick it to far post but normally scuff it and hit near post. Two hands up and they float it near post for a flick. Wolves knew. it. i knew it. my mate wa sick of me saying it. Wolves set up 2 players to break off the inevitable clearance. you look at the defending midfield v us. you can draw lines out from the 6 yard area and will see 4 cheslea players backing the area while lfc insit time and again to play into that area You look as we get the ball in our own half. Nobody will go in behind long. no midfielder will play the back. they will play 4/5 passes about then knock it short while the forwards come deep. There is no variety, it is astonishingly heart achingly predictable.... I can see it constantly. I can call every pass and where it should actually be going instead..... every side can see it and have all set up the same way and we keep doing it. nohting is changing from klopp which is dead worrying.
Just read this on the BBC HYS (about the Leeds game) "Personally I rate silverware over 4th in PL. Life long Spurs fan born in Tottenham!" I call huge bullshit on that. CL football isn't just money (of course there is a huge amount of money with it), its the prestige of going up against the best of Europe, its the biggest club competition in the world, its about attracting the best players to your club. European nights are what the fans look forward to. If you asked any of the fans of a top 6 club what they want more CL football next year (and all that comes with it) or the FA cup (a glory that lasts a month or so), I'm sure the majority would take CL every time. The League has become extremely hard, there are no games where a club can afford to rest players anymore, pretty much every game demands the best players you can put out and can't afford to test out youngsters. Unfortunately this means that clubs now use the Cups as a chance for players to have rests and to blood the junior players, as when else are they going to do it.
If your a good team then you try to win everything if you cant beat inferior teams at home what makes you think you are worthy of a CL place ?
sure..... and after those 6 games were gone what did it do for leicester? give them a last 16 tie in the middle of a relegation dogfight shock leister paid vardy as much as we pay sturridge. they could afford it apparnetly yet.. oh wow they didn't bring in amazing better players. The fact is leicester have a pot on the shelf and memories. Spur have the memories of an awful cl campaign and a dissappointing collapse last year... I know which i'd rather have You are of course right fans look forward to a magical european night like dortmund. nobody gives a hit about a european night v ludogorets. what I'm saying is in 20 years when those shallow top 6 fan look back they won't recall much of anything but the might recall the day they won the FA cup or where they were I can clearly remember the 1986 final. the 1989 one. the 1992 one. I vividly remember that 1996 disappointment and the magic days in 2001 when owen scored and 2006 when gerrard clawed us back. If you can find me an arsneal fan who enjoyed the past 12 years or whatever fo 4ths etc And sure i remember great nights like when we gave arsenal a kicking in the CL or that Juve night where the game was awful but the garcia goal wa amazing... or several other games. but they are nothing compared to lifting a trophy. Thinking rationally that 4th = more money and this and that is fine but on a PURE golden memory when you look back you cannot beat a trophy. We reds fans are incredibly lucky to have many many great memories in our times but they have gotten further and further apart
I wish I had that power! Klopp wouldn't send a team out to lose would he? What he did was to think that Wolves would not be competitive and that his risk was worth taking without realising the psychological implications of a defeat. This is one occasion where the outcome of the match went beyond going out of the FA cup. It meant having 3 defeats in a row at home. Suddenly he is under more pressure than just being out of the Cup.
My view is he hoped we'd at least keep it tightish in a game where wolves were SUPPOSED to sit back and defend. That first minute flog threw everything out the window and he had no answer. Klopp put lucas in the midfield but the moment they scored all the pans went out of the window and he had to be reminded at HT he was meant to stand between the two cbs and be a screen nothing more. He deliberately took a risk feeling we might get a goal but we would not lose and he'd deal with it later. Anyone who watched the two plymouth games could tell him ejaria was out of his depth for example. But i am still angry about the corner taking and if i see someone put their two hands up in the air taking one I am shooting them.
