Liverpool cannot afford to keep playing like this

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Liverpool can’t keep playing like this
Winning is great, but the way you do it is almost as important as the result. Liverpool can’t continue playing like that and expect a good one. A better attack would’ve taken us apart.

Never thought I’d be happy with an international break after four wins, but I am and we need to get better.
Aidan, Lfc (greedy)

…That was pretty awful viewing for the most part. In the first half it reminded me of the Rafa teams; we were 1-0 up and happy to concede possession and territory whilst actually not looking under any real pressure. They didn’t have any dangerous chances and we looked comfortable. That said it was less fun to watch as an anxious fan used to us not being able to defend.

Alisson’s mistake was just ridiculous. The pass back was poor and forced him to take a touch and perhaps he figured that a little period of possession would help so he decided to take that risk in order to gain control. It did not work out. Hopefully he’s learnt his lesson. He’s going to get pressed more now than ever so a few conservative games would be good. That said he was so solid and did everything else perfectly, I am not too fussed.

The only thing that really bothered me was that our counter attack was awful. Firmino couldn’t find a team mate for toffee, Salah wasn’t much better and when we did counter attack the wrong pass was picked or the wrong touch was taken. Sturridge deserved to get a bit of time today in place of Firmino.

Despite it all, we took control and then never let them get too close. It’s all quite exciting!
Minty, LFC

Seven Liverpool conclusions
1) Four games in, and it is clear that Liverpool are nowhere near their best. Firmino still looks sluggish despite his goal and is not fully fit while Salah is yet to reach the spectacular heights of last season. Only Mane seems like a man reborn and looks the most potent of the front 3. An early season contender for Golden Boot perhaps?

2) While I feel that Mo Salah will continue to bang them in and look to hit another 25 goals in the league, I think it is quite obvious that he is not in the same class as KDB or Hazard. He does not have the same talent or skill as the above 2 and is over-reliant on the team being tailored to service him. That said, he does make superb runs and is developing into a fine finisher like Cristiano.

3) Lovren will have a hard time getting back into this team. Joe Gomez has been immense and was a good shout for Man of the Match in both games against Brighton and Leicester. Clyne, Lovren, Matip and Moreno as our second choice back four is a fine indication of our strength in depth.

4) F365 ran a great article last week praising Kloppo for getting the balance just right. And yes the results speak for itself with 4 wins in 4. However, I would argue that Kloppo has prioritized defense over attack this season ( see Shaqiri time wasting at the end of yesterday’s game and benching Keita for a more defensive midfield 3). Realistically, my only concern with this approach is that games involving Liverpool may no longer be as exciting as before.

5) The absence of Fabinho in any of the last 3 matchday squads is baffling and the only explanation is that Klopp will want to use him when our fixture list piles up. Similar to how we used AOC last year. he would then be considered as a new signing.

6) I thought it was a little harsh to include Alisson as an early loser. Yes conceding that goal was unnecessary and it led to Liverpool being uncomfortable for the last 25 minutes.

But otherwise he was excellent throughout. He was authoritative with all crosses, calm during corners and his passing statistics in that first half read 16 passes made; 15 successful.

7) So all in all, a good start for Liverpool and a necessary one given that monster fixture list in September.
Sid, LFC, India

Oh Alisson
Oh you fools. You are in the presence of genius and you know it not. Alisson has you dancing on a string.

Clearly what’s happened is that Alisson realised that the longer we went without conceding, the bigger deal it would become, the bigger the pressure would become on the defence, and the more likely that, when we eventually did concede, it might disrupt the balance of the team, lead to dropped points and stop the momentum.

So, he takes a good look at Leicester, realises they cannot score against him, waits for the two goal lead, and then executes his brilliant plan. Not only have we now conceded (at no cost), but he made sure the responsibility for the goal was entirely his so as to protect the confidence of the defence.

He’s like a chess grandmaster, and people are calling it a gaffe.
Nick, London

But he was brilliant after the mistake
You’re right to pop Alisson in as the early loser but it’s also worth saying that after he conceded that goal he was flawless. He created a calmness and helped keep the game dull until the end, claiming balls over the top and keeping his distribution tidy.

We have seen with both our previous keepers that errors unsettle them and cause a ripple effect, both in their own performances and in the defence around them. Alisson deserves criticism but he’s still pretty good. He also possibly earned us 2 points last week and hasn’t cost us any yet.
Minty, LFC

Why Henderson over Fabinho?
Any reason as to why Henderson should be in that Liverpool squad?

Has anyone got any magical stats proving his worth?

Leicester were only in the game because he was on the field. I know everyone will point at Alisson, but it stems from Henderson’s lack of ability to control midfield.

Fabinho must be thinking ‘wtf’ at the minute.
Zam

Jose Mourinho is the birdman
Being a movie and football aficionado this might be the best time to write my first mail. While i was watching Birdman: The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance of recently i found myself comparing Thomas Riggan, the titular character of the movie played by Michael Keaton to our own crooked bastard Jose Mourinho.

