The Mailbox swoons over sh*thouse Simeone, gives Klopp a kicking…

Ian Watson

Get your mails in to theeditor@football365.com…

 

Place your bets
Here follows my odds for the Mailbox hot takes after Liverpool’s loss to Atletico:

Liverpool fans will be disappointed with this season now – 1-5

They claim to be one of the greatest Premier League sides, and then lose like that? 1-3

Dumped out of the CL, dumped out of the domestic trophies, and presumptive winners of a VAR and coronavirus #TaintedTitle. 1-10

Klopp is always ungracious in defeat. Terrible manager, horrible man. Evens

Salah and Mane don’t give a hoot about the club. I predict a weak finish to the league and then undergo a lengthy rebuilding period. 2-1

Klopp isn’t even in the top 10 managers in England, nevermind Europe. 5-1

City to win the quadruple. 12-1
Theo, LFC, Liverpool

 

That’s magic!
Y’all was right, European nights at Anfield really are magical.
N.V.M. (Schadenfreude, its called schadenfreude right?)

 

…Absolutely delicious from Atleti this evening. Gave Liverpool a lesson in both legs. One in the eye for everyone who claimed they’ve never faced anything like a famous European night at Anfield ®™.

The smugness of the likes of VVD, Klopp and Robertson before the game was always gonna set them up for a fall. The latter would do well to remember where he came from and recognise he’s not quite the second coming of Cole, Maldini and Carlos that people have tried to make him out to be. Whilst we’re talking full backs, Trent trying to play the hardman was fairly amusing too; stick to slugging it out with Deep Blue fella.

Meanwhile I see the Liverpool legends and self styled “best fans in the world” are now giving Adrian the same fantastic support they afforded Karius and Mignolet in the past. YNWA indeed.

Ultimately though, nothing was quite funny as Steve McManaman’s remarkable pivot from “Atleti aren’t even interested in attacking” to the realisation that actually they’ll just score as and when they want to. Although even as I type this he’s had the award for “worst take of the evening” whipped away from him by Michael Owen. I mean the Atleti players *might* be sitting in the dressing room saying “OMG how good was that team out there”, but I dunno, seems a bit unlikely to me. Maybe these are the kind of pearls you come out with when you’ve only seen 8 films?
David (Ole Ole Cholo)

 

Not cool, Klopp
Just watched the post-match Klopp interview. He appeared, to me, not to question Simeone’s tactics but Simeone himself. It’s one thing to say they dug in and defended deep, it’s entirely different to accuse another manager of misusing the resources available to him. After he’d just been schooled, home and away. He would rather throw a rival manager under the bus than his own keeper. After he’d just been schooled, home and away.

Why not, for arguments sake, JUST SAY NOTHING ABRASIVE about Atletico’s victory?

But….he did admit to being a bad loser so I suppose it’s okay for him to make a broadside about his victorious opponent. Who just took him to school, home and away.
Eddie A

 

…Memo to Jürgen Klopp: the ‘proper’ way to play football is to score more goals than your opponent.
James, Switzerland

 

The title will do
It’s such a shame that Adrien was solid and calm enough for 90 minutes then replaced with some panicky lookalike at full time, that move of pass it back, shift it to the full back, attack again has been Liverpool’s bread and butter all season so to go against that routine killing our chances is a shame.

And that’s all it is Adrien has been a fine enough understudy to Alisson without ever coming close to touching him. A part of our massive winning start, so gotta be thankful for the work he’s put in this season.

It’s also a shame to go out but we won it last year and finalists before that, it’s cool, the actual trophy we’ve wanted for 30 years is around the corner. If the holy grail is supposed to be some sort of silver medal for the season then I’ll take it. Fair play to Atletico.
Tyla (F*ck me Oblak is unbelievable) Roxburgh, Liverpool, Merseyside.

 

…Before the arse kidding begins, anyone else think that Oblak was decent, but his saves were all pretty routine?

He is a world class keeper, but he didn’t need to be tonight. Just needed to better than Aaaaaaadrian.

And just one of those nights for Liverpool.

And just the title then. #snapyourarmoffforthat
Paul

 

…In reaction to last night’s game. I thought Liverpool played their best football in a long while. We were excellent and battered Atletico for well over 90 minutes. To keep one of the best 16 teams on the continent defending for almost an entire game is a testament to our drive. On another night, with physics on our side and an opposition goalkeeper who didn’t have a standout game, we would have breezed through. There’s no shame in how we went out. The players gave it their all but it wasn’t enough this time.