This. The CL money is now dwarfed by the premiership. The last club in the premiership earns more money than the CL winners prize! Top clubs now go for the CL for the participation, playing against the best clubs and the exposure to a world wide TV audience.
Think of yourself as an ex-player talking to his kids/grandkids. Would you prefer to tell them "I once got into the top 4 and played 6 games in Europe" or, "I once won the FA/League Cup at Wembley, look here is my medal"? CL Attracting the bigger players? I know a lot say they want to move for that reason but I think they are thinking of teams that are I it every year not just next year, that limits the choices a bit. Blooding youngsters in the league (or any other competition) should be done 1 or 2 at a time max, if you think a young winger is ready put him on the bench and bring him on when your team has a decent control of the game. If you wish to start one then make sure you instruct one of the midfielders to back him up and advise him all through his time on the pitch so the fullback isn't left exposed. Do not throw 3 or 4 on and expect them to suddenly gel with the rest of the team and play to their top level, it wont happen and will only knock their confidence.
I want us to win every game - problem is what the fans want and what they get are two different things. In order to challenge for the cups we need to be in the CL regularly in order to gain the best players. MITO very eloquently spelt out our problems above. The worrying thing is, it really is nothing new, Rafa too many draws, although we were a good cup team, Houllier again losses to the teams placed lower in the league. I remeber watching us for years allowing players to run at us straight down the middle. Drogba ripped us apart when he played for Marseille doing that. We just dont appear to learn from our mistakes. I never hid the fact that i never got off the fence with Rodgers. I think he had it tough, he had to manage out legends from the club, didnt he lose Carra first year, Suarez the next and Gerrard the one after? That was always some task. So I personally would have given him the year ( though it did look like somehow he lost the dressing room) I have said for a while that the real test for Klopp will come when the press put pressure on him and I think that is imminent. I hope he has answers but as mentioned before worried we don't. We dont have depth but even with the ones we sold in summer I dont think the depth would have been better. The only mistakes i think Klopp has made is the stance on Sakho, whilst i respect his stones we need Sakho. The other is Sturridge, said the other day - he has left us already ( sort of dont blame sturridge somehow we havent really taken him to heart as a fanbase and he must know that), and that he should not be played. Anyway its late and i am babbling. Need a win Tuesday might be going if my mate has spare ticket Tuesday, will be in my new green kit in the Kop
I question that, with the new TV money. Sure, I wish we'd have at least made the Europy this season - I enjoyed it last year, but staking the whole shebang on Top Four is soulless, imo, and the last time we got to the CL we RESTED players against the top team as if we were Sheffield United playing Unitard. It just isn't a means to an end anymore. But as far as Top Four goes, we've got 16 games in nearly four months to go, with most of those at home, and the easiest run-in. Unless we actually thought we could still win it (which is ****ing insane, imo) the game tomorrow is important, but not vital - we still have the odds in our favour of making Top Four. But Saturday was vital and important - after getting knocked out of the LC, it became more important than Tuesday night, imo. But, having seen the second string perform against Plymouth, I just am not convinced that we couldn't have got some loans and short-term signings from the lower leagues and Europe that couldn't perform better than, say, Brannigan, Stewart and a whole host of others. Yes, Jurgen rightly cut away a lot of dead wood last season and appears to have exciting faith in what it coming through the Youth System, but the evidence is that they need to be introduced in ones and twos in stronger teams, as opposed to being cobbled together to face Championship sides after they've proved they're not better by much, if at all, than decent fourth-tier outfits. In summary - after Wednesday, Saturday became more important than Tuesday, and it's all well and good Jurgen acting shell-shocked that his second-string couldn't even draw, let alone beat, Wolves; but given how they performed against Plymouth, the whole world and his dog knew they'd struggle against Wolves. We got a lucky Get Out Of Jail Free card against Plymouth in that replay - we then promptly landed on a Mayfair hotel when we put that team out against Wolves, but it wasn't just bad luck. We all knew it would happen.