The movie parallels the career of Keaton with that of Riggan, a very successful blockbuster superstar who has faded into mediocrity and wants to revamp his career. Critics see him as a sell-out, a washed-up actor who does not understand the complexity and sophistication of real art. Riggan wants to prove these critics wrong, but more importantly, he wants to prove himself wrong. ‘Birdman‘ follows Thomson in the lead-up to the show’s opening night as he starts to baulk under the pressure as his family, cast and friends start to show concern for his behaviour.

Jose Mourinho, once a bright eyed, cunning, pragmatic intelligent genius has descended into a parody of himself. Maybe he is getting crushed under his own set of expectations of “The Special One”. He doesn’t want to adapt to changes of time because the he thinks the powers of his yesteryear has still not waned and his god-gifted talents are timeless. The difference between Riggan and Mourinho is that Riggan is trying to change his ways and adapt to Broadway while Mourinho is adamant his way is the right way.

There is a very interesting parallel between Keaton himself and Mourinho too. Michael Keaton first rose to fame for his roles on the CBS sitcoms All’s Fair and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour which i would like to compare to Jose’s role as an interpreter for Sir Bobby Robson at Sporting CP and Porto in Portugal, and Barcelona in Spain. They both had some good roles for the upcoming years.

The next roles defined both of them and i believe are their best performances(underrated) so far. Beetlejuice for Keaton and Porto for Mourinho. Next came the blockbuster roles that made them both critically and especially commercial darlings of their respective field. Batman by Tim Burton went on smash records and so did Mourinho’s Chelsea.

The next roles marked the highest points of their respective carriers, Keaton’s Batman Returns and Mourinho’s Milan. They went on a relative steady decline after(mind the word relative). There were few success in the way (Much Ado About Nothing, Jackie Brown and Toy Story 3) to (La Liga and Premier League).

The real question that remains is can Jose conjure up a Birdman or will he descend into madness? What Mourinho needs to realize is the world is not the same anymore. He can’t achieve a Birdman by sticking to his old self, he must lose some of his pragmatism and embrace unpredictability.

He is still a genius and if he can overcome the critics(just think, a unpredictable pragmatic mourinho) and achieve something remarkable in this era of so called Beautiful Football Pep, Heavy Metal Jurgen, Pure Football Sarri he will fly to the sky where Sir Alex waiting for him and we all will be looking out of the window as dazed and confused as Emma Stone.
Ujwal Basnet, Nepal

Carlos Sanchez is very bad at football
I swear, what the f is up with managers, teams, and coaches choosing Carlos Sanchez to play football?

The word calamity doesn’t even come close to describe what he does. I have no idea how much he has cost Colombia in terms of gaffs but he has a collection. He very nearly cost them a group stage knockout with a second minute red card. They managed to recover without him but in his first game back, goes ahead to give away a crucial penalty that ultimately cost the team.

Even his time at Villa was filled with these errors that were not highlighted because Villa were not a big team. He is Smalling and Jones rolled into one, in terms of stupid mistakes and looking awkward on the ball. His newest contribution to the C. Sanchez youtube highlights was jarring, and cost his team a point.

For me, he sits firmly on the, “how is he still paid to play football”, chair. I was shocked when the hammers went for him, almost like, I’m I the only person in the world who has seen him and identified him as a defence liability?

What the hell are these scouts doing if they recommend a manager get Carlos Sanchez? I have not closely followed CS, but everytime I watch him, he makes a critical mistake.
Dave

What’s wrong with Tottenham’s EFL Cup plan?
I’ve read with interest the Watford fans getting their knickers in a twist about the moving of the milk cup junior (or whatever it’s called these days) to Milton Keynes

Might the reason that it isn’t being played at Watford the reason the Watford fans are so keen.

By playing at Watford, spurs would be giving away all their home advantage and at least at a neutral ground the impact is reduced.

It is not like with a non league club after a pay day. It is unfortunate that the new stadium is not finished as planned and a team that is a viable alternative is the opponent instead of say a Manchester team.

Also with the switching of the league game, this will be rectified late in the year

The situation is far less than ideal, but with time will be seen as an minor issue especially if Watford reserves beat the Tottenham reserves
Paulo (what happened to rumbelows)

A truly ridiculous transfer
On Transfer Deadline Day for the rest of Europe, we had Dembele leave Celtic for Lyon, Gonçalo Guedes leave PSG for Valencia, but we also had Nacer Chadli join Monaco and even more surprising Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting join PSG from Stoke.

That could be up there with Faubert to Real Madrid in regards to shock transfers, one minute you’re playing with Peter Crouch and Joe Allen, the next you’re lining up alongside Neymar and Mbappe.
Mikey, CFC