LOLiverpooLOL - Next Season

[Sanguine]

Crikey, this is getting serious.

Quite. How they put together that 1-0 win over Madrid is as much a mystery as their poor form.

Guardian has it spot on - when Van Dijk is on form you don't notice him. Soaks up attackers like a sponge, calm, wins the ball, lays it off, strolls around like a cyborg. You very much noticed him last night - petulant whinge after conceding an obvious handball, all over the place for two of their goals, tackling was amateur.

Ten goals conceded in three games is a shambles.

xG isn't everything (or much at all on here) - but does throw up something interesting, and maybe the tiniest crumb for Slot to hold on to. Since the Palace game when Nketiah got a late winner, Liverpool's xG scored is 25, and conceded is 15. In that time they have actually scored 14, and conceded 24. They are playing poorly - but not as bad as their results suggest. They are missing chances, and they are conceding sloppy goals.

How Slot rights the ship though I don't know. He must surely make some changes in the coming week - Gomez in for Konate, Chiesa into the XI, drop Salah for a start - games at West Ham and at home to Sunderland have to be guaranteed three points. Fail to win either and incredibly I think his job is at risk, just months after winning the title.

Edit - echoes of Chelsea 2015/16. Chelsea won the league comfortably the season before. Mourinho was sacked in December after losing 9 of 16 games.

[Royal Rother]

I don't want to make excuses for them, but, being reflective...

All elite sport is about maximising fine margins, and it doesn't take much to lose them, so I do actually wonder whether Jota's tragic death has actually taken an edge off them and that somehow, in the hard moments most matches will produce, football just doesn't matter to them, and Slot, quite as much now.

I know that doesn't necessarily explain why the new players, Ekitike apart, have been poor, but a loss of passion and focus can be infectious.

[BraisingsteakRoyal]

I don't really have a dog in this fight, and totally accept that they haven't been good enough overall...but....

On the occasions i've seen them this season (mostly highlights and MOTD, admittedly...) - they've often been all over teams in the first period - hitting the bar / post / going close etc - game changing moments that haven't gone their way. Is it at all possible that they've just been REALLY unlucky....?

In - before the first response to this is just "no".

[Sutekh]

AS has to go, Liverpool’s bench yesterday included Gomez who i’be been told by reds fans is ctually carrying an injury and 2 goalkeepers

On top of that he doesn’t seem to have a plan A, let alone a plan B and don’t think he has the bottle to drop under performing players otherwise Salah and Konate wouldn’t be playing at every opportunity.

If he manages to turn it round from here he’ll be the best manager on the planet.

[Stranded]

AS has to go, Liverpool’s bench yesterday included Gomez who i’be been told by reds fans is ctually carrying an injury and 2 goalkeepers

On top of that he doesn’t seem to have a plan A, let alone a plan B and don’t think he has the bottle to drop under performing players otherwise Salah and Konate wouldn’t be playing at every opportunity.

If he manages to turn it round from here he’ll be the best manager on the planet.

I don't know if it is a rule this year but most CL match day squads have 3 GKs in it. PSV had 2 keepers on the bench, I know Eintracht did against Atalanta (could have used all 3 on the pitch to be honest).

Arsenal & Bayern also did - so 2 sub keepers is now standard, if not a rule.

[Stranded]

I don't want to make excuses for them, but, being reflective...

All elite sport is about maximising fine margins, and it doesn't take much to lose them, so I do actually wonder whether Jota's tragic death has actually taken an edge off them and that somehow, in the hard moments most matches will produce, football just doesn't matter to them, and Slot, quite as much now.

I know that doesn't necessarily explain why the new players, Ekitike apart, have been poor, but a loss of passion and focus can be infectious.

It will be seen as an excuse and of course Liverpool won't use it as one but even when they were winning, there was something off. Will losing a friend and colleague have impacted the players, absolutely - is it the only reason why things aren't going well - probably not.

Are there any other recent examples of a player passing away and how that impacted the performance of his team?

[Hendo]

AS has to go, Liverpool’s bench yesterday included Gomez who i’be been told by reds fans is ctually carrying an injury and 2 goalkeepers

On top of that he doesn’t seem to have a plan A, let alone a plan B and don’t think he has the bottle to drop under performing players otherwise Salah and Konate wouldn’t be playing at every opportunity.

If he manages to turn it round from here he’ll be the best manager on the planet.

I don't know if it is a rule this year but most CL match day squads have 3 GKs in it. PSV had 2 keepers on the bench, I know Eintracht did against Atalanta (could have used all 3 on the pitch to be honest).

Arsenal & Bayern also did - so 2 sub keepers is now standard, if not a rule.

Think this is correct, same as with International tournament games.

[Sutekh]

AS has to go, Liverpool’s bench yesterday included Gomez who i’be been told by reds fans is ctually carrying an injury and 2 goalkeepers

On top of that he doesn’t seem to have a plan A, let alone a plan B and don’t think he has the bottle to drop under performing players otherwise Salah and Konate wouldn’t be playing at every opportunity.

If he manages to turn it round from here he’ll be the best manager on the planet.

I don't know if it is a rule this year but most CL match day squads have 3 GKs in it. PSV had 2 keepers on the bench, I know Eintracht did against Atalanta (could have used all 3 on the pitch to be honest).

Arsenal & Bayern also did - so 2 sub keepers is now standard, if not a rule.

Odd. There is no stipulation that requires competing clubs to name x number of players in a particular position amongst the substitutes. Of course clubs can choose to do so if they wish. The only regulations I know of are those around each club having to name an up to 25 man squad for the league phase of which 8 MUST be “locally trained” (Squad A). In addition a club maintains a rolling squad (Squad B) of academy youngsters (an unlimited number of players if they are born on or after 1st January 2004 (for this season)) which they can use to augment the main squad should they wish. The only “must have” as regards playing position is that the main squad must include at least 2 keepers rising to at least 3 keepers when squads A and B are combined.

For the knockout phases clubs are allowed to reregister their main 25 man squad.

I can only presume Arne was perhaps trying to make a point to FSG that he doesn’t have a large enough squad of players to compete effectively

[Dirk Gently]

Bad taste, but I found it genuinely funny.