Post Match: Liverpool 1-1 Leicester (EPL 30/1/19 8pm)

[Mascot88]

Finally, any Liverpool supporter who can't see why a Murdoch owned organisation like SKY would have an axe to grind with LFC needs to either go and fucking educate themselves or follow someone else.

Knock this shit off, Jaffod. Your conspiratorial nonsense is tolerated, but this isn’t. No more now.

 

[Billy Biskix]

Moving on from this debate......
We are 5 points clear after a weekend where we had the more difficult fixture and we also underperformed.
Bonus point I say.

A noble attempt at getting the thread on topic and, yes, that's how I'm trying to look at it.

I watched the game again yesterday and one thing that has barely been mentioned is how well Leicester actually played. Also that their record against the top sides is very good. Beaten Chelsea and City and it's easy to see why. Puel's tactics don't get down well with his own team's fans but they were pretty much perfect against us. It's sophisticated bus parking. We had no space at all but they didn't just defend and hope for the best. They sprung really quickly and got men up to support attacks. First 15 minutes of the second half we were very much second best. Not the worst result in the world in the circumstances.

Defensively we were pants and got away lightly. That was probably VVD and Robbo's worst game for us. VVD clearly wasn't 100% and Robbo just had an off day. Very unlike the pair of them but we quickly need to get back to keeping clean sheets and controlling games better. We won't win the title unless that happens.

On the contentious decisions I thought a yellow for Maguire was right. It's annoying and a clear professional foul but it's not a clear goalscoring opportunity. Had it been one of our players and he'd have gone we'd have been livid. Not too dissimilar to Matip's foul on Vardy although it was obviously much further up the pitch. The penalty was so obvious I can only think that Atkinson failed to give it out of pure stubborness. Keita's fall was completely natural, not exaggerated at all. We've only had one penalty at the Kop end in a league game since May 2017 and the desire of officials not to be seen to be influenced by the crowd must be behind that as the likelihood of only one foul being committed against us in that entire period is zero.

Fabinho's cameo off the bench was really good. We were better after the substitutions and he was the main reason. He inspires confidence with the ball at this feet. Very decisive. Also, he is ideal in a game against the bus park because he can operate in deeper areas where he isn't pressed but has the range of passing to get players in behind. He is more effective in this respect than Shaqiri who needs to be closer to goal and where he is more easily closed down (he barely played a forward pass in this game) or Keita whose bulldozing style means he can run into traffic leaving us open to a counter.

Next two games are against teams we have good recent records against and who will allow us to play so no excuse for an improved performance in both of them.

 

[Hope in your heart]

I agree that defence was the primary reason that cost us the league that season. A secondary reason was depth - we had simply no solutions or game changers coming from the bench. A tertiary reason was pragmatic and experienced Champions mentality at crucial points, where it mattered (and it was mostly down to Rodgers) - the approach to the Chelsea game still shocks me to this day. How can you fall for Mourinho's tactics when it's them that needed more than a point and when for us a draw would do...especially if we would thrive in case they'd take the bait, as our counter attack was lethal, while if they'd stay put, we'd still be fine with the point. Win-win. Instead, nooooo, attack like hell and stay true to guns-ablaze style, god forbid we try to adapt to what we need (how unlucky for Gerrard to be the one that did the mistake caused by our flawed approach to the game - he deserved it the least from all players, and us fans deserved it even less to endure such a disaster by the manager).

But all that said, I can't seem to forget Sterling's disallowed goal vs City in the first round, where I think it would make for a totally different game had it stood (which it should). We lost that game, and I believe it would have been very difficult for City to come back from that, let alone win.
I believe we'd be talking about 6 points difference (-3 for them and +3 for us had we gone on to win that game), or 3 points difference had we drawn that one (-2 for them, +1 for us). Both scenarios enough to make it even more impossible to blow up later on. That ref decision still hurts, it was so clearly not offside that it felt so unjust.

But anyway, yes, overall I agree, no conspiracy.

Yeah, the depth was insufficient, and was shown up when Hendo had to miss that Chelsea game for suspension. We missed him dearly. And yeah, the experience was lacking, starting with the manager. Remember that game at Palace, being three nil up and letting the lead slip away?

Re- the ref decisions: of course that ref call against City was horribly wrong. I still believe that we wouldn't have been champions even if we had won that day, but that's just my gut feeling. But at the end of the day, we had enough ref decisions going for us that season. Everything was in our lad's hands to win the title, and they gave it away, that's all.

(sorry for being off-topic btw)

 

[Custodian]

A noble attempt at getting the thread on topic and, yes, that's how I'm trying to look at it.

I watched the game again yesterday and one thing that has barely been mentioned is how well Leicester actually played. Also that their record against the top sides is very good. Beaten Chelsea and City and it's easy to see why. Puel's tactics don't get down well with his own team's fans but they were pretty much perfect against us. It's sophisticated bus parking. We had no space at all but they didn't just defend and hope for the best. They sprung really quickly and got men up to support attacks. First 15 minutes of the second half we were very much second best. Not the worst result in the world in the circumstances.

