26 Jan 2017 18:27:12
Maybe Verheijen was right about Klopp over training his teams .

1.) 26 Jan 2017
26 Jan 2017 18:58:30
No, I don't think so.
There's been a lot of talk/ theorising about our January woes. For me it's much simpler than many think.
At very similar times we have lost Matip, Henderson, Lallana, Coutinho and Mane. In many ways those 5 players, along with Firmino, have been our best players of the first half of the season and always played when available.
You take 50% of your outfield ever presents out and it's bound to have an effect. Points are dropped, opponents and encouraged and the teams confidence ebbs away.

We are one big performance away from getting our mojo back. It's not a lack of fitness or over training.
I'm backing Klopp's men to take a narrow victory over Wolves and then smash Chelsea to bits. That game will give us the much needed confidence boost followed by the return of Mane to have us firing on all cylinders again.

Keep the faith Reds, the storm clouds are clearing 😎

2.) 26 Jan 2017
26 Jan 2017 19:17:56
Nice one Ron that's cheered me up a bit.

3.) 26 Jan 2017
26 Jan 2017 19:29:36
Ron, Your optimism is truly inspiring! Much needed :)

4.) 26 Jan 2017
26 Jan 2017 19:43:24
Couldn't agree more RK, one big night next week, great atmosphere, break Chelsea's run and regain confidence for the run in. Onwards and upwards. Chelsea are yet to wobble and their big games are around the corner 🏋️‍♀️

{Ed002's Note - Chelsea's run has been broken.}

5.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 00:25:16
Well put, Ron. Your part about us losing half of our first elen at crical times and different times, is what is killing us right now, not the training, fitness or being "sussed out" stuff. These absences have caused a drop in confidence and this is crippling the players including the manager.

We just need to get a critical win (Chelsea? ) and we could be back on track especially, with the shot of confidence we could get from it. As for the Verhejein fellow, he has been labelled a hack who`s never coached a day in his life. He also ignores that Klopp has a degree in Sports Science so don't really care what he thinks. We are with you, Klopp and the players till the end. YNWA!

6.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 05:26:47
Right there with you Ron.

7.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 08:26:44
I agree with you Ron although I do think it's also the way teams are setting up against us. Southampton away apart we are still dominant in most games, Swansea included but teams are just sitting deep and hitting us on the break. Our best game in Jan has been against Utd because they tried to play until Mourinho morphed into Dave Bassett in front of our eyes. Teams sitting back and hitting us on the break, injuries and a lack of confidence are all having an affect to some degree but put all those things together and you've got a perfect storm.
I think other teams will drop point too though as we're getting to the stage where teams lower down the league are desperate for points so will start to fight for everything and get some lucky results. I still have faith I think we can get it back.

8.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 08:50:49
Exactly, Ron. I've said before, as well as many others on here, that critical players (the "spine") have been missing for extended periods due to either injury or other commitments. And when there's a gulf between the key starters and the backups then it's bound to affect the team's performance and results. It's pretty clear that even Klopp believes there is a gulf when you look at his decision to move Lallana away from his usual position and fill in for Mane, when many of us had thought that he would play Sturridge, Origi or one of the youngsters. But I don't question his decisions; he knows best.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that a lot of people are now looking and questioning Klopp, and whispering doubts. Happens all the time, and there are never any guarantees. Football is not only a sport of skill and tactics but also a certain amount of good or bad fortune. So while some "brilliant" managers are struggling due to issues of skill or tactics (Mourinho at ManU, Guardiola at ManC, and Emery at PSG come to mind) others benefit or lose due to a certain amount of luck. What "clicked" for Rainieri last season is nowhere in sight this season. (I don't believe Kante alone won the EPL for Leicester) .

I'm confident the team will regain form once Mane is back and everyone is firing on all cylinders. I just wonder if it will be enough to win it (I believe it can still be done with a healthy dose of skill, tactics and "good fortune") .

9.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 09:49:43
Ed002 - Chelsea's first run was broken. They've now won 4 games in a row, scoring 11 and conceeding once. That's another run we need to break!

{Ed002's Note - I see. Maybe Liverpool would do better to think of themselves and not obsess with Chelsea?}

10.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 12:51:35
In all seriousness ed002 has hit on a good point.
LFC fans DO obsess, we obsess with winning the league because we had unprecedented success followed by a long, long drought. It's only natural and Chelsea are in the box seats so they are the obsession.
But our obsession is counter productive and does effect our fans on match days. When things are not going our way we panic and it translates to the team.
I think it's something Kloppo wants to change, he wants a party atmosphere - winning or losing. He wants us to expect us to score rather than expecting us to lose. We have had it, but this January wobble has turned us from believers into panickers again.

We need to keep the faith, keep believing and get behind the lads.

11.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 14:02:35
Baby steps Ed002

{Ed002's Note - I think the new club motto supports that view: In Transitus Cum MCMLXXXVI.}

12.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 15:40:03
Spot on Ra and Pip. Love your posts. We just need a big win to get the confidence back and we will be back on track. Questioning Klopp right now is just hindsight is 20/ 20 nonsense cos everyone is always a genius after the fact.

13.) 27 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 21:54:47
I'm going to take a guess at that translation and say 'In Transition Since 1986'?

14.) 28 Jan 2017
27 Jan 2017 18:23:21
Point is taken re our obsession with the league title. to be fair Manchester United before the Ferguson era and currently Arsenal as well experience/ d the same. Once you enjoy sustained success over a period that expectation is there, Man City will now continue to be under the spotlight from now on also.
I think for Liverpool and Arsenal we are obsessed for slightly different reasons, Arsenal because they are consistently top 4 but rarely challenge for the top prize now and cannot win the champions league. For Liverpool we have, like Arsenal, won several domestic trophies during our fallow years and of course have basked in our unexpected 2005 champions league success and the amazing 2001 treble of cups run in. However only twice in the last 15 years have we been in the title race at this time of year and that is very disappointing for all of us. Should Chelsea, Man City and this Man Utd era go on 5+ years without a title then, in modern days of impatience and high expectations their fans would too begin to obsess about the title I'm sure.
Anyway I do think we all get over excited and expect to win the league whenever the team starts to show signs it might just happen in any season that happens but what concerns me is how the players and the manager (in Rodgers's case) get carried away and start taliking up the chances of us winning it before the job is done. this would never have happened during the great title winning era when the players were not allowed to get ahead of themselves no matter how much us fans would. This for me has been the big mistake that Rafa (in his rant before the Stoke match that year) and Rodgers and Steven Gerrard made in the infamous "we go again" play up to the cameras have made, we lost focus in both those campaigns each time we shone the spotlight on our own chances of being premier league champions. I get a similar feeling about some of our current players too (Lallana et al talking up our chances far too early this season) . We need to knuckle down, fans and players alike and show more decorum in future. just my personal thoughts gents.

15.) 28 Jan 2017
28 Jan 2017 00:11:42
Sounds like doing something rude in a transit van with a dodgy Reg.