Wednesday 27 January 2016

We're On Our Way To Wembley

     So, we are on our way to Wembley, a poor performance from the Reds, who as always, did it the hard way, with a penalty shoot out win.  For me the most memorable things from the semi were Lucas appearing to want to fight the whole Stoke support and the post match interview from Jurgen Klopp, how can you not smile when your manager told you it doesn't matter who we play in the final we will in the cup.







     I'm delighted to have made a final, we have our big day out and for me it shows that we are developing under Klopp.  I know it's "only" the league cup and we would probably swap it for a top four place but it's a cup final a huge chance of silverware and its Liverpool back at Wembley, where we belong, challenging for trophies.  We have made it to a final amidst the worst injury crisis this club has seen for years, without our star player for almost the whole season and with according to most commentators no creativity, nobody to take a chance, the worst defence in the country, the worst keeper, the worst record from set plays both defending and attacking and having changed managers half way through the campaign it would appear that our manager can work miracles, especially when you consider we have had to play far to many games in a short period and we are still in both the FA Cup and the UEFA league more chances of glory.

     Success in the League Cup is often seen as a stepping stone with supporters believing it will lead to further success in bigger trophies, " it shows the team are heading in the correct direction".  In the case of Liverpool this season I'm not sure we had far to many problems with the team but what it does who is the manager is working along the correct lines h can do it, he can do it with the players he has available at the moment, imagine what he could could achieve without the injuries, imagine hat he can achieve when he has had time to work with the players, imagine what he can achieve when they understand fully understand his philosophy , imagine what he can achieve when they have completed a full pre season and are a fit as he needs, imagine what he can achieve when he a brought in his own players, when we have a goalkeeper who can catch and a striker who can score, just imagine.  I liked Klopp from the moment he walks through the door but I had been hoping he would take us forward that he could take us to finals but he has now proved it to me, to all the support, to the players and to the owners there is now no reason why he can't be given everything he needs and when he is watch us go.




@lumolfc

Tuesday 26 January 2016

Problems At The Back

      It's getting beyond the point of worry or concern now for years we have had weaknesses at the back but over the last year or so things have appear to be getting progressively worse until we are now at the point that it seems every shot on target is a goal, a corner for our opponents is as good as a penalty, every attack causes fear to spread around the support and players and our individual international level defenders all appear to have never played the game before with horrendous individual errors a weekly occurrence with communication and organisation a thing of the past.

     I am not claiming to be a coach and certainly not to have all the answers but I along with most other supporters have seen some issues that need addressing sooner rather than later.  Firstly and for me the biggest issue is our goalkeepers, Mignolet and Bogdan are not good enough, Mignolet our regular starter appears now to have reached the stage of Reina before him where every shot on target is a goal, a huge problem when his only attribute was that he was a good shot stopper.  His distribution is still appalling, organisation non existent, command of the area equally poor and his confidence appears to be totally shot and I believe all of this has caused problems with his defenders in front of him, people have no confidence and the panic is spreading.  Bogdan is worse so we don't have the solution of giving him again he has similar problems but actually seems to add to the problems causing problems that aren't there almost throwing the ball in his own goal.

     What's the solution, for me a new goalkeeper and long term we need to look at our keeper coaching, Mignolet is not the first keeper we have broken, when you are this far down there is no way back.   I am aware that we have recently given Mignolet his new contract and I simply don't understand why, I am hoping we will be bringing in a new number one and he will be our reserve cover although I would like to see the promising Ward given a chance as well.

     Our defenders are not without blame all of them seem to have a mistake in them.  Skrtel in my opinion flatters to deceive he is one of those players who is often not directly to blame but is always at the edge of the crime, Toure has been quality in his day but is finished his legs have gone and is prone to a bit of panic despite his constant calm down gestures, Lovren before his injury was in the process of proving me wrong for a whil he looked like a joke player but under Klopp has been far better, in the wait and see basket for me, Sakho also is proving me wrong I thought he was quality but recently has been coming down to the level of the rest of our defenders and doesn't seem to be strong enough in the air needs to do far better mor often.  Moreno is an idiot just seems to be to thick to learn, a superb athlete with very little brain and Clyne has been a disappointment started off well it's consistently good defending but has got worse each week to the point that he is now targeted by many teams as the week link and thats amongst those listed above.  What's the solution? Again for me it's personnel changes but I think we can improve from coaching we have no communication , nobody taking the lead nobody organising and when mistakes are made somebody should be handing out a bollocking, we need to get nasty, we need to get physical and we need to get in the front foot and individuals need to do their jobs if your marking somebody then mark him and make sure he doesn't get his head in the ball, oh and just as an aside get somebody on the posts from corners I have been told all my life that this is what you do but for some reason we have stopped and we have conceded goals because of this

    Overall we need players who can do the job to the required level and that's going to mean replacing one or two or more of our back line but we also have to get organised and get nasty it's has been to long since we have looked comfortable at the back to challenge at the top we have to be strong at the back. 
    

Sunday 24 January 2016

What a Game !

      I don't normally do match reports but what a game we watched at Norwich and it could just be the turning point we have been looking for.

     Liverpool were not good, we were bloody terrible, all over the pitch both as a team and individually we were terrible with the exception of Firmino and Lallana and up to the very last minute of the game I was fuming with them all.  For the whole first half it looked like we didn't give a shit, for the whole match we couldn't defend, childish errors all over the field, every Norwich attack caused panic, every shot was a goal every corner was like a penalty, by half time I was predicting a humiliating defeat, possibly as big as Stoke last season and when Moreno gave away the most idiotic penalty I have seen for years, I mean what was he thinking, not once but twice absolutely bloody stupid, that was it I was of the opinion we should just get rid of them all and start again.

      But then we showed that we have something we have a bit of fight, following the third Norwich goal going in Toure grabbed the ball from the back of the net and ran to the half way, he was saying come on we can sort this, we can get this back and we bloody well did, within seconds Henderson has got us back in it and now there was two players Henderson and Firmino grabbing the ball and rushing it back to half way and minutes later following Firmino's equaliser most of the team were there determined to get on with the game, we can win this now.  We must remember that we were not good we got back into the game because Norwich were shit even worse than us, they sat back and can't defend a huge tactical error if they had continued to attack they would have continued to score proven by them grabbing a late late equaliser following Milner capitalising on the worst error of the game to give Liverpool an unlikely lead.  Surely it was all over 4-4 three minutes in to injury time, no, remember we are fighters now And Lallane grabbed a fifth and winning goal and wild scenes of celebrations led by the manager.



     We were rubbish but what a quality game and a quality three points and there is every possibility that that terrible performance could start us on the road.  Klopp, who is the man for the job,who will bring success has been putting messages in all our heads players and supporters, don't leave early, a game last until the final whistle, anything can happen and if that wasn't heavy metal football.  The messages are getting across late equalisers against West Brom and Arsenal and that against Norwich, confidence must be increasing maybe in the years to come we will look back at this game as the one where it all started again for Liverpool.