[PL] Newcastle (H): Post Match

[Exiled_red]

I know Firmino is returning from injury, but his performances (I know about his good stats) are the reason why I believe we'll push for Gotze. He disappears frequently from games, and his technical ability sometimes lets him down.

Coutinho is similar, but we can't really have two giving those performances in the same XI, in similar areas of the pitch.

I have said something similar about the 3 behind the striker (Coutinho, Firmino and Lallana), much of the time the game will almost completely bypass at least one of them, I think all three need to develop some level of consistency. I like the idea of the 3 of them but I don't think they work together and we need something different. I know he gets a fair bit of stick but someone like Milner is needed in there to balance things up - he doesn't offer anything flashy but he stays in the game and gets the assists.

[frank the tank]

I have said something similar about the 3 behind the striker (Coutinho, Firmino and Lallana), much of the time the game will almost completely bypass at least one of them, I think all three need to develop some level of consistency. I like the idea of the 3 of them but I don't think they work together and we need something different. I know he gets a fair bit of stick but someone like Milner is needed in there to balance things up - he doesn't offer anything flashy but he stays in the game and gets the assists.

Agree with you. 3 number 10's with their dinky passes and little flicks are not really going to offer anything against a solid defense that doesn't give any change. At that stage you will need some wide players that can beat a man, and run at a defense.

For me, that is one of the reasons to play Coutinho in a midfield 3 as a #8. At least try it out in games between now and the end of the season.

I have been one of Lallanas biggest critics but in recent weeks he has been pretty good. He has put in big big effort especially in closing players down but in reality, having AL, RF and PC in the same team is too unbalanced. If we were able to sign Goetze in the summer, although he would be a brilliant player to have, then i think it would just create more selection problems as well to be honest.

Getting back to yesterdays game, i thought Firmino was soft. There were numerous times where he could have challenged for the ball but pulled out. I think he has talent but he needs the same kick up the arse that Lallana has been given and judged on his work rate as a key performance indicator. Also, I suspect he needs to be given a position and told to play there all of the time.


Also, I saw on the liverpool echo website that Moreno played well. The 2 assists were great but defensively he ****ed up for the first goal. He went for the ball and missed it. Then he didn't exactly get tight enough either and let Anita get slipped in....at which point it was Kolo's turn to do a statue impression and let a free cross get it. For the second goal, Moreno was totally out of position as well. I really feel that it would be a good experiment to try Moreno as a left winger on a 4-2-3-1 formation for a few league games.....as you never know he could do a Gareth Bale and be an actual handy winger.....

[redmike65]

I liked the fancy interplay myself - it was just like watching Arsenal Seriously though the only thing Klopp needs to do is balance the attack and the middle which he hasn't done recently. Playing what is effectively 4-2-4 is high risk - of course one could point to the fact the side have been banging in goals for fun after a prolonged drought and winning games in exciting fashion to boot, but it feels like we're getting away with it to a degree. I think Klopp is emphasising attack and press from the front as that's where the team is still at it's strongest even with the injury list.

[el matador]

I'm still fuming about this game. Were cruising and our old pal Mignolet gifts them a goal out of nothing. The momentum changed and were all over the place for about 20 mins.

Mignolet aside there's a couple of things in not sure about. Firstly where is flanno. Randall is a very basic right back who doesn't look like he's going to be good enough to play for us. If he's getting a game ahead of Flanagan, it doesn't say a lot about john. When Newcastle upped the tempo both Randall and Stewart looked short of quality and experience.

Secondly I cannot believe that our two best attacking players firmino and Sturridge still look like complete strangers. They have no chemistry together whatsoever and its looking like its one or the other. Yesterday firmino was dreadful.

That aside the first half was at times breathtaking. Some of the football was exceptional but there's some work to do. One thing though is clear, were definitely going in the right direction.

[Leyton388]

Mignolet was the reason we fell apart in the second half. If he doesn't gift them the goal then their fightback doesn't even get off the ground.

Give Barca the £20m they want.

[Phoenix07]

Mignolet was the reason we fell apart in the second half. If he doesn't gift them the goal then their fightback doesn't even get off the ground.

Give Barca the £20m they want.

If reports are to be believed, Ter Stegen has chosen Manchester City over us.

In that case, we go back to the drawing board over Horn, Leno, Karius, and please, no one even think about mentioning Butland.

[Maxiedge]

Firmino was just as much to blame as Mignolet for them coming back into the game, imo. Kept giving the ball away, and although they didn't score directly from that, these things build up and swings momentum.

I think a top manager like Klopp will be taking this into account as much as individual errors from mignolet and Sturridge for the two goals.

[RichC]

Firmino certainly didn't have his best game, he can be quite frustrating as he drifts in and out of games however he does have a handy knack of popping the ball into the back of the net.

Mignolet gifts too many soft goals for my liking, I think he's a good shot stopper but there are a number of keepers as good if not better than him at that his biggest weakness for me is the mental side of the game.
He just seems to lack concentration & self belief which leads to making poor decisions; sort of reminds me of David James talented keeper but capable of terrible howlers from not being strong enough mentally.

Anyway I guess the two dropped points yesterday didn't really harm our season really as a top 4 finish was never going to happen anyway

[Maxiedge]

Not Mignolets biggest fan but you could have Manual Neuer in goal and if you keep giving the ball away, eventually they'll score.

[RichC]

You'd back Neuer to not make the number of errors Mignolet has over season that's cost us goals/points.

[Kenneth]

:whisper: We're not going to sign Neuer.

[RichC]

No **** Sherlock

[Kenneth]

I'm still fuming about this game. Were cruising and our old pal Mignolet gifts them a goal out of nothing. The momentum changed and were all over the place for about 20 mins.

Mignolet aside there's a couple of things in not sure about. Firstly where is flanno. Randall is a very basic right back who doesn't look like he's going to be good enough to play for us. If he's getting a game ahead of Flanagan, it doesn't say a lot about john. When Newcastle upped the tempo both Randall and Stewart looked short of quality and experience.

Secondly I cannot believe that our two best attacking players firmino and Sturridge still look like complete strangers. They have no chemistry together whatsoever and its looking like its one or the other. Yesterday firmino was dreadful.

That aside the first half was at times breathtaking. Some of the football was exceptional but there's some work to do. One thing though is clear, were definitely going in the right direction.

They came out in the second half with their tails up, even in the few mins before the goal it was clear, so I think the momentum had already shifted, but it obviously affected our game. But it really shouldn't have. We should have scored a hat full in the first and if we had kept our heads we could have done the same second half. If the rest of the team need Migs error as an excuse for their poor performance then everyone is scape goating.

[redmike65]

Had half time not arrived to break the momentum then LFC would have been out of sight but alas there's always a break and it was exactly what Rafa needed to give his charges a kick and tweak the mix while of course for Klopp everything was just fine and dandy so the talk at HT was probably not to forceful and the side got caught cold to a degree.

[Kenneth]

No **** Sherlock

So what's the point? If we had the best goalkeeper in the world then we'd concede less goals (Sherlock)? We will hopefully replace him, but it's not going to make a world of difference, realistically it will be slim margins at best.