Great read thanks josh 👍, my opinion is a combination of 2 things.since the Brighton game there as been a desperation in our play and we've been dragged into playing chaotic, in 18/19, 19/20 and even the quad chasing year there was never desperation in our play we would control teams and not get sucked Into to any chaos. We would do the job, get the 3 points and be done with it. since the Brighton game at home.There's been 13/14 end of that season type of desperation in our play that reminds me alot of now. which surprises me considering the above klopp seasons where we would control and break teams. The thing I put it down too is as fans and the team,we hope we can secure a last title for klopp, like in 2014 where we wanted a league title for Gerrard and obviously 24 years then without a league title, the pressure becomes desperation and desperation becomes chaos example the game managment towards the end of the Brighton game recently. The last few weeks just seem out of character. Topped with that. We forgot there's a lot inexperienced players in our team. The midfield was built in the summer and with injuries we've relied a lot on youth who have been unreal, but understandably are young and fresh.
Really enjoyed reading that confidence booster piece, loved the metaphor and your play on words. Great to see your personality shine through in your articles.
Always good reading your views - Unfortunately that blizzard is how I felt last week, just bad timing compounded by a delayed effect of an injury list (at some point to fill an entire 11).. it’s always a risk we need to take given the nature of Klopp’s thin squads. It’s not over yet, others will drop points! Every team in the title chase had a similar period, we’re just getting ours late in the season. Hopefully it all goes back to normal soon.
Thank you for the article Josh, another great read.
I’ve been trying to figure out what we’re doing from a tactical perspective that has made us not win the past few games and frankly, when you’re creating that high a number in XG is it too simple to say we’re just facing hard lines? Granted, I don’t think the mental conditioning of the forward line is particularly great now, everything looks anxious with a lack of composure.
Thanks Jack. There's definitely an element of hard lines in there. The finishing has gone out the window and that's why we're now struggling. In terms of the whole picture of 2024, though, I don't think we've been watertight enough on the defensive side. So we're going behind often and then spending too much energy by chasing games.
What do you make of City this season? Is there anything about them that might give us hope they might drop points and make it interesting rather than canter in from here?
I was surprised to find that our big chance creation and conversion (Liv 109 chances/66 missed, City 104 chances/64 missed), plus clean sheet numbers (both 9) are virtually the same as City, (per Sofascore).
Hopefully our cold snap ends immediately, and maybe theirs will start (they actually missed 4 out of 5 big chances even though they won 5-1 on Saturday).
Thanks Simon. City are a difficult one because this feels like one of the weakest versions of them in the past few years. They seem more vulnerable and susceptible to suffering from moments than previous iterations, but I'm not personally expecting them to slip up in the next six. You never know, but this is Pep and the players are seasoned champions. They know how to get the job done. I actually think Arsenal are the better unit this term.
Josh I need some copium. This is tough. Brilliant article again. you’ve pulled me out of the shitstorm that is YouTube reaction shenanigans. You occupy such an important part of the sporting ecosystem
Thanks josh, totally agree with you about everything. I know it's a contradiction but I wish they'd bleedin' hurry up with a bit of composure in front of goal.
You can create as much XG as you want, but constantly going 1 or 2 down goals down just is not sustainable a whole season, we were riding a crest of a wave for months becoming ‘mentality monsters’ again, the goals were bailing us out so it’s so obvious that when the goals disappear the clean sheets had to start coming in. Honestly what is the could be the cause of the lack of clean sheets? Is it a system issues? Lack of concentration or confidence? It’s just so frustrating…
As far as goals conceded goes, we’ve consistently been targeted behind/ around the right back, which has led to centrebacks vacating spaces/ opponents they should normally be dealing with.in front of goal. Our attack minded and pressing philosophy means that we aren’t as effective in dealing with low block and emergency defending situations as well but it’s been surprising to me that some solutions haven’t been found. You can accept it if it were an anomaly but consistently conceding chances from the same source has been alarming in my view.
Watching the match on TV and one of the first reactions is "why aren't we inverting Conor?" He's one of our best at ball progression, especially on the dribble where he's one of our few who can beat a man in a take-on. Inverting him would also help not-so-speedy Wata to cover ground in midfield, especially to nullify Palace's only 2 creators - Eze, Olise.
Not inverting Conor was a strange decision by Jurgen, given that npxG has been strong for the last 4 league matches (if it ain't broke ...). Jurgen rectifies his mistake in 2H when Trent is introduced & inverts to midfield w his first touch. None of the "pundits" caught this issue with too much focus on the other narratives Josh references but it was a material issue with the 1H performance.
