Other PL Round 16 Fixtures - Saturday 12th November, 2022

[Lucas]

Gutting. I really don't know how we came out of that game with nothing, it was the least we deserved. You have to be getting something if you take the lead three times.

It really wasn't our day. Bad luck for a few of those goals.

The first is a terrible call, why VAR have not disallowed the Kane goal when the commentators and Soccer Saturday pundits were saying it will be chalked off, and much to everyone's surprise, it stands. Meslier is bundled over into the goal, its criminal.

The 2nd equaliser is unfortunate in that Kristensson blocks it on the line but it hits Meslier's back and goes in.

The 3rd is a combo of bad luck taking a deflection off Ayling and out of Meslier's hands, however, Cooper got beat way too easily in the box and should have stopped that situation.

The 4th goal was a genuinely good goal that cut us open, have to hand it to Kulusevski there, credit where it's due.

It feels like Spurs got away with one there but we only have ourselves to blame. You cannot lose a lead three times, bottom line.

I think Marsch got it wrong at 3-2, he took off a midfielder for a defender and its put us on the back foot when we looked dominant. It's immediately put pressure on us when we were having so much of the play at that stage.

I also think there are times when we have the amount of young players that we do, that we don't make smart decisions on the ball that create trouble for us.

Ahhhh fuck it. On the positive side, Summerville looks like he's going to be a great player. He looked very dangerous with the ball at his feet.

[Dan+]

On 10/11/2022 at 17:27, Dan said:

We've caught them at a good time here I think. They're beginning to turn on Moyes following some pretty bad results and performances / subs etc... while we appear to have gotten by the worst of our season at least. I fancy us here, which is mad because a couple of months back I'd have had this down as absolutely certain defeat.

Maddison to score of course.

Good grief I am good!

[OrangeKhrush]

1 hour ago, Dan said:

Good grief I am good!

you didn't predict Maddison to get injured, so like we have to deduct points in afraid.

[Dan+]

3 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

you didn't predict Maddison to get injured, so like we have to deduct points in afraid.

I got told about an hour before the game that he'd barely trained all week so wasn't surprised by what panned out. He'll be fine anyway.

I knew we'd win. I honestly think this is the best we've looked in probably 2/3 years. This is comfortably clear of anything served up last season for me.

[OrangeKhrush]

1 minute ago, Dan said:

I got told about an hour before the game that he'd barely trained all week so wasn't surprised by what panned out. He'll be fine anyway.

I knew we'd win. I honestly think this is the best we've looked in probably 2/3 years. This is comfortably clear of anything served up last season for me.

told you that sacking Rogers would have been a disaster.  I think you would have ended up with a manager that's nowhere near Rogers level

[Devil-Dick Willie]

8 hours ago, 6666 said:

For a defensive side, Tottenham don't seem great at defending.

Eric Dier. 

[LFCMike]

Said it before but Nunez is gonna be great. Gonna make loads of people look silly. Brilliant player

[Dan+]

17 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

told you that sacking Rogers would have been a disaster.  I think you would have ended up with a manager that's nowhere near Rogers level

To be honest though he did deserve it. He's massively shifted his attitude though.

What I think has happened is this. I think he threw his toys out the pram and essentially downed tools himself on the basis of not being backed in the summer. Something that was true albeit he was a big reason for the fact we weren't really able to. I think he wanted out and downed tools to try and force us to sack him. Everybody at the club wanted him sacked with one exception - the owner.

I think now he's realised he isn't going to be sacked and it isn't a financially good move for us, it's hit a bit of a natural conclusion where everybody has shrugged it off and moved on. The way they've done it is impressive though.

The Faes signing and appointment of Lars Knudsen as set piece coach I think have made huge differences. We're defending as well as we have done since probably 2016. The transformation is extraordinary - it's borderline early days Leicester 2015 stuff.

For me now it's about how he utilises the tools he has. Rodgers himself has publicly said he wants control over transfers, recruitment of staff etc... and Liverpool fans on here will tell you that. If he has genuinely had the humility to realise that the club will do a far better job of that than he will, that will ultimately provide him with far better tools, then it can really work again. But I'm not totally convinced it will. I think he's been forced into accepting this. Fair play though, they needed a quick solution and they've found one. Like I say, this isn't a case of getting back on track of last year - this is comfortably better than any of the crap served up last year.

[Dan+]

9 hours ago, Stan said:

Get in!!! Harvey Barnes once again. In great form as well.

Considering we'd made several subs, and most of them defensive, we've handled any West Ham pressure well and doubled the lead.

Barnes is probably unlucky to not make the England squad. He's having a very good season. He's just a generally good player, been massively underappreciated by some of our fans for a while. His record is really good. It stacks up against players with higher reputations.

[Dave]

Same issues as last season which is why we're going to struggle to finish in the top half. For whatever reason we struggle to beat these woeful sides such as Everton, Norwich and Forest away from home. There's a mentality issue that really needs to be addressed. 

