Ross – @rossic89
Right I’ve reached the point where I’ve just decided to fuck off player ratings. Think of this as more of a post match analysis. Or a big bitch. Up to you really. Player ratings have been placed in the bin because I just can’t find it in myself to write generic things I’ve written for months. I feel like I need a cathartic release of getting shite off my chest. Not ‘Linked up well with Mané, effort was there, but not enough’ – doesn’t do anyone any good and I’m fucking bored of it. I fell into the trap of being a fan this week, because that’s what I am. After Sheffield United I convinced myself I would not get carried away. I’ve said for months “Until we get a consistent side, we won’t get consistent results” and this was no different. Until you see the team news, then you can’t help get pumped up, caught up in the emotions, wanting your side to do well. It’s part of being a fan. None of us want to lose, even under exceptional circumstances. Or excuses. Depends on your outlook. On paper, Chelsea do have the better squad. More and better options off the bench. So it was hardly a surprise they won. It’s just reached the point of not even enjoying a performance which is the bit that grinds all our gears. Before this sounds like a full on breakdown, it isn’t, I just think we have all got to the point where some things need to be discussed. Maybe you share the same frustrations. Maybe you are ok with it all. Feel free to share below. It’s difficult because even with the players on the pitch we know the quality is there, we know they can have a devastating impact on games. For some reason it’s just not happening. We used to be like the Red Arrows attacking and now we don’t even resemble a fucking red paper aeroplane. The confidence is completely on the floor of far too many players right now. As are they. We’ve huffed and puffed our way through this season because we don’t have many options. Or sorry, we do have options but a 70/80% Sadio is better than what we have on the bench. CB’s all injured. Full backs, fucked. Front three, fucked. Midfield options, fucked. All relentlessly putting in a shift week in, week out. We can sit here and moan about lack of depth but the truth is, we’d be able to rotate more and maintain a certain freshness had we been able to use the likes of Jota, Naby and Fabs in the past few weeks. Which I know isn’t an excuse or reason versus the likes of Burnley and fucking Brighton but something which is an uphill battle when playing Chelsea.Tonight though, I’m a bit dumbfounded at a few things. Werner should have had a goal, we got very lucky there. It looked like something which should have been a wake up call, clearly it wasn’t. Pains us all to say, but credit to Chelsea. They have top quality players and finally have a top quality manager to go with it, even if he does look like a Bond villain. We had moments where we took control, little give and goes, an inkling we might probe the Chelsea defence. And it’s that hope that kills you. Hope that we can put a string of results together, hope we can capitalise on a few results from yesterday going our way, hope we can pick up some confidence and gain a psychological edge against Chelsea and the other teams around us.Nope.
Top four isn’t out of reach. If this season has taught us anything it’s that everyone is a bit shite. Except for Man City. So despite everything I’ve just said I know and you know once this raw emotion dies off we will once again fill our hearts with hope and get behind this wonderful gang of lads. It’s not my job to tell you everything will be ok or how to support this team, you do you. But from my perspective, I backed these lads every step of the way when they were winning games and trophies for laughs and I feel it’s my duty to do this when we lose. No matter how frustrated and piss off I am with them right now. It’s not a personal vendetta. You can separate the two things. I can be annoyed at Mané for completely missing the ball and being off the boil for quite a while now, doesn’t mean I think he’s shite. He’s not. We as fans are suffering and you know what, so are those lads on the pitch. Mentally and physically fucked. We need them to do well for our own wellbeing. How many of you reading this have your mood settled on how Liverpool play? I bet most of you. I include myself. Well they need us too. And we can’t be there to support them, to show them we care, to tell them to get stuck in, to tell them they playing a bit shite, to give them an extra 5% in a time where they need it most. It’s fucking horrible for everyone concerned right now and there doesn’t seem to be a happy ending in sight. The only comparison I can make is that this very much feels like someone you love is going through pain and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, someone you are close to, yet somehow they feel so far away.It’s not all on van Dijk. It’s on a number of factors. Every loss is a kick in the tits. Every poor performance feels like groundhog day. And it’s now not ok because we don’t have a normal life to go back to and distract ourselves. Liverpool and football is escapism for so many and when that’s not going well things are exacerbated. What’s left? Well health and that, but you get my point. The issue is there is no quick fix, nothing that will get us out of this mess. We feel as fans it is our duty to say things we would do differently. It’s just a shite situation which, in my opinion, won’t be resolved until the end of the season. Then comes the fear of missing out on Champions League football, financial implications, players wanting out, not being able to attract the best players. The fear is very real right now.We’ve been riding high for years and this feels like the comedown of all comedowns. It hurts. Really hurts. Every kick, misplaced pass and while we are at it, substitute is under such scrutiny. I cannot fathom why when we need a goal against a good side we take off our top goal scorer, who on the face of it, looked to be out performing Mané and Bobby.???? "Last season is done, the season before is done. This is a new season. We're dropping further and it's not good enough."
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 4, 2021
Andy Robertson gives an honest post-match interview after Liverpool's 5th straight loss at Anfield pic.twitter.com/dyESCgf787
Why once again are we looking towards a 35 year old James Milner to lead the press? I can put injures to one side and everything else I’ve mentioned, but there are certain things I/we cannot let go; intensity being one of them. After all, that is our identity. So if James Milner can do it, surely everyone else can contribute?Mo had 4 passes into the box and a Chance created more than Mane and Bobby combined
— SimonBrundish (@SimonBrundish) March 4, 2021
I’ve found it difficult to pick out a decent performance from any Liverpool player tonight. Now that’s not to say they were all shite, but not enough to write about. If you’d like a positive ending and a bit of hope. We’re getting players and options back and we’ve had no injuries tonight. Which when they are the positives, I think that sums things up. Jota has minutes under his belt and looked sharp, Fabinho is back and although he looked off it at times I think he was rushed and isn’t quite match sharp and I thought Keita may have played a role tonight. We have to take our medicine again tonight, Chelsea were the better side for larger periods of that game, they create more and took their chances.We’ve got Fulham at home on Sunday and this baron run at Anfield has to come to a halt. That has to be the game. The game it ends, the game we gain confidence. The game we tell everyone around us we are in this top four scrap until the very fucking end. Turn off social media, make your own calls on this Liverpool side. Get some sleep and gather your thoughts in the morning. You for reading all of this 10/10 – Unless you’ve said Klopp out, then you can get in the bin with the player ratings. Ross – @rossic89
