15 Oct 2017 16:07:30
There have been some disgraceful headlines, enemy of football being one and I think some seem to fall for it. Yesterday I thought the team looked jaded, players travelling on international duty minds elsewhere where they had clocked up air miles. It's not an excuse but preparation had to be affected, why play such big games straight after an international break?
Arsenal went there and were wide open, Liverpool sat back, picked them off enjoying all the lovely space. The tactics yesterday were almost right but we needed to break far better, it was going to be difficult because Liverpool were not expansive and were waiting for us to commit. We didn't score because we didn't transition the ball well enough from Defense to attack, didn't control the ball when it got up front. Martial and Miki were very poor and it probably highlighted just how good Pogba is at joining the team together, also shows how we didn't buy the wide attacker we should have done

We gained a point at Anfield, whilst rivals Chelsea lost at an easier place to go to and Arsenal did the same. It seems the media would be happier if we had played wide open and been beaten so they can hail the media darlings of Liverpool again, the bastions of all that is good. In all the bluster and noise about how we played it's another game of not winning by the Liverpool manager, maybe the noise deflects away from him but for how long? I am happy with a point from Anfield, but maybe next season our expectations should be higher, for now a point is acceptable.

1.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 16:33:37
I said similar RM, next season Jose will have all the players he needs so I expect him to go to Anfield and not shut up shop. It's fine doing that after we score or even whilst it's 0.0 for 75 mins, but expected more at some stage and it just never happened.

That being said Klopp too wasn't committing more forward so he was weary of the counter too. I feel disappointed because Liverpool's defence are useless and we didn't even try to have a go. Have to agree about Martial and Miki though, Martial looked far too casual and Miki was just bad.

Very important we beat huddersfield next week. get back to winning ways ASAP.

2.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 16:41:32
Come on Red Man, its doom for us. Anti football anti entertainment and everything that's anti. One shouldn't back a team when we draw at Anfield.

3.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 18:04:00
I agree Red Man and I posted yesterday that it as a strange old set of results so maybe the international break played a past. However, it I was still disappointed with our general approach. Southampton second half and yesterday second half were not great but over 8 games that's not a lot to worry about.

4.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 18:07:07
Syd
Everyone said that last season but here we are again.
The fact is Jose has, does and will approach games like that again .
He has done it through out his career and to be fair most times it works.

5.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 18:41:07
He hasn't always done this Jred, you are wrong.

And last season we were even further behind in transition.

This winter and next summer Jose should have his chosen team.

Left-back finally sorted, Right attack and probably a CM/ RB and CB.

This team is not complete yet. It was always going to take a few summers to get the team he wanted.

6.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 18:55:33
Why would anyone visit an inferior team with a team you have assembled with hundreds of millions, to go there and park 10 players in the penalty area? Is that what Pep would do? I get doing it when you are missing 3-4 key players and not having the team you want yet (finalised team built by him), but you don't go to play an inferior team with the superior side you have built (chosen) and manage one shot on target. That would be embarrassing. Yesterday was embarrassing, but I could understand it with Bailly, Pogba, Fellaini out and Rash and Jones not 100%.

7.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 20:18:13
Jose has always done it and will probably always continue to do it, he calculates that a point is a good result. He may be a great Manager but he picks games where he settles for a point.

8.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 20:25:12
Syd
No pep wouldn't but Jose is not pep in fact both have very different styles.
He has done this his entire career in fact he has Been far more successful with the underdog statues than the super club .
He has always had a pragmatic defensive style to his game it a big reason some didn't want him at United.
Personally I'm a fan his record speaks for its self.

9.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 20:26:52
By the way no football team is ever complete.

10.) 15 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 21:23:08
You are correct, you can always improve a team and a manager will always want to add players, but we have holes in ours which Jose will want to fix this summer and if we had a sugar daddy owner would have fixed last summer. I think this time next year we will have a side Jose is happy with. Shappy mentioned Rose, Fabinho and Griezmann the other day. I think these three are players Jose wants and would go straight into our line-up if they were signed.

11.) 16 Oct 2017
15 Oct 2017 23:44:04
Sorry to disagree Red Man but yesterday was crap and unacceptable.

12.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 07:35:28
Mancman

It was horrible to watch but we had many visits there and got nothing so just putting a point in perspective. How dare we not lay down in front of the press favourites! The champions lost to the worst team in the league, Arsenal lost and City got 7 but it’s terrible Jose who didn’t let the Scousers play that gets the headlines. The fact Klopp held his team back is lost on most because he is still their darling, the press like him, so it has to be Jose’s fault. Teams come to OT and are even more defensive and when they got a point last season no one said their manager was the “enemy of football”. Personally I just like to get that game over with, not because I fear them these days but more because of the hype from the press riddled with Scouse sympathisers and ex players if they win.

13.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 09:54:27
Sorry to disagree again RedMan but it's up to the manager to work out how to beat a team no matter how they set up and play. Jose's comments about Klopp not giving him opportunity to win the game because he kept a three man midfield were depressing.

Is this the future for playing half decent teams? Just reactionary? Liverpool have weaknesses and we should have got at them. For example, we could have pressed better from the front. Lukaku could have bullied and harrassed their defense more. We could have matched them with three in midfield so they were less able to control the game. I know we had midfielders injured but its up to Jose to plan for this sort of thing by preparing our younger midfielders such as McTominay and Pereira with better experience in previous games so they are ready to start at Anfield. Or maybe he could have bought another midfielder in the summer such as Matuidi. There are lots of things the not so special one could have done to try and win that match without playing into Liverpool's hands.

We were fortunate to get a point because Liverpool created more and better opportunities than we did.

14.) 16 Oct 2017
16 Oct 2017 19:58:30
I think it is where we are as a team, we are still short of at least two players plus short in midfield. Matuidi? Didn’t I read rumours Pogba didn’t want to play with him?

We are 15 months beyond the end of a very poor period for the club, we rarely dominated at Anfield under SAF, sometimes scoring late winners after awful displays. John O’Shea as an example. Seems there are selective memories when everything was rosy.