The Official Liverpool Thread - Part 2

[Orchard thief]

He was hoping for the lol that never came

Dead right I did. Missed the comedy at the weekend, so wasn't going to miss two shows in a row, and then the comedy never showed up last night.

Think about how I feel this morning.

Here’s some comedy material for ye.



Laughter is medicine for the soul.

 

[Philby]

Why do the referees even bother going to the line btw? I've seen one, two refs at most (since the damn thing was introduced) stick to thier original decision. If they never stick by their original decision what is the fucking point?

Please don't tell me the optics of having the on field ref make the decision.

5% of the time (12 of 250) across the last 4 season the ref has maintained their original decision after an on-field review.

As the threshold for VAR to suggest an on-field review is supposed to be quite high then we really shouldn't expect it be above ~5%

Given VAR is sadly here to stay, the focus (imho) should be on quicker VAR decisions - and tbh it is reducing in average. But there are some notable cases where it has taken waaaaaaay too long.

 

[Crusty Ring]

Here’s some comedy material for ye.

View attachment 46250

Laughter is medicine for the soul.

Na I just watched Konate's highlights video on Youtube and my sides are still sore.

 

[Philby]

FWIW, unlike a lot on here I wouldn't favour sacking Slot now, for a range of reasons.
...
2. There are 4 games in the next 10 days. Being pragmatic, giving him at least those games feels like a fair risk/reward calculation.

It seems fantastical now, but if got 6-7 of 9 league points and a draw in Milan the pressure would ease (...and let the press focus on the next crisis club...maybe one of last year's Europa League finalists perhaps?)

If there aren't reasonable improvements in performances & results then you really know it's the right call and you can give the new/interim a go at the Christmas period.

Looking back a fortnight that's broadly how it's panned out.

- Got 5 points in the PL - but really should've been 7 but for a Konate brainfart
- Managed a big away win at the San Siro (first team to beat Inter away in the CL in 3 years).
- Mad tactical adjustments which resulted in the team giving up a lot fewer big chances to the opposition

A lot of fans were calling for the club to pull the trigger after the three consecutive losses (City, Nottts & PSV), but Slot has stabilised things a bit and earned the right to tackle the next block of games.

It still doesn't mean that he's the right guy for the summer onwards, but as long as they stay in touch with the CL places imho he deserves the right to at least see out the season.

He hasn't had much adversity to deal with as a manager, so if he gets over this hump successfully then the experience will stand to him in the long run.

 

[Shabby]

Genuinely not taking the piss now, but Isak was atrocious last night. Looks a shadow of the player he was at Newcastle. Didn't see the game at the weekend, but I've seen a good few games now where he's done little or nothing

I agree. I said neither were great last night but I do think Ekitike can help Isak. I think they need to play together more. Isak’s lack of involvement compared to Ekitke is fairly alarming at this point but all players need to get into a rhythm of playing games regularly in order to build form. Isak needs a run of games and I think it’ll come.

The main concern I’d have for him is that it’s a much different ball game being a striker for Newcastle, who no team really parks the bus against so he has space to play in, than it is being a striker for Liverpool who mostly face a low block. Finding space isn’t easy but he does need to get himself going and soon. Ekitike is far ahead of him currently. But I think there is a world where they play together and it helps both.

 

[Philby]

If someone told you that there was a £40m purchase cost difference between Isak and Ekitike you'd assume, based on performances for the club so far, that Ekitike was the more expensive player.

Ekitike looks like he may have the higher ceiling long term. I've been very impressed with him. Looks to have a very rounded skillset for a modern attacker.

This Isak has been a shadow of the Newcastle Isak, but there are plenty of mitigating circumstances. If he's still playing like this come the spring then I'd be concerned.

 

[Jim Comic]

thought the LFC play last night was very slow and ponderous, very little creativity tbh

but three points is all that matters at this stage

 

[Rebel CNC]

Era you'd need a degree in physics to understand the handball rule now. And just when you get a handle on it, they change it again. Top top wumming by FIFA tbf.

Again, I've no sympathy for Bastoni. With VAR around theres a decent chance thats a penalty nowadays.

Yeah - deserved to concede a pen for stupidity alone, like Konaté on Saturday! As with Leeds player on Saturday, Wirtz was not going to achieve anything when fouled. At best he was going to nick the ball and pass it back outside the area and set up a new phase of that attack. More likely was another Inter player was going to get the ball anyway.

 

[Fozzy Mac]

Strong rumours coming out of melwood that this whole saga between Slot and Salah has all been fabricated to try get a bounce out of the team and that Salah is actually carrying an injury.

 

[Rebel CNC]

5% of the time (12 of 250) across the last 4 season the ref has maintained their original decision after an on-field review.

As the threshold for VAR to suggest an on-field review is supposed to be quite high then we really shouldn't expect it be above ~5%

Given VAR is sadly here to stay, the focus (imho) should be on quicker VAR decisions - and tbh it is reducing in average. But there are some notable cases where it has taken waaaaaaay too long.

If VAR and ref can't make up their mind between themselves in 30 or maybe at most 60 seconds, there is by default enough doubt to put it down as "marginal call" and stick with original on-field decision!
Refs should also be told that it is perfectly ok for them to stick with their decision even if they are told to come to monitor. Newcastle awarded dodgy pen v Spurs last week and you got the sense the ref thought it was still no pen after review but seemed like he felt duty bound to award it just because he had been sent to monitor!