Congrats to Atletico, it worked last night but they won’t win the CL playing that kind of football for the next 5 games. Of that I’m certain.

On to the Premier League ASAP please!
Gafyn ‘Philosophical’ Jones, Cardiff

 

…One of the cruelest, most inexplicable defeats in the modern game. Down to Adrian channeling his inner Karius after extra time and Llorente’s footballing magic. On the bright side Daragh will be happy. Finally.
Raúl H. García (Heads up fellow LFC fandom!) YNWA 1892

 

…Now that we are out of all cup competitions we can focus on winning the league.

You may get a few comments regarding the away goal and it being unfair as the team that plays away in the second leg have more time overall to get a crucial away goal. However both teams going into the two legged tie know the rules at the start and given the choice I would assume that the majority would request playing the second leg at home. The second leg at home gives the home team the advantage of having familiar surroundings/conditions and the intangible impact of the home support. Liverpool greatly benefited from this last year and no one complained following the result.

This year however with the empty stadiums the second leg home team have less of an advantage and can justifiably feel hard done by….
Cian (Just my 2 cents worth) LFC, Canada.

 

…Oh dear. Adrian what on Earth is he even thinking at that fateful moment. All day long he was taking a touch and playing it short and suddenly just as we are actually going through in the tie he makes a stupid decision and gets punished. He was wobbly against Bournemouth and that continued into today. Fortunately for him he was rarely tested but eventually he got properly humbled. I can’t decide if he’s caught a case of the Mignolets or the Karius.

It was all the worse because that was the best we have played since the winter break. The passing was so incisive and so often there was an easy sideways pass but players like Ox and Hendo were picking the more difficult forward balls which were causing massive trouble.

Sadio Mané was the pick of the forwards. He was pressing better than anyone else on the pitch and also looked very lively. Salah reminds me of Christian Bale in The Prestige; you never know if it’s Mo Salah, one of the best footballers on earth or his identical twin brother who can’t control a football or beat a man. Firmino finally turned up in what should’ve been the critical moment but was otherwise a bit subdued. In quite a few moments balls were played through and he wasn’t thinking at all and just ended up watching the ball roll out of play.

It’s a shame the way the last few weeks have unfolded. Ultimately will I remember it when I see Hendo do his weird stompy legs thing before lifting the premier league trophy? Unlikely. But the last few years have felt like a rising crescendo so this little lull at such a big moment in the history of the club is a shame.

On the plus side at least now the players realise they’re not certain of playing in finals every season. The way they reacted to losing the champions league final against Madrid and the way they reacted to finishing 2nd last season tells me they’ll want to bounce back strongly from this.
Minty, LFC

 

 

Now to blow the title
To me, at least from when Mane tried a curler with his right from outside the box with six or seven minutes left, it looked like Liverpool had given up. I think that’s pretty shocking from the runaway Premier League leaders and European champions. Whether there’s something going on behind the scenes that’s affecting them or they’re just tired after so many high intensity matches or if it’s the luck they had earlier in the season evening itself out, they’re in awful form right now. One thing is for certain, if the Premier League is cancelled, they can’t possibly award it to Liverpool. It’s not quite over yet.

Assuming the season finishes, they’re next away to Ancelotti’s Everton and Man City in two of their next three. In between that, they’re home to Palace who’ve conceded the same amount of away goals as City this season. Following those, it’s two in a row against teams fighting for survival. After that, it’s a (currently, at least) in form Burnley. Then, their last three matches are away to Arsenal, home to Chelsea and they finish the season away to a Newcastle team that have conceded the joint fewest home goals this season.

They need 6 points to win the thing. There’s nine games left. 4 of those are to Everton, City, Chelsea and Arsenal. Three of those are away games. Is it unrealistic to think they won’t get more than 2 points from those? Two of the remaining five games are against teams with some of the meanest defences in the league and Burnley have been excellent at the back recently as well. Is 3 points from those too far fetched to think about? They should get 6 against Brighton and Villa. Should. If they play like they did in the second half of extra time against Atletico though, against teams battling relegation, I wouldn’t be putting money on them getting the two wins.

Their next game is absolutely massive. I’d be praying that Pep was telling the truth when he said he was blowing off the league if I was a Liverpool fan right now.
Eamonn, Dublin

 

Swooning over Simeone
What a glorious bastard Simeone is. Back in 1998 the 12 year old me hated his antics that got England’s most overrated footballer sent off, but how times have changed.

I’ve really learned to appreciate shithousery, and Simeone and his team do it to perfection. Any team that has the opposing manager complaining about their negative style is a winner in my eyes.