Great read thanks josh 👍, my opinion is a combination of 2 things.since the Brighton game there as been a desperation in our play and we've been dragged into playing chaotic, in 18/19, 19/20 and even the quad chasing year there was never desperation in our play we would control teams and not get sucked Into to any chaos. We would do the job, get the 3 points and be done with it. since the Brighton game at home.There's been 13/14 end of that season type of desperation in our play that reminds me alot of now. which surprises me considering the above klopp seasons where we would control and break teams. The thing I put it down too is as fans and the team,we hope we can secure a last title for klopp, like in 2014 where we wanted a league title for Gerrard and obviously 24 years then without a league title, the pressure becomes desperation and desperation becomes chaos example the game managment towards the end of the Brighton game recently. The last few weeks just seem out of character. Topped with that. We forgot there's a lot inexperienced players in our team. The midfield was built in the summer and with injuries we've relied a lot on youth who have been unreal, but understandably are young and fresh.
Cheers
Really nice writing Josh. I will buy your book 😊
Thanks a lot Ari.
That moment when Virgil slipped…
Really enjoyed reading that confidence booster piece, loved the metaphor and your play on words. Great to see your personality shine through in your articles.
Thanks Stulle, cheers mate.
Always good reading your views - Unfortunately that blizzard is how I felt last week, just bad timing compounded by a delayed effect of an injury list (at some point to fill an entire 11).. it’s always a risk we need to take given the nature of Klopp’s thin squads. It’s not over yet, others will drop points! Every team in the title chase had a similar period, we’re just getting ours late in the season. Hopefully it all goes back to normal soon.
Thank you for the article Josh, another great read.
I’ve been trying to figure out what we’re doing from a tactical perspective that has made us not win the past few games and frankly, when you’re creating that high a number in XG is it too simple to say we’re just facing hard lines? Granted, I don’t think the mental conditioning of the forward line is particularly great now, everything looks anxious with a lack of composure.
Thanks Jack. There's definitely an element of hard lines in there. The finishing has gone out the window and that's why we're now struggling. In terms of the whole picture of 2024, though, I don't think we've been watertight enough on the defensive side. So we're going behind often and then spending too much energy by chasing games.
Great read Josh.
What do you make of City this season? Is there anything about them that might give us hope they might drop points and make it interesting rather than canter in from here?
I was surprised to find that our big chance creation and conversion (Liv 109 chances/66 missed, City 104 chances/64 missed), plus clean sheet numbers (both 9) are virtually the same as City, (per Sofascore).
Hopefully our cold snap ends immediately, and maybe theirs will start (they actually missed 4 out of 5 big chances even though they won 5-1 on Saturday).
Thanks Simon. City are a difficult one because this feels like one of the weakest versions of them in the past few years. They seem more vulnerable and susceptible to suffering from moments than previous iterations, but I'm not personally expecting them to slip up in the next six. You never know, but this is Pep and the players are seasoned champions. They know how to get the job done. I actually think Arsenal are the better unit this term.
Josh I need some copium. This is tough. Brilliant article again. you’ve pulled me out of the shitstorm that is YouTube reaction shenanigans. You occupy such an important part of the sporting ecosystem
Thanks for this Patrick. I'm definitely trying to go in a different direction to that sort of content. It's just not for me.
You’re such a breath of fresh air thank you!
Thanks josh, totally agree with you about everything. I know it's a contradiction but I wish they'd bleedin' hurry up with a bit of composure in front of goal.
You can create as much XG as you want, but constantly going 1 or 2 down goals down just is not sustainable a whole season, we were riding a crest of a wave for months becoming ‘mentality monsters’ again, the goals were bailing us out so it’s so obvious that when the goals disappear the clean sheets had to start coming in. Honestly what is the could be the cause of the lack of clean sheets? Is it a system issues? Lack of concentration or confidence? It’s just so frustrating…
As far as goals conceded goes, we’ve consistently been targeted behind/ around the right back, which has led to centrebacks vacating spaces/ opponents they should normally be dealing with.in front of goal. Our attack minded and pressing philosophy means that we aren’t as effective in dealing with low block and emergency defending situations as well but it’s been surprising to me that some solutions haven’t been found. You can accept it if it were an anomaly but consistently conceding chances from the same source has been alarming in my view.
Watching the match on TV and one of the first reactions is "why aren't we inverting Conor?" He's one of our best at ball progression, especially on the dribble where he's one of our few who can beat a man in a take-on. Inverting him would also help not-so-speedy Wata to cover ground in midfield, especially to nullify Palace's only 2 creators - Eze, Olise.
Not inverting Conor was a strange decision by Jurgen, given that npxG has been strong for the last 4 league matches (if it ain't broke ...). Jurgen rectifies his mistake in 2H when Trent is introduced & inverts to midfield w his first touch. None of the "pundits" caught this issue with too much focus on the other narratives Josh references but it was a material issue with the 1H performance.
Another great match analysis!