[OrangeKhrush]

when Lampard took the Everton job, the board were ambitious and wanted to compete for the championship.  He is doing well because at this rate he will be able to challenge for the championship.

[Lucas]

Still raging that Spurs equaliser was allowed yesterday. Meslier was taken out. I get keepers can be a bit overprotected but that's a foul any day of the week normally.

Even more questionable when you see we had one chalked off v Arsenal.

It's just not on. Man City had 7 checks on VAR for penalty shouts yesterday and about two were even remotely close. They shouldn't have even entertained looking at half of them.

This bias simply has to stop. The Top 6 sides are overprotected because their manager reactions are more high profile and that is fact.

[LFCMike]

57 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

when Lampard took the Everton job, the board were ambitious and wanted to compete for the championship.  He is doing well because at this rate he will be able to challenge for the championship.

I wonder how long he lasts. Same amount of points after 15 games as they did the season they sacked Silva and 4 less than last season under Benitez. 

[Storts]

34 minutes ago, Lucas said:

Still raging that Spurs equaliser was allowed yesterday. Meslier was taken out. I get keepers can be a bit overprotected but that's a foul any day of the week normally.

Even more questionable when you see we had one chalked off v Arsenal.

It's just not on. Man City had 7 checks on VAR for penalty shouts yesterday and about two were even remotely close. They shouldn't have even entertained looking at half of them.

This bias simply has to stop. The Top 6 sides are overprotected because their manager reactions are more high profile and that is fact.

I was agreeing with you until the last sentence. It was a foul. I’m surprised we’ve got away with it. But its nothing to do with bias, it’s just bad officiating and more inconsistency. Because it wasn’t given on the field he didn’t overturn it. We’ve had so much bad luck with VAR and inconsistencies this year also. Nice to get one to go in our favour but that ref yesterday was an absolute shambles. One of the worst I’ve ever seen. 

[Lucas]

2 hours ago, Storts said:

I was agreeing with you until the last sentence. It was a foul. I’m surprised we’ve got away with it. But its nothing to do with bias, it’s just bad officiating and more inconsistency. Because it wasn’t given on the field he didn’t overturn it. We’ve had so much bad luck with VAR and inconsistencies this year also. Nice to get one to go in our favour but that ref yesterday was an absolute shambles. One of the worst I’ve ever seen. 

Appreciate the honesty.

I think its one of them where you feel as a team from outside the Top 6, like that one v Arsenal and you, and examples of last season, that you feel like the bigger sides get the calls their way.

Fully appreciate that everyone gets rough calls mind, your one v Sporting the other week was harsh, but it feels like there is a tendancy to lean to the teams up there as they make the most noise when it goes against them.

That City game for example yesterday was ridiculous how many times they asked VAR to look at penalties that were no where near and then something like that just gets waved away.

If you didn't have Kulusevski yesterday, I think we win that but he was just an absolute menace. It all went through him.

[OrangeKhrush]

22 hours ago, Stan said:

Get in!!! Harvey Barnes once again. In great form as well.

Considering we'd made several subs, and most of them defensive, we've handled any West Ham pressure well and doubled the lead.

 

Hopefully Madders is okay and perform at the World Cup,  he is in the peak of his powers right now.   On the flip side his form and our "overachievement" have made it almost impossible to avoid now.   There are moments in games where I say if we had someone like Maddison or Kulusevski that can open games up we will be far less huff and puff.   

I think we will pay up the 60m and get it done,  he fixes so many of our small deficiencies and that is not a slight to Longstaff or Willock who are still very much part of the team,  but they are not capable of offering anything different to what Joelinton and Bruno offer,  it also makes Bruno our only outlet and like against Chelsea where he was pressured well and had his less effective game,  having someone like Maddison to add to Bruno and Trippier changes the outlook a lot. 

[Stan]

9 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

Hopefully Madders is okay and perform at the World Cup,  he is in the peak of his powers right now.   On the flip side his form and our "overachievement" have made it almost impossible to avoid now.   There are moments in games where I say if we had someone like Maddison or Kulusevski that can open games up we will be far less huff and puff.   

I think we will pay up the 60m and get it done,  he fixes so many of our small deficiencies and that is not a slight to Longstaff or Willock who are still very much part of the team,  but they are not capable of offering anything different to what Joelinton and Bruno offer,  it also makes Bruno our only outlet and like against Chelsea where he was pressured well and had his less effective game,  having someone like Maddison to add to Bruno and Trippier changes the outlook a lot. 

You seem very confident but a lot of the links from the summer have gone dead quiet.

[OrangeKhrush]

Just now, Stan said:

You seem very confident but a lot of the links from the summer have gone dead quiet.

they haven't though,  they have picked up again

[Stan]

7 minutes ago, OrangeKhrush said:

they haven't though,  they have picked up again

Where? 

[Dan+]

I can see it being a bit of a saga this month. I think it helps Newcastle's case that we look very unlikely to drop now. Could be our most interesting January in a while. They're usually very damp squibs for us.

I think they probably get him in the summer though. We aren't easy to buy from, which is good.