It’s been a rough few months for the champions in waiting, after the ecstasy of winning the world club cup to the agony of three actual cup exits. It feels like when Leicester or Blackburn won the league, all a bit….whatever.
Ratt Mitchie NUFC (perhaps they should’ve attacked the Atletico bus on the way to the stadium! Though I imagine they arrived in an armoured truck)

 

Salty conclusions
I wrote in after the first leg against Atletico comparing the rival fans to cockroaches who had finally emerged from the dark crevices after finally seeing Liverpool falter. They will surely rejoice today. I am not one to hide, and am here like I said, win or lose.

1. Firstly, congratulations Atletico. Incredible backs against the wall defending for the most part. And great opportunism from Marcus Llorente on both goals. Although I would love to rage against Adrian, what’s the point. He is what he is, a spirited but limited keeper and the difference in quality showed at this level.
2. Best of luck to Atletico. Hope they finally overcome their trouble with getting past the line in this competition and finally win it. I mean, we won the champions league in their stadium before they did…
3. To many Premier League fans who don’t follow much La Liga, you have now been introduced to Jan Oblak, the best goalkeeper on the planet. Alisson and Ter Stegen form the rest of the top 3, but Oblak is out in front as the leading player in his position. Top notch performance sir, my compliments.
4. At the end of the day, this sucks, but could be worse. We won the competition last year, and have won more European cups than all 19 other premier league teams have combined. We could give one of our trophies to champions league virgins Man City and Arsenal each, and still have more than Manyoo.
5. We have a Premier League title all but wrapped up, with the potential league title win at Goodison, and a guard of honor at the Etihad to look forward to. Tasty.
johnnyWicky, Toronto (I did say they were salty conclusions)

 

Do away with away goals
First of all congratulations to Atletico Madrid for winning 2-4 on aggregate!

However, it proves the point that Liverpool need an out and out striker as an option. Hoping that the second coming of Origi is on tap as some sort of super sub is silly. Hopefully Werner is on his way in the summer and possibly a creative midfielder as let’s be honest Henderson has had his best season but is a year older. Milner despite his age is in terrific shape but is much older. More and more team’s have figured out to cut off the Robertson and TAA supply line too.

Moving away from transfer hopes to a match related topic. Atletico Madrid won the match no dispute at all on that and beat Liverpool in both leg’s home and away. However, they should not be awarded three away goal’s if fairness is to be delivered in the Champions League. If Liverpool only got 90 mins to score an away goal in Madrid why is it fair that Atletico Madrid get 120 mins to score an away goal at Anfield? We all know for every away goal scored the home team has to score two to be ahead.

My point is surely this away goal advantage in extra time in the 2nd leg of every tie is a distinct advantage? Therefore, would it not be fairer to end the 2nd leg on 90 mins and go straight to penalties? To be clear Atletico Madrid win the match under either circumstance but that added advantage (away goal) in extra time just seems wrong! Was it Spurs that had a similar problem a few year’s ago?
Dan (LFC fan in fairness this result was coming after the s*** show in Madrid)

 

Keep up
I think we know the answer this morning to the question, “Can you win the Champions League without a top keeper?”.

No, no you can’t. Difference on the night. One properly excellent keeper. One. Erm. Not.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say you can’t even get into the final without a top keeper. A quick look back at the last 10 years suggests there is rarely even a keeper in the final you wouldn’t object to replacing in the world (Dortmund 2013, Liverpool 2018. Hmmm. Maybe Navas at Madrid. Maybe).
Matthew

 

…Well. We tried.

For 95 minutes I’m not sure we could have done anymore (apart from be more clinical obviously). But our all round play was probably the best we’ve actually performed since the turn of the year.

Ultimately, we ended up re-learning a lesson we were already taught in Kiev. That you can have 10 excellent performers out there, but without a Goalkeeper that wants to do the basics right, you’re not going to win a big game.

I don’t want to turn this into an Adrian roast, after all he was massive for us at the start of the season when getting regular games. But when called on to fill in here and there, he’s been pretty bad.

Alisson would most likely have saved all 3 of those goals. And probably never have made the mistake that led to the first energy and morale sapping concession. You can tell by the way VVD is constantly berating Adrian that he has no time for him whatsoever, and it’s hard to blame him on nights like this.

The perfect example was at the other end of the pitch where Oblak conjured up the dream away performance from any goalkeeper, saving almost everything that came his way. And not magical wonder saves. Just the basics.

