Champs League v Seville build up and match thread

[baitman]

The ineptitude is shocking both on and off the field for a club of this stature. We've wilfully, deliberately and, in full and certain knowledge of the consequences, gone into our biggest season for years utterly hobbled by a problem that a five-year-old can identify, yet we ignored it. It's appalling, it really is and already, for me, the die is cast and the pattern is set for this season too. We're once more aiming for fourth and anything else is a bonus.

all what you said is spot on

for all the fancy football [we looked amazing in the first half] we looked so frail when they attacked us.

[Chris]

Last year's refrain was "if only we'd strengthened in January" and now, as was entirely predictable after a window where we were careless, inept and blind to the elephant to the room, we can replace that with "if only we sorted our defence in the summer".

We knew before the window it would be extreme folly to not address the defensive frailties, we worried during the window about the bizarre possibility of having no plan B and now here we are after the window in September, already resigning ourselves to a another season as the entertaining also-rans on the fringes because of it. We seem to keep clinging to the vain hope that things will improve somehow but in fact our defensive brittleness must now be seen as ingrained, systemic and - most galling of all - permanent, due to a combination of error-prone personnel and a manager that is either incapable of coaching these things away on the training field or delusional about the current defenders being fit for purpose (even temporarily but who could have any faith that January will change anything?), or a combination of both.

The ineptitude is shocking both on and off the field for a club of this stature. We've wilfully, deliberately and, in full and certain knowledge of the consequences, gone into our biggest season for years utterly hobbled by a problem that a five-year-old can identify, yet we ignored it. It's appalling, it really is and already, for me, the die is cast and the pattern is set for this season too. We're once more aiming for fourth and anything else is a bonus.

Yep, it's insane, theres us with our average (being kind!) defence spending nothing on it while Spurs who had the best defence in the league go and spend 40m on a centre back so they are a bit stronger, can play 3 at the back instead etc. It's one of the craziest decisions we've made that I can remember! We've supposedly got 150m sitting there to be spent, that should open us up to nearly any defender in the world apart from the ones who wouldn't want to join like Hummels or Ramos yet we've done nothing. And here we are again with **** teams who barely get in our half in 90mins walking off the pitch with 2 or 3 goals against us.

[Fosterbloke]

This sums us up nicely -

[danperkins]

Last year's refrain was "if only we'd strengthened in January" and now, as was entirely predictable after a window where we were careless, inept and blind to the elephant to the room, we can replace that with "if only we sorted our defence in the summer".

We knew before the window it would be extreme folly to not address the defensive frailties, we worried during the window about the bizarre possibility of having no plan B and now here we are after the window in September, already resigning ourselves to a another season as the entertaining also-rans on the fringes because of it. We seem to keep clinging to the vain hope that things will improve somehow but in fact our defensive brittleness must now be seen as ingrained, systemic and - most galling of all - permanent, due to a combination of error-prone personnel and a manager that is either incapable of coaching these things away on the training field or delusional about the current defenders being fit for purpose (even temporarily but who could have any faith that January will change anything?), or a combination of both.

The ineptitude is shocking both on and off the field for a club of this stature. We've wilfully, deliberately and, in full and certain knowledge of the consequences, gone into our biggest season for years utterly hobbled by a problem that a five-year-old can identify, yet we ignored it. It's appalling, it really is and already, for me, the die is cast and the pattern is set for this season too. We're once more aiming for fourth and anything else is a bonus.

[RoadEnd]

Our front end is a mesmerising 38DD pair of magnificent breasts - wowing the pundits who can't take their eyes off them. The movement is just thrilling.

Our middle bit is nicely toned, with maybe a little room for improvement.

However, we have the backend of a builder's hairy arse that is horrible to look at and makes you want to look away anytime balls are in the vicinity.

[Lecter]

I think it's a price to pay for playing expansive football.

If we continue down that road Klopp will ultimately pay the same price as Brendan

[Kenneth]

Our front end is a mesmerising 38DD pair of magnificent breasts - wowing the pundits who can't take their eyes off them. The movement is just thrilling.

Our middle bit is nicely toned, with maybe a little room for improvement.

However, we have the backend of a builder's hairy arse that is horrible to look at and makes you want to look away anytime balls are in the vicinity.

[Darkon]

[Lecter]

Well no. I still stand by that it's not a great record.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%BCrgen_Klopp#Borussia_Dortmund

The only two seasons when it was very good Dortmund won the league, but the overall context isn't great. You've got to understand the German league plays fewer games than here as well.

And certainly since he's been here it's not been great. We're breathtaking offensively and maybe the balance lies in scoring more and cut out some of our wastefulness in front of goal (considering the amount of chances we can create).

There is a trade off between attacking football and conceding goals

However that overlooks the quality of some of our players (or lack thereof)

Absolutely nobody will convince me that signing a better centrehalf than Lovren, or a better keeper than Mignolet or Karius or a better leftback than Moreno wouldn't improve our goals against tally significantly

In the late 1980s we played some of the most expansive football I have ever seen at Anfield. We had fullbacks who regularly bombed on but the crucial thing was we had 2 or 3 top top quality centrebacks and a half decent keeper we also had midfielders who won huge amounts of second balls so we minimised the trade off. As those centrehalves retired we saw the number of goals we conceded rise

So the solution isn't just tactics it's also having good players

[Fierce]

Erm, I didn't think we were THAT bad

First goal was calamity Lovren with braindead Moreno not thinking he might do a calamity Lovren. Standard

Second was a good counter attacking goal

Fairy rare for a player to hit the post taking a pen, so I think that's pretty unlucky

Frustrating, but not the cluster**** it seems to be based on this thread

[cream]

More of the same to come. We might just sneak top 4 this season, thats about it, we just ain't equipped to win competitions. Last night just sums up what were about right now.

[Bender]

More of the same to come. We might just sneak top 4 this season, thats about it, we just ain't equipped to win competitions. Last night just sums up what were about right now.

Man Utd,Chelsea,Man City,Spurs and of course Arsenal ....even that might get in to the top 4 is looking a long shot....it ain't gonna be easy

[Phoenix07]

It's a bit baffling how the press think us drawing against Sevilla isn't OK. They're 3rd in La Liga, and despite some recent upheaval, they're still experienced. It doesn't help that the other English teams won, but if we'd drawn against Maribor, maybe they'd have a case.

[Buzzo]

Erm, I didn't think we were THAT bad

First goal was calamity Lovren with braindead Moreno not thinking he might do a calamity Lovren. Standard

Second was a good counter attacking goal

Fairy rare for a player to hit the post taking a pen, so I think that's pretty unlucky

Frustrating, but not the cluster**** it seems to be based on this thread

Was just about to post similar. We need to eradicate the sloppy mistakes but a draw at home against the top seeds in the group is not a terrible result.

We were a missed pen away from a comfortable win.

Frustrating

[PTP]

It's a bit baffling how the press think us drawing against Sevilla isn't OK. They're 3rd in La Liga, and despite some recent upheaval, they're still experienced. It doesn't help that the other English teams won, but if we'd drawn against Maribor, maybe they'd have a case.

its not a bad result on paper and we had probably the hardest game out the English teams but it's the manner of the draw that looks bad. We battered them at times and threw it away.

Same old story, despite being electrical going forward we aren't clinical enough. But I can live with that, we will score

But the midfield doesn't half go missing at times and the defence will always concede