KopTalk.com Forums Football Liverpool FC Forum A view of the current run of games.....

Doom and gloom is not for me, but an analysis of the current run with opinionated reasoning is better. Yes there is frustration and disappointment, but I still see positives. Anyway I'm talking about this set of games...

Sun 27-Jan Oldham L 3-2
Wed 30-Jan Arsenal D 2-2
Sun 3-Feb City D 2-2
Wed 6-Feb INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLIES
Mon 11-Feb WestBrom L 0-2
Thu 14-Feb Zenit L 2-0


The issue with Oldham was that the minds where firmly motivated for the coming games at Arsenal and City.

Against Arsenal we switched off thinking we had won, and against City we gifted a goal.

Mentally then the focus was with the countries, WestBrom was something to think about when they got back. The other issue is that WestBrom where on form the worst team in the division. The attitude of a win at home was likely a forgone conclusion and the game with Zenit was more on the minds then the distraction of WestBrom.

So what happened at Zenit? I personally believe the run of games (and season) has started to take its toll. Towards the end of games the legs are getting heavy and mental concentration becomes a struggle.


We do not have the quality in depth to play two games a week. I also believe that not playing on a Saturday is an issue as Sunday will likely be a family day. Playing on a Sunday or a Monday takes away this physical and mental routine. Family is more important than money.

With this in mind I worry about Swansea. Mentally and physically the players will not be at their best. Hopefully they find the determination to fight and rise above.
With the return leg of Zenit out the way, hopefully some of the players get a rest.

Thu - 21 Zenit
Sat - 2 Wigan

Is the week between the FA cup? The Oldham defeat might be a blessing for the season, and I wouldn't mind the Zenit defeat if the season finishes positively. Lets not forget we would have been 17th with the second half of last season, so in a way 9th is still progress.
(i'd only be satisfied if we break 60 points, we are currently average out to 52-53 points)

Where?

how can they we tired, Everyone wanted weak teams in cup games so they were fresh for finishing 7th and Rodgers provided that. Fans on here got what they wanted for as in weak teams in cups and now there complaining about tiredness, can't have it both ways, I said a while ago what good is resting players in cup games when there is no point having them fresh at the end of the season because your season has ended in January or February, this is exactly what has happend. I wouldn't mind we have only beaten west ham at the weekend after a cup game out of 11 games, this shows resting them never benefited us whatsoever

If they are tired then they should spend an extra hour in bed lazy sods

No one wanted ''weak'' teams in cup games joe, thats just something you hoped for so you'd have something to harp on about.

I agree with a lot of what you said Scainer. Suarez in particular looked tired, considering he traveled to middle east for a friendly,played a home game then off to Zenit in the space of 8 days..

I also think the loss of Sturridge has confused things. I believe the preparation in training was likely geared around S&S, and the loss has taken away the main dynamic of the team leaving us short on ideas, even then had we taken some of our chances we could have won most of the matches.
This was always a year of change. Only an idiot would get carried away with a few wins, equally as much as only an idiot would get carried away with a few losses.

Pessimistically, Rodgers transfers on the whole have done little. They have cost more than their true value and would unlikely make it any top team.

Optimistically, after a year he should know the squad and have identified the areas needing to be strengthened. He can find the round peg for the round hole, rather than buying the peg and seeing where it would fit.






Physical tiredness is a real factor. The body is meant to require about two weeks to adjust to changes, recover, and repair fully. The debt can and will eventually catch up. Rafa is the perfect example of believing in this. His teams generally start the season badly, they are heavy legged and don't seem to play well together. This is cos he focuses on fitness rather than football. After 6 or so games they start to recover. He rotates throughout the season. His justification for all this cannot really be argued as in general his teams finish the season in a strong fashion, as a result of this philosophy.
(my own opinion is that, he puts too much emphasis on fitness that the football suffers. With a capable squad with quality it will work, but that doesn't avoid the poor start of the season).


Mental tiredness is probably worse than physical tiredness, as concentration and coordination are affected. People generally don't just take time off work and stay at home. They get away, they escape from life, to recharge. There is the old age argument about having a Christmas break, and that the English suffer at tournaments because of tiredness against their rivals.

Anyway it is my own opinion that you can disagree with, but at least I have tried to explain and justify them.

Let us also not fotget that we went to 2 cup finals winning one in the second half of the season beating both Manchester teams in the process. Progress? my arse

In my opinion, a squad was demolished with the purpose of building for the future. I am under no illusions about the task at hand. A few bad results and some people overreact. Get a grip.

Our squad is without question thin and largely inexperienced. Two weeks ago everyone was talking about how they are beginning to enjoy watching football being played. Now its all negative.

Although disappointed at any loss or draw for that matter, I would take no cup runs if we show better form in the league. Last year the cup runs where a nice distraction because the league became unbearable to watch.

Enrique's injury and then Reina's, with Carra coming back in has unsettled the defence. Two games a week. Global travel. Its all contributed to some bad form.


I believe we are short on players for certain positions. In the summer we will hopefully fill them and progress in the development of this plan and show progress (5 - 10 points extra). We where never in the race for fourth, just as we weren't getting relegated. We are where we are, and that is not bad considering the changes.

The start of the season for me is year 0. I think we have shown progress since the beginning of the season. Are we where I would like, NO. Am I content at the current situation, NO.
Like I said at the start of the season If we break 60 points i'd be content. If we finish with less that just means that we were worse than I expected. I care less about cup runs than scented bog roll. Once we start challenging for high positions, its then I care about cups.