Defensively we were pants and got away lightly. That was probably VVD and Robbo's worst game for us. VVD clearly wasn't 100% and Robbo just had an off day. Very unlike the pair of them but we quickly need to get back to keeping clean sheets and controlling games better. We won't win the title unless that happens.

On the contentious decisions I thought a yellow for Maguire was right. It's annoying and a clear professional foul but it's not a clear goalscoring opportunity. Had it been one of our players and he'd have gone we'd have been livid. Not too dissimilar to Matip's foul on Vardy although it was obviously much further up the pitch. The penalty was so obvious I can only think that Atkinson failed to give it out of pure stubborness. Keita's fall was completely natural, not exaggerated at all. We've only had one penalty at the Kop end in a league game since May 2017 and the desire of officials not to be seen to be influenced by the crowd must be behind that as the likelihood of only one foul being committed against us in that entire period is zero.

Fabinho's cameo off the bench was really good. We were better after the substitutions and he was the main reason. He inspires confidence with the ball at this feet. Very decisive. Also, he is ideal in a game against the bus park because he can operate in deeper areas where he isn't pressed but has the range of passing to get players in behind. He is more effective in this respect than Shaqiri who needs to be closer to goal and where he is more easily closed down (he barely played a forward pass in this game) or Keita whose bulldozing style means he can run into traffic leaving us open to a counter.

Next two games are against teams we have good recent records against and who will allow us to play so no excuse for an improved performance in both of them.

Good point about Atkinson, I am still not over it yet. I bet he stayed over in the club, afraid to leave. If I had been there he should be very afraid.

 

[TheSweetSilverSong]

Yeah, the depth was insufficient, and was shown up when Hendo had to miss that Chelsea game for suspension. We missed him dearly. And yeah, the experience was lacking, starting with the manager. Remember that game at Palace, being three nil up and letting the lead slip away?

Re- the ref decisions: of course that ref call against City was horribly wrong. I still believe that we wouldn't have been champions even if we had won that day, but that's just my gut feeling. But at the end of the day, we had enough ref decisions going for us that season. Everything was in our lad's hands to win the title, and they gave it away, that's all.

(sorry for being off-topic btw)

And that's why I said I ultimately agree that there's no conspiracy.

And for Wednesday's decisions - totally wrong, but as it has been said, this specific ref doesn't give game-deciding calls, so a red becomes a yellow, and a pen is rarely given....that's what it was. Very unlucky that both cases affected us and not the opponent, but we should have won regardless. We regroup, and try to win on Monday!

 

[Quicksand]

United aren't owned by oligarchs or Arabian millions either, so why would they benefit?

Because of Murdoch. But I am guessing we already know that.

 

[jaffod]

And that's why I said I ultimately agree that there's no conspiracy.

And for Wednesday's decisions - totally wrong, but as it has been said, this specific ref doesn't give game-deciding calls, so a red becomes a yellow, and a pen is rarely given....that's what it was. Very unlucky that both cases affected us and not the opponent, but we should have won regardless. We regroup, and try to win on Monday!

He had no problem giving City a penalty at Anfield with 5 minutes to go though.

 

[Quagmire81]

If you’re going to drop pearls like ‘the system isn’t working’ as we sit top of the league, five points ahead of the ‘greatest team in Premier League history (tm)’, don’t act indignant when people ridicule you.

And Salah has been fucking brilliant this year. Absolutely no problems there. The system is clearly and demonstrably working. It could hardly be working better.

You talk about the whole system not me mate. Did you even read my post!

 

[Mascot88]

You talk about the whole system not me mate. Did you even read my post!

Regardless, it’s still clearly and objectively working.

 

[Quagmire81]

Regardless, it’s still clearly and objectively working.

I agree but unlike you I actually think it can still be improved on.

Compare to last season I don't think salah been fucking brilliant as you put it. often this season I think he's been under the level he was on last season, and imo it's because he's being used centrally instead of out wide. I think you may mistake this little critic as an attack on the whole system and if so you're wrong and it's NOT!

 

[redalways]

Why would there be a conspiracy against Liverpool in the first place? I bet there's other clubs who could easily claim a conspiracy against them as well.

The points dropped/gained for us and United last season could be seen as evidence of a conspiracy but I doubt it, unless there's also a conspiracy against the likes of Stoke and Brighton who also had bad luck with decisions last season.

Ferguson demonised Suarez because he was Evra's manager and making Luis look bad helped them out, it's not a conspiracy but rather a manager who could see an obvious opportunity. Sky demonised him because they want people watching them, so they fuel drama as much as they can.

If you ask some rival fans, they think we've had a load of penalties this season.

Lots of people think that the Earth is flat too...

 

[sms1986]

Lots of people think that the Earth is flat too...

We've had five, City have had two and Spurs three. My point is that a lot of football fans are always going to assume that another team is unfairly biased towards.