Given how close we came to another great victory, this is deflating. But all that matters is that we pick ourselves up and go grab this title with both hands. It feels weird because of how high we’ve soared at times this season, but a premier league trophy and nothing else is a deal we would have gladly made before this or any other season in the past 28 years.
Ryan C, LFC

 

…So apparently the only man who can replace Alisson in Oblak.

Fair dues to Simeone, had his plan and stuck to it. Although the other night while getting beaten 2-0 by Carlisle, Newport had more passes in 90 minutes than Atl. Madrid. Funny old game.
Robbie DFC

 

Best ever?
The greatest team in the history of football in this or any other country ever are on target to win 1 trophy………like Blackburn…..
Paul (lols)

 

Reassessing the Premier League
After too many emails in the last few weeks arguing that the Premier League is as strong as it has ever been because all Champions League and Europa League finalists were English last season, I thought I would do one better and determine the league’s quality by looking at THIS season. Let’s not live in the past, eh?

Here’s what I found: The team leading the Premier League by a whopping 25 points was knocked out of the Champions League in the Round of 16 by the sixth place team in Spain. Ouch. Another English team has been eliminated at the same stage, a third is in the middle of getting trounced, and the second place team in England has a fair shot at qualifying for the quarterfinals. In the Europa League, two English teams are into the Round of 16.

Conclusion: the Premier League is really, really weak this year.
Paul (Scouse maths don’t lie), Quesada

 

…First as a Man Utd fan, happy to see Liverpool knocked out. That said, i do hope that one day Ole or Poch or Steve Bruce or whoever has Utd playing with that heart and skill. On another day and against most other teams, you’d be clear at the half. Oblak and Atleti did what they needed to. Enjoy your coronation in the league from here on in. You’ve deserved it. Kudos.

Second, US Soccer just publicly stated women’s footy is inferior. This in a country where the women’s team is leaps and bounds more popular, girls are more likely to play the sport, and, well we’re in the year 2020 and all that. Absolutely shocking. Looks like the women’s fight for equal pay will go to the courts where I hope they win.

Just a reminder to all you football lovers in the UK, in a country saturated with matches to go to, don’t forget to watch/support your local women’s teams too, and the lionesses or whoever you choose to follow.

Cheers
Niraj (at least the Utd women are firmly top 4) Tampa FL

 

Was AVB the real mastermind?
With Spurs and Mourinho’s current predicament, there has been a lot of mails regarding Jose’s failings, excuses, his willingness to isolate players and throw them under a bus and also his escape route of another massive payout when he is sacked.
From a Chelsea fans perspective (well mine at least), is that Mourinho as a manager now is not recognisable from the Porto and Chelsea manager. He is more pragmatic and defensive than he ever was. He did rely on a solid defense, and when he thought the teams were evenly balanced or his team was weaker then he would set up to park the bus and counterattack. However he would attack weaker opposition, helped by Drogba holding up the ball and the likes of Cole, Duff and Robben on the wings. And of course Lampard just hammering it anywhere near the box and getting a deflection. This gave Chelsea 95 points and a record number of wins in a season.
What was impressive and made Mourinho stand out was his constant tweaks to tactics and changes of formation during the game. He had a play book that he referred to throughout matches and you could see it was options on formations. He would change players and formations earlier on in the game, and it was not rare to see subs on in the first half or half time. Oddly, the players seemed okay with being subbed, presumably because they understood it was tactical rather than the manager removing them for playing badly.
What you can see now is that the tactical changes during the game are largely gone, subs are often like for like and plan A is rarely changed game to game.
Personally I think that this has come from backroom staff changes. Mourinho brought with him an opposition scout who was so painstakingly detailed he was nicknamed DVD by forcing players to watch previous matches of their opposition. But he did understand how they were likely to set up, the weaknesses of their formations and how they could be exploited.
He never really managed successfully on his own but AVB was probably pivotal to Jose’s early successes that he has never properly replicated without huge spending and reliance on individual players.
Blue Chelsea Blue (and yes I know it sounds ridiculous)

 

Little sympathy for Jose
Very entertaining to read today’s mails on Tottenham and Mourinho. Spurs fans put the whole blame on Mourinho; non-Spurs fans seem to be more understanding.

I agree with non-Spurs fan Ursolin Wexoh –

“I submit to you that the bile now aimed at Mourinho is predictable but unfair. He inherited a team that was never that great to begin with, was already in a rut, and then lost its best four players.”

I think he’s leaving something out. Mourinho’s PR stick is by now stale. Like he did at United, his constant negativity became toxic. He probably couldn’t do a better job with this team. But he didn’t have to make it all seem so dreary. He didn’t have to publicly insult his own players.

So yeah Spurs fans probably don’t want to admit to themselves their team isn’t very good anymore. They shouldn’t blame Mourinho who only got there a few months ago.

But Mourinho brings this loathing on himself with his attitude. Couldn’t happen to a better guy I suppose?
Jamo

 

Keep calm and carry on?
Just finished Dave Tickner’s article in which he asks why the EPL is continuing as though nothing is happening. He goes on to compare the reaction in Italy and the one in Britain.

I think the British gover’nt is not emulating Italy’s response because of a number of reasons:

1) As I am writing this, over 10000 people are infected in Italy, with over 600 deaths. Italy is the worst hit country after China, the number of people who are infected in England is just under 500.

2) Governments don’t make decisions based on whimsical reasons. They have to use statistics. What is the probability of infection? What is the rate of infection? What is the quality and quantity of our preparedness?

3) What have epidemiologists, said? You know, those guys who study how infections spread. I bet they are not biting their nails just yet.

My advice is this, Covid-19 is a serious global threat, but we have people who are in positions of influence and who know exactly what to do in this scenario. Klopp said it very well when asked about it, his views and all pur views are not important, we are not well equipped to understand what the numbers say, let us what for what the epidemiologists say, if they suggest all gathering be suspended, then at that time let the EPL do so, but until then let us not dispense our ignorance.

Dave, Keep Calm and Enjoy football, epidemiologists are in control.
Elvince Ager, Nairobi

 

Keep and bin
I really enjoyed the five players to keep and bin features you guys made recently, and hope you do more. I thought I might humbly get the ball rolling with my Arsenal versions.

Keep:
Saka- Absolutely vital to Arsenal that he signs a new deal. Most assists in the Europa League this year, youngest player in twenty one years to assist in consecutive premiership appearances, most assists at Arsenal this season, doesn’t turn 19 till September. One to build around for the next fifteen years.

Auba-More one to keep than build around, but his goals alone mean Arsenal need to make sure he re-signs, let alone his being captain. Only has a few years left but to compete in the short term, his goals are necessary.

Martinelli-First teenager to score ten in a season since Anelka, and has the chance to better the feat next year as he only turns 19 in June. I don’t know what else to say about him, he’s just a beast.

Ceballos-Immediately a fan favourite after a strong debut against Burnley where he got two assists, has come back into the fold with aplomb after the winter break and looks like he’s added a little steel to his undoubted class on the ball, could be a mainstay of an Arsenal midfield for years to come, if they do not secure him permanently, it could be a decision that comes back to haunt Arsenal for years.

Mari-The first left footed centre back Arsenal signed since Vermaelen has already shown enough to at least suggest he can go on and at the very least be a decent squad option, possessing the requisite class on the ball Arteta wants from his defenders and a seemingly cool head, along with an exquisite tackle, could be first choice, would definitely be useful as back up.

Bin:
Laca-I love him, but getting 40-50mil from Atleti to reinvest in balancing the squad would prove a wiser strategy in the long term, whilst freeing up minutes for Martinelli (and the new Ian Wright, Nketiah,) to play and improve to the highest level.

Kolasinac-More touches than Auba in the box and more chances created than Ozil last season, but for such a beast, goes down easily and gets injured often. Easily 20mil in todays market, apparently Napoli were sniffing around. Opens spots for Tierney, if he can stay fit, and Saka, even though he surely will end up playing further forward.

Ozil-I just don’t feel the need to justify this one. Great player, way too much money, Liverpool pay Mane and Salah combined roughly the same amount we pay for not enough end product. Sorry Mesut, I do actually like you as a player, just way too much money for what you’re producing and would free up so much for reinvestment. Apparently I did feel the need to justify it.

Sokratis-If you had asked me who I would keep out of Sok and Shkro at the beginning of the season, I would have picked Sokratis, mainly just because he wasn’t Mustafi. In recent showings my opinion has changed and as strange as it feels to write these words, I think Mustafi has more of a future at the club than his grecian counterpart, at least as cover, and I think. On that basis alone I would get rid of Sokratis, although…

Mustafi-…at the end of the day Arteta needs to get rid of Mustafi too and sign a real world class cb next year to play along Saliba/Luiz/Mari/Holding/Mavropanos and really tighten up what is still a makeshift defensive unit that has suffered years of abuse. Can anyone spell Upamecano or Koulibaly?

Anyone else want to put forward a case from their clubs?
Andy, Guatemala

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